Helmet Update #3, then We're Off!

(For those who have stumbled onto my blog and/or don't know the story... here's a quick rundown. Evelyn has prefered to sleep on her left side since birth, maybe even in-utero. We have tried unsuccessfully to change her ways. Therefore she has mangaged to mishape her head so much that we have to have her in a corrective helmet to get back symetrical.)

Evelyn had her visit with the Orthotist today, and again we have made amazing progress with reshaping her pretty little head! All of the measurements of asymetry decreased by at least half of what they were before. Praise God! Randall (the helmet guy) said that even he was surprised and happy with her results and is thinking she might even get her helmet off earlier than we had originally thought! Yeah!! Of course, he made no promises... but we can always hope!

Tomorrow we head off for our first real vacation with Evelyn. We are heading to Phoenix for Doug's cousin Jason's wedding, then off to Marble Falls, Texas to visit some friends. Wouldn't you know it, Evelyn has a cold and isn't feeling too great, but we are hopeful she will turn a corner and enjoy a fun adventure with us. We have no idea what to expect from her on the plane. We're just gonna go with the flow!

On another exciting note.. Evelyn started clapping today all by herself! It is so cute! She also got her "big girl" car seat. She is in the 95th percentile in height and has outgrown her infant seat in the length. Of course, she is only in the 25th percentile in weight. She's gonna be tall and skinny like her daddy (insert angels singing here)!! I love her to bits and then some.

I really need to go finish packing.... but not before leaving you with a picture!



Stephanie out...

Change and Cinnamon Roll Hugs

Change is hard. So, so hard. I really don't like it. At all. Even good change is hard for me sometimes.

There has been so much change going on. Evelyn changes every day. I am in awe of this and love watching her grow, but it seems like I have to "learn" her again daily... a blessing and a curse. I still am adjusting to not working as a nurse any longer. I miss my dear, dear work friends and the kids/families I was honored to care for. Decisions Doug and I have made have to be changed due to this and that. I could go on and on....

... and my hair keeps getting more gray... ugh.

One of the biggest areas of change, tho, is in my church family. Leadership changes, service format changes, lots of dear friends leaving for a miriad of reasons. So hard.

The 7 couples in our Care Group (bible study) have been together for over 5 years. We started out with 2 kids between all of us. We now have 13 sweet kiddos and two more due early next year. We have been thru life, death and everything in between together. Amazing relationships, good times.

Last night we found out that one family is changing churches and leaving our group. It hit us all like a ton of bricks, even tho some of us already knew. There were many tears shed by guys and gals alike, as well as lots of laughs remembering old times. Its like losing a limb... we won't feel complete without them. Yet we will go on.

We ended our evening with powerful prayer... and a Cinnimon Roll hug. For those of you who don't know what that is, think high school church camp or singles retreats. It would take up too much space to explain. It was great. Just what we needed to end our last actual care group time all together. We love you, Ken and Christine!

I am not sure what to think about all of the change that is going on. Not sure at all. I don't like it. I feel like crawling under a rock. What I really need to do is get on my knees. Literally.

We serve a God who thankfully does NOT change. He is a faithful, constant source of grace, comfort, wisdom and love in an ever changing world. It is because of Him that we can have such great families, friendships and fellowship, not because of our church or ourselves. We are just vessels.

"Why so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Saviour and my God" ~Psalm 42:11

I pray I can ride the wave of change without fear or feeling "downcast" and "disturbed", but with hope, faith and grace. And of course, joy!

Helmet Update #2

Evelyn had a "check-up" today with the helmet doctor and we got some great news. The two areas with the most asymetry have decreased to 4.5mm and 3mm (they originally were off by 7mm and 6mm)... a huge change for only 4 weeks into this process. We are so pleased.

Evelyn is still being a little trooper with the helmet. Getting it off her is a breeze now. She really enjoys her "breaks", rubbing her little head with her little hands and wanting me to blow on her face to get some breeze thru her hair. Its really cute.

Getting it on... well, its hit and miss. On both our parts. Sometimes we don't get it on just right and have to adjust it which she doesn't care for. Sometimes, she just has a fit when it goes on. Eventually she gets over it and is fine.

Thanks so much for your continued prayers for our little bug. We know God is at work and will fix her head.

"Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust" Psalm 40:4


Here are some cute shots of Evelyn checking out her helmet. She is very curious about everything, the helmet is no exception!!




Here is a pic from today. I don't think she could get much cuter... but she always does!! She is a joy!!

Too tired to be creative, so..... here's my "8"

Evelyn didn't sleep well last night , was up at 5am this morning and hasn't napped much today. Needless to say I am tired. I have a lot I could blog about but am too tired to think about being creative. So.... many blogs I read have been posting 8 things that people might not know about them. I haven't been officially "tagged", but my 8 are pretty easy to come up with , so I will just blog them today. More creative and more meaningful posts later...

My "8"....

1. I am a die hard Barry Mannilow fan. I wanted him to sing at my
wedding.... he wasn't available. That's okay, my dear friend Terry Goldman sang...
it was amazing!

2. My kitchen is my haven. I love to bake. I like to cook, but not as much as baking. It is always the place I keep the cleanest.

2. I am a huge NASCAR fan. Doug and I have been to three races (Sonoma, Phoenix, Vegas)... it is amazing. I hope to go to more someday.

