11 Months Old!

Hey Israel...You're 11 months old!
What are you up to these days?

*You are already 11 months old? How did that happen? Really...my next update on you will be when you are 1 year old? That hardly seems possible!

*You received your first pair of prosthetic legs! They aren't your best friends...but you are learning to deal with them.

*You stood for the very first time ever in your life!

*You haven't grown much since last month...still 19 1/2 pounds, wearing 9-12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.

*You have been teething ALL month...with nothing to show for it! Such sad times for you. Your gums are so swollen and look so owie!


*Your bedtime is 7:30 and you usually sleep a full 12 hours!

*You are still taking two good naps a day! Praise God!

*You're two favorite things to do are being in the water (doesn't matter if it's the bathtub or the swimming pool) and doing anything outside, especially going for walks in the stroller!

*You have started something new, making faces! It's hysterical! You are so expressionate!

*You have started really loving Baby Einstein movies!


*You now realize that if we are eating...you probably should be too! Lol! You had many first bites this month...which included pizza (You loved it!).

*You still love your bottle! No cups thank you very much!

*And you much prefer to feed yourself...so independent!

*We love watching you grown and develop into your own little person. You are bright and funny and make us smile all the time! Thank you Israel, for just being YOU!

New legs...part 2

So that same day we got his new legs we started our new routine of working with Israel and his prostheses. They want us putting them on him once a day for one hour at a time, of which 10 minutes of that needs to be standing. To you, this may not seem like a big deal. But to us and to Israel, it is a very big deal! Just learning how to properly put the prostheses on is a challenge in and of itself. Making sure they are on at the correct angle and not pinching or rubbing. And then also making sure they are on tight enough so they don't fall on when he kicks his legs. As you can see from the pictures one is different than the other. Israel's left leg is so short and chubby that as soon as we put it on and he kicks his leg and it flies off! So that leg gets a special sleeve to help hold it on :-) It's made out of the same material as wet suit material so it is tight, but breathable. The right prosthetic leg is held on by pressure...it's pretty cool how these things work! Israel didn't mind wearing them all that much, so long as he was sitting :-) Standing though...now that is work! If you think about it, any child who is born "normal" starts learning to stand at a very young age. You bounce them on your lap, their legs buckle from the pressure after about 2 seconds, you stand them up on the floor while being supported as they slowly get stronger and such things for a very long time before they ever stand on their own. So when the time finally comes and they are able to stand up, it is only after months of training that neither you nor they realized they were even doing. So basically that is where we are starting with Israel right now. He has never been able to ever stand before, ever! So we are starting from square one. And it's hard work! It take a lot from both him and I to get him to stand for any amount of time. But just as when you practice anything, I know in time he will get stronger and eventually be able to stand better and better. It is just going to be a very long road!

New legs...part 1

On Tuesday February 2nd we received Israel's first pair of legs! As you can imagine, we were overjoyed with excitement and we took a new "step" (Pun intended!) in Israel's journey. We arrived early and could hardly contain our joy. We met with the Prosthetist and she showed us his legs. She then placed them on him and taught us everything we needed to know about them, wearing times etc.

And then, for the first time ever, we were able to stand Israel up! It was a very proud moment for Jon and I!

Israel on the other hand, was much less excited then we were. In fact, he wanted nothing much to do with standing or with these new legs. To him, they were long and awkward and probably didn't feel very comfortable.

Despite his protest to them, we kept them on him and we were able to occupy him with toys and things to get his mind off of his legs.

After a while the prosthetist took them off and checked his skin to make sure they weren't rubbing weird or anything. All looked good. So we set off for home, with new legs in tow...to embark on a new step in Israel's journey.

(Stay tuned...more parts to this story to come in later posts)

I'm trying...

I promise, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, or forgotten about all of you or my blog. Honestly...I have been trying to blog! Really...I have! I get on here, start a blog, and either don't finish it because it seems boring or because it's to hard for me, emotionally. But I am determined to finished this post! I won't promise it to be much...but at least it's something. And really, that's quite an accomplishment for me right now.

