taking a breather...

catching my breath today.

we've been crazy busy...

a midst non-stop school craziness,

flu shots,

practicing patience w/ a new puppy,

and one medical procedure,

we've also...

picked apples

 

and pumpkins

and  hosted 10 middle school girls for a youth retreat.

(check out queen bee in the center - she had 

those 12 & 13 yr olds wrapped around 

her little Chinese finger - B.O.S.S.Y.!

the medical procedure mentioned earlier?

Gracie had a tooth pulled from inside her nostril...

crazy stuff, I tell ya. 

life w/ a cleft treasure is always exciting!  

in less than 45 minutes, she had

that bizarre tooth extracted, another tooth

extracted and a root canal done.

as always, she was a brave, brave girl,

and we were so grateful for Father's care 

for her as she recovered. 

we face more decisions in

the near future as far as future surgeries go.

I CANNOT believe that my calendar tells me

it's the month of November, and that Christmas

displays have been in stores since mid October...

must not panic

must not panic

oh, and God's up to some big things around here...

more to come on that one!

bye bye Packing, hello Princess

if the ground shook in your neck of the woods

yesterday morning, it could have been the

aftershocks of  a certain sweet girl's shrieks

as the packing was removed from her nose.

can't say as I blame her really.

it was not fun.

at all.

not one bit.

 which is why on the way home 

this fabulous ensemble

was purchased for our brave little princess.

we were sent home with tubing in her nose

that needs to be there for couple of months

(did I just type that?)

so that the work done inside her nose will 

heal correctly. evidently her septum needed
quite a bit of repair.

last night was the first night in over a week that 

she (& her parents, in turn) slept all night.

our joy quickly faded

*insert drumroll*

as we realized it was because her tubing fell out.

the drama that ensued as we had to clean

her nose & lip & insert the tubing back in &
then tape it back down....
it made yesterday look like a Mr. Rogers episode.
she is a STRONG girl,
and one tough little fighter.

so...now all is well. I spoke with the nurse in hopes
of receiving some advice on how to keep
the tubing in place. after some creative taping,
it seems good.
until Monday.
when it will be time to take it out
to clean it.
and put it back in.
again.
prayer? yes, please!

God is walking through this with us.
He sent us a hug with this beautiful sunset last night!

sleepless nights and a full glass of whine

our little patient really is getting better every day, but

along with that healing comes a steady dose of

whining & grumpiness...

I really can't blame her.

the facial swelling is almost completely gone,
but the bruising on her sweet face continues
to appear. her lip looks amazing, and she's
letting us clean it with less drama
each time. she's such a trooper!
we'll head to charlotte Friday morning
to have the packing removed from her nose.
no fun
I know that will help her sleep so much better!

 yesterday I managed to get a shower, made Gracie

some popscicles, and thanks to a dear

church friend, our family had a meal that wasn't take-out!

one highlight of our day yesterday 

was receiving our new

Aaron Keys CD in the mail.

he was at our church a few weeks ago,

and one song in particular  has ministered

so much to my heart. 

based on the song of Moses in Exodus 15,

it speaks of God as being a mighty warrior

on behalf of His children.

I remember praying that for all of our children

that evening, & the Father confirmed that word when

those words were prayed over Gracie 

3 days before her surgery.

He IS warring on behalf of our family

this week, and in the midst of tiredness,

pain, grumpiness and healing,

it brings so much peace!

"Praise the Lord, our Mighty Warrior,

Praise the Lord, the Glorious One.

By His hand we stand in victory.

By His name we overcome!"

we saw her first stiff smiles yesterday :)
she loved "playing along"
with the new music!

happy father's day from our recovering home!

first of all, I am so grateful

for my wonderful, godly father.

he has always been such a prayer warrior,

and is a humble, funny, compassionate man.

we'll also be honoring Brian here at home today.

he is amazing - really.    

