When we drive around town, I usually have the radio on and it is usually tuned to J103, the local CCM station. One rather popular song that keeps popping up in their playlist is Praise You in this Storm by Casting Crowns. The lyrics are very moving and calming- reminding me that where ever the storms are, God is there. Sometimes He is moving them away and other times, He is right there beside me as we rock and roll through the rapids.

I’ll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I’ve cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

The song has been used by the Holy Spirit for me recently. I’ve been exhaustingly sick (I joke, but coughing is physically tasking), I’ve been hugging my kids while they battle ailments, and in the past few days my husband has been recovering from a rather painful surgery.

While these things might not seem as bad to others, to me it has felt rather big and lonely. My temper has been short, my desire to shut out all things has been big. Interaction with even Fuller and Tebow has sometimes been forced out of Mommy-duty and not Mommy Love.

And yet, this song keeps coming to mind to remind me to praise God in all circumstances, even when hacking up a lung or wiping yet another snotty nose.

I’m thankful for the reminder, because on Tuesday the song mashed up with another song I have been hearing a lot of as well- City on our Knees by Toby Mac.

On Tuesday night, when Damon was trying to find the balance between resting and taking his pain medication, Twitter was exploding with one question “What happened to @anissamayhew?”

It took a little while for the news to trickle out, but it came out that Anissa had suffered a stroke and was in the ICU in an Atlanta area hospital. You can read more about it at one of Anissa’s blogs, Aiming Low.

I met Anissa briefly at Type A Mom Conference. Our interaction was pretty brief and centered around the fact that Tebow is one cute kid. And while it was a nice ice breaker, I didn’t suddenly drop the shy-shield and become her BFF. I just kind of saw her from the corner of my eye.

But when the twitterverse was only talking about Anissa and starting the hashtag #prayersforanissa, I was drawn in. For one thing, Anissa is a fellow blogger and I know (and learned more about) the struggles her family has endured in recent years. And for another, it was amazing how far the reach of the #prayersforanissa had gone out. Her community set up a Caring Bridge site, paypal donation buttons, and started keeping people in the loop immediately.

So, back to the mash up of songs.

Toby Mac sings

“Tonight’s the night
For the sinners and the saints

Two worlds collide
in a beautiful display

It’s all up tonight
When we step across the line

We can sail across the sea
To a city with one king

A city on our knees”

On Tuesday night, the city was Twitter and there were people falling to their knees in prayer for Anissa. The #prayersforAnissa topic grows and grows. Maybe people are just curious now, maybe others just want updates, but I know there are people still on their knees for this blogger and her family. I know there are people who, when they type #prayersforanissa they are actually praying for Anissa.

And now, we watch and praise God through this storm. While we are on our knees we know God is working either pushing away the clouds while holding our hands or holding our hands while we keep on keeping on. God is going to heal my body, my husband’s body, my kid’s bodies. And I know God is healing Anissa too. Keep that city on it’s knees, twitter. #prayersforanissa

Technorati Tags: prayersforanissa, Anissa Mayhew, Toby Mac, Casting Crowns, prayer, healing

My friend Heather is expecting (yeah!) and she said I could take some maternity pictures of her someday soon. Last week I took a few impromptu shots at the playground and I really like how this one turned out.

For more Wordless Wednesday pictures, check out Momdot.

Technorati Tags: Wordless Wednesday, maternity photo

I looked at my wordpress dashboard and it said I had 666 posts. So, I had to make one more to change the number.

I’m still sick, but I can tell the medicine the physician’s assistant prescribed has helped. Let’s all say a little word of thanks for codeine. I got some good sleep. I still woke up several times, once because I heard this strange wheezing noise and when I woke up I realized it was me!

Last week I had planned on getting my flu shot yesterday, but I wasn’t allowed since I was sick. But since the flu test was negative, I can get one after I’m well. Which I’m happy to do because the flu test was so un-freaking-believably awful. A shot in the arm is better than a swab up both nostrils any day.

This week’s I ♥ Faces challenge is Autumn Beauty. I had a plethora of Autumn Beauty to share, because we have had a really gorgeous Fall.

