Today is Tuesday.

Schaeffer woke in the night to the loud thunder & hail storm and crawled her way into Griffin and my bed. It's amazing how quickly SJ will fall right back to sleep, and upwards of an hour later, G & I will still be awake, trying to get comfortable.

I just got a call from JoJo's doctor office, and we are free to go for her X-Rays and Ultrasound anytime today. We're going to get dressed, have a special breakfast out & head over to the Hollywood Rd facility.

Please pray that we will not have to wait very long before each test & that Schaeffer will remain calm during the testing.

As we've been praying about Schaeffer's care and our next steps, I've also been praying for God to give us a clear promise to hang on to--and this is what He's given me this morning:

Matthew 6:26-34 MSG

"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

"Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

Ladies & Gentlemen: We're in a holding pattern.

Griffin and I have been determined to have a brave & courageous child, and in doing so, knew we couldn't sweat the small stuff. The occasional skinned knee or the zipped chin could not be maladies for days. With that said, we now find ourselves in a 'crisis' of sorts--where I find myself struggling to find the balance of brave & courageous//acknowledging this is a difficult time.

Background Info:

Schaeffer's symptoms began to surface about 2months ago-but being the dead of winter-and the peak of cold & flu season, we took the fever, lack of appetite and lethargy in stride.

Fast forward to today--where the 'symptomless' fever has been sporadic, but frequent enough to be bothersome. On 'fever days', SJ will take long naps & have very little appetite. We've had the gamot of tests done. X-Rays, blood work, urine samples--and for the most part, all have been well within the 'normal' range.

To our doctor, the only remarkable thing has been SJ's sed. rate (definition: sedimentation rate: the speed at which red blood cells settle to the bottom of a column of citrated blood measured in millimeters deposited per hour and which is used especially in diagnosing the progress of various abnormal conditions--as chronic infections).

Our Next Steps:

Because of the raise in SJ's sed rate, she will now have a chest & sinus X-Ray as well as an abdominal ultrasound. From what I understand, these tests are done to search for hidden infection.

Once the X-Rays & the ultrasound are complete and the results are in, we will be heading to DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids to see a Pediatric Specialist.

What you can Do:

-pray that Schaeffer is able to remain calm during her testing, yeilding best possible results

-pray for wisdom for the doctors who read the scans, that they will have a definite diagnosis

-pray that Griffin and I will see God's clear will, being united in decision making for SJ's care

-pray that our hearts are prepared for the diagnosis/no diagnosis

Thank you friends & family for your prayers & best wishes. We'll keep you updated on information as we have it available.

We're at it again!

We have a rule in our family: If the thermometer jumps 70 and the sun is shining, get thee to the Lake.

Well, it is March--and we are not at the Lake. Funny though, many times today I thought about the coming summer months--and their promise of lemonade, painted toes, cut grass, countless games of cribbage.

How blessed I am to have such rich traditions in my family--on both sides--of how we blissfully soak up each summer moment.

Regrettably, back to reality. Today was our major Easter shopping day--and we had many stops to make in our line of hunting & gathering. We needed everything from the necessary: turkey, to the frivolous: egg cupcake liners & Easter toothpicks. Each store brought a new adventure-at Martin's a stop at Starbucks; at Target, a giggle in the Easter aisle; at TJMaxx, we picked out a 'special Easter outfit' for Daddy; and at Meijer our whole day was capped off by a watching Schaeffer's face fill with joy as she rode Sandy, the pony.

After a great day, this is the prayer of my heart for my sweet Schaeffer girl for today: "Listen with respect to the father who raised you, and when your mother grows old, don't neglect her. Buy truth—don't sell it for love or money; buy wisdom, buy education, buy insight. Parents rejoice when their children turn out well; wise children become proud parents. So make your father happy! Make your mother proud!" Proverbs 23:22-25MSG

Let me take a moment to introduce myself.

I'm excited to share a few of my favorite recent photographs from the fun our family has been having. Enjoy!

Aunt Nikki, Toby, Schaeffer & Kate: jacuzzi tub

@ the condo over Christmas Break

Griffin, Kate & Schaeffer Jo: tubing

@ Shanty Creek Resort

Schaeffer Jo: Christmas morning with her

brand new skis from Santa

My beautiful bumble-bee, Halloween 2009

Big Girl!

G.G. Jean brought SJ a beautiful turquoise bracelet

home from her big train trip to Nevada!

Schaeffer Jo & Kate: Children's Museum @ Navy Pier in Chicago

Schaeffer Jo: soaked from the water experience

zone in the Children's Museum

Where have you been all my life?

Ok, so it has been a full YEAR since I last uttered even one sentence on my blog. Yes, I said year.

I'm feeling cautiously optimistic of improvement, as I now have access to my glorious new MacBook Pro, which will make blogging from any location possible.

Now that we've gotten the formalities over with, let's get on to the good stuff.

I've come to the conclusion that each parent thinks that their kid is amazing, a-rate, smart, best-thing-since-sliced-bread. With that being said, I cannot help but be over the moon for my little gal--who despite being the biggest and most consistent pain in my backside, is also the most glorious gift I could have ever been blessed with.

As little gal continues to crawl out from under the sickness that has hovered just out of health's reach, she has begun to develop some remarkable Godly character traits--prayer, dependence, peace & joy. As she experiences God's faithfulness at age 2, it is a reminder even at age 28 all you need is belief.

Our household is ramping up for Easter-we are hosting both my & Griffin's family + some stragglers this year. In the midst of the chaos, the planning & baking, I do not want to loose the overwhelming sense of great mercy and gratitude that should prevail this Holy Week.

If I don't have the opportunity before Sunday, have a blessed Easter! Spend it with the people you love, talking about the God who loves you enough to sacrifice his only son.