The Moment You Realize Just How Blessed You Are...

For starters, folks, I've done it!  I've gotten up prior to my family for 5 straight days!  


I decided that I couldn't face Jillian and her 30-day-shred at the crack of dawn every day, so I've spent my 20 minutes on the treadmill instead.  "Slept in" a little today because I never heard the alarm, but between me getting up a little early and my kids sleeping in a little (hallelujah for the grandparents' wearing them out last night!!), I still got to do my Bible study and plan my day.  Every single day has been just as painful as the first to get my feet on the floor, but I'm still loving the gentle start it's giving to my day.


Enough of that...


Last night (and probably the reason I missed the alarm this morning) we had a rather unconventional date night.  We still keep in touch with a friend of Hubby's from high school who lives down the street.  They've got five kids, one of which was born on our Little Man's due date.  Their youngest is about to turn one and has had a myriad of health problems, beginning when he was 10 days old.  He's been diagnosed with Denys Drash Syndrome which, to make a long story short, is an extremely rare genetic condition (200 diagnosed cases in the world--yes, WORLD--since it was defined in 1967) that affects his kidneys.  There are multiple medical problems involved, but the most critical issues are early kidney failure (usually by age 3) and the development of Wilms' tumor (kidney cancer) with a median age of onset of 12.5 months.  His mommy is expecting to be a living kidney donor as soon as possible.  


For our date night, we participated in a "celebrity waiter" fundraising dinner for this family.  Each waiter was responsible for decorating a table, decorating themselves, and, of course, providing dinner service to his tablemates.  Since our group was made up of high school buddies, we chose the 80's as our theme.  We decorated the table accordingly with Cabbage Patch babies, Nintendo games, records, Star Wars paraphernalia, and magazines from the decade.

And we decorated ourselves with big hair and blue eyeshadow.

We had a great time, raised some money for an absolutely wonderful family.  Hopefully, we added a little levity to an otherwise somber situation.  

But most of all, we came together as a family and as a community to pray for this little man.

Is he not just the cutest thing?  I just want to squeeze him!  

Today, take a minute to squeeze your own babies.  Completely healthy, booger-nosed, spitting up, runny diaper, or life-threatening genetic disease.  Pick 'em up, squeeze 'em tight, and thank God for the days He's given you to be their Mommy.  

And then, take a moment to pray for Shafer and the Daves family.  They are a tough family facing tough times and have chosen to be shining examples of God's love through it all.