Happy Anniversary Chad!

I am so proud to say that Chad and I celebrate seven years of marriage today. It seems like such a short time, but so much has been packed into it! In the first five years, we had three children, built a house, Chad changed jobs, and God relocated every part of our lives to Gunter (including Chad's office just in the last month!). In the last two years, God has been growing us and equipping us for ministries and opportunities that continue to grow and appear on the horizons.

I am so proud of my handsome husband. He works hard, loves our children, is an amazing protector, and has devoted his life to serving God. It is my pride and joy to stand by his side as his partner and wife. I am so thankful for God's direction in both of our lives that allowed us to have second chances.

Happy Anniversary my sweet sweet Chad! I pray that together we will continue to seek the Lord with all our hearts and I look forward to the surpises and blessings that He has in store for us!

Obedience

This is an excerpt from Experiencing God: Day-by-Day Devotional, November 2, which I read today. It spoke so loudly to me that I felt the need to share it.

Have you done what you know to do? "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." James 4:17

It is never a minor thing to know God's will and not do it. God calls this sin. . . . in God's eyes, rationalization and procrastination are nothing more than disobedience . . . When we encounter God . . .it is not enough to write down the date . . . or even to tell our friends and church . . . God's call is not to "make a decision" but to obey! Deciding to obey is not equal to obeying (Matt 21:28-31)! Loudly affirming the necessity of obedience is not the same as obeying (Luke 6:46). Making commitments, even publicly, is not the same as obeying our Lord. Substituting our own good works is not the same as obeying.

God expects you to obey everything exactly as He tells you. Only obedience satisfies God's desire for obedience.

I'm praying that each of you experiences the freedom and joy of obedience today.

Messianic Genealogy Wall Chart - PDF Download - Answers Bookstore

Messianic Genealogy Wall Chart - PDF Download - Answers Bookstore

Check out this link. Free download this week only.

Who needs expensive containers?

I just love my son. He gets so excited about simple things and he always reminds me to find the joy in every little thing. Today, I offered him an empty animal crackers container for his cars and trains. It's a big one from Sam's. I like to store various toys or supplies in them.

It was like Christmas for him. He beamed and said, "Thanks, Mommy!" Then he ran upstairs and started gathering all the trains and cars in sight. What a sweet boy he is!

Changes, Allergies and Awanas

It has been oh-so-busy around here the last week. After receiving the excited "okay" from Zachary, we are finally swapping Rebecca and Zachary's bedrooms. I knew it was going to be a challenge with all the toys and furniture, but you never know exactly how much you have until you begin to move it.

Chad went to enjoy a few days at Papaw's this weekend. While he was gone, I decided to really dig in and cleared half of Zach's room. We also went to Lowe's and picked up the paint for Zach's new room. It is simply titled "Sand 3." Zach thinks it's way cool. Daddy tried to complicate it by asking if that was sandbox sand or ocean sand. Thanks Daddy. lol But it didn't deter Zach. He is still very excited. We will complete the furniture move over the next few days and then paint will be at the end of the week.

The other not-so-fun stuff lately has been allergies. From the day I got back from Disney, a variety of allergens have been lurking in the air. Apparently, I am allergic to them all. My sneezing, wheezing, coughing, and subsequent headache and body aches have escalated and it now appears that I have an upper respiratory infection. Since Chad has IBM training all this week, I'll be making the journey to the doctor tomorrow with three little urchins in tow. Maybe that will make the nurses push me through a little faster.

I know this post is an assortment of items, but I also wanted to share how much I am enjoying Awana this year. I am the Sparks Director this year. I was a bit hesitant on taking the role because it is much more responsibility than just a leader, but I wouldn't change it for anything now. It is so FUN!!! We had 28 Sparkies last Wednesday. When you have 28 kindergarten through 2nd graders in one room, there is always a lot going on! Between me and the four leaders (including Chad), we keep them in line. I think my favorite part of being with the Sparkies is their honesty. They will ask you any question that pops in their minds without any reservations. And they are so thirsty to hear about Jesus and the Bible. It's such an enormous blessing to be a part of this ministry and I pray that God keeps me in this role for awhile.

So now I am off to take some more medicine and hopefully get some good rest for the night!

The Unwelcome Terrible Two's

It is when I reach this stage in a child's life that I remember why I really prefer them when they are about four years old. Even though her birthday is a few weeks away, Rebecca has officially entered the Terrible Two's phase.

We have regular spankings around here due to her point-blank train hurling and her random smacking. Her favorite person to torture is her brother. You know, the one who is two years older and about a foot taller. His tender-hearted nature is to recoil in horror, sometimes scream at her, and maybe even run out of the room. I definitely didn't birth a linebacker.

I am reminded yet again of a phrase I heard often growing up. "And this too shall pass."

Reading!

I am so proud of Hannah and Zach. All of a sudden, they are both reading! I spent the summer participating in reading programs and getting various DVD's from Netflix. I think The Letter Factory and the Talking Words Factory were most helpful to Zach. He is truly sounding out the words. Hannah is little more impatient and prefers to learn the words by sight. Either way, we are on our way to reading!!

