Home Sweet Home

Friends and Family:

As I mentioned in my last blog, this is the second of my two part update recapping the major events of this past week. As the title suggests, it was bliss to get to Home, Sweet Home!

We officially arrived back at 1039 Heathwood West Drive at 9:20 pm CST Wednesday June 16. Earlier in the day, Yvonne Ward (a precious friend to Mandy, Madison, and me) had driven over and placed pink and white balloons on our Rawls family flag that flies in front of our house. It was a gesture that was definitely not overlooked. I remember Madison was scheduled to eat at 9:00, so I sent Mandy in to begin her feed while I took my time bringing in the contents from the Camry. By the looks of it, you would have thought Samford and Son was moving back home from a three month mission trip or something. I can't be certain, by I am pretty sure I heard the back end of the car drag the ground a couple of times during the return trip (and don't be funny, because I was sitting up front driving)... We got errrrthing in a settled within a half hour, and we tried to be in bed by 11 because we had our first pediatrician appointment the next morning at 8:30 am. That stunk!! I wish I had the bank roll to have brought a couple of the VUMC nurses back to Cooke-Vegas with us to manage Madison night time needs. We didn't know it, but we were spoiled rotten with all that!!!

That 7:45 am alarm buzzed like a fog horn, and Mandy and I didn't know that having a new born basically doubled the amount of time you needed to leave the house. Needless to say, we were late but everybody at Cookeville Pediatric Associates was very understanding and sweet! Through recommendations from our closest friends in Cookeville, we identified Dr. Leslie Treece as Madison's Pediatrician. I could be wrong (and I usually am), but I don't think Mandy and I woke up until well into our sit in the waiting room. We finally met Dr. Treece, who was great and is perfectly suited for Madison's care. We explained our history, and Dr. Treece mapped out a plan leading to our return visit to VUMC on June 28.

Funny story of the day...

At VUMC, baby boys are given the acronym Bb (ex. Bb Smith), and baby girls are given the acronym Bu (ex. Bu Rawls). For the life of me, Mandy and I couldn't figure out why they didn't just use Bg, but I am sure they had their reasons. When Dr. Treece entered the room to meet us, she said "this must be boo", thinking we had named our daughter boo. Now, I have down some crazy things in my day, but naming my daughter boo might have just taken the cake. We all had a great laugh and explained why she saw "Bu" on her records. To funny right? I thought so too!

I am going to include a random story here to once again prove that God is using Madison's story in an awesome way. Mandy and I drove separate cars to Madison's Pediatric appointment so that I could stop by Kroger on the way home to fill Madison's prescription and pick up some things to nibble on around the house. I was walked around Kroger, in my pajama gear nonetheless, and I was approached by two different people who I didn't recognize at all. They proceeded to ask me "you're Mr. Rawls aren't you?" To which I replied, "it depends..." Not really, I responded yes, and they simply told me they were praying for my family and our daughter. One of the ladies goes to church with us, and I never identified how the other lady knows us. (NOTE - if you are reading this, and this sounds like you, drop us a comment cause we would love to know who you were) To wrap the story up, I was struck in Kroger about how God's really is using Madison to rally people in prayer to truly impact a life. I know I went on in detail about my beliefs about this a couple of blogs back, but this is just another small example of how real this truly is. God loves Madison, and one of the way God expresses His love for us is by our prayers for one another. Two wonderful ladies in Kroger confirmed this for me!!!

You know, the rest of the week is pretty much filled with doing this or that for Madison... and going here or there for Madison. I am not going to bore you all with those mundane details, but I will take the opportunity to mention a few observations we have made since returning home.

There is no other place on earth that can give you the peace home can!

Becoming a parent that loves and sacrifices everything for their child is the most rewarding thing a person can do with his or her life!

The peace of God truly does surpass human understanding!

Thank God for grandparents that still mesmerize us with sacrifice and help!!


Funny observations:


No person the size of Madison should poop that much!!!

Never take pain medicine on little or no sleep... ever heard of Night of the Living Dead? I am pretty sure I walked and talked like Frankenstein quite a few times since returning home.

Get over getting pooped and/or peed on. It happens!!!

What would happen if we ate every three hours?

I am jealous of the life Madison leads!!! Think about it...


Well, I am going to quit rambling for now. I will post again sometime soon. All I can ask is that you continue to ask God for healing and favor for the Rawls family. Madison is still facing another surgery and other medical complications we will probably go into further detail further down the road. However, make no mistake that she is an answer to prayer and an example of God's love, grace, and mercy!!!

Remember the bible teaches us we were made in the image of God, so Madison is beautiful and perfect in her own right! I can't wait to introduce her to many, many of you.

Thank you for your prayers!

All my love,

Dustin