Monday, June 01, 2020
Coarctation Surgery
A few days ago we arrived at Arkansas Children’s hospital at 5:30 in the morning for Isaac’s coarctation repair surgery. Isaac was brave, encouraged by the many friends that sent cards, gifts, and well-wishes.
His basketball team even showed up the night before to encourage and pray for him.
The surgery went well, but recovery is painful. It wasn’t until today that he was able to sit in a chair. His favorite nurse so far has been Jackson, a young man from Australia that played uno with us and made us laugh.
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Josephine Everly Vinson
2 days ago, Josephine Everly Vinson was born at 8:12 pm. She
weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. and was 20 inches long. Our God named her billions of
years ago; this is the story of how He revealed that name to us.
Her first name, the feminine form of Joseph, is French in origin as is the name Sabin (her paternal grandmother’s maiden name). The name was revealed to Erica some time ago, but it wasn’t until she researched the meaning, “God will add”, that she began to understand why. Given the many losses we have experienced, we were frightened to accept this name as a promise from our God. This fear is the primary reason that a third child was not in our plans. He, however, is a keeper of promises and is not bound by our fear or our plans. As we prayed over Josephine this morning, I was eternally grateful that our Father chose to add to our family in keeping with His good and perfect will. To Erica, He revealed that our daughter will add more than just numbers to our family and His. She will add hands for His healing and Glory to His kingdom.
Her middle name, Everly, is derived from an old German name indicating bravery. This little girl has kicked in utero more fiercely than any of our other children, and I have the feeling the name will suit her. The name Everly honors Erica’s German heritage (our first daughter was named after Erica’s mother, which is the Irish side). The name has a few meanings, but the word “meadow” appears in most of them. I write this through tear-filled eyes as I picture our Savior charging across an open field to rescue our little girl. In the words of Lauren Daigle, “There is no distance that cannot be covered over and over.” My prayer for her is that He will rescue her into His Kingdom, that she will know the freedom that comes in Christ, and that she will be brave in receiving his love as well as sharing it.
Lastly, we have given all our kids nicknames, and hers is Posie, which is a variation of the name Josephine. A posy is a small bunch of flowers, which seems more than fitting for the beautiful little bundle that God dropped in our laps.
Her first name, the feminine form of Joseph, is French in origin as is the name Sabin (her paternal grandmother’s maiden name). The name was revealed to Erica some time ago, but it wasn’t until she researched the meaning, “God will add”, that she began to understand why. Given the many losses we have experienced, we were frightened to accept this name as a promise from our God. This fear is the primary reason that a third child was not in our plans. He, however, is a keeper of promises and is not bound by our fear or our plans. As we prayed over Josephine this morning, I was eternally grateful that our Father chose to add to our family in keeping with His good and perfect will. To Erica, He revealed that our daughter will add more than just numbers to our family and His. She will add hands for His healing and Glory to His kingdom.
Her middle name, Everly, is derived from an old German name indicating bravery. This little girl has kicked in utero more fiercely than any of our other children, and I have the feeling the name will suit her. The name Everly honors Erica’s German heritage (our first daughter was named after Erica’s mother, which is the Irish side). The name has a few meanings, but the word “meadow” appears in most of them. I write this through tear-filled eyes as I picture our Savior charging across an open field to rescue our little girl. In the words of Lauren Daigle, “There is no distance that cannot be covered over and over.” My prayer for her is that He will rescue her into His Kingdom, that she will know the freedom that comes in Christ, and that she will be brave in receiving his love as well as sharing it.
Lastly, we have given all our kids nicknames, and hers is Posie, which is a variation of the name Josephine. A posy is a small bunch of flowers, which seems more than fitting for the beautiful little bundle that God dropped in our laps.
Norah Marie Vinson
Below is the email I send out shortly after Norah's birth, which I a posting here for posterity:
Hello Everyone,
We have officially decided on a name for our baby girl: Norah Marie Vinson. Upon meeting her, Erica and I were both struck by her beautiful dark hair and olive skin, which are very close in resemblance to her grandmother, Jeanne Marie O'Connor. We have, therefore, decided to honor Jeanne, who passed away in the summer of 97, in the following way. Aside from the fact that our daughter obviously shares her middle name with her grandmother, we have also chosen for her a first name that portrays her proud Irish heritage. Norah is a classic Irish name that has two likely origins: the Greek name Eleanor, which means light; and the Latin Honora, meaning honor. This name is appropriate for her because our hope for our daughter is that she will honor God as she grown in the knowledge of his infinite love for her and be a vessel through which His light can shine. I have attached a picture that doesn't do her justice...more to come.
