Needing it & Sharing it

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away (totally stressed, feeling fat, completely exhausted....fill in whatever else is ailing us today), yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (He promises His mercies are new every morning) For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:16-18

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, (my inability to deal with my crazy life, my seemingly vast incompetency, my overall lack of awesomeness...), so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 12:9-10

"But you, woman of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. "
1 Timothy 6:11-12

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."
1 Peter 5:6-7

"For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you, through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline!"
2 Timothy 1:6-7


Can I get an AMEN?

Healthy and Happy

I should be working on the material I'm presenting this weekend, but instead I am posting pictures. Oh well!! The blog needed to move past the puke. The Fab Five have all been healthy for more than a week now. Hallelujah! So we've been out and about; enjoying the beautiful Spring weather we've been blessed with. Caleb has started baseball, so we are busy with two games a week. And the girls and I have been shopping for wedding-related clothes and Easter dresses. So fun!

That's the cutest "Muckdog" I've ever seen.

Part of the cheer squad at his first game of the season!

Enjoying the well-earned slush

Are these girls "Hollywood" or what?! They came up with this pose all by themselves....they're like miniature Charlie's Angels or something?! :)

She is my heart.

She is my sunshine.

Ellie put this ensemble together herself, while Mom, Tracy, Lisa and I were trying on flip-flops! She has good taste! :)

God bless this sweet girl! She is full of drama :)

The Puke Journal....purely therapeautic. Not intended for public entertainment.

On Thursday, March 3rd we took Adelyn into the doctor, because she had been coughing terribly for several days. The night before, she had puked in her car seat twice on the way back from church because she was coughing so hard. The doctor sent us to get x-rays, which were traumatic for Adelyn and for me. They had to strap her down, and she didn't like that.

Then on Thursday night, Ellie and I both started puking--first dance with the stomach virus.

Ellie and I were sick through Saturday.

Then, Adelyn started puking on Sunday....couldn't keep down her medicine for her pneumonia. Went back to doctor on Monday.

Monday, Dawson felt bad too. I was over the puking, but still felt like crap. I went to doctor and found out I had a sinus infection.

Tuesday, Caleb's cough got crazy, so he went to the doctor. He got antibiotics because he had a throat infection and bronchitis.

By then, 4 out of the 5 of us were on prescriptions, three of us on antibiotics. Our recoveries went on, as slowly our symptoms faded for almost a week. After all 5 of us had the stomach yuck, we had accumulated the hugest mountain of dirty laundry you have EVER seen. Ridiculous!

We enjoyed two or three days of good health

Then, Sunday, March 13th, while I was on the road to Lisa's wedding shower, Caleb started puking at my parents house. The next morning, Caleb and Dawson both felt terrible. Hurried back to College Station to suffer at home.

We all felt good for Wednesday and Thursday. Then, while we were camping in Fairfield, Ellie started puking AGAIN.....a lot! I had one of the craziest road trips of my life, as I tried to get Ellie back home to College Station. We had to pull over three times (twice on the side of I45) for her to puke. It was stressful.

She recovered quickly, thankfully. We actually enjoyed 8 or 9 days of relatively good health after this episode.

Then, Wednesday, March 30th, Adelyn came down with a 103+ fever. She didn't have any other symptoms, but she felt terrible. That evening, Ellie started puking AGAIN. She puked, and puked, and then puked some more. We took Ellie to the doctor because we thought 3 puking episodes in 30 days was unusual. The doctor ordered her to have x-rays done of her stomach and intestines. She suspected an intestinal obstruction. But no. The x-rays were inconclusive.

Then, by Friday night, Ellie and Adelyn traded. Adelyn started puking, and Ellie got a fever. That is how we spent Saturday.

Sunday, April 3rd, brought a whole new level of excitement. Completely out of the blue, Ellie started screaming and crying and grabbing her crotch. She said her private parts were hurting. She went on screaming and crying frantically for like 5 minutes. I called the nurse on call for our pediatrician, and she told me to take her to the ER. I did. It was crazy. God bless Holly and Tracy, without whom I wouldn't have survived (since Dawson was busy serving the Lord!). But, the doctor sucked, and they didn't find anything wrong with her. No answers. Still worried about this.

Then, on Monday, Dawson felt sick. Never puked, but couldn't eat. Felt like crud.

Now, on Tuesday, April 5th, Caleb is puking AGAIN. And the poor baby has a fever.

It's simply been ridiculous.

However, this sick season has not been without lessons. Good health is precious and fragile. We always take it for granted until we don't have it. The admiration and awe I have for parents of children who are really sick, who would love to trade me for my silly puke-a-licious life, has definitely increased exponentially. And, I have realized yet again how much we ARE NOT in control of our own lives. We aren't. And those of us, who feel like we need to feel 'in control' of our circumstances, and therefore micro-manage everything we possibly can....well, we are really just kidding ourselves. The control we feel is just a facade....because God's control is ultimate.

So, here is the summary: In the last 35 days, we have had.....
8 rounds of puke
6 fevers
5 trips to the doctor
2 sets of x-rays
1 pneumonia
1 sinus infection
1 bronchitis
1 trip to the ER

Holy Cow.

