Mother's Day Musings

     Hey all...it's been awhile...life has been crazy since getting out of the hospital.  Lots has been happening--all good things, but time consuming things.  My brother got engaged so we were in full on engagement party planning mode and I did a DVD slideshow of him and Brandi growing up and then them together which was a lot of fun to do.  Then he graduated from the Golder Ranch Fire Academy and officially became a fire fighter! So proud!  I've also been seeing lots of my sister and Hunter and Gunner and my best friend Jenn, had her miracle girl, Lilyana Joy on May 1st.  They've adopted/fostered 3 boys and after 8-9 years of infertility got pregnant with Lily and she is precious!  The great thing is that I've had the energy to help my friends and family since getting out of the hospital!  I'm trying to work on that balance and not over do it which is always hard, but so far, so good.

     Mother's Day is coming up and while a blessing and fun day for many, it can be a very difficult day for some.  Those that are walking through infertility, lost a child, lost a Mom, or have a bad relationship with your Mom can all pose difficult emotions come Sunday morning.  Expectations of getting some "me" time like all the ads would lead you to believe but you wake up with a sick little one who is clingy and whiny and just wants Momma all day.  Emotions can run the gamut and pleasing family or running between different houses to celebrate all the Mom's in your life can be exhausting instead of the refreshing day you were hoping to have.  We never know what people are dealing with or walking through, so take some time this Mother's Day and reach out to someone you know who may be struggling and encourage them.  Pray for them and remind them of Christ's love for them in all their messiness of life and that He died for them and loves them endlessly as only God can.  For those who repent of their sin and place their trust in Jesus, He will bear those burdens that feel oh so heavy--because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

     I've had a bit of an emotional week as it's that time of month--Mom and Dad suggested I use a different pan to cook tortillas and I started crying--you can pretty much guarantee that's hormones talking when that happens!  My poor hubby--he got the brunt of my "cry" day--praise God he knows me well and just held me and let me cry and when we started trying to talk about serious stuff late at night, he wisely suggested we hold off talking until we both got some rest.  I started writing a poem that night and I just finished it this afternoon.  I've been listening to the audiobook "Adorned" by Nancy Demoss Wolgumuth (HIGHLY recommend it--seriously in my top 5 books ever!) and she brought up Psalm 113:9 "He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord!"  For some reason, I had never remembered that verse but the Spirit had it leap out at me.  While He has not given me my own children, He has made me a joyful spiritual Mom to many nieces and nephews that I adore.  I'm going to pick a wall and put that verse on it and then get pictures of all my nieces and nephews and put them around the verse.  Not only will it be awesome, but it will be a good reminder for me when I do have my moments when I still long for a child of my own.  Here is the poem that kind of speaks to my journey of infertility and where God has brought me today.  Enjoy...and to all my Momma friends Happy Mommy's Day--I'm so blessed to come alongside you and help you in this thing called Motherhood!

Always Dreaming

Young and so alive,

Reaching for the stars,

Endless dreams flowing,

The world at her fingertips,

Direction oh so clear.

Knowing HIS plans for her,

He sent her a special man,

She didn’t have to wait,

For the one to love her so…

‘Like a spring day or a summer night,

Your beauty is a wonder to my sight’

Wonder and awe at this feeling,

Reeling deep inside,

Oh so happy,

As they walk side by side.

The wedding comes and goes,

New wonders to behold,

Discovering life together,

Experiencing wedded bliss.

Challenges come their way,

They take it day by day,

Her dreams for little ones continue,

Then the months go by…

Months turn to years…

Waiting, waiting, waiting some more…

Oh Lord, so hard, just one, please…

She pleads through streaming tears.

Prayers become groaning too deep for words,

She’d think she was content and “ok”, 

But in the depths of her soul,

Oh so far away…

“My tears have been my food day and night”

Pray with hope as long as the desire remains,

How do you hope without the desire consuming you??

Surrounded by friends with precious little ones galore,

Oh so cute and as an Auntie she adored…

Each beautiful masterpiece sent by Him,

A precious gift from above,

“Rejoice with those who rejoice…

Weep with those who weep”

She would rejoice and laugh and smile,

And they would hold her close as tears came pouring down,

Sobs racking her body,

Oh Lord, I rejoice, but this is O so hard. 

