Today my husband gave me the gift of time, a massage and sleep for our anniversary. Greta and I are tucked away for the night at Springhill Suites in Florence, KY (which according to Pandora is a different country?)

Not sure what that’s all about… But fortunately the white noise app works so we won’t be rudely awoken by the proverbial drunken wedding party, or the like at 3am (which always seems to happen when staying at any hotel!?)

We enjoyed a nice soak in the hot tub in our room while we watched the WEBN fireworks on TV. (I feel like I’ve been in the bath tub all day long! Nora and I had a lengthy soak earlier in the day.)

I'd like to stay in here for many hours, please!

Nora wasn’t able to join us on this Girl’s Trip. Greta and I were sad about that and we both miss her terribly. William has been sending us texts – but that makes is miss her even more! Maybe in a couple of years she’ll be able to come along.

By Greta

I have to share some pictures of Nora from last night that Shauna took. I had to go back and look at these several times today. How can these not make you smile!!??

I selected a seemingly random Bible verse from the Bible app on my phone and it just so happens to be a verse that was mentioned in church this morning! Not so random, I guess!!

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24 NIV)

I’m off to take advantage of my gift of extra sleep!! Thank you soooo much for this, William! We’re having an awesome time!!!!

Goodnight and God bless!

I was browsing through an old blog I used to keep in my younger years. For the most part it is a collection of aggravated sarcasm and venting, which is why it is password protected. Amidst my crazy rantings there are some sweet things, one of them is the story of my engagement to William. September 2nd is the 12 year anniversary of William proposing to me:

On September 2, 2000, William took me on a picnic with our little sparrow, Ava. We packed up a picnic basket and went to a park about 20 minutes away. We found a perfect little secluded spot by a lake and set up our picnic. After lunch, I was laying there on the blanket looking up at the sky with a big smile on my face. He asked me why I was smiling – I told him because I was happy. He asked me why I was so happy – I told him because I was so content at that very moment. I had my sweetheart and my precious bird with me on this beautiful day… no where else would I rather be. He said, “If I make you so happy, why don’t you marry me?” I was SOOOO not expecting a proposal!!!! I was completely oblivious – had NO clue in the world. Without even giving it a second thought, I threw my arms around his neck and said, “Of course, I will marry you.” And this time it felt completely right. I knew he was the right one and I knew I was ready. A few minutes after he put the beautiful ring on my finger it started POURING down rain. We packed everything up and started back to the car. I was so happy that I didn’t even care that I was getting soaked to the bone. We were in no hurry and just took our time. As we got closer to the car the sun came out while it was still teeming down rain. In a little clearing in the woods we saw a rainbow. How perfect is THAT???? We tried to take a self-portrait of the 2 of us with the rainbow in the background, but you can’t see the rainbow. Cute picture though!

This all took place during a time when I thought I was in control of everything in my life and responsible for my own destiny. I didn’t have my antenna up to receive any assurances from God at that time in my life, but there one was – bright and shining in the form of a rainbow. There would be no way for either of us to know then what the future held for us, but God knew. His pleasure burst forth in the form of a rainbow, unbeknownst to either of us. It was a perfect touch to a perfect moment, but we just tallied it up as another one of those coincidences! How sweet it is to know better and to look back at that!!

Fast forward another year later almost to the day, September 1, 2001. Eleven years ago today, I married the love of my life. Today is our eleventh anniversary!

I couldn’t have dreamt up a better husband and father for my children if I had tried, which further proves that God knew exactly what He was doing when He arranged for our paths to cross. William, you make me feel loved and appreciated every single day. Your selflessness, your compassion, your generosity, your honesty and your laughter bring joy to even the hardest of days. I. do. not. know. what. I. would. do. without. you!!!!! I LOVE YOU more than you could possibly imagine, as do your children. What lucky kids they are to have you as their Daddy. I thank God for you every day.

Even though we’re not doing anything exciting and outrageous to celebrate today, simply being with you is enough.

Here are sweet pictures from today:

What do I gotta do to get some rest around here!!??

