Sunsets and Seizing the Moment

Saturday night there was a gorgeous sunset as my girls and I left my mom and dad's house.  I snapped a few pictures on my phone.  They turned out okay, but came nowhere near to capturing the amazing colors above our heads.

The girls stood and watched the sky in awe.

We kept staring out the windows of the truck as we drove home, reveling in God's beautiful artistry in the sky.  By the time we were halfway home, around three minutes after we'd first seen the colorful pinks and oranges, the sky had already faded to the gray-blue of dusk.  

It always amazes me how quickly the pink and orange glory of sunrises and sunsets disappears.  One moment, the entire sky seems to be on fire, and the next, the colors are gone.

Life is like that too.  The older I get, the more I realize how fleeting time really is.  I can still remember bringing each of my sweet girls home as little newborns.  Now, I'm a little over two years away from having my first teenager!  

It's so easy to wish and dream half of our life away.  "I wish we had more money."  "I wish we had a bigger house."  "I can't wait 'til the kids are old enough to do so-and-so."  "I'm so sick of diapers and laundry!"

When I was a majorly-stressed-out mom with three young girls (two of them in diapers), I felt like I would be stuck in that season of my life forever.  I was tired and overwhelmed all the time.  Older moms would come up to me and say, "Enjoy this stage!  It goes by so fast."  I used to want to tell them to take a hike, or offer them the children for a day and see how much they could "enjoy this stage". ;)

It really was true, though.  Almost before I knew it, all three of the girls were in school.  And no, I'm not one of those moms who cries every time I drop them off in the mornings.  (I'm usually the mom going, "Whoo hoo!  I have seven hours to myself!")  But I have noticed how quickly the days are flying by.  I can't keep waiting for the next big thing.  I have to make sure I'm enjoying the small moments now, because all too soon, just like Saturday's sunset, this stage of my life will be over.  I'll look around to an empty house and miss the little things that are a daily part of my life now.  I want to remember the sound of Middle Gal practicing her piano scales, or Little Gal telling me her favorite movie quote, or Oldest Gal and I sitting and talking through her latest friendship troubles at school.  I want to remember Middle Gal and Little Gal holding hands as they run off to school together, or Hubby in his work clothes, coming and giving me a hug when he gets home, and the countless hugs and kisses and "I love you, Mommy" whispers I hear every day.

I've said before that I'm not a fan of "New Year's Resolutions".  I don't like setting myself up for failure.  However, I do have a goal for 2015.  I want to seize the moment.  I want to live in the present, making the most of every opportunity life offers.  Whether it's taking the time to tell the girls a story before bed, or going on a spontaneous date with Hubby while the girls are in school, or using that extra time to myself to read the Bible or work on my book rather than sit and watch a movie, I want to make every moment count. :)

Of course, I don't plan on living in the present to the extent that I have no regard for the future.  Each decision I make needs to be weighed carefully in light of God's Word and the effect my choice will have on days to come.  (In other words, living in the present will not give me the excuse to buy all the doll stuff I want this year.  Bummer.) ;)

I know I'm only human and that this year will be full of just as many mistakes as last year, if not more.  But I'd love to look back at the end of 2015 and be able to celebrate the good choices I made, too, and the memories I shared with my loved ones.

A Day Outdoors

Okay, so much for my theory that being at home would make blogging easier. ;)  The girls are supposed to stay home from school until the lice is completely gone, so I'm continuing the seemingly never-ending cycle of hair treatments and laundry.  Middle Gal ended up with lice Sunday night, and both Oldest Gal and Little Gal still have some in their hair even after treatment, so we're not clear yet. :{

Today, my mom came over and helped me treat all of the mattresses, the couch, the loveseat, and the carpet with the RID lice spray.  She also helped me give the girls a second olive oil treatment and brought combs, a vacuum, and another type of lice treatment to try.  (I have the best mom EVER!)

