God's gifts from grace in the journey
I've had it on my to-do list for more than a couple of weeks now: updating the blog. But somehow, between everything else going on, I have not gotten to it. And then the more behind I get on updating it, the more there is to update, and then it seems like a bigger project, and so on and so forth. I'm sure you all can relate to whatever project keeps ending up on your to-do list again and again. So I figured if I just started typing, I may not get all caught up, but at least I'd be started. :)
We've been getting our paperwork into all the right places to continue with our Ugandan adoption. We also planned three different fundraisers in the month of September (crazy, right?!).
And I've been pursuing every avenue I can to get help with my back, so that I can sit again, and not be in constant pain. I'm getting desperate for some help, since I start teaching full-time (for three months) next Wednesday. The teaching I have done once a week so far has been pretty excruciating.
I started physical therapy a few weeks ago, but received the discouraging news last week that therapists did not feel like they could help me much anymore since we had not made progress with the pain. Last Wednesday, the therapist urged me to get an MRI and then see a back specialist to pursue further treatment. I left there feeling discouraged and frustrated. I called my primary care doctor to schedule an appointment to request an MRI. The office frustrated me further by seeing no urgency in my case and trying to put off my appointment. I shed a few tears, talked with God, talked with a few friends, and later got a call from the doctor's office. This time I mentioned the word "pain," and they moved my appointment right up to the next day. The doctor did agree to an MRI, but now we're in the nebulous world between scheduling, pre-authorizations, and lab requests. I've made myself a nuisance by calling the scheduler repeatedly, so that we can try to schedule an MRI this week. In the midst of this, I also requested an appointment at the spine specialist. Of course, they wouldn't schedule with me until they had received a pre-authorization... Another few phone calls later, I had an appointment scheduled for October 24.
The feelings of dread came over me. Teaching for a month with no help for the pain?? How would I do that when the once weekly teaching was leaving me hobbling to bed each night? As sweetly as I could, I requested to be put on the list to call if any appointments opened sooner. And then I prayed, asking for help before October 24. The last few weeks, I have been praying, asking for healing in whatever form He wishes to use by the time I start teaching.
I think I saw an answer to prayer this week, when I received a call yesterday from the physical therapy office, reminding me of my appointment today. I said, "Oh, but we canceled all my appointments...?" The receptionist said, "Oh, yes, I remember now." And then I thought about that sinking feeling last week when I had canceled all my appointments. Something in me wanted me to go one more time -- closure? discussing with the therapists the next steps? And so I kept the appointment this morning. I explained to Mari about not being able to get an appointment with the specialist until October 24. "Well that's too far away!" she exclaimed. And then she remembered that the other therapist knows of a different spine specialists (has worked with her in treating patients). She made call to the other therapist, and they decided to try to get me into their specialist sooner. And when I got home from that appointment, there was a message from the first spine office that they wanted to move up my appointment by a couple of weeks. It looks like at least one of these ways will happen sooner than October 24. Thank You, God!
We have also seen God's kindness in some many other ways. Our first fundraiser was so humbling to us. We invited our church family and other town friends to come to a BBQ dinner at our church. My father-in-law has mad meat-smoking skills, so he catered our event. Scott and I were just blown away at the number of people who came to support us; we realized that it was more people than we even had come to our wedding. And then we saw such sweet generosity from these dear people -- from people volunteering to help with set up and clean up to people giving sacrificially financially. We counted up the amount from the BBQ and then the next day we received a bill from our agency to cover our new son's expenses in Uganda... and it was almost exactly the same amount. God is so good to us.
In other blessings...
- We received a call from our local preschool in August about reviewing Abel to see if he would be a good peer for their special ed program. I had put him on the waiting list for this last February. He went in for his evaluation, and just a couple of days later, we received the call that the teachers thought Abel would make an excellent peer. This is a blessing to us in so many ways: Abel loves going to this preschool (which happens to be at Adrianna's school!); he attends four mornings a week (so I have been able to get done extra things in anticipation of teaching); and the preschool is already very affordable (and we pay half price since I am a school employee).
- Abel playing football with Scott
- Adrianna enjoying her birthday presents from her grandparents
- Abel helping me "make recipes" after preschool
- Dizzy cuddling with the cat's cradle book
- Adrianna making a "doctor's kit" that she saw in a magazine
- Baked oatmeal (from www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com)
- Finding the kids cuddling, reading a book together
- Teaching Abel how to play baseball
- Adrianna helping me switch hers and Abel's rooms, and de-cluttering in the process
- Abel's Ethiopian outfit in church
- Adrianna's seventh birthday
- Adrianna's birthday party with a few favorite friends
... and Grandma Debbie setting up the scavenger hunt for the party
- Abel being so tired that he started falling asleep while Scott read to him
- Abel trying out his clearance Cars water painting set
- Abel enjoying eating lunches in his "hideout"
- Abel cuddling with Daddy when he felt sad about the idea of going to the babysitter's house the next day
- Finding Abel like this...
- Seeing His kindness at our women's retreat with church a couple of weeks ago. Not only did He bless me with lovely women's fellowship and teaching, but the budget-friendly room that my roommate and I were sharing turned out to be water damaged, so we were upgraded to a lovely casita, with it's own living room. That living room made it possible for me to have a place to take my small group, where I could lay down for the couple hours that we talked.
