All dressed up with somewhere to go...

Here's the great group of young people Josiah got to hang out with for the evening,
Josiah, the girl in the white sweater in front of him and the girl in the flower dress
in front of her are the three students from my class this year.

I  

This past weekend our CC high school group had its annual Protocol Event. This is our seventh protocol event, but the first where it's been just Josiah and me representing the Dagerath clan.  This year, the group went to dinner at Rosario's Mexican Diner and then went to see a play based on the book The Secret Garden. Since that book is part of the curriculum in Challenge A (the 7th grade at CC), all of the students who went were familiar already with the story. That may just be a first for a protocol event (except for the time we went to see The Best Christmas Pageant Ever...but this was a much more formal event). Turns out, the play was actually a musical--and very well done.
A few of the moms were making comments about "I don't remember the uncle having a doctor brother and both being in love with Lily." to which a couple of the students reminded us "Well, that's because it wasn't in the book that way that's why you don't remember it!" Homeschoolers...😉

Here they all are at dinner. 

It's always fun to dress up. Josiah really enjoys the students at our new campus. Huge answer to prayer! All but one of the students who went last night will be in his class next year and he is so excited about that. And that makes me excited!

Glad Josiah doesn't mind going out with me and giving me a hug during a picture. I love my boys!!!

Don't it make my brown walls blue...

 Cue Crystal Gayle...😀 (If you don't know who that is...Google it with this blog title! If you do, then you're probably already singing her song in your head right now anyway. Just wanted to acknowledge that for you!)

So in an unexpected twist, a guy came Saturday to paint our room and bathroom. I honestly didn't know that Michael had told Jesus that we would like his team to paint them. I knew we had talked about it, and how nice it would be to pay someone to do that for us instead of doing it ourselves, but didn't know that was for sure happening. So what a thrill!

I like so many things about this house. But the color of the walls and ceiling in the master bedroom and bathroom haven't been my favorite. Just never been a fan of the rust and peach. Sure it matches the floor tiles, but that's about it. Especially for these maroon loving Aggies! And now it's bye-bye rust, hello blue...

 Here's a peek at the framing for the new tub!! It makes my heart beat faster just to look at it. 😊

The only problem....we didn't order blue paint. Ugh! We actually ordered gray, because it actually MATCHES the tile and the doors, baseboards and doorframes. So, we are gonna have to say "No way, Jose." (because Jose was legitimately the name of the painter! ) The blue is a gorgeous sky blue that looked great at our house in Memphis, but looks pretty bad at this house. And it makes the peach colored ceilings look...um, not so peachy! Not gonna lie, the baby blue and peach felt a little too much like the country home trend circa 1990. Not going back there! I feel a little like Christina from Flip or Flop thinking of telling Michael "That's not going to work, we need to repaint.We absolutely cannot leave it like that." Thankfully, Michael said it first. I just had to wholeheartedly agree. Also, very thankfully, Michael said he'd let Jesus know that the color on the wall doesn't look like the color of the paint sample that we gave him. So grateful to have a husband to take care of all of those things for me!! 

I really do like the lighter walls. It makes the rooms feel even brighter. So, now just to get the RIGHT light color on the walls. And I join Michael's sentiment when he said "Well, at least I didn't just paint it all the wrong color!" Me too, honey!! 

More reno updates to come...

Rub a dub dub, they're building my tub!

It's finally happening...at long long long last! I get to bathe at home.Wait a minute, you may be thinking, she's been at that same home for almost 9 years and you're telling me she's NEVER bathed there?! Crazy isn't? Not once! Hot tub? Yes, but not often. My boys and Michael love the hot tub. It's their "thing".  But I prefer NOT to be freezing my upper body when my lower body is 104 degrees! And then there's the whole "ambiance" of a bath that is lost in a hot tub. Never once have the boys ever taken candles and quiet music out to the hot tub! Never.ever. Country music?  sure. Jeffrey's 70s playlist? yep. But Musical Spa, Rachmoninoff, Moonlight Sonata, Swan Lake? Nope, never. Candles? None of those ever either. I don't at all begrudge them their evenings gabbing, chatting, solving problems and planning strategies in the hot tub. I love it actually! 

