Jodies precious puppies

We got to love on 2 precious doggies today. They were so excited and Momo was very vocal in talking to Daniel. Kykyo is smaller than Momo by at least 10 pounds but she held her own in a massive tug-of-war with her younger but larger sister. There was a casualty that I must report. One raccoon dog toy gave its "life" to entertain these 2. Kykyo did try to take the pieces of the toy to her "cave" and succeeded with 2 of the 3 pieces. I see a package arriving in their name in the near future.

Momo, on the left.  Kykyo on the right.

Migraine update such as it is...

I think I'm probably having rebound headaches on top of the migraines. since the Friday before Thanksgiving I have had only very brief respite from the pain. right now the nausea is not bad which I am very thankful for.
Since I think I'm in rebound I'm not taking anything. So far it's been about 24 hours with no meds whatsoever. Please pray that this will soon end. We are currently without insurance and no hope in sight for a job.

Afghan my Grandpa K made.  Oscar chewed on it as a puppy and I was able to repair the hole yesterday.  Since it's so old and delicate and very special I won't be using it as a blanket.

David's afghan that was many years in the making.

What's in the works for 2015?

In no special order looking ahead to 2015.

• Love my husband better in his love language
• Daniel will graduate.
• Daniel's Senior Prom
• Finish Daniels afghan
• Finish my sweater
• Plan Sarah's Senior year
• Start Sarah's afghan
• David new job
• rearrange master bedroom
• walk 30 minutes 5 days each week
• find a new pair of boots that I love just as much as the ones I can no longer wear because my feet stay swollen since I broke (R) and sprained (L) my ankles.
• learn entralac crochet
• learn Tunisian crochet
• investigate selling my handmade bags at a local shop
• possibly get a dog.  I miss having one but at this point we can't afford to get one.  Even if we were given a dog we can't pay for food & vet.
• read Atlas Shrugged.  David has wanted me to read it for years.  It's a hard read for me since it doesn't catch my interest quickly.  I've started it many times.  I hope to finally finish it in 2015

.

No Truer words have been spoken.

The sweater I'm making.  Mine is plum, burgundy flowers and green stems.

Sarah & Rusty.  He LUVs  her.

Daniel using Davids camera shooting trains.

Update on Sarah

On Friday, November 21, Sarah was at a friends house helping with the baking and visiting.  Around 4.30 she and her friend Samantha took their 2 dogs for a walk.  Sarah ran ahead and around the corner with her dog.  When Samantha rounded the corner she saw Sarah on the ground with Momo sitting beside her.

Samantha helped her up and they went back to the house where Sarah complained of a bad headache and was very tearful and frightened.  Jodie, Sam's Mom, called us and immediately brought Sarah home.

She had, and still has, no memory of the fall or of the next several hours.  She was continually asking the same question over and over.  We watched her very carefully over the next hours and talked to a doctor friend the next day who told us what to look for.

Today, a little over 4 weeks late she still has no memory of that time period.  We have no idea why she fell.  Her doctor said it could have been low blood pressure, low blood sugar or just simply tripping.

I've never been as scared for my child as I was with this.  This invisible injury was terrifying.  She is finally back to her normal school and volunteer schedule just in the last week or so.

I'm so thankful for the people who prayed for her and for us during this time.

Our Father's Provision NEVER Ends

The Gibsons are so blessed. 

David lost his job on 9/29 and that was it.  They offered a small "settlement" but he would have to sign all his rights to going to the EEOC away.  (Does that make sense?)

Our budget has been so tight for so long that we had very little to fall back on.

Our GOD is so good to us.  I have a list of folks to write thank you notes to.  We have come home to find groceries waiting for us.  Received gift cards in the mail, had meals brought to us.
 
Every time David or I start to get discouraged something happens to refocus our minds on HIM instead of on us.

Keep praying for us.  For a job.  For health.  For wisdom.  For patience.  That in all we do or say we will give glory to our Father in Heaven. 

