Strings From Above

We had fun celebrating the holiday season and we were ready to see what 2014 was going to bring.  We decided to break tradition with Bryson’s birthday party.  In the past we hosted the boys’ parties at our house and we celebrated with cake, ice cream and punch.  The parties were not complete until the themed piñata made its appearance.  The parties were fun but we needed a change given the year we had.  Rochelle had mentioned how much fun it would be to spend a weekend with our family at the Great Wolf Lodge.  We booked a 12 person suite for January 17-19, 2014 and we crossed the days off on the calendar leading up to the big event! 

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Bryson’s birthday, Rochelle being in remission and the new beginning!  The kids spent hours at the water park as well as in the arcade and playing MagiQuest.  As always it was sad to leave our family but it was reassuring knowing that life was starting to feel “normal” again. 

That Sunday night around 11:30 p.m. Josh’s cell phone rang.  We were shocked when “Rochelle Cell” showed up on caller ID.  Rochelle has made late night calls before so I was not overly concerned but I was wondering why she was calling.  I figured she saw something on Facebook and it just couldn’t wait until morning.  Josh passed the phone to me and I heard Rochelle crying on the other end.  I sat up and asked her if everything was okay and she said. “No!”  I immediately thought she found another lump under her arm and I grew anxious in the milliseconds leading up to what she was getting ready to say. She said, “I’m pregnant!”  I felt a huge sense of relief but I thought she was teasing.  Given the fact she had her tubes tied and she just finished chemo, I did not think this scenario was possible.  I burst out laughing and said, “No you aren’t!”  She confirmed she was by explaining she just took two pregnancy tests and they both came back positive.  We agreed that given the year we have had, this is wonderful news.  It was definitely unexpected but we agreed this baby was truly a miracle!  

Before Rochelle knew she was pregnant, Anisten kept talking about “the baby in mommy’s tummy.”  She made a couple comments in December 2013 and again in January 2014.  She even kissed Rochelle’s stomach said “baby.”  Eventually Scott got stern with Anisten and told her, “There is no baby in mom’s tummy.”  Scott knew this was impossible and he wanted to get the thought out of Anisten’s head.  Low and behold!  Anisten must have had a heavenly visitor give her an inside secret about her future brother!  

Because she had just finished chemo on August 23, 2013, the parents to be were concerned with the health of the baby.  Rochelle did not know she was pregnant, nor did the thought even cross her mind.  She had a couple drinks and was not taking prenatal vitamins.  Rochelle and Scott met with her OB/GYN during the following week.  The doctor reported there was a less than 1% chance Rochelle should have conceived.  She was referred to a high risk doctor due to her situation.  She also met with her oncologist for a routine follow up visit.  Her oncologist reported that it takes approximately three months for the chemo to leave the body following treatment.  Based on her due date, Rochelle conceived right around Christmas.  The first visit with the high risk doctor was a bit unsettling given her situation.  Thankfully the ultrasounds showed a very healthy baby!  The high risk doctor wanted to follow her through the first half of her pregnancy to make sure the baby continued to show signs of normal growth and development. 

Rochelle’s doctor had a hard time finding the baby’s heartbeat during her 14 week checkup.  Rather than waiting to schedule and ultrasound, her doctor squeezed her into the schedule so they could figure out what was going on.  During the ultrasound, the heartbeat was immediately detected as were girl parts.  Rochelle was told they would be adding a third girl to their family.  Rochelle immediately called Scott to let him know she had to have an early ultrasound and that everything was fine.  Scott said from the beginning the baby would be a girl and Rochelle confirmed it!

A few weeks later, Rochelle and Scott went to their official ultrasound.  Rochelle and Scott told the tech they previously found out the baby was a girl.  The tech started the ultrasound and it was very apparent the Swanson's were not having another girl.  The tech said, “It’s a boy!”  They could not believe their ears (or eyes)!  They were overjoyed that the baby continued to appear healthy on the ultrasound and they were excited to be adding some blue in their lives!  Rochelle called me at work to let me know they were leaving the appointment.  She made me guess and of course I said, “girl” because of the previous indication from the ultrasound.  “Nope.  It’s a boy!”  Rochelle was very excited but she said they are going to have to come up with a new name because Emersyn Faith would not work for their son.  Grady Cruz Swanson was born on September 15, 2014 at a healthy 10 pounds 9 ounces!  The meaning of Cruz is sign of the cross.  When Rochelle’s doctor assessed the prior tubal ligation which was performed in June 2012, she confirmed the clips that were inserted were still in place.  She had no other explanation other than this baby is a true miracle!  God definitely has a plan for this little boy! 

Little by little, I started having good dreams about Mom.  In my dreams, Mom played the problem solver role as she did during her time on earth.  There was one dream that took place at the church hall in Indianola.  A group of us were standing around the fellowship area and we saw a lady and we did not recognize her.  As we were trying to figure it out, I saw Mom, wearing a purple outfit.  She was patiently waiting off to the side as we were trying to figure out who this woman was.  Apparently Mom couldn’t take it anymore and she said, “You guys.  It’s Ann Vrooman!”  She then disappeared and I woke up.   Mom always liked solving problems and she was good at it.  She continued solving problems in my dreams. 

It has taken twenty plus entries to get to point of explaining where the subtitle of the blog originated.  “Strings from Above” is very fitting given the unexplained findings of several random strings I found beginning in early January 2014.  

