Daddy, Thankfulness and Family

My Daddy is in the hospital on a ventilator. He has pneumonia and is likely septic. My Mama is a mess. The family is stressed. I pray that we can all seek the peace that only God can give. I pray that we are all refined through this. I pray that Daddy be healed if it is God's will.
Bill and I prayed together for a long time last night. So many people were in our joint prayer. The fact that I can and do pray with my husband and can approach the Father because of what the Son has done... That is what I am most thankful for. My salvation and how it is part of my life now, not just my get out of hell free card.
We are dealing with stresses in the Lawton family right now too. We are trying to find a time that we can have our Christmas gathering together. Tensions are rising. I'm not sure if I should be mentioning this on the blog or not... My intention is that my friends who keep up with me on this blog will pray. I also want to document this very stressful but thankful time in our lives.
Bill and I are thankful that anyone even wants to see us and try to have the family together in one place.

A post is coming soon.... Lord willing

Life isn't always pretty...

Well, I have lots of pics to share when the creative bug hits me again. But not now. We have had 3 quite interesting weeks. We have been sick! Well we all started with this respiratory illness on the same night, a Sat night three Sats ago. We haven't ever all gotten sick at once before. Well the kids got better quickly, Bill and I however, did not. Approx 9 days later I woke up with my eye matted together and decided that I had more than a cold. I went to the PA and got some oral antibiotics and a refill for the antibiotic eye ointment that I had from the last time I had conjunctivitis. Then two days later I had severe pain and tearing in said eye and the Ophthalmologist confirmed a corneal abrasion (scratched eye). That day Bill got abx (antibiotics) from the PA. 2AM that morning Will knocks on our bedroom door, "I just threw up". He has a loft bed and just leaned over the side....SPLAT! The next morning I began to throw up and realized that I had been having chills the night before. The next day Bill gets a fever and then has severe tummy troubles for a day. The whole saga ends?? with Laura Ann getting conjunctivitis a fever and diarrhea. Oh yeah Bill got conjunctivitis (pink eye) in that span of time too. Bill missed most of the week of work. Will missed two days of school and 1 football practice. Bill was unable to coach football for several practices and two games (at least). We all missed small group once.
Switching gears here. I get calls. Drama filled calls. I won't mention where they come from. Some that know me know. These calls upset me. I mean heart racing, stomach in knots ready to cry upset me. It should be as simple as not answering the phone but it isn't. I pray, not as often as I should, to respond in a Christ-like manner to these calls. I fall short. Life isn't always pretty, but Jesus is always my Savior. Praise God. One day these calls will stop or be replaced with different calls from another person. I pray that through my sanctification that I will glorify God in the next call. I hate the disruption to my family. (When Mama is upset...)
Funny thing, these calls always make me more thankful. I am so thankful for my protective, loving, sweet, giving, humble, (I could go on and on) husband that pursues holiness and is a wonderful father. God scooped me up the day that He called me to himself. Some years later, God used Bill on this earth to provide a safe, peace pursuing, God honoring home for me. Those strong arms and shoulders love me. God blesses me through them.

Life isn't always pretty, but Jesus is always my Savior.

1st Game of the Season - Landmark Christian

You can't tell in the pic but I pieced together some blue and gold attire. I even had on GOLD eyeshadow. I mean really GOLD. I really try to watch the game, but it is hard as you wrangle Miss Laura Ann in the stadium. I spent most of my time trying to figure out where Will was. He played center and some other line end type thing (still learning my positions). He was also part of the kickoff team. Coach Lawton was out of town but will be back for next week's game.


After Game Prayer

LA and I couldn't make it down to pray with them. I love how they start each game with a prayer as well (over the PA). Our school's youth program plays with a rec league and no one has stopped the prayers yet. Praise God!

"Because I'm tough Mama"

Mama: "Will, why aren't you smiling?" Will: "Because I'm tough Mama"

Sweet Daddy is in this pic, one of the coaches this year!

