On Friday, April 25th I had surgery to repair an “S” shaped deviated septum and remove the polyps that had developed inside my nasal passages and each of my sinus cavities. It was major surgery, and all went well, though the recovery has been slow-going.

Today, I went in for my 1st post-op appointment. First, we found out the lab results…no Cancer! ! Then, they had to numb my nasal passages so the doctor could remove the stitches and the 4 spacers (2 on each side) she had placed in my nose during the surgery. She also suctioned out all of the areas…which was EXTREMELY unpleasant. Just imagine the same suction device a dentist uses going up your nose and into your sinuses…The sound alone is enough to turn your stomach, let alone the sensation :(  In the end, it was all worth it.

After she cleared the first side, she asked me to close my mouth and breathe in. For the first time in my life, I knew what it felt like to breathe freely. In that moment, I couldn’t even speak. The tears began streaming down my face. I could feel air flowing freely through my nostril, and it was a wonderful sensation. When it was all over, we walked outside to the car, and I could smell the air! I am experiencing some scents for the first time, and it is just amazing. Praise God!!

Loyalty and humility…can they be found on a map? If they could, they would be located right in the center of the state of Growth. When we reach that destination, the fog will begin to lift - our eyes will see clearly, our hearts will feel completely, and we will be able to love and follow without reservation. This is when we are at our purest, our most moldable form. This is where we get out of God’s way and let Him sculpt the masterpiece that could be our life in Him.

Our oldest son, Adan (age 6), came over to me this afternoon and asked for some string. I thought, “Okay, a little string sounds harmless enough.” So, I asked him what type of string he needed, and would yarn work okay. He said it would. I cut some yarn for him and as I handed it to him I asked, “What are you going to do with the yarn?” He said, “I am going to make a trap to catch a leprechaun. You know, St. Patrick’s Day is coming soon, and I’ve never caught one before.” It was so cute…he was absolutely serious. As a matter of fact, he had already made a booklet with the “instructions” for the trap.

He had a very specific idea of what he wanted (hmmm, I wonder where he gets that from…). I helped him create a black “pot” out of construction paper. As it turns out, the first one I made was bigger than what he had in mind, so he asked me to make it “small”. When I say “small”, imagine something the size of a jar of baby food (that cracks me up, in and of itself, because it means he believes leprechauns are teeny-tiny). Anyway, the next step was to find some “gold” coins to put in the pot. They had to look gold, so I found some old coins I had from my trips to Russia and Mexico. He put the coins in the pot and then placed the pot in a clear plastic storage box as bait (because leprechauns love pots with gold :)). Next, he went outside to find a stick, which he will use to prop-up the clear plastic box over the pot of gold. The yarn, of course, we will tie to the stick so he can pull it out and trap the leprechaun in the pot.

Adan has it all figured out. Now, we are ready for St. Patrick’s Day…

Today, Jesus and I celebrate our 8th Wedding Anniversary. Here’s to my awesome husband…thank you for the best 8 years of my life (actually, 12 1/2 years, if you count back to our 1st date ) - filled with more blessings than I can count!!

I have been going through something, recently, and found this Psalm very encouraging…

Psalm 91

9 If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
10 no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.
11 For he will order his angels
to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
13 You will trample upon lions and cobras;
you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.
16 I will reward them with a long life
and give them my salvation.”

Happy Birthday, Iliana! One year ago, today, God gave us you. It was no accident that you arrived on Valentine’s Day - the day we celebrate love. I can’t talk about love without mentioning the One, whose love “surpasses all understanding”. You, as well as your brothers, are yet another expression of His love for us. But this time, He really wanted to make a statement and took advantage of the opportunity to reveal Himself to us…to me…in His timing. I take it very personally and am so in awe of His perfect plan, His perfect grace, and His perfect love. All thanks, praise, and glory to the Lord!!

Adan rode his bike without training wheels today - for the 1st time! He came home after school and, as always, he and Marco went outside to play. They were riding their bikes for a bit when Adan came inside and asked if I could remove his training wheels. At first, I tried to convince him to wait until his father came home…he was so disappointed. I watched him walk outside and grab Jesus’ ratchet from the tool box. He spent the next few minutes trying to remove them himself. It didn’t work. I asked him, again, to just wait until his dad came home. Then, he sat on his bike, with his head down, and said, “I want to ride a 2-wheeler, so I can be a big boy.” His voice cracked as he spoke and his eyes teared-up.

