Remembering Leah
Pray for Amy Wooddell
On Sunday, May 23, Amy Wooddell suffered a stroke and underwent 7.5 hours of surgery to remove the clotting in her basil artery. Additionally they found that her right vertebral artery was torn and was repaired with a stint. She awoke responsive and could even whisper her own name. However, a few hours later her brain began to bleed resulting an emergency procedure to relieve inner cranial pressure. On Monday, May 24 she was comatose with brain function of only 3 (normal is 15) and it was uncertain that she would survive.
But she did.
On Tuesday, May 25, Amy was considered in stable condition and brain activity began to increase (between 5-7) but was still and out of consciousness. Inner-cranial pressure had dropped from high 20s on Sunday night down to 1 on Tuesday night. She is responding through blinking (made direct eye contact with Jonny (her husband) on Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning blinked 5 times in response to “Amy, blink a bunch of times if you want Jonny to buy you lots of diamonds” and 3 times for “I love you”). And she is now breathing on her own 8 out of 18 breaths a minute.
But she’s been unable to move her limbs. A recent MRA is showing some blood in near her brain stem which is hindering motor skill movement.
Amy is only 24 years old and has been married to Jonny for 4 months. She is also an accomplished dancer.
While we are seeing God’s healing touch on Amy, we know she has a long ways to go and any permanent damage is still unknown. We are asking for your prayers for Amy’s complete healing.
More information can be found here or by follow her husband’s updates on twitter. Thank you so much!
talent show
Last Friday was the talent show at school. This was the first year that Abigail and Isaac participated. Abigail played the piano and Isaac and his friend told jokes. They did a great job and had a lot of fun!
sweet leah
Today, February 17, was my little niece's due date. She had such a short life inside her mommy, but she will always be loved and will never be forgotten! It has been incredible to see God's love poured out on her parents and to see Him begin to heal them in their grief. Thanks for keeping them in your prayers!
heart month
February is heart awareness month. In recognition of this, the 3rd - 6th graders at Abigail's school are participating in Jump Rope for Heart. This is Abigail's first year to be a part of it. It is a program for school kids to participate in to raise money for the American Heart Association. These kids are jump roping in their P.E. classes and learning about heart health all month. They have been challenged to collect $5.00 donations from their family and friends. Abigail is jumping in honor of her little brother, Ethan!
happy valentine's day!
c-a-r-n-i-v-a-l
The 3rd - 6th grade spelling bee was this week. Abigail and another classemate represented their 3rd grade class. She did a great job and we are so proud of her for doing something that is very difficult for her...standing up in front of lots of people! She asked God to help her do her best and He did! She was the littlest one up on stage...so cute!
goodbye 2009, hello 2010
I love the fresh start of a new year...it is so exciting! Brice and I have been wondering what God has planned for us this year and are looking forward to seeing Him continue to work in the life of our family.
A new year means looking back over the past year too. My baby turned one, Ethan started preschool, Isaac was baptized, Abigail tried water skiing for the first time. Lots and lots of good memories! There have been some sad memories too...full of hurt and pain. But, through it all, God has been so faithful and His faithfulness will continue!
Many of you know that my unborn niece Leah was delivered stillborn on December 5th, at 29 weeks. My sister and brother-in-law are learning how to walk through their grief, feeling God's presence through the prayers of many. Over Christmas, my sister, brother and I were talking about a song that has taken on new meaning to each of us in light of little Leah. It is called, There Will Be a Day, by Jeremy Camp. You can listen to it here.
In 2010, we will continue to put our HOPE in the Lord! Happy New Year!
A new year means looking back over the past year too. My baby turned one, Ethan started preschool, Isaac was baptized, Abigail tried water skiing for the first time. Lots and lots of good memories! There have been some sad memories too...full of hurt and pain. But, through it all, God has been so faithful and His faithfulness will continue!
Many of you know that my unborn niece Leah was delivered stillborn on December 5th, at 29 weeks. My sister and brother-in-law are learning how to walk through their grief, feeling God's presence through the prayers of many. Over Christmas, my sister, brother and I were talking about a song that has taken on new meaning to each of us in light of little Leah. It is called, There Will Be a Day, by Jeremy Camp. You can listen to it here.
In 2010, we will continue to put our HOPE in the Lord! Happy New Year!
photography
My husband has a new hobby...photography! Please check out his website when you get a chance...thanks!
cardio report
We received wonderful news at the cardiologist today. Ethan's heart is working great. There have been no major changes and so we can continue treating him as a normal little boy! The cardiology staff is continually amazed at how well he is doing and so are we. Thank you, Lord!
fit model
Isaac has a part-time job...he is a "fit model" for LEE jeans. He started this past spring and it is a pretty good gig for a 6 year old. He tries on jeans and shorts for the LEE employees and they look at how the clothes fit him...are the pockets too low, how easy was it for him to snap the jeans himself, is the length just right, are the seams even, etc. He doesn't mind it too much and the ladies just love him.