The years continue to go by,

Hallucinations, medications, so much pain,

Moving here and there and everywhere,

Every time she’s treated,

Her head begins to spin,

Then spiraling down into the deep dark pit of despair…

BUT God…through all of this,

This journey called life,

The broken dreams like broken cisterns that hold no water,

Underneath the facade is anger,

Oh so surprised because “that wasn’t the Christian thing to do”…

But alas, she is only human,

And emotions send her reeling,

BUT God…He catches me every time…

Holds me close,

Wraps me in His everlasting arms,

Secures my future for all eternity,

When in the blink of an eye,

This miserable flesh will disappear…

Replaced, redeemed, and millennia spent with One so dear.

Who am I that I should be so blessed??

My broken cisterns pieced together,

Still marred, but whole once more…

My dreams still alive…just different…

Trusting God and His BEST plans for my life…

Still not easy,

The tears still come,

But He truly has given this barren woman a home,

And made her the joyful Mother of children…

While not borne through her body,

Or even adopted into her home,

These wonderful gifts given to friends and family,

Nieces and Nephews, oh so precious,

Fearfully and wonderfully made by Him,

To love me with sticky hands…

Excited “Auntie Shel is here!!”,

Great big hugs,

Itchy fingers galore,

Our Jesus song fixes our hurts and owies,

And He’s always there when we are scared,

We talk to Him on our purple phone,

Lots of snuggles, hugs, and kisses,

But most wonderful of all,

The love they pour out of their hearts…

A healing balm of gilead to this wounded soul.

Rachelle Thomas 

*I am connected to slow wifi right now so I can't upload more pictures, but will add more pics of my nieces and nephews when I get a better connection.* :) 

HOME!!! :)

Just a quick note to say I was discharged yesterday!!!  So enjoying being home with my hubby and puppies!  Thankful for the care I received on my home away from home, 3NE...you guys are seriously the BEST!!!  I'll do a longer update but today was filled with phone calls to the home health company that didn't get my medication to me, case managers, a doctors appointment, and lots more so I'm definitely tired tonight.  Thankful I can go to sleep before 10 if I want to here!  :) Which I definitely plan on doing!

So enjoying puppy snuggles!

They were happy to see me!

Morning stroll :) 

Morning stroll :) 

More snuggles!

Nephew loves!

Hunter keeps telling me, "I am SO excited you are home!" Melts my heart!

Briefly got to see Buddy on the way home :) 

Joy and Blessings in the Midst of Sorrow and Suffering

     Being in the hospital for almost a month, suffering is all around you.  You see lived out what 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says:

"Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory, far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

"...though our outer man is decaying..." I see this truth all around me and feel it inside me on a daily basis.  It could very easily sadden my spirit and send me spiraling into depression.  My room is close to the helicopter landing pad...I start praying when I hear them coming in--to be life-flighted you have to be in critical condition--thinking of the family and friends that are getting that call that changes their lives forever and they will never forget...praying for the medics, nurses, doctors, RT's, and all who will be working fervently in the ER to save that life--and most of all praying that God would draw not only the potentially dying person to Himself but their family and friends to Himself as well.  The door to eternity is closer than we all like to think about, but critical patients are all around me.  As I walk around the hospital I see the lost looks, the frantic looks, the shock, the tears, the sorrow, the sighing and my heart just cries out, "How long O Lord?! Come quickly and set this world aright! Come back and forever free those in You from the presence of sin!  This is hard Lord...I'm tired, weary, downtrodden...Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!" 

     If we focused on the first part of that verse, all hope would seem to be lost as our physical bodies daily remind us of the curse of sin that is upon this world.  However, we can move onto have glorious HOPE, because of what Jesus has done on the cross as we remember that these "momentary, light afflictions, (Lord, this doesn't feel light! Help me to keep on!) are producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison."  Ok Lord, I CAN do this in YOUR strength...I am weak, but You are strong...I am tired, my body hurts, I long for home, to sleep next to my hubby, to love on my puppies, to hug my horse, be with friends and family, but this is where You have me so this is right and good and Your will--help me to keep focused on You and girded up with Your Word.  I don't have the energy to smile and talk and encourage those around me, but Lord, You do--You can give me the grace to encourage those around me--so many hurting without the hope that I have--Lord, let me give them a smile, nod hello, help them to know that someone truly cares about them--from the people that clean my rooms, to my doctors, to the people I encounter in the hallways.  They all need You and the hope that only You can give them.  Lord, let me be Your messenger of HOPE...this body may be failing me, not cooperating, but Lord Jesus, I have YOU, and that is enough.  You saved me from the hell I deserve--anything else is pure mercy and grace!  I'm so thankful for the grace Jesus has poured out upon my life!  He is so good and merciful!

