Preppers

It turns out, my kids are preppers.  They have spent the last several days researching dog breeds so they can be prepared for which dog they want to get when they move into their first apartment together.  It is amusing to listen to them discuss the pros and cons of different breeds as if they were judges at a fancy dog show.  



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Forest Clearing


Taking the Christmas forest down is so much more fun with a kitten! 😃

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Missy Pondered All These Things In Her Heart
Would you like to know what I’ve been pondering since we left the hospital?  —> How in the world can I truly thank all the people who have helped support us through everything?

You can ask my closest friends, and they will tell you how often I have asked them, “How can I possibly thank everyone?”  So many people!  It is a daunting and wonderful task. Tonight, my friend Alicia helped me make a list (thank you, Alicia!), and I will be writing thank you cards shortly.  But I also want to acknowledge as many as I can on this blog.

When it all first started, people began praying for the heart surgery Liberty was about to face.  There were so many people praying, that I’m aware I’ll never know all of them.  Our church surrounded us immediately with prayer and love, and our two homeschool co-ops also went out of their way to make cards, set up a meal train for when we would return, and give Liberty a big send off with lots of fanfare that made her feel extra loved.  Our homeschool choir prayed and loved on her big, and her church youth group did the same, flooding her with cards and encircling her with corporate prayer before she left.  

My friend Kris and her family especially went out of their way to uphold us in constant prayer in the days leading up.  Her husband, Chris, claimed Jeremy as his own special prayer project, while her daughters Anna and Lydia claimed Liberty and our girls, and fervently prayed for them.  Her son Jesse prayed strongly for us as well.  I don’t have the words to describe how much all that meant to each of us!  

So many people were praying like this, but I don’t know who all of you are.  Thank you all!  I was surprised at how big a deal our friends were making of this.  I expected Liberty’s surgery to be somewhat mundane, so God must have alerted the general public to our need to be prayed up.

Before we left, friends brought us gifts to keep us busy in the hospital.  Rachel and Julie, Aimee and Harper and Addy, Monica.  The crafts, bows, and socks were lovely, but my personal favorites were the coloring books and gel pens.  I used them repeatedly.  Especially when I was overwhelmed by what was happening around me.  It was encouraging to be able to focus on one particular bit of Scripture and color the truth of it deep into my heart.

My sister-in-law, Suzy, and brother Nate deserve WAAAY more than just a thank you or a shout out, but as I’ve already told them, I have no idea how to adequately thank them for taking Mercy and Victory in while we were in the hospital, and then keeping them for a surprise month!  One of the biggest blessings to me was the ability to KNOW my girls were not only safe, but they were being lavishly loved and emotionally and spiritually cared for during this weird and unprecedented time in our family.

Our surgeon, who I can’t even think of without a giant grin spreading over my face, did a phenomenal job, and I would trust every daughter I have to his intense care and big heart.  Thankfully his brain is just as big as his heart for his patients, and God gave him some extra wisdom to use in Liberty’s case.  Jeremy and I are so thankful to him and his staff.

We came home for a day and a half before all hell broke loose, and Liberty was life-flighted back to have her lungs rescued.  I wish I could thank the lab tech, Brandie - here in town, who stopped everything to pray for us in the first emergency room and speak words of prophecy and blessing over Liberty’s imminent return and the duration of her stay back at the big hospital.  I’d also like to thank the helicopter transport crew who cared so tenderly for Liberty that even though I was hyperventilating at the thought of her returning to that hospital, they made me feel confident at least that THEIR care in getting Liberty there would be above reproach.

In my driveway where I collapsed on the cold concrete while Jeremy and my parents packed our car, our neighbor Jim and his dog, Guinness, kept me company and loved on me.  Jim expertly guided me through a panic attack and prevented several more, then requested our house key so he and his wife Tina could care for our fish and plants while we were gone.  Who could have guessed how long that would turn out to be?

Speaking of neighbors, Tina and another neighbor of ours, Aimee, faithfully fed our fish, watered our plants, collected our mail… the usual things one neighbor does for another.  But then they took it a step further.  After our time away grew longer, they took our trash out, emptied our fridge of the things beginning to rot, cleaned our house, and dumped the three billion pumpkins that had been festively decorating our front yard from October through Thanksgiving.  Now that is going above and beyond!  I will be forever grateful for the moment I walked into my house after a month away, and everywhere I looked was clean with no impending work to be done!  What relief!  What a gift they gave me!  What value can the words”thank you” even hold?

During the drive down to the big city, following the helicopter and speaking on the phone with the emergency ICU doctor, trying to understand what was wrong with Liberty and trying to comprehend everything well enough to intelligently give permission over the phone for this unknown man to cut into our daughter’s lung cavity, Jeremy and I were a mess, to understate it thoroughly. I will forever be grateful to my parents for driving us, for quietly praying for us, for randomly tossing everything in the house into our van.  I don’t think they or Jeremy missed anything that I can remember right now!  

And our young friend Asa heroically stepped in at that moment to do the things we as parents could not.  He texted me and found out that in Ohio, Mercy was scared, but neither Jeremy nor I had the capability to call and comfort her right then..  He called Mercy and prayed with her and encouraged her in the Lord.  He found out I was panicking, and he sent verse after verse after verse, and then he began sending me revelations that God had begun giving him in answer to his prayers for Liberty.  He spoke truth that I recognized, and it helped calm my soul.  Thank you, Asa!

My sisters Charity and Faith began sending encouragement and activated their churches to pray as well.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital we were meeting nurse after nurse after nurse who spend their lives serving others.  It was humbling being so thoroughly cared for with no way to give back.  I am getting choked up remembering the wonderful friends those nurses became, and realizing many of them we’ll never see again.  But HOORAY!  We’ll never need to see them again!  Can you believe it! 😃🎉  There’s a big THANK YOU to God!!!

Now here’s the part that is hard for me.  While we were fighting to live, letters and gifts and cards came pouring in to our family from all directions, and I have no way of tracking it all.  I was living in a blur.  

