October 18, 2010
Another little idea gone big
So, here we are again.
One mom with an idea, and a few days later we have sold nearly 700 shirts advocating for our kids. 700 shirts, people!!! Simply amazing.
And now this.
Spina Bifida Kids National Day of Prayer.
This Wednesday. At noon EST.
Pray for those living with sb. Pray for the newly diagnosed mothers and fathers who are scared and feel like no one could possibly understand what is happening to them or their baby. Pray for the doctors who give the news.
Please, join us and pray.
As of this posting, we are near 1000 people who have committed via faceboook.
Amazing.
This October, we are leaving our mark.
One mom with an idea, and a few days later we have sold nearly 700 shirts advocating for our kids. 700 shirts, people!!! Simply amazing.
And now this.
Spina Bifida Kids National Day of Prayer.
This Wednesday. At noon EST.
Pray for those living with sb. Pray for the newly diagnosed mothers and fathers who are scared and feel like no one could possibly understand what is happening to them or their baby. Pray for the doctors who give the news.
Please, join us and pray.
As of this posting, we are near 1000 people who have committed via faceboook.
Amazing.
This October, we are leaving our mark.
October 16, 2010
God does not make mistakes
Early on in my pregnancy, my husband and I took a trip to Orlando to visit my sister. We went and did the typical touristy stuff and had a god time. Tonight, after feeling many strong emotions, I have been reminded of that trip. Specifically, our day at Sea World. While we were there I remember seeing several children-some in wheel chairs, some in braces, some severely disabled-and every time I did I remember thinking, "Please don't let that be me. I don't think I can handle that."
God knew differently.
The day of Nate's diagnosis, my husband and I just laid in bed, held each other, and cried. We were presented with the option to terminate my pregnancy and it was weighing on us heavily. For me, there was no option. I had already grown attached to my baby, had seen his sweet face on ultrasound, begun making plans for a beautiful nursery and felt him move and kick in my tummy. This child was mine, no matter what the outcome. Ryan was in a different place at that moment. He was stuck on the scare-tactic, worst-case scenario that had been laid out before us. Surgeries. Partial paralysis. Loss of bowel and bladder function. Therapy. All this medical lingo made him question our unborn baby's quality of life. I remember him saying, "I don't want our kid to have to use a catheter to go to the bathroom. I don't think I could handle that."
God knew differently.
He knows us better than we know ourselves. And he won't give us more than we can handle.
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Romans 5: 2-5
Recent events have really made me think about where I stand on abortion.
I didn't feel I could commit to one side or the other.
Yet, how can I support ending a life when I feel like my child was a GIFT? How can I support the choice to end a life because someone may want to hold out for, as they put it, "a better outcome"?
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
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,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:13-16
Nathan was ment to be our son. And we were meant to be his parents.
God does not make mistakes.
Doctors make mistakes. Misdiagnose. Try to determine a child's ability before that child has even had the chance to breathe out of the womb. Present worst-case-scenarios without so much as a glance in the positive direction. Lay their own, personal opinions about life on parent's shoulders. Push for termination. I recently read a post by a mother whose doctor told her, “You should just clean the slate, and start over. It is so shameful knowingly bringing a child like this into the world.”
I know that I want to be an advocate for our children and the miracles they are. I have felt this way for a long time-and haven't known what to do with it. Until now. I want to do what no one was able to do for me right after Nathan's diagnosis-I want to help put the pieces back together after that bleak picture is painted. I think that is the goal of most of us sb mommies-not only to RE-EDUCATE the very same doctors who educated us on what spina bifida is (a FAR cry from what it's known to be and from what many of them believe it to be) but to help others who may find themselves in the same situation we were faced with-and to tell them that spina bifida is not a death sentence.
