Gracie Lynne Thomas

Well, it's 4:30 in the morning and I'm not asleep. For the last five months I've been asleep by 8:30-9pm and now it seems so hard for me to get to sleep. So much has happened in the last month since my last post. I have been wanting to write it all down, but it is just too hard. Sort of like if I don't write it, it didn't all happen, that it's just a bad, bad dream. But it did happen, and it is weighing on my heart to share it all.

My last post ended with requests for prayers for our ultrasound. I know God heard our prayers, but things did not go as planned. Our appointment with the high risk doctor and the ultrasound revealed some very serious problems with our sweet baby. He left us with very little (none really) hope that the baby would survive. I think a part of me died right there in that room. I kept watching the screen, knowing that so much was wrong, and yet not really believing that this could be happening. Mark and I cried and prayed and cried and prayed. We finally were able to come to the point where we were able to pray and ask God to heal our baby. But if that wasn't His will, then we prayed that God would allow the baby to not hurt and to heal our baby by taking it home.

We made a conscious decision to enjoy the time with the baby that we had. So we did. Each kick was a sweet and precious memory, a most perfect gift from God. We savored it all and did all the things we knew we wouldn't be able to do later. We sang the baby all the songs that we have sung to Jonathan, read books, played the piano, went shopping, snuggled, hugged, talked, laughed, loved. Love, that is what we did each day. We told our baby just how very, very much we loved him or her and how very glad that he or she had come to be with us, even if he or she couldn't stay for long. Jonathan felt the kicks, talked to her, kissed my belly, and was a wonderful big brother.

Two weeks later, she was gone. Her heart had just given out, and I lost another piece of mine. Watching another ultrasound screen, and seeing no more movement. Such an empty, empty feeling. We went in for delivery and it was such a different experience. With Jonathan, we were so nervous and excited and happy and scared. This time, we were just sad. The nursing staff at Baptist was wonderful and took such great and tender care of us. Our sweet baby girl, Gracie Lynne Thomas, was born at 12:55am on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 20 weeks. She weighed 1 pound 1 ounce, and was 10 inches long. She is beautiful. Mark and I have prayed for another baby for so long and we love Gracie with our whole hearts. We were very blessed to be able to hold her, to love her, to talk to her, to sing to her. My Mom and Mark's Mom were there with us and were able to hold her as well. The nurses took pictures for us to remember her by and gave us several beautiful things as mementos.

We buried our baby girl on Thursday. We buried our child. I went to the funeral of a little boy I had treated last year. I understand now, I feel the pain that was in his mother's heart for it is now my own. Mark and my Mom planned the entire funeral and it was beautiful. She had a pink dress and blanket, a baby doll, a pair of shoes, and pictures of our family while we were pregnant. So many people sent flowers that it was breathtaking. And so many people came. It was bitterly cold at the graveside and there were all these people. The absolute hardest day of my life and I felt so, so much love from our family and our friends. Thank you, thank you, for coming, for loving us, for praying for us. My heart will never never forget.

I've had a hard time finding God and His will. It just seems so pointless that she had to leave us. But Mark has been a rock for me and is helping me to find God in this and through this. He reminds me of little things that were part of God's plan to take care of us and hold us through our pain. He said, "Gracie's in heaven now and doesn't need anything. God's not worried about her. He's worried about us, He has His hands around us." We told Jonathan that Gracie was gone and he said, "She went to live in heaven with Jesus? Cool." The faith of a 3 year old child. The perfect, unfailing, unwavering faith. It is something to strive for.

We are slowly, slowly moving through this. I don't think that this hurt will ever go away. Those pieces of my heart went with her and I won't see them again until I am in heaven and can hold her again. I do know, though, that God has a plan for our lives. I am holding on to that promise. I want to seek His will and His plan for us. I just don't know what that is right now.

I finally downloaded all the pictures of her from the camera tonight. I wish you could have seen her, she is beautiful. She has Jonathan's nose, and what a cute nose it is. I miss her every day. I miss her kicks and the little bit of her personality that we got to experience while she was in my tummy. From the first ultrasound, she was a mover. We said she was going to be the Dancing Queen next to Jonathan's Dancing King. I mourn for the fact that I will never get to see her dance, never see her run and play, sing, cry, play with Jonathan, give kisses, smile, or grow up.

