Wordless Wednesday - We've been Waiting for this!...

Weekend Circus...

Not our typical weekend circus...this weekend there was an ACTUAL circus. The Kelly Miller Circus was in town.

It's a very good show, and we always go and take the kids when they come around. This year, Ethan thought it would be uncool to go. :( Austin went, but sat far away from us with his friend :( But the babies were super excited to be there and loved every minute of it.

Here are a few pics before, during and afterwards at Aaron's mom and dad's

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NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Not my Anooooppppp!!! Whyyyyyyyyyy

I am so bummed. I know he wasn't the best singer in the competition. I also know he would not have made it to the finals. But I do think he deserved to be there at least one more week. You have to admit... Matt screwed up big time last week and should not have been saved. If the judges had not played their save card, Matt would've gone last week... Lil would've gone this week... and my Anoop would still be there!

Unacceptable.

I have said all along that Anoop reminds me of my brother Evan and that's why I like him so much. Here are pics so you can judge for yourself. Similar smiles, laugh lines, and dimples... albeit Ev is way cuter and does not have the crazy eyes and uni-brow. Similar nonetheless... and man the mannerisms... that's where it gets scary.
Sorry Ev. :)

Wednesday Why's??????

Why is it that when I am most tired... someone in my house gets sick or hurt or both?

Why is it that on the rare occasions when Ava is able to sleep through the night... one or two others in the house are tapping my shoulder in the dark?

Why is it that just when we think business might slow down a tad bit so we can breathe... we get hammered again? (I know, I know... we should be thankful for that)

Why is it that first born children are so hard on themselves...even though the only B they've had in their entire life was a B+ in 5th grade Science?! Geez

Why is it that middle kids are a bit scatter-brained and unorganized?

Why is it that the last born kids are whiny fit throwers?...or is that just a girl thing? lol

Why is it that when one bad thing happens...ten more follow?

Why is it that when you sleep in to get some much needed rest... the entire day is shot and you end up feeling more crappy than you did when you were tired?

Why is it that I feel the need to vent this morning?

Man folks... God is HUGE! I had literally just finished typing that last sentence when my dear Susan texted me a verse and said "just read it" so I stopped typing and read it...

Romans 5:3-5 "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us - they help us to learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. And this expectation will not disappoint us. for we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love."

Wow...straight from Him to her heart to me via text at exactly the right moment.... bet God is lovin technology right now. I know I am :)

Reconnection...

Have I mentioned I love Facebook....

And to think... all that time I forbid my myself to check it out for fear it would somehow corrupt me or be full of horrible things and images...

Sooo not true... and I Love It!

I have lots of stories I could tell about people from the past that I have reconnected with. People I otherwise would have never seen or heard from again. I love being able to log on and see what Darrin Belcher is up to today, or what Eric Wade has to say about the economy... or to what remote location his job is taking him this week. It's such a crack-up that all us small town folk who grew up together can keep tabs on eachother with the click of a button.

I am always amazed at where some people from our tiny town have ended up. Most recently I have reconnected with Lori LaBaw.... there's a blast from the past for ya. She leads an amazing life, with an amazing family. Such a heart for God, that girl. Her husband is an Army Chaplain. She has great stories to tell. Three girls, then a boy... the opposite of us. And guess what... she has a BLOG... well, her husband has one, but doesn't have a lot of time, so I'm hoping she will fill in the gaps... Look for their link to the right.

Although I would not trade my small town life... I love to hear about the ones who made the break. Call it living vicariously I guess. And FYI... I am not a FB addict. Although I hear there is a 12 step program... :)

Kindergarten round up....

The dreaded day has arrived... at 10:00 I will load up my little boy and head to the school for round up.

Even though I have done this two times before, I still find myself with a big knot in my stomach this morning. The first of many rights of passage for my little guy. He's just so small. Can't bear the thought of him being there ALL day... EVERY day when August comes. I'm sorry, but that is just way to much for a five year old to handle. Curse you Mitch Daniels!

Jaden, on the other hand, could not be more excited. Wanted to set an alarm last night to make sure he didn't sleep through it. Yesterday at pre-school, he and his friends Blake and Jackson were practically jumping up and down as they talked about it. Very cute.

While Jaden and I are taking the first step of his elementary journey... Austin is taking one of the last steps of his. Today is also the 6th grade field trip. His last field trip. Just had to fall on the same day as round-up. I remember goin along on his very first field trip in kindergarten all those years ago...when HE was my tiny little one. *Sigh*...would have been nice to be there for the last one too.

I'll stop my selfish whining now. :) I am thankful that the sun is shining today and I am very thankful for healthy children that are able to go out and make their way in the world. God is good....

Ethan Update...

God forbid they would cut the wrong foot... right!? lol

Well the above pic was taken right before surgery today. Hard to tell from the pic, but everything under, and the hump above the word yes was the problem.

