Heart of a Mom » Those Are The Breaks!

The LORD Provides Above And Beyond…

cc — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:32:29 +0000

Almost three weeks ago, BC’s truck died. Well, temporarily died. He spent some time trying to replace the alternator, but it was very difficult getting to it because of the way the truck was situated. I have always appreciated how BC tries to fix things on our cars, I mean, vehicles…for some reason I tend to refer to most vehicles as “cars”. He has successfully replaced numerous alternators, but this one posed a real challenge. So, having no alternative, we let it sit, and he took the Suburban to work. We hoped to take it to a mechanic soon, but it was early January, and we typically do not have enough money saved in our emergency fund during this month.

Wait! We did have one alternative to our alternator problem…prayer. So, we earnestly prayed as a family. It had been a long time since the days of only one mode of transportation. The one day I needed the car, I dropped BC off at school. Later that day, BC received a call from a friend. He told BC that an anonymous person wanted to take care of our car. All we had to do was take it to a certain auto shop. What a praise! We managed to get it to the shop by charging it several times along the way. I followed him in the suburban. It only took us one and a half hours, but we were thankful we got it there.

Two days later, we received the call from the shop that his pick-up was ready for pick up. Wow! That was fast! we thought. The owner told BC that he fixed the alternator, a power steering leak, and put in a new air conditioner. BC was amazed, and slightly shocked! We all were. A new A/C is expensive. BC had been without A/C in his truck for awhile. It had been on our list of “things to fix”. That night, when we went around the table sharing our favorite part of the day, Daddy shared about the surprise blessing we had received from the LORD! We all praised the LORD for His goodness. He not only meets our needs, but also goes above and beyond even what we might expect. God always provides!

Broken Ice Maker Produces A New Fence!

cc — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 15:55:08 +0000

Two years ago, we bought a nice, new fridge. Well, my sweet parents gifted us with half and we paid the other half. This was a huge blessing, as our old fridge was 15 years old and slowly jogging along on the verge of a collapse (another appliance on borrowed time scenario). The new fridge was huge and it was a special blessing because we bought a cool ice-maker (and one on the outside door) for the first time in our married life.

Actually, we had an ice-maker in the first place we lived after we were married. Some dear friends of ours from church moved to California for a short while. They asked us to “house-sit” and all we needed to pay for was the electricity and water. This four-bedroom house was a blessing to us. Being a light sleeper, I sometimes would wake up and wonder what was the source of the noise I just heard. Poor BC. Misery loves company, so I would wake the soundly sleeping man lying next to me and ask him, “Did you hear that? What was that noise?” And almost every time, he would mumble out that it was just the ice-maker.

When we lived in our first apartment, I remember hearing a noise, so I woke up BC. He replied with the usual: “Just the ice-maker, honey”. But then I woke up and realized we didn’t even have an ice-maker in that apartment! He actually got out of bed for that noise! So, for the last two years, when I have occasionally heard a noise downstairs, BC has truthfully said, “It’s the ice-maker.”…and I have believed him…until recently…

Well, they say the ice-maker is the first to go…after about two years…and it was. Thankfully, we bought the extended warranty at Lowe’s. So, I called the fix-it dude out to see if he could repair or replace it. He quickly determined that he was not able to fix it because it had literally frozen up. So, he said he would talk to someone and try to order a new one, and that I would need to defrost the fridge if he could get the part in. Eh…I was a little bummed as he told me to call him in a week and a half if I did not hear back from him before then.

So, I waited, and we served our guests room-temperature refreshments. I reminded my crushed family and myself that water would freeze again someday, and we would survive. After all, it was just ice. I meant to buy some at the store, but unfortunately, I had brain fog when it came down to remembering to buy it. Just two years prior, we were making our own ice and I regretted getting rid of those plastic ice cube trays.

Ice cube trays…my mind floated back to childhood days as I remembered how we were the ice-makers! How many times had we filled the ice cube trays growing up? And how frustrated were we to find them empty. My favorite memory of ice cube trays was making homemade ice pops. First, we steadily tried to pour lemonade or Kool-aid equally into each container. Then, we tried to arrange the toothpicks “just so” (one per cube). Last of all, we carefully carried this magical science experiment to the freezer. Every ten minutes, I’d pop my head in the freezer just to see if our ice pops were ready. After watching the process (the thin layer forming on the top, etc.), it was now time to break the ice. When I was asked to perform the bending of the ice mold, I felt like I also was breaking out from the mold from “weak child” to “strong conqueror”. Seriously, those ice pops were transforming! How my heart melted when years later I watched my children concoct their own yummy homemade ice pops.

