is this as good as it gets?
...i could be pregnant again, but im not-got the ept test to prove it!
...my kids could still be sick, thank God they are healthy!
...our bananas are black, but we own a grocery store!
...my daughter's diaper failed-on my lap-but my washing machine still works!
...our suburban, with 2 car seats & a stroller got stolen out of my driveway while we were sleeping...
BUT we have a community that responded to our needs before the metro police could call back to take the stolen vehicle report! lisa gave andy a ride to work today, rebekah let me borrow a car seat, and the nybergs called to say we can have their van for a couple of weeks! andy & i have always tried to hold our "stuff" loosely--we've even joked about our truck getting stolen! and just when we think we can't handle any more financial, emotional stress--God sends our family to surround us with love and the "stuff" we need for today!
when we told the boys that someone took our truck...
clay said, "the police are going to kick their butts in jail, we have to get those criminals off the street!"
damon said, "is somebody sitting in my car seat?"
the week is a blurrrrr!
...last night my home was filled with laughter, community, good food, & "sex on the beach"! my friends, stacey & lisa, worked all day and then came to my house to cook, scrub toilets, do laundry, massage shoulders, & play with kids--i love them and treasure the community God has given us! for the past 7 days there have been a lot of tears, screaming & an eary silence around our house as andy & i have watched, helplessly, each of our children experience great pain-some relieved quickly (enema) and some long suffering. each day i was brought to my knees reflecting on how hard it must be for our God to watch his children suffer--in hunger, pain, depression, anxiety, divorce, abuse, etc. anyone who is a parent knows that watching your children suffer rips your heart out--you would do anything to take it away from them! the worst moment of my week was when the dr called my home late at night to tell me damon tested positive for rapid infulenza A and to try to make me feel better he told me the actual death rate was only .00something--then he gives me his cell phone # in case we have to take him to the ER. this week sleep has been hard to come by and i haven't had much time to reflect on what has happen but i sense that i have missed hearing God try to say something--in a 7 day span we have had a moment where there was a real possibility of each of our three precious children leaving this earth for different reasons, this does something to you-i can't even put it into words right now. we are very thankful that as of this morning all three children are recovering well and so far no one else has caught the influenza virus-yeah!
breathing treatments, x-rays, co-pays, over-the-counter medications, antibiotics, emergency room visit, blood work.....$337.77 (& counting)
take out food for a week...$113.99
my 2 year old laying lifeless on the couch for four days and on day five picking up a light saber and asking his mommy to play star wars with him.... PRICELESS JOY!
what is a blessing anyway??
...yesterday i was having a stressful day, trying to figure out how we are going to pay our bills this month. my father, very quickly, reminded of two things through the people around me--first, he gave me a spiritual family that is there to help me. lisa called me with an opportunity to make some money. i don't even know how to put down in words how much gene, lisa & stacey have blessed our family--they babysit, helping us to make our marriage a priority, they are always supportive and encouraging with their words, they help us financially always thinking of our needs above their own. secondly i was reminded that we serve a God that provides for our needs daily. our insurance agent , pat, was at our house to get some papers signed and said, "the man upstairs has greatly blessed me financially, knock on wood" (this was after andy's "blessing" blog!)--after he left, instead of being annoyed at the comment i felt reassured. above all else, i believe that God has placed me on this earth to fulfill His purpose and regardless of my financial status, He will do just that. in fact, i have seen His kingdom alive all around me more in the last two years, when we have struggled to make any income at all, than ever before. maybe it is a greater dependence on Him and those around us, i don't know really. but i do know that we are here in lv, struggling to support our family and i can tell you without a doubt that God is working through us has blessed me immensely!
"one, two, three..."
...i hate it when i hear parents count for their children, giving them three more seconds to obey, but if you are one who counts please, please don't start over 4 times!! i am an adult and i get confused when i hear this!