I would like to end this therapy session with the scripture that God lifted me up with this morning......God is good, and His word is the truth. I've got to remember this....even in times of puke.

Lamentations 3:19-26
"I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD. "

The Happier Moments of Spring Break

Well, I am sick n' tired of being sick and tired. We have been passing around yuck since before Spring Break, and we are STILL battling sickness around our house. Anyway, our Spring Break plans did not work out the way we had hoped, but we still had some awesome times too.

My little sister had her very first wedding shower! It was totally twilight zone going to a wedding shower for my baby sister, but it was very nice. We got to meet my soon-to-be brother-in-law's (how to do like those hyphens?! :) family. They were all very nice. It's just so weird to me that Lisa is going to have another family. I love her so much. It's going to be a little hard to share her?! :)

The cute couple

The 4 Lively women

Mom and the Bride-to-Be

The sisterhood

Later that week, we went camping with the Skow side of our family at a state park in Fairfield, TX. It was cut short, because Ellie started puking.....but for the almost 24 hours we were there before that, it was fun!

One of the best parts of camping....roasting marshmallows!

There is an art to roasting these....not sure Dawson has mastered it. :)

But eating them is fun too!! :) What a cutie pie!

We spent some time chillin' at the playground there

Look at this cute, little, blue-eyed, red-head.....she is getting too big!

More of the campin' crew...I'm so blessed with awesome in-laws!

The campground also had a super cool place to ride bikes....I'm not sure what you would call it.....like a off-road, hills n' thrills kinda thing....the boys LOVED it!

Caleb had no fear...which caused me to have fear!

Even the "big boys" had to try it out...while riding my girlie bike! :)

After Ellie recovered, we got to go out for a grown-up dinner (without ANY kids?!) to the Icehouse on Lake Bryan. We celebrated Dawson's birthday with our family and had a blast!

We finished the week out by Dawson preaching his first sermon at church! He taught a lesson about making wise decisions and living a life without regret. He studied the story of David in 1 Samuel 24. He did an INCREDIBLE job. He allowed God to speak through him, and therefore, said some really awesome things. If you want, you can watch the video at www.brazosfellowship.com. Look under "Living w/out Regrets: week 2"...it's worth sitting down to watch.

Even with all the puking, etc. , it really was a good Spring Break!

another chance

Christ's courage. Spirit's truth. Father's hope.

http://shespeaksconference.com/

a "hand-me-down" life

I am the oldest of three girls. Growing up, I never had to wear hand-me-downs. I don't know if my parents taught me this directly, or whether I just perceived this for myself, but as a child and as a young person, I always looked down on 'hand-me-downs.' The idea just had a negative connotation to me for some reason. Something brand new was much more exciting, so much better than something 'used.'

Oh how my life has changed! I now have a life full of hand-me-downs. Our home is full of hand-me-downs. Our family wears a lot of hand-me-down clothes, Dawson and myself included. Both of our vehicles, the Green monster (mini-van) and Red Hot Fire Fred (D's truck) are hand-me-downs. Our dining room table is a hand-me-down.....so is our washer and our dryer, and the list goes on. So much of what we now have was given to us by someone else, who no longer had use for whatever it is. Some might say this is a little sad....maybe even a little shameful.

But God is teaching me a lot about my little hand-me-down life.

First, He gently reminds me that absolutely everything I am and everything I have is a hand-me-down. From Him.

And these other hand-me-downs......these gifts from others, are just that. Gifts. Gifts of generosity from friends and family members, who are literally and physically extending God's love to us by providing for a need, or making an offer of help.

I just recently realized that I am so much more appreciative and grateful for the things we have that are hand-me-downs. More so than I am for the things that we have bought for ourselves in times of prosperity.

For instance, in my life, I have only owned one brand new vehicle. It was a beautiful, powerful, black, 4-door Dodge truck. I bought it shortly after I started teaching. It was pretty much my dream vehicle. I loved, loved that truck. When we had to sell it, because gas prices got so high, and I got pregnant with Ellie, I literally cried as we drove away from it. Pathetic, I know. But as much as i loved that truck, I didn't really appreciate it.

I now drive a 10+ years old Chevy mini-van. It is certainly not a junker, but it has seen better days. Even still, this mini-van was a gift to us, from some of our precious family. And almost every time I get it in it, my heart fills with gladness. I pray and thank God for this van ALL the time! I pray for the family members that gave it to us, I thank God for giving it to us, I praise God for the important function it has in our family.....my cup literally overflows with gratitude and appreciation for this vehicle. And this is true, mainly due to the fact, that it is a hand-me-down. And the same is true for my dryer, that my friend Sam gave me...etc., etc.

What God is revealing to me, is that every breath I take......every healthy moment my children enjoy.....every new morning I wake-up.....is a hand-me-down. His to give, mine only to receive.

Humility. Gratitude. Appreciation.

There can be no other appropriate response to a hand-me-down.

God, you are so good to me.