Stressed...but very Blessed

Summer is here!  Does that make anyone else want to dance for joy?!  This year, I'm pretty sure I was ready for summer more than any other year.  To be perfectly honest, this past school year was the...most...stressful...one...eeevverrrr---for a litany of reasons:

My teenagers had a tough teacher that made their year miserable,
               but by God's grace we got through it.
All of the boys got a horrible case of the hand, foot, and mouth virus,
               but by God's grace we got through it.
My husband and I had a mini marriage crisis this Fall,
               but by God's grace we got through it.
Spring rains and snowmelt caused natural springs and flooding in our backyard (and our basement),
               but by God's grace we got through it.
Dominic got a  rare bone infection in his knee and spent a stressful week in the hospital,
               but by God's grace we got through it.
Dominic's hospital trauma ushered us onto a path we never imagined---the path of panic attacks,
               but we are trusting in God's grace to get us through this day by day.

It would take me pages to elaborate on each item in that litany, but I'm sure you get the jist of it from those few lines.  Our family has been carrying some crosses, but there have been so many blessings along the way.  God has been with us each and every step--consoling us, and helping us carry the crosses He chose for us...crosses that we trust are making us holier, teaching us lessons we may have never learned otherwise, and turning the trials into blessings that someday we will praise Him for when we look back with hindsight and clearer understanding.  Actually, we praise Him now, because we know He is good and is doing something good even though we don't quite understand it yet.

Still, I would like to ask sincerely for prayers.  We are still going through some very difficult times with Dominic's panic attacks.  We are trying everything we can think of to quicken his healing:  counseling, neurofeedback, occupational therapy, probiotics, yogurt, kefir, inositol supplements, neurotransmitter testing, essential oils, breathing techniques, countless rosaries and chaplets...  I do think he is getting better each week, but the progress is slower than we imagined.  He is having fewer panic attack than he did during the school year, but they are still there...and our whole family lives in apprehension of when the next one will hit.  They are sudden.  They are scary---for Dominic and also for anyone who is around to witness them.  He has at least one per week, and it is affecting his lifestyle.  I can't send him to church camp.  I can't send him to someone's house for a playdate.  I don't know if I can send him to school next year.  So please help us pray for quick and miraculous healing, and also for guidance for my husband and I as we navigate this new road that we previously knew nothing about.  It has been very humbling.  We have made some mistakes.  But God's mercies are new every morning and we do trust that He will work all of this for good in His perfect timing.  We welcome any advice and all the prayers you can send our way!

And I will leave you with some "praise pictures."  The last 12 months have been very hard, but I still have been noticing blessings all around me.  This Summer has been especially full of the blessings of nature that have been like healing balm to my cracked and weary heart.  May the beauty and colors bring joy to your heart too!

I planted tulips last Fall and it was so beautiful to see them bloom this Summer---the first flashes of color in our backyard.  Tulips are special to me because they remind me of my mother and her mother who also loved tulips.

This picture shows the natural springs flowing from the ground in our backyard.

Thankfully, we were able to divert most of the spring water into our pond,

but some of it caused minor flooding in our yard and in our basement.

Pink Bleeding Hearts remind me of the Sacred Heart of Jesus...

White Bleeding Hearts remind me of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

We were blessed to watch these baby robins grow day by day in their nest on our backyard gate.  

I cannot believe how quickly they grew from skin and fuzz to feathers and flight!

The mix of struggle and beauty that I find myself in reminds me of the beautiful old hymn, "How Can I keep from Singing."  (Which, ironically, our son Dominic loves and can play by ear on both the piano and the cello).  If' you've never heard it, I highly recommend listening to it on YouTube, sung by Catholic artist Audrey Assad.  Here is the link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li2hddmy63U.  Or, you can just read the beautiful lyrics that are both poetic and true:

My life flows on in endless song;

Above earth's lamentation,

I hear the sweet, tho' far-off hymn

That hails a new creation;

Thro' all the tumult and the strife

I hear the music ringing;

It finds an echo in my soul—

How can I keep from singing?

What tho' my joys and comforts die?

The Lord my Saviour liveth;

What tho' the darkness gather round?

Songs in the night he giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm

While to that refuge clinging;

Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,

How can I keep from singing?

I lift my eyes; the cloud grows thin;

I see the blue above it;

And day by day this pathway smooths,

Since first I learned to love it,

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,

A fountain ever springing;

All things are mine since I am his—

How can I keep from singing?