Blessings not lost on me

Today is a good day. Today is a blessed day. I love that today God's many blessings aren't lost on me.

Today God blesses me with:

Communion. I love communion and I always feel closer to Him when I take it.

Friends. He blesses me with some sweet new friends who let me sit with them at church (since Justin has to leave after our fellowship class to go to work). Friends who invited Addison and me to lunch after church, and then they all helped me to wrangle her and keep her entertained being that I was again without my spouse. Friends who asked about Peyton and let me share my story of my sweet baby boy without making me feel like I was making them uncomfortable. Friends who made me feel loved and a part of something.

Rocking my girl to sleep. Whenever she goes down late she ends up needing some help with it. I feel like this is a precious gift that God has given to me because I am all too aware that soon she won't want to sit on my lap and fall asleep in my arms. And this is what I dreamed about after Peyton died so I want to be aware enough to cherish these moments before they slip through my fingers.

Justin gets off work at 5. For most wives this is normal. For me it's the exception. He usually doesn't get home from work until after 7. So it's so nice on Sundays that he gets home two hours earlier than normal.

And the Colts. Justin would be upset if I didn't add that the Colts going to the super bowl wasn't a blessing. At leas in the Blythe household.

So thanks Lord for helping me to see some of the many ways you've chosen to bless me today.

I hope you can find some ways He's blessed you today.

Ugh

So now the doctor called back and after talking to the head of nuclear medicine at PIH, they've decided that they want to do a fine needle biopsy of the mass before the scan. These are NOT fun. I had one last time and it was pretty painful. This mass is pretty far in my neck so I'm sure this one will also be pretty painful. HELLO! A HUGE needle being put into your neck. Talk about wanting to scream! So please pray, now this is our next step and we're waiting for the okay from insurance.

Rainy Days

You've got to love how we here in So. Cal have no idea what to do with ourselves when it rains. I think kids have a pretty good idea. This is really Addie's first rain storm where she's been aware that it's raining and she just can't get enough of it! It's like it's built into her to know that rain is sent by God to us to stop and listen to it, watch it, and of course PLAY IN IT! I just love it! Here are some pics and videos of Addison playing in the rain!

and the conclusion...Daddy is crazy!!!

Prayer is a mighty thing if you ask me!

Well let's start off with saying that God is good! The older I get the more I see His work weaving in and out of every part of my life.

So we headed out in "Storm Twenty-Ten" as the news is calling it (LOL, so lame that So Cal has to stop everything for heavy rain) to head to the doctor. After waiting what felt like forever, with my leg shaking and my heart racing, we finally were called in to wait some more in our room. Justin, being the ADD guy that he is, had his itouch with him, so he was having me play games on it to keep my mind off how nervous I was to get these results.

The doctor walked in and went through an overview of what happened at our last appt. and then started to look at the 18 different blood tests he had ordered.

The amazing piece of news that we got was that every test regarding my pituitary gland came back normal!!! "Wait, I thought I had some of these last time at ZERO? What happened??" I asked. He said he didn't know, it could be lab error. Lab error? I don't think so! HELLO, it was the Lord and I just know it. I have had so many prayer warriors go before me regarding this and now all of the sudden a month later, my levels for this gland in my brain are fine?! I'm healed?!

Praise God!

Again, He's showing me so many things about prayer right now in my life, it's amazing. I feel blessed that right now He's chosen to show me just how mighty prayer can be. He's showing me that HE is in my life, for the big and the little things. It just continues to strengthen my faith.

So, no MRI, no further testing, my brain is fine!

