Happy Tuesday to you all! It has surely been quite the week since last I posted. Sunday night I could tell that our sweet little Butterfly Girl was feeling off. She was pulling at her ears and very clingy. I knew in the morning that she would probably have a cold of some sort. I was not expecting what I had gotten.
Monday morning when she awoke, she was struggling to breath. She was very wheezy and tight in her chest. I could see her retracting at the ribs. She wanted to do nothing but sleep. It wasn't looking very well. So into the hospital we went. At the Emergency room we were seen quickly. They got us right back and started an asthma treatment. Then we were ordered chest x-rays and a steroid. Once those were done we were given another asthma treatment. After both of the treatments were given her pulse oxygen numbers plummeted. She wasn't responding well to the medicine in the treatment. We were told we needed to get admitted.
We ended up spending until Thursday afternoon in the hospital. Pneumonia. Nasty, Nasty, Pneumonia. It wasn't fun. We did however miss some of the worst snow of the season while we were there which was nice. Because of the pneumonia we weren't allowed to have the door to the room open and the doctors and nurses had to suit up in order to give her care. It was not a fun experience, but we made. We were released and were so excited to be home.
Friday night was ended up heading back to the ER. Poor Butterfly Girl was throwing up, had loose stools more then I can count, and was just really shaky. The doctor came to the conclusion that she had gotten a bacterial infection from the antibiotics. The antibiotics were not only killing the infection, but the good things in her body. So we made a plan!
All the while, everyone else had come down with the 24 hours flu bug one by one. All 7 of us ended up having it. It was miserable.
Yesterday we went for a follow up at the doctors office and it was determined that Butterfly Girl has what is called Reactive Airway Disease. From my understanding is that if she gets the common cold she will probably get it for weeks instead of days. It will put us at a bigger risk of getting things like bronchitis and pneumonia. We were given a daily medicine to help combat this and hopefully help us not spend so much time in the hospital and getting sick.
As of today I can say everyone is healthy! Everyone is feeling better! We praise the Lord for that! He is the great healer! He is mighty to provide. Prayers that we all continue to stay this way would be greatly appreciated.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Thoughtful Thursday: Be A Blessing
This morning I woke up and had on my heart how I could be a blessing to someone today. I spent time talking and eating breakfast with my husband. I snuggled a two year old on a crazy sleep schedule. I was still thinking. I was still searching how to be a blessing. As I read my devotions, God started speaking to my heart.
I was being a blessing already. When you pour your life into someone else. When you show love and kindness you are being a blessing. By spending time eating breakfast and chatting with my husband I was showing him he was important. That I value the time we get to spend together even if it's early in the morning. I was blessing him and he was blessing me. I was blessing my daughter by snuggling. I was showing her she is important. She is worth the time. I was blessing her and she was blessing me.
You see, there is no need to do go around the world being a blessing. Yes, that is for some people. Some people spend their whole lives in other countries blessing the people of this world. It is not for everyone. How are you being a blessing. Are you blessing your spouse and your marriage? Are you blessing your children? What about the people you work with or strangers you pass? Are you being a blessing?
I know that yesterday I was far from a blessing. I let the negative start to my day run my house. I was short on patience and every one knew it. I am human and at the end of the day I had to ask forgiveness. I needed to look my children in the eye and say I am sorry for being crabby. I'm sorry that I was quick to anger and to punish. It was not one of my better days.
You can be a blessing in small ways, you can be a blessing in BIG ways. I encourage you to start at home today. Start in your marriage. How can you bless your spouse? Can you write a sweet note? Can you send an encouraging text? Can you buy flowers, candy, or a card? What about spending some time today just talking to your spouse without interruption? If we can start in our home, blessing those we are close to, we can be much better prepared to bless those we do not know. Those that may need us more then we know.
Be a blessing. Tell me what you did today to bless your marriage. I would love to hear from you! Let's make this world a better. Let's be a blessing.
Be blessed.
Dany
I was being a blessing already. When you pour your life into someone else. When you show love and kindness you are being a blessing. By spending time eating breakfast and chatting with my husband I was showing him he was important. That I value the time we get to spend together even if it's early in the morning. I was blessing him and he was blessing me. I was blessing my daughter by snuggling. I was showing her she is important. She is worth the time. I was blessing her and she was blessing me.