Will's School Project

Will is supposed to bring in some pictures or postcards frm his summer vacation fun. Our printer is acting up and will not print on photo paper so I decided to make a blog entry. I will hopefully be able to print this to plain paper.

Point Park, Lookout Mtn, Chattanooga, TN

Rock City, Lookout Mtn, GA

St. Andrews State Park, Panama City Beach, FL

Cypress Spring, Vernon, FL

Cypress Spring, Vernon, FL

Broken

Sunday evening I watched as my little toddler was getting down from this very chair while holding this very pencil and paper. She has maneuvered in and out of these chairs hundreds of times carefully and without incident. This time holding on to her writing materials was a little too much for her. It looked as though she had fell flat on her back. I scooped her up and she didn't stop crying as she normally does after falling down. She cried unconsolably for 15 minutes. I did an assessment on her and found a little bit of bruising and the slightest bit of tightness in the skin of her left forearm. The swelling wasn't even visible at that time. I put her princess cold pack on her arm gave her some Motrin and started brainstorming. Meanwhile the swelling became noticeable. Bill and I were hoping for a sprain or deep bruise. The swelling made me concerned that we might be dealing with a fracture. We called the Ped after hours clinic, they don't do XRays. Meanwhile Laura Ann has stopped crying but is holding her arm and saying OOWWW, BOO-BOO. She is left handed and would not use that arm.

I called the Pediatrician on call ( I thought). They now filter their calls through the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Phone nurse. Frustrated, I answered her questions and listened as she told me not to give any more Motrin but to use Tylenol. I told her that I indeed wanted to speak with the Pediatrician on call. I received a call from one of the docs that I used to work with at both the clinic and on the Peds unit. She helped me brainstorm and reminded me that an ER would only splint a fracture and wait on the orthopedic surgeon to see her on Monday. I remember working nights and evaluating children with their splints waiting for the cast the next day. This wait also helps with swelling issues. Casts that are put on when there is increasing swelling end up having to be cut off and reapplied.

After talking to the doc, I applied Mama's homemade splint ( An ice peri pad left over from Laura Ann's delivery) and wrapped with an Ace type bandage. We kept ice on it as long as possible (of course no longer than 20 minutes at the time) and elevated it as much as we could. I gave her some Tylenol and a dose of Benadryl and put her to bed. I did the same thing for her that I did for my patients in the hospital. I did round the clock checks on those fingers and made sure that the arm above the sling wasn't swelling too much. I did skip waking her to ask her about sensation (Do you feel that?) She is a little young for that. It is not like I could sleep any way! Praise God she slept through the night.

I took her in the next morning to see our wonderful Pediatrician Dr. Jackson. I could get an earlier appt with him than the Pediatric Orthopedist. I made an appt with ortho for 2pm just in case I would need it. Laura Ann was such a sweet compliant patient. She sat for her Xrays without wiggling. Dr. Jackson looked at the images and found that her radius and ulna ( the two bones of the forearm) were both fractured. The growth plate was not involved and it would not need to be manipulated or "set". Dr. Jackson said to keep my splint on and to see the Ped Ortho that I already had an appt with. Meanwhile a sweet friend Erica had Mr. Will. He was picked up before we ever ventured out for our day of Dr. Appts. He had a blast.

Laura Ann fell asleep in the car after seeing Dr. Jackson. He gave us an RX for some Pain meds. We had a little time before the other appt. We met a couple of sweet friends for lunch and then met Daddy at the next doctor appt. The doc sent us for a cast and told us to come back in 4 to 4 1/2 weeks to get it removed. He also said that Motrin would be the best thing for pain relief. I told him about my advice from the nurse.... He said use Motrin.

Laura Ann was a sweetheart during the cast application as well. It was hard for me not to help.

We have had a challenging time trying to keep the cast clean (especially during meals) and dry (imagine bath time). It takes two of us to bathe her now. She is more fussy than usual and I am having to do her coloring for her so far. She sits and shows me what color she wants... I am working on getting her to use her well-non dominant hand. She wants me a lot closer right now and needs more help. Well it seems that my attempt to put her to bed early was ineffective. I am being summoned.

