Untethering.....

Mira under went spinal cord untethering surgery yesterday. 

It. Went. GREAT!!!

PTL!!!!

This is the scariest surgical experience we've had to face. Leading up to it even Mira was nervous. And I have to say NOTHING breaks her spirit! Adding to the stress if it, they ran behind schedule over 2 hrs! The waiting to get things moving is hard enough.. Add a couple of hours to it and I thought we would all die!

The procedure itself took about 2 hrs, Dr O'Neill came out and told us all had gone well. She was resting comfortably and he did say the fibrous material that was tethering the cord was much thicker than expected. He also said the spinal cord was being stretched by this fiber & when he snipped it the cord actually retracted back! This surgery was offered to us optionally and were so grateful for God's provision in this situation! May all the Glory go to Him!

Mira had a pretty decent night, of course her sleep was I interrupted frequently by the nurses checking in on her often. The hard part has been laying flat... The plan is this afternoon to get her upright and possibly walking by evening!! 

I will keep you posted as we make progress!

Hugs

Vanessa

Update...

I'm going to do my best to keep this post positive. I just don't know where to begin...

This week Mira began to have some trouble with her rt eye, appearing to be droopy again. We consulted with her surgeon & sure enough it appears to have loosened from her plastic surgery she had in Aug or Sept. as frustrated as I wanted to be I have to remember to be thankful for doctors who are wise & thankful for the advancement of today's medicine. Last year in October when Mira's ortho surgery began the hospital was supposed to do a MRI of Mira's spine to rule out Spina Bifida Occulta. To make a long story short, they forgot to schedule before the ortho work & then she had so much metal it couldn't be done. Finally last week we had the MRI done on her entire spine to rule out as I said before but also to measure her scoliosis. The results were referred to a neuro surgeon who wanted to see us. So today was the day...

I have to say my nerves were getting the best of me. I know about ALOT of medical stuff, I'm comfortable with many thing but NOT A SPINAL CORD! We met with Dr O'neill (who is younger than me-seriously he's a spine surgeon?!?!) he did a wonderful job of explaining that Mira does in fact have Spina bifida occulta in a mild form. What was noted on the MRI is that her spinal cord is attached when it should be free flowing... This is called Tethered Cord Syndrome. This very well could be the cause of her leg deformities and why she now has scoliosis. Greg & I with the help of Dr O'Neill decided it is best for Mira to have surgery to untether the cord. He is confident in this procedure & says he's performed many. Mira is scheduled for this surgery in just a week and a half. December 3.

I have to say God is good.. He provided me with a peace that only He can provide. He placed is in the right hands and gave us the confidence to know we've made the right choice! Please know our family seems to be weak in the medical area, the enemy of tends to attack me right in my weak spot! We covet any prayers you may think to say for us. As always I will update over her surgery days!

Hugs,

Vanrssa

Happy Halloween

Mira had a ball! 

She was dressed as a princess (of course)!

In our neighborhood we had an awesome get together! There was a caravan of cars & trailers carrying 20+
children & parents. We went to houses & then gathered at a neighbors barn for drinks & caramel apples. 

This was very good for our family!

Saying Goodbye....

Is never easy. 

Yesterday our family said goodbye to a faithful friend. Mira suffers loss at a completely different level than the rest of us. I'm guessing that is because loss is all too familiar to her. 

Loyal

Gentle

Loving

Jake~ RIP buddy

Oct 1999-Oct 30, 2013

Big brown eyes!

Just a quick post to show you just how great her surgery turned out! We are amazed beyond belief at the difference it has made. She us so expressive in her eyes, we've all been adjusting to the new & improved Mira!!

See for yourself!

Open Eyes

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see you, I want to see you.

To see You high and lifted up

Shinin' in the light of Your glory

Pour out Your power and love

As we sing holy, holy, holy

I can't imagine how the world looks to Mira now. Her entire life, all 7+ years of it has been viewed through tiny slits.

Today, this all changed, she will never see the same again! 

Praise God!

I have to say, my initial sight of her was very emotional. I could see her eyes for the first time.

They seemed so deep, innocent. It was like I could see directly into her heart.

They eyes of my heart were open.

Living with Mira on a daily basis for a year and a half, going thru the ortho stuff & seeing her grow. We've sorta gotten used to her eyes.

I can not imagine seeing life in such darkness. Today we put this behind us and focus forward.... Shining in the light of God's glory! 

Praise be to him forever & always!

Prayer Request

Mira will be having surgery tomorrow am to "open her eyes". If you think if it, please say a prayer for her. I will post & update tomorrow!

Thanks for your prayers!!!

Where'd the summer go?!?!

I can't believe the kids are back in school already! Hardly seems fair...

Mira started 1st grade this year, she lives to be read to, I hope she will learn quickly, it will be quite rewarding for her!

Sami & Kayla are in middle school & Emily is a sophomore!

This is a slightly odd post for me..

.... But here it goes!

A neighbor blessed us with the.largest.zucchini... EVER!!
Seriously it could feed a small village!
After we took pictures (lol) I thought what am I gonna do with this thing! Well, here you go!
First I made 2 delicious loaves of Banana Chocolate Chip Zucchini bread.
YUMM!
This recipe yields 1 loaf:
In medium bowl combine:
3/4 c sugar
1 beaten egg
Splash of vanilla
2 smashed bananas
1 c grated zucchini

In another medium bowl combine:
1.5 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients & blend. Then add 2 TBSP melted butter & stir. Then add 3/4-1 c chocolate chips.

