Operation: Asa Joy

Where to begin? My heart is so full. This year- a year of so much change. A year of so much testing and trials. A year full of plans changing and going ways I never thought. A year that should have, in the world's eyes, made me bitter and angry. A year where God has taught me more about joy than in all the years I have been on the earth combined. A year for which I am the most thankful in my 41 years walking this earth. I have learned more and cried more. I have prayed more and read my Bible more. I have shared more and gained friendships with some of the most wonderful, encouraging, awesome ladies in the whole world. They have prayed with me and for me. They have fed me when I could not get out of bed due to overwhelming sorrow and physical pain. They have cried with me and grieved the loss of our precious Asa. They have shared with me their stories of victory and also their insecurities. I have cried with them at the waywardness of one of their children. I have p...

Every year since we have moved down to North Carolina we have traveled to Maryland for Thanksgiving. My mother-in-law loves Thanksgiving, as in it is her favorite holiday. Last year we went up for over a week because Carl had just lost his job. This week we were planning the same thing. We were planning on leaving Monday morning. That was until Alex had his post op appointment. The doctor told us absolutely not. He would be at risk for blood clot and infection and injury if he moved around that much and sat in the car for 6-8 hours. WE had a feeling that was going to be the case but we were hopeful. Alex's foot looks great but the doctor said for us not to be deceived into thinking he can be up and moving yet. It was discouraging for Alex to hear. He has two more weeks of laying around with his foot elevated and icing all day. The actual surgery sites look good. You can tell from the x-rays just how much better his foot is. He actually has a little bit of an arch now. I could t...

The surgery was a success. Alex is doing very, very well. I am actually a little surprised at how well he is doing but then I remember how big my God is and that he can do anything. We got to the surgery center at 9:30 and got all checked in. Alex had no problem getting into the hospital gown. Previously that has been an area of anxiety for him. The nurse talked to him about what was going to happen and then she started to bring out the stuff for the iv. He did not freak out but outright refused to allow her to put it in. I sent out a quick Facebook post asking for prayer. They came in a little later with some medicine to calm him down. We were told that if he did not take the medicine and get the iv in that they would cancel his surgery. My stress level went from a 5 to about an 11. We talked about it and he finally took the medicine. We waited for the medicine to take effect and Alex and I had a conversation about consequences and blessings. Let us just say that when the nurse came...

I f you are reading this and attend our church then I am sorry for the repeat. It was just easier for me to copy and paste the information. There is more at the bottom. Oh my. What a week. We have all been busy preparing for Alex to have foot surgery tomorrow. You don't think about all that goes into having surgery until you have to get prescriptions, buy cast covers for the shower, buy extra pillows to prop up his leg, pack a bag for him and for me, and a multitude of other things.  So here is the deal. Alex is having his right foot and lower leg operated on tomorrow morning around 11:30. We have to be there around 8:30. They are fixing his very severe flat foot. The doctor is making an incision several inches below his knee to do some work and then they will work on his heel and foot where they will have to do bone grafts.  We will be at the Rex Outpatient Center in Cary most of the day. His surgery is a 3-4 hour long procedure. He has always been anxious about any m...

Do you ever have those times in your life where you are so sure of the way you think the Lord is leading you and you think He is just going to fling open the doors for everything to fall into place? Then, he doesn't. Yeah, those times lead to a choice. A choice to wait on the Lord and learn the lessons He wants you to learn in the waiting with joy and thanksgiving or to dwell on the negatives and get frustrated. Well, this week I have been impatient. I thought we were going to sell the house the first week and be on our way to greater things. Well, that is not what the Lord has planned for us. It seems that He has some lessons for us to learn in the waiting period, I think mainly for me. Is anyone else a person that has to learn lessons the hard way? There has to be someone else out there like that. I think He is trying to teach me about how important prayer is. I am having to go to him in prayer multiple times a day when the impatience and frustration arises in my heart. Prayers ...

These people! The Lord has chosen fit to bless me greatly with 9 children and a wonderful husband. Asa is in heaven waiting for us but he is just as much my child as the 8 who I have had the wonderful privilege of holding and nursing and hugging. Today I thank God for my children and my dear husband who is on this journey towards joy with me. I thank God for the hope that one day we will finally meet our Asa Rend. I look forward to that day with great anticipation. Praise the Lord. Very funny, William. He is just like his father.

As we go into the month of November I wanted to reflect on some lessons I have learned in the past few weeks. The first thing is that I actually like my family, especially my husband. For the past month or two Carl and I have been able to spend LOTS of time together. I have enjoyed it so much. It is nice planning field trips together and taking our kids out to learn things. We went to the Ft. Fisher Aquarium this past Monday and then to the Museum of Natural Sciences on Wednesday. It was great tag teaming between the little kids and the big ones. Everyone worked together and we had a great time. Carl has had Army duty since Thursday and honestly, I miss him. We had a showing both days and it was quite hard trying to get the house in order with 8 kids running around. I finally resorted to buckling the little ones in their car seats in the van while the older kids and I rushed around getting the house ready.  We have been learning team work as it really does take all of us to get th...