I think I can! I think I can!

 

Today Nicole is feeling the pain of her transplant.  Her little body just aches and she is now on nasal oxygen. 

Froggy needs some oxygen!

Finally asleep with her nasal oxygen

Tonight I've been thinking about trains.  First is the "The Little Blue Engine".  I have had moments today of feeling like I just can't do this again.  It is so hard to watch her struggle.  I felt like the Little Blue Engine. "The little blue engine looked up at the hill.  His light was weak, his whistle was shrill.  He was tired and small, and the hill was tall." CRASH! SMASH! BASH!  I thought for sure was how this day would end.  Then  I thought of the "Engine that could"  He never gave up.  He moved forward "Slowly, slowly, the train started to move.  The dolls and toys began to smile and clap. " The engine could because he  knew that the dolls and toys were cheering him on.  He knew that the boys and girls where on the other side depended on him.
There are times in our lives when the Lord stretches us.  He wants us to grow.  But He doesn't leave us alone to climb the hill alone.  How grateful I am for Him!

The Little Blue Engine

by Shel Silverstein
(1930-1999)

The little blue engine looked up at the hill.

His light was weak, his whistle was shrill.

He was tired and small, and the hill was tall,

And his face blushed red as he softly said,

“I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”

So he started up with a chug and a strain,

And he puffed and pulled with might and main.

And slowly he climbed, a foot at a time,

And his engine coughed as he whispered soft,

“I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”With a squeak and a creak and a toot and a sigh,

With an extra hope and an extra try,

He would not stop — now he neared the top —

And strong and proud he cried out loud,

“I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!”He was almost there, when — CRASH! SMASH! BASH!

He slid down and mashed into engine hash

On the rocks below... which goes to show

If the track is tough and the hill is rough,

THINKING you can just ain’t enough!

The Little Engine that Could    

 Watty Piper's 1930 

               
Chug chug chug.  Puff puff puff.  He little rain ran along the tracks.  She was a happy little train.  Her cars were full of good things for boys and girls.  There were all kinds of toy animals.  Giraffes with long necks, teddy bears with no necks, and even a baby elephant.  There were all kinds of dolls.  Dolls with blue eyes and yellow hair, dolls with brown eyes and brown hair, and the funniest toy clown you ever saw.  There were toy trucks, airplanes, and boats.  There were picture books, games, and drums to play.  The little train carried every kind of toy that boys or girls could want. 
 But that was not all.  The little train carried good thing to eat, too.  Big, round oranges…fat, red apples…long, yellow bananas…fresh, cold milk…and lollipops to eat after dinner.  The little train was taking all these good things to the other side of the mountain.  “How happy the boys and girls will be to see me!” said the little train.  “They will like the toys and good food that I am bringing.”   But all at once the train came to a stop.  She did not move at all.  “Oh, dear,” said the little train.  “What can be the matter?”  She tried to start up again.  She tried and tried.  But her wheels just would not turn.  “We can help,” said the toy animals.  The clown and the animals climbed out o their cars.  They tried to push the little train.  But she did not move.  “We can help, too,” said the dolls.  And they got out and tried to
push.  Still the little train did not move.  The toys and dolls did not know what to do.   Just then a shiny new engine came puffing down another track.  “Maybe that engine can help us!” cried the clown.  He began to wave a red flag.  The Shine New Engine slowed down.  The dolls and toys called out to him.  “Our engine is not working,” they said.  “Please pull our train over the mountain.  If you do not, the boys and girls will not have any toys or good food.  The Shiny New Engine was bit friendly.  “You want me to pull you ?” he asked.  “That is not what I do.  I carry people.  They sit in cars with soft seats.  They look out the windows.  They eat in a nice dining car.  They even sleep in a fine sleeping car.  “I pull the likes of you?  I should say not!”  Off
went the Shiny New Engine without another word.  How sad all the toys and dolls felt!    Then the toy clown called out, “Here comes another engine.  A big, strong one.  Maybe this engine will help us.”  Again the clown waved his flag.  The Big Strong Engine came to a stop.  The toys and dolls called out together, “Please help us, Big Strong Engine.  Our train is not working.  But you can pull us over the mountain.  “You must help us.  Or the boys and girls will not have any toys to play with or good food to eat.”  But the Big Strong Engine did not want o help.  “I do not pull toys,” he said.  “I pull cars full of heavy logs.  I pull big trucks.  I have no time for the likes of you.”  And away puffed the Big Strong Engine without another word.  
 By this time the little train was no longer happy.  And the dolls and toys were ready to cry.  But the clown called out, “Look! Look!  Another engine is coming.  A little blue engine.  A very little one.  Maybe this engine will help us.”  The Little Blue Engine was a happy engine.  She saw the clown waving his red flag and stopped at once.  “What is the matter?” she asked in a kind way.  “Oh, Little Blue Engine,” cried the dolls and toys.  “Will you pull is over the mountain?  Our engine is not working.  If you do not help, the boys and girls will have no toys or good food.  “Just over the mountain.  “Please, please help us.”  “Oh, my,” said the Little Blue Engine.  “I am not very big.  And I do not pull trains.  I just work in the yards.  I have never even been over the mountain.”  
“But we must get there before the children wake up,” said the toys and dolls.  “Please?”  The Little Blue Engine looked at eh dolls and toys.  She could see that they were not happy.  She thought about the children on the other side of the mountain.  Without toys or good food, they would not be happy either.   
 The Little Blue Engine pulled up close.  She took hold of the little train.  The toys and dolls climbed back into their cars.  At last the Little Blue Engine said, “I think I can climb up the mountain.  I think I can.  I think I can.”  Then the Little Blue Engine began to pull.  She tugged and she pulled.  She pulled and she tugged.  Puff puff, chug chug went the little engine.  “I think I can.  I think I can,” she said.  Slowly, slowly, the
train started to move.  The dolls and toys began to smile and clap.  Puff Puff, chug chug.  Up the mountain went the Little Blue Engine.  And all the time she kept saying, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…”  Up, up, up.  The little engine climbed and climbed.  At last she reached the top of the mountain.  Down below lay the city.  “Hurray!  Hurray!” cried the dolls and animals.  “The boys and girls will be so happy,” said the toy clown.  “All because you helped us, Little Blue Engine.”  The Little Blue Engine just smiled.    But as she puffed down the mountain, the Little Blue Engine seemed to say…”I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could.