Testing?

I am not sure how much more emotional stress I can handle!

First off, simple prayer request and thank you to those of you who already know and have been praying.... My Grandma is in the hospital, and probably won't come home. Not sure just how to put it gently, but we are told to expect her to meet her Lord anytime. This is my mom's mother. I think we are all doing ok, as this had been a long time coming, but the pain and emotions are still very visible, as we do love her so much.

Note of interest: I was thinking today of how different she has been the last, how many, 10? years since her first stroke. But her presence was still here. So even though we are used to the knowledge that any day another stroke could come, we will still miss her sitting there in her chair, listening and sometimes responding. This is all the great-grandma B that Melia has ever known, and she knows (as much as she can, which is actually suprising) that we will miss her. Melia asks if she can go to the hospital with me, because she "loves the girl that is sick" and "wants to see her one more time." *sniff*

And I know this doesn't even compare, but it is just another heartstring being stretched to it's limit! Tonight when we got home I checked on the cats and found that Marsha had birthed another litter (I was pretty sure she was prego, but had no idea she was so close!) Two darlings... but then the stress of praying and trying to decide what to do. Do I pull them and try to feed them myself? (Tube feedings every 2 hours) Do I leave them with her, hoping she will take care of them? I went out to take pictures, thinking I would not touch them. She cowered between me and them, growling and hissing at me. I petted her (unheard of!) and she never made an agressive move towards me. So, using the same hand with her scent on it, I felt their little bellies because I could not visually see that they were full. They weren't.

Melia and I prayed that she would take good care of her babies, and that she would feed them lots of milk. After getting the girls to bed and talking to Gabe, discussing maybe partially supplementing to give her a chance to come around, I just prayed and prayed that God would help me to make the right decision. One hand-- I desperately don't want to lose them. I was miserable knowing that I was responsible for the deaths last time. Other hand? Do I want to prolong the inevitable? Is it inevitable? And He provided. He gave me the idea to go out and check on them with a flashlight through the window, and if she was taking care of them, or by them, I would leave them be. If not, I would decide about partially or fully supplementing then.

I went out, tried to sneak up on the cat house, (hard to do on gravel) got up to the window, and shined the flashlight--which promptly blinded me. Nice try. Shined it again, aiming it carefully away from my face, and with my own eyes saw that she was actually nursing them!

Praise Him! Thank You Thank You Thank You Lord!
Your continued prayers are coveted, as both these situations can (and in one case, will) change at any time. I don't trust Marsha, but I do trust Him. A reminder that my eyes are "blinded" when I am only looking at what I can do. I need to refocus, look again, and expect miracles.

:-) He is so good.

Some Random Thoughts and Questions

Busy busy busy! But in a good way!

I am totally sold on the Edamame (soybeans) box from Costco-- easy little microwave boxes, in one big box, decent price, and good to eat! We all like them, even though Gabe thinks they are slightly bland. But this is easily remedied! They are slightly labor intensive, just because you have to squeeze them out of the pods to eat them... but not annoying or anything. They are in the freezer section :-)
My question? Can I grow my own soybeans? Anybody know?

Gabe's thought that stunned me this morning: He had gotten the girls' vitamins out of the fridge, along with ours at breakfast. I wondered what made him do this, and his response:
"You know what happens to you when you forget your vitamins?"
(I get grumpy...or depressed and lethargic)
So, does this happen to kids? Do they need their daily vitamin B-12 too?
They do seem to be happier today...

I made basmati rice tonight for dinner, mixed in with some beans, peppers, corn, onions.... Boy, that rice sure gets long! It was good, for my first try. Somehow, Gabe does this amazing rice and veggies option that is just yummy! Not off a recipe, of course... Just what sounds good at the time. Anyway, anybody have some good basmati rice recipes? Since I bought the big Costco bag? :-)

One of those days....

Don't you despise those days? The ones where you can't wait for it to be over?

That was me and the girls today.

I need to remember to take my vitamins.

