Praying for a Miracle

Hello friends!
In less than a week we will be taking baby G in for his 2-3 hour long MRI. I know what you are thinking...how does one keep a little guy still for that long? Well, they will be having him under anesthesia during the whole procedure.

Many of you have never seen his little bump on his head so here it is.

G's Bump

I know so many of you have been praying for healing for his tethered spine and bump on his head. We are praying for a miracle at his MRI. We know that God is all powerful, and can completely heal our little boy. We also know that he works through surgeons. G's esophagus surgery would not have been as successful as it was without God, and his recovery wouldn't have been as miraculous as it was without God.

Once the MRI is done we will be kept overnight for observation, since he is still so young. The next day (April 19), we will meet with the neurosurgeon to discuss what our next steps will be.

We are ready to have the surgeries on his spine and head behind us. We ask that you would pray with us for 1. for a miracle and 2. for baby G's strength and 3. for God's peace to reign in our hearts. It is unspeakably hard to think of handing over our sweet boy for the MRI. Even harder to think about having him undergo another surgery. However, we have learned from experience that God gives us all we need, when we need it! There were times when G was in the NICU where I honestly didn't even know what or how to pray. I almost felt guilty, how can a mommy not know how to pray for her son? It was then, friends, that I could feel the power of your prayers taking over.

So stick with us on this journey! It is sure to be one we will all remember!

Our Legacy starts NOW

"To be raised in a family that was far from perfect. But led by a man and a woman, who knew a man who was perfect." 
-A son at his father's funeral

I am finding myself in a reflective mood today. You know, one of those deep thinking kind of days. A day where I feel like there is so much more to this life than just rushing from one thing to the next. A day when I am looking at my life and realizing what a privilege it is that God would allow us to have baby G. in our lives. He picked us to parent this sweet, albeit feisty, 3 (almost 4) month old baby boy. How blessed are we?!

My prayer is:

• That G. would daily walk hand-in-hand with the Lord, looking first to Him for his guidance.
• That he knows he is loved with an unconditional love. I never once doubted my parents' love for me, and I hope that is true for G.
• That when he makes mistakes, that we are gracious towards him. All too often I see parents making fun, being harsh with their words, and making fun of their kids. It breaks my heart, and I pray that I am never one of those parents.
• That he never questions Jason & my love for the Lord, and each other. I consider a strong marriage, where mommy and daddy love each other, to be the most essential part of raising G. Growing up is hard and I never want him to question our love for each other. 
• That he would be able to laugh, even if it is at us or himself.
• That I would never take a single day for granted. Sweet baby G had a somewhat rocky start, but the Lord has been faithful, and we are so grateful for all that He has brought him through.
• That he would find a godly wife. I know that seems to far in the future, at least 40 years right? However, my parents prayed for my husband, and I am so glad they did. Jason is the love of my life, and I consider myself blessed that I get to walk through this life with him.
• That he would love the Huskers & the Minnesota WILD. Okay, okay, I am joking, he can like whomever he wishes, but can you imagine having a little Texas Longhorn or Vancouver Canuck fan in our house? Not a pretty picture.

I could go on and on, but those are the "biggies" (with the exception of the last one). 

As we look toward his upcoming MRI and surgery that will follow, I am hit with these words of a favorite hymn of mine: "How sweet to hold a newborn baby, and feel the pride and joy he gives, but greater still, the calm assurance, this child (my sweet baby G.) can face uncertain days because HE lives."

We don't know what the future holds, but for now I know that I will hold my baby boy as much as I possibly can, tell him I love him every chance I get, and enjoy my sweet family. They are my most precious gift and I think now is a good time to start our Legacy.

Look Ma! I can hold a football!

The little guy had quite a manly afternoon. Complete with a Cabela's camo onesie (thank you Grandma & Grandpa) and holding a Husker-colored football (thank you Auntie Cambria & Uncle Tony) for the first time!

Wish you could have seen how excited he was!

 

Good grip! I expect the Huskers to be calling any day now.

 

Are you seeing this mamma & daddy?

 
This is actually the first time he has EVER held a toy! Big step for baby G! So proud of our boy!

Fab Weekend!

My sweet friend, Lindsey, came to visit us this past weekend! She had met G. in the NICU, but had never held him before.

 It was so nice just spending time with her. I have to admit, I miss our typical weekend of going shopping without the car seat & stroller, getting our nails done, and eating out every meal. That all got traded in for a smaller shopping trip, home cooked meals by hubby, and snuggles with G. Good trade I would say!

