A Busy Year

Tom Says:

Hi Everybody, I really, really wanted to tell everyone how much I love my wife and I thank God everyday for my beautiful bride. She is a Godly woman who cherishes and cares for our family both physically and spiritually.

 

It’s been a busy year and this is only the start. Work is sending me on travel a lot this year; some of it is schooling and the rest is we’ve got projects all over that need to be worked on so I will be gone a lot. Because of this she has had to be both Mom and Dad in many cases dealing with all 8 children, the house, schoolwork, medical appointments, and so on, all on top of being pregnant. And while I’m also very proud of my older children, Ethan, Phoebe and Leanore who’ve also stepped up and are helping more around the house, with the littles, with housework, with cooking, etc… it is Mary who has to shoulder the majority of the load and I know it wears on her.

But I also know that God has gifted her with incredible strength and she truly is the strongest most caring woman I know.

My little man Tolly had surgery on his head today; I’m not sure if we mentioned it before, but one of the issues with Aperts is the bones in the skull knit together too early and the skull stops growing. Surgery was necessary to relieve the pressure in his head and give his wonderful big brain room to grow.

 

I was no help, but Mary came up with a great plan. A bunch of friends from church volunteered to watch the kids, so they all got to go on “sleepovers,” all the littles were paired up with a big, and our van is being used by one of the families, they will pick-up the other kids and take them all to Co-op while Mary is at the Hospital with Tolly. Mary told me that yesterday while she was dropping off all the other kids one by one, Tolly was upset because he wanted to go too; when they finally checked into the Ronald Mcdonald house he was so excited to be on a sleepover with just him and Mama.

Mary and Tolly had to be there early so they could do one last catscan and then the pre-op procedures. Mary got to hold Tolly while they put him to sleep (I had to do that when they did his fingers) she said she cried, (well so did I,) but that’s alright. She called me throughout the day to keep me informed of where they were at, and finally late in the afternoon she called me to let me know that it was over and he was resting in Post-op. She said he looked like he’d been run over by a freight train, but all the Drs were very pleased with how it went and say he should recover nicely. He’ll spend tonight in the PICU and hopefully tomorrow will be moved to a regular room.

People that say there are no miracles anymore don’t realize how much God blesses us through the people and situations around us; you and I know the truth.

Mary and I want to thank you for your continued love and prayers.