Here is what I know: our church sent a package to Mercy and VeeVee in Ohio.  I heard about a box of fidget toys that were a big hit, and a special gift were two tiny octopi 🐙 crocheted with a note included that said something like “An octopus gives the best hugs because it has EIGHT arms to wrap around and hold you.”  The girls ADORED those creatures!  And I’m told Grandma fell in love with them, too. 😍  I learned weeks later they were crocheted by Grace, a daughter of my friend Jane. Thank you, Grace!  And thank you, Church!

My friend Rachel sent a box to the girls and their cousins, and my friend Alicia sent a care package, too.  Maybe more people did, I have no clue.  I do know my kids came home with way more stuff than they left with.  (Thanks a lot, friends.)🤨  I’m totally kidding!  Your generosity melts my heart!  VeeVee told me later when we were finally home together and putting her new toys away on her bedroom shelves, “Mommy, isn’t it so wonderful how people found a way to reach out and touch us when we needed it most, even though we were far away?”

Our hospital room was slowly beginning to overflow with tangible bits of love as well.  First off, the obvious, all the Thankful Strips you all helped to fill out!  I cannot describe how much that meant to Liberty.

Then random items began appearing.  A fluffy chicken and the first chapter of that chicken’s life story.  A puppy dog in a basket with a balloon.  A hoodie with truth and encouragement written all over the inside.  And cards and cards and cards.  A box of hair bows that Liberty treasured so hard.  She said it felt good to be able to choose which accessory she could wear each day when all other choices about her life were being stripped away from her; those bows are another item I get choked up remembering.  Games.  Paints. Crafts.  Activities.  Many of the items Liberty was overjoyed to be able to share with her fellow patients.  Thus cheering them up and making more friends in the hospital.  

Oh!  Socks!  Christmas socks, to be exact.  One of our favorite nurses had a different pair of Christmas socks for every day in December, and she inspired us.  (And by inspired I mean we became envious of her cool socks. 😂)  So when my dear friend Rachel texted me to ask what our friends could send us, instead of replying “nothing” like I intended, I wrote back CHRISTMAS SOCKS!  And Rachel came through for us!  Liberty and I both received several pairs of fuzzy, cozy Christmas socks, and boy did we cherished those babies!  They became a secret code we used to cheer each other up whenever things became unbearable, as they did from time to time.  One of us would point at our feet and say, “But hey!  We have Christmas socks!”  And we would both grin at each other...or attempt a grin depending on our energy levels at the time.  So thank you to whomever contributed with Christmas socks.  Rachel was heading up a group of gift-givers from our homeschool co-op, so I’m not sure who in particular to thank for those.

We would not have even received all this fun if it hadn’t been for my friend Kris who loaded her vehicle with all the packages and drove the six hour round trip to deliver them to us along with a HUG that I will never forget and that I so desperately needed at that moment.  She also brought a devotional and a miracle blanket.  That blanket turned out to be a mini miracle straight from God for Liberty, and I get to continue marveling about it.

Kris also brought financial gifts from several friends.  I’m not sure what the etiquette is when talking about things like that, so I will leave names out and just say Thank You!  What a blessing you all are!  More gifts arrived in the mail, and I also want to thank you all for those as well. 💕

Once again I need to thank my amazing parents!  They stayed in the city and supported us emotionally and spiritually.  Jeremy especially benefitted from being able to verbally process everything with them once he left the hospital room.  What a blessing that was.  Then the driving us to and from the hotel and hospital when we were too tired to see straight.  The food cooking and meal delivering was all done by them and was a main way God kept Liberty from death.  Thank you, Mom and Dad!

While I remained in the hospital, I frequently needed extra, specific prayer support.  Kris was there for me every time.  Are you seeing a pattern here?  There came a day when the situation completely overwhelmed me, and when I asked God who could help, one name came to mind: my friend Mandy.  Her spirit-filled advice and direction immediately confirmed what God had already been telling me, and her friendship and conversation boosted my ability to fight off spiritual attackers.  A couple long phone calls to my friend Alicia also helped put things to rest for me throughout my time there; I was able to externally process ALL the things, and then sleep peacefully.  

Many friends texted me verses and songs pretty much daily, and I was not expected to respond at all.  That was so helpful!  My Bible study ladies: Johanna, Monica, and Kate; my friend Stacie, my neighbor Holly.  The list goes on!  So many people reached out to us in occasional promptings from God, and I know many many more who told me afterwards how much they longed to minister, and the way they best knew to minister was to PRAY and not disturb us.  I appreciate not being disturbed SO VERY MUCH!  So to all you silent friends out there, THANK YOU!!!  

My friend Rachel (the same Rachel who sent us socks) texted me every day.  A new verse, a song, a short story about her devotions that morning, or about her prayer group the night before.  It became extremely clear to me that God had anointed Rachel specifically for this purpose. There were many times when the scripture she picked out was the one thing that I could cling to in that exact moment, and one time in particular when I was struggling to be able to speak to God, she sent a passage that spoke to Him for me and gave me new resolve in my fight against Satan.

One day, I received a text from Mandy and her husband Dave.  They announced that they were downstairs!  What?  Downstairs?  Liberty had been exceptionally down that day and doubting that she would ever be able to leave the hospital.  The machine keeping her alive seemed to be the only thing she could see no matter what I said or how hard I prayed.  Their arrival blew a spark of hope her direction, and that was all she needed to take off in a blaze of prophecy straight from God Himself that He confirmed in my spirit as well!  She flared up in joy and peace and faith once again.  The verse "spurring one another one to good works" flashed into my head, and I walked downstairs to join them in more hugs and prayers and a circle of joy.  They told me about their prayer walk around the outside of the hospital buildings and grounds, and the declarations the Spirit had stirred up in them.  They told me about the dedication plaque they had discovered for the hospital, and a quote on it rejuvenated my faith in what God had told Liberty and me before we arrived at the hospital the first time.  The quote basically restated the exact prayer God had given us for the hospital!  What a wonderful encouragement and confirmation that God's purposes would be accomplished, and our stay there would bear fruit!  Thank you, Dave and Mandy for going hours out of your way to minister to us and obey our God!

