ELLA

I am constantly amazed at Ella's will to not only heal , but to survive and survive well !  This week has been such a battle to try (key-word being try ) and keep Ella moving slowly and gently for the sake of her healing leg!  This little girl is always, always moving at one pace...fast!  It is all I can do to try and keep both of her feet on the ground and keep her from jumping or running on her recently operated-on leg, even when it confines her to a seated position with pain in the evenings from over-doing it.  Yesterday, when I accidentally caught the edge of one of her stitches and pulled on it as I was pulling up her pants (TWICE) really hard, causing her intense pain and sobs that shook her as she cried out, "Don't do dat, Mama. Be gentoe (gentle), be gentoe, Mama!", she has the courage to get up and go, go go!  Nothing keeps this girl down! This morning, we went walking at our mall for some exercise.  Normally, Ella loves to run beside me as I w...

My new niece, Kiera Jade I need to apologize for my delinquence in keeping up with this blog for the past few days, but I think I have a pretty good excuse.  My first little niece, Kiera Jade, was born late Thursday night and along with soaking up precious moments with her, I've been caring for her big brother, Jayce.  My nephew, Jayce. One of the privileges that has come from being in the States for the birth of Kiera (I was in Peru when Jayce was born in 2010) was the awesome experience of witnessing her live-birth.  What a miracle!  I won't go into gruesome details, but what an amazing thing that happens inside of a woman's body in the creation of a human life!  And then the process of entering this world that the baby and mother go through is absolutely mind-boggling.  This is me and Ariana the day she was born Reflecting on the birth of this new precious baby, Kiera Jade, has taken me back to the moments that I first held Ariana and Ell...

Ella's trip to the doctor today was successful.  Some of you who follow us on facebook may have read that Ella had a case of Hemotoma (a build up of blood or a pocket of fluid/blood) under the incision.  We went into Ella's new pediatrician in Meridian to have it popped and drained.  Ella actually did really well!  She was really calm as the doctor was squeezing the incision, trying to release the fluid.  While she was being poked and prodded, Ella sang and recited Bible verses, until, the doctor had no success in releasing the build-up by just pressing, so she resorted to trying to puncture the "bubble" with her surgical prongs.  At that, Ella's attention was fully on what the doctor was doing and started to wiggle and fuss for the remaining 10 or so minutes that the doctor worked and filled gauze pieces with the blood that oozed out after the pocket was popped. Trying to calm Ella down, the doctor asked Ella what her favorite Bible verse was and thr...

Mostly, I post things on this blog about Ella.  It was a blog created about the book, and the majority of the book is about how Ella came to be, but in truth, it's really a story about our family, so I think it's appropriate that I share about my other adorable daughter, Ariana. Ariana is a vibrant life, to say the least.  She is passionate and dramatic about everything.  Her world is black and white, good and evil.  (which is so much like her mama)  Just to give you an idea of who this precious little person is, I'll share a few mini-stories to give you a peek into who Ariana is before sharing the real story of the day. In the grocery store, Ari will ask every person, and I do mean e.v.e.r.y person we pass if they love Jesus.  If they say that they do love Him, Ari responds with an enthusiastic, "Yay!  Then, you get to go to Heaven too!"  And if they don't, she shares the message of salvation through her colored beaded necklace and then...

Today, all four of the members of our little family sat around the table munching on breakfast when out of the blue, Ella decided to play our dinner-time game.  Basically, in this game, you single out each member of the family, individually, and say something you like about that person.  Ella has never been particularly great at this game namely because of her lack of vocabulary.  She'd say things like, "What I about Mommy is dat, I'm fankful."  But today, she just started up the game with no prompting...I think maybe since we were all around the table (which is rare at breakfast), she thought it appropriate to start up the game.  So, here's how it went: "What I ___ about (she always forgets to say "like") Mommy is dat she's weawy aways bootiful.  What I ___ about Awi (Ari) is dat she's my fwend and she pways wif me.  What I ____ about my daddy is dat he's my pal.  What I ____ about Sally (our goldfish) is dat....uh....she's a fi...

Ella colored on the walls....AGAIN!  Enough said.

