What a day!

About 20 minutes before my alarm was to go off, I heard a little "pad pad pad" to my side of the bed and a quick "Mom, can I sleep with you?". This one had been coughing most of the night. Not long after, I hear the bedroom door open and close and more "pad pad pad-ing" and boy #2 jumps over in between Doug and I. No chance for dozing anymore. This one hasn't mastered the art of whispering and insightfully declared that our bed wasn't big enough. No joke, dude. But, this scenario doesn't happen often. I embrace it and am thankful for the extra early morning snuggles, not realizing that I needed those in order to keep my mind focused for what was to come.

Thirty minutes later, the two big boys are getting dressed fairly happily and are thinking about breakfast. Blowing off "macho nacho" on the school cafeteria menu, I assume the task of making "lunchboxes" while getting myself dressed and ready for the day. The phone rings. It's my sister. I know that my sister doesn't typically call me at 7am to chat. She quickly fills me in on the events that led to Dad being taken to the hospital in the wee hours of this morning. My heart drops and I quickly wish I could be in many places at one time. Several tests had been taken and no answers were clear, but Dad's symptoms remained. I am thankful for my siblings who could and no doubt would drop everything and be with my parents. Honestly, their proximity to Mom and Dad gives us the freedom to be so far away.

Distance from those I love often causes me to quickly conjure the worst case scenario in my mind. I hate that. But, as I quickly assessed the "worst", my heart was flooded with the truth of God's faithfulness. God knew what today would hold. It was no surprise. As I'm wondering what the next days will look like if the unknown about Dad drags on, Doug is packing for a quick trip to New Orleans. I am already anticipating hearing the worst w/o the strength of my husband. Wasted energy.

I finish the "lunchboxes" (complete with two candy corns for "morning energy") as the clock says it's time for the boys to meet their ride for school outside. The three of us hold hands outside and pray for Grandpa Moyer, Grandma, and the doctors as we wait for our friends. Back inside, Eli has woke and Doug is preparing for his morning run. I retrieve Eli from his crib, and he feels super hot. The ear thermometer reads 103.1. It's now going on 48 hours of fever, runny nose, cough. Lovely. No Bible study finale brunch for us this morning. I call the pediatrician as soon as they open and secure an appointment for 8:50am.

Starting to feel overwhelmed by all these circumstances colliding, I send a couple emails to faithful friends and family to beg them to pray. Within the hour, Eli and I are in the doctor's office (a new doc for us). In light of his symptoms, he suggests we get tested for H1N1. I wonder for a second if I should freak out. I refuse. And keep praying while reading books to Eli and wander behind him down the hall as we wait for the test results. Test is negative but one-third of people who get negative result still could have it. He's in the high-risk because he's under 2. Round of Tamiflu. We're doing it. I'm smiling and thanking God as we walk out the door.

Eli falls asleep in the car at 10am as I head to church to drop off my stuff for the brunch even though I don't stay. A quick whisper to a friend in my small group to pray for Dad gives me more strength. Oh, I know those ladies pray. We have watched Him speak into many situations this semester. Now, back to the Jacobs' apartment (fellow resident family in our complex) to drop off Eli to nap while I volunteer at Grandparents' Day at Terry Elementary. He's already sleeping in the car, so I'm praying that he'll stay asleep in the transport and rest well.

Grandparents Day is for 2nd and 3rd graders only today ... three days of Grandparents Days. First day hosted 86 guests; today held 70; expecting 50 tomorrow. This is the PTA event I had chosen to pour some time into this year, so a retired teacher and myself co-chaired the committee. It turns out the two of us were half of our volunteers for the three days, so it was God at work in those circumstances that allowed me to be there for all three days this week. Not the original plan at all. In between checking-in grandparents, I'm texting, forwarding texts, etc. to my sisters to stay in the loop about Dad.

It was in one of those texts that I learned that Dad was diagnosed with Meniere's disease which is most possibly the best case scenario for what "could" have been the outcome. I couldn't help but be thankful for a run-in with the hospital with either Mom or Dad that wasn't horrific. I prayed that our family's faith would be strengthened today and asked others to pray that for us. I don't know about anyone else, but my faith was strengthened.

Meanwhile, Eli slept until 2:30pm. How glorious is that? Our afternoon and evening was quiet and peaceful (for the most part, I mean, we do have 3 boys). I made an easy dinner with Eli on my hip (completely unusual), and I'm sure he knows how to make mac n cheese now. Wink. Doug arrived safely in NOLA and met his friend (who currently lives in Great Britian) for dinner. Beautiful.

I'm so grateful today. Prayers were prayed. Prayers were felt. Prayers were answered. God is trustworthy. He is faithful. It doesn't always turn out like today did, but I still trust Him. Honestly, I am weary of allowing my mind to wander about what could happen and feeling the exhaustion of the mental preparation for it. A lack of faith? It really becomes all about me instead of God's glory. Do I really believe that He is trustworthy? Feel free to weigh in ... still processing ...