WOW! Life is soooooo busy right now! I feel horrible it has been so long since our last update. Its 4:00 in the morning and Claudia has finally gone to bed and its the first "quiet" moment I've had all day, (and probably all week for that matter) so this one is going to be brief, but so many have asked how Claudia is doing and what's going on that I just wanted to get something out to you all....let me explain why its been so busy...
My sister, Jenny is getting married this Saturday - June 3 (I am doing the flowers, favors, programs, bows...basically everything for her wedding.). My other sister, Kim, is pregnant with twins and due any time. If she hasn't had them (a boy and a girl) by this Wed., she is having a c-section on Thurs. (June 8). She has been extremely uncomfortable and been told by dr's that she really should be off of her feet and laying down at least 6 hrs. a day if she wants to keep those babies in...yeah right!!! Try doing that with a 5 and (VERY ACTIVE) 3 yr. old. Sooooo, that means I have been helping out as much as possible....making supper, etc... On top of these two things, 2 weeks ago, my grandma was rushed to the ER and ended up having to undergo an emergency surgery on her colon. (And my dad, her son, was in Europe on a missions trip with his basketball team!) I will give more details later, but the surgery went well and she is still recovering (after several complications) under nurses' care in a nursing home. She is doing much better but is still fighting an infection in her incision and will have a colostomy for the rest of her life, and is trying to "adjust" to this idea and new lifestyle.
And now that I've just ranted about all of our recent "busy stresses," how's Claudia?!?!?! She's doing well. I'll give much more detail later (I am soooo tired and really should be in bed right now!). Her blood counts have been low the past few weeks which has been really stressful because she is in Jenny's wedding and we want her well (ok, that didn't sound right...that's not the only reason we want her well!). If she gets sick, it means we end up in Indy in the hospital and none of us go to the wedding. We are actually scheduled to start the chemo that we give her at home tomorrow (Thurs) but our dr's are very understanding/sesative and suggested, because of Jenny's wedding, that we wait until Sat. to start giving it to her. (This one makes her very sick the week we give it to her.) So, looks like we'll have a VERY big day Sat...starting off with the wedding and ending with chemo that night. Normally she throws up with this one the first night so I'm very much dreading that night...will be very exhausting. Claudia has also decided that the 2 weeks of her sleeping through the night was just way too AWESOME, and has gone back to her old schedule of getting up at about 2:00am, ready to play her little heart out all night instead of sleeping. I have no clue why. Dr's have not clue why. Again, we've tried everything. I just don't get it. Please pray she would begin sleeping through the night. This little "problem" is really getting old and exhausting. Did I say we are absolutely EXHAUSTED?!?!
But probably the thing that has stressed me out the most of anything (which is totally pathetic because it is completely cosmetic) is that, about 1 1/2 weeks ago, Claudia lost all of her hair. Dr.'s told us this would happen, but after a yr. of taking this chemo, nothing happened. Dr.'s were amazed and thought Claudia was just going to be one of those "miracle kids." The fact that she lost it really means nothing...other than that her body is reacting normally to the chemo...but WHY, 2 weeks before the wedding????? I would get her up in the morning and she would be covered in hair, and all throughout the day I would pull HUGE clumps off her back, off the couch, everywhere. I cried for almost 3 days straight. It happened so fast. It upset me so bad. And then one day, I was sitting outside while Claudia took her nap, just crying, angry with God, and thought, this is rediculous. Its just HAIR. It will grow back. She's BEAUTIFUL with or without hair. GET OVER IT!!!! She's here. I get to hug her, love her...raise her. I felt such a wave of thankfullness come over me...its as though the Holy Spirit physically wiped the tears from my eyes. I love sensing God's presence in such a powerful way! And yeah, there are times I look at her and feel "sad", but its not because her hair is gone, I think its more because its another reminder of what she's going through...that this nightmere is a reality....that she's fighting for her life.
Thank you all so much for your faithful prayer. I don't think I thank you all enough. It just means so much to us.
And there's no way I could post without any pictures so here we go...
Summer is FINALLY here and Claudia LOVES her bike rides! Doesn't she look so funny...but oh so cute!!!! She's contantly begging daddy to take her on a ride.
Because I've been trying to help Kim with the kids, we've gotten extra play time with the cousins...and believe me, nothing makes Claudia more happy!I think Clauida would let Lynae pull her on this for HOURS!
Lately Claudia has become so "lovey." And I love it! I'll be reading her a book (or whatever we happen to be doing) and she'll just lean over and give me several kisses...and hugs...and more kisses...and more hugs. So here she is, given daddy kisses!
We've been spending LOTS of time in the pool the past week...and she LOVES it!
Playing with the cousins! (And yes, I know, we're working on getting rid of the dumb pacifier!)
This one is for all of our prayer warriers in Germany! My dad brought this litte German doll back from his trip. And it was so funny, because I told her to hold up her doll and smile for me, well, she just stared at it for a long time, put the hat on her head and smiled this cheesy grin!
Again, thanks for all of your prayers and encouraging words. We love you!
