Out of the mouths of babes...

This week, Little Man and I were having a conversation.  He was upset because his cousin Maddi has THREE grandpas, and he only has TWO grandpas.  I tried to comfort him by telling him that Daddy and I each only had ONE grandpa left, and he is blessed to have both his grandpas around to love him.  He came back with, "Mommy, this isn't about you and Daddy, this is about me and Maddi!!"

Well, I laughed so hard I barely managed to remain upright, which of course didn't help me convince Little Man of his blessings.  :)  In fact, I began this post simply to share this amusing little anecdote.  But as I began typing, I was reminded of another, somewhat connected anecdote.

Several months ago at cell group, we were talking about listening, and about how sometimes we're so busy thinking of what to say about our own perspective on someone's problem, that we don't even really listen to what the other person is saying.  We coined the phrase that night, "Let me help you with my problem."  What we meant is that so often, we seem to think sharing our own situation is supposed to contribute to the solution to someone else's problem.  Really, we just like talking about ourselves, don't we?  We like hearing our own voices, and we want others to know our own stories, even at the expense of true listening.

So, from the mouth of Little Man, I was reminded once again NOT to try helping others with my problems.  :)  Silence is the first requirement of listening well.

Little Man and his oft-inspired Momma

on a recent ferry trip in the Lake District

Random Amazement

In recent days I've been amazed at how . . .

. . . The death of someone you don't know can still affect you profoundly.  Today we learned that one of the medical aid workers killed in the ambush in Afghanistan last week, Cheryl Beckett, graduated from IWU with Josh in 2001.  Here is part of the story.  Neither of us knew Cheryl personally, but I have been thinking about her and her family all day long with sorrow, and praying for the Lord's presence with them.

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. . . Sometimes people click so well.  We had dear friends living with us for almost two weeks while they wait for their new flat to be ready.  We're better friends than ever, even after sharing a house, and all four grownups working at the same college every day, and our children being together 24/7, and sharing groceries and all our meals, and one shower and one toilet for 6 people.  Good friends are a true gift from God.  Arseny and Elena have embraced us from the moment we met them, our first week in England, and we survived living together!

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. . . My birthday still makes me so happy.  :)  And even though I had to make my own cake this year, I had success with my new lemon buttercream frosting recipe, and the yummy final product made me extremely happy.  All in all, a great day!

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. . . Resilient children are.  Little Man's skin is literally cracking off of his stomach, but he's still full of smiles.

Quick Update

Just a quick update to say that Little Man's testing appointment went very well this afternoon. They took two biopsies, one from his bum, and one from the base of his skull. The first was a sample of 'normal' skin, and the second, a sample of affected skin. That's why they had to take it in such a weird place just under his hair, because all the rest of his wounds have healed too much to yield reliable results in the lab. And then they drew blood for a bunch of different tests.

So now we wait for the results! And in the meantime, we don't have to use the steroid cream nearly as much. He does still have to wear the special clothes, but we're getting some better ones that are made of silk, so they should be much more comfortable for him.

We should have a follow-up appointment next week, and hopefully get some definite answers. Thanks for all your prayers. We really feel supported and loved.