Todd's Arm After 9 1/2 Months Later

So I briefly put on Facebook that Todd's last scab from the past 9 1/2 months of surgeries has finally came off! YAY! We averaged a surgery every month since November 22, 2014. Can't believe it!

But I thought some folks who don't see Todd very often, or at all, would like to see what his arm looks like after 9 1/2 months of surgeries, waiting, infections, more waiting, crazy emotions, more infections, more waiting, and more surgeries becomes!

His elbow may not look great to some of you, but man oh man, does it look great to us! We have waited a long time for us to get to this point. He will probably have many of these scars his whole life, but talk about a testimony! A long testament to getting through such a crazy ordeal! We are still not completely done, as we still have a couple more Doctor's Appointments, possibly some more therapy on muscle use, and likely 2 more months of antibiotics! So we aren't done, and infection could always show it's ugly head again, but with no more surgeries being planned and there officially being no more open wounds, it isn't as likely!

And there is the part of me that wondered this whole time why God allowed this to happen. And I really still don't have an answer on that. But God did help us along this long journey in more ways than one. And possibly, I will write more about that on a future blog post. But, I am grateful for what is his arm right now! His bone is fully healed (when it was completely shattered). He has about 75% muscle control. And no infection!

So thank you for the prayers. These photos are answers to prayer! The journey isn't completely done yet on this, but I know we are most thankful for where it is right now.

Much Love for your prayers, love, and kindness!

The Taber Family!

Chatty, Fun Loving Toddler Turns 15 Months and other Updates

 

This guy - yes, this guy is 15 months old! My oh my! He is soo fun, even if he gets into trouble. He is curious and loves life. I love his excitement about even the littlest of things. But to him, they aren't little. For instance, just saying the word "Do you want to get your shoes on?" And he instantly squeals with delight "AH SI!" Which means Outside. He loves to go outside.

 

He is a strong willed boy too! He likes to do what he likes to do, and if you try to veer away from the norm, well, he will tell you about it. I always knew I would have a stubborn child like me! LOL! But, he is doing better about listening to us say "No." He doesn't always listen, but there are times he does, and so that is definite progress!

 

He is getting better about playing with toys on his own if we are busy with chores or making dinner, etc. So that's encouraging too. And many times, we will just find him sitting by himself "reading" a story.

 

We are learning some new stuff as well! He "dances" on his own now. He has this little march, two-step dance thing he does. Haha! It's so cute! He also has a recent obsession with trying to walk backwards. And even though we know he loves music and when Mommy sings songs to him, his interest in music and songs has deepened even more. Sometimes when I hug him or hold him, he sounds like he is trying to sing to me too. Or we are in the car, and I will hear him sound like he is trying to sing a song. I love it!

 

Caleb has been working on steps more and more to the point that he can walk up our steps outside our home by himself. He grabs the railing and does a great job going up the steps! We are working on going down steps as well, but not without holding Mommy or Daddy's hand. However, our stubborn boy thinks he can do it on his own sometimes, and last week, the boy decided to try going down a step when I thought he was doing something else, and he went down into some gravel. Poor kiddo. I love his independence and I love how he wants to do things for himself, but it is so hard to see him fall. And you'd think that would stop him from trying it again, but he is fearless.

 

Some new words he says (or improvements on words) since last month:

• Cacker for Cracker (this is definitely and improvement - it used to be Cack)
• Beal for belly
• Buba for bye-bye (when he chooses to say it)
• peee for puppy (this is when we see a puppy on a story)
• STA! for Stop! (this is a pretty recent thing where if he doesn't like something or if he hears me say stop, he says STA! very emphatically. In fact, I think I even heard him the other day say this to a little girl who got into a car toy he got out of (because it was her turn). LOL. He is definitely going to learn sharing.
• Go (not very often does he say this, but when I say let's go, he has said Go)
• Lite (I know I heard him say this for light before. Just once, but he did say it)
• Goke (yogurt - this is an improvement)
• Wawa for water. Not very often does he say this, but he has said it a few times now.
• Ah for up. This is when he wants us to pick him up for really anything. If he doesn't want to walk (which isn't often) or when he wants us to show him pictures on the walls or turn off the light.

Now even though he can't say these next words, he knows what they are when he sees them and can point to them when we go for a walk, etc. So even though he isn't actually saying the word, he knows what they are:

• moon (Every evening we go for a walk, and he always points to the moon. What's cool is that he recognizes the moon from stories he reads too. So when I say where is the moon when we are outside, he points right to the moon)
• He doesn't say the word light very often, but he knows what it is. He points right to a light when I ask where is the light. Or if I ask him to turn off the light, with me lifting him up, he knows that when he turns off the switch, a light goes out. So it's really cool to see him recognize that cause and effect.
• He knows what a penguin is - you'd think so with all the penguins he has in his room! LOL! But even though he can't really say that word, he knows what they are.
• He knows trees and points to them all the time when I say "where is the tree." He knows trees very well because we go outside so often.
• He knows the word shoes and knows that when we say Let's get your shoes on, he sits down beside me so I can put them on. He also knows shoes on means going outside too.

He is also able to climb up and down our couches all by himself. He still scares us by sometimes being to close to the end when he sits or tries to stand up, but he does it very well.

He definitely keeps us on our toes and is truly learning every single day. I love it! I love to see the wheels turning in his brain when he figures things out. Like for instance, when he said Cacker because we were trying to get him to say the word better than just cack, and he did it, we were all "YAY Caleb," and then he lifted his hands up in the air with excitement. He was even proud of himself too!

And in Todd updates - we are on our last, tiny scab on his elbow. Then no more open wounds! Woohoo! He will still be on pill antibiotics for the next couple of months, but this is great! hoping and praying that it stays that way. It's been 9 1/2 months since his accident, and we are ready for this all to be done!

