This is for a little girl that lives in the next town over in our county. My son's second grade teacher is her godmother.
Please pray for her and then send a note to her and her mom to let them know. They are currently at St. Lukes getting treatment.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/darcycassidy
Monday, February 23, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Paulina's hero
I assigned Paulina to write an essay about her hero. Here it is.
My Hero
By: Paulina Fuller
My hero is my Doctor, Dr. Herring. He has changed my life in many ways.
Dr. Herring did two surgeries on me. In the first surgery he cut off my foot cause it was in the way of me walking, so I could like not walk. Then I got prosthetics and learned how to walk. Then for my second surgery that was on my other leg on my condile you probably don’t know what that is. It’s a bone that sticks out of your leg. One of my condiles on my left leg was growing sideways. I could not even wear jeans. That was bad. So he did a surgery on that condile and he like shaved it down a little and now I get to wear jeans. And now that bone doesn’t grow so funny.
Because I got my legs, I love to dance. That’s one of my hobbies. The kinds of dance I do, in case you are wondering, I do two jazz classes, and tap, ballet, hip hop and clogging and I do solos. On one of my solos for this year I start out with my legs and then I go in a mirror and I take my legs off and change clothes and I am just me! It’s called a lyrical dance, if you want to know. On my other solo, I just leave my legs off for the whole song and do Girls just want to have fun. It has lots of flips and gymnastics in it. Clogging was hard because I did it with my legs on and my legs don’t bend at the ankle and I can’t point my toes. But then we decided to try it a different way. My mom got me some large clogging shoes, and I use one of those and one of my last year’s shoes. I have a small foot on my left and I put the small clogging show on that and I put the big clogging shoe on the other leg. I put both shoes on backwards! I bet you can’t clog backwards! It looks really cool, cause my shoes are two sizes and they are backwards. My dance teacher thinks it would be fun for me to go out in my backwards clogging shoes with a hat on backwards and sunglasses on the back of my head. I love dance.
Dr. Herring works in Dallas at a hospital called Scottish Rite. At Scottish Rite a lot of people like me go there so they can be fixed up and almost have a normal life. It’s a really fun place. They have fun doctors and fun movies and when you have surgeries they have a lot of art stuff and sometimes people come and do stuff for us. The minute you walk in there is a really tall ceiling and hanging from it is this bike thing with two people riding it and stuffed animals and stuff, but it’s not real. The add something new almost every year. They also have popcorn, it’s really good, but you have to pay for it, but it’s really cheap, only a quarter and you can get a big one for 50 cents. They have a lot of fish, when I was little and I went there, every time I saw the fish or the trains I would stop and stair, cause they are so cool. They have a store with a lot of pretty stuff, but my favorite thing to buy there is gum, well and the toys and the animals (I am an animal person) After you have surgery the nurses have faces on their nametag and you get to pick how you feel. And people there always have stuff for you, if you are good sometimes you get animals or something. They have elevators to go to every floor and they have mirrors in them even on the ceiling. If you get a prosthetic you can choose what fabric or if you want to look normal you can choose skin. But I always choose the fabric so I won’t be boring. Right now I have Hannah Montana. I go to Wal Mart to get my fabric, but you can get some in prosthetics too. They can make lots of different kinds of prosthetics. They can make running ones that are kind of bendy and have a loop kind of foot and you can run really fast and bounce. When I get in seventh grade I am planning to get some of those legs and do track.
And Camp! The hospital lets us go to out on a limb. I have a friend whose dad runs the camp and she gets to live there. We are best buds. It’s so much fun, you get to go everywhere on golf carts. In the summer we get to go for a whole week and in the winter we get to bring our families, which is cool, cause you get to meet everyone. They also have horses, and miniature golf and a swimming pool we get to go to in the summer and a theater. All that stuff I just said, only happens in the summer, but the movie theater is in the winter also and the golf. They also have games and toys and fish and popcorn and stuff. They have a cool 80’s bathroom. And when you walk through those castle doors, it’s magic, stars on the ceiling and the stage and cool beanbags. They have a backstage too. The way cool thing about camp is everybody has something missing, they are all different like me, so I don’t feel different. Every body at least has one or two limbs missing. So nobody looks at me funny even if I take off my legs.