The spray we used can't be inhaled or touched, and you're supposed to wait until it dries to use the room you spray it in, so we spent most of the morning outside.  Thankfully, the weather was much cooler than it's been lately, so the day was pretty pleasant.

I snapped a few photos while we were out there.  Here are a few of my favorites. :)

Elfa enjoying the outdoors:

The girls had fun playing a game with their Barbie and Disney dolls.  The dolls were lost, so they had to camp out in the wilderness (hence the beds of leaves):

The girls had a great time playing and getting some fresh air (they've been feeling rather cooped up with the whole head lice thing).  I gave them another olive oil treatment today, and put them in shower caps while I let the olive oil sit.  I just had to share this pic because they looked so adorable. ;)

I do hope to get things together enough to get one of my planned review posts up by the end of the week, but I can't make any promises at this point.  The laundry and combing have been quite time consuming. :}

Talk to all of you again soon!

Birthday Fun :)

At last, I have some time to sit down and catch up on the blog again! :}  

As many of you know, this past Friday was my birthday.  So I'm officially 31.  Funny, I don't feel any different. ;)

Normally, my birthday is celebrated a week early with my family, so on the actual day I usually get some fun "Happy Birthday" wishes, and not much past that.

This year, I felt like I had an entire birthday week!  

For starters, the Saturday before my birthday was my joint family party with my mom and my sister-in-law.  It was at my aunt's house.  We had a great time eating, visiting, and spending time together.  Here are the goodies I got:

This lovely purple necklace from my brother and sister-in-law.

These two beautiful dresses from my aunt.  They're part of the Springfield Collection from Michael's.  And yes, before you all hyperventilate, I do have a Jess doll. ;)  She was an eBay find that was not labeled as a Jess.  I haven't introduced her to Tess and Maggie's world because I'm still figuring out her character. ;)

I also got some spending money from my mom and dad, which will be very handy on our upcoming shopping trip. :)

And although it's not technically a birthday gift (sorry, Mom, I still need to pay you back!), :{ I ended up with another special treat that day.  My mom and dad stopped by some garage sales, and someone was selling a boxed Signature Belle doll from the 90s.  Mom called me to make sure I was interested, and then picked her up for me.

Here she is!  The only major flaw I could find was that the bottom of her box needed to be glued shut again.  Other than that, she was in great condition.  And a box that needs to be re-glued is an easy fix. :)

I love the detail on her box. :)

Belle's lovely face.

So that was the day of the party. 

The next day at church, I got a gift from my secret Prayer Pal.  She gave me this devotional book:

I haven't officially started it yet, but I'm planning to this week. :)

My Prayer Pal also gave me some money for some "Happy Birthday Shopping", so that is being added to my trip fund. :)

At the beginning of last week, I got cards from both of my dear friends that I've known since elementary school.  They're both so great at remembering me on my birthday, even though they're so far from me.  Thanks, girls!!  I miss you both!

  

From one friend, I got this book.  I'm really looking forward to reading it. :)

From my other friend, I got a gift card to Barnes and Noble.  Gift cards are always so much fun, because they allow guilt-free spending. ;)  Ironically, I didn't end up purchasing any books.  Here's what I chose:

Our local Barnes and Noble just started carrying Calico Critters.  I've always had a soft spot for them, and thought it would be fun to get some to use for my dolls.

These little kitties are so adorable. :)

I loved all of the detail in this bedroom set, too.  

The Calico Critters sets are more expensive at Barnes and Noble than at other stores.  I probably wouldn't have even been tempted by them if it wasn't for the special "Buy 1, Get the 2nd Half Off" promotion. :}

The day before my birthday, my "adopted mom" (she's the mother of my friend that sent me the gift card) delivered a homemade apple cake to me for my birthday.  It.was.amazing.  And I promptly shared it with my family so that I wouldn't gain 5 pounds at my next Weight Watchers weigh-in. ;)  Every single bite I took was totally worth it, though.  Thanks, Mom C! :D

Then came my actual birthday.  Oldest Gal is big on making my birthday special.  Before this year, though, she's been too young to do all that much on her own.  She always wants to get me a special gift, but unfortunately, Hubby is usually too busy with work to either take her shopping or help her make something.  

