Heather Messick

The Tooth Hero!

2012-01-31T08:32:00.000-08:00

Saturday night was a very exciting night at the Messick house. I was taking Victoria to the restroom before putting her to bed and Elyssa and Natalie were in their room playing. Moments later, I heard Elyssa screaming ... "Momma ... Momma!" She came running in the bathroom and blood was streaming from her mouth. I quickly got Victoria dressed and then had Elyssa lean her face over the sink so the blood could flow into the sink. I turned the faucet on and was trying to gently splash water on her mouth. I asked Elyssa what happened. She said that Natalie had kicked her in the mouth and that her tooth fell out. Her tooth had been very loose for some time now. Her tooth was barely hanging onto the gum and I told her to go ahead and grab the tooth and pull it out. It came out very easily and Elyssa placed the bloody tooth on the countertop in the bathroom. I was yelling for Mark to come to the bathroom so he could see what was going on, but he didn't come initially. He was on his phone and then was helping Natalie get some paper towels for Elyssa's mouth. I imagine, too, that he wasn't too eager to see all of the bloody goo coming from Elyssa's mouth anyway.

After Natalie brought me some paper towels, I grabbed them and told Elyssa to hold it over her gum where it was bleeding. Elyssa was pretty freaked out at seeing so much blood. She's never seen anything quite like that before. Mark eventually entered the bathroom and asked to see the tooth. We looked on the countertop and it was nowhere to be found! I knew it was there at one point because I saw Elyssa place it there. I had no idea what had happened to it. So, now that Elyssa wasn't bleeding all over the place, our attention focused on trying to find the lost tooth. I was so upset that this was Elyssa's first tooth to lose and now it was lost.

We asked Natalie if she had seen it and come to find out, Natalie picked up the tooth and placed it in the paper towels that I had grabbed to put on Elyssa's mouth. Natalie started crying when she realized that she may have lost the tooth. So, here was Natalie crying ... us searching the bathroom like crazy ... Elyssa looking in her bloody paper towel for the tooth ... Elyssa was crying because she thought she wouldn't get anything from the Tooth Fairy without her having her tooth! It was a frantic atmosphere. But, we couldn't find the tooth anywhere!

I told Mark that maybe we just needed to get over the fact that we will not be able to have a tooth to put in Elyssa's Tooth Fairy pillow. I know it sounds silly, but Mark and I were so sad that Elyssa's first ever tooth to fall out was lost forever!

I had Elyssa write the Tooth Fairy a letter. She told the Tooth Fairy that she had lost her first tooth, but she was still asking for money!

I decided to try and get the girls all in the bed and give up the search. Natalie eventually fell asleep and I had Elyssa in the bed. She had not yet fallen asleep. I was in Victoria's room patting her on the back ... trying to get her to sleep, when I heard a noise in the bathroom. It sounded like Mark was sawing the drain pipes in the bathroom off to find the tooth. I went into the bathroom, followed by Elyssa and Victoria and there was Mark with our Dyson vacuum cleaner. He had made some sort of tube contraption on the end of the vacuum cleaner and had sucked Elyssa's tooth out of the drain! He was standing there as proud as could be holding her tooth. I felt like I was looking at a hero! I couldn't believe he was able to recover the tooth. I just knew it was gone forever!

We were so excited that Elyssa was going to be able to put her tooth in her special tooth pillow that night after all! Mark is our "Tooth Hero!"

Here is a copy of Elyssa's new letter to the Tooth Fairy, after we found the tooth!

Just A Swingin'!

2012-01-23T20:09:00.000-08:00

This video of Victoria was taken recently at my parent's house. She loves playing on the swing set they have in their yard! This is just proof, once again, that special needs children can do just as much as a "normal" child in many cases.

Always place value on each little life! Even the life that isn't labeled as "normal" can be the biggest blessing to you!

Thankful Hearts

2011-11-28T09:13:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all! The Messick family had a wonderful holiday week last week and I wanted to share a few of the photos we took.

I am so thankful for my husband and girls! They are such a blessing to my life. God has been so good to our family and we praise Him for always being so faithful to us.

I pray you all had a great holiday and took a few moments out of your schedule to thank the Lord for all of His blessings!

School Is Here!

2011-09-07T06:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe summer has already ended and school is back in full swing! Here are some updates on how the kiddos are doing!

My oldest, Elyssa, is in 1st grade and we are finding that homework for Elyssa has definitely increased from last year. I think Elyssa is better at times at getting her homework done, but then on other occasions she has little breakdowns. She'll cry and say, "I don't want to do any more work!" She asks me why she is the only one having to do homework. She wants to know why Natalie doesn't have homework. I'll remind her that when she was 4-years-old that she didn't have homework either. It is amazing how a 2-minute reading assignment can drag out into a 30-minute ordeal! Ah, the drama that comes with this girl!

My middle daughter, Natalie, is in 4K and loving it. Natalie comes home, makes pallets all over her bedroom floor and puts babies on all of them. She will turn out the lights and turn on lullaby music. She will tell all of her babies to go to sleep and she even takes names of the babies that talk out of turn! Attention, Mrs. March! Natalie must mimic everything you do when she gets home! Ha! We have already seen in Natalie a natural-born teacher!

Our special little girl, Victoria, is in an inclusive Pre-K class in the public elementary school. Victoria is the only child in the class with Downs so far. The other children either have autism or learning disabilities. There may be a child or two in the classroom that are considered "typical" children. Victoria has already stolen the hearts of her teachers, principal, cafeteria workers ... pretty much everyone at the school! Victoria is still so tiny, so it is funny to see her walking down the school hallway to her class with a backpack on her back. She has quickly gotten into the routine of her class. She unpacks her backpack when she enters the classroom and quickly goes to her seat. She sees an Occupational Therapist and Speech Therapist at school and is progressing, but at a slower rate.

Mark and I have had the privilege of going into Victoria's classroom on Fridays and leading the kids in a fun music time. We have really enjoyed being able to be a small part of what goes on in the classroom and hope to leave the kids with some fun memories from this year.

To conclude this update, we want to give a big "thank you" to all of the wonderful teachers helping our kids along in their learning journey! You are all a blessing to us!!

"Momma!"

2011-06-17T20:53:00.000-07:00

When Victoria was born with Down syndrome, I was told that many things about her (speech, mental and physical abilities) would be delayed. For a new mother of a special needs child, this was devastating. I wondered how I would cope with seeing Victoria pass the "normal" milestones that typical children master so easily without a hint of her being close to performing those same activities anytime soon.

One thing that continually grieved me was that Victoria had not ever been able to say my name. She had turned 3-years-old in March and had never uttered "Momma." I know Mark felt such joy and pride that Victoria had been able to say "Da Da" shortly after she turned 2-years-old and I was proud for him. But, boy! I longed to hear my little girl call to me when she needed me to meet her needs. I began to wonder how long it would take her to finally say my name. As time passed, I wondered ... "Will she ever be able to say Momma?" I held out hope that her tiny mouth would be able to eventually process the sounds.

I am happy to report that soon after Victoria's 3rd birthday I began hearing what I thought to be her saying "Baah Baah." I wasn't sure if she was really attempting to call to me with that verbalization or not. But, with time I could see that she grew in confidence as she spoke directly to me using those "words." I told Mark, "I think that is her way of saying 'Momma!'"

As every day passes, I know for a fact that Victoria is saying my name. Like when she climbs up on top of the tall stainless garbage can in the pantry and forcefully yells, "Baah Baah" over and over until I come grab whatever snack she is reaching for. Or, when I get out of the car to pump gas into the gas tank and I see her waving heartily at me through the window, yelling, "Baah Baah" to get my attention.

What a joy it is to see Victoria realizing that speech is a powerful way to communicate things she needs or wants! I wondered if I would ever see this day come! I was praying and holding out hope that it would. The God who formed precious Victoria has given her a voice and He is helping her slowly put sounds into a few words that we can now understand. What an awesome process it is to witness!

God has been very gracious to me. He has helped me through every phase of Victoria's life so far, accepting that she'll eventually get where she needs to be. And, when Victoria does meet each milestone, it isn't without hard work on her part and a big celebration on the part of her family!

PS - I've attached a video of Victoria saying "Momma." Enjoy and celebrate with us!

Where Is My Shoe?

2011-05-24T22:02:00.000-07:00

Things in the Messick household frequently go missing these days. Right now I cannot find my left tennis shoe (which is a nice tennis shoe, mind you!) or my toothbrush. Most every day we find items in the trash can that somehow were deposited there. Or, we find items misplaced in other drawers in the kitchen.

What is the reason for this phenomenon? Who is the little guilty party of all of these strange disappearances and happenings in our home? Well, we have a special little gal named Victoria Jayne who is the culprit!

Victoria has a thing for our cabinets, drawers, garbage cans and pantry these days. The only thing I can figure is that maybe Victoria is feeling "big-time" now that she is tall enough to reach drawers and shelves in the house. She is constantly opening drawers, raiding the pantry and pulling items out of place. It is a big job to keep the house in any type of order ... which doesn't happen very often!

To date, I cannot tell you how many pieces of silverware or utensils that I "may have" thrown away by mistake! And, I can only assume that maybe my good tennis shoe found its way into our big kitchen garbage can and I may have thrown it out without realizing it was in there.

Oh well! I guess one day my house will find order again and in the meantime these little mishaps give me good reason to go shopping!

9 Years Already?

2011-05-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

I want to say a simple "Happy Anniversary" to my wonderful husband of 9 years! On May 4, 2002, Mark and I said our "I do's" and it has been a full journey of life together ever since!

In our 9 years together, we have served at the same church in Saraland, AL (First Baptist North Mobile), which is a big part of our life. We have loved being a part of that ministry!

We were blessed to have 3 little girls (in 33 months) that we adore.

Our first sweet girl came in 2005 and we named her Elyssa.

Our second little girl came in 2007 and we named her Natalie.

We entered the world of the "special needs community" when we had our third little girl in 2008. We named her Victoria.

In 2008, our youngest girl, Victoria, had open-heart surgery and you better believe that draws a couple closer because of the emotional nature of such a surgery.

Along the way, God has blessed Mark with many speaking engagements. He is a wonderful communicator!

God has also opened up lots of opportunities for me in the way of speaking and singing engagements at women's events.

It has been so wonderful to share in some of these engagements together as a couple. We experience so much joy through encouraging others and reminding them that God loves them and wants to walk with them in a personal way on their journey of life. We would've never have imagined how wonderfully God could take everything we have experienced as a couple and as parents and use it to minister to others.

We have had our ups and downs as any other couple does in marriage, but we know that God had a plan in placing us together. We have laughed together, cried together, been overweight together! You name it and we have probably experienced it! But, through the past 9 years we have just been thankful to be able to experience life together!

Happy Anniversary, Mark Douglas Messick! I love you!

A First Time For Everything

2011-04-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

This week I had the opportunity to minister to a sweet group of ladies in Camden, AL. Their annual event called "A Day In Spring" took place on Thursday and I was asked to come as the guest singer/speaker for the event. I shared my testimony of being a mother of a child with special needs and how faithful God has been to our family. To conclude my speaking session with the ladies, I sang my video song about Victoria ("She Is God's Child"). For a while now I've really wanted Elyssa (Victoria's older sister) to sing the first verse and chorus of the song with me. When I wrote the song, it was always my intention for Victoria's sisters to eventually sing the song with me in that way. Well, Thursday was the very first time that Elyssa sang the song with me in a public setting and it was absolutely precious. As a matter of fact, most of the women were already crying by the time Elyssa finished the first chorus of the song. It was so special for me to share this experience with Elyssa. I look forward to her doing this more with me in the future! And, Natalie (my middle daughter) is already asking when she'll be able to sing with us! So, she'll probably be up there with Elyssa soon singing right along!

I feel so privileged to share the gift of music with ALL of my daughters! And, not only am I able to share the gift of music with them ... I'm sharing the truth of God's love and faithfulness with them at the same time!

PS - I'm including a video of Elyssa singing her portion of "She Is God's Child" from the sound check we had on Thursday morning so you can hear how great she did!

It's A Small World

2011-04-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

On our recent visit to Disney's Magic Kingdom we, of course, had to visit the It's A Small World ride! We had two of our three little girls with us, so we actually had to ride it twice! The first time we rode the ride, the girls were enamored with it. It was one of their favorite rides and it was one of the first rides they actually rode upon us entering the Magic Kingdom for the day.

Mark and I will never forget the couple of comments our oldest little girl (5 1/2 years) made while on that ride. Here are her comments:

Elyssa's First Comment:

"The people are singing and so happy because they are celebrating Jesus' birth!"

Elyssa's Second Comment:

(The girls saw all of the coins people had tossed into the water on the ride and wanted to toss in a penny each and make a wish.)

"My wish was that Jesus would be my Lord and Savior forever and ever!"

Elyssa's Third Comment:

"Natalie's wish was that she would be a mermaid."

Elyssa's Fourth Comment:

"Natalie's wish won't come true, but my wish WILL come true!"

We had a good laugh over the mermaid comment! But, you know ... we are amazed sometimes at the spiritual things our children say. It is in those moments that we realize ... they really do glean things from church and hopefully, from Mark and me.

Ministering With Family

2011-04-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Mark and I had the priviledge of ministering at my brother's church (First Baptist Church of Mount Dora) in Florida. Mark was the guest speaker at their Disciple Now and I helped my brother, Alan, with the worship music for the event. We had a great time being with their church family.

Alan also asked me to share my testimony and several songs with the church family in the worship service on Sunday morning. The people there were such a blessing to us.

We left a few days before the weekend events we had planned at the church so we could enjoy some time with Elyssa and Natalie at a few of the Disney parks. It was their first time to visit the parks and we all had a wonderful time! My parents were gracious enough to keep Victoria for us while we were out of town. We knew it would be such a busy week and weekend. It would've really tired Victoria out.

God moved in a powerful way this weekend and we felt so blessed to be able to minister with my brother and his family!

What A Wonderful Life!

2011-03-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

As I sit at my computer tonight, I still cannot believe I am now 39! Thirty-nine years have flown by. If I were to be honest, I've actually reflected over those years today in an act of counting my blessings. Here is a little bit of the recount I've had of my years.

I was born on March 13th, 1972. I weighed 6lbs 1oz and was 19 inches long. My parents gave me the name Heather Christine.

I grew up in a wonderful family. My mom and dad were both very musical. My mom sang and played the piano for our church for 30 years. My dad sang and played guitar and harmonica. My mom MADE me, my sister and brother sing three-part harmony when we were very young kids. We hated all of that practice, but now we look back and are so thankful that our mom invested that time in us. I remember that our family would get together with several other families in our church and we would have "singings" for several hours on a weekend night. Those were fun memories.

I attended the same Missionary Baptist church for all of my young life (up until graduating college). I was very active in all of the choirs and ensembles there. I also taught youth and college classes when I WAS a youth and college aged person! And, I made some of the best friends growing up in that church.

It was in high school that I started singing in show choirs. That was a wonderfully, fun experience! I wanted nothing more than to be just like my high school chorus teacher. I loved high school and was voted class favorite every year (which amazed me because I was so quiet back then).

I look back now and laugh at a high school photo of me and my brother from my senior Sweetheart Dance (I was voted queen). I guess whoever took the photo didn't realize that I took my brother to the dance with me. The quote under our photo was, "For Heather and her date, it was a night filled with romance!"

It was in my high school years that I invited Jesus Christ into my life. I knew that I wanted a personal relationship with the God who had created my life and all of the blessings that went along with it. I wanted Him to walk with me through the rest of my life and all that it held for me. That was the best decision I've ever made.

After high school, I took a year off to earn some money working at a Chiropractor's office. I started college in 1991. I LOVED college! I was in several college pageants, always winning second runner up and most of the time winning the talent portion of the competition. I sang in a scholarship group that traveled on the weekends for several years of my college career. I began having opportunities to do vocal studio work. I made wonderful friends in college that I keep up with even now. I even met my future husband, Mark, there (although we wouldn't marry for many years down the road). College was a wonderful experience for me. I obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Performance and a minor in English. I had the 5-year college plan and graduated in 1996.

After college, I took the summer off. Then, I auditioned for a full-time singing group called Wings of Morning. I traveled with that full-time group as a soprano singer and also as the groups musical director for about 5 or 6 months. I went back home after my short "road" experience to begin teaching voice lessons. I also acquired a job at Integrity Music. I taught voice and worked at Integrity for 9 1/2 years.

God began working in my heart regarding a solo ministry in music. On top of my two "jobs," God began opening doors for me to provide music for lots of women's events, youth events and church services. I recorded my first solo album called Wonder. All of the songs were original.

