If God is For Us, Who Can Be Against Us?

Wednesday, February 9, 2011 brought news of yet another Winter Weather Advisory fast approaching the Metro Area. I am willing to bet that 99.9% of parents and over 80% of students within the boundaries of this Advisory were hoping that school would be OPEN today, if for no other reason than that we have all memorized every level of every Wii game known to man and that we have holes in our outerwear from the last week of sledding. We are Georgians. We like our SEASONS. We like that our SEASONS are mild. I like the mildness and general predictability because it helps me handle the OTHER seasons of my life with a little more composure. Contrary to the fact that we are home of the CNN Headquarters and a base for FOX News, we would rather make headlines because the Republicans gained back the Gold Dome or because our homeschool kids win spelling bees. We cherish the fact that we are NOT factors in nationwide weather statistics.

I guess God is showing us how powerful He really can be. He is reminding us that His will is the ONLY will that matters. With the turn of the new year, I leave sickness and death behind, and God brings Snowmaggedon 2011 to my back door--literally. 10 days of snow and ice, 4 days of no MAIL service, and a week or more of no extra-curricular activities (yeah, I have to admit that I kind of liked that part), yielded cranky husbands, whiny daughters, and lots of school work to be made up. Then, the sun shone, the temps climbed, and we eventually stopped talking about it, until Wednesday night, February 9, 2011. It was a month to the day of the onset of Snowmageddon 2011.
The snow that we woke to was beautiful, but the roads were not.
However, after checking all websites and seeing that there were only 11 school closures, I didn't even think twice about the roads. I was about half way to school with the girls, driving along my usual route, which carried the usual traffic load, when all of a sudden I drove onto a patch of "black ice", and my world started spinning...literally. We skidded and slid in multiple figure 8 formations across Hog Mountain Road until we came to a safe landing in a ditch off the OPPOSITE shoulder. I could have killed 20 + people, including my own daughters, but amazingly no one was injured and Bessie the Minivan survived without a scratch.God provided an off duty paramedic (whom I almost hit) and an off duty detective (3 cars back watching the my amazing stunts) right away. We were treated like queens, and Marc came to drive the van out of our landing spot...2 feet from a big hearty Georgia Pine! God is GOOD ALL the time!

Attempting To Launch

A couple of weeks ago, I finally "opened" my etsy store to sell children's clothing that I create. Of course, there is an over-abundance of information to muddle through, and I am still in the process of finding my niche, network, group, and circle. I am also still tweaking my adsense with coupon codes, buttons, and badges.
Am I the same person who told her mother that the main idea of the internet is to simplify life? I am thankful a million times over that my livelyhood does not depend on the profit of my little cyber shop, because though I have launched, I am still not at cruising altitude! So, I am asking for a little "social networking" from anyone who reads this blog...young and old! Please, share my blog with everyone you know...in the real world as well as in cyberspace. Tell them that they can find my shop at www.etsy.com/shop/baby2bigkid; on etsysaver; on Facebook: Jumpin In Puddles; and here on my blog www.mamaof2tweens.blogspot.com. The orange badge above is a link straight to my etsy store. Please feel free to "grab" it if you know how. I am still trying to figure all of the badges and buttons out.
Thankfully, trial by fire is Biblical.

This week brought many new adventures, for sure! Aside from burning the pavement going to and from many of the girls' extra curricular activities, I also launched my new virtual store on Etsy.com! I love to make the classic A-line dresses, which are very versatile and can be worn all year long. I also make pants and shorts to match, as well as pillowcase dresses, custom "heirloom" outfits, and little boys' shortalls and longalls. It has taken me some time to get the online store organized, and I finally created a banner and listed my first items!

Today's sermon was quite fitting. The last in the "What do you have to Lose" series, it talked about leaving your hurts, habits, and hangups at the alter and clinging to Philippians 4:13--"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Yes, once again, Larry was talking right to me! I need to leave my grief for God to bear. I need to leave my fear of failure in the children's clothing world at the cross. I need to follow the doors that God opens-and closes-as I seek full time employment "in the classroom" so that my girls can continue their studies in a Christian classroom. I have no problem leaving grief at the altar. Who wants that anyway, right? However, I feel like I leave my fears only to pick them up again. Ironically, fear is often like a security blanket for me. If I am not in fear or worrying about a particular situation, I feel like I am ignoring it. Today, I realized that giving it away and ignoring it are two different things. I give it to God, and he will give me avenues to take that will eliminate that fear. So really, what DO I have to lose?

