Lifesaver

So this could be one of the lamest posts ever. It may even disqualify me from NaBloPoMo...but some moms might be happy to know this tidbit.

I don't know what I would do with out clear dishwashing soap and hot water. I haven't met a stain YET that those two bad boys, in combination, couldn't get out!! Crosby would have no clothes if it weren't for this wonder stain remover.

Any tricks up your sleeves that I should know about???

Oh, and Happy Birthday to GranBuddy!!!

Spoiled

Crosby isn't the only one who gets spoiled when Pop comes to our house...
Nugget would rather Alley sleep elsewhere!!

I say he better enjoy it while it lasts!

And don't worry about Pop and Nugget. Both have been seen by doctors and both are expected to have full recoveries!

Little Gibbon

Apparently we have a monkey living in our house. He is roughly 3 feet tall and 27 pounds. His head is full of blonde hair and the rest of him is covered in peach fuzz. Our little "gibbon" can oppose his thumb, so, maybe he isn't really a gibbon. He just acts like one sometimes!

I was talking on the phone with Lulu the other day. I was standing on the landing of our stairs watching Crosby run in and out of his room. He went in and stayed a while. Then I noticed it got pretty quite. I walked on up the stairs and peeked in his door only to find him sitting IN his bed!!! How in the world did that happen???

I know the motivation...BUBBA! I put them out of reach when he is awake because I only want him to have them at bed time and when I drag him around a mall for a long time! He would prefer to walk around with it in his mouth constantly. Oh I dread the fast approaching day we cut bubba out of our lives...

Anyway, when Blake got home from work, we tried to get him to show us how he got in his bed. These are a few pictures from his attempt...
He used the rail and mattress to pull himself up...
Once he got both feet on the mattress, he attempted to swing his right leg over the rail...

And he tried to walk up the dowels when that didn't work! He knows he is a monkey for sure...

He never successfully made his way in on our watch, despite multiple attempts. And, fortunatley, I haven't found him in his bed, without my having put him there first, since that day. Thank goodness! I am sure it won't be long before the little stinker starts climbing his way out!!!

Update

Both lectures were up last night and I didn't realize it. Man they are fast! The first one is just dated incorrectly! The first one listed is the lecture about our "Tongues", date 10/27/10. The second listing is the lesson on "Suffering" from 10/27/10. Just had to clarify...

Lord, come quickly

I had referral to see a patient. Words that were said made me believe this one was terminal. "You will see when you get there."

Should I accept it? It would at least take an hour and a half one-way to get there. It was out of the way. More than likely, it wouldn't be an easy, in and out appointment. When you took into consideration mileage, wear and tear on the car, time away from home, it wasn't worth it. On paper.

The answer to my question came before it was hardly asked. There was no doubt. Of course I would accept the referral.

I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was the voice on the phone. One that sounded weak. Tired. The face I pictured to match the voice was much different. At a glance, you wouldn't necessarily assume death loomed. Carefully executed movements indicated discomfort. Extremities swollen 4 to 5 times their normal size screamed of pain. It was only when you looked into those eyes that you could see. They matched the voice.

I did my training while listening to the words of someone who has been fighting a battle. Talk of being "completely healthy just 18 months before." Or so it seemed. During treatment for a freak accident, something was found. "There was a knot that just didn't feel right."

Within 2 days, the stage was known. 4. Treatment began quickly, doing what was recommended. Unfortunately that treatment only seemed to make the cancer angry. It worsened. Tumors began to form, one after another. On the surface of the skin. Excruciating pain. Like no pain ever felt. Doctor after doctor. Experimental treatment gave hope for a few months. But the tumors returned with a vengeance. "There is nothing more we can do for you."

"If you were my spouse, I would take you home, consult hospice and beg the Lord for mercy." Words from the a believing doctors mouth.

And there my patient sits. At home, no hope left on this earth. Her only hope is one that much of this world cannot understand. Despite pain that sends a person to their car in the middle of the night so children and spouse can't hear. Through the humiliation that comes with bathing multiple times a day to wash away the scent of cancer so you can bare to be with yourself, much less others. When darkness falls and Satan appears to be hardest at work, using fear, anxiety and unbearable pain to keep heavy eyes from rest. Through literal hell on earth, my patient claimed the sovereignty of the Lord, God Almighty. "I might not feel Him at times, but He says he will never leave me."

