Emma got off the bus today and threw down her backpack.
She also tossed her little frog ice pack.
She loves that icepack.
Something was wrong.
I've known this day would come. It is partly why her first year home we literally cocooned her in love and made a sanctuary of our family and close friends. We wanted her to have a foundation. Have truth firmly planted in her lovely little heart and mind.
"Mom, I'm so mad," said without rancor as only Emma can when she is mad.
We agreed to talk in the car. Thankfully. It wasn't a small thing she had to share.
A boy on the bus told her he wouldn't sit with her.
This is hard. It is harder because he wouldn't sit with her because he thought her hands were ugly.
Oh, and he didn't like her voice.
I have thought for two years about who we are going to be as a family. What do we really and truly believe? And how we really and truly know as head and heart knowledge that our Emma was fashioned fearfully {as in with awe}, wonderfully, perfectly and beautifully by her Heavenly Father.
No mistakes.
Nothing wrong.
She is truly perfect.
And she is truly beautiful.
She is a special gift, not a special need.
The truth is we all have special needs apart from seeing one another through God's eyes. Wretched fallen man.
Tiger Mom stayed at bay, by the grace of the Lord. I hugged my beautiful girl, told her how sad I was for that boy that he didn't know the truth, and reminded Emma of how lovely and incredibly beautiful she is, inside and out. And by the grace of God, I also meant what I was saying.
Then we went to share about the encounter with the "bus monitor". I told her that Emma had a sad story to share, and then Emma narrated the entire chain of events. I have never loved a bus monitor more. She said all the things I would have hoped she'd say, and at the end of the exchange Emma left with a little skip in her step, a smile on her gorgeous face and a "thanks for helping me!".
Oftentimes different makes us uncomfortable. Which can make us feel a bit afraid of feeling uncomfortable. And feeling that unsettled afraid leads to fear and judgement. Mean comes out.
How many times and in how many places does this play out in my own life and home? Plank.
But God.
Snuggling up on my lap for a long hug, some eye to eye truth about how God made her and how beautiful she is, and some siblings agreeing that indeed, she is a joy and a lovely, pretty girl eased my heart. I believe they also healed a bit of my Emma's.
Then we prayed. For that boy; that he would have the gift of his eyes being opened. That He would experience God's love and grace in the places that truth can grow and lodge in his life. He is, after all, a little boy. We asked God to bless this boy, to take this hurtful incident and make much of it for the Kingdom, in this little guys life.
Tomorrow the bus monitor is speaking to the boy. Please pray for her, that God would guide her words, thoughts and actions. And please join me in praying for the little boy and my little girl. My dear, sweet, beloved, beautiful, lovely, adorable, perfectly fashioned Emma Kate. And a boy who is also a child of the King.
I knew this day would come. I didn't expect to face it literally cocooned in peace and fully cushioned by the Lord. He is good. All the time. All of it.
Psalm 139
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
Showing posts with label hands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hands. Show all posts
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
sound the trumpets!
Let the celebration begin!
Emma Kate's hand is fully healed!
Praising the Lord for this beautiful work.
She has five fingers on her right hand and five fingers on her left! Her skin grafts look lovely. The infection is completely gone and her hands are totally restored.
It is wonderful. WONDERFUL!
Tomorrow, you will see us {drum roll and cheering crowds, please!} at the pool! Emma Kate? She cannot wait. I'm thinking she will be our early bird riser tomorrow morning with all the anticipation in the air.
And tomorrow? Cooper's cast also comes off!
Wahooooo!
One darling story: at night we have been taking Emma's bandages off in order to give her hand fresh air. Last night after I'd tucked the girls I walked by their room. Anna was reading so the light was still on. I could see Emma Kate from the hallway, and stopped to gaze. Suddenly, I noticed she was counting her fingers on her right hand, over and over again. I was rooted in place trying to discern if she was solemn and a bit sad or feeling content and joyful about it. Finally I crept in and snuggled up with her, noticing her quiet smile.
"Emma Kate. Tell me about your counting", I whispered.
"Mom. I'm counting my fingers. I can count to ten. I have five and five", she shared.
"Emma Kate, are you happy?"
"Oh, mom. I love home. I am so happy. I come here and you love me. Look at my hand".
Be still my heart.
Emma Kate's hand is fully healed!
Praising the Lord for this beautiful work.
She has five fingers on her right hand and five fingers on her left! Her skin grafts look lovely. The infection is completely gone and her hands are totally restored.
It is wonderful. WONDERFUL!
