Checking In

I'm off the grid for a while--meaning I have been and will continue to be. Life is swirling at triple speed for a couple weeks. My main focus right now is our church's women's retreat this weekend. Last year I agreed to be on the 3 person planning committee. We're averaging about 30 emails a day on the organization part. Then this summer I was asked to be one of the speakers at the retreat. "What a scary, fun honor! Sure I can do both!" In hindsight that might not have been the wisest move to wear both hats, but I know that God will honor this weekend and I'm excited about it.

If you're the praying kind, and I hope you are, I'd love your prayers specifically on Saturday night, when I'll be giving the main portion of my msg. I especially need prayers to keep my emotions in check, b/c I'm sharing a very personal and emotional story about my pregnancy with Carson and how 5 of my friends had late-term miscarriages during that time. I want to share about how Satan really used those tragedies to mess with my mind, but what I learned from that and how FAITHFUL God is--through my friends, to my friends and to me. BUT, it's still a really painful topic for me, and though I feel the holy spirit leading me to share it, I would love if He would also help me get through it without falling apart! It's one thing to get a little teary, but I've been known to bust out the "ugly cry" on stage, and that's just not really helping anyone.

On to further updates, I finally heard back about a job I was technically hired for in September. It's a 2 day a week tutoring job in the afternoons, and in theory it sounds like it will be a good fit for me. However, I hadn't heard anything for weeks, then yesterday I got a call that I start next Monday (the day after the retreat is over and when I already took a sub job) and need to be available for training this Friday. Well, I'm leaving for the retreat tomorrow, so that didn't work. So, cram it all in next week, training, starting a new job, finding childcare, etc. Yikes! Again--it's all good, it's just a lot happening at once.

Another thing that I've been hesitating blogging about is my grandparents' health. My mom's folks live locally, and neither of them are doing well. It seems they are facing one health crisis after another, and my heart is just aching for them. They are both in their late-80's, and I know they don't want their last few years on earth to be dealing with pain, discomfort and stress. It is unknown how long they will be able to live together and independently, but it is not an easy decision to make. You can be praying for them, but also for my mom and her siblings, as they are having to make many sacrifices and adjustments to their lives to care for the gparents, as well as carrying the load of decision making. We could use some calm and peace in that whole situation.

And in better news, really some of the best news I could possibly share: SYDNEY IS POTTY TRAINED! I'm not even kidding you. We honestly just kind of stumbled onto a miracle, b/c I wasn't working at it very hard at all--I was just letting her wear undies at home and then putting diapers on when we left the house. She started getting used to the feel of undies and didn't like pull-ups or diapers. But she was still having accidents! Ugh. So it was a battle every time to put a diaper on her. THEN? We got a bunch of Halloween candy. Bingo! Yes, I'm not ashamed to say that Tootsie Rolls and Skittles are to thank for my daughter being out of diapers. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Sydney and her little bladder have caught amazingly quickly and she hasn't had an accident in days. She still wears a dipe at night, and we're still in the exhausting urgency of being in public with a newly trained toddler. But I'm thrilled about having maybe 18 months or so of no daily diapers! Woohoo!

So that's the news update around here. Not sure when I'll be checking in again. Have a great weekend!