Noah's thoughts these days....

"Mom, what are strawberrries made of?"

"Mom, what do girls eat?"

Well, I can't think of more brilliance than the raw inquiries of the four year old mind!

Praise the Lord!

Dear Praying People...from all over the world :),

God heard and answered your prayers in amazing ways.  Let's go...

- From Chinese herbs to Shaklee to mangosteen juice to cow colostrum to grapefruit seed extract, God used yo (those who brought these
treasures to my bedside) to blow what was confirmed to be Strep Throat out of the water! Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  A patient left w/o "treatment" for strep all weekend should not have been able to have surgery today w NO fever and NO throat pain or swollen glands!!!  The doctors and nurses were astounded!  Again, to God be the glory!
- When Dr. McNeely got in there to take a look at was supposed to be an ovary on the right side...well, for those a bi more squeemish, let's just say there pretty much wasn't one. That "little" grapefruit sized mother of all cysts ruptured that little ovary like it was coming after her babies...or something like that.  Ha! :)  So, once again God took care of that.  No decision to be made to make Dr. McNeely feel badly about taking the "little" ovary....it was all done. Doc just tidied up a bit in there...yes a big mess, but again I'll spare you more than that (Although, I must say Danny Frese thoroughly enjoyed the pictures the surgeon brought out to the waiting room for Mark and him to see....No surprise if you know Danny. :) and take the fallopian tube.
- On the left side, the cyst that Dr. McNeely had previously considered removing looked "okay" by his estimation and if God wanted to use that ovary for more kids, he thought he would just leave that for God to take care of...yay God! :)
- Did I forget to mention, NO CANCER!!!! Yes, Jehovah Rafa spared me! I am so overjoyed and giving Him the praise He is do.  Thank you for praying and praying and praying to HIM!!!

So there you have it....well, almost!

- Ok, so they come to the "pre-pre-op" room...yes there is such a thing. :)  They nurse who wheeled me back and forth on Friday was there once again to do the same and so sweet and delighted to see that I was feeling better and up for surgery!  However, before she got to me, I heard her ask Mark (outside the curtain) does Tina have a friend having surgery today, too?  He laughed and said, "No, I don't think so." The nurse pondered aloud in her beautiful Romanian accent, "Hmmm, that's funny because the lady next to where I am going to take you said to me, 'Oh, that must be my Tina!' and I said, 'You know her?' and she said she did [pronounced: "deed"]!"  Then the sweet nurse started to worry and asked if it would be awkward if we were placed next to someone we knew and we said we'll just have a party and she laughed and continued on the journey to meet this mystery person. When we arrived we were greeted with big hugs from my dear friend and former Community Bible Study cor leader, Michele Mascolo-Brown. (Some of you may know her or met her at a shower at Diana's house years ago.)  So there we were waiting together for her husband's herniated disc surgery and my whatever...God was so gracious to encourage us this way!!!
- Everywhere I seemed to turn, there were nurses and staff who knew Jesus!  How does this "just happen"?  After Mark prayed with me and said, "Goodbye." The male nurse said, "You are in good hands, not only ours, but His.  You will be just fine.  God will take care of you, but you already know that, right?"  I said, "Amen!" to that and was so joyful going in.

{Alright, I know you need this short novel to be done so you can take care of your home, eat dinner, bathe your children, mow your lawn, clean the garage, or just get off your computer, right...well, feel free and thanks for sticking it out this far. :)  For the rest of you,
really, I'm almost done! :) }

- In the recovery room, Nurse Carol Miller, goes to The Rock and has a son named Kevin who sounds like a godly guy who's a pre-med student. (All that info is for you, Rochel. :) Anyway, she shared her infertility journey very openly.  She had 2 miscarriages, was in the hospital with Kevin for 3 months before he was born, then had one miscarriage after, and that was it for her.  She desperately wanted to adopt, but shared how her husband wasn't on board so that's where it ended for them.  She told me I HAVE to adopt a little Hispanic girl to complete our family for Seth...Hispanic bookends in her mind I guess....OOPS, is it bad that Mark will receive this news via email to the world.  Well, it's all about grace, right, Babe! :)

