Prayers!

Last week Trinity had a checkup for her spinal rod surgery that she had in July. The surgeon is concerned that her rod might be coming away from the upper part of the spine. This can happen with growth. He is not 100% sure, so they are doing a CAT scan on Thursday to find out. If it is no longer attached they will need to do surgery in the next month or two. Please pray that it is still attached and there are no issues! If all is well with the rod he will wait 3-4 months before lengthening it. May God be glorified in the answers to these prayers!

Laughing in the Rain!!

You know those days when you start to feel sorry for yourself or those days that you wonder what more is God going to give me that He thinks I can handle? I have those days far to often, but yesterday I was getting Trinity off the bus and in the rain she found laughter! She thought it was so funny that we were running in the rain and that we were getting wet. She wasn't upset or complaining, just laughing! You see with a lot of things that Trinity faces in life, she finds laughter and joy. She gets up in the morning and starts everyday with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. Her obstacles don't get her down and she never complains. I know she's only 5, but not once has she ever asked, "Why me?". I often wonder if this day will ever come, but for some reason I don't think it will. God brought this amazing little girl into our lives and so many others. She has a purpose and I know that God uses her to open my eyes to the joy that I am missing out on. So the next time I think I need to complain about my circumstances, I'm going to picture my little girl, laughing in the rain!!

Kindergarten!!!

Is this really happening? Trinity is in Kindergarten? Where does time go?

Trinity started Kindergarten yesterday and LOVED IT!! She's only doing half-day kindergarten to start out with and eventually we will transition into full-day. I'm so proud of her, she got on the bus all by herself and didn't shed one tear. Mom on the other hand had a hard time saying goodbye, but I saved the emotions for after she left. She came home exhausted and ready for a nap, she actually requested a nap! She told me her favorite part of the day was seeing Aubree on the playground and watching her swing! I love that she has such a great relationship with her big sister. God has richly blessed me with some amazing kids!!

As Shannon and I were putting Trinity to bed last night, we both sat in awe at where time has gone. I never thought 5 years ago we would be putting Trinity on a school bus all by herself and going to kindergarten! God hears our prayers and answers in His timing, not ours. That is something I have learned many times over the years. Thankful that God has equipped Trinity and blessed her with amazing teachers and a school to attend. About a year ago you could hardly understand Trinity's speech, but today most people that interact with her can carry on a full conversation and understand what she is saying! School is good for Trinity and gives her a chance to have some social time with other kids. We are very thankful!

Summer 2013

We have had a great summer this year!! I wanted to share a few highlights from Trinity's summer with you. I have to apologize, I post so much on Facebook that I forget that we have people that follow on the blog and they don't have Facebook. So some of you never get to see pictures that I post or the updates from surgeries. I promise I'm going to do a much better job of posting on here now that I have a reliable computer to use!!

Since I'm not smart when it comes to blogging and I can't figure out how to caption the pictures, I'm going to have to tell you down here!

1. Trinity was a special guest at the memorial for Will. We had the privilege of seeing Will's new gravestone and it is so beautiful!! She really misses her special friend, but we talk often about the day she will get to see him again in Heaven!!

2. We spent as much time as we could, before Trinity's surgery, at the beach!! Trinity loves playing in the sand and seeing how far she can scoot out in the water!

3. Daddy got a new boat and Trinity loves to fishing on it!! Daddy even bought her a new fishing pole that is lightweight.

4. Daddy even lets her drive sometimes!!

5. Trew and Trinity enjoying some fishing time with the family!!

6. We got to go to the State Fair in Iowa. The kids had so much fun camping in Papa and Nana's camper!!

7. Trinity was a champ again during this last surgery!! God has blessed us with such a strong little girl. She was discharged the same day of surgery and recovered like a champ.

Hope all of you enjoyed your summer as much as we did!!

Surgery July 31

We seen Dr. Walker on Thursday and discussed the upcoming surgery. After seeing x-rays he has decided to replace the lower half of the growing rod to make it longer. He will reconnect the rod to the pelvic bone and add a clamp to help keep it in place. Trinity will more than likely be in the hospital for at the least one night. Her curve was 66 degrees on Thursday. This has gone up about 10 degrees since she got the rod in October of 2011. Nothing to be overly concerned with. He would like to get as much as we can out of the growing rod until we have to resort to something else.

Please pray that all goes well on the 31st and for Dr. Walker and the nurses that will be taking care of her. We appreciate all your prayers and support!

It's Been a Long Time!!

Wow, 6 months since our last post!! Fortunately nothing concerning has been going on with Trinity. She has her next spinal rod surgery scheduled for July 31st. We will meet with Dr. Walker on July 18th to determine the plan, whether he will do an extension in the rod or remove the lower part of the rod and replace it with a longer one. Please pray for God's guidance in his decision. She should only be in the hospital for 1-2 days if all goes well.

On another note, in May we met with her school for this fall. Can you believe she will be in kindergarten??? I can't!! God has blessed us with an amazing school district. They have worked out everything for her to start this fall: like providing lower tables, making sure the smartboard is lower, soap dispensers are at her reach, and the list goes on and on. I'm very impressed and at ease with this transition. Plus her sister will be there and riding the bus with her and that makes Trinity very excited! We also are going to look into dance too. She's very excited for that. She tells us all the time she wants to dance and sing, and I have no doubt in my mind that she will excel at both!

Happy 2013!!

Happy New Year everyone!!!
We had a great Christmas and New Year!! On December 18th Trinity had a lengthening done on her rod. Everything went great and she even got to come home that day, what a champ!!! She recovered and three days later we headed to Iowa for Christmas. The kids had a great time with all their cousins. Trinity also got her haircut, 12 inches! She has been asking us to cut her hair and donate it to Locks of Love. My sister is a hairstylist and we couldn't have thought of a better time to do it. She looks so much older and so cute! We are very proud of our kids and their generosity!
Last week Trinity got to play in the snow, with her siblings, in her new chair. We had a lot of fun.

We are looking forward to this New Year and all that God has for us! Can you believe Trinity will be 5 in about a month?!?!