A Quick Trip...

Last weekend we made a quick trip up to Washington to see my uncle Todd (my dad's younger brother), because he has been very sick. We left Thursday around 6:00pm and ended up arriving around 11:30. We were all pretty tired and ready to get out and stretch our legs. Sophia fell asleep in the car, so I carried her in and put her straight to bed. After, we sat and talked for a while with my uncle who had been propped sitting up on the couch due to the fluid in his lungs. He had been having pain for around 6 weeks and had gone into the doctor and they had thought it was just a torn muscle. Well after many, many tests and visits back to the doctor, they discovered a large mass growing on his liver. Not knowing then, that the mass would be much larger than we had all anticipated! My uncle Todd is usually a very happy, talkative, and fiesty guy. But as I sat there next to him holding his hand, he was void of any of these traits. He coughed often and looked like he was in excruciating pain. The color was gone from his face and you could see that something inside of him was making him extremely sick! It made feel so helpless to see him in SO much pain and not be able to do anything to help him. But, then I remembered that I could pray! Never underestimate the power of prayer! I had also asked many of my friends to pray for my uncle. Receiving texts back telling me that everyone was praying for my uncle, even never having met him, they were lifting him up in prayer to God. It was the most incredible feeling knowing God was hearing their prayers and was watching over my uncle through every breath and gasp of pain. And even though I still worried (I am human), it helped to ease the sense of helplessness. Because I knew that he wasn't in my care, nor in the doctors care, but he was ultimately in his Heavenly Father's care, the best care of all!

Just yesterday he underwent a 7 hour surgery where they removed his gallbladder, part of his sternum and a football-sized tumor from his liver! He is now in critical condition and will be in a semi-induced coma for four days as his body begins to recover. The family has really pulled together and has been by my uncles side holding his hand, giving him hugs, and praying with him. The Lord revealed His presence to my Dad in many ways throughout this process showing him his brother was in His care and surrounded by angels. Seeing people so open and emotionally available is quite rare these days and stripping away the barriers has really made me see the strength and love of this family!

Though these past three weeks have been some of the most stressful and energy-stealing weeks, not only due to my uncles health, I have also learned so much in this particular season of my life:

~Love those around you with every ounce of energy! We take for granted that they will always be there and one day they won't.

~Negativity breeds negativity and positivity breeds positivity. If it isn't encouraging, loving, or caring, then it probably doesn't need to be said.

~Everyone is human and makes mistakes, but it is how one handles themselves through the struggles is what displays true character.

~You can never hug, kiss, or say "I love you" to your loved ones too much!

~Spend more time thinking about other's needs rather than your own and it truly doesn't take a huge display of affection to show someone you care. You would be surprised at how excited people get by a card in the mail or a phone call to ask them how they've been.

I'm not trying to sound like I'm preaching, but I guess bottom line is...slow down, enjoy the moments you have with those you love. This world is so busy and we are constantly rushing onto the next thing! Rest in the word, rest in God and He will give you rest.
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While I was up there, I had the pleasure of spending the day with my cousin, Kelsey, who showed me around Fair Haven and downtown Bellingham. I've decided this is one place I would love to retire to or have a vacation home. This town is so relaxed, quiet and family oriented. They had an amazing farmers market we happened to stumble across with local organic produce, cheeses, and bread. We had a blast walking around tasting all of the samples and browsing the handmade goods. Below are a few pictures of the market and some of the yummy food they had there!

The farmer's market building

This mom and her little girl were sitting enjoying the moment
together and I just had to capture it!

I couldn't get over the color of this cauliflower! I had never seen purple before!

I wish I could have bought all of this handmade bread and taken it home to enjoy!

We enjoyed one of the cheese sticks and one of the chocolate bread sticks
(they were amazing!!!)