Wow! That was a major bunny trail through some icy patches there. Sorry about that. Let me get back to the story about the fridge (also called “ice box” by older generations)…

So, I got a call a week later and they (Lowe’s) wanted to let me know that I had a merchandise credit (like a gift card) at Lowe’s for the amount that I spent on the first fridge, and that I could keep the other fridge! This was a huge blessing! So, we bought a new fridge on sale. It was a little smaller than the one we previously had purchased, but it had a good ice-maker. Because of this, we had money left over on the Lowe’s card to buy fencing supplies for our much-needed backyard fence. Isn’t it marvelous how God provides solid answers to prayers by allowing things to break? We are counting our ice cubes, I mean …blessings (including the new fence posts, and the second fridge). (I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice…!)

Last weekend, we all joined forces to put up the new fence. We had such pleasant weather, and a great time together (although homemade ice pops would have been cool). Check out Michelles’s blog for pics…

Moms…And theTools of the Trade

cc — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:19:39 +0000

While driving to church meeting the other day, one of the lenses on Faith’s glasses fell out. The screw was still in the side, but unfortunately, I did not have my “handy dandy” small screwdriver. While I was looking for something else that might work (like duct tape), Faith suggested that I use my fingernail to twist it back in place. “Well, that just might work,” I thought. Sure enough, my fingernail transformed into a screwdriver and her glasses were fixed! That was a first for me in the mom business!

How about you? Have you ever had the convenience of using a screwdriver at your fingertips or am I the ~~screwy~~crazy one?

Faith: Twelve Years Old!

cc — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:01:52 +0000

Where does time go? My baby girl is twelve today! Here are a dozen things/memories I love about Faith:

On her birth…Well, naturally, the day she was born…naturally. We named her Faith because I had hemorrhaged with my previous pregnancy, so we were taking a big step of faith believing God would deliver her, and deliver me also. The doctor told me she didn’t think it would happen again, but there were no guarantees. Oh, Faith looked just like a baby doll—so precious! And we had a healthy baby and Momma! Praise the LORD!

On her second birth…The night she came into our room (about 11:00 p.m.), and awakened us by exclaiming, “I said it!” I thought she had said something bad, and I told her it would be okay, and that Jesus forgives us if we just ask Him. But she said, “No, I mean I said it. I prayed to ask Jesus to forgive my sins, and be my Savior.” She had been wrestling with this decision for awhile. It was a happy night indeed! We were thrilled to be awakened by the fact that she was awakened to her need of a Savior! It was the night before she turned seven. We were thrilled that she now would celebrate two birthdays (physical and spiritual)!
On her common sense…At six years of age, she broke her pinkie finger with a basketball. She said she was doing the pinkie splits (she’s double jointed) with her hand on the stairs, and the basketball that she had placed on the stair above her, rolled down and dropped on her pinkie…kind of giving her permanent pinkie splits! The orthopedist said that it was so far removed from the other fingers that he needed to reset it,and he gave her a pink cast to wear! The cast was removed and the orthopedist’s instructions of “No P.E. for two weeks” seemed to also be removed from my daughter’s hearing. As soon as we had arrived home, I witnessed her perform a one-handed cartwheel. When I quickly reminded her she wasn’t supposed to be using that hand, she said, “I know, that’s why I only did a one-handed cartwheel using my other hand.”

On her vocabulary…One time when she was about three, we were driving down the road. I said, “Look at all those bluebonnets!”

Faith piped in “…and ‘yellow bonnets’ too!” There were also yellow flowers!

On animals…I love to watch her play with dogs, cats, bunnies, lizards, and frogs. She loves them! I remember the time she caught a lizard and asked me if she could keep it inside. I let her keep it for a day, then we let him go.

On her favorites…She loves her family, mysteries, sign language, sewing, crotchet, drawing, memorizing Scripture, computer games and of course, puzzles.

On strength…She is very strong. The boys are hoping they can one day beat her at arm-wrestling!

On her music…She is very musical. She whistles, sings harmony by ear, and plays the lap harp, recorder, and harmonica.

On humility…She is cute, and smart. I told her when she was about three, “You sure are cute!”.

She said, “And I’m smart, too!”

On shots…The way she took her shots so well at the doctors. One day they had to draw blood, and she was so into it. She was watching them take blood, and commented on how neat it looked. The nurse was amazed at how a three-year-old was so good for all of that. Years later, she did almost faint after a blood draw. I caught her, and she rested in the hallway of a medical building. Thankfully, a nearby nurse from a different office brought her ice. More importantly, her blood tests came back normal! I remember feeling so relieved!

li>On art…She is great at drawing, and with scissors. She used to be my human paper shredder. Of course, there was the time she cut her hair right before prayer meeting…yikes!

She is such a super helper. She loves to clean and organize, and really sticks with a project until it’s completed. Thanks, Faith!Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Faith with her hand-sewn quilt.

My Trip: The Ups And Downs

cc — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:29:26 +0000

I seem to have fallen behind on my blog; I’m sorry it has been so long. Did you think I fell off the face of the earth? It kind of felt like I did, but I’ll get to that later. Believe me, it’s not because there is not a lot going on…quite the opposite! I haven’t known exactly where to start, as life can be embarrassing at times, but here I go!