     The doctors God have provided for me have truly been an incredible blessing and an answer to many prayers.  Dr. Tammy Ojo is my pulmonologist (lung doc) and she is absolutely incredible.  She's compassionate, yet firm with what treatment she believes is best.  She listens and genuinely cares about what you say and what's going on in your life and the people in your life.  She purposely looks at my family and friends that have been here when she's come in and addresses them and asks them if they have any questions about my treatment and care.  I am confident in her knowledge of PCD (which is a first for me to have outside of the docs at UNC!) and trust her medical knowledge and advice implicitly.  She has everything so organized it's wonderful and a blessing I do not take lightly.  

     My surgeon and ENT Dr. Le is also incredible.  Although the initial post-op recovery was incredibly difficult as we knew it would be, sinus wise, things are going well.  Bleeding has slowed significantly today so I'm hopeful I can get away from using my oh so lovely "mustache" of gauze wrapped around a mask soon. (And by the way...whoever thought of wrapping gauze around a mask instead of using tape is a genius--my 4 other surgeries chapped my cheeks so badly from all the tape I had to use--it's the "little things" that make such a big difference!)  The surgery itself was a lot longer than I or my family anticipated.  Apparently the first hour, they gave me an albuterol treatment and oxygenated my lungs and tried to get them as ready as possible for surgery.  My anesthesiologist was amazing--because of my issues of nausea with anesthesia and my inability to tolerate any anti-nausea drugs, she used propofol which is usually only used for shorter surgeries but they made some adjustments for me and I didn't have a nausea reaction to the anesthetic which was truly a gift.  I remember briefly waking up in recovery and before the bleeding started being able to breathe through my nose for the first time in a very long time.  I'm looking forward to things healing up and doing that again!  After getting my lungs ready, the actual surgery was around 2 1/2 hours.  He said my frontal sinuses didn't look like they had ever really been touched--he opened up the cavities and then cleaned them all out.  Not all surgeons are comfortable getting close to the brain to clean stuff out, but he did and said that the amount of mucus and thick green junk he got out of my sinuses was incredible.  He said he was able to open everything up so it should gravity drain when I do my rinses--since my cilia can't move stuff out, he is hopeful that my daily sinus rinses will act as a replacement now that the rinse can actually GET to where it needs to go to flush the mucus out before it gets so bad.  

     Then came the hard part of sinus surgery--I started throwing up the blood that had drained into my stomach after surgery (even though they pumped my stomach in the OR) around 5pm...this starts the vicious cycle of my nose bleeding even more, blood draining down into my stomach, throwing up etc et al...at 7 I called Jord and he came down to help Mom help me.  He was here from 7-11:30 when we thought I was slowing down on the throwing up but it turned out to be a short relief.  I continued throwing up until 1AM, when I finally stopped and was able to get a few hours of sleep, which I desperately needed.  I don't know what I would do without Jord and my Mom--their unconditional love for me was poured out as they helped me through the night--heaving with me at times, exchanging the basins full of bloody throw up, changing my gauze pad every few minutes, plugging my nose to try and help stop the bleeding, rubbing my back, putting cool wash cloths on my neck and forehead and so many other "little things" that demonstrate true love.  It's in these moments that Jord demonstrates his commitment, time and time again, to love me not only in the easy times, but in the difficult ones--God has truly blessed me with a husband that sacrificially loves me so well.  He got home late and still went to work early that morning and worked all week.  Mom continues to show her love for me as her little girl--no parent wants to see their child suffer, but she is there for me when I need her and has sacrificed sleep to stay overnight with me in the hospital.  Thank you for your love, Momma.  

