While I Have a Few Spare Moments…

Let me start by saying I can’t tell you enough how much it has meant to me that so many of you have taken the time to reach out to tell me you’re praying as I’ve shared with you the journey my family is taking right now. Even if I don’t respond each time, please know I am reading every message and comment and they help me so much. I know that many of you have walked this path and when you share your stories, it’s just one more way we connect across these type-written passageways, sothank you fromthe bottom of my heart.

Just a few more major life events to get you updated on:

Yes, Scout is home. We picked him up on Saturday and things have been pretty lively around here since. He’s a Yorkie-Poo (emphasis on the “poo”), and I’m definitely feeling the déja vu like it’s the first time we brought home a baby. It’s a constant swing between “He’s so cute!” and “What was I thinking?”, but we are all surviving.

Of course, we gave the obligatory responsibility speech to all 4 kids before we brought him home, and they’ve been doing a great job with him. Probably the biggest surprise is that our youngest, Lola, has turned out to be a bona fide dog-whisperer. (Ironic, since whispering has never been one of her strong suits.) She’s only 8, but she is giving this pooch all she’s got, working hard to get him trained and cleaning up the mistakes, which we all hope will become fewer before long.

And did I mention today is our 9th snow day? If we hadn’t needed every hand in this house to help with either my dad or the puppy, I’d be going crazy by now. But, as things are, I’m pretty sure this is just another demonstration of God’s grace to us in the most chaotic circumstances we’ve ever known.

My dad has had a few good days this week, showing great signs of improvement from his mini strokes, despite the absence of hospice visits due to the weather. He has gone from being completelyincapacitated and barely able to swallow or speak 10 days ago, to being able to sit up, carry on conversations, and eat his favorite foods again. There seems to be noprotocol for rehabilitating a late-stage terminal cancer patient suffering from strokes. And since he’s made all these improvements with only us to help him, we know it’s just one more way God wanted to prove Himself to us all. And He has, over and over again.

Tomorrow, our beautiful Lily turns 12 years oldand we are excited about that. We may be celebrating with cake andsnow cream, but we will make it a great day for this girl because we love her so much.

For now, we will now resume our life of Froot Loops for breakfast and not bothering to brush our hair. Lola may or may not be wearing her “Best Day Ever” shirt for thethird day in a row and I don’t even care. There are some things that are just more important right now.

And for one last random P.S…

Just a little update on our new-fangled trash can I told you about here. It has worked overtime with the house full of people who have been in and out of here since we first got this baby from Build.com. And for those of you who were wondering, the batteries lasted a full two months, even with all the extra use! It has definitely come in handy, and I think you’d like it, too.