Praising Jesus

Well, I wanted to take a minute to update what has been going on with my foot--yes, the drama continues, but I'm praying that it has come to an end. 

On Monday, we went to the pain management doctor, and he diagnosed me with CRPS--Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.  This is a fancy way of saying that my sympathetic nerves went into action when the horse stepped on my foot, which is normal.  The thing that isn't normal is they never stopped doing what they were supposed to.  The doctor told me treatment would involve having some injections in my back.  I wasn't overly thrilled about it, but after talking with him, he reassured me that this was a VERY SAFE procedure.  He said that pretty much my nerves are a like a computer that needs to be rebooted.  He said my nerves need to be told how to function the right way.  He felt like that this was caught early enough so I should have a complete recovery. He has patients that wait years to come see him and he said their outcome isn't as good. He feels like one round of injections is all I should need, but I go back in two weeks to see how things are going.  He and his PA did tell me NOT to go online to see what CRPS is because I would be absolutely terrified.  They told me that what I would find on the internet would be worse case scenarios.  Chris asked me if I wanted to take some time to think about it and come back.  I thought a few seconds and said let's do it.  So Monday afternoon, I went ahead and got the injections.  I won't say that I wasn't worried, but I needed to trust God in this situation.  Trust that He was the one that gave this doctor the ability to practice medicine.  God really was the one who got  me through the procedure, and I've been praising Him ever since.  Monday afternoon, I was pretty sore where he put the injections.   I didn't sleep very well because my back and hip hurt a lot as the numbing medicines wore off.  But the great news is Tuesday morning, I woke up with NO PAIN in my foot!!   I am still pain free today, so I'm thanking the Lord for that.  I know God has had His hand on me this whole time.  I know He could have healed me without the help of doctors, but I feel like I had to depend on and  trust in Him more by having the injections than if He had outright healed me.  I said a week or so ago, that I would continue to be faithful to God no matter what direction He took this, and I feel like I have been faithful to Him.  I just pray that He feels the same way.

So I'm so thankful to have relief from this pain.  I feel even closer to God through this whole situation.  I pray that the injections were the only ones I will need to receive and that I am completely healed.  I look forward to wearing cute shoes again, but Chris is wise in telling me to wait a week or so to just make sure--I'm so glad that I married a wise man.  :)   I do want to thank all who have prayed for me.  God was listening to all your prayers and for that I am truly thankful

Foot Update

I just wanted to take a minute to update this long journey with my foot.  On Monday, we went back to the orthopedic doctor.  He was still very puzzled by the fact that my foot is discolored, is hurting and having a burning sensation.  He took some more x-rays trying to find a break or the healing of a break, but he couldn't find ANYTHING.  He then proceeded to tell us that he felt like there is something else going on.  He has requested for some blood work to be done thinking that maybe something was previously there and the foot injury has made it come out.  A couple of the things he is testing me for are diabetes and lyme disease.  The other thing he is having tested is my sympathetic nervous system.  When you have an injury you sympathetic nervous system kicks in and then it returns to normal.  He is thinking that maybe my sympathetic nervous system didn't return to normal.  We have been praying that nothing is wrong, but especially not the second scenario.  Treatment for the second scenario involves injections into my spine.  For those of you who know our birthing experiences, I didn't get any epidurals because I didn't want anything in my spine or near my spine.  So I humbly ask for your prayers that God will heal me completely.  That when I go back for my follow up there will be NO question on whether God healed.  No matter the outcome, I will continue to be faithful to my Savior and live my life for Him.  Thank you in advance for your prayer

Update Time

Well, it has almost been a month since I last updated.  Where has the time gone?  Well, the fall schedule has started for the Greenwoods, and I don't think it will be slowing down anytime soon.  We just got back from our last vacation of the year.  The kids did an AMAZING job traveling.  We are so blessed to have children who travel so well.  Like I've said before, we will probably never live in the same town as family, so we will have to do plenty of traveling, so it makes it so much more pleasant with the happiness we hear from the back of the van. 

