Archive for March 2009

Flashback Friday

Friday, March 27, 2009


Last year on March 27 I was taken by ambulance to Spectrum Hospital in GR because of major swelling in my legs and feet, which developed into fluid in my lungs and shortness of breath. All of which ended up being a result of kidney failure.


this is what started it all:



(goodness gracious that is embarrassing)



After 66 hemo-dialysis treatments a few weeks of PD, tons of tests, hundreds of vials of blood taken, 3 blood transfusions, 9 surgeries, an amazing sister and support system, and thousands of prayers.....here we are a year later!

Praising God for skinny ankles!

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happy anniversary

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

to me!



today marks one year of blogging for me.



when i started this blog a year ago it was a way for me to get my thoughts, feelings and memories down in writing and became a great way to express myself therapeutically.



Then after my kidney's failed it turned into a way to keep friends, family and strangers updated with out having to make a hundred (or so) phone calls a day. And also a great way to relay prayer requests.



Today it is (at least I think it is) a true testament of God's unfailing love and goodness. When you read this journey from beginning to end, which I know many of you have, how can you not see the love of God unfolding before our very eyes? This story has come full circle; from a major loss to a major gain. All within a year.


It seems to me like now would be the perfect time to end this blog. To leave it with the "happily ever after' ending. But then I remember this isnt just a story, its my life and life keeps on living no matter what. And God's name is to be praised no matter what.


The song "Our Hope Endures" by Natalie Grant is the story of my life this past year. Natalie reads my blog and wrote it for me. Ok, so maybe that last part is not entirely true but it could be.

Please read the words, I have a feeling you will find the message it gives oddly familiar.


You would think only so much can go wrong

Calamity only strikes once

And you assume this one has suffered her share

Life will be kinder from here

Oh, but sometimes the sun stays hidden for years

Sometimes the sky rains night after night

When will it clear?


But our Hope endures the worst of conditions

It's more than our optimism

Let the earth quake

Our Hope is unchanged


How do we comprehend peace within pain?

Or joy at a good man's wake?

Walk a mile with the woman whose body is torn

With illness, but she marches on

Oh, 'cause sometimes the sun stays hidden for years


Sometimes the sky rains night after night

When will it clear?

But our Hope endures the worst of conditions

It's more than our optimism

Let the earth quake

Our Hope is unchanged

Emmanuel, God is with us

El Shaddai, all sufficient

We never walk alone

And this is our hope

But our Hope endures the worst of conditions

It's more than our optimism

Let the earth quake

Our Hope is unchanged

God is faithful to us, we will never walk alone. If we just endure our hope in Him even through the worst of conditions he will be our Emmanuel, and our El Shaddai.



Emmanuel, God is with us!

El Shaddai, all sufficient!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your prayers throughout this past year.

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baby love

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Thank you so much for all of your kind words of congratulations! We really appreciate your prayers over the next few weeks as we anticipate the arrival of our son and also for S, the birth mother, as she faces this difficult road ahead of her.
Did ya catch that?!?! our SON! its another boy!! Brenham is going to have a little brother to watch over!
We are so in love!
~again, twitter and POA readers...you already know this :)~

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He Has Given

Friday, March 13, 2009

**if you are a 'project open arms' reader, you already know this **


there is this website I visit that has a bible verse for the day, I usually log on and check out the verse of the day right away in the morning along with checking my email. March 5 was a really good verse and I wanted to share it with you. It is from Isaiah 25:1 "O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago."
God has done marvelous things for us! You see March 5, the same day I read that verse on the website, Robb and I found out we are going to be parents again through the miracle of adoption!
The newest member of our family is expected to arrive sometime this Spring!!

I am just BURSTING with JOY.
My heart is OVERFLOWING with LOVE.
We are PRAISING His name.


God's plan is so perfect.
Just four short days after the 1 year mark of our son's death the Lord answered our deepest desire.



"The Lord gives and the Lord takes away my heart will chose to say "Lord blessed be your name!"







"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Ps. 37:4).

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Broken and Mended

Monday, March 9, 2009



Broken

"Our beautiful life had shattered.
Broken pieces lay around me like silent
reminders of what had been.
Slivers of love and security lay in
one corner, while bits of companionship
and mirth had fallen to the side.
So much of value was irretrievably lost.
I stared at the mess, daunted by
the dreadful destruction of my life.
Dare I pick up the pieces? Dare I try
to put them back together again?
Broken fragments glittered in the sunlight,
as if mocking my loss.
Could the glue of perseverance and hope
hold the fragile pieces together?
Was it possible for life to continue as it had before?




..... And Mended Again

Hope glimmered at the edges of my mind.
Maybe, just maybe, some of the broken fragments
could be pieced together again.
They might form some semblance of a whole.
Not as they had been before. No.
But, nonetheless, something good and useful.
I measured the damage, checked out the ruin,
and pulled out my glue gun.
A dash of faith here, a dollop of good-cheer there,
a bit of fortitude spread all around, and voila!
A new existence had been created.
Endurance had triumphed over emptiness, and
a whole had blossomed from the broken pieces.
Cracks still remained, and sometimes the
glue pulled apart at the edges. But, even so,
victory had been won, and life was good once again."
~sandra barker

Praising God for mended bodies and hearts!

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Birthday Boy~

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Brenham's birthday weekend started out on Saturday by dropping off all the hats and blankets to the hospital!
There was an overwhelming total of 154 hats and 54 blankets! You guys rock! thank-you so much.

While we were there we went to meet my cousins new little girl, Rowan, here she is wearing one of the precious hats! Congrats John , Jill and Trey! We are so excited that Rowan could be the first baby to receive a Brenham hat!!


it was such a beautiful day on Saturday, perfect for the balloon release! We ended up deciding not to attach the messages to the balloon itself because there were SO many we thought the balloon might not even move! Instead we will be putting them in a cute little box next to the headstone.







Our families came for cake and we had a nice time celebrating together.



Sunday on Brenham's "official" birthday we spent the day at home just the two of us.


Thank you so much for all your many thoughts, prayers and messages over the weekend, we apprecuate you more than we could EVER express. God gave us so much strength and we could feel all of your prayers all weekend long! Thank You!

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Wordless Wednesday

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

My laptop is undergoing a minor (or possibly major) repair and I dont have access to all my pictures, so brenham's birthday weekend post will have to wait. but for now....


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Sunday, March 1, 2009





We are spending today as a family.
I can't wait to tell you all about our wonderful weekend.

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