Saturday, November 3, 2012
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Happy Fall Y'all...
It's October. It's officially fall, my very favorite season. We have had a rough start to October. Actually, a very sickly start to October. We just got home from vacation, while we were gone four of our six children had strep throat and croup...luckily, most of them held out until the lat day or two. Praise Jesus for that. Upon returning, Emmy decided to start showing symptoms of sickness...however, in true Emmy fashion, she did it bigger and better than the other 5. With Emmy's sickle cell, a fever can be a sign of a life threatening infection...we treat every fever as such. Monday morning I took Emmy to Aflac for a fever, cough and swollen spleen. It was determined Emmy had strep throat and croup just like the others, but because of her sickle cell, she was also in the middle of a spleen sequestration. What is a spleen sequestration?
Here's the short answer:
Here's the short answer:
Splenic sequestration crisis is a problem that is sometimes seen
in children who have sickle cell disease. The name means:
Splenic – the problem occurs in the spleen Sequestration – blood in the spleen is separated from the
rest of the blood in the body
Crisis – the problem is an emergency
The spleen is an organ to the left and slightly above the stomach. It is protected by the ribs. The spleen helps to:
Fight infection
Make and store red blood cells Cleans the blood
Splenic sequestration crisis:
Can happen as early as 6 to 9 months of age
Is often seen before 5 years of age
Can occur in older children with hemoglobin SC disease and Sickle Beta+ Thalassemia
What happens with splenic sequestration crisis?
With splenic sequestration crisis, the spleen suddenly gets swollen and big because:
The sickle red blood cells block the blood vessels inside the spleen. This prevents the blood from leaving the spleen.
Once this happens, a large amount of blood gets trapped in the spleen. This causes the spleen to get quite swollen.
Since the blood cannot get back into the circulation, the hemoglobin level (red blood cell count) can fall to very low levels
There may not be enough blood left in the circulation for vital organs like the heart and lungs to work normally.
This can lead to shock and is an emergency.
Splenic – the problem occurs in the spleen Sequestration – blood in the spleen is separated from the
rest of the blood in the body
Crisis – the problem is an emergency
The spleen is an organ to the left and slightly above the stomach. It is protected by the ribs. The spleen helps to:
Fight infection
Make and store red blood cells Cleans the blood
Splenic sequestration crisis:
Can happen as early as 6 to 9 months of age
Is often seen before 5 years of age
Can occur in older children with hemoglobin SC disease and Sickle Beta+ Thalassemia
What happens with splenic sequestration crisis?
With splenic sequestration crisis, the spleen suddenly gets swollen and big because:
The sickle red blood cells block the blood vessels inside the spleen. This prevents the blood from leaving the spleen.
Once this happens, a large amount of blood gets trapped in the spleen. This causes the spleen to get quite swollen.
Since the blood cannot get back into the circulation, the hemoglobin level (red blood cell count) can fall to very low levels
There may not be enough blood left in the circulation for vital organs like the heart and lungs to work normally.
This can lead to shock and is an emergency.
So, we spent the entire week back and forth between home and Aflac. Emmy's hemoglobin dropped to below 7 and her platelets at their lowest were 40k. In addition to all this, Emmy's ear drum ruptured, and is still oozing thanks to those low platelets. UGH!!
All that to say, we've had a rough start to October, but today we had a GREAT day! Today we went to Burt's Pumpkin Farm, it was Emory and I's 10th year! Love family traditions. The kiddos love it. Pumpkin picking always promises lots of pumpkins, boiled peanuts, hayrides, family pictures and a gorgeous drive through the mountains. Who could ask for more? Especially after the week we have had! Here are some fun pics from today!!!
Happy Fall Y'all!!!
Friday, September 21, 2012
Truth...
This picture perfectly describes how I feel about most of my friendships with the exception of a few.
