Last Year's Photo Book - Finally!

Every year it gets harder and harder to find the time to make our annual photo album. This year only an offer for a free Shutterfly photo book if I finished by the end of June was enough of a push to help me finally complete last year's photo album! I can only imagine what a hopeless endeavor this year's photo book will be if I wait to start until next January.

Update: For those of you reading this post via RSS or email, you will need to click on my blog to view the photo book.

Big Brothers

All Must Mean All

"All the paths of the Lord are loving and faithful." Psalm 25:10

All does not mean "all - except the paths I am walking in now," or "nearly all - except this especially difficult and painful path."  All must mean all.

So, your path with its unexplained sorrow or turmoil, and mine with its sharp flints and briers - and both our paths, with their unexplained perplexity, their sheer mystery - they are His paths, on which He will show Himself loving and faithful. Nothing else; nothing less.

Amy Carmichael, You Are My Hiding Place, p. 98

McDonald's

Most parents would prefer that their children not eat at McDonald's (or any other fast food restaurant, for that matter).  I, on the other hand, cannot begin to tell you how OVERJOYED I was that Wesley actually ate lunch with us at McDonald's on Monday.  Due to a confluence of events, we left our house early that morning and didn't get home until nap time.  As I had not been expecting to do this, I did not plan ahead like I usually do and pack a lunch for Wesley that he would both be willing and able to eat.

As we pulled into the McDonald's parking lot for lunch, Zach and I took a minute to pray for God's mercy, that He would help Wesley to accept the food I offered him and not fight me with every bite.  Then we went in, with me thinking that if Wesley ate one or two bites of chicken nugget and one or two fries, I would count our lunch trip as a success.

Much to my surprise, Wesley INHALED his lunch!  The most amazing part of lunch was that Wesley accepted his food immediately when I offered it to him, whereas normally the first bite or two of something new is a huge fight.  And not only did he accept it, he WANTED it.  He dove for each bite of chicken nugget as I offered it to him, and he stuffed the fries into his mouth like they were candy (or in his case, goldfish, since he dislikes all things sweet).  I am sure Wesley would have eaten more, but I only offered him two chicken nuggets, as they took a lot of work for him to chew, and Zach and I were long done with our lunches by the time Wesley finished his.

As we left the restaurant, I walked out in amazement at God's provision for our family.  He could have let Wesley do his usual fighting, and he wouldn't have starved.  Wesley would have been hungry, but he would have been fine.  Instead, God chose to answer our prayers in a powerful and marvelous way.  He reminded me that nothing is too small to bring to His throne of grace.  He loves Wesley, and He cares for every tiny detail of Wesley's life.

Phoebe Has A Family!!!

 

Yes, it's true!  I have been crying tears of joy all morning.  Yesterday afternoon I went to the Reece's Rainbow website to look at Phoebe's sweet picture, and much to my surprise, I found a bio of the family who has committed to adopting her.

I cannot stop rejoicing in the Lord's kindness to Phoebe.  He has given her a family!

Just look at these lovely pictures of sweet Phoebe.  Soon this precious little girl will have a mommy and daddy to hold her and love her!  Please continue to pray for Phoebe and her new family, as they walk through the long process of adopting her.

It's Raining Again

After a very short season of no medical issues, it seems that possible issues which need to be checked out are adding up again.  Wesley visited a pediatric dentist a few weeks ago, where my concerns about his mouth were confirmed.  He inherited large teeth and a small mouth from his mother, and his case, his upper jaw is so small that there is no room for his remaining baby teeth to come in.  As kindly as he could, the dentist explained to me that the best case scenario would be for Wesley's cuspids to force their way down in whatever fashion they can manage.  If they are not able to make their way down in the next six months, we will need to have Wesley sedated so that X-rays can be taken to determine next steps.  From there, as long as his teeth are actually there, we are looking at oral surgery to pull his cuspids down so that his upper jaw continues to grow and make room (whatever room there will be) for his permanent teeth.  Right now, with everything else going on in our family, this news seems minor.  But we are well aware of how quickly it could turn into a big deal if these teeth do not come in on their own.  Please join us in praying that God would lay His hand on Wesley's mouth and guide these teeth down on their own without surgical intervention.

In addition to his teeth, we recently found out that there are also possible concerns with Wesley's heart.  During his EEG last month, Wesley's heart rate was dropping significantly during the night, to the point that it was setting off alarms.  Currently none of his doctors have any idea why this might be happening, so we are taking Wesley to see a pediatric cardiologist and praying that he would be able to quickly identify the issue.  Our hope is that this would not be a serious problem.  As well, we just learned that Wesley has a heart murmur. We know nothing more than this, but it leaves us wondering why we were not informed of this sooner and concerned that there might be more going on with Wesley's little heart that we are unaware of.

It is discouraging to realize that we may need to drag Wesley through more procedures and surgeries.  Our poor boy has been through so much already, and the thought of putting him through more tests makes my heart ache.

In the midst of all of this, though, we rejoice that Wesley's life is being upheld by the Lord.  As I read through Hebrews 1:1-4 today, I was again filled with awe that Jesus, Wesley's Savior and advocate before the throne of grace, is the same Jesus who created the world, is the very radiance and glory of God, and upholds the universe solely by the word of His power.  Jesus upholds all things - including Wesley's life - just by His powerful word.  What a comfort this is to me, as I am again freshly aware of how there is nothing that I can do to give my son life and health.  Instead of fearing what may be in store, I can rest in peace, for my trust is in Jesus, who loves Wesley so much that He gave His life for him.

Family Fun Outdoors

Last summer Wesley hated being outside.  He was just learning to walk and fell all the time on the uneven ground.  Then when he fell, he was unable stand back up unless he crawled to the nearest tree to assist him with pulling up.  Of course, with his luck, the nearest tree was always across the yard.  Needless to say, he was not very happy about how difficult it was to get around.

Zach insisted on riding in a baby swing so he could be next to Wesley

This summer, on the other hand, Wesley LOVES every moment he spends outside.  He amuses himself for hours coloring with sidewalk chalk, runs back and forth in our driveway squealing in delight while Zach rides his bicycle around our cul-de-sac, pulls out his stroller to request that we go for a walk, laughs boisterously as he splashes in the kiddie pool, and is thrilled every time we go to the park.  This spring has been delightful as we have watched Wesley explore outside and grow by leaps and bounds physically as he has tried new things, determined to master them.

Just last week we enjoyed a family trip to the park where Wesley showed off all his new skills to Daddy.  He can now climb the steps at the playground and then slide down small slides all by himself.  As well, he is learning to go up steps standing up and holding on to the rails instead of crawling.  His determination continues to amaze me.  He is willing to fall down again and again and still get up and try once more.

The park we visited also had a large hill, which Wesley surprised us by climbing to the top of.  I didn't think he would have the balance or the endurance to keep going - but he did it!

It is a joy to be able to go to parks this spring and enjoy our time as a family.  I have loved standing back and just watching our boys run around and play together.  We are looking forward to a wonderful summer outside as a family this year!

Daddy is watching the angry goose to make sure it doesn't attack his boys!