Cinderella

I got the opportunity to take Hannah to her very first ballet on Saturday down in Dallas. Keeping with her love of princesses, I chose Cinderella. We went with some other moms and girls from our homeschool co-op and, as a bonus, Amy and Keely came as well!

Here are a couple of pics Daddy took in front of our pond while the curls were still clinging to Hannah's hair.






And here are the giddy cousins getting ready to head to lunch at Corner Bakery.



After lunch, we headed down to the Winspear Opera House. The ballet was 2 hours 20 minutes, but the girls really did quite well. We tried to meet some of the company players afterwards, but the line seemed to go for about a quarter of a mile, so we passed and settled for just gawking at them a bit from the sidelines.

Here are Amy and Keely looking so beautiful in our fourth floor seats.

Still Mending

It has been nearly a month since I last posted. I considered it often but just couldn't bring myself to blog. It's been a tough month for me, but I am finally really feeling like I am mending.

The accident was a tough experience for several reasons. The first, obviously, was the fact that I nearly lost my child. I had nightmares every night for the first two weeks, reliving the first moments when I saw him in the pool and pulled him up. My first thought before I had even moved was that he might be dead. It was such a repelling thought to me that I literally shut down all my emotion so it wouldn't overwhelm me. There is a detrimental side effect to trying to smother your emotions. It tends to ooze out at unexpected times and in potent doses. My sweet Sunday school class got a dose two weeks ago when I suddenly began to sob uncontrollably and had to leave the room. This happened the first Sunday back during worship as well. What surprised me the most, though, was my enormous outburst this past Wednesday after I took Sylvester in to put him to sleep. After he passed oh-so-quietly, I erupted in massive sobs and gave myself the worst migraine I've ever had. But it seems that the emotional wall I had erected has been removed. I finally feel like I can smile again and really mean it.

The second side effect of the accident is I realized that I wasn't the perfect mom I thought I was. Now that sounds pretty ridiculous, but I had actually started patting myself on the back for getting to know my kids so well and fulfilling a need with my family before they even knew the need existed. To fail in such a miserable way was a wake-up call for me that I am not perfect. I had to take a good hard look in the mirror, see all my defects, and reconcile with that.

As I consider the last few weeks, I have come to realize that a lack of control troubled me greatly. I have had to give that over to God and I am working on completely accepting His forgiveness. Quite honestly, I didn't want to be forgiven at first. I didn't believe that I deserved it. In my mind, I had failed to meet the basic need of protecting my child. I thought, what kind of a crappy parent sits blithely watching one child while not noticing that another child struggles for his life only yards away?

Only Christ is perfect.

I know this. I have known this for years. But I have not fully understood it until now. It is actually very freeing to accept that I am not perfect and will never be perfect. I will continue to strive to be more Christ-like, but I will never be fully in control, meeting every need of my family or my friends or my church.

I think of what Paul said in I Corinthians 12:9, "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"

Through my deficiencies, Jesus Christ revealed His almighty power. He has reminded me that my children are a gift and that I have a responsibility to raise them to know, love, and serve Jesus. He has also reminded me that time is a very precious commodity. We must spend it wisely. I spend a lot more time loving on my children than before. I also have a renewed passion for sharing the Gospel. Everyone's clock is ticking and we never know when someone's timer is going to go off. Don't put off living for Christ and sharing the Gospel because tomorrow may not be there - for you or for the other person.

Thank you Lord Jesus for loving me in spite of my imperfections and for lifting me up in my despair. When I walk through my valleys, I pray that I will always remember to lift my eyes up to see the next mountain top I am approaching.

A Minute Matters

Zach's story from Mommy's perspective.

We recently had a very enjoyable visit to some of Chad's family in Brookhaven, MS and Huntsville, AL. The kids had an absolutely wonderful time as they got in the creek at Papaw's, visited the Space and Rocket Center and NASA with Pop Pop and Nana, and, of course, got to swim in Nana's big glorious pool.

I had put off swimming lessons for the kids for the last two summers, but we had gotten these cute inner tubes last year and they got around very well with them. After three days, I developed a deceiving comfort around the pool with the kids.



On Thursday morning, we went to the NASA gift shop then the kids swam with me and Chad. We got out and had lunch on the deck next to the pool, then Chad, Pop Pop and Nana took everything inside while I sat out with the kids. Hannah was still eating with her back to the pool. Zach was standing gleefully next to the deep end of the pool where all the pool toys accumulated and was pulling them out and chunking them back in. Rebecca sat with me for several minutes as we watched Zach then she wanted down. She turned around and headed straight to the flower garden which was at the backside of the deck. From where I sat, I could turn my head to the right and watch the pool or turn my head to the left and watch the garden. As Rebecca stepped barefooted into the garden, I turned to watch her. I watched her long enough to make sure she didn't step on any painful items, then turned back to the pool. And my heart stopped.

