Much Delayed Photo Montage

Okay. These photos are much delayed and they are chronological in reverse order for the most part. Hope you enjoy Christmas photos and the Grandparent visit photos. We had such a wonderful Christmas holiday and one in retrospect that we weren't sure we were going to have the opportunity to celebrate the way we did. We are in such awe of how God has worked in Maia's life and in ours this year and we have much to be thankful for! I look at these happy photos and stand back in pure amazement of our Lord!


The grandkids and their Grams and Papa

Grandma Judy doting on her granddaughter just one more time.

Call me Rico Sauve! Don't hate me because I am handsome. Muhahaha!

Okay this is just so much fun!

I really love this painting set! Thanks Uncle Joel and Aunt Toby!

Both girls looking very content!

Well! Hello "dare"!

We love each other so much!

Taking a five. Try talking to me a little later,...Okay?

Usually a daily occurence at the Sutherland household. He's so darn cute even when he is being punished!

Our Papa probably facebooking. What's your status?

How Cute! Thanks Uncle Joel and Aunt Toby!

Wow! Too cool! And what is funny is that it only drives backwards. But Grams convinced Gideon that this Spiderman toy is "extra special" because of that! Hee hee! I love my caniving, mother!

It is a "must" that you stick out your tongue while balancing on roller skates! Didn't you know that?

My green guitar! It had to be green! I can't wait to sing and play worship songs with Uncle Joel and Uncle Micah when I come for a visit.

The first "look" as he walks out and sees the toys around the Christmas tree on Christmas morning! "Oh my!," he said.

The view that he "Oh My-ed"

Our good friend, Valjon. What a sweet dear lady and another auntie to our Maia and Gideon.

Clop, clop, clop went the donkey's feet

Clop, clop, clop down the stony street

Nod, Nod, nod went Mary's head

She was so tired she needed a bed.

Knock, Knock, Knock went Joseph at the door

Is there room for just one more?

No, no, no the innkeeper said.

Hmmm, wait, you could use my stable for a bed

Shh, shh, shh what is that I hear?

Waa, Waa, baby Jesus, so dear.


Our little Shepherd Boy.

Ah, Mom! Another Picture?!

Definitely a "look". That is a "look" for sure! :)

Resting! Snug and Warm.

Maia's Baby Dedication Ceremony

Her baby dedication dress! Too precious! The Reeds gave Maia this gorgeous ensemble! What a perfect dress for a perfect day!

Well, it is Kenny's birthday today. He is celebrating 34 years on this earth. Thank you, Lord for blessing our family with Kenny! He is such a wonderful husband, father, brother, and son! We are so encouraged to have an amazing person as him. May he have a great new year of life that continues to glorify the Lord with every breath. May he walk in God's steps each new moment.

May he find joy and peace with each new day! We love you, Kenny!

Kenny might have to share this birthday with a new family member. They think Gina is going to have this little girl today. I will keep everyone posted as soon as I hear more!

My Apologies

Hello All!

I want to apologize to you. Many people have been inquiring and wondering why I have posted anything in a while, especially since my mom and dad came to visit us for Christmas last week. One reason is that I am not sure where my cord to upload my pictures of that precious time is and I am a very visual person and to me a blog without pictures is pretty boring. So is it really worth it? Of course it is! But the other reason is that while I was with my parents last week I didn't want to take time away from just relishing in their presence and this week I started back to my teaching position at Calvary and therefore was extremely busy over the weekend and the beginning of this week to even think about posting the happenings of the Sutherland family.

So you may wonder why I have time all of a sudden on Wednesday morning and that is a good question. Well, it so happens that my lovely daughter gets up for her 4 a.m. feeding and by the time she is done it is about a quarter till 5 and I normally get up at 5:45 a.m. to get ready for the day anyway. I tried going back to sleep yesterday and did, but when I got up an hour later it felt like a Mack truck had slammed into me. I was thoroughly exhausted, so since I feel pretty good and decent after Maia's feeding I have decided that I should probably just go with it and stay up for the day. I might need to rearrange my schedule at night time to compensate, but this definitely gives me more time to start my day off right with devotions and then maybe some extra time to prep for school and of course the most important duty...Blog. Hee hee

My time with my parents was wonderful. They got in at noontime the Saturday after Christmas, taking their time on the way up to stop and rest at a hotel the night before. They stayed until the next Friday, the day of New Year's. We had a great time of just fellowshipping and being with each other. I was trying to prepare emotionally for seeing my mom without any hair in person. I had seen the picture, but I wasn't sure how I was going to react to seeing her right in front of me in all her "chemo reality". When she arrived she had the cutest chique wig on, but later that night she got all comfy and took off the wig. You know what? It was great! She really is really cute with no hair. I might need to convince her to "Sinead" it after the chemo is done. She really has a good complementary noggin to her face. LOL Of course, Gideon had to try on the wig and he looked like a Rock Star. He got out his green guitar he got for Christmas and gave us a little rock concert in the livingroom with his new hair doo (sp?). It was too funny. We were all cracking up.

