Humbled

Even in the midst of all of the chaos in my life, God continues to remind me that I am blessed.

Garrett has been having really bad back pain and after a visit to an orthopedic surgeon and an MRI, we learned that he has a herniated disc and degenerative disc disease. He had an epidural injection today to help with the pain and inflammation, but he will probably have to have surgery.

I noticed a rash on Hayden on Friday after I picked him up from daycare. I called the daycare to see if they had noticed it before and to make sure I knew exactly what he ate that day, but that didn't give me any answers. I gave him some Benadryl and he had no other symptoms. We thought it might be chicken pox, even though I was almost certain it wasn't. Well, on Saturday morning it looked better...I thought. Randy, Heather and Kinzie came to visit and as the day progressed I noticed it was spreading so I took him to the clinic right by our house. It turns out, he has a viral rash. He is taking prednisone and the rash is almost gone. I'm so glad it wasn't chicken pox, but I don't think this child is going to miss anything when it comes to illnesses. They informed me when I took him to daycare this morning that there is a stomach bug going around, so only time will tell how that works out for us.

Kinzie and Hayden had fun on Saturday, particularly jumping on the air mattress in our guest room. It was great entertainment and much cheaper than a trampoline! We went to Mr. Gatti's that night, but I think they were worn out by then.

We started him on half formula, half whole milk and I am hoping we don't have any problems with this.

The past few months have been challenging. For Garrett and I, new town, new jobs, no house...then new house. For Hayden, RSV, ER visits, antibiotics, wheezing, ear infections, more antibiotics, croup, rash...the list goes on.

However, I am feeling truly humbled this morning.

There are so many sick babies out there. Baby Stellan is one I have in mind today. Read his story here.

I just held Hayden this morning after his breathing treatment and took some time to be thankful for him, while I prayed for other babies I know that are sick and for those I don't even know.

When I start to feel the stress of our circumstances, I stop to put things in perspective and all of those things I mentioned above seem so small.

So friends, here's to a great week!