Well, we had our garage sale and decluttered in the process, but it wasn't very successful. This is a quiet, hard-to-find street. Nevertheless, the children very much enjoyed being hosts and hostesses to our neighbors. They were elated every time someone stopped.
With the help of Mary's expert insect-hunting skills, Peter successfully mated his female Chinese praying mantis. Now we're awaiting an egg sac, which takes two weeks. More to come on that fascinating experience.
I need a few more days to finish up the decluttering process. Miss Beth needs to be carried around and entertained due to her bum knee, so it's slow going. I've stopped relieving her pain with ibuprofen, so she is now staying off her feet most of the time...and asking to nurse about ten times a day, and several times a night, probably for extra comfort.
One positive aspect of her convalescence is that her attention span has increased manyfold, and she now enjoys sitting with a stack of puzzles, a stack of books, or watching the entire Richard Scarry's Best ABC Video Ever. Why is this product suddenly so expensive, by the way? Something produced in 1989 is now a collector's item? Thankfully, I have two copies!
Beth so loves to sing! She's memorized more lyrics than any of my other children at his same age. Even early morning, she wakes up with a song in her heart and on her lips. So precious to me! Her favorites are those with hand and foot motions.
We had to miss Beth's orthopedic doctor's appointment last Friday because my husband's car wouldn't start (failing starter, which we're fixing Monday). The appointment is rescheduled for this Friday and I will emphasize the need for a cast to help keep her knee stabilized. It's so hard not to worry about her knee. It almost seems worse and I think the weeks of relieving her pain were the culprit. I was only following doctor and hospital orders, which went against my instinct as her mother. I could see she was using it too much due to lowered pain, but I kept thinking I'd better follow their directions. If an MRI means she has to go into a machine, fully covered and tunneled, I dread it. They might have to sedate her just to do this. Anyone know anything about MRI's? Do they always require going into one of those tube things? The doctor may suggest one since her knee is taking so long to heal.
Back to the car now. We both feel acquiring the car was a mistake. Something new goes wrong almost weekly. It's hard to fathom why God allowed us to make this costly mistake.....but then sometimes, I wonder if he allowed it precisely so that we'd have to visit our unsaved mechanic four or five times a month. Maybe Gary knows very few Christians, and the Lord wants as many as possible to cross his path regularly? I hope he comes to know Christ soon!
I'm slowly learning that God doesn't guarantee my comfort. His purposes are far higher than that....and his graces stabilize even the worst of times.
Two dear friends helped us with the smog repair money, so it looks like we'll continue to have use of the van after replacing a catalytic converter and getting it re-registered. Our temporary tag expires on September 27, so we're blessed to have this help. What a load off our minds! Every time we managed to put aside money to repair the van, another thing went wrong with the car.
I never realized how great the need for car ministries. What about all the people who lost their jobs because they couldn't maintain a reliable vehicle? It makes me so sad! So many details work against low-income people. Pulling themselves up from their bootstraps is far harder than the wealthier segments of the population realize. They live in a state of near-constant discouragement.
Though my nerves are frazzled, I can still say I'm blessed to be in these circumstances. A whole different world is opening up to me. So many needs are present in even this, our own country....far more than I ever realized. And no easy fixes. Nothing equips us to help others, to empathize with others, more than sharing their circumstances. Low-income people need more than monetary help. They also need to be understood and valued, despite their lack of upward mobility.
My husband comes from a different perspective in all this. He begs and pleads to be able to support his family better than this...without needing help. He loves theology and would be happy to talk about it for hours. And yet, God hasn't given him the ability to organize and prioritize and do all the other things vocational ministry requires. He tried once in children's ministry and couldn't keep up with all the requirements.
The pressure is greater on him than on me, not to endure this experience and glean from it, but to get out of it. A husband's burden to provide is huge. Our job as wives is to respect and love our husbands for richer for poorer, as our marriage vows state. They deserve our respect not for succeeding--success is a gift from God--but for working hard. So no matter how badly we need a haircut, or new shoes, we must be content and show respect for our husbands--not complaining or grumbling.
How can you bless your husband today? Blessing our man empowers him to be all that God intended him to be.
I hope to get back to this space soon, but judging from the state of my living room, it may be several days.
Have a wonderful week enjoying fall beauty!
With the help of Mary's expert insect-hunting skills, Peter successfully mated his female Chinese praying mantis. Now we're awaiting an egg sac, which takes two weeks. More to come on that fascinating experience.
