This week

I hope that each of you are still sitting in your chairs, but I am posting two days in a row (which is a 2013 blogging record for me!).

A few weeks back, I was looking through some old scrapbooks and filling in some gaps in my albums and I came across these layouts from Micah's White Coat Ceremony:

Back then, medical school was in the future, there were so many unknowns about what it would look like, how he would survive, how we would survive.  I have found myself on the brink of emotional breakdowns throughout the last few weeks as I look ahead to this Friday night:

It is just so hard to believe that it is here and it is all really happening. Medical School is behind us, we are not naive and believe that there isn't a long road ahead through residency (and potentially fellowship), but it feels like a pretty big accomplishment is about to take place this week.  We have family coming in and school events ahead this week before graduation and then a party to give on Saturday morning.  Micah keeps telling me I am stressing about it all too much and I probably am, but I am also thrilled for my husband and for our family.  It has been hard work for everyone involved, but God has been so faithful and provided for us each step of the way.

Side note about Micah's white coat ceremony from four years ago--the boys really did make quite the impression on everyone when they yelled out "hey that's my daddy and he got a white coat" during the ceremony. I can't tell you how many of Micah's classmates have referenced that when I have met them through the years.

Hope you have a great week--you probably won't hear from me again this week. But, I definitely plan to be back and blogging this summer and sharing pictures from this week.  Since Micah's dad is also an osteopathic physician, he actually gets to take part in the graduation ceremony and 'hood' Micah when he receives his degree.  I am so proud of Micah and am looking forward to this week!

Happy Mother's Day

I was talking to my sister last night and she was telling me that my sweet nephew Camden was wanting to check my blog to see if I had posted anything but she said she had to tell him that she felt quite certain that there wasn't anything new.  I keep wanting to post, but the sheer  amount of 'catch-up' that seems necessary feels pretty overwhelming to me. But I had some quiet time this afternoon and decided to edit a couple of photos and post a few thoughts about Mother's Day and moms in general.

First off, I just went back and looked a few Mother's Day photos from previous years:

2007

2009

2011

2012

2013

First of all, can we talk about how tall my boys are getting?  And I am confident that I have photos from previous the missing years, but I couldn't find them very quickly.  My day has been sweet and filled with lots of hugs and kisses.  Micah cooked a delicious meal for all of the Derby women--an Italian Pot Roast with a super awesome sauce, broccoli salad, mashed potatoes, green salad, and homemade apple pie for dessert.  I am so proud of the example that he sets for his two boys.  The boys wrote me letters yesterday telling me how much they love me and then had made a very cute little handprint craft at school.  The best thing about my day was probably the fact that my boys both came to  big church to sit with me and sang their hearts out during worship time and then discussed the sermon with me on the way home applying it to their lives.  This mom's heart is so full when I see my children owning their faith.  

I have thought so much today about how grateful I am to my own mom for the example that she set for us.  I am thankful for some very special friends who inspire me to be a better mom.  I am thankful for sisters who share the joys and the difficulties of motherhood. And I am thankful for some wonderful Christian women (with children older than mine) that God has placed in my life who are such an encouragement and example to me of how to continue to be a mom that trains her children in the Lord. As they sang their little hearts out this morning, I couldn't help but have tears come to my eyes as I asked the Lord to keep their hearts tender to His Words and to always hunger and thirst after righteousness and desire to praise Him with their lips.

Happy Mother's Day to each mother out there. It is hard work, but it is good work.

Sunday Morning Songs

I had a couple of extra minutes before leaving for church this morning and thought I would share a couple of songs that have been echoing in my head for the last several weeks.  I love how God can use music to speak to our hearts.

I am not sure when I heard the song "Worn" by Tenth Avenue North, but I know that my heart echoes its cry often.  I know that "a song can rise from the ashes of a broken life" but sometimes it feels like we are worn and we are just asking God to "let us see redemption win."



This is a song I heard back in January when I was sick with the flu and was watching the sessions from the Passion conference.  The new Passion CD came out recently and I started listening to it on Spotify this weekend and can't seem to take it off of repeat.  Am I the only one that does that?

This is a video from the Passion conference:


Finally, a couple of weeks ago, our pastor preached on the blood of Jesus and he quoted the lyrics to Nothing But the Blood of Jesus and as much as I love modern worship music, there are times when I long for the old hymns that teach such theology and I miss those profound truths.