I happened to mention this to my mom the week before my birthday, so she offered to help the girls with some craft projects that they could use as birthday gifts.  My daughters were so excited! :)

The morning of my birthday, I heard the noise of something being prepared in the kitchen.  Feeling just a wee bit nervous, I headed out to investigate.  

My daughter met me with this:

She's not allowed to use the toaster by herself, so she fixed me a slice of bread with honey (we were out of butter) and a glass of water.  It was so adorable to see her do what she could to "make me breakfast". :)  She also poured the cereal and milk for all three girls' breakfasts.  

Once they were all awake, the girls brought me their presents.

Little Gal made me this pretty picture with sparkly sand.

Middle Gal made me a bracelet with colored beads.

And Oldest Gal gave me this lovely picture frame.  She glued all of the shells on by herself.  

I was so touched by the way they all worked together to make me feel cherished on my birthday. :)  This was one of those days where being a mom is completely wonderful. :)

Hubby was really bummed that he had to work the entire day on my actual birthday.  He called me from work to wish me a Happy Birthday.  And this is what he got me:

Whoo-hoo!! :D  I haven't watched it yet...I'm saving it till Hubby and I can watch it together. :)  And yes, Maggie and Rachel are super excited. ;)

As if that wasn't enough, my mom took Little Gal and I to lunch, my mom and dad-in-law sent me a birthday text, and my aunt picked up the older two girls from school and brought over take-out so I didn't have to cook.

On Saturday, Hubby rearranged a ton of furniture for me (at this stage of my life, nothing says "I love you" like housework and home projects getting done). ;) Then he took the girls and I out to our favorite local Mexican restaurant.  

And on Sunday morning, I got a beautiful handmade birthday card from a dear older lady in our church.  She  is always a huge encouragement to me.  She included some spending money with the words, "Please, you and [Hubby] have a belated birthday lunch on me". :)  I don't remember if I mentioned this last year, but she did the same thing when I turned 30.  Because of where we were financially at the time, her gift was the only reason I didn't have to cook on my birthday. :)

Here's a picture of her amazing card.

I realize that this post focused a lot on the "things" I got for my birthday.  But honestly, what made this birthday so amazing was knowing how blessed I was to have so many special people in my life.  My family, friends, and even church members went out of their way to make sure my "day" was a happy one.  The Lord  has given me so much, and I pray that I will always remember that. :) 

More posts to come! :)

An Unordinary Birthday Gift

Hi everyone!  I feel like I've been gone for ages, although most of you probably figured I've just been busy with birthday preparations.  If only that were the case!

As you all know from my last post, "Middle Gal" celebrated her 6th birthday on Wednesday the 15th, and was looking forward to her first "friend party" with her school friends today.  

Well, sometimes the Lord has other plans.  Let's just say that there will not be a party here today.  Perhaps in another week or so.  

Thursday morning when I got up, Middle Gal asked me to please make breakfast soon because her tummy was hurting, which is pretty unusual.  While I was making breakfast, she came and told me that her "hip" hurt.  I told her to try going potty to see if that was the problem.  She was able to go, but still felt bad.  By the time I finished breakfast (only about 15-20 minutes after I'd first woken up), she was hurting so badly that she only managed to eat her vitamins and about 2 bites of toast.  I sent her to her bed and continued working on my breakfast.  

Over the next few minutes, she got worse and worse.  She was clutching her right side and wailing.  She even threw up several times.  I gave her a warm sock full of beans to put on her "owie" and then left a message on my mom's cell phone to let her know that Middle Gal wouldn't be at school today (usually my mom watches Little Gal on Thursdays so that I can go help in Middle Gal's class).  Then, just out of curiosity (because I never can remember), I went online to check which side of the body the appendix was on.  I've tried to be really in tune to that because Hubby had a horrendous experience with a ruptured appendix as a child, and I've always worried that I something like that might happen to my kiddos.  

