Cloud of Witnesses

As many of you know, Abi has been spiking temps routinely approximately every four weeks for the last several months. It came to a head while visiting Minnesota in June because she also was vomiting and got dehydrated thus potentially tripping up our planned flight back to Portland.  Since then, fever patterns have been tracked, blood has been drawn, a new pediatrician found and yada yada.

Yesterday I checked the calendar and knew we were due...our friend Kayla who's a CNA and off work for a few weeks picked Abi up this morning when her temp hit 102 at day school. They enjoyed a morning together at our house and we headed in for three vials of blood to be drawn for extensive tests.We had Hector the lab tech who I've heard from a couple pediatric offices to be sure to request. He had Abi chatting and telling him all about going to the zoo with a friend from day school... She cried for a couple minutes over the fear of the needle stick but not the pain as we'd been turned onto a topical anesthetic because of a RN mom friend from church.

This evening as I enjoy a quiet house, banana nutella bread is baking in the oven and Abi's temp (amazingly!) was down to 98.6 just before bed the meaning of Hebrews 12:1 hit me.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

I don't know what's plaguing Abi's little body, I don't know why Steven is on shift or away every night Abi's fever spikes and she's delirious and nearly convulsing with shakes.  But I know that God knows the path marked out for our family and for Abi. If we shake off our doubts and earthly worries (hinders) it's easier to see He has surrounded us with amazing friends and people who've touched our hearts each step of our journey and the prayers of the "great cloud of witnesses" are being felt...

Kiss Me Dirty mud run

This Saturday, nine other crazy gals and I ran the first Kiss Me Dirty 5K mud obstacle fundraiser for gynecological cancer. My friend Kayla is a survivor and Nana Lael continues to battle against hers. Thank you to everybody that donated to this great cause! Funds raised went directly to Oregon Health Science University's Knight Cancer Institute here in Portland. I did not make my goal of $500 though I was pleased with $300.

The day dawned as a chilly fall day but by the time our wave left the starting point, it was a gorgeous 70 degrees. Obstacles included a tire pile and track, 30' slip'n'slide, 20' rope pyramid, a few panels to hurdle, belly crawl, tubes to hurdle, mud pits to climb up over and through and a water pit to crawl through.. and these were all in mud. My hands, elbows and knees are proof! Everybody on the team has already said they can't wait for next year.

Birthday Week

I am grateful that the kids are young enough not to object sharing a birthday party! We celebrated Zach's 1st and Abi's 3rd birthdays with a joint party last Sunday. It was wonderful! Many good friends were out of town so it was a very cozy group that still filled the house and make the kids feel incredibly loved. We are so blessed with love in our life!

 Abi had chosen a wonderfully gender neutral theme of Mickey Mouse (one of her new favorite morning cartoons before day school!) and had advised Daddy and I, "We need balloons and whistles and hats and napkins..." I'm not sure where she concocted this idea of all the things that are required for a birthday party!  The kids each enjoyed their strawberry cake with chocolate chip frosting (just like Grandma Cindy's), the gifts, and mostly all the love and attention from friends and family. The kids were so tuckered out by the time everybody started to leave... Abi even fell asleep reading books on the couch with Karen.

Zach started walking just a few weeks before his 1st birthday on September 21. He's now started signing more, all done and milk. His vocabulary consists of mama, dada, and no which you hear at one volume level: loud. We joked the other morning while making breakfast that he's very similar to a ball in the pinball machine; just keeps looking for an exit! If the slider, garage door or front door are not closed, he's out!

Abi turned 3 this Friday and wow has she really grown up. She said good bye to any night time pulls up, has a chore chart and her own clock which changes colors indicating when its time to wake, sleep, and yes, be done with a time out! The child has an amazing memory: today she told us details about what she saw at the rodeo in August, who we went to the rodeo with in July and where everybody sat in the car, etc.

Choosing a Yoke

What a busy week for us! Steven is on a double (and had a double last week too). I've prepped a handful of items to sell at a large kids resale event at the expo center. I start physical therapy for my hip. Abi and Zach moved into their new classrooms at Bright Minds Christian Day School and...on Friday Zach turns one!!!  Of course add on church events and work events and I am back to my standard stressed, worried about messy house, lack of meals planned, etc etc self.

But in the midst of this, God has been asking me to take his yoke. He says, "Come to me tired woman. My yoke is easy and burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30). When we have a almighty creator God who loves us beyond measure, why don't we take his yoke which he offers us? He desires for us to drop our burdens, our disappointments, our worries and fears at his feet as we worship Him. He wants to take those things from us and for us to take on his light yoke.

It's a choice. Tonight, I'm leaving my burden because it does me no good and prevents me from taking His yoke.