Again, I need to thank our friend Asa who called almost every day to encourage Liberty directly.  Liberty told me the smile and energy she could hear in his voice gave her energy and strength to keep fighting.  Asa, THANK YOU!  Our cousins called and joked with Liberty when she was too weak to interact, and they cheered her.  Audrey's grateful attitude encouraged Liberty at a time when she saw none of the barriers around her budging.  Renee', Liberty's choir director, and the entire choir recorded a song and happy messages and sent them along.  Thank you to all of you!  

I'm sure I'm forgetting many others, but like I said, life at that time was a blur of struggles and joys and peace and fighting.  Working to breathe.  Working to stay hydrated.  Working to keep panic and pain at bay.  Resting in Jesus' arms.  Being uplifted by fellow Christians in the hospital and by all of you.  There were people all around the world praying for us, and I thank you all!

Then we arrived home, and the help and love didn't stop.  Friends brought meals: Tina, Christy, Rici, Knoll, Cortney.  But they didn't just bring meals, they brought love and laughter and chit-chatting.  Normalcy.  Can you imagine?  Aunt Donna sewed gnome dolls and mailed them to our girls.  More and more and more cards poured in.  In fact, yesterday (January 12th) Liberty was curled up on the loveseat opening a fresh bundle of cards that had just arrived at our house in the mail.  They had been gathered as they arrived at the hospital and forwarded on to us, arriving yesterday!  There are so many cards tucked here are there in Liberty's room that I have never seen or read.  I want to say thank you to every one of you, but I don't even know who all to thank!

Can I say it again?  Thank you, everyone!  Is there a word that means more than "thank you?"  If so, I need to know it so I can use it!

Then came this past Saturday, when our whole family went to the masquerade ball hosted by our friends.  I watched Liberty dance freely.  Uninhibited by wires or tubes or machines.  She had energy to move and swing.  Yes, she had a little episode where she scared us at the dance, and had to sit down quickly and stop ALL activity.  But even that was minor by anyone's standards.  I've been pondering all this in my heart in the days following.  Marveling at how far our God has brought her.  She wasn't supposed to be able to live outside a hospital.  Do you remember?  And look at her dancing now without a care in the world!

To God:  THANK YOU!!!  I don't take it for granted.  I'm grateful for all Your miracles to us and for all the people you have surrounded us with who shower us with love.  And I'm thankful for the giant "impossible" changes You have made at the big hospital for all the future patients You plan to be ministered to there.  I don't take that for granted either.  We are grateful. 💗



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I Am Here

The photo prompt for January 12th is I Am Here

Jeremy took the girls to dance class this afternoon for me, so I could have a few hours to myself.  Yay! 

I ran errands: returned library books, hit up the post office, filled my van’s gas tank, called the vet about Glory’s infected tooth, got my tires filled at Jiffy Lube. You know, all those relaxing Day Off things.  Now, I’m getting my hair done.  Who knows what I may get up to next?!  Watch out world!

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Masquerade Ball

One of Liberty’s friends invited our family to a masquerade ball for her Sweet 16 birthday party!





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Commissioned
In church today our pastor has started a new series preaching through Acts.  My friends and I are super duper excited about it because we’ve been reading through Luke and Acts together in our Bible Study, and we’ve been yearning for the Spirit to fill and move our church like that.  I went to the second service, and you should have seen the texts flying between us all between services, started by the people who went to the first service!  It was so fun!

While I sat in the service, God said some specific things to me, and then I prayed some specific prayers back to Him.  I prayed tentatively at first, unsure if what I was asking was what I should be asking, but God confirmed it in my spirit, so I asked a little bolder again, and then the enormity of God’s goodness and graciousness to me overwhelmed me, and I began weeping.  

I still slightly wondered if I weren’t maybe overstepping my bounds by such bold requests even though God has already approved them to me.  While I was still wondering this to myself and to God, someone stepped up behind me, put a hand on my back, and began speaking firmly, “He is FOR YOU; He is FOR you; He is FOR you and your family and your children for generations.”  That is when I knew for sure the bold requests I was requesting had been completely approved by God, and HE was commissioning me into a new area of service for Him. 

Afterwards, I turned around and asked the lady behind me if that had been her hand on my back and her voice declaring firmly in my ear.  She affirmed that it was, and said she had never done anything like that before, but just felt an immense pressure that she was supposed to do this for me.  To tell me repeatedly that God was for me, and to bless me that way.  At first she resisted, but then couldn’t resist anymore and just HAD to.  I am so glad she obeyed the prompting of the Holy Spirit in her!

This was extra special to me because previously I had reached out to spiritual mentors in my life with questions about this new calling I believe I have been receiving, and none of them had responded.  God showed me in church this morning that HE commissions me, not people.  HE has anointed me for this purpose, and HE has sealed my life with HIS approval for HIS work.  Bold requests are a part of the new work He has for me to do.

I am excited to see how He accomplishes the two specific items He put on my heart to request.  I am delighted to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! 😃

Also, since it is January 2nd, my photo theme is “this is me.”  So here’s my pic.

I considered moving the throw pillows off the back of the easy chair before taking the selfie, but that would have been too much work, and I was feeling quite content and relaxed at the moment.  Happy Missy. 😊

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Happy 2022!
Guess what?!  Liberty is back to her regular non-restricted diet!  

Also, the kitty cats seem to have given L a reason to breathe deeper and move faster.  She has been doing more and more each day, and her stamina for life around the house is really close to normal.  She still has lifting restrictions after surgery, and she babies her left side and arm quite a bit.  Physical therapy is helping with that but hasn’t resolved it yet.

