Long Overdue

"The Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Psalm 34:18

OK - I admit it.  I've dropped off of the face of the earth for awhile.  I just needed a break!  We wanted to just focus on drawing together as a family, fixing stuff around our home that has been sorely neglected, and getting caught up with all of the work that didn't get done while Haven was in the hospital.  I think I can safely say we are back on our feet!  Finally! 

Thanks to our friends who continually ask how Haven is doing.  It moves us beyond words knowing that our daughter has people in this world who are cheering for her and care about her progress.  Our family continues to be amazed at all that God is doing for Haven.  She is such a blessing!

This summer has passed quickly.  There was not as much time to spend together as we are used to.  Those in education don't get as much time "off" work as many believe.  Admittedly, I'm still trying to get used to Aaron's 'new' job as assistant principal.  I feel like I'm doing better, but even though I may find a groove, I will never like the hours!  Anyhow, we where able to paint our deck (what a difference a couple coats of deck stain make!), refinish a half bath, and prepare ourselves for the upcoming school year.  Work with our youth group at church also kept us busy, but it is enjoyable work and we love spending time with a great bunch of teens.  We often encourage them to "think outside the comfort box" and consider what ministry/service God may be calling them to. 

My parents celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary this year.  We hosted a surprise party in their honor.  It was a ton of work, but also a ton of fun, enabling us to see many family and friends we have not seen for awhile.  My parents were surprised by the party and thrilled to spend time with their closest friends and family. 

Mom and Dad cutting the cake at their 40th anniversary celebration.

Four of our five enjoying a meal at the party.

This summer we traveled to Charleston, South Carolina for a few days where we visited Patriot's Point.  We also visited a beautiful plantation called Boone Hall Plantation where we learned a good amount about slavery.  Eden was so inspired to learn more about that time period that she began reading an American Girl book, Addy, which tells the fictional story of one child's experience escaping on the underground railroad.  I just love taking our children to historical locations!  I love setting them up for a teachable moment and opening their eyes to the world around them.  The conversations that our family has following those kinds of experiences are priceless.



We experienced much rain while we were visiting Charleston, SC.  Here we are visiting Patriot's Point in Charleston Harbor.

Haven and her buddy Eden enjoy sitting in an airplane.

Haven standing in front of the slave cabins at Boone Hall Plantation.  We were told that these cabins were the NICE cabins reserved only for slaves who were skilled laborers.  Those that worked in the fields lived in wooden shacks with dirt floors.

After Charleston, we headed to Surfside Beach for a much needed week of recreation and relaxation.  I can honestly tell you that it was the best week we've had in many, many, many years.  It was so nice to be alone with our children - without all of the distractions of home.  Haven enjoyed her first experience in the sand and the ocean.  I believe that walking around on the beach and in the water every day for a week was great therapy for her.  I know she was working hard because the poor girl took three hour naps every afternoon and still was ready for bed at 9:00!  Levi really enjoyed digging holes in the sand and catching 'critters' with big brother Micah.  Brenna and Eden liked jumping waves, but decided not to go in too far. Like me, our girls prefer to swim in critter-free water. The girls were creeped-out by the jelly fish Micah (of course) found laying on the beach on our first day there.  We counted 3 people in our condo that were stung by a jelly fish throughout our weeklong stay.  Yikes!  Thankfully, we had no problems with them.

I'm so blessed to have been given these people to love!

I just love seeing them tanned with sun bleached hair!

Love these girls!

Our trip home was an adventure.  After noticing a cut in one of the tires at our lunch stop, we ended up purchasing 4 new tires at a shop in South Carolina.  We intended to replace them after the trip (hoping to put the trip miles on the old set--hey, we're cheap!), but I guess that wasn't soon enough.  Our typical 11 hour trip home turned into a 16 hour trip.  The kids were great--despite the traffic jams and extra hours, everyone stayed calm and [generally] cheerful.  Thank God for a portable DVD player and snacks!!!

