Month 5. Wow what a month! As I sit here and remember the events that took place in the last 4 weeks, a powerful rush of emotions sweeps over and carries me like a grain of sand in mighty wave. I have never in my life experienced such an overwhelming blast of conflicting thoughts and feelings that shook my being down to the core. I have been forced to re-evaluate my entire world view, quickly filling in the gaps I didn't even know existed. Nevertheless, in the words of Horatio Spafford, "whatever my lot... It is well with my soul."
As I write this, the words of Paul in II Corinthians 12: 8-10 come to mind:
"Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for
My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches,
in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake.
For when I am weak, then I am strong."
This month I wrestled with the statement "God will never allow you to experience more than you can bare." Although this is not a direct Bible quote, it is based on an interpretation of I Corinthians 10:13 referring to temptation. I came to the realization that even when one feels completely overwhelmed by the most unbearable trials, in God we can find an endless source of strength and power to overcome. God never promised a difficulty-free life in this sin-filled world, He did promise to be right there with us as we go through these trials.
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you." Isa 43:2
That being said, I cannot claim that this turbulence is over and that my inner struggles are resolved. I can say that I would rather struggle with God then go at it on my own. In the words of Edward Mote "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness...On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand."
As you know, I ended the last post with a prayer request for Zarah and her MRI. As soon as they scheduled it the first time, she started with a very bad congestion that quickly spread to everyone in the house. By the following weekend, we were all so sick we even had to miss church (that never happens). The difficult nights we had just had with the teething days were directly followed by the sleepless nights caused by the congestion. It was a tough few days and the MRI was rescheduled twice before Zarah was "clear" enough to go through with it. Although she is much better now, she is still a little congested which troubles her sleep at night. I also think she is teething again and about to get her front upper teeth any day now. In other words... I am still a strong competitor in the "let's see who can function the longest on the least amount of sleep" game.
If you follow our Facebook updates you already know that the day of the MRI was a difficult one. Nothing could have prepared me for the feeling of helplessness I felt having to hand my unsuspecting child over to a stranger and watching her little face looking at me as a heavy door closed between us. That being said, I am eternally grateful to everyone who lifted us up in prayer and comforted our hearts with kind words of encouragement. I am especially grateful to our friend//adopted Texas mom, Elsie Weber, for taking time off from her work so she could keep me company at the hospital during those difficult hours.
So... the results. The MRI did not show anything abnormal. That is great but it is not the end. The MRI gives us a big picture but now we move on to more specific tests. As I think of her happy little face and the fact that she has been meeting all her milestones so far, my prayers and hope is that whatever "this" is, "it" is just some temporary thing she will outgrow. I ask you that you continue to pray for our precious little princess.
Now for some happier updates....
I cannot believe Zuri is officially only 2 months away from his second birthday. It seem like it was just the other day that I was writing his 5 month update....how crazy!!! The little guy is funnier than ever. It seems like his vocabulary triples every month now and his ability to construct complex sentences to communicate his thoughts and wishes never cease to amaze me. He continues to sing all day long and his repertoire is increasing. He can recite the memory verses for the last two lessons on his own, and he can count to 10. He counts his fingers and toes (as well as mine, my husband's, and Zarah's), he counts before he jumps, he counts before he runs, he counts the blocks, the rocks...everything. He can also recognize a few colors. The other day we were driving home on the highway and he pointed ahead of us and said "caminhao azul" (blue truck) and indeed it was a blue truck. Most of his communication is in Portuguese but he does know a few things in English and sometimes he can differentiate between the two.
He continues to be a little ball of energy and getting him to take his naps is not getting any easier. A few weeks ago we gave him a tricycle to help him use up all the energy. Although he hasn't quite figured out the whole steering par, he has learned how to paddle. He spends some of his energy helping around the house. He is a very loving and kind little boy who enjoys being helpful. He helps me picking up things from the floor (i.e. the baby's shoes that she loves to kick off), or bringing me the burp cloth when I need it. The ohter day I was preparing his lunch and he ran to me, hugged my legs and said "mamae, eu te amo" (mommy, I love you). My heart almost burst.
He loves his little sister and is always trying to share his toys with her. The only problem with that is getting him to place the toys on her hands as opposed to her face. Zarah is always trying to spot him around the house and when she does, she has this huge smile on her face. Zuri's favorite thing to do when he is near her is to hold her hand. He is slowly learning not to get his head too close to her if he doesn't want his hair pulled.
