OT - Prayer request

[Nealewill]

So, I had listed previously that I had a cyst growing between the roots of two of my teeth. I have an appointment scheduled Thursday to have it removed. My prayer request is that I can keep the appointment. Today all 3 of my kids (one over night, one in the morning and then one after lunch) now have the stomach bug. So, please pray that I don't get it nor does my husband. Because of the big snow storm a few weeks ago, the doctors office was closed. My appointment got pushed back due to that. Now, if I get the stomach bug on Thursday or my husband gets it, I will need to reschedule my surgery. I really don't want to do this as I am at a point that my face hurts. My cheek hurts where the cyst is growing and my lower jaw is starting to hurt too because it is pressing on the nerve in that area. So please pray that I don't have to miss the appointment.

Also - please pray for me for patience and contentment. I know God has done amazing work in me already but I am actually pretty frustrated about having to take this week off. I was frustrated that I would lose Thursday and Friday because of the surgery. Now with having 3 sick kids, I am completely ticked off about losing today. I don't see much point in doing school for tomorrow so I will probably just take the day off. I know everything happens in God's perfect timing but I am just tried of missing school! So prayers for my attitude would great too.

[Mumkins]

Praying for you! God can do miracles. A stomach bug went through our house. While DH did get it, I got no more than a few rumbles in my tummy.

[MelInKansas]

Prayers that you can go to surgery and that it will be successful with a quick recovery!

[my3sons]

I am praying for you!!! I know that taking time off is hard, and so is looking ahead to surgery and recovery. It's also tough to have sick kids. I have been through all of these things and felt all the gamut of emotions that go along with them, and I don't have any real help other than telling you that you will get through this, and that things will get better. This too shall pass. Isn't that a wonderful Bible verse? What reassurance for difficult times! When it seems like all is going wrong, it helps for me to try to just let some things go that I normally wouldn't. The dishes may pile up in the sink for once. Or, I may just put aside my work and take a bubble bath. Or, I may just decide that rather than doing school, I'm going to let the kids sleep in, watch a long movie and make popcorn, and play board games. Or, I may wear my pjs and robe later into the morning and take a nap on the couch with the electric blanket on near the kids. Or, I may pack the kids up even though I don't feel well and go get hot cocoa and hot coffee or go out for a cheap lunch somewhere. I don't do this stuff often, but sometimes, I think the Lord just forces it upon me. Every 'body' needs a slow down now and then, as life can just get to be too much. I am praying for the Lord to lift your spirits, for you to feel better, for your dc not to get sick, and for your surgery to go well. You are a strong woman, but it's ok to take a deep breath and just settle in and lean on the Lord's shoulder. This too shall pass, and soon it will all be a distant memory. Praying! Praying! Praying!

Love in Christ,
Julie

[Nealewill]

Thanks so much for the prayers.

My surgery went really well. They made a much larger incision in my mouth than I thought they would have. They had to cut both the gum side and the roof of my mouth. The cyst was gone by the time they did the surgery but they did find an inflamed root tip from a prior root canal that most likely caused the cyst. They also did quite a bit of exploring in there to make sure there wasn't anything else going on. So my mouth, sinus area and nose are a bit sore. I am just thankful that it was a fairly uneventful surgery even though it is very tender where they worked. Now I am just praying that God will give me a speedy recovery

The only real bummer to the surgery is I can only drink liquids for the next 4 days and then a very limited diet for 4 days after that. While we all say we would love to lose 5 pounds, I can't express how happy I would be right now to just keep them. This diet is going to be a bummer LOL. But I am already feeling a bit better anyway and just so thankful that we live in a country where we have good doctors and that they can help to take care of us when things happen.

I am also really enjoying this week off of school as are my kids. You are right Julie - sometimes God gives us a break whether we want it or not. I am just going to enjoy my break! We went to the Omnimax Theater yesterday and are going again tomorrow. The Omnimax is a dome theater near my house and we got annual passes to it. It usually had educational shows. It is a lot like watching National Geographic in a dome theater. While I don't agree with everything they always say, the good usually out ways the bad and my kids love seeing interesting things. We saw a documentary all about Humpback Whales and Interesting Places on Earth. We also previously saw a documentary on Jerusalem but are going to re-watch the documentary on Jerusalem tomorrow. That was amazing and talks all about the different cultures living there. I also felt like they did an excellent job giving the different historical references to Christians, Jews and Muslims and treating the events of the Bible as fact. So I definitely thing God knows what He is doing when He gives me a breaks. I plan to enjoy it to the fullest

[psreit]

Daneale,

Glad to hear things are going well from your surgery. Don't worry about missing some school. I know exactly the feeling, but when things happen, we learn to be flexible, and it all works out. My daughter and grandson are here for a visit for a few days, so I'm not having Angie do school today or Monday. She doesn't get to see her sister very often. It will set us back a little, but in all the medical stuff over the years with my one older daughter, God has helped me accept things as they come, and not get worked up about it, like I did in the past. He knows what we can handle. Have a relaxing time off.

