A Bunch of Sickies...

We have a pile of sickies at the Gressman house.
Last night was tough.
I was so thankful for Jason.

We did what is commonly referred to in the world of parenting as "the divide and conquer method".
Those of you with more than one child know what I am talking about here.

For those of you who don't know....
This is where one parent takes one child and the other takes the other child.
And you hope you didn't draw the short straw. :-)
Just kidding.

Anyway, Jason took Creide.
And I took Kearyn.

Ky is also sick but he is pretty tough about it.
He only has a bad caugh.
And isn't doing the fever, throwing up thing too.

Boy, I will be glad when we get past this one...

Hope you all are staying healthy...

Blessings.

{amg}

Life Just Happens Sometimes

I haven't posted in a few days because....well, life just happens sometimes.

My hubby and my oldest were on a mission trip last week. 

They went to a Navajo reservation where 31 kids ended up giving their lives to Jesus. 

Yeah, wow! God is good.

The very first night that my hubby was gone my baby girl came down with something.

She had a high fever for 3 days.

So, that required me to up the mommy mode and tone down the blogging mode.

She had no other symptoms other than a fever - which was good.

And, she still had her sweet, joyful attitude.

And her precious smile. 

Love that girl.
And her smile.

So, my hubby and oldest arrived safely home.
And I think it took 3 days for me to hear all of the amazing stories of how God worked while they were away.
It was so neat to see their joy and excitement.

Now we are back to "normal".
Or as normal as our household really ever gets.

I hope whatever is happening in your life that you have a very blessed day.
And weekend.
Happy Friday!

{The Sickies}

So the day after we got our good news from my last scan, J came down with a head cold and then shared it with me on Friday. I have not been able to do much since then as it has just completely wiped me out.

I have been trying to give us all the good stuff to get us healthy again but it hasn't worked so well. At least the kids haven't gotten it (yet). I think baby K was coming down with it but she ended up taking a 3 hour nap today and I that seemed to help her feel a lot better.

Anyway, I just wanted to see if you could all pray for a speedy recover for us and that our kids don't get it. I appreciate it. :-)

I also wanted to leave you with a bit of scripture for this week. Enjoy!

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever

~ Hebrews 13:8, NLT 

Blessings,
Andrea

My Boy is Sick Today

Last night our youngest son started getting sick.... and kept getting sick all through the night. He was still sick this morning but seems to feeling a little better now. This morning he said it is the "worst day ever" and I did not blame him one bit.

It is miserable watching your child struggle. I wish I could take it away from him and be sick myself instead. But I couldn't of course. All you can do is hold them, love them, and do your very best to make them feel better.

Praying my boy makes a full and speedy recovery.... 

Checking In.... Yes, I am Still Alive

So, I have started to get some concerned emails, etc. about how I am doing. You all know me so well - when I am not blogging that is generally because I am not feeling good. :-) And this time you would be correct.

I have been struggling with some respiratory junk and they are now putting me on antibiotics to try to have me over it before my next Chemo treatment on Wednesday. I am praying that I get over it by then as well. Even though I dread the treatments I long for the conclusion of all of this and don't want to postpone things - not even by one week. But God's timing is the perfect timing.

While I have a little energy today I am trying to get all of Kearyn's birthday stuff finalized as we are having her party tomorrow!

Thank you all for your love and support. As always, I am grateful!

Days 31 & 32: Sickness

So, I am know I am a bit behind on my blogging. Sorry for that. I was joking yesterday with a friend that some of you would start sending me hate mail because I wasn't keeping up on things. LOL! Up until now, we have had 3 sick kids and a teething baby. Just when we thought we were on the mend, the baby is now sick and the boys all have coughs again. As these things usually go, they just end up passing it around the loop again. We are praying that isn't the case and that they can finally get well sooner than later.

Jason has avoided getting sick so far and although I have felt a few symptoms, I have avoided getting the full blown stuff the kids have gotten. Jason said if I don't get it - it would truly be a miracle. Let's pray for a miracle.

