Break!

Aren't breaks nice? Well received?

When I think of my favorite breaks I think of fun vacations, warm weather so that fun can be enjoyed outside, time with friends and family.

Of course now my breaks look different than they did before kids and I don't always get to spend those breaks with Keith at home, but it is still nice to take some time out.

 

Time out from the normal routine.  No schedule.  Nowhere I have to be.

This past week we have had a break and it's been nice.  I've been home since Christmas Day and haven't left the house since Monday--doesn't that sound like a Mama's break?

yes!

Since being on break one child has a runny nose, one has a cough (that seems to be getting worse) and one is threatening to get sick.  'Tis the season!

 
Five years ago this would have frustrated me.  I mean, come on' kiddos don't you know this is a break and you getting sick does not make it restful for me??

But now I realize kids get sick, a break is an excellent time to get sick (if you have to) because there's nowhere we have to be, and I am still realizing that I'm a mom of 3 kids--sleep will come when it comes. 

 

So this break has been nice because of the one-on-one time I've gotten with each kiddo.  Whether that's watching a new movie with my oldest, cuddling with the girls because they don't feel well, making cookies, playing with new toys, etc, etc.

I'm thankful!

 
I know in just a few short days the schedule will ramp up again.

2017 will bring many more things into our lives.
*more doctors and therapy appointments
*another cast {sigh}
*possible surgery
*talking {YAY!}
*walking
*kindergarten
*preschool

and the list goes on and on, with things I don't even know about yet!

So today I am sitting in my messy house, with loads of laundry needing to be washed and kids who probably need baths and think back to the reason for this break.

The birth of our King who chose to leave Heaven and join this mess.

Yes, I'm thankful for a break but even more thankful He entered into our world and wants to be part of our lives.  2017 will have many surprises, good and bad.  Thank God that he walks through them with us!

Happy New Year Everyone!

"The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace..."
John 6:26-28

Merry Christmas!

For all of you near and far who didn't receive our Christmas card. 🎄

 

Merry Christmas from the Richards Family!

Christmas 2016

The Christmas season is upon us!  New this year: A Richards family update letter!  We know many of you keep up with us and pray for our family so we want to give you a few more details about our life!  We are grateful for all the Lord has given us and for this time of year to reflect on Jesus’ coming.  

“For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.

By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,

he condemned sin in the flesh.”

Romans 8:3

 

Keith and Ellie have now been out-numbered and are still figuring out zone defense with 3 kiddos in the house.  Most of our days and nights are spent parenting, loving and helping these three.  Yes, our hands are full, but full with good things.  In May we officially joined a new church and have gotten involved in a community group near our house.  This group has blessed us immensely since we started attending.  It is fun to see them love our kids and serve us when we need it.  

Keith has now been at his company here in Louisville for 3+ years.  He continues to work hard and is a well thought of, great, manager of product.  He works long days to provide for all of us, we are so grateful for him!

Ellie spends a lot of time with the kiddos, which is how it should be.  Hannah still has many therapy and doctor appointments and now Suzi gets to tag along too!  She is blessed with other mom friends who have kids of similar ages to get together with occasionally and have some grownup time as well as a women’s bible study.

 

Eli is on his last year of 3-day preschool and by the end of next year he will be a Kindergartener!  It’s bittersweet to watch our sweet boy grow up and decide he no longer wants to be called “sweet boy”.  He participated in gymnastics until mid-summer, which he loved, but now we are searching for another activity to get some energy out.  

 
 

Hannah continues to amaze us with all she does good and bad.  She turned 2 this year, and it shows!  She also began walking which actually happened before Suzi was born—a sweet gift from the Lord.  She is now a busy toddler who messes with everything and one you can’t take your eyes off of for a second.  Her sweet disposition makes up for it most of the time!  Hannah also had surgery to receive her first Cochlear Implant in November.  She is adapting to it very well, we are hopeful to see more and more progress with speech therapy in the New Year!  Please continue to pray for her left hand. It is getting stronger through restraint therapy but still has a long way to go.

