a cornucopia of blessings

cornucopia, from the Latin cornu copiae, meaning “horn of plenty”

a beautiful reflection of the overflowing bountiful goodness the Lord has graciously poured out in my life

…adopted by a God whose omnipotence is matched by His unconditional, agape gracious goodness…

…called daughter by two people who represent the very best of everything right with this world…

…raised with a sister who will foever be a best friend…

…surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who live and laugh together…

…encouraged by friends who overlook many faults…

…graced with students who make a professional worthwhile…

…loved by the man who outshines every imaginable childhood dream…

…walking, with him, a miraculous journey of the purest, most precious earthly gift of love…

I am blessed.

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues. — Cicero

Happy Thanksgiving 2011 from the Freeman house! We count ourselves thankful to call you friends!

bedtime stories

Apparently, Hudson and I needed to be read a bedtime story tonight.

pure aggravation

Wednesday afternoon was crazy. Jerry and I are still getting into our back-in-school groove, especially now that we have two kids to pick up on two opposite ends of town. This week I picked up the kids and came home. There’s no way I can do that and be home before 4:25…and that’s pushing it. Then Hudson has to eat…20 minutes, at least. Supper starts at 4:45 at church…which is 10 minutes from our house. That math doesn’t work. We don’t have to be there right at 4:45, but it helps to be there by 5 so we can eat and breathe before activities begin. We got there about 5:20 this week and I was flustered. I wrote a check for supper, grabbed the diaper bags and Maddie while Jerry got Hudson settled, shoved my purse under my seat, and we headed inside. We ate in a hurry and the kids and I headed to preschool-land.

Shortly after I got downstairs, one of the wonderful men from our church who helps with security came looking for the driver of a vehicle with a broken window. The car had a booster seat so he figured (correctly) that it might belong to someone in the preschool building. I told him I would ask around and see if I could figure out whose car had been damaged, and pretty quickly discovered it belonged to the husband of a good friend. He headed outside to see what was missing. A few minutes later, we go word that a second car had been broken into on the other side of campus. At that point, I remembered my purse. I called Jerry, unsure of where he was on campus. By that point, he was outside with the police. I told him I’d left my purse in my car and asked him to go retrieve it for me. He headed to the van. This is what he found.

Well, not exactly. This isn’t my car. I never thought to take a picture of it. The police, however, took plenty.

By the time Jerry got there, the purse was gone. I called to cancel my debit card and a credit card while he went to find the police on the other side of campus. After calling my parents to come get the kids and spending some quality time with a very nice police officer, we headed home. Wednesday night, I spent about 3 hours making sure all of our cards and accounts were closed and filing an insurance claim. Actually, I had to file two claims. One for the glass and damage to the car, one for the purse and its contents.

Thursday I made more calls and Jerry had the glass replaced. We discovered there was some damage to the frame of the window because of the way the glass was broken. Insurance covered the glass, but wouldn’t cover the rest of the damage until we met our deductible. We would then have to meet a second deductible to cover the purse and its contents, because that is a homeowner’s claim. In both cases, the deductible is more than the expense, so insurance is no help. I went to the DMV with the police report to get a new licence, which I couldn’t do because I didn’t have $10 (no pocketbook…remember?) Then I headed to the bank to try and get that straight, and realized they probably couldn’t help me because I had no licence! My sweet husband met me at the DMV and helped me get the licence straight. We headed to the bank, but they were closed.

Friday involved a few more phone calls and a two-hour-long trip to the bank, during which we finally got accounts closed and new ones opened. Other than getting a couple of not-so-essential things straight and spending 75 hours changing all of our online bills to the new account numbers, I think the biggest part of the hassle is done. It has been an expensive learning experience, but it will be fine.

A few things you should know…

Don’t leave your purse in the car…or anything valuable…even at church. If you’re like me, you already know that. But seriously, it’s not worth it. (Dad, if you comment on this, I will…well, I don’t know, but it won’t be pretty.)

Don’t carry your Social Security card in your wallet. Thankfully, when Hudson’s card came, I read the paperwork, which says DO NOT CARRY THIS CARD WITH YOU UNLESS NEEDED…or something to that effect. Prior to that, I had my card and Maddie’s in my wallet. The police officer was very relieved I didn’t have that. A few other members of my family had theirs in their wallets, but now they don’t. Don’t carry a sticky note with everybody’s SSN on it, either.

Check your Voter Registration card. Old ones have your SSN. New ones do not. Thankfully, mine didn’t. If yours does, you might want to get a new one…or leave it at home.

