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As you can see from this card, there is A LOT going on in my world that I haven’t shared here – some good, some not-so-good, but all God-ordained. I know it seems like I’ve completely abandoned my blog, but I’m really just taking a break until I can get some other things situated.
For the last two years we have been battling constant illness and sore throats because Christa had abnormally large, cryptic tonsils. When she was NOT sick, they were so big that they touched her hangy-down-thing (otherwise known as the uvula) in her throat and they were covered with tiny little pits that made them look like hamburger meat. Swallowing has always been hard for her and she has severe sleep apnea because of it. Once she started crawling in bed with me in the middle of the night I realized just how bad it was and I talked to her doctor about having them removed. We had a sleep study and after we received the results the ENT insisted we go to Texas Children’s Hospital because of the severity of her sleep apnea. Last Monday my mom and I got up early and made the long drive down to Texas Children’s in downtown Houston. I dressed Christa in her PJ’s and packed what we would need to spend the night. Usually a tonsillectomy is an outpatient surgery, but because of her sleep apnea we had to spend the night. When we got there, we waited for about 20 minutes in the waiting room and they called us back to do the preliminary stuff like getting her height and weight and blood pressure.  In the waiting room before getting started Immediately her anxiety kicked in and it became very clear that this was not going to be an easy day. I had requested a child life specialist to help her with the anxiety, but we never saw one. After about 20 minutes of an anxiety attack they determined that we would be fast-tracked and they weren’t kidding. We had to give her a sedative just to get her to the point of getting the anesthesia. After that they took her back and we were done with surgery and in recovery before some people that were there WAY before us ever got back to meet with the surgeon. The recovery room was REALLY hard for her. There were so many beds and wires and beeps and crying kids. She went into another anxiety attack and had to be given another sedative. It took about an hour and a half to get us a room but during that time, once the sedative kicked in, Christa was a champ. She had two popsicles and two juice boxes while we were in recovery. Later that night she had a whole cup of soup, which was really impressive. She ate a little ice cream and a little pudding too.  After eating a big cup of chicken soup. My mom and MoMo where there with us for a while after recovery. Once they left we settled in for a very long night. There was lots of pain and lots of crying. I hated that I couldn’t do anything to make her comfortable. The next morning the doctor came super early and told us we could go home after breakfast. I went down to McDonald’s to get us breakfast. While I was gone they brought a tray and when I walked in Christa looked like such a big girl sitting up in the bed trying to eat. She took a couple of bites of cereal and tried to eat the pancakes they brought but they were hard as rocks so she ate a little of the pancakes I brought from McDonald’s. I was glad she ate so much because it was the last meal she ate for the rest of the week.  Trying to eat breakfast For the next four days I couldn’t get her to eat or drink anything. She was on the verge of getting dehydrated when I finally got her to start drinking a little. She was virtually pain free on Friday and Saturday but then Saturday night started waking up with lots of pain. On top of that, David was running a 102 fever. We didn’t make it to church on Sunday and it was a pretty rough day. I was determined to get back to work today, but Christa woke up several times in the night and then when I got her up to get dressed she just didn’t feel well. I checked her temperature and it’s not quite 102, which is where they said we would need to go back to the ER, but it was high enough that I knew I needed to keep her home. So here we are, one week past surgery, still working on recovery. I’m ready to have my healthy happy girl back!
This post is about 3 weeks late. What can I say? Life has been crazy busy the last month. On July 6th we went to court for the final hearing on my sweet girl’s case. Up until this point, I haven’t been allowed to show her face or use her name on this blog. I still will not give all the details of the case, just for the privacy of the entire family, but on July 6th the official order was entered granting me full custody. Her birth mother, whom we call MoMo, will still have rights and will still be a big part of her life, but she will get to grow up in my home with me as her Mommy and David as her brother. We are no longer under the supervision or authority of CPS and we can settle into some sort of normal life. I can do all the things mommies love to do and I can now brag on her and show you how beautiful she is!! As I think about it, I will go back and change the photos in posts where I blurred out her face. Man did I hate doing that!! So, without further ado… Here’s my sweet girl, Christa Leigh.  In her Easter dress
 What a sweet face!
 Being silly! (This girl LOVES frosting!)
 My little family!
show 3 comments Note to David’s Teacher: Note to Self: Note to Moms Everywhere: I should be asleep. Instead I’m thinking about this adorable little hiney and how it has been in underwear for two days with no accidents.
Well, one accident, but that was because I was in the restroom at the exact moment he realized he needed to go. And then there was the unfortunate incident on the playground at school. Notice I said INCIDENT and not ACCIDENT. I’m pretty sure one of his uncles taught him, “When a boy’s gotta go, you just gotta go!” so he did. On the playground. In front of God and everybody. I was only slightly mortified when his teacher told me that he “whipped it out right there”. My brothers would be so proud. I’m having one of those weepy mommy moments where I’m half wondering what God was thinking when He picked me to be his mommy but so incredibly glad He did. And then two seconds later I’m wondering how in the world I am going to raise him. I tweeted this a little earlier: “To my ministry friends – sometimes single moms sit up at night wondering how they are going to raise that boy to be a Godly man. #justsayin” If Twitter allowed me more than 140 characters I would have added a couple more hashtags. Maybe #hinthint or #sendreinforcements or #SOS… I think you get the idea. Seriously though, if you know anybody in ministry you might plant this seed – sometimes single moms need solid Christian men who are willing to invest in the lives of their boys. You always think of youth directors investing in the lives of fatherless teens, but what about the almost 3 year old boys?? I honestly don’t know what that looks like but I wish there was an answer. One slightly overwhelmed, a little scared, madly in love
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