And She Sleeps

The night before you go out of town is always crazy. Well it is at my house, anyway. I always stay up late into the night packing and checking my lists. Well Wednesday night was one of those nights. Nathan and I are getting away for a retreat and some meetings and leaving the four kids behind. Two pairs in two different cities and we are going to a third and fourth city. This packing night was a little more interesting than most and one I care to never repeat again.

Samoosa wasn't feeling well and I thought it was just a cough/cold thing. At 1 am she proved there was more to it and the hotdog, milk and whatever else she ate came right up on our white couch and all in her hair. Needless to say, cleaning vomited hotdog out of the sick two year old's hair in the middle of the night was not the easiest task. Why do they always vomit up the nasty food? It's never something plain and bland like dry cheerios. Upon completion of the clean up process she sprawled out on the blanket just a few feet from the front door to watch me finish packing. And this is where she sleeps..........not the safest or most comfortable spot!

Addison Still Needs Your Prayers

Baby Addison is still very sick. She is just over three days old and needs your prayers. They have not been able to do all of the tests that they would like to do so please pray that her body would respond the way it needs to for the necessary tests. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors. Please pray for precious Addison's parents - Ginny and Stephen - who have not been able to hold their sweet girl in their arms yet.

Already???

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Praying for Baby Addison

Please join me in praying to our Great Physician and Comforter on behalf of this precious family. Nathan and I have known Ginny (mommy) since she was in middle school when we met her parents at seminary. We love this family (all of the Greens and Deasons) dearly and they need a great army of prayer warriors before the throne on their behalf NOW. Baby Addison was born yesterday morning and is critically ill. You can see an update from this morning written by her Pops on Facebook:

Addison Update - Monday 4/26 morning

Friends, I've spoken to Cheryl this morning and she said Addison is extremely critical. The Drs. informed Ginny and Cheryl this a.m. that Addison has some severe problems that they will not be able to fully diagnose for the next 72 hours, most of which surrounds her brain. They have her on a "cooling therapy" regimen where they lower her body temperature to slow down her systems, hoping to stop this abnormal activity. They are pretty certain she has some sort of brain damage but will not know the extent of it until after they complete this regimen and do an MRI. Along with the complications from her breathing in birth fluids into her little lungs, they are gravely concerned as to whether she will be able to survive. The good news is they think her lungs are now clear of fluid but this may have caused other problems. The reality of this news is hitting us hard. We know the Lord is in control and has a wonderful plan for Addison and us. We are praying for this little life that God has given us and we would love to raise her to love and serve Jesus for a long life; but we're surrendering to His will and praying that His glory would be made known one way or the other. We are humbled by the outpouring of support and prayers from the saints of God who are flocking to the gates of Heaven in prayer on behalf our precious Addison. Words cannot express our gratitude and we stand in awe of our Heavenly Father. Addison has the best care no money can buy because the Great Physician has her chart. We love you all.

Time Well Spent

Toads (10 wks, 5.11.2004) - Girly Girl (6 wks, 9.18.2005) - Samoosa (4 wks, 10.18.2007) 

The pediatrician's office is a place I frequent often. The receptionist no longer asks our names. They just welcome us in and my kids recognize all the staff by name. It's a bit embarrassing sometimes. But, when you have four kids everything seems to be magnified and we pass everything around. Our kids are 6, 4, 2, and 10 months. If you only count 'well-child' visits I have been there at least 30 times. That doesn't even count the 20 plus ear infections, 5+ pneumonias, broken arm, odd allergic reactions and countless asthma visits.

String Bean (10 mos, 4.4.2010)

The past few weeks, we've been there for something new.....weight gain. String Bean is looking a little too stringy. Now I know there are plenty of kids that are small and petite but as you can see my experience is with chubby little babies. String Bean has slowly dropped on the growth chart to where now at 10.5 months we are trying to get her back on the chart. My level of concern has increased over the past several weeks but my visit with the ped on Wednesday put me at ease.

Previously, for weight checks I had just seen a nurse or a partner that was available at the time but Wednesday, we saw our doctor - Dr. Cynthia Smoot at Humble Pediatrics.

While pregnant with our first, I put together my legal pad of questions and went in search of a pediatrician that I could trust with my children and who valued the things that were important to us. I made appointments with area pediatricians and asked lots of questions of each. The normal questions regarding office availability but more importantly, questions like:

• How do you feel about ADD and Ritalin?
• How do you feel about breast feeding?
• Where do you stand on immunizations?
• What kind of advice would you give me about behavior problems with my child?
• What would you tell me if I was seeking an abortion for any subsequent pregnancies?

