Tonight, we went to the women's Maryland basketball game.  Lots of fun and of course, they won!!!  Off to bed as Alex has her last basketball game of the season tomorrow morning, bright and early.  Oh, and Callum's hat won the competition for his grade.  Alex's didn't, but I think it should have:0)

Dr. Seuss reading day!

Alex's pink Horton hat and Callum's two green fish hat for Dr. Suess Day!

Today is Dr. Seuss reading day at the kids school.  They are in a hat contest.  Luckily Gareth is artistic, so he helped the kids this week do their hats.  Alex did a pink Horton Hat.  It was too cute.  Callum did 2 green fish, from "one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish".  I am heading to the school now to read to both their classes.  Alex picked a dinosaur book for me to read.  Too bad I can't pronounce half of the names:0)  Luckily, Callum picked, "Are you my mother", which is one of my favorites.  I think it will be a fun afternoon.  

Liam couldn't be out done this morning as I was taking pictures.  My cute little man went and got Callum's football helmet and put it on saying, "hat, hat, cheese."  He is soooooo darn cute!!

 

Anyone else ready for spring???

I seem to be in a bit of a funk the past couple of days.  Tired of the cold, can't get motivated to tidy up my house, and my car, good gracious, it looks like that tornado has been through it:0)

Def. ready for spring!!!!

Yesterday, I had a dr. appointment, and then it was off to the grocery store.  Always fun:0)  I spent the afternoon at the kids school, which I love to do.  Last night, we had a nice family meal and then Gareth went off to his bible study.  Alex and I spent the evening doing her Feb. project.  She did a report on Dr. Mae Jamison, the first African American female in space.  I let her type it.  Don't know what I was thinking.  My patience was not all there, but I held my tongue and hands and let her do it.  I struggle so much and have really have to hold back and let me kids do things themselves.  (control freak, is that what I am??)  In the end, although it took a few hours, she did a GREAT job.  Off to school she went today after presenting it to us at breakfast.  I am so proud of her.  She loves doing school work!!  

I guess that is all for now. I am off to try to motivate myself to do some stuff around here!

I hope that everyone has a great week and please pray for my attitude this week!!!

a Few facts....please pray!!!

***1 in 330 children will have had cancer by the age of 20!

***Each school day, 46 children will be diagnosed with cancer in the US.

Please continue to pray for Abby and her family.  she has started another round of Chemo this week.

Also a request has gone out for Cody.  The end is near for him and prayer would be appreciated!!!

Thank you

It's Official!!!!

We have gone to court and gotten the OK!  I know that this may be confusing to some as the boys are ours, but the way they came home required another adoption recognized here in the US.  It went great!! I was, of course, a nervous wreck.  Before we walked in, our lawyer pulled us aside and said that we have the judge we wanted.  YEAH!!  I thought that this might mean we just stand up there and he gives us the OK.   I still had to testify, which was a little nerve wracking.  I really don't know what I said except for a lot of yes's.  I think that I nodded a few times in stead of saying yes.  When our lawyer finished his questioning, I was about to step down when the judge then decided to ask me a few questions.  Gareth didn't end up having to testify b/c one of the questions the judge asked was if he were to put my husband on the stand, would he say exactly what I said.  Of course, he would, so Gareth got off lucky.  In the end, we were given the approval and the adoption was granted.  We were in there less than 10 minutes!  Praise GOD!!!!  

I will post some pics now.  I couldn't get a great one of all of us.  The boys didn't want to cooperate.  We also had friends come and that meant the world to us!!  The funniest part was when we were leaving the court room and Callum said, "can I talk now?  Is it ok and I won't go to jail?"  Too cute.  Alex had told him going down that if he talked, the judge would kick him out of the court room. Callum interpreted that as going to jail.  Very funny!!

Now we are going to await their new birth certificates and then apply for US Citizenship for them.  I pray that the next step goes as smoothly as today did!!!   We now legally have a Callum and William!!  We do have to do some name changes too, but that is just busy work really!!

Thank you Lord for watching over us today and making it go as smoothly as it did!!

 

Our 10th Anniversary!!