Most importantly, I learned this…

When something happens to you that is completely beyond your control, frustration can reign supreme. I have told several people that I hope whoever did this comes to know and love Jesus…from the jailhouse. My attitude has been less-than-stellar this week. But at the end of the day, what happened was an aggravating, and yes…expensive, inconvenience. But it was just an inconvenience. Nobody was hurt. Nothing irreplaceable was taken. Nobody’s health is in danger…well, unless my mom finds the person responsible. I was dumb to leave my purse in the car, but I didn’t deserve what happened. Jerry shouldn’t have had to spend two days straightening out the damage to the car. I shouldn’t have had to spend hours making sure our accounts were protected. We shouldn’t have to spend money for something we didn’t do. It isn’t fair.

But grace isn’t fair, is it? My God shouldn’t have had to send His only Son to the cross for something I did. He shouldn’t have to spend countless hours protecting me from a fallen world. He shouldn’t have to do a whole lot…but I sure am thankful He does.

sweet summertime

I would have blogged more this summer, but I might have missed moments like this…

…or this…

…or this…

…or this.

But now that summer is over, and we’re headed back to routine, I’m going to get better.

I promise. Hopefully. Maybe.

I’ll try.

Same Kind of Different

Vacation 2009 and 2011 had some things in common.

The yellow life jacket returned, but with a new occupant.

The teddy bear walker returned to the beach once more. Well, kind of…the identical replacement to the walker that lost a teddy bear to a certain little lady’s teeth in the fall of ’09 returned to the beach.

Sometimes, things seemed exactly the same.

But sometimes, the differences were clear.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, the one right above is worth two thousand for sure. Look at silly, feisty Maddie. Even at 5 months old, she lit up a room (or the beach) with a sassy smile full of promise and excitement. Looking at her smile reminds me of a world of adventures just waiting to be uncovered. The there’s my sweet, serious, smirky boy. Though it’s clear he doesn’t want to be bothered by my photo session, that sweet smile is never far beyond the surface. His smiles begin in his eyes, bright with anticipation and trusting affection. The horizen is bright for both of my precious treasures…in a same kind of different way.

tales from the land of uhoh viii

 

Once upon a time, deep in the heart of UhOh, a messenger arrived with a special announcement for the royal family. The king and queen went about in a flurry of activity, quietly beginning to prepare the castle for significant changes that lay ahead. After a few months, a royal proclamation went out to all the people of UhOh announcing that there would be a new member of the royal family. A prince was coming to the land!

As the castle began to be prepared for the coming prince, the king and queen tried to make special plans for Princess UhOh. Everyone wanted her to learn to love the prince and to know that his presence only increased their love for her.

After months of planning, the king and queen slipped away early one morning under the cover of darkness so that they could bring home the prince. Princess UhOh journeyed to a nearby land to spend some time with the Princess Aunt ‘Tistie in the castle of The Earl of Grossland and the Queen Mother. After a day of special fun, the princess was brought to the Land of Healers to see the king and queen. It was a little scaryto see the queen all hooked up to magic elixirs, so the princess was pretty nervous. She quickly wanted to leave and return to Grossland, so the visit was short. But soon, the Royal Crier would sound the alarm that the prince had come to the Land of Healers! The princess returned to see her prince, and there was love at first sight.

Meeting the Prince

 Several months have passed in UhOh, and everyone has settled into a bit of a routine. One thing is for sure…the prince and the princess are growing into the best of friends, and the land of UhOh is in good hands.

Back in the Land of UhOh

 

The Babies in UhOh are having lots of new experiences (:

 

 

 

deliver us

It was into this lostness that Jesus came.

It was for this longing that Jesus died.

It is to fulfill this hope that Jesus rose.

Praise be to Him.

 

There are a lot of songs that tell the glorious story of Easter. Here is one that reminds us of the longing the glorious story of Easter fulfilled.

 

Our enemy, our captor is no pharaoh on the Nile
Our toil is neither mud nor brick nor sand
Our ankles bear no calluses from chains, yet Lord, we’re bound
Imprisoned here, we dwell in our own land

 

Deliver us, deliver us
Oh Yahweh, hear our cry
And gather us beneath Your wings tonight

 

Our sins they are more numerous than all the lambs we slay
These shackles they were made with our own hands
Our toil is our atonement and our freedom Yours to give
So Yahweh, break your silence if You can

 

Deliver us, deliver us
Oh Yahweh, hear our cry
And gather us beneath Your wings tonight

‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem
How often I have longed
To gather you beneath My gentle wings’

 

first trip to church

One of the occupational hazards of being the child of a minister is the amount of time one spends in the church-house. Don’t get me wrong, the church is a wonderful place to be…I deeply desire for my children to grow up comfortable in a place where God’s name is lifted high and His people love them. But I also know that there will likely be days when they feel like they spend more time at church than at home. Not too many toddlers learn to love M&Ms by working the room at a senior adult dinner, but that is certainly where Maddie gained her M&M appreciation.

