We got life....

Catchy title, huh? :-) So, today was the big ARD to discuss Miss Lydia and her progress and placement. This was our best ARD yet....They finally "got it". I felt like everything that we've been trying to relay to the school since May has finally clicked and we are now getting all of the services Lydia needs. In May, we received many responses such as, "Oh, she might surprise you. Once she gets in school, she may catch right up." Hmmm....interesting. The diagnosis that we have for Lydia is Intellectual Disability. She has received two IQ tests that score her IQ between 63 and 65. Somehow, they weren't willing to accept that. Now they have. They understand Lydia and as we told them, have become attached to Lydia. Today, we made the following decisions...Lydia will be placed in a self-contained Life Skills class (this is not offered at our current campus, so on January 3, Lydia will begin at a new school.), begin receiving OT services once a week at school, and continue to receive Speech twice a week at school. Her kindergarten teacher had tears in her eyes as she said, "I feel like I didn't do enough for her." While I know that is not true, I felt like saying, "Now you know how I feel." So, while all of this is exactly what we feel is best for Lydia, there's reality. In a month, we will be transitioning her to a new school with people she doesn't know. That's going to be big. She has one friend who takes "care of her" in class and we even went to her birthday party. That was big....I am praying that she quickly adapts to her new school and finds another compassionate 5 year old. Last night, she told me that another boy told her that she needed to take her "boy lunch box home." She has a CARS lunchbox...she has loved CARS since she was little...I asked her if it made her sad and she said yes. I gave her the "mom talk" and told her he wasn't in charge of what she does (We did send her with a pink lunchbox today - we're not a glutton for punishment :-)). She then said he told her it was weird. Later, she told me that she didn't want me to read her a book before bed because, "Someone made me weird." Okay... so mama bear jumped in and I'm thinking, "I need his name and address and I will take care of this boy." Instead, I told her God made her special and she only needed to listen to her mommy. I relayed all of this to her teacher this morning and she again had tears in her eyes and told me she would take care of it. Having been a classroom teacher, I know you cannot control everything and unfortunately, this is part of growing up. I hate it, but it does mold us...good and bad.
On another note, I again went through the Santa issue with Lydia. She cannot comprehend the whole thing and I decided I would not lie to her. Since she is terrified of the Santa in the stores, it would not be helpful to tell her Santa was coming to her house while she is sleeping. So, while we were decorating the tree the other day, I told her, "Santa is pretend and Jesus is real." To me, that is what she needs to know. So, later that night, we went to the Fort Worth Parade of Lights and Lydia announced on the sidewalk, "Momma, Santa is pretend, right?" Nicely played :-) I feel like not doing Santa is not festive or something and then I think, "I so strongly believe in Christmas and the celebration of our Savior's birth and love Christmas traditions, but Lydia's sense of reality is in my hands and I will not mess with that." All of that to say, I dragged Lily for a picture with Santa :-) Sorry, babe...
Miss Lily is growing by leaps and bounds. She is talking and jabbering so much and it is so fun to see. Lydia tries to get her to say certain things like "dump truck" the other day. I just rolled my eyes and then heard Lily say, "dup truck". Okay, so Lydia might be Lily's greatest teacher. She says, "momma, dada, Leeah (Lydia), dah (dog), milk, mo (more), and many more one time things (like "toothbrush"). She is fast, running and climbing all over. She loves school and is such a blessing. However, because it runs in the family, Lily is also very strong-willed. I don't know where they get it from ;-)
So, since I missed the 30 days of thankfulness in November, here's my list:
I am thankful for:
1. God - I could not imagine going through the trials of life without my Savior by my side.
2. Matt - he is 1 Corinthian 13...loving, kind, patient, ...He is my perfect match...
3. Lydia - I love this sweet girl more than words can say. Her challenges teach me something new every day.
4. Lily - she is our rainbow after the storm....after we lost Levi, our hearts were broken....Lily's sweet spirit and cuddly hugs have healed us...
5. Being able to stay home - I do not ever take this for granted and feel so blessed to be able to do so during this season of life...I know someday I will need to return to work but am thankful it is not now...
5. Chick-fil-A - I have an addiction and no, I don't want help for it!
6. My preschool job - I love teaching the 4 and 5 year olds in my class.
7. Our home - I love our home and the space in it.
8. Extended family - while our families are far away, we are blessed with daily phone calls and emotional support.
9. Face Time and Skype - it allows us to stay in touch with our families.
10. Facebook - I love Facebook, especially since we've moved several times over the years. It's allowed me to stay in touch with so many people and not lose precious friendships.

