Good-bye Friend

Last night I went to the hospital to visit a friend who has cancer. I came back up this morning to help do a shift so that her husband could work getting their house ready for hospice. Connie is the friend I wrote about in an earlier blog. She is an inspiration. As friends visited her this week in the hospital she still prayed for her healing, but knew that whatever way God did choose to heal her (here or in heaven), it was ok. He was with her. She has a peace that passes all understanding that she always attributed to God's provision, it was not of herself. Well when I arrived at the hospital this morning she had just passed away. Her friend Rhonda has spent the last several nights at the hospital to help out. It had been a rough night. She has been in severe pain that is hard to manage even with medicine. At 8:00 she told Rhonda to keep on rubbing her neck (to help with the pain) and then she stopped breathing and passed peacefully to be with God and Jesus.
Those of us who were there this morning got to say good-bye to her one last time and we prayed and sang "It Is Well With My Soul" huddled around her body. We swapped funny stories and talked about the amazing faith, joy and love Connie had. She was one of the most amazing persons any of us have ever known in our life. She lived life every second it was given to her and glorified God at every possible moment. What a blessing it is to know her. So many lives have been touched by her witness. I can't thank God enough for putting her in my life and I can't wait to see her again in heaven some day. She will be singing and dancing (which she looooves to do) and grinning at me asking, "Girl, what took you so long?". Thank you Connie for so much. This is not the end, just a glorious beginning. God has not stopped using you to bless others. Thanks my friend and good-bye for now----until eterninty when we reunite.

So someone got a haircut . . .

Yes, Maizie just got a summer cut to stay cool. So did the boys. Sam told us a few weeks ago that, "Maizie loves us, but she loves God and Jesus more...Because she doesn't want to go to Hell." I just had to laugh. Anyway, she looks like an angel dog today. So do the boys (angel boys). It is quite deceiving. Just joking. I do love the way Maizie smells so good and feels so soft right after her bath. Same for the boys actually. Good time to snuggle. I hope you have some good snuggling this week.

Prayer Request

I just finished sending a querry letter to a literary agent for my novel. I had to change the name of my book from "Bitter Chocolate" to "The Tutsi and the Tsetse" since there is a book coming out in October with the name Bitter Chocolate. I was very bummed. Anyway, now I am waiting to hear an answer. If I get a rejection I will try a few more agents. I would love some prayer on the matter. I just want God to open the doors if it is His will for it to get published. If it is just my dream then I want to know to just let it go. It is His will or Nothing! Anyway, please pray.

Crazy Maizie and Crazy Boys

On Friday, Jason took the kids on a picnic at Woodward park. He took some cute pics of them. I had to work so missed out on the fun. The boys are doing ok. This afternoon, Sam told me he was already planning Halloween decorations for next fall. He is an angel/my special helper one second and a screaming banshee the next. Oh that voice! I woke up to him yelling this morning and he fussed and screamed for the next two hours. After that he has been wonderful. You never know what he will do or why. Max is obsession over a new DS game he bought with the points/money he saved up for the last few months.

Some recent sayings from the joy boys:

1. I overheard Max telling Sam "That sounds like a personal matter, Sam." I have no idea what they were talking about. When I asked him about it later he couldn't remember.

2. Sam loves to tell jokes, but they are a little hard to tell that they are jokes (examples: "You can't eat that Maizie." Just joking. "There is a hole in the floor!" Just joking. "It's a joke mom, I'm just joking."

3. Sam sounded out words that were color names. He sounded out (not spelled) r-e-d and then said "brown". "It says brown." Then he did p-ur-p-le. "I get it! Orange!" Other times he did better and got them right, but these two times I had to shake my head. I didn't get it. I guess we have some more work to do.

4. Sam likes to tell me often that, "My brain won't tell me what I want to eat." OR "My brain made me do it."

Yes they are crazy and fussy and fun. I just love them!

