This morning, Renée told me that I was singing in my sleep.  I actually remember it a little bit.  Around 3:30am I remember searching through the iTunes library in my head for something to listen to, and I found a song and started singing along to it.

Well, apparently Renée didn’t like that I was singing, as it had disturbed her slumber, so she quietly and politely “shushed” me back to sleep, where I just basically stopped singing, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

P.S. And I’m thankful… sleep is a precious commodity for us these days!

A couple rough days this last week have brought me to my knees. I am so weary and know that I can’t endure this alone (course that’s just where He wants me, no)? For His power is perfect in weakness. And let me tell ya, I’m pretty weak. But I was introduced to a new hymn a few weeks ago that I really enjoy, especially the last verse. I’m just excited to be Home someday!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face,
And gladly take my station there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight:
This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise
To seize the everlasting prize;
And shout, while passing through the air,
“Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”

I just had to laugh at the news headlines on CNN today:

Man struck by lightning, says ‘it hurt’
(Duh, ya think)!?

Toilet-trained chimp on the loose in California
(and all the Moms are wanting to invite him over so he can show their toddlers how it’s done)!

Starbucks to close 600 stores
(and Renee does the dance for joy, down with the evil empire! Mwuhahahaha)!

Oh yes, this lil program cut the top of my sewing project pictures off… but if you click on them, there’s a big and bigger version, depending on how many times you click. Just in case you wanted to see the neckline of my dress

I finally finished the dress I posted about last time (a few weeks ago, actually). I’m only now just writing about it because I’ve been a busy bee! Last week, Sam decided it was time to use the big boy potty. Oh yeah! We’ve been in full blown potty training for almost a week now, and he’s doing fabulously. He looks like such a big boy in his underpants.

Somehow in all this I’ve managed to sew here and there and finish two projects! The dress I made cost less than five dollars for materials, because the fabric I used was a twin cotton sheet I found at a thrift store and cut up. I used a wonderfully soft lining for the bodice and it’s very comfortable. I like the boat neckline and length a lot, but next time I think I’ll skip the front tie. I don’t know, I can’t decide if I like it or not.

The second project was a skirt with eight godets. I’m thinking if I ever get out for swing dancing again, this is the skirt to wear! Check out my twirling action, hehe. Challis is my new favorite material… super soft, drapes well and is lightweight. Perfect for the summer. I like the mostly pink but kinda coral color this print has. I can’t wait to pair it with some cute shirts and hit the town! (In between feedings and potty runs, that is).

I have to say, I was very disappointed last week when I went card shopping for Father’s Day. Upon first glance, there seemed to be a huge selection. But as I started browsing through the cards, I just got plain mad. It seemed every card had some backhanded compliment to it, or dealt with the “golf-obsessed, farting, lazy, beer drinking, remote controlling, belching oaf” of a Dad. Honestly, how can anyone feel good about giving their dad a card like that? And what dad would actually want to receive a card like that?

What a total lack of respect! We are to honor our fathers. Not just on Father’s Day, but every day. None of those cards came close to telling any father how we love them, respect them as men and the head of our home, or appreciate the sacrificial love they show our families. Granted, there are most likely some oafs out there. But when 98% of the cards at the store have a message like that!?

And when I searched for a card that Sam could get for Mark, many were “from your bratty kid who never obeys and is a general pain in the you-know-what.” I think it reflects our society and the break down of the family, really. Fathers never get it right, and children are not a blessing but a constant source of frustration. It’s like Hallmark hired a bunch of angry women and this is the best they could come up with.

I finally found a card for Mark that wasn’t in the Father’s Day section at all. It read, “You make me smile… every single day.” And it’s true. I am so grateful for and proud of Mark, the father of my precious children. And I am so thankful for and proud of my Dad, who has lead our family well and always treated my brother and I as blessings.

So come on, Hallmark. Get with the program.

Don’t forget to pack:

• Diapers for Noah
• Diapers for Samuel
• Wipes
• Extra change of clothes for Noah
• Extra change of clothes for Renée
• Bib for Noah
• Bib for Samuel
• Burp clothes for Noah
• Formula for Noah
• Formula warming container
• Ice pack
• Noah’s medicine (on ice)
• Syringe
• Infusion pump
• A/C power adapter for pump
• Collapsible pole
• Feeding bag
• Gastrostomy tube for Noah
• Blanket for Noah
• Blanket for Samuel
• Cell phone
• Daddy and Mommy’s brains
• … and sanities

(and in case you were wondering, this list is really for our benefit, because we are prone to lose paper amidst all the rest of the craziness ’round these parts!)

The following is from a blog I read from a Pastor’s wife in town. Considering our present trial with a child who cannot eat on his own and the difficulties that presents each day, I found it sobering and encouraging. I just had to post it for our readers, too:

Are there situations in your life that seems irreconcilable? Is there a circumstance that continually chafes? Is the Lord taking you through a trial that appears to have no end? Does it sometimes feel easier just to despair than to trust?

I was thinking and praying through my own responses to these questions today. As I pleaded with the Lord to change circumstance, people, relationships, I sensed my hardening of heart as I could not see, through Ruth-colored lenses, any resolution or reprieve within reach. The sclerosis gave way to humility as the Lord reminded me that He never promised to spare us from the valley of the shadow of death, but rather that we may walk through it with Him.

Details do not matter here…the Apostle Paul never told us what his thorn was, instead he simply encouraged:

So to keep me from being too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messeger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships,

persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10, ESV)

Therein lies the resolution, the reprieve, the response: That I may rejoice all the more in hurt and trials, that my God might be made more beautiful in my life and undeniably sufficient in the face of the seemingly insurmountable.