I luuuv my boys

Need I say more?

Gratefulness

It's amazing what a person becomes thankful for in the midst of hard times. This past week was a doozie! Seth had to work out of town from Sunday until Thursday. So I had to "single mother" it again. This would not have been a bad thing except that a nasty flu bug decided to rear its disgusting little head starting on Tuesday. It hit poor Eli first. He had a fever that reached almost 104 degrees along with a cough, congestion, thrown in with a few vomits. On Friday, Josiah started showing signs that he might have caught the same bug. His poor little body had to fight off a fever that spiked up to 103 degrees. This leaves a very miserable baby. Which then leaves very miserable parents. But lest you think that I am complaining yet once again, I just have to share some of the good things that happened this past week.

-Eli is an exceptional "vomiter". He really tries to be as neat and clean as possible. Every time he did it this week, he made it in some acceptable receptacle. I can't tell you how grateful I am about this. I, who had only one great fear about having children..."What am I going to do when they throw up? I am going to end up doing it right along with them!!!"...have a son who actually cares about it as much as I do.

-At my lowest point on Wednesday evening, when Eli ran into the bathroom for the 2nd time and Josiah's evening wailing had commenced, all of this causing me to wail even louder than the boys, I literally CRIED out to the Lord. And He fed me just a spoonful of grace. Just enough to get me through the rest of the evening. It was so subtle yet so very tangible. He is just awesome!!

-My best friend came home from his work trip on Thursday afternoon and ordered me into the bed for a much-needed nap. He helped me take care of the boys for the rest of the weekend, even sitting for hours on Saturday with a feverish baby on his chest.

-And, last but not least, because of the craziness of this past week an idea began forming between Seth and me. He wants and I am not about to deny this desire, to send me away for one night all by myself to stay in a hotel and do whatever my heart desires whether it be shopping, reading, sleeping, or watching movies. For some reason, this has never crossed either of our minds. I am sure there are many "with it" mothers who probably do this every year. Well, I am ready to jump on that train! I just can't begin to tell you how wonderful that sounds to me and how grateful I am that I have such a kind husband who would facilitate it!

Ending on this note, I just have to say thank you to all of you that have been praying for me concerning my stomach. I had the endoscopy test on Friday and it did not show an ulcer. There are a few things that they are still testing but the huge praise report is this- I have not had pain after eating for over a week now! And that, my friends, is something that I am most grateful for...

Eye Opener

So the other night, Seth and I were watching television for the first time in a looong time. We were actually trying to watch the Winter Olympics but the event was ice dancing. Now no offense to the avid ice dancing fan but, oh my goodness, why in the world do they get so much "air time"on our non-cable station?? To Seth's relief, I picked up the remote and changed it to PBS where there was a really interesting documentary about methanphetamines (I'm not sure that I'm spelling this right). Actually, it was more than interesting. Seth and I couldn't turn away. Now, here's a little background on Seth and me. We are officially church kids. We are the minority in this world that grew up with scarce knowledge of this world's vices. That can be a good thing and it can also very much be a bad thing. Anyway, back to the story... This documentary told the history of and the spreading of this horrific drug that has robbed thousands, possibly millions of people of normal existence. It's origins began on the West coast and has, over the decade, made its way to the East coast. The statistics of the ruin that this one drug has caused is staggering. One Republican representative from Indiana said that 80% of the prison population in his state were meth addicts. The frustrating point to this whole documentary piece is that this drug could have been stopped years ago because it is completely manufactured, meaning there is no organic component to it. In fact, the main ingredient to meth is ephedrine and psuedo-ephedrine which if you recognize is the main ingredient to most cold medicines on the shelf. When certain branches of the government tried to limit the manufacturing of this ingredient, the pharmaceutical companies' radars shot up and began lobbying for more freedom which they eventually were given. Because of this gross example of corporate greed, adults are dying and children are suffering.
Do you ever watch a program and know deep down that there is a reason that you are sitting there watching it? That is very much how I felt about it the other night. My heart broke for these people. It showed mug shot after mug shot of people who had been arrested for crimes while under the influence of meth. The looks on their faces were proof that the verse in the Bible where it says that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy is utterly true.
When Seth and I were sitting in bed that night, getting ready to pray, I just sat there speechless. I didn't know what to say...how do you pray for something that seems so big and so out of control? Usually, that is something that most of us hear and think "Oh, that's terrible and so very sad" but those faces just kept going through my mind and my heart. It isn't make-believe horror stories, it's real life. So as I sat there, I felt as if the Lord gave me a strategic picture on how to pray for this. In the program, they showed a map of the US and how each state was affected by this particular drug. The states that were affected most, were colored in black. Almost every state was colored this way. I began to pray that the Lord would send a revival that would sweep across the nation just as this drug swept across it. That instead of black, there would be flames of fire. So, through the unconventional means of television, the Lord has stirred my heart yet again to really cry out for REVIVAL in this land. So, would you add your voice as well and pray for this revival to come and come soon? We must be brought to the point of desperation....what exactly will that take?

Kansas City, Missouri

Coats for the family.....$200
Mittens.......................$50
Wool Hats..................$30
Wool Socks.................$25

Sanibel Island

Sun, Beach, Family....Priceless

God Bless All You Single Mothers

Tonight I salute all single mothers. These past few weeks Seth has worked a gig that has been long hours and the last week he has had to stay at a hotel downtown to be closer to his job. Fortunately, he was able to come home for dinners most nights but he had to drive back to sleep in the hotel room. Our schedule these past few years has been unusual and unique, to say the least. Seth's career choice has not been of the 9a-5p persuasion. He works for himself as a freelance audio engineer so he is home for large chunks of the year but when he gets hired for a job, it usually means that we don't see much of him for weeks at a time. We have become used to it but every once in a while, it hits me. I don't think I would make a very good single mother. By 6pm, I am thoroughly exhausted but then have to go for the last push of dinners, bathtime, and bedtime. After that, I am just a puddle of goo. The other night, I had a momentary vision of what I and my kids would look like if I was a single mother. Let me tell you, it was not pretty. I saw Eli and Josiah running around looking like the Lost Boys of Neverland. And I had bags the size of Montana. I quickly pinched myself awake and thanked God above for my wonderful husband. For his hours of bathtime, his baby-food splattered face, for picking up on my SOS signals when I just can't take another second....
So I would like to take this little piece of web space to tell any single mother who runs across Sarah does Smile, that I honor and respect you. When you don't have an ounce of energy left, you manage to find a 1/2 an ounce in your left big toe and you make it through a whole day. May God bless you!!