Hero

Heroes come in many forms.  Cartoons, men, women, military.  MONDAY this became my family's hero





Brandi

This is Brandi, my 9 year old daughter's Mountain Cur.  She gave her life Monday afternoon to save ours.  At approximately 7:15 pm a man entered our back yard.  I believe he was attempting to enter our home from our back entrance because the fence blocks the views from all streets.  Brandi defended our home to her best ability and unfortunately this criminal took her life.  About 7:25, I drove home, with my son.  I believe I probably scared him away when I drove up.  I noticed nothing wrong at the time and I took Wyatt in the house and put him in his highchair while I went back to the car to get his food.  When I got in my carport, I noticed something was strange about the dogs.  My other Mountain Cur was trying to help Brandi or get my attention to let me know something was wrong.  When I saw her laying there I knew something horrible was happening.  She did pass soon after.  As time has passed, I know in my heart that man would have been in my home when Wyatt and I got home if Brandi had not defended our home.  Had she not given her life, I feel certain that Wyatt and I would have been hurt.  My heart hurts that she is gone but so grateful that she protected us.  As a family we are hurting right now and Bella is devastated that her dog is gone.  She will be missed and truly thought of as a hero forever.



Summer Time

Well summer has started and we have been having some HOT days.  This summer we started some new things!  With Wyatt we are becoming more comfortable with cathing.  We are working hard towards wearing big boy undies!  He is also standing a LOT more and Dr. Haber, his ortho surgeon, said he will be walking in no time.  He even increased his therapy to 2-3 times weekly.  We are so happy and he is really loving the therapy time now.  He loves day care and loves his friends there.  Bella made us so proud by showing and riding her horse in her very first 4H show in June.  We were so happy and her team even won first place in judging.  This will be known as our summer of casts!  Wyatt was in one for 8 weeks and on July 5th, Bella was thrown from a horse on her left arm.  She mostly complained of wrist and hand pain so that is what the ER xrayed.  SOOO, 2 weeks later as her elbow is STILL swelling, we take her to her pediatrician and he does an xray that we JUST KNOW is gonna be fine! Yeah right! Fracture to the left elbow! Wow! So it looks like our lives will remain very interesting for a while and not to mention we decided to try to sell our house!  Sometimes I feel like I am watching our life speed by in front of me and I am just holding on for dear life taking the sharp turns as they come!
Jenny

Is he not the cutest!

Showing me his teeth! Yeah, we're already saving for braces!

VERY rarely is he shy!

Bella is working on sympathy points!

She really is okay!

Love this picture of Wyatt and Pop!

ALL the girls, 3 out of this group are in a cast right now!

Bella and Badger

She is stunning!

All the grandparents

We are so proud of her!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

What happened!

Ok, so my last post appears sort of confusing.  After I had posted my entire thing, somehow the blog fairies deleted most of it. So here is attempt #2.
Brandi, our Mountain Cur, probably gave her life for ours that day.  I apparently came home and interrupted an attempted home invasion.  He tried to enter through our backyard where he then encountered my dogs.  Brandi and Chi-Chi had both been attacked and unfortunately Brandi died in my husband's arms from her wounds.  I was alone with Wyatt and I know in my heart that man would have been in my home when we walked in had Brandi not fought him off.  I am still sometimes in shock about what happened and poor Chi-Chi misses her friend still.  I owe her my life and she will always be a hero to our family.  I would love to say there is a happy ending to this story but we are still waiting on evidence to come from the crime lab to put him in jail.  By the way he was also transferred to a trauma center to repair his FACE!  Let me just say, Brandi left her mark! So hopefully one day a happy ending of justice served.
Jenny

Bella with Brandi

Heros

Heros come in many forms.  Cartoons, men, women, military.  MONDAY this became my family's hero

