Lauren's grandmother has been updating a hospital website to keep us up to date on her condition. Please check it out and continue to pray. God is showing himself faithful!!!
https://www.carepages.com/carepages/aJourneywithWilms
Also, I'm still trying to collect some money for extra expenses for the family. Please pray about how God would use you in that.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
God's sufficient grace
Everyone has times of struggles. Times of pain and suffering, grief and sorrow. But for some, there are also more continual, day-to-day trials that stay with us, no matter how often we might pray that God would intervene and remove these burdens from our hearts.**
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, the Apostle Paul spoke of his own "thorn in the flesh," noting how he had prayed not once, but three times for it to be removed. God, however, wasn’t pleased for it to depart from him completely. Instead, He gave the assurance of His grace, when He replied, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
The Lord’s words in this verse have been a great source of comfort for God’s children throughout time. Without question, they have been for those who find themselves struggling with their own "thorns." **
Yesterday, my mother and I got a chance to go visit with the Ballard family at Iowa's Children's Hospital. As we walked through the gigantic hospital, I was struck with humility by "thorns" affecting so many families, especially with young children. We so often can't understand God's plans and it leaves us feelings out of control. As I walked into Lauren's home, my heart felt crushed. I again asked God why, and without a blink God seemed to answer me " Jessie, I am loving and just".
The only thing I could say over and over again, was I can't even imagine what the are going through. Most times, that phrase just ran circles in my head. To see your 3 yr old beautiful daughter laying there with tubes coming for her, most of her hair gone, he little body so frail, and the only thing that seems to comfort her is to continually moan in pain. The is nothing that can prepare you for that. We as parents send all our time protecting our children and to be completely at God's mercy..ah...again, I just can't imagine. As I thought about it though, we really aren't in control of our children's well-being, God's ultimate plan is always made complete.
James, her father, has been given the option to work 4 (10 hr) days and have Wed. off. He has been working from 4am until 1:30pm and then leaves to drive an hour to Iowa City and stay the night gets up at 2am to go back to work. The sleeping conditions are ideal. James is in the recliner in the corner, Sarah on the "couch" and baby Tre in a portable swing on the floor. God has extended a lot of grace to them right now, though at times it seems to wear thin.
As for Lauren, she continues to be on Mophrine for the pain, and her fever seems to be persisting. The doctor have her on 3 different kinds of antibiotics and have the drain tube coming from her chest. Today, Sarah said that the chemo can't start until the fever comes down and that the tumor is still producing fluid.
The prognosis from the doctors is grim. They have given her a 45% chance of survival but we know that God can provide a miracle. So we are pleading with him to spare her life and to make himself known to all those who have been taking care of her.
We ask you as dear family and friends to please pray for God's hand to heal her little body, that he would give her family strength and grace, that His mercies would be made new everyday.
Maybe you can pray about how God can use you to help this family. This week you could cut out your weekly coffee, or eat out one less time. There has been so many expenses with travel, food, meds during this time. If you would be interested please leave a comment and I'll let you know how.
Thank you for your love and concern for this young family.
Psalm 9:9 The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble
**keptbygrace.com info
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, the Apostle Paul spoke of his own "thorn in the flesh," noting how he had prayed not once, but three times for it to be removed. God, however, wasn’t pleased for it to depart from him completely. Instead, He gave the assurance of His grace, when He replied, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
The Lord’s words in this verse have been a great source of comfort for God’s children throughout time. Without question, they have been for those who find themselves struggling with their own "thorns." **
Yesterday, my mother and I got a chance to go visit with the Ballard family at Iowa's Children's Hospital. As we walked through the gigantic hospital, I was struck with humility by "thorns" affecting so many families, especially with young children. We so often can't understand God's plans and it leaves us feelings out of control. As I walked into Lauren's home, my heart felt crushed. I again asked God why, and without a blink God seemed to answer me " Jessie, I am loving and just".
