How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?

Karis has learned so much in the last few weeks with Nanna & PopPop. I thought you would like to watch and listen to one of the new accomplishments.

Karis Decides to Sew

Yes, Ladies and Gents. My daughter, the 16 month old, decided she was going to learn to sew. Problem was, she did not want to use the sewing machine, nor did she decide to ask for any help. She decided she was going to sew with bobbins, thread, thread, thread (did I mention thread) and many, many, many straight pins. Did I mention the thread and the straight pins?

Here's what happened. We were visiting my grandmother's home on Thursday afternoon. It came time for Karis to take a nap. We set up her pack-n-play (aka. God's gift to traveling parents) in my grandparents' spare room. This room is also the computer room and the sewing room. Karis' bed was set up (unknowingly) in front of my grandmother's sewing table.

Grandma put Karis down for a nap and Karis willingly complied. She laid down immediately and acted as if she was going to sleep. She has done this many times and so I was pleased that she decided to go to sleep easily at a new place. We did not hear anything from her for over 45 minutes.

My niece, Anyston, was also taking a nap at Grandma's that same afternoon. She was having a little more difficulty going to sleep that day, so Grandma went back to check on her to make sure she was sleeping. As she passed Karis' room she heard Karis talking and playing with what she thought were some toys in Karis' bed. She came up to the front of the house and said that Karis was awake and that she was playing with some toys. I immediately told her that Karis did not have any toys in her bed.

Grandma quickly went to the spare room to find out what Karis was up to. As she walked in, Karis did not even look up from what she was doing. Grandma saw her pulling the thread off of a bobbin she had pulled out of a drawer. She saw Karis sitting in the midst of a bed full of thread she had spent many, many minutes (45 or more to be exact) pulling off of other bobbins and spools of thread in that same drawer. Karis was also sitting in the midst of a box of 2 inch straight pins that she had dumped both in her bed and on the floor.

Karis was having a grand time. Apparently, she had not been sleeping at all that hour. She had been trying to teach herself to sew with thread, bobbins, and lots and lots of straight pins. She looked up at Grandma as if nothing was wrong; as if it was perfectly normal for her to be playing with potentially deadly paraphernalia.

Grandma snatched her out of the bed after taking everything out of her hands and lap. She brought her to the front room and sat down in the rocker with her. It was not even 5 minutes before Karis was asleep in Grandma's arms. Apparently the sewing adventure had worn her out.

I am very thankful that Karis' guardian angel is so efficient at what he/she does. The angel has been working overtime for this child!!

Time WIth Family

We have finally gotten settled in one place for a few weeks, I think. Karis and I are staying with my parents in Tifton, GA for the next 2 weeks and I think that Karis is having the time of her life. She has PopPop and Nanna wrapped around her finger. All she has to do is flash that infectious grin of hers and they both melt.

Not only does Karis have PopPop and Nanna eating out of her hand, she has a 3 year old cousin whom she follows around all day long. She has been Anyston's shadow since Rebekah and Anyston got off the plane in New Orleans and she has remained so since arriving here in Tifton. Both of them still need to learn a few things about sharing, but it sure is nice for her to have someone to play with.

Karis has beaten a path through PopPop and Nanna's house. She starts out at Nanna's recliner and walks through the living room around the dining room table, through the kitchen and back to the recliner. She stops several times in the many journeys she makes on that path to admire some new item that looks shiny or that catches her eye. One of her favorite stops is her highchair seat. She enjoys trying to make safety clips fasten and unfasten. They give her hours of entertainment. I am not quite sure why we buy expensive toys when she gains the majority of her pleasure from the items we adults would find mundane (ie. boxes and highchair fasteners).

Needless to say, I believe I will have quite a bit of deprogramming to do when I get back home.

Page is doing well at training. He is learning a lot and having a good time with his fellow army chaplains. Continue to pray for him as he attends the Koran study that he would have opportunities to speak Truth. 

MRI Results

As you all know, I had an MRI done a few weeks ago and so much has happened since the results of that test. Based on the results I have 3 herniated disks and 1 disk that is either bulging or herniated. The results were inconclusive.

Because of the MRI results, I have been put on restriction from lifting anything too heavy (including Karis who is now 30 lbs). Page is still at NG training, so I have obviously needed some help. I have such wonderful family members who have so graciously stepped in to help me in the middle of this crazy time.

My mother and father - in - love (Winston & Betty) came down to New Orleans for 4 days and stayed with me. They drove me around to doctors appointments and cooked for Karis and I. We had a wonderfully relaxing time.

My sister, Rebekah, came on the day before Winston and Betty left. She and my niece, Anyston, flew all the way from GA to help me out. It was Anyston's first plane ride. We did not lay around the house with these girls. We spent some time at the zoo, aquarium, and children's museum and wore the little girls (and big girls) slap out. Rebekah drove us back to GA on Monday and Tuesday of this week.

So now, Karis and I are in Tifton for the next few weeks until I get well enough to take care of Karis on my own. The doctor  is waiting on my muscles and tendons to heal from the whip-lash before she can begin work on the disks. We are hoping we will be able to fix them without surgery. 

I will be posting some pictures of our adventures in New Orleans a little later. The girls had a wonderful time and us Moms had fun too.

