Her Birthday

On this day...

8 years ago...

He gave us her.

His Word says that 

children are a gift from Him; that they are His reward.

The Bible also says 

the day of one's death is better than the day of one's birth.

Pondering the latter verse a lot lately.

Entering this sin-tainted world 

vs.

leaving this world to enter a sinless existence in the presence of the King.

Thankful for the days she spent with us.

Thankful she's in His presence.

The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Papa Byrd passed away January 15th. 

Papa Byrd held her then,

he's probably holding her now.

In honor of Lydia's birthday we're donating to her friend Olivia.

Here's an explanation of  "Olivia's Angel" ~

"Olivia is 8 years old and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes July 28, 2010.  We quickly found out that life as we knew it would never be the same.  Blood tests, insulin shots, and carb counting became the new norm.  In spite of all of our best efforts, controlling her blood sugar is a constant 24/7 battle.

One day, we heard about Guardian Angel Service Dogs and the work they are doing to supply diabetics with service dogs that will detect and alert to high and low blood sugars.  We knew that this would be a huge blessing to Olivia, and our family as a whole.  

These amazing service dogs are expensive as there is much that goes into their training.  We feel like this expense is worth it as Angel may very well save Olivia's life one day.  We are excited to be on this journey and pray that you will support Olivia in this cause."

(from "Olivia's Angel" website)

Lydia and Olivia

Lydia experienced a very special companionship with her lab, Zoe.  
She also was blessed with a sweet friendship with Olivia.


  I guess that explains our desire to remember Lydia's birthday 
by giving to sweet Olivia and her pup-friend.

Would you consider honoring Lydia by giving to Olivia,too?

http://oliviasangel.bbnow.org/donate.php

Remembering last year...

~ Happy Birthday, sweet girl ~

   We love you so...

Lydia Gray Byrd ~ 1-30-11

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, 

coming down from the Father of lights 

with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

James 1:17

~ Papa Byrd ~

This Is Papa...

Papa Byrd is at Chapel Hill, Lydia's old stomping ground.  

He's in the ICU.  

Since a few days after Christmas he's been battling pneumonia and worsening pulmonary fibrosis.

Willie talked to his mom this morning. 

She said Papa Byrd has been talking a lot about seeing Lydia.  

Says he can see her face.

Says he can see her over there.  

We'll be leaving soon to go and be with them.  My man at the wheel and me sitting shotgun ~ we will be traveling down that road we know so well. That road that leads to "the Hill".  

I think we'll pack Lydia's "wheels" to donate to the Children's floor at UNC.  

Last Saturday the boys were able to spend sometime with their Papa, creating all kinds of mischief in that small hospital room.  Thankful they were able to play, talk and laugh with him.  

A little while ago I told Luke about what's going on.  We talked about how it's OK to be sad and to cry.  We talked about life and death.  Hard stuff for a 6 year old, hard stuff for this 38 year old.  He smiled when I reminded him Papa will be with Lydia soon.  But, best of all ~ he'll be with Jesus. 

That's true hope.

Blessings...

Luke reading to Sam ...

I love crawling into our nest and Kindling with my man....

What am I currently reading?  


"Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow" by Nancy Guthrie 
        
      ~ and this spoke straight to my heart...

HEAR JESUS SPEAK

As He Gives You More of Himself

     When you ask me to bless your plans and projects, I wonder if you really know what you are asking for.  To be blessed is to experience and know more of me.  To ask me to bless your life and your efforts is to invite me into the center of it.  That is the essence of blessing, the joy of it.  Oh, how I long to bless you!  I want to share from my abundance one gracious blessing after another.

     To be blessed is to be deeply secure and content in me.  It is to make your home so securely in me that nothing can shake you.  You can be blessed in the midst of a miserable situation, because being blessed doesn't mean you have no trouble or struggle or sorrow; it doesn't mean you always experience success and comfort.  It means that in the midst of the trouble and struggle and sorrow, you find deeply secure, profoundly content and happy in me.

     To know me and walk with me and share life with me is the essence of blessing.  And the truth is, it is the hard things in your life that cause you to want to know me more intimately, walk with me more closely, and share life with me more fully.  That is why in the losses of life, you can find yourself blessed beyond your imagination or expectation.  Because you have found more of me in these hard places.  You've moved from just hearing my Word, to living it - putting it to the test.  You're finding that giving is better than receiving, neediness is better than self-sufficiency, trust is better than worry.  You've discovered that my Word is true, my joy is your strength, my promises are your hope, my presence is your comfort.

