Grace to Infinity: Blessings in Hard Times

It has been a hard month and a half.

You may not have seen it from the last several blog posts, but it's been a crazy summer. We've been sick. A lot!

Let's back up to Derek's 40th birthday. June 7th weekend. We went to Animal Kingdom. It was hot. Orlando hot. We were dressed appropriately.

But, we got caught in a torrential downpour, that, well, wouldn't end. We were ~~wet~~ soaked and cold.

Andrew woke up on Monday morning with a nasty cold. It spread. To the whole family. The WHOLE family. It was bad! So bad, that the day before Cherish's dress rehearsal for dance, she had a fever. If I remember correctly, it was 104° F. She gladly sucked down all manner of good-for-ya stuff so she would not let her dance group down. She was much better for the rehearsal and dance recital. But the rest of us? Well, we should have been confined to bed--or at least the house.

We made it through the dance recital weekend, and remained sick. The following week, Andrew's surgery was cancelled, and he was put on an 18-day quarantine by his doctor, with surgery rescheduled.

(We had first seen Andrew's surgeon in August 2012!!!!, but his surgery kept getting cancelled due to illness and testing for neurological issues. We had waited so long.)

We had been home-bound due to illness, and now we were headed into an official quarantine.

But, thankfully, everyone was getting well and staying well.

Derek and I were feeling sad that Cherish was "missing" her summer, so we allowed her to "sneak away" for some occasional summer fun. Derek took her swimming and to her Pappy and Nanny's house while I stayed home with Andrew.

Then, it was time for VBS. Cherish LOVED last year's VBS that a church downtown had, and we had previously told her that we were planning on her attending again this year. (This was before we knew Andrew's surgery was going to be cancelled for the fourth time and that he would be quarantined.)

So, wanting to be faithful to our word, Pappy, Nanny, and I took turns taking her to VBS and/or babysitting Andrew. They graciously made a way for Cherish to attend while keeping Andrew away from everyone else.

Andrew had his surgery this past Thursday, while Cherish stayed at her grandparents' house Wednesday evening through Friday afternoon. She was able to finish her VBS week and prepare for the closing program on Sunday evening.

Here are some pictures from the VBS closing night:

Cherish is in the front with a green shirt on...

Riding the VBS Ferris Wheel:

Headed up the slide:

The day after the program, she woke up sick! Sick, I tell ya! With the quarantine officially over, and Andrew able to leave the house (provided his Rx is kicking in full gear), we are again home-bound. (I do not believe in going out and spreading nasty germs if at all possible!)

In addition, we began dog-sitting for some friends--since we were home anyway, right? Well, the dog--who has been here many times before--must really miss her family! (That's all I'll say....)

In addition, I was feeling poorly, and getting little sleep with needing to give medication around the clock for Andrew, and caring for a not-so-happy-doggie.

May I also add, the wait for LOA--the letter that will tell us to begin counting down the weeks until we hold Hope in our arms--has not come. We've been waiting over 100 days. It's unheard of. Well, until now.

And there are other things I could add but won't.

Over the last 20+ days I've been studying grace.
I have been praising God for His grace--in many different aspects.
In His grace, He has given us Hope. I concentrate on thanking Him for her.
Through these long months of illness (and trust me, I've paid attention, since tests and surgery appointments have been cancelled so often from illness), I've been praising Him for His grace in giving us Cherish and Andrew. I've been concentrating on thanking Him for Cherish and Andrew, and for the opportunity to have them in our family. (I often silently stare at them in awe.)

In addition, I've tried to make it a point to continually thank God for being Sovereign, good, and loving. I am so thankful He loves Hope more than I ever could. He knows what timing is best for us to bring her home.

But, this week I was feeling down. Feeling tired. Feeling sick. Feeling emotionally strained.

Then a surprise CD came in the mail on Monday. A friend that I know through an adoption group sent me some encouragement in the way of music.

I've been listening to the CD like it was candy to suck on. Constantly running the music over and over again. Songs about God's power, sovereignty, understanding, and perfect timing. Just what I needed this week!

In this lack-of-sleep and pain-ridden body I've been experiencing, I've been slowly loosing perspective. Then the CD came. Thank you, Katie!

So, today I was determined to live out my thankfulness for my children. We got chores accomplished, and while I was working on an additional cleaning project, Cherish began hanging streamers in the kitchen. Andrew began to gather "presents" for me from around the house--ya know, like a wheel, a marble, a sock, a piece of paper, whatever a momma might want =).

Then Cherish declared a party. She was half joking, but I determined to take the idea and run with it. Since Derek was working a 16-hour shift (which rarely occurs anymore), I declared that the party HAD to have certain essentials, and those essentials would be our dinner.

Those essentials were ice cream and cookies! (I figured after all the fruits and veggies we'd been eating to be healthy, one meal wasn't going to kill us.) To the total shock of the kiddos, we had "ice cream soup"--the animal crackers were crumpled up and stirred into the soft ice cream. And, while we ate, we told crazy made-up stories. It was a blast. Afterwards, we each picked an activity for us to do. We played and played.

At 6:30 p.m. I went to get our mail. And guess what? My sister and her family had sent Andrew and Cherish a package. Perfect timing since the party was still going on! ;-)

In the box were soft peppermint candies. So, we had a tea party and added the peppermints to the menu.

Instead of feeling overwhelmed at being "stuck" in the house for yet another day (or another week), I concentrated on being thankful, joyful, and delighting in seeing the children's eyes light up and sparkle. Strangely enough, I didn't seem to feel all the pain and tiredness I had been feeling in the last several days ;-).

So, today we read several chapters in a novel (with more being begged for), made up silly stories, painted, colored, played games, built railroad tracks and played trains...and had a very long party that will continue tomorrow morning (with Cherish planning nail painting, dress-up, eating the special cereal Uncle Mark and Aunt Michele sent, more games, and more fun). Sometimes, ya just gotta!

So, am I still in the long LOA wait? Yep.
Do I still have a child in pain from surgery? Yep.
Do I still have a sick child who may spread her very bad cold to the rest of us? Yep.
Do I still have a dog here who needs constant watching? Yep.
Am I still feeling poorly? Yep.

But the truths of Scripture and the encouragement of others with their acts of kindness have made this day wonderful!

I am so thankful to have been adopted into God's family.
I am so thankful to have adopted children into this family.
I am so thankful for family and friends who have spread their love over us.

I remain: blessed beyond measure!