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Yup, we are home.

All is well. We have to go back in 1 week. UGH. But things are looking up after that.

I will write more later and fill y'all in on the details. For now, I am outta here.


To catch up with what's going on, click here and scroll to May 31

Tuesday 6/5/07 Kaedra update

Everything is going well. Kaedra is doing great. No problems at all. She is out of ICU and is on a regular floor now. She has no problems except being absolutely stir crazy in her confined area (she is MRSA positive so they won't let her play in the playroom or even leave her room). She is also getting extremely agitated when doctors or nurses approach her. I feel so bad for her. When we came in here everyone was commenting on how "good" she was and how she let them do their exams very easily. Well, after being stuck numerous times, operated on twice in two weeks and being attached to every machine in sight, she is d-o-n-e. She screams when they get near her. Flails around, kicks her feet. The whole nine yards. It doesn't even matter if they are just trying to give her a new gown!

We are still not in the Ronald McDonald house. Apparently someone dropped the ball on that one and we could have been in it this whole time. Looks like Satan owes us quite a bit of money. Have no fear, I will be calling that in. We cannot go there tonight because it is too late to cancel our hotel room. Hopefully we will be in there tomorrow night.

Yup, I said tomorrow night. Looks like we are here for a few more days. Nothing is wrong at all. Just trying to coordinate her getting a pic line (don't know how to spell that?) which they are going to do under sedation in radiology tomorrow sometime and then Pulmonology wants to see her again on Thursday to see how she is doing off of the vent. UGH. We are trying to fight that one and tell them we will just see our pulmonologist in Tulsa. If we can't get that done, we may not be out of here until Friday, depending on what time Pulmonology sees us on Thursday.

Everything is going very well. However, I am struggling to keep my joy. I guess the biggest prayer we need now is for me to keep my faith in The Word rather than what I hear. I am tired of trying to keep Kaedra, Michael, and Ethan happy. Prayers for getting out of here sooner, rather than later, would be great too. We still REALLY want to leave tomorrow. I am also frustrated with the fact that the infectious disease people want to see us up here quite frequently for the next 6 months. I know that they know we are 4 hours away, but they say they really need to see her and they will stretch it out as long between visits as possible. We are praying that they will let us see someone in Tulsa but so far, no go.

Once more, I want to say that I Praise God for how well everything is going. It really is. Satan keeps trying to throw us zingers but I know who my faith is in. They even let us take Ethan into ICU!! Thank you all for your prayers concerning that!

Thank you all!

Monday 6/4/07 post op update

Kaedra is out of surgery!

The doctor said it was "the best possible outcome he could have imagined." There was very little bad skin that he had to take out, the rod had no infection and he was able to just give her stitches. He said "I guess maybe your prayers worked." Maybe? Maybe??

Anyway, they are, unfortunately, putting her back into ICU. (which means no Ethan) we are praying she gets out of there VERY QUICKLY!! We also need prayers for good/quick healing so they will let us go home on Wednesday. (we do have to come back in a week for follow up -- ugh)

Gotta go, Ethan is fussing. Thank you all for your prayers!!

Monday 6/4/07 Kaedra update

Ethan and I got here last night. Michael, Ethan and I are staying at a hotel right now because the Ronald McDonald house is full. We are waiting to see if it will open up.

Kaedra is doing really well. I am sure she is stir crazy. Her IV came out today and they tried sticking her 5 times and never got a good stick. They gave up and decided to try again when she is under. We were very relieved, it was heartbreaking to hear her crying while they tried to find a good vein.

One of our surgeon's operations got cancelled today so they are on their way to get Kaedra right now. The operation he has planned will be in between 1 - 1 1/2 hours. If he has to take the rib out, it will be an extra hour. We are still believing he will see the skin and not want to do the surgery at all. If he does decide to do the surgery we believe he will not have to take the rib out! If the rib does come out, we believe that no harm will come to Kaedy-bug at all and she will not need ventilation and her "rib cage" will be stable and not collapse. We also believe that (no matter what the doctor does) she will not have to be on ventilation and will come back to the regular floor.

A praise report is that she has been off of her vent since Saturday morning at 7am! That is the longest she has ever gone. HALLELUJAH!

Apparently my email program is up at home and also my yahoo messenger. I need to get a hold of Brittany to log them off for me. I can't get any of my mail here (in between last night and now), it has all been downloaded to the home computer and I can't sign onto yahoo. Hopefully I will get that taken care of soon and be able to communicate a little more effectively.

