I have wanted to post an update for weeks! It has just been too hectic! Every time I sit down to type it up, I am pulled away. Just know we are SOOOO thriving over here! Praise Jesus!!! We had a successful trip to the Nashville, TN area for a best friend’s wedding!!! Last June, we visited my dear ailing grandmother who went to heaven not long after. On the journey home, the kids began to have croup symptoms. And that was what turned so awful and Azariah ended up needing to be hospitalized. HOWEVER!!! That was almost a year ago. Almost  one whole year since he has had to be hospitalized inpatient! And we used to live in the hospital for months at a time. I will celebrate! So this past trip we praise the Lord so much because we came home illness-free! It was such a little slice of heaven trip!!! I am SO sad we were only there such a short blip of time due to work obligations. There are so many family friends who we absolutely LOVE and wish we could have seen. I’m so sorry we missed y’all. It was only a couple nights.  We were pushing it the whole trip, let me tell you. I underestimated the crazy traffic in the Nashville-area! My goodness! And in our packed schedule, we didn’t account for all the emergency potty stops and snack stops. 😂My dear friend who got married, I’ve know her for going on 20 years. She always went up front at church to ask for prayer for a Godly husband. And the Lord is so faithful. Her new husband is such a wonderful, Godly man, who adores her. And get this! The wedding was Star Wars and Marvel themed, held at a historic movie theater! It was such a BLAST! The kids danced the night away on the dance floor. It was so cute. Azariah has some cute dance moves! He tore it up! Mordecai encountered three cicadas! He was not afraid one bit. Ha. Two of them were inside the wedding! Quite amusing to some kids, and terrifying to others. Azariah wasn’t eating much for me on the trip. I so wanted to skip a day of the hunger meds. Lord knows I wanted to skip those meds. However, he just wasn’t eating enough for me and needed them. Well, let’s just say he turned into a grumpy, hangry, flopping and fighting child. During the wedding. And tired. He was trying to nap on the way there, but we had to stroll him in so we would not be late. He was, I kid you not, growling at wedding guests. It sounds funny now, but I was so worn out and embarrassed! And in heals! Haha. So many of these folks have followed our medical journey and prayed. I apologized and showed photos of him happy. I promise he’s not always like that! The hunger meds are love/hate because they definitely increase his hunger and he eats more. But they affect his sleep and mood so much. Ugh. Anyway! Gramsy left the wedding at the reception to get Mordecai a cream pie and milk shake! He had to have an abscess molar removed the day before we left for our trip. And he was hungry! Wild. He was so brave, and we are proud of him! Oh how I miss the South. As soon as we arrived at our hotel and I went to check in, the lady was Sssooooooo sweet!!!! She immediately started telling me about her health and her grandkids, showing me photos! Soooo sweet and listened to my story about Azariah, and giving us cookies. 😂🩷Then at the restaurant where we saw my aunt and uncle, our waitress was ADORABLE. She was so cute. Bright auburn hair, purple accessories. When we went to pray, she held hands and said, “y’all want me to pray with y’all?”. She got the kids’ orders in right away because I told her they hadn’t eaten yet! And the food was fast. But it’s the South! Folks enjoy their time, company, and surroundings. I think the North has a lot right! Don’t get me wrong. But I sure cherish every second I’m visiting my Southern friends. They get me. Ha! Another lady in the parking lot heard Azariah screaming and I was trying to tend to him. She said, “Aw honey, I’ve been in your shoes. I’ve got four kids and it will all pass soon. You will get through!” Isn’t that sweet!? 🩷So every second of that trip was packed. I mean packed! We got to see my childhood home where God moved so mightily. Guess who bought that home a couple years ago??!! Some of our best friends who have five kids!!! Sooooo appropriate to have a family of seven in that special home! I used to spend the summers in the creek out back. I’d pack a lunch with my cousin, and we’d spend the whole day out there! And now, this family has their kids who play and fish. They were so gracious to give us a tour and all of the memories flooded back. One room is where we had so many people back in the day give their hearts to the Lord. Right there in that house. In the creek, people baptized! The piano area where the Lord gave my friends and me sounds from heaven. Where we recorded the local Nashville-area TV show for so many episodes. Rooms where God poured out His Holy Spirit so heavily. I praise God and thank Him for putting this lovely family in our old home!! It’s so special to me. And this couple are so gifted with home decor. They have just transformed it to be their style and what they need. I cried when I walked in. It looks like something from Agricultural Digest! Anyway. Friday night some best Messianic Jewish friends had us over for Shabbat dinner in their new home! We had the sweetest time of fellowship and prayer. Our kids went crazy having so much space to roam and enjoy!!! The kids played together so nice. Lots of land and critters. Normally in new places, Azariah doesn’t leave my arms. That night, I had to chase him just to feed him! 😂It was such a precious time with lifelong friends and our families. Then the wedding!!! So Star Wars and Marvel everything!!! And there was a lightsaber fight between the groom and best man. Ha! Azariah had been dancing on the dance floor when he looked up and saw I wasn’t right there. My husband had been down spotting him and I was talking with family and friends. Well, he freaked out and started running to me. A total stranger handed him to me and said he hit his head as he screamed! Poor little guy got a HUGE goose egg on his head, and we watched very closely for a concussion. Thank You Jesus no fracture or concussion, but he’s got a bad hematoma! Ugh! And with gravity, the eye has started looking like a black eye as well as his forehead. So he’s okay, but please pray he heals quickly. We were able to give him ibuprofen, but he would not let us apply ice. 
We had such a smooth trip home, apart from the 3 hours of just sitting there traffic! Yeeps! Then my hubby and I both had work Monday. It’s been hectic since, but I’ve been trying to get the kids to the park each day for Azariah’s daily patch time (1 hour a day). And every day, the kids have found MUD and BUGS!!! Jumping in muddy puddles, catching wiggly worms and rolly-poly-oley bugs! It’s been so nice to have so much outside time. Praise God. And sooooo much coming up! One day in June, we have THREE parties in one day! And we’re not missing any of it! I’ll be out of town for two nights next week for another best friend’s wedding! Azariah’s nurse and my mother-in-law are going to be here so please please can I ask for prayer for loads and loads of grace? Mordecai is excited to have extra fun with them. But usually I fall asleep with Azariah’s arm around my neck, and wake up the same way. 😂A lot of the time I get ready with him in my arms. Makeup and all. So we’re both a bit nervous about this trip.  But the Lord has made provision for me to go, and I’m going! One neat milestone on our trip was both kids slept on a little cute pallet on the floor together. Azariah has never done that! And last night, Azariah slept in Mordecai’s room on his extra bed with him! And the cat all snuggled up. 🐈‍⬛ He made it until 4am when Mordecai “woke him up because he was snoring.” 😂Anyway! The goal is for them to have a sleepover party in his room when I’m gone. So this was a really big deal. Praise God.

Last night, my little brother graduated VALEDICTORIAN from his prestigious high school. We are incredibly proud of this young man. He puts his all into everything he does, and high-school is no exception! He has a scholarship to a great college, and we are so excited as he embarks on this new journey. May you seek the Lord like never before as He leads you! 

there is so much going on, and I have four friends right now facing cancer. I hate it. We are pressing into the Lord and believing for miracles. 

 I am sure I’m missing reporting on a lot! But I’ve got to get the kids in bed and soooo much done before my trip. We feel the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord at every turn. He is so so good!!!

Shabbat Shalom!!!