Amazing!!!

I found on You Tube today a short clip describing exactly what spinda bifida is, how the hyrdochepalus develops that might answer alot of questions for people.



Also I found a clip that describes and shows the fetal surgery that Addi and I had at 25 weeks. It is a wonderful thing the doctors can do. But at the same time, listening to these doctors made me smile. Our God is SOOOOO good! The power of prayer is amazing. Bear with me for one moment. The doctors talk about how long the mother is expected to stay in the hospital 3 to 5 days. I was out in 48 hours!!! They also talk about the expected stay of the baby after it is born. They say "depending on when the length of thime the due date was" So....delivery was set for 37 weeks. They decided to take Addi at 33 weeks. 4 WEEKS. Addi's expected time in the hospital was 4 WEEKS. Addi stayed 1 1/2 WEEKS. Our family is so blessed that Addi is doing so well. By everyone's prayers-storming the gates of heaven with your prayers-God answered our prayers. Praise to you HEAVENLY FATHER!!!

All is going fantastic this week! Our God is good! Addi has been starting to eat some vegetable and fruits. I am afraid that she might have her dad's picky taste. :) Addi LOVES sweet potatoes and her teething biscuits, which she manages to get everywhere. Those biscuits seem to turn to cement as soon as they dry on her face. Once she figures how to the 'cookie' into her mouth she refuses to take it out to even take a break to breathe. I tried to pull the 'cookie' out of her mouth and she started putting her head down to follow the 'cookie' so she could get it back. She also has decided that she doesn't like peas or peaches but will tolerate squash. Addi thinks that she needs to drink out of your cup now whenever she see you taking a drink. She opens her mouth and sticks her little tongue out. After she takes a drink she always looks at you and makes a funny face. She seems to be saying..you really drink that? Put something good in there.
She has grown so fast these past couple of weeks. I am thinking that she was blessed with my talkative skills because she is never quite. From the minute she wakes up to the last minute we are trying to put her to sleep for the night-all we hear is her talking. It is quite cute!!!

Today my heart is a little heavy as I type this. Satan is trying to steal my joy and distract me from the blessings God has given me!!!! We just returned from a visit to Children's Mercy in Kansas City. We went expecting doctors to be overjoyed with the milestones that Addi has met and passed and we came home disappointed.
Good news first....Addi is very proportionate in size, length, weight. Her shunt is still doing well-Praise God. We had a renal ultrasound done on her kidneys and bladder with much satisfaction that they are functioning well! Again, isn't God awesome!!
On the other side on things....a physical therapist and the orthopedic doctor are telling us that she will need braces on her next visit in six months. Saying that ultimately Addi will be behind 6 to 8 months on her gross motor skills. They are saying that she has no muscle in her calves, hamstring, or much in her glut area. Without much muscle in her calves she will not be able to stand without the help of braces. Apparently, your calf muscles are the muscles that help you stand-without those your thigh muscle tries to compensate for the lack of calf muscle but will only do so much until they get too tired. If braces are needed, they will look like the shin guards that soccer players wear. Notice I said IF...I think with continue PRAYER and working with Addi every day-doctors will once again be surprised at what can happen. If she does need braces-she will still be loved and just as cute!!!!
We just Praise our heavenly father for this wonderful little girl that he blessed us with! She just warms our heart! Know matter what any doctor tells us we already know that she is perfect for us and amazing in God's eyes.
I do Praise God for doctors, but I also know that ultimately that God is in control and we know that Addi is an example of what the power of prayer can do.
So I ask once again of all of our prayer warriors to continue to pray for Addi so that God's healing hand will strengthen her leg muscles and also guidance and faith for me.

On a different note, when this blessing of Addi first started I had a friend mention starting a caring bridge page for Addi. (The site is similar to that of our blog page, but will email you whenever there is an update posted.) I know that it is a little late in game but was wondering if I should go ahead and start it. I know that some times I am not the best at posting on a regular basis, but plan to be much better.

Thank you for your love and continued support!!!