You see, there is no need to do go around the world being a blessing. Yes, that is for some people. Some people spend their whole lives in other countries blessing the people of this world. It is not for everyone. How are you being a blessing. Are you blessing your spouse and your marriage? Are you blessing your children? What about the people you work with or strangers you pass? Are you being a blessing?
I know that yesterday I was far from a blessing. I let the negative start to my day run my house. I was short on patience and every one knew it. I am human and at the end of the day I had to ask forgiveness. I needed to look my children in the eye and say I am sorry for being crabby. I'm sorry that I was quick to anger and to punish. It was not one of my better days.
You can be a blessing in small ways, you can be a blessing in BIG ways. I encourage you to start at home today. Start in your marriage. How can you bless your spouse? Can you write a sweet note? Can you send an encouraging text? Can you buy flowers, candy, or a card? What about spending some time today just talking to your spouse without interruption? If we can start in our home, blessing those we are close to, we can be much better prepared to bless those we do not know. Those that may need us more then we know.
Be a blessing. Tell me what you did today to bless your marriage. I would love to hear from you! Let's make this world a better. Let's be a blessing.
Be blessed.
Dany
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Being Equipped
Isaiah 45:5-6 says this: I am the Lord; there is no other God. I have equipped you for battle, though you don't even know me, so all the world from the east to west will know there is no other God. I am the Lord, and there is no other.
There are many moments throughout daily life where I sometimes do not feel equipped for certain situations. Those are little things. Then there are those times in life where I certainly do not think I am equipped to handle certain situations. There are so many questions. So many ways to parent. So many ways to be a wife. There are so many ways to go about life. Homeschooling, running businesses, raising up children, and being a woman of faith. Am I equipped?
My two year old has exhausted all of my "go-to" discipline techniques. She truly is a child of her own accord and I was certainly not ready for everything she has thrown my way. She is very strong willed. I no longer had the tools to deal with her behavior and endless curiosity. This is somethings small. Every day.
Butterfly Girl's CVI was something that I was not equipped to handle. I was not ready to raise a child that had special needs. I was not ready to raise a sweet girl that had limited to no vision. I just wasn't ready. This is a big event.
I can not be equipped by my own power and make it through the day. However, I am equipped by my Lord. He has equipped me with everything that I need for this battle of life and let's face it. Life can be a battle. Sometimes we struggle to get a meal on the table. Sometimes we struggle to discipline our children with love. Life can get ugly. Life can get brutal. There are times where we we feel like the tools for battle are missing.
I tell you this. Turn to the Lord. He has equipped you with everything you need for the moment. He has given you peace, patience and love to discipline your children. He has given you the the gift of grace so you can forgive yourself and others. The Lord is your most powerful tool. He has given you his word in which we can find strength in all things. Read it. Pray it. Hold onto the Lord. You have the tools to face every day battle. You have the tools to face even the toughest adversities in life. I have been through some of the roughest times in my life in the past year. If it were not for my faith I would have never been able to survive. God gave me the tools.
Know that you are equipped. Stand strong in faith.
Be Blessed.
Dany
Monday, January 14, 2013
Hard Work
As I sat last night at our kitchen table having a conversation I learned something about myself. About everything possible. I can not even say this something is newly learned. It is more of something I am now seeing in a different light.
Growing is hard is work. Not in the sense that getting an inch taller is hard. No, I'm speaking at more of an emotional, spiritual level. It is hard work.
It is easy to spend my day going through the same old routine, being mad at the same people I have been mad at forever, dwelling in the past and having no hope for the future. It would be much easier to say hey, things aren't going to change so I might as well keep on going.
It is when we decide to work on those things that the work because hard. It is not easy to change our way of thought. It is not easy to break old habits. It becomes unbearable sometimes. Changing brings on tough conversation. Changing brings out what is truly on the heart. Changing means that you have to deal with the past and work towards the future. Sometimes change is messy, some times it is hurtful.
