Foot Surgery, Moving and Open Heart surgery...

I mean the title has gotta be some kind of joke right?

Nope this is our world right now. Since Labor day weekend we have been cleaning, packing, Hosting beautiful friends, rearranging rooms and planning towards a restful end that was to begin mid October. Here I am the other side of most of the frenzy and Clinging to God and his faithfulness to us.

I am sure that each day would take me under outside of Him. Three weeks ago, tuesday Phoenix had a foot surgery that went perfect, not an issue to be found. It is rare that I feel thankful for Phoe's inability to feel below his waist, but these past weeks I am. They moved bones around and cut his heel cord to loosen up the tightness and realign his foot to a neutral position. If that lingo is way over your head ( which I understand), it was a surgery to align his feet for standing and sitting correctly in all his equipment and will help with correct posture and a long list of other benefits.

Hospital life is so much a part of who we are that I feel used to the realities of it. Surgery is another world that I forget the realities of, until I am in the midst of it. Mike and I handle Big situations the same way. By that I mean we always struggle with the same things. I get anxious towards the end of waiting and I hate the idea of Phoenix waking up without us there. He stays calm through the surgery and I watch tension overtake him as soon as Phoe's in our presence. So we are always learning to help one another through the bumpy moments. This surgery was basic and short only an 1 1/2 but in reality from start to finish, it's 4 plus hours before we're all settled into our room.

Needless to say I knew that Penelope's heart surgery would be a fierce reality check for me. I was both ready for the inevitable open heart surgery to be over. And the meltdown I anticipated coming after. We have been waiting 6 months for this day and at the same time buying up every ounce of life before surgery. Here we are a week on the other side of it and I am still processing through. Actually wanted to delete and rewrite this post a million times, because there is so much I can say about all the changes we have faced, but instead...

I want to say THANK YOU !! Thank you to all of you who pray, love and encourage us, we know the strength of these prayers and relationships. I have just begun to realize how overwhelming our life can be from the outside looking in and how I can feel the ability and Grace to walk through each day without a breakdown is only because of God's strength and people who walk beside us both physically and afar. We are constantly thankful for the way God has chosen to build our family and for our beautiful children. With all of our lives weighty decisions and the constant state of waiting we live in, I am thankful for an ever present God and a community of the richness of Grace and care! We have been blown away!

We moved into a home about 5 minutes away. Some of our close friends are renting it to us and we are excited to have a New, wide open space. We have had tons of help and continue to have offers for help, thank you everyone. So now we are SLOWLY settling in. Rowan, Phoenix and Penelope are all settling into life and we will hopefully return to life as we know it sooner than later.

In closing, I want to say a couple things that I have grasped and learned through the WIld ride this last month plus has been.

1. LIVE in a place of DEEP THANKFULNESS at all times there is room and so much in this day to day life to be overwhelmingly thankful for.
- I met a family who has lived the entirety of their beautiful son's life in an a hospital (intensive care unit) room. 12 long months with no promise of ever bringing their son home. THAT is not our reality, Thankfulness and compassion overwhelm me!

2. God is always present, always waiting and always listening to those who cry out to him. He loves to pour out his Grace and to break in to our moment to moment life. Prayer works, Trust in it!

3. That Miracles happen everyday in forms we are TOO familar with, like the medical field. BUT let us not overlook the MIRACLE that they are. My daughter has a NEW HEART, because of a Surgeoun's hands, brillant minds and most of all a Sovereign God who gives all ability and wisdom.

4. That we Reuwers are a loved family and graced with so much richness in family and friendship, it can be overwhelming, but I am so THANKFUL.

There is SO SO much more but I'll save it for another post 3 months from now, ha ha!