Show Us Your Life....Ministries

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8

Last year our nephews moved with their mom from Arizona to Tennessee. This was a move that we all dreaded because we feared it would not be in the their best interest. Shortly before Christmas we asked if they might be able to spend Christmas with us, and we were blessed that they were going to be able to come! We were so excited when they stepped off that plane! Without "going there" on Christmas eve we got the call that their parents had been arrested and their home would be destroyed. We currently have custody of these remarkable young men, eight and fifteen respectively. We are very grateful their mom had the courage and willingness to allow us to care for them. We love them dearly. We would like this to be their forever home and are working with an attorney to that end. We are working with our pastor and their schools, therapists etc to heal them from all of the hurt that they have suffered. It is a daily struggle, harder then any other challenge we have faced. We pray daily for the strength and courage to move forward and the wisdom to make the best choices possible for these young men. As a mother I am at a constant loss as to how to mother everyone and give everyone what they need. I continue to grow through prayer and the support of our loving extended family.

Another "ministry" of sorts...
This is our Max, born perfectly healthy on our Three year anniversary, March 25, 2009. When we were 24 weeks pregnant with our son Max he was diagnosed with a C-CAM on his right lung. We immediately became a high risk pregancy complete with a dozen specialists and frequent ultra sounds. Our initial concerns were that for his life. We were devasted as we worried about the viability of this little life. However after each and every ultrasound, every two weeks, we had greater hope.We called upon everyone who would listen to lift our unborn baby up in prayer. By the time we were at 34 weeks they believed he would have one working lung. As we prepared for the baby, the doctors prepared us for a child that could be born in respitory distress. With over eighteen doctors attending, Max was born in perfect health. At 9 pounds he was the largest baby in the NICU being tested. We were so very blessed.

He continues to grow in perfect health, however his lung abnormality remains present. He will need surgery in the near future, and we contine to turn him over to the Lord. During this time we met so many other parents via chat sites etc. whose children faced similar or even more grave hardships. Our hearts are so grateful for our blessings, we wanted to reach out to parents in similar circumstance. Recently we have been making dinner one night a month for our local Ronald McDonald House. As I have found in all service, I always get more from the evenings then the families do from our group, but we really enjoy every minute of our time in this extraordinary place.

Thanks for listening/reading!

Show us your life Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day Ideas!

So excited that I am finally blogging so that I can contribute to Kelly, at Kelly's Korner (love her!) show us your life Fridays...today the topic is Valentine's dates or ideas. We do not have any fabulous ideas to share but we do have some fun traditions. Here is me and my valentine shortly after we started dating in 2004. That year I poured over a homemade valentine for days. He still has it. I still have him, such a keeper!

Our valentine's tradition has always involved staying home! Even when we were first dating it was the one night we would always stay home to avoid the crowds. We refer to it as amateur night :) We usually order take out of some kind and enjoy a romantic night at home. Our first Valentine's Day, I ordered a pizza and had the pizza makers write I love you on it with pepperoni. Since then we have used our meal as a creative outlet to express affection of the special day. We do try to make it an event though, whether it is eating by candle light or a picnic on the carpet. We also add some creativity by placing a spending limit on gifts. The limit has ranged from as low as $5 when we were tight to more extravagant budget of $20. We have exchanged homemade CDs, cards etc. It usually adds to the fun! See this is the type of fun you can have when you just stay home! Here is Katie doing her fashion show as the Valentine entertainment last year!

I think she was a cheerleading waitress :)

Last year, Katie was 22 months and she was very excited about Valentine's day. We began a new family tradition of having a Grandparent Valentine lunch. Last year we had a "red" lunch. Everything we had was red, red meat, red sauce, you get the picture. This year we are having a heart shaped brunch. I have a fabulous heart shaped muffin tin which I will be using to make baby quiches, heart shaped muffins, and although the ham is not exactly heart shaped, it is at least pink! All the kids have been hard at work on their Valentines this week and we are super excited for this meal. Here is Katie and Nanny, last year dancing before lunch.

Love that heart outfit! My generous mom got that for her at Cracker Barrel. It had Raggedy Ann & Andy on it which was a relic of my childhood. Wish it still fit.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!