There Once was a Little House...

Over 9 years ago, there was a single, 25 year old girl that needed a project and somewhere to plant roots (both literally and figuratively.)  She found a house that needed some help.  It was a humble house, built in the '30s with a strange layout, one tiny bathroom, lots of quirks, and yet lots of charm.  It was painted a drab gray-blue and had 14 holes in the walls ranging from the size of a quarter to over a foot in diameter.  It had been vacant for over a year and needed quite a bit of TLC.  Soon the place came to life with patched wholes, new paint, and flowers in the yard.

That little house would come to witness many things...a wedding proposal, the first home of a newly wed couple, the surprise of a baby on the way, the bigger surprise when baby came early, welcoming him home after months in the hospital, a college graduation, a second baby brought home right on time.

As the family changed, so did the house.  A wall and a garage were added, large bushes came down and a fence and sandbox went up.  Year after year, a garden was tended. It's rich, loamy soil produced abundant food, and jars of home-canned food lined the cupboards.

Now the girl is 34 and her family is growing again.  Sadly, it is time to say goodbye to the little old house which holds so many memories.  She will never forget the living room that witnessed a first kiss, the same place where she danced with her baby, newly freed from the oxygen tank.  The place where she would spend many, many nights feeding a hungry baby or soothing a sick child, and cheering over each milestone passed.

Thank you little house, for being my home for these 9 wonderful years.  Thank you for keeping my family warm, dry, safe, and allowing me to be transformed alongside of you.

Surgery #9

Today was Benjamin's 9th surgery - a bilateral myringotomy, aka tubes in his ears.  It went really well and was the easiest by far.  We were able to do it in a surgery center so we were discharged just over 2 hours from the time we arrived!  The staff loved him, and said they wanted to keep him because he was an easy patient.  He's had lots of practice!

Benjamin and Cookie in their surgery attire.  Benjamin was quite intrigued by the "flashlight" on the end of his finger.  Pretty cool that Cookie got to wear a fun hat and ID band too!

 A special post-surgery gift from the Dumlers - Benjamin gets to play his guitar in the hospital now just like Cody!

Musical Boys

Benjamin loves music.  He amazed me by starting to clap on beat before the age of 3.  Both him and Samuel love it when Brian brings out his guitar.  For Christmas, Ben and Lisa gave them tambourines and they both love to play.  

Check out this video of Benjamin playing the tambourine with his Papa:

http://youtu.be/99kQtbtmX6c

Catching Up...

I think I have forgotten about this blog...probably because our lives are not lacking in things to do.  :)

We said goodbye to summer and Brian and I got to take our very first trip alone since having children.  It was wonderful to go and it was wonderful to come back.  Soon later we helped my parents celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.  Samuel turned one in early October.  I had that strange feeling of "He's already one year?!?" accompanied by "He's only been with us one year?!?"  Funny how that happens.  We had a simple little party with family and (most importantly to Benjamin) cake.

Along with is first birthday was also his first haircut.  Uncle Harold was right - everyone should attempt to cut the hair of a young child at some point in their life...maybe it should be an Olympic sport.

Before we knew it, it was the end of October.  The boys did dress up even though colds kept Tigger and Piglet home from making any visits.  (Thanks to aunt Jenny for loaning us the costumes.)

Thanksgiving has come and gone, reminding us how very grateful we are for all of the blessings God has given us - grace, mercy, family, two healthy boys, friends, health, and purpose.

Now it is the Christmas season where we celebrate John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave his only son, that whoever believes in Him will not parish, but have everlasting life."  We are starting to decorate and Benjamin is so excited to get a tree tomorrow.

Benjamin is doing very well.  He started back to preschool in September, and everyone pretty much agrees that he won't qualify next year, meaning that he has caught up with his peers enough to be in a standard preschool.  That is of course great news.  He is has been going through a growth spurt and grew almost an inch last month!  His vocabulary increases every day.  He can say his ABCs and cound to 14+ on his own.  Our current prayer for him is for his ears as he had a report today that wasn't so good.  He is getting over a cold, so we are praying that when we have a follow-up in January that the issues have resolved.

