Nothing is by chance -

I truly believe that if the Lord wants things to happen, He prepares the way and opens the window. It amazes me each time that blessings manifest themselves in my life. I am grateful and overwhelmed an in awe of His grace towards me each and every time. Since Finn has come into my life, I make a conscious effort each day not to take things for granted and to share love with those around me. There are people with much bigger problems than I have and I pray for them everyday. I thank Heavenly Father for reminding me of this constantly.

This week has been remarkable but today was an amazing day! The week began with a wonderful therapist(Debbie)hooking me up with a teacher that specializes in Finn's eye disorder. She is the expert for San Diego and she'll be coming to my home in two weeks. She will teach me how to work with her and increase the vision that Finn already has. I am so excited to meet with her that I'll probably forget all of the questions I have for her! What a blessing. I don't know how I would have found that contact on my own. So, a little help from heaven and the window raises... I also got my advertising 4X6 postcards for Careful Scanning in the mail Wednesday in time for the Scrapbook Expo this weekend. Jeffery Whitehead from Fridgeworks did an AMAZING job on them and they look wonderful! And then to top it all off, Finn's baby book came from Heritage Makers(a week early) and it's better than I can imagine! SO cute and of course, it's in black & hot pink! It was a great week!

For the past few weeks I have been racking my brain trying to think of a way to give back to Rady Children's Hospital and thank them for all that they have done for us. You have heard me ramble on before about the nurses, staff & doctors and how incredible they all are. They are truly angels on the earth! Well, with money being tight, monetary donations were not going to be part of my plan. I joined Volunteer San Diego in hopes that they would have some project etc. and I did find one but it didn't seem like the one I needed to pursue for some reason. And then, a blessing in disguise - today - my friends car broke down. Why is that a blessing?

"M" was giving my daughter a ride to school when her car broke down on the freeway right before the exit to Rady Children's Hospital. For some reason, I was ready for work an hour early today(which hasn't happened in 20 years)and when she called to report that our kids were stranded on the side of the freeway, I was ready to jump in the car and take them to the school and/or towing company. It was even early enough that I would almost be to work on time. I got in the car and turned my radio on to FM 94.1 like I always do. For those of you who don't live in the area - the "Jeff and Jer Showgram" is iconic and a "don't miss" in the mornings for San Diego commuters. Jeff, Jer and everyone involved with the show are like family to us. They make us laugh, tip us off to great deals and make fun of everyone who needs to made fun of. We love them - I love them!

To my surprise, they were broadcasting from Rady Children's Hospital and talking about the NICU that Finn & I lived in for eight days. I immediately called the show, hoping to talk to Tommy, to see if there was anything I could do to help them. I figured I would just tell them about Finn and leave a message etc. But no one picked up. I was bummed. I grabbed the kids and got them safely to school and then was headed to work. But- believing that everything happens for a reason(I was right there and I am NEVER there unless I have an appointment)I decided to just drive by and at least drop my $3 dollars for lunch in the bucket. I pulled in, dropped in my 3 lousy bucks and saw Delana from the show. I asked one of the ladies at the bucket if I could speak to her and Delana came over. I meant to just thank her for helping out Children's with the broadcast. But you know that my mouth just goes sometimes and before long I was crying, thanking and showing her Finn's baby book. I was a mess and just grateful that I could talk to her face to face & tell her show thank you.

Well, she must have had pity on me and invited me to be on the air and share Finn's story. I parked my car and walked back over, the whole time thinking, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? Is this how I am going to be able to give back. All I was thinking is how can I get people to open their wallets and give to this incredible place. I had no idea what to say and the nerves set in but at the same time, I felt relaxed. Delana couldn't have been more genuine and she is even nicer than she is on the air(if that's possible). I don't remember exactly what I said in the interview but the gist of it was that people don't know how great Rady's is until the crisis hits and then they'll wish they had given money to them all along. Paul & I have always said that if we were ever millionaires, that Rady Childrens Hospital would be THE charity we spoiled. On a daily basis, they give and take care our most precious children. It takes special people to do that I am SO glad that they are there. So if you haven't donated to Rady Children's Hospital yet this year - I encourage you to do it. No matter how small the donation. If everyone gave just three lousy bucks - what a difference it could make! Here is the link to the Jef & Jer showgram if you want to donate online through May 10th.

Once again - I stand in awe and my heart is full of gratitude. An amazing experience, one I won't forget and it was fun too! (Do you know how loud you sound when you have those headphones on?)God bless you all and thanks for your prayers for Finn's eyes!!

Doing well on the diet...

Well, it's been about 3 weeks since Finn started on the Ketogenic diet. We haven't noticed any weight gain or loss yet so that's good. In another week she will be fully on the diet and then we will start to keep track of the seizure activity etc. She seems more alert and smiles a lot more(to me anyway)and drinks up the formula with no problem. The insurance did finally kick in and they are covering the expense of the formula- we thank the Man upstairs for that blessing!