While I didn't make it to 30 things, those are the basics. I am thankful for so many things, most especially God's grace.

So, there's a glimpse....I have so many other thoughts, especially as I process our future with Miss Lydia....I hope to share those soon.

A Blog from my new toy, the iPad!

Hello! I'm back! So, my laptop kind of died...well, I kindly have let it pass on...the battery was worthless and the plug only connected after being thrown around my lap just right. Each night, Matt would look at me like I was crazy as I threw the computer against my lap trying to get it to connect. He kept telling me to get a new one...I, however, am the "budgeter" and would never do that...So...anyway my mom was interested in getting the new iPad mini and graciously passed on her iPad to me. I LOVE IT! I've been watching Netflix with my earphones, Facebooking, Pinteresting, and now blogging...WooHoo!

So, Thanksgiving break started out rather difficult...Lydia was being rather difficult last weekend...on Sunday, we were so whipped and went to church because they had child care...as the week went on, we all got into our groove and had a great week with just the four of us. I had typed up a calendar of my want-to's and Matt even surprised me with wanting to (I don't know if want is the right word...he mentioned it and I jumped all over it :-)) go to the Ft. worth Parade of Lights. It was a bit overwhelming for Lydia, but we made it through 40+ floats...Lily loved it and waved at all of the floats. The highlight from the parade was Lydia's trip to the porta-potty....ugh! She said she had to go...it was dark....we both got in there and she put both hands on the wet seat while I hurried to find the flashlight app on my phone....I got her on the potty and she went...I helped her with her pants and when we got out, I dug in my purse for my wet ones and scrubbed her little hands....that's one of those moments when you think maybe I should just call now for the antibiotic!

In about a week, we'll have Lydia's next ARD... She did qualify for OT so the decision to begin services will be made. It will also be the meeting to place her in Life Skills...this decision has become harder as she has become so settled in her class...we even went to a friend's birthday party. While it tears my heart apart, I know academically it is necessary. I pray it is a smooth transition and that she will continue to flourish.
Brags on Lydia...She was Wildcat of the Month at school!!!! We also went to Morgan's Wonderland in San Antonio a few weekends ago...it's an amusement park for special needs kiddos....both of the girls loved it!!

Miss Lily is growing by leaps and bounds and is really coming into her own. She is really starting to talk and make her personality known. She definitely gives Lydia a run for her money!

I've been busy managing these two sweet strong-willed girls and teaching preschool two days a week. I have an awesome class and really enjoy it. I must say parenting has calmed me as a teacher....some days, 16 4 year-olds are a piece of cake compared to my Miss Lydia...

Okay, so here's the photo dump....in no order :-)

Struggling...

So, I tried to think of a witty title for this post, but couldn't think of one...I am really struggling right now...I feel like I'm on a roller coaster that just won't stop moving.  Instead we go up and down and up and down...

So, here's my struggle...in a nutshell....
Lydia's perception of school...
* Centers
* Lunch
* Recess
* Backpack Boogie
* "Momma, I went potty two times." - this is a BIG deal
She thinks school is great...talks about her friends and who's absent or who's birthday it is.  She sings parts of songs and seems to be doing great.  She has a star stamp in her folder nearly every day and when she doesn't, there's never a negative comment, just an empty space.

Her teacher's perception of Lydia's day...(according to our parent teacher conference)
* She can't do any of the work
* She didn't answer any of the TPRI testing questions correctly
* She doesn't interact with the other kids
* She does the opposite of what the class is doing
* She wants to be by the teacher most of the day because she doesn't know what else to do

My heart is broken...my little girl thinks everything is great but from an outsider's perspective, she is not participating in life at school.  When we watch Lydia play, she will run around a group of kids and watch them, laughing and taking it all in...I've always thought she lives vicariously through others.

