… give them to God! I can’t tell you how many lemons I’ve given to God recently. A few, reluctantly. Not that I wanted them, but sometimes even negative things are hard to let go of. Whether for selfish reasons or that you really don’t think God wants your lemons. Well, He does! I’m going to have me a nice tall glass of lemonade when I get to Heaven… cause God makes my lemons into sweet lemonade!
Last September one side of my neck became stiff. It was after a concert at Old Threshers where I had my head tilted up for a long time. I thought it would go away in a couple of days. Nope. A couple of weeks? Nope. A couple of months? Nope, again. After 7 months I was really starting to consider seeing someone about my neck (go ahead and laugh). I got a new pillow that is SO awesome and comfy (HIGHLY recommending latex foam!!) that took my neck pain away for a few days, but never totally. Then I got to thinking that I forgot to pray about my neck. DUH! That should have been done before. Well, I prayed for my neck for a couple of days on some scriptures, and I didn’t pray anymore over it. I had come to live with it for that long that I had been compensating my actions for it for months that I forgot about it. About a week later I went to crack my neck (go ahead and shiver those of you who don’t like that thought!) and I did it… on both sides! I said out load “whoa! my neck doesn’t hurt!” All day I kept bending it, and I still am. Every now and then I bend my neck one way to make sure it still doesn’t hurt. Just sayin’…….
Several years ago (like… TEN!) I got my nails done in a salon and I picked up warts of some sort. Gag.. I know. They attacked my nail beds. I never new that’s what it was until January this year. I just assumed my skin was really dry around my nails. I tried to keep them lotioned up, and covered with bandaids, but it didn’t work. They had also spread to my hands lower down around 3-5 years ago, I can’t remember exactly when I spotted them. I kept them covered up the best I could so they wouldn’t spread them to anyone else. I had just been dealing with these things and they just kept spreading on my hands. Good-bye self confidence. I hated meeting new people. I hated being around people who might notice my hands. Most didn’t, even my family. It restricted me socially and it drove me crazy! I had tried the treatments, freezing, nothing was working for me. I thought to myself then… well, my neck is better… let’s give it a try on my hands! So I started praying over my hands and getting rid of things that were weighing me down in my life. Mostly negative thoughts and anxiety. My hands went crazy. My warts became red, itchy and VERY obvious. It looked like I had gotten into some poison ivy. After a week of this I called the dermatologist up to schedule an appt. I’d have to wait a month (I think it was) to get in. UGH! Each day was a nightmare. Band aids on my hands trying not to scratch. Of course I still went to God in prayer about them. Some days in tears. I told the warts to leave me and that God didn’t want me held back by such ugliness. A couple of days after I scheduled the appointment a little voice said to me.. “cancel the appointment.” It was God. I looked at my hands and said “Are you kidding me?! I have faith that you can heal me… but just incase.. I had better keep it.” He kept coming at me telling me to do it, I wouldn’t listen. About 2 weeks ago my warts started dying… all of them. My finger tips look completely normal, minus some redness from scarring. My hands are looking almost normal as well. Just some spots from scarring again. Every day, MANY times a day I look at my hands and smile. Ah.. these are God’s hands. I can’t wait to paint my nails again. I didn’t before because it drew too much attention to my hands.
Oh, the appointment…. God made sure I wasn’t going to it anyway. On Thursday last week we found out Alex had a PDA, they just happened to have an opening VERY soon to fix it, yesterday. The same day my appointment was to be. So, I had to call and cancel the appointment last Friday. The receptionist was kind of taken back when I told her I didn’t want to reschedule. I was already thinking about canceling it anyway after the warts started dying, but decided not to incase they just wanted to look them over. Guess there wasn’t a need. Part of me wants to reschedule just so I can show them what happened, but I don’t want to pay for something that I know is fixed. That’s some good lemonade!
I’ve been taking this attitude with me everywhere now. After we found out about Alex’s PDA I immediately began to pray for him since I knew what to pray for healing over. I prayed for that vessel to close for 5 days. He had put on 10 ounces in those days when we weighed him again on Tuesday.
With Alex’s PDA they thought it was rather large by the echo done on Thursday and instead of using a coil or several coils that a plug would be a better choice. This wasn’t going how I thought it should go. I kept my head and eyes up though… and a smile on my face. Not one tear did I shed yesterday Ok, I shed one… his 1st smile after the procedure.
Ok, on we go… more about the procedure… Alex was given some medication that makes him loopy. I guess it makes him kind of drunk or something so he’s easier to put under. That was pretty hilarious. He went under around 11:45. Poor silly guy was laughing at me under the mask. I held his hand until he had a regular breathing pattern and was asleep. Said a prayer, kissed his hand and left him in the care of the team. Joe and I sat for awhile in the waiting room and read our Bibles. Psalms mostly.
Around 12:45 we got a message on our pager saying that all the lines were in and he was doing great. At 1:20 we received a message again saying they were done. We came back and waited and talked to the doctor. Alex’s PDA was not as big as they thought and they only needed one small coil because it was partly closed. Thank God!!!
They brought him out in a little bed. Poor guy was cranky and didn’t know what was going on! We went to recovery in the PICU around 2 where Alex was not happy. We knew we had to keep his leg straight for a few hours since they went in via the groin area… but forgot and he started kicking and caused himself to bleed again. Joe and I both got a little light headed, but I think it was from standing so long bent over his bed. I got a chair and Joe got ice. I brought me phone out and played the Baby Einstein Baby Bach cd which he sleeps to every night and just loves. He calmed down right away. I was thanking God at this point that my baby came back to me.. all fixed up. We were there for about an hour and then got moved to a room on a different floor. MUCH better. I was getting worried that we would have to spend the whole time in recovery with drapes pulled around us and other people all over.
We got everything, or rather the team, got everything hooked up and Alex got to lay in a bed that was bigger and nicer with more room. Not that he needed it. He was still so sleepy from everything. He had given up on moving that leg so we didn’t have to watch holding it as much. Around 3:30 I fed him and he went to sleep for a couple of hours. He got an echo and slept through that as well. We got to see the coil in his heart doing exactly what what is should be doing in exactly the right place.
It was really weird being there again. Looking out our window and seeing the windows from top to bottom across the way and remembering our time in the NICU with him just 11 months before.
So, Alex will have a recheck in 4-6 weeks with the Ped. Cardiologist. In 6 months the walls of Alex’s heart should look totally normal. We are so blessed that these kinds of things are coming about and are available. It’s just amazing.
I debated awhile on sharing these things, but I came across this verse yesterday, Psalms 25:3 “Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.”
And now…. photos and video!!
My brother’s graduation cake. This took…. awhile. I didn’t get pics of the other one. 
Some photos from my cousin’s wedding on the 22nd of May… 
My husband’s birthday was on the 24th. We had pizza at the park and he did a little photo shoot with me. Love that man!
Ah, childhood….. 
Gardening brought about the discovery of some very cool creatures…. and their “shells”. 
In about 2 days we had 7x more than this…..
Alex being silly… 
Because babies love their pictures taken while they eat. 
The best way to get to the toys is from under the exersaucer.
And here’s my baby…. after his cath procedure.
Please watch this video from the day Alex went in. Alex is such an awesome little dude!!
That’s all I have for now… God bless!!!
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