 

 

And Suzi.  She’s really a great baby.  Except for the lack of sleep she joined our family seamlessly and we all fall more in love with her every day.  She is a baby who spends lots of time in the car, smiles a lot, sleeps well and loves to be talked to.  Eli usually gets put on “talk to Suzi duty” and he is great at it.  She will be 6 months 2 days after Christmas, so yes in the busyness of life with little kids, time flies!

 

We know that in the ups and downs of life “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses” but one who chose to come to earth and take away our sins!  Let us remember that gift during this Christmas season.

 

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!

Keith, Ellie, Eli, Hannah and Suzi Richards

 

 

 

Activated!

Since Tuesday Hannah has been hearing the world a bit differently. 

 

She's hearing music from some of her favorite toys. 

 

She's hearing Mawmaw and Poppy's voice differently for the first time. 

 

And she's also talking with her baby sister on her first holiday hearing the world better. 

We are thankful for the technology to increase her sound and enable her to hopefully listen and communicate normally. 

She did a great job on Tuesday getting her CI turned on. When it was first activated she kind of wrinkled her brow and eventually smiled letting us know she was hearing sound in a new way. 

Over the course of the last few days it has been fun to see how she is adapting to her CI and hearing more and more. We still have a long way to go with speech therapy and helping her recognize sound, but she is off to a great start!

Thanks to everyone who have prayed us through this whole journey. I am glad to be on the other side of the surgery and recovery and I'm ready to press forward helping her learn more and more. 

Hannah is doing well for the most part. Sleep is still off and on since surgery, it is usually the first thing to get messed up when her schedule is interrupted, or when she gets sick or something. We are praying she goes back to sleeping well at night soon, for everyone's sake!

I look forward to the days, weeks, months and years ahead as cochlear implants become our new normal and we are amazed by a good God who continues to give good gifts to his children. 

In All Things Give Thanks

It's that time of year again.

Thanksgiving. 

When we stop and gather with family and friends and give thanks to God for all we have, where we live and what we are able to do. 

Since I was a little girl I've always loved Thanksgiving. It's nestled nicely between my birthday and Christmas. Included with it are chances to see people I haven't for sometime and the menu is delicious!

When I lived overseas Thanksgiving became an even greater event.  Since we were all far from home, everyone on my team would make their favorite foods and a lot of them.  We would feast and watch Christmas movies for a few days and forget we lived in a foreign country. Haha..

Since Keith and I got married we always make sure we invite others over for the holiday and invite family to come whenever possible. 

Most of you know from reading this post and this post that in 2014 Thanksgiving changed in our family. I still love this time of year but let's just say it now brings up a lot of emotions in me that may stay dormant most of the year. 

It is interesting the Lord caused Hannah's diagnosis of hearing loss and CMV and her cochlear implant surgery to both happen around Thanksgiving. Really within days of each other. 

From two years ago, with an itty bitty baby in my arms, not knowing what she would be able to do, or say. To today, watching my sweet, determined little girl continuing to amaze us at all she has accomplished and can do. 

So, as I sit here days after Hannah's surgery and days before her activation I thank the Lord for redeeming this time of year for our family. 

I thank Him for giving us hope and continuing to amaze us at His love for us, His children. 

During this time of year this sits on my mantle. 

 

But I think I may need to keep it up all year. It reminds me of how good the Lord is to us and how many times I forget to say thanks.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I again want to take the opportunity to thank all of you for your service and prayers for our family.  For loving us in more ways than I can even think through right now and lifting us up in prayer when we didn't know what to pray.  Hannah is a product of those prayers and as her mother I am forever thankful for people like you who intercede for our family.

"Give thanks 

in all circumstances; 

for this is God’s will 

for you in 

Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Hannah's New Ear 👂!

On Monday we woke up incredibly early, loaded up 2 adults, two little girls and all their stuff and headed up to Cincinnati for Hannah's implant surgery. 

