The Power of Prayer

Whew! This won't be a long post because it is midnight and I really NEED to sleep.  But I wanted to say that over the last week we have really seen the power of prayer. Little Eli ended up with a kidney tumor, most likely malignant.  He had surgery last Thursday to remove his kidney along with the tumor and will start chemo soon.  However during all of this it was amazing to see how many people offered to pray for our little boy.  My sister's teacher friends at her school, my dad's psychology class, my youngest sister's friends and my cousin's friends from college, friends and family in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Uruguay, the Middle East and many more places offered to lift him up in prayer.  It was amazing how fast the news spread of a little 18 month old with cancer.  My dad received a letter from a church in Alabama that he had never heard of saying they were praying.  My sister's para pro was at her son's baseball game and some mothers from the other team heard her talking about Eli and said they would add him to their prayer list.  It was mind-blowing at how fast and how far news spread and how all of these strangers were praying for him. 

Well....it worked! He came through surgery fine and is recovering astonishingly fast!!  Now we need to continue praying that his little body will do well with chemotherapy in the next few months.

I smell Fall!

    
I can smell football, pumpkins, leaves, hikes, and everything else that goes along with Fall, or Autumn if you like.  It is slowly creeping up to the #1 spot on my list of favorite seasons.  Winter has been first for a while now.  Mostly because of Christmas but also because of our anniversary (Dec 30), sweaters, hot cocoa, snow, and other such winter things.  Now that I live in Georgia, Fall is moving up that list though.  It used to be #2 followed closely by Summer with Spring at the very very bottom.  I don't know what it is about Spring, probably allergies and those weird "wear a jacket in the morning, but shorts by noon" kind of days! I don't like fickle people, so I guess I don't like fickle seasons either. 
      My college roommate absolutely loved Spring and I think my husband has some fond feelings for it as well.  But I'm a jeans and sweater kind of gal.  I'm excited about the leaves changing, too!  Growing up in Florida we didn't see that much change in Fall.  It kind of stayed muggy and hot until mid December and BAM! ...Winter! haha  Plus all those pine trees in Northwest Florida look the same year round.  I have already told Sam that we will venture north to ride the Smoky Mountain Railway this year.  Hopefully we can get tickets to ride it when they transform it into the 'Polar Express', Sam's favorite movie!  I also plan on visiting some of those hiking trails from last year (see pic above) and maybe even some of those cute little mountain towns that look so pretty in Fall. 
     If you are one of 'those' people, like my Dad, that mourn the end of summer, please don't be offended by the rest of us roaming through Hobby Lobby excited about the Fall Decorations, or wandering through Target or Garden Ridge stocking up on cinnamon sticks and those cute little pumpkins!  Winter will come soon and the department stores will have those swimsuits up in no time....just be patient! ;)

First Day of School (not really)

    Well, this morning I dropped my precious little boys off at the Mom's Day out program at Eagles Landing First Baptist Church.  Technically this is their "First Day of School" even though it doesn't even count as a full day.  They will only go once a week on Wednesday from 9-12.   But I still had to take pics of them before we left the house (which I'm sure I'll post later!).  This leaves me with three hours of uninterrupted free time every week.  What on earth will I do with that time?  Because the church is roughly 25 minutes from my house, it doesn't make sense to go home and clean ;)  So, that means I can bring my laptop and sit at one of the fine establishments that offers free Wi-Fi.  This morning I chose to have a diet coke at McDonalds and although I am "supposed" to be doing  schoolwork, I've only managed to check my email, facebook and write a post for my blog.  Oh well, I have plenty of other Wednesdays to be productive.  
     This morning I played the same song over and over on the way to "school".  I'm not sure why it stuck with me but I'll share it with you as a thought for the day.  Just remember that God was there before your problem/trial/temptation/mistake and he'll be there to see you through it til the end.  Don't just lean on friends that can only help you in the moment...lean on HIM who can see it all and knows the outcome.

You are the first
You go before
You are the last
Lord, You're the encore
Your name's in lights for all to see
The starry host declare Your glory

Glory in the highest
Glory in the highest
Glory in the highest

Apart from You there is no god
Light of the world
The Bright and Morning Star
Your name will shine for all to see


You are the one
You are my glory
And no one else could ever compare
To You, Lord
All the earth together declares ...

Glory in the highest ... to You, Lord
All the earth will sing Your praise
The moon and stars, the sun and rain
Every nation will proclaim
That You are God and You will reign


Glory, glory hallelujah
Glory, glory to You, Lord
Glory, glory hallelujah
Hallelujah