A sprinkle of rain, staving off a downpour...

This week I felt a few sprinkles of the rain I wrote about earlier. I've actually felt the sprinkles and a few downpours since November, but now I need to learn to dance in the rain. Why do I let a little bit of rain pull me down? I actually love those gentle Spring rain showers, it's the torrential downpours that causes me to tremble. As a child, my mother would let us go out into the rain and play. We didn't care how wet we got. We were glad to get out into it. I remember we used to catch the rain in barrell and use it to wash our hair - thinking it would make it softer. I'm not sure if my hair was ever any softer, but Brrrr! Was it ever cold! There are things that I know. With rain, comes renewal, refreshment, and life. Now, mind you, this is not the total scope of my knowledge. But then again, my family may agree. I tend to associate the torrential rains with devestation and defeat, but also determination. The determiniation to rebuild and regrow can be slow. The haunting reminders can be there for years. I could go into long and boring details - let's face it, my life isn't THAT exciting! Tomorrow I'm having surgery for a deviated septum, and while that will be painful, I'm excited about getting the chance to really breathe - to smell the sweet spring rain. Who knows, maybe some of my brain cells will return and I won't seem so ditzy to others. We have some other decisions to make. The pulmonologist said one spot on my lung (mind you I've never smoked) doesn't seem to be cancerous, but they found a place on my hilum on the lung, that they're not sure about. He said we can either just do another CT scan in 3 months or have a consult with a surgeon immediately. To be honest, there are days that I just want to curl up in a ball, hold my children just a little tighter, hug my husband a little longer... So what's a girl to do... PRAY, PRAY, PRAY... and learn to dance. We're holding fast to God's promises... We know that life is not filled with only moutaintop experiences, but after we go through this valley, we are looking for the rainbow after the rain.

James 1:2-5 (New American Standard Bible) 2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,

Fast cars and church - it's all business

I'm not sure how to describe it, but we sure had quite an exciting weekend. It all started with preparing for the church's annual business meeting. Claire went to a youth conference in Branch (Fan the Flame) and, as exciting as it sounds, Caleb and I helped make boxed lunches for Sunday's gathering. Believe it or not, we had a great time and enjoyed working with the other ladies, but the real fun came down in the FLC (Family Life Center). Dave brought his NASCAR stuff to help decorate the walls. Yep, church had a racing theme of Press On.

Sunday started with my family riding to church in a brand new, red hot Shelby Cobra Mustang from Randall. Granted only Dave and the kids could fit in it, but they sure had a great time! We all made sure we got equal riding time. At church, we had Pine Car Derby races, Big Green Machine races, cars (even the General Lee was there) the Blood Mobile for donating blood, a rock climbing wall, and Segways from KC. KS. Those were so much fun!!!

I know, this does not sound like a typical business meeting, but three years ago all that changed. Our leadership were challenged to find a way to make the lowest attended meeting something to not miss out on and interesting. We now have a brochure made up to give all important information (budget, missions supported, new families, babies, deaths, goals, where we've come from and where we're going, and ways we can be involved. We were thrilled to watch a family's joy as their son was baptized into Christ. What a wonderful day! One of our ministers commented that it looked like a Skittles convention as almost everyone had on special shirt in green, orange, red, or blue. It was just a little bit crazy, but I hope that everyone came away encouraged to keep on towards the goal He set before us - to Press On towards the Kingdom.

Lessons learned..