But come on, a gal needs her tub time ! Alone, in the dark, with no one talking! Even just the sound of the water running into the tub brings a crazy and instantaneous rush of peace. Add in the smell of s some bath salts and I'm gone.

Here's the thing, our beautiful, amazing, custom built home didn't have a bathtub anywhere. (Michael's offered to bring in the horse trough turned chick incubator in and fill it up with water for me, but surprisingly I declined. It's NOT the wild west out where, though some days it feels like it!) 

Here is just another example of how the Lord is using my accident for His glory. My spinal doctor recommended that I sit often in a whirlpool tub to help with my back. Consequently, my brilliant, ever thoughtful husband, asked him to write a prescription for a whirlpool tub. So now, we will submit the charges for the tub to the accident insurance and see if they cover the charges. They may or may not, but at any rate, it's lit the fire under us to get the tub. 

I could hardly contain myself when Jesus showed up this week to start working. (Yea, our contractor's name is Jesus...coincidence? I think not!  )

Here's our "before" picture of the counter part of our bathroom. This is all changing too! Stay tuned!

Here's the spot that's gonna be filled with a bathtub soon, very soon! The downside to this project is this: where will we put our laundry? Typically we put a basket right under the window for dirty clothes. Answer: in the laundry hamper that we've had build into our cabinets that we've never used. Just gonna have to make new habits, that's all.

This what the spot looks like WITHOUT the fan and with the door closed. It's almost never in this position, so it looks weird to me. But I wanted to document it.

Here's our super huge shower. That's the upside to the no-tub thing. This gigantic shower, but I gotta admit I didn't blink an eye at eating into the shower to make way for a huge tub!

Progress being made...Michael put up a temporary curtain so he can still shower in our bathroom. Jesus and co. are building a frame for the tub to sit in and then will retile the edge of the shower.
 And finally, meet the gal of the hour.....

She's large (6 ft long!!!), she's jetted, she's got a built in heater to keep the water warm (oh yeah!) and she's ours!!

This day is GOLDEN!

Today is a BIG day in the life of two of the most important people in our lives! BIG, like once-in-a-lifetime kind of BIG! Today marks 50 YEARS since Michael's aunt and uncle, who are very affectionately known around these parts as Tony and Gin-Gin, were married. A 50th wedding anniversary!!! WOW! Such an accomplishment! And they have not just stayed married, they have continued to love another. They are loving and caring to one another. And the role they have played in our lives can't be understated! Who knew that way back in 1990.....

They would be such a HUGE part of our lives in the decades to come! Gin-gin was an honorary mom at our wedding since Michael's own mother had just passed away 6 months before. I had no idea how she would so beautifully fill the role of mother-in-law (in all the BEST ways!) that I would have had vacant. She's been such a blessing to me, over and over again! She shops with me, she buys the BEST cards for birthdays and anniversaries, she calls to check on me, she proudly makes me a member of her Republican Women's club, she cheers me on and so faithfully tells me what a great job I've done raising the boys, she reads my blog 😍, I really could go on and on! I'm so grateful for you Gin!
But this blog post isn't just about Gin, it's about the dynamic duo!
From the very first moments when they declared themselves "Tony and Gin-Gin", they've jumped in and been such a presence and delight in our lives.
Look at these absolutely adorable jewels that I uncovered!!!

I'm quite sure no one else in the Air Force was EVER serenaded by Lt. Col. Callanan! 

Can't you see the love in these photos!! And it's mutual on everyone's parts!!

 They went on vacation with us! Florida, Austin, San Diego, LA, San Antonio, Coupland....

