Praise the Lord!

Nathan Shoultz went home to his house in Pottersville on Monday!

All is well and they are settling in.  Nathan and Beth's church family and WOL family put in Laminate flooring and adjusted the bathroom so that he has easier mobility.  (I'm sure the kids are loving the idea of skating in the house too, I know I did when I was their age!)

The fact that he walked through his door, is indeed a miracle.  Looking back now, we are all more able to cope with the idea that we almost lost our friend.  And seeing him back at home was probably where we all break down in grateful tears that he is still with us today.

Gavin, Carley, Owen and Zachary have their daddy back.  Soon he'll be whole again and able to move more and more freely.  I fully believe that even if some physical signs of the stroke remain, he will be able to continue his work eventually.  And until then, we and many others will help him pay the bills.  If you feel lead to donate to their family, here is his web page and the donate button is the best way to get funds to them.

I know I am grateful to all who help support them!  Your continued support in prayer for their family is still needed and appreciated!  Thank you over and over again for praying for my friend.  It means more than you know to have people I only know by blog name reaching up to Heaven on his behalf and mine.  Thank you to those of you who made a point to pray for me, I needed it, I was going nuts not being able to be there and take charge of the situation with my powers of cooking and baby caring and etc.  My heart was and is calmed by your thoughts in my direction!

Many many blessings to all, and PRAISE GOD! NATHAN IS HOME!!

I am not a morning person!  I am grumpy and sometimes very unpleasant to be around before 8am...and I woke up in Jack's bed this morning.  Snuggling wasn't on Jack's list of things to do, so I grumped out of bed and realized, my friend Beth has probably been up for hours already in New York, going about her horrible reality of her husband and father of her four children in the ICU.  Suddenly, I am sort of ok with being up and going about my regular stuff.  Eating my Elvis Toast (peanut butter and banana) and contemplating going to the gym.  Now that it's two minutes away, I don't have to leave 20 minutes early to drop Jack in the Child Care.  I can just poke around until 10 min before and then go.  At least if I pack my bag the night before...

So, yes, I'm thankful for my life right now and the ability to move through it in a normal that I've chosen for us.  Even if it means an early wake up in a bed that isn't my own.  At least I can wake up, in my own house in my own town, with my kids and my husband. (Well Hubby had to leave early to take MIL into Seattle to catch the train, but...usually he's home this early.)

Beth posted yesterday that she's feeling our support for her, but that she doesn't feel like she's as Strong as we're giving her credit for.  That she can't think of a life with out Nathan and what it would mean for her an the kids.  That she can't stand living beyond the moment.  Reading that broke my heart all over again.  My Grief counseling training works better on people I don't know.  I just keep reassuring her that I'm not going to quit praying for them ever.

In my last post I mentioned that Nathan was well loved, and my Blog Friend H, proved it.  I've never met her, but we're friends on FB, and she let me know that people she knows, that I don't know are posting about Nathan and his family on FB.  I'm reasonably sure that Nathan doesn't know H. So I'm currently getting a small amount of entertainment calling Nathan "Kevin Bacon"  (Look up 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon if the funny isn't funny to you)

Ok, I need to de-stink myself and my child so we can go to the gym and then to his "Great Play" class. Talk about FUN!!!!! I love that place! I get to bounce around and play right along with him!

Many of you are friends of mine on Facebook, and have seen my numerous posts about my dear friend Nathan Shoultz and his current fight for life.  But I forget that you are probably a. not friends with Nathan on Facebook, nor are you friends with my friends who are all fully invested in praying for him, or his family who post more specific updates than I do.

Who is Nathan?  Nathan is the Dad to four amazing little children, and husband to my friend Beth.  They are the ones I wrote about in This Post and the few around it.  We don't travel across country for just anyone.  They are most precious to us, we planted our family tree so close to theirs, that our roots intertwine.  They are friends, but truly they are adopted family.  They grow in our hearts the way Jack does.

So, here's the gist of what's going on, and a link to Nathan's blog where his friend John Armstrong is updating twice a day or so.  On Monday Nathan suffered a traumatic stroke, which cut off the branch of the posterior cerebral artery to the left side of his brain. Actually it was the left carotid artery(a very interesting post on this is on Nathan's Blog), I was going on my limited anatomy of the head and neck from Dental School, further proof I don't know everything!  It has damaged a great deal of the left side of his brain.  It's really very "dicey" as his brother West says.

While he's out of "Danger" he's still healing and it's uncertain medically that he will regain the robust health he once enjoyed.  I think they're trying to be positive, and not tell us everything the doctors tell them, but based on my limited medical background, the prognosis is not great.

The good news is this: He is a Christian, and has literally thousands of people praying for him, and for his family and friends.  We're praying for a miracle.  Most of us have assumed a pretty continuous attitude of prayer.  We're metaphorically text bombing the Throne Room of God, and Spamming the Inbox as well.

Would you consider joining our efforts?  Even if you are not a Christian, your positive thoughts and concern are welcome.  Those of you who are without faith, consider putting aside your disbelief, or doubts or what ever you'd like to call it and pray for this amazing family, who would pray for you and give you what ever they could, and love you for exactly who you are.  Because no one meets the Shoultzes and remains the same.  They are the kind of people who affect and effect change in the people they meet.  They've changed me, they've inspired me, they've loved me through hard times, and I encourage you to read his blog and allow their overall "Sweetness" to invade your life.  Even if it's just for the next few days. Try it Here at Nathan's Blog.

