God Bless Her Little Heart

What was supposed to be a just a routine well child check up turned into a wake up call. My 6 year old, Julia has been a very healthy child all of her 6 years of life and very active. She chooses to even eat healthy on her own.
Our regular pediatrician was not available on this particular visit due to her own health issues. The substitute pediatrician was listening to Julia's heart and turned and looked at me and said she heard a click noise she thought and would be ordering a echo-cardiogram for Julia. I think time kind of stood still as I heard her say that. I was shocked. It definitely was not something I was expecting to hear about this perfectly healthy child.
Well I reasoned with it of course and decided well this was a newer doctor and she was just extra curious, so we would go along with it, but I was sure everything was fine. We went to have the test run and no alarms sounded from the staff, so we left and I even forgot about waiting for the call for the results, so once again I was shocked when they called me with the results the following Friday. They told me that Julia had atrial septic defect, which is a hole in the heart that had not closed on its own, so since it was rather large we would need to have it repaired. Otherwise Julia would be at risk later in life for heart complications, that could be fatal. I was definitely more concerned now. We met with the cardiologist and was given a choice to have it repaired non-invasive up through an artery in the leg or by open heart surgery. My husband and I kind of smirked well of course we would choose the less major way to go, that was a no brainer.
We scheduled the surgery, got Julia all ready to go to have the procedure done and she is actually kind of excited about the experience. We were on track to be ready to go back to school after her short recovery time. We had explained to her after this minor procedure things would be good and back to normal for her. Then only a short time after they took her back to surgery, the surgeon comes out and tells us that he is unable to repair the hole this way that we will need to schedule to have open heart surgery to patch the hole. The size of the hole was much larger, more like the wall dividing the the two upper chambers wasn't there. Needless to say I was heart broken. I did not want my baby girl who had been so healthy to have to have this major heart surgery. I knew she had to, but I didn't understand why God had not let us take the easier path.
The big surgery day has come and gone and Julia is recovering wonderfully. The surgeons and the nurses told us how amazed they are at how well the surgery and her recovery is going. I know that most of the universe was calling out to God, my Father to have mercy on my child and let her have a successful surgery and recovery. That is what I know I can trust. We do not always know the way that God will answer our prayers, but we can have the faith that He is always in the process of answering them the way that He knows is the best. I am so blessed and grateful that I have a praise story to share. Even through the sorrow I went through, it has made my joy that much more wonderful. Through Julia's experience all of the hundreds or more that had passed my burden on about her on their prayer chains and social outreaches so many got to see how through their prayers God worked amazing results.
A nurse had told me after the surgery that she was amazed how Julia had not had any symptoms because the hole was so large. I know that my Heavenly Father was keeping a hand on my baby girl and that He will continue to be there for her and me and the rest of our family.
You definitely can not take one day for granted. We are not all given those second chances, one more tries or one more days, to have with our loved ones. I thank God, that He allowed the right Dr. to hear the murmur that found the hole and blessed us with great surgeons to give Julia a second lease on life. May God bless each and everyone of you with as much joy that I have. I can say that I am amazed too by God's amazing grace, but I am not surprised, because I know that my God is an Awesome God and He will never fail me.

Mother of The Year 2034

This year I was a snoopy mom. I read my daughter's text messages. When I find her old notebooks, I read poems she has written in them. Why do I do this? Because my daughter does not open up to me about  how she feels unless she is angry about something and then she automatically accuses me of not caring about her. I will not be voted "Mother of the Year" this year.   I don't care if she gets mad at me for being snoopy. See she has had a friend take his life and another friend try to take hers. At 13 you are sensitive to everything 10 times more than when you are 28.  I worry about things like suicide becoming a trend. I will do whatever I can to help her through her teen years, especially these tender ones.
   We don't always agree on clothes or music, but we often find common ground on movies and tv shows.  She seems to get upset if I like the music she likes. I think she is happier when she finds the kind that annoys me. We both need help through these teen years.
   Sometimes she wants to be treated older and other times she resents when you act like she is older. Knowing when to treat her the age she wants when she wants is the puzzle.  Maybe if I had more time to devote to her. A lot of the time she is okay with being a sister to three others, but then there are times she doesn't like that either.  I pray that God will instill in her the confidence and motivation she needs to find happiness.
   When she is the mother of a teenager someday, then she will be able to look back and understand what I went through. I hope then she can appreciate how much I loved her and wanted to protect her at whatever the cost. She will see for most of the time that she thought that I was unfair and didn't care was when I cared the most. She will see when I said no and she resented me for it, that her safety meant more than her happiness at the time. The sacrifices made to help guide her right, while risking our relationship. They were all made so she will live to have the opportunity to be a mom someday down the road to her own teenager.
   She will then understand the value of a loving parent and will say my mother is the "Mother of the Year"! It might take to the year 2034, but it will be worth the wait if my parenting pays off.
  Good luck to all the mothers of the world especially through times of crisis you go through with your children. I pray God gives you and me strength and wisdom to carry us through them.

