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Monday, November 14, 2011

God Gave Us So Much

By Lisa Tawn Bergren~
This little book is so awesome.  Its a children's book and 3-book treasury.  The first story is God Gave us the world...The first sentence in the little story is "what a beautiful world we live in!" I read it to my children and asked them to name the things about our world that they thought was beautiful.  It was so thought provoking to see this come alive threw my childrens eyes. The art detail is just as beautiful as the story is..It draws in their attention and keeps til the end of the story.....It talks about how we are all different but yet God made us

The next story is God Gave us Love~ this story takes Little Cub fishing with his Gramps......When we were finished reading this story my step-dad had just passed away a few months before so at the time my children were grieving for their grandfather...It talks about sharing with others...How we should love others unconditionally, no matter what they do....and at this time we were having issues with our children being nice to each other (a bit of sibling rivarly going on) So they really related to how Little Cub could love something but yet not like them at the same time.  Again we had a very long discussion about this......The way that these books are written are so easy for young children to understand and help them make better choices......

The 3rd and final story of this book is God Gave us Heaven.....the first sentence in this story is "Papa, what's heav'n?" a very thought provoking subject........Little cub's father goes on to explain that its God's home.....the most amazing place we'll ever get to see....It talks about how God has great plans for your time on earth as well as in his home......talks about how there is nothing bad going on in Heaven......How there will be no more tears, no more sadness, no more pain, only good....only smiles" We couldn't read this story right away because of us moving to another state and then me, their momma getting very sick and almost passed away.......but my little sister read this story to them and talked to them about it.......Its amazing how this book helps children understand God's plan for us....What happens once we go to heaven......My children then went on to have a very good conversation with my mother's pastor and he was amazed at how quizical they were of god and how much understanding that because of this book.......

Life is always full of ups and down and to see life threw a child's eye is like no other.....I will eventually be completing this set as there are more books in the series and my children and I will continue to read them and reread this one again and again as we have.......Thanks for such a heartwarming book...

 "I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review"

Where has time gone??

As I ask myself this question, I ponder on what has happened in the last 7 mths that I haven't posted about.  Oh there are a bigillion things going on.