*Can I be honest? Can you read this through my eyes and not judge me but instead hear my heart?*

I am going through a hard season in my life right now. Asking questions that have no answers. Seeing understanding when there is none. Wanting and longing for more...but instead having to STOP and just be. I have decided to change my life to make it more of the way I desire it to be. For the past 3 months now I feel as though my life has consisted of driving to appointments for Israel, going to doctors appointments, talking to doctors, doing occupational and physical therapy for him, talking (more like fighting) with insurance companies...and doing all the "Have to's" of wife and motherhood...such as homeschooling Rachel and Jaxon, cleaning, cooking, running errands, taking them to various events and commitments...and running the children's ministries (I haven't talked about this on here...I don't think) as a part time "volunteer" job...which consists of making schedules, researching curriculum, training teachers, finding volunteers, setting up classrooms weekly, trying to find funds for the things they need, printing materials, cleaning, finding subs for when people cancel last minute, teaching many Sunday's, missing sermons for the better part of the past 6 months etc. etc. etc.....!!!

And in all that, I finally found what was missing, my joy! I was so busy and consumed with doing the do, that I was no longer enjoying most of the things in my life! I hit a real low recently and it brought me to this revelation. The low sucked! But I am grateful for it as it made me see that something HAS to chance! So I began to really look at my life. I got some advise from a much admired mom friend and she said, when life gets like this, look at what you are doing and ask your self these questions. "Is this coming between my relationship with God...with my husband...with my children?" And if there is a yes to any of it...then get rid of it! So I started evaluating everything I was doing in my life and one by one I started letting things go that were hindering those relationships and robbing me of my joy.

It was a hard decision for some of those things because they were things I loved and enjoyed...but as I stepped back and looked at it, I realized that due to the busy-ness and "doing the do" attitude I had, that truthfully I wasn't really enjoying those things anymore either! I am making my life as less busy as I can, while still being a Mom and wife and friend. And each day that dos by I am finding joy again. And as I write those words, my eyes fill wit tears, because it makes me so sad that I missed out on a lot of the simple joys of my life for the past several months because I was so full of "busy"! But I am thankful that I am realizing this now. I am able to just sit, and hold my children and not feel guilty for all the other things that need to get done. I'm not stressing about the dishes or the laundry or the vacuuming because I know there is time later on in my day to accomplish those things...since it isn't so filled with "busy" anymore. I am playing with my children more, taking walks, and enjoying the splashes of sunshine and warm air that come so seldom this time of year. I am opening up windows and letting fresh air in. I am turning off the tv and getting off the computer more often and stopping to enjoy the small and large joys in life. Anywhere from the laugh of one of my children to the smell of roast in the crock pot. Oh life...how I have missed you!

As I sat with Israel this evening after I had dressed him in his jammies and I was delaying bedtime because I knew I was going to miss him once I put him down, I decided to capture some of the simple joys of him that make my life worth living. I wanted to share them with you :-)

I can never get enough of those baby blues and adorable smile!

Precious curls, long eyelashes, button nose and chubby cheeks...doesn't get much better than this!

He deosn't miss not having a thumb, so why should I?

The many faces of Israel...I love his personality!



So I say to you, sit back, and look at your life through different eyes...is there anything that needs to change? That needs to go? If so...don't wait...you will only be loosing precious time that you can never get back. Change now! Don't be afraid of change...it's an amazing thing when you can learn to embrace it! GO LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE! You only get one...so don't waste it!

10 Months Old

(This post is running a bit behind! Where did the month go?)

Hey Israel! You're 10 Months Old!
What are you up to these days?

(So much for the whole sign idea...he wouldn't leave it alone for anything!)

You are a growing boy! You weigh 19.6 pounds! And to think...the doctors used to be worried about your weight!

You are wearing a size 3 diaper and size 9-12 month clothes!

You have switched over to only taking two naps a day...but thankfully they are still about 2 hours.

You have been to Shriners and Doernbechers so many time now that I have lost count!

You got casted and fitted for your first pair of prosthetic legs and feet!

You experienced your first real sickness...a double ear infection plus sinus infection!

You are finally deciding that eating baby food isn't such a bad idea after all :-) However...you still don't seem to miss it if we forget to give it to you.

Bottles are your friend...no cups please! :-)

You aren't so into your binkie anymore...occasionally you will take it, but for the most part you could go without.


You unfortunately still don't really eat any solid foods because you are unable to with your tongue issue.

You were supposed to have your first surgery, but due to insurance hassles it has been postponed.

You experienced your first Christmas and New Year and loved it all!

You love toys that make noise and light up.

You love the littlest details on things...like tags and strings and necklaces.

You are still the happiest baby I have ever known. You smile and laugh and are content to do almost anything.

You are amazing and precious and a gift from God! I couldn't imagine my life without you in it! You make me a better Mom, wife and friend. Thank you for being you...and blessing me more then you will ever know!