This week included Hudson’s first visit to the church, and it wasn’t to the church nursery for a Sunday morning service. At 3 ½ weeks old, this first visit to church was also Hudson’s first funeral. When I realized that while sitting on a pew waiting on the service to start (and praying my smallest sleeping friend stayed quiet), I was initially a little sad. As the service progressed, however, I realized that there is no other first church experience I would desire for my little man. As we say in the sanctuary celebrating the life of a precious lady who loved Jesus with every fiber of her being, I was reminded just how precious in the sight of our Lord…and His people…is the death of His saints. What better way was there for my Hudson to be introduced to the church than to hear the celebration of life after death? What would I rather him first hear than the sound of God’s people singing the promises of our heavenly home? Though I realize Hudson won’t be able to articulate the experience of that morning, the first things he heard in church were words like “Perfect submission, all is at rest. I in my Savior am happy and blest,” and “Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not. As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.” The choir sang a beautiful anthem of a song that has been a blessing in some of the toughest days of my life, “Trust His Heart.” What a testimony of the faithfulness of God in all the days of life and of life to come!

Later that day, I began trying to remember Maddie’s first trip to church. Her first trip wasn’t a Sunday morning service, either. When Maddie was 3 ½ weeks old, her first trip to church was for a dress rehearsal of the Passion Play, where she would play baby Jesus. Her first trip to church was to celebrate the very moment in history that made it possible to find joy in this week’s funeral.

Because we can celebrate the resurrection of Christ, we can celebrate the homegoing of His saints. Hallelujah!

Oh sweet children of mine, some days you will be weary of all the time you’ll spend at church. Some days you will feel frustrated with and probably even condemned by the church. Some days you will see that your Daddy can be torn between his deep desire to spend time with you and the needs of the congregation he’s been called to serve…and some days you might resent that. It’s part of the reality of the life into which you’ve been born. But you will also know the names of all the precious ladies that work in childcare and the sweet men and women who teach you each Sunday morning. You will know love from the people of God in ways that will touch your heart so deeply. You will have aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents too many to number as the family of God will be your family in real and special ways.

But most of all, I pray you’ll know the joy of your first trips to church…that a seemingly simple birth over 2000 years ago changed history…that the death and resurrection of Jesus made a way for you and I to know love and forgiveness eternally…that we can celebrate the deaths of those who know Jesus because we are promised their deaths are simply the beginning of eternity, in Heaven, praising Jesus. ‘Til then, your mama will keep singing this song over you, praying you come to see the fullness of the promise and providence of God…and that you’ll learn to always “Trust His Heart.”

“All things work for our good
Though sometimes we don’t see how they could
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blind us to the truth
Our Father knows what best for us
His ways are not our own
So when your pathway grows dim
And you just don’t see Him
Remember you’re never alone

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don’t understand
When you don’t see His plan
When you can’t trace His hand
Trust His heart

He sees the master plan
And He holds our future in His hand
So don’t live as those who have no hope
All our hope is found in Him
We see the present clearly
But He sees the first and the last
And like a tapestry
He’s weaving you and me
To someday, be just like Him

God is too wise to be mistaken
And God is too good to be unkind
So when you don’t understand
When you don’t see His plan
When you can’t trace His hand
Trust His heart

He alone is faithful and true
He alone knows what is best for you

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don’t understand
When you don’t see His plan
When you can’t trace His hand
Trust His heart

What’s In a (Nick)name?

What’s in a (nick)name, you ask?  A lot…especially to my dad.

Maddie is now 2 years old and I’m not sure my dad has ever called her Maddie. She has been “Peanut” since before she was born. She will be “Peanut” to him on her wedding day.

Throughout both pregnancies, I kept my family up-to-date on the baby’s growth by sending them developmental emails that included produce comparisons. The emails would talk about the baby being the size of a lima bean, a lemon, an orange…all the way to a watermelon. The first email I forwarded my family when pregnant with Maddie talked about her being the size of a peanut–thus, “Peanut” she is. With Hudson, the first email I forwarded with development information talked about him being the size of a peach. He quickly earned the nickname “Peaches” from his Grumpa. It’s important to note here that we did not know if Hudson was a boy or a girl at this point, but his heartrate was higher than Maddie’s, so according to the “Old Wive’s Tale,” we all thought he was a she. (This is not the only “Old Wive’s Tale” we proved wrong with this pregnancy…remind me to tell you about heartburn some other time.)