Her goal is to be able to sing in choir again.  She also wants to be able to ride her bike long distances in the near future.  She used to ride 10 miles at a time, and prior to surgery she had been working her way up to a 50 mile ride.  She’d like to get back to that, but I’m wondering if that might turn out to be a springtime goal.  She’s also recently informed me that now she want to try running a marathon.  It’s ironic that the surgery that is enabling her to get air in through her trachea is the same event that caused her lungs to collapse and subsequently deteriorate.  The humor is not lost on me. 🤓

Our two furries got sick shortly after we brought them home, and Liberty has been leading their care team which is made up of her and her sisters.  The kitties are healthy now.  The last thing to be cleared is Glory’s infected molar, please pray with us that the girls’ teeth brushing will clear it up enough that it won’t need to be pulled.  

That’s right, I said teeth brushing.  I laughed along with the vet when he suggested that as a last ditch alternative to sedating the cat and removing her tooth, But the girls have been serious, and every night they wrap Glory in a towel and brush her teeth amidst her howls, while we all pray.  So funny!

Jeremy asked me out on a date today, and we sat at a restaurant and enjoyed an entire uninterrupted conversation about possible plans for this upcoming year, and then we stopped off at a few different places to complete some tasks.  I got to use my Christmas gift cards from the girls to buy the lumber I needed for a tiny project I’m working on!  I finished my earring holder, and tomorrow I hope to start on a necklace holder.



I bought that sunflower frame for $1.50 at the thrift shop, took the glass and the backing off, stapled burlap inside, and added two 1.5”x1” bracers on the back to keep my earrings from hitting the wall.  Then I hooked my hook-backed earrings into place and hung the fame above my ironing board.  All my post-backed earrings are pinned onto the metal butterfly below.  (I’m also still deciding on a permanent home for my prayer board and for that little basket holding ironing spray starch.)

We finished the evening as a family snuggling with our kitties, eating popcorn, and watching a movie.  All in all, the new year is off to a peaceful, optimistic start.
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Daily Photo Challenge
For several years now, I have been part of a group of people who challenge themselves to take a photo each day based on a certain theme, and I thought I’d take the challenge a bit further and maybe try to blog about that theme each day as well.  We’ll see how far I go with that.

Here is January’s challenge calendar.


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Changes Are Happening

We met with the hospital today, and they updated us on all the changes that are in process due to Liberty’s stay with them.

1. The kitchen is in process of revamping the foods they order and how they order it, so they can provide a full menu to patients who have dairy allergies, nut allergies, gluten allergies, or food dye allergies (as well as possibly other common allergens of which I am unaware)

2.  The I.T. Department has it on their to-do list to reprogram the computer data system during their next scheduled system update, so that when red dye is entered as an allergen, it will automatically send an alert to both the kitchen AND the pharmacy instead of only to the kitchen as it has in the past.

3. The pharmacy has been re-educating their pharmacists on what to do when a red dye alert comes through.  They already have a double-checking system in place, but the pharmacists were not following it.  Thus, inaccurate medications were being sent to patients.  That has been addressed and is continuing to be addressed.

4. All nurses and care providers are being re-educated on the importance of double-checking all medications sent up from Pharmacy before offering it to their patients, and a system is being put in place on each floor to mark medicines better for ease of checking.

5. The need for having dye-free liquid medications on hand - particularly the most common meds like Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Oxycodone and Benadryl - has been expressed to the correct people who can make that happen, and the idea of this hospital going completely dye-free for ALL medications has been sent up the chain.  We have been told the “higher ups” are taking our complaints seriously, and this is something that is now in process.  It sounds like it is a long process.  However, the new information that Liberty’s situation brought to light has shown that this is a serious medical need for many people, and they are treating it as such.

We are to be kept updated monthly as the process continues.  Please keep praying for all of these changes to take place and to be finalized for future patients.

I have had another parent contact me regarding serious troubles her children have faced with the hospital not carrying dye-free medications, and that story has been passed on to our contacts at the hospital.  If the need arises in the future, we can all have a conversation together with hospital leaders, but it sounds like right now Liberty’s situation alone was serious enough to get their attention.  The second story came in handy today to illustrate that this has been an on-going problem there, not just a “supply chain problem” as was suggested today.

Hooray for God and for all the children who come after who will benefit from this!  Liberty has been praying for this since the beginning, and she is encouraged to hear this latest news!  We all are. 😊

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Mending?
I wasn’t feeling well today, so while Jeremy and the girls tidied the house and started on the garage, I sat in the living room and tried to decide if I did or did not want my head to explode; which would give me more relief from this cold I’ve caught?

Thankfully, my vantage point came with some awfully cute views! 


And happily, I am feeling better tonight.  I’m hoping that means I’m on the mend and not just a slight incline followed by a surprise drop!  😊

Keep praying for the hospital meeting tomorrow, please.
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Meeting Update

A friend asked for an update on the hospital meeting, and I found out that this post I had written this past Tuesday had never been fully posted to the blog.  Oops.

So here is the intended post.

Thank you all for praying about the meeting we were supposed to have with the hospital regarding medication troubles.  It was scheduled for Monday, December 20th, at 10:00 a.m., but no one showed up for the virtual meeting.  When we contacted the main person who had set the meeting up with us, she stated that it was her fault.  She had never communicated to the rest of the attendees that the meeting had been set.

A new meeting has now been set for December 28th.

A friend asked me today what specifically the meeting is about.  I have not written about the severe troubles Liberty had with medication in the hospital because it was too big for me to handle emotionally while we were in the hospital dealing with everything else, but now that we are home and Liberty is safe there is nothing for me to handle, and writing about it is just passing information on, no emotions attached.  Hooray for me!!!  I am praying that this information may help save someone else who may find themselves in a similar situation as my daughter was in.

Liberty has severe neurological and physical reactions to red dye.  I intend to explain that in better detail in a future post because this information could save another child’s life in the future, but right now I don’t want to take the time to go into it all.  Her adverse reaction was listed before the surgery, but after surgery she was given red dye in medications repeatedly, and it did major damage.

We addressed the issue and thought it was resolved, but it wasn’t, and we consequently discovered that the hospital was unable to take care of Liberty because they did not have multiple medications she needed without red dye.  We are meeting with the hospital to discuss these issues and to encourage them to consider going dye free for the sake of their future  patients.