So, I guess this post is more about me than Addi-Sorry!
A friend of Matt's Grandma gave us a wonderful gift for Addi when she was born. A Childrens Bible with 365 stories, one for each day of the year. Everyday before Addi's nap, I have been trying to read a couple of stories to her. Knowing when I started this, that she was too young to understand the meaning of the words. What I wasn't expecting was to learn a lot about myself and the bible. I am finding out that I didn't know very much at all about what was in the Bible. How sad is it of me that I thought I had pretty good grip on things?!?! I mean, I had read the bible some of what I didn't really have a firm grasp on but I thought I understood well enough. I have been so interested to learn more that I think I have left Addi out of a few stories. I guess I just feel bad that it took a Childrens Bible to break it down for me to be able to understand. Then it makes me wonder what I am missing that isn't in the Childrens Bible. It has made me reflect and think about the things that I have done. Not all of which have been good memories.
For those that I have been selfish, mean spirited, hard hearted, controling, unwilling to help, unthoughtful, pushed you aside to get what I wanted..... I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart. Please forgive me.
The neat thing is that I can pin point many, many times that God had his loving hands wrapped around me and my family.

Not much going on this week. Addi has been fighting a little bit of a stomach virus but praise God nothing major. She is fine and still in her usual happy self. This week she has learned how to blow raspberries. Consistently blowing them all the time, and I mean all the time. When we eat cereal (how can get mad when she blows it in your face when she is so cute!?!?!?!), when she wakes up in the morning, when she takes a bath....non stop for this new found talent. She has started talking and blowing raspberries in the morning when she wakes up. God definitely sent her to us to make sure that when are praising him always. I don't think we could ever wake up on the wrong side of the bed after hearing Addi through the monitor. It just brings a smile to our faces, a good chuckle to start the morning, and a PRAISE GOD-THANK YOU JESUS for all the blessings. I couldn't think of a better way to wake up!!! PRAISE YOU HEAVENLY FATHER!!

Where did the time go? Sitting around my parents living room this year looking at every one, I realized that I have missed so much. Time has come and gone, and I can't get it back. I remeber when my brothers and sisters were little. (Not so much anymore!) They are 'all grown up' and have girlfriends and boyfriends and lives of their own now. What happened to the days of chasing each other outside, throwing snowballs, Brian and I picking on Cat, and doing cattle chores together. It is funny how most of our funny memories come from doing chores all together. If nothing else these past couple of months, I have realized how fast time goes and how precious that time is. I pray that God will help me to slow down and appreciate those loved ones around me.

What an amazing Christmas!!! God has TRULY blessed us with our wonderful families and an awesome, beautiful little girl. Every day I get to wake up next to a kind, caring husband and a little girl that always has the biggest smile for us when we pick her up. Tears came to my eyes this morning as I watched Matt pick Addi up out of her crib and to hear her laughter fill the whole upstairs from her excitement of seeing her daddy. What did I ever do to deserve this, Lord!?!?! As many times as I have failed Him, he never seems to give up on me. He continues to smile on our family and gives us a nudge to continue through life.
As I type, this precious Addi lays here with the corners of her eyes turning up as she smiles in her sleep. I pray that God gives Matt and I the wisdom, strength, and courage to bring up Addi in His word. Praise you God for having faith when we are faithless.

So I know that it has been a long time since my last post. It has been busy as I am sure that it has been for everyone else. A lot has happen since the last then.

Addi has been doing well in her physical therapy meetings with Dayna. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with both sides of the family. We did have to miss Thanksgiving at my Grandma's house in Clifton because Addi had a touch of the flu. Between Matt being sick and Addi being sick, as a mother and a wife, I am not sure which is worse. he, he, he