As I stood there, holding the baby, my heart broke. I knew it could not wait - I had to at least let him try. So I put on Iliana’s jacket, grabbed my jacket, and went outside. I strapped Iliana in the stroller, grabbed the ratchet, and removed the training wheels myself. Adan walked the bike down the driveway and positioned himself on the sidewalk, in front of the house. With Marco and Iliana watching, I held onto the back of Adan’s seat while he began to pedal. He was very unsteady, so I did not let go of the seat on the first pass in front of the house. We turned the bike around and he prepared for the 2nd pass. He said it was too hard for him to pedal with me holding onto the back of his seat, so I told him to start pedaling and I would let go. As soon as he started, I let go, and he pulled away.

It was an awesome moment. I kept yelling, “You’re doing it! You’re doing it!!” Marco and I were jumping up and down, clapping, and cheering. I really couldn’t believe it. Adan had always been so scared in the past. He would try once or twice without the training wheels, wobble and/or fall, and then ask to put them back on - right away. I hoped this really would be the moment he figured it out, but I didn’t think he would get it so quickly.

Of course, he was so excited that he had to spend some more time riding his bike. I pushed the stroller around the yard while Adan and Marco (on his “big-wheel”) rode back and forth, in front of the house. When they were finished, they both parked their bikes in the garage. Adan walked out of the garage and his face was beaming with excitement - and pride. As he walked toward me he said, “Thank you, Mommy!”. I told him how proud I was of him, and raised my hand up to give him a “high-5″. He smiled and said, “I had something better in mind…” and then he hugged me.

As long as I live, I will never forget that moment.

I need prayer, today. If you are a praying person (and even if you aren’t), please say one for me. I am in need of encouragement…that’s as far as I am willing to go into it right now. It has been a difficult morning and I just can’t seem to stop crying.

On a positive note, I just flipped the page on my desk calendar and this was the Bible verse for the day (it happens to be one of my favorites, if not my very favorite of them all…)

“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.

They will soar high on wings like eagles.

They will run and not grow weary.

They will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31 NLT)

Part of the assignment for this week’s lesson in CBS (Community Bible Study) was to write a song of praise or worship to God using events from my life. I thought this would be difficult, but once I sat down and started writing it just flowed out of me. I am not the best writer in the world, but I have to praise God for the end result. It may not seem like much on the surface, as I did not go into too much detail about any specific events, but I think those who know me well will understand. Anyway, here it is…

I praise you, O Lord
Father of faithfulness
My Comforter, my Redeemer, my Rock
Your love surpasses my understanding

You watch over me - my Heavenly Father
Cradling me in the palm of your hands
My heart has cried out to you, many tears have I shed
Yet, though I stumble, your mercy abounds

Out of the darkness, O Lord
You delivered me
I am not worthy
Yet, as you drew your last breath I received life

Fear will not keep me from entering this race
I run to win
Through your grace I gain wisdom and the strength to face every obstacle in my path
Yet, I seek only to glorify you Lord, as I clear the hurdles of life

And what a life, O Lord
Filled with blessings beyond comprehension
Woman, wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend
Yet, I am no stranger to the depths of sorrow, the loss of a dream

I will boast only in you, O Lord
For in the end, my dreams pale in comparison to reality in you
Without you I am nothing
With you I can be all things

- EMR

About 1 year ago, the boys were having trouble falling asleep. Our oldest son, Adan, told me that he was scared. I wanted to find a way to calm his fears in that moment, as well as give him the tools to be able to calm himself if/when I am not there with him. The first thing that popped into my head was to tell him to pray and ask God to send His angels to protect him so he won’t have to be afraid anymore. He and Marco really liked that idea, so the 3 of us prayed together, that night, for God to send His angels.

We have had to pray that prayer a few times since then. My mom even gave the boys 2 angel statues as a reminder to pray for the angels to come. So, where am I going with this…I came across a scripture verse in the Bible that says that exact thing:

“He will order his angels to protect and guard you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.” (Luke 4:11)

The quote in Luke is from Psalm 91…

“For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.” (Psalm 91:11-12)

I just thought that was AWESOME! I knew I didn’t come up with that idea on my own. The Bible says that God reveals Himself through his Word…I feel like he revealed something to me today and I couldn’t let it go without acknowledging that.