Adkins Life Update: It's been a while.

by Lacey

I was reading a friend's blog and realized I should really give an update on what's been going on in the Adkins household.  I stopped posting over a year ago for a few reasons.  One:  life is busy.  Two:  I'm really bad about uploading pictures.  And three:  I feel like I'm being a little redundant because of Facebook.  Despite these reasons, I thought it was about time to give an Adkins Life Update.

Jason is still working at OVEC as a grant writer.  He also works part-time for our church, Auburndale Baptist Church, doing sundry tasks.  His duties include some administrative work, service planning, and music/worship leadership.  He was also recently voted in as an assistant pastor at our church.  We look forward to serving our brothers and sisters in this new way!

Jason had to drop his seminary classes this semester because of life happenings, but he plans to start back up this summer.  He has been enjoying writing on his music blog, The Persistence of Song during his time off from school and hopes to keep it up even after his classes start back.

I am still working part-time for our church, as well.  I have many administrative duties, with an emphasis in the financial side of things.  I've also organized a cooking blog called Cooking with Willing Hands that is authored by several ladies from church, including myself. 

I stay at home with Riley most of the time.  I've been working like crazy trying to get our home ready for our expected arrival!  Between caring for Riley, keeping our home, and working at church, I manage to stay quite busy!

Riley is now two years old; she turned two on February 19th.  We had a party for her at All About Kids with several families from church, and it was a blast! 

She is talking up a storm now.  She talks in full sentences, and her grammer is getting better all the time.  Her favorite toys are Mr. Potato Head, blocks, and Little People.  She is also currently infatuated with a Jessie doll (the character from Toy Story 2 and 3) that we got her. 

Speaking of movies, she absolutely loves watching tv and movies.  Her favorite movie is Toy Story 3 which she got for Christmas.  We try to limit her tv time, but it's really nice to have the option of putting on a movie to keep her entertained for an hour!

Riley is definitely a toddler these days.  She now sleeps in a big girl bed.  She has recently learned that she can get out of bed whenever she wants.  Consequently, naptime has become a battle, and we're being woken up a few times a night during most nights.  We're hoping she grows out of this phase soon!

We're also in the process of potty-training.  Jason and I are hoping to not have two in diapers come July...

I'm sure most of you know that we're expecting our second child, our first son - Carter Michael!  So the Adkins household will be stretching to four in about seven weeks!  We're scheduled for a ceserean on July 1st and are really looking forward to having a baby in the house again.

I'm a little nervous about taking care of a toddler during my recovery this time, but I am so thankful for our moms who will be coming to help out during the first two weeks.  Hopefully, I'll be up to the task of caring for a newborn and toddler by the time they leave!

The hardest experience we've had since I last updated the blog (really in our entire lives) is the loss of Jason's father, Mike.  I mentioned Riley's birthday party on February 19th.  Mike was already in the hospital for a case of pancreatitis, but we received a call that evening that we should make plans to go to Tennessee because Mike was worse.  After the party, we drove home, packed, and hit the rode within an hour.  By God's providence, my parents (who also live in middle TN) were in town for Riley's party so we sent her home with them.

We were able to see Mike that night and talk to him a little bit.  He was in quite a bit of pain and was kind of out of it because of the medication, but he was stable and, to our understanding, not in any immediate danger.  We stayed with my parents that night and went back to the hospital the next morning. 

That day things changed dramatically for the worse.  Mike was first put on a ventilator because of some fluid pressing against his lungs.  We later found out that the fluid consisted of pancreatic fluid.  This information meant that not only was his pancreas leaking fluid, but the fluid had made a way into his chest cavity. 

The doctors told us that his chances of survival were very slim.  We were blown away.  None of us had ever known a case of pancreatitis to be fatal, and, in fact, it is rare.  We spent the next two weeks on a vicious roller coaster of improvements and declines.  On March 6, 2011, our God and Father chose to take Jason's father away from his earthly home to a glorious paradise where there is no sun because Jesus is the light.

We trust that Mike is in Heaven glorifying God.  We've spent a great deal of time reflecting on the legacy Mike has left.  He loved and cared for his wife in a manner that is rarely seen, even among believers, and he cared for others in such a subtle way that he rarely received praise for it and never sought it.

I'd like to finish with one example of Mike's subtle way of caring for others. 

Mike was an early riser.  It wasn't unusual for him to be up well before 5 am.  When we would spend the night, Mike would always come and close our bedroom door before making his coffee first thing in the morning.  I'm a light sleeper so I always woke up when the door clicked, and I would usually still hear the rattle of the coffee cups, etc.  I never thanked Mike for this little act of thoughtfulness.  I doubt if he even knew that I knew.  I don't think Jason knew until I told him after Mike passed away.  As strange as it may seem, I feel Mike's love for us in the memory of that little act for which he never sought praise. 

I pray that I can improve the lives of my family and friends in hundreds of little ways that they never know about, even if it's only allowing them a few extra minutes of sleep.