Ben and Charlie Party, High School Drama, and a Trip to the E.R. ~ 7 QTFriday

Oh, Friday, how did you get here so soon??? 

Maybe, it's because Monday and Tuesday were party days in our house, and party days always go by much too quickly. Then, Wednesday, all of the fun and games came to a screeching halt when a hefty combo of stomach pain and heart ache hit our house all at once. Thursday was spent recovering from the whirlwind whiplash, and Friday, well, TGIF!!

Let me break it all down for ya with a little 7 Quick Takes...

/1./

{By request, a Barnyard Dance themed cake.} 

On Monday our sweet lil' Charlie graduated to the rank of four year oldness.  I really love writing long, loving posts of each child's birthday, but since the time and energy I have to blog has been seriously derailed over the past year due to family circumstances, I'm going to have to settle for squeezing all that love in right here.

What a fun day we had with our little prince.  He must have asked me a hundred times.  "Is today my special birthday?" To which I would respond with a very enthusiastic,"Yes!" To which he would shout with glee, "Oh, thank you, Mommy, thank you for my birthday!" He slays me with his sweetness every day.  Speaking of sweetness...Red, red frosting blob on the chandelier, how you git up dare??? (Toddler parties are wild 'round here!)

/2./

{Concentrating on the wish.  You're never to old to make one, right?}

On Tuesday, we "celebrated" Ben's 14th birthday.  I say "celebrated" because, really, while I'm good at dishing out heaps of hugs and cake and ice cream with a smile, my heart is really curled up in a sobbing ball of denial. You are NOT 14, you are NOT 14.... If our children could stay little forever, I'd be okay with that (I think?).

/3./

Nothing yanks you out of a post-party high like the wrath of a kidney stone.  Wednesday morning, just as I was about to caffeinate myself for the sake of the rest of the family, I found my poor husband doubled over on the bathroom floor, pale, sweating, and gripping his right side in terrible pain.  Seven years ago he had a kidney stone and everything about the present situation was a repeat of his first experience, so I knew exactly where we were headed....straight to the E.R.

Thankfully, Steve's mom was able to rush over and take care of the kids so that I could get Steve to the emergency room. I prayed over him the entire way, offering up his suffering for every single intention I could think of.

Suffering is never easy to accept, but always a great opportunity for grace to abound.  Later that afternoon as I was caring for him at home, I shared with Steve how, as we were traveling to the hospital, I sensed that he was too weak to pray, that the pain was too intense for him to focus, so I was praying for him. When I expressed to him that I had asked the Lord to grant him the courage to suffer like the saints, and that I called upon a litany of saints to pray for him, he just looked at me with disbelief.  He had been praying for the grace to suffer like the saints, like Christ, too.  And, he had especially felt a strong call to ask for Padre Pio's intercession. We learned, later that evening, that Padre Pio suffered frequent kidney stones as well.

Throw the intercessory prayers of the Church Triumphant and a little Percoset at those stones and it's all good! Hallelujah!

/4./

If watching my husband suffer the agony of kidney a la stone wasn't enough to fill my cup of anxiety, seeing Benedict enroll in high school really topped it off.  Holy cow, I was not expecting a little class schedule paperwork to make me so emotional! I have wished so many times in my life that I wasn't such a blubber pants.  At one point during the enrollment lecture Ben actually asked me if I was crying. Why do boys do that??? They KNOW we're crying.  It's like asking your child after they haven't eaten for 7 hours, "Are you hungry?" DUH. Of course I'm crying! You're practically 30, and I do. not. like. it!

/5./
Because I can be a very unrealistic person sometimes, and my family lets me carry on like that until reality slaps me in the face, I tend to experience mountains of failures in life.  For example, I'm "training" for two half marathons in May (the quotes are necessary, because really, pretending to train would be more accurate). Squeezing in daily training runs to our crazy schedule has been challenging to say the least.  And, I wish I were a 5 a.m. runner, but with Joseph still trying to sanctify his mother with random middle of the night rah-rah's, I haven't a pulse before sunrise.

Over spring break, I took the boys to see McFarland U.S.A. If you haven't seen it already, go.  Take your kids.  You will love it.  They will love it. When I head out the door on Saturdays for my long run, barely alive, the troops cheer me on with, "McFarland, baby!" or "If Danny Diaz can do it, you can do it!"

/6. & 7./
In the past, I've always tried to write a little something in honor of the season of Lent, but this year I haven't written anything. Over the past few weeks, I've discovered a deep, yet quiet strength during the difficult days, especially while caring for Steve, in three things:

1.  The sacrifice of the moment. 

Instead of giving up things for Lent, I've tried to be more aware of what I can offer up moment-to-moment on a daily basis.  Sometimes it's the cream in my coffee, watching television at night, or refraining from speaking my mind, or even willing a little cheerfulness when I'd rather grumble over the menial tasks that I dread tackling from day-to-day.  Whatever it is, there's always some small sacrifice to be made, and those frequent, spontaneous offerings are, for me, stretching my capacity to love.  

2.  This book.  

3. This song:

Have a blessed and beautiful weekend, friends!