January 2017 - We started January with the certainty that things would drastically change for our sweet Maddy girl and family in 2017. We found out in October 2016 that Maddy would need brain surgery and her current insurance wouldn't cover it so we had to wait for our new insurance to kick in for 2017 to get the surgery. Once January 1 hit, we were able to get her a surfer date of January 11th. Our world then went into a flood of emotions and stress as we prepared for the unexpected. Many of you and others were so kind and donated funds so that we could pay for Maddy to have this brain surgery that was the best chance she would have to stop having seizures. We drove to Cleveland as a family, had surgery on the 11th, celebrated Emma's 5th birthday on the 12th at Chuck E Cheese an then returned home from Cleveland on January 14th. I am grateful to say that we are currently 359 days seizure free so far (her last seizure was January 5th, 2016). Her small seizures dictated so much of our lives and had us on the edge of our seats often and we forgot how much energy it took until we've gone so long without it. We are so grateful for the recovery she has made and continues to make!
The weekend after returning home, we celebrated Emma's 5th birthday with most of the kids from her class and we did a painting party. We also were blessed by the people of Exchange Coffee and Summit Church, who did a fundraiser for us to go towards future medical expenses. We were overwhelmed with all the many that came out to show support for Maddy and us. I also began a tutoring job with kids in China - online - and was able to start bringing in some more finances for our family while my kids sleep. It calls for early mornings and late nights sometimes but it's been SO worth it!
February 2017 - Maddy's recovery was going super fast - she even learned to do a bit of monkey bars - and by the beginning of February, we were talking about getting her back in to school. Right when we planned to do so though, Emma go the flu. We were grateful that it was a "cold" version of the flu instead of how bad it could have been. We enjoyed many visits from family and friends and rejoiced with Nathan's brother, Jesse, as he moved to Las Vegas and helped open a Chic-fil-a there. August also was mostly potty trained, except at night and bedtime.
March 2017 - Because Madeline was doing so well, we began our fostering application again - we started last summer but put it on hold when Maddy started struggling with her health. Emma finally (at age 5) because interested in her bike and learned to ride it. I started up my Women's Bible Study at church again and we waited for warmer weather.
April 2017 - We kicked off April 1st with a wedding. Nathan's dad married Jill and they had a beautiful beach wedding and we welcomed her and her two children into the family. We had an extra reason to celebrate Easter this year because the day before Easter was 100 days seizure free. We celebrated by going on a hike because Maddy LOVES nature. The weekend of Maddy's 7th birthday, Emma had 4 cavities filled and we went camping as a family for the first time.
June 2017 - We got to do a wedding of a sweet couple from church and I celebrated my birthday with an outing as a family. Maddy also qualified for therapy and began taking Physical, Occupational and Speech therapy. We also went to the beach with the Pressley clan and the kids enjoyed some time with their cousin Asher.
July 2017 - We officially got our fostering license and went on the open bed list. This was our official family picture we sent in. We began being intentional to have daddy/mommy-kid one-on-one dates with the kids to help when those transitions come and I added upholstery to my crafting business (Crafts of a Forrest is my business that I have been doing since 2015 but it officially because a registered business in Nov. 2016). And of course we celebrated "Cow Appreciation Day" because that's just what we do :-P Emma did a drama camp, which she has grown to love and we ended July celebrating our 11 year anniversary.
August 2017 - A friend of mine and I took Maddy to Cleveland for a follow-up and the results came in that she had a normal MRI and no seizure activity on her EEG. We also began weaning her off of one of her seizure meds! Yay! We visited my brother and sister-in-law in Raleigh to celebrate their son's first birthday and we found out they were expecting a 2nd child due in April!!!! School began and Maddy redid 1st grade - with the same teacher PTL! - and Emma started K5 at the same school. Our sweet Emma is such a smart cookie and entered K5 at a beginning 1st grade reading level.
September 2017 - We ended up changing organizations for our fostering so sent it off in August and are eagerly awaiting it's approval AGAIN. Emma learned how to pump her legs to swing on her own. No that Nathan isn't working at the coffee shop anymore, August is really enjoying his time with Daddy while I tutor in the morning and then getting us all to himself till his sisters get home.