Zarah continues to be a little bundle of joy. She is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight and she is as sweet as can be. The day of the MRI, even after fasting for almost 7 hours (prior to the procedure) she was still calm and content. This little girl wakes up in the morning with a huge smile on her face. She hardly ever cries unless she is hungry or in pain.
She has gotten a lot better at grabbing things. Her ability to bring things to her mouth has also improved. As I mentioned earlier, I believe she is teething again which aggravates this behavior 1000 fold. She can now roll both ways and even unroll when she wants to. She is making a lot of sounds and has spent two whole days blowing raspberries every chance she gets. Although she can lift her legs up pretty high she doesn't seem to care much about her feet since she hasn't been trying to grab them much. She is now getting closer and closer to sitting on her own.
The latest update for this month is the fact that my husband has accepted a call to pastor the Brownsville/San Benito church district and we will be moving by the end of next month. It has been an absolute joy for us working with the Edinburg church for the last couple of years and although it is very hard to leave, we are happy to follow God's leading.
As you can see, there are lots in store for us in the months to come. So, I ask you once again, please keep our family in your prayers, especially little Zarah.
This turned out to be quite the long post... thanks for bearing with me. See you next time!
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| Z2 in her hospital gown on the day of the MRI |
So... the results. The MRI did not show anything abnormal. That is great but it is not the end. The MRI gives us a big picture but now we move on to more specific tests. As I think of her happy little face and the fact that she has been meeting all her milestones so far, my prayers and hope is that whatever "this" is, "it" is just some temporary thing she will outgrow. I ask you that you continue to pray for our precious little princess.
Now for some happier updates....
I cannot believe Zuri is officially only 2 months away from his second birthday. It seem like it was just the other day that I was writing his 5 month update....how crazy!!! The little guy is funnier than ever. It seems like his vocabulary triples every month now and his ability to construct complex sentences to communicate his thoughts and wishes never cease to amaze me. He continues to sing all day long and his repertoire is increasing. He can recite the memory verses for the last two lessons on his own, and he can count to 10. He counts his fingers and toes (as well as mine, my husband's, and Zarah's), he counts before he jumps, he counts before he runs, he counts the blocks, the rocks...everything. He can also recognize a few colors. The other day we were driving home on the highway and he pointed ahead of us and said "caminhao azul" (blue truck) and indeed it was a blue truck. Most of his communication is in Portuguese but he does know a few things in English and sometimes he can differentiate between the two.
He continues to be a little ball of energy and getting him to take his naps is not getting any easier. A few weeks ago we gave him a tricycle to help him use up all the energy. Although he hasn't quite figured out the whole steering par, he has learned how to paddle. He spends some of his energy helping around the house. He is a very loving and kind little boy who enjoys being helpful. He helps me picking up things from the floor (i.e. the baby's shoes that she loves to kick off), or bringing me the burp cloth when I need it. The ohter day I was preparing his lunch and he ran to me, hugged my legs and said "mamae, eu te amo" (mommy, I love you). My heart almost burst.
He loves his little sister and is always trying to share his toys with her. The only problem with that is getting him to place the toys on her hands as opposed to her face. Zarah is always trying to spot him around the house and when she does, she has this huge smile on her face. Zuri's favorite thing to do when he is near her is to hold her hand. He is slowly learning not to get his head too close to her if he doesn't want his hair pulled.
Zarah continues to be a little bundle of joy. She is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight and she is as sweet as can be. The day of the MRI, even after fasting for almost 7 hours (prior to the procedure) she was still calm and content. This little girl wakes up in the morning with a huge smile on her face. She hardly ever cries unless she is hungry or in pain.
She has gotten a lot better at grabbing things. Her ability to bring things to her mouth has also improved. As I mentioned earlier, I believe she is teething again which aggravates this behavior 1000 fold. She can now roll both ways and even unroll when she wants to. She is making a lot of sounds and has spent two whole days blowing raspberries every chance she gets. Although she can lift her legs up pretty high she doesn't seem to care much about her feet since she hasn't been trying to grab them much. She is now getting closer and closer to sitting on her own.
The latest update for this month is the fact that my husband has accepted a call to pastor the Brownsville/San Benito church district and we will be moving by the end of next month. It has been an absolute joy for us working with the Edinburg church for the last couple of years and although it is very hard to leave, we are happy to follow God's leading.
As you can see, there are lots in store for us in the months to come. So, I ask you once again, please keep our family in your prayers, especially little Zarah.
This turned out to be quite the long post... thanks for bearing with me. See you next time!
