One Tough Cookie

Exhibit A - Shelly fell down outside yesterday, started crying, got up and came over to me. That's when I saw the giant thorn from the rose bush sticking in her face. I pulled it out and it started bleeding profusely. But she seemed fine.

Exhibit B - Shelly wiped out in the kitchen tonight, causing an emergency visit to the hospital. David bet she'd get 3 stitches, I bet 5. She ended up with 4. She cried when she first fell down but after that she was so brave, she didn't cry at all. She didn't cry, or even squirm, when they put the stitches in. She laid perfectly still.

Exhibit C - We went out to dinner after the emergency room visit to celebrate surviving yet another minor catastrophe. Shelly was feeling so good that she shoved me out of the way and took over my tomato soup. The evidence on her face suggests that she's feeling well despite the trauma.

This picture is definitely not one of Shelly's PRETTIEST moments, but it IS one of her TOUGHEST ones. Way to go Shelly, I'm proud of you! And I'm proud of Archer for his patience with the whole situation. And though I did freak out a little bit, I managed to get us all to the hospital safely to see the doctor, so I'm proud of myself too.

(By the way, if you want the gory details... the cut is about an inch long and its deep. They said its a good cut because its so straight, so its easy to fix. You can see there's also another scrape going the other direction from the cut, and some skin missing. She has a serious bruise on the inside of her lip and a small one on the corner of her mouth. A couple of different people checked to make sure she hadn't bit all the way through her lip, that's how deep the cut is. When we got to the hospital she and I were both covered with a good amount of blood, including my shirt, her hands, her shirt and coat, her bottle... But we survived, thank the Lord! And, one more thing - her teeth are fine! Thank the Lord again!)

For I hold you by your right hand— I, the LORD your God. And I say to you, 'Don't be afraid. I am here to help you'. ~ Isaiah 41:13, NLT

I don't have words for it but he was here for me, even when I didn't know what I needed. He kept me calm enough to drive safely, he steadied the doctor's hand as he stitched up the cut, he gave Shelly peace so she wasn't fearful or in pain. Amazing, God is truly wonderful.