Recently, one of my friends asked me to give our ladies group a pep talk on exercise and health. Her request gave me a good belly work-out from all of my laughter! Let me explain. In early December, I went with BC to work out at the gym. I wasn’t looking down, but out, as I stepped up and on the treadmill; unfortunately, it happened to be in motion at the time. So…down I tumbled. It felt like the carpet had been pulled out from under me, but wait..this was no ordinary carpet. It was a magic carpet ride, and I wasn’t getting off until I went up and down at least three times before flipping off the killer machine…ouch! BC said I was laughing all the way. I suppose I usually laugh, even when I am in pain (or embarrassed). I’m weird like that. Did I mention that I had just told BC that I did not really want to be noticed because I had what I thought was shingles near my right eye? So, our conversation home went something like this:

Me: How come you never fall, honey?
BC: (long pause) Uh, well, maybe I am just a little more observant, sweetie.
Me: (resorting to childish talk) It’s not fair, I tell you! The last time you fell seems like we were in college!
BC: This is why you are a perfect person to have a blog. These things just happen to you. Have you thought about calling your blog: “The Fall Girl”?

So…the busy month of December, and some residual back soreness from the above-mentioned trip, encouraged us to add a little more winter fat as we took a vacation from exercise, and then a trip to New Mexico.

We had such a nice time visiting with my G.G. and G.P., and being with family (although we especially missed our Tennessee family). We continued north and we all stayed at a lovely, cozy 5 bedroom home in Ruidoso, New Mexico. We had great fun at a winter park there where we went tubing down the hills. Small.jpg”>I had a nice time digging an ice fort with some of the kids, but the altitude was hard to get used to.

Well, an opportunity came to go skiing, and three of our girls wanted to try it out. None of us had ever been. BC had a bad feeling about it (and I did, too), but we needed someone to watch and help them (or so we thought). So, I went with the older three (crazy, huh?), and BC stayed and planned to play in the snow, or go on a hike with the younger two. Our youngest was safe in the care of Nonnie and Uh-Oh back at the house (he was having some trouble with the altitude, as well as my two small nieces).

I had just nervously signed the consent waivers, and received my skis and poles. We were all walking out to the snow, and I had a choice to ski down the little incline (bunny hill) or to walk down. I had one ski on (whoa!). I hesitated. My brother-in-law suggested we all ski down. My wise sister suggested we walk. Did I fail to mention that I have never been on skis before? Well, I saw everybody skiing down the “cliff”, I mean, baby hill, so I went along with the crowd! I thought: Why walk when you can fly, right? WRONG! I flew on my skis for 5-10 seconds before I crashed!

I believe the saying: “It’s all downhill from here” is not referring to skiing, maybe running, biking, or mountain climbing, but things did not get easier for me…as the saying could imply! My left ski was behind me, my knee turned in and I heard popcorn popping (oh, about 6 times), then felt severe pain in my left knee, and it all went downhill from there (notice context). I was told that I landed in an awkward position, and I was face-down in the snow…screaming my head off. My sister stopped to help me, and she took my skis off (evidently, they don’t always come off when you fall down). I couldn’t move the leg. She hailed the first aid sled to come pick me up (and snapped this picture of me…nice, eh?).

I thought: This can’t be happening. Where are my girls? Are they okay? My sister said she would help watch the girls. She was great, and I agreed that I needed to listen to her more, but knew the blame was all mine!

I was greeted by a friendly first aid dude that was kind enough to flatter me by asking me if I was 19. It helped for about a second. Then, the pain returned, along with the realization that I am not 19! He was getting me wrapped up for the ride (like a papoose), when a young girl (5 years or so) ran smack into both of us (my knees, his hands). The man and I both screamed loudly, then the little girl screamed. I tried to assure the girl it was okay, but I stumbled to find words. Well, I found words, but the pain made me talk like a slow robot: “It’s…o…kay…swee…tie!”

When I got to the first aid station, they put my knee into a cardboard splint, then proceeded to ask a lot of questions. Questions like:

“Do you fall often?”:)
“In your own words, tell me exactly what happened.” ?
And my favorite…”What could you have done to prevent this?”
I answered the last question with this reply:
“I have no idea…never ski in the first place?” Well, that didn’t go over well with one of the ladies there. She insisted that I needed to come back and take lessons, and she spent some time trying to work out a deal for me so I could come back. I told her honestly that I doubted I would ever ski again (I was putting my foot down!).

Well, in walks my twin…feeling my pain. She saved the day by giving me some Motrin. Then, my sweet brother comes in. One of the first-aid helpers had a knife in her hand and jokingly stated, “It looks like we are going to have to amputate!”. My brother quickly retorted, “That’s enough of that, Judy.” (or whatever her name was). I laughed, but it hurt to move. My brother can always make me laugh!

