Back to School

Yesterday was my first day back to school. Starting a new school year is never easy if you're a teacher. There is lots of preparation, stress, anxiety, your list never is done, and you feel never quite ready for those students that walk into your room the first day. You love your class. The children, you listen to them, help them, email and call to check on them if they are not at school, make them things, buy them things, for that school year they are your kids.

This school year is harder and yet easier at the same time to start. The Lord called Brian and me both into teaching. My husband teaches high school and is blessed with patience to deal with mouthiness and drama of high schoolers like I have never seen. He is a wonderful teacher and cares deeply and dreams big for his students. I teach Moderate/Intense Special Education at the elementary level and am so glad I teach in a district where my students who are cognitively delayed and sometimes physically impaired are included in the general ed community. I am even more blessed to teach at school where my students are embraced by the general ed staff and my students are those general ed teachers students too. If you know anything about working with the MI population that inclusion and acceptance can be hard to find in a school.
Yesterday, we had PD, work day, and open house. Today, PD, work day, and our students start tomorrow. 3 out of my 7 students came last night to open house and 1 dropped off her supplies early. The joy I felt to see those kids after a long summer was refreshing and good for my soul. This is year 9 of my teaching career and it may be a shorter school year for me (due to the pregnancy), but I believe it will be the best yet. You grow, mature, and change a lot as you teach. I am thankful in my professional world the Lord is not done forming me yet, and I am also grateful to my colleagues. They are a blessing to me and my family. This is a journey my family is on and we are fortunate to have so many walking with us and supporting us.
Yesterday morning, my best friend, Larisa, prayed for me and in her prayer she said, “Lord we are not suppose to be comfortable on this Earth because this is not our home.” That stuck with me all day and was a reminder there are lots of joys and happiness in this world, but it is broken and full of sin. This place isn’t our home and someday I will be in the presence of our heavenly Father with Brian, Theodore, and Oscar and all the pain and sadness of this Earth will be gone.

I have told you all these things so that you may have peace in me. In this world you will have trials and sorrow, but take heart for I have overcome the world. ~John 16:33~

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Pulmonary Atresia with Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)

To everyone that has prayed for Oscar. Please keep praying. Today at his fetal echo cardiogram we found out he has Pulmonary Atresia with Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). What this means is that there normally is a pulmonic valve that opens and allows blood to exit the heart through the right ventricle. Oscar's pulmonary atresia valve is permanently sealed or absent. Along with that, the main pulmonary artery is very small about 1/4 of the size it should be and it is much smaller than the Aorta. Oscar also has fluid surrounding his entire heart which was not there on the August 1 ultrasound. His heart function is okay, but it is not good. During the 2 hour fetal echocardigram there were also signs of fetal arrhythmia of Oscar's heart rate dropping lower and more quickly then it should. Going forward we need your prayers for our son's heart. We believe in a God that heals and does miracles. We don't know if Oscar being born alive is going to be that miracle we are gi...

3 years

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Meeting some of Estella's Team

Brian and I headed for the MFM office Tuesday, August 1. Our appointment was at 10:45am and we got called back around 11:00am. Our ultrasound technician was wonderful. She was so kind and it turned out she lived in the same town we did. It was a long ultrasound and one where questions were asked, but answers were not able to be given. Estella was moving a lot during the first half of the ultrasound which was fun to see and good to hear her heartbeat (155 bpm). Throughout the ultrasound the technician had to leave from time to time to talk to the doctor and to see what remaining images he wanted. About 12:30pm the ultrasound was finally completed and into the room came the maternal fetal medicine specialist doctor and genetic counselor. The doctor told Brian and me that our baby had some significant birth defects: a bilateral cleft lip with possible palate involvement, a VSD heart defect, and Dandy Walker Malformation that affects the cerebellum in the brain. I sat on the ultrasou...

Oscar's Odyssey/Stella's Story

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