The only thing I could say over and over again, was I can't even imagine what the are going through. Most times, that phrase just ran circles in my head. To see your 3 yr old beautiful daughter laying there with tubes coming for her, most of her hair gone, he little body so frail, and the only thing that seems to comfort her is to continually moan in pain. The is nothing that can prepare you for that. We as parents send all our time protecting our children and to be completely at God's mercy..ah...again, I just can't imagine. As I thought about it though, we really aren't in control of our children's well-being, God's ultimate plan is always made complete.
James, her father, has been given the option to work 4 (10 hr) days and have Wed. off. He has been working from 4am until 1:30pm and then leaves to drive an hour to Iowa City and stay the night gets up at 2am to go back to work. The sleeping conditions are ideal. James is in the recliner in the corner, Sarah on the "couch" and baby Tre in a portable swing on the floor. God has extended a lot of grace to them right now, though at times it seems to wear thin.
As for Lauren, she continues to be on Mophrine for the pain, and her fever seems to be persisting. The doctor have her on 3 different kinds of antibiotics and have the drain tube coming from her chest. Today, Sarah said that the chemo can't start until the fever comes down and that the tumor is still producing fluid.
The prognosis from the doctors is grim. They have given her a 45% chance of survival but we know that God can provide a miracle. So we are pleading with him to spare her life and to make himself known to all those who have been taking care of her.
We ask you as dear family and friends to please pray for God's hand to heal her little body, that he would give her family strength and grace, that His mercies would be made new everyday.
Maybe you can pray about how God can use you to help this family. This week you could cut out your weekly coffee, or eat out one less time. There has been so many expenses with travel, food, meds during this time. If you would be interested please leave a comment and I'll let you know how.
Thank you for your love and concern for this young family.
Psalm 9:9 The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble
**keptbygrace.com info
Monday, October 26, 2009
Prayer for Lauren
Hi friends and family,
I have emailed before asking for prayer and here I am again asking for LOTS of prayer. Sarah (a good friend for High School) has a little girl named Lauren, she's 3 1/2. This last year she was diagnosed with Wilms Tumor, a childhood cancer. She has spent the last 6-8 months in and out of the hospital with surgeries, chemo and radiation. She has really been fighting it hard, God bless her. During this time Sarah and her Husband James, found out their were expecting. They just were coming up on the end of treatments for Lauren when Sarah had their new baby, Tre. He is 3 weeks old now. On friday Lauren was complaining of stomach pain, they took her in and after going through some testing until 1am, the doctors discovered that another tumor had grown on her lungs. She was having a lot of pain, the tumor had collapsed one of her lungs and filled it with fluid. They also took a biopsy of the tumor and are starting chemo again this week. Right now, the doctors don't know what to tell them. This should never have happened while in Chemo.
Please pray for strength and healing for Lauren,for God's grace for the immediate and extended families, and for special strength for Sarah as she stays in Iowa City (a good hour from their home) w/out her husband with a sick child and a newborn.
After spending much of the last year in the hospital, they have some significant bills. they absolutely didn't expect this to be happening again. Please pray about how God could use you to minister to this young, hurting family.
NEEDS:
PRAYER
GAS GIFTS CARDS
GIFT CARDS FOR FOOD AT HOSPITAL( the link below will take you to the hospitals website where you can purchase cards to be sent to their room) Just tell them it's for Lauren Ballard (parents Sarah and James Ballard)
http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/uichildrenshospital/sendasmile.html
GET WELL CARDS
ANY KIND OF FINANCIAL HELP
THINGS FOR LAUREN:
Stuffed animals of any kind
Books
Puzzles
She loves Pink and Purple
Please forward this to anyone that you know. We could use all God's saints praying for her precious life. If you'd like to help with any of the momentary gifts please let me know via email and I can tell you where to send it. PLEASE share this with anyone you can.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Fun information!
