Answered Prayers

Titus evaluation under anesthetic went smoothly yesterday. His pressures are a little high but the doctor is not too concerned. But the overwhelming answer to prayer was that Titus came out from under the anesthesia quickly and with no problems. Within 2 hours, they were in the car and headed to the K's house.

Becky called this morning to say he had a "normal" night - which means the alarms went off a few times due to desat's, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Thanks so much for all the prayers.

I Know . . . I Know

I know I stated in the last update that I would update more often since I hadn't in awhile.

But, after struggling with a virus on my computer, which led to a total re-build and new OS (and no laptop for a few days), and then a week of vacation (where I swore I would NOT be on my laptop), the weeks have flown by.

Here's a quick update of what all has gone on.

We took a small "staycation" before Memorial Day and spent a few days at Great Wolf Lodge here in town. Since the boys have finished their homeschool (but public schools were still in session), the water park at Great Wolf was not crowded. This meant we could ride all the slides as often as we wanted. It also meant we could climb the 6-7 stories of stairs without any stops as quickly as we could. For some reason, the boys don't seem to get winded climbing 6 flights of stairs 10 times in a row.

The next week, Aidan, Noah, and Becky left for Xtreme Camp with the church youth group. For the next 4 days, I only got scattered emails and 2 short phone calls that she sneaked in, but when I picked them up at midnight on Tuesday, all 3 were talking non-stop. They had a blast spiritually and physically. While they were gone, I kept Tucker, Cade, and Titus for the weekend, then Tucker and Cade went camping with MeeMaw and PeePaw (so they felt like they went to camp too). They had a great time - and Cade summed it up with the statement "We went hiking through the graveyard, but no one was there!"

That left me to care for Titus for 2 days. Although the nurse came at night, it was just him and me for a few days. We went to therapy, doctor's appt., to the store, etc. I realized going to the store takes more effort than I remember since you can't really push his stroller and a cart at the same time - so everything had to fit in a basket. It did make me realize all the work/effort Becky goes through every day with him while I am at work.

After a very busy weekend, Becky and the boys left this morning for Houston. Titus has an evaluation under anesthesia with his pediatric opthmalogist. Several months back, Titus had his annual appointment with the opthmalogist, but they could not get accurate pressures on his eyes while he was awake (and squirming) so this appointment is to go back and review that while he is under anesthesia. As a reminder, Titus had pediatric glaucoma and this doctor has done two surgeries on Titus' eyes when Titus was so young.

Our concerns are always with Titus going under anesthetic - what should be routine for most can take hours (and sometimes days) to get Titus back to normal. The last time we put Titus under was at Cincinnati Children's in December 09 for an evaluation and we ended up in the PICU for 4 days. Becky is prepared to stay at the hospital if needed, but we are praying that Titus is healthier/stronger now that it will just be a few hours today.

The boys will be staying with our friends in Lake Jackson - (you know, our friends with 5 kids - cause when you have 5, what's 5 more - right?) For them, this is their second summer vacation and they were so excited. (And Mike/Jody - as far as I know, Tucker did NOT sneak the rabbit in the car this morning, so need to worry about more baby rabbits being passed on from our household).

I'll update with more as I hear it.

Cupcakes

I know . . . I know.

I haven't blogged much lately. I've been getting the comments from people, so I'll try to comply and be a bit more timely in my updates.

Last Friday, Titus made cupcakes for Becky for Mother's Day. But, the story behind the little cupcake that came home was quite humorous.

Many of Titus' toys are "switch" activated. This means, Titus will hit a type of switch (usually large and round) and the switch will activate a light/sound/fan. Titus learns how to work these toys pretty quickly at school.

His teacher, Ms. Lindsey, activated a switch to a blender for them to make cupcakes. Each of the 3 children took turns hitting the switch to turn the blender on and mix the cake batter. After the batter was mixed, Ms. Lindsey raised the beaters from the blender . . . and Titus reached over and hit the switch.

Yes (just like a Curious George episode) batter went flying over the room, over the teacher, over Titus. It just goes to show, you got to keep your eye on these visually-impaired kids. You never know what they are going to do.

Here's a few pictures of Becky with her incredible boys. She is an amazing mom and an incredible encourager to other Mom's. When you read this, please pray for her as she leads her GEMS group tonight.

Gloriously Ruined

I love a good story.
I love a great blog.
And I love to see how God moves people in such a way that their life is never the same. The life of comfort and ease that they have grown accustomed to is changed . . . it's ruined . . . gloriously ruined.

Our family has several friends that have had their lives ruined forever. One family has just returned from South Africa where they served faithfully for the last 2 years at Ft. White. And another family just returned from Ethiopia where they were able to put "skin" on their dreams when they got to see their new daughter for the first time. And the other is a young single woman who is devoted her life to caring for orphans in Uganda - we've never met her, but her blog and story has moved us.

So for Philip and Becky, Eric and Laura, and Mandy, I write this for you.

You have been gloriously ruined. You will never take for granted a paved road, a stocked grocery store, consistent electricity, a full tank of gas (even at $4/gallon). You will never see life through the rose-colored, self-centered, materialistic lens that have become so comfortably ensconced on the faces of most Americans. You now realize that the pursuit of the "American Dream" is a bit useless when the rest of world has so little to call their very own. And when you look at people, you no longer see the color of their skin, but only the light in their eyes.

You now know that it doesn't matter how much dirt you can carry in on your shoes at the end of the day - cleanliness is NOT next to godliness, but godliness is wrapped in how willing we are to get dirty.

You have taught me that God moves in very mysterious ways. Sometimes that includes selling all you have to move to South Africa for several years; sometimes that means opening up your heart and home to child on the other side of the world; sometimes it means caring for children and babies with HIV and bringing home one more baby to care for when your house is already full.