Mark and I reunited after 7 years of being apart. We married in May of 2002. We had our first little girl in July of 2005 ... our second little girl in January of 2007 and our third little girl in March of 2008. I had three little baby girls in a period of less than 3 years! Were we crazy or what? We have been blessed to have our wonderful little girls. Each of them is unique in their own way and we wouldn't trade any of them for the world. When we had our third little girl, our lives totally changed. We started walking a journey we didn't expect. We were now parents of a special needs child. But, God has walked with us every step of the way and we feel so blessed.

God has opened many doors for me to sing and speak at women's events again. I have found such peace and comfort in this renewed ministry in my life. I feel so blessed to be invited to speak into the lives of other women and encourage them on their own journeys. I recorded my second album recently called, Meet Us Here. About half of the songs on the album are original songs.

God has also given me lots of opportunities the past several years to do vocal studio work again, which I love!

And on top of that, I get to teach as an adjunct professor at a local college as a Commercial Voice Instructor. There is nothing better than being able to pour what you have learned over the years through experience and education into the next generation. It is very rewarding.
My husband and I have served at a wonderful church together for almost 9 years now. We have been so blessed by our church family through the years. We couldn't have asked for a better group of people to labor with for God's Kingdom.

Mark and I are getting ready to celebrate 9 years of marriage in May. We always say that we have gone through a lot in 9 years, but I wouldn't have wanted to experience those things with any other man on the planet! Mark is a wonderful husband, father and provider! He has always taken care of our family and I'm so thankful for him!

To conclude this brief little life history lesson, I can look back over the last 39 years and say ... "I have loved my life!" God has truly blessed me abundantly with wonderful friends and family and opportunities to use my gifts for Him. I see God's hand over and over again as a recount all of the blessings of the life He has given me. He has always been so faithful not only to me, but to my entire family.

I pray that whatever years God chooses to bless me with in the future ... that I serve Him with those years as best as I can!

Happy 39th Birthday to me! Thank you Lord, for a wonderful life!

Victoria Turns 3!

2011-03-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to our little blessing, Victoria Jayne! She is officially 3-years-old on March 10th.

Victoria is doing so many things now. She definitely is not limited physically when it comes to her gross motor skills. She is everywhere, doing everything! The only thing that limits her with her fine motor skills is her impatience with sitting still to do a task for more than 5 minutes at a time. But, we believe that will improve as she gets older.

Victoria's heart repair is still doing wonderfully, as reported by her cardiologist at her recent checkup at his office. We feel so thankful that he believes that she will never have to undergo any other open-heart surgeries EVER!

Victoria is really beginning to "communicate" so much now. Though she speaks "gibberish" most of the time, I can understand a few words she speaks from time to time. She takes after her mother in that she likes to "talk" with her hands! Sometimes, she speaks "gibberish" and moves her hands all over the place. I know she is trying to tell me something really important and I sure wish I knew what it was! I'm just glad that she is "trying" to communicate now.

Victoria will discontinue receiving therapy services from Early Intervention on March 10th and the public school system will take that over. Her new therapists will begin seeing her at the Mom's Day Out program that she is enrolled in. We decided to wait to start her in 3K until the fall, although she could go immediately when she turns 3. Victoria is so small yet and we want her to have a little more time to mature before starting school.

There are so many other things our little girl is accomplishing and we just feel thankful to witness little miracles every day! There is no doubt in our minds that we have, as a family, been given a gift. Living life with a special needs child is, indeed, very special. As a friend recently told me, "Anyone can have a 'normal' baby any day. But, we won the lottery! We were given a special child!"

For some reason God chose our family to receive this special gift and we live in wonder of His faithfulness to us!

Wonderful Article Online!

2011-02-04T15:37:00.000-08:00

Make sure you read The Alabama Baptist article about our family online at www.thealabamabaptist.org. It is the Top News Story on the front page!

Growing Up

2011-01-16T21:30:00.000-08:00

Victoria is now 34 1/2 months old! It is hard to believe that in March she will turn 3! At times, it feels that the almost three years we've had Victoria have flown by. Right after her birth, however, the time probably felt like it went slowly because of the transition we went through as a family.

We have seen Victoria progress in so many ways. Lately, she is really trying to communicate verbally more and more. I'm seeing her shape her mouth and tongue differently than I've ever seen her do before as she "speaks." She is exploring new sounds that her mouth can make. I've been praying more lately that God would help her in her speech and I definitely believe that my prayers are being answered.

I wanted to share a quick video showing Victoria "talking" to me tonight. I'm not always sure what she is trying to tell me, but I love that she is "speaking" with confidence and SHE knows what she wants to tell me!

Once again, I'm blown away at God's faithfulness. He has never failed to walk this faith-journey with our family!

A Dream?

2010-12-29T20:02:00.000-08:00

I was woken up in the middle of the night by a horrible stream of screams coming from the baby monitor in Elyssa and Natalie's room. I always said that Natalie could star in a horror flick as a star screamer and this middle-of-the-night episode confirmed that once again. Natalie was screaming and crying. I waited for a few seconds to see if she would calm herself down in case she was having a bad dream. She didn't, so I slowly woke myself up enough to crawl out of bed to head toward her room. Once I got to her room, I kneeled down by her bed and gently placed my hand on her shoulder in hopes to calm her. I asked her in a soft voice, "Natalie, are you okay?" Immediately, she responded very passionately ... "I WANT CHINESE!!"

Go figure!

The only thing I can come up with is that maybe Natalie was dreaming that we were at the mall and she was wanting to eat at the Chinese restaurant there. Needless to say, she gave me a good laugh although she woke me up from a very deep sleep!

The Playground

2010-12-18T07:30:00.000-08:00

I had just picked up Victoria from Mom's Day Out (at our church) and we walked over to our church's Christian School to wait for Elyssa and Natalie to get out for the day. Since we had some time to kill, Victoria and I went out onto a small playground that is right beside the school building so Victoria could play a little. Kathy, one of the the custodial staff at the school who just happens to have Downs, must have seen me and Victoria on the playground through the double-glass doors. She came out to the chain-length fence and said "hey" to us. Kathy LOVES to see Victoria (see my previous blog titled "She's Like Me" to get the full story on Kathy and Victoria's encounters). I walked Victoria over and told her to wave at Kathy. She blew her a kiss instead! Victoria went on playing and I stayed by the fence to talk to Kathy.

I was amazed at the depth of the conversation between Kathy and me during those few moments we talked. Kathy told me that she understood how I felt. She said that her mom went through the same things with her that I have gone through with Victoria. She said that her mom had therapists come to her house to work with her when she was little, too. She told me that she can do more than a lot of Downs folks can. She said she can hold a job and has for many years now. She said some "DS" people cannot do all that she can do. I told her that I knew that. I asked her if she was as active as Victoria when she was little. She laughed and said she probably was.

Next, she asked me something that I had to ask her to repeat. She speaks very clearly ... so it wasn't that I didn't understand what she said. I was just taken back by her question. She asked me what I thought of Victoria since she has Down syndrome. Can you imagine? A 30-year-old woman with Downs asking me how I felt about my own daughter because of her disability! I almost cried. I knew how, at one point when Victoria was first born, I felt sad to have a special needs child. I knew that I had grieved over having a child that was "different." I thought back to all of those emotional times as I thought through how to answer Kathy's question. I couldn't bring myself to tell Kathy about all of the thoughts I struggled through in those beginning days. But, Kathy's question made things come full circle for me. It made ME wonder ... how did Kathy feel knowing she was different as she was growing up? What types of emotions and thoughts did she or does she have about being a special needs child/adult? It made me realize, again, that I need to always be sure I build ALL of my children up with encouragement, even my special little girl. So ... after a ton of things flooded through my mind, I answered her. I said, "Well, I think Victoria is pretty special." I told her that I love her and know that she is a big blessing to our family.

It was a real ironic moment. I think God has allowed our family to have contact with Kathy to see all that Victoria CAN do. Not what she CAN'T do! I think the thing that I always have to remember on this journey is to push Victoria to be all she can be. I want to treat her as "normal" as possible. I want her to accomplish much in her life. I don't ever want her to make excuses for herself just because she has Down syndrome (and I don't ever think that will actually happen because our little girl is SO determined!).

I think I will be blown away by all that Victoria will accomplish in her lifetime. And, I know that I always want her to feel loved and treasured. I want to help her reach her goals and see great things for her life.

Nice in Nevada!

2010-11-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

Mark and I had such a great time at Green Valley Baptist Church in Nevada last weekend. Saturday, November 20th, I had the opportunity to sing and speak to the women at their Holiday Tea. It is always a blessing to hear the responses of women after I share of God's faithfulness in my life, even in the midst of difficult and life-changing circumstances!

On Sunday, I had the privilege to do a mini-concert in the three morning worship services. Dave Simpson, the Worship Pastor, wanted me to share a word of testimony that morning, as well, and requested that I share my song and video, "She Is God's Child." There were many sweet tears and many encouraged hearts that morning.

And, a very special moment that morning was when I was able to sing with Dave and his wife, Annette. We all were on staff at the same church at one time and sang together a lot during those years. So, we pulled out one of our favorite trio songs, "When He Comes Down." It was a powerful time of worship! (The photo you see of us here was taken during our rehearsal time on Saturday afternoon.)

Mark and I toured some of the area and enjoyed our time away. No trip is complete without a visit to Hoover Dam and Graceland Wedding Chapel to see Elvis!

Thanks again, Dave and Annette, for letting us come share with your church and for being such wonderful tour guides! We had a great time!

Elvis Lives On!

2010-11-19T20:40:00.000-08:00

Mark and I are enjoying time in Las Vegas this weekend with our wonderful friends, Dave and Annette Simpson. Dave is the Worship Pastor at Green Valley Baptist Church in Henderson, NV. I was blessed to speak and sing at the ladies' Holiday Tea and do a mini-concert on Sunday morning in all three of their worship services.

Dave and Annette have been showing us the town. One of the highlights of our trip has been to visit the Graceland Wedding Chapel on Las Vegas Boulevard. A member of Dave's church, Brendan Paul, owns the chapel and impersonates Elvis there. We had the best time meeting Brendan today! He put his Elvis outfit on for us and sang a song especially for Mark.

Take a look! I think this will make your day!

Sunday Singin' and Talkin'!!

2010-11-07T20:44:00.000-08:00

Victoria did a great job "singing" some songs for me (signing them while I sang them) and saying a few things for me tonight. Just wanted to share these cute videos with all of you!

"She Is God's Child" Uploaded!

2010-11-02T10:50:00.000-07:00

A new version of my video song "She Is God's Child" has been uploaded to YouTube (www.youtube.com) and Vimeo (www.vimeo.com). Just type in the title "She Is God's Child" and it will bring it right up for you! Please share it with your family and friends!

The Walmart Walk

2010-10-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

After I picked up Victoria from Mom's Day Out yesterday, I thought we might have a few minutes to take a quick trip to Walmart to grab a few items I had on a small grocery list. I loaded Victoria into the van and we went just a mile or less down the road to our local Walmart. It is sad, but Victoria KNOWS when we are getting close to Walmart. She begins to grunt to make sure I know that she KNOWS we are close to "Wally-World." She expects me to turn into the entrance and if I don't, well ... she grunts in contempt that I'm passing up one of her favorite places to visit!

As I turned into the entrance of Walmart, I began to realize that I, in fact, didn't have time to get everything on my list and began to turn around in the parking lot, opting to visit Walmart the next day. Victoria realized that I was moving further away from the store entrance and began grunting in protest. I giggled after hearing her "voice" her opinion! I decided to just go in through the garden center and only get two of the items on my list since I needed to pick my other two girls up from school shortly. At least Victoria would be able to make a quick trip in to get "Walmart" out of her system!

I usually plop Victoria in the seat of a buggy so I can keep up with her easily in the store. She can walk VERY well now and could definitely handle walking all over that store, but there is no way I could get any shopping done. On this day, however, I decided since I only would get a few items from my list ... I thought I'd let her walk through the store with me, holding my hand. I've not ever done this before, mind you! Victoria was so giddy as she walked through the store with me! It was quite funny. She would laugh and run in place because she was so excited. She felt like such a "big girl." She waved at every single person that crossed our path and talked to almost every one of those folks. Of course, everyone laughed or smiled at how cute she was and waved back at her.

I remember when Victoria was a newborn. One of the things that I grieved over was the thought that we would now be a family that folks stare at when we walk into Walmart or some public place because we have a child that looks different. Yesterday, as we walked through Walmart, I felt such joy holding Victoria's hand. I felt proud to be her momma. I bubbled up inside seeing her bring smiles to those around her. And, I felt blessed. Blessed to know that God has given me and my family such a special gift.

With every passing day and every trip to a public place ... I come to treasure those moments. I think, "What in the world was I grieving over??" I now look forward to the times that Victoria gets special attention from strangers we meet. I realize that God uses those moments to minister to people around us. Not only can my "special" little girl bring smiles to passers by, but it gives me and my family an open door to show those around us a little of God's love.

I'm so thankful that God continues to disprove all the myths I had looming in my head about raising a child with special needs. And, I'm glad that anytime I have a bad day ... I can grab Victoria up and drive to Walmart to take a walk (without buying a single thing) ... and I'll feel better by the time we walk out the door to go home!

Buddy Walking with Victoria

2010-10-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day it was for a Buddy Walk at Hank Aaron Stadium with our precious little Victoria! There were hundreds of folks in attendance and we all walked in honor of someone special in our lives.

I remember being nervous about going to the Buddy Walk last year. It was the first time I had ever attended that event. It was also the first time I had been around so many folks with Down syndrome in my life. I think I was nervous about seeing what Victoria might grow up to be like. It was another event that caused me to remember that my child was not "normal" and that she, indeed, had special needs.

This year, however, I was excited to be a part of such a lovely event. God has really softened my heart towards special needs individuals and their families. I realize that all of us parents just want our kids to be accepted and loved. There was such a moving moment for me during this year's Buddy Walk. As we rounded the field ending our first lap and beginning on our second, there were volunteers that were lined up along the sidelines clapping and cheering on all of the walkers. I had signs that we held up that said, "Walking in honor of Victoria Jayne." The volunteers read the signs and cheered for Victoria. They said, "Yeah, Victoria! Go Victoria! Great job, Victoria!" I about lost it. I realized that they were doing what I pray that people will do for Victoria every day of her life. They were cheering her on and supporting her. What a powerful picture of acceptance! That is all the parent of a special needs child wants ... for their child to be loved, encouraged and embraced.

I cannot tell you the love I felt toward all the little Downs kids I saw. I just wanted to hug them all! And, on top of that ... I wanted to hug all of the parents and let them know how special they are to love their kids the way they do!

This is an interesting journey I'm on and I'm enjoying it more and more every day. I realize that I've changed in the process. In walking down this path of faith, God has given me an even greater desire to minister to those who find themselves in situations that they would've never dreamed up for themselves. Maybe they are not sure why they have been placed where they are, but friends, God has a wonderful plan! They may not always see the hope in that plan, but it IS there! And, my prayer is that all of us are brought closer into a "real" relationship with our Lord because of our journeys!

Jeremiah 29:11 "'For I KNOW the plans I have for you,' says the Lord. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope!'"

Jesus Loves Me!

2010-10-07T19:41:00.001-07:00

Victoria recently surprised Mark and me when we were eating lunch after church one Sunday. Mark was asking Elyssa and Natalie some of the things they learned in Sunday School. The "Bible Point" they were taught that day was that "God Loves Me." Mark quoted the "God Loves ..." part and wanted them to fill in the word, "Me." Well, as soon as Mark could get the words out of his mouth, Victoria blurted out (in her own way), "Me" and pointed to herself. I was blown away. I guess I didn't realize that she had learned that in her Sunday School class, too. We had never heard her say, "me" before so it was such a fun moment for us! You just never know what even your "special" little kids pick up! I felt so proud of her! She's a smart little cookie!

I recorded Victoria while I sang "Jesus Loves Me" the other day and wanted to share this cute video with you. If this doesn't bless your heart ... well, I don't know what will! (Also note her sign language of "Jesus" in the song.)

Buddy Walk

2010-09-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

It's that time again! The annual Buddy Walk is here again! If you would like to walk or donate in my little Victoria Jayne's honor, please visit her Buddy Walk page at:

www.syssolutions.com/fr/dssmc/2010buddywalk/VictoriaJayne

Late Night with Victoria Jayne!

2010-09-06T20:03:00.001-07:00

Tonight Victoria talked and talked while being in her bed ... at bedtime ... in the dark. I kept waiting on her to go to sleep and she just wouldn't. So, I went in to check on her. I changed her diaper and thought maybe that would do the trick. She kept signing "eat" to me, so I figured I'd give her a little something to eat. "Maybe she just didn't eat enough supper," I thought. So, I gave her a little Gerber cereal bar and some milk. I brushed her teeth AGAIN and then she wanted to walk around the house. She was full of energy at 9:30pm, mind you! She was so cute. I took a short video of her and couldn't help but want to share it with all of you! Hope you enjoy seeing her growth and progress! She is quite a character!

