Merry Christmas!

Thank you for the prayers yesterday....Mary Graham got her new cast and stitches taken out. Everything went very smoothly at Children's and we were home by 10:00 am. The doctor said her incisions looked good and the xray showed that the hips were healing properly. We are very thankful for that. She has a cool tye-dyed cast now and her legs are even further apart. We will go in a few weeks to have the cast removed, hopefully, and then she will possibly be in a harness.

Above, the little "chair" was made by my dad and so it has been great for MG to be able to sit up and not have to lay flat all the time. She loves it!

Hoping you all have a blessed Christmas and we are always grateful for each of you.

Mary

For the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. Luke 1:49-50

The verse above is out of the mouth of Mary, for soon she would give birth to Jesus. This is Mary's song.....she was already praising the Lord and although she knew He was to be the Savior, she had no idea what was to come....the cross. She would suffer the loss of her Son, but then the joy would come. Sorrow and Joy - they are inseparable. My favorite part of the song Mary Did You Know? says, "Mary did you know?....the child that you deliver, will soon deliver you." There was so much uncertainty and confusion before His birth, and yet He still came. Now, even in the midst of the chaos that comes with Christmas time or just life itself, what a powerful thought to know that in the midst of all this too.....He has come. 

How I long to have a heart like hers.

Never had I truly read these words and understood. Or maybe God is just revealing more of Himself. As I think back to this year and the journey with Mary Graham, the dark times and the uncertainty that has lingered, I can't help but think the Mightly One has done great things for me. This Christmas is different than I had pictured it to look. In fact, this year has been nothing like I planned. Expectations have been blurred. Honestly though, looking back, He has exceeded my expectations. I did not expect to experience the God of all comfort and mercy. I did not expect to see the light so much brighter after a dark day. I did not expect to grow relationships, not just those already in my life, but old friends and new ones that God has put in my path. I did not expect to see such great compassion and prayer through those around me. I did not expect to come to accept this trial after asking Him to take it away so many times. I did not expect for God to use this baby girl to draw others to Himself. I did not expect to feel the peace that passes all understanding in the midst of my fear. And, most of all.....I know Jesus more, deeper, even though I wouldn't have chosen this way....and I was not expecting that.

So this Christmas may be a little different, but we are so blessed. I hope you find the heart of Mary in the midst of whatever trials you are walking through, and I thank you so much for being so faithful to walk with us even when your lives are very full.

Thank you for continuing to pray for Mary Graham and our family. She is doing so well and I know that is because of God's grace and your prayers. She will have her cast changed on Friday at Children's. We pray for smooth and easy procedure.

Merry Christmas!

Things are looking up

Mary Graham has really turned the corner today. She slept through the night completely last night. Her appetite is a little bit better. The only setback was one of her incisions had started bleeding yesterday and got progressively worse. I was up a lot checking it and spoke with our orthopedist two times in the night. He met me this morning at the clinic. He changed some of the bandages and said it was nothing too concerning, when you are dealing with cut bone and muscles (yikes, could have done without knowing that). So, I am tired, but MG is doing so well that I don't really care. I had to post this little video. Hope you can view it. She can't move, obviously, but she twirls her toes and hands when she is excited. And today we saw some smiles. Thank you for praying, I know it is because God has heard your prayers. Thank you for standing in the gap for us when we are too tired to pray.

We are grateful for your prayers of healing.

This too shall pass

Our last few days in pictures....

Right after surgery

 Her new "ride"

Hanging out in the boppy

Thank you all for praying us through this, your prayers have been felt and we are so thankful the surgery is over and went smoothly. God has been so faithful and we praise Him for that. This is quite an adjustment for MG and us. She had a very hard time in the hospital with her pain and with muscle spasms that make it difficult for her to sleep. It doesn't help that she can't move anything but her arms right now. She isn't eating very well either. Things are just kind of up and down for her. However, last night she did a little better and she has had some moments of contentment. It helps to know this is helping her hips and that it's just part of the process. I believe each day she will improve more and more. 

Our orthopedist was pleased with everything....he made four incisions then lengthened some tendons, grafted some bone on her sockets and put her hips into the sockets. He said we will know over the next several months if the hips would form properly in the sockets. The plan is to go back on the 23rd (only two weeks away) and have her stitches removed and replace the cast. We will do this again under anesthesia, but it should be nothing like the surgery. Then hopefully if she is healing well, she will only wear it a few more weeks and then possibly wear a harness to keep her hips in the sockets. He did say that hip surgery is much more painful than spinal surgery-so I guess we can hope that is the case for MG.

Please continue to pray for MG's pain to decrease, her appetite to improve and for her hips to heal and develop properly. We are so grateful for each of you praying and helping us in many ways - bringing us food and helping with our other kiddos. Having such great support around us really makes these difficult times easier. Just taking it one day at a time....

Fires

"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." Lamentations 3:22

picture by Alyce Manown

Had to share a little of how crazy things have been around here....looking back it seems to be the theme leading up to MG's procedures. Think God wants me to cling tighter.....

Saturday night I was sound asleep only to be woken up by Lee at midnight yelling, "get up, get up...we have a fire....get the kids, get the kids!" He had been watching tv and heard an explosion only to look outside and see a huge fire in the woods behind our house. He swung open the door to our deck from our bedroom and all I could see was smoke and could hear the crackling of the fire. Panic. I yelled for Loftin, our oldest son, and Lee grabbed the girls and we ran out the front door. As I turned around to look, the flames that were engulfing the woods behind our house were higher than the top of our roof. I was hysterical and quickly just started praying that God would save our home. We called our sweet friends/neighbors who looked out their window and saw the fire and we rushed inside. Soon the firetrucks came and we later learned that it was the garage of the house behind us, with many propane tanks that exploded. Thankfully the fire dept is right around the corner and got it under control. It shook me. As it was all happening, even in the panic....I was thinking about that word "consumed." And how quickly the fire could have spread straight to our house. We were very thankful that God protected us and we have even laughed some now, and if you know me well you can imagine my panic, which Lee said we may need to work on in the future in scary situations like that :)

 The very next morning at church our pastor used all these analogies about fires throughout the sermon. I looked at Lee and said "how strange." God knows how to get my attention. He spoke of how fires in the tree tops can spread so quickly and used a story about a firefighter who lit another fire in the forest to protect himself from the raging forest fire surrounding him.....the fireman used fire to fight fire and it saved his life. Then he shared the verse in Mark 1, "he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit," and how the Holy Spirit living in us is the only way to fight the fires of our life and not be consumed. His power lives in us. And the verse above I had written down the day before the fire....we are not consumed, because of His love.

Later that day Lucy, our 4 year old, got hit with the stomach bug and Mary Graham is fighting off a cold that we are praying doesn't get worse or postpone the surgery. Just enough for God to want me as close to Him as possible. The verse I have been reading constantly and praying for Mary Graham since last week before all this happened and it has more meaning now....

^"And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in." Isaiah 58:11-12

Please continue to pray for surgery tomorrow - we are always grateful for each of you. Praise God who is the protecter and restorer. May Mary Graham's life be one that reflects this for many generations to come.