He remembers we are dust

We made it through one very unpleasant week around here. All four of us came down with one icky stomach bug. God was merciful in so many ways even through something so nasty as this! Isaac started things off last Saturday, and we're not really sure where he got it, maybe our Thursday gym time? Who knows! He wasn't so bad, only got sick a few times (after he ate). Then Keith started Monday night and it just knocked him out all day Tuesday with body aches and such. Tuesday night I went to check on Samy when Keith and I were headed for bed and she rolled over and got sick. God was so kind to wait until that moment! She was so disoriented and confused. I was so glad to be there and calm her down immediately and run her to the bathroom. I started just a couple hours later. It was a sleepless night. Samy was such a trooper though! I've never seen someone be so chipper after getting sick! Her aunt Michelle would be impressed :) We made her a little bed on our floor and Keith got her some soda. Her reaction, "Yummy! I like it so much!" She was thrilled to be sleeping in our room and you would not have guessed she had a stomach flu!
Wednesday was one of the most miserable days of my life. Worst than child birth b/c it was so constant and nothing good at the end :) But we're all on the mend now!
God was so merciful to keep us from all getting it at the same time! And He was so merciful in giving the kids grace for the day I couldn't move--they played perfectly by themselves all day!! Samy even cuddled up with me for a while to watch "Wives and Daughters." She was pointing out every lady with a dress on, which is all of them :) She is a hoot!
And God is certainly having mercy on my grocery budget! None of us have eaten much of anything the whole week.
"As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust." Psalm 103:13-14

What a compassionate God we have! I'm grateful to be able to praise Him even in the midst of sickness!

UP!

If you haven't seen the movie Up! yet, you just have to! I was crying after the first ten minutes and the kiddos absolutely LOVE it! It's really an adorable movie. And also now one the kids favorite things to play. I often hear Isaac saying to Samy, "Come on, let's go play Up!" And off they go to make Samy's doll house fly around the basement or just chase each other, one being "Kevin" the bird and the other being one of the dogs.
Their favorite line that often begin their dialogue with makes me laugh each time I hear them say it: "I can smell you." Often followed by: "Squirrel!"
Oh, you just have to see it :)

When I grow up...

Samy (in her broken speech): "I get big, I wear your white dress and get married"
Me: "Who will you marry?"
Samy: "Daddy! I get big, I drive a car. I go to Grammy and Papaw's house. I wear big Snow White dress, then I drive home."
The "Snow White" dress is one my mom picked up at a yard sale that's too big for Samy right now--Samy is often telling me that is why she wants to grow up :)

Prince and Princess

I was just in making dinner and Isaac came running in saying, "Come see Cinderella! She's coming down the stairs!" Samy is fully decked out in her Cinderella gown, gloves, shoes, bracelets and a lovely hair do :) I asked who had fixed her hair, "I did!" said Isaac. And for one the only times he's ever agreed to it, he said he was the prince! Usually he gets angry :)
Aren't they cute!

"Blind in a Blizzard"

This time it has nothing to do with our blizzards :)
This morning I picked up a little devotional my dear friend Julie gave me and opened to an entry by Noel Piper entitled "Blind in a Blizzard," which i thought was very fitting in more ways than one and wanted to share:

I will lead the blind by a way they do not know,
In paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will make darkness into light before them
And rugged places into plains. Isaiah 42:16

I'd read in the Little House books about blizzards so think you could get lost between house and barn. But I never thought blizzards like that happened to real people in real life.

My husband and I were driving home from a speaking engagement in South Dakota--across the prairie through a horizontal gale that was spray painting everything white. Centerline, shoulders, and ditches had disappeared. We couldn't pull off--we'd be buried in the snow and we'd freeze. Anyway, where was "off"? We surely didn't want to stop where another car could plow into us.

A semitrailer saved us. Its driver say high, with the perspective to make out the snow bumps of signposts and other indicators on the road. We fell in behind him, thankfully and trustfully, our eyes glued to his lights. When he slowed, we slowed. When he swerved, so did we.

Some days I feel as thought I'm in a blizzard, with all normal pointers obliterated. But Jesus, my Savior, can see my road all the way to my destination, including every curve, bump, and blind spot that confronts me today.

In that prairie snowstorm, I had to keep my eyes on the semi and follow it; I didn't have any other choice if I wanted to avoid crashing. Every day we need to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2) and follow him; we don't really have any other choice--besides crashing.

Results of 2 blizzards and our Valentine's Day

Here are some pictures of the kids playing after the second or was it third (I've lost count) of snow and after the plows came. 3 feet of snow + snow plows = GIANT mounds of snow! Our neighbor and one of his friends made a fort out of the plow pile at the end of our street, which the kids have enjoyed for a few days. Now Isaac doesn't even want to go out. After the melted snow refroze on top of the rest of the snow, there was no more sledding b/c you just get stuck.
One plus of being stuck at home for two weeks is Samy is potty trained!! Today is day 5 in undies with no accidents so far :) She just decided one day she really wanted to wear those princess undies and that was it!
Isaac has been working hard on his reading lessons, much more out of motivation for the Cars toy he gets when he finishes the 100 lessons than out of desire to read :) Everyday he wants to do two lessons, sometimes he asks for a third. He's doing really well with it too, and i can hardly believe it when I'm listening to him read 4 sentence stories!

On a totally different note, we had a wonderful Valentine's day! I awoke to a Starbucks latte at my bedside then we went to church and were blessed to have CJ Mahaney preaching (we get him next week too!). It was phenomenal (as usual)! This is actually the first time he's preached at CLC since we've been here! He spoke on Jude, reminding us of the Father's great love for us in that we are CALLED to salvation, LOVED by God the Father and KEPT for Jesus! Keith and I have been so refreshed this week as we've continued to contemplate the amazing love of God for us in choosing to give us salvation when we were still enemies of God.
Sunday night was the Pastors College Sweethearts Banquet--what a blast! There are like 100 people who serve at this event, giving up their Valentine's evening to serve us and it was just overwhelming. Dinner and an array of skits to inspire us in romance and intimacy from poetry, to reading Song of Songs, to singing famous love songs, to singing Fiddler on the Roof's "Do you love me?" And of course there were fun surprises for the students! What an excellent way to spend Valentine's Day :)

Survivor: Gaithersburg

Ok, maybe it's not as bad as Survivor but I certainly feel like I've just survived weather that just shouldn't happen :) HISTORIC, yes, historic amounts of snow have fallen here, the most on record EVER! Not really a surprise that it was record breaking when I look out the window. Can you believe the snow!!

Thankfully it really hasn't been bad and after making it through the first blizzard we had a blast playing in the snow (except Samy who was just inches taller than the snow fall).

So blizzard number two hit just three days after the first one ended. Our road had just been plowed Tuesday morning around 9 and by 10:30 it was snowing again. When Keith got home from work the road was covered again. We are thanking God that we have not lost power! Tomorrow when this blizzard is totally gone I'll go take some pictures of the insane amounts of white out there!

Here is what used to be our backyard. It seriously looks like a big bowl of snow! The drifts on this end of the yard are just below the fence! I think we'll have to do some snow diving :)