Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Precious Little Man is just fine. He and his daddy spent the night in the ER...they got home around 4:30 this morning. The doctor ran several tests and determined it isn't meningitis (which we feared), nor flu, nor strep. It seems Little Man has some sort of nasty virus.

So...we're eating popsicles, keeping the "throw up bucket" close at hand, and covering our furniture and floors with blankets and the like.

I am overwhelmed by God's graciousness. After posting last night, I fell to my knees and prayed for my sweet boy, for my husband, and for the doctors they would see. God poured such peace into my heart and assured me of His sovereignty, that nothing happens apart from His perfect will, and that He holds my dear boy in His hands and loves him with a greater love than I will ever be capable of. I am thankful to be His.

I am also overwhelmed by and thankful for your kindness to our family. All the calls and emails and comments. Dear Readers, thank you for your love and thoughtfulness to us. I can't put into words how wonderful it is to receive word that so many of you were praying for Little Man. Most of you I've never even met face to face. THANK YOU! I am honored and humbled by your thoughtfulness and willingness to lift our little guy up in prayer. THANK YOU SO MUCH. You are a blessing to me and I thank God for you. Thank you.

We've been sick a while here...like, since last Monday, March 6th.

Sweet Sister didn't seem herself. T and I decided she'd best stay home Tuesday. I phoned her teacher, who agreed and shared that Sister kept her head on her desk most of the day.

By Tuesday evening, she was running a low grade fever...that fever ebbed and flowed, it dipped and it soared, and it hung on until Sunday morning, when she finally woke and stayed fever free! The cough and runny nose, however, continued.

Little Man had a runny nose all of last week and a low-grade fever off and on.

Little Bit had a runny nose all week. We elevated her crib (actually, it's been like that for months), cranked up her humidifier, and used saline nasal drops several times a day.

It was a week, for me and the children, spent at home. We read LOTS of books and watched LOTS of movies. However, T put in some long hours.

I also spent the week preparing for a yard sale. I LOVE yard sales. My better half despises them. After the last one we had, he swore we'd NEVER do one again.

So...my next door neighbor and I got to talking and I convinced T to support me in yet another yard sale. I cleaned out EVERYTHING and piled it in our bedroom. As Saturday approached, T shared he'd forgotten to ask off work. I'd be yard sailing and mothering three small children, one of whom was running fever, and one of whom is still nursing, solo. This terrified me, but I determined to press on.

I will not do that again. I slept ONE hour Friday night and made a whopping $150. I know $150 is nothing to sneer at, and that "every little bit helps," but given the lack of sleep and stress of the day, setting up solo (T did rig a rope to hang clothing from, as well as set up two large tables), packing up solo, hauling off the left overs...I'll never go at it alone again.

But, I did do some MEGA cleaning out, which felt fantastic! (Including chunking all the ads I sold and designed while working my way through college...some of which are seen in above photo.)

We've also been busy little bees. Some friends of ours are redoing their kitchen and in the process, were planning to chunk their old cabinets. Hold up! Free cabinets??? She graciously had their contractor stack the cabinets in their courtyard, where T and I measured and inspected and hauled six back to our casa.

T installed two in the "office" which will be our homeschool room this fall.

He hung two more in the laundry room...which I've since repainted (the room that is). I've pulled several old cans of paint and will be custom mixing a paint color for these cabinets (let me translate: custom mixing is cheaper than buying new)...I'm lightening things up in there.

Due to the longevity of sickness last week and T's long hours, I went two and a half weeks without going to the grocery. The meals got quite creative. Those containers you see had bran muffin mix, grits, grits, and lemon slices.

We even ate all the eggs.

Monday afternoon was glorious here! Freedom from the confines of sickness! The kids played and played!

And did a bit of cooking...

And then Tuesday Little Bit was oh, so cranky. I took her to the doctor yesterday and he confirmed my suspicions, a double ear infection.

And of course, you already know about Little Man and his bug...

Thank you again for your encouragement! For your prayers! For caring! I know you are all busy and lead full lives. Thanks for carving out time to express your concern for Little Man. And in general, for spending time here. I do love hearing from you. I never dreamed of the ways God would grow me, challenge me, and encourage me through blogging. I appreciate each of you!

Now, go have a great day!