Brandi

My Ah-Ha! moment

This weekend we had some amazing experiences.  We made new friends and I even got to meet and hang out with a mom I met on facebook that was able to bring her great family to the Spina Bifida conference.  The skatepark was amazing and Wheelz was even better!  It was so great to see him personally try to inspire these precious kids.  As a mother, all I can pray for is that one day Wyatt will be thankful that he was born with spina bifida, that he will know that God designed him specifically to be special and to find a blessing in that.  Aaron "Wheelz" has certainly found his blessing and is showing kids that nothing is impossible, even a 10 foot drop-in ramp at a skatepark when you are in a wheelchair. I mean, REALLY, what CAN'T you accomplish after you have done a backflip in a wheelchair!  Wyatt is still saying, "I gonna do a fip!"  I can already envision the bumps and bruises!  The conference speakers were great and it was not necessarily things we had not heard but maybe in different ways.  I realized that we all encounter some pretty scary things as parents of these children but it is so worth the journey.  During this LONG trip to Kentucky, I remember thinking to myself if it was worth going all this way for a 1-day conference.  While we were there and Wyatt was at his Kid's Camp, I realized Wyatt was in a room full of children and he wasn't the only one crawling, he wasn't the only one taking meds, he wasn't the only one that needed braces for the paralysis in his legs and feet.  Usually he is the minority at home, the daycare or church but NOT HERE.  Kids of all ability playing together, supporting each other but MOST importantly, just being KIDS!  Was it worth it?  HECK YES! For even that one day for Wyatt to feel like he is part of a group was amazing and that was my AH-HA moment! More pictures will be coming but Jim has the camera right now to document Isabella's first home that we still have.  The Cabin.  The Mississippi River is flooding and we will likely lose it to the flood so we are taking pictures for insurance purposes but also for memories because this place will always be special to Bella and it hurts her to think it may be gone soon (us too!)  I will post more pics later!
A HUGE thanks to Colleen for putting on the SBAK conference.  I know it was hard work, but SO worth it for us!
Jenny

Painful Awareness

Ok, so I have been made painfully aware that I have not posted in a LONG time! I will not name any names!  I really can not explain it but I have just lost my mojo.  We have really had some busy times too.  Wyatt had his tendon surgery and we looked at that surgery as one step closer to walking only to have it blow up in our face.  After the 6 weeks of a cast and it was removed, with in 24 hours his little leg was so swollen.  Requiring an emergency trip back to the Orthopedic surgeon during a tornado that devastated a town 10 miles away, an x-ray was taken that also like a tornado devastated my world.  Osteoporosis so bad that it could possibly be hiding a small fracture.  So back in a cast we went.  I know that I should have been looking on the bright side of things and I usually do but when you hear those words about your 2 year old precious angel that wants to play ball with his big sister so badly, it was like a kick in the gut.  So now 2 more weeks of a cast and all I can help feel is this is a delay of our walking.  We have also joined the cathing world and it is a big adjustment but I think I can already see that we will be successful with it.  That is all I really want to say about that right now because I am still trying to wrap my mind around this reality of ours.  So funny that only 2 short years ago I was standing in the NICU saying, I guess bargaining with God, saying that if all we have to do is cath, then I can live with that but I can't live with out my sweet man, so please God let him live.  And LIVE he has, not one day he doesn't smile, laugh and love.  He loves big too, like he LOVES big trucks, police cars (or he says po-po), and school buses, he loves his tag (blanket), he loves baseball and thought he was going to explode when his favorite aunt took him ON THE FIELD after his big sister's game.  I SO want to love like him too.  Love BIG, live life that way too and all the rest in the middle just will fall in place as God has designed.  As a family, we will go to Louisville, Kentucky next weekend for a Spina Bifida conference.  We are so excited!  I can not wait to get to sit in a room full of moms, dads, brothers and sisters and kiddos that are kicking Spina Bifida's butt!  A room full of people that just get it!  So hopefully I will update after our trip! So long!  Love Big Today!
Jenny

I just love my Big Sister!

We miss these days!  No playing in the sink with a cast on!