So, they told me they were having a time trying to find BC. I stopped laughing. My brother went on a second quest for him, but I was told that many people seemed to look like BC. So, it took some time. They gave me some ice, and I was okay as long as I didn’t move the knee at all. My dear twin offered to drive me down the mountain (45 minutes to nearest E.R.). I hesitated. I would be scared to drive down that mountain. I am inclined to think that the saying: “It’s all downhill from here” (meaning it gets easier) also does not apply to driving down steep and twisty inclines. Therefore, I declined her offer. I told her that I wanted BC to drive me, and I would just wait and pray.

The gang at first-aid helped me into my twin’s minivan, but I was still waiting for BC. Just then, BC came running to the van with the kids. Hallelujah! My brother had just found him in the parking lot! As BC and our two youngest kids were walking to the car to put away the leftover pizza, BC offered my brother some pizza. My brother quickly insisted: “Sure, I’ll take the pizza, but you need to run as fast as you can to that brown van down there. CC is hurt.”

So, BC took me to the E.R., and my brothers and sisters watched our kids. They had a great time skiing, and building a snow fort! I love my family. Thankfully, no one else got hurt. However, there was a packed E.R. with only one doctor. We were there for six hours! We were pleased that the x-ray showed no breaks, but it was a sprained knee (possible meniscus tear or MCL tear…on the inside). They gave me a brace, pain meds, and crutches. The next day we were to travel to Abilene to see our dear friends. My sweet mom and dad offered to take me in their car, so I could stretch out. I was very glad! I have become aware of how marvelously complicated the knee is, which God constructed, and thankful that it wasn’t any worse. It continues to get better every day.

The biggest “down” part of our trip was hearing that my sweet grandmother and wonderful G.P. were in a terrible car accident. A young man ran a red light, and slammed right into innocent G.G. They flew her out to the trauma hospital where they did emergency surgery on her. Her hips, shoulder, ribs, and foot were broken. Our hearts were breaking over her broken body. We could not even imagine her pain. I had some pain in my knee, but I knew it was incomparable to hers! She is recovering, but it is a slow road. Please pray for her as she heals now in rehab, and that the Lord, our Healer, would mend her bones! Like is full of twists and turns—some more pleasant than others! I continue to thank God for His purposes for our pain, and His faithful presence…even when we fall!

Another Toe Woe…Or How Benjamin Was “Framed”

cc — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 03:20:58 +0000

Last Friday, as we were preparing to head out the door, I heard a thud in the upstairs hallway. I yelled, “Is everyone okay?”

Benjamin uttered (as he hopped downstairs), “Uh, no, not exactly. A picture frame just fell on my toe…and it really hurts!”

His answer, combined with a sweetly squeamish niece yelling about the massive trail of blood, immediately put me in a first-aid frame of mind! I took one look at the deformed frame of his pinkie toe and the deep cut and started to think you know it’s been a long time since we visited our helpful friends in the E.R. I hollered for someone to bring me a towel as his blood continued to drip onto my white Capris (and my niece was still hollering about the blood that was everywhere). So, basically…lots of bleeding was going on. Paige brought me our well-stocked first-aid kit. I asked Ben to please look away as I applied pressure, gauze and a pressure wrap. I prayed aloud for his toe and for wisdom. I told Ben that it looked like he was going to need some stitches because the cut was extremely deep (his toenail was just about off). He was very brave. I carried him out to the car and all the kids followed.

I ran back inside to get the pain medicine. Then, I popped in the Suburban, and Ben popped in some Tylenol. I had remembered a time when I was in the E.R. waiting room with my other son, and the triage nurse could not give him any pain meds. until the doctor had approved it. So, I was relieved I remembered to administer the pain-reliever. You just never know how long it takes in there.

The Lord really provided for us. I was scheduled to watch my twin’s children, but I did not have them that day. They were shopping with their Grammy. So, we were all able to fit into our Suburban. I dropped my girls off at Choir Camp (one minute from our house). On the way to Choir, Paige had reminded me about a new and nearby hospital. It was closer than the “usual” E.R., and not crowded. I called a friend for help with directions (I had left my G.P.S. at home). She had recently delivered her baby at that hospital, and told me how to get there. I was thankful that she was home, and had picked up the phone.

When we asked him how he was “framed”, he told us he accidentally hit the frame in the hallway with his hand, and it fell down (the corner piece cut inside his pinkie toe…no glass was broken). The guy who took Ben’s x-rays told him to quit rockin’ the house, and knockin’ picture frames down. This brought a smile to my boy’s face. I was glad to see Ben smile:)

How Ben Was “Framed”

While playing a fun game,

With his hand he did aim,

At Michelle’s picture frame,

And booming…down it came!

She was not to bear blame.