Samantha's Appointment @ Wisconsin Children's Hospital

Samantha is scheduled to be seen at the Wisconsin Children's Hospital the first week of February.  She and her Mom will be there the entire week and need to raise funds for:  airfare, lodging, meals, possibly a rental car and incidentals.
You can make a donation here:
http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/trip-to-children-s-hospital-of-wisconsin-autonomic-disorder-/114876
Please share, share, share. And thank you to all who have been supporting Jodie and Samantha over the past few weeks through your prayers, encouragement and donations.

Samantha takes Guitar as part of her therapy.

She also takes ballet.  Don't think they should stop the lessons.  Per the doctors ballet, and other classes, are vital to her therapy and development both physically, mentally and socially.

If you've read anything about Samantha's health issues you now that as an infant she was diagnosed with failure to thrive.  In photos you cannot tell how tiny she is compared to other girls her age unless you know how tall etc.  the other children are.  Samantha's body is proportional but tiny.  The photo above is her Mom's hand holding Samantha's pointe shoe which is TOO Big for her feet.

Fundraiser for Samantha

Post by Jodie, Samantha's Mom

(NOTE: this fund-raising page, has been updated for current needs, the first $1700 stated raised is from the last fundraiser, so that funding went to other needs and is not part of this trips funding. I couldn't figure out how to restart the total. working on fixing that so it is current)


    My daughter Samantha was born with static encephalopathy, cerebral palsy, oral motor apraxia, an irregular chromosome string with a huge duplication, asthma, gerd, learning disabilities, sleep apnea and other health issues. As a baby she grew really slowly and had a diagnosis of failure to thrive, and was delayed in all of her physical abilities. She had many doctors, testing, and therapies. As time went on we adjusted and she learned things, even if that process was and is slower than others.


   Now she is a beautiful 17yr old, kind and caring teenager. Biologically she is 17, but because of the delays and static encephalopathy she is more like an 11yr old. Within this last year she has had new medical issues emerging. The doctors believe these issues stem from the genetic abnormalities. Unfortunately her genetic duplications are rare and unstudied. So there is little at this point that we know and have to try and deal with stuff as it appears.  She has episodes where she loses time and what is going on around her, leaving her confused and unsure what just happened.


   The neurologists has now diagnosed her with autonomic issues. We are working on trying to get her a lightweight cooling vest, because she doesn't sweat and her body doesn't regulate its temperature well, putting her at risk from the heat and the cold, like hypothermia. She been dealing with vertigo, migraines, nausea, abdominal pain, all over pain, sensory issues, and mental neurological issues more.



We recently found out she has bile gastritis on top of the GERD. She has been having a lot of trouble off & on with eating and getting enough nutrition. She is on several different high calorie nutrition drinks & 4 different meds just for this. If she keeps losing weight and not getting enough nutrition, there are a couple of surgeries or feeding tubes options they may try if needed. Autonomic issues cover the GI tract also, and other issues she has I stated above. So at the hospital she will be seeing many doctors. She will be seeing an autonomic neurologist, gastroenterologist, cardiologists, sleep specialist, and geneticist.

    The Children's Hospital pediatric neurogastroenterology, motility and autonomic disorders program has one of the few state-of-the-art pediatric autonomic laboratories in the country equipped to help diagnose children with autonomic disorders. We live in North Carolina and this is very far and we need to stay for a week. We need to raise money for air fare and lodging. There will also be many new bills adding to my current medical debt. But she needs this and hopefully they can help her more. Giving us a better diagnosis for the genetic & other issues. So we can know how to medically and emotionally help her in the future.

    Because of her static encephalopathy and learning disabilities, Samantha is delayed and has to attend some therapies and counseling. Psychologically there is a lot to deal with because of the static encephalopathy, learning disabilities & oral motor apraxia. Any help we can get to make things better and allow her to deal with daily life issues and situations would be great. If we can get a better diagnosis and know how to help treat some of the medical issues that would be wonderful. We just want her to be as happy and healthy as she can be. To live the best she can later in life as a productive member in our society.