Busy Days Ahead

Bella, Jim, me and my dad went to the horse shows this weekend.  We wanted one last weekend with Bella before EVERYTHING is focused on Wyatt.  We had a blast and really enjoyed watching those beautiful horses that we have all grown to love.  When we were there I noticed a boy in a wheelchair.  In my heart I knew he had spina bifida.  I got near his mother and could not stop myself from asking her if she minded me asking her some questions about her son.  She said "No, that will be great!"  I then froze! The next thing I said was "He has spina bifida doesn't he?"  She said "Yes he does." And then we acted like we were long lost friends and began talking for another 30 minutes!  Isabella was probably ready to choke me!  It was so comforting to see a family that has walked our path and Spina Bifida is about the least significant thing about their life.  I am so glad that God placed us together and we were able to meet and share this bond of a diagnosis.  As the day went on, I would see him wheeling around, happy, smiling and just being a kid!  My heart smiled at that because I know Wyatt will be okay.  Monday he is scheduled for surgery to lengthen his Achilles tendon on his right foot.  This means he will have an above knee cast for a total of 6 weeks, it means he will be cranky and grouchy, he will have more limited mobility than he is used to but it also means he will hopefully be well on his way to walking.  We have so many people praying for us and all I can say is "Thank You" and keep them coming for the road ahead of us. 
Jenny

February, not just a month for love for me!

You were so loved.  You came to us at such a low time!  While fighting cancer you became our lighthouse, our ray of light, our soft place to fall at the end of a long day of radiation treatments.  Some days, you and Bella were our only reason to smile.  I knew something was wrong and just never dreamed you were gone.  February 23rd we found out that you had already passed on to be with Jesus.  Blood tests would later confirm this but I knew within myself that this was true.  What happened? Had I done something wrong?  Some days I still ask myself these questions but I think God gave us you to help us through that really hard time in our life. You certainly did that! I know that you are watching over your brother and sister and I smile inside each time I think of that.  I know that I will miss you always.
Momma

Knife through the heart

We had an awesome weekend!  Saturday was the Dixie National Rodeo.  Jim, Bella, her friend Haley, Wyatt, my dad and I went early Saturday morning to Jackson.  We first watched the parade of like 2000 horses. Wyatt was in heaven.  Then we watched the rodeo and we all LOVED it.  We had so much fun, it was a long but GREAT day.  After we got home and settled in, Wyatt started leaning over and stretching his back again.  He would rub his scar on his back that he calls his Bo-Bo.  Finally, as he is rubbing, he looks at me and says, "Mommy, take my Bo-Bo off!"  I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me.  As I was holding back tears, I told him I wish I could make it stop hurting and I rubbed his back and gave him a massage.  I think that was the first time in a LONG time that I felt hurt to my soul.  My sweet little baby that has touched so many people and ultimately changed our life for the good forever probably lives daily with more pain than I ever will and you would NEVER know it.  He always has such a brave face.  I wish I could take his place and endure his pain, any mama would want to keep their baby comfortable and safe.  All I can do is pray the God will protect Wyatt and hold him in His hands of mercy and grace.
Jenny

Spina Bifida Clinic

So February 3rd we had our SB clinic.  Wyatt had to have a video urodynamic study done at Baptist Hospital early in the am and then we went tour SB clinic.  Well luckily, Wyatt's kidneys are still good and we are not required to start cathing to keep them healthy.  Darlenia still wants us to consider starting to cath soon so we will be dry by first grade and Jim and I really want him to be so we will probably start soon.  Neuro had only good things to say.  I did ask if it was common for sb kids to have pain in the low back at times because Wyatt will sometimes rub his back like it hurts him.  They said that yes it could and those muscles could be tight and be uncomfortable.  Then ortho came in!  Yep! We need right achilles tendon lengthening.  This will be done February 28th and he will be casted for 6 weeks total.  Dr. Haber will recast every 2 weeks to look for pressure sores.  Amazingly, I am ok with this for the time being.  I am sure when the time comes to give them my baby over, I will not be ok.  We are scared but know that this is a step we need to get him walking.
Jenny

For Shea

Below I linked a post from Shea's new mommy.  She has now received the most devastating news that Shea has been scheduled to be transferred from the baby orphanage to the institution.  Generally when special needs children are transferred there, they are left in the bed alone all day with little to no interaction.  Please have all your prayer warriors working on this one.  Pray that the transfer does not take place, pray that if it does that Shea will be oh so loved by the people there and cared for.  Pray that his new mommy and daddy will soon be allowed to bring him home.  I can not imagine Wyatt being left to fend for himself and not being loved on each and every day.  Thank you for your prayers!
Jenny

Controlled Chaos!: one more angel on a grey cloud day.... transfer sc...