At least Ben was not maimed.

He shouldn’t bear any shame,

For it was just a game.

The kids were acting tame!

It brought Ben some toe fame.

But made him somewhat lame.

Will his toe be the same?

This bad poem just came…

Sorry, that it’s so lame!

Four stitches (some Dermabond), four kids, and four t.v. shows later…I was able to pick up the four girls on time from music camp. PTL! I am thrilled no bones were broken. I felt bad, and somewhat surprised, to hear that this was my nieces first “field trip” to the hospital!

No matter what happens to my kids, good or bad, I know it’s for a reason. Ben came home and asked if he could go upstairs for a “Quiet Time” (time of prayer and reading the Bible). The Lord knows what we can handle. He truly is our Strength!

Warning: Below is a picture of Ben’s toe. Of course, it’s not one that you would want to put in a picture frame, hang on a nail, and then drop on a nail or anything like that. Our get well card to Ben says: “Get Nail Soon!”

A new shoe...to boot!

Duct Tape To The Rescue

cc — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 19:08:14 +0000

Paige wrote about our first experience with the breaking of a fluorescent light bulb last night in her post Light Saber vs. Light Bulb. I remembered hearing about evacuating because of the mercury, but the cleaning up was somewhat involved. The following page was helpful in our cleanup battle. Duct tape was used to pick up the tiny pieces and dust on the carpet. I absolutely love duct tape, but I never thought about using it to clean up glass breaks on the carpet. It did a great job! However, this situation made me think about all the times duct tape has been so useful in my life. Okay, so maybe it’s not useful on air ducts, but household repairs- absolutely! We have fixed tables, chairs, brooms, dust pans, and dresser drawers to name a few!

I must admit that I really do love and use duct tape…for more than just household repairs. One time, it came in handy when Paige’s I.V. pump needed to stay in place during the night (or should I say wee hours of the morning). The tape that the doctor gave me ran out, but a little duct tape worked just fine. Our surprised oncologist laughed the next morning, as he just shook his head and said (in his educated-sounding British voice): “I must admit, I have never seen duct tape used in this manner before, but, it does…indeed, work!” He also gave me more tape:)

Another time it came in handy was with Bradley’s broken arm. My advice is that you save your child’s cast, even after it has been removed. At our follow-up appointment, the orthopedist wasn’t able to take x-rays with Bradley’s cast on, so he took the cast off to see if it had healed properly. He told me that Bradley’s arm had not quite healed, but to just keep him (the three-year-old) from running for one week or so. Hello? Keep a two-year-old from running, you say? That’s crazy talk.

So, there I was in a predicament. He took off my son’s cast, yet told him he couldn’t “take off” (run around like he does). Just before the orthopedist took off, I cast a disapproving grimace in his direction, and asked him if I could put duct tape on that old (thankfully waterproof) cast, and put it back on him. He said that would be fine, because he agreed that it still needed some more healing time! Bradley absolutely loved wearing the cast, and didn’t mind that it was duct-taped. Thankfully, it was cooler weather, so his long shirt covered up his cast! So, he wore it for one more week. That piece of duct tape gave me great peace of mind.

I was even able to repair my boys’ toy rifles and swords with a little duct tape. I even remember using duct tape on one of my boys diapers for a few weeks. I bought generic diapers, and half of them did not have Velcro to hold the diaper on (only on one side). So, being the frugal mom that I was, duct tape saved our hides! The duct tape went into the diaper bag, and stayed there for awhile.

Lately, I have heard of all sorts of “quacky” (okay, some of mine probably qualify too) things that you can do with “duck” or “duct tape”. There is even a scholarship contest if you come up with a prom dress made out of duct tape. So, I guess I’m not the only one! My grandfathers and fathers were very influential with their high praises, and creative uses, of duct tape. I guess their opinions really stuck…like duct tape. I still remember how cool I thought duct tape was because you didn’t need scissors to cut it—you could just tear it with your hands!

What are some ways you have used duct tape? I’d love to hear about it. Yes, and the classic nerd in me has used it to temporarily fix my glasses. But shhhh…don’t tell.

Well, I’m off to hopefully make some neat duct tape wallets with the boys!

Strawberry Picking

cc — Wed, 05 May 2010 13:15:24 +0000

Believe it or not, we were wearing jackets when we went strawberry picking last week (April 27)! On a day like this…simple pleasures…who would want to check their cell phone, right? Well, Paige has more to say about our day in her post. What a “berry” nice day it was!

We had a lovely time being with our co-op group, and spotting the beautiful “seas” of vibrantly-colored flowers along the way!

Texas Bluebonnets

So "Bluetiful"

The “Eyes” Have It!

cc — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:36:22 +0000

Our four girls wear glasses. Thankfully, they are not the 3-D glasses (as seen in above picture). You see…BC and I started this family “tradition” of wearing glasses when we were kids. We think it is only a matter of time for our boys to continue the “tradition” (in the near, as opposed to far, future). One of our girls, Grace, found out that she needed to wear glasses in a very nontraditional way.