Okay, they are here to get her. I am off and will update when I can.

Sunday 6/3/07 Kaedra update

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Ethan and I are heading up to Kansas City in about 2 hours. (5pm Sunday evening) I don't know if I can update while I am up there. If I have a problem, I will ask Sherria or Brandi to update you.

The doctor is still planning on doing the surgery. If so, it will be tomorrow evening probably around 6pm. We are still believing the skin will be so healed tomorrow that he will not want to do any surgery. If you are praying, please agree with us for that. Thank you!!
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Kaedra did really well yesterday. Here are the updates:
1. The doctor said it looked like the open area reduced in size. He told Michael that we were "lucky." Michael set him straight. ;-)
2. The ICU doctor wanted her to try a night off of the vent. He had four reasons.
a. he doesn't think she needs it and he can do a test on her while there to make sure he is right
b. he doesn't want her in ICU with an open wound that could get bad germs while there, she can go on the regular floor if she is not on the vent
c. he doesn't want her in ICU being so healthy where she could get RSV or the other things that are there.
d. She is REALLY much too healthy to be in ICU. Although the nurses find it fun to have her, she needs a lot more work and time since she wants to play and get into everything.
3. They tried her off the vent last night and she did great. YEAH!! We have been praying for that! So they are moving her to the regular floor today. WOOHOO! That means I can also take Ethan up there with me, although they are saying I can't spend the night there with Ethan. We are praying to have favor in that area. (I could spend the night at the hotel or Ronald McDonald House, if it opens up, but I'd feel better being right there in case she woke up. The nurses aren't so close by on the regular floor.
4. The surgeon is planning on operating tomorrow, instead of today. That will give the antibiotics a little more time. He wants to go in and cut out the bad skin and see if it will stretch over the titanium rib when he stitches it. If he thinks it will not stretch, he will remove the titanium rib.

We are praying that he will look at the wound tomorrow and say that it looks so good that he doesn't want to operate. Please join us in believing for that. If that happens, I will not go up there. If the doctor doesn't notice how great it looks before surgery, tomorrow, I will be heading up there tomorrow afternoon. The girls will stay here with Michael's mom. Michael can stay a few more days up there, so we would see what they are saying then.

Thank you all for your prayers. The Word is working!

I just want to share one other thing. I think I know why we are being attacked in this area. The last few weeks I have had many occasions to tell Kaedra's story. We have been getting nursing back and had to be re certified for that as well meeting the new nurse and telling her Kaedy's story. Something I have repeatedly said is: "We are so blessed that she has not had to go back into the hospital for any complications. She has been so healthy. We haven't had any hospital visits except for the operations. God is so good." (most other children with similar issues as Kaedra are quite sickly and hospitalized quite a bit) I believe that Satan is attacking us in this area because he is tired of me proclaiming God's goodness! I won't stop, though!! God IS good! ALL THE TIME! And HE will be glorified, even through this opportunity that Satan is trying to create. I will NOT stop singing His praises!!

And I will praise You in everything
And I will thank You for what You have done,
And I will fight the good fight
Til faith turns to sight
And I will run til the race is run. (David Ingles)

Have a blessed day!

To catch up with what's going on, click here and scroll to May 31

Homeschooling at the Speed of Life

I got a new book yesterday at Mardel's. It's called Homeschooling at the Speed of Life and it is by Marilyn Rockett. I have to admit, the first thing that got my attention was the cover...check it out!

I wish THAT was my blogger background! (but I just can't ignore those pesky little things like copyright and trademarks)

I was blindsided by the book because I usually know about ALL the homeschooling books as soon as they come out. (don't I sound like I am in the know? ROFL) I saw this on the shelf and picked it up, leafed through it and put it down. Then I went back to it, picked it up, leafed through it and put it down. Then I went back again. I kept rationalizing with myself that I have a TON of homeschool books, that I don't need ANY more books, that I usually check a book out or borrow it before buying it, on and on my excuses went. But I couldn't put it down.

The funny thing is, right before we left the house yesterday I got a check in the mail from an old life insurance policy that I had just cancelled. The check was only for $20, I assume it was for the last month I paid and I probably cancelled at the right time to get a refund. Anyway, I had this knowledge of 20 bucks burning a hole in my pocket. And I had a new book in my hand that I couldn't walk away from. It was a marriage made in heaven. :-)

I looked over the book last night and it looks FANTASTIC! I have only gotten to chapter 2, but I have already found a ton that I want to go back and underline. This is my favorite thing so far, her definition of organization:

Organization is making your life work for you
by bringing the dailiness of life under control
through yielding of the Holy Spirit
concerning the wise use of your time.