Now onto what we do need to tackle. There is still the matter of the two in. long tumor in my neck that shouldn't be there. I guess it's even bigger than a normal thyroid gland would be. So, our plan of attack is to have a thyroid uptake scan done. It's a pretty non invasive test, but it does have a drawback. I have to go off my meds for almost a month. What that means is that my body is going to go into major HYPO thyroid mode. I will become pretty emotional, very lethargic, lose energy, be very cold, and pretty much just run like someone has hit the slow motion button on my body. I am not looking forward to it. It will then take a few weeks once I go back on my meds to get back to normal. So we're waiting for the test to be approved by my HMO and then to be scheduled. We're praying ( and asking all you prayer warriors that I have) that this can all be done in a month's time. If we do find that the mass in my neck is thyroid tissue, then I will take the radioactive iodine pill and it will work for 6 months to kill the tissue. This means, no getting pregnant during that time because it would then attack the new baby's thyroid. So, we're gonna have to put on hold those plans for about 9 months total probably, but like I said, GOD IS GOOD! We're okay with it. It just means we get to give Addison more of our one on one time.

He knows best.

So please keep us in your prayers and I'll let you know once I get my uptake test scheduled. Thanks to all of you who care so much!!!

A lesson for both of us!

So I was super excited on Wednesday when Justin and I were getting ready to take Addison to her very first art class. She takes classes at La Mirada Community Center with my mom on Thursdays and has this teacher that she just LOVES. Every day she asks me..."Gina?". And everyday I have to say "Gina bye-bye". She repeats me to show her resolve to the sad fact and waits again for the next day in hopes that the answer will be "Yes, we're going to see Gina". Which for me is never because my mom takes her on Thursdays while I'm at work.

So I've been wanting to take her to a class by the famous "Gina" and one opened up on Wednesdays. Since either both of us or just Justin always has her on Wednesdays I thought this would be perfect. It's called "Edible Art Class". So fun! You have to be 18 months old or older, so she just made the mark, coming in at 19 months now (man, she's so grown up). So we signed her up and were excited to start our 6 week course.

When I got her ready that morning, I had the same thought that most mommies have when dressing their little girls. "She needs to be the cutest one in the class!" I know, some of you moms already know where this is headed....So I got one of her new cute Gymboree shirts out of the closet that my mom and dad had given her for Christmas, and took the tags off (no, I don't pre wash, I know I'm a horrible mom) and put it on her. Got her cute bow in her hair and off the three of us went.

So we get there and in my head I'm thinking, I wonder if they'll provide bibs for the kids since we'll be working with food. Well.....Miss Gina, the one and only, starts by passing out glue and markers! Glue and markers?? Hello! Where's the food? She then proceeds to walk the children through three art projects that included glue, markers, 8 different colors of paint (no, not the water based kind) and encouraged all of them to get their hands in it and get messy! Well....there went the cute outfit! Addie was covered! It was everywhere, her shirt, her face, her hair....even on Mommy and Daddy cause she would grab at us with it everywhere. This is what her shirt looked like when we got home...





So we both learned a lesson that day. She learned all the fun things you can do with glue and paint, and Mom learned that you don't wear Gymboree to an art class. I guess she'll have the cutest "art shirt" now that she'll wear each time we go back. Here is what she made that day though:




Oh yeah, the edible part of the class? A cup of fruit loops at the end that they could make into patterns or pictures before eating. Cute! But not what I had thought it would be. Oh well, you live and learn.

Trying to Trust God in this.

So I was reading my new favorite blog, by Beth Moore today and tears started to stream down my face. She has recently had a health scare, and I too am in the midst of a health scare. It was comforting to read about her story and struggle and to see how the Lord delivered her from a horrible outcome. I realized though, that I have been faithful in worrying about this, in being anxious about it, but not as faithful to pray about it. I go into to get blood work back from the doctor on Tuesday and my heart is anxious. Yet I am trying to STILL learn to rest in God during anything like this. To know that we are all called to a purpose and plan. We are all called to walk down a different path, and whatever my path may be, the Lord will be faithful to make it work together for good. To work together for His glory.


So this is my verse I'm praying for Tuesdays appt. Join me in this prayer if you want....

Let us then approach his throne of grace with confidence, so that we many receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16