Yesterday, I took Grace to our ophthalmologist for her yearly check-up. As the new assistant was testing her vision, I asked him to be sure to check her pressures because of her eye trauma history. He said, “Was that the water balloon?” My eyes popped out in surprise…even the new guy knows about us! I replied, “Yes…the water balloon incident.”. He then added that he was reading about that in her file (oh, what interesting medical files we provide our medical providers with!). I am thankful to say that the Lord saw us through that dark day.

It was the first week of summer…2006. It also happened to be Faith’s B-day. My husband absolutely loves summer and water balloons (he will have to share his story later). We had a fun time at Peter Piper Pizza for lunch, and then we started having water gun fights in the afternoon with our neighbor. Then, the kids asked if we could have a water balloon fight. So, we all decided to make a trip to Wal-mart (our neighbor went, too) to buy some water balloons. When BC eyed a water balloon sling shot there, he thought…”The kids are going to have a blast with this thing!”. Needless to say, we didn’t see eye-to-eye on this matter. However, I didn’t want to spoil the fun on Faith’s birthday, so as I rolled my eyes, I tried to limit the negative comments. Looking back, I think it was only $7.00. What a deal, right? Wrong!

We returned home, and the “water balloon fest” preparations began. Every sink and faucet was being used to make water balloons. It looked like we were starting a small balloon business (we kept them in ice chests). We were slinging them over to his house, and he was slinging them over to ours. Of course, this was all in fun…harmless summer fun, or so we thought. I had a bad feeling about this one, and had made the comment to BC…”You don’t think we will shoot an eye out, do you?” So, we even implemented a rule to keep it safe. There was only one rule: Only throw water balloons when the other side knows you are throwing them. We were also afraid that the actual sling might fling into someone’s eye, so we attached one side to a steel bar. Next thing we knew, all the neighborhood kids were coming out. Please know, I really don’t fault BC. Even though we’ve read the David and Goliath story, we thought we were doing all we could to keep it safe.

On our team, there was the girl down the street, and all eight of us. Her mom, dad, and sister had just walked down to meet us (eyewitnesses:)). I think Kane was there watching/encouraging us and trying to stay dry. Our neighbor “D” across the street had about seven neighbors and friends helping him. Water balloons were flying high. We were flying high. Then, we called a time-out to refuel (make more balloons). Grace was a quick water balloon filler-upper, so she went right to work. However, there was a neighborhood kid who just couldn’t resist the tempting water balloons (either he didn’t play by the rules, or he didn’t know the rules–not sure). So, he sent one flying over and Grace never even saw it coming (as she was filling up water balloons). It hit her left eye, and she was in a lot of pain! Her eye was very red, and watery (and it wasn’t from the water inside the balloon). When she said she couldn’t see anything, it was “lights out, party is over” time.

The saying: “It’s all fun and games, until someone gets hurt” is painfully true. I didn’t even want to think about the velocity of that balloon. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I knew I wanted to get a second pair of eyes to check her out. I gave her a bag of frozen fruit to put on her eye, and we hustled off to the E.R. (no ambulance necessary). It was about 6:30 p.m.

I was signing Grace in at the E.R., and she was standing on my left. I happened to notice, out of the corner of my eye, what appeared to be “blueish-purplish blood” that had dripped down from Grace’s eye to her forearm. She and I loudly gasped at the same time…thinking her eye was bleeding…then we remembered what she had on her eyes…a package of frozen blueberries…that had a twisty-tie at the top! Seeing that frozen bag, quickly unfroze our fear as we shouted out in unison, “BLUEBERRIES!!!!” I’m sure the other people in the room (who were “all eyes” now) thought we were fruity, but we sure did enjoy a “berry” good laugh together. Yeah…I didn’t think her eye would bleed like that, but believe it or not…I haven’t seen everything!

After waiting in the E.R. for awhile, the doctor said I would have to see an ophthalmologist the next day, because all they could determine was that she had definite eye trauma (Duh, right?). In all fairness, they said they just didn’t have the right equipment to see the extent of the damage. When I asked them if they would call our family ophthalmologist (primarily for Paige), they assured me that none of them work after hours. I just asked them if they might call this particular one and ask him for me. I had seen him probably over 40 times for Paige’s left eye (cancer, cataract surgery, glasses, eye-drops, etc.). Well, they called him, and being the good and kind ophthalmologist that he is, he agreed to meet us at the office at 9:00 p.m. Yeah! I was praising the Lord!

I was so thankful we could see him, because he put her on pressure-reducing and steroid drops immediately. He called it an eye hyphema (hemorrhage). Her pressure was high, and he said she could lose sight in that eye and hemorrhage again (esp. high risk during day 3-5) if we didn’t keep her very calm, head elevated, eye covered, and rested for two weeks. Also, there was risk of a possible detached retina. So, we did as we were told, and we kept a close eye on her eye!

