Dan Gould

Category: Family

  • What a Day – Family Fun, Cussing, and a Seizure

    Yesterday started as any normal Friday does, everyone sleeping in a little, before the day get off to a start.  Stephanie had the pleasure of having lunch with Kristy who has been a huge encouragement and blessing to our family, while I had the pleasure of hanging out with the boys at Chick-fil-A FOREVER.  No it wasn’t that bad.  The boys had so much fun!

    From there we went to visit one of our students in the hospital.  If you will join us in praying for Brittany Stene, that would be awesome.  Brittany for the last year has been battling cancer and now has to battle a blood clot in/near her heart.  Praying with and hearing their story made Jackson seem very healthy.  Just reemphasizes that everyday is a gift from God, and one that should be cherished, enjoyed, and put to good use making the most of the opportunities presented.  I don’t know all that is in store for Brittany, but i do know that God is growing her faith and using her to grow the faith of her mother as well.

    Since we were in North Dallas, we decided to make our 2nd visit to North-park Mall.  This time was much different than the first visit in the fact that you could park, and walk through the mall peacefully.  We ate at PF Changs which has become one of our families favorite restaurant.  The boys love the chicken fried rice.  As we walked the mall, we did hit up some stores.  I found a good deal on some sweat pants that I wanted to try on before I bought them.  I take Josiah to the dressing room with me and as we are talking I am trying on the sweat pants, without missing a beat Josiah looks at my sweat pants and says, “Dad, you can’t buy those they are to f****** long!” . . . . . . . . yeah, that’s what I did also.  I thought maybe I had not heard him correctly so I asked him to repeat what he said!  Yep, he said exactly what I thought he said.  I know what you’re thinking, Yes, I am a pastor, and yes, he is a pastors kid.  I told him that’s a bad word and we don’t talk like that.  I tried to get him to tell me where he heard that but he couldn’t answer.  So, we are in the process of evaluating how and where he could be picking up language like this!

    Once we got home, we put the boys down for bed and then Jackson decided to have a seizure.  This is the first time that I felt like I knew what to do.  Jackson’s seizure only lasted for 3-4 minutes, it’s still 3-4 minutes to long.  After his seizure was over we took him to the ER at Centennial where he had another smaller seizure as we were walking in.  The doctors were great.  They put him on oxygen and gave him some Valium.  After 3 hours we were able to go home.  We don’t know what the nexts steps are.  Jackson has had a seizure every month at the first of the month now the last three months.  We thought we were one the up and up, but I guess we now have more questions that still need to be answered.  The Good news, Jackson is back to his normal self and already getting in to things he is not supposed to.  Please continue to pray for us as we continue the journey of finding out why he is having repeated seizures and/or get his medication under control!

  • Jesus Loves ME this I know . . .

    Do you remember the song?  When Josiah was real little, this is the song that I would sing to him as I was putting him to sleep, or trying to calm him down.  Last night Jackson was having a terrible time trying to go to sleep.  I think he has some teeth coming in that is really causing him to be fussy.  So as I laid in bed holding him I started singing Jesus loves me. Within seconds, Josiah who was laying next to us, started singing also.  We must have sung the song several times and each time I was reminded of how deep and true those word are.  It made me think of the random text that a student sent me and others last night that said , Jesus love you!  Not only did I sing the song to Jackson to calm him down, I needed those words and the reminder yesterday also and it brought peace and comfort to me as well!

    Today is a new day, remember that Jesus love YOU!

  • Lessons for a 4 year old: Stealing is Wrong

    Today, we took Jackson to get some test run and while we were there Josiah played with the toys in the waiting room like always.   No big deal right!  Well when we got home I happened to notice that Josiah had a car from the doctors office.  When I saw the car I asked him how it got home with us?  He said, “I put it in my pocket because I wanted it.”  As I looked at him, I was saddened that he would do this, but knew it was a teaching moment.  We talked through why it was wrong for him to take the car and how we needed to take the car back after Christmas.  I know there will need to be some follow up conversations because after he figured out we weren’t taking the car back until after Christmas his next question was, “well can I play with it until we give it back?”

    Being a Dad is a big responsibility.  As our boys grow up it is going to cause us to really watch how we raise them by what we model, and teach with our actions and words.  I don’t believe Josiah thought anything was wrong with him taking the car, but the lesson is one that I would rather teach earlier than later.

