Lizzy
Lizzy is 5!
- Our celebrator of life! Whether it’s clothes-hanger-chain decorations or wrapping current toys in an attempt to celebrate a pretend birthday, Lizzy wants to have a party.
- She also wants to see the world and can be found packing — along with Joshua — all the clothes they own and moving to Mongolia or England or Tasmania. Usually for 10-20 days.
- A tender-hearted girl with an infectious laugh. A great, kind friend.
- Shy sometimes and other times crazy once she’s warmed up to you or after the food has kicked in.
- Loves to dance. It can be Jr. Jazzercise or post-dinner dance parties in the living room or to the radio or as Elsa (now with her new dress, even though she’s never seen the movie).
- Loves Jesus and seems to be bearing fruit of a young follower of God. Loves praying conversationally and singing (sweetly off-key) her favorite hymns.
- Loves Joshua and they have truly become buddies (“our whole life!”)
- Loves writing notes to friends and our family, often needing decoding because of her awesome phonetical spelling.
- Loves her babies (Maree, Maria, Bella & Joy) and comes up with quite unheard of names as she dreams about her future kids.
- Loves kinder (preschool) and would go 5 days a week if we let her.
- Loves drawing.
- Loves helping cook or bake.
Thank You, Lord, for this wonderful gift of our May Day girl!
My Lizzy’s growing up
Two milestone things from this week that I don’t want to forget…when these 2 years seem a blur of the past.
She’s attempting to spell. Any guesses as to what she jotted down, below? Hint: it’s what she wanted to take on a nature walk.
I love fuhneticul spelling!
And she’s just started doing this.
Turns out that the important how-you-tie-your-shoes conversation didn’t come up during Scott and my pre-married counseling. Not so long ago I realized he doesn’t chase the bunny around the burrow like I do.
And by watching, she’s tying her shoes. Just like Scott. (Sobering to think about all she’s absorbing by watching at this sponge-like age. Thank You, Jesus, for grace in this role as a mom!) Editor’s note: She doesn’t have genius tendencies as much as I’d hoped. 😛 I just learned that Scott’s totally been working with her every day. I had no idea!
Each time she ties them she gives me a serious mini-talk about how I’m not to get too excited when she does it. But a little bit excited is ok.
Highs and Lows (both diabetic and life)
One week. Four major events.
Monday: Lizzy jumped into her inaugural swim lessons.
Tuesday: Joshua turned 3.
Thursday: Lizzy ended up in the ER after a (likely?) febrile seizure that afternoon from quickly-spiked 104 fever. The children’s hospital nearby is renown and we’re so grateful for her good care. She was dismissed at midnight and she’s completely back to herself except for an upper respiratory infection.
Saturday: I joined Lizzy in the white wristband club.
[I’m writing this for any fellow diabetics to say, this is a humbling, hard, and at-times-not-scientific road we walk. But, how Jesus has met me on it these 17 years and I pray He is meeting you, too.]
My blood sugar reading at noon was a scary-high of 514. About an hour into trying to get it down, I discovered that the tubing on my insulin pump was faulty and hadn’t been allowing insulin to pass through to my body. My blood sugar was only creeping down the scale, so I gave myself a manual injection in addition to changing my infusion set on my pump.
My protective husband was rightfully concerned and wanted to take me to the ER. I asked for an hour more before we went. I really wanted–and believed–that I was better able to handle my diabetes.
In that hour, my numbers started to drop. At first, I was thrilled to see a drop to 371. Then, I started to panic. 7 minutes later I tested and I was 276.
I’d never experienced anything like that kind of plummet. And I got really scared. I looked at Scott who’d looked at my blood sugar meter and we both knew. He swept up the kids and a few things and I grabbed the orange juice container from the fridge and started to drink my first of what I knew would be several glasses of juice, as an quick means of getting sugar (carbs) in my system quickly.
The ER was 8 minutes away in the opposite direction as we’d gone for Lizzy 2 days ago. Was that only just 2 days ago?
By the time we arrive, my blood sugar cliff-dive seems to have been reduced to more of a trickle. The relief is similar to two days ago when Lizzy’s temperature started dropping and chirpy Lizzy returned to us.
After being observed for about 3 hours, my blood sugar hit the sweet spot of 100. Goodbye, they said.
And I see that it’s only God’s grace. Today. This week. This year.
