Luke's Foot!

Luke is getting a break from his brace for a week, and I am pulling out all of my favorite of Caleb's old footie pajamas for him to wear to bed. This may be the only week of his life that he will wear footie jammies, and we are going to enjoy it!

We visited his doctor up in Dallas on Tuesday, and she has decided that she will do the Achilles lengthening surgery on his foot. It just wasn't getting the flexibility that we would like. I totally agreed with her and was hoping that she would feel that way because I want to make sure that we do everything possible to avoid a relapse later on down the line. He will have the surgery very early in the morning next Wednesday. We have to be at the hospital at 5:30 AM! The doctor will basically cut all the of the way through his Achilles tendon; then he will be casted for three weeks. The result will be a longer Achilles tendon and hopefully a much more flexible foot! I am sad that we have to go back into a cast, but I think that this is the right choice.

We also met with the hand team. It was a short visit. The doctor agreed that his fingers have some tightness, but she felt that it will continue to improve without any intervention. So that is a big praise! I kind of was expecting that response because his hands and fingers have already improved a great deal already. She said that is common for clubfoot babies to have other areas of tightness in their bodies. So we don't really know any cause for all of this, but it is reassuring to speak with several different doctors about it all.

Check out this boy sucking his thumb! This thumb was/is one of the fingers I had concerns about because it tends to be tucked in towards his palm. I actually prayed that he would start sucking it and that it might become more pulled out, and that is just what is happening. The added benefit is that Luke is sleeping great now that he has started sucking his thumb!

Our Big Boy!

Our little preemie is getting to be such a big boy! He is now 4 and 1/2 and has been up to a lot of new activities this fall including soccer, Awanas, and choir. The biggest new activity has been preschool. Caleb seems to really enjoy going, and I can tell that he is taking in lots of new things. One day this week, he had to miss school because of Luke's doctor's appointment in Dallas, and he was so upset to miss the first day of learning the "Purple song". He is a laid back kid at school and tends to follow what other children are doing. However, at home he likes to boss his sister around a great deal. They are the best of pals and play together much of the day. They play dress-up, dollhouse, cars, trains, and many variations of make-believe, the most popular one being Abby is the mommy and Caleb is the baby. It is such a joy to me to see them playing together so often, and it has made things so much easier with taking care of Luke.
For the sake of my own memories, here are some other random facts about Caleb at four and a half years old:
-He loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and apples. He could live on those two foods alone.
-He is in charge of letting Heidi in each morning, and he does a great job of letting her in and out throughout the day.
-He still is holding out on being able to fully buckle his seat belt. I think that he is the type that needs a lot of confidence before he will try/learn something new. I humor him because I haven't had the time to force him to learn. We seem to be on the go a lot and always running late.
-He can ride his scoot bike around the neighborhood as we go for a walk. He loves to go up onto the steep driveways and then ride down.
-He recently told me that Jesus is in his heart. Abby repeated the statement, "Jesus is in my heart too mommy!". Caleb adamantly told her that Jesus is NOT in her heart. He does have lots and lots of questions about God and heaven and my mom. It is great to talk to him about these questions and to see how God is bringing Caleb to a faith and understanding of grace.
Caleb is a joy to our family, and we love him very much!

Soccer: Four Year Old Style

SOCCER 2011

One bloody nose, two fights between teammates, two cheering sisters, 7 distracted 4 years olds, 1 intense 5 year old, a couple of warnings from the ref. about said intense 5 year old, 10 or so dads trying to follow the parent rule sheet, and ice pops for all of the players and siblings; it was a great time had by all. Mostly I think that we were just so happy that it wasn't a bizillion degrees out!

