Ouch!!

So a couple of days ago DQ started complaining about the roof of her mouth hurting right up behind her top teeth. Upon looking at it, there was definitely some redness and swelling, but nothing awful looking. We had been treating it with Ambesol. Well, this morning I couldn't even get her to eat breakfast. That in the world of DQ is a BIG deal. She loves to eat her breakfast!!!! (In fact, she does not like any sort of discomfort at all for any reason, and skipping a meal is high on her list of discomfort!!) Upon hearing this I decided that maybe it's time to get her to the dentist as this was not getting any better. Another deciding factor is that when DQ is "kinda hurt" and needing attention she lets you know and she lets you know loudly and earnestly, but when she's really hurting or really sick she suffers in silence and just kinda pouts and keeps to herself. She was unusually quiet this morning so I know she was really hurting.

Another thing you need to know, is that DQ is 9 and has only lost her two top teeth. She has her adult teeth in below, but they are behind her baby teeth. The dentist has not been wanting to do much, because they were obviously not ready to come out for one reason or another. The plan was to be very aggressive with the orthodontist once they do start to loosen up. Today that all changed. It turns out those baby teeth were never going to come out on their own. They were being pushed so far forward onto her gums by her adult teeth, that they were the culprit causing the upper mouth pain; as they were pressing on it every time she closed her mouth. Upon all 4 bottom teeth being pulled ( ouch DQ :( ),you could see that these teeth were about an inch long a piece and were very happy to stay in her little mouth for all of eternity. Needless to say DQ is now anticipating a rather hefty payment from the tooth fairy, and hubby and I just gave a rather hefty payment of our own the the dentist. OUCH!!!!! We will begin accepting donations any time now!!!! (smile)

Amy

Better Late Than Never

Today when I woke up I looked around and realized how much work needs to be done around here. We are planning to move this spring/summer and I figured why not get a jump on things? I decided to start with my pantry and freezer. I must confess that I am ashamed of myself. Let me explain....

Hubby and I know what it's like to be in need. Not living on the street in need, but the kind where you are barely hanging on and you are not sure if you can feed your own children next week kind of need. We have been so blessed with friends and family to help us out through these rough times, and thankful beyond words. Now that times are a little easier for us I am finding those memories are fading a bit. Now I am not so foolish as to say God will never put us in that position again, but we do have a bit more room to breathe these days. I do realize however that many people are heading down the road we just traveled and I find myself being convicted of that knowledge and seeing what I saw today. As I was cleaning things out I began to notice how quickly I was filling up the trash bag I had layed out. I threw away so much food that just went to waste. I began to think about what meal could have been made with this, and what bread could have been baked with that. That bag of flour could have been frozen; that box of uneaten crackers could have been given to someone who likes them. Oh I felt so awful!!!

Had I thought of it I would have taken before pictures, but I did not until the reality of my own selfishness hit me. I will share with you the after photos to give you an idea of how full my pantry and freezer are now, then double it and you will see what I mean.

So, the late part is this. For my New Year's resolution. I will trust God to provide all my needs. I will not stuff my pantry and freezer to the point that we simply cannot eat it all. I will trust Him that we will have food next week to eat, and that He WILL provide all my needs.
Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.




Amy

Giving and Taking

I'm up early this morning, still not able to get a good sleep schedule going. I am very heavy hearted this morning. The other night at work I had an absolutely heartbreaking case to deal with. I saw a mother's desperation to save her baby at whatever cost. I saw a father's desperation to save his wife at whatever cost. I read her life in a medical chart and my heart wept for her. This morning as I was catching up on my blog again I've been faced with a mother's desperation. Please visit Adrienne and/0r Angie, Boomama today and send up your prayers to the Lord. I do not understand why things like this happen to people, but I do know that He is in control and He has a plan for us. All He wants from us is to love, serve, obey, and rejoice in Him.

Reading all these things brings about a thankful heart in me. Why am I so blessed to have such two beautiful children and other women are not? Why me God, what did I do to have such a blessing in my life? Getting married and having children was never a second thought in my mind. I just accepted it and never gave a thought to the chance that I would have problems having children, and I never did. In fact, it's kind of a family joke that the wind blew and I got pregnant. Then I watched someone very near and dear to my heart have to go through fertility treatments. A woman who fears needles like children fear monsters, went through nightly injections of hormones to have a baby. She was blessed with two! I am watching another couple struggle so hard. Test after test, surgeries, treatments, procedures, all to produce nothing.

Today I'm asking you, if you have been blessed with children, fall down on your knees and praise the Lord. I know there are days when I'm ready to pull my hair out. There are days when I would give anything to just have some peace and quiet. But today, I'm going to hug them, and love them, and cherish them, as what a gift from heaven they truly are!
Amy

Graveyards and Coyotes....

We live in the middle of nowhere. Well, not really, but compared to the major city we border, we live in the middle of nowhere! We currently live on about 25 acres and with that comes trees, and wildlife. It is not uncommon to pull into the driveway and see about 4 or 5 deer standing in the tree island munching away. The last couple of years though we've had some unwelcome visitors in the winter time: COYOTES!! Early in the morning you can hear them "talking" from the back of the property. This year however they are making their presence known to us. They have come to the front part of the property several times. Animal control won't really do anything other than to inform us that if they are mating or hungry they will attack small children and dogs. Well, we have children and dogs..... Um hello???? Maybe that could be a problem huh? One morning I stepped out to go to my car and I heard one in the side field growling. SCARY!!!! Please pray that us and the dogs do not become a midnight snack; I don't think that would be conducive to a very happy life huh?

The night shift, aka graveyard shift, is going okay. I've learned that between 4:30am and 5:30 am is the "witching" hour. We get very busy. That also happens to be the time when you are at your sleepiest. When I get home I have to unwind for a few minutes before heading off to bed. I have had some troubles staying asleep, but it's gradually getting easier. I am looking forward to having the next few days off to get rested again. I've gotten all kinds of tips and suggestions that are helping so hopefully my body will adjust to this crazy schedule. On the up side it's great to be home all afternoon and evening with hubby and the the kids. We are really enjoying it!

This weekend should be very interesting. Hubby and I are going on a "team building" retreat with the other youth workers at church. I'm a little nervous as it is a lot of extreme events like zips lines and rock climbing. I hate heights and I have two left feet. Hope I have a good team so they can make up for my lack of ability!!! Sorry team members, I LOVE YOU!!!!

Happy trails,
Amy