A Day

It's been a day. Every mommy knows these kinds of day...

All three kids needed naps. They knew they needed naps. They headed happily up to their beds. And yet, it became very apparent after 45 minutes that no one was actually going to sleep. Up we got. Bickering began immediately.

So, while I went out to water the tomato plant...

JackJack slipped upstairs and by the time I found him, he had pulled a stool up and gotten down 2 different bottles of shampoo which were rapidly sluiced across the floor, the stool, and JackJack's hair.

So then...

After getting him showered off and into pajamas, I started dinner. This time, he slipped out the back door without me noticing. I was only aware of his disappearance when Mermaid Princess came running in to tell me that JackJack had dismantled the only healthy tomato on our plant... the one plant I have truly tended to all summer.

So then...
I started working on tomorrow night's menu only to realize we really are short on just about everything and are going to have to do a grocery run whether we want to or not...

But none of this topped being at the dollar store after Vacation Bible School early this afternoon with three exhausted, hungry kids, one of whom was determined to make a plea for every bag of candy, one of whom was determined the race the cart through the narrow aisles (end caps be darned!), and one who wanted to try out every single thing that looked remotely like it could be a cell phone. Within 10 minutes, my patience was wearing VERY thin. Still, I wondered at the strange looks I was getting, as my mommy voice grew increasing tense and tight.

It wasn't that I got home that I realized I was still wearing my Bible School shirt. It's flame orange and very clearly not the kind of t-shirt that could be mistaken for something from Old Navy. Part of me wanted to laugh and part of me was ready to burst into tears.

I'm settling for going to bed very, very early. G'night.

Joy of an Evening

So, one of the things I've really learned in these, my thirties, is that the brief times of pure joy we're given are to be cherished, not taken for granted.

Pure joy moments with kids are truly brief - they shine incandescently bright and then come to abrupt end when the sticky fingers are rubbed on your just washed hair, or someone knocks over the cup of juice, or a ball comes flying out of nowhere and clocks the baby in the noggin. They are, of course, the shining moments that make it ALL worth it, but they are generally quite short. (Hence the blog, where at least a few of them can live forever.)

But whole evenings of joy? Oh, so rare.

Melissa, Heather, Heather, Becky, Cary, me, Cindy

A group of friends surprised me with a dinner out for my birthday. I thought I was going to dinner with two friends and just about fell over (and burst into tears) when it turned out to be a whole table of friends, with more dropping in, and even more who couldn't be there and sent cards.

We stayed up late (very late)... even as we headed out to the parking lot, we lingered. Who knows when such joy will strike again?

Thank you to Melissa and Becky who organized it, to Cary, Heather, Cindy, Heather, and Andy for coming. Thank you to Chad, who had the restaurant staff take perfect care of us (at Wild Wing Cafe if anyone is looking for a wonderful night out!).

I feel wealthy beyond imagining. Traveling through this world can make for rough passage, but how comforting that the journey doesn't have to be a solo effort.

Band of... okay, Duet of Brothers

Why can't we all just get along?

After months of praying that the boys would start to become friends... just perhaps more than tolerate each other in the same room... we've had an about face.

Today, after our first day of Vacation Bible School:

Mommy: Flash, who should we go get first? Mermaid Princess or JackJack?

Flash: JackJack.


Mommy (a little confused): No, who should we go get first?

Flash: Mommy, let's get JackJack.

(We go get JackJack, with great grins and giggles).

Mommy: Okay, JackJack, let's go get Mermaid Princess.

JackJack: Don't want M'maid Pincess.

Mommy: Sweetheart, we need to go get our girl.

JackJack: (in rapidly escalating pitch): Don't WANT M'maid Pincess.

on a happier day

What in the world??? And I know everyone says the middle kid always has to put up with the most, but from my vantage point, it seems like he has it made. He ALWAYS has a playmate, while the other two each have to wait turns for his attention. Ironically, he is also the one who would probably be happiest by himself.

Cary and Clay: Update 1

Cary and Clay had another ultrasound this week. Not much news to report - the baby has grown bigger and the tumor has too -- in proportion. The "wait and see" continues.

The geneticist proposed that they head to Children's Hospital in D.C. for a fetal MRI to gather more information, both on the tumor they know is there and to see if any other tumors may be forming on other organs that the ultrasound just can't see. The MRI is scheduled for July 25th.