Ethan handled it like a champ...and so did mom and dad I might add. We were well covered in prayer and felt it througout the day. Although Dr. Norris said it was as bad as he had feared, he was able to put it back together better than he expected. Ethan has a pin that sticks out through his skin above where the Y is in the picture. It is holding things in place while the bones heal. They will pull the pin out in six to eight weeks.

For the next 24 hours we have to keep it high in the sky. Hard to keep an almost 15 year old flat on his back... especially when he has a new car sitting out in the garage calling his name. Great news though, is...NO Crutches! He gets to wear a walking boot. To him that is a great relief!

Thanks so much to everyone who prayed for him today... they were definatley felt, and definately answered! Our God is HUGE!!!

Prayers for Ethan...

Ethan hurt his foot back in December when he was kicking a rock out of the way on a dirtbike trail. It was a little swollen and sore, so we iced it and it seemed to be fine in a couple of days.

About six weeks later, towards the end of January, he was running in PE and hurt it again. Same thing... a little swollen and tender but we didn't think it was anything to worry about. After a couple of days he was back to normal.

Track started two weeks ago and his foot began to hurt more and more. Took him to the nurse practitioner and she put him on high doses of ibuprofen for inflammation and told us to come back if it didn't get any better.

We went back last friday. His foot was extremely swollen and beginning to look distorted. They took x-rays and said we would get results on Monday.

Monday we received a call that he was being referred to an orthopedic specialist and that we had an appt. that afternoon. We were not prepared for what we would find out.

Apparently when he kicked the rock, he had a displaced fracture of the large bone that runs down from his big toe into his foot. The continued use after the break has caused that big joint to break apart into pieces. The bone has to be rebroken and set and they will attempt to rebuild the joint with pins and plates and such. They tell me they cannot guarantee a good outcome and his running days are most likely over.

Surgery is tomorrow afternoon. We are all nervous and uneasy this evening. The Farhar's came out tonight and prayed over Ethan and that has given us comfort. Please pray for a good outcome from the surgery, and for peace and patience over the next eight weeks while he recovers.

Happy Easter...

We have had a wonderful Easter... Hope you did too!

Good Friday...

Wrote this to a friend today... :)

Jesus was tortured and crucified and died on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven. That was his purpose for being here. To experience sin and pay the price so that we don't have to. Today is Good Friday. The day it all went down. If you have not seen the Passion of the Christ, today would be a good day to go rent and watch it. Extremely difficult to sit through, but necessary to understand the magnitude of the sacrifice that He made for YOU.

When he rose from the grave He conquered death, for that reason we can have eternal life. We can know FOR SURE what can happen to us after we die. BUT this gift of forgiveness and eternal life can only be yours if you willingly accept it. God requires an individual response from each of us.

John 3:16 tells us "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life." Think about that for a moment. He only had one son and he gave him up for US because he loves us So Much and He wants to bless our life and make it full and complete. He wants us to have a life that goes on forever with Him, even after we experience physical death. Thats Huge.

You have a choice. There are only two to pick from. A life with the Lord, or a life separated from him. Salvation is a free gift. God is offering you something that you could NEVER provide for yourself ... forgiveness of sin and eternal life. None of us deserve it... you don't, I certainly don't, yet he gives it to us freely. All we have to do is TRULY believe with all our hearts that Jesus died for us.... and He did... today... all those years ago.

Forgive AND Forget...

To forgive is defined as being able to "give up resentment of, or cease to feel resentment against..." To forget means "to lose the rememberance of..." Sounds simple enough,.... right?...um... not necessarily.

I have struggled throughout my life to find forgiveness. Not only the ability to forgive others, but also the ability to forgive myself. Throughout my life, there have been times I have been betrayed, ridiculed, lied to, deceived, cheated, humiliated, and let down in ways both big and small. I have also at times been the betrayer, the one who ridicules, the liar, the deceiver, the cheater, the humiliator and have let others down in ways I can only imagine. I believe this is true for all of us. None of us are perfect. As my Christy always says..."there was only one perfect person who ever walked this earth"... and friends, I am not Him and neither are you. We all fail. And we ALL feel the hurt when others fail us... and that hurt can be absolutely brutal when it comes at the hands of someone we love.

As I have gotten older... and ahem... wiser...I have found the ability to forgive comes much, much easier. Learning to understand my own faults, makes it easier for me to understand the faults of others. Remember though, I am the "finding myself at 40" girl... for other people, the ability to truly and easily forgive may come much earlier in life.... for others later... and for some poor souls it never comes.

Forgetting.... well that is a whole other story. Being cursed with a mind like a steel trap and the tendency to over-analyze almost everything, I replay the bad events in my life over and over in my head like a broken record. I have self diagnosed my self with both post-traumatic stress disorder and post-traumatic hurt disorder. The stress coming from things I myself have done... and the hurt coming from things that have been done to me. There have been times in my life the memories have been maddening. But... I have learned to recognize that when those thoughts and memories come, they come from the devil himself. He manipulates himself into your head and delights in your torture over the past. It makes his world go round. And I have learned that when he sticks his toe in the door and tries to weasel his way in... I CAN keep him out. It is as simple as picking up my bible or turning on the tv or calling a friend or losing myself in a simple task... anything at all to distract myself from his attempts to trip me up.