I remember one year, I surprised Michael and we flew out to LA to see Kenny G live in concert. Tony and Gin went to our hotel room before we arrived and filled our room with goodies. Tony mentioned that they had to tell the front desk that we were "their kids" in order for them to get in. He hoped we didn't mind. I remember being so humbled by that. OF COURSE we didn't mind! We have felt like "their kids" always. They've been grandparents to the boys, they've been like another set of parents to us, loving, caring, cheering us on! 

Even when I'm sure they thought we were completely berserk for the choice to homeschool, they never let us know. But they sure did let us know when they saw good things in us and in our boys. Tony even had the system director of Navstar GPS personally write 8 year old Jonathan and Jeremy a personal congratulations letter when they won the science fair using GPS as a subject! That's just the way they roll. Cheer and encourage! 

They've help fund the boys' college, because way back in 1995 they wanted to do something. WOW!! And as usual, they've been so encouraging to the boys as they have pursued their degrees and are moving away from our nest. 

How many people have 3 sets of grandparents cheering them on every step of the way?! 

God knew all those years ago that our hearts and lives had a spot that only they could fill. And that their hearts had a spot created just for us. Way beyond "aunt and uncle" closeness. For that we are so grateful!!!

Tony was in the Air Force and has been such a great example of a true American: Hardworking, Patriotic, faithful, fun! He's volunteers at the air museum in Torrance and shares his knowledge and love for flight with the visitors. Gin-Gin has so faithfully served by his side as an Air Force wife for 50 years and is the quintessential hostess. She's faithfully served the Bay Area Republican Women's Club for so many years. She's set a great example for staying involved in your community and doing your part to make your corner of the world the best it can be. Even all these years in California hasn't made them crazy liberals! ;-) And I think they are just glad we aren't either! We certainly share conservative values all the way around. That in itself is such a blessing! 

They met in Big Spring, Texas. She was teaching and he was in pilot school. A gal from Coupland, TX and a guy from Philadelphia. She was a UT Longhorn, He was an Iowa State Cyclone. They were married in the Philippines. January 24, 1967! And the rest is history!

They love watching football together. There will probably always be disagreement with the Eagles play the Cowboys and when the Cyclones play the Longhorns, but that's the way they like it. A little spice to make the sweet just right.

We are so proud of these two! We love you both SO MUCH!! We are delighted to spend a GOLDEN day, celebrating such a GOLDEN pair!!

So to wrap up this celebration, here's 50 memories Michael, the boys and I have of our lives with you (there are so many more, but here's what came up first):

1. Gin being an honorary mom on Peggy's behalf at our wedding.

2. The "just married" shirts you gave Michael and me to wear on our honeymoon.

3. The Schnauzer love you always gave to Max and Gretchen.

4. Gin's saying "I knew it! I just knew it!" when we told her we were expecting.

5. Gin's coming to help when Jonathan and Jeremy were babies.

6. Tony and Gin coming together for a visit when Jonathan and Jeremy were just a couple of months old.

7. Trips together to places like Ft. Walton Beach, FL

8. La Brea tarpits

9. Disneyland

10, Lego Land

11. San Diego

12. Austin

13. Your cute care package the first time all the boys came to visit Orange County.

14. Evenings at the Embassy Suites during happy hour during our six week vacation (well six week work project for Michael in Rancho Santa Margarita; six week vacation for the boys and me!)

15. Your trip with Michael to see John Glenn on his space shuttle launch

16. The flight suit and army suits you sent to Jonathan and Jeremy on their 8th birthday

17. With your own personal flight patches attached!

18. The letter you had written by a GPS program director after they won the 2nd grade science fair.

19. Tony sharing flight stories and telling about River Rat reunions

20. Your sending cookies with the presidential candidates' pictures on them in 2008.

21. Super thoughtful Christmas ornaments every year

22. Your handling gracefully Josiah breaking your screen door

23. And the light fixture on the same trip!

24. Trader Joe's goodies

25. Your participating and sharing at all the boys' 13th birthday celebrations

26. Shopping trips to Savers and Macy's

27. Tony calling during an Aggie game to say he's "lighting candles" for the  Aggies

28. Or if they are playing Iowa State to issue a "cyclone warning"! 

29. Your amazing greeting cards for every birthday, anniversary, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, Easter.....

