I'm being featured on a blog today, and I just wanted to share:
Christian Artists Street Team on Etsy Blog
The CAST team is a group of Christians who have shops on Etsy. They have a blog that features the products of their members and also has wonderful devotional posts as well.
🙂
…counting my many blessing today. I thought I'd share my day with you. I think you will see why I am feeling so blessed today. Ready, set, here we go!
(Newton catchin' some Florida rays)
(yes, it's green, and yes, it's very yummy!)
I have to tell you, my faithful blog readers, I believe I am finally on the mend! I seem to be getting stronger and my back has not "gone out" since we got the new mattress. Thank the Lord for that.
I can't remember the last time I had the energy to go through a day like this!!! It is very exciting to me!
Also, considering that I kept this pace the entire week that Doug was gone, then spent 48 hours at the hospital with my mom over the weekend, I am thrilled to be able to do all that I did today.
I know that so many of you pray for me on a daily basis, and I am so thankful for that. Don't stop praying yet! ;o) But now you can add a little praise in there that I am doing so well right now.
It's my plan to get ready and go to church tonight. Afterwards, we will have choir practice and then I will practice for a duet on Sunday with my friend, Mrs. Sandy. I should be good and tired by the time this day is over.
I pray your day has been productive, and that you can lay down tonight and count your many blessings.
I know I certainly will!
(a little blurry because he is in constant motion…)
All pics were added for Dani – my photo-graphical inspiration! 🙂
Alesha
The weekend has been incredibly busy for us, and it was not because we were celebrating the birthday of this great country of ours, unfortunately.
On Saturday, we realized that Isaac's shunt need to be re-adjusted. He started trying to vomit after sitting upright in his chair for just a little while. We made an appointment for him to be seen on Sunday at the children's hospital by the neurosurgeon.
They did x-rays and a CAT scan just to check everything out. The shunt is fine, as is the tubing leading from it. However, the shunt had been pulling so much fluid from his brain that his ventricles had completely collapsed! His test, however, looked ok.
I've done some research this morning on over drainage, and it can apparently lead to a subdermal hematoma, so we are really grateful that did not happen.
I asked him this morning if his head felt better, and he smiled for me. That was really good to see!
Also, on Saturday, my mom gave us quite a scare. She was fixing lunch, and suddenly felt the room going dark, and her jaws began to hurt. She managed to call out to my dad, and sit on a stool in the kitchen. He was able to hold her up there, but she was completely unresponsive for a little while. He called us for Doug to come over, then they called 911.
By the time the EMTs got there, she had come to, but was obviously a little confused and very upset. The EKG they did at the house showed no problems, but of course she went to the hospital.
They did every test known to man, I think. Several EKGs, echocardiagram, CAT scan on brain, chest x-ray, ultrasound of neck, MRI of brain, tons of blood work and blood pressure checks – laying, sitting and standing.
They found nothing wrong.
Incredible, yes?
They "suspect" she had a TIA or mini-stroke, which they said was completely self-healing, which is why they feel they could find no evidence of it. She will follow up with her doctor later, because, of course, he was out of town for the holidays.
So, I headed home last night, and she came home this afternoon. She is feeling much better today, although she is still having problems with vertigo. She has been having issues with that for several weeks, and had already been to her doctor where they had done extensive blood work the week before last.
Of course, this rattled us all pretty thoroughly – my dad especially. Although she is feeling better, I know we are all wondering if everything is really ok. We'll see what her doctor says.
Also on Saturday, Doug's mom had to call 911 for his grandma. She was feeling very poorly. (Remember she just came home last Monday after having open heart surgery.) They felt she was ok, and did not feel the need to take her to the hospital. She was feeling better when Doug talked to her yesterday.
I am so thankful for those who were praying for us…I was able to get a status up on Facebook, but only had my phone, so could not manage to blog. If the Lord lays our family on your heart, we would really appreciate continued prayer for her recovery, for Doug's grandma's complete recovery and that Isaac's shunt would do it's job properly so that he is feeling much better soon.