I could not have imagined a more

perfect father for my children.

he has always gone above & beyond to help,

no matter the kids' ages. 

his priority has always been family.

he speaks the life of God's word into

their lives and is such an example

of what it means to walk in step with the Spirit.

he loves each one of our children

for who they are, and I'm sure each one

thinks they're his favorite! 

oh, and he just is plain ol' fun -

I love the laughter in our home.

speaking of...we got the first tiny chuckle out 

of our little patient last night. thank you Jesus!

in my sleep-deprived state I've decided that 

the week following

surgical procedures is like childbirth -

your brain, as a way to self preserve,  I suppose,

forgets the really tough parts. when you go

through the process again you say to yourself, 

  "how did I do this before?!"

God's grace - period.

this is just a tougher surgery to bounce back from.

her facial swelling is going down, but the

bruising seems to be more prominent today.

her silly personality is making brief appearances,

and we're grateful for that!

night time is a toughie.

can you imagine not being able to

breathe at all through your nose,

& having a sore throat from work done

in the back of your palate?!

poor baby!

bottom line, the Father is good.

He is walking with us through this

and we will be just fine.

we're getting a better picture of 

Gracie's new lip as swelling goes down.

I'm tearing up as I type-

she's beautiful & I'm so grateful

that God brought Dr. Matthews into our lives.

time to love on the little patient.

she's clingy with a capital "C"!

first attempt at playing!

and for my second act,

I can play it with my toes!

a very bright spot yesterday was being able to 

slip away to my nephew's wedding - it was beautiful!

the bride & groom!

with my oldest brother & my dad's pride & joy

(not us - the restored car)

 

my sister & dad

our small family contingent at the wedding

outta here

we had an up & down (literally!) night.

as more medicines wear off, the fighter in our

little Asian princess comes out more and more.

she can be a mean bear, let me tell ya.

a Starbucks IV would be nice right about now!

her surgeon saw her this morning & was

able to take the tape off her lip.

he said she looks fabulous, which is

good to hear because to us she looks 

as if she's been in a boxing match.

not even kidding.

her left eye is completely swollen shut, & we 

were told today & tomorrow would be the worst. 

she's coping with trying to breathe through her

mouth while sleeping b/c of the nose packing.

she is my hero for sure.

I tell her that over & over.

yesterday as she was in & out of grogginess from meds

she just started praying out loud. I know for sure

she is being ministered to by her heavenly Father

& His ministering angels.

so...we should be discharged after lunch if little miss

fighter will drink for us. please continue to pray for

healing, that the swelling would go down, for peace,

grace & rest. also that the Spirit would prepare Ali,

Erin & Quinn to see their sister looking so rough.

your comments, texts & prayers mean more than you

know. thank you, thank you, thank you.

play dough was fun for...10 minutes

loves having daddy close by

our sweet girl is resting with

her daddy right now.

her surgery lasted almost 3 hrs.

and went very well.

her new lip looks so different 

even under the tape.

both nostrils are packed 

& will be for one week.

(can you say not much sleep happening?!)

her uvula was brought together

and her surgeon was also able to add some

synthetic bone to her gum line.

brian's mom & dad have been 

here to love on her and us.

we're praying for peace and grace

in this room. she's been

in & out and every time she wakes up,

she's VERY upset.  

she's a brave girl.

thank you for praying!

in surgery

we're trying to catch our breath...

the surgery for little miss Gracie Shu

was scheduled for 10:30 with

an 8:30 arrival this morning

Brian's phone rang @ 6:30...

"Where are you?"

the scheduler @ the office
gave us the wrong time.
needless to say we got ready in record time!

they took her back at around 8:00
after a very speedy check in!

I cannot tell you how well she did.
it was truly the grace of God.
she got a little weepy, but after the
"happy medicine" kicked in
she allowed her favorite nurse to
carry her down the hall.
 even though this is the fourth time for this,
it does not get easier for this mama's heart!

she should be in surgery for around 3 hours.
I know the Father is caring for
and ministering to her as I type.
thank you for your prayers.
they will carry us through the day.

Gracie's big day tomorrow!

yesterday was gracie's pre-op appointment

and we got the green light for surgery tomorrow!

We'll be heading down that road to Charlotte

again this afternoon.

I swear, I could make that drive

with my eyes closed!

the goal is to completely close her lip,

and close the cleft uvula in the back of her throat.

the most extensive aspect of her procedure

will be the work being done on the 

inside and outside of her nose.

we're told the recovery from this will 

not be a pleasant process for our sweet girl.