School has started back up for most by now, and at our house, we are constantly learning - whether we're doing school or not. Here are a few things we have learned. The sad thing is, most of these we really know or have experienced, but forgotten. These are not major lessons, but rather experiences If you read this post, can you leave me a message and share what you have learned? 1. That school goes much better when you don't whine 2. We can laugh and learn and enjoy school. 3. Connor should not sit in a folding chair during school. 4. Going to highschool is exciting, but searching for you locker is an adventure. 5. Sometimes Mom starts fixing supper at breakfast. 6. Not all lessons are learned during school. 7. Learning to jump rope can be hard, but having two turners makes it easier. 8. Prayer makes all the difference. 9. The family does not like whole wheat pancakes. 10. Mom is more stubborn than Connor. 11. Marching band is hard and tiring, but fun. 12. 6 a.m. comes really early when you stay up late to watch the Olympics. 13. There are some cool tricks to doing long division. 14. There are no cool tricks to in doing algebra. 15. Giving the teacher a hug and kiss will not get you out of doing school. 16. Sleeping with the windows open is wonderful. 17. Our golden retriever chasing frogs outside the window is not wonderful when we're sleeping. 18. Using the dry erase board is more fun than pencil and paper. 19. The cat is not learning at all when she sits on the school table. 20. A doctors office visit can turn into a field trip. 21. Even when you are not feeling well, you do school. 22. Mom does laundry, dishes, and reports during school. 23. Standing up during school (because Mom won't let you sit in a folding chair) is not fun. Even a kitchen chair is more comfortable. 24. When Mom is typing reports, she can watch Connor behind her using a small mirror. :) 25. Shopping for groceries, doing laundry, cooking dinner, and picking up the house counts for Home Ec. (Family Living). 26. Daughters can make good hair dressers. 27. Sometimes doing the right thing, is not the easy thing. 28. Don't try to sneak off to your room to play with legos when Mom goes to the other room during school. 29. When you get to highschool, Mom and Dad seem to pray more. 30. It's okay to laugh and joke at the dinner table, just don't sing. 31. There are so many hurting hearts.

Rain and mercy

Mercy is falling

Is falling - is falling

Mercy, it falls

Like the sweet spring rain

Mercy is falling

Is falling all over me

Hey-oh

I receive your mercy

Hey-oh

I receive your grace

Hey-oh

I will dance forevermore

These last few days, I've been so much reminded of this song by David Ruis that we've sang in church before . After the 100+º temps we've been having, it is absolutely wonderful to sleep with the windows open, turn off the air conditioner, and just enjoy the sweet smell of a cool summer rain throughout the day and night.

When it rains, there is a little girl that I think of, Gracie, that told me it is important that she gets to dance in the rain. She made me think about so many things, but mostly about priorities, grace, and mercy. I just wonder... when God pours out his mercy, will I be dancing and rejoicing or will I be too busy to realize what a sweet gift He has given.

There have been other times that when it rains it is not so sweet. We've personally watched the stream rise, the waters seep into our home, and the aftermath of clean up. At those times, I've stood at my washer and just cried out to God to stop the rain. I wonder if Noah did that (not that he had a dryer)? After the rain, there is opportunity for healing and rebuilding. So I guess my question is: Will I dance in the rain knowing there is mercy and grace or will I spend my time mourning the time that it is falling. Please gently remind me the next time that rain starts to pour on our humble home that I need to dust off my dancing shoes, lift up my hands and accept His mercy and grace.

Perfect Heart

Lub dub, lub dub, lub dub... The quiet beating of a heart is something most people don't think about. It's something we take for granted - God has programmed our heart to beat automatically. But life changes, literally in the beating of a heartbeat.

Feb. 3, 1998 the stick showed two lines... How was I going to tell my husband that we were expecting our third child? After numerous surgeries for ovarian tumors, we were blessed with a boy and girl, then 5 & 6 and we didn't think we could have more. God had other plans. I started working immediately on this baby's scrapbook, writing him letters, trying to finish as much as I could, as time would pass quickly, for this baby we prayed so hard for.

A week before his birth, we listened as the nurse ran the ultrasound over my extended belly - we heard those precious sounds in perfect rhythm confirming the healthy heart of our expected son. We were anxious to meet him, as were his brother and sister, and had already picked out a name: Connor Eli.

