Compassion

I love how younger kids think- unfiltered, uninfluenced, and straightforward. Without going into the details, suffice it to say that M and I have struggled, and continue to struggle, with infertility. We like to say our little miracle, above, was five years in the making. And while we'd love to welcome another little miracle, it just hasn't happened yet. For well over a year, C has been intently focused on... "when will Mama have a baby? When will I be a big brother? Mama, can you have four more babies?" And so on...

On a drive home this evening, C asked if he could have a baby sister, and when would one come out of Mama's belly? We gave our standard response, along the lines of we'd love to welcome another baby too, we don't always know God's plans and timing, and we understand C's disappointment with not having a sibling yet. His response floored me:

"Mama, aren't there babies out there who have mommies and daddies who can't take care of them? Can we take care of them? That's a good way to get a brother or sister too."

How I love my boy!

One Fish, Two Fish

I awoke mistakenly thinking we were headed to the beach early this morning...but we overslept (RARE with C) and couldn't find his water shoes (still needed to protect the injured toe). The little man evidently had other plans anyway, and scoffed at the beach idea. He did, however, think it was a perfect day to go fishing. Not wanting to be bothered with crowds locally, we took friends up on an offer to use their pier to see what we could catch. Turns out it would have been a poor beach day anyway; jellyfish were everywhere. Some highlights of our big catch below...

Getting the equipment ready

Caught a Croaker

Giant Blue Crab

Chicken on a string was all we needed to bring in 15-20 Blue Crabs

Relaxing

Little Fisherman



Small Croaker

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Some recent ones...

We were riding in the car when I heard...
C: "Mom, peel back the roof!"
I had to stop and think a minute about that one. Turns out C was asking me to open the sunroof.

For those parents who have children that do not sleep through the night, I can relate, and I completely empathize with you. C is 5 and still does not sleep through; usually between 1-2am he wakes up and comes looking for us. Last night was no different, and as he stumbled into the bathroom at 2:40am to take care of business he asked me:
"Does seaweed have iodine in it?"

Seriously, who ponders that, and in the middle of the night no less? I had to respond that I didn't know and I'd find out for him...in the morning. Turns out that indeed, seaweed does have iodine in it! Who knew?

Post-Surgery Update on Mark

First, thank you for all of your prayers, well wishes, and offers of help. We are blessed to have such a caring network of friends surrounding us. It's 4:30 Thursday afternoon and I sit here in the recovery area with Mark, listening to all of the monitors ping...ping...ping...

Today's surgery was considered a success; what an answered prayer that is on a long journey to date. They were unable to use the HALO method as planned (burning off the bad cells), as you need a relatively smooth area to apply to. In his case, and with the amount of damage in place, it made more sense to freeze off the cells (cryo). We knew from pre-op that they would not make a decision until they actually saw the current state of Mark's esophagus. The good news is that they believe they got the majority of the Barrett's column.

Right now, Mark is VERY groggy and sore as he recovers from the procedure and the anesthesia. Specifically, he has a very sore throat from the procedure. He's ready to go home and sleep this off. He's also looking forward to having some food since it's been almost 24 hours.

So, we should be discharged soon and should be on the road. Our big watch item right now is for chest pain and any signs of perforation. We get to repeat this process in about 2 months; thank you again for your thoughts and prayers.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

At prayer time tonight:

C: "Mama, I really wish you had a baby sister in your belly."

Me: "Me too C, me too..."

C: "I'd even give her the really big room."

C: " Mom, guess how many days it took God to build the world? Six, it took Him six. And on the 7th day, He took a break!"

Totally in Love

So many updates I need to post, but I'm wiped out from work right now. In the interim, a fun little post about our recent "loves."

1. Jumanji- Somehow, somewhere, C found a DVD around the house of this movie, from 1995! I think this could be somewhat overwhelming for some kids, but C has a great sense of reality versus fantasy. He's totally engrossed in this movie and watches it everyday in the car.

2. Heirloom Tomatoes- I am growing a few plants from seed, but have purchased a few locally and love the green striped ones that are crimson red, almost purple, on the inside. Yum!

3. Starbucks- Yes, I'm back to my love affair with the corporate whore of coffee on every corner. However, my wallet cannot keep up with her expensive fees, nor my body with her massive calories! Still, a White Chocolate Mocha is such a treat.

4. The Magic Treehouse Book Series- by Mary Pope Osborne. We are currently reading book #10, about the wild west and a ghost town.

5. C Reading to Us- This is such a joy and our little reader is really taking off. His favorite one to read right now? Hop on Pop!

6. Hydrangeas- just picked up some "Forever Summer" and cannot wait to plant them this weekend.

7. The Book of Nehemiah- As our church is in a three year building campaign, our current worship series is "If These Walls Could Talk." I never used to find the OT interesting, but this book has really touched me to see how these faithful worked and perservered to rebuild, while opposed from all directions and the enemy infiltrating. Our pastor has a gifted way of bringing it to life, like reading a Hollywood script!

8. Flip Flops- I tend to wear them year 'round, but I'm so thrilled to have my perfectly pedicured tootsies exposed without looking like a crazy lady. Barefoot summers rule, but flip flops are great for those "shoes required" occasions.

9. Monkeying Around- monkey bars forward, backward, upside down, pullups, giving Mama a near heart attack with all of the climbing up high...C does it all.

10. Jersey Days- I have to call these Jersey days because growing up in NJ, we had those perfect days, even in summer: 75 degrees, full sun, low humidity, a light breeze, and wonderful scents from my Nana's garden. Ah, how I love and miss that weather, but every now and then, we get similar weather and I tell M, "YEAH! IT'S A JERSEY DAY!"

Mother's Day...

...is one of the toughest days of the year for me. It's bittersweet; I'm so very blessed and thankful to be C's mom and on the other hand, I feel so empty that we continue to struggle with infertility. I always imagined myself with at least two or three kiddos, so the picture to me is still incomplete, and as C gets older, it's a painful reminder that the bonds of a sibling are not there to be shared.

The day always has a rough start too; it's baby dedication day at our church. This morning over 50 families lined up to have their young children dedicated and it just became too much. As a side note, what is it with Baptists having a lot of kids? Biblically, I know it is a blessing, so then I think "what am I doing wrong? Why are we not blessed in this way?" By the time they prayed over the families who struggle with infertility, I had hot tears streaming down my cheeks. Historically, Mother's Day has not usually been a good one around here- something usually goes very wrong. Like the year we spent the day putting together a swingset with the wrong parts, the wrong holes, etc.

Of course I don't want it to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, but this one saw me taking a nice spill on my bike, which I have not done in years! At almost 35, the "after" hurts alot more, I'm sure of that! I have a large black bruise on the back of my thigh, another on my knee, and yet another on my shoulder. We hosted my family for dinner, so I ended up doing a lot of prep work, etc. I told M, next year, can we please just take C and go away for the night and do something FUN on Mother's Day. Our bike ride was supposed to be the "fun" today, but that did not happen.

While you celebrate Mother's Day, don't forget those who are praying to be blessed by a child as well.