Awesome new website for those of us that don't want to drag our children to the store to get the house essentials. The prices are great, lower than target and even some of the walmart prices. BEST of all, FREE SHIPPING! They have you sign up so they can remind you every 6 wks or sooner that you might need more. Check it out! Jenny Mena, you'll love it!
www.alice.com
Ok, another one for the coupon junkies or the want to be coupon junkies! There is a cost, free trial, then $10 every 8 wks. A great service that does all the work for you.
www.thegrocerygame.com
On advice of a well studied nutrition guru, winter in Iowa can bring about deprivation in Vit D ( lack of sun) bummer for us!
He recommends the following for children and adults, I've been giving it to the kids on top of staying clear of anything that might breath sickness!!! And so far so good, we keep praying.
Vitamin D3 2000 IU (for nursing child, from mother's milk) + sunlight
More vitamin D when ill
Vitamin C 500 mg
Fish oil 1000 mg for young kids under age 2, everyone else 2000 mg per day
Just a little information for ya, if you're interested!
www.alice.com
Ok, another one for the coupon junkies or the want to be coupon junkies! There is a cost, free trial, then $10 every 8 wks. A great service that does all the work for you.
www.thegrocerygame.com
On advice of a well studied nutrition guru, winter in Iowa can bring about deprivation in Vit D ( lack of sun) bummer for us!
He recommends the following for children and adults, I've been giving it to the kids on top of staying clear of anything that might breath sickness!!! And so far so good, we keep praying.
Vitamin D3 2000 IU (for nursing child, from mother's milk) + sunlight
More vitamin D when ill
Vitamin C 500 mg
Fish oil 1000 mg for young kids under age 2, everyone else 2000 mg per day
Just a little information for ya, if you're interested!
Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
I have been so concerned with getting Townes to obey us..Eph. 6:1 " Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right" that I didn't continue on to read about exasperating him. Ah, it's a good reminder that God has lots of lessons for me.
I have been so concerned with getting Townes to obey us..Eph. 6:1 " Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right" that I didn't continue on to read about exasperating him. Ah, it's a good reminder that God has lots of lessons for me.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Family Vacation
FYI: I "stole" Jody's picts! Thanks Jody. If I add my own I'll never get this post up!!
I have been searching for months for good tickets to LA. Most of Danny's family is out there, and it was time for a visit. God provided us with awesome tickets! A friend recommended a new airline out of Des Moines, low and behold, we found tickets for under $200 each!! We were stoked! On top of that it was a direct flight, praise the Lord, that was so great!!!!!
Well, needless to say, travel with two small children is never easy. 2 huge bags, 2 car seats, a double stroller, 4 carry ons...and security check...come on. Taking the kids out of stroller, de-clothing them, sending stroller through x-ray...ok not an easy task. All of which at the Des Moines airport isn't that huge of a deal, but try doing it at LAX when your kids haven't sleep well in 9 days!
Our flight was a 8:20pm which seemed like a great idea, until our 2 yr old didn't sleep the whole time. We get into LAX( the craziest airport) around 11:30pm(pacific time) or time it's 1:30am!! Yes, he's still awake. We have to take our 100 bags outside the airport, get in onto the shuttle to go get our rental car. Are you kidding me? We were about ready to get back on the plane to head home. The shuttle bus took over 30 min to get there. Once he got there I asked him to just help me get the stroller(loaded with kids) on the shuttle. After a 10 minute stop and go ride to the rental place, we try to get all our stuff into the place, finally Danny gets in line. We are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel....until Townes starts THROWING UP!! Yes, throwing up! Finch was screaming at this point, Townes throwing up into his sweatshirt and I'm trying to get Danny's attention to hurry up!
So now it's about 12:15am and our kids are wrecks, and Danny comes back over to me ( which I thought ok it's time to go) Not so fast...we had a problem with our card. ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW! Little did I know you have to have x amount of dollars in your account in order to be able to rent the car. Why did you not tell me this when I rented the car! argh!!!
Poor Kids, Townes was absolutely GREEN! I think he was overtired and got air sick too!!
