Grateful Sunday: Lisa

Living in a fast paced, technology thriving society these days can certainly distract us from being thankful for the things that we are all guilty of taking for granted.  We are surrounded by iPhones, iPads, iMac and "i-stuff," when often the "little things" in life are forgotten.  Don't get me wrong, technology is a wonderful tool, and I use it everyday.  I am finding that I have to force myself to slow down, and soak in all that God has given me:  the ability to walk and talk, read and write, having a place to call home, a car to drive, air in my lungs, food to eat.....Of course there are so many more, but you get the idea.  For these things, I have a grateful heart.

-Lisa

Brown Family Blogging

Today we have a post from one of our family bloggers, Lisa Brown. Welcome to the blog, Browns!

Hello from Texas.....we are the Brown family.  My name is Lisa and my husband is Steve, and our two boys from left to right are Landon (8), and Logan 12. 

Logan was born with Apert Syndrome on January 18, 2002 at Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, and also has a diagnosis of ADHD.  We are very fortunate to be close to our craniofacial team here in Dallas, as it is only about a 2 hour drive for us.  We live in Weatherford, Texas, which is just outside the metroplex of Fort Worth, and enjoy living in the "country."  I have been a special education teacher for 12 years, and my husband was a former teacher/coach, but now works for the railroad at BNSF as a dispatcher.

Logan has had a total of 11 surgeries - 5 of them were cranial vaults, 2 syndactyly releases, LeFort III (mid-face advancement - attach and removal), arterial tear coil clamp, and a palletal fistula repair. Our next adventure will most likely be orthodontia.  Oral appliances, braces, etc...here we come!!

Logan loves to create and build things from Legos, without directions I might add, and he comes up with some pretty cool designs!   He also likes to play video games and drive his new go cart.  As a family, we enjoy being outdoors riding go carts, swimming, camping trips, going to the ballpark to watch the Texas Rangers baseball games, and watching movies together.

We are a very blessed family, and thank God everyday for the blessings He has given us, through the good times and the very tough times.

Logan has inspired us and taught us more things than I can even mention through his strength, courageousness, and perseverance.
I have recently entered into the world of "blogging," and find that it is a wonderful tool. It has helped, not only to share our story, but to connect with others and hope that families with children who have craniofacial differences can relate in some way, and feel that they are not alone.  It has taken me 12 years to get to this point, to reach out, and am so thankful that I have.  If you ever want to visit my blog, go to: onerealhero.blogspot.com, or it is also posted on the CCAKids Family Blogs under the Apert Syndrome link.
I am still an amateur at blogging, but would welcome feedback from experienced bloggers.

-Lisa

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"Plants aren't children..." and other great advice

The most well-meaning, but for me, useless, piece of advice I got while Shierry was a newborn was to "cherish every moment, it goes by so fast." I was grateful time was going fast. I don't really understand what "the speed of light" is, but with a completely helpless, confusing newborn in my care, I wished time was faster than that. I found the constant doctors’ appointments actually easier to deal with than a crying, inconsistent baby. At least at the doctor, I knew exactly what to do. 

Now that she’s an utterly adorable and charming eight month old, that advice makes a bit more sense. But of even more relevance to me at the moment are two adages of my grandmother. “Plants aren't children, you can throw them out” and “Who cares, as long as they’re potty-trained by kindergarten.”

Literally, if your kid is being fussy or being hilarious and you forget about watering your plant for, say, five weeks, throw it out and feel that sense of relief. It’s alright, you can get a new one. Or not. It doesn't matter. Maybe you’ll find that you no longer care about plants or, if you’re like me, that not only do you no longer care about plants, but that you only ever cared about plants because you wanted people who came to your house to think you cared about plants. This mantra can be extended to other aspects of your home. The dishes aren't children, they can stay dirty in the sink for an extra day. The laundry isn't a child, it can stay abandoned, out of sight for however long it takes you to run out of clothes. 

As our babies turn into toddlers, they’re supposed to acquire all these new skills on a roughly predictable timeline. However, we were super late starting solids because, with her complete palate cleft, it took us so long to even find a bottle that fed her formula efficiently. Without a natural barrier, even the completely pureed foods go right up to her nose and out her nostrils. She sometimes panics when the food backs up in her nose and she can’t breathe. Then, the meal is over. I don’t know this for a fact, but it seems like her crawling is a bit delayed, and I can’t help but feel that it’s partially due to all the time she has spent in the hospital at pivotal developmental moments. As for her speech, she tries, she babbles constantly, but the sounds are not the syllables and mimicking of the other kids. But, whenever I fret, I remember my grandmother’s words. “As long as they’re potty-trained by kindergarten” to me means, don’t worry about whatever other supposedly normal and perfect children are doing when. When she’s able to and interested in doing something, she’ll do it. We can’t will anything to happen. All we can do is help her along. The only thing we can force her to do on time is get to her specialist appointments. 

-Rachel

Grateful Sunday