30. How you would write on the boys' birthday cards "You now have ____ shares in your Van Guard Star Fund for your future"

31. How excited and grateful they were when they were old enough to actually understand what that meant!!

32. How you set up those funds and it paid for all of Jonathan and Jeremy's Bachelor's degree that they didn't pay in CLEP fees!

33. How that's doing the same for Jeffrey right now!

34. Christmas in California

35. Christmas in San Antonio

36. Christmas dishes-Spode Christmas tree-all thanks to you!

37. Taking Jonathan and Jeremy to the Ronald Reagan library when they came out to visit alone

38. Republican Women's luncheons and fashion shows

39. You calling us "your kids". Yep, we do the same. It's not just "less complicated", it's true!!

40. Scardinos

41. Kinkaid's

42. Blue Water Grill

43. Those cute black lacy pants that Gin and I both have! 😁

44. Sports Illustrated for Kids subscriptions for years

45. And Money Magazine and Consumer Reports when they were older

46. Beautiful evenings spent out on your back patio visiting and watching football or Fox News

47. Being at your house playing while the boys were at Worldview in Santa Clarita. 

48. Gin-gin and Josiah playing Wii bowling

49. Tony totally rockin' it on Blazing Angels on the Wii

50. All your love, generosity and support for all these years!

WE LOVE YOU!!!!💖💖💖

I'm "crowned with lovingkindness and tender mercies"! or Cue the "dental doula"!

Full disclosure: it's another post about my tooth. If you are tired of hearing about it. You will have to wait another couple of days for a more light hearted post!

I'm sitting here at "way past my bedtime" typing a blog post trying to distract myself for the next hour and a half until I can take more pain meds. This has been my life over the past 10 days. BUT, I'm not here to complain, I'm here to journal the things God has been showing me over the days. Of course there are lessons we wish we could learn in sweet times only, like hearing a toddler giggle (but, wait, that toddler came into the world by pain and labor) or celebrating football championships won (but, wait, that only happened through days, weeks and months sweating, moaning, running, planning, showing up when you'd rather quit). Yep, that's life. We don't REALLY learn deep meaningful lessons while journeying the easy road do we? 

Here's the latest on my tooth journey. First, let me give a "great joke" shout out to Jeffrey who made a comment earlier this week when I mentioned that I was hoping to get an appointment to see the dentist about my tooth the next day. He asked, "What time is the appointment? Tooth hurty?" Get it?? Tooth hurty...2:30. Very clever!! Surely that needs to be a comic at some dentist office somewhere!! 

Anyway, back to my journey. We left off at pain, crying, advil, tylenol, pull the tooth. That continued through all this week. I was able to go to class on Monday. Jeffrey graciously came and led my last class so that I could get to the dentist that afternoon to see what they could do. They numbed my mouth (that was a little bit of a relief) and tried to further enhance the shape of the temporary crown so that the bite would match. At this point, the dentist still felt that the pain was coming from my bite being off. Again, such microscopic things out of place can cause such pain!! Life lesson there, I'm sure! Tuesday, started off ok. I added some essential oils to my arsenal to see if it would help. However, at one point Tuesday morning, I was in such incredible pain. And I had taken Tylenol about an hour earlier. For some reason, it was taking longer and longer for me to feel relief. I texted Michael that I needed him please to pray because I was in terrible, terrible pain. He not only prayed he called the dentist. About 15 minutes later, he called me back. (Of course by this time the pain was beginning to subside a little). He told me "There's an endodontist on stand-by ready to do a root canal if you want it as soon as you can get there. Or Dr. Ratliff will see you to pull the tooth as soon as you can get there. Or you can go back to Dr. Ratliff and see if there is something else he can do to adjust the bite more. And by the way, I have Jeffrey on the other line waiting to hear if he needs to come back to the house and get you." (He was on his way up to fill out paperwork, etc. for his new job). I tell you, my dear husband is AMAZING!! 

