When she finally ended up in my arms, I tried reassuring her, “Daddy is going to be home in 2 hours”, to which she replied through her unending sobs, “I just love my Daddy TOO MUCH”.

I stifled my giggles.

I couldn’t help but think what we must have looked like to any on-lookers there in the parking lot, but at the same time I didn’t care.  Although I thought it was hilarious and I was stifling my giggling throughout the entire episode, I also knew I was witnessing an incredibly wonderful thing.  Even if it was a moment brought on by being a bit overtired, I was one of the sweetest moments I have ever witnessed, and it is the kind of moment (although a bit embarrassing) I am so glad that my daughter has with her Daddy.

Nothing would make me happier than if Dayla always had the problem of “loving her Daddy too much”.

Just One of the Fun Things They Do Together: Dayla and Daddy's Saturday Tent Time

This is one of those stories.

First, I will share the brief update…the Cliff Notes version if you will.  Sebastian had another ultrasound.  Non-invasive, totally easy, the ultrasound tech was as sweet as pie.  I went the same day to the urologist so he could give me the results.  He said, “Good news! His kidneys and ureter are still slightly dilated and his urethra is narrower than it should be.”  I raised my eyebrows at him.  ”This is good?  I was hoping for a complete healing….and well, nothing has changed since the last time we were here.”  ”Well,” he said with a slight twinkle in his eye and a warm smile on his face, “that would have been GREAT news.  This is GOOD news.  But it IS GOOD news!  It could have gotten worse.”

There you have it.  I will still hold out hope for the “complete healing” and keep asking that God gives that to us.  The next step is that we will have another ultrasound in 3 months to check again.  And again I will pray for complete healing. But for now I liked the urologist’s attitude about it…so I decided to adopt it. It is good.  We are thankful…so thankful that nothing has gotten worse. We will hang onto the GOOD and smile…..because what I am going to tell you about in this next story shows that….God is LISTENING to our prayers!  =)

How do I know?  You have GOT to read this:

Only in recent years have I started to pray about the doctor we’re going to see.  It might have started when Dayla began having a severe aversion to all doctors; I have developed the habit of praying before I call for a doctor’s appointment;  that the doctor I get will be either the best, or the most understanding, or gentlest, or kindest, or whatever it is I think I need at that moment with that medical situation.  With Sebastian I have prayed for each doctor that has come into our lives, and because he has been hospitalized and had this condition with his kidney, there have been a lot of doctors and a lot of prayers.  When it was time to see a urologist, I remember dialing the number to make the appointment, forgetting to pray, hanging up the phone before someone answered, and then praying for the best urologist that would guide us through all this confusion with Sebastian’s kidneys and conditions. The best, and the kindest.

At the time I was scared. When I started sharing this story via the web, so many people messaged me and said “I had a similar situation with my son/daughter….” and then would proceed to give me advice that ranged all over the board, but the most common advice was:   “my doctor recommended surgery and then my child grew out of it….so do your research before making a decision” or “get a second opinion”.   When I heard all this, at first I was scared, then skeptical.  Then I realized how important prayer was for this.

My first appointment with Dr. Kaplan was nothing short of the most wonderful doctor’s appointment I have ever had.  He was older and so kind.  He explained things and then when he saw the confused look on my face, he asked me if I wanted him to explain it again.  He assured me, “I want you to know and really understand what is going on with your son.”  At the time I felt my prayers had been answered.  I walked out of the appointment feeling like God was good and had answered my prayer with a great, kind urologist.

Fast forward three months, to this last appointment, when I got to hear how my prayer was not only answered, but answered and THEN SOME.

When I was in the room with the ultrasound technician she asked me casually, “Who is your urologist?”  I replied that it was Dr. Kaplan.  ”Oh wow!  You must have known who you were choosing.”  Then we spent the next 20 minutes talking about Dr. Kaplan.  I told her, “Oh yes, he is SO KIND, I was so pleased.” She concurred.  Then when I revealed that I, in fact, did not know him, and that I was randomly assigned to him….she then revealed to me that I was the luckiest girl in the world.  She was shocked that I didn’t know who he was and then proceeded to explain to me that he was “the best pediatric urologist there is.” Then she went on to explain to me that he is the urologist that other pediatric urologists study under, that he is the urologist that wrote the textbooks that students read when they are studying to be urologists, and that he is the urologist that people fly from all over the country to get a second opinion from.

