One Week...

One week from this coming Tuesday Jordan has an appt to get her foot checked. At 8:30 Tuesday morning (Dec 9th) they should take the cast off, x-ray the foot and take the pin out. If all goes according to plan they will give her a short leg cast and one of those little velcro shoe things over the cast to walk on. Yay! Oh I am totally counting the days and it feels like this week will be forever as we wait. Shan and I were saying the other day how strange it is that we've already forgotten what it's like to see her walking around. This girl would seriously strut her stuff, arms swinging, marching all around doing anything but sitting still. We've gotten used to seeing her sitting or laying on the couch. Baths will also be so much easier and more fun for her. She'll still be in the baby tub but at least we can keep a little water in it for her to be warm. Now it's sponge baths in the baby tub.
I'll be sure to post pictures...I'm seriously wondering how I'm going to hold her foot in the office while the doc pulls that pin out. Apparently it's no big deal...he just pulls out the pin that is holding bones together...and expects me to hold her during it. I am wondering if I should make Noah leave the room or if I should let him watch. Cast your votes everyone....let me know what you think. :)

Reality is setting in...

It seems Jordan has tired of sitting on the couch while the world goes by. It's really pretty sad to see. She just seems tired of sitting and wants Mommy and Daddy to hold her all the time. She went two days with no napping - she cried for two hours both days for Mommy and then last night woke up at 3:30 crying for me. She wouldn't stop unless I held her and walked around. Finally I had to put her down and let her cry. I wonder if what she feels when she has to watch the other kids play and run around. I wonder what goes through her mind when I leave the room and she cries until her voice is hoarse.

Another thing I've noticed lately is her looking at her own hands. I saw her last week looking at her right hand (more severely affected) and turning it over, opening and closing her fingers etc. I wondered what she was thinking and if she was beginning to notice it doesn't look like ours. The other day picking up Noah from preschool a little girl said that Jordan's hand looked funny. Right away Jordan looked at her hand. I touched her hand and showed the girl and said, "It is a really cute hand isn't it? Look at it, it looks like a cute little glove is on there. It also works really well. She can do anything with it that you can. God made her that that way just like he made your hands the way they are. We are all different." I have no idea the "right" response when kids ask or say things like that. It's innocent and they are just curious but for Jordan's sake I want to respond appropriately. I love every inch of her exactly the way she is and I want her to know that in my responses as she grows.

My aunt sent $5 for each kid this week so tonight we had a big night out at Wal-Mart letting the kids pick out whatever they wanted to buy with their money. Jordan picked out a little set of horses - tiny little plastic horses in a pink case. She loves them. Noah wrestled with such a huge decision and was a wreck in the toy aisle unable to decide on ONE toy. He'd pick one then another then another and was totally frozen with indecision. It was so funny. He ended up with a hauler truck that opens up into a helicopter pad. Pretty cool. After that we went in search of one of those cheap quarter riding toys that is typically outside stores. Apparently San Clemente thought they were an eye sore because we looked all over and couldn't find one. They took them out! Second choice was to let the kids ride in the car shopping carts at Albertson's while we wandered around the grocery store. What a cheap family date night! Thanks Aunt Edna and Uncle Frank from North Carolina. You are so thoughtful and so kind. What a wonderful outing and such a distraction.

We have friends coming in town to stay at our house this weekend so hopefully that'll be good for Jordan to have people to play with and be entertained by. I am going work on her crawling and see if we can't get her moving around a bit without standing up.

Her cast change appt is for December 9th - one week early. Yay! He'll put on a short cast that she can walk in for another six weeks (mid to late January) then a brace for six months. He said on Monday that he doesn't expect it to function a whole lot better than before but it will look more normal and it was something that couldn't be left the way it was. She would eventually have been unable to walk. I'll just be glad when she is walking again. We'll call her hand surgeon in January to schedule her pre-op stuff for the next surgery on her thumb. Hopefully we can get that one done late winter/early spring. For that he'll take bone from her leg and creat a longer, more stable thumb on her left hand. Another pin to keep things in place and another cast but at least she'll be able to move around more.

Thanks for checking in - I'll post more pictures soon.

Jen

Pray Please

I wanted to remind you of a family I've posted about several times before. The Levasheff Family - Drake, Christina and Jessie lost their 2 year old son to Krabbe Disease one year ago tomorrow. Please pray for them as you go about your day that their eyes would not be on things of this world but on Christ and His redeeming work in their lives. If you would like to view their blog you can find it at:

http://www.storyofjudson.com/christina

I highly recommend subscribing to it and reading her posts regularly and then leaving scripture and notes of encouragement for her as she struggles through one of the hardest things in this life.

Mommy/Daughter Date Night

Sprite

Sprite

Yes, more Sprite!

Notice the jewelery and glasses - see the next post for details.

Since it was just Jordan and I home tonight I decided to take us out for a girls' date night. It's really so tough being home with her right now so I told her we were going on a date and she loved the idea. The whole way in the car she kept saying "Date!" "Date!"

I wanted a place outdoors where we could walk around (keeping her happy in her chair with her leg up), eat, and browse. I took her to the Aliso Veijo Town Center. We ate at Fatburger while listening to the jukebox and Jordan saying over and over, "Too loud!" She happily slurped down her Sprite and ate straight ketchup with her hands (her favorite meal). We walked to see the fountain where I let her throw pennies in and she would crack up so loud every time. It was hilarious. After that we walked to Barnes and Noble to read books in the kids section. She LOVES books and we found a small Christian book section for kids and read some great books until she started being super silly. She was cracking up so loudly we finally headed out. I couldn't stop laughing and it was more of the same on the way home listening to her try to sing a mix of If You're Happy and You Know it and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.