I felt like I was on sacred ground last night. I was the one sent to provide a patient with a service. Yet, I walked away from that house having been served. I was once again reminded, thank you, LORD... THIS IS NOT MY HOME . Reminders are all around me. Disease. Illness. Death. For the first time in my life, I genuinely meant the words.

Lord, come quickly.

Keli speaks on this topic so eloquently in this post
Different story. Same conclusion.

Maybe listening to the lecture on suffering (the one I mentioned last night) helps put some of this into perspective. I don't know. Someone of it we will never understand or comprehend on this side of of Heaven. So I will just say it again, Lord, come quickly.

My intention is not to be a downer. There will be happy posts about my sweet babe once again. But this is the stuff that matters in this life. While I love to share the joys of raising my boy, when the Spirit moves, you just have to go with it...

Poisonous tongue

We have Community Bible Study on Wednesdays. It has been a HUGE blessing in my life. I think I have said it before, but I am pretty sure Holly's lectures are written for me, personally, every single week. God has gifted her with the ability to share His truth so clearly. I leave each week feeling so full of the Spirit. I have decided it is not fair to keep it to myself and wanted to share a little of what we discussed.

We are studying James right now and this week we focused on the tongue. Talk about conviction. These area few of the points she mentioned with corresponding verses...

1.) Flattery - Proverbs 26:28
2.) Gossip & Slander - 1 Peter 2:1, Proverbs 20:19
3.) Profanity - Colossians 3:8
4.) Grumbling & Complaining - Philippians 2:14-16
5.) Quarrelsome - missed that verse...not because I am not quarrelsome, that is for sure!
6.) Words that tear down - I Thessalonians 5:11
7.) Lewd or Dirty Talk - Mark 7:20-21
8.) The way we say our words - 1 Corinthians 13:5
9.) Taking the Lord's name in vain - Exodus 20:7
10.) Excessive talking - James 1:19-20
11.) Lying - Proverbs 6:18
12.) Boasting & Bragging - Psalms 94:4
13.) Nagging - Proverbs 19:13
14.) Being too lazy. Refusing to speak when we should speak up

None of this is new. But rarely do I think on these things. What an eye-opener today's lesson was for me. I was convicted of several (more like most) of these areas in which my tongue could use some taming. I cannot begin to share the points that went along with the 12 topics above. And why would I even try when you can listen to the lesson yourself! It isn't up just yet but will be soon! It is worth 20ish minutes if you have the time to spare. And the lesson from the 27th on suffering... Oh my goodness, it was one of the most powerful lessons for me. Hard, but powerful. You should listen to that one, too. So good. So helpful. Such a different way to thinking of suffering.

I could be breaking some kind of CBS laws by posting all of this, which is not my intention. I just come home every week thinking I need to share this with everyone I know. So, I am really sitting down and doing it this time! My hope is that it will bless you as much as it has blessed me!

While I am am talking about blessings, my cousin, Leah, and her husband, Jay, could sure use our prayers as he continues his battle with leukemia. Pneumonia was a curveball he could have done without. Will you pray for his healing? I know they would be blessed if you could...

Chihuly

Cheekwood had the Chihuly exhibit up for months. For months I heard wonderful reviews from everyone who went. It sounded like the perfect "different" date night. Something out of the ordinary. For months I tried to plan a night when Blake and I could get there around 5:00 to see the exhibit in daylight and then stay until dark to see it all lit up! But with his hectic schedule, it was obvious that was never going to happen. Time was running out. When I learned of free admission day last Tuesday, I couldn't pass it up. I had to scrap all plans for a cool date with the hubs. I went with Crosby, Melissa, Margaret and Mama Susie instead!! Of course, the pictures don't do it justice but I still wanted to share...
Crosby and Margaret are VERY excited about their field trip...
How would you like to have this tree in your yard!!!

Had my brother and Katie waited 4 more years to get married, they could have said "I do" right in front of this beautiful glass. If they had only known I am sure they would have...

And I am dressed like I had been working at a vet clinic for a few hours because I had been working at a vet clinic for a few hours while Crosby was at Mother's Day out...

They closed the exhibit before it was dark. Too bad we missed it. At least we got to see the lights on for a little bit of the effect!

He looks thrilled, huh!?!

It was a beautiful exhibit and I am so happy I got to go!