Rough Week but with Happy Parts!

This week has been crazy. But as always God gives us reasons to be joyful even when there is mourning. What a blessing that is!


On Tuesday we learned that, tragically, a child from Jayden's day care had died from a cold that turned into pneumonia that turned into sepsis. It all happened over the weekend. The news completely rocked my world because the child was 18 months old, just a few weeks older than Jayden. My heart is completely broken for the family and I don't even know who they are. The child was well loved by the day care because his family had been taking their older son there since he was only 6 weeks old. The daycare had also watched as the mom carried this child through pregnancy and then also welcomed him into the daycare family when he was a baby. It's such a heart wrenching thing to hear about a child that dies so young.


We also received some unfortunate, and also heartbreaking, news about friends of ours who have decided that they no longer want to be married. I've wondered before what it would be like when we learned of friends that were getting a divorce since, sadly, it is an all-too-recent occurrence in our society. I just didn't think it would happen to this couple, even though I don't know them well, I knew OF them and my perception was that something like this just wouldn't happen to them. So I also felt pretty rocked by that news, also received on Tuesday.


Lately the bad news has been more frequent than I am used to (cancer has also reared its ugly head in another friend who is the same age as DJ and I and she also has young children). The fact that this is not "typical" is a blessing in the fact that I have had so much GOOD in my life to be thankful for. But all this bad news has made me really think. At first, these situations completely consumed me and I couldn't think of much else. That really bothered me because I just couldn't seem to get past it and I knew that's not what God wanted for me. So I started thinking about who God is and it made me realize that even in the bad, He has not left us. These things happen and they are horrible and heartbreaking and senseless. But God is still God. And He WILL use this for good; that's His promise to us. "All things work together for good..." Even when a baby has died. Even when a seemingly strong marriage is broken. Even when cancer takes center stage. He uses even the bad for good. And that gave me hope again. It gave me the perspective I needed to get through this hard time. And although these things are not happening to me, if anything, this is proof that God is already using these situations for good. They have shown me more about the character of God and given me a great reminder that He is our Rock, our Shelter and our Hope. Even when nothing in life is making sense, God still brings order and hope.


So that was the "rough" part of the week but, as I mentioned, there have been happy parts too! Jayden has slept two full nights for the first time ever! And by full, I mean from about 7 pm to 6ish am. Amazing! Tuesday and Wednesday night he slept the whole night through without waking (fully) once. I say "fully" because he did make some noise a few times but he was able to put himself back to sleep without needing DJ or me to go in and comfort him. This is a HUGE deal and I hope we have finally turned a corner. This is a much needed reward after working with Jayden for many, many weeks now. Another positive is that he is getting much better about going to bed. DJ still has the best success and is able to actually sit out in the hall before Jayden is even sleeping. Also the time it takes for Jayden to settle down and fall asleep is down to about 30 minutes (it only took 20 minutes on Tuesday!). Yay! We couldn't be more thrilled and we hope it continues!


Another happy part is that Ava seems to be growing in leaps and bounds...literally. Her movements are so distinct now and I love love love it every time I feel her move her arms and legs. I am SO excited to meet her in less than 3 short months! I have been feeling good for the most part which I attribute to my attempts at working out fairly consistently. Now if I could just curb my appetite... Nevertheless I hope to find out at my appointment next week that I am still keeping my weight down. I will also have my glucose test done. I'll keep you posted!