For our last trip of the year, we went to North Carolina to see Pa T and Lin-Lin.  We were able to go to the beach for a couple of days.  It was so nice to be able to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.  The beach has always been one of my favorite places to go and connect with God.  To know that He created every grain of sand that we walked on.  To know that He controls every single wave that crashes to the shore line.  To know that the breeze is controlled by Him.  It just leaves me breathless.  OK, enough about me.  The kids had a wonderful time at the beach.  The weather wasn't overly warm, but Josiah managed to talk his Pa T into taking him swimming one afternoon.  On our way  back home from the beach, I asked Josiah what his favorite thing was at the beach.  His response, "Swimming Pa T. I splash Pa T and Lin-Lin!"  Later that night, someone else asked him what was his favorite part of the beach, and he responded with the same answer.  We continue to be amazed at his memory!!!  We also brought a kite to fly on the beach, and he enjoyed that, too.  I don't know who had more fun though, Chris or Josiah.    Sophie enjoyed the beach as much as an 8 1/2 month old can.  We did put her feet down in the sand and even in the water.  The water was surprisingly warm, so she didn't mind getting a little wet.  She wasn't too sure about her feet sinking in the sand when the water went back down, but she never fussed so we thought that was a good thing.  We went to the AB (Atlantic Beach) Surf Store and bought our traditional AB t-shirt.  It is a neat tradition that has been started.  We all get the same color shirts for that year.  I think I now have four shirts and Josiah got his second.  Sophie was too little to get any shirts, but maybe next year. 

I feel like there is so much to write, that I don't even know where to begin.  I guess I will do my list and try to remember as much as I can. 

Josiah:

*He continues to do really well with this school work.  It is amazing how much he remembers.  We will be starting back up this week with the letter Ll for leaves and later on in the month we will do Pp for pumpkins.  When we were in NC, I was able to get some of my teacher things out of the attic to bring back home.  After spending about an hour in the attic, I decided I need to spend a day out there labeling boxes and organizing in a better way, so in a couple of years when we really start doing school I will be able to find things easily. 
*His vocabulary and speaking continue to blow us away.  It is amazing to hear him talk in complete sentences and know for the most part what he is saying.  His grandparents were really impressed with his speaking skills, which is good that other people can understand what he is saying.  For awhile there, I thought I was speaking a whole other language called, "Josiahese." 
*His sense of humor is hysterical!!  This child keeps us laughing.  The other day, we were dropping one of the youth off at his house.  His main language is Spanish, so when he speaks English he has an accent.  Well, Edgar was saying the word "water," but he was pronouncing it "WA-ter."  Well, Chris was giving Edgar a hard time and they were joking about it.   Then out of no where Josiah says, "Edgar, WA-ter!"  and starts laughing.  Now when ever he hears us say, "Edgar," he says, "Edgar, WA-ter!" 
*Josiah has really gotten into drumming lately, too.  I've decided there is nothing that can't be turned into a drum and drumsticks.  He had a wonderful time at Pa T's house because Pa T took out his snare drum and drumsticks for Josiah to play.  All I can say is that child was in HEAVEN!!!  It was so cute because yesterday after we got home, I was putting the clothes away.  Josiah was in our room helping me.  He went over to my alarm clock and hit the sleep button.  He found a radio station that he liked and then went and found a pen and one of my make-up brushes.  He sat on the floor next to the radio and used his pen and brush to drum on the floor and the laundry basket.  The cutest thing is how he rocks his head back and forth like a drummer does.  I think there might be some drum classes in his future, but we shall see. 
*Josiah has been going through a little difficult time being left at any church nursery. It isn't a separation thing, but more of who is in the room.  There are a couple of kids that are in his room that are a little more aggressive than he is.  They have hit a couple of the other kids in the past, and I guess Josiah has their number.  If they aren't in the room, then he is absolutely fine, but as soon as they show up he looses it.  He just starts sobbing.  The families don't attend regularly and aren't on time, so it makes it a little hard knowing what is going to happen week to week.  It has gotten so bad that last week, I was bringing Josiah to the nursery and he was all excited about going.  As soon as I opened the door, and he saw this child he turned around and said, "I go to church, Momma."  It has been difficult for us because we don't like seeing him upset, but at the same time God has given him this sensitive spirit.  So the new plan is for me to stay with him during SS when these children are here to reassure him that it is OK and hopefully in time, he will be fine being in there. 

Sophie:

Now on to our little girl.

