Praying for my Mommy!

My Mommy is the most amazing woman I have ever met...I love her a whole lot!! She has gone through a lot physically in the last 5 years and after several different doctors and tests was officially diagnosed with MS, not just MS but Primary Progressive MS. This specific type is the hardest to treat because there are no flare ups or attacks, she just slowly gets worse and there is very little that researchers know about to help. Over the last few years her right leg specifically has gotten weaker and weaker. She gave in and bought "Charlie" (her cane) awhile back...this was not easy for her...it was not easy for any of us, but it helped her a little. A few months ago she gave in and had to get a handicap tag for her van...this was not easy for her...this was not easy for any of us, but it was needed. She does not physically have the strength to walk long distances at all. My Mom is amazing and while she has her good days and her bad days, she is most likely to put on a strong face and keep pressing on. I tell you all of this because tomorrow at 2:30 pm, the Lord has opened a door for her to be tested to see if she is a candidate for THIS, (the video is kind of long so you don't have to watch it if you don't want to) but basically it is a cuff that she would wear right bellow her knee and a pad on the heel of her foot...when she steps on the pad the cuff would shock the nerves in her leg helping it to stabilize more and for her foot not to drop as much. The video gives us LOTS of hope...the girl in the video without the Bioness on struggles to walk up stairs and balance, much like Mom does right now, but after the Bioness is on, she can walk better, balance and even jog a bit. As I was saying tomorrow at 2:30 PM my Mom goes into her physical therapists to meet with the guy and see if she is a possile candidate for this. We are hopefully, we are praying, we are encouraged that this type of technology is being created. We know that we serve a God who could go way beyond just allowing this piece of equipment to work for Mom and that He could completely heal her!! We just want His will to be done and we will continue to trust in His almighty strength!! Will you join with me in praying for my amazing Mommy? The only thing better than having her for a Mom, is to be able to have her as a Grammy for my sweet babies!!

Today I am grateful...

Today I am choosing to be grateful even though I am sick....

Today I am choosing to be grateful even though the weather is yucky and rainy and cold...

Today I am choosing to be grateful even though I had to call into work sick today and I HATE doing that...

Today I am choosing to be grateful even though I was barely able to sleep last night because my head was hurting so much....

Today I am choosing to be grateful even though I had no desire to get out of bed all day...



So you may ask WHY...if this is what my day looked like, WHY am I still choosing to be grateful?

Because even though my Mommy was too far away to make me soup and take care of me, my sweet Mother in Law made me soup!

Because even though I HAD to get out bed because potential renters were coming to look at our house this afternoon...my Mother in Law allowed me to come over in sweats and just lay around.

Because even though I didn't sleep well last night, my sweet husband did everything he could to help me feel better, getting me water and meds and ice packs, holding me, rubbing my head to help with the headache.

Because even though it was down right YUCKY day...the Lord has blessed us with renters for the house and is continuing to provide for our needs.

Because even though I don't feel like be grateful...I am choosing to...because today...even today....the Lord is good and He loves me!!


So today...I am grateful!! :-)

American Comforts vs African Blessing

As we have begun selling furniture and packing up our house, I have found myself thinking alot of the American comforts that I am soon to be giving up and going without. While I don't think it is horrible of me to be thinking about things I will miss, I have found myself dwelling on these things, instead of preparing my heart for the things that the Lord has for me in Africa. So I have decided to make a list....well...two actually...the first one will be a list of those American comforts that I will miss, and then for every American comfort that I have I am going to come up with one blessing or thing that I am looking forward to about Africa. My goal is to hopefully at the end of this be more excited about what the Lord is going to do and dwelling less on the things He is asking me to give up! So here goes nothing!

American Comforts (or just things I will miss)

1. Milk and Ice Cream - these have become staples in my diet the last few weeks...craving them so much during this pregnancy
   
2. Bubble Baths - I love coming home from a long day and soaking in a nice bubble bath in our huge garden tub..its so wonderful!
3. Western toilets - I am dreading being really prego and having to use a squatty potty
4. HOT showers - I am not a fan of cold showers...even when I am really hot I turn on the cold water for .5 seconds and then I am ready for HOT!
5. Having a space that is just ours! - we are not really sure what our housing accommodations will be in Sudan, we will be staying with the YWAM school, but we are not counting on them providing "couples" or "family" housing - most likely they will have a guys area and a girls area....to combat this we are taking a tent and air mattress with us to make sure that we can stay together, however even that will be a far stretch from the 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom home that we have been living in since we got married.
   
