Happy September!

So much has happened since I last updated. Life has been basically chaotic, which is why I hadn't gotten around to updating the blog in such a long time! I'm really realizing that I can't function very well when stressed! =) Go figure!

When Robert left for Maxwell AFB the end of July, I thought I'd be able to relax a bit and finally unpack the tiny apartment that was extremely crowded with all of our stuff from the house, but that didn't happen. The morning after he left, Mercedes, my family and I hurried up to Sacramento to be with my Grandma Tillie, who was back in the hospital. We knew this would be our final days with her, so we wanted to get there as soon as we could. It was such a beautiful time. Grandma was surrounded with so much love and it was really peaceful. You can tell she was so happy to have all of us around - that's why she hung on as long as she did! She didn't want to miss out on the fun! =) She was always the life of the party... what a wonderful woman!!

After 4 heartbreaking, but love-filled days of being in the hospital waiting for Grandma to be with our Lord, I needed to leave. My poor kitty at home was all alone and was quickly running out of food and water. Mercedes was such a wonderful little girl being so quite and patient as we spent all of our time in Grandma's hospital room, but I was missing Mia and knew I needed to get back home. Early the next morning on July 28th, I suddenly woke up the minute Grandma passed away, then instantly, I received the text from my sister, who was there in the hospital with about 11 other family members saying that Grandma went home to be with the Lord. What a joy it was to know she wasn't suffering anymore, yet so incredibly hard to know that I'll never see my precious Grandma here on earth again.

Her funeral was amazing. Not a lie needed to be said to make Grandma sound good - Grandma was the most amazing Godly woman! What a legacy she left us - we miss her so much! Majority of her 21 grandkids and some great grandkids sang a favorite song of hers - What a Day That Will Be

Robert:
Apparently Robert's Field Training went really well in Alabama and Mississippi. He was away just over 5 weeks and I'm sure he was VERY ready to get out of that miserable humidity!! It's nice to have him back home!

He's also finally no longer at Sacramento State University and is now working at the ROTC program at San Jose State University which he graduated from in 2005. This week is his official first week there and already it's so much better. Just knowing that we'll be living together as a family - and only 2 minutes away from Mia - is a huge blessing! It's something we haven't had in about 18 months. It's definitely going to take some getting used to - we've been married, but not living together and making decisions together. Keep us in prayer as we get used to this again!

Rachael:
I've been doing pretty well - thankfully not nearly as stressed out especially this past week because Robert MADE us finally unpack the last of everything, so the house is a home now. =) That's made a huge difference for both of us. (And I'm updating the blog!) We're starting to exercise again, which is wonderful. (He always does, but now we're doing something together!) All this week we've been getting up at 5:30am and going for a 3-4 mile walk. It's nice actually seeing the sunrise for a change! We get Mercedes all bundled up and wrapped in a blanket and she enjoys snoozing in the stroller.  =) I have another hernia, which isn't really a hernia. Because my abdomen got so big while pregnant with Mia (people would always ask if I was having triplets), my abdominal wall never went back together. I've been scared to work-out, thinking that something really serious might happen, but I figured, you know what? I need to start somewhere. I can't NOT exercise! So... I'm walking for now. =) Hopefully that will help with the ab wall closing in back to normal as well.

One awesome book I'm reading (actually doing a study with my sister, mom and 2 friends) is called The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel. "Believing in God, but living as if He doesn't exist." Amazing book!

Mercedes:
Mercedes is doing great! She's totally loving pre-school and wants to do school as much as possible!! We're looking into a curriculum that hopefully we will be purchasing in the next week or so to start our homeschooling experience. Her pre-school only meets on Tuesday mornings, but she's loving it and doing her homework! =) You can pray for her - she has had pain in her teeth for several months and is finally getting them worked on in 2 weeks - September 28th. She needs to have 2 baby root canals done. =(

Mia:
Little Miss Mia is blowing everybody away!!! All of her therapists are always amazed at how much she's improving!!! Respiratory wise, not much has changed, but developmentally, WOW! =) Just today her Speech Therapist was doing her 3 month evaluation and Mia went from being in the 0-2 month category to the 8 month!! A few she "scored" in at the 9 and 10 month categories!! That's HUGE! =) When the teacher asks her to touch her eyes, she does!! When she asks Mia to touch her nose, she does it!! =) She's doing great with her Physical Therapy, too! She's so much more active and rolls from side to side and loves to bend so much that she's looking upside-down! I think she wants to start gymnastics! ;-) She's such a sweet baby!!

Pray for Mia - she has her 3 hour appointment up at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (Stanford) with about 7 specialists coming up on September 22nd in the morning. She'll be seeing a neurologist, geneticist, cranial facial surgeon, etc... This is a big deal.

Here is a short 1 minute video of Mia from last night. Like her little ponytail? =) She's getting tummy time and was pretty active, although I didn't catch her at her most active. She's moving so much more and is so much stronger!! Praise God!! Thank you for your continued prayers - please keep praying!

Blessed by God,
Rachael for all of us