At home, she runs around with such confidence (and stubbornness) - I don't see that confidence having a place at school.  It scares me...I want her to be successful at something so she can be confident.  So, I've been a bit discouraged, once again processing "life".  Today, her teacher sent me a picture of her name that she said she wrote independently.  We e-mailed back and forth about how proud we were of her.  I must say I was a little surprised since she's only ever been able to write an L.  When she got home from school, I showed it to her and told her how proud I was and how I couldn't believe it and how great it was.  She looked at it and said, "someone wrote that for me."  I asked, "who?"  She said, "Brooke wrote it for me."  I just said, "okay" and moved on.  She certainly didn't do anything wrong in my opinion...She can't write her name so she found a friend to help.  Later, I told her I was proud of her....She said, "for writing my name?"  I said, "Well, you didn't write your name, though...but I'm proud that you work so hard everyday."  I want to cry....While she frustrates me with her stubbornness and strong willed nature, I love her more than life itself.  I want to hold her and protect her from all that could harm her.

As far as school, we have another ARD scheduled...we have been requesting an OT evaluation since May and the school has just pushed and pulled us around.  Additionally, we need to talk about other options if this is not working.  My prayer and request for them is a layout of their plan for success.

Please pray that God will help me to stay in the present and cherish both of our girls in the here and now and not get wrapped up in what the future may hold.

"I could never imagine..."

Random thought...I've made it through and am in the middle of some of my, "I could never imagine" moments.  I'm sure you've had those....you know, "I could never imagine having to go through this or that."  Yet, God, in His infinite mercy and grace presents us with those moments and reminds us that He is in control and He does not ask us nor want us to walk this path alone.  So, my two "imagine"'s are...

"Wow, I could never imagine losing a child." (at hearing of someone's miscarriage or stillbirth)....and then down the line...We excited anticipated the arrival of our sweet Levi Elijah and four months into a perfect pregnancy, he was gone...I couldn't imagine...Yet, God is full of grace and mercy and He provided us with peace that only comes from Him and one year later, we were blessed with a beautiful little girl, Lily Eve.  Now, I couldn't imagine not having gone down that path with Him at my side...

While teaching..."I couldn't imagine having a special needs child.  That's a lot to handle."  Even when I was pregnant with Lily and the Down's counts came back elevated, I remember thinking, "Maybe God has allowed me to stay home during this season of our lives because Lily will have special needs."  Meanwhile, God was whispering, "Daughter, your sweet little girl, who you have known for 5 years, is the one with special needs."  Again, God, in His infinite grace and mercy, walks the path before us and alongside us.  And...I could not live without my sweet, precious Lydia...She points me to Him and for that, I am so grateful.

So, anyway, there's some random thoughts for the day... :-)

Tonight, we go to Meet the Teacher, where Lydia will meet Mrs. Wasner, her kindergarten teacher.  She is soooo excited!!!!  and I am excited for her.  I know our path will not be easy, but I trust God to help us understand and teach His precious child, whom He fearfully and wonderfully knit together!

Kindergarten

Reality is finally setting in...My big girl is going to Kindergarten!!!!  Today was our ARD to discuss Lydia's placement at school.  We have gone back and forth on what we feel the best placement would be.  Lydia's IQ places her in a situation that has the school offering a Life Skills class.  So the options we were facing were:

* Life Skills Class - full or part day

* General Education Kindergarten with Resource Reading and Math

* General Education KN with Inclusion Support

The school started the meeting by offering Life Skills for Lydia.  After much thought, prayers and discussion, we decided we wanted to give Lydia an opportunity to be successful in the regular education class with support.  At the ARD, the principal was called in and agreed to allow us to try that setting to see how Lydia will do.  We will reconvene in October to have our annual ARD and see what, if any, changes need to occur.  Lydia will have 2 hours of inclusion services each day and 2 30 minute sessions of Speech each week.  We requested an Occupational Therapy evaluation.  They said that we could not have that until it was determined that Lydia was unsuccessful on her IEP goals.  Overall, we feel pleased with the outcome of the meeting.  However, we signed off on the discussed decisions and left without any paperwork.  I'm hoping everything is typed up and implemented as discussed.  While at the school, we were able to meet the teacher and see Lydia's classroom.  We continue to pray that God will prepare her teachers' hearts and allow her to have a great KN year...she is sooo excited!!!!

