Thursday, March 29, 2007

Miss Lily Pat's Birthday Bash

Wednesday night, Audrey, Reid and I attended the first birthday party of our sweet friend, Lily! She was decked out in a precious sun dress and sandals to match. Lily has learned well from her momma - she is an equally gracious hostess. She fluttered about like a little social butterfly and entertained us all.

Audrey enjoyed playing "big sister" to her. There's a thin line between big sister and smother sister. Audrey just has so much love to give. That's one of the things I love most about her!

Reid was oblivious to say the least. I think he was playing it cool so that he wouldn't let on to Lily's other future "boyfriends" that he was a wee bit intimidated by all 8 of them!! He was completely enamored by Lily's push toy. Crashing through the party and into walls, totally unaffected by the festivities around him.

Thanks, Josh, Natalie and Lily for a great night!


Miss Lily and her new puppy!


Audrey "hugging" Lily.


Reid crashing the party.


Reid getting in touch with his "domestic" side. I think Lily was impressed :)


Fun times!

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Babies, babies, everywhere!!

I had one of those moments where it sank in that I'm not 19 anymore. I don't know what it is, some call it self-preservation, others self-deception and still others denial, but it seems we all feel about 7 - 8 years younger than we really are.

I helped throw a baby shower for one of my best friends in high school. It almost felt like a dream! Most of them are married and pregnant or have a baby and others are single and living like "real" adults in the "real" world! I am blessed to have a wonderful group of friends that still keep in touch - they're incredible! Thanks, girls, for keeping me in the loop!


The Girls: me, Ashley (momma to Dylan and pregnant with baby #2), Holly (the mom-to-be being honored that day), Addie (momma to Mabry), Candy, Jenny (Holly's college friend) and Kim.


With Holly


Sweet Dylan - Ashley's little girl


Ashley and Holly - cute belly picture!

Friday, March 23, 2007

Throw My Friends a Wedding!



My friend Ashley and her fiance Jeff are in the running for our local NBC station's contest to win a wedding worth $20,000. Thankfully, my parents paid for our wedding and I never saw a bill. So I'm only guessing that $20,000 would make an amazing wedding!

The winner of the contest is decided by the viewers (or the couples' friends, family and acquaintances of acquaintances...whatever it takes!).

You can vote by clicking here.

They are couple #2. You may vote once per email address. I used every email address I had!

Thanks!

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Feelin' Fine

We're all feelin' fine at the Chandlers'. Yesterday was a little tough for Audrey, though. At her four-year check-up she had FOUR shots! Not fun. However, she finished with flying colors. In celebration of her bravery, we went to Party City and got a Barbie ring pop, a ballerina doll, lip gloss and a Disney princess balloon (as seen below).


Audrey and Aurora




Our shirtless sweetie!

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Update on Reid

On Monday evening, Matt noticed that Reid was feeling feverish so he gave him some Tylenol and laid him down for the night. Aside from a few whimpers during the night, he was fine. However, he woke up the next morning burning up. I gave him more Tylenol and called the doctor. They got us in around 9:30 that morning. Reid checked out just fine - no ear infection, clear lungs and a healthy-looking throat. Just a little fever. Diagnosis: virus. Treatment: Tylenol or Motrin to keep the fever in check.

I brought Reid home, gave him a snack and laid him down for his morning nap. About 30 to 45 minutes later, Matt surprised us at home. Not 2 minutes after Matt came in, we heard a strange sound coming from Reid's room. We knew it was Reid but we also knew something was horribly wrong. I found him in his crib in the midst of a seizure.

I felt helpless. I yelled for Matt to help. It was the most awful feeling either of us has ever experienced. I found Matt's phone and dialed 911 while Matt gently cradled Reid while he continued to seize. One of the incredible advantages of living where we live is that the fire station is literally a mile from our house. I stepped outside our house with the dispatcher on the phone and could hear the sirens all ready. The EMTs were there almost immediately. Once they came into the house, Reid had stopped seizing. His seizure probably lasted less than 4 minutes but it felt like forever.

Poor Reid had no idea what was going on. The doctor told us later that children experiencing a seizure have no memory of it. So here's Reid laying on the floor of our living room with 3 burly men in uniform and green gloves standing over him. The EMTs were amazing. They were truly blessings from the Lord! They told us that Reid had more than likely suffered a febrile seizure due to the sudden onset of fever or spike in his temperature. We had the option to just stay at home and keep a close eye on him or have them take us to a hospital. Considering the terrifying moments we had just endured, we asked to be taken to the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital via ambulance. Reid was shaken but mostly irritable because he was tired, hungry and thirsty. They examined him in triage and concluded that he had most likely suffered a febrile seizure. Just to make sure, they directed us to the urgent care physician. After running a flu test (which was not fun for Reid - they squirted saline up his nose and sucked the snot out with a little tube - all the while, wearing medical masks - might as well have been Halloween masks to a 16-month-old!). The flu test came back negative.

The physician said that the only way to treat a febrile seizure is to prevent one. This means that as soon as I feel a fever coming on Reid, I immediately start giving him Tylenol and Motrin - alternating between the two every 3 hours. This will keep the fever from spiking unexpectedly and throwing him into a seizure. The disorder should clear up by age 5. Only 3 - 5 % of children will ever experience a febrile seizure - so Moms, don't worry - it's not likely for this to happen to your child! One-third of the children who experience one will experience another and a quarter of those will experience a third. Hopefully, this will be the ONLY time we experience this EVER again!!