Please pray that God knits the fracture up and that it will be completely healed. Please pray for pain control for Laura Ann and patience for Bill, Will (who starts school tomorrow) and I.

Jesus Thank You

Jesus, Thank You
Words and music by Pat Sczebel
The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend The agonies of Calvary You the perfect Holy One, crushed Your Son Who drank the bitter cup reserved for me
Your blood has washed away my sin Jesus, thank You The Father’s wrath completely satisfied Jesus, thank You Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table Jesus, thank You
By Your perfect sacrifice I’ve been brought near Your enemy You’ve made Your friendPouring out the riches of Your glorious grace Your mercy and Your kindness know no end
Lover of my soul I want to live for You
© 2003 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music (ASCAP)/Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP).

Happy 8th Birthday Mr. Will!

Laura Ann's First Time in a Pool!

Today was day two of Will's swimming lessons (level 3). Will still says schwimming instead of swimming quite often. It was Laura Ann's very first time in any pool! They have a 1ft baby pool with a fountain at the pool that Mr. Will is taking lessons at.

Brother jumped in after his lesson was over. He sure loves lil sis.

I love the ruffles!
Whew I'm Tired!!

I didn't take one picture

Our computer died. It was ressurrected by our church's resident teenaged computer genius. I haven't checked email or blogs for two weeks. It was actually freeing. I most missed mapquest (we don't have a car GPS unless you count my awesome husband) and I have all of my nursing books in storage so I missed looking up info on the internet. I found that I have replaced textbooks with trustworthy medical sites for the most part. Oh and Biblegateway. I so missed it!!! Where is that scripture?? Is that even in the Word? A search of Biblegateway will help you out. Sorry no link. I'm still learning here.
I also didn't take a picture, not one. No VBS pics, no Basketball Camp pics, no pics of the playdate with Dallas C. No pics of Pa doing a front flip in the livingroom. He is in his upper 70's I might add. I love to document our lives in pictures but sometimes it interferes with life to do so! I am not done with pics for sure and I have some to post from the busy period just before the demise of our computer but for now, words are it.
Now to get to the things that I was doing while my computer was dead....

Squirming And Smiling In The Pew

How do you feel when your pastor makes you squirm? I am thankful to say that my pastor made me squirm Sunday. I am thankful that I was able to get the fact that "God loves me so He is correcting me" pretty quickly. The excerpt below also talks about how the letters to the first century church are useful for the church today. I provided the link to the entire article/post below if you would like to delve in deeper. I realize that some men may read this and I am not trying to "teach" here. I am sharing a post from Sproul, Jr. and how God is working in my heart right now. (PCA woman disclaimer :)


The following quote is taken from R.C. Sproul Jr.'s column Seek Ye First: Love Letters
Text color emphasis added by me.

"If we would understand all the epistles to churches in the whole of the New Testament, we must first understand the wisdom of this bit of Old Testament wisdom literature: "there is nothing new under the sun" (Eccl. 1:9). The churches of the first century were not models of orthodoxy (right doctrine) and orthopraxy (right behavior). Neither, on the other hand, were they beyond the pale. Instead these churches were weak, worldly, and wishy-washy -- just like us. Surely the church as a whole has ebbed and flowed over the years. But she has, from the beginning and to our own day, not only been a mixture of wheat and tares but also a body wherein even the wheat often behaves like tares. That is, our problems in the church are not merely that there are unbelievers therein, but the unbelief of the believers therein.
This, friends, ought not to discourage us. We certainly do need to remember God's judgment as we face up to the bold preaching against our sins that we find in the epistles in the New Testament. But we must likewise remember how these letters begin and end. These are not letters of divorce. They instead implore the churches to repent, to return, and to believe. Paul writes to the saints he loves, not the sinners he is finished with. He begins his letters with love and ends them in the same way. The book of Revelation is much the same. The whole purpose was to encourage the saints to righteousness in a context of hardship. The whole purpose was to remind the saints of their first calling -- to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Were we wise we would hear these prophetic utterances as addressed to us. Indeed, were we wise we would welcome the same from our own pastors and elders. We would know that as our sins are challenged from the pulpit, they are challenged that we might grow in grace. We would know that our pastors are piercing our hearts and rocking our consciences precisely because they love us. We would receive rebuke as we ought -- as kisses from a friend. That is precisely what they are, kisses, ultimately from the friend we have in Jesus. This is love, that our Savior has not only redeemed us but that He is also daily about the business of purifying us, making us a bride without spot or blemish. It's a painful process, but it has a glorious end."