The computer confirmed that the appendix was on the right side, which was the side Middle Gal was holding.  I might have shrugged it off if it weren't for the fact that this seemed much more painful than any of her previous tummy issues.  I looked up a few things on diagnosing appendicitis.  One site said to try pushing on the area and then letting go.  If it hurt when I let go of the area, that was one sign.  It was also suggested to raise her right leg towards her tummy.  If that hurt, it was another possible sign.  I tried both, and both caused her pain.  (Seriously, what did moms do before the Internet?) ;) 

At this point, I decided to risk waking my mom up and called her home phone.  I explained the situation, and she suggested calling the doctor on call (our doctor's office wasn't open for the day yet).  I took her advice and called, leaving a message explaining the symptoms.  I didn't have to wait more than about 5 minutes before my call was returned.  The doctor said it sounded like it could definitely be appendicitis, and told me I should probably I take her to the Emergency Room, just in case.

So, within a half an hour, I was in the Emergency Room with my little birthday girl.  My mom stayed with the other two, and after getting ahold of my husband at UPS, took Big Gal to school and watched Little Gal.  Hubby met me at the Emergency Room, where we were put into a room fairly quickly.

[Side note here:  As soon as Middle Gal realized she was at the hospital, she looked up at me and said in a panicked voice, "Am I going to have surgery?"  Not the response you'd expect from a Kindergartner...unless one of the Kindergarten parents had just a week or two earlier come in and explained his job as a surgeon to the entire class.  I must confess, I was wishing for better timing on that!]

At this point, I was a bit nervous, because Middle Gal was acting almost normal.  I almost felt like telling the doctors, "She was really acting like she had a problem with her appendix...honest!!"  Especially since everyone's tone of voice seemed to convey their doubt that appendicitis was her problem.  The doctor that saw us was very gracious, though.  He assured me that I was right to come in considering the symptoms she'd had.  

The doctors weren't sure it was really appendicitis, especially since she wasn't running a fever and seemed to be in okay shape pain-wise, but they decided to do a blood test and a urine test, just in case.  The urine test (which, by the way, was a complete miracle, since she had absolutely nothing in her tummy!  It only took two tries, 4 large sips of water, and a quick Mommy prayer to make it happen!) came back clear, but her white blood cell count was up.  During all of this, Middle Gal had another bad spell and threw up again.  

After conferring with another doctor and talking on the phone to one of the surgeons upstairs (which resulted in an odd test where they had Middle Gal jump up and down to see if her appendix area hurt), they decided that things were suspicious enough that she should be admitted.  Middle Gal was given an IV and moved to Pediatrics, Room 4.  

In Pediatrics, we waited for several hours to be seen by the surgeon.  At this point, my mom had dropped Little Gal off with Hubby's parents and had joined us at the hospital.  This was a real blessing, because we could take turns going and getting something to eat.  Middle Gal was not allowed to eat anything until they decided what they were going to do, so we didn't want to eat in front of her.

Middle Gal looked up at him, as if she was wondering if he was serious.  He was.  She got out of bed and jumped once.  

"Higher," he told her.

She jumped again.

"Does that hurt?" he asked.

She nodded, her pitiful poochy lip in place.

"Where?" he asked.  

She pointed to the same area on her right side that had been giving her trouble.

"Yep, it's appendicitis," he said quickly.  "That's the only thing that causes that to hurt when kids jump."  He then went into a quick explanation of I don't even remember what...something to do with the upcoming surgery, and was gone in the space of 2 minutes.

