Thank you 2016

Thank you 2016, for teaching me the unimaginable.  For helping me to learn what it meant to persevere and not give up.

Thank you 2016, for not allowing my plans to always go as I desired and showing me something better was waiting instead.

Thank you 2016, for showing me that I do have something to offer others that is valuable and life changing.  For someone who constantly struggles with feeling like a failure, that is a great gift.

Thank you 2016, for changing me.  I am definitely not the same person I was at the beginning of the year and I have the trials and tribulations of your year to thank.

Thank you 2016, for getting me out of my comfort zone and reminding me that when I am truly vulnerable, that's when I'm most brave.

Thank you 2016, for allowing our family's health to get to a point where we had to change our diets and lifestyles or suffer the consequences.  It was a hard lesson, but one I'm grateful for.

Thank you 2016, for the members of my family and the healing you've allowed.  Words cannot express the joy that comes with physical and emotional healing.  Thank you for the doctors, friends, and counselors who have made that possible.

Thank you 2016, for providing for us financially in ways I could've never ever dreamed.  From the sale of our home, to the gifts of community, to my husband's generous job, we have been amply provided for.

Thank you 2016, for reminding me the God is good.  He is the giver of all good things.  He gives and He takes away.  He knows all of my days, every struggle, every fear, every excitement, every tear, and he cares deeply about me.  I am His beloved child.

So as I say thank you 2016, I'm really saying thank you to the Lord for these things.  I'm also acknowledging that what has been the hardest year of my life, has also been the most life-changing, ground-shaking, soul-moving year as well.

To 2017!
Terra

Powerful Video

This is is only the beginning of what Christ can do... Wow.

Cardboard Stories from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.

Hannah's Memory Verses

I know it's kind of hard to understand her but I tried to repeat each thing she said so you'd understand. :) She's very average in her language skills so we're blessed to hear the Word of God coming from her heart at only 2 1/2. :)

Week 33: God is so good!

It’s in the small things – and the big things. God is truly a good, gracious, and giving God. Why?

In the last week, God’s been answering prayers regarding my hip pains. Thank you for anyone praying for me in that area, I’ve been feeling much better in that regard. I do have to say that I’m not pain free as I’ve suddenly started having a good deal of pain in my left knee. But you know what? God is still good and it forces me to slow down. I had several days last week where my feet were very sore and swollen. Yet by slowing down and making myself get off them from time to time, I’m doing much better! Funny what rest can do, huh?

We had a pretty busy week last week with church events and responsibilities. Yet in the midst of it all, we were blessed with continued growth in friendships and relationships. Thursday night we had a sweet time of community with the Thorne’s, Cheong’s, Miller’s and Groce’s. We were all able to just relax, be open with one another and point each other to Christ. Praise the Lord. I’ve been feeling pretty burdened about some things lately and after sharing with everyone, I truly felt a growth in peace.

Hannah has just been blossoming lately in so many neat ways. I won’t go into detail in this post because I plan to write an entire one to that means. Her language skills are growing quickly and it’s so fun to watch her start to reason about things. The other day in the car, I told her I was not going to help her do something a third time because I’d already shown her twice. She quickly responded with “again?” James and I had to chuckle… Oh and she’s already transitioned into her new bedroom. It was amazing how quickly she did it. She didn’t even act like there was any difference! Whoo hoo!

My OB appointment was very reassuring. I’d been having what I considered a fair amount of contractions and I was starting to get a little anxious about it considering I’m not yet full term. However, my doctor “checked” me and I had not dilated or anything suggesting labor was approaching. She explained that moms pregnant with a baby other than their first will typically notice every single Braxton-Hicks contraction. She also asked me about things such as the “how” and “when” of my contractions. It seems that almost all of them are activity-related (ex. Bending over, squatting down, using the restroom, standing up quickly). She said that was very typical. Unless I start having contractions that are more consistent and will not go away with water and/or rest, I should not be concerned. She also told me that true contractions that are causing you to dilate will nearly always be followed by at least some bleeding, small or great and to keep my eye out for that.

