Trinity 4 Months Old!!

Well, can you tell it is summer out there?!?! It is getting hot here and today our air decides that it don't want to work, not a lot of fun in the Arthur house! But we will survive, we have been without air before we can do it again.
Trinity turned 4 months old last Saturday!! She is growing more and more everyday and getting a personality. She is finally starting to like some of the toys we have for her (bouncy seat and swing). The picture that I have on the left side is of Trinity giggling when we took Aubree to the park. It was the first time we ever heard her giggle. The picture below is of her on the floor with some of her toys. She is starting to try and reach for the things above her, but she don't get quite high enough.
We had her four month appointment on Friday with her Pediatrician. Trinity weighed 15lbs. 3oz. and was 23 1/4 long. He felt like she was doing really good and was probably a little behind on some things (rolling over & upper body strength), but that it was to be expected with her condition. We decided to space out Trinity's vaccines, thanks to an email I got from one of my friends Liz. So Trinity only had one shot yesterday and an oral vaccine. We feel really good about our decision and feel like we took the time praying and seeking what God wanted. I know everyone has their own opinion on what is right and what is wrong, but Shannon and I felt like this is what was right for Trinity. We are still waiting for our appointment on the 15th of July, at Children's in Detroit. I think this will be a good opportunity for us to get a second opinion and get some more advice on the different things that Trinity is dealing with (bladder control, leg movement, PT and OT).


Last weekend the Pella PDSN that Shannon works for had a golf outing to raise money for Trinity. This was a fun day of golfing and hanging out with friends. A special thanks to the Wittmer's and Gray's for putting so much work into such a wonderful day. The rain didn't stop anyone from having fun, there were around 40 golfers in attendance. In that 40 were some guys from Iowa and Nebraska, Nick Cross, Tommy Williams, and Wes True. They all flew in on Friday and surprised Shannon. After golfing we enjoyed an evening at the Gray's hanging out. The picture below is of the group of golfers.

On another good note, Aubree is potty trained!!! YEAH!! She is doing really good and has had very few accidents. I guess she just wanted to make the decision on her own. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and we hope you all have a safe 4th of July!!
Love~The Arthur's

"GOD IS AMAZING!!!"

By the title of today's post I am sure I have you on the edge of your seat! God has truly blessed us over and over. We sit back in amazement of how he is working in our life. Every week I start with a fun filled day of calling the insurance company and hospital/doctor offices to discuss bills and things that are not being paid. If you remember back to a couple months ago when we had Trinity's third surgery with the plastic surgeon we had said that our insurance company was not going to cover it because it was out of our network. Yesterday I talked to the insurance company about all that we needed to get our appeal started and to try and get this bill paid. They wanted a letter written from the plastic surgeon stating what he had done to Trinity and that it was an emergency surgery that needed to be done ASAP and he was the only one available to do it. When I called the doctor's office to see if they would be willing to write this letter up the lady that I would work with in the billing department was not available, but would call me today (Tuesday). While I was getting ready this morning for our weekly play date with some girls from church I got a phone call from the billing department. I explained what I needed from them and with much surprise she told me that the doctor had talked to her a few days earlier about our bill. He wanted her to except what the insurance company would pay and to write off the remaining balance leaving us with nothing to pay. I had to have her repeat what she had just told me because I was in complete shock. The doctor told her that he knew we were very stressed about the financial part of the surgery and didn't want us to have to worry about it and stress over what the insurance company wasn't going to pay. Of course I broke down into tears and thanked her about a billion times. It just showed us what a big heart that doctor has and that he put Trinity's needs above his.
What an AMAZING GOD we serve, AMEN!!! I can tell you so many stories about the wonderful things he has done for us. In fact I am pretty sure we could write a book. From the donations that people have given us, the blessings of living in Michigan, the doctors that Trinity has, the friends and family, etc... So many people have taken time out of their busy schedules to help our family not feel such a burden with our finances. We can not "thank" ALL of you enough for your continued prayers and support. Everytime you pray GOD gives us a sense of peace that everything is going to be okay and reminds us that he is in control and will take care of us in every situation we are in.
On another note: Trinity seen her Pediatrician on Friday of last week. He was very pleased with how she was looking, but was a little concerned with her upper body strength. He recommended that we go to the Children's hospital in Detroit to see a group of doctors that work with patients with spina bifida. Yesterday I made the appointment and they will not be able to see her until the 15th of July. I was hoping for earlier, but we will take what we can get. She will see the Neurosurgeon before that so that makes it a little less stressful. In about a week and half she has her 4 month appointment. I have really been struggling with the immunization shots and what are the appropriate ones that Trinity should have and what are the ones that she really don't need. Please pray that Shannon and I make the right choice for Trinity and that it is what GOD wants and not what we want or others want. We have also started her PT and OT and we will be doing that on our own until school starts again in September. She really don't seem to mind it, but it is wearing her out at night.
Sorry I am so long winded, but I felt like there was a lot to talk about in this post. To those of you in Iowa, we are praying for you as you deal with the floods and all the tornadoes that have touched down.
We send our love to all of you and hope you have a great week!!
Love~The Arthur's

"Riding For Trinity"

God is GOOD!! We can not express how blessed we are to have such great family and friends.
On Saturday they held a benefit for Trinity that started with a Poker Run (motorcycle ride). They had 179 bikers and served around 500 people for the supper. The total as of today that has been raised is a little over $12,000! For those of you that were there can attest to how amazing it was see all those people supporting Trinity. Shannon got the privilege of riding in the Poker Run. My cousins from Des Moines, Cindy and Danny, had an extra bike and let him ride it. It was an experience that I am sure we will both never forget. I followed and went to a majority of the stops. Everytime they rode by on their bikes and waved at us it just gave me chills knowing that they were riding for our little girl. We had so many emotions on Saturday. The love and support that we feel from our family and friends is so overwhelming. Even after being gone from the community for almost a year you all made us feel like we were home! We owe a special thank you to the "Co-Line Team" for all your hard work to make this a huge success. We have provided some pictures from Saturday.
Once again "thank you" to everyone for making Saturday such a huge success!!
Love~The Arthur's

Change in Location!!

For those of you that will be going to the benefit on Saturday, they have decided to move the BBQ and the band to CoLine, it was originally at Old Setts. This way the weather won't keep us from having a good time!
For those of you that live in the towns that the motorcycles will be going through (New Sharon, Barnes City, Montezuma, Kellogg, Lynnville) make sure to watch them drive by and wave, I think it is going to be a humbling experience to see all those people supporting our daughter.
We can't thank everyone enough for the support that we have received. God has blessed us with amazing family and friends!!