This past weekend, we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary!  We were able to go away, (thanks to my parents and friends, Helena and Andy) so we did:0)  We went to Hershey, PA Friday afternoon, Sat. and Sunday.  We attended a family life marriage conference.  It was a lot of fun, and pretty motivating.  Saturday night, we went out to dinner.  Just the 2 of us.  Our friends Lori and Brent went to the conference too, but Sat. night was our anniversary and date night!!  We went to a beautiful restaurant at the Hotel Hershey.  It had a dress code, so Gareth had to wear a suit.  (love that man in a suit!!)  The food was phenomenal!!!  We started out with chocolate raspberry bread with chocolate butter.  You know that when your meal starts that way, it can only get better, which it did.  I had chicken that just melted in your mouth. Gareth had steak that he said was the best he has ever had.    Also, the waiter gave us chocolate covered strawberries for our anniversary, (pictured above)   I surprised Gareth with a trip home to England for his mom's 60th birthday next month!  She and I planned this back in Nov. and I have kept it a secret for this long.  That is huge for me!! I was so excited to see his face when he opened it!!   He surprised me with a beautiful bracelet with the kids birthstones.  Very thoughtful!!  All in all, we agreed that this was the best anniversary that we have ever had!

On Sunday after the conference, we headed out and since we didn't have to be home until today, we stopped in Gettysburg, PA.  I love it there too.  I love history, so I could spend an unlimited 
amount of time in a place like Gettysburg.  Since it wasn't planned, we lucked out by finding a B&B right in the heart of town.  We were able to walk around last night and today before coming home!!  It was a very nice and much needed weekend!!!   We did a lot of talking without the interruption of little voices.  We can't believe that 10 years has gone by and also the things that have happened and the struggles we have had.   I am so thankful for a husband that had stayed by my side through thick and thin.  

Please pray for us as tomorrow we go to court for the boys final adoption hearing!!  I pray that everything goes well and that we leave there with the adoption decree needed to apply for their citizenship!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

We are heading out later today to Hershey PA to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary!!  I will post more later, but please pray for a safe trip. Also that my mom and I feel better and for the safe keeping of the kids.  Also, Liam's health.  I am a little nervous going away with how he has been.   For those of you that celebrate Valentine's Day, (instead of your wedding anniversary), I hope that you have a great one!!!

sickness, sickness, sickness, YUCK!!!!

Well, once again, poor Liam is sick.  He was in the ER on Friday and treated for breathing issues.  He also spiked a really high fever (over 105)  in less that an hour.  Not good.  Please pray that the doctors can figure out what is going on.  For now, he is just on steroids.  I don't see a big change in him at the moment.  He is not sleeping though, which means I am not sleeping.  I am ok to stay up all night. I am a night person, that I can handle.   but he tends to go to sleep for a few hours and then wake up at 2 or 3 ready for the day.  Yesterday, he was up at 3:30am, never napped and was up until 8 last night to do it all again this morning.    Church was a lot of fun last night, I will tell you that.  (we ended up leaving early) Today, he is still running around and then wheezing, running around and then wheezing.  Gareth and I are supposed to go away to celebrate our 10th  anniversary this weekend.  My mom is supposed to keep the kids, and she has been sick as well. Of course, this morning I am  feeling horrible.   I am selfishly asking for prayer that mom and I kick this and we are healthy again for tomorrow.  Also that Liam gets better and that his test results come back ok!!   Thank you!!!

Very Sad day!!

Today, we had to say goodbye to our two dogs.     Both were older, and both had been ill.  It was hardest on Gareth who took them.  He called me during bible study to tell me that they were gone.  I have never heard him so upset.  This afternoon, we had to break the news to Alex.  We have been preparing her for over a week now.  Abbie, our 14 year old dog had stopped eating, and Bailey was having medical "issues".  Alex knew it was coming, but that doesn't make it any easier.  

Abbie was my dog before Gareth and I met and we added Bailey in the month after we were married.   It is a loss that is very painful, but we are trying use it as best we can to teach Alex about death and grieving.   It is amazing what questions she comes up with at 7.  I am so thankful to Gareth for being the strong one through this.  I don't think I could have done what he did today.  I am thankful to the vets that were so very compassionate and caring.  I am also thankful that even in the midst of sadness, we have great memories.   We will be pet free for a while now.  That will take a lot of getting used to.  They were such good dogs and we will miss them dearly!!!   

an update from Brent, Abby;s dad

I am copying his latest blog post as he requested.  Please take the time to read it and also pray for them.  They are an amazing couple, but will not be able to get through this without the constant prayers of others like you!!!

I was at the hospital with Michelle and Abby until about 5.30am this morning, then came home for a little while so SpideyLandis and the other kids wouldn't wake up parentless.

Pic: Abby usually talks MeeMaw into making cookies when we are at her house. MeeMaw makes the best cookies, and someone has to learn to carry on the tradition.