     This is the best I can do to sum up the issues without going on for many more pages. A child with disabilities needs many services and it can be overwhelming financially, no matter how much you do to keep up with it. I thank you so much for taking the time to read some of our story. If you can donate to our fund to help Samantha get the continuing care that she needs we thank you sooooo much. Sharing the link to this page, so others can see it is also a great help. Thank you



Samantha's Facebook page

Samantha's page to donate

2 of my favorite pieces of music combined

God IS Good!

Job Update:
David's interview went very well but he hasn't heard anything. We are praying that this week he will get a definite answer either way. Meanwhile he is applying for everything he can.
Money is tight but our God is good and he is providing. We have a roof over our head, a full freezer and fridge and cupboards, we have water, electricity and gas, both cars are running. God IS good!

More Waiting on our Awesome GOD. Waiting without fear!

David is home and his interview went very well. Now we're just waiting again. But I'm not worrying. I feel a peace about this whole situation. We met this morning with a financial planner to learn what to do with his retirement etc. This is a Christian company with very conservative values. If anyone is interested I can give you the contact info for the planner we met with.
Thank you again for your prayers and kind words of encouragement. Our Father God is truly an awesome GOD.

Thank you for your prayers....

David just left for the airport. Please pray for him. He's feeling nervous and uncertain about the whole thing. A lot of it is the fact that he will be on a very tight schedule tomorrow afternoon and may not make his return flight. I can't tell you all how much your prayers over these last weeks have meant to us.

Prayer to stay calm

Today is the day. David has headed to Charlotte to be officially terminated. We are surprisingly calm about it. Please pray that he will be able to make wise decisions about how to handle things financially.
I have a killer migraine today. I'm sure part of it is stress even tho I feel calm. But the other factor is this weather we're having.
Next Monday David heads out of town for an interview. Pray for a safe flight for him then and for wisdom in the meetings he will have.

Most of all pray for our whole family to trust in our Father who has promised to supply ALL our NEEDS.

Drying Racks, GOD is good

A young mom I know, Kathryn Wentz, quite frequently posts, "God is good". This is true. Unfortunately I too often forget. Today I was reminded in a simple yet profound way.
It's easy to see God in the big things and forget He's in the small things too. We're told in Matthew 10:29-33:
“. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, theref...ore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

He watches over the tiny sparrow and knows the number of hairs on every head.
The way He showed His care for us was a simple, wooden laundry drying rack.
Our dryer has not been working for several months. When the repair man came to fix it, he said it wasn't worth fixing. So since warm weather was approaching we decided to just wait and get the part needed ourselves.
Meanwhile we have been hanging our laundry on the line and drying racks. Today, with cool weather coming David felt we needed to purchase 1 more drying rack. He called around and found 1 hardware store that had 1 rack.
Before he headed into Concord to buy it he took Sarah to the bank. On the way back she saw a drying rack on the side of the road. So they went back, picked it up, and brought it home.
One simple need. A Father who cares about the tiny, unimportant details. Being in the right place at the right time.
And if He cares about a drying rack how much more does He care about the job situation? And even more about our salvation.
GOD. Is. Good.

Life

I am so tired of the constant migraine.  Some hours are better than others, but today is just too much.  I'm hoping that a lot of the problem is the stress related to David's job situation.  That as soon as we know something, anything for sure I will have at least a decrease in the level of pain and nausea.

So, I'll keep trying to avoid as many migraine triggers as I can, keep my blood sugar levels down, help David in any way I can, homeschool the kids, coach Science Olympiad, pay the bills, cook the meals, get the groceries, assign chores, keep trusting that He who began a good work in me will complete it.  It may not be this side of Heaven, but it will happen.

Sarah and Rusty, my parents dog.  He LOVES Sarah.

So if the Gibson family crosses your thoughts would you please pray for us?