Gene Stallings

2010-08-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful honor it was to meet Gene Stallings tonight! Some of you may know him as a great past coach of the Alabama college football team. In my family ... we are avid Alabama football fans, so we have known who Gene Stallings is for quite a while.

Coach Stallings came into town this weekend to speak at our church (First Baptist North Mobile) on Sunday morning for our "Every Sunday Is Game Day" kickoff. My husband, Mark, picked Coach Stallings up from the airport and as they drove he began to tell him about our little girl, Victoria. This, of course, was a very special conversation due to the fact that Coach Stallings had a son with Downs named Johnny.

Mark drove Coach Stallings to meet a small group of folks for dessert. I was among the few there and thoroughly enjoyed meeting Coach Stallings. He asked me right away how my little girl was doing. He shared many encouraging words with me that night concerning having a child with special needs. He hugged and kissed me on the cheek twice that night. He was such a sweet man. He wanted to make sure that I brought Victoria to meet him the next morning at church.

The next morning, Coach Stallings spoke at North Mobile and was swarmed by a slew of folks after the service was over. I managed to get to him and introduced him to Victoria. Without saying a word, he handed his Bible to Mark, immediately grabbed Victoria from my arms and kissed and hugged her. It was not only moving to me, but I believe it was for him, as well. You see, he lost his son Johnny several years ago and misses him so much.

I was very encouraged this weekend by a very special man. If you haven't read Coach Stallings' book, Another Season, I strongly encourage you to. It is an amazing account of his past football career intermingled with the struggles and joys of having a child with special needs in the family. You can find the book at www.amazon.com/Another-Season-Gene-Stallings/dp/0767902556.

Terrible Two's!

2010-07-24T19:17:00.001-07:00

Victoria turned 2 in March and is still a really pleasant child. She is pretty determined at times, but she continues to remain a very sweet and innocent girl. Our challenge with her is the fact that she is so physically capable of doing anything now! She has been able to climb up on the tall bar chairs in our kitchen, as well as any other chairs/couches that are lower than those. One day I walked into my bathroom for about 3 minutes to finish fixing my hair and Elyssa came running to me yelling out my name. She said it was an emergency that I should come right away. I went quickly with her into the kitchen where I saw Victoria STANDING on top of our breakfast table. I totally freaked out! I couldn't believe she was able to get up there. I immediately got her down and locked her in the bathroom with me until I was able to finish my hair. I have realized recently that I cannot take my eyes off of her for very long at all now.

I recently took my active little girl for her first haircut and here is a photo of her new "doo!" If you ask me, she is a doll!

Even though she keeps me on my toes, her "Terrible Two's" are still a joy!

Dancing Around!

2010-06-17T10:24:00.001-07:00

Victoria is growing so fast! Although she turned 2 in March and still only wears 18-month clothing ... she is doing some big girl things!

I recently put in a DVD that we purchased during our week of VBS at the church. I put it in for the girls to listen to and caught Victoria raising her arms up at the exact point in the song that the dancers in the video prompt you to do. I was amazed!

More and more I see that Victoria "gets it!" There have been moments that I wondered if she really understood things. As I see her grow I find myself constantly amazed at all she DOES know and understand.

She is picking up sign language that I teach her right and left. If I were more consistent in adding new signs more quickly, she would know much more than she does know! She is such a smart girl.

God has truly given us a gift! And, just as Victoria raises her arms in praise songs as she watches her VBS DVD ... I find myself doing the same as I praise God for letting me see so many miracles in Victoria's little life!

Meet Us Here

2010-06-03T22:10:00.000-07:00

I would love to invite all of you to purchase a copy of my brand-spankin'-new CD! It is called Meet Us Here. I believe you would be blessed by it!

Five of the eleven songs are original songs that I wrote. One song, in particular, is very special to me. It is a song that I wrote about my "special" child, Victoria. The song is called "She Is God's Child."

Another song I wrote, "Great God," is receiving local airplay. You can hear it played on Power 88 (88.5 FM), if you are local. If you are not, it will be featured on Power 88's "Local Artist Spotlight" myspace page in the next day or so. Visit that page at: www.myspace.com/power88local.

If you would like to order or download a digital copy of Meet Us Here, you can do so at www.cdbaby.com/heathermessick. You can hear samples of each song on that website, as well.

Happy Listening!

A Night Of Blessings

2010-05-08T04:58:00.000-07:00

Thursday night was Ladies Night Out at First Baptist North Mobile. I was the guest singer/speaker for the event. It was a night full of blessings for me.

What a unique opportunity it was for me to share at Ladies Night Out. You see, First Baptist North Mobile is my home church. Some of the ladies present for the event have seen me "live out" the journey that I've been on. They see me and my family in all of our disfunctional-ness (I'm sure that is not a real word!) on a daily basis. They have known Victoria from birth and have prayed her through many physical struggles. So, I felt honored to be able to share with those ladies in this sort of setting.

I was also able to share with a diverse group of women. There were women present who have struggled with substance abuse, women who had children with special needs (and some brought their "special" children with them), women who had completely different struggles that sometimes carry those burdens secretly and women who had come from other churches just because they were curious about what I would say. What a blessing for me to be able to share with all of them.

I was blown away by all of the women who came up to speak to me before the event started. I saw one lady who I met a month or so ago in Springhill Hospital. When Victoria was in the hospital with pneumonia, this sweet lady was in the same unit with her 22-year-old quadriplegic son who was sick, as well. We talked and cried together in the hospital about the griefs and joys we have experienced as mothers of special needs kids. How awesome that she would want to come and hear me share my story at North Mobile.

I also saw a woman at Ladies Night Out that I met almost 2 years ago at a Breakfast For Santa event that AIDB put on for the "special" kids they serve with therapists. This lady's son, Hollis, has the same birthday as Victoria. I felt so honored that Gwen, who I've not seen in such a long time, would come hear me speak and sing. When I saw her before the event started, she was holding her son, Hollis. Let me tell you ... I almost lost it when I saw that sweet boy. My heart just swelled with joy to see that God drew this sweet woman to our church on such a special night.

Have you ever realized all of a sudden that God put you in such a unique ministry? I think I realized that on Thursday night. I was overwhelmed by God's grace and goodness to use such a broken vessel to minister to women from all walks of life. How incredible. How amazing. And, just because I'm open to share my struggles, griefs and joys with others ... it blows my mind that God can take that and bless it.

I look forward to the days ahead and pray that I will always be faithful to share with others (even on a daily basis) how God has walked with us through our "special" journey.

Physical Therapy

2010-04-29T18:31:00.001-07:00

Victoria met with her physical therapist on Monday of this week. This is the first time that we have met with her since Christmas. Victoria has been doing so well that her therapist thought that she didn't need to come see her as often.

When Candace saw Victoria this week she was in awe of how great she was doing. She said that "Victoria has officially turned into a toddler!" She was so excited about how Victoria can walk outside (on uneven surfaces) with little or no falling. She can also walk over thresholds and other objects now with ease. It was a great visit with Candace. As a result of Victoria's wonderful progress, she has been released from her physical therapist! Candace said that Victoria's sisters are now her main source of motivation!

Victoria is a very busy girl. She is getting into everything. I even see her opening drawers that once were out of her reach. She actually pulled a hairbrush out of a drawer today and acted like she was brushing her hair. It was the cutest thing.

It is amazing to see how well Victoria is doing. She is doing several simple signs now and realizes that signing is a form of communication. She is even beginning to try to form words. She isn't just grunting anymore. I really believe that she will soon be saying things that I can somewhat understand. I think the day she says my name ... well, I'll just cry.

I am forever thankful to the Lord for giving me the opportunity to see Him work in such miraculous ways on a daily basis! The thrill of seeing a special needs child achieve new things never gets old. You don't take for granted that tasks are easy for them because you know they are, in fact, a challenge. You know your "special child" works much harder than a normal kid to do the things they do. But, the thing I'm aware of so much more now is that Victoria doesn't do what she does alone. The Holy Spirit is at work in her life! I truly believe that God has done things in her body that is just plain miraculous. I credit the Lord for all that Victoria has been able to do so far and will continue to do. And, as long as God lets me hang around on this big o'l ball we call earth ... I will forever be amazed at how awesome He is!

Ladies Night Out!

2010-04-05T19:54:00.001-07:00

Hi Ladies! If you are in the area, I wanted to let you know of an event that I'll be singing/speaking at in May of this year. The event is called Ladies Night Out. The event will be held on May 6th at 6:30pm. Dinner will be served. You can purchase tickets from First Baptist North Mobile. Contact the church at 251-679-3266 to obtain tickets.

Click on the photo above to see all of the information concerning the event! Hope to see you there!

Victoria Is 2!!!

2010-03-10T07:28:00.000-08:00

Happy 2nd Birthday, Victoria Jayne!! It is hard to believe that another year has come and gone! I have enjoyed every moment of life with you and am thankful that the Lord saw fit to bring you into our lives!

You have done so many things this year that I am so proud of. You began walking, started jibber-jabbering (although we are still waiting on real words to come) and have done tons of things that have amazed your therapists! You are a miracle living right in front of our eyes!

Thank you for being so loving and such a blessing to your momma and daddy! We pray that this year is a great one for you! We love you!

She's Like Me!

2010-02-26T17:26:00.000-08:00

Now that Victoria can walk really well, I'm letting her walk a lot on her own. She'll walk with Natalie and me from their Mom's Day Out classrooms over to the other side of the church to Elyssa's 4K classroom. The other afternoon, we were walking over to the school to check Elyssa out and saw a lady in the hallway that is no stranger to us. Her name is Kathy. She serves as a maid at the school. Kathy also has Down syndrome. She is the sister of Kim, a sweet, fellow church member. We met Kathy a little over a year ago when Elyssa started 3K.

As we were walking down the hallway, Kathy intently watched us. She especially seemed interested in Victoria. We passed by Kathy's cleaning supply room and proceeded to sign Elyssa out for the day at the school office. As we walked back to Elyssa's room we, again, passed Kathy's room. Kathy came out of her room and tapped me on the shoulder. She then said, "She's like me!" She was pointing at Victoria. She said again, "She's like me!" I replied, "Yes, she is!" Several people in the hallway passed Kathy, but not before she told them that Victoria was like her. It was the sweetest thing I've ever witnessed. I almost cried. It was such a touching moment to me. I felt blessed to know that one day my little Victoria would be so sweet and innocent ... and maybe she, too, would find pride in meeting others who were made "special" like her.

Kathy walked down the hallway with us, trying to hold Victoria's hand as she walked (although, Victoria is quite independent and doesn't like to hold hands!). Kathy asked me before we left the school if she could hold Victoria. I had wished at that moment I had a camera with me to capture this moment, but I didn't. I handed Victoria to Kathy and she held her for a few seconds (as long as Victoria would let her). It was so sweet!

I told Kathy that Victoria had heart surgery just like she did when she was little. She said, "Really, she had heart surgery like me?" She was so amazed at Victoria and how much she had in common with her.

Before we left, Kathy told me, "I am Down syndrome and she is like me." And, with much joy in my heart, again, I said, "Yes, Kathy ... yes, she is!"

Snow Day!

2010-02-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

Today it actually snowed in Alabama! Who would've ever thunk it! I dressed Elyssa and Natalie warmly and we played in the yard while the snow was pouring down. There were some really big pieces falling! It was a lot of fun! I always hope for snow each year, but it usually doesn't happen so this was a huge treat for me!

Here are a few pictures from our snow day!

The girls before we went outside! We were ready for the cold weather!

Elyssa made a little snowball!

Mark with Victoria

Natalie

A picture of our front porch. You can really see the snow coming down!

Daddy's Pants

2010-02-02T15:52:00.001-08:00

Today my mom had several medical tests done because of some issues with her bladder. My dad took off of work so he could be with her. While at the doctor's office, he looked at my mom and said, "I must have lost some weight because these jeans feel big on me today." My mom remembered washing clothes the day before and hanging up some clothes in their closet. She told my dad that she remembered putting her jeans on yesterday and told him that they had felt small on her. Then came the moment of revelation! My mom said, "Howard, maybe I hung my jeans on your side of the closet and hung your jeans on my side of the closet!" She told my dad to go to the bathroom and check the size on the jeans he was wearing. He came back from the bathroom and sure enough ... he had on my mom's jeans! They laughed and laughed. My mom then knew that she had worn Daddy's jeans the day before and that Daddy was wearing her jeans today. They continued with their plans to go to the mall and eat out for lunch. And, all the while my dad was wearing my mom's jeans!

A Trip Outside

2010-01-28T18:39:00.000-08:00

I know this sounds crazy, but today was the first day that Victoria has ever been able to walk in our driveway and yard in her life. She is almost 2 so this has been a long time coming.

The weather was just right for being outside today. Victoria took on the driveway and sidewalks like a pro. The grass was another story. She was quite wobbly.

Victoria's physical therapist told us when we could get her outside to walk on the grass it would help strengthen her legs even more. She has mastered walking on our level floors inside the house, but the uneven surfaces outside were more of a challenge. I'm looking forward to a little warmer weather so we can continue to let Victoria explore her yard.

We took a few pictures that I wanted to share with you. We had a great afternoon and it was encouraging to see that Victoria liked being outside so much!

Semi-Annual Evaluation

2010-01-13T09:40:00.000-08:00

This morning was a little tough. Victoria had her semi-annual evaluation by her Early Intervention Coordinator and one of her therapists. While Victoria has done so well in her gross motor development, her speech development has not improved at all in the past 6 months. I was told that Victoria is operating at a 1-year-old level in speech right now (She will be 2-years-old in March). Even though this was very discouraging to hear, Victoria's coordinator told me it was very typical for a child to excel in one area (like Victoria's gross motor skills) and be behind in another (her speech). Maybe I'm just an emotional mom, but after Victoria's therapist and coordinator left ... I cried.

It is hard to describe how I feel. I love Victoria so much and want her to do well. And, while I'm told she is very intelligent and progressing so well ... I can't help but want her to talk. I think the day I hear her finally say "Momma" I will have a hallelujah hoe-down!

After I finally composed myself from my emotions this morning, I picked Victoria up. I held her in my arms and told her that if she never talks (or doesn't talk for a while to come) ... I still love her. I told her that I was proud of everything she has done and how thankful I was to have her in my life.

Victoria will be set up with a speech therapist soon and my prayer is that we will see her progress by leaps and bounds once she starts receiving services in that area. She is a smart little girl and I know she will eventually catch on.

She holds a very special place in my heart and even though I fall apart at times ... I wouldn't trade the life I have with her and my family for anything in the world. The Lord only draws me closer to Him through Victoria. Sometimes the drawing hurts a little, but I know it is only for my good.

Natalie Turns 3!

2010-01-10T11:02:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that our Natalie Joy Messick is 3 today! She was born at Springhill Hospital on January 10th, 2007. From what I remember, she was born around lunch time. She weighed 7 lbs 15 oz and was around 21 inches long.

She is such a fun little girl and we feel so blessed to have her! She has a very silly personality. Everyone who meets her just loves her. She loves to sing and she is into wearing princess gowns and shoes now. I love when she tells me that she looks "gorgeous!"

Mark and I are so thankful for our Nat Nat today (and everyday)! We love you, Natalie! You are a beautiful little girl!

Momma and Daddy

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T10:13:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all of you from the Messick household! I apologize that it has been so long since I've written, but here is a quick update!

This year has been a year of many blessings! Mark has been asked to speak at several events at other churches and God has continued using him in such a wonderful way! He has a unique way of communicating to adults and kids and we are so thankful for how God has opened doors for him to be used inside and outside of our church body. Mark continues to serve as the Education Pastor at First Baptist North Mobile where we are so loved on by the people there. We feel blessed to serve with such a wonderful group of pastors and people. In April of 2010, Mark will celebrate 8 years as a pastor of that church. And, on another note ... Mark will be having a birthday in just a few days! He will turn 38 on December 31st!

For me, this year has truly been one of healing and flourishing. God has given me several opportunities to share my testimony about having a child with special-needs. It is hard to explain, but through sharing your grief and joy with others, God brings about healing. I've so enjoyed speaking and singing at different events and pray that many more opportunities come along in the future. I feel as if that is a new ministry God has given me. I have been blessed to have opportunities to record on several worship albums/projects and I always thoroughly enjoy doing that. I also continue to teach as an adjunct professor at the University of Mobile as a Commercial Voice Instructor.

