Christians by Maya Angelou

“A woman’s heart should be so hidden in Christ
that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.”

When I say… “I am a Christian” I’m not shouting “I’m clean livin’”
I’m whispering “I was lost, Now I’m found and forgiven.”

When I say… “I am a Christian” I don’t speak of this with pride.
I’m confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say… “I am a Christian” I’m not trying to be strong.
I’m professing that I’m weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say… “I am a Christian” I’m not bragging of success.
I’m admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say… “I am a Christian” I’m not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say… “I am a Christian” I still feel the sting of pain..
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say… “I am a Christian” I’m not holier than thou,
I’m just a simple sinner Who received God’s good grace, somehow!

(I copied this from here http://crumbsonmyfloor.com/ her blog is awesome and always uplifting. She also has a video from Steven Curtis Chapman's daughters' memorial)

Random, Yet important Things

Just wanted to let everyone know that the Munchkin is okay. He gets a little cranky sometimes but what's new and what is the other kids excuse?

I just found our yesterday that a girl I went to high school with died in a car accident last weekend. It is really sad and is once again a reminder that life is so precious and can end at any moment. She was only 28 and her name is Jillian Scott. I did not know her personally but I know people who did know her well and I am praying for their peace at this time.

The boys are down for a much needed nap and I am contemplating 1) cleaning my disastrous kitchen (I was too tired last night so I left it until this morning, I hate it when I do that it overwhelms me, I like to wake up to a clean kitchen) 2) nap or 3) clean any of the other parts of the house that needed tending to, like the bathrooms

It never ends, so I think I will go play with my daughter.

And the Culprit is...

A size comparison- he swallowed the one on the left, not the penny.

This one is blurry but you can see how thick the battery was.

I cannot believe my son who has trouble swallowing a cracker could swallow this battery. They put a scope down his throat after realizing that it had never did travel to his intestines, it stayed in his stomach. Because it was still in his stomach, the stomach acid was eating away at the battery. In the middle picture you can see where the blue plastic part is showing. The battery acid made a small burn on his esophagus and he has to take Pepcid for a little while to allow the burn to heal. They originally thought it had moved because of the way he was positioned or the battery was positioned. Luckily it came out easily and we are all home. It was very stressful and I am so grateful for every one's prayers, Thank you so much!

An Update

Having just two kids last night was really, easy. It was strange how different it was. We were playing on the floor and laughing and the Princess laughed so hard she peed her pants. Normally the fun would have to end before anyone got to that point because someone would start crying. Anyway, the Princess came into my room at 3:30 and the Bulldozer woke up at 3:45 he fell back asleep after 15min. I however started thinking- what if we are thinking this is all routine and he'll be fine and he's not. What if he gets an infection or there is damage to his intestinal lining that causes his sweet little body even more trouble than he has already had in his short little life? I called my friend in Boston crying(she is the only one who would be awake at 4:30 my time) She assured me that he would be fine but so I would feel better to call the hospital. So I did, they told me he had an x-ray scheduled for 7am and still there was nothing going on in any diapers. That worries me-it means nothing is moving even after 2 doses of laxatives-he did throw up both times. Oh and also when they were putting in his IV they had to try three times and got it in the fourth time. He is being tortured-it's not fair-he has been through so much since the beginning. I am frustrated and worried and sad for him.

The x-ray this morning showed that the battery hadn't moved. That is not the best news, I haven't heard anything else.

Oh, when I dropped my oldest off at school today(he gets dropped off with me in the morning when he is at his dad's and I take him to school) there was a police barricade blocking part of the street-apparently there was a homicide last night in the apartments across the street. That's unnerving.

Yesterday I was so cranky because of everything that was going on and my son had two friends over-they were going in and out and the door was being left open and I was very aggravated. So I told the boys that the munchkin was at the hospital and I said so i am very cranky-so to please just pick somewhere to be and stay there. The neighbor boy said"Yeah she is stressed, you can see it on her face!" I thought that was funny, and hey I warned them!
Please keep praying, thank you!