Dr. Herring, this is the part why he is my hero, he is the one who runs the hospital and he is my doctor which is really cool. He thinks my little foot is cool, I don’t know why, but he just does, he even takes pictures of it. And the very best thing is he is trying he is trying to find a way for me to meet Hannah Montana. He is just a cool doctor, I can’t explain it, he just is. That’s why he is my hero.
By: Paulina Fuller
My hero is my Doctor, Dr. Herring. He has changed my life in many ways.
Dr. Herring did two surgeries on me. In the first surgery he cut off my foot cause it was in the way of me walking, so I could like not walk. Then I got prosthetics and learned how to walk. Then for my second surgery that was on my other leg on my condile you probably don’t know what that is. It’s a bone that sticks out of your leg. One of my condiles on my left leg was growing sideways. I could not even wear jeans. That was bad. So he did a surgery on that condile and he like shaved it down a little and now I get to wear jeans. And now that bone doesn’t grow so funny.
Because I got my legs, I love to dance. That’s one of my hobbies. The kinds of dance I do, in case you are wondering, I do two jazz classes, and tap, ballet, hip hop and clogging and I do solos. On one of my solos for this year I start out with my legs and then I go in a mirror and I take my legs off and change clothes and I am just me! It’s called a lyrical dance, if you want to know. On my other solo, I just leave my legs off for the whole song and do Girls just want to have fun. It has lots of flips and gymnastics in it. Clogging was hard because I did it with my legs on and my legs don’t bend at the ankle and I can’t point my toes. But then we decided to try it a different way. My mom got me some large clogging shoes, and I use one of those and one of my last year’s shoes. I have a small foot on my left and I put the small clogging show on that and I put the big clogging shoe on the other leg. I put both shoes on backwards! I bet you can’t clog backwards! It looks really cool, cause my shoes are two sizes and they are backwards. My dance teacher thinks it would be fun for me to go out in my backwards clogging shoes with a hat on backwards and sunglasses on the back of my head. I love dance.
Dr. Herring works in Dallas at a hospital called Scottish Rite. At Scottish Rite a lot of people like me go there so they can be fixed up and almost have a normal life. It’s a really fun place. They have fun doctors and fun movies and when you have surgeries they have a lot of art stuff and sometimes people come and do stuff for us. The minute you walk in there is a really tall ceiling and hanging from it is this bike thing with two people riding it and stuffed animals and stuff, but it’s not real. The add something new almost every year. They also have popcorn, it’s really good, but you have to pay for it, but it’s really cheap, only a quarter and you can get a big one for 50 cents. They have a lot of fish, when I was little and I went there, every time I saw the fish or the trains I would stop and stair, cause they are so cool. They have a store with a lot of pretty stuff, but my favorite thing to buy there is gum, well and the toys and the animals (I am an animal person) After you have surgery the nurses have faces on their nametag and you get to pick how you feel. And people there always have stuff for you, if you are good sometimes you get animals or something. They have elevators to go to every floor and they have mirrors in them even on the ceiling. If you get a prosthetic you can choose what fabric or if you want to look normal you can choose skin. But I always choose the fabric so I won’t be boring. Right now I have Hannah Montana. I go to Wal Mart to get my fabric, but you can get some in prosthetics too. They can make lots of different kinds of prosthetics. They can make running ones that are kind of bendy and have a loop kind of foot and you can run really fast and bounce. When I get in seventh grade I am planning to get some of those legs and do track.