Just one week after we returned from vacation, Aaron went back to work and the kids and I started the new school year.  As I write this, we are in the midst of our fifth full week.  So far I am very happy with their progress and with our curriculum choices.  We made several big changes this year and I'm anxious to see if things work out how I planned.  Currently, I have kids who are really excited about school and what they are learning.  Yes, I am well aware how rare that is.  I pray this year will go smoothly with no catastrophic life events to interrupt their progress.

Sweet Haven continues to improve.  Just two weeks ago we discovered she is able to run once again.  She looks a little funny as she does it because her left leg is still much more weak than her right leg, but we are thankful that she has regained this function.  She was also able to jump a teeny weeny bit last week and that was definitely something to be thankful for!  Haven has been wearing some lovely neon orange ankle weights around the house to increase the strength in her legs.  They look so nice with her bright purple tennis shoes!  I am now taking Haven to physical therapy and occupational therapy only once per month.  She has speech therapy twice per month.  This reprieve in the therapy schedule comes at a perfect time as we just began the new school year and I really need to be at home with the kids most days.

Haven's last eye appointment was a little surprising.  It appears that she has developed a pretty significant astigmatism.  So now we have a fifth member of the Walker clan in glasses.  At least she fits in with the rest of us!  We think she looks really cute in them!

One frustration that I've encountered with Haven this summer is the 'Daddy factor'.  Daddy is Haven's favorite person.  Throughout the summer Haven preferred Daddy over Mommy, which is difficult for this Mama to accept.  I don't begrudge my husband, but I long for our little girl to regularly wrap her little arms around my neck and tell me how much she loves me.  I long for freely given kisses that I don't have to coerce out of her. Alas, I keep praying that Haven learns how much her devoted Mama loves and cares for her.  I wonder if my Heavenly Father feels the same about me.  Does He miss me when I give my time to worldly pursuits?  Does He long for my time and affection?  Do I hurt Him with my distraction and inattentiveness?  My struggles with Haven are a wonderful reminder to me that my Father in Heaven desires my attention just as I long for Haven's attention.  I'm taking positive steps to give more of my attention to Him this year.  Haven is starting to mellow out now that Aaron has been back to work for several weeks.  Now when we are together she prefers Aaron for fun and me for nurturing.  That's fine by me!

Check out Haven's wild hair do.  Can you tell our girls are anxious to put her hair in pony tails?

I just love this photo of our little Chinese Princess!

 Speech continues to be the area where Haven struggles the most.  As a family we struggle to understand Haven when she attempts to make the sounds needed to form words. Although I recognize that Haven has been improving, this mama has been encountering some heart break as a result.  It's excruciatingly difficult for me to witness my child struggle and struggle despite all of her hard work.  Occasionally I have found myself filled with despair, asking God questions like:  "Will she talk?  Will she be able to function?  Will we EVER understand what she is saying?"  Early last week I was so desperate to understand my child as she was repeatedly screaming the same thing at me over and over that I broke down in tears.  As I was pondering the situation I realized that I haven't been praying for Haven in this regard.  So, I took a Mommy time out to fervently pray that God would give Haven words.  What a relief it was to give my burdens to my God!  Since then I have continued to pray for Haven nightly and to faithfully work with her daily.  Sometime over this past weekend I realized that Haven was saying some new words that I hadn't heard her saying before, so I got out a piece of paper and I began to make a list.  In two days we had two very full columns of word phrases on that paper to take to Miss Patti, Haven's therapist. As we were getting ready for speech therapy yesterday Haven brought a book to me and said, "This is my book."  It was rough sounding, but I was shocked that I clearly understood her words.  It was also an exciting moment because that was her first full sentence.  Speech therapy went amazingly well.  The therapist was so encouraging and excited with all of Haven's new words.  On the way home from speech we hit a rumble strip and Haven plugged her ears, laughed, and said, "That scare me."  All night last night she imitated and spoke to our big kids.  In fact she talked so much that we were all happy for the quiet once she went to bed.  She was telling them things like:  "get out, go away, all done, more please, Bubbie come he-ah (Brenna come here), catch me, hide, and that's funny."  Best of all was when she told me, "I love you, Mommy," when I put her in her crib for her nap this afternoon!  Her words are still not completely clear, but she is definitely talking...A LOT!  I praise God for those words and I pray someday they will be so clear that she will praise the Lord for all He has done in her life and all who listen will understand her clearly.