Tomorrow, you will see us {drum roll and cheering crowds, please!} at the pool! Emma Kate? She cannot wait. I'm thinking she will be our early bird riser tomorrow morning with all the anticipation in the air.
And tomorrow? Cooper's cast also comes off!
Wahooooo!
One darling story: at night we have been taking Emma's bandages off in order to give her hand fresh air. Last night after I'd tucked the girls I walked by their room. Anna was reading so the light was still on. I could see Emma Kate from the hallway, and stopped to gaze. Suddenly, I noticed she was counting her fingers on her right hand, over and over again. I was rooted in place trying to discern if she was solemn and a bit sad or feeling content and joyful about it. Finally I crept in and snuggled up with her, noticing her quiet smile.
"Emma Kate. Tell me about your counting", I whispered.
"Mom. I'm counting my fingers. I can count to ten. I have five and five", she shared.
"Emma Kate, are you happy?"
"Oh, mom. I love home. I am so happy. I come here and you love me. Look at my hand".
Be still my heart.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
restored, healed and made whole
Emma's skin grafts are healing!
We had a wound check yesterday and Dr. VanHeest was well pleased. The infection has abated and the grafts themselves are intact and healing. In fact, the only place left to heal is the graft between the second and third digits.
True!
One more week of her hand wrapped up like a little mummy in sterile bandages. As of next week, we anticipate that Emma Kate will be good to go and free to swim, play and embrace summer fully!
We can't wait to take her to the pool for the first time this summer. We are quietly counting down the days to that event.
How grateful we are for the healing and restoration she is experiencing. Thank you all for your prayers. The Lord has done a beautiful work in our little girl. And we give Him great thanks and praise for being her Jehovah-rapha.
What a difference He has made in a mere four days.
We are so grateful. And so relieved!
We had a wound check yesterday and Dr. VanHeest was well pleased. The infection has abated and the grafts themselves are intact and healing. In fact, the only place left to heal is the graft between the second and third digits.
True!
One more week of her hand wrapped up like a little mummy in sterile bandages. As of next week, we anticipate that Emma Kate will be good to go and free to swim, play and embrace summer fully!
We can't wait to take her to the pool for the first time this summer. We are quietly counting down the days to that event.
How grateful we are for the healing and restoration she is experiencing. Thank you all for your prayers. The Lord has done a beautiful work in our little girl. And we give Him great thanks and praise for being her Jehovah-rapha.
What a difference He has made in a mere four days.
We are so grateful. And so relieved!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
coming along
Thank you for praying with us.
Emma's hand is evidence of God at work.
I am no health professional, but it seems to be coming along, and looking much better.
It bleeds when we clean it, and that is, we are told, a good sign.
So healthy skin is hopefully emerging underneath the ugly looking top.
On Tuesday we will know more.
I'm officially now a wound care expert. Handy with sterile gauze cleaning supplies and mesh wrap. Good to go with soaking and abrading wounds.
Please don't call me; I'm not taking these skills on the road. :)
Emma's hand is evidence of God at work.
I am no health professional, but it seems to be coming along, and looking much better.
It bleeds when we clean it, and that is, we are told, a good sign.
So healthy skin is hopefully emerging underneath the ugly looking top.
On Tuesday we will know more.
I'm officially now a wound care expert. Handy with sterile gauze cleaning supplies and mesh wrap. Good to go with soaking and abrading wounds.
Please don't call me; I'm not taking these skills on the road. :)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
back at swimming!, and surgery scheduled {again}
Our resident fish is back in the pool!
Emma returned to swim lessons today~ with many accolades from her teacher and a wonderful smile on her face.
With her palate closed, she struggled a bit to re-learn breathing. It felt awkward, is how it looked. She was such a brave girl. Just took it all in stride. Worked hard with a smile. And she did it!
It was the last lesson in this series, and I'm so glad she was healed and ready to go for the final lesson. Beginning next week we are taking two lessons a week for a month, when she has her next surgery! It was a wonderful solution to a girl wanting more "school" in her days and a compressed timeframe in which to accomplish more swimming.
Our girl is not interested in sitting around. She has no time for waiting! She's so desiring to work hard, jump in and learn, engage in life, experience new things. She is craving experiences, and it is such a joy to be part of providing them to her and doing them with her. Older child adoption is so beautiful in that way. Everything is new. All of it, for her, is a joy. And she is so excited and charmed by each new thing.
So blessed to be her mom and bask in the overflow of our Joy Bucket's joy.
In other huge news:
We have a month of casts {arm and leg} coming our way in April.