This is Definitely Not Routine

Well my husband is currently in Loma Linda, and not for one of our monthly visits either. He is there because the battery (read an earlier post for the complete story) has not made an appearance in the munchkins diaper yet. We were supposed to wait only 48 hours but because he was not cranky (well unusually cranky) I gave him some extra time. He has been fine and things have been "moving right along" so to speak since he swallowed it. This afternoon however was a different story-he woke up 1 hour into his 3 hour nap. This never happens, he loves his sleep. So at first I thought the battery could be bothering him, but dismissed it when he seemed hungry. Then he started screaming so I called my trusty husband at work "Do I need to come home and take him to the ER?" (I love this man, he would do anything for us.) "Well maybe" I said, "let me see I'll call you back." So after a few minutes the Munchkin calms down so I call Hubby and tell him "never mind he is fine just tired." Well 20 mins later I call back-and the poor baby is screaming again. "Yeah I think we should take him" Okay so hubby comes home and they leave. Hubby calls with an update-"The battery is still in there and we are going to take him to Loma Linda by ambulance and I need formula, clothes, diapers...blah, blah, blah..." Ambulance is all I heard. My sweet little Angel is going in an ambulance and once again I am not there to comfort him. They gave him a laxative and want to monitor him and make sure it comes out okay and that it is not stuck. That is all I know I will update when I know more.

God's Perfect Plan

Look at how complicated this passion flower is. It is amazing and beautiful. This flower represents to me His perfect plan. Sometimes we do not know why things happen the way they do but no matter how crazy or complicated things get He his working them all together for good.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Are you kidding me?

What a miserable day we had. It was supposed to be relaxing, romantic and kid free. For our anniversary, my Husband was in charge of planning our trip-one night away. It was a surprise to me (until I figured it out yesterday) and next year I will plan it and he will be surprised. While driving on the 60 we were stuck in traffic due to accident#1, then we were stuck in traffic due to accident #2 on the 215. It was raining and when we reached the hotel she told us it had just hailed! We arrived at 11:45 to pick up our passes to the day spa. Before we could even leave the hotel with the passes we got a phone call-12:00. My Mother in Law telling me she thinks that my munchkin may have swallowed a battery (watch battery size but bigger). We said that there is no way he could have swallowed it because he has trouble getting crackers down. We asked her to look for it and got off the phone. Okay, now driving to the spa- another phone call-can't find the battery. Okay everything is still fine-right? We'll just call my mom ask her to come to the house now and watch the other two kids so everyone doesn't have to go to the E.R. Except are we sure it was the munchkin that swallowed it or could it have been one of the other two? Great-now all the kids have to go to the E.R. Driving away from the spa, we noticed that after having rained all morning, the sun was shining brightly. Now we are going back to the hotel to salvage some of our money and we have gotten stuck in traffic again-accident #3 we are going in the wrong direction and we are stuck for 30 min. Wow, could it get any worse? Why yes, yes it could. When we are able to turn around and go the right direction a rock flies off of a truck and CRACKS OUR WINDSHIELD, FABULOUS! I was afraid when we stopped to grab some food- I was certain we would end up with food poisoning.

Turns out that the munchkin did swallow the battery, the good news is that it was in his intestines, so he is safe we just have to check to make sure it comes out within 48 hours.

Other things that happened today:

• We left two hours later than we originally planned to, at 10am instead of 8am
• After returning home we saw on the news that there was a mudslide on the road we used to go there and come home- all traffic was stopped
• There was a TORNADO, yes you read it right, on the highway in a spot we drove past today
• In the emergency room, when listening to the Bulldozer's heart they noticed that his heart skipped a beat- we have to follow up with our pediatrician
• When in the womb, the bulldozer, or baby A, was the recipient and was showing signs of heart trouble(for the technical info you would have to talk to my husband)
• Thankfully the hotel refunded all of our money-maybe we will try again soon-um maybe not!

So to sum it all up our getaway was ruined but we found out about a heart "problem" we would otherwise not have known about and we escaped MANY experiences that we may not have lived through. We instead, spent the night with our beautiful children, enjoying some California pizza kitchen dinner and watching Dora the explorer. God was looking out for us, at the time we didn't understand why he would allow our getaway to be ruined, but we now are reminded again how his perfect plan works out in the end. The last child is almost in bed and we are going to enjoy a movie and our beautiful lives together. Thank you God for rescuing us today and everyday!