I need a few more days to finish up the decluttering process. Miss Beth needs to be carried around and entertained due to her bum knee, so it's slow going. I've stopped relieving her pain with ibuprofen, so she is now staying off her feet most of the time...and asking to nurse about ten times a day, and several times a night, probably for extra comfort.
One positive aspect of her convalescence is that her attention span has increased manyfold, and she now enjoys sitting with a stack of puzzles, a stack of books, or watching the entire Richard Scarry's Best ABC Video Ever. Why is this product suddenly so expensive, by the way? Something produced in 1989 is now a collector's item? Thankfully, I have two copies!
Beth so loves to sing! She's memorized more lyrics than any of my other children at his same age. Even early morning, she wakes up with a song in her heart and on her lips. So precious to me! Her favorites are those with hand and foot motions.
We had to miss Beth's orthopedic doctor's appointment last Friday because my husband's car wouldn't start (failing starter, which we're fixing Monday). The appointment is rescheduled for this Friday and I will emphasize the need for a cast to help keep her knee stabilized. It's so hard not to worry about her knee. It almost seems worse and I think the weeks of relieving her pain were the culprit. I was only following doctor and hospital orders, which went against my instinct as her mother. I could see she was using it too much due to lowered pain, but I kept thinking I'd better follow their directions. If an MRI means she has to go into a machine, fully covered and tunneled, I dread it. They might have to sedate her just to do this. Anyone know anything about MRI's? Do they always require going into one of those tube things? The doctor may suggest one since her knee is taking so long to heal.
Back to the car now. We both feel acquiring the car was a mistake. Something new goes wrong almost weekly. It's hard to fathom why God allowed us to make this costly mistake.....but then sometimes, I wonder if he allowed it precisely so that we'd have to visit our unsaved mechanic four or five times a month. Maybe Gary knows very few Christians, and the Lord wants as many as possible to cross his path regularly? I hope he comes to know Christ soon!
I'm slowly learning that God doesn't guarantee my comfort. His purposes are far higher than that....and his graces stabilize even the worst of times.
Two dear friends helped us with the smog repair money, so it looks like we'll continue to have use of the van after replacing a catalytic converter and getting it re-registered. Our temporary tag expires on September 27, so we're blessed to have this help. What a load off our minds! Every time we managed to put aside money to repair the van, another thing went wrong with the car.
I never realized how great the need for car ministries. What about all the people who lost their jobs because they couldn't maintain a reliable vehicle? It makes me so sad! So many details work against low-income people. Pulling themselves up from their bootstraps is far harder than the wealthier segments of the population realize. They live in a state of near-constant discouragement.
Though my nerves are frazzled, I can still say I'm blessed to be in these circumstances. A whole different world is opening up to me. So many needs are present in even this, our own country....far more than I ever realized. And no easy fixes. Nothing equips us to help others, to empathize with others, more than sharing their circumstances. Low-income people need more than monetary help. They also need to be understood and valued, despite their lack of upward mobility.
My husband comes from a different perspective in all this. He begs and pleads to be able to support his family better than this...without needing help. He loves theology and would be happy to talk about it for hours. And yet, God hasn't given him the ability to organize and prioritize and do all the other things vocational ministry requires. He tried once in children's ministry and couldn't keep up with all the requirements.
The pressure is greater on him than on me, not to endure this experience and glean from it, but to get out of it. A husband's burden to provide is huge. Our job as wives is to respect and love our husbands for richer for poorer, as our marriage vows state. They deserve our respect not for succeeding--success is a gift from God--but for working hard. So no matter how badly we need a haircut, or new shoes, we must be content and show respect for our husbands--not complaining or grumbling.
How can you bless your husband today? Blessing our man empowers him to be all that God intended him to be.
I hope to get back to this space soon, but judging from the state of my living room, it may be several days.
Have a wonderful week enjoying fall beauty!
3 comments:
In my experience (my daughter, at 18 months old, suffered septic arthritis in her knee, which required surgery), they will probably opt for a CT first, unless you've already had one. That is quick, and you can go in with her. If they have to do an MRI, they will sedate her for that. Praying for the peace that comes with having an answer to a medical issue. The unknown is often much harder for me to deal with. Terra
Thank you, Terra! That eases my mind. I just looked up CT scan and I do agree they would probably do that first (hopefully). The hospital only mentioned MRI, but I don't know why.
I am sorry you had to go through surgery with a child. Peter had a hydrocele removed via surgery when he was two. We were both apprehensive, but all went well.
It's been four years now, and thankfully, she's a thriving kindergartner with just a scar and a scrapbook to show for her extended time in the hospital and surgery! Terra :)
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