Page's Chaplain Training

Most of you that know us know that Page is a chaplain in the Army National Guard. He has been involved in NG for about 6 years and has had a huge ministry with the units he has served. He has seen several salvations and ministered to many men and women going and coming to and from the Middle East.

Page left today for duty/training in Fort Jackson, SC. He will be gone for 2 months (July 5th-Sept 5th). He is very excited about the training, but rather sad about leaving Karis and I behind especially after the accident. I (Ashley) am healing, but the process is going to be much slower than we origianlly thought. I was told in the ER that I would be better within a few days, but I have now been told that I could be in pain for several more weeks and that the healing process could take up to 6 months or more. I was diagnosed with severe whip-lash. I had an MRI done on Thursday and should find out the results next week.

Getting back to Page and the reason I am writing this post, Page will be in SC for 2 months and would really appreciate any cards, letters, or care packages you would like to send. His address is:

US Army Chaplain Center & School
CH-BOLC
CH (1 LT) Page Brooks
10100 Lee Road
Fort Jackson, SC 29207-7090

He would not ask for anything specific, but I will tell you that he likes chocolate brownies and cake as well as Vanilla Wafers. Have fun supporting a soilder that you know!!

He is getting the opportunity while there to sit in on a "Sunday School" type Koran study. The chaplain leader knows the study Page has done on Muslims and has invited him in to discuss the Koran in this study. I am sure the Muslims are hoping for a new convert; however, Page is praying for a few converts of his own. Please pray for this opportunity, that he would have the words to say and the courage to say it.

We love our family and friends very much!! Have a wonderful weekend celebrating our countries independence!!

Our Sovereign God

Page and I wanted to tell you about this past Tuesday night. We decided to go on a date night because we have not been on one in a few weeks and we had been given a gift towards a dinner, so we chose to go. We had a delightful dinner at one of my favorite places to eat and we had walked around Target a little before leaving to go see a movie. On our way to the movies we were broadsided by a very truck/SUV. I am not quite clear on the type of car. I do remember it was red. 

For those of you who

 live in New Orleans, we were on Clearview headed towards Elmwood Theaters. For those of you who do not live in NOLA, we were on a six lane high

way (three going north and three going south). A median or neutral ground divides the six lanes. This neutral ground is curbed with grass and sometimes flowers. This highway also has many cross streets.

Page was driving in the left hand lane closest to the neutral ground. A car was in the center lane and had just pulled a little ahead of us. The lady in the large truck/SUV saw the car in the middle lane as well as the traffic coming behind us, but she failed to see us in the far lane. As the car in the middle lane passed her she gunned her SUV across the 3 lanes of traffic. Page and I both saw her and knew we were going to be hit. One of the aspects we are praising God about is that Page hit the gas instead of hitting the brake. As I saw the SUV coming I said "She is going to hit us" and I thought, "I

 am about to be hurt really badly." When Page sped up her SUV caught the rear passenger side door and trunk. Her bumper tore the door off the car and spun us around. Our rear spun over the raised neutral ground taking out a sign. We landed in the lane we had been riding in facing the wrong direction.

Neither Page nor I

 had a cut on us. The impact of the SUV, however, caused my neck to immediately stiffen and my back to begin hurting. I was unable to ope

n my door because the impact had also jammed it shut. We waited on the firemen to open the door and the EMTs to take me to the hospital for ex-rays. I have ONLY severe whiplash and a few bruises and burns where my seat belt held me in place. I say ONLY because I could have been hurt SO much worse.

Page and I want you to see some of the pictures of the car and hear the story as a testimony of God's protection an

d his sovereignty. We do not know why He chose to protect us in the way He did yesterday. We don't know why He allowed Page to push the gas instead of the break, why He guided our car away from oncoming traffic back into the lane we were in, why He kept our car from flipping as it passed over the neutral ground, 

and why He led us to chose that night not to take Karis on our date. We also do not know why some of our friends and family were not protected in the same way through similar experiences. All Page and I know is that we serve a Sovereign God who knows the day, hour, and minute He wishes us to come home. We know that neither one of us are afraid of death because we serve the One who defeated death when He was raised to life. We both know that if anything were to happen to one or both of us, God is in control and He will give those left to grieve, the gra

ce and comfort to do so. He will provide for ALL needs. We also know that He protected us from long te

rm disabilities in this instance and we are very grateful.

We want you to understand we do not tell you this story nor show you the pictures to glorify anyone other than our Father!! We serve an Incredible God who is the I AM!!

 In this picture, you can see where the SUV hit and the rear passenger door was taken off the car.

The SUV hit the front passenger side door and jammed it. Since my neck was injured, I could not crawl out the other side. The fire department had to pry the door open, as you can see. 

Whatever is left of the rear passenger door!  

 

Karis Walking

We were very excited in Sunday when Karis took her first official steps. She only took one or two on Sunday, but since that day she has become a little more adventurous and is now up to seven or eight steps at a time. It took her a while to let us get her on camera. I don't know if it was the pressure of performing before the camera that caused her to refuse to walk, but we finally got her around enough people to where she forgot the camera was there.

For those of you who do not know, Page is a co-pastor of a church plant in the Uptown area of New Orleans. We meet in one of three small groups once a week. While at the small group we filmed Karis taking a few steps and we thought we would show you. We hope you enjoy this video as much as we do.