Aside from that big news (of no preterm labor), everything else is still going smooth. I’ve gained 29lbs (my total weight gain with Hannah). Blood pressure was still nice and low (110/64). They did go ahead and schedule another ultrasound at 37 ½ weeks to continue to monitor Benjamin’s size. That was almost exactly when my last OB decided to induce me with Hannah because of the quick drop off in the size of her abdomen. I’ll obviously keep everyone posted.

I know this has been a really long post but three more praises need to be mentioned. First, God has given us a BEAUTIFUL week here in Louisville. We had several days of gorgeous weather and it seems like the warm weather may be here to stay. Then again, it is the Ohio Valley and weather can trick us pretty easily. Second, I found a favorite watch and ring that have been missing since November! That was really exciting. Lastly, we received an email from our accountant’s office about our taxes. Not only are we not going to owe a ton of money (like I was expecting with business stuff and self-employment) but we’re going to be getting a pretty good deal in return instead! What a blessing considering we’ll have hospital bills rolling in very soon when Benjamin arrives. Praise the Lord – He is so good!

Well, I think I’ve written enough now! If you’ve read with me this far – I’m impressed! ;)

Until next time…
Terra

Week 22 - Productivity!

So after all the crazy holiday events and sicknesses, God has blessed me with an incredibly productive week! Seriously, by His grace, I've woken up at least an hour before Hannah every morning for over a week to have my time of Bible reading and prayer. After putting a pillow in her crib, she's suddenly sleeping in about an hour to two later than usual and taking naps about twice as long as well. It's been AMAZING! One of James and I's unwritten New Year's resolutions was to start applying the "2 minute rule." Anything that can be done in 2 minutes or less, we do it right then - no delays. It's astounding how much more we're getting done around here! In addition, I'm working on picking things up either immediately or shortly after using them. I have a bad habit of letting things sit out and planning to put it up 'later' until everything is a total disaster and it takes me WAY longer to clean than it would have. And you know what? Not only has our house been a gazillion times cleaner, I've even had time and energy to do things that have needed to be done for ages. For example, one morning I had an hour long quiet time, fixed breakfast for everyone, cleaned the entire fridge, unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned out the garbage pail and organized the pantry - ALL by 10am! Wow! I must say, I pray the Lord keeps me motivated as I have been this entire week.... it's been such a blessing!

Babywise, Benjamin continues to kick and move around a bit. We have another ultrasound Thursday to check his heart (they couldn't see it last time - no big deal). It'll be nice to see if he's still growing at a good rate of course. Otherwise, no real news on him... nothing's really changed other than my expanding waistline. :) I will say that I've noticed a few more differences with this pregnancy and Hannah's. I don't gag every time I try to brush my teeth and my face seems to finally be clearing up from all the nice hormonal zits. However, my face is covered with little red spots and splotches again - which happened with Hannah as well. Fun stuff. I'm actually enjoying my belly right now and the rest of the pregnancy for the most part also. My lower back is starting to hurt a bit from the extra weight (and probably my productivity efforts!) but by God's grace, the pinched nerve has not been hurting for about 2 weeks or so. Yay!

I still haven't posted any Christmas pictures, though I will do it eventually. It's been kind of nice to be more productive around the house and less drawn to my computer. :)

Hannah well finish her antibiotics for her ear infection tomorrow and I should finish mine within the week as well. Interesting that we both got ear infections at the same time, though they are not contagious! James never got sick - by God's grace and he continues to work hard at Meijer and his chaplaincy position. He's such an amazing husband in so many ways. He's been a great encourager and leader. He's been on fire for the Lord these last few weeks and THAT is contagious.

I guess that's it for now! Until next time... I pray the Lord leads you ever closer to Himself!

Take care,
Terra

Weeks 20 & 21 - CRAZINESS!!!

Wow! So, I haven't written in a long time but I have many valid excuses! Where do I even begin?! This will probably be a long post, read at your own interest level!