In the meantime, this incredible family has decided that given the choice to dwell on the disease or the baby, they are going to choose to focus on the baby. That means thinking about names, planning the nursery, and smiling instead of flinching when strangers ask about the pregnancy.

I stand amazed. I was with Cary tonight and saw her graciously accept queries and compliments about the little boy she's carrying without the least shadow of fear or despair traveling across her face. This is faith in action - to trust that the Lord knows what He's up to when none of it makes sense from our perspective.

For those who are wondering how to pray, here are the potential outcomes for this tumor:
1. It may be the kind of tumor that will simply disappear sometime in the baby's first two years of life.

2. It may be a tumor that will continue to grow and at some point interfere with the functioning of the heart, at which point surgery will be needed.

3. It may be the first in a series of tumors from Tuberous Sclerosis.

4. The whole thing could go away in a modern day miracle... or maybe just a good old-fashioned one.

Pray for peace and strength as they walk through each day with this dark cloud trying to take over their thoughts. Pray for increasing delight in the pregnancy and in the life growing there. And pray for healing, as only God can do.

Today I have learned that it IS possible, no matter how trying the circumstances, how great the obstacles, how dire the straits, to refuse to wallow in the ugliness. If I can keep my focus on my blessings, no matter how much those around me are yelling about my difficulties, I can be content. I have seen it done; I pray I strive to do no less.

Kids and Creeks

What is it about creeks? Why are they so charming?
Why does icy cold water seem purer than any other kind?

Big E. and I both had a creek (the same one, actually) near us growing up. When we first looked at our current home, Big E. suddenly tore off into the woods as we toured the back yard. It was ten minutes before he re-emerged with the triumphant shout, "There's a creek back there!"

At that moment, I knew we were putting a bid in on this house.

These shots are not from our creek. Our town has loads of them, so we were exploring a new spot on this day.

It was so cold, so very cold in the water. JackJack would not be deterred from throwing rocks and fishing with sticks. I think he wallowed in the deepest spot for 20 minutes or more.

Flash's sharp eyes also found this caterpillar:

JackJack was petting our new friend rather vigorously. It is perhaps not a surprise that our 'pillar was nowhere to be seen on our return hike.

The Fast Right Hook

My friend, Lauren, looks at me sometimes and says, "Life is just rude." (Lauren knows whereof she speaks: check out her blog to see what I mean.) She is so right. We are going along our merry way, thinking we have some semblance of control over what the days will hold, when suddenly, a fast right hook catches us unawares and knocks "life as we know it" right out the window.

Meet Cary. Cary and I went to college together and then ran into each other "by chance" when we both joined the local MOPS group a decade later.

The little girl is her daughter, Mary Brooks. Isn't she cute?

Somehow, they seem like an old married couple here.

She is so determined to keep up with the big kids.

This is her son. Harrison is 4, and he and Flash just get each other.

It was a little foolish of us to expect two 4 year old boys
to respect the stillness of nature.

Geronimo!

As you might be able to see from the first picture, Cary is pregnant. 14 days ago, during the routine ultrasound, she and her husband, Clay, received terrifying news. Little Baby Boy (LBB) has a tumor on his heart. It is not obstructing blood flow in any way, but let us agree that this is not the news a mother is expecting when she went in to find out whether the nursery should be pink or blue.

The news did not improve. Clay and Cary were sat down to have it gently explained to them that there is a good chance that this tumor is indicative of a disease called Tuberous Sclerosis. This is a genetic disease in which hard, encapsulated tumors grow all the body, both inside and out - on the brain, lungs, heart, kidneys, and especially on the eyes and skin. As you can imagine (but wouldn't want to), those tumors then cause a host of other developmental issues, potentially including mental retardation, autism, seizures, etc. There is no known cure -- each tumor is handled as an individual case.

I am posting all of this because - well, because Cary and Clay could use our prayers. Because life is rude and sharing the brunt of the rudeness can make the load a little easier to carry. Because it's so easy to get caught up in the silly daily bickering and fussing at one another and to forget that tomorrow is not promised. Because Cary flows between waves of grief and complete peace and because it has been a privilege to see her life marked by God's grace in the midst of this living nightmare.

I will be posting the news of their journey with Little Baby Boy as it unfolds. Pray for healing. Pray for mercy. Pray for peace. Pray for strength. Pray for grace. And don't let small things fool you into thinking they are big things. A fast right hook might be in the near future.