Since I posted our last blog, MORE illness has struck our family. Ryan came down with the stomach flu Monday night and has been home sick all week. I also came down with another virus that same night, running a high fever and with a terrible sore throat. Thankfully, the kids have remained healthy thus far and we're praying they stay that way!
In the midst of all the sickness we've been dealing with, I have been trying to rest every chance I get so I can get better fast. I have been sleeping in in the mornings and missing my devotions. But, the Lord has been so good to bring to mind some verses that were like medicine to my soul this week. Every moment when I felt like I didn't have the energy to change another diaper or make another lunch, He gave me the strength I needed to keep going. And these verses are the perfect reminder...when we are going through difficult times, it is an opportunity for us to rely more fully on Him. His strength is made perfect in our weakness.
"The Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion." (Isaiah 30:18)
"He has delivered us...He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us." (2 Corinthians 1:10)
"The Lord within her is righteous. He does no wrong...every new day He does not fail." (Zephaniah 3:5)
"The Sovereign Lord alone is my strong deliverer." (Psalm 140:7)
"I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (Psalm 27:13-14)
"You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." (Psalm 32:7)
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
The Lord Provides
Well, I haven't posted anything in a while because Ryan was away on a business trip for a week in Las Vegas, so I didn't have the computer! It's always interesting how bad things tend to happen when he is gone. And it isn't just me...I remember as a kid, when my dad traveled alot, the times when he was away on business were the times when we would all get sick or the basement would flood or someone would get in a car accident, etc. I don't know if it is the Lord testing my strength and reliance on Him or if it is Satan attacking when he knows we are at our weakest.
Ryan left on Sunday and we had a showing of the house that afternoon. The showing was from 1-3, so I planned to take the kids to the mall so they could play and eat lunch and then we'd head back. Everything went fine and we came back around 2 when they were done. The kids were worn out and ready for their naps...but when I went to open the door from the garage to the house, it was locked. No big deal, I thought, as I went to get my keys...until I remembered we hadn't gotten my house key back from the neighbors who fed Casey while we were in Oregon. Okay, don't panic, we'll just go check the door from the screened in porch to the house...surely they didn't lock that. Yup, they did. I knew they had locked the front door and they were no unlocked windows. Ryan was long gone on his way to Vegas and they neighbors were on a trip in the mountains. Awesome.
I frantically called our realtor and left him a message. I then called the showing service hoping they could give me some code to access the lockbox we have on the front porch. No luck. Long story short...after waiting another hour (and having to use the neighbors bathroom), our realtor finally showed up and saved the day! At this point, it was 3:00 and WAY past nap-time. The kids collapsed into their beds and so did I!! Moral of this story: always have a spare house key hidden somewhere for emergencies.
And, that wasn't the extent of the drama while Ryan was gone...oh no! The next trial came late Wednesday night when I started having intense low back pain. The pain then moved to my stomach and I got the chills and a fever. As the night went on, I spent 6 hours vomiting before I fell asleep...only to be awoken 20 minutes later by Nolan. Sweet. The problem was that after throwing up all night, I was so weak I could barely walk. I stumbled up the stairs, opened his door and made it halfway to his crib before passing out on the floor. I came to with the sounds of him screaming and scared. I can only credit the Lord for giving me the strength to get him out of his crib, give him his reflux medicine and snuggle on the couch until Lauren woke up and could help me.
I called Ryan and told him I was concerned for the kids safety and he got on the phone, calling our church and Lauren's school, asking if there was anyone who could come help me out. I was AMAZED at the amount of people, some I had never even met, who came to my rescue. One of my friends (Jen Kayser, you are awesome!!) came over that morning and took over with the kids. She also drove me to the hospital where they discovered I had a kidney infection. She bought me gatorade and crackers and soup, fed my kids lunch and let me sleep all afternoon. When I woke up, another friend was at my house (thank you, Joy Barrett!!) to help out - she went to the pharmacy to get my antibiotic, made dinner for us and stayed to help me get the kids to bed.
It was so humbling to see the body of the church come together on my behalf. I was completely overwhelmed and felt so blessed. The Lord truly watched over us and took care of us while we were in a time of need. We are so glad we made it through and we give all the glory to our Jehovah-Jireh!!
Ryan left on Sunday and we had a showing of the house that afternoon. The showing was from 1-3, so I planned to take the kids to the mall so they could play and eat lunch and then we'd head back. Everything went fine and we came back around 2 when they were done. The kids were worn out and ready for their naps...but when I went to open the door from the garage to the house, it was locked. No big deal, I thought, as I went to get my keys...until I remembered we hadn't gotten my house key back from the neighbors who fed Casey while we were in Oregon. Okay, don't panic, we'll just go check the door from the screened in porch to the house...surely they didn't lock that. Yup, they did. I knew they had locked the front door and they were no unlocked windows. Ryan was long gone on his way to Vegas and they neighbors were on a trip in the mountains. Awesome.