It was quiet next to the pool. "Zachary?" I called out. Then from my position, I clearly saw the dark mass at the bottom of the deep end. I ran and leaped into the pool and swam to the deep end. Then I dove straight down to the bottom, located Zach who was vertically inverted, grabbed his ankle and swam to the surface. I remember screaming for help as I worked to get Zach's head out of the water and attempted without success to get him out of the pool. At that moment, Chad came running out and dove in to help me. I later learned that Nana had seen me dive into the pool from the kitchen window and told Chad to get out there to help me. He literally threw Zach out of the pool and got out to begin CPR on our blue son. I was dismayed that I was too tired to pull myself out of the pool and had to settle for pulling halfway out and grabbing Zach's ankle again. Chad's dad had arrived and Nana had gone to call 911. And as Chad breathed life back into our precious baby, I prayed and prayed and prayed. I joked later that I prayed so loudly because I think I wanted to be sure Jesus was hearing me. And my Lord did hear me. Zach started breathing and spit up some. I pulled out of the pool and kept eye contact with him and commanded him to breathe and stay with Mommy and Daddy. Then Chad picked him up and the ambulance arrived. Before transporting, poor Zach threw up all over Chad. Because of the concern for a concussion, Zach was taken to the ER. Chad rode in the ambulance while Nana and I drove behind.

Zach was taken to a wonderful children's hospital about 15 minutes from the house. They were so good to him and so caring to our family. Zach had blood work, a chest x-ray and a CT scan. Concussion was ruled out and oxygen levels looked good, but he had water in his lungs and his potassium level was around 2.4, incredibly low for the little guy. I learned that the potassium level drops after the oxygen level begins depleting in the body. After being diagnosed with pulminary edima, he was admitted as outpatient overnight to be observed for pneumonia which sometimes occurs.

Here's our baby hooked up to all his gadgets after we got to his private room.



I stayed the night with Zach and Chad went back to be with the girls. Hannah had watched the entire scene and had lots of questions. Thankfully, Chad got some one on one time with her and she had a special night of sleeping with Daddy.

Zach slept until his night nurse came on duty in the late evening to do another blood draw. Then he got to enjoy a red popsicle and all the apple juice he could drink.



It was a long night for me as I constantly tended beeping machines, rolled Zach back onto his back to keep his lines unobstructed and thus keep the machines from going berserk. And then there were the bathroom trips. Wow, a lot of work to get him about 8 feet away. But I wouldn't have it any other way. There was no way anyone was going to pry me away from him.

The next morning, Zach had another blood draw and confirmed his potassium levels were back at normal levels and had another chest x-ray to confirm just a little bit of water was left in his right lung.

It was difficult for him to play, but he so enjoyed the toys I had brought to make his stay more comfortable. Charity groups also came by and brought him a handmade smiley-face pillow (which he sleeps on every night), a handmade bear Daddy named Stripey (because it has striped fabric Mommy - duh!), a Monsters, Inc book, a coloring book, and small box of crayons! He was all smiles.



The resident doctor came in mid-morning and confirmed Zach was cleared to go home. She made instant friends with Zach when she named the Thomas trains I had brought him. It was because of this, I think, that he responded very openly when she asked if he remembered what happened. "I fell in," he said solemnly. "I tried to get out." That little sentence was like a lead weight on me. I had hoped that one of the scratches on his head meant that he was unconscious when he fell in the water. This confirmed that he had been wide awake. As I watched his little sister to make sure she didn't get a bug bite, my little boy was struggling for his life behind me.

I cried so much the first few days. There was so much guilt weighing on me. I learned very valuable lessons. First, never allow myself to get into a situation where I have to choose to turn my back on a potentially harmful situation no matter how benign it may seem. I had lost respect for the pool. Big mistake. Second, I had put off swimming lessons because we do not have a pool. Everyone needs to know how to swim. Period. I also learned that I love my children beyond description. I was ready to give my life for my child and I couldn't imagine living without him. It was just a glimpse of what God feels for us and it was almost overpowering.

We went back to Nana and Pop Pop's before lunch and got settled down. After supper Friday evening, we went to a nifty ice cream shop and Zach got a chocolate ice cream cone. He enjoyed every bite.



Zach is still working through his traumatic experience. As we were cautioned, we saw some aggressive behavior the first few days. He also does not want to be by himself. And, interestingly enough, he wants to play play-doh. It seems to be therapeutic for him. He played Friday and even ate down on the floor so he could keep playing. I was told he played at church Sunday morning, and then he played for about five hours on Monday. I can see that he is improving so I guess it's getting the job done.

After talking with the family, we pieced together the few minutes before the accident and I feel that Zach was under for about two minutes. A minute earlier and he may have received a reprimand and a huge hug. A minute later and this could have been a very different post.

I am so thankful to God for giving Zachary back to us. It has reminded me that I need to keep my priorities straight. I am so thankful for my husband who breathed life back into our son. His quick response made all the difference. I am also so thankful to the countless individuals who prayed for Zach and our family. We heard from some people we do not even know. Never underestimate prayer. We felt every single one.

Thank you sweet Jesus for returning Zachary to us. I know you have great plans for him and I cannot wait to see those plans unfold.