OH WOW.

“Google him” she said. So of course I did, and I found this:

“Dr. George Kaplan received the prestigious 2007 Pediatric Urology Medal from the Section on Urology. Dr. Kaplan is the chairman of the Department of Surgery and chief of Urology at Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego, California. He is also clinical professor of pediatrics and surgery/urology at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. He was acting chair of the Division of Urology at UCSD 1975–1976 and was chief of Pediatric Urology at UCSD from 1971–1997. Dr. Kaplan is a former trustee of the American Board of Urology. Dr. Kaplan has co-authored one of the gold standard textbooks of pediatric urology, Clinical Pediatric Urology, and has authored over 200 articles and book chapters. He has served as the president for the Society of Pediatric Urology and the chairman of the section on urology of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is best known for his contributions in reconstructive surgery of the genitourinary tract.”  [Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2312343/]

OH WOW. Remember me praying for “the best and the kindest”…um yeah…..God hears our prayers.

To top off this story, when I went to schedule my next appointment, the lady tried to schedule me with another urologist, to which I replied, “Can I not see Dr. Kaplan?”  She replied, “No, he is not taking new patients;  unless you are already a patient of his.”  Uh yeah…I have had ONE appointment with him…ONE.  That makes me his patient though, doesn’t it?  ”Yeah, I am already a patient with him” I reply a bit cautiously. “Oh sure then, no problem!  You can have Dr. Kaplan.” My smile takes over my entire face…and my entire heart. So now Sebastian’s urologist is Dr. Kaplan; the best, and the kindest.  Prayers answered. All praises to God!

So the next time you are wondering if God is listening…to you…little old YOU….the answer is YES.  He loves you just like He loves me….and He is listening.    Isn’t that just the world’s best story?!  I sure love my God.  I can’t wait to see how He answers our prayers next time……

[Sebastian says thanks for reading the world's longest post...]

Professor Sebastian Steals Hearts

Last night the baby slept 6 hours before crying….SIX HOURS. Prayers answered.

I don’t know why sometimes God answers prayer and sometimes He doesn’t. What is the trick behind getting a prayer answered? I don’t think there is any “trick” to be honest. I think He just knows which ones need to be answered and which don’t, and we just have to sit back and trust Him. (Yes, easier said than done)

I can’t help but contemplate this because we are going in this Thursday for another test. Another test and I am begging for prayer again for the COMPLETE HEALING of my little Sebastian. The truth is I don’t know if God will answer this prayer, this longing, this desperation of a mother’s heart. I so badly want Sebastian to be healed. I pray for a miracle. I KNOW God can do it. I BELIEVE in a BIG GOD; this is nothing to Him. Nothing. Easy. Peanuts. But will He hear the cry of a desperate, longing, hopeful mother’s heart? The mother’s heart that doesn’t want to see her baby go into surgery? Yes, He will hear it. But will He answer it? Is this God’s will?

I don’t know if God will answer this prayer and I have been tortured by wondering for weeks. But at the end of the day there is one thing I know: I BELIEVE in a God who CAN and I HOPE in a God who would.

I can’t stop praying, hoping, begging, that He will have mercy on my little guy. That God will preform a miracle and have Sebastian’s tests come back completely clear. That there will be a healthy, normal sized kidney and a healthy, normal size ureter and urethra.

I get down on my knees and ask God for a miracle. I BELIEVE. With every bone in my body, every piece of my soul I believe in a God who heals; the great healer. I HOPE. The bible tells us to hope in Him, so I do with every part of my body and soul. I hope that His will for Sebastian is healing instead of surgery. I PRAY. The bible tells us to come before Him and ask…that we can’t expect to have if we do not come before Him and ask for(James 4:2) So I pray. And I pray again. AND NOW I ASK YOU TO PRAY TOO.

This Thursday, March 29th we will have another ultrasound. The hope and prayer is that the technician will see a normal sized kidney and a normal sized urethra and ureter.

Thank you in advance for every prayer you have prayed and every prayer you will pray today for my little guy. He sends you his biggest smile and I send you my biggest thanks.