*Sophie is now doing the "boot scootin'" crawl. She sits up on her bottom and gets where she needs to go.  We try to show her how to get on her hands and knees, but she wants nothing to do with it.  So we just let her crawl how she wants to, and she does just fine. 
*She is so into food!!  She is still eating her baby food--Stage 3, by the way---but we do give her some table food to eat.  She is now eating bread, chicken, ham, pancakes, waffles, rice, mashed potatoes, green beans and pound cake.  We joke because with Josiah we always say, "You need to eat 5 more bites if you want dessert."  With Sophie we have a feeling we will be saying, "You can have 5 more bites and then you can't have anymore."  She goes next week for her 9 month check-up so it will be interesting to see how much she weighs.  She isn't overweight be any means, so that is good. I think she burns off all that she eats by how much she moves around. 
*She is starting to say more and more.  The other day, she started saying, "Hi, Dad!" when Chris walks into the room.  It wasn't a one time thing either.  She has started saying, "Momma" when she sees me, too. 
*She has the sweetest laugh ever.  Josiah is really the only one who can make her do that deep belly laugh.  It gets us all chuckling when the two of them are playing and laughing together.  They really are so sweet with each other. 
*She is going to give her brother a run for his money though.  The other day, he was trying to put his train tracks together and she scooted over to where he was and started taking the tracks apart.  As she was doing this, she was just giggling away.  Josiah was really sweet and never got mad at her. 
*She continues to love her bath time.  She is getting to be a big girl.  She sits up now for bath time and wants to be like Josiah so much.  She even tries to put her face in the water like he does. 
*She has finally cut her two upper teeth.  I knew they were trying to come through, but didn't realize it until she was grinding them together the other morning.  Let me tell you that it is the most skin tingling noise I have ever heard!!!!
*She is into copying some things that we do--mostly noises, but every once in awhile she will copy our actions.

Well, I guess that is all for now.  We are staying pretty busy.  Youth group is in full swing.  I am teaching ESOL plus discipling 3 ladies and serving at a nursery on Tuesday mornings so Josiah can have some interaction with kids his age.  I will try to find some time to download the pictures from our trip, but it will probably be in the middle of the week

First Family Vacay

Well, we just got back from our first family vacation to Lancaster, PA.  We have been on many trips, but it has either been with other family members or we have gone to see family members. 

We had a great time in Lancaster.  We headed out Tuesday afternoon after we got done eating lunch.  It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive.  It was such a relaxing trip as we got out of the city and were surrounded by hills and trees instead of cars, buildings and cement.  We arrived at our hotel around 4:00pm and got everyone settled.  Then we headed out for some dinner.  We ate at the Hershey Restaurant and Inn.  It had some AWESOME Amish food!!!  We decided not to order off the menu, but instead try the smorgasboard---or buffet.  I had a taste of their fried chicken and declared it the BEST fried chicken I have ever eaten!!!  Josiah was digging their yellow cake for dessert and couldn't get enough of it.  We headed back to the hotel and got the kids ready for bed, and we went to bed ourselves--at 7:30pm. We got up once during the night and the kids slept until almost 7:00am.  That is the most sleep Chris and I have gotten in a really long time.  After the kids got up, we got ready for the day and had some breakfast.  We headed out to the Strasburg Train Station where we rode Thomas and enjoyed some other activities.  Josiah was in absolute heaven.  I got a couple of tears in my eyes when he first spotted Thomas and was so excited to see him.  Sophie had a good time, too.  She just enjoyed hanging out in the sling next to Mommy.  The scenery on the train ride was absolutely gorgeous.  We saw hills, trees, cows and barns.  It was so funny because we did see a cellphone tower and it looked so out of place, but here in VA it is a normal everyday view.  After going to the train toy store and buy a  few things, we left to go get some lunch.  We ate at an authentic Amish restaurant.  The service was so nice.  There was a teenage Amish girl who was waiting on tables.  Chris made me chuckle because he said if I were Amish, I would be like that girl.  I asked him why, and he said because she was making Amish her own by wearing a hoodie.   Again, the food was absolutely delicious.  I had chicken pot pie, but it wasn't at all like I thought it would be.  It reminded me more of chicken and dumplings.  Then I tried some shoo-fly pie which is a well known pie for the area.  It tasted just like a fig newton cookie--it was pretty good.  After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to take a nap.  Our kids slept for over 2 hours.  We took advantage of their nap time and slept with them.  After nap, Chris dropped me off at a boutique so I could purchase some things for my birthday.  I got some shirts and quite a bit of necklaces with matching earrings.  Chris was really surprised at how many jewelry sets I got.  I told him they are things that I would like to have, but wouldn't just go and spend money on them just because.  So I used the money he gave me for my birthday to buy them.  Sophie is definitely LOVING my new necklaces.  She sees them as her own personal teething ring.  That night, we ordered a pizza and watched some Veggie Tales on the computer while we ate dinner.  TV is not a big thing around our house, so this definitely was a treat for Josiah.  The kids went to bed early again, but this time Chris and I weren't tired, so we watched a little Cosby Show on the computer, then we texted each other while lying in bed since we didn't want to talk in the same room as the kids.  We got up the next morning and got ready and ate some breakfast.  Then we headed to the outlet malls.  I took advantage of a sale that Carter's was having and got the kids--OK, mostly Sophie some warmer clothes.  The outlet mall had some playgrounds around the parking lot for kids to play in, so Josiah and I played while Chris did some shopping.  After shopping, we started our drive back home.  It was nice to get back home, but Chris and I thoroughly enjoyed all the country side.  I didn't know how much I was missing the hills and greenery until we were surrounded by it. 