You have been willing to put up discomfort, pain, financial difficulty, (home)sickness, and loss of all the comforts that I so easily enjoy. You have even had days without a consistent, high-speed connection to the internet. And yet, you survived, you persevered, you learned, and you have grown. And I would wager that the life and dreams you thought you had so gloriously planned for yourself (and family) has been ruined because you answered one simple question. You said "Yes" when God said "Go!"

You have taught me that life is meant to be ruined . . . gloriously ruined for the sake of following Christ and not following self.

Philip and Becky - I know you have left a part of your heart in South Africa. But the example you have shown of a family that is fully sold out to God has changed lives all over the world.

Eric and Laura - I eagerly anticipate the day that your beautiful daughter is in your arms forever.

Mandy - I have never met you, but your words/pictures and dedication to the orphans in Uganda breaks my heart every time. You are the hands and feet of Jesus in a world full of disease and poverty.

Thank you for reminding me that's what life is all about.

A Quiet Evening

This is one of those busy months. It seems like we have something almost every night for the last week and coming up for the next few weeks. With Titus in the hospital last week, then the wedding over the weekend, this week was looking to be packed every evening.

But Becky re-arranged her GEMS meeting to next Tuesday so that we could have tonight off. . . just family . . . with nowhere we had to be. I left work earlyl to make sure I get home early enough to enjoy the evening (althougth I did have to stop at the bank and the dry cleaners). I walk in and dinner is out on the back porch - pork chops, rice, and broccoli were a perfect complement to the 78 degrees and nice evening. After dinner, I sat and held Titus while the kids played in the backyard.

After 30 minutes of nice conversation with my wife, we had just gotten up to begin clearing off the table when I hear those familiar sounds - a child's cry - the type of cry that means "I'm hurt", followed by another child immediately apologizing then saying "Tucker, run to dad NOW."

And as Tucker is running to me, I see the trickle of blood running down his face. I have him remove his hands and look at his eyebrow which has a nice gash and I knew - "yep- that's about 2 stitches worth".

I pick him up, take him to the bathroom while telling Becky to get prepared to take him to the ER (with specific instructions to take him to the one that takes our insurance and not the one who "says" they take our insurance, but their doctors who bill out through another agency do not.) I clean off Tucker's wound, put a rag with ice on it to for Tucker to hold there and then get Tucker to the car along with Noah. I stop for moment, hold him close, and pray in his ear for courage and strength to be brave. By now, the bleeding has stopped, but the gash is still pretty big.

Becky calls me on the way and questions "do we really need stitches, or can we just butterfly it and see how it goes?" to which I reply, "this is Tuck's 2nd trip to the ER for stitches in 6 months and at this rate, he's going to have the nickname Scarface by high school." Reason wins out, and off they go to Children's Legacy campus.

A few hours later, Tuck calls me to let me know he was brave and on his way home with 2 stitches.

And, that my friends, is a quiet evening in the Daily household.  

Wedding Weekend

Titus has been home for several days, and he is doing quite well. As in the past, as soon as we put Titus in the car at the hospital, he started smiling and babbling. And as soon as we walked into the house, he knew he was home and was so excited and happy to be home. Becky had arranged for nursing care to be there for the next 72 hours, and that has been a great help in letting Becky get some rest.

Tucker, Cade, and myself have also came down with the same virus as Titus has. Tucker and Cade keep running a fever off and on. I only had fever for a day, but now it's settled in my eyes and throat. It looks like I have pink eye and my throat is still pretty sore. So we've been a pretty sick lot around here.

But, it was also a wedding weekend. My oldest nephew, Nathan, married his lovely bride Bailey last night. I volunteered my 'floral' services to my sister for the rehearsal dinner on Friday night and spent most of Thursday/Friday getting things ready for that party. Thursday morning, my delivery of fresh roses, gerber daisy's, tulips, hydrangeas, and lily's arrived. The house smelled wonderful. Friday afternoon, everything was setup with enough votive candles to light a bonfire for a beautiful and tasty rehearsal dinner.

Saturday, we rested as much as we could, and then drove downtown for the wedding. As much as we wanted to take Titus, we knew it was best for him to stay home. All the boys got dressed up and Becky was smoking in her new blue dress. Tucker and Cade rallied enough to attend the wedding, but we sent them home prior to the reception. The reception was the Hickory Creek Annex, and old, converted warehouse downtown. We had an awesome bar-b-que catered by Eddie Dean and then watched as the dancing began - even Aidan and Noah (and my mother joined in). I have to admit - I have NEVER seen my sister or my mother dance.

And in 3 months, we get to do it again when Jeremy, our other nephew marries Lauren in Waco.

Nathan and Bailey - congratulations! It was a beautiful and fun weekend.

Home Again

It was a very crazy and rushed day yesterday and I didn't get the chance to post. Titus was released to come from the hospital yesterday. By the time I was able to get down there, get Titus loaded up, and make it home, It was closer to 8pm.

Tucker, Cade, Noah, & Aidan were all so glad to see him. Quita was finally calm and has not left his side (or bed).

Tucker and Cade are still fighting the same fever that Titus had, and I have been fighting it the past few days. It's been a long time since I felt this miserable, so I can only imagine how Titus has felt over the last week.

We are so fortunate and loved. Becky has worked out 24X7 nursing care for the next few days at home.

And, it's also a wedding weekend! My oldest nephew, Nathan is marrying his beautiful bride, Bailey tomorrow. Everyone is resting up so that we can enjoy the celebration tomorrow. (I even gave Tucker dancing lessons with the reminder - "put your hand on her hip, not her thigh).