First I'll try to wrap up why we haven't been adding to the blog for the last two months. Our last blog was announcing the Mary Ann's pregnancy and the "joy" that we knew would come with it. "Joy" is both meant to be real and sarcastic. As we expected, this pregnancy has presented itself with the same problems as the last pregnancy. Mary Ann didn't take long before she ended up with a pic line. And unfortunately, like the previous pregnancy, the pic line already formed a blood clot. Fortunately, though, since she's been through this before, she has been able to recognize the symptoms and catch it early. Mary Ann has spent most of the days over the last two or so months pretty motionless. Hopefully I can get her to explain more of what she has been struggling through herself.
Also, during this time, Amanda has turned 8 years old and was baptized. We are very proud of her and her decision to want to be baptized. She did very well. She has had lots of help from her grandmas and aunts to get ready for the event. Our neighbor down the street did her hair for her and she looked great in her baptism dress. I will post photos of the baptism when I get a chance.
On top of all of the above going on, we've had another very stressful situation to deal with. Amanda has been having headaches too often and some were very severe. Based on the symptoms and severity we were advised to have her do an MRI. She didn't like that at all. It was a very stressful and scary thing for her to do. Unfortunately, Mom wasn't able to go with Amanda to the MRI appointment but her Aunt Carol took time off of work to help Amanda through the scary process. Again, I could fill a page or two about that event as well. All I will say right now is thanks to Carol for her help in getting Amanda through it and Amanda doesn't every want to have another MRI again.
The worst part is that the MRI was done over a month ago and they found a cyst on her brain. We have had an appointment setup with a nuerosurgeon at Primary Children's Hospital on Monday for quite a while now and we have been nervous, anxious, worried, and all other emotional descriptions while waiting for this appointment to come up.
As we watch the medical bills get racked up for the family, we, like everyone else, worry about jobs, etc. Like so many others, we deal with the stress of cutting benefits, less pay, more stress, and wondering if we will still have a job next month. And, if you can believe it, during all of this I am still a happy man. Here's why.
Why families are essential.
With all of this going on over the last couple of months I find myself blessed to have what I do. I have a wonderful wife who has been strong in tough times. She has been reduced in what she can do but has grown in who she is. I, of course, do not refer to her size as she is pregnant. Due to the pregnancy she has lost a lot of weight and energy. Where she should be gaining weight and size she has instead lost a lot of weight. The doctors assure us the baby is fine and healthy, though. I am also blessed by two wonderful daughters that can be challenging, but seem to be more and more rewarding with each new experience.
Plainly speaking, we would not be able to go through our current struggles without the help and support of family. I am so grateful for the families we have. The type of support we have received has been everything from physical labor to emotional support. We've had family (and friends) providing support for our kids and help share the burden. We can't thank everyone enough for stepping in to help where they can. In the past I was asked to consider moving to Denver and Indianapolis. I couldn't imagine going through what we are now if we didn't have the close family here with us.
Through all of this I've been able to see my daughters grow. It was great to have the opportunity to baptize Amanda and see her grow as a member of the church. I've also been able to get Erin to have prayers in her room together at night. She is getting to have a better understanding. She doesn't fully get it yet, but I was blessed the other night when I was getting Erin ready for bed. She really wanted to bring her princess bag to bed but couldn't find it. I told Erin we should say our prayers and ask for help finding it. She said OK and we did. As soon as we both said amen, she opened her eyes and said, "there it is!" Sure enough, the bag was hiding in plain sight across the room. If you have ever had a kid that won't fall asleep unless she has everything in place you will know what a blessing this was.
We have great families and I could go on and on about it. Take time to give thanks for whatever family blessings you have.
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