Isn't it crazy how motherhood totally changes the dynamic of friendships. It teaches you which friendships are real and worth keeping and which ones you need to run away from...and FAST. I have given up a lot of friends over the past few years, and have held on tight to the ones that are low maintenance, love me for me, love my family and understand that my family comes first.
I am so thankful for those friends that know me, and understand the chaos that is my life. I know those precious friends are few, but they are loved and appreciated more than they know!!!
Motherhood brought so many changes for me. Emory and I had 6 children in 6 years, we started 2 companies and grew them from the ground up, we love spending time just the 8 of us and doing things as a family, we LOVE being together. So, that means that friendships have taken a back seat, and the friends that didn't understand that, are no longer friends, but acquaintances and the friends that did, well, they feel the same way about their families and totally get it! Thankful for my very dearest friends! You know who you are, and I can't imagine doing life without you guys! Love y'all!!!
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The hands and feet...
So, not many people know this, but Emory and I are about to begin the process to become home study approved. We are re-opening our home to foster children. I know, you probably aren't shocked, are you? You already think we are crazy, right?
Well, we are crazy about following Jesus, and at this point in our lives, we feel that to not have our home open to children in need is in direct disobedience to the Lord. That is not a fun place to be, so we are acting in obedience.
We are very excited to see where this journey will lead us. Initially, we are only opening up our home to serve other foster families, we want to be a home for respite care, babysitting or whatever we are needed for. We believe that the Lord will eventually add another "Lott" to the crew, but we are on no time tables, and are planning to foster until He says otherwise.
Emory and I had a meeting tonight with our foster care agency, and we left encouraged and ready to start down this road again. We are excited about what God has planned, but we are also preparing our hearts for the heart ache that comes with it. Not just the heart ache of giving children back, but the heart ache of hearing the stories from which these children came from, heart ache for children that are sick and away from their mommies and daddies, heart ache for not being able to fix it all. I am begging the Lord tonight to break my heart for what breaks His. Lord, use Emory and I and our children to glorify YOU!! I don't want to be another person that can't put my money where my mouth is...if I am going to say it, I want my words to be actions. Lord, turn these words into actions. The church is suppose to be the hands and feet of Christ...if that's true why are the foster care numbers so high, if that is true why are there 163 million + orphans in the world? Where are the christians?
My heart is heavy tonight for the church. I am praying that more families would step forward and consider foster care and adoption, both here and internationally. I am praying that more families would let go of the selfishness behind adoption, and adopt because we are called to, not because it is the only option of building their families, adopt because you want to be the hands and feet of Christ, not because you are trying to find the "perfect" child for YOUR situation.
Tonight at this meeting, I was told about a situation that broke my heart. A situation that has me angry that no one has stepped up to parent this particular child. It makes me angry that the church is suppose to be stepping up, but we are so busy fitting into our schedules we can't see that this is a CHILD. Foster care is not easy, older child adoptions are not easy...we have done both. I do not want to paint some rosy picture of how great it all is...it isn't. Isn't that life, though? It's messy sometimes, it hurts a lot of the time, but it's worth it. Oh, every single second it worth it. Every child deserves a home, deserves a mommy and a daddy, deserves to be tucked in and told about Jesus Christ...not just the child that fits perfectly into my laid out calendar and family situation.
We are excited! We can't wait to walk this road again. We know the blessings FAR outweigh everything else, and we can't wait to see what God will do in and through our family. Our kids are thrilled, and seeing the joy and love they have for foster children makes my heart smile. I am blessed to have children that get it, children that have a love for other children, for orphans and for children that might just need a family for a season...so thankful for their hearts.
Lord, open the eyes of christians. Break our hearts for what breaks yours, Lord. Open our eyes and make us truly see what you see. Thank you, Lord, for 6 beautiful children that get it. For 6 children that have taught Emory and I so much about what it means to be parents and to truly love others. Thank you for their precious hearts, Lord. I pray that you would prepare their hearts for the children you will bring in and out of our home, God. I pray that you would begin preparing the hearts of the children you will bring into our home, prepare them to hear about YOU and for the crazy amount of love we want to show them. Lord, prepare our hearts as we walk this road again. We love you, Lord. Amen!!