Tomorrow won't come soon enough. It will be the 100th day of school!!! YIPPEE!!! We have 100 minutes of exploration planned for the afternoon. The students will rotate to 4 25 minute sessions. My session is EXERCISE! In this area, I know exactly what I have to lose. I will refrain from sharing just exactly how much....

Check out my etsy site...www.etsy.com/shop/baby2bigkid Tell all of your friends! I'm not scared!

The Day the Snow Came Down in Georgia

Up Close and Spiritual

Happy New Year! January, 2011 has come, and it is almost over! If you live anywhere in the U.S., you have probably been pretty cold this month! I guess the Global Warming advocates are pretty confused right now. As soon as my girls were settled back in school, a very strong and fast snowstorm covered the Metro Atlanta Area with 6 to 20 inches of snow and a few inches of ice. The Atlanta Mayor declared a state of emergency before the snow began to fall, and our new governor was inaugurated in the midst of the storm, after which he also declared that our great state needed help! As a result of the storm, our school was closed for an entire week! There were many complaints about cabin fever and boredom, but I was grateful for the time that we were given to spend with our sweet girls. An acquaintance mentioned that they actually studied at their house, citing Latin vocabulary and a novel study. I just shamefully giggled and said, "The only thing we learned how to do was kick booty on Wheel of Fortune for the the Wii!"

However, I did get some really cute outfits started for some friends, and I will post photos eventually. I am trying to get my Etsy site up and running, but my real life keeps getting in the way! I am now serving another interim in the 3rd grade at Hebron Christian Academy, and I am in Heaven on Earth. It is quite possibly the most amazing place to teach and learn. God has been so good to me!

God is so good. This is my theme for 2011. It is no secret that my life was turned upside down several times in 2010, and there were times when there was no place for me to look but UP. When I looked into my sweet Daddy's eyes each day between July 7 and September 3, I never knew if I was going to get another chance. On September 3, he hugged me and Marc with strength that he hadn't had all Summer. He then engaged Marc's attention and pointed to me and back to Marc. He then put his hand over his heart, winked at me, and smiled. We told him that we would see him soon, and we left his bedside to attend our dear friends' wedding at the beach. Less than 48 hours later, my Daddy was sitting at the right hand of our Father, and we were scurrying around trying to figure out how to enter into yet another "new normal". Though we are all so thrilled that my daddy is now living eternally in a perfectly healed state, it has been tough to get used to. I still half-way expected him to knock on my door with my mama on December 23. The van's air conditioner broke in my van, and I instinctively dialed his number. While I have the peace that passes all understanding that everyone prayed over us for, I am still having to learn to live without my daddy--my true first love. I have declared to the Lord that I am in a state of emergency. I have dedicated this year to my spiritual revival. I read scripture, and my favorite way to worship is through praise music. However, I want to truly live "in the word", trusting God in every area of my life. I want to live simply, not worrying about the fluff in life. I want to spend my time with my family and friends. I want to enjoy every minute for what it really is: precious time here on Earth with the people that Jesus has let me borrow from Him. I want Him to use me to impact those people for Him.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Sidewalk Prophets - The Words I Would Say

OUR NEW NORMAL

When I signed into my blog this morning, there was a notification in big black letters saying that my last entry was created on May 6, 2010. There is a reason for the 3 month gap in my blogging. Twelve days after my last blog was created, my father suffered a massive stroke. My mama left for work at 6:00am on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. My daddy fell out of bed at approximately 6:30am that very same day. After hitting his head on the bedside table and struggling to reach the telephone and the clock radio, he lied on the floor for 12 hours, until mother came home from work and found him semi-conscious. She called me and my brother, Jonathan, and we were flying the friendly skies on Delta Airlines within 2 hours of her call. We met her at the Mobile airport at 11:00pm. It was surreal. It was scary. We were hopeful, but not delusional. The situation was NOT GOOD. His stroke "killed" 60%-70% of the left side of his Cerebellum, leaving him paralyzed on his right side and unable to swallow.

This began our "New Normal". Daddy stayed in the Neuro ICU for several days, until he was ready to go to Rehab to try to reclaim the use of the right side of his body, including his right vision and hearing. They also planned to work on his swallow mechanisms. He began Rehab Treatment on May 28th, 2010.