Last weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun), Hannah and I went back to Western Kentucky to visit family and friends. Unfortunately James had to work as usual. Right before we left I started to get a little bit of a cough and Hannah began with a runny nose. I didn't think much about it, we both tend to get colds alot. Well, by Saturday, Hannah was running a temperature of 103.3. With the help of some acetaminophen and other techniques, we got the fever down within a couple of hours. Little did I know the fever would continue to rise and fall for FIVE more days.

All that being said, I took her to the doctor on Monday. I was told it was likely just a viral thing and the fever should break by Wednesday if so. If she was to get any more symptoms, I should call the office. Well... Tuesday morning, I went to the doctor (for myself) and was put on a Zpack to deal with my cough/cold and for prevention considering I'm pregnant. Later that same afternoon, Hannah woke from her nap shivering uncontrollably, breathing short breaths and with purple lips. One call to the doctor and we were on our way to the ER. After all kinds of tests and a chest Xray, once Hannah was stabilized, we were sent home with antibiotics (just in case there was an infection) and a nebulizer to help her breathing. We were told she may be in the beginning stages of pneumonia, again, likely viral. If her symptoms came back, we should take her to the ER at the Children's Hospital downtown because they may need to admit her.

1:30 am, same night. Hannah woke up screaming. Chills, fever, short breath and purple lips had all returned. Off to Kosairs ER we went. We spent the entire evening there (left at 7am) and with no more info. Again, test-wise, she had no symptoms of low oxygen or even the previous possibility of pneumonia. Just a really nasty virus. Christmas Eve morning, we went home and were told to stay on the original course of action with antibiotics and nebulizer, fever reducers as needed. Yesterday (Friday), we checked in a the pediatrician's office for a post ER visit. She did manage to get an ear infection on top of it all but by God's grace, she's been fever-less for about 36 hours!

Today we started a new antibiotic (to treat the ear infection) and are continuing with the occasional breathing treatments over the weekend. She slept a whopping 13 hours last night without getting up (praise the Lord!) and seems to be doing a great deal better. Personally, my cough has slowed tremendously and I'm on my last day of the Zpack. I'm also feeling a world better. In addition, God has been so gracious in keeping James from getting sick this entire time. That has been a tremendous blessing as he's had to pull a great deal of the weight this week (on top of working).

Overall, it's been a crazy few weeks. In addition to the sickness, the busyness of the Christmas season kept us going. James' family was here for 2 weeks and then as I mentioned earlier, we visited my family for a few days. Tomorrow, we'll be going back to W.Ky for a few more days (James included) to visit a bit more. You can pray for my mom as she's also been incredibly sick. As a matter of fact, not only our daughter but both of our mom's were all at separate ERs in about a 36 hour time frame. It was crazy!

Hannah enjoyed opening her Christmas presents and seems to enjoy most of them so far. She's really enjoyed her new toy kitchen. I'll try to get pictures up later.

Baby Benjamin has been doing well as much as we know. He's still kicking around enough to let me know he's okay. That has been reassuring. My next OB appointment will be January 8th. We'll have another ultrasound because they didn't get a good visual of the heart last time. So that should be exciting... I love peaking in at the baby!

If you're still reading with me, I'm impressed! Please continue to pray for our family and healing. Also, let us know if there is any way we can pray for you!

Take care,
Terra

27 Years of God's Grace!

“Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." 3 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." 4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" 5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

“9 Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" 10 Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” -John 3:1-15 (ESV)

Today, I celebrate my 27th birthday. Twenty-seven years of God’s grace! I praise God for the gift of life. I praise Him for the gift of family. I praise Him for the gift of friends. Most importantly, I praise Him for Jesus Christ!

The passage I quoted above was not by accident. At the age of 21, God radically changed my life. I finally understood that I could not make myself happy with relationships, parties, alcohol, good grades and so forth. The Holy Spirit convicted me of the sin in my life. I understood that Jesus Christ died the death I deserved. As both God and man, He could do just that. He rose on the third day and ascended into heaven. I placed my entire life in His hands. I was His. I had no idea what this would mean for me, but I was ready to find out. I was “born again.”

