He Heard

The little daily calendar on my desk is calling my name.. "In my distress I screamed to the Lord for His help, and He heard me from Heaven." Psalm 18:6

Sometimes I totally feel like I'm screaming for help! : )  We had a friend airflighted to Little Rock on Tuesday.  She is five and a half weeks pregnant, and her uterine lining was thinning, and she was starting to contract.  We've been praying for her (even before we knew what to pray!), but she's okay.  Somehow, they surgically strengthened it (um, wow?), and she'll be on bedrest, but they are both okay.  Prayers answered.

I see more now than ever that me making it through the pregnancies I did was a miracle.  I remember preeclampsia with Clay, the horrible swelling, then the awful magnesium to relax my muscles, my endless contractions then super-fast birth with Mary Claire that caused so much bruising and her ruptured blood vessels in her eyes (probably all contributing to diabetes!), and Ethan's missed heart beat at 10 weeks that required an ultrasound to confirm and then a c-section...am I thankful enough that when I cried out to God, that He heard me from Heaven, and brought us through the darkness?  They are well and healthy, and funny and so full of life!  I know not all my kiddies made it, but these three did, and I'm grateful.

* * * * *

My van is, however, not quite so thankful for my little darlings.  Yesterday my littlest kiddies were having dinner in the van on the way to Clay's baseball game, and when I had to slow down to turn (and the cars in front of me slammed on their brakes for a person in the turning lane)...and the plates (and pasta, nuts, and yogurt) (are you getting the idea?) hit the floor.  Ick.  I had to clean nuts from under my feet (yes, they rolled up front!) and then clean the yogurt off the floor mats (for the seventeenth time I'm super thankful for those all-weather mats over my carpet!) (except for two places where the yogurt got on the carpet.  God help me this summer in the heat!) (and the heated up dairy..)

Today my littlest kiddie wanted a big water bottle, he was so thirsty after school.  We had barely turned out of the parking lot, and he dropped the brand new bottle...on the floor.  I pulled over as quickly as I could to try to sop it up, but it was soaking in already, and I only had napkins-gross.  The mats helped a little, but the water rolled off the edges and soaked the carpet.  Umm..thank goodness it was water?


I'm trying super-hard to find the silver lining in my messy life!  I'm thankful for my new vacuum that works (and sucks, hahaha!), and for Curious George videos for Ethan during Mary Claire's dance class, and for pink flower flats when I bust my toenail (and half of it comes off..in the shower!) (and I lose at least a month of sandal-time, boohoo), and for a straightened bracket today after my teeth obeyed my crooked bracket..knowing my tight, sore teeth will one day be all straight...and for ibuprofen to make my world bearable.  Still blessed in the middle of my mess.  He heard me crying out today, and the best?  ..He hears me. : )


What are you thankful for today?

Whoever is with the kids is crazier (or was it funnier?)

Ok, we have got to Go There, because it's so funny, and it's part of my life!  Mom makes me laugh!! Maybe whoever is with the kids is funnier, I don't know.  She can't get the van door closed when she drops them off in the morning, so she just drives home with it open (she'll want me to insert here that it's only a few inches!)!  Ethan yells about it being cold ("but he's got his blanket!"), but she just tells him to be quiet, they'll be home in a minute!  I think today we finally figured out what is going on: she's putting the van in Drive, and that freezes the door!  Anyway, she says tomorrow they'll have *perfected* it: she'll drive away with it CLOSED! But then I'll be home for Friday's drive to school.
Today they are driving to see my Aunt Pansy who'll be in Fayetteville until 4pm, so my mom is taking Ethan to see her.  We drove down to see her and my uncle Denver last summer (see here), but we didn't take Ethan, so they've never met him!  When family doesn't live close (or when they do, but you are always busy), it's hard to visit often.  It's an opportunity!  I wish I was in town to go see her too, but I'm in Florida, land-of-a-billion-license-tags!  Seriously, there are about 200 different ones!  I've seen plain Florida with the county, plain with In God We Trust, Save the Wild Dolphins (my favorite!), the Tampa Bay Buccanneers, Protect Our Reefs, Save the Manatee, State Wildflower (not so pretty), Salutes Firefighters, Share the Road (with bikes-Ches would love to have that one at home!), Florida State University, ok-and some you just can't read the bottom unless you are at a stoplight!  We are amazed at the variety! : )  We've also started counting Canadian tags-we're up to five!  Can you believe people would drive that far?  Maybe there's a convention.  Of Canadians.  heehee
Well...bad news.  We discovered (after 5 last night) that the other game tickets we have (for the Detroit Tigers vs. the Phillies)-were for Yesterday's Game!  So sad.  We even drove by the field to make sure we knew where it was.  The crowd was roaring, and we'd heard them cheering for someone who hit a home run (rare in the pros!)!  And we had tickets all along.  $50 tickets.  Boo.  
So today, they play the Yankees, which we wanted tickets to all along, but they were sold out.  We plan to go to the game, and see if we can buy some tickets off the scalpers.  Maybe.  Maybe they won't charge us an arm and a leg.  Maybe we'll see today's game.  It just sucks that we missed it.  Ches has been telling me for weeks that we have tickets to Monday and Wednesday's games, so it never occurred to me to look at out tickets!  Ha.  That's the second time he's messed up this week, so maybe he's losing it?  Twins are pretty overwhelming.
Yes, I have more questions now!  Wanna try to answer them?  Here goes:
*How many deliveries do I get charged for? (C-section, but he'll pull out two). Only one
 epidural, one hospital room for me, but more care/ultrasounds...
*Do I get two pediatrician/hospital bills after they are born?
*If I pay for cord blood saving (for lack of a better word), and I know they charge per child,
 who's should I save if I only save one?

