It's been a long day of pokes and prodding for this little girl but she's been a champion through it all. So proud of this brave little girl! Pre-op testing seemed to be successful and we'll be going in tomorrow to get her precious little skull fixed.
I also wanted to share my heart from the night before surgery. Leading up to that night, our hearts were steady. Seeking Christ and trusting in everything He was doing. But it hit hard the night leading up to her surgery...
Read MoreThe main risk for the traditional surgery is blood loss. The hospital staff informed us that we would be able to directly donate our blood just in case Mia Kai needed a blood transfusion. Countless people offered to donate directly but they set a maximum limit of four donors, preferably blood relatives. The directed blood donations are performed via American Red Cross. According to the information they gave us from the American Red Cross: "Parents are given the option to do directed donations for blood for their child's craniofacial surgery. It is highly recommended that mom and/or dad should be the only donors for children under 1 year of age." All donors are required to know their blood types before donating. Be sure to know your baby's blood type as well, so that you can make sure everyone has a match that will be donating. Everyone in our family wanted to donate but several family members had things that prevented them from being able to do so (previous illnesses, anemia, pregnancy, etc.). Two weeks prior to surgery, JD donated plasma then Chase (my brother), Sonya (my aunt) and myself donated blood. Somehow they are able to separate the plasma from the blood they would be transfusing. We are so grateful for the ones who offered to donate blood and to those who were able to!
Read More"You may have noticed that her head is shaped a little funny..." our pediatrician said to us the morning we were discharged from the hospital. Mia Kai was three days old.
"No, but we did notice she has a lot of hair on her shoulders and back. Is that normal?" I asked him as JD and I laughed. My brother was born with a cone head so I was expecting that Mia Kai would have some kind of funny shaped head. It seemed like one of those 'normal abnormalities' the nurse mentioned during our childbirth classes.
Dr. Patz laughed and said, "It should round out over the next few days but if not, I'll check it again at her two week appointment."
Read MoreIt's no secret that this past year has been one of the greatest yet most challenging years. Between welcoming our sweet little pineapple into our family and then completely giving up control as we handed her over to the nurses that took her into surgery (that blog post series will be starting next week), our Father has stretched our faith, sustained our family and strengthened the story of His goodness in our lives.
We were carried by the prayers of His people, of our community. I look back and wonder how we made it through last year and my only explanation is Jesus.
This past year drives me to be more grateful in every moment. More relational so that I can be as much of encouragement to others as they were to us in the seasons of celebrations and heartache. More fluid with my schedule, to always make time for prayer and people. More purposeful in each action, each conversation and each project (whether personal or for Jitneys).
Read More"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)" Paul stresses the importance of scripture memory, to not only memorize God's Word, but to walk with Christ and encourage others with His Word.
The continuing of this verse encourages a deep level of intimacy within the believers' community... teach one another, admonish one another in all wisdom; sing together; be thankful together in your hearts to God. We need community. We need one another. It's the desire that God has created within us. When we first dwell in Christ, His love is an outpour - an overflow - into our communities. We are called to let the words of Christ dwell in us richly as a life-giving command for ourselves but also as a life-giving command for others. His words dwell in us and in return, pour out from our lips as truth to another as a form of accountability, love, wisdom and worship.
This is dwelling.
This is community.
This is worship.
an excerpt from Dwell (March 6, 2014)
So let's join in community together and memorize God's Word this year! We are so thrilled to release this free printable of 52 scripture memory verses for 2017. While this printable was created to supplement the Jitney's 2017 Agenda, we encourage anyone and everyone to use this as a free resource for scripture memory.
Read MoreI confess. I have an obsession with paper. And pens. And probably washi tape. Oh, and fun little paper clips. It only makes sense that I have always used a paper planner. I've tried Google Calendar. I'll use it every now and then for reminders but a paper planner has very rarely let me down. I can lay it out, skim the months' and weeks' plans, write random notes that are somehow easier for me to find than typing it into a search bar and make it pretty / practice handlettering or doodles!!
It just works for me. And it always has.
I've used my fair share of planners. A few years ago, I decided to design my own. Something that would work for me. I took concepts that I liked from planners I used since high school; brainstormed; designed it on paper; added tons of details that I needed on a monthly, weekly and daily basis; and finally built my perfect planner - which has actually ended up being the perfect planner for so many others!
Read MoreWe surprisingly debated on how to dress up Mia Kai for Halloween but ultimately decided that, well, she's our little pineapple. She just needs to be a pineapple. ;)
With a little help from the Delia Creates tutorial, I made Mia Kai's mini pineapple hat using two shades of felt then painted hearts on her yellow onesie and hat. We were a tad nervous about putting her little hat on since she's not technically supposed to wear anything that constricts her head for long periods of time since her surgery. But she loved it and was actually pretty cool about wearing it! The onesie was actually a part of an outfit I bought from Babies 'R' Us on sale. It had two additional ruffles around the neck, one with a lemon pattern, so I removed those with my handy seam ripper and kept the sweet little top ruffle. We bought her sweet tutu from LillyBear Creations on Etsy, who I just adored working with!!
Read MoreOur little one is still very little but she is definitely growing!! She is curious, content and chill. Terrified of beards, sitting up like a pro, almost able to roll from her tummy to her back by herself, and has decided not to take a paci anymore. She's a fickle little one but also very determined. She's either stoic or really giggly... not much in between. Her little personality is definitely coming through. In fact, she seems to be pretty shy, which we never would've expected. She "talks" to her toys until she notices JD or me in the room with her then goes silent. Haha! It's actually super cute. She's loving the Exersaucer now that her feet can touch the bottom but she despises the Johnny Doorway Jumper.
Read MoreThis has been a huge month of 'firsts' for Mia Kai.
Her four month check-up was at the beginning of the month. She weighed 12 lbs, 5 oz (10th percentile) and measured 21" long (5th percentile for height). In other words, she's still very dainty and 'petite'. Eczema has been an issue so we had to switch from my favorite Baby Aveeno products to CeraVe. The creases in between her feet and ankles were especially dry so we had to lotion them up with Cortizone.
Highlights of this month: First flight // first trip to Hawaii // first time sitting up unsupported // first time eating food (rice cereal) // first diaper rash (from Butt Paste!! What?! We used Desitin and it was healed by the next morning) // first time to church (we were advised not to take her during her first few months, especially before and right after her surgery) // first time dipping her toes into the ocean // first trip to the zoo // first time sitting in a high chair.
Read MoreI almost forgot to post!!! Mia Kai turned four months old August 5th so I'm obviously behind but here's what happened in her fourth month of life...
I've never quite understood when parents would say their babies are starting to show their personalities. They're babies!! How can their little personalities develop so quickly? I get it now though. In the past month, we've seen how strong-willed, determined, inquisitive, observant and happy our little Pineapple is. And it blows us away.
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