Time to do a weekly update!! Until yesterday, all of our heroes were family members.  Now it's time for best friends and I can't even imagine how thankful Chris is to have his guys there.  This week it's Mark and Jay! They don't know each other, but it's basically like going potluck in college for a week! They are both AMAZING friends to Chris as are SO many of you! The weeks worked out for them to be together, so I set them up thinking "great match" so you've got this guys!! Go talk til midnight, eat all the snacks, cry some and watch all the shows.  kidding...but that's what girls do on our trips.:) Not sure what guys do, but You are amazing and we love you both!  Before we dive into some of the fun, we will talk medical.

Chris had a pretty great week overall after his big appointment last week. He moved from broths to real foods REALLY quickly.  I keep being "mom" asking him if he's eating the correct things.  He LOVES when I do this by the way.  Don't your husbands love it when you mother hen them?! It's their dream when they got married to have a nag! ;) Anyways, y'all can all pray for really great healthy choices (different docs tell him different things to do so it’s confusing) and for the diabetes to stay in check.  We still can't get over God putting his Uncle with him when so many food changes were happening. He helped a ton with carb counting etc.  As we enter this whole new world of diabetes, there is a LOT to learn.  He's had ups and down with pain this past week.  There have a been a few times when he thought he was heading back to the hospital.  Please continue to pray for this to not be the case.  My biggest fear is once he weans more off meds, we will end up either at Fairview or at UAB when he returns.  Or I think "will he ever come off pain meds?" Or “will he have to be in bed again when he returns?” We have lived with all this for SO SO long.  I’m constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop and so it’s only natural to think more will go wrong when he comes home. In fact, I'm waking up in the night with all these fears. 

In God's goodness, my devotion today (from lysa teurkeurst's "You're Going to Make It")  began with this verse, "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."  Matthew 6:34.  I'm including the page below in the pictures.  READ IT! It's so good.  I started immediately breathing easier.  We all carry so many burdens, don't we?  I know of SO many hard situations right now and so many people truly in survival mode each day.  It feels heavy all around.  So I read this devotion three times and prayed for different families each time.  I prayed for my new friend (we've truly met through mutual friends and caring bridge) who has a husband at mayo now needing a liver transplant, our family friends who are currently dealing with amputations for their 15 year old daughter/granddaughter/niece from the shark attack in Destin, my friend who has had to deal with the death of one parent and the sickness of another, struggling marriages, hard parenting situations, and I could go on and on and on.  This devotion hit me right where I needed it to today and I pray it will for you as well.  It ends with this, "we don't want to become so stressed, fearful, and full of anxiety about tomorrow that we miss the grace and goodness of this beautiful day.  So today receive both the grace and the gifts of this day.  Don't miss one minute of it's unexpected treasure, and celebrate every bit of its joy.” (Very similar to Katherine wolf’s treasures in the dark)

So here's the joy of today:   

-Chris got to go to a Twins game with Mark and sit in amazing seats thanks to a friend (Jay's plane got diverted because of weather so he is getting there later.),  

-He felt well enough to GO TO A BASEBALL game, He slept last night, we had day three of VBS with 400 kids and 150 volunteers and it's amazing to witness all ages coming together to celebrate Jesus in that way, and witnessing all of them sing "praise the Lord, O my soul" might just bring tears every time

-getting to serve with Wells and Claire  for the 5th year in a row at VBS. Nothing sweeter than watching them lead.

-both kids had fun plans with friends or youth group tonight. 

THERE IS THE JOY in everyday and I know I could list more.  Some days we just really have to look hard or keep our eyes wide open. So let's all look for joy even in the midst of HARD.

Prayers:

-Chris to continue to get sleep at night (not just daytime rest), islet cells to wake up,  him to be able to tolerate foods and choose the right ones (I know it's hard....remember he hasn't really eaten in two years so praise God he is hungry and wants to eat), for his time with Mark and Jay (and that jay gets there safely)

-Kids and me- finish VBS strong, find a good rhythm at home between work, play, chores, rest, device usage (all teen parents can I get an amen?), and supernaturally for our plumbing to get fixed.  I'm REAL afraid we need new pipes (hard to find joy in that one)

-His next appt. on June 19th and for his pain to remain at bay or even improve! Please let his pain start to subside so we can avoid hospitals