August 23 = Mother Eagle Day

These are the only pictures I got today...

I made my favorite breakfast this morning- funfetti pancakes- and then we headed to the gym and then to Target.  I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to visit Target on weekdays so I don't have to go on weekends very often because we went today (Sunday) and it was a madhouse!  

Anyway- this weekend... week... month... summer... has been challenging.  Liam experienced what we thought were the terrible twos but now, looking back, I don't think it was the typical terrible twos- I think it was more of him having the thoughts and wanting to say what another child his age would want to say but not having the ability to say it.  I think that we are now getting into the typical terrible twos which is featuring pushing, the insistence of no to everything, the temper tantrums, etc.  So I've been thinking and reading and researching what in the world I can do to make our lives better- but that's not what I want to write about.  I've been listening to sermons online and the one today spoke to me so I'm going to summarize.

Eaglets are the most difficult baby birds to teach to fly.  Apparently this makes sense because their nests are the highest.  To teach her babies to fly, the momma bird does some things she probably doesn't like doing but has to do because if she doesn't- those birds are never going to learn to fly.  First, she makes the nest uncomfortable so they'll actually move around.  Then she flaps her wings around to create a lot of wind and movement- the baby birds get scared so they climb on her back to escape it.  She then leaves the nest and drops them!  This seems a little harsh but she's there to catch them and she continues doing this until, one time, when she's waiting to catch them, they get it and fly on their own!  So this is an illustration of how God teaches us to trust Him.  He may make our comfy little situations a little less comfy.  And then we might get hit upside the head with his wing and we just want to escape to safety, to comfort.  So sometimes, he drops us- we free fall.  But he's there to catch us.  Now we, as humans, are not going to get out of the nest ourselves.  We're not going to volunteer to be dropped.  So sometimes God orchestrates circumstances in our lives to force us to lean on Him.  It's our only option.  I've felt this before when Liam was in the NICU and then again when he had seizures and then again when we found out he probably had NF.  I felt this again when Malia had her seizures.  With each of this situations I've been a little quicker and a little quicker still to trust.  My friend Amy took her daughter, Evie, to Dr. Modi last week and one of his suggestions that he gives all parents of one year olds is to make sure they're getting plenty of socialization.  Amy assured Dr. Modi that Evie is a social butterfly and mentioned that her best friend is Malia.  Dr. Modi told her all about how strong he sees Zachary and me as a couple- that we are so calm.  The last word in the world- well that may be an exaggeration- that I would use to describe myself would be calm.  My therapist took one look at me and diagnosed me with generalized anxiety disorder; I'm a textbook case.  But I have cast my cares concerning Liam's health issues on the Lord and he sustains me.  I know that casting my cares doesn't mean they'll be dealt with in the way I want them to be- I've let that go.  If I could apply that to every area of my life, I'd be set.  But it's always good to have goals right?!