And Camp! The hospital lets us go to out on a limb. I have a friend whose dad runs the camp and she gets to live there. We are best buds. It’s so much fun, you get to go everywhere on golf carts. In the summer we get to go for a whole week and in the winter we get to bring our families, which is cool, cause you get to meet everyone. They also have horses, and miniature golf and a swimming pool we get to go to in the summer and a theater. All that stuff I just said, only happens in the summer, but the movie theater is in the winter also and the golf. They also have games and toys and fish and popcorn and stuff. They have a cool 80’s bathroom. And when you walk through those castle doors, it’s magic, stars on the ceiling and the stage and cool beanbags. They have a backstage too. The way cool thing about camp is everybody has something missing, they are all different like me, so I don’t feel different. Every body at least has one or two limbs missing. So nobody looks at me funny even if I take off my legs.
Dr. Herring, this is the part why he is my hero, he is the one who runs the hospital and he is my doctor which is really cool. He thinks my little foot is cool, I don’t know why, but he just does, he even takes pictures of it. And the very best thing is he is trying he is trying to find a way for me to meet Hannah Montana. He is just a cool doctor, I can’t explain it, he just is. That’s why he is my hero.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Prayer request
I have a prayer request for a friend. This man is a Godly man. He has raised three step children and then grandchildren. He still has three living with him. He has cancer and we are told the end is near. His cancer is a result of Agent Orange, but because he was exposed on a ship and not on the ground he was denied his veterens benefits. We need to pray for this family. Pray for him, as he is in lots of pain. Pray for his wife as this is very hard on her. Pray especially for his Grandson J. This little boy has stolen my heart. I can't go into his story here, but he needs a lot of prayer. He is five years old and God knows the whole story. He is very, very close to his grandpa.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Peace on Earth?
I don't know about the whole planet, but our cat and dog seem to be doing pretty well. I tried to go outside and get a better picture (this one is through the window and the screen) but they both jumped down. Our Terrier Sandy, is a digger so we can't keep her in a fence, so she must be on a chain. However, we have this old wheelchair on our front porch which she likes to sleep on. It must have been cool this morning because our outside cat Gizzy (she came with the house, and was already an outside cat, she is mosty long fur!) was curled up with the Sandy. Aren't they cute together?
Monday, February 9, 2009
Pictures just for fun
Just some pictures for fun. Mostly Marceli this time. He loves his skateboard and his car. He looks so cute in his new glasses. I love the picture of Shiloh playing Tuba with Marceli in it!
Rad and God
My youngest son found a verse he liked in scripture yesterday. It was part of the sermon. I found myself trying to give him breif whispered answers to his questions, but also trying to not disrupt the sermon since we sit in the front row! We have had many discussions about God and love. This verse said "Perfect Love casts out Fear". He was very intriqued by that thought. You see to him, love and fear are all wrapped up together. To him, love is scary. Someone starts taking care of you, and you start to care about them and then they leave and it hurts. This happened over and over and over in his young life. He has many fears. He fears growing bigger and not being cute. Cute and small has been his identity, his trade, he has learned to use it. He is a very smart kid. He has looked around and realized that it doesn't work when you are bigger. He will have to find a new identity, and that is scary. What he is used to works for him and has been working for years. So this makes him afraid of growing, so he is afraid to eat. Part of him wants to grow and be big, but another part is afraid. So food has now become something scary because eating makes you grow. Love is scary cause you have to open yourself up. Trust is also scary. He also fears not being in control. He told me once he asked Jesus into his heart, but kicked him back out cause he was too bossy. Not sure about the theology there, but the kid was being honest about his feelings, so I will take it. The truth is, he is not in control of his life. He did not get to choose how many limbs to be born with, he did not get to choose where to be born, or to have parents. He did not get to choose to come to a new country and have to learn a whole new language and culture. He does not get a choice about when to go to bed or whether to go to school. There is really very little in his life he is in control of. However, it frightens him to not be in control, so he tries very hard to control what he can. He controls whether or not he eats and if he keeps the food down. He tries very hard to control the people around him. He has been practicing for a long time. He made a study of adults and sometimes he can control them. He learned how to trick people, he learned how to lie convincingly. He learned to watch adults carefully and know when they were watching and when they weren't. He learned to watch for subtle changes of expression that would tell him if what he was saying was pleasing them or not. He learned to carefully say things that would make them smile. He thinks he can fool all adults. This is not true of course, most adults can see what he is trying to do but ignore it. A few are fooled but they are not major players in his life, so really, fooling them gains him nothing.