And we all need more sleep.

Naptime was such a battle today, just because they were so tired! I am praying for healing and rejuvenating sleep tonight for all of us!

Picture title

hee hee,
I thought of a caption for one or all of kiera's pictures below.

Baby Model Changing Room.

:-) I laughed.

Kiera Being a Big Girl

Wow, I can't believe I still have pictures from Melia's birthday to share, when I have so many more since then! Prepare yourself, when I can find time (because blogger is slow) I will be inundating you with darling and funny kid pix.

These are Kiera on the morning after Melia's party, trying on all her clothes :-)

Spiritual Disciplines Class: Q&A

Ken V said...
I'd like to know more about your class... was it worth the time? Were there any surprising new insights? What new disciplines are you feeling challenged to try out?
Well.... where to start...
Koinonia Institute based their achievement levels on three "tracks;" the berean track (scripture study), the issachar track (end times knowledge-where we are on God's timeclock) and the koinonos track (living the Word).

The first two classes we took (old and new t) were obviously Berean, and this one signified our switch to Koinonos. And it was a switch! Not so much head knowledge, and a whole lot more heart knowledge. This makes it much more difficult for me! (I like black and white!)

But because we are on our first achievement level, the class itself was pretty basic. It went over what it really means to be a disciple through the lens of Judean schools. (I found this fascinating-- one of the literal meanings is "to follow in the dust of your Rabbi." Am I so close to Jesus that I live in His shadow?) To be a true disciple, I must be of the Shema, of Prayer, of the Word, and for others. Included was a week on the emergent church, which I appreciated because although I hear the term and know I don't want to be part of it, I didn't really know what was behind it.

The biggest leading I felt was to make my own copy of the Bible. I posted on this earlier because it was such a special answer to my prayer of how to go about studying now that our church bible studies are ceasing for summer. I just (finally) started on this-- I am starting with 1 Peter. (I wanted to do a book I didn't know much about, and a short one. It fits :-) I did a whole chapter today during naptime-- I think I will try to cut it down and try for more often-- We don't "hand"write very much in today's culture, do we?

Anyway, I totally think the class was worth my time, not because I "enjoyed" it per se, because Dan is a very different teacher than Chuck Missler, so the style was difficult to get used to, but God has led us to take these courses, and that means everything is part of the package! I learned a lot, more about what is lacking in my life because of time, but also that I need to act on the answers He gives! The classes like these that hint at being uncomfortable (!) give evidence to the areas in my life that need work in order to glorify Him.

Praise Him for His faithfulness and patience!

The Hose: Picture Succession

I'll let the pictures tell the story.

Happy Birthday Melia; Part Two

Whew! What a busy couple of days! But we were ready and waiting when our family began to arrive for Melia's special 4th birthday party! It was a fabulous evening, even cool enough outside to let Melia open presents in the yard-- just a great time. We are so thankful for our friends and family -- this means you!

Enjoy the pics!

Melia being bashful about starting to open her presents.

Melia can't handle how excited she is that she received a baseball mit from Grandma and Papa.

This is what happened when we sang Happy Birthday to her :-) Just can't handle her emotions very well :-) Shy Shy Shy!

I will post more later-- it's naptime! (No, not normally, but today I am walking on empty...)

Photo Collage courtesy of Lindsey Richmond

Saturday was Melia's Fourth Birthday! Because her party isn't until Tuesday, we went blueberry picking with our friends Lindsey, Chase, Abby, and Grace. The kids had a blast, and us moms did pretty good too! Melia even got a free pint for her birthday! (I wonder how much they ate when we were in the field...)

If anyone is interested in picking, go to Sleepy Hollow Nursery-- the berries aren't cheaper than Costco, but it is a fun experience for the kiddos!

Phew!

Done! Probably a B, but I am done with my Spiritual Disciplines class.

I applaud all of you who take summer courses. This was so hard, and summer has just begun! Thank goodness we didn't schedule our Prophecy class till the August 18 one!