The Fiery Furnace of August

So August really was a great month...  At the beginning, anyway.  Even when we weren't with cousins, we had a great time!

For starters, I think we have a new nickname for our little "Add-kees."

And who doesn't love a man in uniform?
 
 Atticus even showed his naughty streak sometimes:

Here he had put some of my facial lotion on his face... and all over the nightstand...

There are always good times to be had at Bobba and Nana's beautiful home!

Here he is practicing his duck talk in the tub.

He's also started singing more and more!  Here he is telling Mama to sing for him with the guitar:

He is definitely a little boy-- he LOVES the garbage truck (and all trucks, for that matter!)

And I can't help but love his cute little sense of humor:

But then, around the middle of the month, things started to get really hard.

As if having our beloved cousins leave us wasn't enough, we had a few curve balls thrown at us that gave us a run for our money.  I'll try to keep this post brief and upbeat, but I will admit at the outset that I was anything but upbeat while living through it.

First, Atticus got sick.  Really, really sick.  It started with a cold that turned into an ear infection that turned into a fever that one doctor thought was due to teething (he got all 4 eye teeth this month!), that somehow turned out to be Roseola.  If you're like me and don't know what that is, just look up the symptoms.  Atticus had them down to the last detail.

Mix a little bit of antibiotics in there for an upset tummy that couldn't keep anything down and you've got yourself a perfect concoction of crumminess.

What made me really sad is that the worst of the illness hit just when Dane came home for a 36 or so hour visit.  Here was Atticus earlier that day, so excited for "Da-ee" to come home.

And here he is the next day:

We ate a lot of ice, crackers and pretzels.

We had a lot of naps and nights in arms:

And spent a lot of time watching TV,  and videos with "Ammals" or "Zhezhus" (Jesus).  

While it took time for his tummy to get back to normal and he still hasn't gained back all the weight, I can't express how happy it made us to hear this little guy's laugh again:

Another crazy development in our family this past month had to do with my mom, Toni.  She is one of the healthiest people I know, yet somehow she suffered a heart attack.  We're pretty sure we know what caused it but we are working to understand the ramifications and help her while she recovers.  The medical procedures she went through to have her heart and other body parts checked were pretty crazy.

Speaking of which, does anyone else find it ironic that the very procedures you go through to check your heart are traumatic enough that they could cause the average person to have a heart attack?!

We have been so grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers from friends and neighbors on her behalf!

Another troubling factor was finances.  Without going into detail, I'll just say that we were having some anxiety due to Dane starting a new job.  Thankfully, it was resolved the same day that Atticus's illness finally seemed to be on the mend.  That was a great day.

On top of all this craziness, have been trying to get our house ready to sell.  This has been no small task for a momma who had her baby in her arms almost 24/7 for a little under a week. Thank goodness for amazing in-laws and good friends who have helped make it all possible.

Here's one of many cleaning/repair projects that we tackled.  Huge shoutout to our wonderful friends, the Hudsons, for painting our door for us!

Thankfully, the Lord supported us every step of the way.  It definitely isn't easy, but I can honestly say that there are blessings all around us, even in the most fiery furnaces of our lives.  We just have to have a little patience and the eyes to see them!

That being said, I can't deny that I'm excited for August to be over.  Bring it on, September!