Disappointed

Did you ever feel this way when something happens in your life you weren't expecting or don't want? Michael received a Wii fit plus for Christmas. He was not happy, you see he uses this at his therapies to gain better balance. So to him it looked like we were bringing therapy home and taking away the fun. But now that it is all set up and he sees all of us using it, it has become fun and he's doing real well in the balance department and at the same time having fun. Looking at this picture made me think about the things God has allowed in my life. At first complete disappointment but as time goes on I can see the good. He works everything for our good even when we can't see it or don't want it. He only wants what is best for us just like I only want whats best for Michael - even though Michael does not agree!

Getting Old (or should I say older...)

I want to remember how I feel right now.... I feel GREAT and HAPPY that I did it! I haven't been exercising as much lately because I hurt my back. I wanted to start again today but really had to talk myself into it. It's not easy like it was in my thirties. I use to go running all the time and now walking is a workout. And another thing that shows me I'm "getting older" is every year we usually go to Great America. Having a child with physical disabilities requires one of us to go on the rides with him. This is the first year I actually got sick after one of the rides, that has never happened before!

But I want to look forward to this time in my life. Forget what lies behind and press onto what's ahead!

But God

Michael was a breech baby who had a difficult birth. He spent 3 weeks in the newborn intensive care unit. The doctors gave us little hope for his life. "They" said he would probably never roll over, sit-up, crawl, walk, talk, or eat by mouth. He came home on a ng-tube (a tube going through his nose to his stomach).

BUT GOD......had different plans for his life and for mine.

Michael sat-up, crawled, walks (with a walker), talks (with a ACC device), and today I am so extremely happy to say EATS ALMOST ANYTHING BY MOUTH!!!!! He just finished his lunch which consisted of chicken broccoli alfredo pasta, some little smokies in crescent rolls. Earlier at breakfast he had cream of wheat, and some pancakes. His favorite foods are anything with cheese in it - grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, pizza, cheetos, etc. We have to be careful because of his severe peanut allergy.

It has taken years of patience, lots of practice, and diligence. But by God's grace Michael can eat.

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" Matthew 6:25




I know that it could of been that he would of never learned to eat and I would of accepted that but today I can be happy and praise God for this blessing. As a mom one of my favorite things to do is feed my family.

Needs vs. Wants

This morning as I think about the day I feel overwhelmed. I'm without a washer and a dryer, there's a mess downstairs and insurance people to deal with. There's school to start, therapies to go to, meals to make, work tonite. I want to crawl back in bed. But instead I will praise God for meeting my needs and giving me the strength to go forward.

Every trial I face is allowed by God for my ultimate good. In part, that good includes my ability to discern the difference between needs and wants. Today if I endure, God promises to give me what I need. Tomorrow, in heaven, He promises to give me everything I could ever want and more.

Thank you Lord for this day.

Day Two of 2010 - House on fire!!!

I am thanking God tonite.

Our dryer caught on fire this afternoon while I was gone and Adi, Kristy and Michael were all upstairs laying around (Kristy was actually asleep). The smoke alarms went off but by then the house was filling up with smoke. Adi yelled for Kristy to get Michael out of the house and to call 911. She did and then called me hysterically crying because Adi wasn't coming out of the house. And here is where I had to totally trust in God that what he was allowing right now was in His control. What I wrote about yesterday was already going to be tested in my life. Would I believe what I wrote? Would I trust Him or give into fear? I hung up the phone with Kristy and prayed for safety for Adi and for our home that we have lived in for 23 years!

God was so good. Sure we lost our laundry room and a little bit of the office but it can be replaced. Adi, Kristy, and Michael were all safe. We have our home. There is so much to be thankful for. It could of happened when no-one was home or at night when we were all sleeping. A dryer and a washer, clothes, cabinets, walls, windows can all be replaced.

So tonite I am truly thankful as I lay down in my bed in my warm house with my family!

A New Year - Welcome to 2010

I want this year to be good. Not filled with wonderful things but things that will cause me to grow as a Christian.

We often treat suffering like a dodgeball game. Anytime anything painful comes at us, we jump out of the way. We spend our whole lives trying to avoid anything that will hurt or be hard. But there's a better kind of life - a deeper, more fulfilling kind of life - that isn't about avoiding every pain. It's about finding God faithful and powerful in the midst of whatever thorns He allows.

There's something about our weakness that opens the flow of God's strength.
When you are in the midst of a trial, there's a power coming into your life that you've never experienced before. When you see a hard thing coming, try saying, "I may not want this, but I know I'm going to see Christ working in my life in an incredible way."

God never allows a thorn but that He provides sufficient grace and strength in our weaknesses. Sufficient grace is not just enough to survive, but enough to have supernatural joy in the midst of anything He allows us to go through.

I also have other goals, to exercise more (who doesn't have this goal), to be much more diligent in schooling Michael, and to cook more (I watched Julia and Julie last night). But most of all I want my life to mean something, I want to make a difference.

Labor Day Zoo Trip

Day 3 of my exercising and going strong. Labor day and we took the train and got off at Clybourn and walked to Lincoln Park Zoo. Never again!!! It took over an hour to walk and then we walked all day at the zoo and then to a place to eat and then over an hour and a half walk back to the train station. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep last night because I ached so bad.



Michael was afraid of the goat who is eating the cracker crumbs off his chair! He was afraid he was going to eat him!




Michael and Mom




















Looking for our stop after a very long day.