3. In 9th grade, I wrote to "Casey Kasem's Top 40" to do a "Long Distance Dedication" (remember that?) to someone. I am too embarrassed to say whom i wrote it for... I never sent it, tho. I found the letter in a box of my stuff a few years ago. I read it and laughed to hard I about wet myself.

4. I had a fake ID when I was 18.. and used it A LOT! Let's just say I have a past. I didn't find Jesus until I was 22. Please don't judge!

5. I am DEATHLY afraid of bees. Hate'em. I have never been stung... and never want to be. I often wonnder why God made such evil creatures. I know, I know. Pollination.. blah, blah, blah.. .still hate them.

6. I am a germaphobe.... its the nurse in me. I am addicted to Purell. And soap.

7. I still watch Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. He was a great man and I love his show.

8. I got Typhoid fever while I was a nurse in Mexico with NW Medical teams in 1997. Wouldn't wish it on ANYONE!!

There... that took all of 15 minutes. That's all I have energy for. Time to go play with my absolultely adorable daughter. She makes being tired worth it!!

Happy Weekend!!

Crazy Lady in the Church Nursery? ME!

Evelyn went into the nursery at church for the first time yesterday. Yes, I know, she is 8 months old, but up until the past couple of weeks, she has sat thru "big" church just fine and has LOVED worship. The past two weeks, however, I have had to take her out because her joyful outbursts were getting a bit too frequent. So...... it was time.

I was nervous. I was sad. I was a freak. I cried when I left her. OK... sobbed is a better word. Apparently, I was the talk of the morning in the children's wing.... awesome! I watched the reader board like a lion watching his next kill. (Maybe I should increase my zoloft? Hmmm...) I really did enjoy Barb's message, tho. Really, I did. I will blog about that later.

After service, I mowed over innocent bystanders and raced to the infant room, only to find my sweet daughter having the time of her life. She did GREAT. Only fussed a little, but was easily calmed with her pony( I'll post about her pony later, too). She was excited to see me and Doug.

Overall, I am feeling better about it now that the first time is over. I hope I can relax a bit. I hope I can be more focused during service without her. Maybe I should start by keeping my eyes closed during prayer instead of looking up at the "your kid is crying" board...

I will still miss her, tho!

"Train your child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it" Prov 22:6

Training my daughter to love God, love others, and to know that mommy and daddy need to put God before her.... and do so with joy!

Happy Birthday, Sweetie!!

Today is Doug's birthday. He doesn't like to make a big deal about it.. that's just the way he is. I, however, want to give him props on his special day!!

Thank you, Doug, for being my best friend and "life partner" (heehee... that's for you, babe!). You amaze me daily with your love and patience, and your faith in me. You are such a strong spiritual leader in our home. Your ability and willingness to do SO MUCH for us is such a gift to me. You are so smart and talented, more than you give yourself credit for. Thanks for working so hard to I can stay home to raise our family. It brings tears of joy to my eyes to see our baby girl absolutely beam and sqeal when you enter the room. What an amazing dad you are... I am so thankful!


I pray that this year God blesses your socks off, that He will challenge you and grow you into more than you could ever dream of. I will do my best to love, honor and cherish you daily. I also promise to help you get the shop put together so you can FINALLY work on the Mustang this year..... it's been too long!

I love you, Doug. You complete me. Cheesy, but so true. Happy Birthday!

Oldie but Goodie....

I met Jen in the summer of 1980 when my family moved to McMinnville. For the next 2 years we were inseparable, the best of friends. The kind that only come along once or twice in your life, if that. We did everything together. Wore the same clothes, had holloween costumes together (we were dice one year), did gymnastics together (she was better.. but we had fun), even won grand prize in a talent show for our duet of "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music. Pretty cool stuff back then.

Here is us in 1981 hanging out on the cross bars... one of our favorite activities. Click on the picture to get a better view... I had to scan these old ones in!


One of the saddest days of my life was in May of 1982, the day my parents told us we were moving from McMinnville to Eugene. I had to leave Jenny. My best friend in the world. It was awful for both of us. I didn't know how I was going to make it. I actually had a horrible time in the 3 years I lived in Eugene... but that's a story for another day.

After I moved away, Jen and I kept in touch and our parents would arrange for us to spend a weekends together here and there, but not as much as I wished. I missed my friend. Over the years we kind of went on with our lives, keeping in touch as much as we could going thru our teenage years and college days. The cool thing was, whenever we did talk, it was always so easy to catch up. It was like hardly any time had passed. That hasn't changed.

Now, 27 years since we first met, we are both married and have families of our own. Despite living only 30-45 minutes apart, we keep in touch mostly by Christmas cards and key events in our lives. Jen and Jason married in 1995 and have 2 adorable kids, Vivian and William. Vivian was born 8 weeks before my wedding.. Jen missed alot of the ceremony because she had to feed her!! Jenn couldn't be at my dad's funeral, but her parents came and I know she would have come if she was able.

Since Evelyn was born in December, I have thought a lot about Jen and the friend she was and is. I hope and pray for Evelyn to have a lifelong friend like Jenn. It made me want to try harder to keep in touch. We FINALLY got together last weekend at Jaquith Park in Newberg and had a great time catching up and letting the kids play. Here are some pics....




I am so thankful for my friend. She brings joy into my life. Let's get together again soon, Jen!