Controlled Chaos!: one more angel on a grey cloud day.... transfer sc...: "The happenings of this very long day... Tuesday was supposed to start out with trips to see two patients and put in some overtime at work.&..."

Miracles!

Want to see one of God's living miracles?  Watch this!!!

The funny thing is that afterwards I showed the video to Wyatt.  Now I have always said that he seems to not even realize that he has legs.  When he saw the video, he gasped and said "OHHH! Wyatt's LEGS!"  Like he just saw them for the first time! I love this kid!

Jenny

TAKE THAT!!!

I know once again it has been a long while since I posted last.  It has really been a rough time for me and Jim.  We do have a huge appointment coming up and that worry has taken its toll.  I know we will get through this time.  But today of all days it had to happen! Wyatt with his braces on, or his RU-RU boots as he calls them, started cruising while standing and holding on to a bench at my mom and dad's house.  We started clapping and screaming and he knew he did it! He was so proud of himself! All I can say is TAKE THAT spina bifida!!! You do not win!
Jenny

Spina Bifida Kids: The Flyer

Spina Bifida Kids: The Flyer

Birth Stories

My first born, Bella!  We were so surprised by this pregnancy.  A few months before Jim and I married, I began having pain daily in my low abdomen.  Being too busy planning a wedding, I put off going to the doctor until after the wedding.  I will never forget that day.  Jim was not there.  When my OB/GYN suggested an ultrasound, it scared me and I called Jim.  He was literally there is 5 minutes.  So after the ultrasound he said he needed to talk to us in his office.  I think Jim and I both knew this was not a good sign.  He said I had multiple issues that were going to make becoming pregnant, if at all possible, very difficult and most certainly require fertility intervention which were often times unsuccessful.  We were devastated. NO children! My heart was broken.  Life goes on.  So we did too!  We decided to move to the country since we were newlyweds and had no kids then that would be so fun!  About 7 months after we married, we moved into Jim's cabin.  I just could not get over the move.  I was really tired, playing tennis almost every night so I just thought I was exhausted!  So some time went by and I decided to "Trick" Jim and get a pregnancy test.  I came in and made it really dramatic! "Yeah I REALLY think I'm pregnant" HA HA(I'm thinking)  Well joke was on me because it was POSITIVE!  Excitement was not the word!  We were so happy and I knew that ISABELLA had to be her name!  Took a little heat from that because it was not a popular name then.  It fits her perfectly.  We had her and she was also the only grandchild.  I may add she was spoiled to pieces. She has such a sweet heart and really cares about her friends and family.  She gets her feelings hurt easy because she wears them on her sleeve.  She has been a wonderful child and we have been blessed to be her parents.  She is a great big sister and honestly I can say that I do not know if Jim and I would have made it through all this without her help.

There is a story to be told in between but that story will have it's own day because it is a story of grieving and that is not for today.