I am grateful for being able to feel better right now and have the energy to take care of my children. This is something I no longer take for granted. I love being able to be there for them, even to wipe their little noses. My baby girl has fallen asleep in my arms several times and I just can't put her down. I find myself sitting there staring at her with awe and wonder. God is so good. Of course, I haven't been getting everything done that I need to get done (hence the reason I am behind on my  blogging) but that is okay. I feel like we are constantly watching the clock, constantly making check lists and when we get the first list done it is time to make the next check list. I have clearly realized that I don't want to live like that. I know we all have responsibilities but isn't our first responsibility to God. When I think of how many times I have shoved Him to the side or worse yet, I didn't acknowledge Him at all, because of some check list, it really sickens me.

I knew this journey would change me from the first moment I heard the word "cancer" uttered. But why does it have to take something life threatening to change us? I have heard so many people ask why this has had to happen to us and I can honestly say that I can't tell you why, only God can. But perhaps He was wanting me to move away from the "checklist" and closer to Him. Maybe He knew I needed to give myself permission to just sit and hold my baby girl and not worry about the thousand things I need to get done that day. I have found going through this that there is a whole new simplicity to life. I read and hear all the time that we need to rejoice in all the things that God has given us and I couldn't agree more. But how about the most basic one, how about life? How about each breath? Each heartbeat? How about the fact that we were even born?

There are so many bad things happening in the world right now, people really struggling, and sometimes it is hard to be thankful for our lives in those situations but I know if God wouldn't have given me life the world wouldn't be as good as it is now. I know this because I can look at my children and see it. I see the goodness He has put in each of their little hearts. I hear their love for God as they pray their little prayers that only make sense to God's ears. I feel it each time they give me a hug or fall asleep in my arms. I know it when I look at them as see the reflection of Christ.

So now I have a new checklist and there really is only one thing on it. Here it is below:

Andrea's Checklist

1.) Serve God today. 

That is my checklist and in all that I do or say, if it serves God, then I know I am okay. This can't be predetermined as God will present different assignments to me throughout the day. My job is to make the most of these assignments (even if it is wiping noses) and....you guessed it....serve God. 

 But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” ~ Joshua 22:5

I just marvel in how God works. We I started writing, I just thought I would be writing about how my kids have been sick.....

Day 28: The Image

This morning I woke up and felt like the cold I was battling yesterday had gotten worse. This was very disappointing to me as I feel like it is robbing me of my "good days" before my next chemo treatment. Jason gave me some, what I thought was Dayquil, which actually was Nyquil. I was sure glad my sister and brother-in-law were here because if I even sniff a Nyquil bottle I am out like a light.

My sister took great care of the baby and my brother-in-law, well, he got stuck with the boys. I always feel bad because they love him dearly and like to climb all over him. But he is patient with them and I appreciate that. 

As I started to write this I thought to myself, I really don't have anything to write about. This is amazing in itself because I always have something to write about but for whatever the reason, I just didn't feel like I had anything worthy to say tonight. Then I started thinking about my day and I realized that maybe I don't have something to say, but God does......

I thought about how another dear friend of mine came over today and we always have a great discussion about God. I always learn so much from her and today was no different. We were talking about what I have gone through so far and I mentioned that one of the first images that God brought to my mind when this all started was the crucifixion of Jesus. I literally could see him being beaten and battered, his blood spilling, the crown of thorns being pressed upon his head, and then Jesus himself carrying his own cross as he staggered towards calvary. I could see it all so vividly as if I were there. As I think of it now I cannot help but to cry. He did nothing wrong, he lived a perfect life, and out of love he went through this for us. 

When I told her of this image, she just smiled at me. She said yes, that makes total sense for God to show me that one because He was saying that He could understand my pain. He could understand what I was going to have to go through. He too had suffered. Tonight as I cry out to Him and tell him that I am sick and tired of being sick and tired He can say with love that He understands my pain and that it is going to be okay and I believe him. 

I don't know if this helps anyone out there but it certainly helped me to place myself back in the loving arms of my Father in Heaven. When times get tough it is so easy to try to separate ourselves from Him and just feel sorry for ourselves but that isn't what He wants. He wants us to cling to Him. 

Prayer Request:

If you could pray for my health to be restored as well as the health of my children I would really appreciate it. 

Praise Report:

The little girl that I had requested prayer for earlier has received a clean bill of health. Nothing at all is wrong with her, praise God!!! 

Thank you all for continuing to read this, even on my "not-so-good days". Love you all!