See for yourselves.

First time snuggling with Auntie Lindsey

WILD shirt for Daddy

So innocent.

Naps with Lindsey

Someone is happy! Thanks for the cute outfit Kayla!

My dear friend.

Proof that getting a good picture with a squirmy baby is difficult.

Love you Lindsey!!!

Gma & Gpa

The little man was blessed to have 2 weekends in a row seeing his Grandma & Grandpa H.! This weekend he got to see them 2 days in a row too! They came down for the funeral of a dear, sweet man, Dr. Fran Monseth. They drove back home Saturday night so Grandpa could preach on Sunday morning, then drove back to MN for a meeting on Sunday evening.

Grandma & G. have a special bond

Love!

Round 2 with Grandma & Grandpa

Giggling at Grandpa. Do you love his faux-hawk?

Serious convo

We sure are glad they don't mind traveling!

Baby Einstein

Mornings with G. can be a little hectic. Ideally, I quietly get up at 5:30 so as not to wake the little man. I ideally would get his food ready, wash all of the bottles from the evening feedings, and get myself ready for work by 6:00. Then the little guy needs to get his meds, change his clothes, and eat. I ideally feed him, snuggle for the remaining half hour before we head off to daycare by 7:00. Ideally is the keyword here.

Most mornings don't go that smoothly. Especially if he wakes up crabby, then the morning routine needs to be tweaked a little bit. Imagine me pumping, washing dishes, and getting ready with a squirmy worm in a carrier on my chest. 

This is where Baby Einstein comes in. I found these (used) DVDs at the Just Between Friends sale this past Tuesday. (Note: if you are a mommy, you should go to these sales. Love them! But, more on that later.) My oldest niece loved Baby Einstein when she was little, so I figured I'd give them a shot! As you can see, G. loves them as well. 

Happy Baby, loves learning about animals.

Soaking up all of the information

He sat like this for 30 minutes!
With all of his new information, I can expect him to be talking soon.
Right?

Happy Friday everyone.

A special thank-you to creator of Baby Einstein!

Love,

Mothers everywhere

The Martyr Mom

While listening to an old radio broadcast, I was hit smack-dab in the face with something. And that is the "Martyr Mom" attitude.

Growing up as a little girl, I knew what I wanted to do in my life (besides work at the small Country Store on the corner in Chester) and that was to be a mommy! I couldn't wait to have a baby of my own. I even went so far as to construct a husband made out of a broomstick, complete with a crayon-drawn paper face. I then stuffed a basketball up my little shirt so I could be "pregnant". Once I had that precious Cabbage Patch baby, I pretended to give it pills to make it stay small forever. Not kidding... It was my way to make playing house more "realistic", because what kind of baby stays the same size forever? Right?

Oddly enough, I gave birth to a baby, not much (if at all) bigger than one of those Cabbage Patch dolls. He is sweet, lovable, happy, and an absolute miracle! Sadly, I find myself coming home at the end of my long days at work and I kick into martyr mode.

I seem to fall into the trap of thinking that if hubby sees me cleaning, doing endless piles of laundry, taking the late-night feeding shift, and keeping myself in a semi-attractive state, that I should receive a shiny gold star! Some of you feel like that too, I have heard it before. The attitude of "I did this, now you have to do that for me". How exhausting! Where is the team-work? Doesn't that kind of sap all of the happiness out of being a parent?

Well, I found the "me-focused" words coming out of my mouth the other day! Eeek...hold the phone! Not me! Did I JUST say that? Truth be told, I have thought those words more times than I have said them.

Do I want to be the martyr mom who grumbles around the house, complaining about all of the things I have done for my family? Do I want to just "get through" life, not stopping to enjoy the precious times with my two handsome guys? No, absolutely not. It is a choice that I, as a mother have to make. I have to decide each day, if I will do all of the mommy tasks with a thankful heart, or a grumbling heart.

After longing for all of my life for a little baby to call my own, I want to be fully present! I want to enjoy each moment. After all, he is a gift. Something I so desperately wanted!

So will my bed get made everyday? Mmmm...probably not, but I will do my best to make my home a happy one.

By the way, I have found that by leaving the TV off, I have more time to spend with my family AND I can stay on top of the cleaning tasks each day! What a revelation.

Happy Thursday!