Tis the Season for Hope, Peace, Joy, and MIRACLES!!!!

Write about Adoption and Being Afraid OA Round Table

Open Adoption Round Table Question #31

Fear.  If I said I didn't feel some sort of it surrounding adoption everyday I'd be lying.

Adoption fears fall under several categories in my life: Fear of the Process, Fear of Openness, Fear of Infertility, Fear of Jack Being Hurt, Fear of the Future, Fear of Doing It Wrong.

The Fear of the Process is actually first. Logically Fear of Infertility would be first, but no, not in my head.  I wanted to adopt before I found out I "had" to.  But the process seemed mysterious, daunting and downright scary.  Even contemplating our second adoption after successful travels last time, is scary.

Fear of openness, this is something that began as "I am afraid the birthfamily will want to be involved." It morphs into a fear of "What if they never want to be involved?"  How does this happen?  You meet them, you are given an amazing blessing and then you watch that blessing turn into a person, and you WANT the birthfamily to see it.  How fantastic this little life is.  Sure, there are exceptions to this, some birthfamilies are really not safe, but then you are afraid they never will be, and won't ever be able to see their child again.  To see how awesome and wonderful they are.

When I was 16 I was told I had PCOS, and the Dr. was pretty stupid and said, "You'll want to have children early."  I began to cry.  I was ALREADY 16.  She felt dumb and said, "I meant before 30."
"oh." Then I got to feel stupid.  As my marriage began at 21 I figured I had time.  We were SOOOO careful in those first years.  Looking back, they may have been my most fertile.  When our lives finally got to a point where we thought we could manage a child, I was 25 and we began  "not blocking nature"  That was when I got really scared, what if I couldn't do it.  Did that mean I was a failure?  What did that mean in regard to my LOVE of children and my DESIRE to be a mom?  Was God going to withhold my dreams?  I look at Jack and KNOW He was just making them come true His way.  Nothing I could put together in my womb would have been him.  I still get anxious about infertility.  I still feel sort of defective, and people don't understand why having Jack doesn't make me healed.  And I don't know how to really effectively explain it, nor do I wish to, except here on my blog I try to sometimes.

As a mom, I am fearful that someone will tell Jack that I am not his "REAL" mom.  People say it often, he has no idea what that means, but when I ask people to never say that in his presence again, they get all huffy.  "You said you were going to tell him about the adoption, did you change your mind?"  This kills me.  I did not decide to lie to my child.  That does not mean I want you to tell him your version of the truth.

I am the only mother he knows, how is that not real?  I am not pretending to be his mom, I didn't steal him.  I worry that people will get to him before I can. Which leads to Fear of the Future and Doing it wrong.

Even though I tell him about his story all the time, I worry that he'll believe someone else. That he will think I lied to him.  That he won't love me as much if I have to explain to him that I've always been his mother, that that is what is real.  That it is other people who just don't get it.  That if I've not done this right he will not love me in the future.  And that is my deepest darkest most terrible fear.

My friend who is a biological mom, says she fears the same thing, that if she's not done her mothering right that her daughter will not love her.  So maybe we mothers are all the same.

So, I did a Mud run for my first 5k ever. A mud run has mud pits and other obstacles... I did all but one of the obstacles and finished in just over an hour. If I'd known it was only 8 minutes and 20 seconds, I might have run a little more...but hey, it was my first time and I'm not really done with my Couch to 5K training and I'd never ever run outside before...except at women's retreat for like 15 minutes until I got all spider webby...eeew. The run I did was called HELL RUN! Before:

AFTER:

I had fun at a run, who ever would have thought that? I hated running my whole life, probably because I'm not fast, I don't have very good wind, and I used to hate sweating...and people are judgmental in High School and it's all about being better than someone else. Now that I'm into my 30's I just don't care and I want Jack to learn by example how much fun sports of all kinds can be. And that winning isn't the only fun part. Most of the time participating with friends, and having fun doing the event is where the real value is. I had a great time! oh and I finished in 1:08:20 with Jack's half brother Sammy's Mother at my side. We call ourselves "Outlaws" because we aren't In-laws, but we're more than friends and family connected by Adoption, but there is no law for what we are...we're outside the law.

My Review of Stay-Put Inflatable Bed Rail Set

Originally submitted at One Step Ahead

So, you want soft, secure bed bolsters, but you don't want to fuss with anchor straps? Try our inflatable, under-the-bedding bumpers - the only ones with anti-slip flocking! No straps needed; your fitted sheet holds the bed guards in place. Plus, you get two inflatable bed rails for the price o...

Stay-Put Inflatable Bed Rail Set

Works like a charm!

By Kelley C. from Seattle, WA on 9/20/2011

 

4out of 5

Pros: Lightweight, Useful, Easy To Install

Best Uses: Toddlers

Describe Yourself: First Time Parent

My son loves these! no more thumping or whacking hard crib rails in the middle of the night, and waking up. He can safely climb over them, but they keep him securely in bed with out worry of rolling out. AND they're portable unlike the foam type bumpers sold elsewhere.

I have a very tall toddler who grew out (and climbed out) of his crib at 21 months. The toddler bed was really not an option for his height, and I wasn't very fond of the expandable beds at Ikea. These bumpers were my AHA! moment.

These bumpers work well when placed under the mattress pad, or a very tight sheet. They tend to slide a little if the bedding is loose or stretchy. My son sleeps securely through the night and so do we!

Jack's Bed

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