  • Friday Frenzy

    After a rough start we ended up having a great day yesterday as a family.  We took Jackson to an allergist to rule out or find out if he was allergic to anything that could be causing him to have pneumonia so often.  If you have never taken your child to an allergist be thankful, after the pokes were finally done he did ok!  We found out the he has no allergies but the things that were high were dogs and cats.  We have both!  The doctor said we didn’t have to get rid of them though, that was was good news.

    The rest of the afternoon was filled with lunch, a little shopping (very little praise Jesus), a haircut for Stephanie (is that what women call it) and then off to see Santa.

    I have to say, the Village at Allen has the best place for  Santa, filled with, real reindeer, elves and a large fake Christmas tree!  There are several place to take other photos also.  Next year we will go here to take Christmas Card pics unless we use the tree at Grace.  Lucky for us it was in the 70’s yesterday so it was perfect to be outside and wait in line to have pictures taken with the Jolly old Man.  If we were to do it again, we would go a night so you don’t see the cars in the background through the fireplace.  You probably don’t notice it but that what happens when you have a perfectionist mentality!   We ended the day at Pete Pipers Pizza, which is like Chuck E Cheese and got home to open a package full of Christmas Gifts for the boys from my MOM, Grandma Sheila!

    We are getting ready for Christmas, family coming in, and Christmas less than a week away.  I have been asked to be Joseph for the Nativity this year so I have been growing out the facial hair, (I hate it).  I have my first rehearsal today at 1pm.  Hate the beard but excited to do it!

    Here are some pics from our adventures.

  • A Sad Celebration

    Today was Josiah’s Christmas Party at Grace.  This year has been a hard year for him given all the things that have been happening around him.  The party was filled with Cake, juice, presents and parents.  The kids had such a good time.  Afterward, Mrs. Janet passed out gifts, I expected a little gift but Josiah walked away with a little Bible, a transformer, and a snow globe Manger.  Mrs. Janet and Mrs. Erin really went out of their way to make this party special for each kid.  Thank you so much!!!!

    However, today marked the last day that Josiah will have Mrs. Janet as his teacher.  He has taken it really well so far, and even though she was dying on the inside she held her composure today.  It had to be hard for her because her love for these kids oozes out of her.  As a parent, I have seen Josiah learn so much just from Mrs. Janet’s way of teaching, especially the Bible Stories!  The next teacher has some big shoes to fill.  Mrs. Janet will be greatly missed!

    Thank you Mrs. Janet for your faithful service to Grace Community Church and the “Funky Frogs”!!!

  • Christmas DVD

    For the last couple of years we have made a DVD of pictures with music in the back ground to give to family members as Christmas Gifts.  This years dvd will be no different but it will include a section titled Hospital.  It was pretty hard to make when I realize how many times we have been there with Jackson.  I am excited about the DVD but this section was challenging!

  • Pneumonia Again and a Blast from the Past

    That’s right Jackson now has pneumonia for the 3rd time this year.  Luckily we caught it before it got to bad and needed to be in the hospital.  He seems to be doing better already.  We picked up a battery operated nose aspirator from Wal-Mart yesterday and it has been amazing so far.  However, it is gross when the clear cup fills up with green snot after sucking a kids nostril.

    On another note, while working on my talk for this weekend, I had a music shuffle going on through itunes and came across a song that believe it or not, played a huge role in my transformation at age 18.  Music has a powerful way to influence us whether we want to admit it or not.  I found a video on youtube with the song.  Listen and Enjoy! (Warning, it is a rap song, so don’t hurt yourself bobbin you head or waving your arms in the air like ya just don’t care!)

  • Back Again!!

    Well today marked our 5th ER visit with Jackson since early September.  We really thought that we were moving past this, but it just goes to show that at anytime things can change so much.  Jackson was completing a follow-up sleep study from his surgery that removed his tonsils and adenoids.  While there he had about a 3-5 minute seizure.  He was taken to Plano Presby for follow-up evaluation.  The only bad thing is he still has the electrodes on his head from the sleep study.  We have tried to get them off but those things are like super glued on his head and the Baby Shampoo Presby said would take it out didn’t work, nor did peanut-butter, and Vitamin E oil hasn’t worked to well either.