The first string I found really caught my attention.  Saturday, January 4, 2014 is a day I will never forget due to the strange events of the morning.  I went to Layton’s room to get him and I headed to the main floor to make a bottle.  I laid him down in the living room next to Josh on the couch.  Josh was fighting a head cold therefore he slept on the couch so he would not wake me during the night.  As I was in the restroom I noticed a hot pink string nearly six inches long in my tan colored underwear!  I was puzzled by this finding.  I had absolutely no idea where the pink string came from.  I threw it in the trash, washed my hands and proceeded to make Layton a bottle.  I picked up Layton and sat down on the floor.  As I was putting the bottle to his mouth, I noticed a florescent green string, six inches long in the middle of the living room.  I reached over and grabbed it and held onto it.  I wanted to compare it to the pink string I had just thrown away.  Once I was done feeding Layton, I pulled the pink string out of the trash can and held it next to the green string.  They were the exact same length and texture and the ends on both strings were perfectly straight   I could not believe my eyes.  

Josh woke up shortly thereafter.  He went to the restroom and when he was done, he came back to the living room with a very perplexed look on his face.  I asked him what was wrong and he held out his hand.  In the palm of his hand was a shiny dime.  I wasn’t connecting the dots so I asked him what was up with the dime.  He said he found it in the band of his underwear!  I couldn’t believe it!  I told him about the pink and green string and we both agreed how weird our findings were.  We joked saying it was Mom giving us signs.  We had no idea what the significance of the strings were but we have heard stories of people finding pennies and associating them with loved ones who have passed away.  

That evening, we were in the basement with the boys playing video games.  The boys like to use the furniture as trampolines even though they know they are not supposed to.  One of my favorite pieces of furniture in our home is a funky patterned oversized chair in the basement.  The back of the chair has a pillow like cushion.  I couldn’t help but notice the boys had been jumping on the back of the chair because the pillow had a large divot in it.   As I was unzipping the cushion a long brown string came off of chair.  I held it up and told Josh, “If I find this on me later, I know where it came from.”  That evening I took a shower, put on a new pair of pajamas and went to bed.  During the night I woke up to go to the restroom and much to my surprise, the long brown string from the chair was in the right side of my underwear.  I had to wake up Josh to tell him about it.  We got a good laugh and went back to sleep. 

The next morning I called Dad and Deanna to tell them about our findings.  Dad and Deanna were also taken back by the strings and coin Deanna said, “Maybe the pink string in your underwear is a sign you are going to have a girl!”  We laughed and said jokingly, “expect the unexpected.”

I continued to find random, long strings.  Unfortunately I did not keep the three strings found on January 4, 2014 but once I found the next one, I decided to hold onto it.  I also took pictures of the strings and shared them with my family so they could take part in the string “game” that seemed to be going on.   

The next string found was on February 4, 2014.  The string was very long and it was similar in color to the first pink string I found.  The next string was blue and it was found on March 4, 2014.  I started sharing these stories with people at work and they could not believe it!  After I told my story, people would say they never find long strings in their house.  Most agreed that they would find short stings hanging off their clothes but they were able to trace the location of the thread. 

On March 6, 2014 my friend Lucy and her newborn baby boy were at our house visiting.  As I was telling her about the strings, I glanced over and I saw a yellow string balled up on the floor.  I reached over and unwound the string.  It was approximately six inches long.  I took a picture of it next to the blue string and sent it to my family.  Lucy was shocked by this finding and she was glad to have experienced it with me.

On April 3, 2014 I found a long pink string on the back of Layton’s blue sleeper as I was getting him ready for bed.  I had just boxed up all of his newborn to six month clothes and replaced them with nine to eighteen month clothes.  Bryson and Holden were in the shower and I was getting Layton ready for bed. As I was zipping up the front of his sleeper I noticed something on his left shoulder.  When I reached for it I realized it was another pink string!  I added it to the collection and sent a text to Dad and Rochelle.  The blue sleeper is one that both Bryson and Holden wore but it was the first time I had put it on Layton.  May 4, 2014 I found two long white strings in our house.  One was on Holden’s blanket and the other was on the floor in our bedroom. 

May was proving to be a very stressful month.  I was getting ready to have my pre-surgical diagnostic work up completed on May 9, 2014 before my preventative surgery on June 16, 2014.  I found myself feeling overwhelmed with the mammogram and MRI.  I was more stressed about the diagnostic tests than I was for the actual surgery.  I do not do well with unknowns so the idea of having tests with pending results made me worry.  On May 7, 2014 I found another long string.  The strings always provided a good distraction and I was thankful for the timing of each and every finding. 

I carry the strings with me in my purse along with the rose petal rosary from Mom’s funeral.  I never know where a random string is going to show up and I want to make sure I add it to the collection. 

Below is a poem that I found which is very touching and fitting.  I can hear Mom’s voice as I read the poem. 

As I sit in heaven and watch you everyday,
I try to let you know with signs I never went away.
I hear you when you’re laughing, and watch you as you sleep.
I even place my arms around you to calm you as you weep.
I see you wish the days away, begging to have me home.
So I try to send you signs so you know you are not alone.
Don’t feel guilty that you have life that was denied to me.
Heaven is truly beautiful, just you wait and see.
So live your life, laugh again, enjoy yourself, be free.
Then I know with every breath you take
You’ll be taking one for me.
Love you from Heaven.