Over the summer, he had the opportunity to do a couple of photo shoots for the boy's fall line. One was for the online catalogue and the other for the sales rep's catalogue. Check out the online photos here! In the first row, he is pictured 2nd and 4th. In the second row, he is 1st and in the fourth row, he is 3rd.
Over the summer, he had the opportunity to do a couple of photo shoots for the boy's fall line. One was for the online catalogue and the other for the sales rep's catalogue. Check out the online photos here! In the first row, he is pictured 2nd and 4th. In the second row, he is 1st and in the fourth row, he is 3rd.
anencephaly...
...this word has forever changed my sister and brother-in-law's lives and the lives of our entire family.
My sister, Stephanie, is pregnant with her first baby. On October 1, she and Andy found out that their precious baby has a fatal birth defect...anencephaly. She is 22 weeks pregnant. Words can't describe the shock, devastation and heart-ache that we have all felt the last week. It is a road that we would have never dreamed we would travel down. Steph and Andy need your prayers - our whole family needs your prayers.
I wrote this in my journal a few days after we found out: We don’t praise God for this bad circumstance…we praise HIM for who HE is in spite of this bad circumstance. He is Sovereign, Just, our Refuge, our Strength, our Counselor, our Hope, our Redeemer and our Restorer.
You can follow their story here.
My sister, Stephanie, is pregnant with her first baby. On October 1, she and Andy found out that their precious baby has a fatal birth defect...anencephaly. She is 22 weeks pregnant. Words can't describe the shock, devastation and heart-ache that we have all felt the last week. It is a road that we would have never dreamed we would travel down. Steph and Andy need your prayers - our whole family needs your prayers.
I wrote this in my journal a few days after we found out: We don’t praise God for this bad circumstance…we praise HIM for who HE is in spite of this bad circumstance. He is Sovereign, Just, our Refuge, our Strength, our Counselor, our Hope, our Redeemer and our Restorer.
You can follow their story here.
birthdays...
Ethan turned 4 on September 28 and I turned 35 this past Friday. A lot happened in the week and a half between the birthdays and I will explain that in my next post. Just like any other child, Ethan is excited to be getting older, but me...not so much! There are things that happen after age 35 that I am not looking forward to. I still see myself as a 25 year old...when does how I see myself catch up to how old I really am?
Much to Ethan's delight, Brice made a special appearance as "batman", but I won't post any of those pictures! I thought he might post some on his blog, but he hasn't yet.
I had a great birthday. We went to our favorite pizza restaurant for dinner and then to a highschool football game. We had to pull out the layers, hats and gloves...perfect football weather.
Ethan had a batman party and in his words, it was "awesome." I really don't know why he wanted a batman party. We have absolutely nothing batman in our home, but that is what he wanted.
Much to Ethan's delight, Brice made a special appearance as "batman", but I won't post any of those pictures! I thought he might post some on his blog, but he hasn't yet.I had a great birthday. We went to our favorite pizza restaurant for dinner and then to a highschool football game. We had to pull out the layers, hats and gloves...perfect football weather.
Other than the fact that Ethan (he refused to smile) complained the whole time about being thirsty and hungry, we had a great time! Brice and I had a glimpse of our future while we were at the game and it was frightening. Just picture a bunch of middle school boys yelling, running up and down the bleachers, hitting each other, stuffing nachos into their mouths, spilling hot chocolate, bumping into annoyed adults, oblivious to everything around them, except their other crazy friends. Yikes!
first day of preschool
Ethan has beentalking about
preschool since
January...I think
he is going to
love it! He had a
great first day.
He has come a long
way in his almost
4 years of life.
This is a big milestone
for my little boy! We
are very proud
of him!
monday was the first day of school
I am sad to see them go back to school, but very proud of them at the same time. They are really good kids and I miss them already. Ethan and Levi don't know what to do with themselves...they miss their older brother and sister. We will eventually get into a new routine, but it doesn't feel the same at home anymore. Good luck, Abigail and Isaac!
our colorado vacation
In July, we drove 13 hours to Colorado to see Brice's parents. Just a reminder of what a beautiful state it is! Here are some pictures from a couple of the popular sites we visited: Garden of the Gods and the Sand Dunes National Park. Huge rocks to climb and the biggest "sand box" we have ever seen - what more could the kids ask for?!?
(important mom note: I was able to get Levi's white onesie completely clean...you will see what I am talking about!)
(important mom note: I was able to get Levi's white onesie completely clean...you will see what I am talking about!)
Happy Fourth of July!
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