Elyssa is in 4K this year and is growing up so fast. It is hard to believe that she will be 5 in July of 2010! I have enjoyed seeing her actually behave better! Is that terrible to say? With three little ones, you are thankful for things like this. It definitely makes my life easier as a mom! Elyssa has had opportunities to sing in church for a few different events and has a cute little singing voice. She loves to write and cut. And, she is actually developing a sense of her own style when it comes to clothes.

Natalie will be turning 3 in just a few weeks (January 10th). She has beautiful wavy hair, bright blue eyes and loves to sing. She is always singing around the house and isn't much of a TV watcher (unless Dora is on). She loves to play with cars and I'm finding that she is a bit of an organizational child because she lines every car up as she plays with them. She has such a fun personality and everyone who spends time around her just loves her!

Victoria is continues to grow slowly (physically) and I think I've decided that she is just a petite child. I worried for a while that she wasn't gaining weight fast enough, but I've finally gotten okay with her small size. I have read that children with Downs are small the first part of their lives so I've found comfort in knowing that. Victoria is walking now and spends every day exploring our house. She loves to follow Natalie around when Elyssa is at school. And, if Natalie isn't at home, she follows me around. She loves to push strollers and anything that can be pushed around in the house (including chairs from our kitchen table). She jibber-jabbers a lot and I hear her saying things for me like, "Da Da," "Pa Pa," "La La," and "Ba Ba." She is such a pleasant girl. She always has a smile on her face and a hug for anyone. She is a true joy. Her therapists say she is doing so well. We've been told numerous times that it is so unusual for a child with Downs to be so active, so therefore her therapists think she is a "high-functioning" Downs child. She is a girl on the "go." She does not like being idle at all. So, we are so thankful that she is doing so wonderfully.

As you can see, this year has been a busy and blessed one for us! We thank God so much for all of the blessings He has bestowed on us. We know that it is only through His grace that we survive the "circus" which is our life, but we enjoy every moment of it!

We pray you have a blessed holiday season and know that we love you all!

Walking More And More!

2009-11-02T13:54:00.000-08:00

Here is a video I took of Victoria today. As you can see, she is walking even more! She's doing great! It is so cute to see her walking around because she is so tiny!

I'm really having to watch her now. Her favorite place to sneak into is the bathroom! She gets into the toilet paper and I've caught her putting her hands into the toilet several times. That totally grosses me out, so I'm trying to keep the bathroom door closed at all times so she cannot get in there. I'm going to have to grow eyes in the back of my head now to keep track of everywhere Victoria is going!

Cars

2009-10-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Victoria met with her physical therapist, Candace. Candace was so impressed by how Victoria is standing up from the floor, taking steps and cruising on furniture so well. She also commented on how huge it was that Victoria WANTS to do these things on her own. We don't have to prod and push her to do anything. She said this is a sign that Victoria has high cognitive levels, which was so encouraging to hear! She said normally Down's babies are content to do nothing. Victoria is the total opposite. She can't stand to be held still for long at all. She WANTS to be down on the floor going, going, going. So, these are all very wonderful signs that our baby girl is on the high-functioning end of Down syndrome. Yeah!

Candace wanted me to work with Victoria on using a push toy a little more so she can work on her balance. After Candace left, I had Victoria pushing a little car that Elyssa and Natalie both used as babies. The first few times Victoria pushed it, she lost her balance and fell. But, boy ... shortly after that, she was pushing that car like a pro. It was so fun to watch her!

I thought you'd want to see her wonderful progress! She's a cutie!

PS - You'll notice that when she pushes the car to the chair or wall and cannot go any further, she gets mad. I think that is the funniest!

The Long Awaited "Walking" Video

2009-10-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

Many of you have asked about Victoria and if she is walking yet. She has started taking several steps and we are thrilled. I think the most steps we have counted are around 12. Those are small steps, mind you, but we still count them all! The cutest thing of all is that Victoria laughs while she walks most of the time. I think she is so proud that she is walking that she cannot contain her happiness!

So, here you go! Enjoy viewing our little miracle of God taking some of her first steps!

Buddy Walk Results

2009-10-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time walking at Hank Aaron Stadium with family and friends for the Buddy Walk. We raised over $800 for the Down Syndrome Society of Mobile in honor of Victoria and were quite pleased with that!

Elyssa and Natalie loved walking with their sister! They especially loved the yummy cupcakes from Buttercream Dreams that they ate after their one-mile walk! They also enjoyed their visit on the fire truck and Coast Guard helicopter.

It turned out to be a beautiful day and we couldn't have felt more blessed to walk alongside Victoria! Thanks to all who donated funds in her honor! We love you all!

Buddy Walk Update

2009-10-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks to friends and family we have raised over $375 for the Buddy Walk in honor of Victoria Jayne so far! It is still not too late to donate toward the Down Syndrome Society or to commit to walk with us in the Buddy Walk THIS Saturday at Hank Aaron Stadium. Registration starts at 9am and the walk begins at 10am with tons of games, food and entertainment to follow! We would love to have friends and family walk along side us as we honor our special little girl!

Make sure you let us know if you'd like to walk with us so we can meet you at the front entrance of Hank Aaron Stadium Saturday morning.

Buddy Walk

2009-10-01T20:27:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

We will be participating in the 2nd Annual Buddy Walk with our daughter, Victoria Jayne, to help raise money for the Down Syndrome Society of Mobile on October 10th. If you would like to participate with us or would be willing to make a donation, please let me know.

The registration for the walk begins at 9am at Hank Aaron Stadium and the walk begins at 10am. This is a non-competitive one-mile walk. Strollers and wheelchairs are welcome. At the conclusion of the walk, there will be carnival-type games open for the kids, musical entertainment, food and many other fun things that the entire family will enjoy.

You may register to walk at www.dssmc.org or you may do so the morning of October 10th when you arrive at the stadium. All walkers pay $10 and kids under 3 are FREE! Anything given above $10 to the walk is considered a donation. All registered walkers will receive a T-shirt to commemorate the day.

If you do plan to walk with our family in honor of Victoria Jayne, please let me know so we can meet you at the entrance of the stadium. If you are unable to walk but would like to make a tax-deductible donation, you can do so in honor of Victoria at www.dssmc.org.

We look forward to a special day in which we can honor our special little girl, Victoria Jayne!

On My Own

2009-09-08T20:04:00.001-07:00

Victoria's physical therapist told me a few weeks ago that it wouldn't be long before Victoria could rise to standing on her own without pulling up on something. At that time, I thought ... "are you sure??" But, here I am today with a video of proof that Victoria can sit in the middle of the floor with nothing around her to pull up on and she can STAND!!! Praise the Lord!! How exciting to see this little girl doing such marvelous things! I seem to live almost every day in amazement as Victoria continues to do new things!

PS - The other exciting part of this story is that I am seeing more and more that Victoria "understands" what I'm asking her to do, although she doesn't "talk" back to me each time I give her a command. It is so wonderful to see her comprehending language. When you have a special-needs child, this is something you do NOT take for granted.

2009-09-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

Victoria came through her surgery this morning very well! We were thankful to hear that her heart rate stayed stable during the entire procedure and that Dr. Bryars was able to put the tubes in her ears, after all. He said it was very difficult because of the small size of her ear canal, but the surgery was a success. We are thankful to the Lord for keeping His hand on our little Victoria! Here are some photos from the morning.

Surgery Today ...

2009-09-03T02:07:00.000-07:00

My day started at 2am, when Natalie woke with a "croupy" cough. She was crying a little but I was able to just pat her back and she went right to sleep. I hate that Mark will be dealing with a sick child in my absence today, but what can you do? That is the "unexpected" joy of having children, right?

I never went back to sleep after waking at 2am. I had planned to get up around 3am or so to prepare for Victoria's surgery today. She is having tubes put in her ears and I have to have her at the hospital at 5:15am. I think I will be a zombie by noon!

As you begin your day, I'm asking that you say a little prayer for Victoria. Her surgery will begin around 7am. It should be a short surgery, but I do imagine it may last longer than a routine procedure. Victoria's ear canals are so narrow that her doctor has informed me that it will be "difficult." Pray for God to be with Carter Bryars, her ENT, as he performs her surgery. Pray that all will go smoothly and that Victoria will remain in stable condition throughout the entire procedure.

I will post an update later today to let you know her progress!

Say What?

2009-08-31T20:56:00.000-07:00

Today Victoria met with one of her therapists, a "special instructor", to be accurate with her title. Her special instructor teaches Victoria and me sign language that will help facilitate Victoria's speech that will come later on. Her instructor comes every 2 weeks to our home. She will usually ask me how much Victoria is babbling. Victoria does babble, but it comes and goes depending on how much she is stimulated by her environment. As a busy mom it is hard for me to sit directly in front of her all day and "talk" to her. So, I just do the best I can in everyday life and pray that God uses it all to help her along.

I asked her special instructor today when down syndrome babies usually start to say words. I kinda wondered when she might say, "Mamma" or "Daddy." I wasn't quite prepared for the answer she gave me. She told me that it is normally around 3 or 4 years of age. I was shocked and I felt my heart sink. To think I might not be able to hear Victoria say my name for several more years just tore my heart up. Can you imagine?

I have been grieving tonight, to say the least. Grieving and praying. I knew the road of having a special-needs child would be filled with joy and grief, so these feelings are not new to me. I've had a little of both through this journey.

I guess my grief reminds me that I'm human. It reminds me that the success of Victoria's future isn't all up to me. Her life and future are held in the hands of her heavenly Father, God. In moments when I want to cry (and, I have done some of that today), I have to, again, surrender and say, "God, I cannot do this alone. My emotions need to be held secure in Your hands. When my mind cannot wrap itself around what I don't understand, keep me sane. When I think my sweet little girl should be able to do things that others say might not be possible, help me continue to have faith in the One who created her."

If you are in a place of "not understanding" what is happening in your life, just hold on! Hold on with me to the most secure person in the universe ... God! Hold on to a wonderful verse that I cling to so often in my walk of faith:

"You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded every one in your book. The very day I call for help, the tide of battle turns. My enemies flee! This one thing I know: God is for me!" Psalm 56:8,9

Even if Victoria doesn't "talk" to me for several more years, I will still cherish her. I will cherish her smile, her glowing eyes that say so much in themselves alone, her hugs, her open-mouth, slobbery kisses and her little grunts that try to tell me things that I may not understand. God, help me to cherish every moment and to learn that in the times that I might have to cry ... You catch those tears in your bottle and know every one!

Life's Laughter

2009-08-17T20:52:00.001-07:00

Have you ever wondered what causes laughter? I mean, why would God create such an interesting thing that we all take pleasure in? I read something recently on http://www.wikipedia.com/ about laughter. I want to share it with you.

"Laughter is Genetic" Robert R. Provine, Ph.D. has spent decades studying laughter. In his interview for WebMD, he indicated "Laughter is a mechanism everyone has; laughter is part of universal human vocabulary. There are thousands of languages, hundreds of thousands of dialects, but everyone speaks laughter in pretty much the same way.” Everyone can laugh. Babies have the ability to laugh before they ever speak. Children who are born blind and deaf still retain the ability to laugh.

Even though I don't understand all the reasons that God created laughter, I sure take joy in it. Today is a day that I appreciated laughter so much. I was able to spend some sweet time with my special-needs daughter, Victoria Jayne, this afternoon after she woke from her nap. She was in such a happy mood. She just laughed and laughed at most every silly thing I did. I cannot describe the joy I felt while watching her laugh. My mind thought back to the days that she was lying limp on a hospital bed after having open-heart surgery at 7 weeks of age. It seemed then that I wouldn't get to enjoy a day like today at that point. But, today, through laughter, God reminded me of His faithfulness. He reminded me that He can take a circumstance that once seemed so grim, such as adjusting to the life of being a special-needs mother, and turn it into pure joy.

What a blessing it was to watch Victoria laugh today. I know God must've been laughing with her! I can't imagine that His heavens were not filled with extra-happiness when her voice rang out in laughter today!

Vitamin Crisis

2009-08-13T19:44:00.000-07:00

I guess I knew it was coming. I mean, Natalie couldn't go too long without putting something up her nose, right!?!

Here I was getting all three girls in the bed by myself. Elyssa kept getting out of bed while I was feeding Victoria a bottle. Natalie was in her crib asking for a vitamin. I got two vitamins out of the Flinstone bottle and asked Elyssa to eat one and give one to Natalie. She did just as I asked.

I was almost done feeding Victoria her bottle when I heard Natalie began to scream. I thought Elyssa was bothering her. Elyssa came running into Victoria's bedroom and told me that Natalie needed me right away. I quickly put Victoria down because Natalie's screams were getting louder. I began to hear her crying about her vitamin. I turned her light on thinking she dropped her vitamin in her bed. I looked around trying to find it in her covers. Then, I heard her say that her vitamin was in her nose! Elyssa told me, "Natalie put her vitamin up her nose!"

Frantically, I grabbed Natalie out of the bed and took her into my bedroom. I turned on the lamp, grabbed the flashlight, tweezers and nose drops all while Natalie was still screaming lying on my bed waiting for me. Once I pointed the flashlight at her nose, I could see it. That vitamin was almost out of grabbing distance, but I thought I could get it with tweezers if Natalie would be really still. So, while holding the flashlight between my right chin and right shoulder I told Natalie to be really still. She flinched several times but I tried to explain I wasn't going to hurt her. I was going to get her vitamin out. After a few tries, I finally got hold of the vitamin with my tweezers and pulled it out. Poor Natalie was screaming. Those Flinstone vitamins are really rough in their texture, so I'm sure it hurt a lot. I put some nose drops in her nose and hugged her tight. I said, "Natalie, don't EVER put anything up in your nose again! It hurts your nose when you do that! You scared Momma!" She said, "I scared, too, Momma." She just kept crying and said she would never do it again.

Oh ... I pray this time she really means it!

PS - Mark finally got in tonight from his mission trip to London and Bangladesh! I will see him in a few moments! I'm excited to have my husband back home!

Gecko Adventures

2009-08-12T20:43:00.000-07:00

Last night a friend of mine, Donna, spent the night with me. Mark has been out of the country on a mission trip for about 7 days now and Donna had wanted to come spend some time with me and the girls since we were missing Mark and needed something to get our minds off of his absence.

After a fun afternoon of playing, we finally put the girls down for the night. Then, Donna and I talked for a good bit and enjoyed catching up on each other's lives. We were both getting tired and decided to get ready for bed. Donna was lying in the bed watching TV and I decided to check my emails and Facebook. I went into the office and sat down in the office chair. I turned on the computer and something caught my eye. I happened to look up and to the right. In the top corner of the wall I saw what looked to be a huge light-colored lizard. I freaked out! I ran out of the office screaming and told Donna to come look at the critter that was just starring down at me in the office. She told me it looked like a gecko (the one pictured to the left is NOT the one we found in my house, but I wanted you to see a gecko of similiar size and color). I had never seen such a creature inside a house in all my life! I had goose bumps all over and was trying to figure out how in the world we were going to get that sucker out of the house so I could sleep in peace!

My next-door neighbor, Bob, had just told me the day before if I needed anything at all to give them a call. Bob and his wife knew Mark was out of the country and wanted me to feel free to call them, even if it was in the middle of the night. Donna was trying to be brave and thought she would try to get the gecko herself. I immediately told her, "No way! I'm calling Bob!" I had already gotten two brooms from the utility closet and was ready to fend for my life if that yucky thing came a'runnin for me! I had steaked my place on top of the "fainting couch" (an antique) in our bedroom and Donna was laughing at what a coward I was being!

I called Bob and he was happy to come over and help. Through the course of me screaming several times and Bob having to chase the gecko around the office a little, he finally managed to capture the reptile. He took him outside with him and I hope he released him FAR away from my house!

What a terrifying experience! That thing was so nasty! There was no way I could sleep with that little dude being free to roam in my home! I just kept having horrible thoughts about him crawling on my face or in the girl's beds while we were all sleeping! He just HAD TO GO and thankfully, Bob, came to our rescue! I slept much better last night knowing that the house was free of our unwelcome guest!

Bee My Guest

2009-08-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

You are cordially invited to visit Bee My Guest at http://pairofbartletts.typepad.com/a-pair-of-bartletts/2009/08/bee-aware.html on THIS Tuesday!! I will be the guest writer on my friend's (Jennifer Bartlett) blog and you don't want to miss it! I will be sharing my experience of having a baby with Down syndrome and how this has changed my life in so many ways. Bring your tissues with you and let your heart be warmed by the powerful testimony that you will read and hear!

IMPORTANT: After you read my blog on Bee My Guest, leave a comment and you will be registered to win some wonderful prizes! How exciting! So, don't forget to visit and read THIS Tuesday's edition of Bee My Guest!

PS - For those of you wondering, Bait survived his terrible garbage disposal experience! I have been told I should change his name from Bait to Lazarus! I'm contemplating it!

