Friday, August 29, 2008

Palin for Vice President!

PLEASE READ THIS ARTICLE!!

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=64876

Here is an old article about Palin and her son with Down Syndrome and her decision not to abort! Wow, what a powerful example to our country should she become vice president!!


Here is the article from earlier today
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25970882/

McCain picks Palin!!

Oh my gosh, I can't believe it! McCain has picked governor Palin as his running mate for vice presidency!! Wow, I put up an article back on my blog a few weeks ago about this governor that just had a child with Down Syndrome. What a way to advocate for children with disabilities if we could get her in the White House. I'm pretty sure she is a Christian so I know that she will have the support of evangelicals around the country. The only thing they seem concerned about is her ability to lead in the case that something happens to McCain. Let's all pray hard for this election that God will bring in people after His heart!! There is an article on msnbc.com about her and McCain. They are about to have the rally in Ohio and announce her as his pick, I'm going to go watch! Yeah!!!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Pictures Finally!

Okay Bridges fans, finally here are some pictures of the last month. Make sure you go to the page before to see all of them. Enjoy our little cutie pie!! We had our OT feeding clinic appointment this week and it went really well, I'm very encouraged about it and really liked the OT who worked with us. She's going to see him once a week so hopefully we will see some progress with drinking. I've started my weekly PWOC (protestant women of the chapel), a bible study for the women here on campus. It was awesome this week and I decided to join the prayer group, I'm very excited about what God is going to do through this group and in me this year. I will write more about that later, but now, without further ado....

The building across our yard is where Chad goes to school everyday, can you say SPOILED!!?

 
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Look at me standing in my play area with my therapist Maureen

 
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Carsten not letting his daddy study

 
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Yes, Chad and I actually share this sink, not so spoiled now:)

 
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Our front door and hallway

 
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Yikes, where am I going to make my cakes!

 
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Our bedroom courtesy of the Army:)

 
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Front door and hallway

 
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Carsten and Jonathan

 
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Sunday, August 17, 2008

Happy 13 month Birthday Carsten!!! I almost forgot. Okay, I definitely will take a pic of him tomorrow and post it:) We love you Carsten so much!

I'm back

So I'm up tonight for some reason not tired yet when I have every opportunity to go to bed early, figures. Carsten's asleep, Chad's studying, so, I'm here blogging. I thought I better post a more positive blog from the last one for all you that read it. I get so upset and caught up in the hard moments with Carsten and that's when I usually end up taking it out on you poor blogger readers:)

Its been a good weekend all together. Saturday I had a little outing by myself to regenerate and regroup. I got my hair done which I love by the way and it was the first place I've been here so I'm pretty excited about that. The only thing that bothered me was the way the girl did my hair. You know how when you get your hair shampooed you usually get a nice little head massage. Well, I got that but she gave absolutely NO pressure, I felt like she was tickling my head. I think I have sensory issues because I'm telling you it really got under my skin, I wanted to tell her look, you're not going to hurt me, just go ahead and attack my head! After I survived my head tickle, I drove to Legends, the closest place you can find real shopping and civilization:) Okay, Leavenworth is not that bad, but Legends is the closest JCPenney and Target and its still 30 minutes away.

Saturday night was the best part. Our new neighbors Tom and Amy that have 5 kids (yeah I said 5 kids!) watched Carsten for a few hours so Chad and I could go out to dinner. It was amazing and we REALLY needed it if you couldn't tell by my last few blogs. So today was chapel (church) and then neighborhood bible study tonight. We go to the third service at the chapel. They herd you in and out like cattle with 5 services. First there's traditional, then catholic, then contemporary, then gospel and I think another one after that!

I'm learning more about God's power this week. He has been speaking the word power to me through His word and other circumstances. I think sometimes I forget that power is available to me through Jesus. I just let myself get so defeated and run down that I forget to cry out to Him, to claim victory in my life over sin, struggles, and temptations. I just don't hear a lot about God's power, do you? God's power is at work within us. Ephesians 3:16; I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with POWER through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have POWER, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ...v20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His POWER that is at work within us....

God's power is what made the heavens and the earth and will bring about a new Kingdom. Sometimes its unbelievable that that same power is at work within me. I just have to receive it. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of POWER, of love and of self-discipline (2 Tim 1:7)

So those are my thoughts of late, I hope I can receive His power this week when the struggles come and respond differently. I really need to get some pictures up this week, maybe I'll take some tomorrow when Carsten's playing. He stood up again at the tub this morning! The moments of joy definitely outnumber the moments of frustration by far and when you see him do things like that it makes the journey worth it.

Time for bed......

Thursday, August 14, 2008

How long

Psa 6:3
"My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long?"

Psalm 16:3
"The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave* came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow."

Psalm 119:28
"My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word."

"Psalm 13:2
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?"

Psalm 31:9
"Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief."


I am so sad this morning. I feel so helpless with Carsten's eating. He won't eat his baby food at all, this morning and I tried to give him a tiny piece of egg and he threw up. This is so hard. Its the hardest thing I've ever been through in my life. My heart is so full of sorrow. I don't understand. Its so painful to see your child not be able to eat. My life is a roller coaster, one day I'm happy because of progress and the next I'm drowning in sorrow because of a setback. I feel I could have written the Psalms myself.

How Long oh Lord must this go on. Please bring hope and relief, healing and prosperity for your sake, for Carsten's sake, and for your name. I am so broken beyond comprehension, hurting. Please hear me and answer me.