http://www.ligonier.org/blog/2009/05/love-letters.html

What scripture did pastor preach on Sunday? Philippians 2:14-18

"14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out[a] the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18So you too should be glad and rejoice with me."

He also mentioned the phrase "being real" and said that some could use this as an excuse to live as the world instead of pursuing holiness. (My paraphrasing - not a quote) I have been reading Steve Brown's "A Scandalous Freedom" and he talks about the masks that we wear for unbelievers, one in particular - purity. I have struggled with the "ruin your witness" mindset vs. "being real" and letting others know "Hey I'm a sinner too" - not hiding sin. As pastor pointed out we are told in the Bible to confess our sins one to another. I'm not sure of where I will end up on that but verse 15 is pretty clear about shining like stars in the universe. I just pray that I can be honest and, as a friend put it, still "pursue holiness".

No, Mr. President: John Piper's Response to President Obama on Abortion

Life

Laura Ann

17 Years Ago

Today is my 36th birthday. On April 24th 1992 I went on a blind date. I had talked to this man that my girlfriend from college told me about once on the phone. I asked him if he was a Christian and he said with emphasis "Yes Ma'am!". He asked if I would like to go out and the date he offered happened to be my 19th birthday. I prepared by having my outfit dry-cleaned and wore my favorite perfume. Holly and I took the trip from Milledgeville to Stockbridge (ATL) after we finished classes that day. He showed up bearing a small coffee cup of flowers. That man that I went on the blind date with 17 years ago kissed me goodbye as he left for work this morning. The picture below is the first one taken of us. This was only weeks later. Four months after we would be engaged, four months after that we would be married.

The coffee cup is still in use today. He took me to Olive Garden, but I really couldn't eat. We sat there talking, him looking at me really so deeply. He was saying things that made me laugh, smile and sometimes raise my eyebrow. Then it happened: I heard "This is your husband" It was in my head, but I heard it - out of nowhere. I immediately said excuse me and slipped into the bathroom. I remember clenching the counter and looking in the mirror and thinking: "I didn't ask for this, I'm not looking for a husband.. I'm 19 What? What is happening?" I composed myself and went back to the table. I sat down and saw the most gorgeous blue - green eyes and this confident grin. He was charming me and was just irresistible. He kept making comments about my hair..my eyes.. . My cheeks started hurting that night and continued to hurt for some time from smiling so much!! Sparks were flying that night. I had never had a date like that. My heart was racing and he held my hand later that night and it just felt like home.

A few weeks after that first date the picture was taken. Four months later we would be engaged (Although he bought the ring some time before that - for me), Four months after that we would be married. Sounds crazy. I am an indecisive person about many things. There was no indecision when it came to Bill. There was no doubt in my mind that I was to be his wife. There is still no doubt. My birthday is special to me as it is the date that I first set eyes on my husband. Marriage is a lot of work and so is parenting, but it is also beautiful. He still gives me goosebumps when he kisses me or sometimes with just a touch of my hand. I still adore his beautiful blue-green eyes. I am so thankful that I met this man on that day back then, what a beautiful present.

Thank you God.

I know What Boogers Are

"Mama....." "What Will?" "I know what boogers are." "Oh you do?" "They're just dried up snot!"

My boy has lost two teeth in two days and three in the past week. I told him I would check the price of Lego City Police Station for him. We don't do the "fairy" thing but we do pay him for his little dentitious treasures. Well it is $90.00 and three teeth will not pay for that! We plan to get him the helicopter that goes with it and wait until his birthday to get the Police Station.