October 2017 - My childhood friend and her children came to visit and help us unload pumpkins the same weekend we got word that our license was finally in. On Oct. 1 we became "open bed" foster parents and were actually matched with a pair of 2 month old twins. They had some health issues up in the air so we waited for word of when/if we'd get them. Nathan wen on a 3 days canoeing trip wth some college students he works with through his teaching at a gap year program locally. He's really enjoyed being able to teach in a classroom again on the side.
November 2017 - We got our first foster placement, an almost 2 year old girl, and the kids loved having someone to love on. The twins things fell through and the same day we were asked to take this sweet girl and within 3 hours she was in our home. Her and August loved running around together. August also got x-rays at the dentist for the first time and did a great job! The transition from a family of 5 to a family of 6 was a bit chaotic especially when the kids are 7, 5, 3 and 1. I was so grateful for Nathan's flexible work schedule so he could be home and add extra hands. Nathan took the girls to their Daddy/Daughter Dance too. In the past our church has done a "Feast For All" meal for people that have no where to go on Thanksgiving and this year Nathan helped expand that event to our city in Simpsonville as well. He was super busy with that on Thanksgiving day so we celebrated Thanksgiving with my family at our house this year. As always, the moment Thanksgiving was over, the kids were ready to decorate for Christmas so we went and got our tree and decorated while we listened to Christmas music.
December 2017 - A few days after Thanksgiving, we found out that our foster daughter would be moving in with extended family. It was very surprising and a shock but we were grateful that she would be reunited with family. Though it wasn't mom and dad, it was with someone who would care for her as she needed. We said goodbye and sent the kids off to grandparents for a weekend while we drove in snow up to Hendersonville for a weekend away. It was beautiful! August also turned 4 just before Christmas and he just wanted to celebrate by going to a "special restaurant". We then merged our current Simpsonville campus with the Mauldin campus which will allow us to continue to invest in the upstate and surrounding areas to saturate them with the Gospel. Nathan and I will co-direct with the staff at Mauldin and we look forward to what new relationships and opportunities that brings. We worshipped together for the first time as our new "Mauldin-ville" :-P campus on Christmas Eve and then celebrated Christmas Eve with Nathan's dad and stepmom. We spent Christmas Day at home and then the next day drove to Maryland to see Nathan's Grandparents. We were also able to see Nathan's mom's side of the family and have dinner with one of Nathan's friends from childhood.
So It is December 30th and I am sitting at a Starbucks because Nathan told me he wanted me to get away and have some down time before the new year begins. We came home at 3 AM This morning from Maryland and have enjoyed a quiet day at home. So to sum up:
2017 has brought us great growth with Maddy. She continues to make progress in therapy and has even graduated out of her Physical therapy. She is more verbal and communicates better each day. Emma continues to grow into her little "diva" personality. She loves to talk and joke and is already asking for make-up and a cell phone. She even won 3rd place (out of k4-2nd grade) at her school for a story she wrote and illustrated. August is very laid back and loves everything letters and numbers. He loves to talk about his hearts and how Jesus makes them better when they get broken. It's hard to believe he will be in K4 next year! We are staying off the "open bed" list for fostering until after the kids get back to school but we are sure we will have another little one in our home to love on before the month of January is over. Nathan is looking forward to the new opportunities for our church family in 2017. He is excited about serving, with the Campus Pastor at Mauldin, to love on our people and activity invite our community to invest in our circle of accountability as well. I am still enjoying tutoring, my crafting business has doubled in orders this year and I am looking forward to working with the Kids Director at Mauldin to love on the kids that walk through those doors each week. She is primarily in charge of communication and scheduling and I get to focus on curriculum. I am so excited about spending lots of energy helping teachers present the Gospel to our children and to each other as we parent and love on our families and each other well. Thank you for your support in 2017 and I look forward to all the amazing things God continue to have in His plan for us and you in 2018!
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