That was literally the darkest two weeks of our lives! We covered all our windows with blankets. Everyone had flashlights. We basically felt like we were moles living in a cave or workers in a coal mine. We learned about bats, caves, and coal-miners during this time. Grace could watch some movies for a certain amount of time per day, so we mostly watched the Little House on the Prairie Series. Interestingly enough, the episodes were about Mary going blind. We also listened to stories, and took turns reading aloud…by candlelight. I think I checked out 150 books from the library during those two weeks!

I learned a lot about my kids during this resting time. I was thankful that Grace’s sisters and brothers were so thoughtful of her, and graciously accepted the fact that we would be inside for awhile. When it happened, Grace couldn’t figure out why that boy would have done that to her. She softened and went from somewhat of an “eye for an eye” attitude to a more merciful one. I was really glad Grace found it in her heart to forgive the boy when he eventually asked for her forgiveness.

Grace-Summer 2006

Grace ended up needing glasses, and she was so happy about that! We purchased glasses that turned into sunglasses, because for about two years…the sun continued to hurt her left eye. She was eight at the time, and her left pupil was considerably larger than her right one. Two years ago, we noticed it is pretty similar to the right one. The doctor said it probably would stay like that forever, but again…the Lord knows and sees all things.

By the way, her recent check-up went fine. Because of the accident, she has a higher chance of developing glaucoma in that eye; so, we make sure it gets looked at once a year. I would encourage the use of safety goggles, even swimming goggles, to offer some added protection…if you should decide to take up the sport of slinging water balloons. We had a fun time, and we were out there supervising this activity. Our story proves that it really could happen in the blink of an eye! The leading cause of blindness in children is related to eye injuries. Just in case you think this can only happen to us, there are 500,000 eye injuries each year.

When we walk through dark times, God is always with us. During this time, I was especially encouraged by the beautiful hymns written by Fanny Crosby, who was blind. Two favorites…”Draw Me Nearer” and “All The Way My Savior Leads Me”. Also, the hymn, “His Eye Is On The Sparrow” was especially sweet.

I was also encouraged by Gennie Owens, a contemporary Christian singer. Here she sings one of my favorite songs. When I went to her concert years ago, I had the privilege of thanking her for being so encouraging with her music. She is also blind, but she plays piano, and sings such sweet songs. It really helped me change my outlook. Of course…I am thankful that Grace can say both physically and spiritually “I once was blind, but know I see…Amazing Grace…!”

\”If You Want Me To\”

100 Things About Me and How God is Good in the Clouds of Life

cc — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:39:31 +0000

In the tradition of blogging, when you get to your 100th post you are supposed to write “100 THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF”. So, here goes…

1.) I almost drowned at my sixth birthday “pool party”.

2.) The funny thing was that I accepted the dare to swim across the pool in a floaty race.

3.) A funnier thing was that I offered my floaty to my opponent…because she didn’t have one.

4.) Funniest of all, was my sweet mom (who also could not swim) jumping in—with her clothes on—to save me!

5.) My parents made me join the swim team.

6.) I learned to swim, and I swam fast (esp. when there was a snake swimming right beside me). I later became a lifeguard, and taught swimming lessons.

7.) When I was in ninth grade (at high school), I took a fall down the stairs, from the top to the bottom, and broke three of my ribs.

8.) I found out my kidneys were refluxing (I had three ureters), and had an operation to fix it. One kidney was the size of a quarter on the X-ray. They told me that at least I had one. One year later, my little kidney miraculously recovered and I had two normal-sized kidneys. This was the first time I realized that nothing is impossible with God! The doctors even called it a miracle.

9.) I wrecked my first car.Thankfully, nobody got hurt.

10.) It was raining that day.

11.) You know, I still don’t enjoy driving in the rain, and my younger sister still doesn’t enjoy it when I drive.

12.) I was in drama in high school, and I got the lead in the Jr./Sr. Play.

13.) I played a new high school teacher in “Up the Down Staircase”.

14.) I must have liked it, because I have a degree in teaching, and I am currently teaching high school to Paige.

15.) However, the real drama started when I had kids. I had no idea, when I joined the Drama club, that I would be a lifetime member!

16.) More drama came when I had a miscarriage.

17.) I was told I wouldn’t be able to have any more children (when I only had two). The LORD is so good and in control…I have six blessings!

18.) I hemorrhaged with my third and seventh child. These were close calls! Praise the Lord for His mercy to me!

19.) Then…the most painful experience ever…kidney stones were developing. I had to have one surgically removed.

20.) More drama came when my oldest was diagnosed with cancer in 2002.

21.) The doctors initially thought it was allergies, and I had to ask for an MRI.

