every captive thought

Friday, in the midst of a very bad day, I went out to check the mail and found a big box on our front porch.  Our sweet friends, Zach and Lindsay sent us a Zoku Quick Pop Maker.  It was a cheerful little reprieve from the onslaught of burdens that day.  SO...I popped the Zoku in the freezer and James and Jude impatiently waited the required 24 hours to get it good and frozen.  The boys picked out two different pops they wanted to make from the recipe book and we went to the grocery store this morning to buy the fruit.    We made the "Summer Morning" pop-honeydew, lime and basil leaves.  The boys were super excited to help. They put the fruit in the blender. Jude thought it was "too lowwwwwd". Then we poured the mix into the Zoku... And watched it freeze. Super fast. We all tried them out and they were DELISH!  Katy Jane didn't get to try one.  But she sure looked cute. Being cute is exhausting. Tomorr...

March was a difficult month and it seems to be spreading its love into April as well.  After our appointments in Dallas we found out that Jude's labs came back high.  Definitely not the news we wanted or expected to get.  I had actually given very little thought to Jude's appointment because I was so certain everything would be fine.  The elevated labs could be something as simple as a food he had eaten that caused the numbers to be high or it could mean the cancer has returned.  We will repeat the labs in about a week and go from there.  As the mother of a cancer kid who has gone into remission, that is the call you dread for the rest of your life..."his labs came back high".  Got the call, dealing with it, moving on. The medicine for Katy Jane has not been working at all and in fact, she seems to be doing worse.  She is eating less, less content, spitting up again, and her spasms are frequent.  She has started wincing and has dark circles...

I had this picture on my phone from Easter Sunday at my parent's church.  James' crayon behind the ear cracks me up.  Coloring is serious business.

The other day I was getting James and Jude's Easter clothes out of the closet and James came and asked me what I was doing.  I told him and he looked off thoughtfully and then said, "Now Easter is when Jesus comes down from Heaven and drops eggs filled with candy on the ground???"  Thus began an extensive review of the real Easter story... Matthew 28:1-7 After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God’s angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn’t move. The angel spoke to the women: “There is nothing to fear here. I know you’re looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He...

Really, Jude? 

This morning we worked on a little Easter craft.  James is always up for some crafting so he needed no convincing.  Jude, on the other hand, has an aversion to cotton balls.  He was distressed.  Luckily our little craft included glue, markers, googly eyes, and cotton swabs.  He was lured in. Katy Jane supervised.   Jude was pleased with his final product. My little snuggle bunny. James insisted on making a silly face.  Katy Jane was not impressed. She finally had to put a stop to the silliness. Now we are all ready for a hoppy Easter!

Today is two years since Jude's surgery to remove the large tumor that had grown around one of his adrenal glands.  Yesterday was the two year mark of finding out he had cancer.  Those days drastically changed our lives.  Now, two years removed, I can say that it has mostly been for the better.  So much good has come from such a difficult time.  God is so good to us.  Our precious little Jude is a living testimony of God's goodness and faithfulness. For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14