Life is God's Novel...Let Him Write It

My mom bought a picture today with that saying on it and I liked it so much I wanted to share it with you. It pretty much says it all! It's a nice thought to "ponder on."

Brooke's INR was 1.8 yesterday, so her blood levels are slowly getting there. (2.0 is the target.) She remains on 5 Mg Coumadin each day with no noticeable side effects anymore. She still complains of her stomach hurting and has occasional bowel issues, but those things could be attributed to any number of things. It's almost impossible to pin an ailment down to one certain affliction with Brooke. She's our little puzzle. Overall - she's doing good...Praise God. I pray daily for protection for her and for us as we care for her. It's so scary right now with all of the flu bugs and other germs floating around.

Brooke has discovered painting. It started with pumpkin painting, then painting on an easel on paper and tonight - she did her first canvas picture. Painting is her new love. She's painted every night for the past 4 nights now and keeps asking to do more. She's actually very meticulious and it's fun to watch the serious expressions on her face as she concentrates on her brush strokes. She's cute! Who knows...maybe we have a Picasso in the making? One of these days I'll post some of the pictures I took. Precious!! (a Briana word)

Brooke had a busy week! She started her home-bound schooling this week and really enjoyed it. Her teacher, Mrs. Madrid, comes to the house Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour. They read and she brings "work" for Brooke to do. The next time you eat at Taco Box and get your nice little white bag with the napkin inside and the utensils...think of Brooke. She helps put those together. She also helps glue coupons on Pizza Hut boxes. She's a busy little helper!! It's good for her plus it keeps her mind busy and gives her something to look forward to each week. Brooke also decorated Halloween cookies this week and went to bowling practice Thursday night.

Have I told you all lately how much I appreciate the kind words about the blog? Thanks!!! I love this blog...and what it represents. My hope and prayer is that each of you feel you know Brooke more now than you did before. I want you to know all aspects of this wonderful child...not just the sick times. She is incredible in so many ways and I feel God wants me to share that with the world. We are all blessed by Brooke!

Sponge - Yellow Cake

I didn't blog this week because I didn't have anything to say. That's a first! I ALWAYS have plenty to say. What's wrong with me?? Anyway, Brooke is doing well. Her INR was 1.7 yesterday, so it's slowly coming up. She remains on 5 Mg of Coumadin daily and lately, she's done ok on that dose. We are doing everything we can think of to keep her healthy. It's scary! So many people either have the flu or sinus issues right now. I started her on vitamin D3 today...it's supposed to help protect the body, and she actually likes the taste of the pill. I keep praying that none of us get sick...especially Brooke.

Brooke is so amusing! She was watching a commercial on TV today about birds on an island not being able to fly. One bird sees a jet and starts flapping his wings trying to fly. Brooke sat in the floor imitating the bird. While ago, she tried chest compressions on Mike in the recliner. Not just beating on his chest, but the actions of someone who has been through CPR training. Neither of us can figure out where she saw CPR being done unless it was on an episode of Emergency. See...I knew buying all 5 seasons of Emergency would be educational for my child! Ha. Brooke's brain is like a sponge...sometimes it appears to be wet and she is more alert and understanding of things going on around her. When it's like this - she picks up things so quickly and is more alert and attentive. And then at times it seems dry and things don't soak in as easily. It's very intersting.

We had another birthday party tonight complete with a bright yellow cake from Albertsons. My birthday is Tuesday, so this was a party for me. Yay! Brooke loves our birthday parties! We had fun.

Please pray for continued health, a safe and nurturing environment and added protection from the many germs floating around right now.