22.) More drama came when I attended funerals for children…

23.) Some (total of ten) of our little friends who had lost their battle with cancer.

24.) My heart was breaking.

25.) It really was.

26.) On our Make-A-Wish trip, I realized I couldn’t breathe very well.

27.) An elderly couple passed me when we were hiking on Mount Rushmore.

28.) I jokingly told my hubby that I wanted to die in Texas.

29.) I seriously knew something was wrong.

30.) I thought I was out of shape.

31.) I had a lot on my plate at the time (I mean this figuratively and literally)

32.) But I didn’t think it was my heart.

33.) However, my gynecologist thought it was my heart.

34.) She is the one who discovered I had a problem.

35.) When she was listening to my heart, she said it was irregular:

36.) Atrial fibrillation.

37.) She told me to go see a cardiologist.

38.) I told her my husband always makes my heart skip a beat, but I hesitantly set up an appointment with a cardiologist.

39.) At first, the cardiologist reassured me that it was probably nothing more than caffeine-caused.

40.) I drank Coca-Cola at this time. Not to mention, that I also consumed way too much chocolate!

41.) My excuse for this was that some nights I had very little sleep.

42.) I had six kids who sometimes needed assistance at night.

43.) Particularly the one going through chemo. and the baby.

44.) So, I had some tests done on my heart, just to make sure everything was okay.

45.) I was familiar with the wait that often occurs after tests are performed.

46.) So, I had gone by myself to get the tests done.

47.) I did not know the doctor would give me my results that very same day.

48.) He did…and the results were that I had a hole in my heart, probably since birth.

49.) He told me that a lot of people don’t know they have this problem, and they are usually dead by my age. Nice, huh?

50.) He told me I really should have died giving birth to my first child, or running in high school.

51.) I said, “It sure felt like I was dying giving birth to my first child, and running in high school!”

52.) I was feeling okay, but…broken.

53.) Kinda like I got a defective part.

54.) I was determined to smile in the face of adversity.

55.) I left the office, and I was driving home on the busy highway.

56.) I started griping to my Lord. “Why this road, Lord?”, I asked.

57.) I told him things like: “Haven’t we paid enough to the medical profession?”

58.) A truck in front of me had some voting signs in the back.

59.) Just then, one sign flew up and covered my windshield.

60.) My prayers changed drastically.

61.) The sign flew off (that’s one dangerous way to get people to vote).

62.) However, it was there for seven very long and scary seconds or so.

63.) I told the Lord that He could have taken me right then.

64.) I told him I wouldn’t complain anymore.

65.) Mostly I didn’t, but sometimes I would forget…(remember, He is the only perfect One!)

66.) Jesus gave me peace about the situation.

67.) I told many to pray for my husband.

68.) He was really helping me out a lot.

69.) I was taking it easy,

70.) And popping aspirin and Plavix (to avoid a blood clot).

71.) I had an operation to try to try to mend the hole in my heart.

72.) The procedure was performed on our wedding anniversary.

73.) Operation was not successful.

74.) I was thankful to still be alive. There is no 100% with surgery.

75.) The hole was too big for the Amplatzer device.

76.) They told me they needed to order a different part.

77.) I suggested going to Auto Zone over O’Reilly Auto Parts.

78.) They laughed, and thankfully did not take my suggestion.

79.) I recovered from the first failed operation.

80.) I had another operation to fix the hole.

81.) This was a somewhat experimental operation.

82.) I told the doctor I knew where I was going, and I wasn’t afraid to die,

83.) but that I had put in my request with the Lord that I might finish my job as a mother of six.

84.) Operation 2 was done over Spring Break.

85.) Operation 2 was unsuccessful.

86.) The new part would have caused more problems than it was worth.

87.) I was a little discouraged,

88.) but told myself that God sees the big picture.

89.) I knew it must be for a reason.

90.) I slowly recovered from that surgery (my femoral arteries wouldn’t stop bleeding, so they had to apply tremendous pressure.)

91.) They signed me up for open-heart surgery.

92.) I had it on Mother’s Day weekend—2004.

93.) I referred to this time as Mother’s DayMONTH!

94.) Everyone was so kind.

95.) The operation was successful. Praise the LORD!

96.) I could breathe like I never could before. The body SO compensates.

97.) The Lord really does see the big picture!

98.) Had they done it the other way, they would have missed the second hole that they found.

99.) I am thankful that my heart trusts in Him…my Savior and my Lord. He has been with me all the way! I put my trust in Jesus at a young age by believing that He died on the cross for my sin, and He rose again on the third day. I have hidden His word in my heart, and I have enjoyed a daily relationship with Him. I have witnessed so many answered prayers. Since that time, there has been no fear of death, but many close calls. It has been reassuring to know that He holds the keys to life and death!

100.) How is the status of your heart? Find peace and hope and life in Jesus!