13

13 Years.  Sleep deprivation, painful,  fear filled, major change, life altering, heart growing, love filled, devoted, grace giving, life stretching, never a dull moment years.  I'm thankful.  She was surrounded by ALL her siblings, her grandma and C, Mom and Dad,  and Aunt Marcia.  Truly a delightful day.

When last I wrote...

Lillian has started walking and had her little fall.  Here we are in November.  I fell she has completely returned to her norm, though it took time.  She was discharged from PT and the ortho guy on the same day.  She was still limping at that time, but again we are now back to normal.  We tried to have summer vacation in the last three weeks or so before school started.  Lots of firsts for her.

We attended the county fair on special needs day.  She rode a few rides, played a few games, and ate some fair food.  I felt totally blessed the whole day.  It was a great event and I'm thankful she enjoyed herself.

Our next first for Lillian found us at the Indianapolis Zoo.  My sister-in-law joined me and the older girls came as well.  We were gifted admission by  longtime, very dear friends, who just happened to be my pastor and his wife when I was in kindergarten.  (I'm still amazed at how life comes full circle and how God continually uses others to bless us)  They also gifted us with zoo bracelets and even our lunch was gifted to us by my generous sister-in-law.  I was leery, wondering if Lillian would panic or love what we did.  Right off the bat she was in love.  I found myself dissolving into tears as she gasped in awe during the dolphin show.  It could not have been a better day.  (the walking wore her out completely as she was still limping but wow what a day) She also held a stick with bird seed glued to it and allowed birds to feed right out of her hand.  It was an amazing day.

Our next adventure was a  church wide canoe trip.  It was a first for me and the little kids.  We had some struggles and some stressful moments, but the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves for the most part.  It was a very long day and I actually cried when I got home.  I felt I couldn't really even enjoy the time because my stress level was so high.  That's a story for another time.  Not sure canoeing is in my future again, just sayin'. I am thankful for a several friends who shared some of their experiences with me that helped me deal with my struggle that day when it was all said and done.

SO---there's a little summer synopsis.  Recently, we had her routine visit to her pulmonologist.  (lungs)  Everything looks good, however he raised the thought that  longtime use of steroids can cause thinning of bones, so he's ordering a test/scan to take a look.  Don't have a date yet.  I feel a little bit of disappointment or sadness or something that is lurking in my brain. I feel frustrated that meds she needs also can cause bad things.  This is not secret in all things medicine wise...but when you are in a situation that you really have no choice, it's hard on a mom's heart.  It's that time of year again when flu shot hysteria is widespread in both directions.  All I could think of when they were injecting her, literally, was all of the bad things I've read about the dangers of flu shots.  I don't want to get into it all, but just to say it hurts.  It's a struggle and until you walk in a person's shoes whose choices are/can be  disastrous either way, you'll never fully understand.

Can you say 13?  On the 25th, Lillian is turning 13! Keep a watch out for our celebration of 13 years.  Another teenager, another year, we are blessed.


Recent picture on our front porch

Summer Fun!

That's us in the red canoe

Train ride at the zoo

Fun at the fair!