The final bit of news from the Walker family is regarding our youngest son, Levi.  Not many people know this, but last year roughly a week and a half after we returned from China with Haven, Levi was diagnosed with a seizure disorder.  It was so bad that he was having between 40-60 seizures per day.  The seizures look like staring spells, so for awhile we did not realize what was happening.  Levi was sick when we left for China and as the illness worsened, those staring episodes did also. That's when we realized he was having a problem.  To make a long story short, we have been trying for over a year to find a combination of medications that will completely eliminate his seizures to no avail.  We have come so close a few times, but each time we are close he ends up at the max amount of that particular medication he is able to take.  For the past three months we have been working with a new medication.  In about two weeks Levi will be up to the maximum dosage for that medication.  It looks promising, but so did the others.  Please pray our boy will be seizure free soon.  What a burden that would lift!

This isn't the best photo of Levi.  I really do try to take photos of him, but never get clear ones since he's rarely still!

There's so much more I could report, but it will have to wait until another day.  Our schedule is filled this month and I have a long 'to do' list.  Before closing, I want to remind those of you who are broken-hearted as we have been that the Lord is close and He loves you.  Give your burdens to Him. 

We treasure your prayers and find them so helpful and encouraging!  Thanks for reading!

Love in Christ,
Sarah

Praise and Patience

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  - Galatians 5:22-23

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.  - Galatians 5:25

I apologize that it's been a while since my last post.  I had really good intentions to keep this blog updated regularly, and I still intend to do just that, but I'm sure that you can understand when I say that I have a ton of catching up to do at home. There are many balls that I dropped during Haven's hospital stay.  So, I have spent much time getting our home back into order, assessing our children's school work, completing a ton of paperwork, catching up on church work, and looking at curriculum for the 2013-2014 school year.  I've also been rescheduling appointments, restocking our cupboards, purchasing birthday gifts for a couple of lovely young ladies, and planning fun activities for our wonderful children who have been so patient during this time.  Thankfully we started school in late July last year, so even  with the delay we should easily have all work completed before the end of the first week in June. Hooray!  I pray that we will then have time to relax and spend time together as a family.

It was especially nice to spend some time with my sister and her two boys recently.  Haven adores babies.  She really likes to touch Becky's baby Eli.  What a fun time we have together!  I just had to include this photo of Haven and my nephew Max checking each other out.  Too funny!

This has been a busy time in other regards as well.  On the Saturday before Mother's Day, I spoke at our church's Mother - Daughter Banquet.  It was such a blessing for me to be able to share a tiny bit about what God has done in Haven's life from before her 'Gotcha Day' through her surgery, stroke diagnosis, and readjustment to being home.  It was a difficult thing to do with my emotions on overdrive and with the events of the past couple of months still swimming in my mind, but I just feel so compelled to publicly praise God for all HE is doing in Haven's life and ours.  The photo below is of the girls and I as we practice a song we prepared to share at the banquet.

We celebrated Haven's first 'Gotcha Day' on May 14.  We decided to take Haven to her favorite Chinese buffet restaurant where she ate bowl after bowl of noodles.  After the meal, we came back to our home to watch home movies of Haven's first moments with our family.  I am so thankful for how well Aaron documented our time in China.  Even stuff that I found stupid at the time is now interesting to us.  Yes, Dear, You.  Were.  Right.  (He's never going to let me live this down!)  The kids talked about their favorite memories of our time in China as well.  It was such a fun evening!  The temple in the background of the last two photos is called the Temple of Heaven.  We actually saw that temple in Beijing while we were in China.  It's funny to us that there is a photo of that temple at our local Chinese restaurant!  I've added a few photos of our China trip and then some of our Gotcha Day celebration.

Aaron and I with Haven about 20 minutes after seeing her for the very first time.  She was tired, hot, and thirsty!

Haven and Mama right after I managed to get her to sit on my lap for the first time.  I was on the floor because that is where Haven was comfortable.

Our first family photo with Haven.  This was taken in the lobby of our hotel.

Haven's official adoption decree.