    Other than that Jackson is doing fine now, and the family is sleeping.  All of us have been up since 1:30am this morning.  The only reason I am able to stay awake right now is I had coffee this morning.  Don’t ask, I am not a coffee drinker, but I saw some old guys drinking it and was inspired to have a cup.  That’s all it took since I have not had caffeine since early October.

    We have had the unfortunate opportunity now of seeing every Hospital in Plano, Allen, and Frisco.  If I had to rate them on our experience, Stephanie and I would have to say that Children’s Medical Center in Plano has been by far the best with Centennial Medical Center in Frisco being a close second.  Both of these places have provided excellent care to Jackson and given us quick info and results.  Here is what our list would look like from best to worst care and experience.  Please keep in mind we have never had to wait in any ER waiting room at any of these hospitals.  This is based strictly on the care we felt was provided

    1. Children’s Medical Center Plano – great ER, great Nurses, great overnight staff, ok food (2 ER visits, 2 nights stay)
    2. Centennial Medical Center Frisco – great ER, great Nurses, great overnight staff, ok food (1 ER visit, 1 night stay)
    3. Medical Center Plano – old facility, decent care, not good food (2 days and 1 night stay)
    4. Plano Presby – Less than desired ER, Higher expectations than what was reality based on peoples references, Jackson became a pin cushion when getting blood-work done,  took extra long to get results.  (1 ER visit which was an all night deal)
    5. Allen Presby – Less than desired ER, Jackson became a pin cushion when getting blood, not kid friendly, great Labor and Delivery unit, awesome food.  (Labor and Delivery, 10 Night stay in NICU, 3 ER visits, 2 nights stay)

    If you were to look at Jackson right now, beside seeing a lubed head with electrodes stuck to it you would see a normal boy.  In fact, today on the way home from the hospital he was dancing and singing to the music on the radio.  I am so thankful that he is ok, and God has taught me a ton through this process, but I sure would like to not have to experience this anymore!  To see Jackson in minutes go from one extreme to the other is painful, and exhausting as a Dad.

    Lord Jesus, will you meet us where we are, comfort our fears, provide for our greatest needs, strengthen our family, and help us raise two boys to bring glory to your Name!

  • Guys Night

    Last night Josiah and I camped out!!!  Yeah, we set a two man tent up in the living room and watched TV and slept in the tent.  He was so excited about it all day.  This is an easy way to create lasting memories. To see his excitement made it all worth it, even if I didn’t sleep good and my back hurts today!  Here are some pics of our Guys Night!

  • Thanksgiving Rewind!!!!

    We had a great Thanksgiving with our family.  As we drove from place to place it gave me some time to think about all the things I am thankful for.  So here is a short list of the things I am thankful for:

    1. Jesus – I am not trying to sound super spiritual here but I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for Jesus. At a young age giving my life to Christ was something I did because I wanted to go to Heaven.  At 18, when I learned more about what it truly meant to be a Christian changed my life forever.  Today, I am so thankful for His grace, mercy, and blessings.  Every time I look at the things in my life I am reminded of how good God is!
    2. My Family – I can’t imagine life without my family of 4.  It has been a challenging year with Jackson being in and out of the hospital with really non-related things, but to be honest, we are so blessed and it really could be much worse.  Seeing Stephanie smile and hearing her laugh still lights me up on the inside like it did the first day we met.  Josiah is growing so fast!  Watching him look and experience new things in life helps me remember what it was like to be a kid and experience things all over again!  Jackson has a way just to brighten any situation.  From his laugh to his babble, when I look at him i see the miracle of God and am reminded just how precious life is and how faithful God is!
    3. My Extended Family – Stephanie and I come from very different families.  Our families have played such a huge role in developing us, caring for us, and helping us succeed in life.  It’s always good to come home, and sad to leave because the time goes by so fast.  The boys have had a blast with the family over the past couple of days.  We are so blessed and the boys are so spoiled because of them.
    4. Our Church Family – We have been humbled and blessed by the generosity of our church family.  Words can’t even explain the feelings of gratitude we have.  To be loved on in such a big way spoke to the depths of our hearts.  All we can say is thank you!
    5. Our Friends – We have great friends around the nation.  Your prayers, time,  and words of encouragement have been a blessing to us.

    What about you, did you take time to think or talk about the things you are thankful for?  What would your list include?