A Year

Just one little tiny year can make a huge difference.  This time last year this is what David looked like.

 His May intensive chemo finally made all of his hair come out, he weighed under 50 pounds and he was sick.  About this time last year his port was infected which meant that he had recurrent bacterial infections which were scary.  He spent three out of four weeks as an inpatient at the hospital during the month of June.

 

(I am not clear why this picture is sideways-sorry) but here he was today.  We are at a great hotel in Pigeon Forge with my parents and this wild man went down a huge waterslide. He  had a ball at Dollywood, played putt-putt, swam in the awesome pool here at the resort, and he has enjoyed the pirate ship playground. 

 

The picture of him bald is my screen picture on my phone.  I will keep it there indefinitely because I want to use it as a reminder where we have been.  We know how life can change in the blink of an eye with a sober looking doctor entering your ER room.  We know how it feels for your child to receive treatment after treatment of chemo hoping the nasty cancer melts away, and we know how it feels to realize that our life will never be the same again. 

 

That picture of our bald angel will also be a constant reminder that God was and will always be with us.  He walked us through the storm of cancer treatment and continues to soothe our fears as we face clinic visits and scans. 

 

Tonight as I am weary from the fun of vacation I pause and give God the glory that today I got to watch three children enjoy Dollywood.  I got to watch this healthy looking David enjoy life like every other kid central line free and with a full head of hair.  Tonight I am thankful for cancer because it has made the fun days like today even sweeter.  Good night from Pigeon Forge!

 

Party Weekend

We have partied hard this weekend.  Saturday night we went to a surprise going away party for one of Mike's dear friends.

 

Today blessedly the rain held off and we got to have Hope's fourth birthday party here at our house with a few preschool and church friends.  She wanted a Minnie Mouse waterslide party so that is what we did!

This girl was so excited she talked a million words before the party could even start.  I am not believing that she is four already???!!! 

Life is good when you have sweet preschool/church friends.  Hope had such a blast and it was such a treat to see how much fun she had with her friends. 

GG and Pops drove down for the party.  Dave lured Pops inside to have some special time with pops and the Ipad. 

My one crafty accomplishment for the party!  I managed to make this Minnie Mouse centerpiece using styrofoam balls that I spray painted and I piece it together with skewers. 

This little lady had such fun!  Last year she hid her face when we all sang to her and this year she did not seem as uncomfortable.  She even managed to thank everyone for her gift and said to several friends "thank you for coming."  We are making baby steps coming out of her shell!

CANDY!!  Hope was insistent to have a Minnie Mouse piana (pinata) that had strings on it.  We found one in Roanoke several weeks ago. 

Sweet girls helping Hope check out all of her presents.  After years of thomas the Train and sports parties it is so fun to plan a pinky and girly party. 

We even had the rollercoaster out and the moon bounce.  Outside parties are stresful and I kept checking the weather radar.  Just as the party was over and we were putting the moon bounce away it started sprinkling.  We are so thankful that the rain held off and we got to celebrate our sweet girl turning four! 

Mike was the pinata man holding it up for the kiddos to pull the string.  Finally he had to help the candy come out:)

What a wonderful weekend we have had surrounded by friends and family.  We are so thankful to raise our kids in this community with such wonderful people.  We also wish Jeff well as he moves on to Waynesboro to lead that school system.  After all this partying this Momma is weary and ready for some rest! 

Motherhood

Motherhood is the hardest job I have ever had.  Yesterday I probaby would have gotten fired if that was an option.  Behaviors were sassy, listening ears were not turned on, and my wee little girl was clingy and demanding.  After our day at home together, an afternoon at the pool, and a stressful ballgame last night, I was maxed out. 

Blessedly I have wonderful Mommy friends around me that encourage me on these rough days in the trenches of parenthood.  I felt like a complete failure and found myself praying more yesterday then in the past week combined.  I prayed for patience and wisdom while reminding myself that these children are God's  and I am merely His vessel to train them up.

I am writing this post to remind myself that "those" kind of days are going to happen. I am sure I will once again be begging for someone to put me, the Mommy, in timeout:)   I have decades of parenting still ahead of me and this is the one thing I desperately want to do well. 

This morning I am reminding myself that God will be with us always-even on the worst day of parenting when tempers are flaring and meltdowns are erupting.  God blessed me with these children and He will walk the motherhood path with me.  He knows my heart and how much I love these children and want to train them up right.  I just pray God is patient with me as I muddle through.  I also pray that my children will know how blessed I feel to be called Momma even when my eyes are rolling at them and I threaten to take every electronic device away in one of my tirades:)

I believe yesterday was a reminder to me that I need to rely on Him to parent these children.  Often when the motherhood train is smooth sailing, I do not pray as often and as hard for my children-why bother God when I have it all under control??  Yesterday was brutal, but it did remind  me that I cannot do this alone without God and His mercy, patience, and love.  I am also blessed that God gave me a teammate named Mike who is a disciplinarian and manages that love/discipline boundary perfectly. 

Today is a new day and I am so blessed to remember This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. I am also thankful that today we are starting with a clean slate and that I have already lifted my children up to the Throne of Grace this morning. It truly makes all the difference in the day.