A walk in a beautiful park in Nanning, China was the perfect way to help our girl feel comfortable. 

Here we have the Walker Five at the Chinese restaurant where we celebrated the anniversary of Haven's Gotcha Day!  This was taken just a couple of weeks ago.

I just love Haven's happy face!  Can you see her dimples?

Love this family!

See?  I told you we saw this temple in China!  Notice Levi and me in the front of the photo.  The sky is overcast because that's how the sky looks all of the time in Beijing.

Our sweet little Eden turned eight years old on May 16.  We spent a couple of days doing fun things to celebrate her. She received some beautiful new bedding for her bed and speakers for her ipod.  Suddenly we are hearing much more music blasting around our home!  My favorite part of Eden's birthday was our Mommy/Eden date.  We ate at Panera Bread and went shopping.  It was so much fun!

Eden in Nanning, China in May of 2012 celebrating her birthday with her Chinese birthday cake.  It was a special day!

The incredible Walker children....my cup overflows with love for these kiddos!

Who doesn't want to lick the plate clean when there is ice cream still on it?

This is pretty much the result after most meals.  We are still working on feeding skills!

Aaron and I with our sweetie Eden (or Lulu as we like to call her).  I can't believe she turned eight!  It was fun to celebrate her birthday at home this year.  Last year we were in China with her new sister for Eden's birthday.  Eden said that Haven was her best gift ever!

Haven really enjoys heisting our phones.  Here she is playing a toddler game on mine.  Check out what Levi has in his hand in the background.  That kid is incredible at video games.  I can't say that I'm proud of that fact or that I've encouraged it!

Therapy seems to be going well at Akron Children's.  Haven continues to improve, but not as rapidly as she did at first.  Sometimes it is so difficult to be patient while waiting for Haven to make more improvement.  I find myself growing weary of the waiting, then I stop and remember how far we've come and I find that I am more at peace.  I have so many hopes for our daughter.  I hope that people will be able to understand her speech, and I hope that she will walk smoothly without listing to one side.  I hope that she will be able to look back on this time in her life and say, "It is Well With My Soul."  Obviously, I'm still learning lessons about taking life one day at a time.  Losing one day per week to therapy is difficult to manage when you have four children who want to do activities as well.  This week I was beginning to freak out about our schedule next year and literally two days later God worked it all out!  So, I'm still learning and growing throughout this experience.  It's not over yet either!  We just learned last week that Haven is facing about another year of once per week therapy for speech and we are still waiting to hear about PT and OT.  Through it all, I find that I am just so weak and need to lean on my Savior for strength.  No, this is not what we wanted Haven's life (or ours) to look like for the next year.  We were thrilled when we thought her heart surgery was the end of our running to doctor appointments.  We plan and God laughs, right?  I have so much more growing to do and I am blessed that I serve a God who loves me and holds my life in His almighty hands!  I'm thankful that He forgives my weakness and supplies strength when I have none left.  I'm humbled that He loves me through it all and works things together for good.  May His great name be praised!

Sleep is a Beautiful Thing

Psalm 121

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;

From where shall my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, He who keeps Israel

Will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;

The Lord is your shade on your right hand.

The sun will not smite you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

The Lord will protect you from all evil;

He will keep your soul

The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in

From this time forth and forever.

Well, we are home now.  As Levi says with a look of disbelief on his face, "Hey, Mom...We're all together as a family again!"  It's true.  And it's wonderful.  And exciting.  And challenging.

After arriving home on Friday evening, I think I finally realized just how tired and run down I was. So, instead of conquering the loads of laundry that awaited me or cleaning the bathrooms that were screaming for attention, I rested without even unpacking my suitcase.  Saturday was truly our first day off in almost seven weeks.  (Yes, it's true that we had been home several weekends before, but I was busily running errands each weekend.)  My wonderful husband left me alone on Saturday morning and for the first time in many, many, many years I slept until noon!  I didn't intend to, but I guess that's what happens when you are taking allergy medication, you have been sleep deprived for seven weeks, and you don't set an alarm.  I will admit that the sleep felt wonderful, but I did feel terribly guilty that I got to sleep in and Aaron didn't.  Anyhow, after sleeping it was nice to have some long-awaited family time, however, we quickly realized that having everyone under the same roof again is going to take a period of adjustment.    