The Misfortune Of A Fish

2009-08-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

Today was an unfortunate day for Elyssa's birthday fish, Bait. He had a bit of an adventure that was my fault.

Bait's bowl needed cleaning. The water had gotten quite cloudy and it was time to fix him all up with clean water and rocks. I had put it off because I really get disgusted at the smell of his nasty water when I'm cleaning it all up. Plus, I see little bits of stuff floating in his water that I can only assume are excrements and that totally grosses me out!

This was Elyssa's birthday present from a good friend (I won't name names!), but somehow I have inherited the job of feeding Bait and keeping the bowl clean. By the way, don't you just love the fish's name? Mark planted the suggestion of "Bait" and the girls picked it up. I would've rather the fish had a normal name like Norm or Roger, but I lost out to "Bait." The poor fish already sounds like a goner with a name like that!

I was trying to take the easy way of cleaning Bait's bowl this morning. Instead of taking him out of the bowl, I left him in and would put the bowl under the kitchen sink faucet allowing water to fill up the bowl. I'd pour some water out making sure that Bait didn't fall out of the bowl. I continued doing this over and over and noticed that the water was getting cleaner. All was going well with this process until Bait got a little too close to the edge of the bowl. It was like it all happened in slow motion. Bait poured out of the bowl with the rest of the water and filth and landed directly in the garbage disposal! I screamed out loud! The girls watched the whole thing happen and they were in a panic, too. My next thoughts were, "What do I do now? How do I get Bait out of there? If I cannot get him out or if he dies am I supposed to just grind him up in the garbage disposal?? I couldn't bare the thought of having to do that! So, with a quick reaction, I grabbed some tongs out of my utensil drawer and began to try to "fish" Bait out of the garbage disposal. The poor guy kept flopping around and it was difficult to grab hold of him. Finally, I was able to get him out and plopped him into a glass of water I had poured for him to rest in until his bowl was clean. I breathed a sigh of relief, but noticed that Bait didn't seem quite the same. At this point, I'm not sure that anything happened to Bait. I didn't see him bleeding (I don't know what fish blood looks like!), but he seems traumatized for sure! I wonder why?? I'm not sure if he'll make it or not, but at least he now has a nice clean bowl to either live or die in.

Hopefully, Bait will pull through this terrible experience! I know one thing ... I'll always take him out of his bowl FIRST when cleaning it in the future!!

Crawling Critter

2009-07-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

Victoria is going, going, going! It is so funny to see her scoot around the house, now. She is still slow, but every day I see her gaining strength. The once frail and weak baby is beginning to turn into an energetic explorer. When I see her doing new things each day I am, again, amazed at the goodness of God!

Look at my little scooter and be amazed!

Eye See You!

2009-07-24T09:11:00.000-07:00

Today was a long day for me and Victoria! I woke up around 4am and woke up Victoria at 5:30am to go have her eye surgery performed.

When we arrived at the doctor's office, it was pretty empty except for the receptionist waiting for us on the 3rd floor. I registered Victoria and waited a few minutes before being called back. We were taken back to a larger room with several beds in it. This was a prep room for all those having out-patient surgery. There were several other babies that eventually joined us in this room and Victoria out-talked all of them! I was shocked at how verbal she was while we waited on the doctor!

Once Victoria was taken back to surgery, I went back out into the waiting area. I was told that the surgery would only last about 5-10 minutes, if all went well. When I was in the waiting room for a while longer than I expected, I felt a check in my spirit to pray for Victoria. Finally, I was called back to see Victoria. She was crying pretty hard when I got to her, which is unusual for her normally. I hugged her and tried feeding her some juice. She was famished since she had not eaten breakfast. She would stop every few seconds to cry because she couldn't breathe well out of her nose while drinking her bottle. Because of the surgery, her nose was bleeding some and that didn't help on top of the congestion she already had. After a while longer, she finally calmed down as I stood up with her and rocked her back and forth. As the nurses watched me holding her, I wanted to cry. I felt such an honor at that moment to be Victoria's mother. I knew that God could've chosen anyone else to be her mom, but for some reason He chose me. It made me hug Victoria even tighter as I comforted her from her traumatic morning.

The doctor let me know that he had a difficult time getting Victoria's tear duct to drain and clear, but it finally cooperated for him. During the surgery, they had to end up doing an IV because Victoria's heart rate dropped really low. Once I heard this, I knew why I had a check in my spirit to pray for her! They were able to give her some medication that brought her heart rate back up. Because of Victoria's heart surgery last year, she is a bit of a high risk for any type of anesthesia. Thankfully, she stabilized and the rest of the procedure went well.

The interesting part of things is that God has given me several opportunities to share my "story" with a lot of people lately. From Victoria's consultation with the doctor the day before her surgery, to the day of her surgery, God has placed people around me in the waiting rooms that ask me about Victoria. The door has totally opened for me to share God's hope with people. What a wonderful thing to tell others that something I thought was a terrible thing in my life (giving birth to a baby with Down syndrome), has ended up being the biggest blessing I could've ever imagined! It excites me to see how God has used Victoria's life to minister to so many people already! May I never let an opportunity go by to share my hope with others!

Here is a picture of Victoria after we arrived home. Her right eye is a little swollen, but I expect that will be normal in a day or so. She is a real trooper!

Here is a picture of Victoria laying by Mark on the couch. Mark has been out of town all this week speaking at a children's camp. He was so glad to be home so he could love on his little angel!

Eye Surgery

2009-07-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

Please keep Victoria in your prayers. She will be having minor eye surgery in the morning to unclog her right eye tear duct. It will be a quick surgery and I pray it will relieve her right eye and the constant clogging she has had to endure for at least a year now. We will arrive at the doctor's office tomorrow morning at 6:15am and surgery will begin at 6:45am. While I ask you to pray that her surgery goes well, I also ask that you pray for her to not awaken during the night wanting to have another bottle. She cannot eat after midnight, so I'm hoping that she will do well during the night for me. I plan to feed her an extra bottle later tonight to help remedy any middle-of-the-night feedings.

Thank you for your prayers for my little angel! I'll send an update tomorrow to let all of you know how she did!

Finally ... A Tooth!

2009-07-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

Victoria turned a year old on March 10th and she is just now getting in her first tooth! I was worried for a little while that she would be toothless, but thankfully, I have seen her first front, bottom tooth wriggling its way out of her gum. Unfortunately, Victoria has not gained a lot of weight lately because of the fact that she cannot eat substantial foods yet (because of her lack of teeth). At Victoria's last visit to her pediatrician, her doctor talked about referring us to an eating clinic to see how we could put more calories into Victoria's little body. When Victoria starts walking the extra intake of calories will be very crucial.

Victoria is now pulling herself up from sitting to standing! She is beginning to "cruise" while holding onto furniture and she is also beginning to crawl! So many exciting things are happening and I couldn't be happier. She is such a sweet girl who has been through a lot in her short life, so it is awesome to see her continuing to progress! God has and continues to be so good to her and our family!

Here is a video of Victoria pulling up from sitting to standing!

Here is a video of Victoria crawling in her own little way tonight while we were playing before bed!

Victoria's Story

2009-07-06T07:42:00.000-07:00

Check out our "thank you" note to Rileigh & Raylee Angel Ride Foundation at http://angel-ride.com/AngelStories/VictoriaMessick/tabid/1353/Default.aspx. This foundation gave us money last year when Victoria had to be transported to UAB for emergency heart surgery. It is an honor for us to be featured on their website.

6-Month Evaluation

2009-07-02T09:51:00.000-07:00

Today, Victoria's physical therapist, Candice, and her Early Intervention service coordinator, Dianne (pictured to the left), came out to our house for her 6-month evaluation. Dianne had the long list of physical goals that we set for Victoria 6 months ago. We were so excited to see that Victoria has met every goal in her therapies that we hoped she would in the past 6 months! I felt like shouting today! It was such an encouraging EI visit!

I have seen the Lord take a little baby that could barely do anything because of such major heart defects and heal her with the help of surgeons! Then, I've seen the Lord carry that baby through a wonderfully quick recovery! THEN, I've seen the Lord help her accomplish every physical goal that her therapists and I have worked with her on all throughout her 12 months in Early Intervention! I tell you the truth ... every time I look at Victoria Jayne, I am reminded of what her name means: "victorious victory!"

God has been so good to our family, I cannot help but boast of His faithfulness! He has helped us in the toughest of times and I know that without Him we would've been lost. He took what felt like a helpless and hopeless situation and used it for His glory. I'm so thankful to the Lord for all of my sweet girls, but I especially thank Him for letting us walk down a little different path than most people get to. I never thought I'd be thankful to the Lord for giving me a child with Down syndrome, but now I'm convinced that we get to experience His glory just a little bit more than most.

After All Is Said And Done

2009-06-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

The Pastor's Conference was a wonderful and interesting experience. Let me explain ...

Saturday was a long day for Mark. He had meetings all day preparing for the conference, which started on Sunday afternoon. I, on the other hand, had a day to myself. Besides ironing and going to the workout room in the hotel, I rode with Beth White at lunchtime for a sandwich at Panera Bread. We had wonderful conversation to go along with the great food. Later I went back to my hotel room and took a nap. Naps never happen for me at home, so this was a real treat for me!

That night, after Mark finished up with his meetings, we met up with other North Mobile staff to eat at PF Changs. It was awesome!

After PF Changs, we decided to ride around and see if we could find Churchill Downs. We were able to find it and believe it or not, it was open and almost empty of people. We were able to walk all around the buildings and track. What a cool experience!

Unfortunately, during all the rest and fun, I had been getting calls from my mom. She had developed a very serious Staph infection. This was obviously terrible news. I was very concerned about my mom, but also was stressed because she and my dad were keeping Victoria and Natalie. So, during the weekend I was making many phone calls to line up another sitter for my kids. Fortunately, we have such a sweet lady in our life that has kept our kids many times that stepped in and saved the day! We couldn't be more thankful for Syble Parten! She is awesome!

Sunday afternoon was sound check for the band and praise team and Sunday afternoon the Pastor's Conference began.

We kept trucking full speed ahead the rest of the time we were in Louisville.

The speakers were wonderful and the music was awesome! God really moved in such a powerful way during the weekend. We were so thankful to be a part of such a powerful event. Even in the midst of stressful situations at home, when all was said and done ... it was a GREAT weekend!

PS - Here is a short video I took while at Churchill Downs!

Long Day Flying

2009-06-20T07:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Mark and I began our trek to Kentucky for the Pastor's Conference.

We flew out with our Worship Pastor, Jason Breland, and his wife, Amy. Our flight left Mobile at 9:40am and arrived in Atlanta about an hour later. We had around a 2 hour layover in Atlanta, which allowed us plenty of time to get lunch in the Atlanta airport. Our plane was supposed to depart Atlanta around 1pm (Atlanta time) and arrive in Kentucky around 3pm, however, our plane seemed to have some mechanical difficulties that couldn't be fixed.

We had to wait an extra 3 hours in the airport while our plane was investigated. The announcers over the loudspeaker in the airport finally reported that our plane could not be fixed and we were given another place to fly on. We were glad to finally have transportation to Kentucky!

Being in planes and airports all day really wears on you! We finally arrived in Kentucky and met up with one of our Executive Pastors, Scott White, and his wife, Beth. We all had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Mark has meetings today and I've had the day to myself in the hotel room. So far I've watched a lot of HGTV and have gone to the little workout room in the hotel to workout. I might even take in a nap, which is unusual for me when I'm at home with little ones.

This weekend promises to be an exciting one! I'll post photos as the weekend progresses.

Pastor's Conference

2009-06-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

This year Mark and I are blessed to be able to attend the Southern Baptist Convention Pastor's Conference in Kentucky. Our Pastor, Ed Litton, is the president of the Pastor's Conference and has planned the entire event. Our Worship Pastor, Jason Breland, asked me to sing on the praise team for the event and I'll also be singing a solo, as well. Mark will be in charge of the ushers and greeters, so he will have a big job, too!

Thousands of pastor's will be in attendance and it will be a wonderful opportunity for the worship ministry of our church (First Baptist North Mobile) to minister to the men that faithfully fill the pulpits each week in our country.

If you would like to see LIVE streaming video of the Pastor's Conference, go to the following website: http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=87349732638&h=33xhv&u=Teaf9

There are many wonderful speakers who will be encouraging the pastors during the conference that you will not want to miss hearing! And, the music will be awesome, of course! Make sure you drop by the website Sunday afternoon and all of Monday to see and hear all of the wonderful things going on during the Pastor's Conference. And, if you miss the LIVE streaming video, you can go back and watch the videos at any later time that you choose! Great, huh?

Thanks for your prayers for Mark and me as we fly out on Friday afternoon and return Tuesday night. Please keep both sets of our parents in your prayers, as well. They will be keeping our girls for us while we are away. Pray that the girls stay healthy and sleep well for their grandparents!

Mark and I are looking forward to having some time away and are especially excited to see how God is going to move during the Pastor's Conference!

Potty Training Already?

2009-06-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

Today was a nice day. After a full week of Vacation Bible School it was nice to stay home and get some things done around the house. Mark cut grass and I put pine straw out in the yard along with cleaning inside the house and washing clothes. It was a very productive day.

This afternoon, after I had already given Elyssa and Natalie a bath, I took Victoria into the bathroom to start her bath. I noticed her diaper was dry and decided to put her on the potty to see what she would do. I immediately said, "go tee tee." And, believe it or not ... my little one-year-old Down syndrome baby pottied! I couldn't believe it! I went crazy with praise for her and she just laughed. I really believe she knew what she was doing!

After Victoria's bath, I got her all dressed in her PJs. We were still in the bathroom and I said, "stand up." She was holding my fingers and she stood up. Wow! It is so encouraging to know she is understanding my commands! Then, I said, "walk." I backed up some, still holding onto her fingers, and she began taking steps! She took several steps before she decided to sit down. I was amazed! Praise the Lord that Victoria is responding so well! I was so excited to see her doing these new things! I ran into the bedroom, where Mark was doing some work on his computer, and told him all about the exciting things Victoria had just done. He was equally excited! Then, I began calling family to tell them the awesome news!

Some of you may not understand, but kids with Down syndrome and usually very slow to potty train. I know this is just a beginning, but I plan to keep introducing her to the potty training concept in hopes that she'll take to it sooner.

I just believe my little girl is special! God is helping her in so many ways and I couldn't be more thankful!

Emergency Room Visit

2009-05-28T07:39:00.001-07:00

Welp, last night was Natalie's first visit to the Emergency Room! She had sounded bad all day. She was coughing terribly and was running a high fever. I gave her several breathing treatments during the day and tried to treat her fever with Tylenol. She seemed to get worse through the day. Last night around 8:30pm, she woke crying and was really struggling to breathe. Mark was very concerned and thought I should take her on to the hospital while he stayed with the girls.

The doctor at the Emergency Room ordered x-rays and found that her lungs were okay but her throat x-ray showed some significant swelling of airways. He ordered two steroid shots (one in each leg) and gave me a prescription for an antibiotic.

Natalie was so brave during her visit to the hospital. She let the doctor do everything he needed to do without the first cry from her. The only time she cried was when the shots were administered. I kept telling her how proud I was of her. She was so sweet and courageous!

Her shots have already seemed to help some, although she still seems to feel under the weather. But, I know before no time she'll be back to her normal self!

She Is God's Child VIDEO

2009-05-23T19:15:00.001-07:00

I would like to share a link with you to a song that I wrote about Victoria that has been put into video format. I sang to this video at the end of my most recent speaking engagement and it was very powerful. There was not a dry eye in the place!

Just click on the link below and it will take you to the video. The song I wrote is called "She Is God's Child" and the video was compiled by Dave Simpson, my dear friend. Hope you enjoy it!

http://dsimpson41.blogspot.com/2009/05/one-of-our-dear-riends-is-heather.html

Mother's Day Brunch

2009-05-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a special day for me. My sister, Shana, had invited me to sing and speak at an event she was planning for the ladies of her church in Louisana. The event was a Mothers & Others Brunch. Shana had rented out a hall for the ladies to have their brunch in and the men of the church graciously served the ladies brunch. The tables were decorated beautifully and the fellowship was sweet.

Mark and Victoria were able to go with me and that made the trip such a great one!

The especially sweet part of it all is that I was able to share my testimony about my little Down syndrome girl, Victoria. This was my first "official" time to share my testimony in front of a group and it went incredibly well. In fact, during some parts of my session there were almost no dry eyes in the place. Everything was so moving and I could see how receptive all the ladies (and men) were to the message I was sharing.

To end the morning, I sang a song with my niece that I wrote called, "She Is God's Child." A video played while we sang the song. The tears flowed in the room. It was a great time!