- Abel at church
- Abel and Adrianna playing so nicely in the dirt pile while we were setting up for our fundraiser dinner
- Finding two itty bitty carrots in our garden
- Taking family pictures with our new son's picture to send to him in Uganda
- Abel having a tea party
- Abel's favorite books: Pinky Dinky Doo
- Friends sharing their bountiful fruit harvest
- Our abundant apple harvest
... And Adrianna helping me dry them
- Cowboy Abel
- Enjoying the photo album that we made for our new son
... And Abel hijacking it to read it on his own
- Answered prayer: Abel moving past the fear/sadness of going to his babysitter's house, and him actually thanking God for getting to go play there
We've been getting our paperwork into all the right places to continue with our Ugandan adoption. We also planned three different fundraisers in the month of September (crazy, right?!).
And I've been pursuing every avenue I can to get help with my back, so that I can sit again, and not be in constant pain. I'm getting desperate for some help, since I start teaching full-time (for three months) next Wednesday. The teaching I have done once a week so far has been pretty excruciating.
I started physical therapy a few weeks ago, but received the discouraging news last week that therapists did not feel like they could help me much anymore since we had not made progress with the pain. Last Wednesday, the therapist urged me to get an MRI and then see a back specialist to pursue further treatment. I left there feeling discouraged and frustrated. I called my primary care doctor to schedule an appointment to request an MRI. The office frustrated me further by seeing no urgency in my case and trying to put off my appointment. I shed a few tears, talked with God, talked with a few friends, and later got a call from the doctor's office. This time I mentioned the word "pain," and they moved my appointment right up to the next day. The doctor did agree to an MRI, but now we're in the nebulous world between scheduling, pre-authorizations, and lab requests. I've made myself a nuisance by calling the scheduler repeatedly, so that we can try to schedule an MRI this week. In the midst of this, I also requested an appointment at the spine specialist. Of course, they wouldn't schedule with me until they had received a pre-authorization... Another few phone calls later, I had an appointment scheduled for October 24.
The feelings of dread came over me. Teaching for a month with no help for the pain?? How would I do that when the once weekly teaching was leaving me hobbling to bed each night? As sweetly as I could, I requested to be put on the list to call if any appointments opened sooner. And then I prayed, asking for help before October 24. The last few weeks, I have been praying, asking for healing in whatever form He wishes to use by the time I start teaching.
I think I saw an answer to prayer this week, when I received a call yesterday from the physical therapy office, reminding me of my appointment today. I said, "Oh, but we canceled all my appointments...?" The receptionist said, "Oh, yes, I remember now." And then I thought about that sinking feeling last week when I had canceled all my appointments. Something in me wanted me to go one more time -- closure? discussing with the therapists the next steps? And so I kept the appointment this morning. I explained to Mari about not being able to get an appointment with the specialist until October 24. "Well that's too far away!" she exclaimed. And then she remembered that the other therapist knows of a different spine specialists (has worked with her in treating patients). She made call to the other therapist, and they decided to try to get me into their specialist sooner. And when I got home from that appointment, there was a message from the first spine office that they wanted to move up my appointment by a couple of weeks. It looks like at least one of these ways will happen sooner than October 24. Thank You, God!
We have also seen God's kindness in some many other ways. Our first fundraiser was so humbling to us. We invited our church family and other town friends to come to a BBQ dinner at our church. My father-in-law has mad meat-smoking skills, so he catered our event. Scott and I were just blown away at the number of people who came to support us; we realized that it was more people than we even had come to our wedding. And then we saw such sweet generosity from these dear people -- from people volunteering to help with set up and clean up to people giving sacrificially financially. We counted up the amount from the BBQ and then the next day we received a bill from our agency to cover our new son's expenses in Uganda... and it was almost exactly the same amount. God is so good to us.In other blessings...
- We received a call from our local preschool in August about reviewing Abel to see if he would be a good peer for their special ed program. I had put him on the waiting list for this last February. He went in for his evaluation, and just a couple of days later, we received the call that the teachers thought Abel would make an excellent peer. This is a blessing to us in so many ways: Abel loves going to this preschool (which happens to be at Adrianna's school!); he attends four mornings a week (so I have been able to get done extra things in anticipation of teaching); and the preschool is already very affordable (and we pay half price since I am a school employee).
- Laughing at Copper's milky nose
- And Scott taking Abel to find window blinds for Abel's new room... and finding some almost just the right size on clearance
- Abel's Ethiopian outfit in church
- Adrianna making a picture on the board while I set up for substituting
- And my dad being able to join my step-mom coming last minute
- Adrianna making Snowy the Dog with her birthday present scratch picture
- Finding Adrianna's animals all tucked into bed when she left for school
- Seeing His kindness at our women's retreat with church a couple of weeks ago. Not only did He bless me with lovely women's fellowship and teaching, but the budget-friendly room that my roommate and I were sharing turned out to be water damaged, so we were upgraded to a lovely casita, with it's own living room. That living room made it possible for me to have a place to take my small group, where I could lay down for the couple hours that we talked.
- Making gluten-free cookies for our fundraiser dinner
- Abel's enjoyment of the rare rain puddle
- Finding two itty bitty carrots in our garden
... And Abel hijacking it to read it on his own
- Adrianna learning how to make tortillas
Comments