Saturday, March 29, 2008

Pray

*UPDATE:  Lacey is doing WONDERFULLY!  Power, power, wonder-working power! and as my sweet Abby Kate loves to sing, "My God is so BIG, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do!"  She still isn't completely out of the woods, so please keep praying.  If you would like to follow her story, you can now check www.carepages.com and click visit.  Then type in laceyjoburns, no spaces, and it will take you to her page.  It will also send email updates any time the page is update (which is whenever anything changes).  Thank you EACH for praying!
I know many of you that read this have already gotten my email.  But I am asking any one that reads this to please pray.  Here is the story.... 
I just am coming to you on behalf of a family I met a couple of weeks ago. My cousin's best friend Leisa
has a daughter, Lacey that is 14 years old. Super healthy, athletic, great kid. She contracted microplasmic 
pneumonia a couple of weeks ago. She was in the hospital a week at home and then was brought by ambulance
to the new children's hospital here. After another week, she was put in the PICU. 
She is now on a ventilator and a sort of bypass machine to oxygenate her blood called an EC-Mo
machine. They tried taking her off of it last night and she started bleeding out internally from the
heparin she was on to thin her blood and they had to take her to surgery to cauterize her veins that were
bleeding. I took them a meal tonight and Leisa shared that Lacey had started bleeding again, that her SATs
had dropped dangerously low. But an hour ago, I got a text message saying she was worse and they have now
had to put in another chest tube. I cannot imagine how this family is feeling. They know the power of our God
and trust Him but I am sure they are beside themselves right now.  
Would you please join me in agreement praying these three things for Lacey?
1.  That she can stay of the EC-Mo machine.
 2.  That her SATs will rise. 
3.  That she will stop bleeding.
And ultimately, for healing.  I am specifically praying it will happen in a way that only HE can receive glory.
Thank you all SO much.  I adore you each...

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Finally, a plan....

I giggle as I write this post, knowing half of my readers will roll their eyes and sigh and the tedious details of this content.  But the other half, the ones after my own heart, are energized by a plan.  We love the semblence of order and at best, a facade of organization. 
 I always wanted to be a free spirit.  One that was totally cool with whatever came my way.  Then I went to Europe for 5 weeks with a friend after I graduated college with no plan whatsoever.  A Eurorail pass and a laughably small budget...we had all intentions of just drifting.  Finding fun towns tucked in these countries we were exploring.  Finding cheap, clean hostels for low prices.  Enjoying excellent food and conversation (we actually did that!).  But those of you that have traveled in Europe know that was a naive notion.  I break out in cold sweat just thinking about it.  Catherine, my friend I travelled with actually is an artist so she was actually COOL with whatever.  Me on the other hand, spent feverish hours pouring over our guide books, desperately needing A PLAN.  I relished in my Coke Light and Snickers every morning for breakfast (except when I could find delicious pastries because, well, lets face it, I WAS in the land of great pastries) because it was something that gave me consistency in the midst of what felt like being out of control.  
So here it is folks....
My sweet friend Robin loved me enough to send a great plan she got at a twin Moms meeting.  I revised it to fit my life and and I will start on Monday.  Abby Kate will always come first....I believe this is God's plan.  However, since staying home, I have been convicted of the passage in Titus 2:3-5 which says, “Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to respect their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”  
I want my home to be a haven of safety, orderliness and fun.  I want my children and their friends to want to be at our home.  I want to provide a place that my children not only feel safe, but cared for in little ways.  My sweet friend Lacie is so good at finding fun projects to do with her daughter Channing.  They made adorable Valentines for her friends.  They make cookies.  They do lots of little things that make Channing's day fun.  I want to get my chores done quickly and efficiently so I can spend my time investing in the life that means the most to me.  
So if you are interested in seeing this cool daddy spreadsheet, let me know.  I would happily email it to you!  It has made me giddy happy.  So sad to you energizers out there....

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Fun home goodness...


Hi!...it has been awhile since the last post...I know! Just living life I guess...life has seemed busy. I am not a fan. Anyway, just thought I would post an assortment of subjects. First, I became obsessive during this last pregnancy about all the things I needed to get done but now could not do as a pregnant girl. Painting, lifting, rearranging...so when I knew it was going to end in a miscarriage, I made a long list of things I wanted to get finished before my next pregnancy. We are slowly but surely ticking off the list. This past weekend, my precious parents-in-law helped us move rooms around. We are now maximizing space. We moved my office into the never used dining room, utilizing the dining table without the leaf as my desk. We stored the chairs in our now cleaned out and organized attic (thanks Mom!). We made the old office a guest room for now but it is ready for a baby (just move out the bed for a crib if it is a boy....it is B's decorating and is ready for a cowboy-loving son...if it is a girl, we will have NEW projects!). We made the old guest room a playroom (YEA!) and a craft room for me. We moved the guest room to our bonus room upstairs and made a sort of guest suite. I LOVE it all. Now all I have left from my list is paint, touch up baseboards (they look terrible from when we had the wood floors put in), and clean out/organize 2 more closets. I want to get all white bedding for the guest suite and do a pale blue wall. I also want balloon shades for those windows. I have found red/white gingham roman shades on ebay that I may purchase for the playroom. All these are wants...I will slowly save to fun up the rooms.
I have really been struggling with balance lately. How do you all get it all done? I wiped down my cabinets and baseboards yesterday and I shutter to say, they were disgusting. Not to mention the things that need to be done daily, weekly...agh! What are your tips for organizing your home and tasks? I have a hard time staying on top of my deep cleaning. Baseboards, windows and window sills, ceiling fans, air conditioner vents, cleaning out and wiping down the refrigerator, cleaning your oven, etc.... how often do you do those things? I am an obsessive pick-up girl. Everything is in its place before bedtime, dishes are done...so it is not a mess I am dealing with, it is CLEAN. I love clean as you have seen from previous posts. I want my house to be gleaming but I do not want to be doing things all day, every day. I know you have to pick your priorities and AK will ALWAYS be first, but I want to work these things into my routine without spending all of naptime each day cleaning. Hmmm...cloning anyone? Hehe! I would love to hear from you all. I have had friends post similar questions on their blogs and I loved reading them so I thought I would ask my blog readers for more!