     Others may look at the sorrow of your situation and express regret.  But when you get to the bottom of your grief and find more of me than you've experienced and known before, you can look other people in the eye and say, "Please don't feel sorry for me.  I am incredibly blessed," and really mean it.

 ~from "Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow"

This video speaks to me too...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CSVqHcdhXQ

I. am. blessed.

Moving to a House! by Luke Byrd

We are moving into a house soon!  
The house is wonderful.  
I like the broken tree in the backyard.  

(It's the tree on the far right.  The one on the ground.)

We can even go deep back into the woods, I'll just have to take care of Sam.  I plan to look for deer tracks and deer.  I'm gonna hafta teach Sam how to be careful and quiet.  I hope he doesn't get a cat claw on him.  But, I don't think there are cat claws.  I bet if I find a lake back there I'll just walk across it.  But, I'll probably need some warm boots.  First, I'll hafta go in by myself to see if it's too deep for Sam.  I'll roll my pants up and if I still get my pants wet I'll just go inside and get dry clothes on.  


Oh, and sticks.  A LOT of STICKS!  I like a lot of sticks!  I love sticks because I like to bang trees with them.  


I like that Zoe might go in the woods with me, too.

∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿ ∿  

The afternoon of August 18th of 2011 we walked through a house we felt could be our next home ~ our possible nest.  Lydia was with us.  She explored the property inside and out.  She loved house shopping and frequently took notes as we viewed different listings.  She loved this particular house.  We all did.  She especially loved that this house had a backyard complete with a "forest" and its own creek.  Afterwards, we went out to eat dinner at Cracker Barrel and discussed as a family the potential of this being our next home ~ it was a unanimous yes!  Our bellies were full of country cooking and our minds spun with the possibility of being homeowners again.  As bedtime was approaching the kids buzzed around, PJ-donning and teeth-brushing.  I noticed Lydia seemed a bit clumsy.  I summonsed her for a quick eye-tracking test...something she had become quite accustomed to since her 9-11 diagnosis.  Nothing seemed too different.  Next I had her perform the walk-in-a-straight-line test.  She couldn't do it without stumbling.  I always tried to keep myself in check with being Lydia's mother first.  Testing produced anxiety, I tried not to over test.  Having a background in nursing, especially working with oncology patients for much of my nursing career, had proved to be helpful when caring for my child with a brain tumor.  Not over-analyzing every little finding was a struggle and doing so could potentially land me in a state of utter anxiety.   After several re-tests, we decided to e-mail Dr. Gold with our findings and let him make the call.  A week later she went for an MRI which revealed changes.  Changes that changed our whole trajectory for the next few months.  Needless to say, house shopping became low on our priority totem pole.  
    
    *click on Changes to read previous post for details

Fast forward to the first week in December ~ I found myself checking the MLS just to see what was out there now, letting my thoughts take a break from grieving.  Scanning through the listings, I noticed the gray house was still on the market.  Soon we were going to take a second peep, to see if this still felt like the nest for these storm-weary byrds.  

We're scheduled to close next Thursday, Lord willing.  I sit here in a make-shift box castle strewn with light sabers and legos.  


Getting ready to fly this coop.  


Looking forward to nesting in our new haven.

This house was built the year she was born.  
It wears the color of her middle name. 

She once walked through this dwelling.  She loved it.  

That makes me smile.

I could dwell on the thought of how she never lived with us in this house.
That would be diving head first into a tidal wave of sadness.


I'm holding fast to the Anchor of Hope.


I've decided that I'll focus on the thought of her dwelling with Him. 
She is truly Home.

Surely goodness and mercy 

shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall 

dwell in the house of the Lord

forever.

Psalm 23:6

Never Alone

There are times when I feel so very alone.  

A hermit in my grief.

*found this drawing of Lydia's in this little book.

Lately the Lord has been reminding me that I am not alone.  

Never alone.  

His Word promises that He is always with me.

Reminding myself to go on what I know, 

not what I feel 

during these tender days.

Every day in December, with two Byrd boys on each side of me, I read the word Immanuel from our Advent book.  
Luke and Sam would chime together "God is with us".
     

Yes, He is.

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
Psalm 91:4

The Love for Lydia t-shirt shares the verse she clung to when she was first diagnosed.  This verse gave her strength and courage to get through some scary days.
     

It's giving me strength and courage now.

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 

Psalm 34:18

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

2 Corinthians 12:9