The nurses were in and out all night every few minutes. If you've never enjoyed that experience, it is a little maddening getting woke up over and over and over and over all night long. I am a light sleeper, and wake up frequently anyway but Michelle is a sound sleeper, and it is hard on her. She stays at the hospital every single night that Abby is there, so she doesn't get alot of sleep. I run back and forth between the hospital and the house. That's the pattern we've settled into since Abby got sick.

This morning, Abby is about the same. Her little tummy is so swollen, she looks like she is going to explode. The infection area on her stomach around her feeding tube covers about the area of a dollar bill... red, blistered, inflamed. Just touching Abby's feeding tube sends her into a tailspin. The sores have not begun to improve yet and she can barely tolerate even wearing a soft diaper or panties. Going to the bathroom is torture.

Michelle is really tired but patiently tends to every need Abby has... taking her to potty, changing her clothes and bedding, feeding her, putting medicine and cremes on her, monitoring her I.V.'s, getting her drinks, keeping her distracted... watching the same video over and over 50 fifty times because that is what Abby wants to watch. (when Abby is done with chemo, I'm burning "Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast")

Michelle is the epitome of a mother willing to give up every comfort, all her time and ignore her own needs... to take care of her child. For those who hold the opinion that "adopted" kids are "not as much your child" as biological kids... well, I don't have to make any comments about that. Everyone who has ever adopted knows how absurd that is.

New Every Morning

How do we do this? How do we keep going? How can we be joyful, thankful, content and happy living the "life of cancer" month after month? People ask this on a daily basis.

Answer: the same way YOU can keep going. The same way YOU can be joyful, thankful, content and happy day after day no matter what life throws at you.

The same way that guy I just saw on TV keeps going every day. He fell asleep driving, hit a truck head-on, destroyed his spleen and liver, broke all his ribs and had to have his leg cut off. When they cut him open to operate after the wreck, they found out he had liver cancer too. How's that for a "bad deal" in life?

How do you keep going? How do you keep going with joy, hope and thankfulness? The answer is the same whether you're a parent of a child with Leukemia, a guy with one leg and cancer, a cheated-on spouse, an unfairly fired employee, or just someone dealing with the typical life struggles that conspire to rob us of joy and contentment.

The answer is the same for the couple about to lose their house to foreclosure, or the parents who are finding out how hard parenting really is. The answer is the same for healthy, active folks who don't feel loved or at peace... or the older couple with seemingly-never-ending health problems.

The answer is the same for Americans who take for granted unparalleled personal freedom and an unprecedented level of affluent lifestyle, or the multitudes of people across the globe who are hungry, poor, cold, imprisoned for their faith or beliefs, persecuted and largely ignored by the world. The answer is the same...

The answer to "how do you keep going?" and "how do you have joy and hope?" is the same for every single person in ANY situation, and here it is, my favorite passage, Lamentations 3: 20-25:

• I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
• Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
• Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
• They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
• I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
• The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

Notice that the Bible does not ignore the "negative" realities of life, or pretend that it should never be talked about or acknowledged. King David, the only person ever labeled "a man after God's own heart" penned dozens of Psalms full of lament, struggle and pouring his heart out about life's hardships. David would not be very popular in much of our modern church or culture. But you know what friends... the honest admission and lament of heartache in the Psalms has spoken deeply to and soothed the heart of legions of hurting souls throughout history.

Acknowledging Is Not the Same As Being Consumed

Acknowledging the hard realities of the human experience is not the same as being consumed by them, or having a "negative" outlook. We are to be positive people who also see the blessings (positive) that come when we depend on God during the "negative". We remember (accept, acknowledge) there are frequent times in life when our "soul is downcast" but that the proper response is:

"... I will call to mind and therefore have hope"... what?

• I will call to mind that God's great love is NEVER consumed; it never ends; there is always more
• I will call to mind that God's compassions NEVER fail; His compassions always WIN; in other words, if we avail ourselves of God's compassion, it is ALWAYS enough to overcome our sorrows no matter what they are
• I will call to mind that God's love and compassion is NEW every morning...

Why does God emphasize "every morning"? Does His compassion wear out by the end of the day and then overnight God gets back in gear and puts out a fresh batch when the sun comes up?

"New every morning" is a point of reference for us. We all live day by day. The sun rises on every person, every day, in every situation. It is a guidepost, a marker, a timestamp that we can all relate to, count on and understand.