Well, we are crazy about following Jesus, and at this point in our lives, we feel that to not have our home open to children in need is in direct disobedience to the Lord. That is not a fun place to be, so we are acting in obedience.
We are very excited to see where this journey will lead us. Initially, we are only opening up our home to serve other foster families, we want to be a home for respite care, babysitting or whatever we are needed for. We believe that the Lord will eventually add another "Lott" to the crew, but we are on no time tables, and are planning to foster until He says otherwise.
Emory and I had a meeting tonight with our foster care agency, and we left encouraged and ready to start down this road again. We are excited about what God has planned, but we are also preparing our hearts for the heart ache that comes with it. Not just the heart ache of giving children back, but the heart ache of hearing the stories from which these children came from, heart ache for children that are sick and away from their mommies and daddies, heart ache for not being able to fix it all. I am begging the Lord tonight to break my heart for what breaks His. Lord, use Emory and I and our children to glorify YOU!! I don't want to be another person that can't put my money where my mouth is...if I am going to say it, I want my words to be actions. Lord, turn these words into actions. The church is suppose to be the hands and feet of Christ...if that's true why are the foster care numbers so high, if that is true why are there 163 million + orphans in the world? Where are the christians?
My heart is heavy tonight for the church. I am praying that more families would step forward and consider foster care and adoption, both here and internationally. I am praying that more families would let go of the selfishness behind adoption, and adopt because we are called to, not because it is the only option of building their families, adopt because you want to be the hands and feet of Christ, not because you are trying to find the "perfect" child for YOUR situation.
Tonight at this meeting, I was told about a situation that broke my heart. A situation that has me angry that no one has stepped up to parent this particular child. It makes me angry that the church is suppose to be stepping up, but we are so busy fitting into our schedules we can't see that this is a CHILD. Foster care is not easy, older child adoptions are not easy...we have done both. I do not want to paint some rosy picture of how great it all is...it isn't. Isn't that life, though? It's messy sometimes, it hurts a lot of the time, but it's worth it. Oh, every single second it worth it. Every child deserves a home, deserves a mommy and a daddy, deserves to be tucked in and told about Jesus Christ...not just the child that fits perfectly into my laid out calendar and family situation.
We are excited! We can't wait to walk this road again. We know the blessings FAR outweigh everything else, and we can't wait to see what God will do in and through our family. Our kids are thrilled, and seeing the joy and love they have for foster children makes my heart smile. I am blessed to have children that get it, children that have a love for other children, for orphans and for children that might just need a family for a season...so thankful for their hearts.
Lord, open the eyes of christians. Break our hearts for what breaks yours, Lord. Open our eyes and make us truly see what you see. Thank you, Lord, for 6 beautiful children that get it. For 6 children that have taught Emory and I so much about what it means to be parents and to truly love others. Thank you for their precious hearts, Lord. I pray that you would prepare their hearts for the children you will bring in and out of our home, God. I pray that you would begin preparing the hearts of the children you will bring into our home, prepare them to hear about YOU and for the crazy amount of love we want to show them. Lord, prepare our hearts as we walk this road again. We love you, Lord. Amen!!
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Mina's First Competition 2012
Mina's first gymnastics competition of 2012. She did GREAT!
Bars - 2nd Place
Beam - 1st Place
Floor- 2nd Place
She did AWESOME. Came home with 3rd place All Around!!! So proud of her!!
Sunday, August 19, 2012
My little gymnast...
Mina is about to start her competitive season for 2012. She has worked so hard, and she is so excited. We are so proud of her. Here are a couple of pictures from her kick-off meet this weekend!
Mina's vault progression
Mina's Big Sis at GAA
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Picture update...
Just wanted to share some pics from the last month or so, and even a few that are a blast from the past!! New blog update coming soon, too!!!
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