I will post more as I read the book. (oh, and as a bonus, it comes with a CD with lots of cool forms. Well, I assume they are cool. I haven't looked at them yet. But I know there are lots.)

Saturday 6/2 Kaedra update

No new updates yet. She slept through the night and had a good sleep. It took her a long time to get to sleep because a little boy passed away in the room next to her and there was a lot going on because of that. Please keep his parents and family in your prayers as well.

Here is what is going on: The surgeon is concerned that the skin over the titanium rib is a. infected and b. very damaged. He is going to do exploratory surgery sometime tomorrow to see if his concerns are warranted. (He is waiting until tomorrow so that she will have antibiotics for 36-48 hours before surgery.) If either is true he is going to take out that titanium rib on Monday. We are still unsure about the ramifications of taking the rib out. Her doctor here is worried that she will not have enough support from just one titanium rib and that her chest wall will sag or collapse. He is also worried that without the rib to hold her lungs in, her lungs will pooch out the side again (like her first 10 months of life, before the ribs) and that will cause the paradoxical chest movement, or flail chest, that kept her on the vent full time as well as in critical condition. Furthermore, her organs (and heart) would not be protected, which is always a concern. If they do take the rib out, the surgeon said it would be several months before they would be able to replace it. They would have to wait for the skin to be completely healed and healthy again. If they don't take the rib out, they will just be cutting the bad skin out and trying to stitch it up over the rib. She doesn't have any muscle or fat over that area, though, so we still need prayer covering in that area. Michael has a list of questions to ask today and hopefully we will get some more answers. However, we will not know how she will react to the rib being taken out until they do that.

One other concern: we are unsure if they would let me in the ICU with Ethan at all. We have heard that they might not let any babies in the ICU. We don't know how long Kaedy will be up there and of course Michael can't stay up there indefinitely. (someone has to make the money around here ;-) We are trying to find out if they could possibly move her to the regular floor so I could go up there with Ethan. If not, I will have to wean him and find someone who can watch a baby while Michael is at work everyday. Michael's mom is just not able to do it and we are stretching her abilities by just watching the older two. Please keep that in prayer as well. I would much rather take him with me for many reasons.

The older girls are taking this pretty hard and are very worried. It's hard to see that anything is wrong when they last saw Kaedy running around and playing and hard to imagine all that can change in a blink of an eye.

Fruit of the Spirit Friday - Joy

I need something else to concentrate on, other than Kaedra, and I had been planning on doing this since last week so I am just going to jump in now.



What fruit are you focusing on this fruit this week?
I chose Joy for my first Fruit of the Spirit Friday because that is the word that best defines me in the body of Christ. It is the fruit I cultivate the most dearly and it is where my strength comes from. (The Joy of the Lord is my strength Neh 8:10)

How does the Bible define this fruit?
wow I didn't realize this one would be so hard. There are so many references to joy in the bible. In a strict definition sense, the Greek word "chara" is defined as joy, gladness, delight and to rejoice.

How does God reveal this fruit to us?
I believe that God reveals this fruit to us through the joy of some of the biblical figures, most notably and importantly Jesus.

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2

These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. John 14:11

But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. John 17:13

Jesus speaks of HIS joy. That is how God has revealed joy to us, through His son. And not only revealed to us, but given to us.



What is the evidence of this fruit in one’s life?

Strength
The joy of the Lord is my strength Neh 8:10

Shouting
He prays to God and finds favor with him, he sees God's face and
shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state. (Job 33:26 and many others)

Singing
I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O
Most High. (Psalm 9:2 and too many others to mention!)

Sorrow disappearing
Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 35:10, 51:11 (also John 16:20, 22, Psalm 30:5)

Hope
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 (also Romans 15:13

Being filled with the Spirit
1 Thess 1:6, Eph 5:18, Romans 14:17


Share an example of the presence of this fruit in someone’s life.
Unfortunately I see the absence of Joy in many people's lives. So many people are dragged down by their circumstances, living from problem to problem, not realizing that JOY is within their reach. To me joy is not a giddy, loud, riotous personality, but a calm, shining light that permeates your character and encapsulates many of the other fruits of the spirit. When you have joy the problems don't cease to exist, but they cease to rule your life and thoughts. Instead you can concentrate on God and on his goodness and love. When someone does have joy, I am drawn to them like a magnet and I feel an immediate kinship with them.