After 4 weeks of vigorous exercises and lots of love and attention, daddy was "ready" to go home. We left the Rehab Hospital, and mother drove daddy and me home on June 25, 2010. He went to a new bedroom that had a hospital bed, and we worked 'round the clock setting up protocols and instructions for the home healthcare workers and his friends who had graciously volunteered to help him when mother could not be there. Then, on June 27, 2010, daddy's heart began to fail. He was transported back to the hospital where he stayed until July 2, 2010. On that afternoon, we brought him home once again. We all repeated the scurrying to get everything in order for him, and I was buying his prescriptions at 9:00 that night. He was tired, and we were terrified. The very next night, July 3, we knew that something was happening again...he was moaning and struggling to breathe. His home healthcare nurse advised us to call the ambulance that Sunday, July 4. After a couple of days in the hospital this time, it was evident that there isn't much more that can be done for daddy. We signed DNR orders, turned off his internal defibrillator, and called Hospice. He went home by ambulance on July 7, 2010. He wants to be in his home with his family. He doesn't want any life sustaining medications, and he is ready to join his parents and his Saviour in Heaven.

Now, I am here writing my first blog since May 6, 2010. At that time, my girls were beginning their last month as 5th and 6th grade students. Today, they are preparing to begin their 6th and 7th grade years. Time does fly, and no, it is not always because one is having fun. However, our summer has been eye-opening for everyone in my family and many who are involved with our situation. It has taught me patience. It has taught me that there is no such thing as too many "I love you's", and that I should cherish every opportunity that I have to be with my family.

I have set up a caring bridge page for my father, and I invite readers to visit it. A more in depth story is there. www.caringbridge.org/visit/petekyser
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Below is the entry that I posted on CB yesterday:

The beginning of August always brings changes to our household. Family vacations are over, and we hit the ground running to collect uniforms, shoes, and school supplies. We make the obligatory trip to the p​e​d​i​a​t​r​i​c​i​a​n​, the eye doctor, the o​r​t​h​o​d​o​n​t​i​s​t​, and the hair dresser. We clean, we organize, and we retrain our bodies to go to bed at a decent hour. These things happen every August in millions of households containing school-aged children all over our country. It also happens in the homes and lives of millions of teachers, school a​d​m​i​n​i​s​t​r​a​t​o​r​s​, pastors, and professors. For the past 31 Augusts, my mother's life has consisted of these events. On August 1, 2009, she was enamored by the children on her list. She lost sleep thinking about all of the wonderful things that they were going to learn together, and she and daddy went out to eat for their last "summer date" of the year. It was 11 days before their 42nd wedding anniversary, and if anyone asked her, she would have said that she loved her life...her husband, her family, her friends, her job...and that she was born to teach first and second graders. We have asked her to retire for several years, and she will not hear of it. She is a wife, a mother, a friend, an EDUCATOR.

On August 1, 2010, she seemed tired. When she talked about the impending week, she struggled between her longing to be there and her deep need to be with daddy. She knows that she has 110% support of her a​d​m​i​n​i​s​t​r​a​t​i​o​n and faculty, and she knows that the parents of her students will understand when she is not at school or has to take an abbreviated day. She also knows that daddy won't be able to come meet her for lunch, or bring her cell phone to her, or take her out for a Mexican dinner on Friday nights. She is torn. She is broken. She is tired. Her 43rd wedding anniversary is in 11 days.

The irony in all of this is that regardless of her situation, she will be one of the best teachers her 1st and 2nd graders will ever have. She will hug them, and love them, and pray for them. She WILL TEACH THEM everything they are meant to learn from her, and more. She will do this from the strength that she finds from the Lord and the love and support that she shares with daddy. She may be broken, but her faith will help her put herself back together, and her students will NEVER see the brokenness. They will ONLY see the love and the light that she shines when she walks into their room.

I have run ragged since we arrived home from our family vacation. I have lain awake at night wondering how I am going to get everything done for the girls before Thursday's orientation. I have questioned decisions that we have made as parents. I have braced myself for Libba's Middle School Softball Try-Outs. I have gone to bed every night beside a perfectly healthy husband. I haven't had to meet with hospice nurses, hire sitters, spend nights in a separate bedroom with my Aunt sleeping in the guest room. I also haven't been able to call my daddy and talk to him about the latest Broadway show that is coming to Atlanta or ask him a question about the "check engine" light that came on in the van. I cry when the sky is clear because it is a beautiful day for flying. I hang the phone up too quickly if I call his house and his voice picks up on the answering service. I want to fly home, but I don't. I am torn. I am broken. I am tired. I just hope that I have half the faith that my mama does. "My help comes from the Lord, the maker of Heaven and Earth."