Amazing Grace...and then all the details

When I found out I was pregnant with Grace I had just finished reading "In the Grip of Grace" by Max Lucado (a great read if your looking for a good book). I was so amazed with God's grace and just the whole concept of grace that it led to Grace being named Grace. My mom has sang her the hymn Amazing Grace since she was a tiny baby and it is a favorite for Grace. She sings it often but her version goes like this, "Amazing ME, how sweet the sound..." and she sings it boldly. It sounds a bit self centered but considering her age I am sure that the Lord finds it precious. Today was a huge day for her and for our family and I believe that God will use it to make her stronger and bolder and that she will sing HIS songs with clarity in her speech and in her heart for all the days of her life! Gods grace and promises sustained us today. It was scary and it was gut wrenching but it was also awesome. I hope to look back on this day as one of the best days of our lives.......we certainly aren't there yet, but we know God is good and he is faithful.

Grace did wake up after surgery and we did get to hear her sweet voice - ok, it was sweet to hear but not really a sweet tone. Her comments were, "I want out" and "NO!!!". How awesome that we did get to see her open her eyes and interact with us. And then on top of that we heard her voice........that is huge being that she has a trach and it is open! All amazing stuff and better than we had expected. And for you girlies that were worried, NO, I did not faint when I saw the trach! Darrell was pleased! :)

We are in ICU now and she is out of it but not completely sedated in a paralyized state. She looks around every once in a while and even lifted her little hand to wave a few times. She is comfrotable and doing well. Thank you all for walking with us in faith and carrying us through this experience! Looking forward to what tomorrow may bring.....Bridget

Another quick surgery update....

Grace is out of surgery and in recovery. All went very well. The trach is in and she is using it with some applied oxygen but no ventillator which is great news. We are so thankful for a successful surgery and look forward to an equally succesful recovery. Praise God!

Quick Surgery Update....

We just met with the first surgeon and got a good report on his procedure. Gracie is still in the OR and they are beginning the next procedure. Will update as soon as we can.

Today is the day the Lord has made....

Today is the day the Lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it! Today is also surgery day so that is a little more challenging to sing than on most days. We are here at Texas Children's and all checked in. We are passing the time by reading sweet email posted and she is loving it. It started off rough this morning with her crying that she didn't want to go to the doctor but stay home with the babies instead. But after going over a list of all the people who love her and will send her messages and she is much better now. Judd had a hard time this morning, he wanted to come so that was a bit heart breaking to leave him and as for Caroline we didn't wake her I couldn't bear another crying baby this morning! They all know we love them and that mommies and daddies always come back - so for now, we will just go with that! We passed our assesment this morning so now we just wait for our name to be called and off we go! Lord be with us!

Twas the night before...

Wow what a day! It has been emotional. I sort of feel like a storm is in the forecast and it is going to have a direct hit on my family. As much as we would love to avoid the storm we are just bracing for it and seeking shelter. Let me just say we have great and precious shelter and amazingly strong and generous support! Tonight our family was lifted up in prayer in the most beautiful and kind way. We were honored to get together with our church family and pray for Grace but I am not sure there are words to describe the awesomeness of love and prayers we received tonight. It was humbling, incredibly encouraging and as close to heavenly as it gets on this earth. My heart was not in a good place this morning but tonight I will rest in the assurance that my sweet girl is covered in prayer down to every last detail! There is nothing more we could want!

As for the honoree at the big on line surgery party - She enjoyed some time at home playing with Judd and Caroline today. Tonight she had Katie (her cousin) spend the night. Katie read her the entire school yearbook - her favorite book - more than a few times. She knows everyones name and which teacher they had last year. She was a happy little girl who I think feels really loved! Sleep tight sweet girl tomorrow is a big day for you!

Get ready it's a big week...

For our family this is a big week! For Grace this is one of the biggest in her life. She is having her "big" surgery Thursday. She has had multiple surgeries in the past but this one is big for several reasons. If successful, this will improve the intelligibility of her speech where she can communicate with the average Joe. As it is now, although she has great things to say, we are really the only ones who understand what it is she is saying. I love that Judd and Caroline can understand her just as well as we can and have never asked why her words sound so different. We did our pre-op appointments yesterday and have "the plan" for what to expect but also know to expect the unexpected. Surgery is planned for Thursday morning at 9:00 will take 3 to 3 1/2 hours. They will do the trach first and then the flap and she will be in ICU 5-7 days heavily sedated. Once they wake her, we will move to the progressive care unit and there we will begin learning all the care and things that go with the trach. Once we are in that unit she will be alert and in a more private room. Our stay in that unit will be about 7 days. We are planning on our little "vacation at TCH" to be 14 days. I think by the time we get back I will even miss doing laundry which I currently despise!

This is a good thing for Grace and being objective we know that but our hearts are heavy and unsettled. Not the way I wish we felt but it is and so it goes...

An American Girl....

My little American Girl got to go to the American Girl store in Dallas! She LOVED it! We evacuated to Dallas during Ike and decided to vacation while we were there. Grace has been wanting to go to the American Gril store for her 9th Birthday (not sure why 9th since she will be celebrating her 8th in November)ever since she saw the Jon and Kate Plus 8 episode where they went. She was so excited. Thanks to Cheri I had a doll to give her and we got a little shirt for her and her doll there. We also got to sit at the desert bar and have sodas and cookies. Grace was so proud. She decided to name her doll Annie because she has red hair. My childhood friend, Debbie, went with us and it was really neat to have someone that I played dolls with sitting with me, my little girl and her doll. It was a great experience and I hope we get to go again one day.