I pray that I will have more opportunities to share about my sweet gift from God. It really hit me Saturday that God may just use my "special" little girl to bring many to saving grace! How cool would that be?!

I feel blessed to have been a part of such a special day! And, it was an extra-special blessing to have my husband, Mark, and Victoria there with me!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

We took a picture of the girls today in their matching Easter dresses and wanted to share it with you! Hope you enjoy!

Deep Questions From Elyssa

2009-04-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after I finished singing in our family worship service (KidGrid), I went downstairs to get Elyssa. She was in her 3-year-old Sunday School Class. Once she realized I was at the door, she quickly ran toward me and we headed down the hallway to get Natalie from her 2-year-old class.

On the way to get Natalie, from out of nowhere Elyssa asked me, "Mamma, are you going to die?" I was blown away to get such a deep question thrown my way without any warning! There were people around listening as we passed by them in the hallway. They all looked at me with huge smiles on their faces and made comments like, "Good luck answering that!" and "Whoah, what a deep question!" It took me a minute to answer her. I said, "Well, Elyssa, I guess I will one day." To that she answered, "I don't want you to die Mamma!" By that time in the conversation we had neared Natalie's room and the subject changed. I almost felt myself sweating at how to try to explain such a thing to a young child. I couldn't wait to tell Mark what Elyssa and I had talked about. I thought he'd probably be as surprised as I was by her question.

When we finally met up with Mark and Victoria to head to the car, I began explaining to Mark what Elyssa and I had been talking about. He was, in fact, as surprised as I was. We have always thought Elyssa acted much older than her age and this was just another instance that proved our feelings about her maturity. We all walked together to the van and herded the kids in so we could go get something for lunch.

On our way to pick up some grub, Mark asked Elyssa what she learned about in Sunday School. This began the discussion of death all over again. Mark tried to explain to Elyssa that one day everyone would die. Like a good pastor, he started to quote Hebrews 9:27. It says, "And as it is appointed unto all men once to die, but after this the judgement,...." I quickly told him that she would not understand that wording. So, in my south Alabama dialect I told her that everyone would die at one point or another in their lives. Mark went on to tell her that those of us that have asked Jesus to forgive us of our sins (mistakes and disobedience) and come into our lives would be able to go live with Him in Heaven. Elyssa said, "I don't want to go to Heaven to live with Jesus! I want to stay with Mamma!"

That was the funniest thing to hear Elyssa say. I even smiled when I heard her say she wanted to stay with me. But, I must admit that somewhere in my heart, I long to hear her eventually say that she does want to live with Jesus in Heaven. I pray that one day little Elyssa will give her heart and life to the Lord to follow Him all her days. What a wonderful thing to know that even a 3-year-old has these built-in questions about eternity and what comes after life. We will all face death one day and I'd rather know in advance that I will be meeting my Savior in Heaven than hoping it will all turn out okay in the end.

Thank You, Lord, that You made a way for all of us to live with You one day in Heaven and that You can give peace for our deepest of questions!

Checkups Galore

2009-03-31T19:10:00.000-07:00

Today I took Victoria and Natalie for their yearly checkups with their pediatrician. Here are the results!

Victoria now weighs 15 lbs 2 oz, which is a milestone for her! I was so excited to see that she had gained more weight! She continues to gain, although it is slowly. But, I'll take it any day! She has definitely gotten longer in size and while we were in the doctor's office, she actually held her bottle for the first time! It was the cutest thing! I took a photo of it when we got home so you could see her doing it!

Dr. Faye was very pleased with all the progress Victoria has been making with Early Intervention. Victoria is now sitting up on her own! She is still wobbly, but she is beginning to catch herself when she starts to fall. We are excited to see her gaining strength and doing more and more. What a blessing!

Natalie totally acted like a big girl today at her doctor visit! She is usually my screamer and rebels against doing anything closely resembling a doctor visit. However, today on the way to Dr. Faye's I talked to her about all that Dr. Faye would be doing. I tried to prepare her and I also bribed her with gummies if she acted like a big girl! And, apparently ... it worked! She did so well! She didn't scream the first time (well, not until she got a few shots!!)!! I was so proud of her! She is really growing up! And, the girl weighs close to 31 lbs! She almost weighs as much as Elyssa! Yikes! But, Dr. Faye said proportionally ... she is right on track!

So, all went well at the doctor's and we couldn't feel more blessed!

PS - Since I don't have a good recent photo of Natalie, I've uploaded a video so you can see all three girls playing together!

Happy Birthday, Victoria!!

2009-03-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

Are you in as much disbelief as we are that a year has actually passed by already and Victoria is turning a year old today?? So much has happened this year that I'm surprised we don't feel like she is turning two instead of one! However, it has been such a blessing to go through everything we have been through with her. She is such a joy and we feel so very blessed to have her in our lives.

When Victoria was first born, I questioned what God was doing and wondered why He chose us for what seemed like such a difficult task. Now, I realize that He extended His wonderful hand of grace to such an undeserving couple. We didn't deserve what He gently laid in our arms, but He decided to trust us with such a sweet angel anyway.

When Victoria first arrived into this world, I grieved over the fact that I didn't have a "normal" child. I grieved that she wouldn't do some of the same things that other children might do. I grieved that the rest of my life had suddenly changed so drastically. Now ... I would grieve over NOT having Victoria. I couldn't imagine my life without her in it! She is such a precious little girl and I love holding her and experiencing life with her. I told Mark that God has given us such a wonderful gift in Victoria. God is letting us experience a side of life that many will never know.

There are so many times that we might not understand why God does what He does. Maybe we question His actions and wonder, "Why did this happen to me?" Maybe sometimes we need to stop and think that God could actually be blessing us! What we thought to be a curse or something that would hinder our lives might actually be the best gift we could have ever been given!

I thank God that He gave grace to me during the times I questioned His hand. He was patient with me (and still is) and let me express my deepest emotions to Him when I was in such distress. He just comforted me and I believe He waited excitedly for the moment that I would realize what wonderful favor He had placed on Mark and me. He is so good and I could not be more thankful for His special gift to us!

Happy Birthday, Victoria Jayne!

Congrats From The Cardiologist!

2009-03-06T18:51:00.000-08:00

Victoria had her 6-month checkup with Dr. Mayer today. He listened to her heart and said that he heard a slight murmur, but mentioned that was normal with the type of surgery that Victoria had. He said she sounds great!

After Dr. Mayer examined her, we were sent to the "heart echo room." The technician did a quick echo. We watched the screen during the echo and boy did we see a lot more in Victoria's heart than we had seen before! There were 4 chambers and we could see both valves moving blood through the heart. It was amazing to see all that Dr. Knott-Craig (the surgeon) had created in a heart full of fatal defects! Dr. Mayer came in to talk to us after he reviewed the echo. He said, "Remember when I told you that I'd see you a lot during Victoria's first year of life?" We said, "Yes." He said, "Well, Victoria looks so good that I don't need to see her again for a year!" Basically, from here on out, Victoria will visit him yearly for a quick check-up!

Hallelujah! What another reminder of what a miracle that God has done in Victoria's life!

We're All Ears!

2009-03-04T21:52:00.000-08:00

Today Elyssa and Natalie had to have their adenoids removed and tubes put in their ears. Natalie had tubes put in her ears last April but they came out. Elyssa has never had tubes, but had at least 11 documented ear infections this past year.

We were told to arrive at the surgery center at 6:30am. The girls were still sleeping soundly so we grabbed them up from a dead sleep and put them into the car. They, of course, woke up but were okay with being awakened early.

We had reminded them that Dr. Bryars was going to fix their ears today. We encouraged them by letting them know that they would feel much better after Dr. Bryars put tubes in. We explained that they would get to smell funny air and it would make them feel sleepy. We wanted to prepare them as much as we could for everything.

Elyssa was so brave and volunteered to go first. Natalie was hanging onto Mark and me for dear life, so I didn't think she would want to go unless taken from our arms by force. We bragged on Elyssa and her bravery! She did wonderfully! She never cried at all! She even told us that she had been so brave after it was all over with. She reminded us that she didn't even cry. It was cute. Natalie, on the other hand, screamed bloody murder which is what we expected from her. In the end, she went to sleep just fine and that was all that was needed.

Elyssa's tubes went in just fine. Natalie's were more of a challenge. She had a LOT of puss that Dr. Bryars had to suck out. He said her ears were really bad.

They were kind enough to put Elyssa and Natalie beside each other. Elyssa rolled out in her bed and Natalie was screaming so they put her directly into her daddy's arms. She quickly calmed down once Mark was holding her. I've already told Mark that I think she is going to be a "daddy's girl." Natalie did get sick twice while Mark was holding her and they eventually gave her some medication to calm her tummy. Thank goodness, that did the trick!

We were released to go home around 12:30pm. The nurses came to take out the girl's IVs. Elyssa didn't even cry and Natalie, of course, screamed. It was over quickly, though. Both girls were still very sleepy, so they slept some of the way home. We immediately put them into the bed once we arrived at the house. They had long naps and woke up hungry! They seemed to do okay on ice cream, juices and such. Already they seem to almost be their "normal" energetic selves! I'm sure tomorrow will be an interesting day since I'll have all three girls to myself! I'm sure things will get back to full swing and that will be just fine. I might gain a few more grey hairs, but I'll just be glad to see my little girls playing again!

PS - Keep Victoria in your prayers! Dr. Bryars, the ENT, says that her ear canals are the size of a pencil lead. He is dumbfounded each time he tries to look in her ears. He has to try to look with his microscope and can only see a small part of her eardrum. He told me that he has never had a child with such small ear canals. Victoria still has an ear infection, but her ear canal is not big enough for an ear tube to fit into it. At this point, she will be treated with more antibiotics. This may be a regular thing for her until her ears grow enough for a tube to be inserted into it.

PSS - Here is a video of Elyssa after her surgery. She said she "didn't even cry."

The Candy Crisis

2009-02-15T18:57:00.000-08:00

Today started out like any other Sunday. I was busy getting the girls dressed for church and making sure that we all arrived on time. We had a great day and after the service was over, Mark had to be in a meeting for about 20-30 minutes right after church. I rounded up all three girls and Natalie and Elyssa made their usual run to Mark's office to get their favorite thing in the whole world ... a pack of Smarties candy.

Someone helped me put them all of the girls in the van so we could go grab something quick for lunch while we waited on Mark to finish his meeting. Elyssa and Natalie always like to eat their Smarties right when they get into the van, which doesn't seem to affect their appetite for lunch, thank goodness! They both did their usual unrolling of their little round candies and began to eat them. I had started pulling the van out of the church parking lot and was in the exit lane at this point. I could see Natalie sitting in the back seat of the van through my rear-view-mirror. I was talking to both girls when I noticed, all of the sudden, that Natalie was not eating a piece of her candy. No! She was stuffing it into the opening of her nose! It all seemed to happen in slow motion. If you can imagine me screaming louder and louder ... "No, no, no, no, no ...!" I felt like I said "no" a million times, but to no avail. She proceeded to take her pointing finger on her right hand and continue to stuff the Smartie the rest of the way up her right nostril. I was horrified! I couldn't believe what I had just seen. I thought to myself, "What child in their right mind would stuff something up their nose???" Then, of course, I remembered that kids do this kind of thing all the time. I have no idea why, but they do.

My traffic light had turned green at this point, and I had to go since there were cars behind me. I pulled right into the Shell station that was next to the church exit. I quickly unbuckled my seat belt and made my way to the back of the van. Natalie's right eye had begun to water profusely and she was sneezing over and over again now. I finally reached her and looked up her right nostril. I could see the Smartie sitting vertically at the back of her nose, but there was no way I could reach it. I wasn't even sure that I could reach it if I had tweezers. I called Mark in a panic and thankfully, his meeting had not started yet. He couldn't believe what I was telling him, but had to keep his calm for the next 20 minutes to get through his presentation. He did ask me if Natalie could breathe and if she was acting okay. I told him that she was. He told me to go ahead and get the girls something to eat and then he would be done with his meeting quickly to help.

We rode to McDonald's to get hamburgers through the drive-through and then headed back to the church. I was still in a panic and couldn't stand the thought of Natalie having candy stuck in her nose!! I kept telling her to not touch her nose anymore. I didn't want her to shove it up her nose any further.

When we arrived back at the church, I tried to have her blow her nose. She did blow her nose and some orange mucus came out, but no candy. It had already begun dissolving. I could still see the candy when she began blowing, but then after she blew her nose, she took a deep breath in and sucked the candy on up into her sinus cavity. It was no longer visible and I was really grossed out then! Now, she had the crazy candy stuck IN HER FACE!!! How horrible was that??

Mark finally came out of his meeting and I told him everything that had happened. He, of course, couldn't see the candy either. He sat in the back of the van by Natalie on the way home to try to comfort her in this terribly weird situation. I had put a call into the pediatrician's office and they let me know to put saline drops into her nose. They said the candy would eventually dissolve and she should be okay. They told me to look out for her running a fever or anything unusual in her behavior.

We assume at this point that the candy has dissolved. Natalie never developed a fever and she has acted fine. I told Mark that at least while the candy was stuck in her face that she probably had a nice orange flavor constantly dripping into her throat. I guess you have to find the positives in situations like this, huh?

Here is a funny video that I took of Natalie the day she shoved the Smartie in her nose.

Does It Ever Get Any Easier?

2009-02-14T12:15:00.000-08:00

I asked myself and the Lord this question today as I sobbed while taking a shower at 1:30pm. That was the earliest I could get myself cleaned up since Mark was at Upward Basketball all day (he is in charge of it at our church) and all three girls were at home with me today. By 1:30pm today, I was emotionally worn out from trying to keep my kids from tearing the house apart. Times can be so challenging with three small girls, although I'm very thankful for my family.

Victoria is the least of my worries these days. She is coming out in her personality and is so pleasant to be around. The only thing she does that stresses me out is that she spits at me when I try to feed her spoonfuls of food. That gets quite aggravating. I just do the best I can and pray that she gets what she needs from nursing and her juices. Other than that, she is a joy!

Oh, Elyssa and Natalie! They are a challenge at every turn it seems. They play really well together at times, but then they fight quite a bit other times. That grates on my nerves, as you can imagine. There are a few too many hormones in our house and I'm starting to really tell it now! They both have very different personalities but when they behave, it's fun to see what cute little girls they are becoming.

Elyssa is really starting to become more emotional and sensitive. I've tried not to laugh when she gets so upset about the silliest things. I guess I was that way once before (I probably still am!). There is quite the dramatic flare to this little girl. I believe she could be a good actress one day!

Natalie has such a funny personality. However, she is now in her "terrible 2's" and she has begun to rebel against authority some. I've had to be more assertive with her when she disobeys or starts to throw a tantrum. She is a little quicker to straighten up than Elyssa, so I'm thankful for that. I think Natalie will be the "ham" of the family. She is a jokester, for sure. She is always singing and acting funny. I think her middle name will really describe her as she grows! Her middle name is "Joy."

After reviewing how thankful I am, I'm left with a string of questions. Do you ever feel tired of disciplining? Tired of being stern all day long so your kids behave in your home? I feel so many times that I never get to just be "me." I can't just let my guard down and enjoy my surroundings. If I do let my guard down, my surroundings get pounced upon by my two oldest kids!

I find myself yearning for a few years down the road when my kids are older. I'm praying by that point, they will have calmed down and started behaving better. I would love to have a much less dramatic home and just enjoy being around each other instead of my constantly having to yell, "No ma'am!" or "Stop it!" or "Put that down!" or "Get off of that couch arm!" ... and the list goes on!

I guess that is my life right now. Drama and more drama. Sickness and more sickness. Laughs and more laughs. I do love my life and my family. Sometimes, I just need to take a LONG bubble bath and say, "Calgon, take me away!"

Potty Day!

2009-01-31T18:06:00.000-08:00

All day today Natalie kept asking to go to the potty. She didn't want to sit on the training potty. No! She wanted to sit on the BIG potty! For those of you who don't know her, she has only gone "potty" on the training potty a few times. So, she is still in diapers and I have been hoping that she would be ready to be out of them soon. Today when she kept asking to go potty, I thought ... "This could be it! Maybe we are close to having her out of diapers!" Well, I kinda think she was playing more than anything else, unfortunately. I never saw her "do" anything in the potty. She would sit on it for a minute, get up, close the lid, then open the lid and sit back down. However, I think for her to want to be on it is good. Maybe soon we will be able to have another child out of diapers! Wouldn't that be bliss!!

Here is a funny video from our bathroom time today! Natalie is quite the character, so I laughed at her more than once while I was in there with her waiting on a "job" that never came!