In the end change is good. In the end it is worth it. God will carry us through. Relationships will be healed. Our own self confidence and acceptance will be better then ever before! The work to emotional and spiritual change is difficult. We tend to lean on our own understandings. We are creatures of habit. We are sinful by nature. We can, however, put in the effort it takes to change. We can call upon our heavenly father, we can gather friends and family, and we can make a commitment.
I know that I am working daily to try to change habits that I have relied on more then my God. I am trying to heal wounds that I thought were healed, but they were only healed on the surface. I am working hard at making my faith more prominent and trying not to lean on my own understandings.
Take the journey with me. I will be there for you. We can be there for each other. Take on the hard work of changing emotionally and spiritually. God wants a relationship with you. If you have one with Him, take it a step further. Make that relationship even more intimate.
Be blessed.
Dany
Growing is hard is work. Not in the sense that getting an inch taller is hard. No, I'm speaking at more of an emotional, spiritual level. It is hard work.
It is easy to spend my day going through the same old routine, being mad at the same people I have been mad at forever, dwelling in the past and having no hope for the future. It would be much easier to say hey, things aren't going to change so I might as well keep on going.
It is when we decide to work on those things that the work because hard. It is not easy to change our way of thought. It is not easy to break old habits. It becomes unbearable sometimes. Changing brings on tough conversation. Changing brings out what is truly on the heart. Changing means that you have to deal with the past and work towards the future. Sometimes change is messy, some times it is hurtful.
In the end change is good. In the end it is worth it. God will carry us through. Relationships will be healed. Our own self confidence and acceptance will be better then ever before! The work to emotional and spiritual change is difficult. We tend to lean on our own understandings. We are creatures of habit. We are sinful by nature. We can, however, put in the effort it takes to change. We can call upon our heavenly father, we can gather friends and family, and we can make a commitment.
I know that I am working daily to try to change habits that I have relied on more then my God. I am trying to heal wounds that I thought were healed, but they were only healed on the surface. I am working hard at making my faith more prominent and trying not to lean on my own understandings.
Take the journey with me. I will be there for you. We can be there for each other. Take on the hard work of changing emotionally and spiritually. God wants a relationship with you. If you have one with Him, take it a step further. Make that relationship even more intimate.
Be blessed.
Dany
Saturday, January 12, 2013
1 week!
I think that in life it is important to set realistic goals. Any one that knows me personally knows that sometimes the goals I set for myself are a bit on the crazy side. The amount of help I want to give my children, other family, and my husband was making things a bit crazy. I have a hard time saying no. I hate hurting people's feelings. I don't want to disappoint people. I never really thought about how this was affecting my life, my health, or my family.
I have spent a lot of time in the past six months sick. It seems the minute I get over something, I catch something else. I have also spent the past six months wanting to do nothing but sleep. Ever day I woke up feeling as though I could sleep another ten days. I was constantly crabby. I was wearing myself thin every day. I stayed up until 2am working, I would get up at 6am to get things done before the children got up and we started school. I wasn't giving my body adequate rest. I wasn't allowing my immune system time to fight anything off.
I am a slave to my lists. I am a slave to my schedule. It is my type A personality and the OCD that I suffer from daily. Having multiple lists is not out of the normal range for me. Having things scheduled to the minute is not out of normal for me. Something needed to change.
I vowed that this year was going to be the year I work on getting more sleep, being content when things don't get done. Over the past two hearts the strings on my heart have been being tugged. Quietly as I sat in prayer I was told it was time to let go, just a little. I really needed a change. This is hard for me. I still have a schedule that we stick to. The difference is that when we get off schedule I try to just breath, pray, and become okay instead of freaking out. I still have a list. I have a daily list of things I need to do. I have a list of extra things that I would like done if there is time. I have a list of business things that need to get done. Each of these lists have their purpose and importance in the way I get things done. I did, however, have four children and my memory sometimes lacks me. I am trying to feel comfortable with myself if not everything gets done. Even if one thing gets done it is a good day.
