Last week

Last week sure was a busy week, but a good week. Lydia had her 4 year old check up (I can't believe that I'm typing that!) and that went well. If you want to read more about that look to the right of the page and you can click on the link for her website.

On Thursday we had our monthly meeting for Levine Cardiac Kids. It was really awesome this time. Dr. Baird, the new surgeon that came on to help Dr. Watts last year, was the speaker. He explained in great detail and drew pictures of all the defects that affected the families there at the meeting. We sure did learn a whole lot! It was amazing also to hear him to talk to us as not only a surgeon, but as a parent of a child with congenital heart defects. His daughter, who is 10, has coarctation of the aorta. This is a relatively "small" defect, in the CHD world usually needing only 1 open heart surgery, but she underwent six open heart surgeries, several of which were sub-standard and borderline malpractice. Because of this, she ended up having a heart transplant and as a result of that, she also had to have a kidney transplant during Christmas of last year. Their family sure has been through a lot! I can't even begin to imagine. He said something though that really has stuck in my mind. It's so simple, yet so profound. The mom he said it to was at the meeting and told all of us how much it changed her perspective. She told of how that everyday (when her baby was in the hospital) she would just be falling apart and getting angry over everything. She said one day Dr. Baird was just frank with her and said, "This is your life now, just accept it."

You know, I think we all could use that phrase and apply it to our own lives. So often we get caught up in bitterness at what life has hurled at us. But really, what it boils down to is that we are angry with God. We don't want to accept what He has deemed best for us. And sometimes when He shows us what is best for us, and we know it, we don't want to do it. We want our own way. Because, after all, we do know more than our Creator God, right? I'll be honest, there are many things in my life that I have been mad at God about in the past. I didn't want to admit it though. I wanted to continue on in my bitterness. The truth is that if we will just accept what He has given to us, our "lot in life", if you will, our whole perspective and in turn our attitude will change. We will see the bad things as lessons and blessings, not just a burden. So, whatever you are going through, whatever thing you are struggling with that God has done that you don't understand....just accept it. I promise you that you'll be glad you did!

Okay....now that that is out of my system! =) On Friday we went to Hendersonville to pick apples. We go to the Stepp family orchard. We've made it our fall family tradition. =) Lydia and Caleb are such good little apple pickers! Lydia did great getting the ones down low. Steven would pick Caleb up and hold him by the legs and he would pick the ones way up at the top. (As soon as this crazy site will let me post pictures, I will post one of those.) It was great! Caleb was so excited about "picking the apples, way, way up there!!" In all we picked two bushels of apples. After picking we had a picnic lunch and then went to the pumpkin patch. Lydia and Caleb each picked out their very own little pumpkin. They were so cute trying to carry them. Caleb kept saying over and over, "Mommy....it's heavy, mommy....it's heavy. " =) He kept dropping it over and over so I finally carried it because I was afraid he would break it! Well, now because of all the many apples we picked, our kitchen has been very busy! So far I've canned 8 half-pints of apple butter, 12 pints of strawberry applesauce (using the frozen strawberries we picked in the summer), and 16 pints of stewed apples. I've also made two batches of dry, sugar packed apple pie filling and 10 frozen apple dumplings. I still have a lot more to do! I'm going to be making some more apple butter, apple pie filling and apple dumplings. And then I think I'll be done. =) Hopefully my handy dandy Pampered Chef apple/peeler/corer slicer that I bought off of ebay will come today. That will make my life so much easier. =)

I must get going and get some work done. Have a great day!

~Laine~