     I truly am one blessed woman.  Not only do I have an incredible husband who loves me sacrificially, but two families that love me--not just my family, but Jord's family truly loves me as their own.  As if that wasn't enough, He has given me not one, but multiple treasured friends that love and encourage me.  On top of that, I know so many extended friends, family, and even people I barely know, don't know, etc, pray for not only me, but Jord, and my family and friends.  I think of a portion of the book, "A Gospel Primer" which I'm paraphrasing but says, "To be handed an empty cup would be an incredible blessing from God but the fact that I'm not just given an empty cup but a cup that overflows with blessing is a miracle of miracles from our gracious God..."  To God be the glory, great things He hath done!   

Dr. Ojo and company :)

Dr. Le and I 

     As much as we prepared my lungs for surgery, they didn't like it very much.  My mucus is back to being thick and green, even on the antibiotics.  On the day of surgery, we stopped one of the IV antibiotics, IV Colistin--I had been on it for 14 days and it can be very hard on your kidneys so they don't want me to be on it longer than necessary.  My mucus had gone to a pale yellow and I was feeling really good.  Obviously, surgery was extremely difficult on my body.  I have lost 10 pounds over the course of the last 19 days and since surgery, my appetite has not returned.  I'm thinking my body took the energy that it was using to fight my lung infection and turned to healing from surgery and it simply doesn't have the energy for anything else.  Following surgery, Dr. Ojo added oral Cipro so I was still on two antibiotics to fight the pseudomonas.  When she came and saw me yesterday, she took one look at my mucus and told the pulmonary resident and fellow that was with her that we needed to add inhaled colistin.  She looked at me and said, "You really needed that 7 days of antibiotics after surgery."  That means I'm currently on 3 different antibiotics--IV Cefepime, inhaled Colistin, and oral Cipro.  She is going to come by tomorrow and see how I'm doing and plan on sending me home on the inhaled Colistin and oral Cipro.  I'm praying I WILL get to go home, but also trying to hold that loosely, knowing my body and the fact that I would rather stay and get well completely before going home so that I don't go downhill and have to come back and start all over.  Remembering Proverbs 16:9 "Many are the plans in a mans heart, but the Lord directs his steps."  

     So I am counting down the days until Tuesday morning, which at this point is a mere T-minus 2 1/2 days, but at the same time looking for continued opportunities to encourage those around me--both those who care for me and those I meet in the hallways.  Jord and I truly appreciate all the love, prayers, and support we receive from all of you--we couldn't walk this journey without Jesus and all of you!  

In His Mighty Grip,

Rachelle 

Mom was holding the doors for the transport people...

So she posed cause I had my phone! 

We had a fun trip down to pre-op!

Fun pre-op people make such a difference!

Mom, Snuffy, and I ready for surgery...lots of these pics! Snuffy is 31!!

Being goofy

Snuffy and me

In recovery before I started bleeding when I could breathe through my nose!

1AM the night of surgery...finally stopped throwing up after 8 hours...was NOT fun.

Turning the corner!

Turtle day today :) 

Although tired, got outside to get some vitamin D and keep moving to help my lungs recover :) 

   

Surgery Update

Just a quick post--Here are my facebook updates:

It's been a really rough recovery so far...they pumped my stomach in the OR but there was still blood draining down so I've spent the day throwing up, causing my sinuses to bleed more, then being nauseous and throwing up more blood and thus we went round and round even with the highest dose of Zofran they could give me. I'm on morphine and I called Jord around 7 in tears and although vomit is the one thing he can't stand he has been by my side all night...he just left a little bit ago and is planning on going to work in a few hours...pray for him fervently my friends! I'm blessed beyond measure to have my hubby and my Mom by my side through this rough day and night...a dear friend texted me this article on lamenting vs being angry with God...so good! I took a screen shot of some of the things that encouraged me and moved me to tears. God is so faithful to sustain us and be so very near us in this valley! I'm snuggled up between Waddles and Snuffy 😊

Doing much better this morning! Only using half the morphine for pain, bleeding is minimal, and vomiting stopped around 1AM. Docs came at 630 so didn't get much rest but resting now...if you want a good ab workout just throw up every few minutes for several hours...effective but I don't recommend it lol. Gotta start sinus rinses twice a day and there will be pain but we are past the worst part, praise the Lord!