Thank you for being a part of our family. For sending flowers, food, cards, emails, love, prayers, thoughts. They are all appreciated so deeply. I never expected such an outpouring of love. It really has helped heal my soul. Please do continue to remember us in your prayers. Two weeks later, we are doing some better. But we are not whole. Each day is a struggle of it's own. Jonathan brings us so much happiness. But there is a sadness of knowing that she is not here to share in that happiness. Pray that we can remember her without becoming consumed by the sadness. Pray that our hearts can heal. Pray that we can find happiness and joy again. Pray that this time will help us to grow stronger as a couple, and as a family. Pray that God will reveal His will for our lives to us and guide us on the true path for our lives.

December is always a busy month for us. In the midst of all this was Jonathan's 3rd birthday party and today was his actual birthday. My sweet baby boy is three years old. My heart is full of thankfulness for the gift that he is and will be. God truly heard our prayers with regards to Jonathan. Three years ago we were so scared and afraid when we learned of his birth problems. Now we can see just how wonderful he is. How God has and is healing his body. How far we have come. It gives me hope to know that God will help us in this storm as well. That he will bring us through it and above it for his glory. Thank you for always remembering Jonathan in your prayers. God hears them all.

Christmas is in just a few days. This year will be so different than what I had planned or hoped for. But I do hope that we can make it a happy one, that we can remember another baby, Jesus, that came to free us from our sins. Another mother who knew that one day her son would have to die as well. And we will make it happy for our Jonathan.

Hopefully I will feel like making another post before too long. I want to share about Jonathan's birthday and Christmas. The happy things are just so important right now. Thank you for reading our story, for being with us, for remembering us. We will remember you and your family and pray that each of you has a very Merry Christmas and a very blessed New Year.

Jennifer

Halloween Fun

Well, once again it's been awhile since my last post. I'm telling you, it is not much fun to feel so very bad. "Morning" sickness is such a misnomer for what I have been experiencing. All day nausea, vomiting, exhaustion would be a better name! Thankfully, it is starting to subside, and I am mostly feeling bad in the evenings. This is good in that I can work and not be sick, but bad in that I am doing NOTHING around our house. Thankfully, Mark is a trooper and has stepped up to the plate.

Anyway, on to what we have been up to! First, Halloween!! Jonathan was sooo excited about dressing up as Handy Manny. He was so handsome and had a great time trick or treating at school and around our neighborhood. After each house, he would look in his bucket and then look at me and say, "Mommy, my buckets not full yet. We go to 'nother house?" He had a wonderful, wonderful time as did Mark and I. We just love being with that little boy and enjoying life with him.

Handy Manny

Jonathan and his loot!

Jonathan and I also went to the church Fall Fest with our very good friends Karen, Katie, and Megan. The kids all play so well together and had a blast with all the games. It was also very nice to have Karen there to help me with Jonathan as I just got more and more nauseous as the night went on. Thank you Lord for good friends!!

Megan, Katie, and Jonathan

We watched a good bit of the World Series. Jonathan just loves baseball and had a great time "playing" in the living room. He has several baseball bats and a couple of soft balls, but no hard balls (not quite ready for that one yet!!). Anyway, one night he put his Cardinals hat on, backwards of course, and takes his bat, and goes after the soccer ball. Funny thing is, he could hit the silly thing across the living room! He was so incredibly cute and had a lot of fun playing with the team on tv. He kept telling everyone, "Swing batter, swing."

My baseball player

Mark's Mom came to town for the weekend and took this picture of the three of us after church at Olive Garden. We haven't had a group picture in a while and this one is decent, even if I do look nauseous and pregnant!

Our Family at Olive Garden

The next week was just about sick people! Mark flew out to New Orleans for a fast business trip. He calls me from down there and tells me that he isn't feeling very well. That same afternoon, Jonathan gets home from school and asks me to hold him. That is never a good sign as this boy is a mover and a shaker, not a sit and cuddle baby. I picked him up and he was a fireball, temperature of 102. Poor baby. Mark calls me from the airport to say his ears won't pop and he feels horrible. Needless to say they went to their respective doctors the next morning. Jonathan had a double ear infection. Mark had an ear infection and a sinus infection. I had an OB appointment that afternoon. The baby was doing great with a heartbeat around 140 beats per minute. I kept asking myself, "How did I get to be the well person in this house?"

Of course, never should have asked that question!! Never, ever question being well. I ended up with a stomach virus this week. Let me tell you, very lovely. Like I haven't been throwing up enough being pregnant, that now I got to throw up with a stomach virus!! I think the doctor is going to give up on me ever gaining any weight! I can't win for puking!!

