Here It Is!!

Our church was challenged to give back to our community in ways that would show others Jesus' love. We were all given money and asked to use it for God's glory. After much thought, our family chose to buy gifts for the children that come through the Prosthetics and Orthotics Department at Shriners Hospital for Children where our Hannah is cared for.  After each visit, the children get to choose a toy from the gift bucket.
(Click the photos to enlarge)

They were so excited to receive the toys for the children. And after only 2 hours, all the toys we brought were almost gone!! It was such a joy seeing a little girl walk down the hall with one of the toys.
(If you'd like to help donate toys for the children at Shriners Hospital of Tampa, please let me know!)

Here is the first leg of the day....Hannah was anxious to put her new flip flops on her new flip flop-wearing-leg!!! This is the first time she's been able to wear flips flops on both feet. (She's been known to wear one of my flops around the house on her left foot :) This prosthetic foot is designed with a small space between the first two toes in order to make wearing flip flops a reality!

We were tasked to play outside on their awesome playground for a while to ensure the leg felt comfortable...what a difficult assignment to complete :)

Even Daddy got in on the action :)
(Yes, he's hanging upside down)

BUT, that first leg had a little problem with the light pink finish. So Mr. Brian offered to redo the finish and I took him up on the offer. After a couple of hours the FINAL leg was complete. Isn't it a beauty!?

This college student was there shadowing Hannah's prosthetist. She, too, has a prosthetic leg, missing fibulas, and only four toes on her real foot....just like Hannah!!!! Here they are sporting their awesome legs!!

This new leg definitely deserves a high TEN!

I think Hannah is pretty happy.

No...ecstatic!  :)

As we prepared to leave the hospital, Hannah asked, "Do I get to keep this one?" :)

The tears and the fears of the process were well worth it. Hannah is such a brave young lady. I've told her before that being brave doesn't mean you're not scared. It simply means you persevere despite the fear. And she continues to do just that.

It is such an honor to be a part of Shriner's Hospital for Children. They have blessed our lives in amazing ways and given our daughter the opportunity to walk, run, dance, jump....and smile. 

God has once again showered us with His amazing grace. Thank you, Father.

The Makings Of A New Leg

Hannah has been waiting anxiously for her new prosthesis. The Shriners Hospital here in Tampa makes her legs in 3-4 stages (taking 3-4 weeks). They do an exceptional job making sure her prosthesis is comfortable, functional, and beautiful! Hannah gets her new leg tomorrow. This new leg will be different than any she's had before. We are all extremely excited!! We're picking Joshua up early from school to make it a family event ;)
(click the photo to enlarge)

Week 1: Mr. Brian took a mold of Hannah's leg.
(Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of this process.)

Week 2: Trying on the mold to ensure it fits correctly 

 

 

 

 This photo accurrately depicts how Hannah felt about that process. Scared, sad, wishing she could be someplace else....anyplace else.

Holding tightly to Daddy's finger

Week 3: Making final adjustments to the prosthesis

And the tears began. Hannah was so scared trying on this new leg. I think seeing the inner workings of the leg frightened her. (The final leg will not look like this)

Broke my heart.....

 

But Caleb made it all better :)

  

 

Making final adjustements

 

Smiles were abundant as we raced....she's an extremely fast hopper (especially considering she's missing bone in her left leg and foot as well)!!

Tracing her left leg so they can do their best to make the prosthesis very similar in size

 

Making sure Mr. Brian remembers this tracing belongs to her :)

We are so excited about tomorrow!! Please come back in a few days to see her beautiful new (pink) leg!! ;)

Always

With Joshua at school, Hannah playing, and Caleb sleeping, I sat by our large window in the quiet of the moment, propped up my feet, and opened my Bible. I was content. Such a peaceful moment spent in God's Word. When Hannah realized what I was doing, she quickly ran to get her Bible and snuggled her way into the already cramped chair in which I was sitting. But I didn't mind. We both sat in the sweetness of the moment "reading" our Bibles. 

After a few quiet minutes, she began asking questions. "Mama, why do you write in your Bible?... When can I start writing in my Bible?... When will my leg grow longer?" I'm not sure how we got on the topic of her leg, but somehow our conversation naturally went in that direction. She wanted to know when her leg would grow so that she'd no longer have to wear a prosthesis. Had she been thinking all this time that someday, somehow her leg would miraculously grow longer and grow a sweet little foot and she'd never again have to go to the "leg doctor"? I found myself trying to catch my breath as my heart sank. I did my best to answer her question very simply and to hide my need for oxygen but it was difficult telling her that her beautiful leg will never grow a foot. Her leg will never grow as long as her other leg. She will always need to wear a prosthesis.