Luke at 4 Months Old

Luke is officially 4 months old. This past month has been a great one. He has totally stabilized in the sleep department! Before it was taking us FOREVER to get him to go down for a nap and for bed. I would be rocking him and nursing him and trying everything for like 2 hours to get him to go to sleep. Now I lay him down and turn on some white noise. He fusses for just several minutes and then falls asleep. He has been waking up quite a bit to eat at night- usually at least 2 times a night, but I can't complain because he goes back down so easily. Luke still sleeps in the swing sometimes, but usually he is in his bed. It makes the whole parenting of three thing a LOT easier!

Luke is becoming more and more expressive. He laughs at loud and likes to watch his brother and sister. Last night he kept laughing at them as they talked and played at the dinner table. He has starting paying more attention to toys around him, and he pulls everything to his mouth. Everything is about the same with his foot. I am nervous about the way it looks some of the time and am anxious to have our next doctor's appointment, which is a week from tomorrow. Luke's four month appointment is yet to come, so I will post his weight and stats later this week. One thing is for sure, he is a big boy! He is bypassing Caleb in clothing sizes and he was born two months later! Currently we are trying to make his summer wardrobe last through these final hot months, but I may need to go buy some more clothes before the heat finally leaves us. Those 3-6 month ones are getting really stretched and pulled on him! Luke is 1/3 of the way through his first year, and he is a sweetie!

Grandma Ruth Pace

I think Abby looks a whole lot like my dad's mom, Grandmother Pace, in this picture. Anyone agree?

Two Year Olds

Sometimes they are happy

and sometimes they are pouty.

At least, that is how it is at our house!

With the start of the new school year, we have been busy! Here is what we are up to...

Abby- trying on mom's shoes and perfecting her runway walk!

Kelly- attempting to get a pictures of all three of my babies together!

Luke- rocking the Bumbo seat! Yesterday marked 2 months of his brace wear. He only has 1 month to go of full time bracing, and that makes me very happy!

And another attempt at a group shot!

Caleb- He is doing soccer this fall. We have been having 1 or 2 practices a week. His favorite part is the popsicle at the end, and he is greatly looking forward to getting a trophy after the games have all been played. Other than that, he just sort of acts the way you would expect a four year old to act on the field. Yesterday, Jon and I gave him a little pep talk about making some attempt to go for the ball rather than staring in the opposite direction. I am not sure if he will play again next year!

Seasons

Our lives changed dramatically one year ago today. I had always heard people say that if you haven't faced major trials in life, be ready for them to come. I just sort of hoped that the statement wouldn't apply to me. I hadn't had any really "bad" seasons of life, and I hoped that life would just keep going along the way it had been. That Tuesday night was when my dad called to say that my mom had cancer.

That night there was a major rain and thunderstorm in Waco. It was the kind that keeps you awake listening and on edge. I was awake already crying and thinking about my mom. The fact that the weather was so lousy was comforting to me. I knew that we were about to face a major storm in our lives, and it seemed that God was showing me that He would be with us through the sadness- like when Jesus wept with Mary and Martha.

When I talked to Dad, I jotted down the name of the type of cancer and started researching it online (eeek- I know what you are thinking- one should never do that!). I began to see the seriousness of the situation as I read about the horrible statistics related to this type of cancer. Ten days later mom found out that the cancer was in her lungs, and she choose that she would not go through any treatment. The choice was clear for her: she could try experimental treatments with no guarantee of any real success and have to stay away from her young grandchildren, or she could live her last days enjoying the time with family.

She quickly chose family. She also chose to live for Christ in her remaining days. She accepted her sickness and last days with such grace and faith. She was extremely excited about spending time with the Lord in Bible study and would often tell us all about it. She spent a lot of time studying Isaiah and Revelations.