And that segues perfectly to this afternoon. We went to Gillette and met with Dr. Van Heest, Emma's pediatric orthopedic surgeon. X-rays and a finalized treatment plan for phase one of surgery.
On April 11th Emma will have surgery on her right hand and left foot and calf. She will have a cast on her arm/hand for a month and another cast on her foot/leg for 2-4 weeks.
The surgery on her right hand entails a third web with syndactyly release. The lay description of this procedure is that her hand currently looks like it has four digits. Her "middle finger" and "ring finger" are fused together in a shortened "nub" {actual medical jargon}. This nub will be separated into two distinct fingers! How incredible is that? They will graft skin from her elbow crease to the new fingers.
I can't believe it. Her x-rays were lovely to behold. I'm glad for her, even as I am mourning a bit that her sweet hands will change. They are so dear to us. This change, however, is so to her benefit.
Piano lessons are scheduled for summer! She has been asking and asking. And we cannot wait to have her take them once the surgeries are complete. A very fun thing to look forward to.
Her left foot involves a second and third toe nubbin excision with partial syndactyly release. This means that her second and third toe are "webbed" together. The doctor will separate them, thus creating five distinct toes. Tips of two toes will also be amended, which means that they will remove the very tips of them in order to help them function better. I'm purposely being a bit vague in that description.
Swimming lessons this summer are back on the slate for swimmer girl! That and lots of playground play. Running in grass, climbing trees, cavorting in sunshine and stomping in rain puddles. It is all going to be so fun. A celebration of life. Right where she is.
It was a big day. We are very grateful for the provision of exceptional medical care. Emma Kate is in such good hands. Caring, skilled, thoughtful, wise hands.
And more than that, she is in her Father's hands. That is the perfect place to be.
Emma returned to swim lessons today~ with many accolades from her teacher and a wonderful smile on her face.
With her palate closed, she struggled a bit to re-learn breathing. It felt awkward, is how it looked. She was such a brave girl. Just took it all in stride. Worked hard with a smile. And she did it!
It was the last lesson in this series, and I'm so glad she was healed and ready to go for the final lesson. Beginning next week we are taking two lessons a week for a month, when she has her next surgery! It was a wonderful solution to a girl wanting more "school" in her days and a compressed timeframe in which to accomplish more swimming.
Our girl is not interested in sitting around. She has no time for waiting! She's so desiring to work hard, jump in and learn, engage in life, experience new things. She is craving experiences, and it is such a joy to be part of providing them to her and doing them with her. Older child adoption is so beautiful in that way. Everything is new. All of it, for her, is a joy. And she is so excited and charmed by each new thing.
So blessed to be her mom and bask in the overflow of our Joy Bucket's joy.
In other huge news:
We have a month of casts {arm and leg} coming our way in April.
And that segues perfectly to this afternoon. We went to Gillette and met with Dr. Van Heest, Emma's pediatric orthopedic surgeon. X-rays and a finalized treatment plan for phase one of surgery.
On April 11th Emma will have surgery on her right hand and left foot and calf. She will have a cast on her arm/hand for a month and another cast on her foot/leg for 2-4 weeks.
The surgery on her right hand entails a third web with syndactyly release. The lay description of this procedure is that her hand currently looks like it has four digits. Her "middle finger" and "ring finger" are fused together in a shortened "nub" {actual medical jargon}. This nub will be separated into two distinct fingers! How incredible is that? They will graft skin from her elbow crease to the new fingers.
I can't believe it. Her x-rays were lovely to behold. I'm glad for her, even as I am mourning a bit that her sweet hands will change. They are so dear to us. This change, however, is so to her benefit.
Piano lessons are scheduled for summer! She has been asking and asking. And we cannot wait to have her take them once the surgeries are complete. A very fun thing to look forward to.
Her left foot involves a second and third toe nubbin excision with partial syndactyly release. This means that her second and third toe are "webbed" together. The doctor will separate them, thus creating five distinct toes. Tips of two toes will also be amended, which means that they will remove the very tips of them in order to help them function better. I'm purposely being a bit vague in that description.
Swimming lessons this summer are back on the slate for swimmer girl! That and lots of playground play. Running in grass, climbing trees, cavorting in sunshine and stomping in rain puddles. It is all going to be so fun. A celebration of life. Right where she is.
It was a big day. We are very grateful for the provision of exceptional medical care. Emma Kate is in such good hands. Caring, skilled, thoughtful, wise hands.
And more than that, she is in her Father's hands. That is the perfect place to be.
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