Once again! Where to begin!!

Once again we packed bags, finished up projects and jobs at home, cleaned the house, spent a wonderful family day together, packed the car, delivered five kids to Grandparents, and took off for Texas. This time the good bye was so much harder for all of us and I'm really not sure why. Maybe because we knew a little better what a lengthy separation would be like, maybe because we wanted so badly for this time to actually work out but we were all trying to not get our hopes up since we have been here before. Not sure but it was hard. You could see in the children's faces and feel in their hugs the heartache each one was feeling. The many times each came back for one more hug before we finally took off. I really can't thank enough all of you who are involved in loving on our other kids while we are away and there are so many.

I will share little glimpses of the week leading up to our departure. My plan was to write a post on the way out of town about all of that and then do another before surgery about the days here but since that did not happen it will all be here together. It was a busy but good week. We were able to get a lot of things done and spend a lot of time together. There were a few books the kids had gotten for Christmas that we were trying to finish reading together before we left and we actually finished all of them so I considered that a big accomplishment!! Sometimes it is the simplest things. We were able to spend some time with friends and family and Alex was able to have short visits with several special people in her life.

Alex had a sleepover with her cousin and a play date with a friend. They built tents, played dress up, and had a picnic. We had a window visit with her backward foot buddy, Ella, and a special visit from her friend Sydney. These four girls have become very special to her and these visits were important. Ella is her friend who is battling cancer and just had another surgery to remove a tumor from her lung. Please pray for her as she recovers and pray for miraculous healing of her cancer. She is such a sweet girl and her family has become very dear. They played tic tac toe and drew pictures on the glass with dry erase markers, had hot cider, gave air hugs through the glass, and chatted using walkie talkies. It was so creative and fun for them all. Ella made matching dresses for herself and Alex. Alex's says Unstoppable Alex, and Ella's says Unstoppable Ella! They are quite the duo. LaRue got up one morning and made a wonderful breakfast for the family. Bacon, eggs, and pancakes. She is quite the chef.

Our goal was to be packed and cleaned up and ready to go by Sunday so we could take Monday to just be together. It was a success and we had a really fun day together. We went bowling, which is something Alex loves because she can do it no matter how she is feeling. Sometimes she is able to drop the ball and sometimes we carry it to the ramp and other times she sits on the ground and pushes the ball. This was a pushing kind of day and she enjoyed it.

After bowling we took a walk at the park. It was supposed to be raining and we were glad the rain held out. We hiked in the woods, explored a cave, and sped down the hill. Everyone had a good time and enjoyed the fresh air.

The final event of the day, at Alex's request, was a silly costume dance party. Some participants were more willing than others to dress up. It was a good time. This past week Alex's brace has been hurting her so she has not wanted to wear it. The hard part about this is that traditionally when she has not worn the brace for an extended period of time she has fractured. We have had her be as careful as we could and thankfully there have not been any major accidents. Typically I would have taken her to have the brace adjusted but since we were leaving so soon and the brace was not going to be able to be used anymore after surgery we decided to just be careful and wait. It is always a challenge to navigate what is best and what she wants and what causes pain or discomfort. As always she is a trooper.

And now we arrive at departure day. When we dropped the kids off we had a time of prayer together and sang It Is Well, the Kristen Dimarco version that Alex loves so much. The kids all raced down the side of the road in the yards as we drove off. Like I said before this was really hard.

Our travels went really well. We made it halfway on Tuesday and then came the rest of the way Wednesday. We got settled in Wednesday night and took her to the zoo for a little while on Thursday. Her favorite thing was watching Gus, their new hippo playing in the water. He is such a playful little guy and we stayed there enjoying him for a long time. The other most interesting thing was that it was feeding time for the snakes and we were able to watch one of the Boa's consume a huge rat. Alex said it was really interesting so she had to watch but it was disgusting! HaHa! I understood her conflict. We took video to send to her brothers and sister. The water lizard was fun to watch. It followed Alex back and forth in the tank and kept coming right to her face at the glass. Of course she decided he was asking her to take him home.

Today was another busy one. We had appointments beginning at nine. The way this hospital handles these things is really great. We were put in a spacious room and throughout the morning all of Alex's surgical team as well as nurses, therapists, child life, research and others who would participate in her care came to us to visit, share their role, get papers signed, and give us a chance to ask questions. Even the lab tech came to us. When there were gaps between people able to make it we went for her photos and videos of her walking as well as her imaging. Everything happened in just a few hours and was really efficient. I was highly impressed. When, Andrea, the child life specialist came in she brought Alex a special gift. Andrea made this doll for Alex. Talk about over and above. Look closely at the doll and you will see why Alex has her squealy face on!! All these little things are helping to calm all of our hearts in preparation for Monday. When Alex was asked by the child phycologist if there was anything she was nervous about, she said yes. When asked what that was she said she was nervous about having to leave Mommy when they take her back for surgery. This was before Andrea came in with the doll. After spending some sweet time bonding with her gift giver and being told that Mrs. Andrea would be able to stay with her all the way until she went to sleep that really eased her mind so much. Andrea also asked if Alex had a special song and she saved it is well to her phone so she will have it to play as they head to surgery. This is the amazing team of people God has lined up for us. We couldn't be more thankful for the many blessings.

After we were finished at the doctor we met Brent outside and walked down the street to get some lunch and then he and she went to the park to play while I came back to the condo to get this written and out to you all before anything else happens and the post gets any longer!! Another big blessing is that this condo was a gift to us for this week and it is only two blocks from the hospital and one beautiful block from the park. Thank you to all who have given so much to make this happen.

Please pray as we near surgery day. We have to be at the hospital at 5 am Monday morning to get ready for surgery. Our dear pastor, Ian Sears, is flying out to be with us for surgery day. Such a special gift. The three of us will pray with her before we go inside and then Brent will wait for me to come back out after they take her to surgery. We do not know what time surgery will begin but we know they hope to get an early start since it will be such a lengthy procedure. Brent and I can sit in the entrance lobby but we can also walk around outside or even go to the condo since it is so close by. The weather is supposed to be very nice so I am sure we will do a lot of walking. When she was in procedures in the past at Vanderbilt walking was what we enjoyed doing together. My hope is that I will update you all here one a day while she is in the hospital. Posts will likely be very short but something to give you a little information. I will also be posting on MeWe and probably instagram if you want to follow there although more details will be here.

Pray for the Grandparents and our other children as they are back in TN. Pray for peace in their hearts throughout the day.

Pray for safety of travel for Pastor Sears as he comes Sunday evening and heads home Tuesday.

Pray for Alex, Brent, and I to continue to be covered in peace that can only come from God.

Pray for her doctors, nurses, and all the other staff as they prepare for this procedure and on surgery day. There are so many involved who have spent a lot of time preparing already and we couldn't be more thankful for them.

We love you all and are thankful that we can know so many are praying for us and caring for us and our other children during this time.