Ogunquit

  On the hour and half drive from Boston, we had quite a discussion on how to pronounce the name.

I made the bed and breakfast owner say it several times.

I'm still not sure I have it right.

But they served a yummy wild blueberry bandana, and Seth got his Maine lobster. 

I guess I'll just have to go back to Ogunquit again someday - a person's got to learn how to pronounce the places they've been. 

Boston and My Beloved

Seth had a conference in Boston at the beginning of March, so we decided that I would go with him.  With his crazy work/school schedule we needed a little time away together.  Our in-laws were kind enough to agree to take Juliette for the week, so we took a few extra days to enjoy the town - and of course hang out with my sweet sister Courtney.  It was a real treat, because last time I had been there was to help her move.  Now that she has been at school there for a year and a half, she was able to show us around.  I even got to sit in on one of her classes.  It was fun to play college student again - at least until the professor gave out the assignments!

Seth surprised me, and bought us tickets to the Boston Symphony Orchestra.  The symphony hall was so beautiful - and the music was just as lovely!

The one thing Seth said he REALLY wanted to do while we were in Boston was visit MIT and Harvard.  Here is a picture of one of the Harvard dorms.  A little bit nicer than CSU.  Just a little bit.  Haha!

I did manage to coerce Seth into visiting a few historical sites that were not institutes of higher learning.

We had a great time - even though I had worried and worried about how Juliette would do with being apart for that long (and me too, for that matter!).  I even asked my friends to specifically pray for us. Well, Jewel didn't even blink an eye when we dropped her off with Grandpa and Grandma.  And whenever we'd call to check in, she'd talk for about all of thirty seconds and then merrifly head off to play.  The big hug I got on our return made me think that she might have missed me a little however. 

Of course when Grandpa and Grandma left she cried and cried, asking over and over to go "in grandpa's car".  Which just goes to show you should never waste time worrying - it doesn't help, and even if you do worry, it probably isn't even about the right things. 

Seasons

It's snowing again . . . sigh.  It's times like these that I have to remind myself of God's promise that there is "a season for everything". 

It will be spring again. 

Someday.

The past three months have been snowy, but they have also been a season of busyness for us.  There have been passing moments when I have felt guilty for not taking a few moments to record the 'going ons' - but they have been - as I said - passing.  More and more, I'm coming to peace with the fact that just like the natural rhythm of spring and fall, summer and winter, our lives have seasons too.  Seasons of busyness and servanthood, reflection and rest.  The secret of course, if making sure you don't get stuck in any one of them.  No one of us wants to be caught wearing a Christmas sweater to a spring graduation party!  And I certainly don't want to be accused of being ruled by a tyrannically overcrammed schedule.  But I'm confident that the dust will settle eventually. 

Life is such a balancing act . . . sigh (again).

~~~

January was very full - mostly with shows like 'Cat in the Hat' and 'Super Why'.  Juliette's mysterious lumps, that confounded all of the doctors and specialists we visited in December, decided to abscess.  So at the beginning of January, we took her to the local clinic to have the first one lanced. 

We are so grateful for our little clinic here, but I'm not going to lie - it was a traumatic experience for everyone.  Unfortunately, they couldn't sedate her, so it required four adults to hold her down, while the Dr. sliced it open.  Before we went in for "the procedure," I was giving Seth a hard time about dreading it so.  But when it actually came down to it, I was the one that nearly fainted when they opened it up (No really, the nurse made me lie down, put my feet up, and gave me a cool wash cloth for my head.  Pathetic, I know!).  When the doctor opened her festering abcess, the smell was ghastly, and the amount of curdled puss that came out of my little baby's neck was horrifying.  To this day, I sort of throw up a little bit when I think about it.

They don't know why it abscessed - especially since she had been on several rounds of antibiotics.  She developed a second abscess further up on her neck later that month.

So we spend most of January and February in front of the TV with hot-packs on Juliette's face/neck - usually for an half-an-hour, three times a day or more. We had to keep her wounds open and cleaned, which meant ripping off the scabs and squeezing out the puss multiple times a day.  There were a lot of tears in our house - mostly hers, but sometimes mine too.  I felt like I was practically abusing my child.  She'd cry as soon as I turned on the bathroom faucet to warm up the washclothes.  Poor Seth couldn't hardly take it.  And when my dad visited, he had to leave the house until we were done.  Yuck, yuck, yuck! 

But, there were some really good things that came out of it too.  We got a lot of cuddle time in.  I developed an even greater respect for those in the medical field.  I got really good at wrestling a squirming two-year-old.  And the whole experience has made me so much more appreciative of life, health, and family in general!

The good news is - the mysterious hard lumps are gone.  She still has the lance wounds on her face, but gratefully they are getting better and better each day.  I'm praying that they don't scar, but even if they do, I'm just so thankful that she didn't have cancer or some other terrible, terrible disease.  God is so good!