Now to Wyatt's story!  We had wanted another baby for so long.  After the loss, we just could not bear to lose again so we waited a while.  God taught us a lot during that waiting game.  So I will never forget the day I found out that we were blessed again.  A Friday, so many disappointed times before, but not this one! POSITIVE!! Jim and I were so excited! We had been doing everything right for so long.  I had been eating better, losing weight and taking prenatal vitamins and finally! Pregnant!  We did not want to tell anyone because of what happened before. So secrets became fun between Jim and me.  We traveled to Canada in July for my brother's wedding and the day after we came home I had an appointment.  Another ultrasound, my ob was doing them every 2 weeks to be cautious.  The baby looked great!  Growing bigger, strong heartbeat!  We could no longer keep any secrets, so we spilled the  beans!  My next appointment was about 3 weeks later and they did my routine prenatal labs.  This brings us to the next week.  On a Friday of course I was making rounds seeing patients and my cellphone rang.  My OB says your labs are back and a little abnormal.  Now I do not want you to panic because the chance is like 1 in 300 but I just want you to see my friend that is a perinatologist.  The moment I got off the phone I casually went to my clinic and told the doctor I worked with.  He said well I am sure it is a false positive as most are!  I said I am sure you are right!  We went on September 9th 2008 to see Dr. Kenneth Perry.  In the waiting room I got the answer I was looking for, I felt the first kick! I just knew everything was going to be fine because that was God's way of telling me!  After an ultrasound for about 1 1/2 hours, Dr. Perry became quiet.  The silence was killing me so I prayed for God to take this off my mind.  The verse He gave me was the 23rd Psalm, particularly, "Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil for you are with me".  At that moment, I knew my baby would have Spina Bifida but I also knew that God was in control and we would be okay. So that kick in the lobby was a sign, that baby was telling me "Mommy, I am special and I am a fighter!"  The next thing the doctor said was that the choice to terminate was there.  It was IMMEDIATELY rejected, and the doctor agreed.  He was so supportive and was the BEST physician for telling parents they are having a special baby.  It was our 8th anniversary!  Such a hard day.  We did go through with the amnio that day.  Not as bad as I had thought!  The weeks to come we would find that he had a heart defect that through prayer and a miracle from God once again, healed itself!  For so long it was hard to be happy about being pregnant.  When you have experienced a loss you find it hard to be happy until you know things are going to be okay.  Just when that time came for us, we found out about spina bifida.  I think the first thing I bought was socks because I could easily part from them if we lost him.  Pregnancy was hard! On New Year's Eve he decided he had waited long enough and at a non-stress test they found me to be in labor 8 weeks early.  I was transferred to UMC in Jackson,MS and they were able to hold off delivery until January 2nd, 2009.  I got to see him for about 3 seconds before they whisked him off to assess him.  He was perfect! That is the only word I can find.  Our world has been a roller coaster since that very moment but what a ride!  I can not imagine our life without Wyatt (which means "warrior", Bella picked it out).  His life has already touched and blessed so many others.  I am a better person because I am his mama. 
So to my two beautiful children, I LOVE YOU BOTH AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Night time

Last night as Wyatt and I enjoyed our nightly ritual of rocking together until he falls asleep, I was reminded of times when I had my first child, Bella.  She will be nine in 2 weeks.  I remember laying in bed and watching her all night sometimes. Initially it started from a fear of her stopping breathing.  When she was a baby, we lived far into the woods.  The moonlight would do so much there because it had so many filters with all the trees.  I would watch Bella as the moonlight would come through the window and how it would cast light onto her face.  I remember thinking how amazing it was to be her mother and how beautiful she was even with just moonlight on her face.  Now I find myself holding Wyatt and rocking him at night.  I LOVE this boy's feet!  They are so soft and sweet.  My husband and I both have a habit of massaging and stretching his feet while he sleeps so the paralysis doesn't tighten his feet.  I guess some would say his feet are imperfect from the spina bifida.  I do not! Those are the feet that God blessed us with in so many ways.  I am so thankful for my children and the lessons I learn from them daily.  We are quickly approaching Wyatt and Bella's birthday so I guess that is why I am so sappy! HA I think it is about time for birth stories!
Jenny

Christmas time

Well I know it has been a while again.  We have once again had a few crazy weeks.  My best friend moved away last week and although she is still in Mississippi, the loss of her constant support and presence in my life leaves me feeling really sad in ways I can not explain!  It has really been hard to focus on this being holiday time!  The kids can help snap me out of that! Surprisingly, Wyatt LOVES Santa!  I mean what 23 month old will fight and cry to go up to him and touch him?  Most are screaming to get away, NOT Wyatt!  He wants to touch every single one of them he sees!  Now this is the same child that at the beginning of December thought Santa was my Grandmother that passed away when he was about 13 days old and still in the NICU.  We have always told him who she was and shown him pictures! So he would see Santa and say "MAMAW"!  So funny!  Bella is really excited to be out of school and to get to spend some time with her brother and her aunt and Nan!  It has been really busy but slowing down enough now for us to stop and really cherish the reason for Christmas! JESUS!  And we are so thankful!
Jenny



Wyatt and Bella with Santa at Bass Pro Shop, December 2010



Spina Bifida Kids: Another talent to share!!

Spina Bifida Kids: Another talent to share!!: "Let me introduce you to Jennifer!! Jennifer has 2 little ones and still has time to make some beautiful things!! Amazing TUTUs and HairC..."

Wyatt does wear leg warmers because of his poor circulation. Especially this time of year they keep his tootsies warm!
Jenny

Lovin on the cat!

I think the cat thought if he just played dead that Wyatt would go away! NOT HAPPENING!