So God uses that inescapable reality to give us a common ground that leaves none of us being able to say "I didn't understand, I wasn't aware..." We all understand that the sun rises every day. We all understand that morning comes each day no matter WHAT WE ARE STRUGGLING WITH.

Every morning, for every person, God's love, compassion and mercies are "new" and available. Not "new" in the sense that they got "old" or "worn" the day before but "new" in the sense they are waiting for us, without fail, with the dawn of each new day. They are "new" in that they are totally sufficient for whatever that day holds for us, even when our "soul is downcast"... in fact, I would say ESPECIALLY when our soul is downcast.

When is God's compassion sweetest? When life is great or hard? When does God's mercy seem most real? On the mountain top, or in the valley? When is His love feel the greatest? When we already feel loved by others, or when we feel lonely and abandoned by the world? Mercy, love and compassion are particularly precious when we feel "downcast".

I Will Call To Mind And Say To Myself

God's mercy, love and compassion is there no matter what we do, even if we ignore it. But God calls us to action if we want to benefit from it. We have to get our mind right. We have to deliberately focus on this Truth. We have to "call to mind" the Word of God and tell ourselves:

"God is enough. God is my hope. I will wait on God."

Wait on God? The meaning here is that we will look to God, focus on God, depend on God, keep our eyes on God. It doesn't mean He will delay His love ("wait"); it is the picture of us putting our full attention on God. The Lord God is GOOD to those who seek Him. Isn't that a marvelous truth? Do you truly believe it? If yes, are you daily seeking Him?

I like to summarize things for easy recall, so let me wrap up with this...

Are you downcast? Is life hard? How can you be joyful, hopeful, content and loved despite any hardship?

• Focus your mind on God and tell yourself the Truth
• God's great love means your troubles will not consume you
• God's compassion NEVER fails us
• God's love and mercy is waiting for you every morning, every day, every time
• The Lord is ENOUGH for ANYTHING you are going through
• God is good to everyone who puts their hope in Him
• God is good to everyone who seeks Him
• Because of all these things you can say...

"Therefore I have hope".

If you have hope, then you can keep going. No matter how hard life is, no matter what dark valley your journey has you in, you can keep going because you have hope.

That is my answer to "how do you keep going?" and it can be your answer too.

Are you encouraged by this message? Do you know someone today who is struggling and could use some hope? Do you know anyone who needs mercy, compassion and love? You have an answer for them now.

Tell your friends, Put this post on your blog. Send it out to your email list Copy and paste the whole thing. I don't care about getting credit for the writing. I care about helping people.

We'll post an update about Abby later today. We have been reminded of God's compassion every day because of YOU. Your notes, comments and prayers are the manifestation of God's love.

Please continue to pray....

Please continue to pray for Abby.  she is a beautiful little girl also adopted from Guatemala.  She has Leukemia and is having some complications.  

A morning of reminders......

Today started with Gareth taking Alex and Callum to school.  It was a two hour early dismissal here so Callum went all day.  He was very excited to have lunch at school. We have started a great morning routine in the last few weeks.    Gareth usually takes Alex to school then comes home and we have coffee, (well I have tea) together for about 45 minutes before he goes to work. This works well for us, because most nights Gareth is not home for dinner and a few nights, he doesn't make it home for bed time. So, long story short, it is a great time to start our day together.   

This morning, our morning started as normal.  The kids were excited about getting Callum ready for all day school.  It was snowing beautifully out, but only kind of sticking.  Gareth comes home after taking the kids to school and sits down with his cup of coffee. He then says, "we almost got in to a car accident just now".  OK, What???  He then re-tells the whole scene.  A woman coming too fast around a corner slid on ice and to that moment, he still didn't know how she stopped inches from his truck instead of slamming in to them.   It was only by God's protective hand that they weren't hit.  

I really needed this as a reminder that our days are numbered.  God knows when we will be with Him in heaven, and lately, there have been many reminders sent my way.  Lots of people I know that have lost loved ones, young and old.  I just pray that i remember what is significant, and what isn't.  What my children and husband really need from me as well as remembering to live every day to God's glory not my own.   I am off to take a coffee to my husband at work this after noon and let him know how much I appreciate him. 

 I would like to ask for prayer for Abby today and ask that you keep her and her family in your prayers.  She is a beautiful 4 year old little girl, (adopted from Guatemala)  that was diagnosed with Leukemia in July.  She is currently under going more chemo and having a rough time.  Please lift her and her family up in your prayers and make sure that you tell your loved ones that you love them today:0)