Mom and I were almost in shock.  The nurse had made it clear that she was doubtful that appendicitis was the right diagnosis.  The ER guys had been a bit doubtful, too, so we had pretty much assumed we'd be sent home.  I have to say, though, I was somewhat relieved.  Of course, no parent would ever wish surgery on their child.  But I was so worried I would go home and have the same thing happen again, and wonder whether to go in again or not.  I also knew of the dangers of appendixes rupturing, and I wanted to avoid that at all costs.  

Not long afterwards, two very sweet male nurses came in to transport her up to surgery.  They asked her about her doll and her pony.  One nurse even chatted about her "My Little Pony named Fluttershy" to another nurse in surgery.  It was just the type of thing Middle Gal needed to put her at ease.  We got to go in to get her paperwork ready and kiss her goodbye, and then they wheeled my baby away.  An appendectomy is a fairly non-invasive procedure nowadays, and I knew we'd caught it early, so I knew that the odds were she'd be totally safe.  But I still felt a whole lot better when they called my name and told me she was waiting for me in recovery.  

The procedure went really well.  Apparently, her appendix was up really high, almost by her liver, so it took them a while to find it.  I'm so thankful for the Lord's provision in this area.  It might have been difficult to diagnose normally because of the location of her appendix.  

It was interesting, too, because one of the times the nurse asked her where she hurt, Middle Gal pointed up high on her side, which should have indicated something other than appendix problems.  But it really was where her appendix was!

She was very drowsy for most of that day, and stayed the night at the hospital.  We were released the next afternoon at 2:30 PM.  Mom and I were both very happy at the prospect of sleeping in our own beds Friday night! :}

I look over the whole situation and just thank the Lord for the way He directed.  If I hadn't thought to look at appendix symptoms, if we'd gotten there later and had to wait longer, if the doctors had played it safe and sent her home since she seemed okay, if we'd had a surgeon who didn't apply the "jump test"...if, if, if...

You can't live your life that way, of course.  But I definitely saw God's hand at work throughout the whole situation.  Even the little details were taken care of, like all of the wonderful staff that worked with us, who were just the perfect personalities for my nervous little gal.  God is good.  

Of course, He doesn't always choose to work things out that way, and He is still good, even when He doesn't.  But I'm so thankful for His grace to our family throughout this entire ordeal.  I'm so thankful to have a little one back in her own bed, well on her way to recovery.  I'm so thankful for a God who cares.

So my blogging may be a bit sporadic for a while.  Middle Gal has to miss a week of school.  At some point, when she's feeling better, I'll figure out the best day to reschedule her party.  Anyway, just wanted to keep all of you posted.  I'd appreciate prayers from my sisters in Christ for her recovery.  She's doing really well so far, but it's going to be a long week for Mommy. ;)

Talk to all of you later!

P.S.  Just had to share this.  I wanted to give you an example of how awesome the staff was.  The male nurse who inserted Middle Gal's IV started by giving Nahji an IV (I'd brought Nahji with us for comfort).  That way Middle Gal would know that it was going to be okay.  (Can you tell he was a dad?) ;)  All of them took such wonderful care of her. 

Nahji with her IV. :)

    

Middle Gal is 6! :)

My middle daughter turned 6 today.  I can't believe she's already that old!  She's in Kindergarten this year, and is thriving in school.  She loves to sing, dance, draw pictures, make up stories, play with her dollies, and use her imagination for all kinds of things.

I love you, sweetie!  My prayer is that this year would be filled with God's best for you as you grow in Him. :)

"True Love" ;)  

Middle Gal and her birthday present from Mommy and Daddy:  a Hearts 4 Hearts Nahji doll! :)  Nahji has been on her wishlist since these dolls first came out.  She was one happy camper this morning. :)

Happy (or not so happy) Memorial Day!

Hey guys!  This is a post I did today for my private blog that I thought some of you might enjoy. :)

Hi everyone.  Happy Memorial Day! May we always remember the brave men and women who gave their lives so that we could live in freedom.