What an addition to our family she is. As voting day approaches I think more and more about a quote I saw on a video clip of Obama. I'm not quoting exactly but he basically said that he is going to raise his daughters to make good decisions but he doesn't want them to pay for a mistake they make by having to raise a child/have a baby. He was making a statement for abortion as a solution to a mistake and having a baby as punishment for that mistake. I look at Jordan and can't imagine how anyone can vote for a man who sees a baby, a child, a God given life as a punishment to avoid once you've made a mistake. "Don't worry daughters, if you make a mistake you won't have to be accountable for it or responsible - we'll just kill it so it doesn't interfere with your life." Children are a precious, precious gift from God and are to be considered arrows in the hands of warriors...blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. It breaks my heart that if Obama wins this election tomorrow women in a challenging situation may take the "easy" way out without fully understanding what they are throwing away.

I have to remind all of you reading this that we were offered again and again the opportunity to kill Jordan. We were tired of hearing them tell us they'd kill her if we wanted them to so we finally asked them to stop offering. We weren't considering that as an option. Look at her now and think about how much she means to so many of you reading this.

Blessings from the Williams Family!

Brittney "Bitnee" teaching Jordan how to use the Leapster

Bree, Brooke and Brittney in front of their banner that is taped to the wall in front of Jordan's spot on the couch so she will think of them and smile.

This is SUCH a cute picture of Bree and Jordan.

Brittney, Jordan, Bree, and Brooke

I had SUCH a nice surprise today with some special visitors...

Shannon took Noah to his parents house until tomorrow night when he returns from school (as usual on Mondays/Tuesdays only typically Noah is here with me). My mom was also gone today visiting a friend overnight so it was just Jordan and I here. She was napping and I was making phone calls, setting up some appointments and catching up on emails. Christiane Williams (the director of our church's Navigating Motherhood ministry) and her three girls came over.

Not only did they bring a dinner and homemade bread (her daughters made the bread) but they came with their arms FULL of gifts - precious, hand picked gifts that were once their prized possessions. They brought more stuff for Jordan and Noah than I can list here but I'll share a few things. First they brought in a giant rolled up banner that was tied so pretty with a green string (my favorite color). It was a handmade banner with pictures they drew, pictures of themselves in funny glasses and writing saying "We hope we make you smile!" They even included Noah in one note considering the fact that he may be feeling left out. They brought a special bag for him as well with really fun things they picked for him. They brought things they specifically remembered Jordan liking when she was at their house...jewlery, a Dora jewelery box, Dora sunglasses, a baby doll, and even a stuffed rabbit with a voice recording one of them had when she was little (was that Brooke Christiane??). I have been struggling to keep Jordan occupied on the couch so it was also a GIANT blessing to get a Leapster from the girls too. I still can't believe we have a Leapster! A neighbor got one recently and when I saw the price I knew we wouldn't be getting one any time soon but thought how fun it would be for the kids and here is one from the Williams family they weren't using and wanted us to have. Bree also chose a few special games of hers that she thought Jordan and Noah would be able to use (learning games) that she has outgrown. I could hardly get Jordan to put it down to go out with me tonight. Funny that something so simple now makes it a challenge to get her off the couch when I've been struggling to keep her on it. :) :)

Beyond all the wonderful gifts they brought it was the thought and the sentiment that went into it that really touches me. I am honestly sitting here shocked at their love for Jordan (and Noah) and the fact that today they lived out Phillipians 2:3-4 that says to do nothing out of selfishness (selfish or vain conceit) but consider others better than yourself. This was one of Noah's past memory verses and one that is very important to me as I'm raising him to be someone who truly considers others and always looks to their best interest. What a living example the Williams family is. Honestly, they are always the first to sacrifice for others - their money, their time, their resources, their talents - everything. They would deny it all if asked and humbly insist it was no big deal. I can't thank you girls (and you too Jess) for your thoughtfulness, your time, your treasures and most of all your example to my children of what it means to serve each other. This came on the perfect day at just the right time!

Oh and one more thing - through all the gifts and them even holding her on their laps she had a dirty diaper and they didn't once mention it and it was bad. They are so sweet! :) :) :)

Thank you!!!!!!

Back to her spunky self!

Yes - this is the same girl who just had a major operation on her foot and has only been home from the hospital for a few days. She's crazy and hyper and loves to play. Keeping her sitting on a couch with her leg elevated is IMPOSSIBLE!

We had my parents and Shan's parents over for dinner today. This is my dad holding Jordan.

Jordan with her Papa.

Jordan and Grandma playing with "hats" Grandma liked the bunny ears and of course Jordan liked the princess crown - go figure.

Noah loves Jordan's chair and is acutally really good at driving it around. He rides around the house all day and then loads up his toys and pushes them around. My dad says it's a matter of time before he figures out how to hook the dogs to it so they can pull him around the block.

I have a great video of Jordan sliding along the ground trying to crawl. I'll post it soon.

It was GREAT to be back at church this morning and so good having my mom go with us and seeing our friends again. It'll be interesting to see how the coming weeks will shape up.

Thanks for checking in.