Thankfully everyone was healthy and the surgery went off without a hiccup!

Her surgery was at 8am, so we arrived at 7 where the nurse took us to a private room, we answered lots of questions and watched Curious George (because, what else would you watch at 7am to distract a toddler?) The surgeon came in and signed off on Hannah's CI surgery and 2 ear tubes instead of one, like we originally thought because fluid was present, and we got down to business. 

Hannah was pretty clingy and I think she knew something was up. 

 

At about 8:15 we walked Hannah back to the OR where she received some sleepy gas and they whisked her away. 

 

After that Mom and Dad got some breakfast and we waited. It was a long wait, probably 3+ hours, which may not sound that long, but it is when it's your child. 

Before we saw Hannah we met with Dr. Choo, her doctor. He showed us pictures of Hannah's surgery, something I had been told about, but wasn't quite ready to see. He showed us how the implant was placed, the coils and where her scar is. The coils are longer than needed so as her head grows they grow with her so no additional surgery is needed when she is an adult. He also encouraged us when he told us the surgery was very "textbook" and the CI worked really well when tested. He had a rep from Cochlear in the surgery who asked if the implant was in demo mode because it seemed to work too perfect. That's really good news!

After another 10 minutes the nurse came back out and told us we could come and see Hannah. 

 

 Such a sweet little patient. 

Since we were out of town and Hannah has additional issues besides hearing loss the doctor decided to admit us for one night. Being our first time doing this it was probably a wise move, but next time I vote for just heading back to Louisville!

So we were wheeled upstairs (Keith got the royal treatment, haha). 

Hannah went through periods of happiness and periods of pain. There was probably more pain the first day than happy, but we are seeing her improve. I think she was, and still is, confused about the pain and this enormous thing on her head. 

Thankfully the head wrap comes off tomorrow and we've heard, from other parents of CI recipients, that by the 3rd day post-surgery their kiddo was back to normal. 

 

As you can see, Hannah's already getting her spunk back. 

She is happy to be back home with her brother and grandparents (Keith's parents are here lending much needed helping hands) and playing with her toys. 

Now we wait two weeks for the incision to heal and then she gets "activated". So that ear should be a hearing ear by Thanksgiving. Thank you God!

Keith was really the champ over the last few days. Since I'm still nursing Suzi, she and I went to a hotel while Keith stayed with Hannah at the hospital. I guess he did deserve the royal treatment after all. ❤️

"The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm."

            Exodus 14:14

7 days to go!

 

Written by Keith

Thanks for all the prayers for Hannah!  We have been quarantining the family as much as possible.  We have all been pretty healthy so far.  Hannah had a day bug last week but thankfully it came as fast as it went.  We have been debating this but we are going to do some light trick or treating tonight.  Prayfully the open air & antibacterial wipes will prevent infection.  This is the first year that Eli fully grasps the concept that trick or treating = candy & fun.  So we didn't want to rob him of the experience.  

 

If you have an opportunity to pray for Hannah this week.  Here are some things that have been on my heart.

- Please pray that the family stays well this week in preparation for Hannah's surgery.  Also pray for the health of my parents as they are coming up on Sunday to watch Eli for the surgery & to provide helping hands post surgery.  

- Pray that God directs the surgeon's hands during this delicate surgery.  

- Pray for Hannah to have a speedy recovery.  In many cases cochlear implants can be an outpatient procedure.  Hannah is staying the night because of the issues with her brain.  There are unknown risks.  Specifically pray that she does not have any seizures.  Kids with her brain condition are more susceptible.  

- Pray for Ellie and myself to love each other during the additional stress

- Pray the surgery is successful and that Hannah will be able hear!  This is really exciting for me.    