It's now 2:15am our time, Townes is still throwing up, finch still screaming...both are completely exhausted and so are we. We have no idea what to do. Jody (Danny's sister) didn't pick up the phone to come get us, which she's at least 45 mins away anyways. My big idea is call DAD, he always comes to the rescue.. after about 15 phone calls to wait him up...he answers in a frenzy. "Dad I'm sorry to wake you up, but Townes is pucking, as you can hear Finch is screaming, we can't get a car, we are stuck and they are going to close"....." I already tried transferring money for my savings account, but my cell phone is going to die". Dad says " no problem, I get some money to to fix it"...a few tears, an hour, and a new online banking account..we are ready to go. So we get our tiny little car, barely fit everything in it, and head to Jody's at 1:15am ummmm which is 3:15am our time. Finally, as we are getting into the car, both kids pass out!!
We get in, put the kids down and head to bed. With a wake up call from our little monkey's at 5:45am!! The sleep for 4 hours! What are you crazy, is this how the whole trip is going to be! I was very worried to say the least. But God has a great way of answering lots of prayers!!!
We had a rough first couple days getting into the swing of a new schedule and getting over our initial night. We had a lot of 5:45am wake ups, and 11am crashes but overall they did AMAZING! We were so thankful that God was not only providing the trip but helping the kids with little sleep and eating out most meals(which means not the healthiest choices)!
We spent our first weekend at Jody's house in Upland, CA. A very cute cozy home, that Jody has decorated via thrift stores. I tell you that girl can shop! She's looking for a job to support her habit!:) Thanks Jody for opening up your house, we had a great time!! Bev (Danny's mom) came down from WA and stayed at Jody's too, so we got some time with her as well. Which it's always great to spend time with Grammy. We were a little worried about the no A/C with 100 degree temps out, but we survived it with a couple sweaty nights. Then the temps were perfect! We got to spend a lot of time with both Danny's paternal and maternal grandparents, and also extended family members. Everyone got to meet Finch for the first time, and see how much Townes had grown.
Monday we headed down to San Diego for a little family vacation. It was great, we had an amazing 4 star hotel, with a view of the pacific. Wow, thank goodness for hotwire! We stopped by Grandpa and Grandma Hyde's on the way and got some In n Out with them. The kids really enjoyed being around them. It was so wonderful to spend that time together. We have memories will cherish for a lifetime. Grandma, hasn't been doing well lately, but she was so delighted to hold Finch in her lap. You would have thought someone gave her a million dollars, oh, she was so happy sitting there holding her. Finch just fell in love with her. Kids really do have a way of understanding how people are feeling, they are very sensitive to that.
Monday night we swam, walked out on Seaport Village just had a wonderful time bonding as a family.
Tuesday we went to the World's famous San Diego Zoo! Boy, that was cool. It was perfect weather, we had jackets on. The kids loved it, the polar bears swimming was our favorite. We got back to the hotel( with a quick stop off at the ocean) exhausted after 8 hrs of walking the hills of the zoo! Ordered a yummy veggie pizza and watched a movie! Fun!
Wednesday we spent the morning at the ocean, ah man, did the kids LOVE that. Townes was crying so hard when it was time to go. I think Danny was too! He really missed surfing and being near the water. We should have just made our whole trip to the ocean! We stopped by quickly again at the Grandparents house, then headed to Covina to see Grandma Vasquez. Some of you may know that Grandpa Vasquez died right before Finch was born so we didn't' get to go to the funeral. It was an unexpected death, that has been very difficult for everyone. Grandma brought a guitar to Grandpa's grave site for Danny to play a song he had written, that they played at Grandpa's funeral. It was beautiful. We also visited Danny's dads grave site and had Townes and Finch take some photos with Papa's gravestone.