It's really been a time around here…maybe we can all get a little rest this afternoon. I am SO SO thankful that Doug was home before all of this happened. Even the timing of the "bad" things is in the hand of the Lord, and we continue to trust Him.
Blessings,
Alesha
Doug has come back home, and I slept ALL night last night, and finally, all is well once again. 🙂
Isaac was so excited to have his Daddy home again, and to show it in the finest way possible, slept from 9 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., then went back to sleep by 9 a.m. and slept until noon today!
I told Doug that his being out of town just wore Isaac out!
Doug's grandma is doing really well, and the trouble now will be keeping her from overdoing it every day. She likes to stay busy, and has been halted with her heart issues for a long time. I know she will be out in her gardens again just as soon as she gets the ok from her surgeons. Go Grandma!!!
I have just recently discovered an entirely new set of blogs to read. They are all about jewelry making! It is so fun to me to see others' creations, and to read about their process to the final piece. They also offer the nicest giveaways.
Today I found out I won a fabulous book, Metalworking 101 for Beaders: Create Custom Findings, Pendants & Projects (Lark Jewelry Book)
The generous giver of the book is Cyndi at Beading Arts. She has wonderful site, with lots of links with so much information for jewelry makers. I am still going through her links, enjoying and learning as I go.
I just wanted to share my fun "win" with you! 🙂
Alesha
I feel I could write an entire post about the lack of sleep, but I fear that at some point I would lull my readers into the state that I am so earnestly craving!
Oh, yes, Isaac did sleep last night — from 9 pm to 11 pm. <sigh…>
(My hat is permanently tipped to every single special needs mom out there in bloggy land!)
You would think that the dose of Diastat (that would render a small elephant senseless, I think) would have worked to not only control the seizures that have been increasing in number all week, but would have also helped him sleep for longer than 2 hours.
But, alas, it did not.
He has been happily playing with his ribbons, while alternately listening to music and watching Gaither videos for the past 9 hours.
I'm glad he's Happy…just wish he would pick a different Dwarf to imitate – particularly, the one with the "Zzzzzzzzzzzs" above his head. :o/
I did nap occasionally throughout the night, out of sheer exhaustion; but between the soggy diapers, the medication administration schedule, and my overactive mommy-radar, I never slept for more than an hour and a half at a time.
It's those darn ribbons, I tell you. He won't settle down and sleep because he is compulsively chewing them, and I can't sleep because I'm afraid he will choke on them.
I don't dare take them away, because then I would be compelled to listen to his whine-moan of "Uhhhh…uhhhh…uhhhh" with every breath. It's the Isaac equivalent of "Mommy…mommy…mama…mommmmm." 😉
Well, I guess I'll wrap this up now. I leave you with this final thought:
I feel my aggravation growing and my intelligence slipping with each sleep-deprived hour that passes.
If I start posting gobbledy-gook at some point, you'll know why.
Alesha
P.S. For the humor-challenged folk out there in the blogosphere, I need to assure you that this post was written wholly tongue-in-cheek. While I am indeed sleep-deprived, my ability to care for Isaac is in no way diminished.
Yet.
(sorry, I just couldn't resist one more!!!) ;o)
Just wanted to let you know that Doug's grandma came through surgery ok. She was in a regular room, and already talking, before Doug's mom went home for the evening.
Doug left this morning to fly out to be with them. We tried to tell Isaac that Daddy was going "bye-byes" for a long time, and that we would talk to him on the telephone. Now whether he can comprehend that is another thing entirely. So, I'm praying that he will understand enough to know that all is well, even though things may be different for the next several days.
I know it's true, too, that he will sense my emotions and feed off of them, so I am praying for peace for myself. 🙂
Thank you for praying. Please continue to do so, if the Lord lays our family on your heart. I know that Grandma's recovery will take quite a while, and she is not a very patient woman. :~D However, she is very feisty and full of vim and vigor. I think, in the long run, those qualities may be more important than patience in her recovery!
