Ok great(kinda....)

Soo....there is a successful picture but It only goes at the very bottom and I'm still unsure how to give it a little caption....but it's a start.....will be posting an update (with most likely not captionized pics:) hee hee!!!

Trying to figure this out.....

So I have not posted forever because of course on Luke's big first birthday post I wrote I could not get any pictures to upload on here....and we'll....the post would not do with out the pics!!! Sooo....still in confusion this is a trial to see if I can post with pics....I can see it at the bottom of my screen here but don't know how to get it up on to where I'm typing and be able to put a caption under it!?!? Ahhhh bare with me!!! I'm about to up date you all on the past 8-12 weeks I haven't been blogging!;)

11 months old....say Whhhaattt???

Our sweet little Luke is 11 months as of yesterday!!! Crazy! We are enjoying not being at the doctor ever other week/once a month for his helmet! Whhoo hoo!!! He is such a healthy happy little boy!! He is a waving bye bye machine....saying dada...started to Dance(cutest thing ever)....and just learned "how old are you?"and to hold up one finger! He even showed his daddy yesterday & his poppy today! Doesn't hold it right in front of his face....just lifts that little pointer finger up where ever his hand may be!!:) and squirms with excitement!! Love my sweet little boy! Sooo thankful he is healthy and doing great!!!!!

Overview of 2012

Well my friend Kim did an amazing post on her blog about a the year for her family and what it was like and I decided to jump on the bandwagon and doing one from deckerville...so here we go.

January-
We celebrated the new year(eve) with Matt's family having our Christmas at his brother's house and it was alot of fun!
I turned 28 and....
We spent the entire month anxiously awaiting the arrival of our unborn baby and wanting so bad to find if it was a boy or girl. Matt went on a snow mobiling trip with his dad for a few days (I being huge and prego and caring for a 1 year old was not super excited about him going but wanted him to have that fun before life got busier and I am so glad that he went because he had a blast and I enjoyed my special weekend with just me and my "one" baby).



Febuary-
We were completly filled with love on Valentines Day when we welcomed Luke Alan Decker into the world at 5:14pm weighing 8lbs 5 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. We were so excited to have Lane's brother and our second son.

March-
Was honastly not the best month...we had many hard times, and sad moments as we waited to find out what it was going to include to fix the problem Luke was born with (his closed metopic suture...you can read about that in my very first post "Welcome to Deckerville" if you haven't yet). We had our first appointment with his plastic surgeon and neuro surgeon and found out what he would need to have done.

April-
Lane turned 2 years old :'( So big so big so big. and Luke was dedicated at church and celebrated his first Easter.

May-
Luke has his ct scan and by the grace of God he did not have to be put to sleep and it went great.
Matt turned 28.

June-
Luke had his surgery and it was the hardest time of our lives...but we came through it on top and saw God's grace, goodness, faithfulness, and love through every aspect. Lane was so well behaved and enjoying the nice weather any chance he could and our amazing nephew Cohen Anthony Wroble was brought into the world on the 10th and filled our hearts so much with happiness!!

July-
We enjoyed the 4th of July and Luke recovered so fast we were able to start having some summer fun and we welcomed our beautiful niece Reece Elizabeth Decker into the world on the 27th. She is the sweetest and prettiest little girl we've ever known.

August-
We were feeling great from everything we had been through and really enjoyed the nice weather and the summer...

September-
We were excited for the season change. And had to deal with the change of Luke adjusting to his helmet on the 17th ...Luke did great and adapted wonderfully and it took us a little while but it grew to seem non normal to have it off the hour a day then to have it on the other 23 he had to wear it. He sure did wear it well:)

October-
Lane the fire fighter and Luke his dalmation puppy :)
My hubby answered the calling on his heart to play for our churches praise and worship band and joined!! He is an amazing rockstar and plays with the most wonderfully humble heart for the Lord!