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV)

Oh, hi! It's me! I'm in da tub.

I made my own bubble bath with my little bumbum.

Then, we uhhhhh... sorta had to evacuate the tub really fast.

I'd rather not talk about dat.

So I had two baths this afternoon and then I was finally a little fresh cakes.

After that I ordered some milkies...

... and then took a series of cat naps.

When I saw Mommy start to doze off out of the corner of my eye I knew it was time to start fussing. No sleep for Mommy today!

Thanks for praying for my boogies to go away! I had a nice evening with Miss Paula while Mommy and Daddy went to a wedding! She helped me drink all my milkies even though it’s hard to drink anything with a buncha boogies clogging up my little nosey!

And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.
(2 Thessalonians 3:13 NIV)

{For some reason this didn’t post last night as I had intended!!}

On top of being miserable from her shots, Nora has a very stuffy nose. Not sure of it’s a result of the vaccinations or if she has a cold. I’m inclined to believe it’s the latter, as the big kids are a little sniffly. She’s not eating much and has been a cantankerous little thing for much of the day. We had a few moments of contentment, however.

I had been reluctant to put her in the bath tub because of her foul mood. There has been the rare occasion when we’d fill the big tub all the way up, get the oxygen tanks all situated, etc. and she wants nothing to do with bathies. This seemed it would be one of those instances, if I had to guess. Apparently I was WRONG!!!

Crazy cute and sweet!!!!

Please pray that Nora’s tiny stuffy little nose will be back to normal soon and that she’s not too terribly uncomfortable! Thank you so much!!

Post bathies cuddling!

If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will change my expression, and smile,’
(Job 9:27 NIV)

Goodnight!

Everything was all fun and nice this morning.

Then it was time for Nora’s appointment with the pediatrician… With SHOTS. The appointment went very well up until the last part when the needles showed up. Nora was just going about life as usual when suddenly she got jabbed in the legs with two very painful needles. They all but took her breath away. I scooped her up immediately afterward, swaddled her and held her tight as the tears streamed down both of our faces. I HATE seeing her in any pain. Of course I would spare her from it, but these shots are for her benefit. They will protect her from getting sick. I kissed her cheeks and stroked her little head over and over again, wishing I could somehow explain this pain to her. She doesn’t understand, as no baby possibly could. Even as she gets older it will still be hard for her to comprehend. How could I, as her Mommy just STAND THERE and let her get hurt like that, she might wonder!

The rest of the day has been rough. Nora wasn’t even in the mood for a warm bathies. I spent a good part of the afternoon holding her tightly in my arms and whispering sweet things in her ears.

In an eerily similar way, I’ve responded to pain and suffering in my life much like Nora to her shots.

“How could God allow this to happen,” I’ve been known to scream out from time to time, “How could He just ‘stand there’ and let (fill in the blank) happen? Doesn’t He care? What did I do to deserve this?”

I demand answers to these questions in my immature fits of rage and sadness. God certainly sympathizes, but doesn’t expect me to get it. There is no way I could possibly grasp an understanding of God’s plan, the Big Picture. Perhaps there was plenty I’ve done to deserve the pain and suffering, but God doesn’t work like that. He is a caring and compassionate God that already suffered and died FOR US. In my most recent moment of despair back in January, God picked me up off of the floor after my excruciating “shot”. He swaddled me in His arms, held me tightly and whispered sweet things in my ears, “I’m so sorry you have to feel this, my sweet child. I know it hurts you terribly. I would do anything to protect you from this, but this pain is for your benefit. It is protecting you from the distractions of this world. I want you to rely on me for comfort. I want you to trust me that something beautiful is in store for you. This pain won’t last forever. Someday you’ll be free of any pain or suffering altogether. You will finally understand why. But in the mean time I’ve given you the gift of time to help you heal and to ease your suffering. Don’t give up on Me!”

Wallpaper border at the pediatrician's office!

Like Nora, I give a little contented sigh of relief. I am comforted and loved as my head rests upon His shoulder. I trust You, Lord God!