So, Ike and I are off on our adventure of fending for ourselves! I visited the chiropractor yesterday just to make sure everything was in its proper place – too funny, I know! However, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, right?
As far as I know, we won't have any help. My mom will be checking on us, I'm sure, but she doesn't know how to feed Isaac or give his meds. She can change him, and shift him in the bed, but like myself, she doesn't lift him.
I know we will be using his lift a great deal this week for Isaac. My goal is to have him in his wheelchair for several hours each day. I know that is best for him, rather than being in the bed. I won't be putting him in his recliner in the living room, as it is too difficult to get him out of it, even with the lift. His position is much better in his wheelchair, any way, so that is what we will do.
Now I will leave you with a funny picture. I did not plan this meal to be so color coordinated. I was simply trying to cook up the veggies that needed to be cooked before they started spoiling, and this is what we ended up with. It might look funny, but it was delicious!!! (Broiled asparagus, green beans amandine, and broccoli and pea salad – all from Hallelujah Acres recipes)
May God bless your day with peace,
Alesha
We spent yesterday in Orlando, left the house at 7 a.m. and got back around 5 p.m. It was an exhausting day, but we had a little fun too.
Isaac had several tests run in the morning, some of which were a lot of work for Mommy and Daddy. He doesn't really care to have his head strapped down, or to lay still for multiple x-rays and ultrasound pictures. So we got the quite the workout (especially Daddy) leaning over exam tables and keeping head, legs, arms and torso still enough for the technicians.
After that was all finished, though, we were able to go for lunch. It was a nice treat to have new choices to choose from. We chose Jason's Deli. Doug had one of their massive baked potatoes and I had a Portabello Wrapini. And yes, it was just as yummy as it sounds. 🙂
When our lunch was finished, we headed over to Isaac's neurosurgeon's office, where we had a productive visit with Dr. Gegg. He listened carefully to our story of Isaac's doing so well immediately following surgery; and then he suggested we change the settings on his shunt. We decided to go with his recommendation, and are hoping that this will make a difference in his comfort level and his overall enjoyment of life.
It will take time to tell if the setting works well for him, but I will tell you this: for the first time in almost 3 weeks, he slept the whole night through! What a blessing that was. If his sleeping through the night is the only change that takes place, that will be enough for me to know it was a good decision.
When our doctor visit was over, we headed to Whole Foods, where we thoroughly enjoyed shopping through their awesome array of organic products. We even picked up supper from their food bars: black beans, yellow rice, plantains and hummus. The plantains were probably fried, but we just sort of overlooked that…they are too yummy to pass up! 🙂
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Now, I need to ask you to pray for Doug's grandma, Charlene. She is the most spry octogenarian I have ever known, but during the last year, she has begun to have heart problems.
She is in the hospital right now, and later this week will be having open heart surgery to repair 3 blockages. Please pray for her. She is very special to Doug, as she had such a large part in parenting him. He was raised by his mom who was single from the time he was around 3 years old, and his grandma who was a widow for the majority of his childhood. He looks on her as his second parent, really.
So, we decided that Doug really needs to be there for Grandma's surgery and he is flying up to Ohio on Thursday to be with his mom and grandma. He will be gone a week. Those of you who know how our household functions will know that it is a huge decision for Doug to be gone this long. If you think of us, we would really appreciate your prayer for Isaac and I while Doug is away.
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I guess that's it for my little update. I am sorry that my blog has not been very upbeat lately. It seems that things have been hitting us from all sides, and we are just treading water for now, keeping our heads up.
Through it all, though, we have not lost faith in the ways of our God. We know that He leads us into seasons of peacefulness, as well as into seasons of storms. He is the same God, and we can still trust Him; and that is what we have decided that we will do. 🙂
Blessings to you,
Alesha
Obtaining Mercy 