to the moon and back: 2014

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Terribly Thankful

I want to start this post by giving all glory and honor and praise to God. He is merciful, and miraculous and I truly love Him!

On October 31st I went to the doctor with a simple list a symptoms and physical issues to ask about, and I left confused and terrified. After blood work that day I got a concerning result that needed attention. I would love to say that my first reaction was just to seek God's comfort and step out in faith and understand that He is in control. Instead, I cried a lot and imagined the worst possible scenarios. I would burst out in tears at the sight of my children. I was a mess. About a day later God stepped in and I felt Him impress on my heart that if Rhett's testimony hadn't increased my faith, how could I expect Him to use it to increase the faith of others. Of those who didn't even see what God did in my son's heart, and the miraculous healing that could only be done by God. I instantly felt convicted and put my total faith and trust in Him. From that day on peace and comfort have surrounded me.

The past few weeks have been a battery of tests...Luekemia, Hodgkins Lymphoma, Ovarian cancer, Cervical cancer and double breast lump biopsies. 4 CT scans, X-rays, ultrasounds, needles, blood work, disgusting drinks. You name it, I got it. My blood was tested for all sorts of things like aids, hepatitis, Chronic Epstein Barr, tumor markers and who knows what else.

From these tests, my surgeon (who is monitoring my lymph nodes) has no answers. All that had been found were some cysts, my liver and spleen are enlarged, reactive lymphocytes in my blood and that elevated result in my blood work (that cause them to continue looking for something). Last week at my visit she farmed me out for more tests and shrugged her shoulders and said, "Do you want to retake the blood work and see what happens?" I agreed. The next morning I got the computer generated test results back showing that my elevated level of 86 had gone down to a completely normal level of 18!! I couldn't believe it, but I totally could. I was laughing and crying and calling my family as fast as I could. The surgeon called me herself later on to let me know this exciting news! All I could do was praise and thank God.

I had an appointment with a doctor this morning to check out one of the cysts that was found, and his guess is that I likely have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome following a pretty extreme case of Epstein Barr I experienced last fall. I could not be happier with that assumption. In fact, I'm thrilled with it. I am also happy to report that I gained 4 lbs in one week, which had been a struggle for months, and happened to be the same week my elevated blood work came back normal.

God is so good. Even if this was nothing from the beginning, the peace he provided is miraculous. I feel in my heart that He touched my body. I feel like he heard the prayers of the prayer warriors who were on their knees petitioning God for my health. I am overwhelmed just by the thought of how much He loves me.

I wanted to share this with you to tell you that God loves you and He answers prayers. James 4:8 says "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." You guys, the devil is looking for any and every opportunity to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus is sitting next to God petitioning for us. He paid the price, "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are Healed (Isaiah 53:5)! We have access to the throne to ask for healing. Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Amen and Hallelujah! If you don't know Jesus, but you want all of this, I want to share it with you!

Love you!

Sarah

Saturday, October 25, 2014

House Tour

We said goodbye to our home yesterday. It wasn't as sad as I thought it would be, but I did get emotional saying farewell to our neighbors. We had some of the very best neighbors ever at this house. Salt of the earth. Hard to say goodbye, but excited about where we are going.

Here's a tour of our home. Memories to last a lifetime..

Some sweet pictures of the kids playing in their rooms

Bye-Bye Utica Street. Thanks for all of the memories!

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Hattie's Birthday {letters from momma}

Dear Hattie,

We love you so much. It's been two fast years since you joined our family, but somehow it feels like we wouldn't exist with out you. You are a daddy's girl on all accounts, but you still love your momma to rock you and "read animals" at bedtime. Your brothers adore you and have quickly become your best friends, playmates and protectors. I'm not sure who they would even be without you here. You are the most loving, inquisitive, determined, strong-willed, funny, entertaining, confident and serious toddler I've ever known. I'm so excited that God chose me to be your mom, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my days loving you. You are God's perfect creation, and He had a plan for you before you were even created. I don't know if I've ever shared this story with anyone, but before I was even pregnant with you the name Hattie was put on my heart. Then, when I found out I was pregnant, I prayed a prayer I've never prayed before.. I told God that if it were in His Will, I'd like a baby girl please:). You are everything and even more than I ever hoped or imagined you would be. Thank you for making my secret dream come true. I love you to the moon and back.

Momma

First day of school

Big huge boys

2nd Grade

Daddy captured a rare hand-holding moment

He got the teacher he wanted!!

Preschool

Our boys

Hattie and I miss these boys so very much during the day!

Monday, September 8, 2014

Cute words..

"Dear God, bless my family, my grandmas, grandpas, nana and papa, and all of my aunts, uncles and cousins. Bless their brains. And you take care of YOU." -Rhett

Jude: Hey mom, how come those people aren't buying our house if they want it.
Me: Well, they can't afford it, bud. They just don't have enough money.
Jude: Oh, they don't have $200?
Me: Nope.
Jude: Ahh, I bet they spent all their money on junk, so now they don't have any.
Me: Yea, probably.

:)