I frantically called our realtor and left him a message. I then called the showing service hoping they could give me some code to access the lockbox we have on the front porch. No luck. Long story short...after waiting another hour (and having to use the neighbors bathroom), our realtor finally showed up and saved the day! At this point, it was 3:00 and WAY past nap-time. The kids collapsed into their beds and so did I!! Moral of this story: always have a spare house key hidden somewhere for emergencies.
And, that wasn't the extent of the drama while Ryan was gone...oh no! The next trial came late Wednesday night when I started having intense low back pain. The pain then moved to my stomach and I got the chills and a fever. As the night went on, I spent 6 hours vomiting before I fell asleep...only to be awoken 20 minutes later by Nolan. Sweet. The problem was that after throwing up all night, I was so weak I could barely walk. I stumbled up the stairs, opened his door and made it halfway to his crib before passing out on the floor. I came to with the sounds of him screaming and scared. I can only credit the Lord for giving me the strength to get him out of his crib, give him his reflux medicine and snuggle on the couch until Lauren woke up and could help me.
I called Ryan and told him I was concerned for the kids safety and he got on the phone, calling our church and Lauren's school, asking if there was anyone who could come help me out. I was AMAZED at the amount of people, some I had never even met, who came to my rescue. One of my friends (Jen Kayser, you are awesome!!) came over that morning and took over with the kids. She also drove me to the hospital where they discovered I had a kidney infection. She bought me gatorade and crackers and soup, fed my kids lunch and let me sleep all afternoon. When I woke up, another friend was at my house (thank you, Joy Barrett!!) to help out - she went to the pharmacy to get my antibiotic, made dinner for us and stayed to help me get the kids to bed.
It was so humbling to see the body of the church come together on my behalf. I was completely overwhelmed and felt so blessed. The Lord truly watched over us and took care of us while we were in a time of need. We are so glad we made it through and we give all the glory to our Jehovah-Jireh!!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Finally back home!
Well, we made it! We ended up staying in Oregon until Wednesday of last week...as it turned out, Nolan did have roseola. Once the fever was gone (after 3 and a half days of it), the rash came and he started to feel better. So we booked our flight and headed home. I have to say, it was the easiest travel day we have ever had. The kids did great, there were no delays and the Lord was clearly "going before us" each step of the way. We got home late Wednesday night, so I let Lauren skip the school day Thursday to get adjusted to the time change and get caught up on her sleep. We did lots of grocery shopping and laundry that day and the kids had a great time re-discovering all their old toys.
Lauren returned to school on Friday after missing almost the whole week - her teacher and friends were very happy to have her back and I think she was glad to get back into her schedule too. (Although we are having to do lots of make-up homework this weekend, which she isn't so fond of.) As much as we already miss our families, it is good to be home and to get back to our normal routine. We will have the house ready for showings again on Monday and with two large companies moving their headquarters to Charlotte (Husqvarna and Electrolux), we are hopeful that our house will sell by or before the spring.
The last update I have is that my hernia, we believe, has healed itself. I have no pain there anymore and can't feel the protrusion that I used to. I am still taking precautions and easing back into my workouts, but I did cancel my surgery and we are praying it won't be needed. God is good!!
Lauren returned to school on Friday after missing almost the whole week - her teacher and friends were very happy to have her back and I think she was glad to get back into her schedule too. (Although we are having to do lots of make-up homework this weekend, which she isn't so fond of.) As much as we already miss our families, it is good to be home and to get back to our normal routine. We will have the house ready for showings again on Monday and with two large companies moving their headquarters to Charlotte (Husqvarna and Electrolux), we are hopeful that our house will sell by or before the spring.
The last update I have is that my hernia, we believe, has healed itself. I have no pain there anymore and can't feel the protrusion that I used to. I am still taking precautions and easing back into my workouts, but I did cancel my surgery and we are praying it won't be needed. God is good!!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
More Pictures
Playing with Papa
The Smith Family clan
Goofing around with Papa
Playing Monopoly with Papa
The cousins playing "Rock Band"
Dishes & girl talk with Grandma
Lauren's snowman
Nolan & his cars (yes, he's in my mom's bathtub...he rolled all his cars in there and then climbed in)
Playing with the amazing nativity scene puzzle my dad made for the kids
Showing off the cheerleading outfit she got for "Emily"
Reading books with Uncle Robbie
A Christmas morning hug for Grandma
Nolan & Brennan - best buds
Our Little Lady
Inside the fort with Lauren
Going out to feed the cows with Papa
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Slight Change of Plans
Well, we were supposed to have left this morning to fly back to North Carolina...but the Lord intervened on our behalf. Yesterday, I was shopping with my sister-in-law when I got an automated phone call from our airline saying that our flight was canceled "due to lack of flight crew available". I thought it was just a fluke and it would get rescheduled for later in the day...but when Ryan called them to get details, they said we wouldn't be leaving until Sunday at 11:30am (which would put us home LATE at night and Lauren had school the next day). So, when Ryan called me back on my cell phone and told me this, I thought to myself, "the Lord must have a good reason." Little did I know...
