As we are STILL waiting on Bailey's latest diagnosis, I am up to my ears in laundry, cooking, and the typical house cleaning. When your child has some weird infection of the bowel...you freak, grab the can of Lysol and before you know it, your other kids are high on fumes. (but hey, the house smells clean!)
All the while, I am trying to treat myself to some type of normalcy and blog a little when I hear..."mom, can you wipe me?!?" And now the treat becomes a trick!
Ah, the joys of motherhood...all in a day's work!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Out of the Mouth of Babes!
What did we ever do before children? I mean, really! Our lives are so blessed by these little blessings-of-God, make-me-pull-my-hair-out, screamers, boo-boo producing angels!!! Just the other night at dinner we asked Caleb to pray. Of course we are against memorized prayers and encourage all of them to pray from their heart. Being that Bailey has been sick, Paul and I bowed our heads, assuming that he would be thankful for the meal and possibly ask for healing for his sister. Oh no...that must not have been on his heart because this is what he prayed...
Yes, he prayed for the food, and then he asked prayer for all of his indians. (Paul and I both squint an eye open and look at each other for some kind of confused confirmation.)
"...and God, I pray for all of my indians, because in the Bible, you say to pray for our indians."
We smile and instruct him that the correct word is enemies, but God wants us to pray for Indians, too! Oh, it made our hearts smile. Paul immediately said that I had to tell Hetal! So our dear friend, Hetal...this one is for you!
Yes, he prayed for the food, and then he asked prayer for all of his indians. (Paul and I both squint an eye open and look at each other for some kind of confused confirmation.)
"...and God, I pray for all of my indians, because in the Bible, you say to pray for our indians."
We smile and instruct him that the correct word is enemies, but God wants us to pray for Indians, too! Oh, it made our hearts smile. Paul immediately said that I had to tell Hetal! So our dear friend, Hetal...this one is for you!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Power is On!
Most of my family received power last night, (only after I had finished all but one load of laundry)! Patty had some major damage to her home and due to the water still in it, she can not turn her electricity on at the moment. Ray is still without power in Houston, but hears that it may come up by Monday. Lumberton school is scheduled to resume next Wednesday, and so hopefully a routine will be established once again. As for now, we are just chillin' out and enjoying this MidWestern weather God has sent our way in the midst of the power outages. I hope people can truly see what a miracle that is...we were in the high 90s the week prior to Hurricane Ike, and expect to be back there in a week or so. Hopefully everyone will have power to chill themselves by then. Thank you God for cool breezes!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Graber Laundry Service
After praying about what I could possibly do to help our family out while their power is still off, God gave me an answer of practicality. One that I may add, is not my favorite thing to do, but nonetheless,...their laundry. (Like I don't do enough laundry the way it is.) And so with that, I took my happy little self on a laundry run and gathered laundry from dad, Terri, Shan (and her family) and Davy (and his family.) Let's just say, lots of laundry! But it is something I can do that will meet a practical need of theirs, and one that they've allowed me to do. They don't ask for much, so I know allowing me to take and do it was a big step for some of them. And so it goes...still no power in Evadale and most of the towns around us. Praise God for the cool weather, for the dry weather! Just another little blessing in the midst of the chaos!
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Simple Life
Starting to engage in life again after a hurricane is very eye-opening. We forget how much we take for granted...from having a secure house over our head, to the convenience of going to Wal-Mart and finding any kind of food we want. We have running water, gas stations are at our disposal on every corner, and time never seems to be too much of a factor when we really need, or shall I say, want something.
We are blessed to be some of the residents who have power and running water...and quite honestly, without seeing debris and mangled storage buildings throughout our neighborhood, you really can't tell our area was the recipient of Ike. You really can't tell things are all that different until you notice all of the children playing in the streets, and neighbors standing out visiting with one another. No one is worried about schedules, clothes or makeup for that matter, and what they "should be doing." Things are very simple here now...people coming together like communities used to in the days of when front porches were actually a priceless commodity to a home. I stood in line today to enter Wal-Mart...we were backed up outside from one set of doors to the other...all waiting our turn to ransack the store of those things we think we may need in the near future. The employees were handing out bottled water to Lumberton residents and those from neighboring towns, as this Wal-Mart was the only one opened. Everyone seemed to have gas cans in their carts as they patiently waited to see if any more milk was going to be put out. I was amazed at how much talking was going on...people were actually talking to one another...as if to be bonding in this "thing" that brought us all together. Time was actually on our side for once, as there was no real hurry to do anything or to go anywhere...(as if you could anyway without power) you just had to wait your turn. I actually met a very nice man who was explaining that he needed a chain for his saw before he could begin his clean up recovery. I would not have met this man, of name I do not know, on any regular day. He would have been too busy. I would have been too busy. But today...life is simple. And today, life is good. As much as I would like to get back to our family's routine, I hope the hustle and bustle doesn't consume us too soon.
