Our life is nothing short of an adventure...

Wind in our hair and screams of delight but also unpredictable turns and unknown outcomes. We are a family of six; Dave, Susie, Nate, Jake, Sam, and Bella.

God has been faithful in our marriage and through the birth and blessings of our boys.

God has been faithful during our adoption journey and united Bella with us in May of 2008. We were privileged to visit with Bella's birth mother; therefore, Bella's family in Guatemala will always be dear to our hearts.

On October 16, 2008, Bella was diagnosed with ALL Leukemia. We are now battling the disease with 2 years and 3 months of treatment. We believe God will continue to be faithful!

Our family is committed to living life to the fullest...even on the hard days. Thank you for checking in and journeying with us!


Monday, November 10, 2008

FIRE AND MORE!


Note to self, never leave a toaster oven when in use.


The result is melted to the pan.


Mom, are you serious...YES! And the funny thing is, she will keep these hats on, but not her bows or head bands. I wish I captured the smile she gave when I put it on her. Thank you Alex, Sam and Rachel for the adorable hat. Mom LOVES it!


This is Bella's new "bed head". This is why I say it has a new texture. She has smooth as silk hair and now it rats so easily. Oh my eighties girl.
All bundled up for a walk with friends.

Today started with the boys being home from school for a "in service day" and Bella having her chemo apt. Because it was also the house cleaning day, they would have to go with Bella and I to the hospital....so off we went. Fortunately, Bella did not need a transfusion today, so we were out in 2 hours. Get this, Bella gained 4 lbs. over the weekend! She eats non-stop, and I mean non-stop. She is rarely out of her high chair before her little hands are signing "more". This is an effect of the steroid and the doctors encourage her eating as she will lose weight in the coming months. More on Bella to come.

So finding humor in everything is a must in my family. We have been blessed with meals coming to our home 3 nights a week, one of which is Monday (clinic day). By 6:30 pm the meal had still not arrived and my boys were starving. So I decided we could wait no longer and quickly pulled out hamburg meat and taco shells. I had my 11 year old cooking the meat, my 9 year old entertaining Bella and I was trying to direct my 9 year old and my 11 year old in what they needed to do while answering a phone call from my Dad. Can you guess what happened next? I was standing right in front of the toaster oven talking with my Dad and I see my 13 year old flailing his arms yelling "Mom...Mom....MOM!" I continued to give him this look like "Nate, I am on the phone, hold on a minute". I finally turned to what he was pointing to and discovered the toaster oven was flaming..."Oh my gosh Dad, the toaster oven is on fire, I got to go!" Click... I completely forgot about the taco shells. The house looked like we had been running the fog machine all night, our home stinks like burnt popcorn, it snowed today and we have all the doors and windows open trying to get all the smoke and stink out, and now we have no taco shells. I quickly grabbed the toaster oven after putting out the fire inside, took it outside and just stared at it. With in seconds, my boys were out side with me, their was a brief moment of disbelief, Nate said "Mom, it looked like our gas log fireplace (and it did) and than a rousing boast of laughter. It was a scene directly out of a Steve Martin movie. We ended up having Nachos for dinner as the taco shells were now permanently part of my toaster oven. To say the least, a toaster oven is on my Christmas list. Any suggestions? (Candy....how do I get the smell out of my house? :) )

Bella, sweet little girl. I so appreciate all the prayers. She had her 3rd round of chemo this week. Her hair is now beginning to thin on top, it even has a different texture. Over the weekend, the "steroid monster" showed his ugly face and she was quit agitated and grouchy as well as VERY hungry. Like I said, she gained 4 lbs in 3 days. The doctor assures me that this will not last, good thing I purchased her cloths bigger for the long winter. She was very tired today, and she still will not stand or walk....she is so weak and her legs still hurt a little.

Tomorrow, a special friend and professional photographer will be taking photos of Bella and our family. We have not had any professional photos of Bella yet nor our family since she come home. I figured this was a good time, bef0re the hair was gone. My heart is still struggling over the loss of hair...but oh the joy all these hats have brought me. My husband say's, "honey, don't you think those are a little over the top?" Are you kidding me?! When you lose your hair, nothing is over the top. I love every one of these hats and I thank all of you profusely for your generosity and kind hearts for sending these to Bella. She also received an adorable bracelet with her name on it.

As always, I appreciate you checking in. God bless, and dont walk away from your toaster oven.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

You and your family are in my prayers!!!!! OMG i have burnt sooooooooo many things in the oven but i dont own a toaster oven and a good thing cuz i'd catch something on fire!

You have a beautiful family!

Hugs,Leslie

Vanessa said...

ROFL!! I wish I could tell you how to get rid of the smell but if I'm thinking of the same Candy you're thinking of she'll know!! LOL

PS said...

I don't usually sign in and post, but here goes. When we paint rooms and there is 'that smell', we put big buckets of cold water out in the house and fill the sinks & bathtub with water, then leave them for a few hours to absorb the odors. I would do this and leave for a few hours, then return and empty them and the smell will go down the drain with the water. Make sure Bella is secure, as buckets are so tempting. Repeat the process as needed. I hope this helps and have a great day! Love, Pam

demp5 said...

Susie,
You are so fun! I loved reading your post and knowing that you can laugh in the midst of all this :) It sounds like just another day in the Ferrick family . . . Have a blessed week, and know that we continue to lift you all up!!
Meghan

Gail said...

