The Butterfly Doctor

Today we took Hannah to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital to have her eye checked....she's had a stye (it's not really a stye, but we'll call it that since it's easier to say and type!) since mid-January that just will not go away. She has been on six different antibiotics for this thing, we have done warm compresses, and anything else we've been told might help it go away. Her pediatrician referred her to Vanderbilt Pediatric Opthalmology to have it checked out since he thought it would most likely have to be surgically removed. We refer to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital (VCH) as the butterfly hospital or butterfly doctor and if you've ever been there, you can probably guess why. In the second floor lobby, which is right next to the food court, there is a huge wall of wooden butterflies that kids can make spin around. Hannah remembered those from her many, many visits to VCH when she was younger and she was super excited to go see the butterflies today! After her appointment (where we were prescribed antibiotic number 7, but no surgery!!), we took both girls to see the butterfly garden and they both loved spinning them!

Today was the first time that I have been back to VCH since shortly after Sadie was born...praise the Lord!! Just walking into that hospital brought back so many memories and emotions. They say that smell can be one of the strongest triggers for a memory and that is so true. We walked by the food court and the memories just came flooding back...I could so vividly remember eating so much Taco Bell and Pizza Hut while Hannah was there that I can't stand to eat either of them now, sending David down to get Ben and Jerry's ice cream for us as our last snack of the night, and waiting with a pager in hand while Hannah was in surgery. Looking around that place was like stepping back in time and I must admit that I got a little watery-eyed over it. For those of you that may not know, Hannah was born with imperforate anus...basically, her anal opening was in the wrong place. She spent a few days in the NICU and a few more days in the hospital when she was born then had surgery when she was five months old to correct the defect. At the time, it was such a big deal for us, but now it seems so small...I honestly don't even think about it most days. For her first year of life, we were probably at VCH 3-4 times per month with various doctor visits...usually when a child is born with that defect, a series of other problems accompany it. We were so blessed that Hannah didn't have any of the other problems...she had some minor kidney problems that self-corrected within the first year and slight heart murmur, but that's it. My emotions today were definitely that of thanksgiving and praise to the Lord for healing our sweet Hannah! It is amazing how quickly we tend to forget our blessings and today was a great reminder...thank you Lord!!

On a side note, I just want to mention how wonderful that hospital is! We have never had a bad experience with the staff there. Granted we've had our share of really long waits, but everything is geared toward kids so it's not so bad! We are so blessed to have such a great facility so close to us!

Here is a picture of Hannah after her big surgery!

Faith Like A Child

David and I just got back from a trip to Colorado Springs and, oh my word, that place is beautiful! We stayed in a hotel, compliments of David's company, that directly viewed Pikes Peak! You can't go anywhere in that town and not see the mountains! We can't wait to go back and take the girls! I just know that Hannah would be amazed at seeing a mountain that big! What a wonderful display of God's work!

As many of you probably know by now, we had a quite unexpected delay on our return flight from Denver to Nashville. We were supposed to fly out at 2 PM and I think we finally got in the air around 5:15 PM...it is exhausting to sit and wait and wait and wait! I'm really not good at it...especially when I'm ready to be home and with my girls! After everyone waited and we were preparing to board the plane I overheard a little girl that was maybe 8 years old talking to her grandfather. She looked at him and said "Papa, do you want to pray before we get on the plane?" He shook his head no and went about his business. Well, that little girl wasn't going to leave it at that! She went on to ask him if he believed in God or heaven or hell...and proceeded to tell him that he needed to believe because hell is for real and it won't be any fun! She was so certain in her words and wanted her grandfather to know it! As we started getting on the plane, we weren't seated near the two of them so I couldn't hear the rest of the conversation. However, I'm guessing that Papa must have gotten an earful throughout the nearly three hour flight because we caught up to them in Nashville at baggage claim and that little girl was still talking to him about it. The grandfather asked her if she knew where she came from and, as sure as anything, she said "God made me and he made you too!", but Papa decided to tell her that she came from a monkey through a process called evolution. She told him he was silly to think that she came from a monkey! She looked at him point blank and said "Papa, you don't really think you came from a monkey, do you? God made you just like he made me and He loves you very much!" WOW!!

Why is it that this little girl can so easily share her faith and say the things that most of us adults don't have the guts to say? She was so confident and fearless in her statements and cared enough for her "Papa" to witness to him. Not only that, but she wasn't swayed the least bit by her grandfather's comments. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she has a Savior that loves her and she wasn't afraid to talk about it. If I only had a fraction of the courage of that little girl! I just wanted to run over to her and give her a hug and a high five...unfortunately, we were in an airport, Papa didn't look incredibly friendly, and I wasn't really in the mood to deal with security! I pray for that kind of courage and confidence in my witnessing and I pray that God will continue to use that little girl for His glory! Just imagine if we all stepped out and shared our faith like that little girl! This world would be on fire bring glory to God!!

I love this!!

I absolutely love this picture! What I love even more about it is the craziness that was going on when we took it! We asked my aunt Drenda to take a picture of us and neither of the girls would cooperate. Hannah wanted to walk in the grass barefoot while Sadie was hiding/pouting behind us. I just love how it all came together to capture such a great picture of our family! This is truly a snapshot of our day in and day out as a family...David and I are just smiling and laughing through the craziness while Hannah and Sadie are doing their own thing!! I love it!!

On a side note, this was taken at my cousin Megan's wedding in Huntsville and it was a beautiful wedding! She made such a beautiful bride and I am so excited for her to start her life as a newlywed!!