Well, earlier that morning I had done some research on root canals and discovered that for different potential health problems down the road, I didn't want one. So I told Michael that wasn't an option. And that the verse I joking referred to at the end of my last blog about "Hold fast. I am coming quickly; Let no man take your crown" was really kinda ringing in my heart and head like maybe it was God saying not to pull the tooth either right now. So, he cancelled the appointments both places and we stayed home. The pain never got that bad again. 

Until today. Today, it got so intense that I bypassed the Tylenol that didn't seem to be working as well and moved up to a prescription pain med. Don't worry, we don't have enough for me to get hooked! But it sure did help my tooth stop hurting! It was glorious! I called and talked to my dentist's assistant and asked how soon the permanent crown could be ready. She asked if I had seen the endodontist because it would give us useful information about what is really going on under the tooth. She also said she would call and see if they could get the crown ready for tomorrow. I called the endodontist and have an appointment for 9:20 tomorrow morning. Here's the REAL kicker, though. I'm not supposed to take ANY pain medication for 8 HOURS before my appointment!! I haven't gone 8 hours without pain meds since day 1 of this ordeal. But. earlier this week in Jesus Calling (a devotional book I try and read each day) the author encouraged people to not be anxious about the day ahead because you only see what COULD happen, and not the grace and presence of Jesus that will go with you during that day. After all, "God IS my refuge and my strength; A very present help in time of trouble" Psalm 46:1. So, I'm making the conscious choice to not be anxious or afraid. I believe that God will be a very present help WITH me tomorrow and I walk without pain medication!!

Here's something else God has shown me. This evening I had another bad episode. This one was complete with shaking, nausea, etc. (Kinda like labor! This is where the "dental doula" part comes in.) Michael was in the bathroom with me letting me lean on him and stroking my back. And I realized that maybe when I'm pacing, fidgeting and rubbing hard trying to find a way to make the pain stop, maybe I'm actually causing more harm than good, like tensing up during contractions. Now granted this toothache is NOT like labor. It's much worse! And it's not natural. I remember during Julie's labor with Katie (I think) when the nurse suggested an epidural for the pain by saying "you wouldn't have dental work done without anesthesia, why do this without it". I thought that was ludicrous then-and still do-because the female body is made to give birth and has God-given ways to compensate for the pain. We just have to cooperate with the design God gave the body, not fight against it (like with writhing in pain, clenching up, screaming, etc). I realized that maybe I can be a "dental doula" to myself and be focused on being calm, taking deep breaths, quoting Scripture to myself, do things that are soothing, etc. Granted, these toothache pains are just 2-3 minutes long and don't come in waves (well actually they kinda do...), but I think the same types of concepts apply. Surely, God has given my body a way to compensate for this pain as I wait for Him to "come quickly" like in Revelation 3:11. 

So while I was doulaing myself sitting and leaning on Michael, I was listening to a YouTube recording of Scriptures and prayers set to music. Psalm 103 came up and there was a phrase there that really hit home to me. Here's what the Psalm says: 

Bless the Lord, O my soul. and all that is within me, bless his holy name

Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits.

Who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases. 

Who redeems your life from destruction; who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies

Who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his way to Moses, his acts to the children of Israel.

There's more, but I was struck by these verses especially. He heals my diseases! I am certainly in DIS-EASE right now. Of course the "crown" caught my attention, it's been the focus of my attention for all these days now! How sweet to know that what when the Lord sees me, He places a crown of lovingkindness and tender mercy on me. So many of my prayers this week have been "Lord, please have mercy on me!!" These verses were like God saying "yep, got that covered. Your whole head is covered not only with mercy, but TENDER mercy and lovingkindness." Even this time will prove to bear out the lovingkindness of the Lord toward me. I don't see how now, but I trust that one day I will!!