First off in May, I left oklahoma to go stay with my Mom for a couple of weeks.  It was for the best of our family.  Durning this time it became clear that we needed to move closer to family.  I didn't care where as long as it included being closer to family.  I know now the reason for this.  June 11th, Joshua turned 7....Wow where has time gone that my baby boy "turkey" as dubbed by his older sister has turned 7.......Yikes.......by this time we had discovered a house about an hour from my mother's......It was ideal.....4 bedrooms with a half basement on 4 1/2 acres of land.........Perfect and in our price range.....We decided to let the house go in Oklahoma because Kent's health is failing and he isn't able to take care of the responsibilities of owning a home right now.......So we decided for the best of our family and decided to rent the house in Elmo, yes you read that right.......Elmo as in the red creature from Seasme street, lol.........So we packed up and moved our kids, horses, dog and cat to Elmo Kansas.......We were actually suppose to be out of the house on Saturday the 1st but couldn't do it.......Man you accumlate a lot of stuff living in one place for 5 yrs.....Yikes.........We arrived July 6th after having a few problems along the way including Kent pulling a muscle in his back......he could hardly walk.....thankfully my little brother Bobby and my cousin Jamie's husband, Charles and one of Bobby's friends came to my rescue and unloaded our Uhaul......It was suppose to be back the 8th but it didn't get back until the 9th.......I was exhausted by this time and had been having troubles with my blood sugar.......Kent and I both thought it was from the stress of the move and they did go down a bit but not enough.......I kept pluggin away and got boxes unpacked, got my house sit up.......Had my mom up (its so awesome to have her close enough that she will drive to see me now :D) convinced her to let me keep my nephew and my little sister (My little sister hadn't stayed with me since 2006 when she got 13 stitches on the 13th of July) She brought both Sarah and Wyatt up on the 25th of July........the 26th I woke up coughing.....I had slowed down due to the majority of the boxes being unpacked and Sarah was helping decorate my new house........btw I absolutely love my new house.......the kitchen is enourmous......We basically live in the kitchen around the table because well thats what I have always wanted......I do not want my kids in the living room all the time watching tv, its not good for them......I kept getting worse and on the night of the 27th, Kent told me it sounded like I had pneumonia again.........I had been hospitalized in december of 2008 for it so I took him at his word however with the move we were stuck and it was only days before his paycheck came in........So mom to the rescue again.....She wired me some money and Sarah and I took off to the ER in Abilene........This is now July 28th.........From here on out I have relied on things being told to me by Kent, my sister, and 2 close friends and my mother as well........I walked into Memorial hospital in Abilene on my own.....I got in and things started happening really quick.......Apparently my oxygen saturation levels were at 55%.......I should have not been able to walk into that ER on my own let alone talk to them.....My blood sugars were sky high again.......And sure enough Kent was right, I did have pneumonia........I was in one room and they had me walk to the trama room.......I hear them tell me that they needed to put a tube down my throat to help me breath and had me sign a piece of paper......I remember them talking to my baby sister in the hallway and I remember hearing her say please transfer her to Wichita, we have family down there and we know Wichita better than Topeka......After that I'm not sure what happened until I woke up on my Birthday 16 days later in Wesley Medical Center's CCU......they transferred me by ambulance to Wesley because that is where my mom wanted me to go......Mom had to leave work, drive and pick up Kent and the kids and drive on to Abilene because Sarah just has a learner's permit.......She was distraught to say the least......I don't blame her one bit for not being able to stay with me........Kent said once he got there, he had been in contact with the hospital the whole time and they held the ambulance for him to get there so he could see me one last time.......he rubbed my forehead and told me he would see me in Wichita......He took the kids home, got some clothes and my mom filled up the Suburban (Yikes, thats expensive) thanks mom.......My mom then took my kids to her house while Kent drove on to Wichita to be with me.....They had him on the phone with him and because he wasn't there he said he had to talk to 2 different people to give them consent to start a pic line.....From the time I was in the Trama Room at Abilene I don't remember anything......Kent called my bff, another very close friend of mine and yet another friend of mine.....He forgot to call my cousin so she spent days trying to figure out what was going on (Sorry Paulie)......Everyone rallied around me and prayed......For the first 72 to 96 hours they were not sure I was going to pull threw.........My blood pressure kept bottoming out, they couldn't figure out where the infection was coming from......they speculated that I had a heart attack or a pulmonary embolism.......they sedated and restrained me to keep me from pulling my tube out.....finally I begin to adjust to the tube but I still wasn't cooperating very much........I wonder why......The drs were unable to