Sinus Surgery 4.3.17

     Just a quick update before I head to bed tonight.  I did end up getting a time for my surgery tomorrow so it will be tomorrow at noon, AZ time.  I'm as prepared as I can be...got to spend the weekend with my hubby...it was good and hard all at the same time.  He was teasing me today that I always cry when he's here so he wasn't going to come anymore cause I do better when he's not here lol.  It's hard to explain--when he's not here I miss him but I don't get as emotional but when he's here, it's like this flood of emotions hits me, especially when it comes time to say goodbye.  My nurse was super sweet after he left and came and just talked to me in my room and gave me a big hug.  Her husband is in Iraq right now so I was like, "Now I feel silly for crying for being apart from my husband for a mere 21 days compared to how long you are apart from your husband!"  She then told me that she thinks I have it harder because of being sick and all that I go through.  Tonight, I'm reminded that God gives each one of us the circumstances He chooses that are best for us to make us more like Christ and that will bring Him the most glory.  Sometimes those circumstances are incredibly difficult and sometimes we look at other's lives and think they have it easier or that you could never possibly walk through what someone else is going through.  The truth of the matter is that God doesn't give us grace for our imaginations or worries or what someone else is going through--He gives us grace for the race He has put before us and as hard as it is, the Bible reminds us that we need to keep our eyes fixed on Christ--the Author and Finisher of our faith and not compare ourselves with others.

     I was also very encouraged as I watched Matt and Cameron Dodd's testimony of how God has sustained a dying man...I was reminded that I will never suffer as much as my Savior suffered for me.  What a precious truth to remember!  The last 14 days have been hard as will the next 7 or more...my body doesn't heal fast because it's always fighting so many things so while the goal is to go home by the 10th, my recovery won't be over at that point, but hopefully the worst of it will be over.

     Thank you once again for all your prayers, love, and support.  My sister will update my facebook page tomorrow and I'll see about having someone update here for those of you that don't have facebook, or aren't friends with me on there.

     May you all have a great night and remember these verses:

7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss [c]in view of the surpassing value of [d]knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, [e]for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and[f]the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 [g]in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on [h]so that I may lay hold of that [i]for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 Ipress on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

~Philippians 3:7-14~

Me and Waddles snuggling :) 

Jord sort of playing my picture game ;) 

Mountains are so pretty out my window!

Love that my camera will focus on the outside picture!

Hospital Update: Farmers Market and Gift Shop, Oh My!

     I'm definitely starting to feel better, praise the Lord!  It only took 12 days of two heavy duty IV antibiotics every 8 hours...my body seems to be taking longer and longer to respond to treatment, but I'm thankful I still respond!  Several of my PCD friends are going through some really difficult times--one of them is on the transplant list and has been in ICU for 23 days with a collapsed lung and a chest tube due to a leak in her lung which they had to surgically repair yesterday.  Another friend is battling a really serious Non-Tuberculosis Mycobacterium and Pseudomonas infections--she's on 6 different IV antibiotics around the clock and if that doesn't work, she has a very low % chance qualifying for a transplant because both of the bacteria she is fighting are super antibiotic resistant.  My first friend is my age and my second friend is about 10 years older than me.  Some days the reality of PCD hits hard as I watch my friends that I have come to know and love fiercely through our facebook group literally fight for each breath.  Please be praying for these dear friends as they are literally fighting for their lives.  When I get discouraged about how I'm doing, I just think of these and other fellow PCD warriors who have gone before me and walked through much darker valleys and come through the other side and they inspire me to keep on keeping on.

     Today was a fun day--I walked downstairs this morning and the weather is beautiful today! The high is only in the high 60's, but it was sunny with a cool breeze and there is a Farmer's Market every Friday outside the Medical school that is connected to the hospital.  I discovered Vegan magic and pecan bars--SO yummy!  Rafael, who was selling them, had a Bears jersey on, so that's why I went to his booth first and we started talking about the Bears.  He just moved here to help his cousin with this baking business last year from Chicago...so of course I had to trek back up to my room and get some cash and get some bars because I could actually eat them and I'm actually hungry again, which is always a sign that I'm starting to get better.  :)  Then Grandma got here and I had to show her the booths and there were some organic teas and the lady was super sweet and not only gave me samples, but after I shared my blog card with her, she gave me a box of Earl Grey tea, which is one of my favorites!  Then we discovered seafood rice at another booth and split that for lunch--oh so good!

