the plague, and other tidbits

I've decided we have the plague, here at the circus.  Thankfully it's only a 2-ring plague, and we're hoping it stays that way.  I don't know if it's swine flu, or seasonal flu.  Does it really matter?  It's a LONG LASTING flu, and it sucks.  Miss Rose is on day 5 of a fever.  Gracie is on day 3 or 4. 

Lily woke up very snotty this morning, and I pray a fever is not to follow.  Gracie started out with a runny nose, but hers was clear, while Lily's is green.

I've been singing in my head "this is the flu that never ends, it just goes on and on my friend..."  I honestly thought we'd escape this plague that I've read so much about the news and on other blogs.  Oh, I was so naive. 

Thankfully they are eating alright and their fevers are keeping them mellow, so they rest a lot. 

But I'm tired of TV and movies.  The TV is on constantly, on sometimes a movie is playing on a computer in my bedroom (because my bed is so much more desirable, thankyouverymuch for those germs).  But, watching movies and shows keeps them entertained and quiet.  When they start playing too much, meltdowns ensue, because they don't feel well.

We had to reschedule a church directory photo.  We have family photos scheduled tomorrow with Bean's family...and schedules are so impossible to coordinate that we're just keeping the appointment, giving medication and crossing our fingers.  At least one cousin is sick as well.  I'm really hoping Miss Rose can make her soccer game tomorrow since it's the last one Bean and I can attend, due to a wedding next weekend.

In other tidbits...

I see a future in weight-lifting for little Lily.  She has an amazing ability (in my opinion) to lift and move heavy items.  I keep her toys in a sturdy wooden caddy-it easily weighs 2-3lbs.  She loves to empty the toys out and then lift it, move it, hold it etc.  This morning she was playing with a larger heavy "spin the wheel" toy and again lifting it up.

Diet Coke and I are done, for a while, or for good.  A dear friend who's experienced great heartache already in trying to start a family, gave birth to Baby Finley at 26 weeks yesterday.  Pre-ecclampsia and the serious threat to mom's life, indicated delivery was a must.  So far, Baby Finley is "doing great" (direct quote!) 

Yesterday as we were waiting word on what would happen, my heart was so heavy.  All I wanted to do was fast and get on my knees all day.  But playing nursemaid to kids with the plague and nursing a baby, fasting food was out.  Determined though, I realized I could fast Diet Coke.  Because I drink Diet Coke a few times a day usually, and often when I'm not drinking it, I am thinking about when I might drink it again.  (I know, I have a problem). 

So I'm fasting Diet Coke as I pray for Baby Finley and her parents.  It worked quite well yesterday.  I spent a lot of time praying (as I went about the day), but every time I opened the fridge which has Diet Coke inside it, or several times when I had the urge for the frosty goodness, I was reminded to pray again.  Baby Finley will probably be in the hospital until February (her due date) and I'm going to continue my fast until she's home in her mama's arms.

I'm thankful that God's ways are higher than our ways, but that doesn't always make them easy to understand.

Perspective and Answered Prayers

I posted a few weeks ago about Miss Gracie's birthday and how it ended up being a little disappointing because dh got sick, so most couldn't come. What I didn't share in that post was the perspective I gained by the end of the night.

When my mom arrived at our house she told me she had recieved a message saying "have you heard about A.G.? It doesn't sound good. Is it true?" AG is a lifelong friend--a few years younger than me. We haven't lived near each other in years, but keep in sporadic touch. One of those friends you can pick up with so fast because you have so much shared history.

I hadn't heard anything, but had her cell # in my phone, so decided to try texting her after my mom shared the message with me. After all the birthday festivities, we were just hanging out and my phone rang...a number in her area code. It was her dad.

I knew right away, it wasn't good if her dad was returning my message. She is only 28 but had a massive heart attack a few days before. So bad that she basically died and was revived a few times in the emergency room, was basically on life support, not a good prognosis, would perhaps need a heart transplant.

Well, God sure kicked my butt on that one. Here I am crying over spilt milk basically--that my baby didn't get the party I had wanted for her--while my friend is fighting for her life. What perspective. This is why my motto is "no crying over spilt milk." When I do--I find that it is so worthless. Normally I would have just rolled with the punches for Miss Gracie's birthday. But I chose to be a crybaby and once again, learned the error of my ways.

Enter PRAYER! A blog network was established for my friend and I'm sure she went on dozens of prayer lists and chains at multiple churches. You can probably guess the end of this story. She has been almost completely healed! Home from the hospital now. It's a complete miracle. They don't even have a current prognosis for her, as people don't usually survive such a heart attack, much less walk out of the hospital without a transplant. God definately wasn't done with her yet.

Another lesson learned in prayer was this past week. I received an email about a desperate situation a friend of mine was in--waiting on governement and agencies. I shared the request with BelovedMaMa as well as our staff prayer meeting on Thursday morning. I'm sure many others were praying as well. Sure enough...within just a few days the situation completely changed and all prayers were answered.

Not that I don't doubt the power of prayer. I'm a pastor after all. I pray for people daily. But, sometimes it's nice to get a little faith boost. There are some situations in my life that I am going to renew my passion to pray about, and trust that I'll see change and answers!