MM 166-206

 It's never good being woken up at 5am by a sick child.

 It's even worse on the dawning of a weekend away.

 After comforting and tucking my child back into bed, I climbed back into my warm nest and cried.  This trip had been anticipated for months, dreamed of for years.  But now, on the eve of dream's realization, I was going to be denied.  And what can you do, when kids get sick?

 I prayed, asking God to heal my child.  Two hours later, at official morning time in our house, she was up and sick again.  This time she seemed feverish.  Again I prayed and began to resign myself to a weekend at home.

 But my husband didn't agree. Knowing how much I wanted to go, he volunteered to stay home. Surprisingly our daughter was okay with this.  But her two younger brothers were not.  They weren't going to easily give up their Daddy time.  We talked and prayed some more.  Then my husband came to a startling decision: We were all going to go.  The sickie would be drugged on the way down and then stay in the hotel room with the adults taking turns staying with her.  Quickly I scrambled to get ready, gathering up extra reading materials for the time spent in the hotel room.

 My sickie drifted in and out of consciousness on the drive down.  But she scrambled out of the car completely alert and healthy.  We watched her carefully, but she was fine.  Other than a brief bit of feeling off at dinner, she was completely back to normal.  As for me, I rejoiced in God's healing and in my husband's faith and wisdom.  We had an amazing time with our friends and our little family.

Continuing to count along with Ann:
166. Biking on a major street for the very first time.
167. Safety while biking.
168. Increased confidence.
169. A good date with my sister.
170. Hearing her university stories for the very first time.
171. Finding wings to match my fairy costume.
172. Batman half-face masks.
173. My sister coming over for dinner before she headed home.
174. Gluten-free leftovers with which to feed her.
175. Working with the Sr. Youth for the very first time.
176. Mean mommy skills coming in handy.
177. A patient youth pastor.
178. The sillies fading away, revealing listening hearts and a thirst for God.
179. Beautiful November sky.
180. A new system for storing winter hats, scarves and mittens that greatly decreased my stress in getting out winter stuff.
181. Gel pens.
182. Listening to my children recite Scripture.
183. Memorizing alongside them.
184. Kian knowing the books of the New Testament from Matthew to Corinthians just from listening to his siblings.
185. The beaming look of accomplishment my children get after memorizing a particularly challenging passage.
186. Family night at church.
187. Rebuilding and continuing the friendship we have with a family from our former church.
188. The lessening of pain attached to leaving our former church.
189. A fabulous weekend of prayer training.
190. Working(praying) my way free of the lies that have entangled me for so long.
191. Resting in the sweet healing presence of God.
192. Attending said prayer conference with my husband.
193. Delighting that we are on the same page in so many areas of our life.
194. A wise minister who is so very gentle.
195. Learning to walk free.
196. Really good food at the conference. My sandwich had prosciutto, roasted red peppers and brie. And then I had coconut macaroons for dessert. *happy sigh*
197. A good weekend away.
198. Aris being healed!
199. A wise husband.
200. Friends to travel with.
201. The wisdom and understanding of my children God is giving me.
202. Happy, contented children.
203. Putting the boys to bed an hour before their bedtime without them noticing.
204. A couch date with my husband: Good conversation, Vietnamese food, and then the Big Bang Theory.
205. The beautiful young lady Aris is becoming.
206. Footed pajamas.