God is Love!

I couldn't sleep last night for thinking of this verse, 1 John 4:16. Now this is a simple verse that Mary Grace learned early on in Cubbies, but it packs powerful meaning, "...God is Love...". In fact, the Lord drew it to my attention as Mary Grace and Hannah were quoting scripture in the car yesterday. Okay, before you are wowed by the fact that I was having my girls quote scripture you should know that I use it as a tool to stop arguments in the backseat! Sorry, where was I? Oh yes, scripture...I just failed to hear it until He spelled it out in black and white for me. When I awakened this morning, I read from Edges of His Ways by Amy Carmichael, and what to my amazement did I see staring back at me? Yes. 1 John 4:16 in its entirety. Not for today's reading mind you; I read yesterday's by mistake. However, with yesterday's reading, today's wouldn't have been nearly as impacting. The following is a portion of today's passage:

"Should any of us feel as though the love which we must have, if we are to help anyone, is beginning to run dry (dried up perhaps over some very difficult soul) think of the Fountain. It never runs dry. "Love through me, Love of God."

The Lord has shown me exactly what I have needed from this "small phrase" inside this scripture. If you are in the midst of a challenging situation with a person or "over a very difficult soul", just remember that God is Love!

Ethiopia

Our dear friends, Zach and Erin, are in Ethiopia today, and have gotten the newest addition to their family. Baby Addis. He is absolutely beautiful! Our family has been so blessed to be a part of their lives for several years now, but their adoption story has especially blessed our hearts. If you would like to learn more about Ethiopia and their adoption story, please go to: http://zachanderin.blogspot.com/.
"I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you." John 14:17

BELIEVE

"Believe"...the Lord has blessed me with this word in several situation the past 8 months. It stems from this verse, found in John chapter 11:40. "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" I tend to gravitate to this word. If you were to come to my house, you would see a large wooden "Believe" sign hanging on the wall in the living room. Appropriately placed underneath this sign, is an old trunk with several pictures of Abigail (both hospital and healthy) a top the trunk. There have been countless situations that have raised over the past 6 to 8 months that I have had to just say, "Okay Lord, I believe."
One of those situations that I have had to believe in is the support group I have formed. There was a lot of prayer and preparation that went into Mother's Encouraging Mother's of Eosinophilic Children, but I am proud to say that we have had our first meeting. I met with two mothers of children with eosinophilic disorders this past Thursday (July 30) evening at Panera Bread in Fayetteville. Both of the other mothers live in Fayetteville. One has a 5 year old son with EE and asthma and the other has an 8 year old son with Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis (eos in his stomach and small intestines). It has been a privilege and honor to have met these two ladies. The Lord has abundantly exceeded my expectations already. I really never thought that I would meet another person with an eosinophilic disorder, let alone sit across from two other ladies going through the same struggles as I have been through.
For those of you in the midst of a trial, just remember to believe in Him and He will take care of you and show you things you never believed imaginable.

Yes, We Are Still Alive...

Time to play catch up...a lot has happened since I last posted! Abigail had her MRI and everything came back normal. No lesions or abnormalities...what a blessing! She also had her orthopedic appointment, and we are going to continue to give her lower extremities a little more time to hopefully correct themselves.

We leave for Cincinnati in less than two weeks, and the Lord has blessed us abundantly as we have prepared financially for this trip. Ross' mom (Nana) will be coming up here to stay with the "big girls" while we are gone. With any luck, Nana, will have the girls saying, "Yes mam and no mam" on a regular basis by the time we get back home ;).

Mary Grace is ready for school. We have bought all of her school supplies, backpack, and gotten her haircut. Her hair is so cute! She cut it to right at her shoulders...it was sad to see the length go, but it is cute and exactly what she wanted.

Now all I have to do is: finish cleaning my house, make lists (food, meds, driving directions) for Nana, laundry, get meals together for while we're gone, buy a few things for the trip, and pack. Is that everything? Probably not, but it is a good start.

Poor Hannah, I didn't write anything about her...well, she is the same ole' Hannah. Although, I think she is going to be in for a very rude awakening when "Gracie" goes to school. They have never been apart for more than 24 hrs. It makes me sad to think about, so I'm not going to talk about it anymore. However, it will be good bonding time for she and Abigail...and also, I will enjoy the time with her as my "big girl"!

I think you are all up-to-date; so yes, I am alive. I have just been busy. I didn't even get into the fact that the Lord has blessed me with meeting two different families (in Fayetteville) with eosinophilic children, but I will leave that for another day.

THANK YOU ABC....

Wow! I just watched an episode of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition via YouTube. The makeover was for the Stockdale family. They have four children with Eosinophilic Enteropathy, and the dad is going back to school in the field of Immunology in hopes to find a cure for his children and others with Eosinophilic Disease. It was an amazing episode and I encourage those of you who would like insight into this disease to watch it. If you view it through YouTube, it is split into 5 parts. Here is the first of five: http://youtube.com/watch?v=vDazFr6d-bY. Let me close with..."Welcome Home Stockdale Family," and thank you ABC for sharing with the world what Eosinophilic Disease is and how it affects our lives!

*Ross just showed me an easier way to view this espisode, directly from ABC's site http://abc.go.com/player/?channel=27718. Enjoy!

Neurology Appointment

Abigail's neurology appointment went well yesterday. The doctor felt like Abigail was actually doing quite well, and thought that her gross motor delay was due to the fact that she has been chronically ill since birth (even though we didn't know it). However, she was a little concerned about her speech delay; so she is going to have an MRI in a couple of weeks to check the side of the brain that controls speaking. I know your are probably thinking that appointment went way too smoothly...well, yes the appointment did. The trip home and the day after were a bit chaotic. Apparently we either drove through something or Abigail came into contact with something that caused her to have a mild anaphylatic reaction. So, after giving Benadryl, the inhaler, Dr. Lovell, and more inhalers, she is doing fine. Hopefully we are back on track and headed for a wonderful weekend!

How We Are "Holding it All Together"

I have people tell me they don't know how our family is handling the news of Abigail's disease so well. I have pondered on this for a while and the only answer I have, is the Lord. He is our Strength, our Provider, our Healer, our Defender, our Rock. He is Majestic; Oh, Lord our Lord, how excellent is your name! He is the Beginning and the End, He is All-Knowing.

"All-Knowing" this may be the most satisfying name of the Lord when we get overwhelmed with the unknown. He does know all, and it is perfect. He knows every minute of every day, He has a plan and a purpose for Abigail's life. We have peace in knowing that although it is a very real possibility that Abigail may never eat; and even if she does it will be very limited, but that's okay. It is okay because God has ordained it all. He knew that Abigail would have Eosinophilic Esophagitis. He knew that Ross and I would be the best parents for her. He knew that Mary Grace and Hannah would be the most wonderful, protective big sisters to her. He knew that Cincinnati would be an option for us, and He knows the answers to the unknown.

There is comfort in knowing that there is a purpose for Abigail having this disease. If that purpose is to bring God the glory alone, what other purpose do we need? Jesus said this in Bethany when he was talking to Mary and Martha about Lazarus before he raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." John 4:11 The Lord blessed me with the verse right after Abigail's diagnosis. What a wonderful thing for Him to show me! Abigail's sickness will bring glory to God! He and He alone is why we are able to "keep it together," without Him we would all be utter messes.