Saying Yes

(a little note... there are two, yes two, videos in this post... both very short, but both ohhhh so worth watching!)

Why is saying yes so hard sometimes?

*Mom, can I have dessert?*
No.

*Can I have a friend over?*
No.

*Can I jump in the mud puddles?*
No.

Granted, we have our reasons for saying no, right?! I mean, mud muddles?! ohhh the mess that follows!

Sometimes we need to be the one asking the question though... "Can I say yes?" "Why am I saying no?"

I said yes today and will never regret it. Although the bathtub is still needing some attention but I wanted to write this instead of ending my day scrubbing it. (saying yes to this and no to that... balance I tell ya! lol!)

I'd been running errands all morning and knew I had to get groceries unloaded, bake a batch of gluten free bread for Stacey, make dinner, spray some creepy blue stuff on the chickens so they will stop picking at each other and who knows what else was on my mental list.

Anyway... am I the only one who tries to carry every. single. bag in from the car all. at. once?

Well no sooner did I deposit my load on the kitchen floor did Stacey accidentally drop my half full Dr Pepper on the floor. (booo!) While I picked up the cup, she grabbed the mop. I reached out for it and she said "Meee?"

And I said it.
"Yes." "Yes, you can mop for me"
And I watched her basically spread soda and ice all over the kitchen floor. 
0_0

She suddenly took off outside with my soda coated mop and started pushing the leaves around the porch! OH good grief! Eww wet leaves are stickyyyyy!

She then drops the mop and promptly lays down in the leaves and made a "Leaf angel" 

This was a much harder "yes" because the leaves would soon be everywhere requiring a bath which is not an easy adventure with her...

 See her angel wings brushed on the cement?! I wish I'd caught her doing it on video!

I was right.... leaves everywherrrrrreeeee!!!

And that yes, turned into this...

And the best part... was hearing her say this:

 

I'm so glad I said *yes* to the mopping... which led to yes about the leaves, so I could hear this!!! And you know what, I lived through the bath, the cleaning the tub, the leaves in my own shirt, and the to-do list that got pushed to the next day. That moment is now over. I'm so glad I didn't miss it because I had *things to do*. 

What did you say *Yes* to today? And think about this.... how has God said "yes" to you? :)

#13 The Elevator

       The elevator. It's my refuge. I'd ride it to the top, to the bottom, and back again. I'd go down to the other wing and step in that one. No one on that end knew me. It didn't matter to me if it was full or empty. I couldn't hear any beeping machines or the hiss of oxygen. I couldn't hear children crying or parents weeping. Sometimes if I was by myself I'd have me a little out-loud chat with Jesus. It  usually went like this: "I know you can heal her. Just do it already!" The end. 

Leaving the elevator was emotionally exhausting... every time I'd return to the floor, it was a reminder of what our reality had become. The morning after they found the pneumonia, I returned to find my baby girl wasn't in her bed in the Critical Care Unit. I literally felt my heart stop beating. I couldn't breathe. The sounds of the room swirled around my head.

A hand on my shoulder.

"Are you looking for Stacey?" I could only nod because my throat was in a vice grip of panic.

Because her pneumonia was so bad and they didn't know the source, they had to put her in isolation. She'd been moved. Tears of relief!
We were now in our own room, but the door had to stay closed and anyone who entered or left, had to scrub, gown up and use gloves and a mask. We also had to scrub up right outside her door before we left. It made 

My Auntie and a favorite nurse

even going to the bathroom a project! It was quiet, but it was lonely. 

I requested a rocking chair and decided to make the best of our 7 day stay, knowing we would then go home and resume life as we knew it....

Or so we thought.