This is step 1 for Hannah's hearing & speech recovery.  The link below is a first hand story about what Hannah will go through.  Cochlear implants are not the same as glasses or lasik.  They will help her hear but the hearing is different.  I don't really understand what different means but she will have to learn to hear in a different way.  Learning to hear is not something I really ever thought about.  

http://handsandvoices.org/deafhardofhearingchildren/inspiringdeafandhardofhearingteens/

Lastly please pray for Ellie & Hannah post surgery.  Pray that Hannah will learn to hear & speak.  This learning means more doctor & therapy appointments.  Ellie is a trooper & doesn't talk about this much but it is physically taxing on her.  Hannah has already had a 100+ appointments this year! Pray for endurance and patience as she will need to have more speech therapies post surgery to go along with the other physical stuff.  

 

Thanks so much for remembering our family during this time. We will keep you updated!

"And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him."

           1 John 5:14

2 weeks to go!

We're in the final countdown until Hannah's surgery. 

2 weeks. 

I know for most people the autumn season flies by and for the most part it has with us too, but waiting for this surgery has seemed long. We are anxiously awaiting the day. 

 

Starting Monday we are initiating a kid quarantine. Eli will be home from school, no playgroup, no nursery, etc. 

Don't worry we'll still get out of the house, but we are trying to do all we can to avoid infection especially as flu season begins and it just started getting cold here, uhum yesterday.

 

I think I'm 95% ready for the surgery. I know this will help her hear and it has proven over and over amazing results, but seeing my girl in pain is worrisome. We know she will be in good hands with the doctors and nurses at Cincinnati Children's but it's still hard. 

 

The next two weeks will be fun for all of us. Actually, Hannah and Eli have started to really play well with each other. Hannah misses Eli when he's at school and Eli constantly asks me when Hannah's going to get up from her afternoon nap so he can play with her. It's sweet. 

 

Today we had the pleasure of dedicating Hannah and Suzi at church. 

We are thankful for the church the Lord has placed us in and the way they care for us and our children. Since Hannah is Hannah almost every kids ministry worker knows her. I often here "you're Hannah's mom, right?" I don't think I've ever heard that about my other two.  I hope that's a good thing. 😊

 

But more than just their care we know people pray for her and us. Someone I barely know even came up to me this morning and asked when Hannah's surgery is, that's amazing to me--that people think to pray for her and she, in her unique way, is having an impact on others. 

 

So, 2 weeks. 

Thank you for your continued prayers for health and the upcoming surgery. 

As we wait we can only imagine the great things the Lord has in store. 

Sweet Suzi

Suzi. 

 

Yes, she doesn't get much press. 

It's hard coming after an older sister who always seems to have something going on with her. Also, when all you do is eat, smile and cry there isn't a lot to capture. Of course being the 3rd child has its stereotypes, but you are not forgotten, sweet Suzi. 

As I've mentioned Suzi was a surprise blessing and she is a blessing in every way. 

She waits for me to feed the other two before I nurse her and put her to bed. 

 

When she wakes up in the morning and starts looking around for another person and catches my eye her face is transformed into a gigantic smile. 

 

When Eli is bouncing all around the room and saying something in gibberish she laughs. 

 

Yes, she hates the cast, but has lots of patience for her big sister. 

 

I so look forward to what kind of girl this sweet baby will turn into. I pray she's just as patient and full of grace as she is now. 

 

I will miss this baby. 

Casty

Yes, she's still with us. 

She's proven frustrating. 

She's been used as a club and other not nice things. 

She's been a pain in more ways than one. 

But I really think she's helped. 

 

I now can leave Hannah to eat her yogurt all by herself! Of course it's still messy and I have to help her at the end but it's a big accomplishment. 

We have been doing as many things as possible to help that hand and use that side of the brain. 

 

Since she is such a determined little girl having no right hand has not stopped her. Even her occupational therapist thinks she will miss the cast. I probably wouldn't go that far, but I am glad we went ahead and did it. 

 

Not everyone in the house is a fan. 

Just a few more days and she will be back to two hands and we shall see how she uses them. 