Judging, Judgement, Judgmentally

There is probably some unwritten rule about not having entire posts citing another's post but I just wanted to share this as I am dealing with trying to understand others today.

2nd Cor 4:13
13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak,


Judging Judgment JudgmentallyJanuary 25, 2008 By: Abraham Piper Category: Commentary
When we’re dealing with people who are different than us (everybody?) and trying to decide how to interpret the things about them that baffle us, we sometimes forget how fundamental beliefs are to the way we all act. As Paul wrote, “We also believe, and so we speak.”
Seth Godin points out that everyone has a tendency to misunderstand other people, because we don't pay attention to what they believe. He notes that when you are dealing with someone “who is bitter, vindictive, loud and out to cost you your job,” it’s important to keep in mind that this probably does not stem from faulty judgment, but different beliefs.
He suggests that in these situations we should remind ourselves, “If I believed what [they] said when [they] wrote that angry blog post, I probably would have written the same thing.”
So before we judge others, accusing them of bad judgment, it's good to consider what beliefs are motivating them. Then we can admit that if we believed like them we may very well have thought and acted that way, too.
This is humility, and it’s essential if we want to be compassionate (or even just tolerable to be around). It keeps the focus on what really matters when relating to others: understanding what they believe, instead of judgmentally judging their judgment.

Fun for Boys

One of Will's buddies from church spent most of the day with him. I was so thankful that he came. Will had a blast. Drumming in the "multi-purpose" roomLots of fun at the park


One tired chicky chick

Binge Blogging, Catching up Again

I ordered these pics chronologically except the first one. I had to let this be the first thing you see on this post.

What a Spring Beauty!! She can finally wear this 12mos dress that I got at her baby shower!

My attempt at Ma-Ma's cornbread. I miss her so much. I made it in her pan. There is no telling how much cornbread she made in that iron skillet. She made it every day, yes EVERY day, that I knew her until she was ill. I cried when I put this on the table. I look forward to seeing her again in heaven!!

Laura Ann is NOT ready to use dishes. Notice the bowl on the floor.

A common occurrence.

2009 Carriage Lane Presbyterian Musical

Joseph: From the Pit to the Palace

Lots of unscripted Valentine Love

My attempt at Valentine Goodies for teachers, Will's "special girls", and a few family members.

Hail storm '09

The Volvo needs a new windshield. The house needs a new roof. Insurance on the house, not the car.

I am not surprised that the snow looks like it is melting around him. Sizzle!

The next day... The snowman has seen some wear and tear.

Only Will can turn a snow day into a WWII battle.

Yes that's GA bulldogs gear our baseball player has on. We are quite sick about it, but love his coach and the coach's family. Go Gators!! and I guess go dogs, uh dawgs..TYBA baseball that is!

Will's ANT Science Fair project ( made from recyclable materials)

I decided to splurge on take out from Outback one night. This is my "medium" steak. Can you say moo? Well, I got to pray with the take out girl about her broken foot. I thought twice about complaining (until I received a free meal) as I usually do in times like this. I did let the manager know that we didn't receive our salads and Bill picked those up the next day. What should Christians do when they receive bad service? Comments please if you have them. Also, when I got my Blue cheese chopped salad the next day....no blue cheese.

Aren't they beautiful? These are two of my new friends. The one in stripes (Elizabeth) coordinated a Birthday Girl's Night Out for the one in the shawl (Erica-Birthday Girl). I could say so many great things about both of them. I am truly blessed to call them both friend. I can't wait to get to know them even better.

I am really in this picture and no I wasn't hiding on purpose. SO many lovely ladies in this picture. So much love for Christ in those hearts. This was just last night. My sweet Bill is coughing terribly but cared for the little ones so that I could go out. Oh how I love you, Bill!

One last thing Whooping Cough, yes Whooping Cough. None of us are contagious thanks to antibiotics and an awesome Pediatrician that is a man of God. The inflammation will stick around for weeks we are told, though. Little Laura Ann is quite demanding with her ear infection bothering her. I would be too.

It is a sunny day today, ....finally.