Samuel has started to walk.  He is at an age that I absolutely love regarding how much personality he has and how playful he is, but also a phase that makes me a little crazy with opening cupboards and pulling everything out.  I currently have most of my cupboards rubber-banded together to help keep them shut.  I very much remember this phase with Benjamin. :)

Another Good Surgery

Today was Benjamin's surgery.  We had an early morning and plucked Benjamin from bed and headed to the hospital for a 6:30am check-in.  We were in the new Children's hospital at Emanuel, which is incredible.  He got to wear the "faded red" (ok, they were pink) hospital pajamas again and got to take wagon rides around the day surgery loop, play in a variety of scooter cars, and hang out in a fun play room before the surgery.  If I hadn't forgotten the camera I would have posted a picture of it.

After receiving a dose of Versed (happy medicine) he didn't even seem to mind a bit when the nurse and Anesthesiologist wheeled him away from us, especially when the Anesthesiologist said he could hang on to the toy tiger that he had been playing with in the staging area.  We waited in the same room that we has come so familiar.  Even seeing the same quilts hanging on the wall brought back memories, some tough memories of hearing some not-so-great news, and some wonderful memories, like the night he had emergency surgery his second day of life and we were surprised to be surrounded by family and friends late at night and all prayed together.  Thankfully the time passed quickly and before I knew it they were taking me back to see him.

He wasn't very happy about the IV when he woke up and it had to be taped up pretty good to keep him from pulling it out.  He was asking everyone he saw to "take it off."  Soon enough he was rewarded for hanging in there with a orange popsicle and a movie.  We were released around lunchtime and when we started to leave the building Benjamin said "I want a cheeseburger."  We weren't planning on it, but decided that we would give it to this request as a treat.

I am so grateful to all who have prayed for us and loved us through another surgery.  This afternoon we are praising God yet again!

Surgery #8

Well, we made it a year and 4 months without a surgery...that's a new record!  Thursday will be Benjamin's 8th surgery and the 3rd on his eyes.  It is very similar to his last one, which was the easiest surgery yet.  Still, this mama' heart is heavy at times when I think about it.  I think about and remember the feeling of handing my little boy over to a well-trained stranger, sitting in a waiting room trying not to think about what is going on with him at that moment, watching the door for a nurse or surgeon to come out with the report, trying to remember that this surgery is ultimately a blessing and not a curse.

It also takes me back to other times...times of waiting and praying, dreaming and hoping, being held up by the strength that only God can provide.  Seeing blessing after blessing, shedding tears of joy over each milestone passed.  Knowing the feeling of being prayed for by many and the sweetness of Jesus alone being my daily bread...

Thank you, Jesus, for your faithfulness - that you are Good regardless of the outcome of this surgery and that you love my little boy more than even I do.  Your Grace is sufficient for me.

Summer Days

Here we go again...time is going fast and summer is half over.  This has been a wonderful summer for me.  I have enjoyed lots of time with the boys outside and for the first time in my life, there are more plants than weeds in my garden...well, at least at this moment.  Canning season will probably start next week for me and that is usually when it all comes undone.

Benjamin started preschool last week.  It is the next phase of the Early Intervention program that he has participated in since coming home from the hospital.  There are 6 children in the class with 3 teachers/helpers.  All of the children have similar delays with speech and/or motor skills, so they work on those skills as a group.  Benjamin loves it.  He has been doing private speech and physical therapy too and is improving on a regular basis.  In fact, he has met all his speech goals and will be done after just a few more sessions.  

Samuel is 9 1/2 months and started crawling a few weeks ago.  He is into all sorts of things, but he loves to be wherever the people are and wherever his brother is.  He is a content, happy little guy that loves to laugh and chew on whatever he can get his hands on.  I am seeing more of his little personality every day.

 

Brian and I are doing good as well.  We are currently on vacation with his family and having so much fun.  It is amazing how vacations change when you have small children.  Even just sitting in a rental house doing nothing is fun!  Before children that would have made me crazy.  Benjamin and Samuel were able to "go swimming" for the first time and they both loved it.