The Lord  is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him.
(Nahum 1:7 NIV)

As a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you.
(Isaiah 66:13 NIV)

I really need to be more disciplined about writing my posts at a reasonable hour. I wanted to include so much more to Love Letters From God, but I kept dozing off. Actually, it was Nora that had some things to say:

Oh, hi! It's me, Nora!

Here's me getting lots of love in the morning from my Daddy before he goes to work.

He misses me while he's at work.

Daddy thinks I'm just as cute as a button!

Yeah, I guess I am kind of cute!

I got myself tired out yesterday afternoon.

Mommy much prefers cuddling over laundry and vacuuming!

Then I woke up and tried some blanket.

That wasn't very delicious.

Okay. That's all. Get outta here!!

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
(1 Peter 4:8 NIV)

This is the Lord ‘s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised.
(Isaiah 38:7 NIV)

Although the day was overcast, gloomy and a little drizzly, it started out beautifully.

William left the house a little later than usual which contributed to some silliness as the kids were getting ready for school.

As he was about to head off to work with his backpack on, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to snap a “First Day of School” photo to add to the collection of kids on my Facebook newsfeed. Gavin and Greta got a big kick out of that! {notice Greta in the background}

Nora woke up just as it was time for Gavin and Greta to head up to the bus stop, so she insisted on seeing them off.

The rest of the day was peaceful and productive. Nora had been grouchy much of the previous night for Miss Amy. She had some sleep to catch up on, it seemed, so I got lots of little things done in a whirlwind of organized chaos. It’s always a race to get stuff done while she sleeps. Before I know it, she’s yelling out orders for milkies and she wants it yesterday!

I'm forced to snack on my hand while I wait for service around here!!

Mmmm. Milkies.

Nora has been eating really well these past few days!

A day that began so beautifully concluded much in the same way with a faint little rainbow in the sky.

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
(Psalm 62:5 NIV)

It’s hard to believe that it was only a week ago I was feeling so downhearted and depressed — how different everything is right now. It’s been a great weekend! God is so so so so good! Gavin had a birthday sleep over here at the house with 6 boys he’d been in class with in previous years. We’d never done the slumber party thing before, for obvious reasons. We realize the description of “slumber” party is misleading. Perhaps it would be better branded as a “stay up all night drinking copious amounts of rootbeer and having Nerf gun wars” party… Let’s be honest!

William took the 7 boys to see a movie and in the process learned that he will never, ever, under any circumstances become a school bus driver! But for a couple boys, they were a rowdy bunch and they were just having fun. Very, very loud fun. Their energy levels did eventually wane as the night progressed — or perhaps it was a collective sugar crash. William and I slept soundly without so much as one interruption! Greta was safely and peacefully tucked away at her Meemee’s house. Nora was sooo happy to see her sister when Greta arrived back home!

Today ALL of us paid a visit to invaded the Welage house, Nora included. We hope we didn’t dash your plans for a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon, Bryan & Jen! Thank you! Nora has been in such great spirits these past few days that we decided to get out and do something, with her included. We had such a nice afternoon, complete with swimming, snacks, and scooter crashes. (Note to Self: Next time bring helmet for Gavin) Nora brought her bikini with her, incase she fancied a dip in the pool. She opted to nap in the air conditioning for the afternoon after a delightful milkies cocktail.

Meanwhile, back outside all of us, especially Greta, enjoyed the company of an extraordinarily friendly butterfly.

This butterfly hung out with us on the back patio for a good hour, taking turns landing on all of us. It was the neatest thing!

For the most part we are at home with Nora and it can get a little tedious and exhausting. But honestly, I think it would be the same way with any new baby. We ARE able to have some fun “normal” here and there. It was an awesome weekend!

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8 NIV)

Mommy and I had the evening to ourselves so we went swimming in the bathtub!

Then we went out and sat on the deck!

I like listening to birdies and crickets and doggies

My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord .
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
(Psalm 145:21 NIV)