Trying To Look Like Jesus

After a few torturous days in the hospital (the hospital staff dropped a lead plate on my newly operated foot a couple times trying to get the "right" x-ray), I was able to go home. I was home maybe a couple days when Lily, who was six years old at the time, notices my toes and says, "Mommy, your toes look like blueberries". I looked and thought, you know what, she's right, they do. I was being cared for by a home health care nurse who also noticed my toes but chalked it up to "post-op swelling and bruising". Michael, not willing to accept that answer,  called the doctor's office and they said to come in the next day and he will "take a look". I'm so grateful for Lily. She literally saved my life! The next day I make it to the doctor's office. He unwraps my foot and is horrified at what he sees and immediately has me rushed to the hospital. He fears it's MRSA! I was admitted and soon after had my next surgery to rem...

It's awful isn't it?  For exactly tens years this month now, whenever I look down at my feet, this is what I see. It's painful. It's ugly. It changed my life forever. I was born with clubfoot which, is a deformity of the bones in my right foot. When I was ten years old, I had my first surgery to begin "correcting" my deformed foot. I will never forget because it was during Christmas break. I remember a man in a uniform bringing me a stuffed frog I think it was, into my hospital room after my surgery. I later learned, it was a Marine from the Toys for Tots program. I had a second surgery, I think, later that summer. Not much changed from those surgeries except a straightened out toe. My foot was still quite contorted. After a series of sprained and broken ankle injuries, I decided enough was enough. I was going to finally have a nice, functioning, painless foot! I "interviewed" many different orthopedist and podiatrist. I finally f...

I can't believe my Noah has been away at school since August. When we left him there at school, my heart broke and there was so much uncertainty as to how things would work out. I worried about how he'd come home for breaks. I wondered if my poor hubby would be able to keep up with the extra work load, so that Noah can graduated with as little debt as possible. I was concerned about how Noah would handle the pressure of classes,  and eating and making friends, midterms and finals, ugh! But, here we are at the end of his first year of college. He rocked it! He grew spiritually and academically. He navigated college life like a champ. Calculus was a challenge but we are hopeful that he'll do well on his final and pass it well. Every time he wanted to come home for break, God worked it out. He even worked out a ride to come because of dear friends and their wonderful son who also attends school there. We've seen God come through in amazing ways this yea...