~~~

Seth has been super busy with "the hardest class of his master's degree".  He also was promoted to project manager over all of the projects in the largest town in our county, plus another town that is over an hour away.  This means long commutes and late nights at the office.  That being said, we are so thankful for the plentiful work, especially because at the beginning of the year his boss warned him that they might be cutting hours across the board. 

Note to self - be more specific when you pray.  I should have not asked for more hours for Seth before they had even cut his regular hours.  That will teach me! 

~~~

My season of busyness has been obviously taking extra care of Jewel, trying to be supportive to my hardworking man, and putting together my big grant project at the elementary school.  We had our World Fair last week - and it was terrific.  If you want to see some of the things that the kids did, check it out here:  http://www.fridayenrichment.blogspot.com/

My next big project: potty training. Truly there is a season for everything.

A Love Poem

To Juliette - Valentine's Day 2011

When she still smelled brand new
And curled her fingers tightly around mine
And the downy hair on her head swirled perfectly
I thought to myself- I love this age.

When she began to belly laugh
And did her best to squirm away from me
As I planted raspberry kisses on her newly washed tummy
I thought to myself- I love this age.

When she learned to titter and totter
And discovered how to take the books off the shelf
And how to de-organize cabinets in the blink of an eye
I thought to myself- I may not love this age, but I’ll certainly miss it someday.

Tonight as we read bedtime stories
And I ran my fingers through her curls
And I tucked her into her ‘big-girl’ bed for the second night ever
I thought to myself- I love this age.

Parenthood holds so many gifts.
Each stage unwraps even more to be enjoyed.
I want to savor each moment,
Letting the magic of this journey forever write itself upon my memory.

Soon she’ll be reading, driving, making a life of her own.
The reality of the inevitable seldom lets itself be forgotten.
But if I could just bottle up these moments,
I most certainly would.
For with all my heart- I love this age.

Saturday Afternoon Thoughts

We've enjoyed a laid-back Saturday.  Juliette had a little birthday party to go to this morning, and is now enjoying a much needed nap.  Our town is having their holiday parade and festival this evening, so all of us have just been enjoying a couple of hours of rest and relaxation before the big shin-dig. 

I've used this time to catch up on a few of my friend's blogs.  I came across this great entry from some friends of ours who have a daughter that was born with special needs.  It is such a precious testimony of God's faithfulness to them during their journey.  If you have a moment, read it.  You'll be glad you did!

So many dear friends and family members have called, text, e-mailed or messaged us over the past few days.  What a blessing to be surround by so many people who are faithfully lifting us up in prayer.  It is making a difference - we certainly feel buoyed!

My aunt and I were talking yesterday about how easy it is to get wrapped up in our own sagas.  I've certainly been guilty of that the past few weeks! As we were waiting in the pre-op waiting room and my mind was consumed with keeping Juliette content (and contained!), there was a little boy who caught my eye.  He looked a little bit younger than Juliette, but was pale and listless.  For more than an hour he lay nearly motionless on his mother's lap - clearly quite ill.  The only time I saw him move was to vomit.  His parents were very young looking, and the fear that I felt in my heart for my child looked like it was a hundred times more intense for them.  They were eventually whisked away by the nurses, but the vision of that little boy has not left me.  I am so thankful for the reminder that there are so many others who are in much worse situations than ours.  It certainly makes me realize how much we have to be thankful for! If you say a prayer for us tonight, please say one for that little boy too.

For years now I've had a book on my shelf by Elisabeth Elliot called, "A Path Through Suffering - Discovering the Relationship Between God's Mercy and Our Pain".   I think I originally bought it to give to someone else, but it has sat unread and ungifted upon my shelf for about 10 years now!  I've been reading it in small, digestible snippets the past few weeks.  It is certainly not light, easy reading.  If you don't know Elisabeth Elliot's first husband was a missionary who was murdered by the people he was ministering to.  She also lost her second  husband (to cancer, I believe).  She knows what suffering is all about - and she also knows the unfathomable depths of God's mercy and grace.

