All Over the Place

If you are friends with me on Facebook, you know that it's been a rough week.  I actually can't believe that it's only been a week since it all started going out of control.  But in the midst of everything that's been going on, God has been faithful.  I am growing and He is showing me mercy.  So here's the time line of the past week:

• Friday morning we went for our anatomy scan.  We found out the baby may have Down Syndrome.  While this was tough to hear, I felt a peace from only God.  
• Friday around 6, I got a call from Ryan's mom.  His 91 year old grandmother was having a major episode and she was on the way over there.  We were praying that she would pass away before she had to go to the hospital again.  This may have been the hardest prayer I've ever prayed.  You never want to pray for someone to leave this earth but Grams has been suffering for a while now.  We were definitely praying for mercy.
• Friday night I called my faithful friend Anne to watch Ainsley while we went to the hospital to be with Grams who had a major stroke.  What a blessing Anne has been in my life.  She loves me and Ainsley and that is a gift.
• Friday night at the hospital Grams was responsive and was able to communicate in little bits and pieces.  I was able to tell her how much she meant to me and say the goodbye that I wasn't able to say when my grandmother passed away.  Another gift.
• Friday night or maybe early Saturday morning, while we were drifting off to sleep, Ryan was able to feel the baby move for the first time!  Yes!!!
• Saturday morning Ryan's mother had to put her faithful dog Sammy down.  He was 16 years old and had been around this family longer than I have.  We have known for a while that this has been coming but the finality of it was rough.
• Saturday night we spent some much needed family time with Ryan's Dad.  He provided a fabulous meal and we just got to relax.  This dinner has been planned for at least 6 months and the timing of it was perfect.  
• Sunday morning we went to church.  Worship was great.  We sang very appropriate songs to how I was feeling.  I was able to leave church with Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus in my head for the rest of the day.
• Sunday early evening we kicked off another year of home group with a meal at our house.  It was a great time to fellowship with our friends and be with like minded believers.  This group, although different in so many ways from the start, has been a solid presence in our life for the past 4 years.  That is truly a amazing gift from above.
• Sunday night I went up to see Ryan's grandmother one more time.  The end was near.  The closure of that visit was final.  She was entering eternity.
• Sunday night shortly after we went to bed, we got the call from Ryan's sister that Grams had passed from this life to the next.  She was singing and dancing with Jesus.  Our hope is firm and our salvation is secure.  That is something to praise God for.
• Monday morning on the way to work, Ainsley asked me where Great Grandma was again.  I told her she was in heaven with Jesus.  In her 3 year old logic, she asked me if she was driving there.  Oh how I love innocent children. 
• Tuesday morning we went in for our repeat ultrasound.  We waited for what felt like an eternity in the lobby, or maybe just an hour, but were finally called back.  After 2 ultrasounds that morning, we were told that our baby is completely within the range of normal for all Down Syndrome markers.  Our odds are back to slim to none that the baby will have DS.  His Mercies are soooo good.  And while we watched our little child on that screen, it was such a great reminder that even in the midst of death, there is life.  Praise God.  Oh and baby has big lips.  Too cute.
• Wednesday after work, I took Ainsley to a Physical therapy screen.  She has seemed a bit behind compared to her peers in regards to gross motor skills and I thought it was worth checking out.  She has been in gymnastics and that has helped but I wanted to see if I could help catch her up if there was a problem.  She is about 6-8 months behind but the therapist says that she can catch up easily with some sessions.  This has been on my calendar a while and it just so happened to fall in the middle of the crazy.  While I would have preferred to put this off, I'm glad that we didn't.  This news wasn't the greatest but it wasn't the worst either.  

So that brings me to now.  We have the funeral on Monday.  The weekend is going to be slam packed with other things that were previously scheduled.  But in the midst of the chaos of what is behind us and what is in front of us, we are continuously being reminded of His faithfulness.When it seems that we cannot bear one more thing, He shows up and gives us glimpses of grace.

This scripture has been in my head this week, especially the first 4 verses.   

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A Time for Everything

  ¹ There is a time for everything,
   and a season for every activity under the heavens:

 ² a time to be born and a time to die,
   a time to plant and a time to uproot,
 ³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
   a time to tear down and a time to build,
 ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
   a time to mourn and a time to dance,
 ⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
   a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
 ⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
   a time to keep and a time to throw away,
 ⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
   a time to be silent and a time to speak,
 ⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
   a time for war and a time for peace.