So overall, the first family vacay was a big hit.  We were able to spend some time as a family and relax.  I look forward to many more family vacays--Chris and I were even talking about driving to Alaska one day with the kids.  We shall see if we are crazy enough to do it

32 Years

Well, I celebrated my 32nd birthday on Sunday. The celebration started Saturday night around 9:30pm.  Three of the girls from the youth group came over to the house and brought some wonderfully nice cards and a diet coke--one of my favorite splurging drinks.  I have spent the last few months getting to know them, and they haven't spent a lot of time at our house.  I was really sad when school started because I knew they wouldn't be dropping by in the middle of the day. 

On Sunday,Josiah and Sophie gave me a wonderful present--they slept until almost 7:30am!!!   Josiah and Sophie gave me some sweet birthday cards that they picked out--OK, Josiah picked out Sophie's card, too.  Chris gave me a very nice card, too.  We got up and started getting ready for church.  We didn't have Sunday school, so it was a relaxing morning as we got ready.  We headed to McDonald's for breakfast, so I wouldn't have to make breakfast--it's the little things that I appreciate.  We went to church and enjoyed our time as a family.  We came home, fed the kids lunch and then rested for a little while.  The girls came over to drop off a cake that one of them made.  Josiah and I would eat it for breakfast a couple of days later.  It was one of those morning where I didn't want cereal, but didn't want to make some hot, so what else do you do?  Eat CAKE!!!   Josiah thought it was awesome, and I enjoyed not being the stuffy Mom. 

Sunday evening, some of our good friend here in NoVa, came over to watch the kids, so Chris and I could go out to dinner.  Chris took me to a Japanese restaurant so we could have Habachi.  It was DELICIOUS!!  We enjoyed having dinner and not having to feed or cut up another person's meal.      We stopped at the grocery store on the way home and picked up a cake.  Our friends, John and Jen, stayed and had some cake with us.  

On Tuesday, some of the ladies from our Home Fellowship Group, took me out to dinner for my birthday and then we went and some Blizzards from DQ.  It was great to be able to go out with the ladies for a couple of hours.  I totally enjoyed carrying a purse instead of a diaper bag and not having some kind of stain on me!! 

I got quite a bit of gift cards and birthday money, so I will be going on a mini shopping spree to find some new clothes.  It's been a couple of years since I got some new clothes--not including maternity clothes.  I look forward to going and get some new things--it's so easy to not spend as much time getting ready, so maybe this will inspire me. 

As you can see, I had a great birthday.  I look forward to seeing how God is going to grow me this coming year

First Day of School

Today we had our first day of school.  I took plenty of pictures to show what we did.  Josiah had A LOT of fun.  I don't know, but I still continue to be amazed by his memory. 