I can't say that life after this surgery has been as "easy" as I had predicted it would be.  Our little bundle of energy has kept us on our toes since we were released from the hospital on Friday morning.  Between giving Ella her "happy medicine" every four hours, un-dressing her wound (which was a very long and tedious process because pulling the adhesive from around the wound was very painful for Ella), keeping Ella's busy hands away from that very large wound, trying to get unpacked from our trip, sponge-bathe Ella, help Ella maneuver around the house with her walker, and try to make Ari feel loved and not forgotten....HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE!  On top of all the new challenges, Ella woke up at 4 AM last night singing!  I was somewhat annoyed as I groggily made my way downstairs to the girls' bedroom to check on Ella.  When I knelt down next to Ella's bed, she said, "Mommy?  My weg huwts."  Immediately, my heart softened and I gave her a...

Ok, here's the update! Ella's surgery went really well! The surgery itself only took about an hour, but we didn't get Ella back for about 2 1/2 hours. They said she did really really well though. Ella and Daddy in pre-op Basically, they just took the hardware o ut of Ella's leg (which we were surprised by HOW MUCH was in there!) and then they also cut her old scar out (5 or 6" scar that had bubbled) and tried to sew it together so that it will heal nicely. Once we got Ella back, we had a VERY cranky girl. The anesthesia had a horrid effect on her. She cried and yelled about EVERYTHING (which is not Ella at all). It could be a cute puppy on tv and she'd scream with tears streaming down her face, "Oh, look at that cute puppy." :) Poor little thing.  Ella and Mommy in pre-op Ella and  the anesthesiologist "dressing" Ella for surgery upon request Another trial was the fact that Ella was not oxygenating very wel...

Ca-raziest arrival in Salt Lake EVER! There was one other time that almost compares when I was due to stay at the Ronald McDonald House, but found out while on the road that I could not stay there after-all and had to find a hotel once I got into town, but this experience was BY FAR the most frazzling! Our nutty day started this morning. It just seemed that everything I was trying to do was not working out. I had my nephew, Jayce, who is SUCH a great little guy and normally takes a GREAT nap, but today, he hardly slept (and of course, I was trying to pack)! Then, to keep him away from the stairs we use a baby-gate, but Ella kept on pulling it down (which she NEVER does), so I had to keep running and putting it back!!! It was just one thing after another that made me feel like we were never going to get on the road on time when Calvin got home from work! Once Calvin did get home, he said his day was exactly the same. NOTHING was going right. BUT, somehow (by the ...

When I came into the kitchen on Valentine's Day, I had quite a surprise waiting for me.  Ella had colored on almost every wall in the kitchen with BLACK crayon (I'm so thankful it was crayon and not permanent marker!).  On this video, Ella had already scrubbed quite a bit of it off, but watch our little "miracle" learn about the consequences of coloring on the walls :) Heehee  Enjoy! 

This is Ella enjoying her Valentine's Day.  I can't thank all of you enough for the prayers that you have sent up.  Last night I received several emails from my friends and family saying that they were praying for Ella.  She did not wake up even one time with coughs!  This morning and today she has been a healthy, happy little girl!   Praise Jesus for His mighty power and continued faithfulness in Ella's life. 

As we prepare for yet, another surgery in Salt Lake City to get the metal out of Ella's hip/leg, I can't help but be filled with joy today!  This little girl, who we were told we would never get a chance to meet, is filling our home with happy sounds of laughter and singing everyday!  Even now, she is bouncing around with crimped piggy tails that are bouncing around on the top of her head like fluffy pom poms while singing "Oh I Just Can't Wait To Be King" from The Lion King.  What amazing symbolism can be seen in this little picture of her signing about being royalty: because of the fact that Ella has accepted Christ into her heart as her Lord and Savior, she really is royalty.  A precious princess; God's daughter.  And because of her little life, countless others have seen God's amazing power and saving grace.  We send all glory, honor and praise to Him today! Our family is committing, daily, to serve Jesus wholeheartedly until His magnificent ret...

Today,  I have been researching abortion; the different types, if they are legal in the U.S., and asking God HOW I can make a difference. The answer is literally RIGHT in front of me. Ella. The little girl on the left. She's my second daughter. For those of you who have heard our story or read my book, you know how we had to fight for her life. But would I have done that if someone would have never told me about abortion and how horrific it was? In that exam room when I was told that my baby had no chance to survive, that I was already living on borrowed time because of the risk for a deadly infection with my womb exposed to dangerous bacteria, would I have chosen to save my own life with "abortion"/ "terminating my pregnancy"/"inducing labor" (however you want to put it) if I didn't know that there was a God who LOVES and cares about me and that that same God LOVES and cares about my unborn baby? I was a mom who was ...