We sure have been busy over the past couple of weeks. The weather is getting warmer and we are loving the extra sunlight. The garden is now planted, and hopefully we can start relaxing some from the stressful moments the past couple of weeks.
Emma had a stomach virus which only lasted a couple of days, and then he went back to school. the next night she cried with her stomach hurting, woke up saying her stomach hurt, and we decided something was going on. She would eat then her stomach would get rock hard (after eating very little food), and you could hear her stomach rolling. I called the doctor and they wanted to see her. The thought was that the stomach virus cleared out some of the good bacteria as well, which caused an infection in her stomach. They wanted to do a stool study to confirm before starting medication. Em and I headed to the hospital to get the materials that I then started referring to as the science project. I was worried but tried to handle the situation with laughter, and was able to get some at the hospital to join me in the laughter. We headed home, and I was hoping we could get the sample, and get answers that afternoon. Ha! That plan was not going to happen with a toddler. She didn't like the "hat" for the toilet, and wasn't open to any way that I tried to make it a game. Imagine what is going through her mind with this process still makes me laugh. I sent out a prayer request because at this point I wasn't sure what we were going to do. I couldn't get a sample to help her, she said she wanted the dr to fix her tummy, and yet here we were o closer to answers. People began praying and God began working. That night she went to bed and woke up the next morning her typical self. She ate complete meals with no complaints, and actually ate almost all day. Her stomach never got hard, she never complained of it hurting, and you couldn't hear it rolling. The next day she went back to school, and we decided not to do the stool study unless something changed. We waited through the weekend, and when she still didn't have problems I called the doctor to let them know we wouldn't be doing the study because she was better.
Last week, Emma and I were outside playing and imagine my shock when I hear "mommy, is that a snake?" She had been asking that about worms, sticks, or anything in the driveway but something told me to look closer before I just said no. There it was less than a foot from her foot - a baby snake. I told her it was a snake and to ride her bike towards the garage while I got Steve to kill the snake. As soon as I told her it was a snake she sat still but the snake turned to go away from her. Of course Steve got it, and we used it as another chance to teach her that we don't mess with them. She said "daddy he looked at me like Emma what are you doing" and just laughed. Again God had stepped it.
So I am sure you are wondering what this has to do with a rocking chair. Well it brings me to this weekend. Today is Mother's Day, so this has been a special weekend. Friday night she wanted me to rock her, which she doesn't ask for nearly as often as she used to. As we sat that rocking I noticed how much she has grown. I remembered being pregnant thinking I was in labor rocking in that chair trying to breathe through the contraction. I remembered bringing her home and rocking that tiny baby in my arms. I remembered the late night feedings, just me and her. I remembered the two songs that I always heard when I would rock her, and how I loved it being our time. Now I had this toddler in my lap, and it was like I saw my baby disappear. I know she will always be my baby, but to see this little girl in my lap where my baby had been. I am thankful for the rocking chair because I know regardless of her age, I can always sit there and remember the days before she was born, when she came home, and our time. Those are the moments I am thankful for, and I will forever cherish. god chose me to be her mommy, and she has forever changed me. The world isn't the place it used to be. I am not what I used to be. I thank God for trusting me with her, and for allowing me to be her mommy.
There will always be the rocking chair, and I will always hold the memories of there close to my heart. Those are the moments that made me a mommy, and changed my life.