Sunday was a blur.  What a privilege it was to worship in God's house!  After church, we enjoyed lunch at Arby's and ran a few errands.  When we got home, Aaron and I both laid down to take a nap.  We slept for about an hour and a half!  It felt so good!  When we woke up, Micah commented that he hadn't seen me much because I've been sleeping all weekend.  As guilty as I felt, I knew it was necessary to rest because I'm not a decent mom if I'm tired and cranky.  Aaron and I enjoyed time playing outside with our youth group on Sunday night and then we went to sleep - again!  

Monday was where the challenging part came in.  By the time Monday rolled around, I was weary of living in squalor  Our house looked like a bomb went off, our children needed long-overdue help with school work, and my Littles were back to their usual competitiveness and hourly foraging for snacks.  Everyone seemed to need my attention all day long.  I didn't manage to get the house completely cleaned up or the school work all done, but I did manage to get dinner on the table...at 6:45 in the evening.  Haha!  Overall it was a good day.  

Tuesday was pretty similar to Monday, only a little less stressful.  I managed to calm down around 11 a.m. after we mostly had the house back in order.  It literally took us 2 days to get things picked up, but it was worth every second.   I am so thankful that my wonderful husband was able to come home to a clean house this evening.  He said, "Wow, it's amazing that just having the house cleaned makes you more cheerful."  Aaron recognized immediately that all of us were in a much better mood because of it this evening.  I'm thankful for all of his hard work.  He was quite the laundry champ last evening!  

So, now that I've had time to reflect on these past few days, I am thankful for all that God is still teaching me.  I've learned that I have much learning to do in regards to parenting.  I've also learned that my people really need me around here.  Actually, that feels pretty good.  I've relearned that I have really great kids who need a leader - that's me - to help them through life's hiccups and roadblocks.  I'm privileged to have those five beautiful blessings in my life.  The highlight of my time home thus far was watching all five of my children 'catching a rabbit' for their brother Levi outside at dusk.   (Don't worry, I knew all along they'd never catch that rabbit.  Have you seen them?  They are super fast!)  The sun was glowing on their hair and in their eyes as they chased that rabbit around the back yard while laughing and calling to one another.  It was a beautiful thing to see them working together, enjoying one another's company, and worry-free for the first time in awhile.  It made me even more thankful to be present here at home with them again.  Finally, I've learned that sometimes it's okay to sit down and take a break.  Psalm 121 tells us that our amazing God doesn't require sleep.  Jokingly, Aaron and I always quote Proverbs 6:9-11 to one another when we rest.  

How long will you lie down, O sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep?

"A little sleep, a little slumber,

A little folding of the hands to rest"--

Your poverty will come in like a vagabond 

And your need like an armed man.  

~Proverbs 6:9-11

Sometimes I think Aaron and I feel guilty about taking a break.  We need to remind ourselves that God showed His intention for us to rest by giving us the Sabbath day to worship and renew our bodies.  Who can keep going and going without rest?  Even the Energizer Bunny has to stop sometime.  As long as we aren't being lazy, rest is important!  

In other news, Haven has taken a few steps backward this week.  She is still dealing with illness that is most likely allergies.  She is taking Claritin, which is not really helping and just started her second round of antibiotics.  Poor Haven just can't shake this snotty nose.  Also, it seems that having so many voices to talk for Haven inhibits her willingness to speak for herself, so she is really not speaking much now that we are home.  I suppose this is to be expected, but we would be appreciative of prayers in this area of her recovery.  When I think too far ahead, I begin to worry about her in this regard, so for now I just keep reminding myself to take one day at a time and not to look too far into the future.  God has already proven that He has a plan for her life.  I choose to trust Him who has cared for her this far to take care of her future (and ours) as well.  He is able! 

