A Prayer Request

Please pray for some dear friends of ours. A couple we know moved away recently to travel with the husband's job. She lost her baby last week (I think she was around 28ish weeks along) due to some severe complications with pre-eclampsia. We almost lost our friend, as well, and her health is still a major concern. We attended the funeral today for their beloved baby. Please pray for them as they go back to a lifestyle very far from home, friends, support, and from parenthood.

The Creature Living in MY House

There is an unidentified creature taking residence in my home. He does NOT pay rent. He is not welcome. I cannot for sure even tell you what kind of parasitic monster it is (okay...so I know that might not be a word, but this is serious business!!!). I am not the only one to register a Smith-Ness monster sighting (wouldn't that make it Smyth-Ness given the nationality?), so don't even try to tell me that I am making this up! It is real. It is a problem.

It all started a few months ago. We have had a small mouse problem we've been attending to in our basement. Megan knew she'd have a bit cheaper rent, but I know she hasn't enjoyed the roommates down there. Anyhow, a few weeks ago now, Meg's Saturday morning sleep-in session was rudely interrupted by a four-legged creature that had an unfortunate meeting with the mouse trap. After a forty-five (yes, that's 45) minute altercation with the trap, Meg finally gave up on sleep, only to find that the "mouse" and trap both disappeared. Several of us have hunted both since, simply to come up scratching our heads at the fate of both.

Fast forward to last week. Nathan and I quickly tried to prepare the house for Naomi's first birthday party (which ended up really being an entire weekend of Ode to Naomi festivities....pictures to follow soon). In all our efforts, we stumbled upon a neatly crafted mouse nest (I'll spare the details of where...you just don't want to know). That small issue was taken care of.

BUT, THE REAL POINT OF THE STORY happened last night. Nathan and I returned home after a day of Nathan being sick and a late night meeting to a little couch potato action watching unfortunate events culminate into a Rockies loss, only to watch a full our assault on the house. Meg and I watched this CREATURE (definition: smaller than a bread box, bigger than a mouse, similar in size to a chipmunk, brown on top and white on bottom, the rest of the features blurred by its speed) shoot across the room from under the rocking chair to disappear into the toy corner (you know, the one where my two toddler children play with all of their toys, inserting some of them at will into their mouths....yucky eeww!).

Needless to say, I do not believe all of these mishaps to be accidental or unrelated. So, please pray for us that we can catch this sucker that is totally not invited to live here and that we can clean the house before my children contract Ricin (that's right, the incurable disease carried by small animals of the rodent variety). We are in the midst of running "Operation: Small foot" in order to rid our house of all unwanted living organisms (well, and some wanted as Megan chose to start moving out on her own...we love you and realize that it is good for you to get your own place, so you and Dustin have a place in a few weeks. But, we will miss you!). Until then, I will let you in on the details of the extermination.

Matthew 10:28, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

The Dreaded Dr.

Dear Mom,

I'd like to take a minute to apologize for all of the time and money that was WASTED at the doctor's office. We all know that no one gets in and out quickly of the black hole occupying the doctor's office. And, for some unresearched reason, there are healing properties that children experience by simply walking through the door (someone should investigate that more).

On my last wasted trip, I got the same remark...."You are doing a fine job as a mother, but there is simply nothing trivially wrong with your child" like it was an inconvenience to take my $30 co-pay (and don't even get me started on my health insurance rant....what a racket!). Maybe there should be a place to sight that as a reason of neglect to social services.

So, again, I apologize for all of the times that we cried and whinned that we were truly sick.....and not. I am sorry that you spent years of your life that you can never have back waiting for incompetent nurses and rude doctors to tell you what we should have....that you are a great mother with mildly sick children. I really regret that you wasted all of that money that should have gone into an investment account to make us both weathier. Thank you for carrying good health insurance and getting to the bottom of wierd rashes and mild fevers and wierd phantom stomach pains. You really are a good mom.

With Love,
Your Favorite (and Apologetic) Daughter

It Goes Too Fast!

I heard the cliche. People always tell me to enjoy things- my life, my kids, etc.- because it all goes too fast. I believed people when they gave me the advice. I even took it to heart and tried to take deep breaths while enjoying the scenery. The tragedy of it all is that, even when you stop to take in the little moments along the way, it still goes way too fast! So then, I am left with the stress that everyone tells you it goes too fast, the responsibility of trying to take in as much as I can, and the defeat that the time I try to preserve will never be enough. That is a lot of weight.

The real truth behind the mayhem is this: I have great kids and I have a great life. Every single day is a joy. And I've come to know that if I spend too much time trying to preserve what already happened I am doomed to miss the wonderment right in front of me. I froze when I heard the lyrics to Kenny Chesney's new song Don't Blink,

"Don't blink
Just like that you're six years old and you're taking naps and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don't blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your better half
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you're praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So don't blink."

But then, I realized a few things. One, I am blessed to have so many memories and great events to treasure and look back on. By savoring those moments I have warm thoughts to keep on cold days. Two, there are many fun memories to come. By looking forward to them I have reason to get out of bed every morning. And three, I can only hold on to so much. I have an entire eternity of memories to hold on to. Every day will be special in its own way.

So, as I look on to what the rest of this month holds, I realize that my baby is about to have her first birthday. I only hope that the next year is filled for fun moments she wants to hold onto and remember. There is so much ahead for my little ones. I can't wait to hold their hands through it and enjoy the memories with them.

"Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, 'The LORD has done great things for them.'The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Psalm 126:2,3