The Bernetich Family

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!

2012-01-19T19:11:00.000-08:00

37 years - WOW! I remember thinking when I was in my teens, how far away the late 30's were. Now, I am here in the midst of it.

I have to admit I was kinda bummed about my birthday this year which I never am -- I love birthdays!! I think they are so special and worth being celebrated. This year was different because I would be missing a very special person here with me on that day. *Dave*

But....

God has blessed me with the 2 most amazing children anyone could ask for (yes, I know all mom's believe that about their children and rightfully so!!) - Andrew and Kira -

They had asked to take off school (for those of you that may not know, they homeschool). I told them "no" because we had something planned the next day that they needed to take off for. They were disappointed but said "ok". Well, unbeknownst to me, they set it upon themselves and woke up at 3am without me knowing about it, did school, decorated the house, and planned some wonderful surprises for me (I'll get to them in a minute). Yes, I was in shock and completely cried!

At 8:00am, I was awakened by 2 very happy and excited children exclaiming "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" and told me they had been up, finished school, and made some special things for my birthday. I was told to close my eyes and they led me down the hall to the playroom and I found this (there is a black "M" in the connect 4 game for mom - lol :))....

After that, they took me downstairs and I found this :)

I was then given some beautiful homemade cards with some very special things written in them :). After reading (and crying) the beautiful cards, I was told to go upstairs and take a nice hot bath and come down in my robe (they did tell me to make sure I had clothes underneath it - LOL). I came downstairs and was told once again to close my eyes. I was led into the living room where a "SPA" was all set up for me. They sat me down in a chair and Kira had a large bowl set up where she washed my feet, put lotion on them, and then painted my toenails (the most beautiful electric blue color that they both chose together). -- Ummm, wow!! As I sat in the chair, I was brought a glass of mango green tea by Andrew and given a shoulder rub as well by him. Kira then led me upstairs where she proceeded to have me kneel by the tub and wash my hair for me. I could not believe all of this. It was so incredibly sweet.

I came downstairs to a very yummy breakfast of eggs, sausage, and apples made wonderfully by Chef Andrew :).

After finishing the yummy breakfast, we sat down to watch a movie. As we were watching the movie, the doorbell rang and I opened to find a box from a flower company. It was filled with 2 dozen of the most gorgeous red roses ever and had the sweetest note from the most amazing husband anyone could ask for! WOW, all this and it was only 10:30am.

We went to sit back down and relax but got a call that someone wanted to see our house today. About 5 minutes later, we got another call that someone else wanted to see the house the next day. So needless to say, we did not relax and kicked into high gear to make this house perfect to show a few hours later.

After the showing, we came back to the house and got ready for a wonderful dinner at Wasabi. It was the kids first time at a hibachi restaurant and they loved it. We had such a great time!

After dinner, we were all so stuffed that we did not even do cake - we just had a true relaxing time together enjoying the last part of one of the best birthday's I had ever had.

The only way for it to have been truly the BEST birthday ever was to have Dave here. We finished the night by skyping together and praying together. Yes, just about the most perfect birthday!

Disappointment and Encouragement

2012-01-05T08:19:00.000-08:00

I have really been struggling this week in a lot of things. I am really missing Dave and feeling as if I am just not functioning right without him here. I have felt as if I am failing as the only parent. The kids seem to be arguing all the time and I just get so frustrated. I certainly have not shown the fruits of the spirit at all. I am bummed that our house has not sold yet and that we still have to live separately from Dave.

In our family, Dave is the head and I believe God has designed it that way (1 Corinthians 11:3 - But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God and Ephesians 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.) When we follow God's design for marriage, it results in a beautiful relationship but I digress...

Anyway, this week has been tough and I just was feeling really bummed. I received a call yesterday from our realtor that she was bringing a caravan of realtors to our home. A caravan of realtors means that a large group of realtors come to your home and give you tips that you can use to help sell your home. They also let you know what you can do to sell it easier. Of course after feeling bummed all week, this was not what I wanted to do - prepare the house for all these people so they could tell me all the bad things about our home. Even my sweet husband was praying for me that I would not be discouraged at all that they said about our home.

Well it seems that God knows what we need when we need it (funny how I know that but always seem to forget :P). Well, within a matter of about 30 minutes, there was about 20 realtors that came through our home and you know what...

We got rave reviews!! They loved our home, said it was very neat and clean, and that they couldn't believe the price we have it listed for. But that was not the most amazing part...

One of the gentleman saw Andrew's Bible Scholar award that we have hanging on his wall and encouraged Andrew to continue reading it for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). Another gentleman saw Kira's list of things to do which right after brushing her teeth and getting dressed was reading her Bible - he actually took a picture of it to show to his kids because he was just sharing with them the importance of time with God and making lists for remembering things you need to do. This was such an encouragement to the kids and I but what even blessed me more is that another gentleman as we were all standing around the table heard about what God had called us to and we all held hands and he prayed for our family and that this home would sell quickly. WOW - I was blessed beyond words and was so grateful for these gentleman who took a stand and shared Christ with us!!