I have some very special friends who cared for my precious children while I was unable.  Thanks to Brenda Troyer, Heather Schloneger, and Jen Forrest who each sacrificed one day per week for the last six weeks to care for our children in my absence.  Abby Booth was here with sweet little Zeke twice per week.  Natalie Deckerd filled in twice over her spring break from teaching.  Chris Nelson and her wonderful children also entertained our children for a day.  All of these amazing women provided our children with a safe, caring, nurturing atmosphere so Aaron and I could be with Haven or at work.  Not once did we have to worry about our children while they were being cared for by these women.  Also, we'd like to thank the many people who visited us at the hospital, sent cards, gave money, brought meals, purchased gift cards, lifted us up in prayer, or gave us a word of encouragement.  We're so blessed to call you all friends.  We will never be able to repay you.  What peace of mind you gave us!  Thank you!  

As I close tonight, I pray that God will continue to use Haven's story to bless your lives.  I pray that in some small way you are encouraged by her progress.  God does hear prayers and He is still in the business of performing miracles!  Thank you, Father!  Thank you, friends, for believing and for praying for our girl.  We will try our best to keep you posted at least a couple of times per week.  I know we have some friends out there who enjoy hearing what the Lord is doing in our hearts and in Haven's life. Thanks for reading and keep praying!  

Walkers Out

"O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!" - Psalm 68:35

Aaron here – at Ronald McDonald House, there's a white board at the office door with each family's name on it. If all members of a family are out Then you are supposed to move your magnet to the "out" position. Today, after three weeks of residing at RMH, the Walkers moved their magnet to the "out" position for the final time. I'm so thankful to again have all of my children and my incredible wife home together under one roof!
Today in therapy one of Havens therapist called her progress "amazing". I agree with her and I must give all of the credit to our amazing God. "Amazing" is a word that we try to reserve in our home to refer to just God. He is truly amazing and He has performed an amazing miracle in Haven's life and in our family.
For now, Walker out.

Tumbles and Tantrums

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."  

~Philippians 4:6

This is our final night at Ronald McDonald House (RMH).  Tonight I am blessed to be surrounded by the people I love most in this world; my family.  There are three kiddos sleeping on the floor, one on a cot, my husband is in a twin bed, and I have a little cuddle bug cozily snuggling up next to me on the pull out couch.  The room is filled with sounds of deep breathing, snoring, the whirring of a fan, and silence.  This is my favorite time of day.  I love my children, but I love quiet time too!  There has not been much of that in my life lately, so I am thankful for every tiny moment of quiet.

As I write this evening, I am slightly anxious about tomorrow because I have so much to do.  For various reasons we are leaving RMH tomorrow even though Haven still has one more day of day therapy on Friday.  The main reason we chose to leave is due to the fact that there are many other families waiting for our spot here at RMH.  By vacating tomorrow, another family who needs it more than we do can have peace of mind.  Also, Aaron is here with me tomorrow, so I have a great deal of help packing the van and cleaning our room/bathroom before it's time to leave. I am at peace with the decision to depart a day early, but not at peace with the amount of work that needs to be completed before tomorrow is through.  I need to pack up all of our junk here, clean the room, and unpack the junk at home tomorrow.  Whew!  I think tomorrow will be a pizza night at the Walker's.  

Today was an emotional roller coaster for me.  Haven was measured for some orthodic inserts for her shoes on Monday to help with some minor foot issues she is having.  Today she used them for the first time.  I think they were a bit difficult for her to get used to because she fell alot more than  normal today.  At lunchtime here at RMH, Haven stumbled backward, tried to catch a wooden chair to correct herself, and ended up falling down, hitting her head on the wood floor, and pulling the chair onto herself in the process.  She has two nice sized bruises on her forehead now.  I'm  thankful she didn't need to go to the ER for stitches or a concussion!  

Our schedule was weird today too.  Haven had two hours of therapy in the morning, a two hour lunch break, and then two more hours of therapy in the afternoon.  She was uncooperative during some of her sessions today.  I realized that she was trying to use me to get out of doing her therapy when she crawled onto my lap to give me hugs and kisses during occupational therapy, so I ended up leaving her alone with the therapist today.  It helped her to work better, so I'm glad I left.  It seemed weird to leave her after all of the times that I've been in the sessions with her, but today she did better without me there.  Unfortunately, that meant that I didn't get to see her therapists work with her.  I like to watch so I'll know how to help her at home.  