I know this description sounds mild and like it’s not really a big deal, but when I write what actually happened, you will understand why it truly is a big deal for ALL hospitals and all patients.  So please pray fervently along with us for this change to be made starting at this hospital.

Our new meeting is scheduled Tuesday, December 28th.


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Glorious Adventure


We adopted two kitties today from our local humane shelter, and we named them Glorious and Adventure because life is a glorious adventure! 😃

Also, we think it is pretty nifty that their nicknames are Glory and Advent, since we got them as Christmas gifts for the girls.  I love how that worked out.  

We realized after their adoption that Glorious is the same age as our cat, G.G. (God’s Gift) who passed away unexpectedly a couple months ago, and Adventure was born on Liberty’s birthday, which was the same day that we discovered G.G. was dying.  God is redeeming that day for Liberty.  He is very kind to us.💖


Here is Glorious.  She is 2 years old.

Adventure is 12 weeks old.




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Our New and Improved Thanksgiving Day

Monday, December 20th, we celebrated our Thanksgiving Day!  We thawed the big turkey and invited friends over for supper (complete with stuffing just for Liberty), and in honor of giving thanks, we read through Liberty's Thankful Chain that we brought home with us from the hospital.

We had a great time reminiscing because each link returned a different memory of the people and conversations that had occurred in our room while that link was being written.  The chain is mostly in order, but sometimes people added to both ends, so we found out the timeline of when that particular chain happened in our lives is out of order.

I thought I'd copy the chain here for you all to enjoy as well.  I've purposefully left off last names or identifying factors, so that strangers won't feel like their privacy has been violated, and if you read your name and see that you are labeled as only my friend, or as only Liberty's friend, this is what I did.  Anyone over 18 years old I listed as my friend; anyone under 18 years old I listed as Liberty's friend, even though most of you are friends with both of us (or all five of us, as the case may be). 

ENJOY! 😊 



I am thankful for lightweight gowns that don't close around all my tubes.  Liberty

I am thankful I don’t have to wear pants or underwear when it takes too much energy in the hospital. Liberty 

I am thankful for good and funny TV shows to distract you from pain. Martha, RN

I am thankful that my bed at home is so comfortable. Daddy

I am thankful that I get to work with with such awesome kids and families every day, Kahli, child life

I am thankful for my hair growing back. Charlene, cleaning lady

I am thankful for my friends and family. Martha, RN

I am thankful for challenges. Liberty

I am thankful for God's omnipresent love. Liberty

I am thankful for people’s love. Liberty

I am thankful for trials. Liberty

I am thankful for angels’ and spiritual beings’ helping me. Liberty

At this point, friends began mailing and texting thankful links to us to add to the chain.  Often the friends mentioned belong to all members of our family, but in an effort to clarify things for readers, if the person was an adult I've listed them as Mommy's friend, and if the person was younger than 18 years old I've listed them as Liberty's friend.

I am thankful for friends to get you through crazy times. Jonelle, Mommy's friend

I am thankful for good times with family. Briana, Mommy's friend

I am thankful my NP said I could have pretzels for a midnight snack. Liberty

I am thankful for your family. Julie, Liberty's friend

I am thankful for God, family, friends. So many blessings!  Anonymous (Frequently we would wake up in the morning and find a thankful link sitting on our sink counter to be added to the chain by us.  We never knew who was writing those night time links, but we assume it was an X-ray tech, or a nurse, or a fellow patient.)

I am thankful for friends far and near.  Andrea, Mommy's friend

I am thankful for the gift of creativity.  Andrea, Mommy's friend

I am thankful that Harper is making a thankful chain.  Liberty  (We found out that a girl in our neighborhood at home had heard about the chain and began one for her own family.  Liberty was very encouraged by this.  One of the bigger battles Liberty faced in the hospital was isolation.  She longed to feel like she was part of a community, and the Thankful Chain being built jointly by people in and out of the hospital and in and out of her room helped her quite a bit.) 

I am thankful for my piece of junk tablet.  Asa, Liberty's friend

I thank God and this country for open doors for me.  Enrique, food service

I am thankful Liberty’s doctor just told me she has graduated from “going to die” circumstances to “morbidity!”  Yay!   Mommy

I am thankful the food is making Liberty healthy.  Grandma

I am thankful for my poinsettia.  Liberty  (The poinsettia was a gift from Grandma.)

I am thankful for pink bows. Especially ones that go on Daddy.  Liberty

I am thankful for Nerf guns.  Andy, Liberty's friend

I am thankful for grace.  Christy, Mommy's friend

I am thankful for friendship.  Kayla, Liberty's friend

I am thankful for God's provision.  Grant, Mommy's friend

I am thankful for people who go beyond their minimum duty to help others.  Mandy, Mommy's friend

I am thankful for all the food I had yesterday on Thanksgiving.   Charlene, cleaning lady

I am thankful for my dog Finley.  Martha, RN

I am thankful for my family especially my eight grandchildren.  Debbie, x-ray tech

I am thankful for great families like this one.  Our surgeon

I am thankful for my family.  Malea, resident (learning from our surgeon)

I am thankful to help you.  Adrein, food service

I am thankful that my California sister came to visit for Thanksgiving and wasn’t afraid of giving hugs. I am thankful to be living in Texas and for the freedoms we have here.  Lil, Aunt Alicia‘s mom

I am thankful for my family.  Anonymous

I am thankful for my new friend Charlotte and her family.  Liberty

I am thankful for my bear, Scotty.  Liberty

I am thankful for Aunt Stephanie.  Liberty

I am thankful for my nurse, MacKenzie.  Liberty

I am thankful for sleep.  Liberty

I am thankful for all my patients to be happy and healthy.  MacKenzie, RN

I am thankful for Liberty because she has shown me that no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in, there is always a reason to smile, love others, and be faithful to our Savior Yeshua!! Thank you, Liberty, for being a spiritual warrior for God and encouraging me through your journey.  Ashley, Mommy's friend


I am thankful for everybody in room 3113.  VeeVee, Liberty's little sister

I am thankful that I can eat fat.  Daddy (Oh, he's a feisty one.)