Meanwhile, I had just found out I was pregnant, and I was starting to have a lot of sickness. I struggled with feeling very numb emotionally. Mom wanted to talk about all of our memories, and I tried to be sentimental with her but had a hard time with it. I think that it was just my way of dealing with the shock of it all. Through the next three months we made some great memories together in sunny Albuquerque. Mom and Caleb danced in the rain. We visited the Albuquerque zoo and went for a ride on the train together. We ate out and spent lots of mornings and afternoons on the back porch while the kids played on Dad's old slide. Mom, Beaufort, Caleb, Abby, and I went for a walk in the Sandia mountains together at dusk. Even though I couldn't express much emotion during these days and I felt terribly sick most of the time, I cherish these last moments with my mom. I know that they were a gift from God.

After several trips back and forth between Waco and Albuquerque, I returned to Texas to host Jon's family for Thanksgiving. We had a great time together with 5 of the Capron grand kids all interacting and playing at our house. My mom lovingly gave up her own time with me because she wanted me to be able to have that time with Jon's family. I called her each day while I was home and had some good conversations with her. Those were really the last real conversations that we had. I could tell that my mom's pain was increasing dramatically each time I talked with her.

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving Mike called to say that we needed to come back to Albuquerque quickly. That night and next day we got our stuff together and drove the 12 hours to Mom and Dad's house expecting mom's death to be coming soon. When we arrived Mom was mostly bedridden, but her body was still strong. That began the most challenging month of my life. My dad and I became mom's primary caregivers. We administered medicine, bathed her, helped her to the bathroom, and tried to keep her comfortable and safe. She kept trying to get up time and time again. It was really really tough being the caregiver to my own mom. She had spent the previous 3 months accepting her upcoming death with a strange easiness, and now she was ready to go home to be with the Lord. However, God still had a purpose for her on earth for a month longer. Each time that she woke up and was still alive here on Earth, she would get more and more angry and confused.

We learned so much during that month. We learned to lean on God through absolute and complete physical and mental exhaustion. We learned to lean on each other through it too. Mike, Tiffany, Katie, Jason, Dad, Jon, and I got to spend lots of time together. We would sit in the living room talking and listening. My mom had a bed alarm that would go off if she tried to get up because we didn't want her to fall down and hurt herself. We went up and down the stairs countless times when the alarm would ring to help Mom get back into bed. God really knit our family together through this struggle, and my kids got to spend more time with their aunts, uncles, cousins, and granddad than would normally be possible.

It had been an unseasonably warm fall and early winter in Albuquerque. Mom always liked the warm weather and sunshine. It seemed that God was sending us all of the warm weather and sunshine in honor of my mom. When mom died two days after Christmas, the cold weather finally arrived in Albuquerque. It snowed like crazy as we made preparations for mom's funeral, and Albuquerque experienced a record setting low temperature of the day of her funeral. The bitter cold weather was comforting to me just as the rain in Waco had been comforting to me less than 4 months earlier. At the time Mom left this earth to go home to heaven the unusual warmth of fall left Albuquerque. On the day Mom died, we all were relieved and rejoiced that she was with her Savior in heaven. It was then that we could come out this month long fog, and begin to really mourn our loss.

Mom's funeral was on December 31st, the last day of 2010- such a fitting date. On the first day of 2011, Jon and I packed up our van and began our journey back to Waco. Our new reality began on that New Year's Day.

Now I can say I have faced a season of trial and sadness. I didn't have a choice to keep my mom here with us, but I do have a choice to trust God. I choose to declare that He is sovereign and comforting and wants what is best for us. He loves us and only has our best interest in mind. Now I have experienced God's comfort and love in a very real way. God made me and knows me. He made my mom and knows her. Now she fully knows Him. This past year has become a part of who I am. I am one of the Lord's beloved. I am a daughter of the King. To every thing there is a season.

GO BEARS!

With the help of Uncle Mike and Aunt Tiffany, we attended the first Baylor football game of the season. We only made it through dinner in the Letterman's lounge and the first quarter, but we had a great time. Can you tell from the pictures that it was HOT HOT HOT? Mike bought himself about 15 more minutes of game watching time by buying three snow cones for everyone to share. We enjoyed ourselves and made a fun (HOT) memory!