Monday, January 16, 2012

Upheld

Eli caught a bad cold and cough in the middle of last week. We took him to his pediatrician, who listened to his lungs and said they sounded clear. She went ahead and started him on an antibiotic just in case, though, and had us increase the frequency of the breathing treatments we give him whenever he gets a cough. By Saturday night he had seemed to perk up- running around the house and goofing off, convincing us that he had turned a corner. But Saturday night into Sunday morning he took a turn for the worse. By early Sunday morning we were all three sitting on the couch doing back-to-back breathing treatments to no avail. Eli was breathing hard and fast, unable to catch his breath.


(in the ER)

We went to the ER at Medical City Children's early Sunday morning. I prayed as we drove to the hospital for patience, strength, and grace, because I know how stressful these hospital visits can be, and I had a feeling we might be admitted. I wanted to honor the Lord with how I responded and how I treated those who helped us, and I knew I needed God to empower me to do this, because I was just an exhausted, concerned mom holding her very sick little boy. There was no way I could be a gracious testimony of Jesus in such a situation on my own.

God poured out His blessings on us while we were in the hospital. And it started from the very minute we walked in. We didn't even have to sit down in the waiting room- they took us directly back into a room. It was seriously less than five minutes between the time we walked in the door and the time they started giving him a breathing treatment. The staff was kind and generous, quick and compassionate. One nurse even went to the trouble of printing out coloring pages from the computer for Eli. We were admitted to the hospital about an hour after we arrived.


(in his hospital room)

And minutes after that friends and family started showing up. The flow of people in and out of our hospital room was nearly constant for the next few days. They brought balloons, stuffed animals, games, coloring books, movies, and other gifts for Eli. They brought Starbucks for me. One sweet friend loaded up her MP3 player with worship songs so I could fill my mind with Scripture. Another would call late in the night when she knew I would be up late, alone, just to check in with me and pray. They served us food and brought us groceries and lifted us up in prayer with tears in their eyes. We didn't have to eat hospital food for one single meal- every meal was delivered to us by someone who loved us. I could hardly keep up with the texts and phone calls we constantly received.

Through it all I felt so incredibly lifted up. I felt the work of the Holy Spirit within me, empowering me to be gracious and kind despite major lack of sleep and a stressful situation. And this is due to the constant prayers of our dear friends and family. Truly, this is what friends are for. I have always known that we have fantastic friends, but it is in situations like this that you can clearly see what friends are made of. And ours are gold. I am so humbled and so grateful to the Lord for putting us into a church where we can build friendships like these. I don't know how anyone could get through an ordeal like this without the support of friends. (And I am lumping in my dear, precious family with these friends as well!)

We even had opportunities to serve and minister to the staff that took care of Eli! This comes from God alone. I am so, so thankful.

We came home on Thursday afternoon with armloads of gifts and a phone constantly "dinging" with texts offering praise to God for getting Eli healthy enough to leave the hospital. And we came home just so thankful to the Lord for the overflowing love we experienced from Him, both through His Spirit within us and through the Body of Christ ministering to us. We are truly thankful for this experience.


(finally better and playing on the floor of his hospital room)

And I want to also say how proud I am of Eli. He had to endure some pretty miserable stuff throughout the hospital stay, from an IV in his arm, to an almost 24-hour, mask-on-his-face breathing treatment, to being woken up throughout the night every two hours for medicines, tests, and treatments. And through it all he had the sweetest, most compliant attitude. Every nurse and therapist that came in commented on how impressed they were with his behavior, and I was so proud. He was brave and trusting, and he was a blessing to every person who came into the room.

Once again, I am so humbled and so very thankful for the way the Lord blessed us this past week as Eli was sick in the hospital. I never want to forget it.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Home!

We're home! Eli managed to stay off of oxygen all night last night in the hospital, which was his last criteria to meet before coming home. He is weak and tired, but we are all so, so happy to be at home. We'll have a few low-key days here at home trying to get his strength (and weight!) back up, and then he will hopefully be good as new!

I want to write about the abundant blessings we experienced while we were in the hospital (including opportunities to minister to others!), but that will have to wait a little while. But let me just say that I am so thankful for the five days we were there, because we got to experience so much grace from the Lord, both through His Spirit within us and through our dear friends and family pouring out love onto us. God is so good.

And now I get to go take a shower in my own shower before crawling into my own bed! I am giddy with the thought! :)

Thank you for praying for our boy!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Pray, Please?

Our sweet Eli is in the hospital with a pretty bad case of pneumonia. We've been here since yesterday (Sunday) morning, and it looks like we'll be staying until at least Thursday. Please pray for our boy, and for grace and patience and endurance for Eric and me. We are so very thankful for the excellent care we've received and for the dear friends and family who have been serving us around the clock. Truly, God's blessings abound.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

First Day


Eli started preschool this morning! He'll be going two days a week while I'm at work, and he couldn't have been more excited. We love the school because it's at a local church that teaches the Bible to the kids along with the other basics, and because Timothy goes there too and loves it.

I was nervous about how Eli would do, despite him telling me over and over that he was so excited and wouldn't cry. But this morning my shy boy gave me a hug, found Timothy, and marched right in to his class without looking back. I got a little teary-eyed once I got in the car, but his excitement and bravery just confirmed to me that he is so ready for this! And that makes me much more happy than sad.

Timothy being there makes a huge difference, too. Eli and Timothy have been on cloud nine talking about going to school together. (Timothy has been going for a semester already.) Timothy has taken it upon himself to "take care of Eli," and Eli is so confident with Timothy by his side. This morning Timothy gave Eli a kiss on the forehead and they were off to play. It melted my heart!

I can't believe that my baby is big enough for school! I'm so excited for him and so proud of my big boy.

(Sorry for the poor picture quality- this was just snapped with my phone!)