Reflecting on how Lulu came to us

Thre is another precious little girl who captured our hearts 16 months ago. That same time, our Lulu was being born. This child was born with Spina Bifida, and was how God swayed us to consider Spina Bifida as a health need we would consider when adopting. Her story is an amazing one, and we were blessed to be a part of her life from afar, while we waited to see what would come of the adoption process. We were unsure at the time, why God had moved us toward this little one, and thought we would certainly want to adopt her. I post this today, because it is with great JOY, and thanks to God that I have found out that she will be officially adopted this Spring. While God's plan was not for her to be our child, her life was a crucial stepping stone to Our Daughter Lulu, and I will never forget and keep her in prayer. I am thankful to Him for His plan. Some of you also know her story and have prayed for her life too, and so I thought it important to show you God's answer to prayer. It seems complete now to me, this whole adoption. I would always wonder had I not known, what became of this child. But God has blessed me, that I might know, and I thank Him dearly.

My family....on Christmas Day

Isn't she so beautiful in this red velvet???

Pat, being the best Uncle, and always fun!
My brother's family, and Lulu's cousin!
I love this one, because the girls are so intrigued....

Well, I thought maybe we would die on this Christmas day. No Joke! The weather was awful, and my mother's road to her home was worse than I'd ever seen. Then to top it off she lives in the country, where the private road it poorly maintained and ill prepared for snow. Seriously, this made for a scary, and most dangerous adventure to get to her house. Which, I will NEVER, Never do again in the snow. The road is usually dirt, with ravine's on either side, but this day it was thick snow and ice, with ravines on either side and many very unprepared, and quite unintelligent people clogging up the hills with stopped, or abandoned vehicles. John Martin was kind enough to allow us to borrow their Suburban 4WD, and so thought "no problem". We were wrong, you can never estimate just how dangerous another person can be when they don't know how to drive in the snow, but do so anyways. I'm not talking about Pat here. He is a marvelous driver, but it's all the others on the side of (and in the middle of) that road that night! I was scared for my life, and my daughter's. There was a true point when we were sliding backwards in the ditch and I looked around in the Suburban to assess how quickly I could unstrap Lulu and which point of exit would be the safest, and realized it was also the farthest point of exit, and we may have to ride this thing out if we fall in the ravine down the hill.

It was all the cause of a man in a minivan who decide to stop in the middle of a hill on his way up taking up both lanes and get his dog and daughter out to play while he Removed! his chains, YES! I wrote that right, "removed his chains". This was also immediately after a blind hill. Well, what was Pat to do, but pull up along side him and ask to help him. That's when it all started: OK I'll spare you, and stop here, but obviously we're still alive! And we had a nice time with the family.

Sweetness in the Midst

This is Lulu yesterday,

Pat was such a sweet husband today, and brought me flowers to cheer me up. It's been quite challenging with the lack of sleep this last week and constant care of Lulu. I am so happy to do it, but it does take a toll on me emotionally lately. Of course, my husband's thoughtfulness meant the world to me. Lulu is still improving and is gradually needing less pain medication, which helps with frequency and waking in the night and giving her medications and holding her for sometime to get her calmed to sleep again. She developed some oral aversion and so this has been the newest trial in her recovery. Since coming home, she does not wants to take medications, which are all oral, or drink or eat. What once took 15-20 min. at meal time, now takes nearly 45 min. and with only about half getting eaten or drank. So we could use prayer over this. This is a great concern for me, and it is also trying. We also need direction in our lives for our future work decisions. We need to make some decisions because we're struggling, and really need God's guidance and peace over where He guides us, so prayer for our lives in this too, would be wonderful.

This is Lulu night before surgery where we caught her in the midst of a Kung Fu move, we'd say Hai-ya, and she'd do a swift movement of the hands! She was having fun!

Getting Home

We were able to get discharged today, and are home with Lulu. She is resting as much as we can get her to. She was very restless at the Hospital with all the interruptions, and since her pain management is done orally and I was already taking care of her, we felt comfortable bringing her home. She was released less than 72 hrs post surgery, and we Praise God! for that. The normal expected stay for this surgery is 5-7 days, with a possibility of release to rehab. This was God looking out for her. Thank you for your prayer of petition to Our Father on her behalf, He has begun a good work in every step of Lulu's life, no doubt! We are excited to be beyond this crucial step and see His plan for her life unfold in her. I am so blessed to be her mother.

Love, Kristy