The next few weeks will be busy for our family.  On Monday is Lydia's first day of KN.  Then Tuesday and Wednesday will be Mommy and Lily's In-Service days at preschool.  I'll be teaching the four year old class at our church's preschool on Mondays and Wednesdays.  Lily will be going as well.  I'm sure she will be excited to play with some little friends - right now, I'm not sure...it will be the longest time Lily and I will have been apart.   :-)

Big girls shopping :-)

 

Lydia with Mat Man

 Big Girl Lily with sister's juice box

Baba and Granny are visiting - here are the girls with Baba

Momma and her best big girl, Lydia

Permission

So, now that I have the facts out regarding Lydia's new diagnosis, I thought I would write out some of my thoughts...I love Lydia with all of my heart...I've always known that something has not clicked for her, but she is my precious girl and I held on to the fact that, "children learn at their own pace."  There are so many things that she says and does daily that put a smile on our faces.  She is my "Amelia Bedelia"...very literal and concrete in her understanding.  A while back, I was on the phone and said something about Lily having blood work.  A few days later she asked me if Lily's blood was working.  I assured her Lily was just fine and her blood was indeed working.  Lydia has an absolutely tender heart and freely offers hugs and "Mommy, I love you"'s.  She is very naive and doesn't notice anything is different about her. - Yea!  She is and always has been an absolute delight.  However, Miss Lydia is also very challenging.  She is stubborn and does things her way.  We still struggle every day with potty training.  When we go shopping, Lydia goes running or fights sitting in the cart.  I find myself exhausted at the end of the day.  Since finding out about Lydia's disability, I have finally given myself permission to be exhausted.  I found myself hiding stuff about Lydia because I felt if I was a better mother, those things wouldn't be issues.  I have a Master's degree in education and my five year old can't identify letters and numbers.  Why is teaching my sweet girl so hard?  She's five years old and not fully potty trained.  I am my own worst critic...before having children, I would have thought, "If your child is not potty trained by three, then what kind of parent are you?".  Knowing that Lydia has an intellectual disability, I am beginning to give myself permission to breathe.  We (Lydia and our whole family are in this journey together) have many deficits and I've realized it's okay...we can go back to the basics.  We can work on perfecting our rendition of the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "Row, row your boat."  I struggle a lot with comparisons.  I've never compared Lydia to other children but it's hard not to do at times.  I find myself resenting parents whose children potty trained at 18 months, have been arranging magnetic alphabet letters on the fridge since they were two and been reading chapter books since age 3 (okay, the last one may be a bit of an exaggeration :-).   Lydia learns at her own pace which is significantly delayed.  I am beginning to navigate through so many journeys...special education in school, talking about the disability and "explaining" my sweet girl (at age 5, these delays seem to warrant an explanation), and sorting through my emotions.  I trust that God will use Lydia for amazing things and I can't wait to see how He will surprise us with her progress as she exceeds her potential.  In the meantime, I am trying to give myself permission to rest in Him and know that He has made Lydia perfect.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Lily donning her squeaky shoes

The girls sharing the bean bag chair (Lily is a little possessive)

The girls and daddy at Target

Celebrating Lydia's 5th birthday at Jump for Fun with our Life Group

Lydia with her sweet smile!

I have thought about writing a blog post so often and just have not made the time to sit down and write it out.  A LOT has been going on in our lives!!!! First of all, I had my hysterectomy in early June.  The fibroid that was causing my pain was baseball size and attached to not only my uterus but my colon as well.  All was removed successfully and I have permanent staples in my colon now.  I had to stay an extra day in the hospital due to some trouble with my bladder. About ten days after the surgery, I randomly developed hives all over my abdomen.  They itched like crazy and looked lovely too :-)  Anyway, two weeks later and they are still there...faded, but there.  I tried everything...lots of steroids, itch medicine and lotion...nothing.  I visited the dermatologist this past week and he said it was an allergic reaction to an antibiotic.  He said it wasn't traditional hives but a form of them that is specifically tied to an antibiotic.  He's gathering my records to figure our what I had in the hospital.  He said it took 9 days to show up because it was probably my first exposure to it.  He said next time it would occur much faster and much worse.  I'll be jotting down the name of that antibiotic once he figures it out! :-)

"The Hives"

Miss Lily is on the move...she decided it was time to begin walking....11 months old!!  This video shows one of her first attempts at multiple steps.  She is much faster now and can even stand up from a sitting position without holding on to anything.  She is growing by leaps and bounds and a true joy!!