Jesus died on the cross for your sins and mine so we CAN be and ARE forgiven. When we are forgiven by the almighty our sin is gone from His mind. He is a forgiving AND forgeting God. He forgives completely, so there is no need to confess our past sins repeatedly. As believers, we can be confident that the sins we confess and renounce are forgiven and forgotten. That's pretty huge. If we love someone the way Christ loves us, we will be willing to forgive. We must recognize those who sin against us, forgive them, and love them in spite of their sin - Just as Christ did for us! In Matthew 6:14-15 the lord himself proclaims... (I am quoting our Lord here so pay attention)... "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins." That's pretty straight forward.

If you are struggling to forgive yourself or others who have hurt you, get on your knees and pray for God's help in doing so. It may not be easy, but you can forgive, you must forgive... and when you let go and let God, you will find peace for the situation that only he can provide....

My girls and I have been praying John 14:27 over our anonymous commentor from yesterday. We will continue to do so. But I also leave you with this... Our Lord will never fail you or forsake you (Hebrews 5) He will never "overlook" you.

As a final thought... In John 14:27, our Lord tells YOU "I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid."

Hope this helps

Matthew 19:21-22 "...Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times? NO! the Lord replies, Seventy times seven!"

God is HUGE!

God never ceases to amaze me. Sometimes in the smallest of small details... sometimes in ways that are HUGE. Sometimes in the quiet times when I be still and listen... and sometimes He is downright in my face! I just love it when that happens. He has been in my face twice this week. Once on Sunday morning, and again last night.

Sunday morning I literally watched Him working in the smallest of small details. Details in the lives of thirteen people that were so perfectly timed and orchestrated that it would have made even the most hardened of non-believers stand back and go "Hmmmmmm." It really was HUGE! One of my favorite verses is Romans 8:28... "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." And I am here to tell you today that I have lived it, witnessed it, and KNOW it to be true.

Last night was the weekly meeting of the Ya Ya's (my emmaus reunion group) He always shows up when we meet. Sometime in subtle ways, sometimes in a presence that is so strong it gives us chills. Last night was one of those nights. He is working in and on our group big time right now. He has big things in store for us. Things that we can only imagine right now. Last night I watched Him tear down a wall right in front of me. It was a big wall....but our God is HUGE!

In the simplest of terms... God loves us. He is there for all of us. Not only does He long to be a part of your life... he longs to be a HUGE part of your every waking moment. The experiences I have blogged about today are not reserved for certain people or a special group. If you seek Him, you will find Him in ways both big and small... make that in ways both small and HUGE! :)

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

If you don't know Him and you would like to, I encourage you to check out these websites: http://www.allaboutgod.com/prayer-of-salvation.htm or http://christianity.about.com/od/prayersforspecificneeds/a/salvationprayer.htm

Happy Birthday Max and Ava...

Today, my nephew Max turns 17... does not seem possible. I remember watching his birth and my brother's reaction when they announced he was a boy. It was one of those priceless moments you are so thankful to be a part of and will never forget.

Max is a loving, intellegent, and oh so funny. Looks like his mom, with his dad's personality. He is such a huge blessing to our family.



Last week, my Ava turned 3! She's a big girl now...potty trained and all :) (PTL my diapering days are done!)

After two boys, a miscarraige and then another boy, I thought my dream of having a daughter might never come true. I always felt in my heart that she was missing from our family, still when we made the decision to try for number four...I expected another boy.

Started having some issues at about 16-17 weeks, so with my past history, they asked me to come down for an ultrasound. I never dreamed I would find out the sex of the baby that day. Aaron was at work so I went alone.

At the end of the exam, the tech asked if I would like to know what I was having. I was torn. I so wanted to know, but I wanted Aaron to be there. She had probably done a dozen ultrasounds on me already between the miscarraige and Jaden, so we had become friends. She looked at me and said again very directly... "do you want me to tell you what you are having?!" The look on her face said it all. She was almost as excited as I was. We were finally going to have our baby girl. I left the doctor and went straight to elder-beerman and bought her very first pink outfit! Finally PINK!

From day one, she has been my biggest challenge. The temprament, the food allergies, the tantrums, oh my! I always half jokingly say that if God had given her to us first... there would have been no boys! She is precious and we are blessed beyond belief to have her

Florida Pics...

Took awhile to get these pics on, but man... I barely have time to breathe right now.

This particular slide show takes FOREVER to go from pic to pic, which I didn't find out till I had it all finished. If I were you I would use the right arrow at the bottom when you want to change pictures. :)

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