Snips and snails and puppy dog tails... and WORMS!

THIS is what little boys are made of...

For their Halloween party yesterday, Zach's VERY wonderful, VERY brave preschool teacher, Mrs. Amy filled their table (that is usually filled with beans or rice or sand or occasionally water) with potting soil and WORMS! LIVE ONES! EWWWWW!!! The little boys in the class LOVED it! The girls squealed!

Of course, Zach wouldn't have anything to do with wearing his costume to school for the party --- a Clemson football uniform (CarolinaCarters, I know you'll love that!). We put on his camo sweats in the hopes that he would look like a hunter or an army man. Maybe he'll actually wear his costume for Halloween?

Prayer request

Please be in prayer for some good friends of ours --- The Williamsons --- whose 3 year old son, Brice will have heart surgery Thursday morning at 7:30am in Atlanta. They recently found that he has some extra tissue near a valve inside his heart. Please pray for everything to go smoothly, for pain management for Brice, and for peace and comfort for his mom and dad, Shane and Angel.

You can follow him tomorrow at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/shanewilliamson --- feel free to leave them some words of encouragement.

Thank you for your faithful prayers!

It's a slippery slope...

Every once in a while, my mind wanders into some dangerous territory and I allow myself to dwell on certain questions that haunt me...

"Will kids pick on Zach as he gets older because of his health condition?"
"Will he 'fit in' when he is a teenager?"
"Will he be physically able to participate in PE?"
"Will he be physically able to play on a sports team when he is older?"
"Will he have to have more surgery?"
"What will Zach's life be like as an adult with CHD?"
"Will he be sickly?"
"Will he be able to work or will he have to go on disabilty?"

Once I allow them into my mind, these questions won't leave me alone. They peck around inside my head and bring me down. When I allow myself to ponder these things... when I open that door just a crack, more negative thoughts and more questions force their way in. I find that once I start thinking, I cannot stop. The negative thoughts take root in my mind and grow like an aggressive vine, wrapping chutes around every positive thought... smothering... choking. These thoughts lead down a very dark path.

These are the things I must turn to when my mind gets carried away.

Truth is what I need to dwell on when I start down that slippery slope. Truth uproots that deadly vine. Truth shines light into dark places. The Truth is that Zach has done incredibly well in his 4 1/2 years despite his medical diagnosis. There is no reason to believe that he won't be able to do whatever he sets his mind to. 

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32

Faith forces me to change my focus from these worldly troubles and "turn my eyes upon Jesus." Jesus is Zach's Great Physician. Jesus is Sovereign. Jesus has a plan for Zach's life and will equip him and us to live it to the fullest. If we have Faith.

"He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm." Matthew 8:26

Hope keeps out those negative thoughts and searing questions. Hope allows us to dream big for our Little Heart. Hope reminds us that awareness and advocacy lead to research and research leads to improved healthcare for CHDers and improved healthcare leads to a better life.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

 
Truth, Faith, and Hope cause me to turn from the negative and seek the positive... to turn from what the devil would have me focus on to the abundant life that Jesus intends. For Zach's sake.

What helps you fight off the questions that haunt you?

Craziness...

It has been so long since I have posted! I miss blogging. I miss recording all the funny things Rebecca and Zach do and say. I have still been reading up on all of our Heart Buddies, but I haven't had time to sit down and write, nevermind taking and downloading pictures! Bad, bad Mommy!

This new way of life feels like craziness! I am exhausted --- do working moms ever get enough rest? Our evenings are filled with fixing dinner picking up dinner somewhere, doing laundry, helping with homework (btw, is it my imagination, or is 7th grade homework harder now than when I was in 7th grade?), making lunches for the next day, ironing clothes for the next day, bathing one little wild man (thankfully, Bec can take care of all that for herself!), and hopefully getting to bed at a decent hour. Whew! Then it all starts over again the next morning!

I do love what I'm doing, though. I have a great faculty and administration to work with. I feel like I am accomplishing a lot, although there is still so much to do! This week will be extra exciting --- we are having a Book Fair! It ought to be interesting!!!

And Zach continues to LOVE 4K. He is learning so much! It's fun to hear him share the songs they sang at "'cool to-day" (gotta work on those S's!). He is learning about his letters and the sounds they make. Friday they made chocolate chip cookies. This week, they go on another field trip - this time to the pumpkin patch!

Health-wise, Zach is doing wonderfully. He goes to the dentist Tuesday. Hopefully he will let them really clean his teeth this time. He's not crazy about them doing things to him. I wonder where that comes from??? He's not gonna like it but he's gonna get his flu shot Tuesday too. He doesn't go back to the cardiologist until sometime in November.

Friday night, we attended a reunion of the 1990 Union High School State Championship team. Bill got to reminisce with coaches and players. Zach and Rebecca got to run and play in the end zone with the other kids.

FCA ministers to coaches wives through a group called Bench Backers. So Saturday, we went to an annual picnic with a bunch of coaches and their families. We have it at this beautiful horse farm - the wonderful owners allow the kids to ride horses, take everyone on a hayride, and have a bonfire for roasting marshmallows.

The only way Zach was having anything to do with horse back riding was to get Daddy up there with him. I asked him why he didn't want to ride the horse and he said "I fink he gonna frow me off!"

This year they had a special treat for us - Redneck Sledding! Lots of fun!

Look at that smile!

The big kids playing football --- that's Rebecca the Running Back on the right.

The hayride wagon

Hopefully it won't be another month before I post again. Just know that we're not MIA --- we're still here!