You may have noticed that I changed our blog title to "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made".  When I look at both of our girls, I am reminded that each is unique and truly fearfully and wonderfully made.  As mentioned in my last post, our developmental pediatrician noticed some concerns and told us that Lydia has an intellectual disability (formerly known as mental retardation) as well as a speech impairment.  At the time he also told us she was not ready for Kindergarten.  We were going down the path to repeat preschool and pursue Speech and Occupational Therapy medically.  We have been attending OT twice a week and just had the evaluation for Speech this past week. I chose to also pursue an evaluation through the school district in hopes of receiving therapy through the district for free.  This past Monday, Lydia was evaluated.  On Thursday, I received the report confirming the Intellectual Disability and Speech Impairment diagnosis.  At the evaluation, the diagnostician discussed putting Lydia in KN, allowing her to access the various services and intensive instruction available.  Since Lydia has already been evaluated and services will be available from Day 1, Matt and I have decided to move forward with entering Lydia in KN.  I don't want her to get any further behind and I do not have the resources or knowledge to best help her.  Our ARD/IEP meeting will not be until closer to the start of school.  We are hoping to have Lydia in a Resource class for Reading and Math, Speech Therapy, regular education Circle Time and Specials as well as possibly time in a Life Skills class.  With this intensive array of instruction, I feel comfortable sending our little girl to "big school".  Of course, I may cry the first week!!!  I pray that God will bless us with amazing teachers who will love Lydia and help her adjust to school.  God is good and we know He has a perfect plan in place.  We are digesting all of this day by day...In many ways, it has opened our eyes to so many things about our Lydia.  It helps explain why our sweet girl is still not potty trained at age 5.  It explains why she is our little "Amelia Bedelia" - very concrete in her understanding.  I know some feel that "labeling" a child is bad and sets them up for failure.  I feel that this "label" allows us to access an array of resources that will help Lydia achieve more than we could even imagine!!!

Meanwhile, daddy has been busy working, working, working...We are thankful that he works so hard to provide for our family and provide me the opportunity to stay home and manage our home and care for our girls.

I hope to blog more often, putting some of my thoughts to "paper" regarding our new journey.

Hello!  We're here, I promise :-)  So, I think I'd rather do a post on couponing, but my heart is heavy and I want to share with those who will pray.
First up....I've been experiencing pain in my tailbone since January (I thought it was my fabulous spin class).  It was determined that the pain is caused by a calcified uterine fibroid that is right there.  So, I'll be going in for a hysterectomy.  It will be done laproscopically so it should be "no big deal" (words you should never trust :-))

Next up...we have had some concerns about our Miss Lydia for a while (I referred her to ECI at 15 months).  Some of our concerns have become more pronounced especially now that she is in preschool.  We made an appointment with a developmental pediatrician to discuss our concerns and hear the words, "You're overreacting and children develop at their own pace."  He apparently didn't get the memo on what we came to hear :-)  He met with us, gathered feedback regarding everything from her birth to her current level.  He wanted to do an IQ test to gain some direction.  We were in the room and she responded to the questions in the same way she would have if Matt or I had administered it (I know some parents think, "They would have gotten all of that if I did it.")  We felt that it was a fair representation of her abilities.  The test determined that she has significant cognitive concerns/issues.  He also told us that she was not ready for kindergarten in the fall and that that would be very unfair to her.  He wrote a prescription for speech and occupational therapy evaluation and treatment.  He would like for her to go to each a few times a week.  Wow!! I think at times, we, as parents, have blinders on...in this case, I think it has allowed both Matt and I to just view her as "our Lydia".  She has always been her own little independent self.  We rejoice in her successes and really don't compare her to others.  With my education background, however, I do know what she "should" be doing.  My mama's heart held on to the hope that she would catch up.  The reality is that, while she has made great gains in her communication skills and such, she still has significant learning gaps.  I know some have said, "That can't be true...she doesn't look like there's anything wrong."  And that's right...she is a beautiful little girl who is sweet and precious and compensates with lots of hugs! :-) But trust us that this information fits (basically, don't ask me to list what my little girl "can't" do).  We know without a doubt that God has fearfully and wonderful made her and He placed her in our family.  We trust that he will give us continued wisdom and direction so that we can continue to expect great things from our precious girl.  So, there it is...