God’s grace that we both came home from the ER.
God’s grace that I have a little boy who lives to laugh loudly and has celebrated lots of days around the sun.
God’s grace that I have a little girl who has a strong body to splash in the water.
God’s grace that a little life once tucked inside of me is not in my arms, born to me this week, but rather worshipping the One Good and Gracious God who holds everything together.
Oh, how I want to know and love and trust that One more and more.
“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians, chapter 1, verses 16 & 17.
A shout out to our stand-in Aussie grandparents, Wes & Judy, for caring for our kids today. I think the kids got the better end of the today’s stick, for sure. 🙂
Success! On our way home
Hearing my sweet girl’s soft breathing as she slept on me was music to my ears. How quickly that sound changed from nasaly/snoring that we’ve heard so long to this purring.
Coming out of anesthesia was hard and she was really sad even as I cuddled her. Normal but hard to watch. 
Confirmation for the surgery came when Dr. Matthew came out of afterwards and said her adenoids were huge and almost completely blocking her airflow.
Lizzy is doing great after some Tylenol, a nap on me and her first icy pole (popsicle).
She got sick (not unexpected) and so she got more medicine and our discharge we first thought would be noon became 3:15.
We are headed to pick up Joshua then home!
Thanks for praying!
Waiting and playing
Hospital gown under sweatshirt, Lizzy’s ready and waiting. Will go back for surgery in about 1 hour. Met with anesthesiologist, Michelle, and impressed and put at ease with her good bedside manner, lots if helpful info and normalizing how Lizzy might awake afterwards. Thankful for how I greatly sense God calming my mum heart. So ready for Lizzy to finally be well after all these months!
Lizzy’s tubes in/adenoids out surgery tomorrow :: Joshua’s speech update
Lizzy:
After going dairy-free for Lizzy for a month (with a new appreciation for people with food allergies!), chiropractor appointments, etc. we feel like we’ve checked off our list of all possible causes before we headed into surgery.
Although Lizzy’s ENT dr. is confident her small ear tubes and inflamed adenoids are the root cause, I knew I’d kick myself if we did the surgery and the reason behind the poor sleep, constant cough, at-times hearing loss was really milk or something.
That said, her surgery will be in a few hours — Thursday 9am-ish (Wed 7pm EST). She’ll get grommet (tubes) and, while she’s under, Dr. Matthew will look at her adenoids and, very likely, remove.
Scott and I will both be with Lizzy and we’re grateful for our beloved babysitter, Hannah, staying overnight who will wake with Joshua (we have to be at the hospital at 7am) and then my good friend, Alyssa, who will come get Joshua and take him home with her until we get him about lunchtime.
I’ll update on the blog about how surgery went.
Joshua:
His speech is slowly moving forward, but not caught up yet for a 2-1/2-year-old. We see a speech therapist fortnightly (meaning bi-weekly, isn’t that such a great British/Aussie word?). We’re encouraged by the progress, albeit slow. There are times when I remember the early days of being here with his almost-constant screaming and I’m overwhelmed with gratefulness for how far God’s brought him to be able to communicate.
Cinderella with Lizzy
A fun mommy-Lizzy date was planned weeks before we knew of the miscarriage. Oh, who is like our God, knowing that we’d both need a day like this?
I picked Lizzy up from kinder (preschool) and we ducked into the bathroom and changed her into her dress-up outfit for the ballet, then headed to the train station where Scott and Joshua dropped us off for the afternoon.
I decided to wave the white flag, and walk/carry her only to the next bus stop bench I could see. I called to tell Scott of my misadventure (and see if Joshua had woken from his nap yet) when Lizzy keenly announces, “Mommy, it’s spitting.” We both start laughing. No cover and a bit stuck, we giggle. And take this selfie.
Thankfully, it didn’t rain more than just a bit, and we successfully caught a bus 15 minutes later. It took us to the shopping center by our house, where we waited for our men to come pick us up and warmed up. A fun adventure the Lord new we needed.
Lizzy’s letter to Micah
Just picked Lizzy up from kinder (preschool) and her teacher, Nicole, handed me this.
“Lizzy initiated this. She wanted to write a letter to Micah so I wrote down what she said.”
So grateful for a window into her heart today.
Conversation I didn’t know we’d have today
“That cow can’t say moo anymore?”
ScottandAngie.org 