I thank the Lord for His grace in my life. He provided me with a wonderful mother (who chose to give birth to me in the first place). His safety net has surrounded me through spinal meningitis, a horrible car accident in ’94, a dangerously high fever in a 3rd world country, pregnancies and so forth. His love has surrounded me with His every day patience, encouragement, provisions, etc. His comforting arms held me during the death of my father in 2000, the loss of our second child to miscarriage, and numerous family issues. His joy has lifted me in praise as I think of who He is, witness His kindness, see His miracles, and thank Him for a wonderful, godly husband and our sweet daughter Hannah.

Am I getting older? Of course… Does it bother me? Only momentarily. When I think on the things the Lord has done in my life over the last 27 years, I have nothing but praise to offer. I once read another lady reflecting over her 50 somethingth birthday. She rejoiced at each birthday for the same reason I rejoice today – God’s grace!

Praise the Lord – I’m another year older and another day closer to seeing Christ in His glory!

In Him,
Terra

I Almost Died Today - No Joke

You read the title right. This afternoon I had one of the scariest moments of my life! I was driving home from my yearly OB appointment. En route, I noticed dark clouds looming ahead. The weather forecast had called for thunderstorms and here they were. As I exited I-264 and merged onto I-71, the rain began. Hard, hard rain. In almost an instant, every window in my car was fogged up so badly I literally could not see out of ANY of them. There was a ton of traffic and I was completely blinded by my own windows! I frantically turned up my defroster to no avail. Out of desperation, I rolled down my window and hung my head out of it to see where I was going. Keep in mind that it was raining incredibly hard. My heart was racing as it probably never has. Semi's were honking at me as I'm sure I was swerving - I couldn't see where I was going!!! I tried to find the right shoulder (that's the lane I was in) to pull over but was having a hard time finding it and driving with no vision. I noticed a bridge ahead and prepared to stop under it. However, at the last minute, I noticed tiny flashers already under it. A motorcyclist had pulled over already. I was able to wait another one hundred feet or so and find the shoulder after him. As I put the car in park, I nearly lost it (emotionally) as I could not believe I was still alive! Even as I waited on the shoulder for my windows to defog, I prayed and prayed for safety. The shoulder at that part of I-71 is not large and cars/trucks/semis where passing me very quickly only inches to my left - in the pouring rain. Oh did I ever pray with boldness today!

Obviously, I survived the ordeal or I would not be writing about it. Here's something I learned about science today. Your windows fog because of differences in the temperature of the inside of your car and the temperature on the outside. In my case today, I had a nice air conditioned car and then I was smacked with humid, warm rain. At first, I thought I needed to turn the defogger on cold to be the opposite of the outside temp. Little did I know - that was the problem in the first place! Only later did I figure out I needed warm air to defog my windows. Learn from my near-death experience...match the temperature of your car to that of the outside and you'll likely not have to tell this same tale.

By God's grace I'm alive and posting,
Terra

An Electrial Fire and God's Grace!

Yesterday, we had a bit of a scare. When I returned home from the grocery store, my mother-in-law was cooking. Suddenly, she asked me to come look at the oven and see if I could tell what was smoking. After all, she wasn't even using the oven, just the stove top. As I took a closer look, I noticed a small fire under the stove top and above the oven. Immediately, I went and called my father-in-law up from the basement where he was building bookshelves. Without hesitation, he said it was an electrical fire (by the smell) and went and shut off the breaker. The fire halted and he came to investigate. The pictures above show the detail. The wiring for the button that turns the oven light on automatically when it's opened, apparently short-circuited and caught fire.

Oh how I praise God this happen when my in-laws were here! I would have had NO idea what to do. Though I'm smart enough to know not to put water on it, I was told that a fire extinguisher wouldn't have even helped if I had not turned off the breaker. How in the world would I have known that?! My father-in-law was already able to fix the oven (he's such a handy man and knowledgeable in all that's electrical). Needless to say, it was a bit of a scare and I praise God it was a much smaller issue then it could have been. I was told that any time an appliance is on fire to immediately turn off the breaker before anything. Obviously I can call the fire department as well, maybe even on my phone on the way to the fuse box. I pray this tiny bit of knowledge is helpful for you too!

Praise God for grace in our lives once again!

