Better Than a Fairytale

I always dreamed of what my life would look like when I was older; I would be married, kids, great career and living somewhere fabulous (warmer than -15)! We always think we have control of our destiny in life, but how mistaken we are. We plan, write out our lists, our goals and then there are those roadblocks that happen. The ones that we get angry about and don't understand what happened. The times that we question God and become angry with Him for our circumstances. You all know those times I'm talking about. I have had many times like this. But there is always one that sticks out in my head the most, the day we found out about Trinity.

I remember feeling anxious about the ultrasound, but a good anxious. Shannon and I hadn't decided yet if we were going to find out the gender, so I remember when the tech asked us if we wanted to know we both looked at each other and decided, no. But then what happened next felt unusual. The tech became quiet and soon asked us to join the doctor in the other room. This seemed very unusual since we were only there for an ultrasound and not a checkup. Once the doctor came in, he seemed very worried and anxious. He told us they seen something on the ultrasound, but to be safe he wanted us to go have a high risk ultrasound done the next day. I remember feeling confused, but wasn't too concerned. The next day we went and had our ultrasound. The tech called in the doctor and as he was looking at the screen he said these words, "I'm sorry, your child has Spina Bifida.". I remember feeling numb and then both Shannon and I looked at him completely confused and said, "What?". He thought that my OB had told us what they had seen the day before. He felt horrible and in that moment my body went numb and I felt sick to my stomach. We had never heard of Spina Bifida and didn't know anything about it. I will say that day changed our lives forever. This was the beginning of many doctor appointments, meetings and non-stress tests. One meeting that turns my stomach, was being asked if we were going to abort our pregnancy because of the prognosis we had gotten. That was never a thought or an option for Shannon and I, but for some people that option is the only thing that seems easiest.

We look at these moments as if our world is crumbling. We feel like we are sinking and reaching for something to save us. That moment for me, God became my lifesaver. And ever since He holds me and strengthens me.
What trial in life are you facing right now, but seem to be reaching for all the wrong things? Is your lifesaver God, or are you grasping for the things of this world to save you?

The sermon at our church on Sunday was fantastic!! Pastor Brian talked a lot about "Living Full". The verse came from John 10:10 NIV, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

He gave us 6 things to show us what it looks like to "Live Full": *A Joy that spills (notify your face!), *Embodied Certainty (God wins!), *Bigger than our circumstances (Live full, fully in your circumstances!), *Aware and humble about your humanity, *Never at the expense of another person (put yourself 2nd), *Surrender to Christ!!
Are you living a joy that is specific to your faith? Are your circumstances bigger than your faith?

At this time, 6 years ago, my circumstance almost had the opportunity to steal my joy, but I'm incredibly thankful I didn't let it. Because of that circumstance, I now have the most beautiful blessing, that teaches me daily that my joys in life do not come from the things of this world, but they come only from my faith in Jesus Christ!!


**If you would love to hear the whole sermon you can go to www.westwoodcc.org

New Name "Framed Faith"

Some of you may have noticed the changes to the blog. I'm not very smart when it comes to this kind of thing, but after having the blog for almost 6 years and a title, "babygirlarthur", I thought it was only appropriate, with Trinity soon turning 6, to make some changes.
Why "Framed Faith"? This Christmas I received a book from my best friend, Camie. The book is called "The Simple Joys of Motherhood". I spent some time last night reading through some of the pages and a page that stood out to me was "Framed Faith". One of the verses on the page was from Psalm 9: 1-2,
"I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High."
The part of this verse that stuck with me was, "I will tell of all your wonderful deeds." Since starting this blog all we have ever wanted was to make sure God gets ALL the glory for the things in our lives and Trinity's. Some of my most treasured pictures are framed! We frame them because we want them displayed and to keep them from getting ruined or destroyed. I treasure my faith and want to frame it! My faith keeps my eyes focused on Him and not the storms of this life that want to take me down with them. My faith gives me: joy, love, hope, peace, grace, forgiveness, strength and an eternal home in Heaven! Shannon and I have been asked at least a dozen times how we stay so strong through all that Trinity has been through. The answer is God and God alone!! He is the only reason I am able to get my head off the pillow in the morning and function through the day. He gives me strength in my weakness and joy in my sorrow!
We will keep using this blog to inform you of things happening in Trinity's life and ours, but also to share our deep love for The Lord! We love your comments, but most importantly we love your prayers!
Just remember one thing as your read this blog, I am not a writer and composition was not one of my strong suits in college, so please don't criticize my grammar!! :-)
"Just as angels are attracted to the light of joy and kindness,
so too, are miracles attracted to the lamp of faith and love." -Mary Augustine

New Year!!

Happy New Year!! We are staying warm here in the frozen tundra, with expected temperatures on Monday of -20. The Governor of Minnesota declared all schools be closed on Monday, so the kids are pretty disappointed to not be going back.

Trinity had an accident while we were in Iowa last week. When we have her out of her wheelchair we carry her like you would a baby around your waist. The driveway was covered with snow and had ice underneath. We slipped on the ice and landed on Trinity's left leg. There was no doubt it was broken. So we headed to the closest Children's hospital. They confirmed it was broken and decided the best option for Trinity was to cast the whole leg. We had also called Dr. Walker, her Ortho at Gillette, to confirm that he felt this was the best option for her. He agreed with the treatment. She will be in the cast for 6 weeks and she will see Dr. Walker a couple times for x-rays in that 6 week time to make sure it is healing correctly. Not exactly how we wanted to end our stay in Iowa, but we are thankful it wasn't any worse.

We will keep you updated on how the healing is going!

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!!