The answers to these questions were very important to me. I wanted someone who was going to support us in how we were raising our children, someone who would not fight me tooth and nail when we made decisions, someone who would tell me how it is, someone I was comfortable with medically and spiritually, someone who would speak Truth to me as we faced various medical issues. One of the doctors I spoke with told me 'he would not advise me against an abortion. If it was something I wanted, he would support me.' That is not what I wanted and I would be terrified to recommend him to any friends for fear of him giving unbiblical advice to them.

The Lord led me to the right doctor. Dr. Smoot is that person. I am so thankful for her and how God has used her in the life of our family. She loves the Lord. I trust her. I can speak candidly with her. My kids love her. My time spent interviewing was more than worth it. She was kind and clear this week. We will do what we need to do. String Bean is gaining weight (slowly) and we are not going to stress out about it.

Everyone Says It

"Enjoy it, they grow up so fast." If you have heard it once, you have heard it a thousand times and it's true. They do grow up fast. Our oldest is counting the number of days left in kindergarten. The second has kindergarten round up next week. The third actually speaks now. And the fourth, well, she can climb up the short stairs already. It's all so exciting! They are having so much fun growing into their personalities and loving life. I am having fun just being part of it. The Lord gave us four great kids and I plan on enjoying it....all of it. Always.

Annual Pilgrimage

We did it! We made it to the bluebonnets before they disappeared. I have been known to drive great distances, in an RV on a dirt road through a cemetery to get the annual picture. This year was not nearly as exciting. We just pulled in at the airport and hopped out with the camera. Short and sweet. Well maybe not sweet......teeth were cutting and 'itchy' could be heard for miles. The boy has been released from having to make Mom happy and so it is just the girls.

This is My Life NOW

There are many things I could be doing right now. Laundry, vacation research, studying, sleeping (sounds like the best option to me), cleaning, rocking a baby (no, this one is the best), helping with homework, writing, picking up toys, calendar planning, visiting with friends, praying for church members, etc but my mind just keeps coming back to being worn out. Throwing a pity-party could be an option, too. You see, I have this pastor husband, these four growing kids, this house, this ministry, this place of service, that all require something of me. I have to tell myself regularly that this 'is my life now'. It won't always be like this. I will have time to paint my nails one day without them getting scuffed by a tonka truck zooming across the floor. I will one day regularly go to the grocery store in under an hour. I will one day only make one bed a day. I will one day have a full weekend. I will one day not carry my wallet in a diaper bag. I will one day walk through a parking lot without holding a little hand. One day I will not be worn out. Ok, I can hear you now - 'that one day will just be a different worn out'.

You may be right, but the only problem is the glory of God. Worn out or not, my life should be bringing glory to God. This doesn't just happen on its own and rarely am I a shining example. It has to be a conscious decision.

Some thoughts on how I do what I can to honor Him in my worn out state of being......

-my pastor husband has an important, time consuming job - do my best to not make it harder for him; no complaining; no interfering-

-a cheerful attitude with my four kids-

-stay on top of the 'making home a home' tasks-

-get good rest - take a break here and there-

-carve out time for Him and His Word - regularly-

-say 'no' to the requests that don't fit into the 'for His glory' plan-

-have fun-

-remind myself 'it's not about me' and this 'is my life now!'-

Let my mouth be filled with Your praise and with Your glory all the day. Psalm 71:8

You Can Still Wear Cute Shoes

There are lots of words, titles, thoughts that describe me. Some of them I would like to rid myself of, but there is one I love that will always be a part of me.....pastor's wife. I knew God called me to be a 'ministry wife' before I met Nathan, I just didn't know exactly how it was all going to play out. Music guy, missionary guy, youth guy, pastor guy? Only God knew which one of these 'guys' was the best for me. And here I am eleven years after marrying my spectacular pastor guy. There is too much to know about being a pastor's wife that it can't all be jotted in one post- or any one book, but I do want you (specifically other minister's wives - or future ones who don't have their 'guy' yet) to know about a book I recently finished. Lisa McKay has written and recently released You Can Still Wear Cute Shoes -

'An utterly honest, charmingly-witty, and biblically insightful guide for every minister’s wife who wants to serve the church and support her husband -without losing herself along the way.'

I loved this book because of Lisa McKay's willingness to write about the realities of life married to the ministry in an easy to read, straight-forward manner. She writes like she is sitting across the table from you chatting over a nice Starbucks drink. She uses Scripture to set forth strategies for dealing with the issues that are often struggles in the life of the woman standing next to the man in the pulpit - church conflict, fitting a mold, friendships, raising PKs, saying hello and goodbye. There are questions at the end of each chapter to help you evaluate where you are on each topic.

If you have ever wanted to know what life is like living in the fishbowl of ministry, grab this book. Lay people and staff wives alike will get a good glimpse of what it is like for a woman, called by God, to serve alongside her ministry guy. Definitely a good, easy (I finished the 198 pager in under 24 hours with four kids) read for any woman in the ministry and a great encouragement to those drowning in the turbulent waters of their calling.