On a happier note, we are going for our Level 2 Ultrasound and meeting with the Perinatologist tomorrow. They are doing a high level ultrasound to make sure that this baby is ok and not having any of the problems that Jonathan had. The doctors all assure us that it was a fluke and will not happen again, but still, we are checking to make sure. Please remember us and most especially this baby tomorrow. Please pray that all is well and that there are no problems. We are trusting in God's will and believe that all will be well, however, we do appreciate each prayer that you speak for our little baby. We will also be finding out if we are having a girl or a boy which we are very excited about!!!

Thursday, of course, is Thanksgiving, and we have much to be thankful for. Thank you for checking in with our family. I will post soon and let everyone know if it will be pink or blue!!

Check out Jonathan's picture website for a TON more pictures. Just not enough room here and it takes me waaayyy too long to upload them.

Big News!

I cannot believe it, but it has been two months since my last post. I promise we haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, but in some ways it does rather feel like we have! It has been an eventful couple of months to be sure.

Our biggest news is that we are having another baby! Jonathan is going to be a big brother and he is so very excited. Hopefully, he will continue to be this excited once the baby gets here!! Our new little one is due to arrive on April 24, 2010. Of course this date is fun to me as Jonathan was due on December 24th. Obviously the 24th is a good due date in our family! Jonathan came on the 21st, so we'll have to see if this little one comes then too. Mark and I are both very excited as well to have another little one and to have a little sister or brother for Jonathan.

Of course this pregnancy will tell you the reason I have been largely absent from my computer for the past three months. This pregnancy has been VERY different from the first one. Unfortunately, I have been very sick with lots of nausea and vomiting, all day, every day. We kept hoping it would subside by now, but unfortunately not so much. I am feeling better in the mornings, but afternoons and evenings are just not good. I just keep reminding myself that the end result will be well worth it!! Thankfully, Mark has been in town lately and has really stepped up to take care of me, Jonathan, the house, supper, and everything in between!! I am sure he will be glad when I do feel better. I have lost several pounds as of our last appointment. All you girls out there will understand when I say it was quite depressing -- The only time you get on a scale and DON'T want to have lost weight! Of course, I know I will as the nausea subsides, but still!! I wish this wasn't the diet that worked for me, ya know??

I am seeing the same OB as I did with Jonathan (Dr. Hubach) and we just love her. She is very calm and easy going, but very on top of things. As ya'll know, calm is not usually a word associated with me, so she evens out some of my craziness which is very nice. I am 14 weeks now and just so very thankful that things are going well. The first ultrasound at 9 weeks was just so precious as our little one was squirming around and you could see the little heart beating away. Jonathan never moved during that first ultrasound. Mark said we might be in trouble if this baby is a mover already!! We went back for another appt. at 13 weeks and got to hear the heartbeat at 154-158 beats per minute. We took Jonathan with us and he thought it was pretty neat to hear the heartbeat. Of course that was a little bit of an adventure for us trying to keep him still, so that may be his one and only visit with us!!

So much other stuff has gone on that it is hard to remember everything. Jonathan is really liking his new class at school. They sing fun songs in circle time and it is really fun to peak in the window and watch him doing all the hand signals and faces with the songs. He is also a BIG fan of being a 'helper.' They have a lunch helper, nap mat helper, line leader, weather helper, etc. He thinks it is pretty cool and loves to tell me all the helpers when he gets home.

We went on vacation over Labor Day and the next week. We spent the weekend in Gulf Shores with Mark's parents, sister, her boyfriend, and his little girl at the beach. Everyone had fun lying around the beach and being bums. The girls spent some time at the outlet mall but unfortunately we didn't come home with very much. (The joy/pain of being pregnant is that there is no point in looking at clothes for yourself). We left from there Monday and went to Pensacola for the rest of the week. We loved the condo we stayed at and had an absolute blast just hanging out as the three of us with no set agenda. We spent one day and saw the Blue Angels flight team due a practice set at their air base. It was fantastic and Jonathan absolutely LOVED it. They signed autographs afterwards which he thought was pretty cool as well. They have a wonderful naval air museum there that we spent the rest of the day at. The only down side of our vacation was how nauseous I was the entire trip. Did limit some of our dining out, but we still had a nice time. And Mark ended up with a sinus infection while we were gone as well. Luckily we were able to get him some drugs and he felt better after a few rounds.