In Christ,

Terra

James Got Promoted!!!

By God's grace and to the answer of many, many, MANY prayers, James was promoted today at Meijer!!! He will begin training for his team leader position in the Photo and Electronics department on Monday. This will finally allow James to cut back on some of his hours at one of his other jobs. I'm sure he will very much enjoy getting sleep again! I know I'll enjoy seeing my husband again!

Praise God for great love and continuing to give us patience during this difficult time. Thank you ALL for your prayers and support! Please continue to pray for us as we strive to make wise financial decisions and be good stewards of what God has given us.

With love and thanks,
Terra

Hannah's 8 Months Old!

My, my, my....I cannot believe 8 months have already flown by! Saturday, Hannah Mai celebrated her 8 month old birthday with a trip to the creation museum. Here you see her enjoying a dinosaur ride at the end of the exhibits.

So much has happened in 8 months. This blog will include some recaps and some updates.

For about four months now, Hannah has been undergoing weekly physical therapy on her neck because of her torticollis. She has responded beautifully and is doing so much better.

Regarding her food allergies, she has a specialist appointment on February 12th to determine exactly what all we're facing. Please pray for grace during that appointment. It will be about a 2 1/2 - 3 hour ordeal in which Hannah Mai will be stuck with many small needles with potential allergens. I am going to need a LOT of grace that day and I'm sure she will too.

Hannah has come so far from a "helpless" newborn. Though she is not yet crawling, she can push her stomach off of the ground and look like she's going to crawl. She does do this interesting "back" crawl. She arches her back and pushes her feet against the ground, pushing herself backwards to her desired destination. She's sitting like a champ now, though I think she is going to be very accident prone, like her mommy. She finds the most interesting ways of hurting herself (which I do on a daily basis). She's grown to love bath time and playing in the sink.

She's becoming a big talker (babbling of course) and loves to laugh. She enjoys playing games with Daddy and is very ticklish.

With age she's also learned how to throw a tantrum when she doesn't get something she wants - or - if it doesn't come fast enough. She's very much a Mommy's girl, though I'm sure she'll fall more for Daddy with time. Afterall, she has to be at home with Mommy all day long.

We were blessed this week to qualify for some financial aid to cover the cost of her formula. Praise God! Her special "allergenic" formula costs around $300-400 per month.

Overall, much has changed in the life of Hannah Mai as well as the lives of us: her parents. What a blessing it's been to have a daughter to call our own.

Take care!

Terra

Safe and Sound - A Praise!

So today I (Terra) was rear-ended. Oh yeah - the joy. However, I have nothing but praise to announce regardless.

#1 - Hannah was not with me at the time (she was being babysat while I went to a meeting). Praise God for that.
#2 - I was not hurt. I went to my chiropractor about 3 hrs later and after xrays, he says there is no instability in my neck and I'll probably just be a little sore for a few days. Praise God.
#3 - The young girl that hit me was also not hurt - a little scared but not hurt. Praise God.
#4 - My car has very, very little visible damage. There is the tiniest paint scrape and little dent in my license plate. You wouldn't even notice it if you weren't trying. Praise God.
#5 - Her car looked a bit worse than mine but still minimal compared to the potential. Praise God.
#6 - An off-duty cop pulled up less than 5 min. after it happened, started directing traffic around us and called a cop on duty. Praise God.
#7 - Everything went smoothly. The girl admitted she "must not have been paying attention". Her dad showed up to help take care of the details (ins., contact info, etc). He even called the car place to let them know I'd be bringing in my car for a checkup (just to make sure there's nothing wrong) and to bill him. Praise God.
#8 - It was my own car that it happened to. Just hours before I'd discussed switching cars with the babysitter (a friend of mine) so she would be able to drive to the grocery with Hannah's car seat. She decided she'd just wait. Otherwise, I would have wrecked HER car. Praise God.
#9 - I was just hired to do some part-time assistant help for very good pay - at home and dealing with my undergrad. degree! That's the meeting I was leaving from. Praise God.

Needless to say, much could have happened that didn't. I praise God for His love, protection and provisions!!!

In Him,
Terra