Chasing Lions

Today I am goint to write about a person who is an inspiration to me. Her name is Connie and she is a good friend of mine. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer about 2 and 1/2 to 3 years ago and given 20 months to live. When she was given the diagnosis at Mayo clinic she ministered to the doctors and nurses there, sharing her faith with them. Instead of being devastated by the news she smiled and told them it was ok, that she was in God's hands. She actually left the building singing the song "My God is So Good". They were amazed, just as I am daily by her strength. God had given her a message before she got the diagnosis that Man's verdict was not God's verdict and that she was already healed, so she was not surprised with the diagnosis and had a peace about it. She does not believe in the "Name it-Claim it" stuff, but does honestly feel that God has told her the outcome already.
At her last doctor's visit the doctor came into the room with her latest test results and looked crushed. He couldn't get the words out to tell her, but she knew. She told him it was ok, she knew the resulsts and he didn't have to say it. He apologized and she told him it was ok, she was in God's hands. He cried, amazed at her positive attitude. Connie told him that she was not naturally this optomistic, but that it was a gift of God. He had been so strongly with her, (his presence) blessing her and providing for her and giving her such a peace throughout it all. She said not to expect this with everyone, because not everyone was given the same gifts by God. He works things out differently with each person, and this wasn't of her, it was of God. The doctor told her there was no further treatment to do for her that could help. She is going back to Mayo for another consult. She told her doctor that sometimes God has to let us come to the end of our human efforts before a miracle occurs so that it is not of us, only from him.
She still believes that God intends to heal her. He has brought many people to her that have had stage 3 cancer and been miraculously healed. She feels that has happened for a reason. But she also said that if for some reason God chose not to heal her, that it was still ok, because she would be in a better place. Either way, God was holding her hand and walking her through this day by day and she has never been so blessed to expereince this closeness with God. Through this time since the diagnosis until now, she has fallen in love and gotten married. A group of us freinds put on her wedding for her to help since she was so sick. Her new husband is wonderful and treats her like a princess. She has a beautiful dream home and doesn't have to worry about working. She has never been so blessed with so much support and provisions. Despite her severe pain and illness, she praises God and sees all the good, all of God in this situation. I don't think I could ever do that. Not like Connie. She is truly a woman of God. I am humbled for knowing her and having the blessing of her friendship. I love you Connie! Keep on Glorifying Him!
A sermon I heard yesterday talked about the fact that sometimes God takes us straight through our biggest fear to reach our potential. The bigger our God is, the smaller the lion/fear becomes. The courageous person chases after lions, obeying God despite the fear. We need not look at the lion, but look at God. How big is your God? I know that Connie's God is HUGE, which is why her faith is HUGE and such a blessing to all who know her. I pray that my vision of God and your's increases so that we can reach our potential and Receive the blessings and Be a blessing. Now Go Chase That Lion!

A Poopy Day

Oooooh. I ended my blog too early last night. My hot bath didn't occur. Instead I got to give Sam an enima/sopository to help him finally poop to get out the blockage. Yes, it worked thankfully, but then I got to clean up two messes of poop off of the floor and later out of his bed last night. The floor had it the worst as Sam panicked and ran around then finally went to the toilette after I kept yelling at him to run to the potty. Poor guy. Poor mom. Oh, well. Hopefully today won't be so poopy!

My Goth Child

Today I had to take off work to take the kids to the doctor for their annual check-ups. It took an hour and a half which made me late for my first scheduled client---that I had to cancel and reschedule. Besides that, Max was late and missed his bus at summer camp so I had to drive him to Skateland to meet them for his field trip. This made Sam late so he missed his lunch at daycare---Ooops-school! (He likes to call it his school). Therefore I had to pick him up a kids meal at Wendy's. I dropped him off with his lunch and forgot his chocolate milk in the car. I went back downstairs to my car to get it, then up again and did the code to his hall, made it to his class and set up his lunch at a table and realized I had left his ketchup in the car. Sam is a Ketchup fanatic and was severely sad so I had to race back downstairs to get it, come back up, put in the code to get in his hall and squirt 5 ketchup packets (oooh I hate those messy things!). I kissed him goodbye and raced to work where I had hearing screenings to do all afternoon--1 every 30 minutes. Somehow I got double booked on the last one so had to push one even later. Then the last two I had a hard time getting results so they took twice as long to finish. I am tired and sweaty now. It was not the best day.
All that to say, when I was at the doctor's office and waiting and waiting I realized that Sam looked like a Goth child. His shirt had a monster on it and his shorts had a skull on them (given from a friend). His fingernails were painted black by his teacher yesterday since he wanted to have dog paw nails, monster nails and most of all Vampire nails, which is what he called them today. Yes, later the nurse commented on Sam's style. Ugh.
Poor Sam is so constipated right now. Besides that, the doctor's office messed up and gave him his last rounds of shots too early so he had to get them all redone today. He was not happy, neither was I. That is part of what took so long at the doctors. They were trying to figure out what happened to cause this mistake, but never had any real answers only a few possible scenarios of how it may have happened. Oh well, I didn't complain. There isn't anything I could do about it. He needs the shots to be effective and has to have them to start kindergarten in the fall. WHAT A DAY! Thanks for letting me vent. Now I need a hot shower and a good book. Well, that was my day. Hope yours was better.