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Now by this I’ll overcome—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
Now by this I’ll reach my home—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Glory! Glory! This I sing—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
All my praise for this I bring—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

I am so thankful for the blood of Jesus--He is our hope, our peace, our confidence. 

Happy Sunday!

Tuesday Tidbits

I thought I would borrow my sister's Tuesday Tidbits ritual and post a few things since I have a bit of time on my hands while I am waiting in the hospital for my dad to be released after his open heart surgery last Thursday.

• My spring break started early last week and I have been thankful that I haven't had to 'worry' over my classes while I have been in Illinois.
• I talked to the boys last night and William told me that their daddy has been 'spoiling' them while they are on spring break.  When I asked how, he said "letting us stay up and stuff...well, that is pretty much it."  I am fairly certain that there has been more 'spoiling' than that going on.
• I am very grateful that his work schedule allowed him to be able to take care of the boys and also that he is so willing to let me be gone for as long as I need to be.
• I can hardly believe that it is already the middle of March--I am not sure where this year has disappeared to.
• Melissa and I made a pact that we would scrapbook our 'favorites' each month.  So far, it has taken me almost to the following month to get my page done, but here they are in all their 'glory'. Can I just mention that I hate photos of myself?

• I keep thinking I will get back to regular posting, but so far, that has clearly not happened.  Soon, maybe.  Although I am thinking that my blog had become something of a journal/reflection place for me and since the beginning of the year, I have been keeping an actual journal and so maybe that is why I have been quieter on the blog front.
• I have adopted the Project Life style of scrapbooking/Project 365 and I am loving it so much.  I realize that it is the third week of March, but here are my first few pages for the year. 

• We are currently waiting for the doctor to make his rounds to my dad's room and hoping that he is going to get to go home this afternoon.  I am so incredibly thankful to have been able to spend this last week here in Illinois with my family and am even more thankful that the doctors discovered the blockages in my dad's heart and were able to do the bypass surgery.

A few thoughts

Just a few thoughts to get me back on the blogging road again.

Clearly, I have been on a bit of a blogging break.  I told Micah yesterday that I felt like I had been sick pretty  much the entire month of January (to which he laughed and told me that I HAD been sick the entire month of January).  I am still struggling to get over the gunk that I came down with right after Christmas.  Last Sunday at church, when I opened my mouth to sing, a sound actually came out which I counted as a victory.  Of course, it was a good octave below my normal range, but hey small victories, right?  Yesterday was a bit better even.  Back when I was in college, I had a bout with bronchitis (or some other -itis) that ended up with me having a broken rib from coughing so hard.  A few weeks ago, I began to feel that exact same pain in the exact same spot and feared that I had re-fractured that rib.  After an x-ray didn't show any visible fractures, my doctor told me that she thought that I had some pleurisy (inflammation of the lining of the lung) and maybe a touch of adult RSV--which takes a good six weeks to clear up.  Well, after almost two weeks of regular doses of pain and cold medication, I am happy to report that my voice is very close to being back to normal and it doesn't cause immense pain to take a deep breath.

January is normally one of my least favorite months of the year--mostly because it always seems to drag on forever after the hectic holiday season, it is cold and dreary, etc.  While Christmas seems like ages ago, January seemed to go by fairly quickly and it is hard to believe that we are into the first full week of February.

We are on the countdown to the Match at our house.  And yes, that is the Match with a capital 'M'.  At the end of your fourth year of medical school, you make applications for residency programs (Internal Medicine, Surgery, OB, etc.).  Normally, you interview at these programs and maybe do an audition rotation there (basically a month of work where you see how you like the program and also show them what a great worker you are).  Then, at the end of January, you log into a computer program and rank your top programs based on where you want to complete your medical training.  Those programs also then go into a computer program and rank the students that they would like to come and train with their program.  Then, the Match takes place.  If your rank list 'matches' with a residency's rank list, then you are 'matched' to that residency and you have pretty much signed a contract to go and complete your education there (anywhere from 3-5 years).  It is a rather convoluted system and fairly confusing for those who are in the midst of it, much less those who are just friends or family of the med student.  Micah graduates from school in May and then residency starts July 1.  So, where we will be spending the next 3-5 years depends on what takes place next Monday February 11.  In general, we both are feeling at peace about it.  We will mostly be thankful just to know where we will be.  I have been feeling like I can't make any future plans past May because we really don't know where we will be.  A good possibility exists that we will be able to stay right where we are, but the possibility also exists that we will be packing up our house, trying to sell it, and looking for a new place to live.