I'll be honest, like most people, I'm not too fond of talking about the "minor key" of life.  As Christians we are called to joy and hope and peace - and I'd rather forget about the suffering Jesus also promised (John 16:33).  We aren't supposed to be surprised when life on this earth doesn't always go like we expected - in fact we can expect difficulties, trials, and pain.  But under Christ's perfect orchestration those minor chords can create a glorious melody of triumph, victory, and glory. 

Here is a paragraph that has resonated with me today: "He wants to transform every form of human suffering into something glorious.  He can redeem it.  He can bring life out of death.  Every event of our lives provides opportunity to learn the deepest lesson anyone can learn on earth, 'My present life is not that of the old "I", but the living Christ in me' (Gala 2:20).  When our souls lie barren in a winter which seems hopeless and endless, God has not abandoned us.  His work goes on.   He asks our acceptance of the painful process and our trust . . ."

Whatever we face next week, whether it is major or minor, that is my prayer - that God will use even this to His glory.  May we be willing to embrace all that God has to teach us during this part of our journey.  No matter how long winter is, in Christ, springtime is guaranteed! 

Juliette Update

Seth is on the phone right now, and he just said what I've been thinking for days now: "It's been a long month!"  And today was definitely a long day too.  We have a lot to be thankful for - and a lot to pray about.

We kept Juliette up late last night, and decided to go ahead and drive down to The Big City and get a hotel.  She slept in (just like we hoped), so she only had thirty minutes to wait with no food or water before we checked into the hospital.  She asked for a "nack" (snack) a few times, but it really was a non-issue.  Praise God! I was dreading an I-want-breakfast breakdown. 

We did have a breakdown, but it was over not getting to play with a toy car in the pre-op room.  I guess that sort of thing should be expected from a sleep-deprived two-year-old.  Otherwise, she did great through the procedures today.  They put her under general anesthesia for both the biopsy and the CT scan.  The only issue she had was waking up - particularly because she was so sleep deprived.  Not that I can say that I blame her.  At one point both Seth and I wanted to just crawl in bed with her and join in the napping bliss.  Like I said, it has been a long month! 

With that said, we are very thankful that everything went so well with the procedures today.  In fact, she was bouncing around and happy as a lark this evening.  God is good!

But we still need a lot of prayers.  The radiologist that did the biopsy said that the "mass" has definitely grown in just the two weeks since we had the ultrasound.  What previously looked like two inflamed lymph nodes has now "morphed" into one giant lump.  He said that it could still be a viral infection of some sort (with atypical symptoms) or it could be something much more serious.  We will just have to wait for the pathologist's report - which we should have hopefully sometime next week. 

So we wait again.  Down on our knees, expectantly hoping for the best, surrendering ourselves to God's perfect will.

It's hard.  It doesn't seem fair.  I've cried more this month than I have for probably the past 12 months combined.  But I also believe that God is using this whole experience to bring about a new season in my faith walk.  If nothing else, it has certainly been a great exercise for my soul.   

"Therefore we do not lose heart. . . .For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - 2 Cor. 4:16-18

Thanks for all of your prayers, love, and support.  We are truly thankful to be surround by such a supportive group of friends and family! 

Fall Fun

Today is the first of November.  Seriously?  Now that is spooky.  It seemed like it was just the first week of October a few days ago.  At the rate time is flying by I should have finished my holiday shopping two weeks ago, because Christmas will be in a half-an-hour. 

Besides some minor miscommunications (haha!) - this fall has been quite fun.  I've really enjoyed my part-time job at the school.  We've gone on several fun field trips, and had some great learning experience days - everything from learning about the legislative process to making our own scratch plate prints to playing chemists.  I started a little blog for all of the parents/students to follow: fridayenrichment.blogspot.com

We've also had a great time with our MOPS group.  Here are some pictures from our meeting this week - got to love the kiddos in their costumes: 

And look as this cutey-patootie!

Last weekend we took a road trip and met up with Seth's parents.  They took Juliette to the children's musuem while we met up with a dear friend of ours and went to our first ever pro-football game. 

Our team played atrosiously - but we had a great time and enjoyed some good laughs. 

It's been a fun fall, and with the glorious weather we've had I'm pretty sure it's my favorite time of year!