What has caused tears to well up in my eyes and my heart to be full to over-flowing, has been the amazing support of our church family and friends. As soon as the staff at church found out about Reid, they gathered in the conference room and interceded for him until they found out he was all right. My phone was constantly buzzing with text messages from friends offering help and prayer. Our family is amazingly blessed.

I thought it more than ironic that my previous post was about God wringing the worship from our hearts. I remember thinking while I was riding in the ambulance holding Reid, "Lord, I know You choose how to wring worship from my heart. As much as I love little Reid, You love Him infinitely more. You also love me more than I can imagine. You know what's best for each member of our family. Help me to treasure You even more than my children!" That was probably the toughest prayer I have ever prayed.

Just this weekend we sang a song proclaiming Jesus as better than anything. ANYTHING. That day, I was having to choose to believe that - and crying out to Jesus to HELP me believe that! As soon as I loosened my grip on Reid (in the spiritual sense), an overwhelming peace fell over me. Though my heart still broke to think of what might be, God assured me that He is enough for me, for Matt, for Reid and for Audrey.

Reid is mostly back to normal. He is a little cranky - probably due to the virus. Right now I can hear him and Audrey playing (and whining a bit) upstairs - it is one of the most beautiful sounds ever. Thank you to all who prayed for us - we will never know the fullness of what those prayers accomplished this side of heaven. May the Lord be praised.

Monday, March 12, 2007

He Wrings the Worship



"Sometimes He wrings the worship from our hearts."

If you get the chance, read Psalm 107.

There are times when worship overflows easily and effortlessly from a heart full of gratitude and praise. Yet, there are other times when we feel we have nothing left to offer up. We are tired, or thirsty, or imprisoned in our own chains through our own devices, or caught in the waves of a tumultuous sea. This is when God wraps His eternally powerful, ultimately creative, nail-scarred hands around our hearts and squeezes with appropriate might. Our hearts painfully twist and change shape as He wrings the worship out of it. It is a deep worship. It is an honest worship. It is the worship we sometimes forget. The humble worship of crying out to God in the midst of our pain. No flowery words. No shiny faces. Not in that moment. That will come later. But for now, this is the worship He seeks - an honest plea for Him to save us.

"Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress (Psalm 107:6,13, 19 & 28)."

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

No one tells you...

...that when you become a mother...

...you no longer have "sick days." Instead, you have "my-head-feels-like-it's-going-to-explode-and-if-I-move-around-too-much-I'm-nauseous-but-I-still-have-a-house-to-run-and-children-to-take-care-of days." No more lying around on the couch, watching reruns of your guilty pleasure t.v. shows, and surfing the net until your fingers fall off.

...nothing is about you. Even if it's your birthday. And - let's say - you go out for a family dinner to celebrate - perhaps, The Gristmill in Gruene. And - 20 minutes after being seated - just before you sink your teeth into a delectable chicken fried steak with beautiful white gravy and garlic mashed potatoes - your 16-month-old decides he's had enough. He yells at the top of his lungs like you just twisted is tiny, chubby toes in a vise. The twentysomethings who look like they stepped out of the television during an episode of The Hills sitting behind you bore holes into the back of your head with their eyes until you've "handled the situation." One of them even laughs when your husband hits his head on a rain gutter as he frantically pulls your son out of his highchair. (I have to admit, if it hadn't been under those stressful circumstances, we all would have probably laughed - BUT, it was NOT the right time. And - you're probably wondering how on earth your husband could hit his head on a rain gutter??? Just imagine he's 6'5"). So much for a relaxing evening!

...you no longer buy clothes for yourself. The kids' clothes are just too darn cute! And - you don't have to worry about your hips looking too big or your arms too flabby when they try them on - if they even need to try them on. So instead of coming home from a "birthday shopping trip" with a car full of bags from grownup stores, you come home with Gymboree, The Children's Place and Kids' Gap bags.

...you are always on poop patrol. When you initially think of diapers, you think of the tiny almost odorless diapers your sweet infant delivers a few times a day during the first few months of his or her life. For some reason, we never continue the line of thinking past the milk-only stage. We simply assume all will be well. Not so, my friend. There is nothing quite like pulling off the interstate (in the parking lot of a warehouse, mind you) after a +4 hour car trip to discover your son has blown out his diaper and has creamed his carseat. However, this is not the first (or even second) time he's had a dirty diaper during the car trip - so you're down to ONE baby wipe. This is when you and your husband get creative. Let's see - we've got napkins from Wendy's, Starbucks and Chick-fil-a, a bottle of water and baby shampoo - I believe we can make this work! You hose your child down in the parking lot and pray he doesn't catch a cold in the blustery wind.

Seriously, though, motherhood is a wonderful opportunity to live out the desire to decrease and the Lord to increase in us. It sets the stage to "in humility, count others as more significant than (ourselves)...to look not only to (our) interests but also to the interests of others" (Philippians 2:3 - 4) - to become servants just as Jesus came to serve us. Even when I don't get the time I believe I "deserve" or an adequate "break" from the day in and day out of motherhood, I pray the Lord reminds me that to serve is truly better than to be served.

I do want to thank my husband for serving our family. I don't want to overlook his enormous contribution to my being able to be the best wife and mother I can be. He has been there to feed children, wipe bottoms and entertain toddlers while I took a nap, recovered from a cold or had a day to myself. Thanks, sweetie. Praise God for husbands!