And, hello, can anyone else believe that this May my husband is graduating from medical school?  Some days, it feels like he has been in school forever, and other days, it feels like just yesterday he was getting a phone call in Target and getting his white coat.  I look back and just think how faithful God has been, because it has been a journey.

Yes, I have more things to say because I haven't blogged in forever, but for now, I will just post a few layouts that I have managed to do over the last few weeks, because my mom might enjoy seeing them!

I have started documenting our year using the Project Life system this year and am loving it. Hopefully, I will get around to sharing those soon as well.

In their own words..

So, my boys turned seven today. I am not sure how that happened since just yesterday, this was them:

This afternoon, I snapped this photo on my phone of them on their brand new bikes:

And then, like last year, I took a video asking them some questions.
Xavier:
and William:


Hopefully, I will be back over the weekend with a catch up post. We have been sick since Christmas and let me just tell you, it has not been fun!

Twas' the Friday before Christmas

This last week has been one crazy week.  I am not sure why I always seem to forget just how busy the holiday season is.  It frustrates me on one hand, because I so want to slow down and remember why we do all of this and I have found a few moments here and there, and in general, I feel less stressed (although my family may find this hard to believe).  So, this week has been Christmas choir program at church, semester finals for me at school (each of my classes had a 2-2.5 hour block of time with me!), the boys' Christmas program along with their cousin's--one at 6 PM the other at 7:30 PM, the boys' school party, a visit to the Christmas train, a doctors' appointment for me, and of course, the endless finalizing of grocery shopping and preparations for Christmas.  Micah and I did get the presents wrapped on Sunday night, so the bottom of our tree isn't quite as lonely as it was this time last week. 

The first few days of this week included me running wildly from event to event, dropping mail, papers, and gifts from my students on the counter, and Micah sweetly working to keep the counters somewhat clean, only to have another explosion on them as we swept through again.  I was taking every spare moment to grade tests and projects in order to be finished by the time I left on Wednesday.  I finally finished about 4:30 on Wednesday afternoon in time for us to leave at 4:45 to go with his family to the Christmas Train.  This morning, I am tackling the kitchen so that I can do some Christmas baking in earnest.  I had grand plans to simplify this area of my Christmas, but honestly I haven't pared down much.  It is something that makes Christmas "Christmas" to me. 

Last Sunday was our church's choir program.  They performed a musical arranged by Travis Cottrell called Peace, Hope, and Joy.  There were a couple of songs that just spoke right into my heart and I was so thankful for our choir.

These are the words to the song "Mercy Come In"  that is just achingly beautiful.  I couldn't find an audio of it anywhere, but the words were so powerful to me. 

Oh hand of God
Lead me through this valley
Where roads are long and shadows deep

Oh Word of God
Light the way before me
Your every promise carries me

In tribulation
I'm not forsaken

Mercy come in
Shatter my darkness
And flood my soul
with hope and rest

My heart is heavy
Peace overwhelm me
Cover me again
Mercy come in

Oh breathe of God
Helper of the helpless
breathe life into these weary bones
Oh love of God
love that never fails me
Oh love that will not let me go

My soul is needing
A healing only you can bring

Mercy come in
Shatter my darkness
and flood my soul
with hope and rest
My heart is heavy
Peace overwhelm me
Cover me again
Mercy come in

And finally, a few photos from my phone from this week:

 Cutest. shepherds. ever.

 at the boys school party.

 When I got there, the kids were all outside.  They came in and Xavier didn't see me, he walks in, sits down, pulls out his book and starts reading--this happens alot from what I hear.

 On our way to the Christmas train.  Beautiful Oklahoma sky in the side mirror.

 The boys and their cousins about ready to go on their first ever Go Kart rides--it was all fun until they didn't quite hit the brakes hard enough coming back in, almost took out the guy working the ride, and then totally slammed into each other.