6. Internet 24/7 - I am so used to being able to pick up my phone and google something or check facebook or e-mail a family member
   
7. Electricity - need I explain more?
8. A normal paycheck - steady income - money
   

And now for some African blessings (things I am really looking forward to about this trip):

1. Holding African babies!!! - anyone that knows me knows my love for babies, but African babies steal my heart way faster, their desperate need to be shown love...ahh..I just can't wait to cuddle me some African babies!!
2. Being dependent on God - some might laugh at this...how is that really a blessing, but in my eyes it really is. You see there is something stretching about being completely dependent on God! When you are working for the Lord and just waiting for Him to provide "the pay check!" I am excited for this because I KNOW that He will provide for our each and every need and I can't wait to just be able to praise Him for taking care of us!
3. Serving again - since we got married I have taken a step back and allowed myself to really dwell in the presence of the Lord, rather than teaching and serving others. While this time has been SO refreshing and I am positive it was God ordained, I am excited to be serving again!
   
4. Wearing flip flops, sandals or going barefoot! - anyone that knows me knows I LOVE shoes, but they also probably know that I love flip flops and being barefoot way more! I am excited to wear sandals and flip flops, to go barefoot and get the red dirt on my feet!
5. Not being primped! - I am part tom-girl - while I do love being cute every once in awhile, I have never been the girl to take hours getting ready, making sure my hair and make up are perfect! I am excited to be in a culture that doesn't value physical appearances like America does.
6. Watching my husband in his element! While I have had MANY talks with my husband and I have heard his passion for Africa and missions, I have never been on a mission's trip WITH him! I am excited to be able to watch him in his element and to see the way God strengthens and uses him in powerful ways!
   
7. Growth - not only physical (this sweet little baby bump will be growing while we are there) but also spiritual as God stretches us and teaches us so many new things. The other growth I am excited to see is growth in our marriage - I know this trip is going to strengthen our marriage in ways that living a comfortable life in American never could, I am excited, I know that with growth sometimes comes pain - you have to go through the swamp to get to the meadow sometimes - but I am excited none the less to see God strengthen our marriage!
   
8. Being right smack dab in the middle of His will for our lives!! While I will miss my American comforts, none of those could come close to knowing that we are exactly where the Lord wants us to be!

So there you have it, the African Blessings far outweigh the American Comforts in my book...it is far better to be where God wants us to be than to just be comfortable! I am so blessed that He has chosen Christopher and I for this journey!!

My life in bullet points...

Here is bits and pieces of my random life in bullet points...hope you enjoy!! :-)

• We are moving to Africa in a month!!
• I am 13 weeks and 5 days pregnant with our lil' monkey!
  
• We are selling all of our big furniture on Craigslist over the next month...it is already more of a headache than I imagined.
  
• My baby LOVES milk and ice cream....two things that I can't really count on having in Africa!
• My mother in law offered to give me some powder milk to take with us...has anyone ever tried powdered milk? Is it anything like regular milk? What if the water I am using isn't very cold? (we have an awesome water purifier...so it will be clean...just not cold)
  
• I am currently reading Kisses from Katie, an amazing book by the author of the blog The Journey, which I have read for years! I think the fact that I am reading it now is a complete God thing, I am getting more and more excited about Africa!!
• We got our Doppler in the mail yesterday, now we can listen to our sweet Monkey's heartbeat when ever we want!! :-)
• We found an amazing midwife, who is a complete gift from God!!
• My husband has been working crazy insane hours this month....which I am not a huge fan of, but I am also beyond grateful that he works so hard for our sweet little family...he's seriously the best!!
• Our wolf stepped on my laptop the other day when I was sitting on the floor talking baby names with my husband....she cracked the screen! :-/
  
• My amazing husband fixed my computer screen for me!!
• I witnessed a car accident last week, thankfully no one was hurt, but it still shook me up quite a bit and I didn't sleep well for a few days.
  
• We visited my husbands old church last Sunday, while it was nice because it is so close to the house, it made me so much more thankful for SOMA!!
  
• Everyone thinks I am carrying big...my mother in law has even made comments about twins...but I actually weigh less than I did when I got pregnant...that doesn't make any sense to me, but my midwife assured me that for as much morning sickness as I have had that it is normal and weight will start to stick soon.
  
• I only have 20 days or so left at the bank...it is bittersweet, because it is a smaller bank, all the employees at all the different branches make their own little Southside community, it has been fun to be a part of.
• God's blessings just continue to fall on us as we prepare for Africa, its awesome!! Every time I start to doubt for a second or start to get a little nervous the Lord does something to confirm His plans and protection over us!
  
• I am blessed!!
• We are blessed!!
• GOD IS GOOD!!

Also, will you consider praying for this sweet angel, Phoebe, although I do not know her, her sweet family are also YWAM missionaries and precious Phoebe was just diagnosed with cancer! You can also follow her caringbridge here! Thank you so much!