Day After Surgery

Well Dakota had his surgery yesterday and came through it really well. It has been kind of a rough road in recovery. He is still in the PICU as of this morning. I think that we will get moved to a different floor later today because all of his vitals seem to be running normal. The only thing that isn't normal is that he is refusing to eat. He hasn't had anything to eat in almost 36 hours and still refuses his bottle. We are just believing that he will soon begin to eat and that we will get to go home in the next day or two. Right now he is doing what he has been doing best, snoring! Once I get home I will be sure to post some pictures.

Dakota is 11 months

Well Saturday marked the day my baby turned 11 months. I always find it crazy how fast time goes. It almost seems like yesterday that I had a new born. I just love his contagious smile that he carries almost all the time when you talk to him, when he plays, or just in general. He is really into climbing into, over, and on all types of things as you can see below.



He has started letting go of a few things and stands for a few seconds. We still don't have many words. Just "mamamamama" pretty much. He is pretty interested in doing things with his hands. He is eating pretty much solid foods when we have a chance to feed it to him. It makes it kind of difficult when we seem to be busy all the time. I love watching his little jaw move up and down as he mushes food.
He still isn't taking a sippy cup, partially due to his cleft I believe. He just doesn't have the suction necessary to do it. That will all change tomorrow as he is scheduled to have surgery in Ft. Wayne at 10:30 am to repair it.
My best friend spent hours on preparing a notebook of verses talking about peace, fear, among other things. I am sad to say I still haven't taken any time today to look at it and dig into all the work she has done for me. I do really appreciate all the effort put forth on her part to prepare for me.I haven't really taken the chance today to think about tomorrow. I am trusting that I have come to the point where I have put my trust in God over the matter of my heart issues I had with my baby having surgery tomorrow. I pray that I can continue to keep a calm heart, mind, and spirit.

And just for kicks here is my absolutely adorable handsome little man, well older little man who is so absolutely amazing. I enjoy listening to him talk more and more proficiently. He is off spending time with his aunt tonight and for the day tomorrow. I am thankful for family who is willing to help when needed.

Buldging tire, Grumpy Baby, and a Whole Lot of Rain

This weekend we went to Wisconsin to go to a family reunion. On our journey there we decided to stop in Chicago for a couple of hours to walk around and get some lunch. When we were almost there we realized that "Taste of Chicago" festival was happening. So we decided to park near Millennium Park which was relatively close to where the event was happening. We walked around for awhile and then got some food there. To be honest, I wasn't greatly impressed with the festival. I thought it was kind of boring.
Anyway, we crawled back into the car and took off to get out of Chicago. Our "getting out of Chicago" took us 2 hours because the traffic was bumper to bumper the entire way.
When we stopped for gas we checked out our tires to see what kind of pressure they had going on. While the guys were checking them they found that one had a really huge bulge in its sidewall. We were still about an hour away or so from our final destination. At this same time we ran into some torrential rain falls, you know the rains we have been having for weeks it seems like. So we had to take it bit easy because of the tire and also because of the pouring rain. Once we finally reached our destination of where we were staying at we got out and unloaded. Some of our clothing got wet so we had to put it in the dryer so we could have it to wear.
Saturday we started by eating breakfast and then going and getting our tire changed so that we were safe to move about. We then went to the reunion and had a wonderful time. Jabez and Dakota got absolutely filthy. Dakota ate who knows what because I let him crawl anywhere and everywhere he wanted to go. It was easier then trying to keep him contained. By the end of the evening we were totally worn out and ready for showers and bed!
This morning we got up really early and took off for home because we wanted to beat Chicago's horrible traffic. It was amazing how quickly we got through today. I loved it. Today it also poured because we got right in the middle of all the wonderful storms that were passing through.
All throughout our journey Dakota was somewhat fussy. He had a harder time on the way home, then on the way up. He did a lot of screaming and crying. But once we finally got home and I got him out of the van and let him down inside it was like he became a different child.
So now the process of unpacking and washing all of our soaked laundry, due to our bag being on top of the van in one of those travel bags, and repacking to head to the hospital for Dakota's surgery has begun. We also have a few other things that we should look after before we head to
Ft. Wayne on Tuesday.
All in all, we had a really good weekend. I am thankful that we could go see family we haven't seen in 6 years.

