Surprises?

This has been a full week.  A week with laughter and also tears.  A week of joys and also disappointments.  Highs and lows.  Sweet times and times that weigh my heart.  As I look back - and there is so much more I want to share - I can't help but remember that none of this was a surprise to God.  He saw it all coming.  The good and the bad.  And through it all, He is with me.

We started the week with a road trip ... to Ikea.  Some of you are already smiling, aren't you?  I have never been to this store and have wanted to go.  We sold some of the furniture in our dining room and with the money I wanted to buy some new furniture to make the room more functional for us as a school room.  I looked around online and found just what I wanted at Ikea.  So, road trip it was!

We headed out early on Monday with some friends and hit the store.

 What a neat store!  I loved the child-sized sinks in the bathrooms.

 This is a fun (and dangerous) place!  So many neat things to see.   It was a fun surprise to run into two of the pastor/leaders from our church while we were there too.  The kids were great about looking around and playing in the children's area while I tried to make decisions about our shelving.  Eliana liked the beds.

It would be so much fun to decorate her room with things from here!

 We had a yummy lunch (and enjoyed the kids eat free special!).  Made decisions and then headed home.  The kids watched a movie.  Does it crack you up that the head needed to go on over the headphones?

 And enjoyed a gluten free frosty!

This was a fun day all the way around!

The next day was a hard day.  Several people having a hard time with the transitions.  Tears.  Not what I expected and found I needed to do more planning.  Probably too more talking.  Definitely more praying.  Change is often hardest on the ones "left behind" where things are new and fun and exciting - but rather similar and lacking someone.

For those wondering, Christopher is doing great in college.  Already turned in his first paper & project.  He is having fun and adjusting beautifully.  :-)

Wednesday.  I had prepared better for this day and it went much smoother.  This was our official first day of school and I'll write more on that later.  It was a low-key first day which is nice.  This was a sweet time.

Joshua and I spent several hours in the afternoon at the hospital.  Based on some tested done earlier this summer, it looks like Joshua may be having some complications with his diabetes.  :-(  Joshua really took the news in stride.  It was hard for me to hear that he may be having complications.  I was thinking really?  Already?  He is still in his honeymoon.  More testing.  I'm not sure when we'll have the results.  If they come back better, we won't have to make changes.  If the numbers are still high, he will be placed on a new medication - for life.  I know its not huge in a lot of ways, but it is still one more thing that I wish he didn't have to deal with.  This on top of all that he already has.  I have to remind myself that God can use this for both of us - to shape our hearts and make us more like Him.

His numbers aren't where they should be either and we are working hard to get it under better control.  I have to confess that this makes me feel like I've failed.  Guilt.  Something I know that I need to give up, but its hard not to feel it sometimes.  It was a challenging appointment.  We have some strategies though.  We will be testing various things to get a better read on his numbers.  I'm hoping and praying that this will help.  I need to do a better job staying on top of this.  I want to help him have better control (as much as we can have control).  We would love prayers as we work to better manage this.

Joshua and I made a quick visit to Christopher.  It was short, but still fun to see him on his first day of classes.

Today we had our first field trip with our FIAR group.  A park play day!  It was beautiful and we had a gal come talk with our group about butterflies.  It was a fun morning.  I love being a part of this group and am so thankful for it!  (More pics soon)

In the afternoon, I met a cyber friend.  She and her family came over to visit.  What a fun time we had talking and the kids playing.  I'm blessed to have sweet friends IRL and also via the internet!  I'm thankful for God's blessing of friends.  Friends have helped in so many ways - especially over the last 5 years as we have faced a number of different challenges.  I know that God knew those were coming and gave me the gift of friends to help walk the rocky paths.

One last prayer request and then I need to go to sleep.  Eliana needs to go in soon for x-rays for atlantoaxial instability (AAI).  Given her aversion to medical personnel and procedures, I'm not expecting this to be easy.  It needs to be done though and I need to just get it over with.  I would love prayers that it would be a smooth and easy procedure - with good results and no surprises.  I really don't want anything else to deal with or learn about on the medical front right now.  I do know that if this is a part of our future that God will walk with us, teach us and guide us.

Laughter and tears.  Joy and sadness.  Its all part of life.  Experiencing that hard times helps make us thankful for the good times.  It also helps us to empathize with others and to be able to offer help and support.  I can see good coming from the hard.

In looking over our week, I'm thankful.  I have so much to be thankful for!  God is good!

Blessings
Leslie