You can tell your child is feeling better when you need to start disciplining them again.  Haven became so disagreeable today that I had to correct her several times.  Obviously she is pushing me to see if the pre-surgery boundaries I set are still in effect.  Several times today I assured her that nothing has changed.  I'm so thankful she's feeling better, but I have not missed our daily 'battles of the will'.  

Eden started feeling ill yesterday.  Today she was pretty miserable with her stuffy nose and tired body.  I encouraged her to use every opportunity she could get for resting.  Aaron brought her allergy medication this evening.  I think she'll feel much better in the next day or two.

Today was my mom's birthday, so we left Akron and headed for dinner at Papa Bear's in Canton.  It was nice to leave Akron for awhile.  It was nice to see my mom, dad, and grandmother too.  What a blessing to have had the support of my family throughout this trial.  What a fun night we had too!

Sorry for the basic information tonight.  I'll try to do better another time, but for this night, I'm headed to bed.  I'm tired from our busy day full of tumbles and tantrums.  I'm so thankful for God's grace that he provides each day. 

A Day in Haven's Life

Psalm 100

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before Him with joyful singing.

Know that the Lord Himself is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving

And His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

For the Lord is good;

His loving kindness is everlasting

And His faithfulness to all generations.

Today marks the six week anniversary of Haven's stroke.  I have been reviewing some of the video footage of Haven from the past several weeks and I hope you will take the time to look at the following videos to see the miraculous progress that Haven has made.  It is so incredible to me that she looks so normal a mere six weeks after her stroke!  I am so incredibly thankful!  To all of the doctors, nurses, and therapists who have helped Haven, we thank God for you!  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Haven smiles on March 29 - ten days after her stroke.

April 1 - Aaron was thrilled to see Haven grasp a toy coin and puts it in a toy piggy bank.   We were so thankful to see her able to move her arm and fingers.

April 6 - Haven took "baby steps" during physical therapy.  We continued to be amazed and hopeful.

April 6 - Haven feeds herself while watching the Final Four with Daddy.

Two days later, on April 8, Haven pulled play putty apart.  That might not seem like a big deal, but it was another milestone in her recovery because it showed that she could grasp and pull with both arms.  (Aaron missed some of the good action right before this video was shot.)

~April 10 - Haven walks in the lobby at ACH.

~April 10 - Haven brushes her teeth.

~April 17 - Haven pushes Levi on a sitting toy at RMH.

April 24 - Haven swings in therapy.  Not that exciting to watch, but excellent progress in balance.  

April 27 - Haven walks in the grass at home with her boots on, unaided.  She also is able to manage the transition to the gravel and bend over, sit down, and stand up--all unaided.  If this doesn't seem incredible, you must have missed the April 6 video!

A Day In Haven's Life
I thought you might find it interesting to see what a day in the life of Haven is like.  I included some fun photos that I think you will enjoy to help tell the story.

In the morning, I wake up early to prepare for the day while Haven sleeps in to get as much rest as possible.  Usually Haven is awake by 8:00 a.m.  We get her dressed, give her all her medications, and gather the items we will need for the day.  At 8:20, we leave our room and go to the kitchen/dining room area here at Ronald McDonald House (RMH).  I prepare breakfast for everyone while eating my own.  We eat quickly, clean up our dishes, wash up and use the rest room, and then we leave for a day of therapy.

Around 8:40 we walk from RMH to the hospital where Haven has her own room in the day therapy area.  It's nice to have a place to keep our belongings, lay down to take a rest, or meet with doctors.  As soon as we arrive, I place an order for Haven's lunch.  Usually I arrange for it to be packed up for us so we can walk back to RMH for lunch.  RMH provides a free lunch to family members (and guests if needed), so we try to avoid the cafeteria to save money whenever possible.

Therapy sessions are scattered throughout the day.  Our most usual schedule has Haven seeing each therapist once in the morning.  After lunch, we return for one more speech session before completing our day.  Each therapist has a different gifts and strengths, so it's fun to have a variety of wonderful people to work with.  

