Two years.  Five MRIs.  Three major surgeries.  Three CT scans.  A halo.  A week in traction.  Thirteen months in a brace.    And here we are.

If I had to give one word to describe this past year, it would be joy.  Unusual, right?  We have learned to find joy in each “normal” moment.  We have learned to rejoice as we felt God’s presence through each hard time.

I pray that our lives these past two years have been a blessing.  That we have reflected God’s glory and goodness through the trials and tears.  I continue to pray that Emmie will be a light to those around her.

Last year, I wrote a couple of posts about our super hero never knowing the journey we would take in the second year.  If you’re up for a little read, you can check out “I Know a Fighter.”  It’ll take you to our old blog but it’s still the same ol’ me.  I re-read our thoughts on this marathon and they are still the same as they were last year, too.

May 17th is NF Awareness Month.  We’ll be dressing our best in blue, green, Super Ems shirts, Children’s Tumor Foundation shirts, and blue/green hair (well it’s a bit faded now, but it’s still there).  We’d love to see all of you dressed up too!  Just share away on our Just a Bunch of Characters Facebook page to show support for Super Ems, neurofibromatosis research, and all the children and adult heroes who are waiting for a cure!

When Papa and Grandmere came up for Emmie’s halo procedure, they also got a chance to celebrate Ceili Rain and Bryant’s birthday before they had to head out.
This boy loves his Papa!

Ceili Rain loves her Grandmere too!

I enjoy reading the little “Love is…” cartoons.  They make me smile and sometimes laugh.  We have learned a lot about love the past two years.  I never realized I could love a child that didn’t grow in my belly the way I love our Y.  I never realized how much my love could grow as I watch my husband be a shoulder for me to cry on or as he melts at the fight Emmie goes through.  I never knew I could grow to love God as much as I do now or feel his love surrounding me when we are facing struggles and trials.

That is why I’m thrilled about May’s flexi-of-the-month.  It’s a beautiful statement of love and reminds me of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

With all the anger, animosity and hatred spewing forth in social media and in our community and country, I love this little statement about what God calls us to.

These clips are available in limited quanitites and are available now!  Yep, right now!  So, go get your flexi on and love one another!

Our memorial to remember this part of Emmie’s journey.

Today was the day.  It has been a day!  Most of it is to be dealt with between us and the hospital.  So, for here, we are going to focus on the most awesome stuff.

We’ve counted down the days…

And finally reached zero!

Emmie had her CT scan around 12:30 today (March 30…yeah it’s late tonight).  While sitting in radiology waiting for a little while, they came and told us they were taking her straight to the OR and we were to wait in her day surgery room.  We got up there and waited a little while longer.  Dr. Chern popped in.  They were prepping her.  It was time.  His exact words were, “it’s almost too good to be true.”  We laughed and told him no.  It’s not too good to be true.  God’s hand was all over this.

The fusion is taking beautifully.  Every piece is right where it needs to be.  While we were all extremely nervous that we were removing our “reassurance,”  we all knew it was time to let her stand “on her own.”

Except she’s not.  She is and has been bathed in prayer.  And God, as always, is holding on to her tightly.  He knows what is best.  We just get to watch Him work.  Sometimes with us yelling and screaming in the background.  Other times while we cheer.  While others we hit our knees to pray.  Our marathon.

After waiting what felt like forever, but of course was only an hour or two, our Emmie came back.  And holding her close, so close after so many months of ducking, dodging and awkwardly cradling,  well, that’s a feeling I can never come close to describing.

You would not believe how light she feels.  We all agree that she looks like a little girl now and not the baby from eight months ago.

She got to wear a “real” dress.  Not a pillowcase dress but a real one.  Oh my heart.

She was very woozy from the meds and still quite unsure as to where her halo buddy was.

As we were leaving, Dr. Chern stopped us and  told us that tomorrow we could wash her hair.  With real shampoo.  He also said that older kids will tell them that they feel very unsafe when the halo comes off.  Unsteady of their feet.  Unsure of how to move.  We definitely think Emmie is going through all of that in her almost two year old mind.  Not a lot of smiles in the hospital, but she brightened up riding in Papa’s toot-toot (his truck that we borrowed for the trip over) and eating her traditional after hospital Chick-fil-a meal.

We couldn’t stop smiling as we ate and watched her.  She turned her head slightly (just her head…not her whole body). Then got very still and turned it the other way.  And then did it again and again.

Our hearts are overflowing with thanksgiving to God for our amazing girl.   She’ll stay in this brace for about five to seven weeks and then we’ll move on to the next big step of going solo. We can take the brace off to put a new shirt on underneath it.  But that will be all.

Papa and Grandmere graciously agreed to watch the Super Sibling Sidekicks and I’ll have pictures of their escapades later.  Ge and Granddaddy graciously agreed to wait out the chaos with us at the hospital.  Their reward was making them bend down on Emmie level to get a good picture.

