Ahhh…..where to begin.
It has been a long couple of weeks and I have so much to blog about I don’t know where to start. It’s been a couple of trying weeks in our household, and I am a firm believer in the cliché, “What doesn’t kill me, will make me stronger”.
I also know that in the wise words of Mother Theresa, “God won’t give us anything we cannot handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much!”
That statement is tried and true for my life lately. My baby girl, Natalie, came down with croup that then turned into pneumonia. She has never been so sick and the high fevers that kept her and I awake, all night long, for 5 straight days was enough to drive any mother insane with worry! We couldn’t get the meds in her to bring her fever down….we couldn’t get the meds in her to fight off the pneumonia….it was just a mess all the way around. By the sheer grace of God, she is on the mend, but it wasn’t before she graciously shared her illness with me.
Within 2 days of her fever breaking and turning the corner from extremely ill to just mildly sick, I had come down with a full blown case of….well, it was either bronchitis or pneumonia….which landed me in the ER at 1:30am this past Friday morning, struggling to breathe. The doctor was unable to confirm which one it was for sure. With being so pregnant (38 weeks), it didn’t make sense to do an x-ray to confirm which it was because the treatment for me was going to be the same either way. A high dose of antibiotics and lots of breathing treatments to get me over the hump. It took several days of treatment before I felt semi-human again, but alas.….I’m doing much better than I was a mere 4 days ago.
And while this may seem hard to believe coming from an exhausted, sick, very pregnant, asthmatic who was still recovering from her baby girl being sicker than ever before….the worst of our week was still lying ahead for us. On that same Friday that I returned home from my ER visit, my husband was let go from his job. The company that he had been working for over the past 4 years could not stay afloat with these tough economic times and had to close their doors. He was let go effective immediately.
So….again….allow me to recap:
Very sick toddler
Very sick mommy
Husband lost his job
Baby #6 due in less than 2 weeks
Yep…I guess that about covers everything!
To say we lead boring lives would be a lie. There is truly never a dull moment in our household, and I guess if we want the good, we must also weather the bad. Life wouldn’t be nearly as miraculous or precious if it was always good times. I realize that we all deserve our time to struggle and the up’s and down’s on our journey just bring us closer together and allow us to really cherish the blessings. The bad times are really just more blessings in disguise.
While this has been and will continue to be a trying time in our lives as my husband tries to find a new job, I refuse to let it damper the immense blessing we are about to experience with the pending birth of our child. My induction date has been set for March 26th at 7:30am if I am unable to go into labor on my own prior to that time. No matter how I slice it, I will not be pregnant for any longer than 10 more days!
And just the thought of getting to meet our latest blessing and newest miracle from God is enough to overcome any hardship we face right now, and thank God that He does trust me so much!
Monday, 15. March 2010
Can I get an AMEN??? AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, 16. March 2010
AMEN!!!!
Oh my! God certainly does have trust in you; in fact, I don’t know when I’ve heard of any one family he has placed more trust in at any one time…maybe the Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie - does that count?
The first thing that comes to mind is insurance…I so hope y’all will be able to keep your medical insurance, for you certainly need it now! The second thing that I worry about is Avery’s tutor - are you still using the tutor and, if so, will he or she work with you, should you have to fall behind in payments now and then? His education is so very important, and I’d hate to see him miss any opportunities or lose any progress he’s already made.
I cannot imagine that, with the stress you’re under, that baby will make it to your due date!
On the upside, at least Corey is there for you while you are so sick, at least he’s there for during your last stressful (anyway!) days of pregnancy, at least he’ll be there for you when/if you go into labor, at least he’ll be there for you to help out when the baby comes home from the hospital. Most fathers miss that opportunity, that bonding time that we mothers get with our babies. Maybe this IS a blessing in disguise. Maybe you’ll go through some hardships, but sometimes hardships make a family stronger. Maybe your children will learn valuable lessons about economizing, about pitching in and helping out even more than they do now. You said it well: “… if we want the good, we must also weather the bad.”
And this WILL make you stronger, but it will also be a struggle. I hope for you all that the struggle will be mild and brief; that Corey will secure an even better job than the last in record time. He’s young, he’s energetic, and he wasn’t let go for any reason of his own. If there’s a job out, he’ll be a prime candidate for it.
A couple more things. I know this is no solution, but like they say, every little bit helps…
I will vow right now that every time I visit your blog I will click on your ads. I assume you have an account and make a few cents for each click? Those clicks will ad up slowly (verrrrrrry slowly, trust me!) but eventually you’ll get a small check now and then. Or so I’ve heard. I haven’t yet gotten one either. But maybe it’ll be enough to splurge on dinner and a movie now and then. Like I said, it’s no solution, but I’m a firm believer in doing everything possible in times of trouble.
Also, Sara, I’m taking some time off from blogging right now, but I am still checking in on you and a couple more blessed friends every day. So, whether it’s Facebook or here, let us know how things progress when you have the time, please.
Continue to fight the infection, rest as much as possible, put your put up and watch movies, let Corey and the children fetch and carry for you - you deserve it! Try to concentrate on the incredible gift of life visibly moving under your skin, think and sing happy thoughts, and remember, “When God Closes a Door, Somewhere He Opens a Window.”