The day finally arrived in mid Sept. and Connor arrived. The stadol they gave me during labor made me sleepy, so I don't remember most of what followed except the words of the pediatrician - "Your baby has what could be a fatal heart defect", at that moment our hearts broke. He was flown by helicopter to AR Child. Hosp. and there we stayed for a mere 17 days.

We took 9 rolls of pictures of everything - daily pictures of him, the nurses, his room, visitors, him after surgery, holding him for the first time, etc. We designed several pages filled with each nurses picture and a place were they could write to him, and the baby that I feared we would not have, soon had two scrapbooks filled to the brim.

Connor's scrapbook has been more therapy through the heartache, something that we needed to do. Watching him improve, fight back, taking picutres of improvements, milestones, and victories. He has truly been a blessing and miracle, and now he has several books that he can look at when he's older and know exactly what happend and how much he was wanted and loved... Through his scrapbook, there is a story about a boy with a broken heart and how it was fixed, and how he became the person that he is. If you're ever at our home, and want to see it, just ask. We'll gladly share it with you.

This last Tuesday, we traveled back to ARCH for Connor's Cardiac checkup. Each time we approach the hospital from 630 hwy, my throat suddenly constricts and I feel my heart stop, remembering. I grip the seat and tears well up as we make the exit. The car is silent as we pull up to the entrance and Dave let Connor and I out. The visit for us was routine, we knew what to expect: EKG, echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart), and visit with the cardiologist. We were so thankful and blessed. The cardiologist said his heart looked so good (x-ray and EKG) and sounded so good that we didn't need to do an echo and could go home. "See you in 2 years!"

Each year I sneak Connor up to the 4th floor CVICU so he can see where he was and what it looks like. While a lot of things have changed at ARCH, we look for those familiar to us and we found Sue, The Boss. She was one of Connor's first nurses and a wonderful blessing, and still retains her British accent. She was so thrilled to see Connor again and see how well he was doing. I tried to express to her how much she meant to us, while there, but all I could do was give her a hug.

We're so thankful that God allowed Connor to stay with our family. Each day with him is a new adventure! We can't wait to see what God is going to do with his life in the days to come.

Just a peach away from insanity

"An apple is an excellent thing -- until you have tried a peach."George du Maurier (1834-1896)

I'm not sure what I was thinking at the time when my mother-in-law called to say the peaches were ready and bring a bucket. My dear husband, packed 4 five-gallon buckets and 3 large boxes in the back of the truck. I'm thinking "You're nuts if you think we're picking that many at your parents."

My dear in-laws leave outside a small town in OK with about 5-7 acres, some of it they have planted quite a nice garden : Corn, beans out their ears, tomatoes, cantelope the size of soccerballs (I have one in my new fridge), black berries, cucumbers, squash, sunflowers, and a few trees of peaches - or so I thought. Waiting until the cool of the evening (okay, I'm talking about 95º here) we ventured out to the orchard, fully expecting to be done in 15 minutes. There I made a horrible discovery - they do not have three peach trees - it was more like 8 and they were so loaded that limbs were bending, splitting, and breaking. We quickly set to work, filling all three buckets, plus more than a few they had, and set about to separate them inside. We brought home 3-4 five-gallon buckets, plus 3 large boxes. I'm going on record to say that my husband is nuts!

Can you guess what we did on Saturday? Yep! PEACHES!!! Now, mind you, it wasn't all hum drum. Dave and I took the kids back to the days of "yester-years" in terms of music and got out some of our old audio tapes: DeGarmo & Key and Carman. Yes, there were some looks, but we saw more than once, their eyes light up, heard toes tapping, and "Hey! I've heard this song before!" We even took a break to watch a few videos on God Tube. I think they decided that the music we listened to wasn't all THAT bad! They said it was actually kind of "rocky" - whatever that meant.

By early evening, we were feeling like the children of Israel in the wilderness when they got the manna. But were rescued by two good friends came out to take some peaches off our table. All in all we put 42 quarts of peaches in our freezer, some in our fridge and some are STILL sitting on our kitchen table!