In closing, today has been one of the best days of my life!  I feel our Savior's and your love and prayers enveloping me...oh and my door is about to be beaten down...kids r home...I'll finish more soon! :)

I'm back and Mark is finishing the tucking in/bedtime routine that Diana so graciously started a little bit ago.  So thank you to all of you who helped today w/ kids!  Thanks, Angela for taking Seth to school!  Thanks, Chris, for feeding Noah breakfast and taking him to school!  Thanks, Bucky, for letting Chloe and Abby play and delivering Chloe to Diana.  Diana, thanks for picking up Noah from school and having all the kids hang out, have dinner, baths, etc., and bringing them home tonight!  Thanks, Rob & Cheryl, for picking up Seth from school and doing whatever fun stuff you all did to wear out that boy!
;)  God has so richly blessed us with friends such as you!

Here's the deal for the week..ish...

Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 12th:

- 8 a.m - 12:30ish p.m. Kathy Locke picks up Seth for home school and
playing and drops him off at Diana's for a nap. (Diana Menne: 839
Pinecrest St., Esc. 92025, 760.745.2698)
- 8 a.m. - 1ish p.m. Kirsi Turbedsky picks up Noah & Chloe  and drops
them off at Diana's. (See above info for Diana.)
- 3:30ish p.m. Chris Detrich picks up kids from Diana
- 5:30ish p.m. Chris brings kids home for dinner

Wednesday, May 13th:

- 7:15 a.m. Seth is dropped off to ride to school w/ McGlassons
- 7:20 a.m. Noah is dropped off to ride to school w/ Detrichs
- 8 a.m. Chloe is picked up by Jamie Wheeler and may or may not be
back for a nap.
- 11:30 a.m. Noah is picked up from Calvin Christian Preschool by
Jamie Wheeler and may or may not be back for a nap
- 2:30 p.m. Lauri Thomas plays "mom" for Seth and gets him from Mrs.
Dereck's class to baseball
- 3:45 p.m. Betsy Yphantides will be picking up Seth and bringing him
home by bedtime.

Thursday, May 14th:

- All Day... Kristen Kitabjian will pick up all 3!  Go, Kristen!!!!

Whew!  Once again, if you got all the way here, you get the "super
duper friend award"!

If you can open the attachment, feel free to do a jig to the Lord!

Let Everything Praise the Lord
Psalm 150

Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent
greatness!

Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!

Love & praise to our Savior Jesus Christ,
Tina

Jehovah Rafa

Happy Mother's Day!  

Here I sit with my sweet Jehovah Rafa, the God who heals, who will never leave me or forsake me.  Mark is at church and the children are still in Palm Springs with Grammy so I can rest and recover from a fever, sore throat, swollen glands, and ear aches...hoping to be cleared for surgery tomorrow.  Yes, surgery.  A week ago, I was experiencing pain, difficulting breathing, and nausea.  Blood tests, urine analysis, chest x-rays, abdominal x-rays, ultrasounds, and an MRI were performed within a matter of two days...which is a miracle in and of itself.  Praise Jehovah!  The findings are a large tumor (7 cm round) in my right ovary and little cysts on the left.  Once this was confirmed and he saw me on Thursday, May 7th, Dr. Kevin McNeely (my ob/gyn since soon after Mark and I were married and moved to San Diego) believed that it was necessary to get the tumor out as quickly as possible and scheduled the surgery for the next morning, Friday, May 8th at 11:15 a.m.  

