Tender Mercies

Call this post a journal entry more than a public blog, if you will.

As in a previous post, I mentioned how Heavenly Father must laugh before he answers my prayers. I have the strangest requests sometimes. But today, I just wanted to list a few blessings that fell right into my lap. I am overwhelmed with gratitude, my cup runneth over.

1. Hunter has had a cough for a month. He's been misdiagnosed twice. Then finally, we hooked up with the right doctor that ordered and X-ray, that proved our little 4 year-old had pneumonia! Yikes. We've been home for almost the entire week. I will take a picture of the sacks of medications we took home. I was just falling apart inside when she told me we caught things just in time. He was having labored breathing that had tuned into a fever at that point. Dr. Sally Harris, you saved my son. I owe you everything.
(Above: meds for Phenumonia). The little round dark thing next to the needle is a sanding disc. You have to use it to cut a line around one of the vials (glass one, center top of the pic), then break the glass vial in half. Scary, huh? Then you use the surenge to extract the saline from the vial, and also to extract from the little brown vial off to the right--which also goes in the nebulizer. The third nebulizer treatment is the plastic twist top vials in the center of the picture.

Hunter earned the coolest transformer for just being Hunter, and being such a trooper (X-rays and 4 Nebulizers per day).
BTW, I think Transformers(tm) are running out of names. This one was named "Thunder Cracker". 'Nuff said.

2. Tim is out of town (don't they always have to go during times like this?)... and did really well. He makes us so proud. And every day we are grateful that he is employed for just one more day in this auto industry right now! :)

3. I've been up past midnight hanging out upstairs while Tim's been out of town. I was in one of the rooms upstairs and the thought crossed my mind "oh how I would love to have those ottomans with these two chairs (the landlord gave us)". They'd accidentally delivered them before we moved in, then told us they were actually for another family. Total teaser. I begged for a week for them to just let them stay. Here, three weeks later, and I laughed at myself for having that thought about ottomans cross my mind.

Then, amidst the crazy point in my life of worrying so much about my little guy, there was a knock at the door. I specifically remember rolling my eyes. I hadn't showered for two days, and of course someone wants to drop by. Don't they know what we're going through?! I open the door to see two delivery men.

With two ottomans.

I gushed with tears (I know, emotional over ottomans, what's wrong with me?). And I swear those two men had wings poking out from their shoulder blades. Then I had a distinct feeling wash over me that went something like this... the heavens watch out for Mothers who worry for their children. And I felt that God knew that hurt, more than anyone ever would. And He must've just wanted me to know that he not only hears my every thought, and knows my every need, but even noticed an absent-minded thought about ottomans the prior night.

4. On Wednesday afternoon, less than 24 hours since seeing Doctor Harris and having Hunter on the right medications, I heard something I'd missed this last month. I missed hearing Hunter's dancing feet. You know what I'm talking about. The feet that are excited about the littlest things. Four year-old feet. The feet that jumped up and down when we got water delivered to our door Thursday night. I hadn't heard those happy feet in almost a month. His sickness was so gradual that I hadn't noticed that little attribute leave until it came back. With Full force.

So, here's to Hunter's dancing feet: The floors of our home have missed you, and anxiously welcome you back!!

5. The other afternoon, I put the boys down for their nap (Hunter, of course has been home 4 of the 5 school days this week). I put them there in my King bed with me, each on either side of me. I was very tired, I had been up past midnight almost every night this week. But I couldn't sleep. I heard another sound I'd missed. Hunter was breathing normal. I laid there between the boys for two hours and just listened with the lights off and wondered how I could have taken advantage of healthy breathing for so long. What a blessing. Once again, my cup runneth over.

6. Something I HATE to do is ask for help. And some help is so huge there's just no way to pay back. And the help that I count as huge is when someone does something for my kids. I feel this way for Dr. Sally Harris. I feel this way for Mrs. Shen, and Mrs. Zhu, the teachers at YaoHua school. I feel this way for Tami Dyer, because few people love Tanner at the depth that she does. But this week, I owe TC my good friend, who's name is endearingly graffiti-ed all over my blog already, for being there before I even knew what to ask for. She sat with my boys last night for 4 hours. In a land of Nannies and Maids, nothing means more to a mother than having a friend there to love your boys when you need to get out for a bit. Once, again, a tender mercy. Thank you forever, TC, three times this week you pulled through for me when I was too embarrassed to ask for any other help. I didn't want to embarrass her by using her name, but for people who know her, I could've used the name Fred, and they'd know it was her. I think she has wings poking from her shoulder blades too.

7. We are fast approaching Winter here in China, the weather's been getting colder. Mostly rainy. But on Friday, after being in the house all week (dr. recommended due to the weather being too cold) it was so SUNNY! I was so touched, and felt this was a hand picked blessing for Hunter, once again. How special to think that Heavenly Father takes thought for a four year old (maybe there was someone praying out there for a day like today)! We were able to go to the park, and it happened to be some holiday, and Hunter met a couple kids his age that were out of school too.