We are blessed to be some of the residents who have power and running water...and quite honestly, without seeing debris and mangled storage buildings throughout our neighborhood, you really can't tell our area was the recipient of Ike. You really can't tell things are all that different until you notice all of the children playing in the streets, and neighbors standing out visiting with one another. No one is worried about schedules, clothes or makeup for that matter, and what they "should be doing." Things are very simple here now...people coming together like communities used to in the days of when front porches were actually a priceless commodity to a home. I stood in line today to enter Wal-Mart...we were backed up outside from one set of doors to the other...all waiting our turn to ransack the store of those things we think we may need in the near future. The employees were handing out bottled water to Lumberton residents and those from neighboring towns, as this Wal-Mart was the only one opened. Everyone seemed to have gas cans in their carts as they patiently waited to see if any more milk was going to be put out. I was amazed at how much talking was going on...people were actually talking to one another...as if to be bonding in this "thing" that brought us all together. Time was actually on our side for once, as there was no real hurry to do anything or to go anywhere...(as if you could anyway without power) you just had to wait your turn. I actually met a very nice man who was explaining that he needed a chain for his saw before he could begin his clean up recovery. I would not have met this man, of name I do not know, on any regular day. He would have been too busy. I would have been too busy. But today...life is simple. And today, life is good. As much as I would like to get back to our family's routine, I hope the hustle and bustle doesn't consume us too soon.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Ike hit yesterday leaving a path of devastation for our coastal area. Once again, I ask myself why we choose to live on the Gulf Coast, only to reiterate that this is where God has us for now. Period. And so the blog goes...
Being submissive is sometimes a challenge for me, but I yearn to trust Paul in his decisions to lead our family in all areas of life. Thus, two weeks ago we made a 19 hour trip to Michigan to evacuate Hurricane Gustav (that is fun to say), only to have Paul return back to work immediately. After "vacationing", the kids and I returned home last Sunday...worn and weary only to have to regroup and prepare for another evacuation. This time, however, Paul did not feel the need to leave and I just prayed that God would speak to him in ways that he could understand on what direction our family should take with this storm. Being from the Mid West, I was caught in a couple of tornadoes as a kid that have traumatized me to this day. Seriously, a July thunderstorm has me running around our Texas home screaming, "where is the basement!?!" So it is totally understandable for me to see a hurricane 650 miles away and want to evacuate,... yesterday! Well, I realized this "submissive" thing kind of stinks from time to time and I bit the bullet and stayed to ride the storm out here. I've come to realize in the last few days that not only do Texans use the words "hunker down," but now I UNDERSTAND what that means.
We put the kids to bed in our room because we were "having a special slumber party in mommy's room" around 9:00 p.m. Nothing short of answered prayers, all 3 kids slept undisturbed until 6 a.m. PRAISE GOD! I did not want them to hear the storm coming through, or feel the energy that Ike brought with him. I know that sounds new-agey, but anyone who has ever "hunkered down" through a hurricane knows what that means. I was so afraid that little Keaton would wake in the middle of it. Unfortunately, she is like her mama and the sight of rain makes this child tremble. I was even more afraid that she would wake and see me in a corner, rocking in the fetal position, and hitting my head against the wall, all the while screaming, "find a happy place, Find a Happy Place, FIND A HAPPY PLACE!!!" (yes, another answered prayer.)
But on a serious note, God really showed Himself faithful to us that night...so many little blessings in the midst of all of the chaos. I was terrified once the wind started to hit, and I chewed every nail off and then some, but God had me so exhausted from the previous weeks of evacuating and traveling so much, that I had no other choice but to give in and fall asleep. Paul and I seemed to take turns sleeping when we could, but then the really bad part hit and sleeping was over. Although it wasn't as bad as what I was expecting, it was bad enough, and let's just say Paul and I have "agreed" that we will never hunker down again!
Yes, Mother Nature is nothing to mess with...she isn't invited to anymore special slumber parties at my house! A house that wasn't damaged in the least little bit...bless God! He IS GOOD!
Being submissive is sometimes a challenge for me, but I yearn to trust Paul in his decisions to lead our family in all areas of life. Thus, two weeks ago we made a 19 hour trip to Michigan to evacuate Hurricane Gustav (that is fun to say), only to have Paul return back to work immediately. After "vacationing", the kids and I returned home last Sunday...worn and weary only to have to regroup and prepare for another evacuation. This time, however, Paul did not feel the need to leave and I just prayed that God would speak to him in ways that he could understand on what direction our family should take with this storm. Being from the Mid West, I was caught in a couple of tornadoes as a kid that have traumatized me to this day. Seriously, a July thunderstorm has me running around our Texas home screaming, "where is the basement!?!" So it is totally understandable for me to see a hurricane 650 miles away and want to evacuate,... yesterday! Well, I realized this "submissive" thing kind of stinks from time to time and I bit the bullet and stayed to ride the storm out here. I've come to realize in the last few days that not only do Texans use the words "hunker down," but now I UNDERSTAND what that means.
We put the kids to bed in our room because we were "having a special slumber party in mommy's room" around 9:00 p.m. Nothing short of answered prayers, all 3 kids slept undisturbed until 6 a.m. PRAISE GOD! I did not want them to hear the storm coming through, or feel the energy that Ike brought with him. I know that sounds new-agey, but anyone who has ever "hunkered down" through a hurricane knows what that means. I was so afraid that little Keaton would wake in the middle of it. Unfortunately, she is like her mama and the sight of rain makes this child tremble. I was even more afraid that she would wake and see me in a corner, rocking in the fetal position, and hitting my head against the wall, all the while screaming, "find a happy place, Find a Happy Place, FIND A HAPPY PLACE!!!" (yes, another answered prayer.)
But on a serious note, God really showed Himself faithful to us that night...so many little blessings in the midst of all of the chaos. I was terrified once the wind started to hit, and I chewed every nail off and then some, but God had me so exhausted from the previous weeks of evacuating and traveling so much, that I had no other choice but to give in and fall asleep. Paul and I seemed to take turns sleeping when we could, but then the really bad part hit and sleeping was over. Although it wasn't as bad as what I was expecting, it was bad enough, and let's just say Paul and I have "agreed" that we will never hunker down again!
Yes, Mother Nature is nothing to mess with...she isn't invited to anymore special slumber parties at my house! A house that wasn't damaged in the least little bit...bless God! He IS GOOD!
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