They love me and would do anything for their Emmie.

We got home and our mail included two absolutely adorable shirts with the cutest sayings that are most appropriate for Emmie.

When I found similar cute sayings for another disorder, I put out a plea for ideas on who or how we could make these.  My high school friend, A, told me she would do them.  As a gift to Emmie.  Now to decide which one she is wearing tomorrow.  Because she can wear a shirt.  A real shirt.

Again, saying thank you for the prayers is nowhere near enough.  We are so grateful for each and everyone who has lifted our amazing super hero up.

She’ll go back in two weeks for x-ray and check up.  Then, we are hoping to go back three weeks later (other activities are keeping us from going in four weeks like he requested).  That will be the TSLO brace (what she has on now) decision time .  A year plus of wearing some type of neck brace and then nothing.  I can almost imagine it now.

What packing for ten people for ten days looks like.

Skype and wi-fi kept our hearts from being torn and missing the kids to the point of insanity.  Grandparents and an aunt and uncle were super great about keeping us posted on their latest adventures back in the states.

Here’s what they were up to while we were away.

Yardwork!  Papa and Grandmere are not afraid to get some hard work out of these young whipper sappers. Okay, there was a bit of fun involved too. Grandmere has saved several of Mark’s Lego sets and my boys are forever grateful for that. I know it looks like work but I think they totally enjoyed this!

Emmie practiced being cute and posing for the camera.  We are told she loved the fireplace to sit by and the cute yellow bear. The park! Papa’s traditional s’mores roast and fire pit. There’s something or someone hiding up there… See? Ceili Rain and Liam loved chasing the chickens at Uncle and Aunt B’s house. Emmie got in some play time with cousin A.  They are just three weeks apart. My boys enjoyed snuggling up before bed at Uncle & Aunt B’s house.
. Hauling wood with the cousins. Aunt B outfitted our boys in some good work clothes.  This has to be one of my favorite pictures!  I love seeing our kids so close to their cousins.  They truly enjoy every minute they’re with them. Getting ready for a bonfire at Uncle B’s.

Despite all the skyping and photo updates, this was a sight for sore eyes.  We were so glad to have our crew back together (almost…still waiting on our guy in Europe).

Finally!  I’m getting down to actually blogging about our first international flight.  So, sit tight.  I’m going to try and break it up in to four posts…Flying (and riding), Ukraine, Venice, and the kids back home.  Mostly, it’ll be pictures with some stories thrown in for good measure.

This was before our nine hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany.   Did you know that the Atlanta International Terminal has a Varisty.  Oh yes they do!  Oh yes we did!

Our plane.

Nothing too exciting happened on our flights.  There was a lot of turbulence going over.  That meant that the middle-of-the-night flight was not full of peaceful sleep for me.  Mark slept great though.  I was dragging by the time we got to Germany and then got to deal with a lovely selection of a pat down.  I felt mighty sorry for the security officer as she pulled off my boots that had been on for nine hours.

Flying in to Germany.  Beautiful ya’ll!  Just beautiful! The Ukrainian airport had two cute little play areas for children.  Genius people.

Germany.
After our nine hour flight.  I got a short nap in Frankfurt and  short nap to Ukraine.

I love flying above the clouds.  The formations one can see are just breathtaking.

We were in Ukraine for about a week.  Since my birthday fell during our trip Mark figured out a way for us to sight see in another place as well.  He gave me a choice.  I chose Venice.  Really and truly, if you have to pick a city anywhere on mainland Europe to visit for one day.  Choose Venice.

Then Mark had a great idea.  Let’s go to Venice by train!  Oh my ya’ll.  We went through Germany, Austria, and Italy.  The hills were definitely alive with the sound of music.

This was our first long train ride.  We enjoyed every minute of the eight hour trip but were definitely ready to find a bed and crash by the time we go to Venice.

Our first train to make the connection to the longer one.  This was like a metro station and we’re still not sure how we got to it and on it without a single person checking for our tickets.

Mark is the photographer, but I got one of him!

I give you the Austrian Alps!
And vineyards.  Oh my…as soon as we entered Italy every single hilltop, mountain, and valley was covered with vineyards.  It was gorgeous. And Germany had castles.  It blew our minds to just look out a window and see a castle. Gorgeous little towns were everywhere.
And more castles. And Alps.

Hey look!  Another castle!

Mark got to take a nap.  He really was napping not digging for gold.  I promise.  Our cabin mates can attest to it.  If they spoke English.   I read and stared out the window.

Waiting on food in the dining car and enjoying the scenery.  This is my relaxation face.  We may have only been in Venice for one full day but we enjoyed every second of it.

And now your food posts for the train.

An apple and vanilla cream dessert.  Yummy. Mushroom Goulash and Potato Pancakes.