I have gotten some really cute photos of the grandkids with their Papa and Grams (as she is now officially called after this visit). I am not sure how that one started. I'll have to ask Kenny when he gets up in a little bit.

Papa, while he was up in this neck of the woods, decided to travel on Tuesday up to his side of the family in Berlin, Connecticut. It is ony a 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive on a good day if the traffic isn't horrendous around NYC area. He visited with family and of course his real intent was to get in the UCONN girls' basketball game on Wednesday. He rang in the New Year up in Connecticut and came back on Thursday morning. It was good to see him back. I am glad he got that opportunity and I know he felt like they were imposing since we live in a two bedroom apartment, but I was very glad he was back and enviously wished he hadn't gone up to CT in the first place. I relished every moment I had with my parents, knowing it might be a while before we get to see them again.

I hope my mom didn't think I was slacking on my motherly duties while she was here. I don't think that was the case, but I just wanted her to have every opportunity she could get to hold, cuddle, and give tenderloving care to her new granddaughter. When family is visiting from KY, I know that they only have a little time to be with my family and I don't mind if they monopolize my kids. I love being with my kids and some mothers might find it hard to give up holding and even feeding their little one for long periods of the daytime, but I absolutely loved watching my mom and dad holding Maia and showering her with kisses and hugs.

I am going to wrap up now, because I actually do need to get ready for the day. School this week has been much better than I thought it was going to be. Thanks go out to those who have been lifting me up, knowing that I was going to face this tough transition this week. I have felt the Lord giving me His peace and joy during these past few days. I am already anticipating different learning experiences I can shower on my students for the new year and I am truly excited to be here. I'll write more later about Maia's doctor's appointments as of late and other Sutherland happenings. Maybe I'll even get to it tomorrow morning at 4:30 a.m.! Yikes!

Love You All!

Oh! And by the way...if there are typos in this posting I am purposely not going to spend time correcting my errors. Too early and so little time! Hee hee . Take Care!

New Development

Alrighty! Lord, you are good and I know you will provide in your perfect way,whatever that means. Everyone that was left at Kenny's company was given a 10% paycut today. Please be praying even more fervently that the Lord provides a caregiver for Maia by January so I may return to work as soon as possible. Each new trial is an opportunity to point to Him more! I am not be sarcastic, I promise....I am actually very excited to see how God is going to use this new circumstance! Father, work!

Oh, also...Mom is having a rotten day. She is feeling pretty poorly right now. It is the official 48 hours after chemo treatment woes. Please pray that nausea and fatigue and pain away!

Whew!

Kenny just called me and said that his bosses laid off 22 people from his company today. His company is not that huge so this is quite a large development. Everyone was hoping to get bonuses today. This is the typical day for the bonuses to be handed out. What a shock it was to come in and be handed your pink slip and then be escorted off the property. They are not even letting them work the rest of 2008. Thank the Lord Kenny was not among those without a job now, but he wanted me to get on my blog and let everyone know to be praying for his friends and colleagues who are jobless now. There are many hurting and scared folks out there.

The LOVE for a MOTHER

This past week my mother's hair started to fall out. It didn't fall out in clumps, but just more hair in the brush and individual hairs falling out a little at a time. She decided to go to the salon last Thursday evening to get it all shaved off. Little did she know that as she was preparing to go to the salon, my brother, Joel, was shaving off what he could at home, including his beard and mustache. Toby, Joel's wife, entered the salon first and handed my mom a bag and told her that Joel wanted her to have it. She opened it and wondered why Joel would give her such dark ugly hair that wasn't even her color. As she was about to pick up some of the hair, Joel walked into the salon in all his ineptly shaved glory. The salon erupted in howls and claps. Many of my moms friends were there for support. Joel looked pretty rough. He did get it cut shorter by the stylist after my mom's head was complete.

Here is a picture of my beautiful mother and her wonderful son!

I wasn't sure how I was going to see my mom bald, but she looks awesome! I am so proud of her and how she is handling each day and each new challenge with this stinking illness! I am also proud of my brother and I love him so much for showing such awesome love for our momma.

Toby tried to prepare Ethan, their son, for his dad's change in appearance on the way home from the daycare. She told him that all of daddy's hair was gone. Ethan kept saying on the way home..."Daddy hair gone, Daddy hair gone". When he entered their home and saw Joel he kept laughing and laughing and couldn't stop for a while. Too funny!