As our conversation moved on to more important things like princesses and baby dolls, my mind could not move beyond the word "always." That's such a permanent word. Always. Until she meets Jesus face to face, she will always have two legs that work differently than most. And as much as I think I've worked through the pain of this journey, telling my sweet daughter always was an amazingly difficult thing to do.

I Choose...

I've really been struggling the last few months with being overwhelmed. It seems there just aren't enough hours in my day to take care of the household responsibilities, get my children to and from school and dance class and basketball and cheerleading, go to the grocery store, spend quality time with my children, study my Bible, spend time in prayer, get a fair amount of sleep (I don't know about you, but my body requires a solid 7-8 hrs of sleep each night in order to simply function during the day), make a new friend, be an adequate great wife, get to church on time...if at all (which doesn't look good for a pastor's family :), give my children fun educational opportunities, feed the kids, nurse the baby, answer all the "Mama, Mama, Mama"'s all day, help Joshua with his homework, and actually sit down to eat a meal....any kind of meal, healthy or not, whether that be deli ham straight out of the package (no time to put it on bread) or a meal that follows my husband's rule of three (consisting of three different foods such as green beans, chicken, and potatoes).  And whether or not you stay home full time to care for your family or you work outside the home to help provide for your family...whether you have one child or ten children...whether you home school or your children are in public/private school...I'm quite confident that this overwhelming feeling does not show partiality.

So the last couple of days, I've been trying to prioritize and spend more time with my amazing kids. It's difficult for me to relax when I see laundry needing to be done and a kitchen needing to be cleaned.  But I'm trying to let those things go...trying. So yesterday, while Caleb napped and Joshua was at school, with dirty laundry overflowing our hampers (didn't I JUST wash these clothes two days ago?!), clean dishes needing to be put in their place, crumbs under the dinner table, dirty dishes needing to be cleaned, paperwork needing to be filed, and floors needing to be mopped and vacuumed, I chose to have a picnic lunch with my daughter on our patio. I chose to look into her eyes when she talked. I chose to laugh with her. I chose to watch her wiggle her booty (yes, she loves to show us how she can bust a move :). I chose to give her hugs and kisses reminding her of my love. I made a great choice yesterday. And I pray I can make more of those great choices so my children never question how awesome I think KNOW they are.

Father, please help me to be the mother You desire for me to be. Help me to choose my children over cleaning the floors. Please fill in the gaps where I fail...no, don't just fill in the gaps where I fail but please fill me with Your Holy Spirit so my children don't see me, but they see You. I want them to see You in every aspect of my life. May they never doubt my love for them. And more importantly, may they never doubt how much You love them.


A very wise friend directed me to the blog of a woman who put it much more beautifully than I ever could. http://powerofmoms.com/2012/04/your-children-want-you/

Winter's Gift

Words can't describe what it was like meeting Winter for the first time. We were blessed beyond words that Mr. Yates, the CEO of Clearwater Aquarium, kindly showed us around the aquarium and allowed us to get close to Winter and her new family. My eyes still well up with tears thinking back on our experience. It was an amazing blessing for all of us, but especially for our sweet Hannah. After seeing the movie Dolphin Tale, Hannah asked if we could take Winter a present for being so brave while getting her prosthesis. By God's amazing grace, we were able to do just that.....

(click on the photos to view a larger image)

After reading that Winter likes to play with balls and likes the color blue, we chose this gift.

On our way to see Winter. Hannah was extremely excited. She wanted to hold the ball to keep it safe. (Notice the Dolphin Tale book :)

Seeing Winter for the first time

 

Winter came over to say hello :) Isn't she beautiful?!

Giving Winter's trainer the gift. This is one of my favorite pictures...seeing Hannah's idea come to fruition.

We were able to interact with a rescued dolphin named Hope. Here, Hope is waving at us :)

Joshua was able to feed Hope (Hannah is looking for Winter. She was in the pool behind us :)

I still get teary seeing this photo. This is Winter seeing Hannah's gift for the very first time.

Mr. Yates telling us about "Winter's Gel" designed for use with Winter's prosthesis and now used for people as well

Learning about Winter's prosthesis. Winter needs a new prosthesis every 3-4 months. This is the one she currently wears.

 

 It was amazing!

I am still in awe that we were given this amazing opportunity. Thank You, Father, for Winter, her caregivers, and the amazing encouragement she is for our sweet Hannah and other children and adults with prostheses. Thank You.