Some Updates and My Weekend

Update on the father-in-law:
The F.I.L. has been transferred to a different hospital for dialysis. His kidneys obviously aren't doing so well. They had to go back into the abdomen to check out some dangerous stuff that was coming out of him. He is very sick. He is still in ICU in critical condition. The ventilator was put back in to keep the abdomen more relaxed. The future ex is flying up there tomorrow. He's going to stay up there as long as his job will allow. It's not a good situation. I can sense the anxiety in his voice. This kidney issue is pretty scary. If they don't work, the options are not so great. So prayer on that one would be great.

Update on my cousin's family:
Today was my cousin's memorial service. I haven't been able to talk to any of his family yet. My mom spoke to my aunt earlier on the weekend and she told my mom not to leave my dad to make the long drive. All I can do is pray God's peace on that whole family. I thought of him a lot today. And all of them.

Update on me and the future ex:
God rocks. And he answers your prayers. How do I know? I gained a huge sense of peace about the whole early departure thing over the weekend. So THAT'S how I know he answers your prayers. I have been praying so hard and so long about this whole situation. So have many of you. So if he ends up leaving early? There's a reason. God set me up in this amazing neighborhood and gave me really cool friends here. Not just friends but other parents that get what my little family is going through. They are constantly offering and delivering support for us. God got my parents here and provided buyers for both of their other houses in a horrid housing market. God put me in the most rockin' little church with a bunch of people that would bend over backward to help me and my boys. God set up a network of friends up in Boston that still act like family. Over the weekend, I got Vince Lombardi pep talks from my mom, Big Sis, future ex's sis, and The Princess of Pawtucket. It's pretty amazing to hear that people really think you're strong enough to do this single parent thing truly as a single entity. It'll be by the grace of God - and his huge freaking network he built for me. Verizon's got NOTHIN' on God.

My Weekend:
I have to tell you about my weekend because it totally rocked. I was so emotionally wiped out by the time Friday rolled around. I was probably verging on being a bit depressed. So this weekend was awesome.

- Friday - Chick Nite with the ladies in my 'hood. I had probably invited about 10-ish ladies for the Chick Nite. We ended up just being four. Which might sound like a total bummer. But not with the 3 that showed up. It was just so much fun. We missed the absent. But these girls know how to make me laugh. So we sat around my kitchen table for about 3 or 4 hours. Which is funny because those chairs are not the most comfy things. We had a little wine or a little beer. We had chips & fresh salsa and a sliced baguette with 3 different cheeses. Later, I pulled out a bunch of fresh fruit and whipped cream. We never even touched the veggie platter.

We told stories and laughed. I learned more Spanish words that I will never be able to remember. We talked about how unique our almost-all-brunette neighborhood is in this part of bleach blond Texas. And then we laughed at how my kids are like the only blond kids in the 'hood. And look at their mother!! But it was just so good to sit around with women who just make me laugh. Oh man, it was great.

- Saturday - I tried to sleep in. Parents of young kids know how nigh impossible that is. But I made it to about 9am which is HUGE luxury for me. I got up and just puttered slow. My only plan was to get to Austin to get a missing piece to one of my new earrings. Never did get that errand run. I watched some bad TV, took a long shower, went grocery shopping for the church food supplies, made a sandwich for lunch. Very very lazy. Just not something I usually do.

Then I went down into Austin and met Big Sis and Tall Hubby. I got to see my nephews, Sid (the wee dog) and Simon (the not-so-wee cat). We hung out for a while and then went to have some hors d'ouvres at their friends' house. We hung there and chatted and noshed on wonderful stuff like cheese, bread, some kind of plum and something else paste, olives, hummus, and grilled veggies. After all of that, we weren't really hungry for dinner. But we went forth and tackled the dinner task at a great place, Kerbey Lane. Yum - shrimp scampi! These four are great company and are gracious enough to allow me to frequently be their fifth wheel. I made it home just after midnite. Just in time to prep all the church food and watch a really really awful movie.

- Sunday - Probably my favorite day of the week. It could only be made better if they pass a law to make Monday a non-work day. I woke up in time to make myself presentable. Drove down to pick up the boys from future ex and went to church. I got to sing again this week and the songs Mr. Music Director picked were all just fantastic. I mean, in their message and their fun-factor for those of us that get to actually play/sing them. Plus, the singing bass player was there so we had 3 part harmonies which I just LOVE. To me, there should always be at least 17 harmony parts. Would that it were possible!

The lesson was awesome as usual. One point the pastor made that has stuck in my head is this: even Jesus had to pray twice. He was talking about how we tend to just send up one request and just dust our hands off like, "Well, I tried!" But sometimes we have to go to God multiple times. And he pointed out, in one story in the gospel, even Jesus - God on earth - had to pray twice. He prayed over a blind man and then asked him, "Tell me what you see." The man said, "I see men that look like trees." So Jesus prayed over him again and then the man saw clearly. I find that really profound. I've been learning to not give up in prayer. I'm always talking about "pestering God" on some issue. But when I heard this I thought, wow! There was at least one time where even Jesus had to pray twice. That is VERY cool. So now I'm redoubling my efforts to remember to keep asking God. Keep filling that bowl with prayers until it overflows. Anyway, that was one thing that stuck in my head. Also, I started talking to a few of the people at church about that music project I talked about a couple of posts ago. There are quite a few people very interested. So I imagine I'll be posting more about that.

That was my awesome weekend. Fun, fun and a great topper with my church family.

Today I got sick again. This GI problem I seem to have isn't giving up easily. I've had it in one form or another since Jan 14th. Today, I got violently ill again and thought, I am SO done with this. So I called the doc. They are running a bunch of labs on me to see if it's a particular bacteria they can attack with specific meds, if it's a virus, if it's a parasite or what. They're testing for a host of things just to rule them out. One of which is hepatitis. I doubt I have it. But seeing as how I got a new tattoo just after Christmas, you just never know. Wouldn't that just be poetic justice, eh? And if all those come back negative and I'm still having this much trouble, they'll probably do one of those really fun GI scans where you drink the orange barium drink. I've had one. Even the thought of smelling that orange stuff can make me gag. Ugh. But my theory is, I got virus A in Boston. I came home and Pokemon Boy had virus B. I got that. And my immune system is just too weak to fight it off. The doc office was booked solid today. I got in due to a cancellation that happened just as I called. They tell me there are just super GI bugs and bronchial infections going around right now. Lucky us, eh?

Anyway, that's my yammering for today.

Thank you all for the wonderful loving and supportive thoughts you left on the last post. I have no doubt that many of you are a huge part of my survival - through your prayers. And I can assure you that many of you are a huge part of my survival just for the sweet notes you leave me here.

Rock on, my people. Rock on.