HE is Faithful

She is Precious in His sight.

I cannot believe how exciting it is to have a daughter who in September, didn't know how to read... then by Christmas, she totally could read! And now, she just keeps getting better and better. She's like a little sponge, and LOVES learning. I can tell that she's so excited to be able to read pretty much everything she comes across. And if she doesn't know it, she'll either spell it to me or sound it out. I'm just so proud of her- she comes home with new things she's learning everyday.

And not only that, but she's growing in every other area as well. I remember when we were going through such difficult times with her just a few short months ago. She really struggled with getting ready and dressed in the mornings, and was having OCD tendencies. It got to where I was ready to take her to an occupational therapist, thinking she had some kind of tactile disorder or sensory processing disorder and OCD. I had the appointment scheduled and everything! We'd been to our pediatrician a few times about it, and even gone to Teda's teacher searching for I don't know what, but an answer. I felt like it would never. get. better. ever.... and look at her now. She's bright, she's full of life, she's respectful and obedient (for the most part!), she's full of love, she's an amazing friend, she knows and trusts Jesus, and she cares for others, and she even gets ready in the morning for the most part without a hitch! And she even tries new things, which before was not something she would not do. Peroid. She was stuck, and I didn't know how to help her get unstuck.
I'm just amazed, and most importantly, grateful to God. He continues to be faithful (even when I'm not), to show us His love, to heal, to give grace, and to protect. After all we'd gone through, I felt donner than done. (ok, so donner is not a word, but it's how I felt) I didn't even want to be a mom anymore- I was beyond exhausted, I cried ALL the time, and felt frustrated beyond belief. I felt like we'd tried everything, yet nothing was helping. I truly felt hopeless, and like a horrible mom and even wondering why God made me a mom and gave me these children that I didn't know how to care for.

Zach was pretty done as well, but even in the midst of it he still kept his head up and looking to God for help. He continued to encourage me to pray about it, and continued to pray with me (and on my behalf since I didn't even feel like praying... I wish I could say I was totally faithful and prayed everyday about it, but often I just felt even to defeated to pray. I know that doesn't make sense, but it's true). And then one day, I started praying too. I prayed for all the things I didn't have to give my baby girl- strength, patience, self control, and for unconditional love. I prayed that God would supernaturally give me love for my daughter that I truly didn't have when she was in the middle of a tantrum because her skirt was too tight/loose/not straight/etc... I wanted her to know that she was loved regardless of her choices, her attitude, her tantrums, and her feelings. And I am thrilled to say that only through Jesus, I was given the ability to love her through this- each morning that she struggled. And even each evening. Time is what it took. Patience. Love.

I found out later that my grandparents had decided to pray for Teda every night at 10pm. They set their alarms, and each night at 10, they stopped what they were doing and prayed for our little girl. It just brings tears to my eyes recalling this time, and how faithful our God is.

I found out that my parents had been doing the same thing as my grandparents- praying for Teda every night at 10. Lifting our little girl up in prayer. I'm so thankful.

The other thing that I'm 100% certain helped Teda was that we started taking her to my grandparents chiropractor, Dr. Dan. I know I've blogged a bit about him before, but I have to say it again in this context. He did a whole work up on her, and found out that she had 8 subluxations, which is not super normal for a 5 year old. Those are places you're out in your spine. And the spine is connected with the central nervous system, which is what virtually controls your whole body. So having those 8 spots she was out of alignment was causing real trouble for her. We trusted Dr Dan from the beginning because my grandparents have seen him for a few years now (that's another story of how much he's helped my grandma!). He suggested we take her to him 3x/week for the first few months, then hopefully her body would respond well and we could taper off.

Well, let me just tell you that since we've started seeing Dr Dan (we all go as a family- I'm a total believer now- seriously, chiropractic care is crucial for the health of our bodies!), Teda is a different kid. When we started, she was on a daily inhaler, and got sick all the time. Every time she even started to sniffle, I'd wince because I knew it would go right to her chest and we'd end up at the pediatrician getting oral steroids (which her body does horrible on). In the beginning of us starting our care with Dr. Dan, I had to take her into the pediatrician, and they had to get her on a steroid because she had gotten bronchiolitis, again. I was so discouraged, but Dr Dan was encouraging and said it's okay. He reminded me that we were just beginning with him, and that it's taken 5 years for her to get this way, and it will take some time to help her body get back into alignment.

It took a bit to get her going, but at this point (about 4 months into it), she is now off her inhaler completely. I should knock on some wood, but she hasn't even been getting sick! Even when our whole family got sick this last month, she got a little fever for one night, and the next day her throat was a little sore- thats it! And this is the biggest part- her behavior has totally turned around. And I don't mean that she behaved badly- I mean the struggles that were SO intense with getting ready in the mornings, getting dressed and having souch trouble with the way things felt on her, and even having some OCD type tendencies... She doesn't struggle with getting ready in the morning, she just gets ready. I could go on and on about the changes we've seen in Teda. She's a joy to be around. I attribute that first to the power of prayer, and then to the wonders of chiropractic care.

So yes, I'm so thankful for those hard times because it gave me an even deeper love, appreciation, and connection with Teda. We're the girls. Just me and her. I love my sweet baby girl, and I'm so thankful for her! It makes me think about the verse that talks about how God will restore us after we have suffered... it's 1 Peter 5:10-11 "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen."



And these verses really speak to me in most all circumstances because I struggle with trusting in my own understanding, how little that may be. I go right to worry, anxiety, stress, and mulling things over and over in my mind. This is what I'm striving for... and to know that when I trust in the Lord, and don't lean on my own understanding, that God will help to make the path straight that all my worrying had made crooked! Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight."

Teda on her 100th day of school! Her shirt has 100 beads on it- they did so many fun things at school to celebrate this day. She said it was her best day ever. :)

John 14:13-14 "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

And here's a video of Teda reading the boys a bedtime story. She was reading "Are You My Mother". Love that book! At one point, Zach is stunned at her ability because Jett couldn't see the pictures. So she simply read it upside down as she showed him the pictures. Afterwards, she said she was just reading like a teacher. Ok, so now I just want to pick her up from school RIGHT NOW and give her big hugs! :)

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways ackknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.