United We Stand!! Divided We Fall!!

What a loaded statement. What do you think it means? You would think it would be obvious that it means if we all get along everything will work out.  We are taught daily against this theory. We are taught to look out for number one. Be all that you can be. Be accepting. And then the popular word "diversity". That term means a condition of being composed of differing elements..opinions. I can see how "division" could be a factor here.  How can a nation stand together if it is so diversified with different opinions, beliefs, etc.?
We are supposedly in charge of putting people in charge to run our country. A president, congressman, leaders.  This should be sacrificing roles for these individuals. I have no quarrel with paying them a salary for their work, but I do not believe that they should be paid above the salary of a military person who puts forth more sacrifice than them to  protect and serve our country.  We do not have much to choose from in this up and coming election because who would want to lead a country that does not stand together? Scary how the Bible starts playing out in my mind here. It speaks of dark times when people feel there is not one to turn to and then all of a sudden a leader comes forth and people are fooled by him to lead them. We all want a hero to come in and save the day, but I definitely do not want the Antichrist to be that hero.
I am begging and pleading all of America to not be blind and vote Obama back in office. Do I really need to remind you of his selfish acts. He put our country in 10 times more debt than we have ever been in. He and his wife take off on elaborate vacations at our country's expense.  They should be ashamed of their actions and any one who sees how bad they have behaved with their responsibilities and votes for him again should be ashamed to call themselves Americans.
There needs to be a casting out of demons in the White House of all the obvious bad seeds there are and  the puppet masters that hide in the shadows, they are like a stronghold on our government.  We don't need crooked people in those seats that are getting paid off for their vote.  We need people with strong moral fiber that actually have a backbone and truly have our best interests in mind.  Pray fervently for our nation that we can find those leaders and put them in charge of our nation. Too many different opinions, etc is going to be the ruin of our nation. We need to all stand up and support whoever is really standing up for our conservative heritage, the one that is for the people.
If you got through our borders to be an American than you better act like one pledge our flag, speak our language and pay taxes like the rest of us, otherwise I suggest you get out and stop muddying the waters. America it is time to take back what is ours and stop giving it away!!! UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL!!!

No Happily Ever After

 

 

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, a group of people made a nation; one nation under God. They based their laws on principals and standards set forth from the Bible. And for several decades this nation prospered and illuminated success because of it's strong moral high ground. As time went on the people of this nation that claimed to be Christians became complacent in their beliefs and somewhat lazy. Their need to fight for what they believed in didn't seem right to them. They didn't want to hurt any one's feelings or offend anyone. So all that once was good and right slowly became a gray area, to where it was hard to tell what was right or wrong.  That light for Christ that once shown so brightly became very dim across our nation.  And the few that still believed and wanted to save what had been lost were now being threatened and persecuted for standing up for what had made the nation so great at one time.  Now this nation lies in corruption with not much moral fiber left to stand on.  So not all fairy tales have happy endings.  And it is even worse to be living in reality and watch the down fall of one nation that once stood so great, crumbling all around you.  From the corrupt politicians to the money hungry fast food giants.  The only redeeming grace to this story is for each one of us to search our hearts and be able to say I didn't go down without a fight! To God be the Glory!!

