RUNNING with Endurance - A Year Review

It has been awhile since I took the time to blog...life moves WAY to fast..!!!

I find myself trying to be a good mom, wife, friend...but I fail...and darn it...I fail daily...!!  More times then not, I feel short tempered, impatient, exhausted, defeated...then God in His power and grace remind me of Hebrews 12:1...

"Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."

Those feeling of being short tempted, impatient and defeated are a waste of my time and energy.  But I still struggle with them at times. I share these raw feelings with you, because at this very moment, I am trying to run with endurance the race God has set in front of me....

Today...Emma is home from school...and has been for nearly two week...she's been on independent study I should say..!  Winter is hard on her little body. At her last doctors appointment her lung functions and her weight dropped. After close to three weeks on more antibiotics she's still not 100%...so for her safety, we have chosen to keep her home. 

With all that being said...she climbed up on my lap this morning to let me know that she felt "perfectly fine" and wanted to go back to school. What does "perfectly fine" look like to a 7-year-old fighting Cystic Fibrosis:

1. Her body is extra tired, so she has been sleeping in

2. She is coughing a lot due to extra mucus

3. She can't take in a BIG deep breath without wheezing or coughing

4. She's doing extra albuterol to help her breathe easier

5. Her energy level has decreased

But she's "perfectly fine"!!!  Lol. Then I realized, in her mind, she is..!!  This is how she feels most of the time!  Breathing with Cystic Fibrosis has been compared to plugging your nose and breathing through a straw.  I feel like a whimp, because just plugging my nose and trying to breathe is exhausting!  Lol. 

But we keep running with endurance!!

I was recently going through the past year of pictures and experiences...and thought I would share a few things that God has done in the last 365 days as we RUN with endurance...

Last Christmas some amazing person or people, surprised us and Emma with the ONE thing she wanted for Christmas that we couldn't get her...a Barbie Jeep!!  She still drives it all over the neighborhood, and it has brough her and her sisters countless hours of fun!!!  It still brings tears to my eyes when I think of how kind people are!!!!

We found this in her room...Emma is learning and accepting more and more things about cystic fibrosis aka 65 Roses. She has become very sensitive to other who are sick. 

In March of this year we participated in the CF Walk...Emma's Army had over 150 walkers and raised close to $6000.00 for research!!  Emma's great grandma, Lois, even joined the fun!!

In an attempted to show you a day in the life of...I took these photos of Emma...the top one with everything she needs to be a kids...all her favorite toys, crafts, things she LOVES!!  The bottom picture is everything she NEEDS to sustain life, medicine, treatments, feeding tube supplies, equiptment.

Emma spent her 7th birthday in the hospital...all she ask for was 100 birthday cards to decorate her hospital room with..!!!  Well...her wish came true...

Thanks to social media, Emma's story made national news (honestly, just google "Emma Ritter cystic fibrosis"). Her story was on the huffington post, today show, CNN News, AOL news, reddit, and several local news stations!!!  Emma received over 10,000 birthday cards from EVERY state in the United States!!  From record labels, the House of Representives, Senators, recording artists, motorcycle clubs, police, sheriffs, Target, the FBI, and cards from ALL OVER THE WORLD!!  Poland, Hong Kong, Iceland, Austrialia, England, Paris, France, and many more!!  She even received a card from the King of the Netherlands!!  As a mom this was the most amazing, unbelievable, in fathomable, surreal experience EVER!!  I cried more tears then I can explain. To see so much love and kindness from all over the world touched my heart in an amazing way!!  Honestly, I need to blog on just her birthday card experience!!  

What a year it's been..!!!  Being a parent of a child with a terminal illness is hard!  It has it's challenges...but as we run the race God has in front of us with endurance...He gives us everything we need to make it through each day!  It may be a hug, prayer, word of encouragement, or financial blessing...we have watched God meet our needs over and over again!!  And we are so thankful to serve such a HUGE God that cares about his children..!!!!  

We wish you and your family a blessed holiday season...and remember to RUN WITH ENDURANCE the race His has put in front of you...!!!!