I love this photo of Haven on the therapy ball with Miss K.  Can you tell Haven is uncomfortable?  On this day Miss K was using the ball to help with core strength, balance, and reflexes.  We know it is hard for Haven, but this is the muscle work that she must do.  Thank God for caring and patient professionals like Miss K!  Thank God for Miss K's humor, she makes me laugh, which is great when you're stressed from dealing with a screaming child!

The therapists at ACH have so many fun tools at their disposal.  On this day in occupational therapy, the therapist was using a platform swing to work on vestibular input.  The vestibular system includes the parts of the inner ear and brain that process the sensory information involved with controlling balance and eye movements.  (See, we're learning a lot of science here as well!) Haven was much more cooperative than we expected this day!

 Here are some great kids!  In this photo Eden and Micah, instructed by Miss J., help encourage Haven to crawl up a ramp by pretending to race with her.  The purpose of this exercise was to strengthen Haven's hip and core muscles.  Although she began this exercise crying, Haven was laughing by the end because she had some really wonderful encouragement from her siblings and fun therapist to help make the physical therapy session fun.  

It's fun to practice dressing and undressing when you have such wonderful costumes to try on.  Thanks to Eden for going along with all of the fun!

Although it's not a great photo, I just had to include this one of Haven with her primary occupational therapist, Miss MB.  She is so encouraging!  I love her gentle spirit and positive attitude.  She is so calming to be around.  I never seem to get great photos of Haven with her though because the table they work at faces the wall. 

Haven has two speech sessions per day with Miss M.  I'm learning so much from Miss M.  She seems to know the best ways to make speech therapy so fun for Haven and gets excited right along with me when Haven has a success!   Today Haven said many color words.  It was so exciting!  Later I learned that Brenna and Eden had been coaching her the night before during my shower.  She really improved with their help.

After Haven's final therapy session of the day we walk back to RMH.  Haven gets a drink and a snack before naptime.  It's not difficult convincing this little gal to take a nap after such a busy day! 

When Haven wakes up, we leave our bedroom to eat in the dining room.  There are some great chefs who volunteer at RMH.  Most are retired folks, who are using their retirement years to help others.  Sometimes there are area teenagers or college students who help with baking projects or clean up projects.  I have to say this place is ridiculously clean due to the many volunteers who take such pride in their work!  I wish they would come clean my house!

After dinner we work with Haven using some of the ideas we learned in her therapy sessions.  Sometimes we play in the RMH courtyard....

 ...other times we play in one of two play areas at RMH.  Each place is cozy and fun.  The 'Bigs' (that's what we call our big kids) enjoy watching The Brady Bunch while Haven takes turns playing with all of the toys.  In this photo she's sitting on a rocking horse while watching TV.  She loves to boss me around - telling me where to put my hands to rock the horse.  Seriously!  What a stinker!

(I added this photo of Eden and Haven at our doctor's office Friday afternoon because I just love their happy faces.  I'm so thankful we took her as her cold didn't go away during the weekend.  I started her on the antibiotic on Monday and she was doing much better by Tuesday.)  

Around 8:30 p.m. I put an end to the 'fun time' and give Haven a bath, her medication, and some snuggles.  Then it's sleepy time for Haven and "free" time for me!  I spend some time with the other kids, make phone calls, try to stay in touch with my best friend Aaron, and update this blog to share the news of how God is blessing us through this season of life.

There you have it; a day in Haven's life as a day therapy patient.  Of course that will all change this Friday when we complete her last day therapy session.  Praise God for Haven's miraculous recovery and for His loving hand for leading her to our family.  Although these past six weeks have been incredibly difficult, I'm so incredibly thankful that Haven Noelle is my daughter.  She is a beautiful reminder of God's faithfulness and love!

The Home Stretch

Today marks the beginning of the end of our stay at Ronald McDonald House. We will leave RMH on Friday and plan only to return in the future as volunteers.
Haven had a good day but I'm just too tired to post anything about it tonight. Instead, I've asked Aaron to share a video of Haven walking in the grass from this past Saturday.

http://youtu.be/bpHbcyaEk6E