So I leave you with a cute photo of my two guys! And also a cute photo of me and my little man! So grateful for both of these guys!

 

 

If Not Us, Then Who?

A little different than my normal blog posts. Most people won't even read this post. Especially because it is so "controversial." But, if I just let those "odds" determine everything I did, I wouldn't be where I am even now. And honestly, I felt pressed by God to share this.

Many know I am pro-life. And I can honestly say, I have felt an urgency in the past few weeks like I have never felt before to really speak out. Why put post after post on my wall about Planned Parenthood? What good will it do? What can Sarah Taber do for those babies? What can any Christian or any person that hates abortion do? I'm here to tell you - that YOU can make a difference. In fact, if I may be so bold, if you are a true Christian, you have an obligation to stand up for those little ones because they can't.

If you are like me, the videos that have been coming out on Planned Parenthood are disturbing and quite heartwrenching. I didn't enjoy watching those videos. I didn't enjoy watching the moral depravity set before me. I didn't enjoy seeing these workers laugh about "Oh, it's a boy" when they realize the baby parts they are going through were parts from a boy. I didn't enjoy seeing them lift up parts and pointing out how much each of those parts would get them as a group. I didn't enjoy hearing them say pretty clearly that sometimes babies are born before the procedure is done, and these are living, intact babies, and then they clearly will suffer and die alone because intact babies get more money. It's disgusting...it's heart wrenching....it's EVIL!

How many of you watched the videos? I don't blame you if you didn't. But, I think sometimes it is necessary to know what we are up against when we are fighting what is clearly a spiritual battle - between EVIL and GOOD. But if it feels too overwhelming, and if you feel it is easier to just be appalled and then forget. Yes - I guess that would be easier. It would be easier to get through life without thinking of the evil that is funded by our own tax dollars. It would be MUCH easier to forget and live life ignorant. I would rather live in a happy-go-lucky bubble. But, since you and I both know these things are going on (you can't avoid knowing it is occurring with social media), and if you avoid doing anything, are you not then saying it's okay? Are you not being complicit? It was that kind of attitude of "doing nothing" that led to the slaughter of millions of Jews.

Here are some facts you may not know - the current tally of babies killed since Roe vs. Wade is well over 55 million! This number of children killed is more than the number of people killed during the Holocaust in Germany and more than the number of people killed in the Armenian Holocaust combined.

I'm not saying you have to become one of those people on the streets screaming the end is near or anything like that. But, I believe that Christians have a moral responsibility to take a stand against evil. What does that entail? Well in this case with Planned Parenthood, what are some of things you can do? I came up with a list of things that my family does as some examples. Do one or some of these things, and you are helping in this fight.

• Spread awareness - post on your Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.
• Pray every single day against these injustices - with prayer, I believe God moves mountains. I believe that babies lives can be saved. I believe that things can be changed.
• Call/write your state representatives about defunding Planned Parenthood or to look into investigations
• Stop giving money to companies that fund Planned Parenthood. This list provided in the link below is an updated list of companies that support PP (although recently, American Express and The American Cancer Socity has also distanced themselves from them). That list can be found here: http://prolife.ie/news/2015/07/23/us-companies-distance-themselves-planned-parenthood. Maybe you think it is too hard to give up any of those things, but you can do it. My family is. We love Pepsi more than Coke products; however, Coke distanced themselves from PP. Pepsico did not. So we are making adjustments to our lives to avoid having any more of our money going to people that kill these babies.
• Volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center or donate baby clothes/money to them as these centers focus on helping women get the help they need to provide for those babies or put them up for adoption. Many of these centers also provide ultrasounds for women to see their unborn babies to help them understand their baby isn't a blob of tissue, but a LIFE!
• Go to a protest - Go with the intent to pray over the women that enter those abortion mills. Pray that the staff will have a change of heart and mind. It CAN happen. Abby Johnson is just one example of someone that was a Director for PP, and she stopped after she saw a baby at 13 weeks try to get away from the abortion suction device. She saw the life in that ultrasound and vowed to never be a proponent of abortion ever again. She changed. People can change.
• With that same thought - even if there isn't a scheduled protest. If you know of PP or abortion mill in your area, take a lunch break and walk over there and pray. Again - prayer can move mountains!
• Pray for legislation to change/propose new legislation to your representatives to allocate funding to go to those crisis pregnancy centers that focus on life, not death.
• Attend the March for Life in Washington D.C. once in your life. It is truly an amazing experience! I promise!
• If you know a woman that is struggling with whether or not she should keep a baby or not, be her support. And if she chooses life, be her support through the child's life. She is going to likely need support and help, and if we claim we care about life, we should care about them well after they are born. So show that compassion and love to those women who are choosing life even when it seems hard. Be the encouragement and help they need.
• Be a big proponent of adoption. And if you can, prayerfully consider adopting children. Not even just the children that are babies.
• Vote for candidates who actually live their lives as pro-life candidates.

Do you have any other suggestions?

It makes me sad that I know of Christians who would rather keep silent about this because it is so controversial than to do anything about it. Being sad about the unborn lives lost every day isn't enough. And it makes me sad that there are more people on the bandwagon to seek justice for a lion, than there are for these little babies. Why is that?! Where are the Christians?! If we are going to leave a mark in this world, do you want to be known for someone that just shrunk back in the shadows when evil is occurring, or do you want to be known as someone that stood strong and fought for little unborn babies everywhere? When we say nothing and do nothing, we act like those nations did when the Jews were being killed in Nazi Germany. This is OUR time!

So do it - make a difference for all of those babies. Their very lives depend on it!

Matthew West - "Do Something"