Last Thursday we had an exciting venture, Matt and I headed to KC to Children's Mercy for a follow up urology apptoinment. On the way, the transfer case on the expedition decided to go out. Addi also started having one of her episodes of her 'flu' like symptoms. (Three within a month, we were starting to figure out the doctors were leading us in the wrong direction telling us it was the flu.) So, with lots of phone calls-we continued to KC in Matt's grandma's car. THANK YOU DONNA! Not for the urology appt., by the way we missed, but doctors there had concern that Addi's shunt was having intermitin failure. After a traffic jam and being stopped in traffic, we finally made it to the ER at Children's Mercy. After a two hour wait, we were finally in to see a doctor. Praise God, after a CT Scan and a shunt series (x-ray of the shunt tubing), doctors told us that the shunt was still functioning great. Both of her ventricles have actually come down in size from when the shunt was first put in. Isn't God good?!?!?!
As far as the irriatabilty, crying, throwing up-they told us she had caught the flu virus again. So....home we came after a 30 minute detour on the outskirts of Kansas City. Between trying to help Matt follow road signs and look for deer in the dark and try to console a crying baby in a car seat, I wasn't for sure wether to laugh or cry. We made it home safely at 1:30 am.
Next morning at 9:30 am we were able to get into our peditrician here in Hutch. Who is great!! She had radiology run some x-rays on Addi's esophagus, stomach, and so on to make sure that there wasn't any blockages. We now know that Addi has really bad acid reflux. Poor baby!
She is now doing better. Matt has been our great go to guy!! We are finally able to put her down without her crying. Although I do have to admit, I am enjoying the cuddle time with Addi. Nothing feels better than her soft little face pressed up against mine. We did manage a few smiles and were able to grab and kick our ducks in the tubby tonight.
So after four night of no sleep, we are hoping that tonight brings a very restfull slumber.

Matt has been busy pushing snow early the morning and today. We received 4 inches of a dry, fluffy snow. It was really pretty watching from the windows. As I was informed by Matt...it was COLD!

We are looking forward to finally getting to see my extended family in Clifton on Sunday to celebrate Christmas. Christmas Eve with Matt's family and Christmas Day with my immediate family.

Matthew, my youngest brother also graduated from Lineman School last Saturday in Manhattan, which we missed due to Addi and Matt's sickness. Sorry Matthew! We are VERY PROUD of you!!!

Oh, Addi also had her first couple bites of cereal tonight. Which she actually seemed to enjoy.

Just a follow up on the families that I have been listing on the blog...

Karson Schierling is doing well. He is finished with his third round of chemo and his latest MRI came back clean. Karson will also be a big brother in July.

Our other friends here in KS, that were pregant with a little boy who had multiple health problems, delivered Michael Tuesday of last week. Michael lived 1 1/2 hrs. then went to see his heavenly father. They say that Michael looked just like his dad.


Thank you for your continued prayers!! We love you!

We had another meeting with our physcial therapist, Dayna, today. Addi is now weighing 13 whole pounds. Makes me smile as some of our friends babies who are around the same age are quite a bit bigger. We love our Addi just the way she is!!!!
Addi decided not to roll over for Dayna today, but did awesome holding up her head and turning on her charm by talking up a storm and smiling.
Addi is attempting to 'stand'. When she does she is putting all of her weight on her heels instead of on her whole foot. Ever since Addi was born, she has liked to keep her toes/foot pulled up to her shin. With all of our strectching, she does have a wide range of motion-she just has to decide to use it. Kind of like rolling over. She can do it-she just has to decide to do it. I wonder where she gets her stubborness? So, Dayna gave us a couple of excersies to help Addi realize that she can put weight on her whole foot, just not her heal.
She also found her feet today with Dayna. She wasn't quite for sure what those things were to start with, now she is rolling all over the place on her back trying to grab them. She makes the funniest grunting noises, as her little puggy tummy is in way.
After physical therapy, Addi went with me for her first time at the election polls where we ran into Grandpa Harold. She decided it was more fun to play with Grandpa Harold than to worry about the election.
DON'T FORGET TO VOTE AND TO PRAY FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY.

I received this through email and thought I would share.
Dancing With God
When I meditated on the word Guidance,
I kept seeing 'dance' at the end of the word
And I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.
When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.
The movement doesn't flow with the music,
And everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.
When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,
Both bodies begin to flow with the music.
One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back
Or by pressing Lightly in one direction or another.
It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.
The dance takes surrender, willingness,
And attentiveness from one person
And gentle guidance and skill from the other.
My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.
When I saw 'G': I thought of God, followed by 'u' and 'i'.
'God, 'u' and 'i' dance.' God, you, and I dance.

