The End?

It's been over a year since Benjamin's diagnosis and surgery and almost one year since he graduated out of the helmet. I've kept this blog up to record memories for Benjamin to have one day. But thankfully, we are at the end of his cranio story.

If you look back at posts from May of 2007 you will see the anxiousness of a mother as she awaited the arrival of her new son.

Not long after that, you will see the exhaustion of motherhood taking over, as well as the frustration of having a difficult baby.

In November and December of 2007 you will see the uncertainty of a family as we faced a never before heard of diagnosis and the doubt and fears of a major surgery on our sweet six month old.

There are times of joy, or praise, of thanksgiving too.

One of my prayers is that through this blog, you will see our faith. A faith that carried us through the hard, dark, and uncertain times. A faith that made our joy and praise richer than ever. Look past the doubt of this mother, and see the hand of Benjamin's Creator as it moves through our lives.

My other prayer is that this blog would be used as a resource for parents who have children facing the same diagnosis as Benjamin faced. It's scary! Craniosynostosis is a big word that I had never heard of. If you are a parent of a cranio kid, you're not alone! On the sidebar of Benjamin's Blog is his story, as told through this blog. And the best part is that there's a happy ending!

And if you have a cranio kid, please feel free to contact me at kierstynkrajca@hotmail.com for more encouragement. Or just leave a comment, so I know you were here.

This picture was taken today, of my beautiful, blue eyed, cranio kid!! How far God has brought us and I praise Him for how good He has been to us!

Thank you to all our friends and family who have supported and encouraged us on this journey. You mean more to us then we can express!


God is good all the time, all the time, God is good!!!

Benjamin's Story of God's Faithfulness

I posted on our family blog about my new "hobby", making books on-line. My first attempt at making a book came after I got word that Snapfish was giving away a free book. I jumped on, confirmed the information, and decided I wanted to make a book of Benjamin's journey. Obviously, he won't remember any of the things he went through, as we dealt with his cranio. I wanted him to have something tangible, something that contained some of my thoughts and prayer. A place where I could record some of the scripture I prayed over him. One place where I could record the song I sang to him while he was in PICU. I had toyed with the idea of putting it all in his scrapbook, but didn't want the whole cranio thing to be the main focus of his first year.

It was hard to put all those things in one place. It was hard to go through all the pictures again, and have the memories flood my thoughts again. I laughed, I cried, I prayed, praising God for how well Benjamin is now.

Finally, I was happy with the end product, and I went to order it, only to find out that I had missed the deadline for a free book by one day. I was so upset!! This wasn't just any book, this was my heart. But it was a month before Christmas, and I wasn't about to pay full price for something I didn't need.

Well, my Mom, being ever so sneaky, figured out how to get onto my Snapfish account, and ordered the book for me for Christmas! I was so excited! And it's beautiful. I love the way it all came together. It really meant to world to me, and I was so thankful that once again, my mom saw a need and met it for me.

So here's parts of Benjamin's story book.

the cover

One of my favorite pages, the grandparents with Benjamin.

Gotta love the helmet pictures!!!

And the verse that comforted me so much, the verse that I prayed over Benjamin, and the verse I claim for him... Psalm 71.

Though the book was really hard to put together, I'm thankful for this book. I'm thankful for the reminder of God's love, goodness, grace, peace and most of all, faithfulness. He took something so very scary, so very hard, and worked it for His glory and our good.

The last page of Benjamin's book says, "God is good all the time. All the time, God is good."

Amen, and amen!

A good report

Isn't this a sweet face???
Yesterday we made the familiar trek to Austin to see Dr. Aronin, Benjamin's neuro surgeon. We have to go every six month, just to check in, make sure the hole in his head is closing up, make sure his development is on track, share any concerns, all that good stuff. Benjamin's appointment went very well. He is doing great, is on track, has a shrinking hole in his head.... life's good! We'll go back again in August, just to check in again.

At this stage in the game, we expect to hear good reports. But we never take them for granted. There are so many things that could have gone wrong, that could still go wrong, and we are thankful that God has given Benjamin such a remarkable recovery. He is so good to us!

Right Back

As I'm driving, on the same road I drove to and from Austin so many times, I get hit with that old familiar feeling, and I'm right back where I was.

While standing in church, training the two older kids, the words of a song will penetrate, " All my trust on Thee is stayed, All my help from Thee I bring; Cover my defenseless head With the shadow of Thy wing." and I'm right back where I was.

A picture.

A conversation.

Getting a glimpse of his scar.

Any of these things can take me right back to where I was. To those hours in the waiting room, when all I could do was pray, hope and wait, longing to hold my baby. To those moments in the PICU when I was so scared, so worried, so overwhelmed with emotions. To the moment when we got to go home! When we received good report, after good report. To all the exhausting trips to Austin and back. So many moments. Some good, some bad.

The road we've traveled has not always been easy (isn't that just life?). This road hasn't always been filled with the joy that I long for. But this isn't a road we've had to walk on alone. Every step of the way, our Savior has been with us; guiding us, protecting us, encouraging us, strengthening us. And that makes all those other moments worth it, knowing that I am now walking a closer walk with my Savior.