Finally, some good news!

Besides the flu diagnosis, our life has been a whirlwind of activity, even with a new baby. And, stay tuned to the end of this post as we share the good news we have been waiting forever to hear!

Last Sunday, we ventured out our first time with all 4 kids (and my mom to help!) to church. It was so good to do something “normal” and out of the apartment.  Brynn did excellent and we made it with all 4 kids in tow and safe and sound. Then, that evening, Ed and the girls attended a Father/Daughter Dance at our church. The girls had a great time getting dressed up into something special and dancing with their daddy.  What a good one they have.

Then, because the kids were out of school all last week, we wanted to do something fun in the city with my mom before she left.  So, we loaded up all the kids and went to the American Museum of Natural History.  Ya’ll, having every day access to places like this make me in awe that God called us to this city.  It is huge, so well done, and we didn’t even cover 2 floors out of 4 (and our kids quickly skimmed through everything)…think full -size dinosaur skeletons, full-size whale skeletons, a discovery room where you can find different animals, an exhibit on the planets, and SO MUCH MORE!  We could spend 4 days there and not see everything. Then, we took my mom to Central Park and explored Belvedere Castle.  The girls thought it was so cool that there was a “castle” they could climb in NYC. Again, it was so good to get out and love where we live.

Late one evening, I was getting Brynn to sleep and my mom and I heard this really loud sound that was a little like thunder booming.  Thunderstorms in the city are pretty rare so I didn’t think that was it.  My mom noticed that everyone around us in other apartments were looking out their windows too as they didn’t know what the sound was….hence, it wasn’t our imagination.  I jumped on Facebook to one of the mom sites I follow from our neighborhood and I discovered that a manhole had blown. Apparently, it happens a bit in the city during the winter as water, ice, and salt seep down underground and get into electrical lines and then build up and blow the cover.

It happened two more times that night and as Ed walked by the area the next day, he discovered this:

Um, nope, those cars weren’t damaged from an accident, but were crushed by the manhole cover when it blew.  The white car is a BMW and the roof is caved in.  Seriously, if someone was walking by when it happened, they would get crushed!  Aww, the joys of living in the city…always something exciting and out of the ordinary.

This past weekend, we loaded up ALL the kids in a rental car and traveled to Ocean City, New Jersey for our Mid-Year Retreat. Our kids were SO excited to ride in a car again! So, basically, Cru has realized that NYC is pretty comparable to moving overseas, meaning there is a lot of cultural adjustment and stress related to the move. They have decided to have a retreat for all staff that have moved to the city within the year where they bring in counselors and give us structured time to process our transition, how we are doing, connect with others in the same transition, etc. They arrange childcare for the kids but also make the weekend super relaxing.

It was SUCH a good time away from the city to process life and the Lord really used the weekend to speak to many of us in very unique ways. So, so, so thankful to Cru and that they make this weekend a possibility – it was life-giving in so many ways.

Lastly, we had an important appointment today for Blake.  His annual cardiology appointment.  Every appointment, we hold our breath and pray that they will say his Ventricular Septal Defect (small hole in his heart) will have closed up.  They fully expect it to, but its just a matter of time. When the doctor arrived in the room and listened to his heart, he said he heard a murmur but it didn’t sound like a VSD murmur, so he proceeded with the ECHO.  After the ECHO and looking at the results, the doctor confirmed that he is pretty positive the hole (the VSD) is closed up (but couldn’t be 100% sure because some of the angles weren’t clear with the ECHO) and that they didn’t see anything else, which means the murmur he heard was just an innocent one and nothing to be concerned about.

He wants to see Blake back next year to see another ECHO and confirm, but he is pretty confident they will discharge him after that and we won’t have to see them anymore.  Ya’ll, this is HUGE and something we have been praying for!!  Finally, some good news!!

Brynn is now 3 weeks old and is doing so well!  We have been horrible at taking pics (poor 4th child) but here is a throwback from when she was in the hospital..isn’t she pretty?

1 thought on “Finally, some good news!

  1. I’m so glad everyone is feeling better and Blake had a good check up. ! Can’t wait to see you the end of March. You are so blessed to be a part of Cru and their support.

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