I am also proud of my two guys. They were inspired by Joel's act of love and wanted to show their mother-in-law and grandma the same heartfelt act. So here they are in all their shaved glory as well.

It is weird to look at all my family members and only see bald heads. It is going to take a while to get used to this. Gideon and Kenny both are much colder when they go out and need to wear snow caps on their heads. I wanted to "Sinead" it (go bald) for my mom too. I have always wanted to shave off all my hair and what a great reason to do it for my mother, but I just spent a lot of money on a style and color job a few weeks ago and Kenny would have killed me if I had shaved it all off so soon. Maybe in a month or so! Hee Hee

Doesn't he have a cute noggin? He loves rubbing his daddy's head and his. The "feel" is cool he says.

All my baldies! Too cute!

Can't wait to get a picture of my mom with my family in a little over a week.

We love you so much, Grandma Judy! We will look at all our bald heads and be constantly reminded to lift our loving Grandma up in prayer each and every day! May the Lord be with you encouraging in soul, spirit, and body. May His healing touch be upon you!

Here is one of our Christmas gifts to you!

Reflecting

Amazed by the World Around Her

Daddy's Girl


Doting Cousin



Why Oughta!




My Reflective Pose

My Cousin Kim Visiting Me From Connecticut!

Hanging out with my Bro before Bedtime and After my Bath

Our Ladybug!

I think my Brother Loves Me!!!!

Yup! He Does and I Love Him too!

I used to think that that our family was immune to the woes of this world. I would watch different families around us suffer different tragedies while our family seemed to have a hedge of protection around us. I do believe there was a hedge of protection around us. Did we suffer sadness? Yes. But it was more of the normal kind...not the big stuff that some had to deal with...until this year. 2008 will be a pivotal year in the history of the Gerdis family, well at least in my heart and mind. I thought that between Maia's HRHS diagnosis, mom's dealings with cancer, my dad breaking his arm, and parents almost getting obliterated by a semi truck. That would be it you would think. Right?

Well, we have one more notch to add to the Gerdis 2o08 list before the year is out. This is actually a mixed bag of good and bad news. My brother, Micah, and his longtime girlfriend, Gina, just found out that they are expecting a little girl. Gina has been very sick with lupus symptoms and has been in and out of the hospital this year for treatments on her liver and recently on her kidneys. With all the pain and symptoms she has been experiencing she did not know she was pregnant. She has been on different medications throughout the pregnancy. She only has 9 more weeks until her due date, however she is 75% effaced and the doctors think she might go into labor in the next week or so. She is a little over 31 weeks and the doctors really want her to make it to 34 weeks if possible. Please be in prayer for this little baby, for Gina, and for Micah! This is a difficult time for them. May the Lord surround them with his love and healing during this time. The baby will have many issues when she is born according to the doctors. Development of the lungs and bleeding on the brain are some of the major concerns.

Now, I don't want you to think that all of a sudden I am bitter. I am not. I am just realizing that this hedge of protection that I have always felt from the Lord and taken for granted seems to have lifted for a while. I am not sure the reason, but His reasons are always sovereign and for His glory. Lord, I pray that our family will only be used as a testament for You.

My mom had her head shaved tonight. She has about a quarter of an inch of hair now. What was very special about this night is that Joel shaved his head and goatee as a symbol of support and solidarity with my mom as she fights this battle. She did not know that he was going to do this. Many of the ladies that are such a support to my mom came to the hair salon tonight. Toby showed up and handed my mom a bag and told her that this was from Joel. My mom opened it up and there was all this dark brown ugly hair in the bottom of the bag. My mom thought..."Why would Joel send me such ugly hair? It isn't even my normal color!!!" Then at that moment Joel walked into the salon in all his bald-headed glory! The salon of ladies erupted in laughter, whoops, and claps! They said they took many pictures and hopefully I will get to post some of them on this site soon. Mom said as she was going through the process that many of the people were crowded around her saying that she looked really cute and that she had a great round head. It was pretty nerve-racking for her though. She got her wig fitted and she said she feels pretty comfortable with it.

I wish I could have been there tonight! Oh this darn distance! I told her that I would have loved to have shaven my head as well, but since I just spent money on a haircut, style, and color, I better hold off for a while. :) I think my boys, Kenny and Gideon, might want to shave their heads as support for her as well. If they do, I will make sure to share the images. Dad wanted to know if he should shave his head for my mom, after he found out what Joel did. After trying to picture my father without hair, my mom told him definitely not! :) I agree. Hee hee.

Oh by the way, Toby, Joel's wife, was trying to prepare their son, Ethan, for his daddy's change in appearance. Ethan is 2 1/2 years old. She told him that Daddy had no more hair. So all the way home from daycare tonight, Ethan kept saying..."Daddy no hair, Daddy no hair". Well, when he got in the door and saw Joel, Ethan started laughing uncontrollably. Too funny! Thanks for the comic relief, Ethan!