*Can I have them genetically matched to Mary Claire before I save one's cord blood?
*Should I save both?
*I read that there were "double boppies" for nursing twins, but I have yet to find them.  Do
 they really exist? Ps-I don't want those hard looking U-shaped things.
*How many diapers should I be buying, and what sizes exactly?  Ones, Twos are a given, but
 what about the teensy preemie/newborn ones?


Ok, obsessing 101 is over, and shall be continued tomorrow.  I do have an appointment on Monday to pay (prepay/authorize/etc) or discuss my bill.  I don't have better wording.  I also have a nurse appointment (like the last one) where she talks about my jewelry and dress, and says I've done this all before, and there are no surprises.  Uh-um.  When you are pregnant again, it's ALWAYS new.  It's never the same as last time, and there is not an un-nervous mom.  I should tell her that.  I hate to get sassy, as I might need her at 35+ weeks to be sympathetic to me.  I'll just discuss jewelry and the weather during my one hour appointment, since she won't talk babies.

Manila Envelopes of Doom-Glad to be rid of them

All I can say about today is Thank You, God, it's coming to a close. I had a God-moment, tell you about it in a minute..

Let's see...where to begin. I got the call-F-I-N-A-L-L-Y that my taxes were done. I turned them in on February first and have called repeatedly to see if they were ready. This is our Monday conversation:
Me: Are my taxes ready? (since she told me last week to call the first of next week)
Her: No, but I'm sure they'll be ready in 2 or 3 days.
Me: Do you know that the 15th is on Wednesday? (meaning in TWO days)
Her: I know exactly when it is! I've been working for 21 days straight, and I KNOW what day it is!
Me: Ok (insert big pregnant pause), (insert you need a big fat night out then!), so, you'll call me when they're ready?
Her: Yeah.
Me: Thanks (NOT!)