Finn is also teething right now so there have been a few screaming days and nights over the past few weeks that have not been pleasant for any of us. It amazes me why dentists haven't come up with a teething cure for babies by now. Don't they know frantic moms would pay pretty much anything to keep their child out of pain? They'd make a fortune!!!

We took Finn to the Flower Fields in Carlsbad for the first time. It's such a nice way to welcome spring time and admire the beauty around us. If you haven't been there - it's just Ranunculus flowers as far as you can see. Paul is bored with the whole event each year. He thinks I only go there to take photos of the girls and it's a waste of time. If they added football or bumper cars he'd be all over it. We also go for the YUMMIEST strawberries in the world. They are as big as your fist and sweeter than God intended them to be(I think they are genetically altered, they are just to good to be true! So if we end up growing extra body parts, that's why!!).

We have a lot to be thankful for this spring. The kindness of others still touches our lives each day. With Paul still without work, our photo scanning business has been doing well with keeping him busy. It has been more rewarding than I ever thought it could have been - helping people save their photos is such a blessing. There are so many stories tied in with people's photos. It's been fun listening to those memories and laughing with their stories. It brings peace of mind knowing that we are helping to protect those things from being lost due to fires or other disasters that we don't expect.

Thank you for all of your concern with our family. We are thankful you are there watching out for us. We are also thankful that the Lord is watching out for YOU!!

Happy Easter...

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

The new diet . . .

Hello all. It's been a few weeks and I have got to get caught up! We have been starting a new business and with that & Finn's new diet - the seconds have turned into weeks that have just slipped by! (carefulscanning.com)We had a good fast for Finnie's eyes and now we wait. Thanks to all of you who fasted and offered up prayers on her behalf. It was such a peaceful day.

Well - I'm not good at waiting so we started her new diet to move things along. She is on a Ketogenic diet - like an Atkins diet for babies. We weigh and measure everything that goes into her bottles and solid feedings as well. There is a special formula that tastes a lot like coffee creamer so how could that be bad. She gulps it all down and cries for more so there ya go! The formula went from $50.00 a can to $188.00 a can because we could only get it from one pharmacy in the area. Obviously - being unemployed that wasn't going to fly. Our neurologist was on vacation and then his nurse was out of the office the last two days of the week - it was one bad sign after another!

We were almost out of food for Finn by the weekend and we were in a panic! We had been going back and forth all week with the insurance companies to cover it, getting the doctor's medical necessity letters to the right people etc. and nothing was working. I was in tears and ready to have a major freak out! Oh, did I mention that the nutritionist was on vacation as well so we couldn't even call her for a backup can of formula. It was exhausting! So we finally went directly to the plant who makes it in Maryland and they sold us a case (with a the doctor's consent fax)for $169.00. Much better than the $188.00 per can that the rip off pharmacy wanted to charge us! The gal that helped us out was named Mattie and her "yes" after all of the no's we had heard all week made all the difference. She was truly an angel and over nighted the food and saved the day! What a blessing... We now hope that the insurance picks it all up, if not, we look for another way to make a blessing happen...

Two weeks ago I took Finn to the beach after work. The weather was amazing and I just had to get away for the afternoon. I was tired and overwhelmed at all of the changes in our lives and needed a re-group hour with the ocean breeze. The ocean has always been my happy place. I don't know if it's scientific or not but I seem to work out a lot of odds and ends by the sea.

We strolled around the Cove in La Jolla, smelled the air, enjoyed the sun but my mind was racing from one thought to the next. The calming effect just wasn't happening and the worry seemed to overwhelm my brain. I guess worry was really weighing my soul down, as I should have realized from the lack of sleep I had been experiencing over the past little while. I said a prayer in my heart for peace and Finn and I stopped at a bench overlooking the waves. As I cuddled her and watched the people walking in each direction, I saw an older couple meet up at the garbage can. They each had tattered grocery bags filled with plastic bottles and crushed soda cans. They spoke in Spanish as they decided that each would go off in a different direction and then meet up later. My Spanish is more than poor but for some reason I understood enough to "overhear" their conversation.

As I sat, holding my sweet baby, I watched the older gentleman man as he stopped at every can along the sidewalk. He quietly went through the bin and searched for his only way of making money that day. If he found enough, he and his wife may eat that night. Tears overcame me and I could not stop crying. That peace that I prayed for had already been in my heart. I found myself wanting the peace to come to his heart. My blessings had never been more profound than at that moment. I have a job, a home and a family to be with each night. Life is so much harder for some people. Our trials seem so "specific" to us. We feel that they are bigger than us and sometimes too much. But all we have to do is look around to what others are facing and ours are a drop in the bucket.

I wanted to take them both home with me but knowing that wasn't a real possibility I tried to think of another solution. My tears were coming so hard that I could barely see at this point and I knew I wouldn't even be able to speak to the man at this point. The Lord blessed me with the answer and I was able to do what I could. I hope peace comes for him and that his life gets a little easier. It's through small and simple things that great things come to pass. I hope to always remember that - and I hope you do too. Serving the Lord's children is not only our obligation as followers of Christ but one of our greatest opportunities to grow and bless others.