The next weekend I flew to Dallas for one of my best friends from college, Liz's, baby shower. It was so much fun to catch up with her and be there as they get ready for their little one. Of course, I was sick most of the time, but that is just the underlying theme of everything right now. She and her husband have decorated this little girl's room so beautiful. I have to admit I have been thinking of copying some of it if this one of ours turns out to be a girl!! Little Madeline Grace was born this week and is just beautiful. Now I need to go back to Dallas to see her!!

The next Friday we took Jonathan to Alltel Arena to see Playhouse Disney. They had Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Tigger and Pooh, and Handy Manny there. Of course, that is ALL the kiddo watches on TV so he was in hog heaven. He had an absolutely great time and we bought him WAY too much stuff at the souvenir stands. We obviously need to go to Disney World!! I think half of Little Rock who has a child under five was there as well. It was hilarious how many people we ran into!!

I was supposed to scrapbook that weekend at Petit Jean but had to cancel as I felt so bad. I also canceled out the next weekend on my planned trip to New Orleans for Melissa's birthday. Being sick is no fun!!

We took Jonathan to the Johnston Pumpkin Patch in Greenbrier the second weekend in October. He LOVED it. Of course, it has done nothing but rain here for weeks on end, so the pumpkin patch was really more of a muddy mess. Thankfully, everyone was dressed for this so we just had a good time and didn't worry about it. They had a great petting zoo, a hay ride, jumpy houses, and of course...pumpkins!! Jonathan spent the entire time looking for Spookley the Square Pumpkin. If you have not read this book to your little ones, then BUY IT!! It is an awesome little story about a square pumpkin who is different from his friends but saves the day in the end. Jonathan loves this story and I love the underlying message. We didn't find a square pumpkin, but we did come home with a BIG pumpkin, a small pie pumpkin, a Cinderella pumpkin, several mini-pumpkins, and a few gourds as well. Can you tell that we get in to this whole holiday thing!! And that Mommy feels very guilty for having been so sick lately that she hasn't done much with her little man?

Mark spent last Saturday at the deer camp. He hunted with his muzzleloader but didn't have any luck. He saw quite a few turkeys, but of course AR canceled the turkey hunt this year. Poor Mark has the absolute WORST luck of any hunter I have EVER known.

Tuesday, the 20th, Jonathan had another outpatient surgery in OKC. This is all a continuation of the problems from when he was born. Hopefully, though, this will be the last surgery. This one was much shorter and less traumatic but still scary to watch someone put your child to sleep and know they are about to cut them open. He did very well though and they discharged him that afternoon. We spent the next day at the hotel in OKC and came home. Mark's Dad was able to come with us which was nice to have the extra help. I, of course, threw up the entire time, so we were very glad someone was there to help Mark out. Jonathan has done very well and is just a little tired and sore. We go back on Monday for a check up and to get the stitches out. We are so very thankful for God's healing of Jonathan's body now and over the past three years. God has been so infinitely good to our family. It has definitely been a test of patience and faith but it is nice to see the fulfillment of the promises He has given us. We are also so very thankful that God led us to Dr. Kropp and that God has guided him in how best to care for Jonathan. Thank you to everyone for praying for him. We know just how much each of those prayers mean to our family.

Next Saturday is Halloween and I hope we will be ready. Jonathan is going to be Handy Manny and I have pieced his costume together but he hasn't tried it on yet! I really need to work on that soon!! I do love this little boy and enjoying things like Halloween with him are just such a joy to me.

I know this post has no pictures. I will try to add some soon. Half of them are on my computer, half on the server, and half are still on the cameras. Just thought an update would be a good start. Thanks for checking in with us. I hope that each of your families are doing well.

Mississippi, Deer Camp, and Preschool...Do those go together?

We have been so busy these last few weeks that I haven’t had to time to even get the pictures downloaded off the camera, much less blog about them!

We went home to Mississippi the first weekend in August for my UMC Physical Therapy class reunion. We had so much fun visiting with old friends and seeing how much everyone’s family has grown in the past six years. We had a family pool party lunch in the morning and then the adults had dinner at Mint in Madison that night.

Pool Party Fun

We went to a really nice park in Madison Sunday morning. Jonathan loved it. We had the whole park to ourselves and he had so much fun running all over the place. It was a really nice and big park/playground. Wish we had something similar here in LR!