I am thankful for BOWEL MOVEMENTS!  Liberty

I am thankful for my friends.  Julia, RN

I am thankful for gift-giving and food.  Charlotte, fellow patient

I am thankful for my healthy family.  Julia, RN

I am thankful that God always does new things, and that the new things are always better than the old.  Mandy, Mommy's friend

I am thankful for my family and friends and for the desire God has put in all our hearts to serve Him above all else.  Monica, Mommy's friend

I am thankful for all God has done, and all He’s going to do.  Connie, Mommy's friend

I am thankful for a certain hoodie.  Liberty

I am thankful for TV to cover the pain.  Liberty

I have heard the phrase, “I am thankful for pain, because it means I am still alive.”  The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Everything is a hard command but very effective in learning just how good our God truly is!  Carolyn, Mommy’s friend

I am thankful for Star Trek dates with Daddy.  Liberty

I am thankful for God's strength.  Liberty

I am thankful for the Manns.  Liberty  (The Mann Family are friends of ours, and they went out of their way many, many times to encourage and support us, from an emergency phone call to support Mercy and Victory in Ohio, to almost daily phone calls and texts, to gifts and written stories and photos of the sky and weather since we had no window to see what the sky or the outside world looked like, to even going so far as driving to this city to walk around and around the outside of the hospital grounds while praying, praising, and declaring things that the Holy Spirit revealed to them.  God used each of them individually at times and together at other times greatly in my own personal spiritual battles, to encourage all three of us, and to cause things to happen that I won’t go into at this time, but like Liberty declares here, I also am very thankful for the Manns.)

I am thankful for my family.  Liberty

I am thankful for friends.  Liberty

I am thankful for Lexi and her non-official fiancé.  Liberty  (Lexi was one of Liberty's nurses, and the non-official fiancé was an inside joke between the two of them.  Liberty had me write that link, and you should have seen her mischievous grin when Lexi came back in and read it on the chain!)

I am thankful for being able to write a thankful strip myself, and hopefully in a legible hand. Liberty

I am thankful for the rolling table I am writing this on.  Liberty

I am thankful for doctors.  Liberty

I am thankful for the thankful chain.  Liberty

I am thankful for fish.  Liberty  (Grandma had just delivered a tiny bit of cooked fish for L to eat.)

I am thankful for my very special mommy.  Liberty (awwww 🥰)

I am thankful for healing.  Liberty

I am thankful for the cross.  Liberty

I am thankful for being alive!  Liberty

I am thankful for crying without dying!  Liberty  (When L's lungs collapsed she could not cry or allow herself to experience emotions that increased her breathing, and afterwards she hurt so badly that crying was still off limits.  So when her pain decreased enough to allow her to cry, she was thrilled!)

I am thankful for my four beautiful children and my handsome husband.  Brittany, Charlotte's mom

I am thankful for friends, family, and this hospital!  Nathan, Charlotte's dad

I am thankful to love my career, patients, and families.  Melissa, NP

I am thankful for my cat pickles.  Lexi, RN

I am thankful I’m not a turkey on Thanksgiving!  Asa, Liberty's friend

I am thankful for friends and family and being able to spend the holidays with them this year!  Adrienne, RN

I am thankful for my life and family.  Roy, Uncle Rodney’s Dad

I am thankful for watching TV with Daddy.  Liberty

I am thankful for good nurses.  Liberty

I am thankful for family, health, and my job.  Erica, NP

I am thankful for my friends, and family, and my job.  Lexi, RN

I am thankful the computer system is being changed for allergies.  Liberty

I am thankful for great nurses!  Our surgeon

I am thankful for doctors who know what they are doing.  Roy, Uncle Rodney's Dad  (And I have to add that I am thankful for doctors who are not quite sure what they are doing, but who are willing to try it anyway!  Hooray for brave and optimistic doctors who have done as much careful research and checking as they can possibly do in advance and then take a leap of faith trusting God to do whatever else comes next!)

I am thankful for more time in the hospital to make my thankful chain longer.  Liberty

I am thankful that I always have 15 minutes between numbing cream and getting poked.  Liberty

I am thankful because Lexi just gave me MORE time before she has to poke me!  Liberty

I am thankful I get to drink water again!  Liberty

I am thankful for my kids and my job.  Charlene, cleaning lady

I am thankful for the technology to stay in touch with my friends everywhere.  Aunt Alicia

I am thankful to see you getting better.  Riad, x-ray tech

I am thankful for my job that allows me to take care of patients and my family.  Stacie, Radiology

I am thankful that I get to work with strong and brave and thankful kids and their families.  Love, Lindsay, school teacher

I am thankful for Jesus dying for me.  It must have been extremely painful, and He thought I was worth it.  Liberty

I am thankful for our house and our furnace.  Cousin Andy

I am thankful for my coworkers and for making new friends.  Jason, RN

I am thankful for Star Wars.  Lord Daddy

I am thankful for Liberty’s heart.  Mommy

I am thankful for this hospital, for friends, and family, and health.  Sara, RN

I am thankful for my family, friends, dog, and my patients, and their families!  Courtney, child life

I am thankful that my whole family was home for Thanksgiving.   Jackie, unit secretary

I am thankful for family, friends, and people like Liberty!  Anonymous 

I am thankful for carrots.  Liberty

I am thankful for taking care of Liberty!  Alisha, RN

I am thankful for my husband and kids!  Alisha, RN

I am thankful for VeeVee.  Cousin Andy

I am thankful for my baby boys.  Karie, X-ray tech

I am thankful for my family and friends.  Aunt Alicia

I am thankful for my x-ray team, and our whole team is thankful for getting to be able to take care of Liberty. ❤️ Brenna, Radiology

I am thankful for puppies.  Cardiologist  (This was a man who stepped into the room and then was forced to fill out a thankful.  He never made that mistake again.  Every time he spoke to Liberty after that, he carefully stayed at the doorway and insisted he had not come into the room, so the thankful rules did not apply to him.  I felt like this was a wonderful decision on his part because it gave Liberty a challenge, and that kept her mind occupied by something else for a while.  Also, it was quite amusing!)

