Psalm 71:19-21

"Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens.

You have done such wonderful things.

Who can compare with you, O God?

²⁰

You have allowed me to suffer much hardship,

but you will restore me to life again

and lift me up from the depths of the earth.

²¹

You will restore me to even greater honor

and comfort me once again."

This passage was part of my daily reading today, and it really spoke to me. Part of our worship set for this weekend is "Love Came Down" by Brian Johnson, and the Prechorus says, "I remind myself of all that You've done, and the life I have because of Your Son." I was thinking about what a difference it makes going through all of these hardships when I have God to rely on. When my son is lying sick in a hospital bed, God is my comfort. When my head is pounding, and it feels like there is no relief in sight, God is my refuge. When I view my circumstances in light of eternity, God gives me hope. I can't imagine what it would be like to go through all of this alone...without Him constantly there by my side...without being aware of His presence regardless of my feelings at the time. Even when something inside of me freaks out, I still know He is there and has us in His hands. I have seen His mercy, favor and provision multiple times and know I will continue to see them in the future. Sometimes, it's as simple as just looking for them.

Jule has been doing well. Almost every day, he says that his tummy hurts, but he is not crying at all about it. I think it's just something he says now as a reaction. It will be obvious if he has pain from Intussusception. I'm very encouraged that we have not been in the ER in a couple of weeks. That doesn't mean it won't happen ever again, but at least we are not constantly running to the ER. He is such a delightful little boy, and I hate seeing him in pain.

Noly is doing great in school. She's in kindergarten and is reading way beyond her grade level! She definitely shows an artistic side, and even her teachers have noted it on her report cards. She has her first two loose teeth, and they seem to really be hanging onto her gums. They've been loose for 2-3 weeks now.

The Doctors have finally found a good med combination for Kevin's narcolepsy and ADD. It helps a lot when he is driving long hours for me to know that he is not likely to fall asleep. It is very scary to have someone who falls asleep tying their shoes drive for a living! I think he is feeling much more like he is present in life too now that he is awake and alert.

I have had 3 days with no Imitrex (hardcore migraine meds). I have had a couple of slight migraines that a lower-dose, easier-on-the-system med has handled. It is supposed to rain tonight, but I am hoping that I can get through it without intense pain. I'm still up in the air about whether or not the Botox helped or not. BUT we have until June to really see and can decide whether or not to do the second set of injections. This week, I was able to purchase a ticket for an online performance by Edwin McCain on StageIt.com. It was awesome! It's like your own personal concert in your own home. It lasted about an hour and made a slight migraine go away. His music really speaks to me, and I'm really excited that he will be doing it again in April. I pretty much live and breathe music, and I either really like bands/artists or really dislike them :) We will be going to Disney soon and will be able to spend about 6 days there this time. Since Noly was born, we have had to do quick trips because I have had very limited time off of work with all of the kids' and my sickness. So, it is very exciting! We'll only spend 2-3 days at the Parks, but we really need the down time as a family to just be and play together. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!