Fun with MaMa Deb

Playing with Daddy and Grandad at the Playground

My parents are living in Madison now, so it worked out really well for us to be close to everything. Jonathan was sooo excited to be at their house and play. They had a ton of new toys for him to play with and they even set up a baby pool outside for him to play in. They kept him while we went to dinner, so it was a nice night out for us as well.

Little Pool at Grandad and MaMa Deb's House

Jonathan wanted EVERYONE to get in his pool!!

Playing tools with Grandad

The next weekend was the Croppin’ 4 Kids scrapbooking fundraiser weekend for Easter Seals. This one is always a lot of fun and for a good cause (since I work there and all!!). They give out a lot of freebies, have a silent auction, and enough food to feed an army!! My friends Edie & Jodi, and Linda that I work with were there, so we had a great time.

Sunday afternoon, I went to the first of the big children’s consignment sales here in Little Rock. When we first moved to LR, all everyone could talk about was Duck Duck Goose. We went while I was pregnant, and were completely overwhelmed by how much STUFF was there. They have it at the State Farigrounds (inside) and it is HUGE. Since Jonathan was born, he and I have hit them as often as we could. We are usually able to find a ton of cute stuff, some new, some used, but most of it in good condition. Usually get Gymboree, Gap, Janie & Jack, smocked church outfits, etc. Anyway, all that to say that I hit Rhea Lana West Little Rock on that Sunday. Now that Jonathan is getting older, it is harder to find good quality stuff. Little boys just wear everything out!! But I did find some stuff new with tags, so we did good. Of course, now it seems like there is a sale every week for the month of August & September (everyone’s trying to capitalize on this game). I won’t hit all of them, but definitely do my share to keep Jonathan’s clothing budget low but quantity and quality high!

Mark’s Dad also came up Sunday afternoon to keep Jonathan the next week (August 10-14th). Preschool was closed so they could get ready for the new year. They had a great time at home and played and played. I don’t think they ever got bored. I do think Jonathan wore Paw Paw out!
Tuesday afternoon, we had the ultimate pleasure of meeting baby Kate. Our friends from church, Jennifer & Chris, have been trying to adopt a baby for the past two years. They have been so faithful to God, trusting in His guidance and in His timing for this child. She was a week old when we met her. She is absolutely beautiful and such a blessing. Jonathan loved playing with her too! He laid her blanket out on the floor and then insisted that we lay her down so he could talk to her. He brought her cars to play with and then got his musical instruments out so he could make music for her. It was so very sweet to see him with a little baby.

Friday night we all drove up to Mark’s deer camp. Mark has been trying to plant his food plots for this season, but things keep conspiring against him! I was a little apprehensive about us ALL going, but we ended up having a nice time. There is a playground up there, and Jonathan and I spent the morning playing on the playground, playing in the dirt, and looking for animal tracks. We even had a deer grunt at us. I told Mark that was probably as close to a deer as he was going to get! Poor Mark just does not have good luck deer hunting. Obviously not in planting his food plots either. Some piece on the tractor broke on the tiller. He was able to mow the grass down, but could not till the field. Mark and his Dad spent most of the day outside trying to fix it. Jonathan was “helping.” I spent the afternoon working on my scrapbook and reading. Worked out really well for me! Not so much for Mark.

Sitting on the tractor with Daddy

Playground at the Deer Camp

Jonathan started his new year of preschool this past Monday (17th). He moved up to a new class with new teachers and some new friends. It was a BIG change for him and for me as well. He has been with the same teachers for the past two years, since he started preschool at Easter Seals. They have taken such good care of him and he just loves them so much. The new teachers are very nice, they just don’t KNOW him yet. I know it will work out, but still a little sad in the meantime! He decided to see who was boss and ended up in time out three times the first day. Now if you know Jonathan, you know he can be bad, but usually/mostly is a very well-behaved child. The teachers were very apologetic of having to put him in the corner. I was ok with it, get that attitude under control ASAP, but still love on my baby! He also is trying to play them with the potty training as well. Wet most of the day Monday, drive 5 of 7 times on Tuesday, and 50/50 the rest of the week. Ugghh!! He did, however, really like the new room and seems to be adjusting well to the new kids and the teachers. He gets to play on the big playground now and he REALLY likes that part to be sure. Now, if only I can get all of his teachers to spell his name correctly!!!!!

First Day of Preschool

Mark went to New Orleans for a big meeting this past week. He was really busy but had a good time eating his way across the city. His Dad drove down for a few days to be with him. I think he had fun relaxing around the hotel. Mark came home Thursday night and is leaving again tonight (Sunday). Needless to say, we are all a little tired of him being gone and ready for him to stay home for a while! The house could use a little love as well. It is just hard to keep up with everything without any help!

