Celebrating Progress

This week we have a lot to celebrate. When we went to the Club Foot Clinic on Wednesday for our weekly casting appointment, the doctor removed the casts as usual (this was our third set of casts) and let us know the great news that Nelson's feet are making beautiful progress. The doctor mentioned that Nelson's right foot will not need a tenotomy (the procedure that is common in between having the castings and getting the braces) and the left foot will more than likely not need a tenotomy after a few more sets of casts! This alone would have left us skipping out the door with smiles! Well...she went on to mention that Nelson will not need to get a new set of casts this week because it is time for him to be measured for his shoes and brace! In other words, we will have an entire week to bathe him, kiss his feet, rub his legs, change diapers with ease, and breastfeed what seems like a "light as a feather" baby since the casts do add quite an amount of weight. We were ecstatic! 

The 'lil cutie-pa-tootie after his bath! He loved it!!!

Leaving the doctor, we couldn't stop thanking the Lord for the wonderful progress of Nelson's feet AND for the gift of getting to love on him in all the ways mentioned above...things that may sound simple or mundane to you (and did to us before club feet) but now we have a greater appreciation for each of them. Amazing how perspective changes everything! We have so much to be thankful for and this was just a simple yet profound example to us when we experienced the joys of the little things on Wednesday! It's been the gift that keeps on giving this week as we are constantly reminded of all that God has done, is doing, and will continue to do! 

May we zoom out of the box that we get so focused on with ourselves and see the greater picture of what God is up to. Wednesday morning started off with so many praises...and by Wednesday night we had dealt with many curve balls including B getting in a fender bender (praise the Lord all are ok), Nelson and I going to pick up Brandon to get him to a meeting on time after the car situation, the three of us having a relaxing walk through Whole Foods (truly is stress relieving for us to walk around in there and enjoy the cheese samples and take it all in) to coming home from our nice outing to realize that we had left the groceries we had just purchased, and many other things in between. {Sidenote: When B went back to Whole Foods to look for the groceries, they were right where we had left them...in the parking lot on the ground by the car! NO JOKE...as B said, only at the Mountain Brook Whole Foods could you leave your groceries and the people who had pulled up next to them not steal them but probably think to themselves "oh, these people forgot their items...I'm sure they'll realize it and be back in a few". When he got home with the items, he mentioned that all looks well for the most part...except for our delicious "Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel Bread" that is now a little sideways since it got run over by a car!} Ohhhh...a day in the life! We share all that to say, we have to often remind ourselves of the quote that says, "You have to laugh at yourself or you'd cry your eyes out if you didn't!" ... Yesterday was certainly one of those days where you can feel yourself becoming more seasoned per say. Now we understand why our parents didn't freak out over the years when we called to tell them this or that...they, too, had days where they had learned from life experiences! 

Some days it seems like the plans just don't turn out how you had thought. Whether that's in a good way (for us finding out the great update on Nelson's feet) or in the hard ways (like our car situation, groceries, and everything in between) ... we are reminded by the September 17 Jesus Calling (devotional by Sarah Young) that, "You will not find my peace by engaging in excessive planning: attempting to control what will happen to you in the future...Just when you think you have prepared for all possibilities, something unexpected pops up and throws things into confusion. I did not design the human mind to figure out the future. That is beyond your capability...Commit everything into My care. Turn from the path of planning to the path of Peace." Proverbs 16:9, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." 

Tonight we are celebrating progress...both in the areas of Nelson's feet AND in our own lives. We realize more and more each day that we live in an imperfect world and nothing is in our control. As soon as we think it is, we realize that was a false expectation to begin with and are let down yet again. Thankful that HE doesn't give up on us. Each of these life scenarios bring us to our knees...right where we need to be!