I can not be an advocate for our children while also believing that terminating a pregnancy because of a diagnosis of sb is the right choice. The whole point of my blog is (yes, to chronicle our life and post ridiculous amounts of pictures of Nate) my desire to try to reach those who are hurting and scared like we once were, and to let them know that there is so much beauty in the midst of all that anger and hurt. With every picture I take I am trying to convey what I already know-that Nathan is perfect in our eyes, and is just as God intended him to be.
As a fellow sb momma put it,
This is my fire.
October is Spina Bifida Awareness month. During this month I always feel tremendous pressure to do something to try to make a difference.
Today, I learned I already am.
I am Facebook friends with a pretty awesome guy in his 20s who has sb. Tonight he told me that I am already making a difference in Nathan's life by just being a loving and caring mother. Best affirmation I could have ever asked for.
I need to let go. I have been emotionally distraught all day. But this blog post was my way of processing all that I read today. I have a clearer position on where I stand, and I have a fire. All I can hope is that my fire will someday be enough to guide others to make the best decision I ever made.
God knew differently.
The day of Nate's diagnosis, my husband and I just laid in bed, held each other, and cried. We were presented with the option to terminate my pregnancy and it was weighing on us heavily. For me, there was no option. I had already grown attached to my baby, had seen his sweet face on ultrasound, begun making plans for a beautiful nursery and felt him move and kick in my tummy. This child was mine, no matter what the outcome. Ryan was in a different place at that moment. He was stuck on the scare-tactic, worst-case scenario that had been laid out before us. Surgeries. Partial paralysis. Loss of bowel and bladder function. Therapy. All this medical lingo made him question our unborn baby's quality of life. I remember him saying, "I don't want our kid to have to use a catheter to go to the bathroom. I don't think I could handle that."
God knew differently.
He knows us better than we know ourselves. And he won't give us more than we can handle.
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Romans 5: 2-5
Recent events have really made me think about where I stand on abortion.
I didn't feel I could commit to one side or the other.
Yet, how can I support ending a life when I feel like my child was a GIFT? How can I support the choice to end a life because someone may want to hold out for, as they put it, "a better outcome"?
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
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,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:13-16
Nathan was ment to be our son. And we were meant to be his parents.
God does not make mistakes.
Doctors make mistakes. Misdiagnose. Try to determine a child's ability before that child has even had the chance to breathe out of the womb. Present worst-case-scenarios without so much as a glance in the positive direction. Lay their own, personal opinions about life on parent's shoulders. Push for termination. I recently read a post by a mother whose doctor told her, “You should just clean the slate, and start over. It is so shameful knowingly bringing a child like this into the world.”
I know that I want to be an advocate for our children and the miracles they are. I have felt this way for a long time-and haven't known what to do with it. Until now. I want to do what no one was able to do for me right after Nathan's diagnosis-I want to help put the pieces back together after that bleak picture is painted. I think that is the goal of most of us sb mommies-not only to RE-EDUCATE the very same doctors who educated us on what spina bifida is (a FAR cry from what it's known to be and from what many of them believe it to be) but to help others who may find themselves in the same situation we were faced with-and to tell them that spina bifida is not a death sentence.
I can not be an advocate for our children while also believing that terminating a pregnancy because of a diagnosis of sb is the right choice. The whole point of my blog is (yes, to chronicle our life and post ridiculous amounts of pictures of Nate) my desire to try to reach those who are hurting and scared like we once were, and to let them know that there is so much beauty in the midst of all that anger and hurt. With every picture I take I am trying to convey what I already know-that Nathan is perfect in our eyes, and is just as God intended him to be.
As a fellow sb momma put it,
This is my fire.
October is Spina Bifida Awareness month. During this month I always feel tremendous pressure to do something to try to make a difference.
Today, I learned I already am.
I am Facebook friends with a pretty awesome guy in his 20s who has sb. Tonight he told me that I am already making a difference in Nathan's life by just being a loving and caring mother. Best affirmation I could have ever asked for.
I need to let go. I have been emotionally distraught all day. But this blog post was my way of processing all that I read today. I have a clearer position on where I stand, and I have a fire. All I can hope is that my fire will someday be enough to guide others to make the best decision I ever made.