I think it is traditional for most families to take some time to visit a pumpkin patch at some point in the fall. The colors make for excellent backdrops for future Christmas cards. Well, we don’t bother with heading to a pumpkin patch. Instead, I just plopped my kids down in the middle of the Wal-Mart pumpkin selection (in the garden section) and took my ever-present camera out of my purse and snapped a few shots! I was able to angle it just right so you had no idea we were in Wal-Mart.

I really like this picture and even had it printed in order to give away to some of the Grands and Greats in the family.

Last year we did the same thing at Home Depot, who had a pumpkin/ hay theme surrounding some grills. Maybe this will be our fall tradition- just find a faux pumpkin patch to take the kids’ picture in.

And it just goes to show, carrying around your camera at all times really allows you to get some creative shots.

Check out the other Autumn Beauties at I ♥ Faces.

Technorati Tags: i heart faces, autumn beauty, pumpkin patch, digital photography

I declare that if someone is going to get sick with an illness that will cripple her while performing mother/ wife duties, the illness should definitely start with a FEVER. Because if it starts with a cough after a brisk walk in the post-Ida wind, followed by achiness blamed on working out, then I the mother/ wife will keep pushing herself to do everything, including tailgating and attending a very exciting football game (after downing ibuprofen and Mucinex), only to collapse (figuratively) that night in a fever topped with chills.

I hate being sick. I hate that I made excuses for a few days before actually saying, “I’m sick.”

I did go to the Minute Clinic this morning and verified I don’t have flu and don’t have bronchitis. Instead I have been coughing since Wednesday and tired of it. My chest is sore and my energy is sapped.

But hey, tomorrow is another day.

This week was a bit jammed pack and suddenly I find myself with two kids in bed and it is Friday night. How did that happen? Between doctor visits, a playdate, exercise, and the minutia of life, the week flew by. And I don’t think life will slow down until next weekend. Maybe. That’s the weekend before Thanksgiving. We are driving to Ohio for Thanksgiving, so I guess I’ll be getting ready for that.

So, as I look behind me and see the debris of the last week and I look before me to the other appointments and get togethers and even more minutia, I tell myself I have to stop and slow down.

Today, I was gifted with slow time. I woke up feeling awful and very sore (probably not sick, just sore from working out). Damon helped by taking the boys away from me for over two hours. I worked out, took my shower, took a little nap, and got to catch up on some TV. It was plenty of time for me to feel like me again. And face the fast pace our life seems to be taking right now. (Thanks, Damon. It was really sweet of you.)

Technorati Tags: me time, fast pace

Well, there it is. This is me today, on my birthday, at the ripe young age of 33.

I think I look ok. And I feel ok. Things are low key around here, due to just getting back from a weekend away and you know- life. But we took the day off from school. Tebow did a great job napping (an excellent present). And right this very second, Damon and Fuller are conspiring in the kitchen with noises of the mixer and hushed conversation about how old Mommy is.

So, I decided to try and think about the things I know about myself in an effort to answer “Who am I?” question.

And one of the areas of my life- one of the true things about me- is my online life. The blogging, the twittering, the facebooking, and the DIGITAL MOM part of my life… they are a big part of who I am. And, I am totally doing myself a disservice by not blogging about them.

I think I took a wrong turn somewhere when I told myself I shouldn’t blog about blogging. I didn’t think I was doing my readers any favors by reading about online life stuff. But in not blogging about anything else in the blogosphere, I was hampering my ability to build community.

I’ve mentioned twitter here and there, but I never promote twitter parties or reference the friends I’ve made there. I don’t talk about forums I frequent and the relationships I’ve built there. IRL (aka in real life) when I talk about being online, about the digital mom part of my life, I kind of get embarrassed and try to change the subject. I try to defend hours I spend at the laptop.

Actually, let me tell you a story.

After the Today Show segment aired, I never came back to this space to explain anything people saw on TV. I stewed over many things that irritated me, I quit reading Dooce because of what her commenters said about me, and I was kind of glad we went on vacation right away and had almost no internet access. It allowed me to just skip over it and go back to blogging stories and sharing pictures.

But it wasn’t me. I was denying a part of who I am. If I’m going to say I’m a digital mom on national TV, shouldn’t I be comfortable writing about it as well?

So, as I move forward with figuring out who I am, I embrace the fact that I am a blogger, I have a life online, and I’ll probably be writing about it a bit more in the future.

Technorati Tags: Wordless Wednesday, red, bokeh