Five on Friday (March 10, 2017)

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.

There we will receive his mercy and we will find grace

to help us when we need it most.

Heb. 4:16

1. On Tuesday Rory went on a field trip to the state capitol building and a TN history museum. She came home with a surprising number of facts regarding bayonets and guns. Their guide did an excellent job explaining to the class because she retained so much information! Of course, because she has an older brother who has been to the same museum during his own 4th-grade year, she had to contend with all of his corrections (his recollection of the facts were slightly different than hers). Bless that child. She has the patience of Job.

2. Because recovering from chemo is not happening as quickly as I would like, I made a point to focus on rest as a form of self-care this week. Those precious moments at the end of the day when everyone is asleep and there are no demands on my time or attention (because I am the last one awake in our house 100% of the time) are my favorite of the day. But I've been making sure sleep meds are taken and screens are off by 10-ish. I also closed my eyes for about half an hour every afternoon.

3. We had temps in the 80's yesterday, but tomorrow is going to be a cold snow day. Welcome to spring in Tennessee! I plan to thoroughly enjoy the cozy day at home. In fact, Brian and I already have plans to stick a frozen pizza in the oven for the kids, but cook ourselves a Hello Fresh meal, lock ourselves in the bedroom and watch the Survivor premiere.

4. This is my off week from chemo and Wednesday was my first free Wednesday since December 7. Prior to chemo, Wednesdays were reserved for extra cleaning and organization (think closets, pantry, etc.). Basically, anything other than the basics have gone out the door in recent months so I was excited to tackle some closets. I bagged up 3 garbage bags just from Camden and Rory's closets. They both tend to wear the same couple of shirts over and over until they are WAY too small. In fact, I counted 21 brand new shirts stuffed in Camden's closet, all purchased over the past 18 months, that he has never worn. I got rid of all the too-small, stained shirts and now he has no choice but to wear them.

5. We are hosting a family of 5 for supper tonight and Rory could not be more excited (they have 3 daughters). There are already plans to play with their hair, try on lotions, and color together. Camden could not be rolling his eyes any harder. I am making this butterfinger dessert. After a week back on our FMD diet, we could not be more excited about it.

Welcome to life with a 13-year old boy. We are going to survive this, right?