Gracie was prayed over at church

on Monday evening, and it was a beautiful

time of peace and wonderful words

spoken over her.

peace

faith

healing

ministering angels to surround her

God as her Warrior

last night as I was asking the Father 

how I could pray specifically for her,

I sensed Him say

"What is her favorite song?"

she loves "Crash this Place".

it talks about the glory of God

 crashing or invading where you are.

Brian's and my prayer is that the glory of God

would crash and invade 

our home,

the pre-op room,

the waiting room,

the operating room,

the recovery room,

and her hospital room.

Psalm 90:16

"Let us see Your miracles again;

let our children see Your glory at work."

would you please join us in prayer as well?

for peace, for Dr. Matthews, and for

Gracie's healing.

before any of her procedures in 2008.

is she not pure sweetness?!

this may not make sense,

but we're going to miss this smile!

I know this completion of her surgeries is

part of the hope and future God has for her,

and we are so grateful for how the Father

has faithfully walked with us through

every step so far.

He is good.

looming on the horizon

what's looming??

a government shutdown?

tax day?

spring break?

spring cleaning?

Easter Sunday?

Gracie's next surgery?

all of the above!

we were in Charlotte yesterday

to see Dr. Matthews who was still pleased

with Gracie's palate healing, and ready

to schedule her next surgery!

He will be repairing her uvula

(it is split in half basically),

her lip, and also working on her nostril,

which actually will be the most difficult

aspect of this procedure as far as

her recovery goes. she will

come home with packing in her nostril,

which will be interesting b/c it will

obviously affect her breathing, and

we will go back a week after to have a

tube-like device placed in that

nostril to hold the shape as it heals.

it will be an interesting summer...

he listed some things we should avoid/limit

after her surgery, mainly for the incision healing...

sun exposure,

sugar in her diet,

and he mentioned that with some Asians

wheat and dairy

can cause thickening of the skin

at the incision site.

ok, so any ideas for a

sugar-dairy-wheat free

diet for a 3 year old who loves food?!!

I guess we'll cross that proverbial diet

bridge when we come to it!

two of my favorite peeps

playing in the back yard

and here's a taste of the unbelievable musical

talent that resides in our home. I see a

worldwide tour in her future...

hearing that sweet girl plat her harmonica

thrills my soul...

she couldn't do that before her palate repair.

God is so faithful!!

final post-op!

“Thus far the LORD has helped us.”

I Samuel 7:12

that's exactly how we feel...

God has carried us through 3 surgeries,

and we are so grateful!

Gracie's palate is healing well, and her

surgeon was pleased at our appointment yesterday.

Gracie even sat in his lap!

She was really proud of herself for doing so well -

"I not cwy!!"

speech continues to be a work-in-progress.

(the surgeon would like to see more progress...)

we have a great therapist that

visits twice a week, and we truly see improvement

every day, although our little princess speaks a lot

of "Gracie-ese" that only Mommy can interpret.

we continue to believe for healing for that palate,

and that her speech will daily improve.

we will head back to charlotte

(auto-pilot anyone?!)

in February to schedule her next surgery

which will be her lip and nostril revision.

I must admit, I thought this would be

the easiest of her procedures so far,

but after hearing Dr. Matthews describe it

yesterday, both Brian and I were surprised.

basically, the nostril side of the surgery

sounds like it will not have

a pleasant recovery process.

a Scripture immediately came to us

as we started our drive home...

one that we leaned on frequently

during our last hospital stay...

"...as your day, so shall your strength,

your rest and security, be."

Dueuteronomy 33:25

we will have

strength for the day

the moment

the minute

the second

perfectly timed and tailored

amen and uh-huh

the world's best nurse...ever...really

getting a little squirrelly after a 1.5 hr wait

(Gracie, not Brian)

3 weeks post-op

she did it.

last night Gracie slept 10 1/2 hours in her own bed!

thank you Jesus!!

following cleft surgeries, congestion can

be an issue for a few weeks.

after effects from the anesthesia can mess

up sleep habits as well.

we were so grateful that we didn't have

to share our bed with a very restless

2 year old last night!