Bake in greased loaf pan at 350* for 1 hour.

Well that only used like a 1/4 of it!

So since we were having burgers & hotdogs on the grill I decided to make Panko Breaded Zucchini Chips. They were a hit!
I simply sliced the zucchini in 1/4" rounds dredged in salt & peppered flour, beaten egg & then coated with Panko crumbs. Baked at 400* for 30 mins on a lightly sprayed baking sheet.
We dipped in ranch at our house!
YUMMY!!

Hard to believe but I still have a chunk left!
What would you do with it!?!?
Here are some pics:

Summer Fun!~ Part 1

We took a family vacation to South Dakota. We visited the Black Hills area, it was FUN!
I'd say in total there was about 30 of us, most of which we didn't know. But boy were they a fun, welcoming group! I was able to share our experience with adoption with another couple that is considering international adoption. We will continue to pray for Josh & Kelly as they seek the Lords direction.
With a group that size we didn't stick together, everyone did they're own thing during the day then we'd gather back at the houses for a huge family dinner! After dinner some would take a walk, shoot a game of pool, catch up on past times and others would go out to an Old West town for some fun.
We visited Mt Rushmore which is an awesome sight!! I'm not a huge history buff but I thought it was truly amazing. And we went to a really cool place called Bear Country, it is a drive thru wild life park with all kinds of animals including... Of course bears!
We also went to a fun park with the kids. They did bumper boats, go carts & they arcade. This was a really fun place to visit! We were blessed with the opportunity to take this mini vacation. Most times I'm bummed to come home after a fun filled weekend but this time was different! See how the fun kept going in part 2!!! Until then, enjoy the pics!!

HE is here.....

We are rejoicing & praising this evening in the Newman house!! Whoop-whoop!
Mira had her cast removed today, she is healed& doing great BUT this isn't the big deal!
You see, things around here have been difficult. Part of it has been self inflicted, after all we did uproot our lives & move 1/2 way across the country... But this was Gods will for us. It's just hard missing our family, friends, church family.. And to boot we have a struggling business. There have been many prayers said here, for Mira's bones, for Kayla's heart & quality of life, Sami's diabetes, Emily's adjustment.. Our business/ finances... Strength & endurance... But one thing I can honestly say DIDN'T make the list was Mira's eyes. As you may recall, she has been wearing glasses, she had little to no vision in one eye. I was overjoyed to learn 6 weeks ago that they could correct her to 20/70 with glasses! That was just the start....
GOD IS HERE!!! (Even without my prayers!)
oh and I might post a disclaimer:
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GO THRU LIFE WITHOUT PRAYER!!!
We are beyond excited to find out today that Mira's eyes have improved tremendously!! The doctor told us at our last appt to expect Mira to need 3-4 hrs of patching per day to strengthen her weak eye. Upon her exam today with no patching yet they examined her to have 20/30 vision in that eye just using glasses!!! Her doctor said she was shocked at the change!!! She didn't have much of an explanation.. But we all know HOW this happened!! Mira only has to patch 1 hour per day for just a little while!! Praise God!!!
It is easy to find yourself doubting, wondering & questioning when you hit a low spot but.... Then... HE reveals himself. Blatantly. No doubt.
Thanking you Heavenly Father for your constant presence in our lives, thank you for forgiving us when we doubt you... I pray that I can be as forgiving as you in my daily life...
Please keep Mira in your prayers as she is scheduled for plastic surgery on her eyes to open them. This is scheduled for August 22nd. Of course I will post pics & her status!
There are a few pics attached & yes she chose snowflakes.. Whatever makes the princess happy!! Lol!!
The past few weeks have been busy, we have been having so much fun. There's lots to post but this sorta took priority! I will post all of the excitement we've had lately soon!
Stay tuned!!

The many flavors of Mira

Mira has a genuine LOVE for anything that closely resembles ice cream! It can be in a cup, on a cone, it can be a snowball or frozen yogurt... You name it... She loves it!
One of her favorite things to do since moving to Colorado is to get "i-cream" (those other letters aren't important! Lol) which is a trip to any of the millions of
fro-yo places here... She loves to chose her toppings which typically consists of a pretty gross mix of fruit & chocolate but also includes something called boba. This is a popping fruit-like bubbles that taste pretty good!
I think it is a great opportunity to make choices & express her personality!
Since school's been out we have implemented a chore chart that has helped ALOT! The chores for Mira include feeding the dogs, putting dirty clothes down the laundry chute, wiping the table & loading/unloading the dishwasher... (Which by the way is the worst job in the world according to my kids!) The best "chore" that each of them take turns on a daily basis is to assist with dinner. Mira insists that she is cooking all of it! I'm her assistant! She helps chose the menu & LOVES to be at the counter doing it all!

Rockin' a pink cast!!!!

So.. After an ER visit & 2 trips to the doctor, she finally has a stress fracture!
Excited?? Yes I am. To actually know what's going on in this foot that has been swollen & painful for a week & a half. Over the weekend she even began complaining of back pain since she's been walking funny on this foot!
She's sportin' a bright pink waterproof cast for 4 weeks.
We are unclear why this has happened, it could be due to her genetic makeup, it could be from weakening from all the surgery she has had. We are letting this ride this time, if she fractures again we will need to see an endocrine doctor for further testing.
You can see in her X-ray on her 2nd toe there is shadowing, that's the healing of the fracture. The next picture shows just how broke up she is about the latest cast!