tell Kent or my mom anything....other than I was very sick....Kent stayed by my bedside, only leaving to go warm up (him complain its cold, never), get a bite to eat or smoke........My kids stayed with my mom.......During my coma I missed our 12th anniversary (hey at least we got to spend it togather alone, lol sorry honey I still love ya) and I also missed Alyssa's 11th birthday but my large family friends came threw with donations and Sheri (a friend of mine who has 10 kids and one on the way) was able to throw a birthday party for her.......While I have a lot of mommy guilt about it I'm glad she got to have fun.........Kent had a lot of time to think about things while I was in the coma....We are closer now then we have ever been......We had numerous plans and drs appts.......Alyssa missed her intake appt at the mental health place, yikes.......It meant that she didn't have her meds.......UH OH........by August 7th I was out of the woods but still needed the Vent to breath.......My lungs were not healing as fast as they needed or wanted them to but hey I was still alive, thats what matters...........Finally they told Kent on the 13th that they were going to take my tube out.....they had been weaning me off of the meds that they used to keep in the coma so they knew I was going to wake up because I had been showing signs and they had basically turned off the Vent and I was breathing on my own.......So they knew it was time.......The first thing I remember when I opened my eyes was seeing Kent's face and hearing him say, You just gave me the best birthday present I could have asked for" then he said I love you so much........I tried talking but couldn't (my throat was raw from the tube) he gave me a hug and said he had to go be with the kids but that he loved me and would be back......I looked at the calendar it was August 13th, my birthday........16 days is how long I slept.......the drs nor the nurses would tell me what was going on, why I was in there........I had to wait for Kent to come back the next day........I cried and told him I wanted to go home....I was going to leave AMA, btw I didn't.....He managed to explain a few things to me but things have been coming slowly from him......I was moved upstairs the next day..........When he was up there, he left to get a cup of Joe.......I got up out of bed and promptly fell right on my ass, hiting the cabinets that were in the room.......the nurse was mad at me, I couldn't get back up.......Finally security came in and had a brilliant idea and i was back in bed.......Ok so maybe I'm not ready to be at home........Which I cried some more.......I hated not being able to walk, how could I take care of my kids, my husband, my house.......The dr came in and talked to me.......She was really nice and finally told me what had happened, why I was at Wesley and what was going to happen now that I was awake........Later that night I was moved upstairs..........I couldn't hardly walk......It hurt to walk but the best thing that came of me being in a coma was that I lost 40+lbs while there.......Um hell of a way to loose it but it was great........The best thing yet is that even thou I didn't loose a lot of lbs I lost a lot of inches.........I'm smaller now then what I when I had Alyssa......Yea shocking I know......On the 14th when they moved me out of CCU into a regular room......they put me on a halter to monitor my vitals, that darn thing kept coming off......I had so much fun with it but I barely got any sleep that night because of it.......there was talk of me going into rehab at a nursing home......Yikes I'm to young to be in a Nursing home but I knew that if I went it was because I wasn't strong enough to go home but yet I was to strong for the hospital......So mentally I prepared myself for that......All the while Kent was at home with my kids.......I had one goal in mind and that was to go home to my kids and be home before the first day of school............I actually accomplished that.....I went home on the 17th........I had 4 days of physical therapy......I had a ton of muscle atrophy due to lack of pt while in the coma but no joint lock up.......thank god......I went home with a walker........I couldn't get up on my own, Kent had to help me........I had no strength to do anything........I fell twice after getting home......I seriously wondered why God allowed this to happen to me......I was not one to slow down.......I had 2 bed(pressure) sores that kent had to doctor.........I had to take a shower every night thankfully my grandma had a shower chair that I still have.....the sore on my back healed up within a few weeks.......but the one on my tailbone took more time.......I was sitting up a little bit more everyday but I was in bed by 8:30.......I couldn't help Kent with anything, just getting up and eating was a chore......Mom found me a dr up here and I went to see him about 2 wks after I got out of the hospital.......Dr. Davis was nice but I didn't have the connection there.......I have since seen his partner, Dr. Cook (she is so awesome, I love her plus she goes to my mom's church and my mom had told her about me while I was in the coma so she was privy to the inside history, lol) He said that it would take up to a year to get my strength completely back.......He was acutally suprised how things were going with me by then.....I am a fighter, I have 5 small children at home, there is no way I can slow down......Kent lost it one night and between Alyssa and I we managed to take care of the others.....Hey he has a right to loose it every once in awhile.......the stress finally just got to