Peach cobbler anyone?

Whew, it's over!

I can't believe that it's really Friday! At 4 p.m. I breathed a sign of relief and hugged my youngest. "Yes, we're done for the day!" No, it's not been a particularly rough week, okay, we had a few more speed bumps, but for the most part it was good.

This week we started school and Caleb started marching band. We figured since he was in marching band most of the day, we didn't want Claire and Connor to just sit around and stare at the TV all day. We heard a few grumbles, but mostly Connor expressed thankfulness at being at home again. He's been pretty enthusiastic at what he's learning and doing, and that brings a smile to my face. He's so full of energy and like a sponge - soaking it all up. I found that I'm having to back track and teach some things that I thought he should have learned in public school, but he's picking up on things quickly. He was thrilled to use markers, get to keep a water bottle by his side, go on to another subject and not wait on other people, have time with Mom, and really understand what he's learning. This year, I found a series of books that bring places around the world and tie them in with God's Word and character building. This is just the thing to peak Connor's interest, as he loves Australia! Does it usually take so long to do school? Nope! But Connor was a bit distracted and he learned today that if you put things off, you still have to do them and it makes a much longer day. It also helps if the cat doesn't hop up on the table to clean herself and take naps!

Claire has gotten back into the groove of doing school and starts on it first thing in the morning. She is usually finished by 1 p.m. I just hope I can stay ahead of the lesson plans and grading papers!

Just follow me on a little bunny trail (there go the bunnies again)...

Today I was reading the blog for the campus minister for Christ on Campus and something I saw interesting was his comment on Time Magazine's 2008 list of The World's 100 Most Influential People. What Mike said was:

I was a little disappointed to find that

I knew less than a third of them.

How many names do you recognize?

Curious, I read the list. I recognized a few, but what I got to wondering was - who has the power of influence over me? Who has the most influence over my children? My husband? Is it the sports hero (and there are a few out there who have a great Christian witness), the teen pop star, their teen friends from school/church, our ministers... Who? Is it Mom & Dad, Grandmas and Grandpa, cousins, uncles and aunts? There are times that I would cringe to think my children would pattern any part of their lives after me, and if they do, will it be just the good stuff? Probably not, knowing my track record! Honesty, I would hope that God & Christ was be the most influential in their lives. He is the world's best and foremost scientist. He must be in acting and politics because He's handled enough drama and the world's most powerful rulers. He is a pioneer in radical thinking and a hero to so many for the most precious gift He's given. Builders & Titans? He made the universe!!! I think He got it covered on all the bases.

Well, it's time for me to head out to my in-laws to pick peaches and visit for a while. I'm thinking Peach Cobbler will make it's way to our table VERY soon!

Baking with Bunnie

We love getting together with friends. Sharing a meal, listening, and laughing. Last night, our friends Max and Bunnie joined us for dinner and baking. We started out the late afternoon baking muffins together, Ms. Bunnie and I. Ms. Bunnie put on the guest apron from Australia and got right in there. What fun we had! I so much enjoyed talking with them that I got distracted talking and quickly realized - I'd NEVER make it on Food Network! I so much appreciate how Caleb and Claire got right in there, reading the recipe over my shoulder, getting out the needed ingredients so we would have them ready at our fingertips! Thanks Kids!


After making two kinds of muffins (Morning Glory and chocolate chip), we started work on assembling our dinner - pizza! We're so thankful for the time Max and Bunnie took to join us for a quiet evening and giving us a gentle reminder that we should not be timid in having people over. We learned things about each other, chatted about infamous people in our families, and enjoyed having the chance to visit. What a blessing they were to our family and we look forward to doing this again soon!

** Just a sad note, that 6 months after we had the Max and Bunnie over for dinner, Max died of a massive heart attack and he has been terribly missed.