So, when she called at 8 this morning, I was glad to hear from her (kinda), after having done some intense praying about the exact amount I'd be gifting the government later in the day. Then I got a call from the Actual Accountant to explain the return (big giant sum I owed). Then, off to get busy on errands, pick up the nasty Manila Envelopes of Doom, get a yummy paint sample (BM Peony-a luscious hot pink!), and to Fabric Gallery to check out some fabrics and trims (they have such cute stuff!!). Then to grab a burrito and nachos-it must be Mexican week-and to get the kiddos (again with the no bathroom break..I'm working on it!).
This is where my day/wagon began to go further downhill...
My gas light came on. I had to stop to get gas (five minutes to pick up the kids!), dropped my debit card (this is probably how I lost the last one, do you remember?), then got the babies. Then dropped Isabella off, dropped Ethan off with Ches (to sleep), and ran up to the school to make more stick horses. Then brought the kids home, got busy with snacks, playing outside, painting (and Mary Claire got acrylic paint all over her skirt, I washed it immediately, and NO, it didn't come out; it's making its second round currently), new pool guy trying to fix the pool pump, Ches working in the yard, etc.
Well. Hmph.
I'd forgotten to mail the taxes!! At 4:15, I remembered them, ran in the kitchen, opened the Envelopes of Doom, and didn't understand much. I read through them, signed (the first one I signed on the wrong line, in turquoise ink, and didn't want to white out so they wouldn't think it was fraudulent, so I scribbled it out, and wrote, "Sorry!"), wrote the icky checks, and got them ready to mail. I chased Ches down, got him to sign, and headed to the post office.
This is where my wagon really gains speed...
(Should I mention that Mary Claire is now in holey jeans, rolled up-because of the paint) I got to the post office, took her in to get my taxes mailed, and the lady told me my total, and put on the little pre-printed stickers, and then. I. Had. No. Wallet. It was still on the counter from when I wrote the checks. ugh. Illness washed over me. No. Money. So, she pulled off the stickers, and gave me my Manilas of Doom. And said, we close in 8 minutes, so if (If?) you come back, bring them to the inside dropbox-we'll take them inside until 6. (Can I just say what happened to them staying open on Tax Day?) So I went back out to the van, got in, started digging for money (found about a dollar and 42 cents!), and started praying. Then, it was hot so I tried to start the car. It. Wouldn't. Start.
My wagon is now hitting bumps and flying through the air-think Calvin!
It wouldn't even make a noise. NO noise. Ok, real praying for help, now. Called Ches, no answer. Again, and no answer. I thought to call Susan (first Miracle-thought to call her), and she was in south Fayetteville. She said to call her after I called my neighbor (who thankfully, was in her car, in the neighborhood-second Miracle) and her boys ran out back to tell Ches to call me. Then at the same time I'm trying to call Susan back, Kelsey pulls in the parking lot (third Miracle)!! I am so thankful that someone else is just getting here to mail their taxes!! and I get out and flag her down, hug her, then again since I need it, then ask for two dollars, then slowly find out that Susan called her to help me. I can't believe it. (After talking to Susan at 8 tonight, I find out that there are tons of other people she could've called, but Kelsey was the only one in her mind, and Kelsey was at Neighborhood Market in FRONT of the post office-fourth Miracle?)
Still bumpy ride...
So, Kelsey gives me money, she sits in the van with Mary Claire, and I go in to redeem myself. Not. The. Gates. Are. Closed. Humans are gone. It was after five. So, I go back out, and ask Kelsey to take me to Neighborhood Market to get stamps. We go, and long story short, they only sell books-$8.40 (and I have $3), so Kelsey paid for them. We went back to the post office (still no Ches and a drive-able car), and I mailed them inside. Task One completed-Manila Doom off my hands.
Ches showed up, and I gave my undying affection to Kelsey (and tried to pay her-she couldn't take it-sweet girl). She doesn't realize how she was part of my God-thing that had just taken place. She was happy to help, but I was soooo indebted to her for saving me (and my Doom and I'm sure a penalty on the Doom). I don't think she can understand how happy I was to see her-seriously. God gives us the most blessings in our friends. They are here when we need them, and I'm eternally grateful. My heart had grown three sizes (especially after my Very Long Day), and I really needed the reminder that God was still there, I just had to ask for help.
So, we are trying to jump start the van off Ches' car, and it won't start. I look up, and a sweet man from church is standing there (fifth Miracle), and moves the black clippy-alligator-teeth-thingie on to the black post, and.... It Starts!! Yay! There was much rejoicing!! In both vehicles! : ) We got everyone buckled up, I called Honda and said to Wait For Me!! (Oh, and Ethan has not shoes on, as Ches had to wake him up from a dead sleep) We head down there, get there at 6, and Jon had waited. I handed over my keys, so they could close, and went back to get the kids out. The door wouldn't open! (and the lights hadn't been able to go off, and the doors wouldn't lock.. and the dvd player went off, then came back on during the drive there!) So, I ran back to tell him to check the electrical system too!

We'd had a long day (and there was no dinner at home waiting for us) so we went to Chick-Fil-A to let the kids play it out while we discussed what had gone down. Come to find out, when I was trying to call Ches, he was out back opening a bag of mulch, and out came tons of termites (he thinks)! So we had more problems..
We got the kids home, and I fed them and got them into bed while he went out to spray them with all the buggy chemicals we could find. I offered bleach, but he didn't want to kill the grass. How kind of him. He'd slung the bag over the fence (into the empty lot), and had to go track down the little monsters. With poison!

So, the day has come to a close, and I can't say thank you enough to God for amazing mercy, and friends, and my church, and prepared food, and a beautiful day for the kids to play outside, and bug killer, and now, my bed. I'm worn out. Mentally and physically.

G'night, and we'll do it again tomorrow. Oh, and hair tomorrow-a bright, shiny spot in my week! : )