Today also marks one month until surgery. Right now Hannah is healthy and everything is still a go for the procedure. Yesterday we received her last earmold for that left ear, in a month no more molds!!

Thank you for your continued prayers. Most importantly for her health and that everything works for the surgery to take place on November 7th. Also, please pray for our family as we will leave Eli with grandparents and I'm sure Hannah will need some extra holding during that time. Jealousy can run high in this house!

 

"As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD's word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him."

Psalm 18:30

Just More Life

Constant. 

That's how I describe life right now. In this season with 3 kiddos 4 and under there is not much downtime. 

On Tuesday, Eli had some quiet time with me on the couch. We snuggled (which I love) and as soon as we both got comfortable, Hannah cried out so I slid Eli over and picked her up and she rested her head on me watching the movie. A few minutes later I heard Suzi, so I slid Hannah over next to Eli and went and got Suzi. I fed her, she fell back to sleep, I laid her back down, came back out and life was back into full gear. 

I love it when my children are sleepy.  They are so snuggly and super sweet. But it does seem sometimes I put one down just to pick up another. 

This morning I woke up early before everyone else...to shower. 

I know it should have been to spend time with Jesus. But, alas I showered. 

If I'm not giving a hug because someone got their feelings hurt, or helping one off the potty, I'm feeding or rocking to sleep. 

And that's only when we are at home. 

It really is priceless time and I'm basically writing this post so I don't forget these days, but at this moment I'm tired. 

 

It's hard to get everyone in the same picture. 😊

Lord,

Help me enjoy these days so I can remember them with fondness. Even though I love who my children are becoming and all they get to do my heart aches for the slow-paced days of baby snuggles. Thank you for entrusting me with these little loves. 

 

Real Life

As fall starts, we are getting into a rhythm, somewhat.

My littlest girl surprises me with how much she is changing every day.

Suzi has started smiling when she sees a familiar face or is just in an overall good mood, which is often.  She loves her brother and sister and is always busy watching them.  She has started batting at hanging toys on the playmat and oohing and ahhing.  The only thing that she seems to dislike is being strapped in her carseat, which can make for some long car rides, but we are trying to remedy this quickly.

Oh my!  She is really getting fun!

And has a brother who adores her.

 Eli is doing well in preschool.  He started the year only knowing 2 kids in his class, but now comes home most nights talking about other kids who we don't know.  His teacher is also really nice to send me pictures during the day so we can look at them later and he can tell me who his friends are and what they were doing.

Our second and most eventful child (79 medical claims for this child so far this year) also had a big week getting a cast on her arm.

"No, it is not broken, its therapy."  If I said that once I said it a hundred times this week.

That's the short answer.

The complete answer is we put Hannah's dominate arm in a cast to make her use her left hand.  Since she was born we have known that her left side is weaker, but it is very obvious in her hand.  Because of this weakness she can completely disregard this hand and only use her right for most things.  Putting a cast on her right makes her use the left and also does a lot for her brain.  The first day she was not happy at all.

Yes, this is real life.  

Thankfully Keith took off a few days to help me with the kiddos while Hannah adjusted to having her hand taken away.  

By day 2 she had started to eat by herself and was even reaching out for things with her left.  This just goes to show how powerful the brain is.  

She's becoming a little mama.

She can even pick up a baby doll and rock her to sleep.  Of course, this baby gets dropped a lot, but we are so proud of how much Hannah is learning.

The bubble wrap is for our protection.  Hannah's arm is very heavy and is very strong so we must wrap it so she doesn't hurt herself or others.  

It doesn't always help.

So, she will have the cast on for 4 weeks and then off until after her CI surgery.  We will repeat this process a few times to give her more practice using her left.  We are hopeful this will help her start using her hand more.  Of course, we do not expect her to ever use her left hand more than her right, but we do want her to recognize that hand and use it to assist her right.  Like climbing a ladder or holding a plate.  

Just taking life one step at a time.  

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

Hebrews 12:11