Recording Fun

2009-01-26T19:01:00.000-08:00

In the midst of having a kidney stone to deal with last week, there was some sunshine in my week. Our church started recording its second CD with Integrity Music and I was blessed to be able to sing on it. After my kidney stone attack on Wednesday morning, I recuperated enough to attend the recording session held at our church that night from 6-10pm. We had a huge mass choir that night and the recording went very well.

I prayed that the rest of the week I would be able to attend the ensemble recording sessions that I had been asked to be a part of. Thankfully, my body cooperated! So, I was busy recording Thursday night, Friday night and some of Saturday. While I was at Integrity on Saturday, we decided to also record my solo on a song called "We Cry Out." That went very well and I'm excited to hear the final product.

Make sure that you go to your stores in May and buy a copy of the CD!!! It will be titled God Hears. I think it will be an awesome album and you'll be glad you invested in it. There will also be companion products available for churches that wish to purchase them. We are praying that many will be brought into God's presence through this special recording!

Here is a funny video that I took while we were in the studio. I thought you might get a laugh from it as I did!

PS - If you would like to purchase a copy of our church's first CD with Integrity Music, contact our church directly at http://www.northmobile.org/. The name of the CD is called Believe. I sing a solo on the title cut and was also blessed to sing background vocals on that CD, as well.

Rolling Stones

2009-01-22T13:51:00.000-08:00

Well, for those of you wondering ... my stone has NOT passed yet. I had another "attack" yesterday morning. I was miserable and had to take a pain pill. It took about an hour for me to have any relief at all. I just laid on the bed and moaned while Mark tried to keep all the girls from bothering me. Elyssa was at school so she didn't have to hear her momma in such pain. Natalie probably wondered what in the world was wrong with me, but she didn't seem too worried about my condition. Mark came in and checked on me every few minutes. He would try to make jokes to lighten the mood, but I wasn't a very good audience.

I got in to see a Urologist yesterday afternoon and he let me know that my stone was still very close to entering my bladder. It is just a matter of time. He also informed me that I have another kidney stone in my left kidney. PLUS, I have a few in my right kidney. Oh, Lordy! I'm going to have to go through this multiple times? So, thankfully, they are all very small. No surgery will be needed, but unfortunately, I just have to wait these suckers out. In the meantime, I covet your prayers on the passage of my current stone.

May it's passage be quick and painless!

PS - For those of you wondering ... kidney stones are as painful to me as labor. However, with labor, you at least have a few minutes to recover in-between contractions. My experience with kidney stones has been that of constant, stabbing pain around my left kidney. It is a terrible pain I wouldn't wish on anyone!

Sunday Morning LIVE!!!

2009-01-19T18:38:00.001-08:00

Yesterday started out as the typical Sunday. Everyone was getting up, eating breakfast and trying to quickly get dressed for church. I did my usual "packing of the bags" for all the girls to make sure I had all the necessary diapers, juices and such for whoever needed it. Somewhere in the midst of all the hullabaloo, I noticed that my left side (toward the back) started to hurt. It was a constant pain and continued to build into more of a sharp pain. I was scheduled to sing a solo in church and was thinking through whether I thought I could sing or not with this type of pain. I told Mark that I was hurting but thought I would try to see if I could deal with it. As we drove to church, the pain worsened and brought me to the point of moaning and tears. With all three girls in the car, me scheduled to sing and Mark being one of the pastors of our church ... we bypassed the church exit and headed straight for the nearest hospital. It just happens to be the hospital that I delivered two of my girls at and have visited the emergency room recently when I had an allergic reaction to a medication last year.

Mark let me out at the emergency room door while he stayed in the van with the girls. We had called my parents to meet us there. Thankfully, they were not in church yet and could head to the hospital to meet us. I went in to register myself and the dreadful waiting began. When you are in pain, the waiting seems forever, even though it might only be 10 minutes. Mark came in soon after I signed-in and he sat with me in the waiting area. As I sat in the waiting area, I could only keep my eyes closed to breathe and deal with the pain. Finally, my name was called and we went back to the registration area where they ask you a bunch of medical questions and inquire about your current condition. At that point, I really began hurting. I hated to moan out loud around people, but I couldn't help it. I did the best I could to control myself, but it was terribly hard. After I finished answering questions (with which Mark had to help me with some), we were told to go back out into the waiting area. I had started feeling nauseous by this time and didn't want to return to the same "general public" waiting area. We found a bathroom near the waiting area and went in there. Sweet Mark stood by my side while I hovered over the toilet in case I threw up. I never did, but wanted to be close by just in case. We finally went back out into the hall where I sat in a chair waiting for my name to be called. My name was called a few moments later and I couldn't have been more relieved.

I was taken back to a small room where I had to change my clothes and put on one of those embarrassing gowns that tie in the back. Honestly, after having three babies these past three years, I don't really care who sees what when I go into a hospital! So, I wasn't too concerned about the gown. I was just hurting and wanted relief. I was asked a few more questions and then a nurse came in to start an IV. That is always "fun" for me because I am a hard stick, I've been told. After a few tries, she finally got a vein. The vein lasted long enough for her to give me several different drugs to relieve my pain. I began to feel much better. After a few moments, I actually didn't feel any pain. I could just lay and rest, even though I still knew what was going on. They got a urine sample and took me for a CT scan.

Turns out that I have a small kidney stone on the verge of entering my bladder. My urine sample came back negative, so thankfully there was no infection there. When the doctor came in, she told me that they would send me home with some pain medication and also a medication that will help me pass the stone a little easier. We were allowed to leave, after I put on my "normal" clothes again and headed home.

At this point, I don't think I've passed the stone yet. I've been using the "strainer" but haven't seen anything yet. We are praying that this "passing" is a quick process. I've not taken any pain medication yet and don't plan to unless I start having terrible pain again.

Please join me in thanks for my wonderful husband who took charge of the situation and rushed me to the hospital, which was where I really needed to be. And, join us in prayer that this stone will "let go" and "get out!"

Fun Videos

2009-01-06T19:42:00.000-08:00

Here are a few fun videos I wanted to upload for your viewing pleasure! Hope you enjoy them and maybe they will bring a little smile to your day!

This video is from Christmas morning. We have decided that Natalie may just be a physical or occupational therapist one day. She is always handing Victoria toys and trying to help her during her "play" time.

Mark's sister, Karen, got the girls some water flutes to play with in the tub. Here they are playing some songs during a recent bath time.

Here is a video of Natalie and Elyssa singing to Victoria!

Sometimes I get so cracked up watching Natalie and Elyssa playing pretend together. It is absolutely wonderful to see them playing so well together now!

Elyssa reminds me so much of my sister in this video. I remember an old movie of my sister, Shana, reading to us kids and none of us payed much attention to her. And, Natalie cracks me up grabbing Victoria's phone rattle and pretending to talk on it!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T18:10:00.000-08:00

Well, it appears that 2008 is now just a memory and 2009 has rushed in suddenly. It's hard to believe that so much has happened in the Messick household in a year!

A year ago today I was celebrating Mark's 36th birthday, planning Natalie's 1st birthday party and nervously awaiting the arrival of Victoria Jayne into our lives. Little did I know that when March of 2008 arrived (when Victoria was born), my life would forever be changed. I had no idea that I would experience so many emotions within the span of a year. From joy, to fear, to grief ... I would say that I had 'em all! But, because the Lord was with me through it all, I survived. And, I would also say that I'm a much better person because of the roller coaster of experiences that came along my path.

Victoria is such a joy to me. All the fears and worries I have about raising a Down Syndrome child seem to melt away each day I see her smiling face. Every time I hold her in my arms, I feel such peace that I was blessed to have her as my daughter. I feel a special plan was laid out for our family and we will experience things that most families will not. We will experience the sheer joy of a child who seems to have unending smiles. We will experience abounding hugs from a girl that just loves being a part of our family. And, when her sisters act like crazy goofballs, I have a feeling that Victoria will be the one who says, "Just behave and be happy!" I think she will continue to add such a wonderful dimension to our lives and I'm forever grateful to the Lord for all He has done in our family this year.

I've included some video of Victoria. I think when you see her, you will see the same things I see ... the blessings and grace of the Lord.

This video is of Mark loving on Victoria. She loves back with all that she is!

In this video, you will see how Victoria is such a tactile baby. She loves touching my fingers. She is, also, constantly rubbing on different materials close to her surroundings. I love that she is so "touchy! It's very sweet!

In this last video, Victoria is getting some "air!" The girl can bounce her legs so high in her bed that the rest of her body probably becomes airborne for a second!

Christmas Come And Gone

2008-12-27T19:13:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas has come and gone. It's hard to believe how much we anticipate the wonderful Christmas season and how quickly it passes by us. Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. I love the music of the season, all of the holiday movies that come on TV, the special church services and especially the Christmas foods! I especially love the fact that families make such an effort to be together during the holidays. It is truly a wonderful time of the year and when this season comes around it makes me sad that we cannot have such a holiday more than once a year.

I took a few photos during the holidays that I wanted to share with each of you. I can honestly say that I felt very blessed this year. To know that Victoria could not been with us, had God not intervened ... well, that made "God With Us" have a little deeper meaning for me. God was truly with the Messick family this year and I cannot be more thankful!

Enjoy the photos and Merry Christmas to all!

This is a photo of our Christmas tree right after "Santa" dropped off all of the presents!

Here are Elyssa and Natalie helping Victoria open one of her gifts.

Elyssa and Natalie really enjoy their Dora chairs!

Here is Victoria with her Grand Daddy!

Opening gifts at Mee Maw and Paw Paw's.

This is a great photo of me, my sister, my sister-in-law and Victoria while at my parent's for Christmas.

Reflecting On The Year

2008-12-20T20:17:00.000-08:00

Tonight as I sat at the computer I came across something I meant to share with you a little while back.

On the computer desk sat the 2008 Rileigh & Raylee Angel Ride Foundation program book from their Angel Ride & Concert event that took place on November 7th of this year. We were invited to be special guests at this event, but were not able to go because of previous commitments. The Angel Ride Foundation is very special to us because when Victoria had to be flown via jet to UAB because of her need for immediate heart surgery back in May, they gave us money to help offset our expenses while staying in Birmingham. They were a huge blessing to us.

To our surprise, in their event program, they displayed the letter of thanks that we sent them after Victoria's surgery. I attempted to scan two pages from the program so you could get more of an idea of what the Angel Ride Foundation does and also, so you could see the letter from us that they printed in their program. Just reading over our letter to them again brought tears to my eyes. God has been so faithful this year and I cannot begin to express my thankfulness for His continued grace.

PS - If you click on each image in this particular blog entry, the image will be enlarged so you can read the scanned material.

In The Palm Of My Hand

2008-12-10T14:41:00.000-08:00

I've already begun to see in Victoria such a sweet spirit. She is very loving and always seems to have a smile on her face. She is very tactile (loves to touch things with her hands) and is always reaching for my face or touching my clothing and hands. One of my most favorite things that Victoria does is wrap her hands around my hand when I reach and touch her face. I wanted to take a video of this so you could see how sweet she is. I just love that little girl so much! Even though she has been on the brink of pneumonia the past few weeks, she still has a smile on her face and wants to show affection to me!

Breakfast With Santa

2008-12-06T18:48:00.001-08:00

A few days ago we had the opportunity to participate in an even called Breakfast With Santa. It was held at Bel Air Mall by JC Penny and was sponsored by AIDB (Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind). Breakfast was provided by Chick-fil-a.

There was face painting, goodie bags for all of the kids and a free ride on the train and carousel. All of the moms were also given a $20 gift card redeemable at any store in the mall! Yee Haw! I really enjoyed that!

The kids were able to have their photo made with a Santa that does sign language. Here is a photo of Victoria with Santa. It was neat to see the kids communicate with him. There were all sorts of kids there. Some had Downs, physical deformities, and most seemed to have sight or hearing issues. There were parents, grandparents, friends and siblings there of all of the special-needs children. It was a really heart-warming experience for me.

On the way to the mall, I told Mark that I was feeling emotional. I had never been to an event for special-needs children before and I was feeling myself want to cry. Never in my life had I pictured myself being a part of such a community and going through all that we have the past year or so. Don't get me wrong, looking back I see how much of a blessing Victoria has been to my life, it's just that her coming to us in the way she did definitely has been life-changing. There have been many challenges and many emotions felt in the process. Anyway, the trip to the mall was a nervous one for me. However, after we arrived and I had a chance to settle into the situation, I started enjoying myself.

We were really blessed to meet a couple at the breakfast who has a Downs baby named Hollis. Hollis was born on March 10th also, so he and Victoria share the exact same birthday! What a cool thing that was! Hollis is a cute little boy and he also sees the same Vision Specialist that Victoria does. Actually, the specialist, Jennifer, introduced us to this great couple. We are hoping to carve out time to spend with them. We really feel that God ordained for us to meet them. We pray that we can be a tool that the Lord uses to minister to them and vice versa! God is just like that, isn't He? He gives us exactly what we need when we need it! We had so much in common with this couple because of our situations so we look forward to seeing them at more events in the future.

We are thankful for such wonderful services that are available to Victoria such as, AIDB. They are a huge help to us and her! After finally attending my first special-needs event, I can say that whatever fears I dealt with in the past melted away when I saw how much love was shown for each child at the breakfast. God is still teaching me so much through the life of my sweet, little Victoria Jayne!

Christmas Music

2008-12-02T18:06:00.000-08:00

My brother, Alan, and I recently recorded a song that he is going to use in his Christmas Dinner Theatre at his church. I thought you might like to hear it! I love to hear Alan sing and was privileged to sing with him for this event. The song is called "The House That Hope Built." Click on this link to hear the song: http://www.box.net/shared/ovgik3dpqi . The lyrics are included below. Hope you enjoy it!

PS - The photo above was taken when Victoria was about to be born in March 2008. Even though I look terrible, Alan and Mandy look great! They were there during such a pivotal time in my life and I'm so thankful to have them in my life!

House That Hope Built

Verse 1

There was frost out on the window and snow lay on the ground

But inside the house was darkness no comfort could be found

No laughter warmed the season for each heart was cold with grief

No one felt like gathering around the Christmas tree

Verse 2

A miracle then happened a knock heard at the door
Brought back the vague reminder of what this day is for
They had gifts of love and healing but that was just the start
They brought Christmas to our house when they brought Jesus to our hearts

Chorus

Come inside warm yourself by the fire of God's love

No matter what we have it's always more than enough
For all the empty places life has left are being filled
All because the Savior lives in a house that hope built

Verse 3

Now every Christmas season I can't help but give
The light I have to someone else wherever darkness lives
I have to keep on ringing out the news that Christ has come
‘Cause I can't help but tell you all the things He's done!

Chorus

Come inside warm yourself by the fire of God's love

No matter what we have it's always more than enough
For all the empty places life has left are being filled
All because the Savior lives

O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him

For all the empty places life has left are being filled
All because the Savior lives
In a house that hope built
In a house that hope built

Turkey Weekend

2008-11-30T19:56:00.000-08:00

Whelp, Turkey Day has come and gone and it was definitely a different type of holiday for us at the Messick home!

The day before Thanksgiving, Elyssa had a feast in her 3K class at school. Mark stayed with the sick girls and let me escape for a little while so I could see Elyssa's little holiday program. Her class dressed up like American Indians and counted to 30, recited their phonics and sang a Thanksgiving song. It was really cute. Below you will see the video of her class counting to 30. Elyssa was very energetic in her recitation!

On Thursday, Mark and Elyssa drove to his parent's in Bay Minette and spent Thanksgiving with them. Elyssa really enjoyed her time with her cousin, Maddy. They fed chickens and had a good time outside. Mark got tickled that Elyssa called the wooded area by his parent's house the "spooky forest." They had a good time and I'm sure they enjoyed all the great food and fellowship with family.

I stayed home on Thanksgiving day with the two sick-o's, Natalie and Victoria. Natalie was still seeming to be under the weather and Victoria was still on breathing treatments. All-in-all, it was a good day and I spent the day getting things done around the house. I was able to get most of our Christmas decorations up and also get ready for another yard sale that we are having this coming weekend.

Saturday the girls seemed better and we all drove to my parent's to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. We had a great time, although, I was very guarded with the girls since they were still recovering from being so sick. But, they all seemed to have a great time playing with their cousins. I hate that we were only able to see my sister and her family for the day. We miss them, especially, since they live in Louisiana now. When you are with family that you don't get to see very often, you never feel like you have quite enough time with them on the holidays. However, we felt so thankful that we were able to see them, even if just for a day! And, it wasn't too shabby that we were all able to watch the Alabama game together! It was great to enjoy that win!

Even though Thanksgiving was a little different this year, we enjoyed it and felt very thankful to spend time with family when we could. We serve a faithful God who continues to show us how He provides for our every need. We could not feel more blessed!