Maia had her cardiology appointment this past Tuesday. She is doing well. Her right ventricle has grown a millimeter. Her blood flow out the heart has improved. The ductus between the two sides of the heart is still about the same size as it has been for the past month. Her oxygen levels were okay. I asked what the blood flow of a normal hearted baby was and Dr. Rivera told me that she doesn't and won't compare. I guess I will have to do my own research, but Maia's was (at the highest) 31. I am not sure what that means, so I will have to bone up on that and get back with you all. Maia is also gaining weight like a champ and is now a whopping 8 lbs. 11 oz. You go, girl!

Dr. Rivera did mention that sometime later on, Maia will probably need another valvul0plasty (the catherization and balloon procedure she had her second day of life outside the womb). She told me that this is typcial with HRHS babies who have had this procedure so early on in life. I was comforted by this, since Dr. Rivera did not mention the Fontan or Glen procedures that open up the chest. I will have to ask Dr. Rivera if these are still possibilities later on in life for her or if she thinks this might be all.

I will be going back to work next month on January 5th. I have mixed feelings about this. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at home with Maia, but at the same time I have missed my school family and try to stop in and visit with them whenever I can. I don't have a caregiver for her yet, so it is still up in the air, but I am trusting that the Lord has the right person out there. Please continue to pray that the Lord will provide the best person to watch out little ladybug.

Please also pray for this transition time. I know it will not be easy and also trying to get back into the swing of things might be difficult.

I thank the Lord for all his blessings. Thank you, Lord, for all You have provided, but more importantly for all that You are. May all your attributes be magnified as I ineptly try to point towards you in my life!

It's a Beautiful Life!

I can "BEAR"LY stand how cute you are!

Just say "AWWWW". You know you want to!

Out Cold!

Momma is definitely camera happy! But who cares?

One more for good measure.

Getting to meet the Sutherland Family for the first time.

You are just too precious. I think I am going to have to check Aunt Becky's luggage for a baby before they leave on Saturday.

Don't you love the afghan that Paula Grandma made me!

I am picture perfect with it!

(Probably mommy's favorite photo of Maia to date!)

So this is a Papa Ken!?! Interesting!

Larissa and Maia

I'm glad Uncle Chris can get some relaxation around here...I think mommy drank to much Dr. Pepper today.

Thanks for the swig of milky goodness Cousin Brenna!

Larissa and Papa at the Thanksgiving table...about ready to partake.

Almost ready...we promise.

Paula Grandma and Maia having some bonding time.

Our familoy had beef tenderloin as the main meat for Thanksgiving dinner, but Gideon really wanted a turkey. So he got his own little (cornish hen) little turkey. He was very happy!

Eating Up.

Helping Paula Grandma with the Chrstmas tree!

Putting on the top! Gideon is satisfied now.

Mommy was taking on the pictures so she took one of herself and Maia to add to the blog. I promise I am here! :)

Well, I am home along today with Maia. I do not mind in the least bit that the rest of the family is in New York, New York. They are on the streets of Manhattan right now looking at the windows of Macy's and trapsing through Toys R Us, etc., etc., etc. I can't imagine taking a newborn through the windy streets of NYC today. So we are home. This down time gave me a chance to catch up on my blogging and uploading of pics from the past week. I got some cute ones!

We have had a wonderful time just chilling and hanging out with the Sutherland side of the family this week. It has been such an amazing blessing to have them up here to see Maia and to just be a family for Thanksgiving. Gideon is not going to know what to do after this family marathon is over. My parents might be back up near the Christmas holidays and then we might be going through another season without family.

We have also been blessed by many meals from our friends from our church at Cornerstone Calvary and also my "school family" at Calvary Academy. We have been eating so well. God has blessed us with such wonderful sisters and brothers in Christ here in New Jersey.

I talked with my mom the past few days and she had her first chemo treatment on Tuesday. She did fine Tuesday night, Wednesday, and then early Thursday the nausea started to hit. She has been doing moderately well with the help of an anti-nausea medication. Please keep her in your prayers as she goes through the next 24 weeks of chemo then radiation starts up. She told me the other day the Lord only promises what we need; not what we want. He knows exactly what we need. Again...learning to trust him for my life and for those I love!

Maia is doing very well. On Wednesday, we checked her oxygen level and it was at 91! We called a few people on that one! It fluctuates but for the most part is has been in the 80's or higher. Her cardiologist said that there are no physical changes within the heart this week so we go for another appointment in 2 weeks. She seems to be stable enough that Dr. Rivera is willing to wait awhile before seeing her...to me...that seems like a nice big positive.