Then the verses that REALLY got me, He SATISFIES MY MOUTH with GOOD THINGS so that my youth is renewed like the eagle and the Lord executes righteousness and justice for the oppressed. I know it's small in the grand scheme of things, but I have to admit this week has left me feeling oppressed often! But the point I loved is that the Lord promises to satisfy my mouth with good things! This actually brought me to a point of rethinking my "definite NO" to the root canal. Don't get me wrong, it's STILL NOT my first choice. I would really rather not have it. But what if for some reason, it's part of God's bigger plan for me.

 Here's another labor story as case in point. After Jeffrey's homebirth with a midwife, I decided right then and there I would NEVER go to the hospital to have a baby unless it was an emergency. It was just so much better than even a great hospital birth could be. Why would I ever choose to go to the hospital?? So when I was pregnant with Josiah, it was a no brainer. Call a midwife. Thing was at this point we were in Memphis and there were only 2 practicing midwives there at that time. One was a new age, super hippy, maybe even into Wicca kinda gal. NOT an option. (Actually, I probably would have done it because I just that bad didn't want to have a hospital birth! Michael wisely stepped in and said NO WAY!!). The other midwife was a Christian, homeschool mom. The problem was that she traveled with her husband to homeschool conventions in the month of June. When was I due?? Yep, June. Thankfully, she recommended a great OB/GYN and we had a wonderful birth...in the hospital. Where I never again wanted to have a baby. But that was the beginning of my season as a doula. And I believe the Lord used that time because I needed to be able to say with confidence to the gals in Memphis who were having hospital births that they COULD have great births in a hospital. 

What does this have to do with my tooth? Well, I realized that maybe I need to let go of my hard stance on the root canal. I need to trust that the Lord will "make His ways known" to the dentists tomorrow and they will clearly see and understand what is going on and what to do next. And even if it is a root canal, I can trust that the Lord is only satisfying my mouth with GOOD things!  And to paraphrase a little further on Psalm 46...it really reads "God is my refuge and God is my strength; a very present help in trouble. Therefore, I will not fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be tossed into the midst of the sea."  I've paraphrased this to myself to read "God is my refuge and my strength; a very present help in trouble. Therefore I will not fear, though the nerve be removed and though the molar be tossed into the midst of the sink". (Cuz that's jut the way I talk to myself to cheer my soul on! :-) ). I can trust that even if a root canal is in my future tomorrow, that the Lord has it for my good and my good ONLY! Because as Psalm 103 goes on to say, "He knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust...and the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children". He knows me. He knows I'm weak, but He shows me mercy ALL.THE.TIME! 

So as I wrap up this tooth diary, I'm going to take a moment to practice 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. "Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus". 

Here are some things I'm thankful for during these nervy days:

1. That my back isn't hurting!!

2. That this type of searing constant pain didn't come after my laser eye surgery! THAT would really have been bad! I wouldn't have wanted to test the literalness of  the"if your eye offends you, cast it out" scripture! But seriously, I'll take blinding pain in a tooth over literally blinding pain all the time!

3. That in my reduced pain/pain free moments, I've tried and found some fabulous Trim Healthy Mama recipes that are easy, delicious, soft and easy to keep around. This has seriously kept me from going all the way into comfort foods (read=wheat and sweets!). I haven't had either this entire time and I haven't missed them.

4. We haven't seen mice in weeks. Not at all related to my tooth, just VERY thankful for that!

5. That I have such a kind, compassionate, wonderful, loving husband!

6. That he has modeled for our boys such great things and they are following in his footsteps. 

7. That we have a bag full of prescription drugs that we can use for just this type of situation!

8. That at some point in time Michael must have brought home a lot of Tylenol from a project at work, because it's not one I keep at the house. But I've been SO grateful to have it! 

9. That I know how to help give TLC to my liver, kidneys and gut after all this is over!

10. That I've been blogging so I have a place to write my thoughts, even if no one reads them. But I know at least four people will! :-) Thanks for reading my blog, by the way! 