     Before Grandma got there I went to the gift shop to "look around"...they have so much cute stuff and it's always changing.  There are two gift shops--one on the children's wing and another at the main entrance.  The main entrance one has a million butterfly things and the kid one just has so much fun adorable stuff.  They have a little horse that says to press his ear and I just thought it'd make noise like most of them do but it started moving and thankfully I caught it off the shelf--it gallops! My nephew, Hunter, would love it! (And honestly--so do I LOL).  Gift shops at hospitals are so dangerous but they have fun stuff to take your mind off the fact that you are at the hospital.

     My Father-in-law flew into town today from Alabama, got the Uhaul truck and trailer and he and my sister-in-law, Kerstin, drive out early tomorrow morning.  It's crazy how fast time flies...this move for her has been months in the planning so it's gone slow and fast, and I will miss her but I'm excited to see what the next chapter holds for her.  Even though he had to be exhausted, Dad still made time to get us Pei-wei and visit for a couple of hours and it was fun to see him and catch up.  I read the updates on Matt Dodd to him and we both cried...Matt and Cameron's testimony of faith during an incredibly dark time is so inspiring!  For those of you that are newer to the blog, Matt and Cameron are missionary friends from a church we used to attend in Phoenix, Grace Bible Church.  I did a blog post sharing his story a little while ago, but long story short, he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in January and had a stroke and almost died.  He is now walking with a walker and was recently released from rehab and is home with his family--I cried tears of joy knowing the sweetness of reunion as Cameron shared that she would "Lord willing, get to sleep next to her husband and her kids could have breakfast with their Dad."  Things that we often take for granted but aren't promised--Matt will be going to Grace on Sunday in Phoenix for the first time since the stroke and will be speaking--if you live in the Phoenix area, I say go!  You can also livestream their services from their website, which I am planning on doing, Lord willing.  I'm so blessed to call them friends and can't wait to hear what Matt has to say on Sunday!

     Momma stayed the night last night and endured a night of "Ivy", my IV machine, not cooperating and blaring an alarm, "air-in-line" a ridiculous amount of times so she had to get replaced, so now I have "Ivy 2" lol.  Mom's been the only one to brave spending the night so far--life circumstances for so many of my friends have changed over the last few years as precious little ones have graced their lives and Mom has been gracious enough to stay and be with me when they desensitized me in the ICU and she's going to stay for my surgery on Monday so that Jordan doesn't have to use up vacation days to be at the hospital but can actually save them for some actual vacation time this summer--what a concept!

     I also got to facetime my sister which is always fun--I'm so grateful for technology to let me "be" with her and others when we are apart.  I could still be a big sister tonight when she was at the end of a rough day with little ones and her husband, Kyle, was at work as a firefighter on a 24 hour shift.  He's also in paramedic school, so sometimes she goes 36 hours without seeing him with a 3 and 1 year old.  She loves being a Momma, but it's also hard, as all Moms know.

     It's also my Mom-in-laws birthday today so I called and talked to her this morning.  Her sister, Aunt Bindy, flew to AL to keep her company since Dad flew out here to drive Kerstin home on Mom's birthday.  Now that I'm writing all that happened--in between breathing treatments, IV antibiotics, vitals, and all the other stuff, no wonder I'm tired tonight!  It's truly been a fun day--it's funny that I can say that even though I'm away from my hubby and puppies, and my "normal" life, but right now this is right where God has me.  I've been able to continue to make new friends and catch up with old ones and make some even deeper connections--it's amazing what God does when you are squarely in His will and how He sustains you and makes the time go by quickly.  Lord willing, surgery will go well on Monday and I'll get to go home the following Monday, the 10th.

     Thanks for the continued prayers, love, and support! God is faithful and continues to sustain Jord and I--he stopped by Wednesday after work and I was fine until he had to say goodbye...that's absolutely the hardest part of these stays.  Lord willing, I am more than half way through this stay and we can start counting down the days!  As always, here are some pictures to enjoy!

In the Love of the Lamb,
Rachelle

Dad T. playing my picture game :) 

Eating our Pei-wei

Me and Grandma

Yummy local baking company!

It was a "food pictures" kind of day...guess that's what happens when I start eating again!

Fun temptations at the gift shop!

Waddles peeking out from the covers after snuggling with me all night :)