My Cup Runneth Over

Our church just recently finished a series on Psalm 23. It was a six week series and each week the pastor dove into a verse of Psalm 23. I thought the series was so good. You can always watch past sermons at rivervalleychurch.org or I like to download them on iTunes if I miss a week. This morning I listened to week 5 of the series because I had missed it.  After going through what we did with Grace, I know how quickly life can change and how scary it can be. Your perspective on life changes dramatically after something like that, so now that all is going well and everyone is healthy, we feel overly blessed. I feel "too blessed" if that's possible, it's as if I'm waiting for something else bad to happen. This morning I was convicted of having those thoughts after listening to the sermon. Pastor Rob was saying that God wants us to be blessed, he wants my cup to "runneth over".  I shouldn't be asking "When is the next tragedy going to happen?", but instead, I should be asking God to fill another cup of blessing for me and to keep the blessings coming!
Even if something else bad happens in our lives someday, it is such comfort knowing that it is all God's plan and I will seek God's will in all that I do.

4 Years

It has been 4 years since my sweet Grace was born. It's crazy how fast time goes! I decided to conduct an interview with Grace. It is my goal to do this every year so we can compare answers from year to year and I thought it would be fun for her to look back on when she is older.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A mommy and a doctor
Who is your best friend? Kate
What is your favorite thing to do? Play with Nana, Papa and Isaac
What is your favorite color? pink, purple, blue, yellow, white, green
What is your favorite Bible story? Humpty Dumpty
What is your favorite toy? My Barbie house, My Barbie horse, My Barbie carriage, My ironing board
What is your favorite animal? That's a hard one mom
What is your favorite food? O, I think you know...starts with an "M", Macaroni and Cheese!
What is your favorite movie? Rapunzel and The Muppets

You are becoming such a big girl! It's so fun to see your personality and character shape more and more every day. My prayer for you Grace is that you never forget how truly special and cherished you are. I pray that you always dream big and know that  your mommy and daddy are here to support you in every endeavor. I can't wait to see what your answers are in another 4 years!

A New Normal

I know it sounds cliche to say "I don't even remember what it was like before Grace was diagnosed," but it's such a true statement. Looking back, life must have been easy and carefree. Initially, life after Grace's diagnosis was so hard and I was so weary. By God's grace and strength, I was able to make it through to the other side. The life we lead now feels normal to me. When we were having to go to the clinic weekly and watch Grace's hair slowly fall out, I knew that wasn't normal and I longed so much for a normal life again. I finally feel like we've reached normal. It definitely isn't the same normal that we had before Grace's diagnosis, but it is a new normal that we feel blessed to have. Most days are like everyone else's days with the exception of a few meds we have to give Grace. Other days, we're reminded that we have a child in treatment for cancer and how much that stinks.
 Craig and I are leaving for Mexico this weekend. I am trying to prepare by getting a medicine chart ready for the grandparents and directions for calling the doctor if anything were to happen or if she was to spike a fever. All things that most parents don't have to worry about when they go on vacation.
I could sit and worry about next week and what would happen if she were to get sick and we'd be hundreds miles away, but a part of our new normal is completely trusting God. Of course, I trusted God before, but never like this. My new normal is growing deeper and deeper with God and thanking Him for the small and big blessings in our life. My new normal is knowing how quickly life can change and trying to remember to live in the moment. My new normal is hugging and kissing my kids and husband everyday and telling them that I love them. My new normal is the normal that God has chosen for me.