Little Blessings

Sunday afternoons are usually my alone time to grocery shop or run anywhere I would like to by myself. Yesterday, Justin played football after church and I brought the kids home for lunch and down for naps. I patiently waited for J to come home so that I could run to Old Navy. We are doing a family portrait with my side of the family over Thanksgiving, and what better reason to buy everyone a new shirt?!?! By the time he got home, it was 4:00 so I decided to forego Old Navy and go straight to Walmart for a few groceries and to look at their ballet flats--my sister gave me a heads up about that one. I was reminded that I am on a budget and cannot run out and buy new shoes and 6 new shirts on a whim, so here's what I did. I have had a return to Old Navy for awhile now, so I justified my new shirt then I got online and printed a coupon off for an even better deal. Then for my shoes, I have had a handful of gift cards that have been sitting in my wallet with incredibly small amounts on them (I just forget to use them--one had 16 cents on it!) I got online and looked up the gift card numbers. I added up all the cards and had almost $11.00! So, there you go, I just about paid for the shoes! So, as you can see, I was chomping at the bit to get going and get my new stuff.

Justin finally got home (mind you, he could barely walk. A 36 year old man who rarely exercises and has a bad knee, should know that he can't hang 3 hours with the young fellas on the field) I helped him wrap his bad knee and opposit hamstring with ice packs and headed off to Walmart.

I have my shoes in the basket with my other essentials on my list and am looking at black shirts for Jed and my phone rings. By the time I dig it out of my purse, I have to call Justin back. He picks up and says, "You are going to have to come home now."

My heart stops, "Why?"

"Jed's been hurt and it's bad."

"Bad enough that we need to go to the hospital?"

"Yeah, maybe"

"OK, should I leave my basket or go pay?"

"Leave it."

Then he hangs up! No more details.

My head starts spinning, I start shaking, and my mind (you know that mind of mine) starts imagining horrible things. Prayers start flowing.

As I make it home in record time of 7 minutes, I am thinking I will find ambulances in the driveway. No ambulances, just all the neighbors and kids. Justin is holding Jed.

Finally, I get to him, praise God he is breathing (because you know my imagination).

I get the story: He was riding the neighbor's razor scooter and fell off on our sidewalk (no helmet) split his head above his right eye, at the hair line. Apparently, when Justin called it had been gushing. There is a trail of blood up the sidewalk to our front door. By the time I got there he had stopped frieking out and the bleeding was under control. After I cried and held him awhile, thanking God over and over, he asked if he could go play football with his friends. So, for the next 30 minutes he played, blood dripping down his forehead.

After I bathed him and got it all cleaned up we saw it was much deeper than we first thought, so I call the 24 hour nurse, who tells us we need to go in, so Justin and Jed head to the ER at 9:30pm. After I get the others settled into bed and all is quiet, I breathe.

How thankful I am for my 4 kids, yes, we are blessed--4 healthy kids, but even if they were sick we would still be blessed. I was reminded that God is good. Even if Jed had been seriously hurt that God is still good. I am thankful for this little reminder of how wonderful my children are. I have been short with them this week, not very loving or fun. I need to stop and think before I speak to them in a harsh tone. I want them to know how much I love them by the way I treat them. The season is starting when we will be rushed and frazzled with all there is to do for the Holidays, but I will be mindful to stop and put my kids and their needs above picking up toys, sweeping up crumbs, nagging them to clean their rooms, and getting on them to hurry up. Life is good--the good, the bad, and the ugly. I am thankful for my little blessings!



By the way, Jed did great at the ER. They wanted to put in a few stitches, which would require a numbing shot in his forehead. J asked if they could possibly glue it together and they did. The neighbor across the street told him now he really did look like Harry Potter (who he was for Halloween) which got him all excited and now he is telling everyone he IS Harry Potter....



So, today I went back to Walmart. I went to get another pair of shoes and had to settle on a different pair, I just couldn't believe someone else wanted my shoes. So, I decided to walk back where I left my basket last night and guess what? It was still there with all my stuff in it! (Luckily I didn't have milk or meat in it!) How long do they let those baskets sit unattended? Hmmm... Anyway, I got all excited and switched out my shoes~yeah!



Happy Thanksgiving All!