every captive thought

Do you ever have so many good days in a row that you start waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for the "catch"?  I know the Lord doesn't work like that but I guess I am so flawed that I prepare myself for the worst instead of enjoying the blessings that He heaps upon me.  But tonight I am enjoying the blessing.  I am so filled with joy that I can't sleep.  I usually can't sleep because I am concerned or preoccupied with something.  Or because I am pregnant.  I swear, I am always pregnant.  I haven't slept in like 4 years.  But tonight I can't sleep because I am so happy and grateful to the Lord.  Today the Lord answered a HUGE prayer in Brad's life...and therefore in mine. Brad has waited years for this.  Really...years. James was busy in the kitchen "cooking beans" as he calls it.  He plays with dried beans and uses every cooking utensil, pan, pot, bowl and plate...and gets beans all over the house in the process.  F...

I am super crazy tired so I'm going to make this short.  We had an AWESOME day today at BSF!!!  I am praising the Lord for many answered prayers. The house construction stuff is still going on and is going beautifully!  I cannot wait for it to be done.  It is going to look so pretty! I can't wait to show you. We are all fighting off some sort of allergy/sinus/sniffy thing. Jamesie is the worse. Hopefully getting some rest and getting back in our house and all settled next week will help. These pictures are crummy because they are from my phone...because my camera is dead and I don't know where the battery charger is...presumably in one of the 4 laundry baskets I wag back and forth between mine and my Mom's house every day...but that is just a guess. Jamesie "reading" the Bible this morning before BSF. Looking for roly polys. Up in the tree. Fatty

I am still not dealing well with the transitions in my life these days.  I really hate that part of my personality.  I wish I was better about just rolling with the punches but I am not.  I thrive on structure and order...yeh...I'm one of those.  So are my kids.  So being out of our element is not ideal.  We have about 4 or 5 major things going on right now which is about 4 more than I can handle.  Anyways...Thursday was our first class day of BSF.  We were staying at Mom and Dad's house because of the things going on at our house.  The boys woke up bright and sunshiny at 3:00 a.m. and never went back to sleep.  So Jude feel asleep on the way to BSF. James cheerfully posed outside of his classroom with his new Spiderman lunchbox. And then with his brother. He also peeked at the fish while we waited. After a very long and exhausting day, the boys were ready for bed. The next day was Jude's birthday!!!  We had a fun day celebra...

Today was "workshop" for Bible Study Fellowship.  Class starts next week and I am excited.  I can't wait to get back into the swing of things.  I posted last semester a lot about BSF .  This will be my first year to be in leadership without my Mom.  To be honest, I had to fight back the tears at one point.  I have such precious memories of those times with Mom.  (She is in a different Bible study-Community Bible Study-that is wonderful as well!) But at least I got to come home and tell her all about it.  She kept the boys for me while I was gone.  I was so happy to see them when I got home. James did some dishes for me while I was gone. I am excited about this year of BSF.  We will be studying Acts.  Our teaching leader listed out the books we will be studying along with Acts and during our fellowship she asked us which books we were most excited about.  Two of them were James and Jude...so naturally I spoke up and said those...

BSF this morning was just a blessing.  I needed it.  Mom kept the boys for me because Jamesie has had allergy problems and I didn't want to take him with a runny nose.  I don't like it when other mom's bring hacking, runny-nosed kids...ya just never know what's really going on behind all that snot and coughing. When we got home Jude still wasn't drinking his bottle very well and I wanted to see what was going on because the doctor's office will be closed tomorrow for Easter.  Turns out he has an ear infection.  Bummer.  Sweet little guy wasn't even fussy.  I wouldn't have known anything was wrong if it hadn't been for his lazy appetite.  I pray he will get well quickly and have no yucky side effects from the antibiotics.  I will have to talk to Dr. Regueira to see if this will mess up his tests that are scheduled for Monday.  I pray not. This morning I embarrassingly ran off at the mouth in my discussion group about all that is causin...

We had BSF this morning and for the first time Jamesie RAN into his classroom joyfully instead of crying and clinging.  I was delighted!  Glad we cleared this hurdle right before we break for the summer and have to start all over again in the fall.  Awesome.  But hey...I will take the victories wherever we can get them. Jude hung with me because we're tight like that...and because I'm not ready to leave him yet. After we got home Puppy rode on the horsey...down to town. And Jude practiced his tryout routine for contortionist school.  He's a shoo-in. I love to hear Jude's laugh...and he saves his biggest laughs for his Daddy. Although the things we have been through recently have shaken us to the core, Brad reminds me that we have to keep life as "normal" as possible for James and Jude's sake.  So we go on walks to collect pinecones, blow bubbles, draw with sidewalk chalk, read books, watch cartoons, race to the mailbox, and laugh.  We rejoice in t...

When we got the news today that Jude's cancer is stage 4s...I felt like I had the wind knocked out of me again. And although Dr. Regueira was saying "this is good news"...it was NOT the news I was expecting to hear. I was completely positive that it was going to be stage 1 and that I would joyfully be announcing that Jude is cancer free. That is why I was so caught off guard. So while I get that it is good news in the sense that we don't need chemo right now and it could be regular stage 4 and praise God it is not...as Jude's mom, it is not good news to me that he still has cancer and it is in his bone marrow. The cancer metastasized to his bone marrow. I am having trouble wrapping my mind around this. HOWEVER...I am resting in the fact that this has not taken the Lord by surprise. He still holds Jude in the palm of His mighty hand. Just wait...you will see the Lord do something spectacular with this! Even if it is just that He is helping to make us beco...

I love BSF days!  I try to get as much as possible ready on Wednesday night to make sure Thursday morning goes as smoothly as possible and so we get there on time.  While I was getting ready James did a little getting ready of his own. Oops...those aren't yours. There...those are a much better fit. Even if you are brushing your teeth with the wrong side of the toothbrush. Finally ready to go! The first week James had a little bit of trouble staying still and quiet for "quiet time".  Since then I've bribed him with a happy meal after class if his teacher tells me that he laid still and quiet during quiet time.  Score! George wanted a bite too. All Jude wanted was a nap.

Today was BSF day and it was GREAT!  Last week James had problems with "quiet time" and being still and quiet.  I promised his teacher we would work on it this week.  And work on it we did.  This morning I dropped him off at his class and told him that I would ask Mrs. Sara how he did and if he did well I would get him a happy meal.  I'm not above bribing my 2 year old. When I picked him up I asked Mrs. Sara how he did during quiet time and she was happy to report that he AND Puppy were both still and quiet and stayed on their blankie!!!  A bee-line was made to the nearest Mickeydees.  As I was ordering James was in the back seat yelling..."AND A SPRITE!  AND A SPRITE!"  He had to make sure I got the order right.

Today was James and Jude's first day to go to BSF!  I was so excited!  While the other children decorated a heart/craft/sortofthing...James decorated Puppy. But after a very long day that started very early...both boys were ready for bed early.  And so am I.  Nite nite.