Once we knew that Hudson was Hudson…”Peaches” needed a new nickname. Grumpa’s had a tough time with this one, though. We’ve all been waiting to see what that name would be.

The verdict is in at last.

Remember that the first thing the doctor talked about was that Hudson was a fighter (more on that here.) I’m pretty sure he said this because my poor boy looked like he’d been in a fight. Not only was his head bruised and the indention of my bone across his lip, but his eye was about swollen shut.

In fact, most of his first pictures include only one open eye.

So, let me introduce you to “Rocky,” boxing extraordinaire. If you need him, he’ll be in the ring training with Grumpa.

Journey to the Land of UhOh: Part III

If you’re still reading, you’ve hung in there quite awhile. However, the story wouldn’t be complete without a few things for which I am ‘specially thankful:

*Many of you were praying. We felt your prayers and were encouraged by them. I’m thankful for you, my dear friends, who loved us enough to stand in the gap.

*The nurse who took care of me the first night (between induction attempts) was the same nurse who had started the IV. Knowing how traumatic that had been, she hooked me up to IV fluids when her shift began, even though my IV had been capped for the night. After being capped for only 2 hours, the IV was already almost clotted past the point of functioning. If she had not flushed it and run the fluids, I was have had to have a new IV the following morning. Thought not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, it would have been a nasty way to start the day emotionally. As much as I hated it and as many times as Jerry hauled that IV pole to the bathroom for me that night, I’m thankful for that bag of fluids.

*When I was in labor with Maddie, I tried to tell the medical folks that my epidural was not working by the time I was pushing…for 2 ½ hours. Everyone kept telling me that I was feeling pressure, not pain. I tried to tell them I knew the difference, but I wasn’t really sure because I was so exhausted and, after all, had never given birth before. After she was born, the doctor stitched me up under the “anesthesia” of the epidural, which was not working at all by that point. Now that I have had a working epidural, I can say with assurance that the one I had with Maddie did NOT work. So, I’m super-thankful for a working epidural that helped conserve the modicum of strength and sanity left.

*In recovery, our labor and delivery nurse told me that the doctor told her after surgery that I could have pushed for 4 hours and the result would have been the same…but Hudson would have endured that much more trauma. I’m thankful the doctor decided it was time to change plans in time to keep Hudson from further trauma.

*Hudson’s mouth was so swollen from the trauma of delivery that the nurses in the operating room were concerned his palate was open. That did not turn out to be the case, but his gum line was extremely tender and swollen. The medical staff was concerned he would not eat well initially because of the swelling. When Aunt Nana, my aunt Alfreida who is a newborn nursery nurse and had come into work that night to take care of Hudson after he was born, brought him to me in recovery, he began to nurse immediately…and has been eating well ever since then. I’m thankful Hudson was able to eat, even when I’m sure it was painful for him, so that he could grow and stay healthy.

*A sweet friend was on duty on the postpartum floor the night Hudson was born. Her friendly smile was so soothing after so much chaos. She’s two-for-two on Freeman babies, too, as she took care of us the night Maddie was born, too. All of the nurses and doctors throughout those long days were wonderful. They calmed nerves and encouraged weary hearts in so many ways. I’m thankful God placed them in our paths.

*My sister arranged and rearranged her schedule to entertain Maddie. The advent of the Big Sister of UhOh will be a whole other post, but without Aunt Christie, I know the transition would have been a lot harder for Maddie. I’m thankful she was there and willing to set aside her plans for a few days (and a few more than planned) to take care of a niece who idolizes her.

*My mom and dad were there every step of the journey. The affirmed the doctors’ decisions and encouraged Jerry and I throughout the journey. They took pictures and video, spent time with Maddie, made cupcakes for a hospital birthday party, stayed with me so Jerry could have some special daddy-daughter time, and so many other things I can’t remember to list here. Jerry’s family, though not in town, was in touch via cyberspace and sent their encouragement as well. We felt their love and presence right there throughout the process. I’m thankful for family who walk the journey of life with us.

*My sweet husband was my rock for those long hours. Though his body wasn’t in labor, his heart sure was. He held my hand, wiped my tears, rubbed my back and encouraged me every step of the journey. Without his presence, I would have been beaten emotionally by the end of day one. I’m so thankful he is there beside me on the wild ride of life in Uhoh.

*God is great, and greatly to be praised. There are a lot of ways this story could have ended that would have meant a much longer road to recovery for both Hudson and for me. God guided the physicians’ hands and heads as decisions were made and procedures completed. He had a plan for a sweet baby boy who had been knitted together in his mother’s womb. I’m exceedingly thankful He is in control, even when His ways are not my own.