October 13, 2010
October 10, 2010
October 06, 2010
From 18 to 30
This is my husband (then my boyfriend) and I celebrating our 18th birthdays. In 1998. When we graduated high school together and headed off to separate colleges. We had no idea where our relationship was going to go. We had so many new adventures ahead for us bringing new challenges for us both. Surviving 4 years of college as a couple, living away from each other was definitely not easy. But we made it, somehow.
This September we both celebrated our 30th birthdays. We decided to celebrate and invited our friends and family for a night out. I really was hating the idea of turning 30 (and feeling old) for the longest time, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that I should be thankful for another year.
Recently we returned to my alma matter (North Park University in Chicago) and walked around the campus. We walked down the same streets and paths where I had lived for 4 years and Ryan had driven once a week to visit me, towing our little two year old behind us in his wagon. It was pretty surreal, thinking about how unsure we were about things then and how blessed we are now.
Here's to 30 more birthdays...and then some!
This September we both celebrated our 30th birthdays. We decided to celebrate and invited our friends and family for a night out. I really was hating the idea of turning 30 (and feeling old) for the longest time, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that I should be thankful for another year.
Recently we returned to my alma matter (North Park University in Chicago) and walked around the campus. We walked down the same streets and paths where I had lived for 4 years and Ryan had driven once a week to visit me, towing our little two year old behind us in his wagon. It was pretty surreal, thinking about how unsure we were about things then and how blessed we are now.
Here's to 30 more birthdays...and then some!
October 03, 2010
A weekend of walking
Last weekend our gathered together and walked. We walked for my gramma, for my mother-in-law and for Nate.
Saturday night was Light the Night for cancer in Chicago. We've been doing this for a few years now in support of my mother-in-law, a cancer survivor, and in memory of my gramma. It was a very fall-ish night, cool and windy, but we made the best of it.
No matter what the temperature is, Chicago is beautiful. Especially at night.
(Some of these photos have too much "noise" or look grainy-I had my ISO cranked waaaaay up. I'm still learning!)
It was a great night walking for a good cause. And Nate was a rock star, as usual. We just bundled him up, put him in the double stroller with his cousin and a blanket and he was good to go. The band and echoing tunnel didn't even bother him this year! Yea, progress there!
Sunday was our second Walk and Roll for Spina Bifida. We were fortunate to meet some other families from our babycenter chat group there. It was wonderful to finally meet some of these ladies (and their cute kiddos) in person! We had another chilly, overcast day but the sun did come out for a little while and we avoided rain.
As I wrote about in a previous post, we were very successful in raising money for the SBAI. Words simply can not express our gratitude. Team Nate really rocked it out this year! Here are some pictures from our day.
October is a big month for us. Stay tuned...I have a few things up my sleeve!
Saturday night was Light the Night for cancer in Chicago. We've been doing this for a few years now in support of my mother-in-law, a cancer survivor, and in memory of my gramma. It was a very fall-ish night, cool and windy, but we made the best of it.
No matter what the temperature is, Chicago is beautiful. Especially at night.
(Some of these photos have too much "noise" or look grainy-I had my ISO cranked waaaaay up. I'm still learning!)
It was a great night walking for a good cause. And Nate was a rock star, as usual. We just bundled him up, put him in the double stroller with his cousin and a blanket and he was good to go. The band and echoing tunnel didn't even bother him this year! Yea, progress there!
Sunday was our second Walk and Roll for Spina Bifida. We were fortunate to meet some other families from our babycenter chat group there. It was wonderful to finally meet some of these ladies (and their cute kiddos) in person! We had another chilly, overcast day but the sun did come out for a little while and we avoided rain.
As I wrote about in a previous post, we were very successful in raising money for the SBAI. Words simply can not express our gratitude. Team Nate really rocked it out this year! Here are some pictures from our day.
October is a big month for us. Stay tuned...I have a few things up my sleeve!
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