The Lord was laying on my heart that my health, marriage, and children were more important then any schedule or to do list. First things first. My health. If I didn't start trying to get more sleep and be healthier my marriage and my children would continue to suffer from a sick and crabby mommy and wife. I know an adult needs the average of 6-8 hours a night. I was getting 4. My first step was getting to bed at a decent time so that I could still get up before the kids. The problem here was I would sit on my iPad or phone until I became tired. So I vowed to shut them down so they would no longer be a distraction. I can proudly say that I have done this for a week! I feel so much more rested. I feel happy. I feel more accomplished. Now it's to early to tell if I will get sick less often, but hopefully with proper sleep that will be the case.
The accomplishment of this goal is huge! I have been set in my ways for so long. My schedules and lists give me control. Give me a sense of order. Give me a sense of belonging because I have things that people are counting on me to get done. I needed that reminder that I do not belong to schedules or lists. They do not give me love. They do not give me encouragement. The people in my life do! My husband and my children! They matter. They count on me to be healthy and happy. They count on me to be the best me. My husband was surprised the first night I came to bed early and he could actually talk to me before we feel asleep. I forgot it mattered. I forgot it was important.
It's only been a week. I know new habits are hard to form. I know that I will slip and fall and go back to my old ways. I will need gentle reminders to go back to this place. I am human.
Be Blessed.
Dany
I have spent a lot of time in the past six months sick. It seems the minute I get over something, I catch something else. I have also spent the past six months wanting to do nothing but sleep. Ever day I woke up feeling as though I could sleep another ten days. I was constantly crabby. I was wearing myself thin every day. I stayed up until 2am working, I would get up at 6am to get things done before the children got up and we started school. I wasn't giving my body adequate rest. I wasn't allowing my immune system time to fight anything off.
I am a slave to my lists. I am a slave to my schedule. It is my type A personality and the OCD that I suffer from daily. Having multiple lists is not out of the normal range for me. Having things scheduled to the minute is not out of normal for me. Something needed to change.
I vowed that this year was going to be the year I work on getting more sleep, being content when things don't get done. Over the past two hearts the strings on my heart have been being tugged. Quietly as I sat in prayer I was told it was time to let go, just a little. I really needed a change. This is hard for me. I still have a schedule that we stick to. The difference is that when we get off schedule I try to just breath, pray, and become okay instead of freaking out. I still have a list. I have a daily list of things I need to do. I have a list of extra things that I would like done if there is time. I have a list of business things that need to get done. Each of these lists have their purpose and importance in the way I get things done. I did, however, have four children and my memory sometimes lacks me. I am trying to feel comfortable with myself if not everything gets done. Even if one thing gets done it is a good day.
The Lord was laying on my heart that my health, marriage, and children were more important then any schedule or to do list. First things first. My health. If I didn't start trying to get more sleep and be healthier my marriage and my children would continue to suffer from a sick and crabby mommy and wife. I know an adult needs the average of 6-8 hours a night. I was getting 4. My first step was getting to bed at a decent time so that I could still get up before the kids. The problem here was I would sit on my iPad or phone until I became tired. So I vowed to shut them down so they would no longer be a distraction. I can proudly say that I have done this for a week! I feel so much more rested. I feel happy. I feel more accomplished. Now it's to early to tell if I will get sick less often, but hopefully with proper sleep that will be the case.
The accomplishment of this goal is huge! I have been set in my ways for so long. My schedules and lists give me control. Give me a sense of order. Give me a sense of belonging because I have things that people are counting on me to get done. I needed that reminder that I do not belong to schedules or lists. They do not give me love. They do not give me encouragement. The people in my life do! My husband and my children! They matter. They count on me to be healthy and happy. They count on me to be the best me. My husband was surprised the first night I came to bed early and he could actually talk to me before we feel asleep. I forgot it mattered. I forgot it was important.
It's only been a week. I know new habits are hard to form. I know that I will slip and fall and go back to my old ways. I will need gentle reminders to go back to this place. I am human.
Be Blessed.
Dany
Friday, January 11, 2013
Words from a 6 year old
Our family has been studying Deuteronomy 30:19-20 which says
"Today you have been given the choice between life and death,
between blessings and curses. No I have called on heaven and earth
to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life,
so that you and your descendants might live!