And now, guess what time it is. It's time for me to go get something to eat so I can take my last dose of pain meds before my doctor visit tomorrow. 

Please pray for me if you read this in time, and if I come to your mind. But know that I'm at peace, believing the Lord will satisfy my mouth with good things tomorrow! :-)

Celebrating provisions

It was another week of seeing God provide things for our family. He does it all the time, and I'm not capturing here all of what He did. But here's some of the fun things that I received this week.

I purchased a bundle of ebooks called the "Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle" that includes something like 80 ebooks (one of which I'm super excited about that is about planning and planting a garden for your family) . In addition to the ebooks, companies donate free products that go along with the ebooks. So for the price of the bundle ($30), plus the cost of shipping (about $20 total) I got free organic maca root powder (that I'll use in Beauty when I run out of what I have), kombucha tea so I can make my own, gelatin powder (to use when I run out), Meyers dishwasher tabs and toilet bowl cleaner, a shower grout brush (because we didn't have one of these..that's the reason our showers are mildew-y, right?!), trilight herb product for migrane headaches, body ache balm and chap stick, and one that I'm very exited about, two organic eye shadows! In addition, for $40, after hosting a Jamberry party, I got my hostess goodies. I'm so excited! 11 nail wrap packages, 2 nail lacquers, the mini heater and quick dry spray. I LOVE Jamberry! I'm so excited to try these new wraps.

In addition to these fun provisions, we were able to book Jeremy a trip home for Jeffrey's graduation for only $80 on Southwest, using my airmiles. So excited for this one!! It normally costs $800-1000 to fly to and from Portland. I'll take $80, thank you!

Also, God provided Jeffrey with A JOB!! He's going to follow in Jonathan and Jeremy's footsteps and work at Discount Tire. The manager he interviewed with said "Jeffrey, I told myself I was going to treat you just like any other applicant, but I can't. If you are anything like your brothers and want the job, it's yours." Thanks, Jonathan and Jeremy for being such great, dependable workers so that the Dagerath name carries such weight! For work, Jeffrey needed black shorts, pants, socks and shoes. He was able to get black shoes for $30 (regulary $70), black pants for $15 (regularly $70), and black shorts for $20 (regularly $50) at Academy. He then popped over to Kohls to try and use the Kohl's cash I had for new black socks. He got them free with the Kohl's cash!

Truly, Philippians 4:19 has been fleshed out at our home this week. "My God shall provide all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus". 😄

Of all the nerve! (otherwise entitled "I'm on pins and needles" or "The Queen gets her crown")

My week in a word: NERVY!! Is that a word? Should be if it isn't. My entire week seems focused on these tiny, ever present, amazing messengers all through our body. Glad for nerves, don't get me wrong. After all they are signals that something is awry...something big or most of in my body lately, something little. Isn't is shocking (that word is carefully chosen!) how one tiny thing out of what can cause stop a body in her tracks? Well, as you know, I've been walking hand in hand with some nervy friends who keep trying to remind me about some discs in my back and some muscles in my hips that aren't quite right. Oh, such faithful companions they are! And I've done so many things to let them feel they have permission to STOP SHOUTING! Chiropractor, massage, muscle relaxers, essential oils-all with some limited help, but nothing long lasting.

So, I've added a new weapon: acupuncture. Yep, needles. I was actually really excited to try this out! I've been interested for years and just never tried it. So, when my spinal doctor recommended it as an option, we booked an appointment immediately! I've now been five times. The results: horrible! Each time, I end up feeling worse than when I came in. She's adjusted the location of the needles, gone shorter times, not added current, all kinds of things. Nothing has helped. In fact, the last time, my back hurt in ways it hadn't since the days right after the initial spasms in my middle back. Have I mentioned how TERRIBLE those spasms were??!! Like NEVER again, please God I beg you, kind of terrible. So, for this latest acupuncture session to bring up hints of that kind of pain, was enough for me to say "Zaijan"! (Goodbye, for you non-Chinese speakers). I believe that acupuncture really does help a lot of people. Just for some reason, right now, I'm not one of them. But it's not been a total loss, Michael and I have had a lot of giggles as he asks me if I "wan Chineee ur" (want Chinese herbs) and counsel me (like the acupuncturist did) to get a smaller "pur" (purse):-) Seriously, the gal was super nice, needles just aren't for me right now. So, cross that one off of the list!

