Looking back...and forward

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." ~Psalm 126:3

I ran across this verse today, and it's now one of my all-time favorites. My! The blessings of my life continue to astound me, and I'm not only filled with joy and thanksgiving, but also humility and even a bit of sadness.

I don't want 2009 to be marked in our memories as the year of Carter's accident. Instead, I want to remember all the good times we enjoyed and the milestones of our lives that I've often written about here.

I want to remember Hannah's first day of school. How she was so excited to finally go to "big school" with all her friends to play on the big slide.

I want to remember Carter's first birthday and the way he dove into his cake face first.

I want to remember our trip to Las Vegas when these two country bumpkins tried our best (and failed) to blend in with the big city crowd. And how I got felt up by the Coca-Cola polar bear.

I want to remember our family trip to Six Flags, where Hannah wanted to ride all the coasters -- even the big ones. It was Carter's first time spending the night in a hotel room, and Pop and I drove him around Atlanta for an hour in an attempt to get him to sleep.

I want to remember how much the kids enjoyed chasing Paw Paw and Maw Maw's chickens around their yard. And Hannah named hers Kenny.

I want to remember how, even though during the "bad" times, we gained strength from our love for each other and our faith in God. That through our trials we gained a renewed sense of family, togetherness, compassion and gratitude. That, no matter how difficult our situation, we can see God's blessings and purpose for our lives.

Yes, the Lord has certainly done great things for us. 2009 has been a year to remember, and I pray that God blesses us with many more to come.

Blessings!

We are so excited over the good check-up we had with Drs. Ray and Chaignaud today. Both docs and our wonderful occupational therapist, Lynn, seemed to be thrilled at Carter’s progress thus far. Carter, as always, was such a good little patient…holding his “bo-bo” out for them to see and letting them pull and pinch and prod without the first complaint. Well, except for when Jason had to take his raisins away!

Lynn re-fitted Carter’s splint and said he had improved flexibility in his fingers by 7% and his thumb stretch by 12%. She was practically jumping up and down, saying that was so remarkable for such a short time period (since October).

Even though Carter is doing so well with the daily exercises and stretches, Dr. Ray thinks now is a good time to go ahead with the “z-plasty” to release the worst scars between his thumb and index finger and between the index and middle fingers. After that, Dr. Ray says Carter’s range of motion will be back to normal. This will hopefully be Carter’s final procedure for a while. We didn’t get it scheduled today, but we’re expecting it to be sometime early in January.

Now that we’re well on the road to recovery, we’re realizing just how bad this could have been. Dr. Ray (talking to his entourage) said that it wasn’t uncommon in palm burns as bad as Carter’s for all the fingers to be sealed together and to have complete loss of use. Thank God that’s not the case for our Carter.

I am so thankful that God has kept His healing hands on our son throughout this ordeal. Carter’s pain has been manageable, and his scars will heal. He’s a baby and won’t remember any of this in a couple of years. And God has blessed us with an amazing team of medical professionals (the best in their field) to guide us through and make the best choices for his well-being.

Funnies...

Hannah informed me last night that her dog's name isn't Snoopy any more...now it's Puppy Paws (from the new Santa Buddies movie). But, she said that after Christmas it can go back to being Snoopy again. Jury's still out on how Snoopy, er Puppy Paws, feels about it.

After Christmas last year, I bought her a Rudolph tee that has a little light inside Rudolph's nose that lights up when she moves. It's been hanging in her closet all year, and she's never noticed it. So Monday I pull it out and put it on her for school. She liked it so much that on our way home she informed me that she would be wearing it to school every day. And she wasn't joking. I had to PRY her out of it to get a bath and she put it right back on afterward. Tuesday morning, I struggled to get her into a different shirt, and finally I won the battle. After I got Carter dressed, she met me in the hall...with her jacket already on. Odd. Hmmm. Why do I see a little piece of red sticking out from the collar of the jacket (that's zipped all the way to her chin)? Could it be? Yep. Outsmarted by a 4-year-old. Again. Seems to happen quite regular around here.

So guess what...she wore the shirt to school on Tuesday. Again. But she's settled for just sleeping in it ever since. What in the world am I going to do when that battery goes dead?!

I have a similar "problem" with Carter...he has 2 John Deere tractor tees that he begs to wear (in his own way). Every time we go to his closet to pick out a shirt, he starts fumbling through them saying "tractor" over and over. So if you're looking for a gift for Carter...I suggest a 24m - 2T shirt with a picture of a tractor on it.

He also begs for medicine every night before bed. Ever since his bout with pneumonia a few weeks ago, he thinks he's got to have his "me-mes" before turning in. I mean to the point of tears and everything. How did I get so lucky to have a baby that actually asks for medicine?!

A lot of joy in a little package

This past Sunday, Hannah and I had the joy of helping deliver Christmas packages to the residents at the nursing home. Even though I tried to talk her into staying home with her Daddy and brother, she insisted that she wanted to go. So I put on her new Santa shirt, and she accessorized the outfit with a silver beaded necklace and her new “boots with the fur.”

All the way there, I tried to prepare her (myself) for what lay ahead. I told her that there would be no children except for her and that some people would be sick and in bed. I threatened her to within an inch of her life to only use “nice words”  while we were there. “I will, Mama,” she assured me.

What I saw her do once she got inside those doors was nothing short of amazing. My shy, hide-behind-Mama’s-legs-when-somebody-tries-to-speak-to-me, don’t-even-THINK-about-touching-me child turned into this sweet, kind-hearted, warm and loving little angel. (She also turned into the boss and took charge of our cart of goodies, making sure we covered every room.)

She took gifts into the rooms and sat them on tables or in residents’ laps. She let them hug her and pinch her cheeks and even sat on a few laps. She wasn’t afraid and didn’t ask the first question. She just went room-to-room handing out the little packages. Come to think of it, she didn’t talk much at all.

On a few occasions, Hannah would peek into the rooms and say, “Shhh Mama…she’s asleep. Let’s leave it on the table.”

And what brought me more joy than I could imagine was the residents’ reaction to HER. Some simply smiled at her. Some wanted to just touch her. Several tried to give her candy (which I accepted for her) or cookies.

One husband and wife couple invited us in their room and tried their best to adopt us. The lady said to Hannah, “Come on in, baby. Go see Paw Paw.” And Hannah went right on over. The lady showed us all her pictures and told us where she used to live and just seemed utterly delighted to have visitors.

Another lady was laying in her bed looking out the door into the hall. I watched her watch people file past her door with not much expression until she saw Hannah. Her whole face lit up and she cackled and squealed and reached out for Hannah. So we made a special trip inside to visit with her for a minute.

As we gathered in the lobby to leave, my Daddy told Hannah to go over to a gentleman sitting alone on the other side of the room and tell him “Merry Christmas.” So she did, and he smiled and said the same to her. Then he left. And fast….who knew he could peddle that wheelchair that fast?! As we were literally walking out the door, he rounded the corner and called out to her. He was digging in his shirt pocket, and pulled out a small pearl necklace. He handed to Hannah and said, “I won this at Bingo and been lookin’ for a purty girl to give it to.” What a treasure!

I left there with my heart filled to overflowing. Not just for having visited with those precious souls, but for the feeling of fulfillment that only comes from knowing you’ve brought someone else a bit of joy. Hannah is much too young to understand just what an impact her presence made in those people’s day. I am so proud of her for showing such compassion and allowing them to love on her the way she did…something well beyond her typical comfort zone.

Children are such a blessing…and I thank God every day that He has trusted me to care for the two beautiful and perfect gifts that are my children.