After Chris gets home from each day, he spends a few minutes letting Josiah show him what we did for school that day.  I'm keeping all of our activities in binders to help in this process.  Josiah was showing Chris our weather calendar with the sunshine on it. Then out of no where he says, "Wednesday, Daddy."  We talked just a few moments about today being Wednesday early in the day, so I was totally surprised that he remembered it.  Then we did a Bible lesson on Doubting Thomas.  We then did a craft with hands that had red "nail holes" in them.  When Josiah was showing Chris his craft, he said, "Nails.  Jesus' hands."  Again, this was first thing in the morning and he remembered what we talked about.  He was also able to point out the capital A and the little a when we asked him to. He also, told Chris the sound that Aa makes and that apple begins with Aa.

So we had a great first day.  Josiah had lots of fun doing our activities and Sophie enjoyed supervising his work.  I think our schedule is going to work--we got school work done and Mommy was even able to get some cleaning done and made dinner.  I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the daily chores, but everything worked out just fine. 

32 Weeks Already?

Sophie has officially been a part of our family for 32 weeks--well, outside of the womb that is.  WOW!!!  Where has the time gone?  There are times when I don't even remember her not being a part of our family. 

She continues to grow more and more each day.  Sophie pretty much sits up by herself now, but we do keep pillows around her--just in case.  She stills gets pretty excited and will flail her arms or legs which usually ends up with her hitting the ground.  We have started putting her up on her hands and knees.  She does a good job balancing on all fours and will even rock back and forth from time to time.  She can go from a sitting position to a standing position when she is holding our hands.  I'm really wanting her to crawl because there is some research out which says how important crawling is to reading.  I don't know though--this girl really wants to move!!!!   She has figured out how to pick up cheerios and put them in her mouth.  She was so cute as she was learning how to do this.  She could pick up the cheerios and get it to her mouth, but she didn't know how to let them go.  She has mastered drinking out of a straw sippy cup and when she wants her cup, you better watch out!!!!  We introduced turkey to her this week, and she did really well with that.  There isn't really anything that she doesn't like to eat.  She will be playing nicely, but as soon as she sees her food, we can't get her to her chair fast enough.  She will get to fussin' (it's not crying, it's a lot of yellin') and then part way through her meal she turns into the sweet Sophie--we think the food must of hit her stomach.  So as you can see, Sophie keeps us on our toes, but we are sooooo thankful that she is a part of our family. 

Josiah continues to amaze us each day.  He is such a little sponge.  I have started doing school work with him a couple of days out of the week.  Often times, he asks me if we can do school work.  Right now, I'm just doing a workbook with him, but I decided that in September we will have a little more structure with our school.  I don't want him to associate school with doing a workbook, so we will be doing some more hands on activities.  We will have school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays--if he wants to--later on it won't be an option, but he is just two, so I'm not going to stress about getting each lesson done.  During our school time, we will have a calendar time where we will say the date and track the weather for the month. I will also be doing a Bible time with both of the kids.  When Sophie goes down for her morning nap, we will have a Language Arts time when we will learn a letter of the alphabet and do an activity.  In the afternoon, we will have a math lesson, read a story and do a craft.  Our themes for the month are apples and farm animals.  I plan on taking the kids on a couple of field trips---one to an apple orchard and the other to a farm.  So we shall see how this goes.  I'm way excited to have this time with him and look forward to teaching him many new things. 

In the middle of September, the  Greenwood Family will be going on our first family vacation.  Yes, we have been on trips to visit family in the past, but on this trip we will be staying in a hotel and it will just be the four of us.  We will be heading to PA to go ride Thomas the Tank Engine.  Thomas is a life size train that pulls passenger cars.  We have made a chain to count down the days until our Thomas Trip.  Josiah is way excited and looks forward to tearing a link off each day.  We will also be going to a children's museum, so we're pretty excited about that---OK, maybe I'm pretty excited about it!!  I have fond memories of a children's museum that I used to go to when we lived in NH, and I want Josiah to have some of those same memories. 

Well, that is all for now.  I do go back to the doctor on Monday, so we shall see what he says about the ol' foot.  I've tried walking on it without my boot---well, let's just say it hurts.  I can put weight on it, but the motion of walking just doesn't feel right.  I'll put a post up if there is anything new.  Keep us in your prayers, and we will update soon