him.......He admitted he was afraid that I was going to die, that I would leave him......he was the one who was suppose to go first....Um yea that would make sense since he is older than me (muah honey) but we stood united when SRS showed up a couple days later......My house was a wreak due to me just getting home and not being to do anything and Kent was doing the best he could.......They acutally came out because I hadn't filled one of meds.........It was over $200 for a months supply and we just couldn't afford it.......We were in the process of contacting the company to see if they could help us but this was before we could get in to Dr. Davis.....Finally we got into Dr. Davis and he has since filed for the med assistance program and I still haven't heard from them.....but I hadn't needed it as my blood sugars have stayed relatively low.......They finally figured out that I apparently got sick durning the move (hence why my blood sugars were sky high) and when I slowed down it settled into my lungs......Which was just peachy.......I still couldn't get around on my own but I was doing better.....however by this time I constantly freezing......I would be sitting around with a blanket over me shivering and everyone else would be complaining it was hot......they discovered that my kidneys were trying to shut down......I had told them in the hospital that I felt like I was getting an UTI however I didn't have any pain..........I have always gotten an UTI after having a catheder in and this time was no different........I had been throwing up but thought it was just nerves about seeing a new dr........No it was a sign of the UTI.......it had moved into my kidneys and I was running an internal fever.......never a fever when I checked with a thermomoter.........they gave me a shot of rocephian (youch that hurts) and a script for Cipro but did not put me back in hopsital.........woohoo........Kids started school and momma was home.......I went to the school and enrolled them, filled out all my paperwork.........I have had a time getting around as my knees and muscles around my knees are giving me a hard time but hey I am just thankful to be alive.......To be a mom to my kids, to be a wife to my husband.........I survived........the morning after I got home, my mom called and said I needed to come see Grandma........you see this was the reason why I came hoem to begin with........We had been told that Grandma had 3-6 mths to live due to having lung cancer.......but the cancer wasn't going to kill her it was CHF that would......She had kidney cancer years ago and had had to have the one kidney removed........You can live with one kidney but it makes for her to retain fluid......And with her cancer they had to take her off of her lasix which kept her from retaining the fluid......We were devastated to say the least..........So we had expected her to go but I wasn't expecting this........ I knew for mom to call me when I was so sick that it was serious.........I got to spend a few hours with Grandma before I went home and to bed.......Mom had a wheelchair waiting on me at the door of the nursing home........Grandma passed away that same night.........August 18th...........My mother in law's birthday............I was happy that Grandma had gone home but I am still very sad that I couldn't spend more time with her........After all she was my last living Grandma.........yes J.D.'s mother is still alive but I don't know her that well......I was already grown and out of the house when mom married J.D...............So life has flown before us.......I'm moving around pretty good now........Jace has been horrible about sneaking out, we had to put pins in the sliding doors to keep him from escaping out........I still can't get up from my chair in the living room by myself or the couch for that matter........but I can stay up for longer periods of time.......My A1C is down to 6.1 which is basically normal.....Got Alyssa in for her appts on her meds.......finally got her back on her meds...........Have had to take her to Broken Arrow to the orthodontist about her braces as we can't find anyone up here to take over her care.........And even thou it has only been 5 months since her last treatment, She will get her braces off in Janurary and will have a retainer..........A full 6 mths ahead of schedule.......she was suppose to have them on til July.........woohoo......She is recieving pt for her knee from the fall durning the blizzards that hit oklahoma in feburary while she was chasing her chickens.......thats a whole nother story, LOL........We did flag football this year and Kent was coach......OMGosh that was so crazy.....Wrestling season starts tomorrow........Joshua has camp all this week and practice starts the 22nd...Jace and ChiAnne both have to have speech therapy.......ChiAnne also has to have physical therapy.......According to mom she walks like her hips are out of joint......we knew that this could be a problem as with preemies their legs flop open due to no muscle tone......we had hoped she would outgrow it.....but still hasn't......so she will have therapy,not sure when it will start but it better start soon, LOL........Its now the middle of November.......I'm making plans for thanksgiving and buying christmas gifts......I'm enjoying being the mom to my kids that they need........I am not taking one moment for granted as you never know how long we have on this earth....I promise to try to keep up with my blog more often and post more pics asap.......but for now.......love your families like there is no tomorrow.......oh and I still love my new house, LOL........