Love you all,
Finley and Erica
Hello Everyone,
We have officially decided on a name for our baby girl: Norah Marie Vinson. Upon meeting her, Erica and I were both struck by her beautiful dark hair and olive skin, which are very close in resemblance to her grandmother, Jeanne Marie O'Connor. We have, therefore, decided to honor Jeanne, who passed away in the summer of 97, in the following way. Aside from the fact that our daughter obviously shares her middle name with her grandmother, we have also chosen for her a first name that portrays her proud Irish heritage. Norah is a classic Irish name that has two likely origins: the Greek name Eleanor, which means light; and the Latin Honora, meaning honor. This name is appropriate for her because our hope for our daughter is that she will honor God as she grown in the knowledge of his infinite love for her and be a vessel through which His light can shine. I have attached a picture that doesn't do her justice...more to come.
Love you all,
Finley and Erica
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
God Hears Our Prayers, Even the Small Ones
The band had the night off at the Fellowship North's wednesday night communion service. Instead of the usual worship service, the leaders asked the congregation to simply begin singing any song that came to mind and everyone else would join in. I spent the first six or eight songs trying to remember the tune to a hymn that I love. Finally, after realizing that I wasn't going to remember the hymn on my own, I asked God to help me remember it. The moment after I finished the prayer, someone else started singing the very song I had been trying to remember. Thank you Father. You are so cool.
Monday, November 07, 2011
Disney World
We went to Disney World to celebrate Norah's fifth birthday and stayed through Halloween. It was our first real family vacation and we all had a blast. Our first day in the park was Norah's birthday so we had lunch and birthday cake at Cinderella's Castle. We spent the second day at the Animal Kingdom, and really enjoyed Finding Nemo - The Musical. We went Soarin' at Epcot on the third day. Once the rain cleared on the last day we had a great time at Hollywood Studios and then went back to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Norah and I stayed at the dance party until almost midnight. I think it was the best day of her life.
Here is an exhaustive list of all the attractions we managed to fit in:
Here is an exhaustive list of all the attractions we managed to fit in:
- Met Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Cinderella at the Town Square Theater
- Rode the Walt Disney World Railroad
- Rode on the Teacups (a.k.a. the Mad Tea Party)
- Rode the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
- Met Rapunzel
- Rode Dumbo The Flying Elephant
- Rode the carrousel again
- Rode the teacups again
- Had lunch at The Cinderella Castle where we met Snow White, Aurora, Jasmine, and Ariel
- Rode "it's a small world"
- Rode The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
- Saw Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
- Met Vidia and Tinkerbell
- Rode Peter Pan's Flight
- Rode the teacups again
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Isaac Finley
Most of you already know that my new son was born on Tuesday, December 21st at 4:11 p.m. He weighted 8 pounds and 3 ounces. I started working on this post shortly after his birth while we were still working on picking his name. At the time, we were calling him "Bear", a nickname that the nurses thought fitting given his barrel chest and ability to hold his head up.
We ended up Naming him Isaac Finley. The middle name is after my grandfather (or me if I am feeling particularly self-focused). His first name has a story.
About year ago, Erica came to me and told me she wanted to try again. By this time we had already lost 4, and I had given up. We were done with our foster care training and I was focused on that. Nevertheless, I told her I'd pray about it. I was prepared to take the next step, which was to contact the specialist and have them do bloodwork. I figured the diagnosis would reveal that having a child would be difficult and expensive, and we could move on.
While we were waiting on the results one of Erica's friends had a prophecy. I should preface this by saying that this doesn't happen very often to us or her friend. She said God told her that we would have a son within a year. Sound familiar?
When God sent his angels to tell Abraham he was going to have a son, he had already given up as well. In fact, rather than rejoicing, he said "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing". Translation: I've already got this figured out, and my way sounds much better. My response to the prophesy was similar. I wrote it off as bad pizza and was secretly upset when Erica believed it.
When the doctor called with the results, Erica and I interpreted his findings differently. Erica: "Great news, I have a treatment plan that will work for you!" Me: "This is going to be expensive, painful, and obviously not the right thing to do." I was surprised that Erica was ready to try again. I felt like I was swimming upstream. I convinced her to wait a week and make our decision when we got back from our working vacation in Evanston, IL.
On our second day in Evanston, we found out Erica was pregnant. The news was terrifying. The Doctor said we had a 30% chance of success, and finding out of state treatment was harrowing. My mother's response wasn't helpful: "You do know where baby's come from right?"