In addition to my nervy expedition into Chinese medicine, I also got another first this week. Your highness, The Queen, got a crown!

I'm sure you are all thinking, "At long last...the crown! Must I now bow to her? never turn my back on her? Let her binge watch The Crown on Netflix?" Well, no (except maybe the Netflix part). It's unfortunately a much less regal crown of the dental variety. Yep, a crown on my tooth. Said tooth has been starting to crack, for years actually. When I went to the dentist in October, he suggested replacing the filling of the tooth in front and then putting a crown on the tooth behind it (that had a crack.) After all, we don't want the tooth to actually crack and break apart. Well, that's true. But I also didn't want to shell out hundreds of dollars before Christmas! Not my idea of "A Crown for Christmas" (shout out to the Hallmark movie). But Tuesday, Jeffrey and I went to the dentist (He got his teeth cleaned. We thought he had four huge cavities-after he confessed to not brushing his teeth for like a MONTH when his ankle was broken! Gasp!! But I had a concussion at that point...no reserves to ask my 18 (!) year old,  "Hey hun, brush your teeth today?" Turns out, those "cavities" were thankfully just old fillings that were starting to fade.) 

Back to the Queen: I had said crown applied to said cracked tooth. Numb mouth, funny smile, drool, the whole bit. But I figured by Wednesday morning, all would be awake and well. When I was leaving on Tuesday, the dentist let me know that if it's aching, there could be a bite issue, so don't let it keep hurting; just come back and he would shave a little here and a little there and voila! bite corrected, pain gone. But alas, that was not to be. 

Wednesday came, tooth ached and felt like electricity when I chewed on that side. So, I called and made plans to go back on Thursday for him to fix what was ailing me. Cue the Advil. But at this point, I'm still full of hope that things will be better on Thursday. I return Thursday morning (before the last awful acupuncture appointment), he fixes my bite a little and it doesn't zing when I bite on that side. However, my nervy companions decide to continue to linger in my mouth. And throb, throb, throb. Cue more Advil.  Call the dentist back. I go back on Friday. More shaving, less zing, hope slightly returns. But still my mouth continues to ache. At this point it's been days since I've chewed on that side of my mouth. But I'm thinking "Surely once this ache goes away, it'll all be ok." Nope. More throbbing, more throbbing, cue more advil. And now it's the weekend. Cue the crying, cue my sweet husband hugging and consoling me, cue to fervent prayers for relief. Cue more Advil. Cue the Extra strength Tylenol because the pain is so bad and I'm already taking the maximum amount of Advil advised in a 24 hour period and still not getting relief. Cue the hours at night that I'm awake because the throbbing in my tooth is taking a long time to respond to the Advil. 

So here I am. Still dosing more meds than I've had since my accident, in as much pain as I was following the accident, all over a tiny temporary crown on my tooth! So tomorrow, I head to CC with meds in tow and prayers for grace to put a smile on my face. Throughout it all, the words of the song "Take Courage" are rolling in my heart and soul:

Take courage, my heart

Stay steadfast, my soul

He's in the waiting.

Hold on to your hope

Let your courage unfold,

He's never failing.

So through it all, I believe that God is for me, He is able to heal me, He is always with me and He hurts when I hurt. In the meantime, I'll keep praying, asking, taking meds, using essential oils, and calling the dentist for help. I'm also seriously rethinking this verse: Revelation 3:11 "I am coming quickly, hold fast to what you have. Let no man take your crown". Because, really, if you want this crown..you can have it! :-)