Thursday was DISNEYLAND! Danny's cousin Donnie works there, and got us in for FREE!!! Yeah, thanks again Donnie!!! It was so great, oh man, we underestimated how much Townes was going to love it there. He's been watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on occasion at Bibi and Papa's house and so he know who everyone was. He stood perfectly in all the lines, waiting to hug them. He would say " mama, I hug him". It was so sweet! Finch loved them from far away but close up she'd start crying! Townes was over the 40" mark for the rides so he got to go on some pretty cool rides. He totally didn't mind standing in lines either. He has his first roller coaster ride, which scared him a little and me alot!!!!
We had a wonderful day there with Jody and Grammy!! Thanks girls for coming along, it was so fun!!
Friday morning we headed to LAX to come home. Not much excitement, which we are thankful for! I thought of the genius plan to drop Finch and I off with the luggage at the airport, then return the car! Oh man, that saved a lot of headache. We got through security fast, due to have a stroller! amen!! and the kids actually slept most of the way home. Thanks to Calms Forte for kids!!! Love that stuff!
We have been trying to get back into the groove this week. Most mornings it's been 10am before anything gets done. Today was pj day until about 2:30pm. Yes, so we have a couple more days then I'll get back into it. I figure it took a week to screw up the schedule, it will take a week to get back!
I have been searching for months for good tickets to LA. Most of Danny's family is out there, and it was time for a visit. God provided us with awesome tickets! A friend recommended a new airline out of Des Moines, low and behold, we found tickets for under $200 each!! We were stoked! On top of that it was a direct flight, praise the Lord, that was so great!!!!!
Well, needless to say, travel with two small children is never easy. 2 huge bags, 2 car seats, a double stroller, 4 carry ons...and security check...come on. Taking the kids out of stroller, de-clothing them, sending stroller through x-ray...ok not an easy task. All of which at the Des Moines airport isn't that huge of a deal, but try doing it at LAX when your kids haven't sleep well in 9 days!
Our flight was a 8:20pm which seemed like a great idea, until our 2 yr old didn't sleep the whole time. We get into LAX( the craziest airport) around 11:30pm(pacific time) or time it's 1:30am!! Yes, he's still awake. We have to take our 100 bags outside the airport, get in onto the shuttle to go get our rental car. Are you kidding me? We were about ready to get back on the plane to head home. The shuttle bus took over 30 min to get there. Once he got there I asked him to just help me get the stroller(loaded with kids) on the shuttle. After a 10 minute stop and go ride to the rental place, we try to get all our stuff into the place, finally Danny gets in line. We are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel....until Townes starts THROWING UP!! Yes, throwing up! Finch was screaming at this point, Townes throwing up into his sweatshirt and I'm trying to get Danny's attention to hurry up!
So now it's about 12:15am and our kids are wrecks, and Danny comes back over to me ( which I thought ok it's time to go) Not so fast...we had a problem with our card. ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW! Little did I know you have to have x amount of dollars in your account in order to be able to rent the car. Why did you not tell me this when I rented the car! argh!!!
Poor Kids, Townes was absolutely GREEN! I think he was overtired and got air sick too!!
It's now 2:15am our time, Townes is still throwing up, finch still screaming...both are completely exhausted and so are we. We have no idea what to do. Jody (Danny's sister) didn't pick up the phone to come get us, which she's at least 45 mins away anyways. My big idea is call DAD, he always comes to the rescue.. after about 15 phone calls to wait him up...he answers in a frenzy. "Dad I'm sorry to wake you up, but Townes is pucking, as you can hear Finch is screaming, we can't get a car, we are stuck and they are going to close"....." I already tried transferring money for my savings account, but my cell phone is going to die". Dad says " no problem, I get some money to to fix it"...a few tears, an hour, and a new online banking account..we are ready to go. So we get our tiny little car, barely fit everything in it, and head to Jody's at 1:15am ummmm which is 3:15am our time. Finally, as we are getting into the car, both kids pass out!!
We get in, put the kids down and head to bed. With a wake up call from our little monkey's at 5:45am!! The sleep for 4 hours! What are you crazy, is this how the whole trip is going to be! I was very worried to say the least. But God has a great way of answering lots of prayers!!!