Storms the word

It seems like our area has been hit super hard over the last several weeks with rain, thunder, lightening, wind, tornado watches and warnings, which resulted in a few tornadoes around here. The winds have taken down limbs, power lines,trees which have closed streets....you name it. We have also had some flash flooding I am sure.
Around our home we have been lucky enough to only have a few down limbs and leaves which have caused me to have to clean the yard both Monday and yesterday so that I could mow. I don't ever remember a season quite like this one. We have had our friends staying with us over the last 2 storms because each storm has left them without power and water. The first storm hit Friday, the second one Wednesday evening. It was amazing standing at the window and watching how the sky line changed and how the storm blew in. The trees were waving with some definite madness. Its been crazy.
Yesterday I spent some time with a friend driving around and looking at all the damage we had around town. So here are a few pictures of what our area has looked like over the last couple of days. Downed trees on power lines.

Many, many uprooted trees causing some major damage. This is just one of the many.



Part of a barn that ended up in someone else's yard during one of 4 tornado touchdowns in our county.

Here is what remains of the barn and all the debris around it after the tornado struck.

And finally here is a tree that came to rest on what looked like it was a fairly new vehicle.

As this weekend comes, we are heading out of town for a family reunion and they are calling for more storms. Guess we will see what comes.

A Bike Ride in the Rain....

A week ago Saturday our neighbors and our family took a bike ride on the pumpkin vine trail in Goshen. It started out nice, sunny, and beautiful. We biked from Goshen to Middlebury. We took the developed trail as far as it went and then hit the country roads on into Middlebury. We went and got ice cream at Mancino's/Ice Cream joint. It was a good break. By the time we got there it had started to cloud over a bit. We thought we would just wait out the storm, until it became clear to us that if were going to make it home in time we were gonna have to ride it out in the rain.
We packed the kids away in their bike cart that is equipped with a nice rain cover thankfully and set out for the ride home. I was wearing shorts and a tank top cause it was a hot sticky day. Let me tell you it was freezing ride on the way home with the rain coming down on us and the wind blowing around us. We took all the same country roads back to the developed trail and road the rest of the way back into Goshen. By the time we got home we were completely drenched, muddy, and my teeth were chattering because I was so cold. We had mud all the up the back of our shirts and into our hair. I thought it was quite disgusting but I didn't want to lose the look we had up our backs. So we stayed outdoors after we got home for a bit while Edwin came in and grabbed the camera for some quick shots.











All the while, the boys had fallen asleep in the cart on the way home and were crying their little eyes out. So we quickly took the shots, came inside and took showers and put the boys to bed. We finished our evening with a movie, "The Incredible's." I actually fell asleep in the middle of the movie and went to bed before it was over.
All in all it was a great time. I don't know that I would ever be willing to bike in the rain again like we did and get so nasty muddy and wet but it was fun while it lasted. I would bike to Middlebury again no problem though. That was a blast. Our round trip ended up being somewhere around 22.6 miles. It was a good ride and the next day I felt amazing.

A Matter Of The Heart

This year I have been working on reading through the Bible with a group of ladies holding each other accountable on Facebook. One of the challenges we were given during this time by one of the ladies was to not just read but to really let the words we are reading penetrate our heart. I know that are still many times I just read for the sake of getting caught up and getting my reading done but every once in a while I kind of get smacked up side the head. Several weeks ago was one of those times.
I was reading in 1 Chronicles 21 where it is talking about how David took the census and how this was a sin. At first I didn't really understand why taking a census was such a big deal. I even asked my husband about it cause it was really on my heart. Why would God get so angry at a man for counting his people. What was wrong with that.
So went back and reread the section and then talked about it. It says "Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel. " 1 Chron 21:1. I still wasn't understanding why a census in this situation was such a bad thing. Then my husband talked to me about David's heart behind the matter. He was taking a census cause he was wanting to know how great his numbers were so that he could brag about how great his army was. David's heart was taking pride in his numbers and starting to trust in numbers instead of Christ. Taking the census in itself wasn't the sin but it was the motivation of his heart behind it. It was his motivation for greed, arrogance, and selfishness that caused the census to be a sin.
How often are we moved my greed and selfishness to get what we want? I was just reminded here how important it is for us to check our heart motive behind what we are doing. A super huge challenge for me. I hope this also is a challenge to you.