Trust Me...

This is what God is asking of me today after a challenging week full of simply inviting us to TRUST because ANSWERS we don't have.  It's been one of those "one moment at a time" kind of weeks.  There have been melt downs, tears, frustration galore, days full of fussy babies that don't understand why things feel a little typsy turvey, but they do.  But there have been good things like lots of help from my husband's family, especially my mother-in-law and my children's great grandma.  So many blessings.  Pretty sure I have not passed the test with flying colors but oh, so glad there is always tomorrow to start over!

Enjoying being loved on by Grandma and Great Grandma.  Chloe loves hammocks and even little Brother joined her for awhile to "play"!

These pictures are priceless, aren't they?  Noah with his great grandma, Ruth!

He loves his fingers (think he will be a thumb sucker?!!), laughing and talking!  Oh and attention!  He literally beams with delight when you look his way.  We are completely enamored with this boy child.  What a gift from God.  His sweet laughter and smiles have kept me going forward this week!

Poor Daddy at the hospital.  He was admitted Monday evening, discharged Thursday morning and admitted again last night (Friday).  At this point it looks like he will be there until Monday or Tuesday.  Having daddy in the hospital sucks for everyone.  We just miss him horrendously.

My husband has Sickle Cell Anemia, which if you don't know what that is, here it is in a nutshell (aka laymen's terms!).  SCA is a genetic blood disease, which during a crisis causes tremendous pain, mostly focused in the torso area of the body.  The blood cells become "sickle" shaped (hence the name), clumping together in the blood vessel, which causes the pain, yellow eyes, brown colored urine and physical exhaustion.  A crisis can be brought on by trauma to the body in the form of rapid weather change, especially temperature changes of warm to cold, accident or injury.  The cold weather that sweeps through our city in a heartbeat is always an invitation for my husband to either feel yucky or downright ill.  It is a disease that is a part of our lives everyday but rarely leaves him hospitalized like this week.  If it gets enough out of control, blood transfusions are on the menu, but he has not had one since 2003.  For the most part he controls it with immense water intake and avoiding being in the cold very long.  However, this week it is not so much under control and so he is in the hospital for the second time in one week.

I know there are so many people with so many struggles, many much more intense than ours.  So tonight, I am just grateful that he will be fine and someday soon we will be reunited as a family.  A healthy family, Lord willing!  Chloe continues to cough but is improving.  Should be since she is on her second round of antibiotics in one month.  Inhalation treatments still mark our days but I am so glad to see slow improvement.  Noah is an angel child: drank formula for the first time this week while mommy was at the hospital...from a syringe!  He brings us untold joy and smiles.  He just goes with the flow and keeps getting chubbier and chubbier.  He is weighing in at over 13 lb now, is 2 months old and laughs outloud.  Those are his accomplishments for the month of November!!!

And I...well, I am tired!  I am trusting that tomorrow will bring a fresh measure of grace and strength.  It always does.  I sang "Because He Lives" to my children tonight when I tucked them into bed.  Truly, because He Lives, we can face tomorrow, because he lives, all fear is gone!

Good night, sweet dreams and rich blessings,

        JAMA