It has been a really busy weekend with any even busier week already starting. Matt with help from friends has been busy trying to get all of the wheat drilled before we get more scheduled rain on Wednesday. Also trying to get sorghum and a couple of soybean patches cut. They have all been working so late at night and getting up early in the morning. We have really been blessed with some great weather here the past couple of days though!
Addi has had a cold the past couple of days so she has been sleeping quite a bit. In her wake hours she did manage to get a couple of laughs out. It took me surprise!!! It was pretty cute. I was running to tell Matt all about it over the radio's we have in the tractors.
I have been trying to teach Addi baby sign language, which Matt usually gets a good giggle out of. But, I think I am finally getting through! She gave me the sign for mommy on Saturday. I had showed her the sign saying 'mommy' at the same time. She did it back!! At first I thought okay, I am just a proud mom seeing things until she did it twice more throughout the night. She is catching on!
Today she finally decided to start rolling over on her own, front to back.


I would ask for your prayers for a few other families.

Karson Schierling (18 months) has been undergoing chemo for a couple of weeks now. They found a brain tumor on the right side of the brain which has been removed and the doctors do think that they got it all. Karson is doing well and still has chemo treatments left.

A family in AZ. Jody (mom)and Jacy (daughter,3) helped me tremendously throughout our time of need. Jacy also has spina bifida and Jody went through the fetal surgery in CA, three years ago. (She answered every ridiculous question that I could ever think of!! THANKS JODY) Children with spina bifida can get what is called 'tethered cord' where the spinal cord attaches to the scar tissue that was left from where they closed the opening in the back. They should be finding out results from a MRI today.

Another family in AZ. A little girl named Addison whom is 7 months old. She suffers from a rare heart condition called Shone's Syndrome. A syndrome that includeds four different problems with the development of the heart, so it requires a series of surgeries. She is still in the hospital and has her up and down days.
http://aztamsfam.blogspot.com/

Our other friends here in KS, that are pregnant with a child that has no lungs and only one kidney. The doctors tell her that their little boy won't make it after he is born.

Addi in her tutu and K-State outfit.

We had a visit today from our physical therapist that comes out every other week. She is very pleased with the progress of Addi!! She said that Addi is above schedule on the strength of neck, holding her head up on her own without it 'bobbling' around. Addi isn't quite fond of rolling over yet. She is just pretty comfortable lying on her tummy. The physical therapist not to worry about it just yet. Addi's strength is there, she just needs to make up her mind too roll over. She said that Addi is very laid back, that we might need to 'light a fire' under her. :)
Praise God, Addi is right where she should be developmentally!!
ALL GLORY TO GOD!!!

This weekend was full of activity and fun at the Brack household. Friday night Grammy Julie and Aunt Catherine came to visit. We all got up early Sat. morning and took Julie to the airport so that she could visit her family in Las Vegas for her grandma's 90th birthday. Catherine got to stay the whole weekend and play with Addi. They had a great time together. It is a good thing that Addi is little enough not to pick up on any of Aunt Cat's awrnyness. :) The weather was great, little windy, so we got to play outside a little bit and pretend to help Matt. Probably we were more in the way than we were help, but I am positive that Matt loved every minute of us. This weekend Matt decided to take a break from farming on Sunday so that we could all enjoy some time together at a local pumpkin patch with some friends. Although Addi is still a little young, we decided to go ahead and start our family traditions. We had so much fun together. Despite the wind, the pumpkin patch had so much to offer for everyone of any age! Matt and Jason had fun shooting the corn cob cannon. Jen and I decided we would try our talent on the two person bicycle, as well as Matt and Jason. Emmie, their daughter, tried a little bit of everything! We finished up the afternoon with snacks and picking out the perfect fall pumpkins and gourds. We plan to visit again next year!!