The calm before the storm

I was so blessed this last weekend to join some ladies from my church at a lake house about an hour & a half away from Nashville. 

 God gave me such a wonderful gift of rest & relaxation.  The other ladies were kind enough to let me have my own room.  So, I had the ability to be completely on my own.  Tony took on all three children on his own, too.  It’s wonderful to know that my husband loves me & my children so much to serve us in that way.

 

 

It was the perfect setting for me… in the middle of the foothills overlooking a lake.  What an amazing gift from them & my heavenly Father.  I was truly refreshed by His words and the ability to completely rest.

 

 

This morning back at home was wonderful.  I enjoyed my time with all of the children in different ways.  Poor Anastasia is teething with her top front two teeth so her face is a bit puffy with a runny nose.  But, she has been super cuddly and looks up at me with amazing smiles.  The boys haven’t been far behind in wanting to be next to me… or on me.

Then, this afternoon, I got a call from the oncologist’s office saying that they had moved the PET scan to this coming Friday (24th).  Josiah also has to go into pre-op on Wednesday for blood tests before they do the sedation.  I couldn’t understand why he needed to do the pre-op since he’s never had that done before a CT scan.  The secretary couldn’t really give an answer, but as I thought about it, I realized that Josiah’s been in to the oncology clinic for bloodwork everytime before a scan.  So, I was a bit surprised that they had moved it, but at least they called before Wednesday.

Nap time was a challenge, so I finally ended up laying down with Josiah.  While we were resting, Tony called & left a message that the surgeon’s office had called him to find out when we could talk with the surgeon about possible surgery.  The surgeon did call last Friday & mentioned possibly doing a exploratory scope of Josiah’s lungs.  As we talked then, it sounded like it made sense to do the PET scan first.  So, I’m not sure if he’s still on that same train of thought or not.

Obviously, it’s sort of crazy having all of this happen right after my weekend away.  However, I totally trust that God is in control of it all.  Please pray for clarity, wisdom and good communication between the doctors and us… and that Josiah wouldn’t need to go through anything more than really needs to.

I’m also a bit disappointed because I was planning on potty training Josiah this week, but I guess we’ll wait another week.

The Change

I have officially written my last CaringBridge blog.  It’s sort of weird changing over completely.  One thing that I have seen through this whole process with Josiah is that there is true comfort and ease in sticking with what you know.  I actually have felt sad about not being up at the hospital as much, just because it’s become part of our routine and it equals normalcy for us these days.  I understand better now why people would stay in a bad job, bad relationship, bad whatever.  

Thankfully, we have the ability to choose, change, revive, search, find new beginnings.  Most of the time it feels out of our control… and in some ways that’s true.  However, with and by the grace of God, we can look at whatever situation we are in, take responsibility for ourselves and walk through it to victory and a new season of our lives.

I am so thankful that Josiah has made it through the first major and crucial battles against his Wilms’ Tumor.  There are still unknowns that can crowd my mind, but I try to choose to revel in the smiles & laughter coming from our little warrior and his siblings.  With that reminder & picture in my head, I’m signing off for the night.

Hello new world!

Thanks to the prodding of a couple of friends and the expertise of a Mr. Kyle Chowning, I am venturing into the world of an official online blog.  I guess it’s time to catch up with “the rest of the world”.  Something like that.  Anyway, this will be a work in progress and learning for me.  I’ve enjoyed blogging about Josiah on his CaringBridge site – www.caringbridge.org/visit/josiahzapata.  So, I’m looking forward to having more freedom to blog about other life adventures: being a full-time mommy with three young children that come up with some crazy things; being a wife to a God-fearing man who is fighting for his family; being a friend to some incredible women; and a thankful daughter/sister to wonderful family members who are all too far away.

So…. stay tuned….