Friendships.... Are the Best Medicine

Did you know that by having lots of friends and interacting with them can be good for your health? It may even lengthen your lifespan   http://longevity.about.com/od/liveto100/ss/life-expectancy_2.htm

I know that by creating a group that engages people to get together and communicate has first of all kept me very busy, but also given me more purpose. I think we all long to fit in somewhere. We experienced that when we were surrounded by a group of friends back in school. As we grow older we part our ways and unite with our own families. Our lives keep us busy keeping up with this sport and that school function and so forth and so forth.  Although we want all of these things for our children we seem to lose focus of our own individual needs. Allowing ourselves the luxury of catching up with old friends and meeting new ones puts a whole new perspective on our lives. It helps energize us to come back to our daily ritualistic lives with more of a spring in our step.
I remember when I attended youth camp when I was younger. It seemed like for a whole week, time seemed to stand still. And when I would go home I was ready to change the world.  The social events we have tied to VanBuren Cruisers only lasts for two days, but it stays with me all year. The friendships I have developed from the group have enriched my life. I interact with a lot of members from VB Cruisers on Facebook that I have never met face to face on almost a daily basis.  We encourage, listen, laugh and even pray for each other.
My degree is in Communications, which is marketing. I have never sought out a career in this field, but I think the job has found me. I enjoy all the aspects of finding ways to promote and bring awareness to things. Whether it be my social activities centered around this social group, me selling Avon, making people aware of a somewhat rare heart disorder I have or just expressing my views by blogging.  I try to help others market whatever event, book or product they have going too. I hope I don't come across to others as a nag. I just  think it is important to help others to pursue their goals so I will be the first to try to give a hand up if I can.
Setting goals has become one of my constants. Getting organized falls in there somewhere, but I haven't quite got there yet. Like writing this blog was supposed to be done before 1am, but this is the time slot I had available.  
So back on track here, my best advice is to develop relationships whether it be via Facebook or Face to Face. Being sociable allows you to express yourself and drives you to have purpose. So now you have a reason for living longer. Case closed...hehe  See you at the next cruise night June 18, 2011.  www.vanburencruisers.com

Are You Proud To Be An American?

God Bless the U.S.A. by Lee Greenwood

If tomorrow all the things were gone
I'd worked for all my life,
And I had to start again
with just my children and my wife,
I'd thank my lucky stars
to be living here today,
'Cause the flag still stands for freedom
and they can't take that away.


And I'm proud to be an American
where at least I know I'm free,
And I won't forget the men who died
who gave that right to me,
And I gladly stand up next to you
and defend her still today,
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land
God Bless the U.S.A.
From the lakes of Minnesota
to the hills of Tennessee,
Across the plains of Texas
from sea to shining sea.
From Detroit down to Houston
and New York to L.A.,
well There's pride in every American heart
and it's time we stand and say:

that I'm proud to be an American
where at least I know I'm free,
And I won't forget the men who died
who gave that right to me,
And I gladly stand up next to you
and defend her still today,
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land
God Bless the U.S.A.

And I'm proud to be an American
where at least I know I'm free,
And I won't forget the men who died
who gave that right to me,
And I gladly stand up next to you
and defend her still today,
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land
God Bless the U.S.A

I cannot listen to this song or read these lyrics without tears streaming down my cheeks. Who could? This song was not given to this person by chance. It is tangled up with emotions. PRIDE is when one feels the value in something and treasures it! Our country was founded and established by others blood and tears. It was a gift given to us by the hard work of others before us. We as a nation are going to have to stand up and show the pride we have for her. If the government in place is failing us then we need to take back the reigns and put the right leader in charge. Step out of our comfort zone cause otherwise there will not be one left to stand in. How can God bless our country if we are always shutting Him out? He has been kicked out our schools where we send our children. How stupid is that? We should want Him there more than anywhere. We want our children safe. Don't we?
Sometimes the people that immigrate to our country see the value of our freedom more than we do, just because where they came from didn't have it. But then there are those that come to our country and and they want to bring their baggage. They only bring harm to our country. Instilling pride in our youth is a harder task today than it was a century ago. We look at our electronic advancement and say "Wow, look at our accomplishment", but in a lot of ways we take that and abuse it. Our freedoms should have value to us. We should respect them. Our freedom of speech should be used to express positive ways to improve on our lives. We should use our freedom of religion to allow God in all areas of our lives. People in today's society waste America's time fighting for things that are corrupt and unjust. They do not serve the people better as a sound and moral society. We should not go backwards and strive to act uncivilized.
Some people might read this blog and say I am talking harsh and what right do I have to slam others? I only speak truth and sometimes the truth hurts. Sticks and stones do break bones and yes words can hurt you. We need to use that freedom of speech to help protect our freedoms. So stand up today and be proud to be an American and do what it takes to secure the value there is in being an  American!! God bless you and the USA!!

Homemade Harmony: Change Is Good

Homemade Harmony: Change Is Good