I checked in at the hospital at 9 a.m. on Friday with a temperature of 102.4.  The nurse immediately called Dr. McNeely to see if he wanted to go forward with the surgery and he said it was an "emergency" so we needed to proceed.  Graciously, I was continually provided with warm blankets, but it never seemed to be enough.  I was just shivering.  Rondi Lauterbach, our pastor's wife, came to visit us, read scripture to us, and pray with us.  What  a blessing she was for our souls!  One of the passages she read was Psalm 121.  This is the same Psalm the Lord had led me to bring to the prophecy mic on Sunday, April 26th.  Then Tom White brought it to our "Beautification Committee" meeting on Tuesday, April 28th.  After that on Thursday, May 7th, Laura Fierro came over to our home, anointed me with oil, prayed for me, and you guessed it, one of the scriptures she read me was Psalm 121.  So, in a matter of less than 2 weeks, God brought Psalm 121 to me 4 times.  I shared this little story via email with some family and friends and would you believe within that same time frame, God had brought it to my mom, Danielle, and Kei Laliberte!

Because I'm getting tired and need to rest up before the kids are delivered by my mother-in-law, Joanne Hemingway, I'm going to take the easy way out and cut and paste the latest updates that I emailed to some friends and family...

1st Update:

Hi, Friends!

Thanks so much to those of you who have already jumped in and sprang
into action to help me over the past couple days!

Here's the scoop:

-After a bunch of tests yesterday and an ultrasound & MRI today, a 7
cm mass was found in my right ovary & a bunch of cysts on my left.

-It is necessary to take out the right ovary asap...most likely
tomorrow, but if I am in too much pain, they'll do it tonight.

-Urgent Care is working on tracking down my beloved Dr. Kevin McNeely
(ob/gyn who has been w/ me since newlywed & walked through infertility
& Noah & did Chloe's C-section).

-I am praying that Dr. McNeely will be able to do the surgery.

Help needed w/ kids:

Thursday, May 7th
9 a.m Diana Menne will have the kids (Are you able to keep them for
lunch & naps?)

3 or 4ish p.m. need someone to relieve Diana (839 Pinecrest Street,
Escondido is her address)

5 or whenever my kids will need dinner & a place to hang until we can get them

Friday, May 8th
All Day: Chloe needs a place
____7:50 a.m. Chris D. takes Noah to school
____9 a.m. Seth needs a ride to TCA (Laurie Rawson, would you be able
to swing by & pick him up?)
____9:50 a.m. Seth needs someone to be there at TCA when his class dismisses
____10:30 Seth needs to be dropped off at Tennis at the Escondido
Fitness Center (Lincoln & Escondido)
____11:30 Seth needs to be picked up from Tennis
____11:30 Noah needs to be picked up from preschool at Calvin
Christian (Broadway & Vista)
____12:30 Seth needs to be dropped off at Reidy Creek golf course
____1:30 Seth needs to be picked up from golf

Afternoon...
____Seth 1:30 - ?
____Noah 11:30 - ?
____Chloe ?

Late Afternoon/Evening...

Hopefully, my mother-in-law will be here & Mark will be able to get off early.

Sorry I don't have any more details about myself...length of stay,
time of surgery, recovery expectations, etc.

Thank you all for your prayers and care!  Please feel free to forward
this to anyone. :)

Love to you all & thanking Jesus for you,
Tina

2nd Update:

Hi, Friends & Family!

Well, I am home, but not because the surgery* was a smashing success
and the most beautiful thing you could imagine.... :)  As you may
know, I have had a fever, sore throat, swollen gland, & ear ache.  On
a normal day that's no biggie and you just push through, right.  Well,
what started as smooth sailing as I was prepped for surgery w/ IV,
sticker monitors, leg massagers, a lovely plastic air bubble heating
blanket, and just about to have the marker taken to my abdomen for a
little art work, everything came to a halting stop when the
anesthesiologist looked at how swollen my throat was, combined w/ the
fact of having a fever.  She was gravely concerned about extubating
the breathing tube and painted possible scenarios of the complications
leading to being in the ICU on an ventilator for a week or more or
even a chance of death.  Well, I knew my doctor believed that the
surgery was "emergency" status (due to the risk of having the tumor
burst and all the complications that may bring) because when the
check-in nurse called to report my fever to him, he didn't even
hesitate and said that we needed to move forward and get the tumor
out.  So, my vote was to trust God and go for.  Mark was not thrilled
w/ my opinion, but spent some time praying about it.  Meanwhile, more
doctors start showing up around the bed.  I almost thought we were in
an episode of ER with a great dramatic debate going on right before my
eyes, but it was so strange to think this was real life.  Ha! :)
After many opinions were share by the 3 concerned anesthesiologists,
my doctor caved...what else could he do.  So, because he is so
adorable he is willing to come in on his days off tomorrow (Sat.) or
even Sunday (Mother's Day) if the pain becomes too great and we have
to take action.  My anesthesiologist stepped up and asked him to call
her as well and said she would do the same!  Wow!  That's when I
really knew they were genuine about their concern and care and not
just covering themselves for liability purposes.  At this point, we
have the surgery scheduled for Monday, May 11th at 10:30 a.m.  So here
is the scoop regarding help...