Jonathan and I have had a stomach virus this weekend. Welcome to the first week of school! He, of course, has been much sicker than I have been. He ran a fever yesterday afternoon, so we didn’t get to go to church today. He started a new class at church last week as well, so he was sad that he didn’t get to go back again today. He is feeling much better today thank goodness. Just hate him to be sick.

Thanks for checking in with us!

Summer Fun

Nothing really exciting to report. I just had a few minutes, so thought I would write a quick post. My in-laws came to visit last weekend and Jonathan had a great time playing with them. He has decided now that Grandma needs to put him to bed whenever she is here. This is a nice break for me, but the never-ending bedtime! They read a dozen books, sing a dozen songs, and have a wonderful time together. No wonder Jonathan loves her putting him to sleep. Drags it out a lot more than our three stories, a couple of songs, prayers, and bed!

Saturday afternoon, Mark, my MIL, and I went to see the new Harry Potter. It was a really great movie and I was glad to have the chance to see it. My FIL and Jonathan stayed home and took a nap. They were both happy with that arrangement as well! Saturday night, Mark, Jonathan, and my FIL went to the AR Twisters Arena Football game with the interns from Mark's work. They had the Entergy suite so they had a good time. Food, private bathroom, and enclosed area for Jonathan to rip and roar, what could be better! My MIL and I went shopping instead. Good choice for us too. We got her birthday present and then had dinner at U.S. Pizza (I just love their salads!!).

I got a new necklace this week that I have been wanting for a loonnngg time. I got a Mommy necklace to remind me of Jonathan, even when he's not with me. I kept looking for one, but never could find what I wanted. Finally found this one. http://julianandco.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=122
Jonathan calls it "my baby feet neck-lass." He loves looking at HIS baby feet. It is so funny. The necklace is small enough to wear everyday, which is what I wanted. The only thing is, I have all these everyday gold earrings, and they don't really go with this necklace!! Oh well, just have to get some new silver ones!

Mark went to the deer camp this weekend to do some work to get ready for deer season. Jonathan and I stayed home and just chilled and played. We did go shopping a little on Friday. Went to the Inviting Co. wearhouse sale. It was fantastic!! Jonathan had a great time climbing up and over all the boxes. I bought a TON of stuff, for not much money. We got wrapping paper for a $1 a roll, cute plates & napkins for birthdays, baby showers, Christmas, etc., thank you cards, note cards, monogrammed stuff, and more! Even Mark was impressed with how much for how little I got (and that is saying something)! We stayed home Saturday and played. Also worked on potty-training. This is an adventure, that is about the best thing I can say about that. One of those roller coasters that seems to go on for forever, that you just wish would END!! Oh well, I will be patient. I know it will happen eventually.

We went to church today. A friend of mine and I filled in for Sunday School for four year olds. It was a lot of fun and completely amazing to see how much these little minds have already soaked up about the Bible and God. They are amazing! We went out to eat lunch with her as well and that was a lot of fun. We are so very blessed to have made some really good friends here in Little Rock. I know that this would be a completely different situation without the support and friendship that we have found here.

God is so good to us. I have definitely been learning some lessons in patience, trust, and faith lately. I know that God is in control and that He has a plan for us and our lives. But sometimes, it is hard to see that plan when you are in the middle of it and it just doesn't seem to be working out the way YOU planned. Of course, that's the point, right? God's plan is infinitely better than our plan. Oh man, but the waiting is hard! Please say a prayer for us that we will be faithful in our paitence for the fulfillment of God's plan, and that we will continually seek His will (not ours) for our lives.

Love to you all! Jonathan has his last week of the summer program at his preschool this week. They are 'going' to China, so it should be exciting. Last week was Africa and he absolutely loved all the animals on the wall and the 'safari' that they went on. This coming weekend we are going to Jackson/Madison for a reunion for my PT class. I am excited to see all my friends/classmates and catch up on their lives. It is so hard to believe that it has been SIX years since I graduated. Man I am getting old! Could I really have been practicing that long??? And that is all a fulfillment of God's promise and guidance. I do believe that God laid this path out for me to be a PT and to work with children. It does give me a purpose to be working, even when sometimes I would REALLY rather stay at home with Jonathan or just be a bum!

Thanks for checking in with us. I hope that everyone has a really great week!