I remember now why we bought a house though. I am not keen on people stomping on the floor above our heads (at 3 am!) or people partying poolside at all hours. But really, having a place to call our own, if only for a short time, is fabulous! Here's some pictures from our Saturday. It was good, watching football (A& M won! Whoop!) and playing with Travis:
We visit our house every few days or so. As we approach, we slow down, lower the window, turn off the radio and listen. If we hear our neighbor's generator, our shoulders droop and we resign ourselves to another day without power. Our neighbor used to work for the power company and he even called one of his friends and pled our case to try to get us moved up on the list. I am not sure if it worked, but it was a sweet effort! We drop things off at our house and pick up new things. It's funny: We need different things at different places we've stayed, so we collect things as we need them. At first Justin was only getting sponge baths, so we didn't need his bath. Then at our friend's, she had a baby bath so we were fine, now we are without again so we had to improvise the first night (note the large sponge we found at the apartment!)
Now at the apartment there are only chairs for three people to sit at the table, so we went home and collected some folding chairs. We are quite the funny group as we move from place to place. It is hysterical for me to consider, but it works!
People have asked if I notice anything different about Justin. His stamina has improved and he can cry a whole lot louder! He is able to get deeper breaths so he can carry his cries to a whole new level. And he can eat without taking breaks, so he eats more and longer. Maybe not both good things, but I will deal with the one to get the other! Every day that passes Justin is getting stronger. He can't lay on his stomach yet, but his stomach muscles are remembering how to kick his legs to reach the toys on his bouncie seat, and he is moving around more to touch things. He is smiling and interacting like he was before surgery. That's not a long time for him to get back to where he was, and now we can move forward from here.
I have been thinking about what we went through at TCH. I am a very introverted person. I have my friends and my groups to which I belong, but beyond that I kind of tend to live in a bit of a bubble. I do the things I need to do, but I feel like I live wearing blinders. I have always marveled at Christians who are able to talk with anyone and develop relationships. I never really thought I could do that. Going through this with Justin has made me so full of joy and praise that I cannot help but talk about what God has done for us. I am learning how to live with direction and with focus. I want everyone to know what God can do for them. I am fully convinced that I could not be the mother, the wife, or the person I was created to be without Jesus and his sacrifice for me. I am growing and changing, and it is not learned, it is learning. It's not like knowing that 2 + 2 = 4. It's a constant process, and there are setbacks, and there are periods where not too much happens. On my side that is. Now that I am looking for where God works, I see him EVERY DAY. Pretty cool, huh?
It was actually a treat not to have a lot of responsibilities being at the hospital, so I was able to walk and talk with various people and hear their stories. It was good just to listen and empathize because we were all in similar situations. Some clearly more serious, but we all knew what we had gone or are going through. I could walk down the hall in CVICU and see which babies have DS because of the way their legs flop open like Justin's (there were a lot because DS causes heart defects). And I was able to share how my relationship with God helped our family and continues to help our recovery. Today when we got our nails done, my mom was telling her pedicurist about Justin's surgery and she remarked about sad it was that Justin had to go through that. It struck me because I had never thought that it was sad. After getting Justin's diagnosis and crying a couple of days (straight!) I just jumped into God's arms and let him carry me for a while. It's something that we will face with God. It's sad that Justin had to have surgery, but how fabulous that he is recovering and doing even better. It's sad, but in a glorious way. I NEVER would have chosen this for my child, but it is so clear how God is present in every step of the way.
Some of Justin's friends bought him a Build-A-Bear and the person who helped them stuff the bear asked who it was for and when our friend told her about Justin she teared up a bit. Justin's friends recorded a phrase of Jesus Loves Me on a recorder to go in the bear's hand. Little TD has been wanting to get a card that sings Jesus Loves Me and he was able to sing it himself (with Princess TD). That employee won't forget about making that bear in amongst all that she made that day. That is so perfect. How great to be a witness. God is breaking me out of my shell, and I hope that I never lose sight of the person he wants me to be.