I just had to share a rather sad story from last night. Our church celebrated Memorial Day with a special evening service that included singing, poetry, and an extremely moving DVD of 3 of the WWII veterans from our church sharing their experiences. One of the songs was a medley performed by the children and high school youth of our church. As you might guess, all three of my girls were involved.

Now, before I share this story, I have to set the stage, so to speak. The girls have all had minor colds for a few days now, so we stayed home from the morning service. We had to be at practice at 5 pm, which is when we normally eat dinner. The service was at 6, and didn't get over until after 7, which is the girls' normal bedtime.

At 3:45, I started getting things ready. Of course, being the extremely unorganized person that I am, (and in my defense, let me remind you that I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed last Monday, so things have been a little out of whack lately) it didn't dawn on me until that exact moment that red, white or blue attire would be the most appropriate for being on stage on MEMORIAL DAY (duh!).

Thus began a mad, frantic scramble through the girl's clothes. I was desperate for anything that even resembled red, white and blue (you'd think it wouldn't be that difficult!). I finally managed to find an outfit for each girl...horribly wrinkled, of course. Out came the iron. I don't think I've ever ironed faster in my life!! I dressed each of them, only to discover that the shirt I'd chosen for my oldest was too small.

At this point, my two younger girls were dressed but needed shoes and were in desperate need of help with their hair. They also needed to brush their teeth. My oldest had a skirt but no shirt, no shoes, tangled hair, and unbrushed teeth. I was still in my pajamas (don't knock it...it's a stay-at-home-mom thing, OK?) with no makeup, wild hair, and absolutely no clue what I was going to wear. It was now 4:15. We had to leave by 4:45 at the absolute latest to get there by 5:00.

As you can imagine, I wasn't exactly the perfect representation of calm, rational motherhood at this moment. My hubby, who had been sleeping after a long weekend of work, woke up in time to rescue my oldest from my attempts at brushing through her tangles at light speed (the fact that she was crying and I was, to put it mildly, not exactly being sympathetic probably didn't help his napping). He helped me get snacks and drinks together for the girls while I found the oldest another shirt, did the two younger girls' hair, brushed everyone's teeth, got dressed, and did my makeup.

We were in the car by 4:40. I had not given everyone the huge snack I had planned, although I had at least fed them. I hadn't eaten since 3:00, but I couldn't think of anything soft enough for my mouth to take with me.

We got there on time (early, even!) and the girls started running through their program. They all looked so cute! All three of them were singing their hearts out with the other children. The song was a medley that included "I'm Just a Flag-Wavin' American", and each child got to hold their own little flag and wave it every time they sang that line. I was in charge of passing out flags to the children on the left side of the stage.

Then, about midway through the practice, my middle daughter misunderstood something the director said and thought she was being singled out and scolded. Afterwards, she was confused about where she was supposed to move for the next part of the song. For Middle Gal, who loves nothing more than getting things right and being praised for it, this was crushing. She was so distraught that she started crying and had to come sit with me.

Everyone ran through the song one more time, but Middle Gal decided to sit it out. She told me between sobs that she was afraid she'd sound whiny and she didn't know where to go. This girl was tired and needed food, so my mom and I figured it would probably be best for her to sit in the audience instead of performing. Something important that I should have connected at the time is that one little girl on my side of the stage who had missed the first practice was there for the second one...but more on that later.

After the practices were over, when Middle Gal realized that she was going to miss the actual performance, she decided that she wanted to sing after all. I checked with our director and she said it would be okay as long as I thought she could do it without crying.

Now, at this point, it would have been smart for me to go over the flags and make sure we had enough. But I hadn't even thought about that extra little girl and the fact that we might be short.. I was so tired and hungry and stressed about my middle daughter falling apart. At the moment, I was trying to decide whether or not I should have her go back up. I talked to her a bit, and she seemed completely recovered. I realized then that it would probably be best for all parties concerned if she went ahead and sang. My youngest would do better having her sister with her, and my middle gal would be very disappointed to miss out on performing.

