Home Sweet Home with the Sedas: July 23

Some Summer Shenanigans.

Some Shopping.

Oh, you know, hanging out as a mall rat when the sun gets to hot.

Where's Maddie?

I see something I have to go home with!

Some crafting.

Ha, Nana and Papa gave Maddie this for Christmas...at the time all I saw was a box full of small pieces, BUT, I have grown to LOVE the box. It has so many cute things in it that we pull out for a fun little activity on the weekends, especially when the sun gets so hot!

Last month of gymnastics. We are going on a little leave for now. I think we are going to sign up for soccer and dance next.

Some good eating (that I am not cooking!)

Some "swimming"

Would you believe all three of us "swam" in this little pool?!

Some chillaxing.

Some Saturday nights at Sam's.

Some cupcakes and ice cream to celebrate the weekend starting.

Some time with friends.

Notice our upgrade?

Some Monday blues.

BIG. TIME.

Some school shots.

"3 years ago on that day" WHAT?! Yes, I recall it distinctly, it was July in Texas, I had not started my first "real job" yet...and we headed to the park, in a sweater! It was chilly that day!

Some splash days.

...and cowgirl days.

Some early AM cuddles.

Some visits to our neighborhood ACE hardware.

Some more fun with friends.

And who could forget some Sunday shots.

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JULY 23.

I have always loved to write. I had a journal as a girl and to this day keep notes for a book one of these days I will publish and be able to retire on ;)

So this year, I thought I might write, maybe that would help.

Today is a very hard day for me. 5 years it has been, but on this day, my soul still gasps for air just as it did that day.

Sometimes wounds are caused by others, sometimes, by those we love.

I am a surgeon, I know better than most that wounds heal with time, some sooner than others. Healing does not mean return to what it once was, it means return of strength...but there is always evidence of a scar.

I think back to this day and am so grateful for those that helped me through...family/friends. I will forever be in debt.

I have asked my "Why's and my Why me's", I have cried my tears, and now for the most part I don't. I have faith...I have faith in the God that made me who I am...strong, determined, resilient. I have faith in a God that delivers and that heals. I have faith in a God that has great plans for me.

So I know, that ALL things, work together for good.

And here she is, my rainbow baby...not in the traditional sense, but she is just that for me...a ray of brightness from God above after a horrific storm.

Today I often mourn some, for the loss of who I was before the wound, but I also thank God for deliverance through the storm and for small reminders that this world is not my home.

My hope is in something far better.

Now we are seeing a storm again with mom's health. I know that prayers of the righteous avail most. In days when my "whys" return I remind myself of that and go to God in prayer. So that's what I have done, prayed without ceasing for His deliverance, again.

Mom was admitted into the hospital this month for a week of treatment. I wish I could say things were better, for now, in my human eyes, they seem far from better. Yet, again, I will trust in God that he has a plan for us.

Maddie got to see her quick the morning before she was admitted to the hospital.

..and Papa, too!

Baylor Grapvine is 15 mintues from home, so we would pop in and check on Nana as often as she felt like it. It was a very hard week, to say the least.

The whole crew visiting.

Hard days it was.

Nana loves fruit...and so does Maddie.

Maddie was looking for her cousins!

We ran to grab dinner to give Nana time to rest. The treatments were almost like chemotherapy in terms of how they made her feel. Salty dogs while we wait on our order.

Hmm, is that good parenting skills? (Waiting on our order at the bar with a kid under 5?)