Have you seen the social media game that asks you to look up the title of the #1 song on the day you turned 21?  That’s how your 2021 is supposed to go.  Mine was “I’ll Make Love to You”  by Boyz II Men.  Uh, love is definitely not the word I use for this year so far.

For the first three days of this month, my husband and I took turns in the hospital with our oldest.  Her spinal fusion surgery on January 28 kept her there for several days.  (You can read a little more about that here.)  And while my husband and I enjoyed hospital food and acting as ships passing in the night (thanks, Covid), we celebrated in being able to come home and be together.  The long days of pain meds and recovery since put our nursing skills and patience to the test, but our sweet girl heads around a metaphorical corner as we speak.

Several sweet friends provided meals and gift cards for meals as we settled in back home.  One even sent her housekeeper over to clean for us!  This completely made up for the week of hospital food.  We thank God for His generous people.

Just a week and a half after Shelby’s surgery, our youngest underwent surgery to correct a deviated septum she sustained the day of her leg surgery last year.  She passed out and took a nose dive into the tile, breaking her nose.  Last March with the leg to deal with, we kind of forgot about the nose after the swelling and bruising went away.  The lingering repercussions reminded us months later.

Allie’s turn under the knife wasn’t as serious but did entail a week out of school and a trip to the ER to remove a nasal stent that became unstitched.  Once she could feel it poking the back of her throat, she and her dad made the pilgrimage for care – returning home at 2:00am.  The stitch came out of the other one the next day.  After watching the ER doc, her dad felt sure he could pull this one with jewelry pliers – and did!

For Valentine’s Day we experienced a winter weather catastrophe here in the Dallas area that lasted for a week.  130 car pile up on black ice came first, then temps in the single digits and millions of homes without power and water.  For days.  And as I write this a week later, the thermometer touched 80 degrees!  Please pray for those still trying to get power or water back and those whose homes or businesses sustained damage.  Once again, my family thanks God for His generous people who put us up so we could stay warm and entertain my daughter with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

At the beginning of this week, my incredible husband celebrated a low-key birthday, followed by my youngest turning Sweet 16 the next day.  We gave her 16 bags with different little gifts instead of one big one.  Many of them were gift cards for fast food and coffee shops she likes.  Those were probably her favorite.  We let her pick out the restaurant for dinner and had a Dairy Queen Blizzard cake waiting until we could sneak her 4 besties in to surprise her.  Was a nice day.

In the midst of all this chaos, I indulged in a little low-brow comfort TV.  Framing Britney Spears on Hulu (what?  I was curious!), and the teeny bopper To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Always and Forever on Netflix.  The Super Bowl, Ted Lasso on Apple+ (entirely too much language for me), WandaVision on Disney+ (part of the Marvel universe), and For All Mankind on Apple+ ( fascinating reimagining of our space program) rounded out viewing for the Sparks brood.  My husband and I tried Four Weddings and a Funeral on Hulu, but we turned it off almost immediately.  The first 6 words spoken started with an F.  We also tried The Mindy Project – on Huluas well.  My husband didn’t care for it but I think I may continue it on my own.

Well, I’ll wrap up this 14th month of 2020 by saying, “I love you.  I thank you, and I hope March treats you well.

Now, for this week’s featured post!

Did He Really Say…?  from Kim Hood of  embracethisseason.com brought a recent conversation with a loved one racing back into my heart.  I believe this article highlights the number one technique satan uses to place doubt in believers about God’s Word.  It’s subtle, it’s slippery and we have to be diligently on the lookout for this weapon in our own lives and the lives of our loved ones.  See what Kim has to say.

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MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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