Please pray for Carsten and my emotions as I deal with this. This is by far the biggest trial we've ever been through. Just when you see the light at the end of the tunnel, it gets dim again. Sweet little Carsten just sees me crying and he starts to cry himself. He can't help it, he doesn't know what's going on and it only makes things worse when I get upset.

I know the valley won't last forever and there is a light at the end of the tunnel, its just hard to see it sometimes. Thanks for your prayers this morning.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

He makes all things good

I am here blogger readers, I haven't abandoned you:) I was going to blog a couple of days ago and now I'm glad I didn't. If I had, the post would have been pretty negative. It's been a hard week with Carsten. He is doing fine, except his eating has been digressing and vomiting increasing again. He was eating 3 tubs of stage 2 baby food until about 5 days ago. For some reason he has started to refuse to eat and when I put him in his high chair he just makes this grunting sound like get me out of here!

I'm not sure if he's teething and not wanting to eat because he is in pain or if he is developing more of an aversion to food and starting to refuse. Either way, of course, I am prone to worry and become upset.

You're probably wondering when this blog is going to get more positive like the title:) Today we had a GI appt and it was productive. They are going to do another upper GI to make sure he hasn't developed a hernia or something structural to cause an increase in vomiting. We are also going to start the OT feeding clinic at Children's Mercy at the end of the month, I am really looking forward to this and hopefully will get some answers and feeding help because I am desperate!

As far as the title of my blog goes. I've really been learning this week that God does make all things good. Every time I seem to get into a pity party mode with Carsten, the Lord really opens my eyes to others around me. So far just this week I have met a mom with a daughter with autism in the PX (that's post exchange:) I met another family in the commissary that just walked up to me and had a 26 year old son with Down Syndrome that I got to meet. Then, today, I met another mom at the hospital with a son with Down Syndrome. After the hospital, I went to the pharmacy and met a grandmother of a child with Down Syndrome and another lady in the pharmacy with a family member with autism.

Its really amazing to see so many circumstances throughout the week where the Lord uses Carsten. People are drawn to him, I'm sure partly because he looks different but also because of his sweet spirit. He has learned to clap and will get your attention like look at me and then start clapping, its the cutest thing in the world. I am learning that I am not alone, all I have to do is get out of my house and there are SO many people with disabilities just like Carsten. And when this happens, its an instant connection and the most unique feeling in the world. You are both elated to meet each other just because you can relate to something similar but different, something hard but so good and full of blessing! I'm thankful the Lord has let me experience these unique relationships and encounters. They keep me going most of the time like a little kiss from God at just the right moment when I'm feeling down.

I've got to end this so I can get back to the Olympics:) I promise more pics of Carsten to come, I've been bad about that since our move. Please keep praying for Carsten's eating that he would not lose all his progress and that the feeding clinic appointment would go good. We miss all our Little Rock friends!

Love,
Momma Bridges

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Another good one

Okay so I'm copying from another blog now but this one is really good too!

You know you have a child with Special Needs when...

You compare ER's instead of grocery stores.
You compare your child's oxygen saturation's.
You view toys as "therapy.'
You don't take a new day for granted.
You teach your child HOW to pull things out of the cupboard, off the bookcases, and that feeding the dog from the table is fun.
The clothes your infant wore last fall still fit her this fall.
Everything is an educational opportunity instead of just having plain old fun.
You cheer instead of scold when they blow bubbles in their juice
While sitting at the dinner table (that's speech therapy), smear ketchup all over their high chair (that's OT), or throw their toys (that's PT).
You also don't mind if your child goes through the house tooting a tin whistle.
You fired at least 3 pediatricians and can teach your family doctor a thing or two.
You can name at least 3 genes on chromosome 21. (You really know your toast if you can spell the full names correctly)
You have been told you are "in denial" by at least 3 medical or therapy professionals. This makes you laugh!
You have that incredible sinking feeling that you've forgotten SOMETHING on those few days that you don't have some sort of appointment somewhere!
You get irritated when friends with healthy kids complain about ONE sleepless night when they're child is ill!
Your vocabulary consists of all the letters OT, PT, SP, ASD, VSD, IFSP, IEP, etc.
You keep your appointment at the specialist even though a tropical storm is raging because you just want to get this one over with.....you waited 8 months to get it.....and besides, no one else will be there!
Fighting and wrestling with siblings is PT.
Speech therapy occurs in the tub with a sibling.
When potty training is complete, you take out a full-page public notice in the Washington Post.
When the Doctors/Specialist/Hospitals etc. all know you by your name without referring to your chart.
You keep a daily growth chart.
You calculate monthly statistics for the number of times your child vomits, and did this for more then one year.
You phone all your friends when your child sits up for the first time, at age two.
With a big smile on your face you tell a stranger that your four year old just started walking last week.
His medical file is two inches and growing.
You have a new belief...that angels live with us on earth.

(author unknown)

Poem

Another great poem I found today about raising a child with a disability

Don't Pity Me
By: Joanne Green
Don't pity me
because my child was not born
"perfect", for in his imperfection I have
learned to see beauty that is deeper
than the flesh.

Don't pity me
because my child and I have faced challenges
that have served to forge
a bond much deeper than love.

Don't pity me,
because you could not have done this,
for I thought that too once,
before I learned that through love you can do
a great many things you once couldn't do.

Don't pity me,
my child is the greatest blessing to ever touch my life
I am rich to have him, and richer still for
the experience of knowing him.
And if you are truly my friend,
then you will understand.

And please,
Don't Pity Me.