The toaster story is pretty funny. I love the picture of the permanent taco shells.
I am continuing to pray for all of you.
Gail

Alex and Sam said...

susie...
even with everything going on, the fact that you can maitain a sense of humor makes me admire your strength.... i am laughing at the fire incident... I burnt the handle of a pan othe other day & my husband who is a fireman by career says.. I cant stand that smell & put the pan in the yard..I am so happy that bella likes the hat..i was laughing at your Dh's comment, mine would say the same..
praying as always

alex, sam & rachel

Mama Bear said...

OH MY GOODNESS, what an experience. So incredibly happy that nothing but the smell and loss of taco's came out of it! Sorry, no advice either on the smell part!!!

Keeping Bella in our prayers....
Rhonda

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to remind you that I care about you and what you are going thru. You're hysterical!

Standing with you and watching in awe.....

Cheri said...

Susie....Mom is here and we have much experience with "burnt smell in home." She says put a cup of vinegar on the cabinet and it should draw the smell out of the room. In your case, you may need a whole quart on the counter!!! I love you, friend. Mom is letting Malae drink Diet Coke! I thought she would hate it but she is my daughter. She is saying, "Drink, drink, drink." Wish we were together to hang out! I miss you so much! CHeri

Barb said...

Humor is great for the soul and for family and friends to see and hear, and sure helps the stress that builds up. The hats are too perfect and Bella look great in all of them....but then she would look good no matter what she wears. We just had our family picture taken...they all turned out great...18 of us....10 were grandchildren and 8 adults!!! The hardest part is picking out the one we like best...they were all good. Hugs again from this grandpa and grandma...and smile and say cheese.

Cec and Barb Harkema

Susie said...

Oh my gosh you terrified me with the title "fire and more"! Don't do that to me! I'm so glad it was just the toaster oven. My mind was racing as I was waiting for the blog to open to get the scoop!

I love that you find humor in tough situations. I do the same thing, and many times that's all that gets me through the day. I love Bella's hats too. I'm trying to figure out a way to make one, but I'm finding that I'm not as creative as I thought, so Ebay or Etsy it is! hee hee

Enjoy your family photo shoot--they will capture this moment in time and you will forever cherish the memory. Love to all--

The other other Susie

Rebekah said...

Oh how I hate to chuckle over a fire but the toaster photos did make me laugh ... and of course the picture of sweet Bella in her beautiful hat made me smile as well! She is as cute as ever and I pray that she feels better soon ... poor baby! No child should have to go through all she has in such a short time ...

I do look forward to your family photos!

God Bless!

Rebekah Clark

Svetlana said...

What a story, i learn very quicly, to listen to my kids wile i am on the phone, as sometimes i forget or my kids do some crazzy things.

We do hate steroid to, my daughter Anna is on it too, she gained wait so quickly in one week, then we decited just trying to do more exsersizing, as she wants to go back to gymnastics. We did ask our dr. to cut on it so dosen't have to take as much.
We praying for you !!
Sveta

Brian and Jenifer said...

I laughed out loud as I read your desciption of this event. I can only laugh about it because we have had similar situations. (Our old toaster oven would spontaneously turn on if left plugged in...) Anyway, I am glad all is well aside from a bit of "popcorn smell". How special to have those pictures taken tomorrow. I will pray that Bella is free of discomfort and able to share some of her BEAUTIFUL smiles. She is SUCH a sweetie!
I'm praying for you, dear friend...
Love, Jenifer

Chris and Lindsey Wheeler said...

Oh Susie, what a day!!! I am so sorry....you must be beyond exhausted!!! I can't wait to see the pictures.....I know they will be breathtaking. Praying constantly for you and sweet Bella. I want Eliana and her to play!

Love,
Lindsey

Joe and Erin said...

Sus, you are definitely the daughter of Nancy Harmon .. but with Mom it was always eggs that got burned and stunk up the whole kitchen. I have memories of coming home from work and the house reeking of smoke and burned eggs. Love you!

Mary Ann said...

SUSIE,
I AM GLAD TO HEAR THAT BELLA DID NOT NEED ANOTHER BLOOD TRANSFUSION!
THIS IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING TO BE THANKFUL FOR! BUT THE FIRE MADE ME LAUGH ONLY BECAUSE I HAVE 5 KIDS AND THINGS LIKE THAT ARE ALWAYS HAPPENING AROUND HERE! pRAYING FOR YOU ALL!LOTS OF LOVE!

3 Peanuts said...

I just learned of your family and I am praying for you and your adorable little Bella. I wish total healing and strength for you all.

Kim

hannah said...

I just wanted you to know that I have been following your blog and your family is in my thoughts and prayers daily. I added your link to our blog so people could be praying and also put you on our prayer list. So, you have another prayer warrior praying for you.

Love in Christ
Hannah

Robyn said...

I had a toaster fire many years ago. My mom didn't think it was too funny at the time, but now we can laugh about it. :)

I am continuing the prayers for Bella!!

Stacy said...

That is so funny Susie! I used the fire extinguisher on our oven once!! Fun stuff! Can't wait to see your pictures!
Stacy

Michelle Riggs said...

Yeah! I am so glad that Bella gained 4 pounds! You are going to be so happy that she gained weight this month.

Abby is still loosing weight. Scary.

Praying for you all. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement.