Unbelievable

It has been quite a day.

This morning, I called Cincinnati. We had heard nothing from them in ages, so I wanted to confirm that we were indeed on the schedule for the 20th. Only I discovered that we needed another pre-op approval by our pediatrician. Ohio state law says that the pediatrician has to approve the surgery within 30 days of the surgery. So, Erlene walked in the door to teach history and then promptly put on an apron and helped get barbecue sauce made for dinner so I could dash out the door to Dr. Aaronson's because today is the ONLY day I could see the pediatrician.

Suffice it to say that the day grew long with things that needed to be done (like purchasing cole slaw since mine apparently froze in the refrigerator...thawed cole slaw is totally disgusting!) while Erlene continued to hold down the fort...encouraging littles to clean and do history while I traipsed through Fredericksburg.

In the midst of said errands, I received another call from Cincinnati. The surgery has been moved...again. Unbelievable. This is getting ridiculous. Remember the itinerary I gave you guys a couple of days ago? Toss it out. Surgery is now scheduled for the 16th. Yes, that is the day we are supposed to fly from Toledo to Cincinnati. We now have to travel Wednesday, the 14th. How that is going to happen is a bit uncertain at the moment, so stay tuned. I did ask if this multiple rescheduling issue is typical of their office, and Beth, the nurse, said, "No, Will is just a unique case." Not comforting words despite already knowing that...

So, we rush home and finish working on dinner. Only the whipping cream in the fridge is really half & half which doesn't whip well. So, Erlene, who is unbelievably gracious, dashes off to the grocery store for me while I continue with dinner preparations. Understand Erlene has cleaned, taught history, cut and arranged lilacs, and baked brownies...oh, and cleaned up my barbecue sauce making mess. This woman is truly unbelievable. I have no clue what I would do without her.

So, Jervetta and Brandy arrive from Make-A-Wish. They join us for dinner, and much to my relief, they fit right in with our crazy loud family. Dinner was such a blessing...we have not laughed this much in a very long time. They passed no judgement, enjoyed the large family atmosphere, and were simply a joy.

As they depart around 930, the Dunmires pull into the driveway. They never arrive this late, but Angie is so faithful. She laughs and says she wore me down and I finally gave in and let her wash our sheets...which to some extent is true. But, what is really true, is I am beyond grateful to actually have clean sheets...I can feel guilty over never having clean sheets, or I can let Angie do them and feel guilty that she is doing them while Will's allergies aren't suffering because his sheets are well beyond the point of needing hot water and detergent.

But the Dunmires never come to my house this late...and it's raining, so why would they have had baseball practice this late? Um, it's because we are apparently loved. More than I ever knew or imagined. Angie came walking in tonight with a basket of cards...of all shapes and sizes, bearing words of encouragement, gifts to fill some serious financial needs, and gifts to nurture our family.

I hesitated writing the post regarding our medical expenses. It isn't something I like to make public. But when I tell you now that the needs are covered, and with such love toward our family and in such unexpected ways, it could only have happened through the Lord's infinite grace...even when I just couldn't see it.

So, while I was so frustrated with Cincinnati this afternoon, the Lord had been orchestrating a vast symphony of love for our family that met not only a huge financial need, but also a huge need for encouragement...and a hefty dose of feeling not quite so alone. Unbelievable. Thank you seems so...unbelievably... insignificant.