Between this time and the actual service, my oldest also had a melt-down moment. She was crying and upset enough that I was wondering if she would have to sit it out instead! Thankfully, she pulled it together in time. By now, I was just trying to keep everyone happy long enough to get through their song.

Midway through the service, it was time for the medley. I got up, grabbed my pile of flags, and started passing them out to the kids. I was down to the last two girls (my middle daughter and my youngest daughter) when I realized to my horror that I only had one flag left. I gave Middle Gal the last flag and sent her up to the stage. My youngest stood next to me waiting with a trusting but slightly confused expression on her face. I took her hand and said, "I don't have a flag for you yet, sweetie. Go ahead and go up". I led her to the stage and placed her next to her sister.

By now, the song had already begun. The children were all singing with happy voices and cheerfully waving their flags. I will never forget the look on my Little Gal's face. She stood there, a forlorn look on her features, first looking over at the other children with their flags, then looking down at me. I'm actually almost crying now just thinking about it! It was such a terrible moment. I felt like the worst mother in the world.

My mind was racing. How had I suddenly come up one flag short? What could I do? I glanced across at the mom who had handed out flags to the children on the other side of the stage and saw that she had 4 or 5 extra flags sitting next to her. But by now, the song was in progress and it seemed like it would be too distracting to race 2 aisles over, grab a flag, and race back. In retrospect, I probably should have just done it. Everyone would have understood, and Little Gal would have been happier. But I hesitated. I didn't want to break the children's concentration or detract from the performance.

Little Gal never cried. Her lip quivered some, and her face was absolutely pitiful. But she also didn't sing. It was so heartbreaking. I thought back to the practice, when she'd done such a wonderful job. She knew all the words to the song, even though she's only 3. Now she just stood there watching the others.

When all of the kids came down, my youngest said, "Mommy, I wanted a flag too!" Even then she didn't cry, but I just felt so terrible.

I realize this wasn't really that big of a deal in the scheme of things. I think I was more traumatized by it than she was, to be honest! After talking things through with a few others, I finally realized what had happened with the extra kiddo being thrown into the mix. I just wish I would have realized it in time.

I just had to keep reminding myself that God is in control of everything, even little things like a three year old who doesn't get to have a flag during her song. As moms, we hate to see our children suffer or miss out on the best life has to offer. I know this sounds silly, but I even found myself praying, "Why Lord? Why did my daughter have to go through this?"

I'm sure there will be many more unpleasant situations my girls will have to endure as they grow. I don't think it will get any easier moving on from missing flags to broken hearts and unkind friends...or even bigger problems. This is what I do know, though. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

"All things"...even heartbreak and disappointment, even trials and testings. I can rest assured that everything that has happened and will happen to my girls is already known and allowed by our Heavenly Father. Because He is all-knowing, He can see the outcome even when I can't understand it with my finite human brain. Even if the things that happen to my girls aren't good in and of themselves, they can be used for good. God may use some situations to conform their character more like His own (James 1:2-4). He may use trials to lead them in another direction, or draw the girls closer to Himself. I may never know the reason for some things that will happen to the girls until Heaven. But because God is good, I can rest in His promises.

One valuable result of my youngest girl's little trial is that everyone was very impressed with the way she handled the situation. The best way I can describe it is that she was a stalwart little soldier. [This is not meant to belittle the severity of the situations that our real troops face in any way, btw.] She was obviously disappointed, but didn't cry or throw a fit. She just bravely endured the whole situation. The director of the evening called her the "hero of the night". Little Gal herself seems to be completely over her disappointment...she was even singing "I'm Just a Flag-Wavin' American" with her sisters this morning, a huge grin on her face. (I, on the other hand, will probably never be able to listen to that song again without thinking of last night!)

I am so proud of my girl, and can only pray that I will remember this little lesson as the girls grow and face new challenges through each period of their life.