November-
Thanksgiving was a great time of year and had a whole knew meaning of  "thanks" after the things we had seen through 2012. AND we were so THANKFUL Matt got a new amazing job and Union Pacific and was going to begin in December and I decided that after December I would be quitting my part time job as an at home hairstylist to be a full time wife and mommy.( loving every single second:)

December-
Luke got his helmet off for good! And we were released to just come back for a 1 year post surgery appointment in June so we were really excited to spend some time away from the doctors. He had a great first Christmas and Lane made the season absolutly magical and loved every aspect.

Happy New Year's Eve!!!

So excited for 2013! A new year is always exciting! I couldn't be more blessed to have two HEALTHY boys and amazing hubby who got a new job and that I get to stay home and take care of my family!!!! Health is the motto of our year! No money, no materials, no things are more important than our health to keep us all together as a family! Praying for a prosperous and healthy new year for all our family and friends!!!!! Love The Decker's

iPad blogging whoot whoot!!!!

My amazing hubby saved his money for months and months to purchase me an iPad for Christmas. I was in tears not so much for the gift(although I do love it). But more because of his amazing thoughtfulness and love that he has for me. It is overwhelming and so amazing. And he did it right and saved slowly because he knows I would not have approved of spending that kind of money right now. Hope to blog more frequently now. Hope you all had an amazing Christmas. Our boys were sooo adorable and we had lots of great family times. We have two more Christmas's this weekend and I am so excited to celebrate with all of them too!!

Why...oh why?

Well before I begin my update on Luke's appointment and what our future holds....I can't help but take a minute to reflect on what the world is going through right now. I know everywhere you look and everywhere you turn you are hearing something about Newtown, Ct and lets be honast Christmas is getting closer, happier times are ahead and we are all trying to put this behind us as we should be. So I am sure in "deckerville" you are not wanting to hear even more about it but I can't bare the thought of not using this space to acknowledge it. I know it has hit hard to so many people in many different ways. ESPECIALLY parents!! New parents, old parents, grand parents, wanting to become a parents, but also to everyone else...sisters brothers aunts uncles cousins...you name it...people can relate. In my area I feel extremly somber as a parent. If that were to happen it would be the absolute worst thing in the entire world. The thought makes me feel like I could die right now in this very moment...however we all know that is not the case. I have other children,  a husband, a family, friends...people that count on me to be in their lives...eventually you'd have to get it together right?? It is going to take a LONG time for those parents to feel somewhat normal(never the same but at least functional). They will never be the same.
After reflecting on all that I feel a huge tug on my heart to remember this is NOT our eternal home. As scary as it may be to know you will not live forever in the flesh....there is peace in knowing there is an eternity. Even that is a wee bit frightening because it's the "unknown"....however I get through that remembering that I am not suppose to understand but to have faith(trust for the things unseen) that I will be better than ok. In times like these (or other hard times) I feel encouraged to read more, pray more, get filled with the things that make my life at peace....God's promises. That way my cup is over flowing and I don't have room for anything else. I have a notebook that sometimes I don't get a chance to look at but most days I try with people to pray for...it helps me stay accountable to pray for those going through big things in their lives and I think the families of Newtown will be in there for a long long time. I have no room to even try to compare or grasp the depth of their pain...however I do know that there is power in prayer. I have seen it many times and recieved that blessing. I do believe that people praying for you will give you peace that comes only from God . It's hard to understand even as a Christian "why God did you let this happen"...but I have to remember(again no room to compare here....) that even when we do pray for things before they happen....things happen. There is room for free will in men.....and beyond that.....sometimes things happen. I struggled alot before Luke faced his surgery. I felt like I was undeserving of this in my life as I DID pray EVERY SINGLE DAY for my baby to be perfect and healthy and whole...and he wasn't. How do you explain that? How do you explain that prayer has power when that doesn't follow through the way you want it?? Well....you don't. In that moment it doesn't make sense...but in time you see why it happened....or maybe not why it did originally however you see the steps that took place through it all and it makes sense. For me(and now I feel even guiltier for saying this during this time...) I saw nothing but amazing things from God. He is not our halfway healer but our WHOLE healer and heals us completly whole and I believe that it will continue to be that way for Luke. For those families in Newtown....the explination is hard...there isn't one....but I do know that it is not OF God and it is not His will for things like this to take place. I feel like there is a point where you have to look ahead and say "ok it happened now what do we do" instead of sitting in the "this is a nightmare and can't be true" phase. For them...that will be a long time from now so in the meantime they need as many prayers and I and eveyrone else can pour out on to them. I don't remember this every happening when I was a child. And if it did...how do you explain it to your child and what do you say to their questions? I guess in that time I will deal with that then...but in the mean time I will talk to my boys about heaven...and let them know that is where we will all be together forever...and that if anything ever happened to find the happiness and Thank GOD there is an eternity for those that love him. My biggest struggle about going to heaven is who may or may not be there.  I can tell you I want EVERY SINGLE PERSON I KNOW THERE!! Especially my family and friends but even beyond that. It doesn't take much it only takes BELIEVING He exsists...and that He sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for your sins. Living a life with Christ is much easier(especially in hard times) than living it without Him....but I must say having to die without Him would be far worse. So whether it's now(I strongly suggest now) or later....at some point I hope you all recieve Him and His amazing grace. In the meantime I will do what I can with what I know while I'm here.