Ryan had put Nolan down for his nap that day at 1:00 and by 5:30, he was still sleeping. Now, you must understand that is SO not my son. He has never been my good napper, so I knew something was wrong. Sure enough, when Ryan went to wake him up a little before 6:00, he was burning up with a 102 fever. I immediately thought it was an ear infection because he'd been diagnosed with one right before Christmas and was on antibiotics for 5 days. I assumed that it didn't completely clear up or possibly had gone to the other ear. So, this was why the Lord orchestrated the cancellation of our flight!
Long story short, the fever has continued for Nolan - it comes and goes throughout the day and he has no other symptoms. We took him in to see our old Pediatrician here in town and his ears were fine. They tested him for strep throat and that was negative too. So, the consensus is that it's some sort of virus (possibly roseola or maybe even H1N1) and it just has to run its course. But, we were left having to make the decision whether or not to fly home tomorrow with a feverish and sick baby.
Here is where the Lord stepped in again for us - Ryan called the airline and they said that if we didn't want to take the rescheduled flight on Sunday, they wouldn't charge us the $150 change fee, because it was their fault that the original flight was canceled. So we have 7 days before we have to rebook, which was such an answer to prayer (because the virus hopefully will have run its course by then). Then, when Ryan went online to email Lauren's teacher to say she would be missing at least a day of school, there was a notice saying that this Monday was a teacher workday and there was no school. So, that is one less day of school she will have to miss!
Even in the midst of terrible circumstances, it is so awesome to know that the Lord is taking care of us each step of the way and to see the way He has stepped in and is providing everything we need. We are incredibly grateful to my parents, who I'm sure are anxious to get their house back to themselves, but are so willing to host us and help us through this ordeal regardless of how long it drags out. We are also thankful for Ryan's boss who has been so understanding and is allowing him to work from Oregon this week without using his vacation days.
If you think of it, please say a prayer for Nolan...that this virus will only get better, not worse, and that he will be healthy enough to fly by the end of the week.
Ryan had put Nolan down for his nap that day at 1:00 and by 5:30, he was still sleeping. Now, you must understand that is SO not my son. He has never been my good napper, so I knew something was wrong. Sure enough, when Ryan went to wake him up a little before 6:00, he was burning up with a 102 fever. I immediately thought it was an ear infection because he'd been diagnosed with one right before Christmas and was on antibiotics for 5 days. I assumed that it didn't completely clear up or possibly had gone to the other ear. So, this was why the Lord orchestrated the cancellation of our flight!
Long story short, the fever has continued for Nolan - it comes and goes throughout the day and he has no other symptoms. We took him in to see our old Pediatrician here in town and his ears were fine. They tested him for strep throat and that was negative too. So, the consensus is that it's some sort of virus (possibly roseola or maybe even H1N1) and it just has to run its course. But, we were left having to make the decision whether or not to fly home tomorrow with a feverish and sick baby.
Here is where the Lord stepped in again for us - Ryan called the airline and they said that if we didn't want to take the rescheduled flight on Sunday, they wouldn't charge us the $150 change fee, because it was their fault that the original flight was canceled. So we have 7 days before we have to rebook, which was such an answer to prayer (because the virus hopefully will have run its course by then). Then, when Ryan went online to email Lauren's teacher to say she would be missing at least a day of school, there was a notice saying that this Monday was a teacher workday and there was no school. So, that is one less day of school she will have to miss!
Even in the midst of terrible circumstances, it is so awesome to know that the Lord is taking care of us each step of the way and to see the way He has stepped in and is providing everything we need. We are incredibly grateful to my parents, who I'm sure are anxious to get their house back to themselves, but are so willing to host us and help us through this ordeal regardless of how long it drags out. We are also thankful for Ryan's boss who has been so understanding and is allowing him to work from Oregon this week without using his vacation days.
If you think of it, please say a prayer for Nolan...that this virus will only get better, not worse, and that he will be healthy enough to fly by the end of the week.
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