Lifting up Lainey!

One thing I love and appreciate about the blogging community is the support it provides to others during a difficult time.  Most of the blogs I read are family-focused and many of my blogging friends are also mothers.  Tonight I am writing with a heavy heart on behalf of one of my best friends in the whole wide world and her little girl, Lainey, who will be 2 in 10 days!

Just a few short weeks ago, life at the Caldwell house was normal.  Or as normal as normal could be with 3 kiddos under 5!  Reisha and I were talking on the phone one night planning a double date for that weekend and the next night she and her husband Andrew were in the ER with little Lainey,  That trip to the doctor’s office and ER was just the beginning of a whirlwind of doctor visits, tests, surgeries and other various procedures. 

At the risk of passing along misinformation I am not going to go into the details of Lainey’s condition and diagnosis.  However, the family has set up a CaringBridge site to keep everyone informed (http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/laineycaldwell)  and I urge you to read about Lainey’s condition and leave the family a comment to let them know you will be praying for them.

Specifically you can pray for…..

• Andrew, Reisha and Lainey as they prepare for their trip to Illinois next week.
• Reisha’s strength (emotionally and physically) as she cares for her little girl and continues to be a mommy to her 2 little boys at home.
• Andrew as he continues to be the leader of his household as a husband and daddy.   Pray that he continues to look to Christ for strength, discernment, and direction.
• Owen and Gray (Lainey’s brothers) as they continue to adjust to “the new normal” for right now.
• The Caldwell and Tounzen family as they support Andrew and Reisha during this difficult time.
• For the surgeons, doctors and specialists as they work together to devise the best path of treatment for Lainey.
• That Lainey’s body will respond to the treatments and she will be 100% cured!
• And that through it all CHRIST will be exhalted!

      

                  

Luck of the Irish!

The good thing about having the last name of O'Shields is you don't really have to wear green on St. Patrick's Day! :) However, keeping with tradition, all 3 of us are wearing green this morning to celebrate the day. Now, Mackaylan loves any type of holiday so we worked together to make this decoration for the Irish man we love the most! This will definitely go into the keepsake drawer once it comes off of the refrigerator.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

To: Dad

Love: Your Cinderelly(his nickname for her) and Mom

May the Luck of the Irish be with each of you!

Friday Funny

I have so many posts running around in my head, but lately I am having a hard time getting them out into cyberspace.  However, I just had to share this….

Let me set the stage with the writing that Mackaylan wrote yesterday in her journal while we were riding in the car:

This is me!  My name is Mac.  I am pretty.  I am smart. etc….. 

Now, fast forward to this morning….  I went to get her up out of bed and she was very reluctant to starting the day.  This is very unusual for her because she is like me when it comes to being a morning person so I was a little surprised.  After a few seconds she finally looked up at me and the conversation went something like this:

KK- Mama, do I have to go to school today?  I just want to go ahead and leave for Daddy’s 4-wheeler race.

Me- Yes, we have to go to school.  If we don’t go to school then we won’t be able to go to the race. 

KK- But I am already smart.

Me- I know you’re smart, but going to school makes you even smarter.

KK- But my smarts wrap all the way around the house.

As you can see, we are not lacking in self-confidence around here! haha

Have a great weekend!

Sunday Snapshots

This past week Mackaylan had the pleasure of meeting a real author/illustrator- Jonathan Miller.  He visited with our K-2 students and shared two of his books.  He also explained to them the importance of writing and all of the hard work that goes into the book making process.  Mackaylan was so excited about her new book that she even took it outside to share with our neighbor’s dog, and as you can see, he was a very captive audience! PRICELESS!!!

#1

See this face?

This is the face of a champion!

Mick had his 1st race of the season on Sunday and walked away with his first 1st place finish!  We were all ecstatic!  He has been racing for about 5 years and all of his hard work and perseverance is finally paying off.  We all enjoy going to the races, but it definitely makes it a lot more fun when you’re the wife of a winner!

After the race, Mickey took Mackaylan on the “Victory Lap” ride and we enjoyed a delicious dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.  It was definitely a fun evening as we all celebrated this momentous occasion together!

Congratulations, Mick!  We love you!