I am thankful for Cassidy and Julia.  Liberty (two of her nurses)

I am thankful for clean beds.  Liberty  (Her IV had backed up during the night while she was sleeping, and it squirted blood onto her sheet and her bandages.  When she woke up, the blood stain worried her.  She wrote this after her bedding and bandages had been changed.)

I am SO thankful for my patients -- YOU, and my family. ❤️ Stacy, N RT (R)

I am thankful for mom.  Liberty

I am thankful for every day!  Our surgeon

I am thankful for my family and God.  Cousin Andy

I am thankful to see that even through difficulties we can still be happy. I am very encouraged for such an opportunity to see this. Thank you.   Alex, x-ray

I am thankful for good friends: Liberty, Karl, Mya, and Mercy.  Audrey, Liberty's friend

I am thankful for rest.  Liberty

I am thankful for the thankful room. We need more of those here!  Kelly, x-ray

I am thankful for the opportunity to serve such amazing patients and their families!  Meredith, x-ray

I am thankful for meeting new friends like you.  Madison, school teacher

I am thankful for hair bows and accessories!  Lindsay, school teacher

I am thankful for coffee that I can drink in the morning.  Martha, RN

I am thankful for Christmas music.  Aunt Alicia

I am thankful for sunshine.  Elyssa, NP

I am thankful for sisters.  Liberty

I am double thankful for anesthesia.  Liberty

I am thankful for photos of incoming storms.  Liberty

I am thankful that God has called us to life no matter what circumstance we are in, and that he gives us a part to play in his plan.  Mandy, Mommy's friend

I am thankful for Christmas.  Our surgeon
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Church!!!
We got to go back to church for the first time today! 😃  Liberty made it all the way through, and even spent time with friends afterwards, did physical therapy, and asked to do her dishes chore.

She made it all the way to the afternoon before it became too much for her.  Amazing progress!
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Our First Outings
Today felt like an almost normal day!  We worked on making Christmas presents at home most of the day.  Then Jeremy and Mercy went to a scout camp out tonight, and the rest of us (including Liberty) went to a play!  She enjoyed the entire thing and did not have any trouble with the walking around we did there.  Happiness!

She also started out by making fun of how easy her Physical Therapy exercises were this afternoon, and then was worn out and asking for a break before they were finished. 😃  She LOVES a good challenge, so this is perfect!

Please keep praying for the hospital to choose to change their old way of medicating patients - for the benefit of all future patients.  Our meeting is on Monday. 
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Hope!

Liberty had her first physical therapy session today.  The lady assessed her physical weakness and set up an action plan to get her back to functioning and breathing.  She also told us they have a person on staff who has completed training as a specialist in lymphatic system therapy.  What the what?! 😃

How cool is God!



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He Began A Good Work

I haven't written lately for two reasons.  One, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of time in my normal day to write, and two, I've been very discouraged.  

Mercy and VeeVee came home with colds, and we have had to keep them away from Liberty which hurt their hearts and hurt our hearts, too.  Liberty is still in pain and struggling to do normal daily activities.  She begged to spectate at the choir concert Sunday afternoon that she was supposed to have been singing in, but just sitting through the concert was too much for her.  She had to leave halfway through.  That night she asked me if she would ever get back to being able to live regular life again, and I was so discouraged I couldn't really answer her.

Little things are throwing me for a loop.  I can't find several items since our month away, and I found myself yesterday morning wanting to throw a fit like a little child over it.  The intensity of my reaction to this annoyance surprised me, and even after recognizing my own ridiculousness, I still couldn't shake the overwhelming desire to throw a fit.  At first I counter-acted this feeling by speaking praise out loud to God.  But the praise was weak and half-hearted.  So then I asked God for help, and I played some praise songs that never fail to help me out.  I was able to sing them with my whole heart, a reiteration of God's goodness and my choice to trust and follow Him always, but even that didn't calm the storm inside my soul.

Last night, I got to chat on the phone with Jeremy's dad, and he helped cheer me with a pep talk full of determination and reminders that healing takes patience.  He did help me feel better, but still the internal ickiness lingered.

This morning I asked God to prompt people to pray for me.  At this point, I couldn't even pinpoint what exactly my trouble was.  A general feeling of tiredness, gloominess, sadness.  Gray sky syndrome, maybe.  What if I could just get some time totally to myself?  Would that help out?  I feel like I just can't go anymore.  Then all day today, I've been receiving texts and messages from friends "just checking on me."  Thank You, God.  I knew He was asking them to pray.  But still, I felt the same.

Tonight, I met with some friends who prayed for me, and later Jeremy and I hung out with some more friends.  In the process of catching them up on the past month, I realized the trouble.  A spirit of despondency had taken over me.  I've posted here before about the BIG PRAYERS that God gave Liberty and me in the very beginning, and I have been feeling discouraged because there is one final piece that has been addressed, but it has not yet been changed at the hospital.  I've been feeling like that one thing was an impossibility, and maybe we would need to resort to more drastic measures ourselves that I dread going through.  But tonight, as Jeremy and I recounted all the bad of the past month and then all the goodness of God in the land of the LIVING, that despondency fell away!  

While ticking off on my fingers the changes God has already set in motion out of all those BIG PRAYERS, I received once again assurance that GOD is not done doing BIG THINGS.  He intended it from the very beginning, and He is not going to walk away from an incomplete job.  He is still using us, and just like healing takes patience, sometimes waiting on God to finish what He starts takes patience.  

"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion in the day of Christ Jesus!"

Patience is quite possibly my hardest character trait.  Well, maybe my second hardest.  But it is right up there, let me tell you!  But now I can wait again with patience and eagerness for God's finished answer to be handed out for the good of all future kids!