Then one night, while she was playing a game on the computer and I was brushing her hair after bath, I happened to mention that I could give her a haircut right there, “if you want”.  ”Okay” she said.  With every ounce of restraint I have, I managed not to scream with delight and make a big deal about it….I just calmly grabbed scissors and started cutting.  Then, as calmly as I could, in my “it’s no big deal” tone, I asked Daddy to grab the camera.

February 1st, 2012

4 years old. Dayla’s first haircut, my first time cutting hair. We were both excited about it and happy with the result, so I would say it was a huge success.

 

 

 

 

 
So we went.  Tutu, leotard, flip flops, and hair down.   Katelynn (who is the perfect balance to Dayla) encouraged her the whole time (to not be shy) and Dayla encouraged her back (to listen to the teacher).  The absolute perfect scenario.  It was the best.  She loved it and I was in mama heaven for those 45 min.  I am so proud of my little ballerina…who of course (according to this proud mama) was the best in the class.
 

We will plan on going back again next month for sure!

Blanket, pillow, usually a bottle of milk in hand, and the laundry basket as a crib, here is my other little baby:

On February 8th, Sebastian took his first plane trip and he and I flew to Minnesota to visit our good friends, Beth and Justin (and their kids Haley and Matt).

I don’t know much about Minnesota besides that it is cold there, and that the Mall of America is there.  So of course I was ecstatic to experience both!

Haley, Sebastian and I

Day one was the Mall of America. It is definitely huge and impressive with it’s theme park in the middle.

5.7 degrees and with the wind chill it was said to “feel like -3 degrees”  Brrrr.  It was fun to experience for a bit; stings the toes and bites the nose is a VERY appropriate description of that kind of cold.  I also really liked learning how they have different things to make life easier with the cold (for example the mall has lockers where you put in all your coats and winter gear while you shop) and liked seeing that girls there still do wear dresses (I was wondering what Dayla would do if we lived there) just with tights and jackets and Ugg boots to make dresses a real option.

Here is Sebastian all bundled up for the cold:

On day two we went to “The conservatory” which had a tropical plant area, zoo animals (inside) and a beautiful building with a glass roof (that made it a perfect place to take pictures!) It was so fun and so beautiful.

Beth loves to take pictures, so this is the view I saw a lot. I was happy to see that my Dayla is not the only kid who gives her picture taking mama a hard time.

I couldn’t help but jump in and want to capture the beautiful model in this beautiful place with the perfect light too.

And every photographer mama wishes that she had more pictures with her own kids, so I didn’t hesitate to ask Beth and Haley to jump into the yummy light so I could capture these:

Day three we hung around the house and then took a trip to the store “Archivers”. Beth and I used to scrapbook with our friend Kristy (a scrapping trio if you will) and every time we scrapped together we would hear Beth sing praises of the store Archivers: a store in her home town and the “best scrapbook store ever”. Of course I had to go check it out. $37 dollars and two hours later, I admitted to Beth it indeed is an AWESOME store. I don’t have any pictures of Archivers, but I did capture some of our jammy time in the house.

Meet Matt:

One of the sweetest things was the way that Matt took care of Sebastian while we were there. Matt is just two, but he was SO interested in Sebastian and loved to “take care” of him by bringing him toys and rocking his chair and watching my every move. It just melted my heart so of course I had to capture a pic of Sebastian and his buddy together:

An awesome trip! The only bad part about it was having to leave. Beth and I were pregnant together with our firsts (Dayla and Haley were born just two days apart) and when Haley was just 6 months old Beth and Justin decided to do missions work in Austria.  There have been so many times since they left that both Daniel and I have missed them, but being with them  helped me to remember how amazing they truly are, and just how dear they are to my heart.  And of course Haley reminds me so much of the girls here so I wish they could all be friends.  Dayla has told me more than once (when she sees pictures of Haley), “I am sure we would be the best of friends”…and I know in my heart that would be true.  And now Sebastian and his buddy Matt.  Oh how we wish you were here Higgins family!  For now, we will just enjoy our pen pals…and plan our next trip!

Thank you Beth and Justin for your hospitality and for a wonderful time! I loved meeting your littles and loved spending precious time with you! Until next time…