Chicken Salad

In everything give thanks for this is the will of Christ Jesus in you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

How do I start a blog about thankfulness.  No, not because I’m not thankful but because we have so much to be thankful for.  This year, even in the extremely rough and stressful times, we were able to give thanks.  So many things.  So many people.  So much of God.  This year has been full and overflowing.

The obvious givens are our home, neighbors, friends and family.  They have cried with us, prayed with us, and dropped everything to be with us through all of our struggles.  They have written references, watched children, made meals, and cleaned our house.  The Lord knew we would need these people in our lives from the get go.  We are so blessed that He has given them to us when needed.

Our children have made us laugh, cry, and want to pull our hair out too.  Their laughter and hug tackles remind us that it is all worth it in the end.  I could not imagine doing life with out these amazing strong children.

And our Super Ems.  All of the kids do not argue with me when I say that she is the current family favorite.  Yep.  They all love her and would do anything to protect and care for her.

I am so grateful for her laughter.  Honesty, genuine laughter and giggles.  They have been slow to come.  As a baby, she squealed with glee and smiled a lot.  But never really laughed.  Never giggled.  Until this month.  I had forgotten how much those sweet toddler/baby giggles melt my heart.

Her fierce independence and strength has been quite evident this past month as we were away and she had to rely on others to help her and guide her.  Oh, she still wants mama and daddy close but she is now more apt to wander in to the playroom without us by her side.  Her strength.  Oh, her strength is a great inspiration to us all.

And this little man, our Y the Brave who bravely told a room full of adults that he wanted to be with his family.  Us.  He enthusiastically showed us off to his classmates and ran to us with arms wide open screaming, “Mama! Papa!” at the top of his lungs.  My heart yearns to have him home safe and with his brothers and sisters and we anxiously await the phone call that all is well and our court date is coming up.

I am thankful for the ten days Mark and I had to spend together.  There was a lot of time of “just us” time.  And even more so when we were the only ones who could speak English.  We laughed and talked and just enjoyed being together.  Mark said it was like a second honeymoon and I totally agreed.

Side note-we are really, really bad at selfies but we both refuse to purchase a selfie stick. If you give us one for Christmas, it will not be used. We refuse ya’ll.

I can not wait to share more about our trip in the next couple of posts, so stay tuned.  For now, I’m going to snuggle up to Mark and get a nap so I can enjoy a Black Friday tradition of going out with friends to brave the cold and crowds.

Emmie had to hold everything during pin cleaning.

Some sweet neighbors knew we enjoyed a bit of cupcake.  Emmie didn’t disappoint.

Awana Backwards Night.  Our volunteers get creative!Leg Warmers…for Arm Warmers

Lovely cool weather meant we had to get to the park.
Total homeschool fail.  Two guesses what these guys are supposed to be.

Cape Day 2014 for Children’s Hospital of Atlanta…Hopefully I can get her sidkicks outfitted for next year. Ballerina in training.  Toes pointed for nap time. Argghhh!  We never miss Talk Like a Pirate Day at Krispy Kreme!  Free donuts be our booty! She stole my grilled cheese sandwich.  And liked it.

Daddy and Emmie Selfie

I think all of August is surrounded by Emmie’s hospitalizations.  Now that we have that established.

The kids had to miss the official awards ceremony for our church’s summer program.  So, our pastor did the next best thing.   He gave them their own personal awards ceremony.

We were proud of how hard all eight of the kids worked (Emmie isn’t speaking in complete sentences yet).   Yes, all eight.  Y the Brave  worked hard to memorize several verses and succeeded.  We wrote them out in English and then his home language.  He was able to read the verse but also memorize it in English.

End of July brought our last two of the four birthdays that we celebrate within a month’s span.  Ace’s birthday fell on a Sunday this year and he was super excited to be able to celebrate with Y the Brave here.
Ace has requested a camera for the last few years and this year, we felt he was old enough to handle one.  He received an older camera that he had put up for him.  But he is thrilled!  We also signed him up for a photography class.
Breakfast of choice, homemade sour cream donuts.  I’ve been told that these are way better than any we can buy.  I may be lacking in somethings but making extremely unhealthy but yummy breakfast foods is my forte. Activity choice was laser tag and bumper boats.  He wanted to do putt putt but when we reminded him the temps were pushing 100 degrees without humidity, he agreed to the other two activities.

Now to the cake:

My kids, did not go easy on me this summer.  First there was Josiah’s cake.  And then there was Ace’s.

“Mom, I want a minion cake.”

Um, okay.  Pinterest and I became mighty good friends this year.

Getting started.  Might I just say that I am in love with marshmallow fondant.  It is so easy to make and work with and it keeps well even after made.

It wasn’t midnight and I was done.  And still smiling.

So was this little guy.  I used a buttercream icing for the main part and decorated with the marshmallow fondant. The cake was my chocolate cake recipe.

And, of course, the birthday boy approved so that, to me, is all that matters.