The real work began when we returned. Erica had to get IV infusions Every two to three weeks. Insurance wouldn't cover it, the costs were staggering, and that wasn't the worst part. Each night I pleaded with God to keep our baby alive; terrified this would be our fifth miscarriage.
After a few months Erica didn't need the infusions anymore, and fear gave way to hope. Finally, on December 21st at 4:11pm, God fulfilled his blessing.
In my next post, the delivery.
We ended up Naming him Isaac Finley. The middle name is after my grandfather (or me if I am feeling particularly self-focused). His first name has a story.
About year ago, Erica came to me and told me she wanted to try again. By this time we had already lost 4, and I had given up. We were done with our foster care training and I was focused on that. Nevertheless, I told her I'd pray about it. I was prepared to take the next step, which was to contact the specialist and have them do bloodwork. I figured the diagnosis would reveal that having a child would be difficult and expensive, and we could move on.
While we were waiting on the results one of Erica's friends had a prophecy. I should preface this by saying that this doesn't happen very often to us or her friend. She said God told her that we would have a son within a year. Sound familiar?
When God sent his angels to tell Abraham he was going to have a son, he had already given up as well. In fact, rather than rejoicing, he said "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing". Translation: I've already got this figured out, and my way sounds much better. My response to the prophesy was similar. I wrote it off as bad pizza and was secretly upset when Erica believed it.
When the doctor called with the results, Erica and I interpreted his findings differently. Erica: "Great news, I have a treatment plan that will work for you!" Me: "This is going to be expensive, painful, and obviously not the right thing to do." I was surprised that Erica was ready to try again. I felt like I was swimming upstream. I convinced her to wait a week and make our decision when we got back from our working vacation in Evanston, IL.
On our second day in Evanston, we found out Erica was pregnant. The news was terrifying. The Doctor said we had a 30% chance of success, and finding out of state treatment was harrowing. My mother's response wasn't helpful: "You do know where baby's come from right?"
The real work began when we returned. Erica had to get IV infusions Every two to three weeks. Insurance wouldn't cover it, the costs were staggering, and that wasn't the worst part. Each night I pleaded with God to keep our baby alive; terrified this would be our fifth miscarriage.
After a few months Erica didn't need the infusions anymore, and fear gave way to hope. Finally, on December 21st at 4:11pm, God fulfilled his blessing.
In my next post, the delivery.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
The Delivery
Erica and I woke up in the morning of December 21st 2010 and headed to baptist hospital at 6:45 for our scheduled induction. We had to schedule an induction 10 days prior to the due date in order to get the timing right with her blood thinner, which is a whole other story. We were in the waiting room for 2 hours because there were no available beds in labor and delivery. I was impatient, but Erica was just excited. Once we got a room Erica got all hooked up on monitors and they started giving her pitosen to induce contractions by about 10 a.m. After about an hour, the Dr. Breniman broke Erica's water and said it should increase her contractions. It worked, and within about four hours Erica was ready for her epidural. It took two anesthesiologists three tries to get the epidural in, but it did the trick. Not long after that Erica called me (I was in the waiting room updating family members) and told me that the nurse felt Bear's elbow. Did I mention that his nickname is bear? I'll tell you more about that later as well.
Anyway, baby's don't come out elbows first, so she called the doctor. Dr. Breniman said he was going to try pinching bear's fingers and hoped that he would pull his hand back. He sat down and took a look and said, "well, that isn't going to work." Before I had time to ask him why not, I saw the problem...fingers? Bear had his arm so far down the birth canal that the doctor was shaking his hand. The nurses thought it was the coolest thing they had ever seen and were lining up to shake hands with my son. Erica was not amused. She knew this meant C-section and wasn't looking forward to major abdominal surgery.
Anyway, baby's don't come out elbows first, so she called the doctor. Dr. Breniman said he was going to try pinching bear's fingers and hoped that he would pull his hand back. He sat down and took a look and said, "well, that isn't going to work." Before I had time to ask him why not, I saw the problem...fingers? Bear had his arm so far down the birth canal that the doctor was shaking his hand. The nurses thought it was the coolest thing they had ever seen and were lining up to shake hands with my son. Erica was not amused. She knew this meant C-section and wasn't looking forward to major abdominal surgery.
After that things started happening very fast. The nurse threw me some scrubs and by the time I had changed and called a few family members they were ready to take Erica to the OR. I sat in a chair and talked to her during the operation (luckily she already had an epidural). It was an incredibly graphic display that I may never forget, but it wasn't long before they where wheeling Erica back down the hall with our son in her arms. His first activity was nursing, and his second was meeting his big sister.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
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