Saying "so long" to the South

I cannot begin to explain the joy that has overwhelmed our family in the last 5 years. Born and raised in the mid-west, Gary and I became deep southerners. We learned to say things like "y'all," "fixin'" and to add "the" in front of every store name, as in "I'm fixin' to go to the Wal-Mart, y'all wanna come?".  We have seen the Tide roll and the War Eagle fly. We have lived well, laughed much, and loved wholeheartedly. We moved here with an 8-week old baby and each other. We knew nobody, and I moved without having ever stepped foot in Alabama before. But it was okay. I felt completely at peace with the decision to leave all of the comforts of "home" and move somewhere very unlike what I knew.

It was here, in the buckle of the Bible belt, that we fell in love with Jesus. He sought us, and we were overwhelmed by Him. Not only did we discover our Saviour, but we also discovered amazing friendships. We became witness to the love of Jesus through our friends, who became like family. In 5 short years, we developed life-long friendships that saw the births of new babies, adoptions, the transition from compact cars to mini-vans, life-changing decisions, marital woes, medical diagnosis, crisis of faith, job changes, and moves. We have welcomed new members into our "family," and we have said good-bye to others as the Lord scatters them according to His purpose.

Now, it is our turn to scatter. We have felt the Lord prompting us for some time now, but we knew the timing was never quite right. Now, with 4 cuties to lead at home, and me acting as a single mom most days, we knew the time was finally right. I am frequently asked when daddy will be home and for how long before he has to leave again. Helping daddy pack for a trip used to be a fun bonding experience for the boys, but with its increasing frequency it has become a dreaded chore for all. We cannot expect to lead our children the way God intends if we are not present for them. We understand that sometimes being away from our families is a part of life (special thanks to all of our troops who do this for our freedoms). But, for us, there was a choice. Our prayer was for God to guide us, and He did...to the Pacific Northwest!!! Next month, we will transport our whole family across the country, and Gary will start a job that will allow him to be home more.

Thank you to all my girls who showed me what it means to put others first. You have guided me in my relationship with Christ. You have been more than patient with me, and you have helped me keep my sanity ;) I will miss you all dearly, but I am really looking forward to leaving the comforts you have provided here for the opportunity to tell others of the saving grace of the Lord, and to show them the love of Christ.

~Lindsay

Grandma and Grandpa have been here helping out post-surgery. They have been a HUGE help, and Grandpa got to meet his newest grandkids for the first time! We took the kids to the Botanical Gardens to try to get some pictures. Ana did not make it easy. Our beautiful girl changes her expressions in a split second. Below are some of the many faces of Ana... (cracks me up :)

Can you believe this is our baby 1 week post surgery?

Ringing the bell

Watching Trey ring the bell

Can't believe how fast he is growing up!

Luke says, " don't forget to stop and smell the...berries"

Thanks for coming Grandma and Grandpa. We love you!!!!

Mr. Unstoppable

I'm finally ready to share the pics of Sasha post surgery...

Picture your child here. See why I cried a bucket of mommy tears? 

"Ah, my own room...finally!!! Now can we lose this silly heart monitor?"

Today is day 3. He is down to a heart monitor, the line in his neck that they access on occasion for medication, and minimal oxygen as needed. The chest tubes and the pacemaker came out today (both were high on our list of hardware to lose :). Sasha is in a regular room, and he will probably remain in the hospital for a few more days. Apparently some lung collapse is normal after open-heart, so that is the deciding factor for him to come home. He has to undergo some chest PT periodically throughout the day. And once his lungs appear to be in good shape, we should be heading home. Today, he walked around a bit, played in the playroom for a few, and we actually got him laughing and singing.  Gary is on guard duty tonight, and I will take over in the morning for my 24 hr shift :) 

"Thank you" cannot even begin to express our gratitude for prayers!

Love to you all!!!

Changing hearts!

God gave us all our of our children for the sake of His glory. He knew that without them we would remain in our sin, in our selfish lives. Today Sasha underwent a massive open-heart surgery. I looked at his frail little 20 lb frame and thought about the fact that a team of doctors and nurses were about to stop his heart, hook him up to a bypass machine, attempt to repair the heart, and basically put him back together with a mended heart. I wasn't even in the hospital with him. Gary took him while I stayed with the other 3 kids and ran them to school, got them all fed and down for naps. I cried and prayed as I waited to hear any updates. I asked a friend to come over to keep me occupied while I waited.

Our prayer has always been for God to be glorified through this surgery. I didn't know how that would happen, but it did. After a 4 hour surgery we were not only told about the intricate details of the surgery (the closure of 3 holes - one they didn't even know existed, creating valves, removing his PA band, a blood transfusion, the insertion of a pacemaker, and so on), but we were also told about the way God was being glorified through our sweet boy. Our prayers were answered. Your prayers were answered. Not only is Sasha's heart changed for the better, so was everyone's that he came in contact with! Our sweet boy paraded around pre-op smiling, waving, and blowing kisses. Melting hearts, and calming the fears of other patients. After surgery we were told that he blew kisses to the whole OR and did not stop until they put him under! Post surgery, a nurse told Gary that she had called her husband and told him she was determined that we should be friends. They have 5 kids and are looking to adopt. They had talked about the possibility of a child with Ds, but it was not until meeting Sasha that she knew it was the right thing. Gary told her about Reece's Rainbow and left her with all the information she needed to get hooked :)

Pre-op

Sign outside the surgery waiting area. Thank you for lifting Sasha up to Jesus!!!

Our kids have the ability to make days brighter, smiles wider, and they open a door to share Jesus with somebody who needs Him. They are changing us everyday, and we are so grateful for them.