I am amazed that when God gives us what appears to be an insurmountable challenge, He also greatly blesses us.  When we lost our precious Levi, we were blessed abundantly through our loss.  In this instance, God has already blessed us with fantastic friends.  Please pray with us as we work with Lydia.  Today, I was working with her and grabbed a wooden spoon to point to things and told her I would be the teacher....she looked at me and said, "You're not a teacher...you're a mommy."  Praise God that I am Miss Lydia's mommy!!!

Meanwhile (I have to add something about Miss Lily :-))...Lily is doing great...she's getting so big  and crawling, pulling up, and saying "mama and dada".  She is a delight! Both girls adore each other!!

Savings Adventure

First of all, special thanks to my photographer, Matt...who finally "got" couponing today :) ...I think he knew I saved money but really saw the excitement today :) I even let him go into Kroger by himself as long as he promised not to leave without getting the deal we agreed on. (He is non-confrontational when it comes to this...if there's any problem, he would just say fine and pay whatever :) - he even called to make sure he could use all 3 Tide coupons in one transaction)

We got some great deals but did have to go to a few stores....

First up: CVS
Transaction #1

2 Nivea Lotions - on sale for $6.88
2 Pull Ups - on sale for $9.49
2 Oral B Flossers - on sale for $2.99

Coupons and Deals:
Spend $10 on Nivea, get $5 Extra Bucks & $5 newspaper coupon (off of 2)
Oral B - $1 Extra Buck for each (Limit 2) & $1 newspaper coupon off each
Huggies Pull-Ups - $1 Extra Buck (limit 1) & $2 printable coupons off each
When I scanned my card, I got my "rewards" for the fall, totaling $4.50, a coupon I also used on this transaction.

Total Spent: $21.89
Total Saved: $31.52

CVS: Transaction #2

2 Nivea Lip Care - On Sale for 2/$5 & Newspaper Coupon $3/2
3 Puffs - On Sale for $.99 & Newspaper Coupon $.25/3
Ozarka Water - On Sale for $3.88 & Coupon (off of previous case) for $1/2
On this transaction, I used the extra bucks ($8 total) from the first transaction in addition to my coupons.

Total Spent: $3.62
Total Saved: $21.95

Kroger: Transaction #1 (This was Matt's project :))

Tide - On Sale for $5.99 & $2 Newspaper Coupon for each
Duracell - On Sale for $3.99 & $.75 Newspaper Coupon
At Kroger, if you bought these 4 items, you also got $4 off your purchase.

Total Spent: $12.13
Total Saved: $16.75

Walgreens: Transaction #1

Softsoap - Walgreens Coupon for $.99 (limit 3) & $.40 newspaper coupon for each
Dawn - Walgreens Coupon for $.99 (limit 3) & $.25 newspaper coupon for each
Jif and Smuckers - 2/$4

Total Spent: $12.32
Total Saved: $19.41

Target: Transaction #1 & BEST DEAL OF THE DAY!!!!!

Flinstones - On Sale for $5.99 - $2 Newspaper Coupon & $2 Printable Target Coupon (this makes it $1.99 each - a great deal)
To make it even better, Target was running another deal....Get 3 and receive a $5 gift card. That made all three $.97!!!!!!

Total Spent: $5.97 (with a $5 gift card back)
Total Saved: $17.00

Target: Transaction #2

Pull-Ups - Priced at $9.49 with $2 Printable Coupons for each
Charmin - $13 and a free Freshmate container (I also had a $2 Target coupon when purchasing both toilet paper and wipes as well as a $.25 Charmin coupon)
We also picked up 4 12-packs of Pepsi (4/$11) & a lunchable ($.95) (for our helper :)

Total Spent: $36.87
Total Saved: $23.01 (I used the $5 gift card on this transaction)


Our "assistant" putting the Pull-Ups away....

It has been great to be able to save money and really use our resources to their full potential. God is good and has abundantly provided for us in this season of a single income.

Matthew 6:25-34
²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.