[Nealewill]

Thanks so much Pam. One thing I love about God's wisdom regarding fellowship is how he can use you to minister to me about not getting worked up about taking time off. I am so grateful for your thoughts (and so many other moms with older kids.) It is so helpful in bringing reality back into perspective.

Enjoy your visit with your other daughter. I am sure is great having them visit for a few days and getting to spend time with them. Hopefully you can find something nice to do for the day. Weather here (in Ohio) is going to be beautiful next week. So we may be taking some nice days off! It is going to be upper 50s and lower 60s. I feel outdoor trips coming on every day!

[psreit]

Daneale, I'm glad I can be an encouragement. I enjoy this board and know I can trust it. This is the only board I really spend time on anymore. I just know that this board is full of moms who love the Lord and have much wisdom. You, among many others, have been an encouragement to me.

Yes, we are ready to be outdoors. By May the weather is getting so nice here in PA. I marked my calendar to show days of school and days off until May 21st. We are already scheduled to do school two weeks later than I thought we would be, and I told Angie we would get done before her birthday, which is the 25th. We can't take any extra days off or that won't happen, and we really need to be done by then. My older daughter that is still at home is having surgery on Good Friday. So, we will be spending Easter weekend three hours from home! Maybe we can take a field trip when we are there (in Philadelphia), so I could count a day of school, and knock one off at the end of May. I really have to consider that! But, for now I AM enjoying having my daughter and 2yo (next Thursday) grandson. So, I have to have a birthday party before they leave on Tuesday! No school before then.

[psreit]

I just had a thought! We have been reading about Ben Franklin in Bigger history. I think a field trip in Philadelphia would be a splendid idea! Maybe the Franklin Institute. We haven't been there for a long time. Maybe we can get our 180 days in a little sooner after all.

[Nealewill]

That would be awesome!!!

[my3sons]

I am so glad your surgery is done and now you can focus on recovery! It is a relief to have it over. It does sound like a pretty major surgery, which does mean a pretty major recovery. I'm so glad to hear you are taking the week off, and enjoying some things that you can enjoy with your kiddos like the omnitheater. The liquids only is a tough one. I know you already do smoothies, so you have some good recipes to use already. I wish I could bring over some soup! I am praying for a complete recovery, and for this week to go well. Keep your chin up, like you always do! This too shall pass, and in the meantime, I'd say you have a ticket to anything fun you can think of doing with the kiddos this week off that sounds doable!

In Christ,
Julie

[Nealewill]

You are right Julie - the surgery was way more intrusive than I thought it would be! I had something similar done two years ago but they only cut up near one tooth. Within one day 1 day I was feeling better. And I had no diet restrictions with that surgery. This time, they cut me from canine all the way back to where my wisdom tooth was. And they cut both the outside part of gum and the inside roof of mouth. Ouch! My mouth was so swollen I couldn't open it more than to sip on drinks for 3 days straight. It was also so swollen I looked like I got hit in the face with a baseball bat. I have pretty much been sleeping during the day most because the pains medicine I am on make me a little bit drowsy. Also, less food means less energy. But at times, my mouth felt so sore I just wanted to sleep so that I didn't have to deal with the pain.

But today is day number 5 and I am feeling really good. We may end up taking a few more days off this week (or all week) too because I let a lot of things go this past week with feeling so down and out. Plus, my mouth feels very tired after talking all day. With doing Bigger and Little, I need mouth at it's best LOL. I go back to the doctor on Thursday to see how things are doing. And by this coming weekend, I should be able what I want again. By next week, I will be back to my old self with plenty of energy again I just remember reading a post somewhere a little while back about you spread out 2 levels over one year (I think it was you and it was for Riley). You had talked about needing the extra time because of everything going on in your life. It made me feel a bit better about taking this time for myself and feeling like it is okay to take extra time because I needed it. Kids are still learning a ton anyway and they are definitely thriving. But maybe taking some time off is a good thing for us all.