At The Hospital

2008-11-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

Today Mark and I had to take Natalie and Victoria back to their doctor for follow-up visits. They have both been sick for several weeks and have seemed to get worse lately.

Victoria has been on breathing treatments three-times-a-day for a week now. I haven't seen a lot of improvement, but the doctor insists that she has a virus and that we need to continue her treatments for a while longer. Hopefully, in the next week she will be sounding and looking much better. Even though she is sick, she still looks as cute as ever!

Poor Natalie sounded especially terrible today. Last week we were told she had some wheezing in her chest and at that time she was put on antibiotics. The antibiotics did not seemed to help at all. In fact, her condition seemed to deteriorate over the past few days. So, today we hauled her back to the doctor to be told that it sounded like she had pneumonia. After her doctor visit, we all took a trec over to the closest hospital for Natalie to have her chest x-rayed. Sure enough, she has pneumonia! However, it is in the early stages and she will not have to be hospitalized. How thankful we felt to have caught this before it got too bad! Don't get me wrong, she sounds bad enough to me to be hospitalized. This morning, sitting still, she sounded like she had been running a marathon! She had very labored breathing, so I knew it was possible that she had pneumonia. We are so thankful for her doctor, Faye Roberts, who was so thorough in her exam. Dr. Faye is awesome! She put Natalie on much stronger antibiotics and we hope to see some huge improvements in her condition this week.

I told Mark to go ahead and take Elyssa with him to his parent's house on Thursday like we had planned. However, I'll stay home with Natalie and Victoria. I know this sounds silly, but I actually bought a "TV dinner" of turkey and dressing to eat on Thursday so I could feel like I had a little bit of a Thanksgiving meal! Mark's mom will send a plate of food home for me Thursday night so I'll get to really have a good meal on Friday for lunch. She is a great cook so I'm kinda sad that I'll miss her meal on the actual day of Thanksgiving. But, it'll taste just as great on Friday when I do get to chow down on it!

This year's Thanksgiving holiday isn't turning out how I planned, but I'm still so thankful! I look back over the year and see how God has worked miracles in the life of my family. He is a wonderful Father who truly takes care of His children!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Elyssa's Singing Debut!

2008-11-23T21:01:00.000-08:00

Tonight was a monumental night in the life of our oldest little girl, Elyssa. It was her first time to sing in "big" church. She is in the 3K choir at our church and they sang three songs to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday this week. Elyssa was asked to sing a solo at the beginning of the song "Give Thanks." We've been working on this song for several months now and I was praying she would sing as well in the performance as she has done at home. She did great!

I'll try to upload a video soon of her actual performance.

A Beautiful Nose!

2008-11-21T07:27:00.000-08:00

Mark and I went to see Dr. Bryars, my ENT, yesterday. We all sat down and he looked over my CT scan. He explained what he saw in each layer of the scan. He said that my right frontal sinus has never fully developed. He said that, probably, since childhood my sinus has been this way. He wondered if I had a lot of sinus infections as a child. I told him no, but that I remember having a lot of sore throats. He said the sore throats could've been caused by drainage from this underdeveloped sinus cavity. He was amazed as he looked at my scan. He said that it looked like a surgeon had gone in and made the same types of repairs to my right sinus that he would've done if he had done my surgery. He said even though my sinus was not fully developed, it drains exactly as it needs to. He pointed out that my right sinus is missing a small bone that my left sinus has. Also there were several other differences. All in all, he said that he didn't feel like I needed surgery. He said it looked like God and Mother Nature had made whatever adjustments needed to be made in my right sinus to cause it to work properly. It was really neat to hear him explain all of this to us and once again, I knew I had seen God's hand in my life.

He is the Great Physician who can heal any deformity and irregularity of our corruptible bodies! Praise God for His healing hand even though when we don't always know He is working in our behalf!

PS - Dr. Bryars said I did have a small polyp, but he said it has probably been there for a long time and he didn't see any need to remove it. He said it will NEVER turn into anything cancerous.

A "What" In My Nose?

2008-11-16T08:06:00.000-08:00

Last week was an interesting week. I was asked to sing at our Ladies Night Out at church and was excited about doing so, however, I had gotten sick and needed to see a doctor. I decided to go to Natalie's ENT and see if I could get a shot and some antibiotics. I also wanted to get a sinus x-ray because I had been having a case of laryngitis along with my yearly sinus infection. I wanted to find out if anything had changed to cause this laryngitis to occur. As a singer, when you lose your voice there is always cause for concern. So, I just wanted to make sure things were on the up-and-up!

Dr. Bryars took some sinus x-rays and as he looked at them, I could tell by the look on his face that he was seeing something abnormal. He didn't spill the beans immediately, but said he wanted to look in my nose with his scope. Elyssa came with me to my appointment and about this time I thought, "Oh boy! She is gonna have a big time seeing her momma undergo this procedure!" Elyssa was a little angel throughout my visit with Dr. Bryars, but for the scope-part of the exam, she stood up and got awful close to Dr. Bryars to see what he was going to do. He sprayed some deadening-type spray into each nostril and then took his LONG skinny tube and put it in my nose. To begin with, he only inserted his scope at the opening of each nostril to have a look around. On a side note, I cannot imagine this being my profession after this experience. There is nothing inside me that wants to look up someone else's nose! Anyway, after his initial glance into each nostril, he decided to look further into my right nostril. He then proceeded to put his scope down my throat to glance at my vocal chords. Elyssa was looking very intently at me and wondering what my reaction would be to all of this craziness. I remained very calm, of course, and just had to deal with some watery eyes during the procedure.

After Dr. Bryars was done with his exam, he let me know that my vocal chords were perfect and that I just had some mild laryngitis, which he could treat with a steroid shot and antibiotics. This would have me up-and-running for my singing event in just a few days. I was glad to get this news. On the other hand, he did have to tell me something that he saw in my right frontal sinus cavity. He said I had a "growth" or polyp in that cavity. He showed me on my x-ray how open my left cavity is and how my right cavity is not fully open due to the growth that has been blocking things. He said it looks like this is something that has been going on for quite a while. He said that the growth was not cancerous so he didn't want me to be worried about that. He would just need to do out-patient surgery to remove the growth. He said he would need to put me to sleep (I've never been "put-under" before) and that the procedure would be fairly simple. He assured me that I would not have to worry about having black-and-blue eyes after it is all over with. I was glad to hear that! Also, my recovery time would be fairly quick from what he told me.

I will go for a CT scan on Tuesday and then go back to see Dr. Bryars on Friday to talk over the CT scan results. From there we will schedule my surgery.

As much as I'm NOT looking forward to surgery, I am ready to have some relief from the pressure I've felt in my head for quite a while. Having three kids in three years, I always associated the pressure in my head to the stuffiness that you read about being common in pregnant women. I never knew that something else was going on. As I look back over the past several years, I can see things now that should've prompted me to get a doctor's attention, but I just never did. Through this experience I have learned that I need to start "listening" to my body more. Instead of putting myself on the back-burner to take care of kids, I really need to be aware of what my body is trying to tell me.

At the end of my visit with Dr. Bryars, I was given a shot in my hip. Elyssa watched the nurse very carefully as she stuck her needle into my hip. She actually got up out of her chair and stood by the nurse. As we were leaving the doctor's office, Elyssa said to me, "Momma, I almost told that nurse, 'No ma'am on my momma!'" She was telling me that she almost told the nurse to leave me alone. It was cute that she wanted to protect me! She was a great little girl that day and it helped me to have her along as a source of comfort with such crazy news from the doctor. Praise the Lord that Elyssa could help me and at the same time, I could help her see that getting a shot isn't so awful!

It's Been Forever!

2008-11-12T18:05:00.000-08:00

It feels like it has been forever since I've blogged! My only excuse is that it has been a little crazy in our home. Mostly though, our camera has been full and I couldn't take any new photos until we created a little space on the camera card! Tonight I took a few photos and wanted to share them with you and give a progress report on Victoria.

Here are some photos of Victoria by herself. Isn't she as cute as a button? Victoria is doing really well. She is continuing to gain weight and still nurses great. I've started adding in some cereal to her diet and she takes it fine, however she is a little bit of a slower eater when it comes to eating via a spoon. She seems to want to feel the textures of food items in her mouth more than my other girls did. My other girls slurped down their food and Victoria seems to savor it more (or either gags on it). So, I just try to be patient and know there will be a day that she is chomping at the bit to eat "real" food.

Victoria is now 8-months-old! I can hardly believe that she will be a year old in March! I'm sure time will fly by and March will be here before I know it. It's hard for me to even picture Victoria being a year old because she is still so small for her age. She is behind physically, of course, so I even have trouble accepting that she is already 8-months-old! She is still a little baby in my eyes. However, the therapists are all SO happy with Victoria's progress. They continue to tell me what a strong little girl she is becoming. I find myself emotional at her therapist visits because she accomplishes so much. It's hard to explain why I get so emotional. I guess I see her hitting so many milestones at each visit that I'm overcome with joy and pride for my strong, little, victorious girl! I continue to be amazed at how God works in her life. She is a huge testimony of God's grace and proving that the impossible is POSSIBLE!

Here is a photo of Elyssa and Victoria. Elyssa is the little "goof" of the family! She is quite the card these days! I've really enjoyed this new stage she is entering. She is starting to grow up! 3K has been a great thing for her. My Elyssa is a smart and pretty little girl.

Natalie didn't pose for any photos, of course, but she is doing well! She will be turning two-years-old on January 10th. So, I will begin making party plans for her soon. She is developing a funny personality of her own. She, too, is a smart and pretty little girl!

I thank God for my life, my sweet husband who travels this interesting road with me, my wonderful girls whom I love with all my heart and our families who continue to be such a strong support for us. God has surrounded us with so much love and we are forever grateful!

Funnest Fall

2008-10-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

This past week has been a busy one at the Messick home!

Elyssa went on her first ever field trip to Brantly Farm in Fairhope. We had a great time petting the animals and going on the hayride. Elyssa even surprised me and rode on a pony! I could hardly believe she did that, but after seeing all the other kids ride the pony, she decided she was brave enough to do it! Here is a video of Elyssa on her wild pony ride!

We had Fall Funtastic at our church on Wednesday, the 29th of November, and Elyssa went as Snow White. She looked so beautiful. When Mark saw us arrive at the church he said, "Is she wearing makeup??" I said, "Of course! All princesses wear a little makeup!" Mark was extra busy that day because he has to help everything set up for Fall Funtastic (he is one of the pastors at the church). I believe we had a record crowd this year. I'm expecting to hear that the crowd was in the thousands. It was a pretty huge event this year. Elyssa had a great time with me! And, you have to see the video I took of her before we left for Fall Funtastic. It's pretty funny!

Natalie was sick earlier this week with a stomach bug, so I let her stay home from Fall Funtastic. I did try, however, to get her to put on her outfit and she absolutely hated it. I had to video it because it was pretty funny. I know, I know ... I torture my kids when it comes to stuff like this, but I had to get it on video!

The funny thing is ... Natalie still wasn't happy just getting the hat off. She had to get the whole costume off before she calmed down!

I also let Victoria stay home from Fall Funtastic because it was so cold that night, but here she is in her costume. She is a giraffe! She didn't like her costume too much either!

Even though this was a super busy week, there were many moments of fun! And, I was reminded again how precious my three little angels are. I am so blessed to have each of them under my care. Each moment I have with them and Mark is a gift from God!

What Can I Say? I'm Cute!

2008-10-24T18:25:00.001-07:00

Victoria is so photogenic! She always has a smile and that makes me want to take more and more photos of her! It's nice to be able to get a smile so easily. And, those sweet smiles usually come exactly when I need one. I think that God smiles at me through Victoria in my most stressful moments!

PS - Some good news ... Victoria's recent therapy sessions went very well. Her Occupational Therapist, Melissa, was so pleased with Victoria's progress. She told me that she could tell that I had been working with her a lot. As she filled out her progress report, she chuckled and said, "I just cannot get over how much Victoria has improved! She is only about a month or month-and-a-half behind now!" She was very excited and so was I! What a blessing that Victoria is getting stronger and stronger each day!

PS - No post is complete without a crazy video from my actress, Elyssa!

Grieving Again

2008-10-18T19:01:00.001-07:00

Today was a special day. We went to the Messick's for a birthday lunch. This week Mark's dad and brother are both celebrating their birthdays.

Elyssa LOVED getting to play with her cousin Maddy. Maddy is 5-years-old and Elyssa is 3. Natalie is almost 2, and just follows them around, most of the time doing her own thing.

We were also able to spend time with Mark's brother's new baby. Her name is Mary Katherine. She is now around 3-months-old, I believe. She is a healthy and growing little girl. I was able to hold her and she is quite strong. I'm so use to holding a "floppy" baby that I was surprised at her muscle strength. She stood on my legs really well (with me holding her up) and could almost sit up on her own (and will probably be doing that soon!). I thought she was so strong for her age.

I know this probably sounds weird, but I actually felt myself grieving inside for Victoria. I felt sad that she cannot stand with as much strength as Mary Katherine. It will probably be some time before she can sit up, also. Her lower back is still somewhat weak. I know that she will eventually be able to do these things, but it is just taking longer than I thought it would.

I catch myself really being amazed at how much I took for granted with my other two girls. Every stage of their development came so naturally. They moved from one thing to the other without any help from me. Now, I have to think about everything. I have to help Victoria do sit-ups so she can strengthen her "core." I have to make sure she has enough time on her tummy so she can strengthen her arms, lower back and neck. I have to make sure she is getting enough time in her exersaucer (I have to pad the seat with towels around her hips for support) so she can learn how to steady her back, neck, and leg muscles. It's a never-ending job.

There is much stress surrounding a life that involves continuous therapy (physical, occupational and vision therapies). The person having to give the therapy feels so much pressure to put in enough time with the "patient." They know that the development of the patient depends on the time they spend with them. So, you can imagine when things are crazy around the house with the other girls, I have tremendous guilt trips about not getting in enough time with Victoria.

Unfortunately, I have moments of grieving from time-to-time when I see other babies her age or younger excelling in things that Victoria struggles with. I've heard that this is a normal process that parents of special-needs children might go through.

In saying all of this, please know that we continue to covet your prayers for her to continue to gain strength in her body. We KNOW that she is such a blessing to our lives and we only want the best for her. We want her to be healthy, strong and smart. And, we believe in a God that can bless her with all of these things. We know that God is sovereign and He placed Victoria in our lives to constantly remind us of His miracle-working power. He's already worked so many miracles in her life and we continue to pray for more miracles to take place in her muscles as we are on this adventure in "therapy-land."

Gift Certificate

2008-10-17T06:12:00.001-07:00

I tried to have Elyssa say "Gift Certificate" yesterday and you just have to hear her version of it! I thought it was hilarious!

Here is a cute video we took of Victoria yesterday. She gave us several good smiles. By the way, she saw the thyroid doctor Wednesday (for which they took some blood to check her levels) and we are hoping today they will tell us that none of her levels have increased. I'm actually praying that they find a decrease and that eventually she can come off of her thyroid medication. That would be heavenly! No more pills! What a blessing that would be!

Lastly, here is a precious video of Victoria laying beside Elyssa the other night before she went to bed. I love how high-pitched Elyssa's voice gets when she talks to Victoria! I wonder where she gets that?? Probably from her parents!

A Few New Videos!!

2008-10-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

Here is Victoria after a bath a few nights ago! You can see her scar from heart surgery has really healed nicely.

Natalie absolutely loathes the camera. Here she was asking me for some more ice cream. You can hear her say "want some" right when I started videoing her. She then puts her head down and starts crying. I'm such a cruel mother to think it's funny to torture her with a camera in her face, aren't I??

Mark was singing "Jesus Loves Me" with Natalie. This is a new song that she has been singing a lot lately. She didn't realize I was filming her so she did much better singing freely!

Natalie was cruising around the dining table singing, you guessed it ... "Jesus Loves Me!" She cracks me up sometimes with what a cheese ball she is!

Last but not least, Victoria is such a mover and shaker! Here is a video of her shaking her legs and enjoying her "floor time."

Hope these videos made you laugh today! They sure made me! And, who doesn't need to laugh a little each day?? I'm glad that God created laughter! It keeps us all from going crazy!

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

This past week Elyssa was supposed to go to the Pumpkin Patch with her 3K class. Unfortunately, it was rained out. We decided to go as a family and really enjoyed ourselves! Here are a few pictures from our outing.

Oh how I wish Natalie would take a good picture for me!

I finally got her to sit down for a moment and took a quick shot!

Elyssa loves taking pictures and she always looks so cute!

This pumpkin had lots of warts on it. The sun was really bright ... can you tell??

Another warty pumpkin!

Elyssa with Paw Paw on the hayride!

Here is a new, cute photo of Victoria at our house before we left for the Pumpkin Patch.