You can make this choice by loving the Lord you God, obeying him,
and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. "
As we were studying this verse yesterday morning, I asked each of the children what this verse meant to them. My oldest at 6 gave this insight to the verse.
"God gives us his good Key. He gives us the Key to do nice things, to love others, to help others, to obey mommy and daddy. Every morning before we get out of bed we have to make a choice. Do we want to keep God's key or trade it for the devil's key. If we trade it for the devil's key we will make bad choices."
Wow, I just kind of stared in amazement at her answer. Then just as I was about to speak again she continued.
"If we choose to trade our God key for the bad devil key then bad things will happen in our day. We will get sent to our room, we won't get candy, and we might not get a special toy we wanted. We will have people who are mad at us and things will be not happy. We can trade keys at any time. If we don't like the devil key because we got in trouble we can ask God to forgive us, change what we were doing, and he will give us his key back."
Again I just stared in amazement. Her little heart has always been a place spiritually that I could never seem to understand. We have raised her in the church her whole life, but this type of knowledge to me seems just naturally given. I almost feel like she has a better understanding of a relationship with God then I do.
She understands. Every single day we have a choice. We can choose to follow God, Obey his commands for our life, and be firmly standing in his plan. As adults I think we forget that it is a choice. We wake up and just go about life. Do we stop to think about our faith every morning? Do we say to God, today with your grace and love I will walk with you, I will obey you? God gave you the key to life! God gave you the key to do good. Are you going to trade it?
The words of a 6 year old. Sometimes children have a better insight because they are not bogged down with legalistic thinking and adult problems. You may even say "Yeah easy for a 6 year old to say", but I think it is easy for any of us to say if we want! We can make the choice. We have to make the choice. The future of our children, our household, communities, and the world are counting on it.
Be blessed
Dany
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Going back
This morning I spent some time going back to what started this blog in the first place. I went back those days and weeks where we were not quite sure what was wrong with our baby, buy we knew something was wasn't right. I produced tears of heartache reading through all the emotion that was felt in those days. I also cried tears of joy.
CVI has changed our lives. It will forever be a part of us. It will affect our daughter. It will always have two sides. It will have it's blessings and it's curses. It will never go away.
We are reminded every day. Some days worse then others, that her vision isn't perfect. Her vision even when present is poor. Last night, while at a skating party for church, I let Butterfly Girl down to walk. Her spirit is strong. She doesn't want to let her vision hold her back. She is a normal toddler wanting to explore. She doesn't know her that she can't do things like other kids. By her side I followed her every where she wanted to go. Stopping her as she walked into people she couldn't see, Stopping her from running into walls that she didn't know where there. Then all of a sudden, a light went on in her head and she could see. She dashed straight for the rink floor with so much as bumping into anything. She wanted out there. She wanted to skate like daddy and her siblings. This balance of letting her be a toddler and trying to protect her are tough. We don't want to hold her back from learning about this amazing world, but we also do not want her hurt.
CVI has changed us, but we will not let it bring us down. We will stand firm in the promises God has made for us! We will stand firm in knowing that God has control. He sent us down this path because he knows we can do it.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5-6
This is a verse that I have leaned on a lot in the past year. I do not need to understand why this happened. I just need to trust in the Lord with everything I have. I need to seek him. I need to just keep asking him what next step it to take. I need to keep pouring my heart to him and he will see me through. What an encouragement I have in the Lord. CVI may have changed our life, but it certainly wont change who we are.
Be blessed
Dany
CVI has changed our lives. It will forever be a part of us. It will affect our daughter. It will always have two sides. It will have it's blessings and it's curses. It will never go away.
CVI has changed us, but we will not let it bring us down. We will stand firm in the promises God has made for us! We will stand firm in knowing that God has control. He sent us down this path because he knows we can do it.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5-6
This is a verse that I have leaned on a lot in the past year. I do not need to understand why this happened. I just need to trust in the Lord with everything I have. I need to seek him. I need to just keep asking him what next step it to take. I need to keep pouring my heart to him and he will see me through. What an encouragement I have in the Lord. CVI may have changed our life, but it certainly wont change who we are.
Be blessed
Dany
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