251 Wasn't Good Enough

Forget 251...our little semi pro bowled a 291 Saturday in Roswell during competition! And yes, she got her first place YELLOW ribbon. :) No boring blue or red for my baby...only yellow!! I'm still stunned at how well she did; I only wish she could've hit 300! She was a bowling machine! The ramp is incredible! Dave is awesome! It's yellow, purple and blue for the three girl bowlers, and it makes things so much easier! It's heavier so it doesn't move when the ball hits the bottom, and that makes a world of difference. For those of you who have never been around ramp bowling...it's not easy. There's an art to mastering it and my husband is working on his ramp bowling PhD. He's determined to figure it out. Aligning the ramp, position of the bowlers body, and their hand position all makes it challenging. Brooke sometimes gets a right curve put on her ball, and so Mike will adjust the ramp for that and then she'll throw a left turn at him. And bowlers using a ball with holes poses a new set of challenges. The holes can throw the ball this way or that way. Brooke (and most of the other bowlers who have their own balls) use a 12 pound ball with no holes. She typically bowls around 6 mph, but on bowls faster than that she has a better shot of knocking down more pins. I learned Saturday (from the ramp master himself) that you don't want to hit the pins dead on. That causes a split, which is almost impossible for our bowlers to hit. He explained to me exactly where the ball needs to hit for maximum pins to fall. OK. I trust him. I just acted as photogragher,cheerleader and germ-control. The yellow Tweety Bird ball even got wiped down with GermX. Nothing is safe when I'm around. We had a really nice day, and I'm so thankful she was able to go and spend time around her friends. We go to the state bowling games in Las Cruces the week prior to Thanksgiving. That's a fun trip!!!

Doctors Appt. - Bowling

Brooke had her first appointment with her new primary care doctor yesterday and he was great. He is very kind, compassionate and attentive. He sat for 30+ minutes and listened to me tell him all about Brooke. He was so nice. I look forward to him getting to know Brooke. Thank you God for putting him in our path!

Brooke bowled a 251 last night (two games)...WOW! Papa cleaned her bowling ball yesterday and between that and bowling on a new (heavier) ramp...she rocked! Thanks Dave! We were asked what color ne needed to paint it and it came back as purple for Sarah, yellow for Brooke and blue for Emma. Can't wait to see it!! It's going to look interesting!! We go to Roswell tomorrow for area Special Olympics bowling. I have mixed feelings...it's by no means the place Brooke really needs to be going right now with so many bugs out there, but it's one of only four events she competes in each year and I can't take it from her. I guess it's a risk we are just going to have to take. She needs her friends right now! I've got my baby can of Lysol packed in the bag and a fresh, new bottle of Germ X. :) Sometimes you just have to go out on a limb and pray for the best.

Please God...protect Brooke from germs. Keep her safe. Amen.

Back in the Bubble - New Doctor - Coumadin

As of today...Brooke is finished with school for a while (at least until the spring). This was supposed to have been her last week to attend, but she woke up early this morning with more congestion, so we made the decision to move it up a week. We're done fighting it...it's time to put her back in her bubble for a while and see if we can get her well again. There's so much flu already popping up and it's not worth chancing it. There is nothing more important than Brooke's health, especially during the winter months. Please pray that she does as well this go around as she did last winter.

Thursday is our appointment with the Internal Medicine doctor here in town. FINALLY! I'll be so relieved to finally get on board with the new doctor. I pray he is kind, compassionate, knowledgeable and understanding with Brooke and her needs. Oh, and did I mention...unafraid of a challenge? That would be nice! I prayed long and hard about this and feel God pointed us in his direction.

Brooke's INR levels remain challenging...she was 1.5 today. Up and down. Up and down. That seems to be the name of the Coumadin game. It's frustrating, but I've turned it all over to God. There's no need for me to worry about it since it's completely out of my control.

Brooke continues to fight her battles. She's struggled with this sinus/allergy/cough junk for a solid month now and ever time we think we have it licked (yesterday!) it comes back with a vengence. Hopefully, staying at home and getting more rest and less exposure to people will help her get rid of it and stay healthy during the flu months. Please pray for healing. For good health. For the ability for her to fight infection. And always...for guidance for Mike and I as we care for her. So much of this is doing what you believe is the right thing...there is no instruction manual for this child nor any website to ask for advice. Thank goodness God is a prayer away!! I lean on Him pretty heavily these days.