Jeremy and I have another meeting with the hospital on Monday.  Please pray for God's work to be accomplished, and my desire is that God won't ask us to go through more drastic measures, that He will just do it completely on His own.  Will you please pray with us?

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Our Girls Are HOME!!!!

Everybody all together in the same place at the same time!!!  :-D

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My Overall Evaluation
Amidst all the joy and relief of going HOME Thursday with a relatively healthy child and not back to the big hospital with a collapsed lung child, I should have been feeling ecstatic or something exuberant, but later that evening when I got to hang out with my Bible Study ladies they asked me to rate overall how I was doing on a scale of one to ten.

I stopped to evaluate, and I realized to my surprise that I couldn't really give them an answer.  It's like this: right that second, I would say I was at an 8 or 9.  Because my girl is home - in pain - but home.  My husband is home with her, and he is vigilant, which then made me capable of being out with my friends for the first time in a month.  And my MJ and VeeVee would be returning home the next day which is the happiest!  

I tried not very successfully to describe how I felt.  I can evaluate that second, but I cannot say overall how I am doing.  Because "overall" includes past seconds and the possible prediction of near future seconds, and past seconds have been awful - a zero on a scale of one to ten.  And near future seconds, I have learned, have no guarantee of being anything anybody wants to live through.  So giving an overall evaluation didn't feel like something I was capable of.

Later, I was chatting with another dear friend who at first assumed I was feeling morose, but I wasn't.  She tried to cheer me up by saying things like, "The worst is behind you."  But I don't know if that statement is actually true or not.  I hope it is true.  I tried to explain to her the precariousness of our situation.  The surprise trip to the emergency room that day which could have easily put us right back in a long term chest tube situation was a perfect example of how precarious this new life is, and dealing with that reality can be hard.  

After my explanation, she understood, and together we got to praise God over the fact that He is in every second.  The good ones, the bad ones, the past ones, the present ones, and the future ones.  There is a peace and joy innate in knowing no matter what comes next, God will be there with us just like He was with us through all the past events.  Sometimes He steps in and changes things; sometimes He wraps His arms around and holds us in the things.  But He is always there.

That is what I explained to my wonderful friend.  That I have one second to live in, and that is this second right here.  I am happy and content and living it fully.  And although I have to be aware and have to have a plan ready to activate for possibly awful future seconds, I don't have to dwell on what might happen in future seconds because I have God's certainty that He will be just as present and capable in those seconds as He has been in past seconds.

And that is my overall evaluation for now.  :-)
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Emergency Room Again

Last night before bed (Wednesday night), Liberty told us her pain level kept increasing, and when I did her nightly swelling check, her left side and back lung area and former chest tube site was slightly swollen.  It could have been simply from basic soreness and inflammation, so I told her to go to bed, and we’d check again in the morning.

Neither of us had any dreams Wednesday night!  Hooray for God!

This morning (Thursday) her swelling was larger than last night, and her symptom list was getting longer and more pronounced.  I called her family doc, who couldn’t squeeze her in until Friday.  Then I called her surgeon's office twice, but no one called me back.  Next I  decided to take her to the ER since these were the same symptoms and same swelling site that she had the last time when her lungs had collapsed and she needed to be life-flighted, and I knew the ER could do an x-ray for her to check the amount of fluid on her lungs.  Based on the size of her current swelling, I assumed we had more time than previously, but I didn’t know how quickly this could progress since last time I had caught it after the progression.  I decided we probably had enough time to gather random items we would want for an extended stay back in the hospital with a new chest tube, and that’s what we did.  We repacked our not yet fully unpacked suitcases, and I collected all our medical paperwork.  Then we drove to our local ER.  The same ER that had life-flighted her to the big hospital a month ago.

I cried.  

I told God He had better have a REALLY good purpose for this.  I would submit, but only if He had a good plan for why we were going back.  

Liberty named a certain person at the big hospital who she had given the gospel to, and said maybe we were going back to continue talking with that person about God.

I calmed down a bit.  Okay, God, I told Him.  That is a great reason!  I’ll go back, but only if You’re planning to rescue that person.  I wanted to extract a guarantee from Him on this one-sided deal I had just made, but He remained silent.

I couldn’t suck any air in.  I began coughing and choking for air.  Liberty stayed silent in the back seat.  When I asked her how she was doing, she sighed.  “I’m memorizing the sky.”  During our month in the hospital, we had no windows to see the outside world.

Our friend, who had no idea what was happening at the moment, texted me the following song out of the blue, and Liberty began playing it repeatedly.  “Mom, are you listening to these words?”  So I stopped to listen.


“I wish I knew when this mountain in my way is gonna move
Hope it's okay to tell the truth
Sometimes the doubt starts to win
Yeah, I'd be lying if I told you I was anything but weak
Right now my struggle is all I see
But I'm not giving in
My story will not end in defeat
'Cause nothing can stop an unstoppable God
He's not afraid of impossible odds
This is the promise that I'm standing on
Nothing can stop an unstoppable God”
My heart responded immediately, and I knew I had to surrender ALL to my Almighty, Worthy, Unstoppable God.  Even another chest tube for Liberty.

Through a jaw and throat so tight with emotion, I forced words to come out loud, “Yes, God.  You can have this, too.  There doesn’t have to be any spectacular purpose. I will just submit no matter what.  If You use this for something great, that’s great.  And if we are simply returning for another month or two in the hospital, I’ll put that in Your hands as well.”  

My chest loosened immediately, and I could suck full breaths of air in again.  My jaw and throat loosened next, and the pain disappeared.  I was thankful for that release because the sorrow did not leave me, but a peaceful determination came to be its friend.

At the doors to the ER, Liberty stopped.  "Are you okay?" I checked.  "Yes" she sighed.  "I'm just breathing the fresh air before I have to go back."  We stayed at the doors several minutes.

And then guess what???

It was not her lungs filling with fluid after all!  It turned out to be the leftover lymphatic fluid being absorbed into her tissues which then swelled up and caused pain!  HOORAY!!!!
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