We're Going to Miss This

Yesterday, was a incredibly busy day. However, our family team rose to the occasion.

Charlee, our little girl, is three years old. She has experienced developmental delays since she was placed in our home back in 2005. However, she has been making a lot of progress. She is not talking extensively, but she does have about 20 words or more that she uses.

When she was placed in our home, she did not cry for several days. Her neck was not strong enough to hold her head up. All of these signs point to the fact that she must not have received all the attention she needed when she was a newborn.

For the last year, Charlee has undergone several tests to determine if she has any problems cognitively or otherwise. Nothing has ever been discovered. Terri is a super mother, who has really advocated for Jared and Charlee. She really knows her stuff and I enjoy hearing her talk to doctors. She uses "their language." At times, I think it's disconcerting for them, but I believe they respect her.

Yesterday, we had an appointment with a Genetics Expert at the University Medical Center. He examined her and concluded there is nothing wrong with Charlee "structurally." So, he did not see any reason to undergo extensive genetics testing.

He did refer us to a doctor in Hattiesburg who is will use a more trained eye to examine a MRI taken of Charlee a few months ago. This is just to rule out any problems.

God has blessed us with three wonderful children. Abbey is 14. So, it is so fun to compare her early years to those of the younger kids. Sometimes, I feel a little old (I'm 43) to be having a 3 year old and a 5 year old, but I can't imagine my life without them.

Yesterday, we left the house around 8:30 and drove to my parents house, which is on the way to Jackson. We left Abbey and Jared with them. We went to Jackson to meet with the doctor. I visited a patient at a hospital in the area. We left Jackson around 4:00 PM. Then, we picked up the kids from our parents. Drove straight to Sand Hill for Jared to play his T-Ball game which started at 7:30 PM. We arrived home at 10:00 PM.

While these are hectic times, they are good times. I want to make the most of my days. Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus on this subject.

"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time,..."--Ephesians 5:15-16a (NKJV)

I want to redeem the time. Life is brief.

The great theologian Trace Adkins (Ha Ha) has a song entitled "You're Going to Miss This." The words are so appropriate for my life right now:

Five years later
There's a plumber
Working on the water heater
Dogs barking, phones ringing
One kids crying, one kids screaming
She keeps apologizing
He says "They don't bother me.
I've got two babies of my own.
One's 36, one's 23.
It's hard to believe...

"But You're going to miss this
You're going to want this back
You're going to wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're going to miss this
You're going to miss this
Yeah you're going to miss this