We had a rough first couple days getting into the swing of a new schedule and getting over our initial night. We had a lot of 5:45am wake ups, and 11am crashes but overall they did AMAZING! We were so thankful that God was not only providing the trip but helping the kids with little sleep and eating out most meals(which means not the healthiest choices)!
We spent our first weekend at Jody's house in Upland, CA. A very cute cozy home, that Jody has decorated via thrift stores. I tell you that girl can shop! She's looking for a job to support her habit!:) Thanks Jody for opening up your house, we had a great time!! Bev (Danny's mom) came down from WA and stayed at Jody's too, so we got some time with her as well. Which it's always great to spend time with Grammy. We were a little worried about the no A/C with 100 degree temps out, but we survived it with a couple sweaty nights. Then the temps were perfect! We got to spend a lot of time with both Danny's paternal and maternal grandparents, and also extended family members. Everyone got to meet Finch for the first time, and see how much Townes had grown.
Monday we headed down to San Diego for a little family vacation. It was great, we had an amazing 4 star hotel, with a view of the pacific. Wow, thank goodness for hotwire! We stopped by Grandpa and Grandma Hyde's on the way and got some In n Out with them. The kids really enjoyed being around them. It was so wonderful to spend that time together. We have memories will cherish for a lifetime. Grandma, hasn't been doing well lately, but she was so delighted to hold Finch in her lap. You would have thought someone gave her a million dollars, oh, she was so happy sitting there holding her. Finch just fell in love with her. Kids really do have a way of understanding how people are feeling, they are very sensitive to that.
Monday night we swam, walked out on Seaport Village just had a wonderful time bonding as a family.
Tuesday we went to the World's famous San Diego Zoo! Boy, that was cool. It was perfect weather, we had jackets on. The kids loved it, the polar bears swimming was our favorite. We got back to the hotel( with a quick stop off at the ocean) exhausted after 8 hrs of walking the hills of the zoo! Ordered a yummy veggie pizza and watched a movie! Fun!
Wednesday we spent the morning at the ocean, ah man, did the kids LOVE that. Townes was crying so hard when it was time to go. I think Danny was too! He really missed surfing and being near the water. We should have just made our whole trip to the ocean! We stopped by quickly again at the Grandparents house, then headed to Covina to see Grandma Vasquez. Some of you may know that Grandpa Vasquez died right before Finch was born so we didn't' get to go to the funeral. It was an unexpected death, that has been very difficult for everyone. Grandma brought a guitar to Grandpa's grave site for Danny to play a song he had written, that they played at Grandpa's funeral. It was beautiful. We also visited Danny's dads grave site and had Townes and Finch take some photos with Papa's gravestone.
Thursday was DISNEYLAND! Danny's cousin Donnie works there, and got us in for FREE!!! Yeah, thanks again Donnie!!! It was so great, oh man, we underestimated how much Townes was going to love it there. He's been watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on occasion at Bibi and Papa's house and so he know who everyone was. He stood perfectly in all the lines, waiting to hug them. He would say " mama, I hug him". It was so sweet! Finch loved them from far away but close up she'd start crying! Townes was over the 40" mark for the rides so he got to go on some pretty cool rides. He totally didn't mind standing in lines either. He has his first roller coaster ride, which scared him a little and me alot!!!!
We had a wonderful day there with Jody and Grammy!! Thanks girls for coming along, it was so fun!!
Friday morning we headed to LAX to come home. Not much excitement, which we are thankful for! I thought of the genius plan to drop Finch and I off with the luggage at the airport, then return the car! Oh man, that saved a lot of headache. We got through security fast, due to have a stroller! amen!! and the kids actually slept most of the way home. Thanks to Calms Forte for kids!!! Love that stuff!
We have been trying to get back into the groove this week. Most mornings it's been 10am before anything gets done. Today was pj day until about 2:30pm. Yes, so we have a couple more days then I'll get back into it. I figure it took a week to screw up the schedule, it will take a week to get back!
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