Some Updates

There have been so many reasons to blog in the last week and a half. I wish I had not missed them all!

• House fever is not gone but it is not spiking either. We have decided to wait until after tax season next year before there is a "for sale" sign in our front yard. In the mean time, we have made an enormous to do list to get this house ready to sell. The previous owners put carpet over hardwood flooring down the hall and in the bedrooms. We have been rough on the carpet so it will need to be replaced. However, Jason is thinking of ripping up the carpet and refinishing the hardwoods instead. Crazy, crazy...but way nicer for showing the house.
• Mary Evelyn turned 8! Shame on me for not doing a birthday post for her. Sigh... We had a little mini celebration with my friend Hollie and her guys on her birthday. Then Hollie (being the servant kind of gal that she is) drove the big girls to the movie theater to meet my dad so they could see Prince Caspian. My dad says he still hasn't seen the movie because they sat on the front row and he kept his eyes closed. He says it sounded like a good movie though! Then the girls spent the night with my parents...including little Miss Betsie. The next night we celebrated with Jason's parents.
• The above mentioned night at Mom and Dad's was Betsie's first night away from us...she was not a good sleeper unfortunately. But she told my mom, "I yuv you, Mimi." so I think she was forgiven.
• While the girls were with my parents, Jason and I used a gift certificate to a lovely local Bed & Breakfast. So, so nice. Our 15th anniversary was the day before Mary Evelyn's birthday so it was a special getaway for us. Did I mention that about 2 months ago Jason surprised me with a new van (Odyssey...woo hoo!) for my early anniversary gift? Pretty cool. He got an ipod nano. So come the big day, we were broke and just had to be sweet and skip the gifts.
• I painted my master bathroom. It's lovely. I might have to start a new blog category showing before and after pictures with all the projects we have planned.
• I got excited when David Cook won American Idol.
• Then I was broken hearted just an hour later to learn that Maria Chapman, daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed in a terrible accident. I have been grieving for them since Wednesday night and praying for them constantly. I just received a prayer email asking for prayers for wisdom about when they should return home. They have been staying with friends since the accident. Please pray for the Chapmans.
• We are almost done with school for this year and excited about our short break until mid-July when we'll start back up.

Ellie needs prayer - urgent

She was in surgery all day yesterday. Things seemed to go okay but they ran into some complications with the spine and the esophagus. So she needs more surgery in a week. The urgency now is that Ellie's blood pressure is not stable and she is losing fluid. She was also running a fever last night/this morning. Her parents are understandably afraid and are begging for prayer. You can read more details at their blog, but I don't think they have updated with this most recent prayer request. Pray!

Two Special Children

Thanks for the great comments on my previous post. My girls have always been the messy, creative types. I LOVE that about them(well, the creative part), but the mess you saw in that post is the norm rather than the exception. So it has taken some getting used to. They love to take every toy or box or anything and make BIG towns, houses, vet offices, etc. Clean up time here takes a while every day.

But that's okay. As the end of the week approached and over this past weekend, God has once again helped me to see that these little messes really are nothing to whine about. God has used two very special children to show me what matters and to show me that I am blessed...messes and all.

The first child is Baby Cohen. His parents are friends with my sister and brother-in-law. He was born Wednesday night and was not expected to live. He had been diagnosed with a fatal disorder during pregnancy. Well, he's still here and God is using him to bring glory to Himself! Cohen is breathing on his own, beginning to take bottles and nurse, and his parents are making appointments for him for the months to come...something they never expected to get to do. God has shown me through Cohen that there can never really be anything that is 100% sure in the medical world. He is truly Sovereign and the giver of life!

The next is Ellie. Regular visitors are familiar with three year old Ellie by now. Well, keep praying. She is currently in a Charleston hospital in traction preparing for two very important operations this week. Ellie did have some considerable pain after her first surgery last Wednesday but she is doing well so far. Pray that God would continue to give her parents (Greg and Denise) peace as they anticipate these surgeries. For some reason, I am thinking I read that the surgery would be something like ten hours, but I can't find that now on Denise's blog. Here is a picture of Denise and Ellie wearing her halo.

On a completely unrelated note: Happy dating anniversary to Jason (18 years since our first date!) and Happy Sweet 16 to my lovely niece Jordan! I called her on her cell phone earlier and she was driving around...I feel old. I can't believe she is old enough for cars and cell phones! Have a great day JJ, from the original JJ!