My favorite thing to do at Christmas: deliver Christmas goodies and sing "We wish you a merry Christmas"

Finally a little video of the boys and their cousin (who is kind of hidden playing the piano) helping their Grandma out for a little Wednesday night program:

Weekend update

Micah made it home from his last out of town rotation until March (which is also his very last rotation) on Friday night and there was great rejoicing in our house.  He is working locally with his dad next week, then we are heading to see my family for Christmas.  He brought home these yummy cupcakes from a very fancy cupcake shop in Joplin.

There were two Death by Chocolates, one Red Velvet, and one Caramel Pumpkin Pecan--all of them were amazing and a perfect end to a very hectic week. 

Micah and I just got home from spending the day at our church's Toys for Tots event.  I don't know what the final numbers were, but they were expecting close to 2000 people to come through.  It was exhausting and exhilarating all at the same time.  I worked with the hospitality team last year and again this year and it was a joy to be a part of such a great effort.  I was also so thankful that Micah got to volunteer with me.  Because of his school schedule and how different our lives have been, we haven't had the privilege of serving together very often in recent years and it did my heart good to work alongside him again. 

And like everyone, my heart is just so heavy and heartbroken for those personally affected by the shootings in Connecticut.  Because my boys are the ages of those who were killed, it honestly just makes me ill.  There really are no words to express just how awful it is and I have just been praying for God to bring peace and comfort as only He can.

Tomorrow, we are heading to the choir program at the early service and then, I will work hospitality before heading home for an afternoon of baking (and probably some grading of tests and quizzes).  It is hard to believe that Christmas is almost here.  We have our tree up and are mostly done shopping, but have yet to wrap a single present. I am thinking that will be good project for Micah and I to get done together one night next week.

Oh, and the cutest shepherds ever are going to be back in action on Monday night. I will be sure to post a video.

Thankful Thursday

Oh, yes, I am bringing back Thankful Thursday, because it helps me to remember to be grateful and I love looking back and seeing the little (as well as the big) things that bring me joy.

• borrowing shepherd's costumes from the boys K-5 teacher so I don't have to buy (or make) new ones
• a relatively mild last few months that results in low electric bills (no need for air) and low gas bills (no need for heat)
• the end of a semester looming near
• when the boys make up actions to go along with Scripture they are memorizing
• for their sheer joy and love for music and singing
• Micah ends his out of town rotation tomorrow and will be home (working locally) for the rest
  of the year (and January--I think).  Life is better when he is home.
• the pretty twinkle of Christmas lights
• Christmas music
• Hot tea on a very sore throat.
• The Psalms of Ascent and the Bible study I did last year that keeps returning to speak truth into my heart.
• The boys' Christmas program from church on Sunday--don't worry it is only a few minutes long! Xavier is the child in the front row in the red sweater and William right next to him (the one with the itch on his leg.)

Wednesday's Words

I am going to try to remember all the sweet and funny things the boys have been saying lately:

• "my foot is fuzzing"--they have said this for the last few years--it means their foot has gone to sleep, I'm not sure where 'fuzzing' came from, but it has managed to stick.
• the boys are convinced that I have a food blog.  How do they even know what a food blog is?  But, they do their momma's heart good every time I cook something that is (literally) not that big of a deal and they ask me to take pictures of it and put it on my 'food blog'.  
• They also really think that I should have a cooking show and write a cookbook.  They want to call it "Four Thumbs Up"--because when I cook, I like to get four thumbs up (you know, two from each of them).
• How many six  year olds do you know that LOVE to eat crispy kale?  The other night, we were having kale along with these little chicken cream cheese hot pockets and Xavier starts crumbling his third helping of kale up to sprinkle over the top of his chicken.  Then, he looks at me and says, "you should add this to your book and then say, 'Xavier had this idea'."
• The boys are learning part of Luke 2 this month and instead of saying "and they were greatly afraid", they keep saying "and they were gratefully afraid."
• Xavier's favorite way to let me know he likes something: "I'm lovin' it" except he still says 'love' like 'lahve'--cracks me up.
• Every time the boys pray, they ask that God would let us stay here and not have to move.  

Basically, the boys never stop talking.  Micah insists that they get this from me.  I asked my mom if I was chatty as a kid.  She hesitated for a moment and said, 'um, yes, I kind of remember that.'  So, alas, I guess I must have been fairly chatty for my mom to remember it--she has a notoriously bad memory, which all of us girls have inherited.