How does fruit or lack of it in our life affect others? (spouse, children, friends) Wow. In my life this is huge. When I am not rejoicing in the Lord, the whole family reacts. I can truly feel the joy seep out of everyone else. When I exhibit the joy of the Lord the reaction is equally as stunning. Our house brims over with joy and praising and praying and shouting and singing and all is well. I can definitely say that my family looks to me for the joy.

What can you do to express more of this fruit in your character?
I need to keep my eyes on Jesus. I am not just trying to use a cliche, I mean I truly need to focus on Him and ignore all else. I need to make my words and actions line up with THE TRUTH and follow Him. I need to not look at the circumstances, no matter what they might be, but look to His Word and His Truth and remember that my joy in Him is my strength. Sometimes it seems as if it would be easier to crumble and cry and feel sorry for myself. Sometimes I revert back to my old ways and want others to feel sorry for me. However, when I do that, my family falls apart and I don't feel any better anyway. If I don't let Satan steal my joy, I can keep my family pointed toward Jesus and I can rejoice in my sorrows disappearing. When I keep my joy, I have the strength that I need to get through anything.

To see other people's Fruit of the Spirit memes, check out the Heart of Wisdom Blog.

update on the update

Just a really quick update, I'll write more later. They are going to do surgery on Kaedra on Sunday. They are trying to figure out how much skin is over the titanium rib. They think there is not much skin. If so, they are going to take out that titanium rib. We do not know what all this means/entails yet. Michael is very frazzled and overwhelmed with all the information and how fast everything is coming at him. Please keep him in your prayers as well.

Update on Kaedra

They admitted Kaedra into the hospital up in Kansas City. We are not positive how long she will be in the hospital but it is looking like it will probably be at least the weekend. We have heard everything from a few weeks to 24 hours. Of course we are believing for 24 hours. :-)

Here are more facts about what is going on:
She fell in February and got a bruise and small opening over one of her titanium ribs. We were seeing the doctor for a few weeks about it and it improved so we got off of antibiotics and stopped seeing him weekly. The bruise did not disappear, however. When she went up there for her surgery last week they did not extend the rib that has the bruise on it because they were worried about how the skin looked. Yesterday I went to put some meds on her back and when I looked at the place that had the bruise it was a large (1" round) opening into her back that was very infected and angry looking. (it had been fine 24 hours earlier) I freaked out and called our doctor here in Tulsa. They said they could get us in today at 3:15. I asked them to have the doctor call me back immediately because I didn't know if I should take her to the hospital right away or how I should treat it at home. While waiting for him to call, the nurse from Kansas City just happened to call to check on Kaedra post-op. I told her about the area and she freaked out along with me. She asked that we take Kaedra up to KC right away. I asked if we could wait until this morning because I needed to find someone to watch my kids. Michael ended up calling his brother, Kevin, and they went up there again instead of me taking Ethan into the ICU with so much RSV still going around. This way we didn't need help with the kids either. Soooo those are the facts.

Here is the truth: (and the truth doesn't change)
Kaedra is the Body of Christ. She is redeemed from the curse, because Jesus bore her sicknesses and carried her diseases in His own body. By His stripes she is healed. We forbid any sickness or disease to operate in her body. Every organ, every tissue, every bone functions and is formed in the perfection in which God created it to function.

A few more tidbits: Kaedy bug is feeling great. I was on the phone with Michael and instead of talking to me, he was saying "Kaedra get over here, Kaedra get off of that, Kaedy come here, Kaedra PUT THAT DOWN," etc, etc. I know she will keep the nurses VERY busy in PICU. The surgeon hasn't seen her back yet so we haven't heard his input. Also, they did a culture on her back to see if it has MRSA and that will take 3 days to grow. It is looking likely that she will stay there until they get those results back. What we are REALLY praying against is a long hospital stay. For those that weren't readers of my blog almost 2 years ago, when she originally had her ribs implanted she had some skin breakdown and I had to stay with her in San Antonio for 28 days. I can't imagine that kind of stay again at all, much less with a 4 month old. We will, of course, do what has to be done. But right now that is pray and believe.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your prayers.


Here is a video that my friend Melanie made for Kaedra last year. I like to watch it to see what God has already accomplished in her life. (if you look real close you can see Mickey and Susan in it too!)