I started thinking about how all of us respond to God. It's not so different you know. My son's problems were caused because the original plan, the way things are supposed to go for a baby got disrupted. When a baby is born, what is supposed to happen is there is supposed to be one person, usually the mother, who is the primary caregiver. This person is devoted to that baby. When baby is hungry this person feeds them, sometimes before the baby even has time to cry. When baby is wet, hot, cold, sick, lonley, or tired this person jumps in to try to fix it. A dry diaper, a soft warm place to sleep, a hug whatever that baby needs is provided. With my son that was disrupted. He did not have a parent to care for him this way. Sometimes when he was hungry or wet he got taken care of right away, sometimes he didn't. Every cry was not noticed. Because this first relationship was broken, he has a hard time with all his relationships. He does not have that first one to work off of. Look at us and God. The original plan had God as our primary caregiver. Look at the life Adam and Eve had. Everything was provided. The temperature was perfect all the time, food was right there whenever they wanted it. He walked with them and talked with them. Then the original plan got broken. The relationship got damaged. A seed of doubt was planted. That seed of doubt my son has "will mom really always be there for me or will she get tired of me and dump me?" is very much like the seed the snake put in Eve's mind, "Does God really want what's best for me? Is He really going to take care of me, or should I be prepared to take care of myself just in case?"
In both cases the trust was broken. My son has trouble trusting me to take care of him. We all have trouble trusting God to take care of us. When I won't let him watch TV all night long, he wonders if I love him or I am being mean. When God tells us no to something we want, we wonder if he really loves us or if he is being mean. My son has come a long way in his trust of me. I only hope that I am making similar progress in my Trust of my Father.
I started thinking about how all of us respond to God. It's not so different you know. My son's problems were caused because the original plan, the way things are supposed to go for a baby got disrupted. When a baby is born, what is supposed to happen is there is supposed to be one person, usually the mother, who is the primary caregiver. This person is devoted to that baby. When baby is hungry this person feeds them, sometimes before the baby even has time to cry. When baby is wet, hot, cold, sick, lonley, or tired this person jumps in to try to fix it. A dry diaper, a soft warm place to sleep, a hug whatever that baby needs is provided. With my son that was disrupted. He did not have a parent to care for him this way. Sometimes when he was hungry or wet he got taken care of right away, sometimes he didn't. Every cry was not noticed. Because this first relationship was broken, he has a hard time with all his relationships. He does not have that first one to work off of. Look at us and God. The original plan had God as our primary caregiver. Look at the life Adam and Eve had. Everything was provided. The temperature was perfect all the time, food was right there whenever they wanted it. He walked with them and talked with them. Then the original plan got broken. The relationship got damaged. A seed of doubt was planted. That seed of doubt my son has "will mom really always be there for me or will she get tired of me and dump me?" is very much like the seed the snake put in Eve's mind, "Does God really want what's best for me? Is He really going to take care of me, or should I be prepared to take care of myself just in case?"
In both cases the trust was broken. My son has trouble trusting me to take care of him. We all have trouble trusting God to take care of us. When I won't let him watch TV all night long, he wonders if I love him or I am being mean. When God tells us no to something we want, we wonder if he really loves us or if he is being mean. My son has come a long way in his trust of me. I only hope that I am making similar progress in my Trust of my Father.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Cruise Jam session
One of the fun things they did on the cruise was something totally not planned. Mandissa's Bass player, gathered each night a bunch of musicians from the many bands that were there and they did midnight jam sessions. Shiloh attended all of these and took some video. Here is one of his videos.
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