As for our sweet sweet "Luku"(Lane's new nickname for his brother...It use to be Lukie then just "key key" now Luku has evolved:) The appointment went great. I did better than expected and SO APPRICIATE the prayers and texts I recieved that morning. So glad my dad and sis were there. I was choking back the tears as we drove by the subway stops and got close to cellular field but once we passed that I sucked it up...helped my dad with direction and focused on getting to the bathroom to pee!! haha! Yes I had to pee so bad that was all I could really think about(Lord...you work in mysterious ways...thank you:) Once we got into the waiting room I met a super nice Lady with her little 6 month old daughter who had the same surgery(well not exact same...her's was the sagital suture but same incission, same doctors, same time frames etc..). I so wish I would have got her information. She was great and had an older daughter about Lanes age as well. That was great convo in the waiting room and then it was our turn to go in. My sister was playing peek a boo with Luke and was a great distraction. By the time I got back there I felt pretty strong about it all. The doctor said Luke's head is hard and the helmet wouldn't do him anymore good. He was very pleased with his perfect sized head but did point our a few flaws in the shape. He said there is two small areas where his head has "knobs" on it and as his head expands and grows over the years if they stay too dominate he would be able to shave down that bone and fix that. Again it would be a major surgery like before but not quite as invasive. I asked him if he has had to do that to other paitents and he said yes....however some paitents heads grow, their hair comes in, and you'd never even notice it. BUT if we did come 4, 5, 6 years of age this is a cosmetic surgery we could do to perfect his apperance. Of course my stomache hit the floor and my heart was in my throat but after talking it out with my dad(whose so encouraging and simple "he's not gonna need that" he said in his perfect dad telling you what to do voice) and my sister who went over it  a few times with me reminding me it's cosmetic...up to the parents....not necessary for his well being and reminding me of Lane and his head size and hair and how no head is perfect...I felt much better. Of course my response was "well I guess I know what to pray for then." Like I said before He is our complete healer. I thank God everyday that Luke's head is coming into perfect alignment and I truley and honastly feel a peace about his future. His next appointment is in June for his 1 year post surgery Ct scan to make sure his brain has the proper room it needs etc...Then once that is completled we will go back once a year for approximatly 5 years.

I am resting in God's faithfulness....I will be still and KNOW that he is God. That all is well for my child and I will be more thankful than ever before( I didn't think that was possible after what we went through and the thought of losing him) now that I have experienced witnessing and much greater pain when it comes to children. He is here, alive, well, and perfect in everyway. I AM SOOOO BLESSED even though we walked down a tough road for a while....it could always be worse. For the families in Newtown...however I don't think it could get any worse than where they are at today....and for that I will pray that they will establish a realationship with Christ and come to know his saving knowledge....so that someday they will see and hold those beautiful children again....for that is our eternity which is much longer than the 90-100 years we live here with them. Think of it...parent on earth for 60-80 years...important YES....seeing your family in heaven for eternity...MUCH MORE IMPORTANT. Cherish the time you have with the ones you love and remember to make that choice to have them FOREVER!