Today:

- A big THANKS to Chris Detrich, Kelly Trader, Laurie Rawson,
Christina Norwood, and Jenna Shirley for shuffling everyone around and
caring so lovingly for the Gist kids!!!
- At the hospital we had visits from Rondi Lauterbach and Danny Frese.
 Thanks, Danny for your patience while we were tucked away for what
seemed like hours only to find out we were leaving and thanks for
blessing Mark with a Chipotle lunch!  Rondi shared Psalm 121 (as well
as other scriptures :) and I was so blessed by God's specific care as
this is one more example of God's overwhelming care.  In a matter of
12 days now, Psalm 121 has been brought by 4 of us at Grace Church
because of the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  Some may remember when I
read it at the prophecy mic on April 26th, then Tom White shared it at
a "beautification committee" meeting at church on April 28th, the
Laura Fierro came over yesterday and read it to me at my bedside, and
finally today, Rondi was led by the Spirit to bring it to me in the
hospital.  Wow!  God is such a personal, caring, loving God.  Praise
be to Him...from where our help comes! :)
- Currently, the kids are off in Palm Springs with Mark's mom (Joanne
Hemingway) and getting to swim and have a great, fun, adventuresome
diversion from all this craziness from now until Sunday afternoon.
- I have been "ordered" by Dr. McNeely to stay in bed, drink lots of
fluids, and take my vitamins until it's time to leave for surgery.
(I'm cheating just a little to update you all, but from now on I will
check my email on my phone and follow doctor's orders. :)

Sunday:

- I will sadly miss sharing in Mother's Day at Grace Church, but know
that God is doing His thing and He is so good that I must trust His
divine care and love for me.

Monday:

- We will drop off Seth to the McGlassons about 7:15 a.m.
- We will drop off Noah at the Detrichs about 7:20 a.m.
_____ Chloe needs a spot for the morning.
- Diana Menne will pick up Noah from preschool at 11:30 and take him
back to her house for lunch/nap.
_____ Chloe needs to be dropped off at Diana's for nap time and
possibly for lunch if that works better for other's schedules.
_____ Seth needs to be picked up at The Classical Academy, 2950 South
Bear Valley Parkway, Escondido, CA 92025, 760.546.0101, and dropped
off at Diana's unless someone wants a play date w/ him.
- All 3 kids will do the rest of the evening (dinner/baths/pjs) w/ Diana.
- Diana will bring them home to be put to bed.
_____ In case we happen to not be home yet, is there someone who could
stay with the kids at our house from about 8 p.m. - ?  Lord-willing,
if all goes well, we won't be spending the night at the hospital.  If
we do, it would be nice to have a back-up plan for that...meaning you
could have the kids stay at your house or stay at our house for the
night...either is fine w/ us.

Whew, are you overwhelmed yet?  If you made it this far in the email,
you are definitely a true friend!!!  Thanks for your love, care, &
prayers for us during this time.

May Psalm 121 bring encouragement to your heart in whatever God is
doing with you right now!

My Help Comes from the Lord
A Song of Ascents.

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.

The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

Much love & gratitude,
Tina