Gracie's palate looks great

and seems to be healing very well.

the "mushy food" diet has not been

too fun, but she has done great with

her limited food choices!

We're all thrilled to be enjoying the beautiful

fall weather together as a family!

ali & erin are gone to a youth retreat

for the weekend...

it will be VERY quiet around here! :(

allow this proud mother to share the promotional

video for the retreat this weekend.

(it so happens to include said

mother's oldest daughter!)

(remember to turn down

the music on the sidebar!)

Thrive Promo from John Pinkerton on Vimeo.

8 days post-op

Popsicle Queen

In my nightie &

"dancing shoes" playing catch w/ daddy

I remember lying beside Gracie in the hospital

bed last week thinking "I wish we could fast

forward one week..."

Here we are a week later, & it's been a long one!

Between pain, bleeding from her nose,

and not much sleep, the first few

days & nights home were pretty tough.

Wednesday morning was very scary.

Gracie woke up in our bed (so grateful

I was right there with her) and began to

throw up blood as it was also gushing out of her

nose. I have thanked God over and

over for Brian & how incredibly calm

he remained. My hands were shaking so badly

as we tried to asses the situation, but Brian

was a rock for all of us - He also was

praying in faith over Gracie for God to

intervene, stop the bleeding, and heal her.

Evidently a clot broke loose from somewhere

& we were also advised to stop giving Motrin.

She has done SO much better since then,

and we are so thankful for God's

continual healing. Her sleep is still

pretty restless, & the grumpiness can

attack out of nowhere, but she is more & more

herself every day.

We were in Charlotte this afternoon

for her first post-op appointment.

Her palate looks fabulous, & her

surgeon was pleased. We'll stick with

the soft diet for awhile longer, (So hard

for a 2 year old who loves food!) and

head back for another follow-up

appointment in a few weeks.

The love from our friends & family,

wonderful meals, and most of all

prayers for Gracie mean more than

you could ever know. They have carried

us through a long week. Thank you!

A few days before her surgery

I mentioned Gracie's favorite

picture in a previous post.

When we were in the hospital she

told us she saw her angel.

(One of my specific prayers was that

God would minister to her personally as

she was put under for the surgery.)

Yesterday Gracie was again looking at

her picture before her nap.

I asked her again,

"Did you see your angel at the hospital?"

"Uh-huh"

"What did he look like?"

"Wings" (as she spread her arms out)

"Really? Did he talk to you?"

"Uh-huh"

"What did he say?"

She looked at me with a very serious

face, & with a deep voice she said...

"Ni Hao!"

Well, of course an agent

of God the Father would speak to our

daughter in her native language! :)

heading home!

God was awesome last night.

After asking for prayer, Gracie's fever

was gone w/in the hour.

She was sick one more time after that,

but has since kept liquids

& some food down.

She had a decent night.

We just tried to stay ahead of the pain,

& work through the after effects of anesthesia

& the interesting effects of morphine.

I told Brian it's a shame we'll have to

come back here next week for me to have

a left arm transplant after holding

Gracie all night in her bed!

no. feeling. whatsoever.

Her surgeon came by early this morning.

Although he felt she wasn't ready to be

discharged just yet, he said she will go home today!

She's perked up enough to go for a wagon

ride w/ Daddy & wants to stick close to us.

we're ready to be HOME!!

The Queen is ready for her

royal wagon ride

In case you're wondering, that's not

Tammy Wynette, but our sweet girlie

w/ a major case of hospital bed head.

long day!

thank you dear friends for your messages,

texts, & calls.

Gracie's surgery lasted a little over

2 1/2 hours & went well.

my sweet sister & niece drove up to sit with us,

my sister-in-law took Ali, Erin &

Quinn to a movie,

& then they got to visit their sister

a little this afternoon.

this day has been a little more tough than the

last time around.

Gracie has been throwing up & is

running a fever.

The 2 words that ring over & over in

my mind & spirit are "grace" & "peace".

please continue for God's grace to fall heavily

in this room, that we would have a peaceful night,

that Gracie would be able to keep some liquids down,

& that the fever would go in Jesus' Name!

all my babies together...