Yes, God knew that I needed to be encouraged today and He did it in the most wonderful way!

2012!!

2012-01-02T19:20:00.000-08:00

I love the start of a new year. It is exciting to think that each new year can bring a fresh start, a new focus, and an exciting anticipation of what lies ahead. I don't make New Year's resolutions. Probably the most significant reason is that I never can keep them. I may have wonderful intentions of keeping them but don't.

My only desire for this year is to grow closer to my Savior --

To know Him and love Him more deeply (You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your might - Deuteronomy 6:5)
To memorize scripture more (For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12)
To have a character that displays the fruits of the spirit ( But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23),
To strive to be more of a Proverbs 31 woman (Proverbs 31:10-31), and
To remember my body is a temple of God (Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

This is my desire for this year - for I know that without the grace and love of Jesus Christ, I am nothing!!

Merry CHRISTmas!!!

2011-12-28T07:22:00.001-08:00

What a wonderful time Christmas is!! A time for reflecting on our Savior's birth and how He came as a baby, lived as a man, and died for our sins so that we may have eternal life!! There is no greater gift than that!

We had a very special Christmas this year as once again. The highlight was Dave being able to come home from Texas and celebrate with us. It was an even shorter visit than at Thanksgiving but we were thrilled none the less.

The best gift was that we got happened on the Friday before Christmas. Dave was not supposed to get in until late Friday night but he found out at the last minute that GFA was closing the office early on Friday. So after morning prayer, he called Delta to see if there was any way he could switch his flight. This was at 10am - they said they had a flight scheduled to leave at 11am and they could get him on that flight meaning he would arrive 7-1/2 hours earlier than scheduled!! Now this was all God because GFA is over 20 minutes away from the airport and he still had to have our friend Jeff drive him there, go through security, get his new boarding pass, and get on the flight all within an hour. He made it and we got the most wonderful surprise of all this Christmas by having him here for longer than we had thought. Yes, Samson has missed Dave too! (don't ya just love his Christmas "bone" tie??)

He arrived just in time for dinner and we had a good southern BBQ dinner at a local homemade BBQ place near our house - Kelly's. It was super yummy. After that we came home to relax. We got in our PJ's and just hung out watching movies and spending time together!!

Christmas Eve was a wonderful day. We got up and had a yummy breakfast and just enjoyed some time together!

Dave decided he wanted us to open the gifts that he had gotten us from Texas. Of course, there were no complaints about that! Kira got a true Stetson Cowboy hat,

Andrew was thrilled to get an Angry birds shirt and "Animal" shirt,

and I was in love with the special boots he got me as well as a wonderful new book written by one of our friends at GFA.

There was also one more gift we had wanted the kids to open before Christmas that they could use on Christmas day! It was their brand new Bibles!!

They were thrilled. They both had been asking for a new Bible for a while now. They read it every morning and Kira had grown out of her kids Bible. They both also wanted the same version that Dave and I had so when we would read together as a family, they could follow along easier. They both got the new ESV Student study Bible and love it. It has great little notes and as Dave and I were looking through it, we had even learned some new things too.

On Christmas morning, we awoke to a beautiful day and got up and ready for church. We did let the kids open their stockings which to be honest I have never done before (we don't do the whole Santa thing, I understand that many do and that is ok but we have chosen not to). Sometime through the years we had all been given a stocking with our name on it (well mine's a hat but who cares ;)).

I filled it with the necessities that I knew they all needed plus a little treat - yes, everyone got new underwear and socks in their stockings but they loved it anyway :).

I must say that I don't remember ever going to church on Christmas because it's usually the Christmas Eve service that churches have but we were thrilled!! What an amazing way to start the day that we celebrate Jesus's birth!! Our service was beautiful and our praise band even did an amazing version on Trans Siberian Orchestra's "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - it was awesome and if you know me, you know I love the Trans Siberian Orchestra and was the first to introduce my family to them many years ago :).

We came home and while the Christmas dinner was finishing up cooking, we opened the rest of the gifts from the grandparents and each other :). We always get leary of how many gifts the kids get and taking away from the true meaning of Christmas wasting money on toys that are thrown in the toy box just a week later. I was very proud of our kids this year. They asked for very minimal and I knew they would use everything they asked for -- still too much in my opinion but I was grateful.

Kira got some body spray -yes, she is growing up :(. She got a diary, some earrings, a worship CD, a scarf, a baby duck that you feen - no, it's not real-hehe, and some games.

Andrew is utterly still addicted to legos and K'nex and plays with them all the time so his big gifts this year were Bionicles or now known as Hero Factory as well as a Narnia movie, and some games.

Dave got some new PJ/lounge pants and a journal to write down the things God is teaching him!

The best part of the day was when we ordered from the GFA Christmas catalog together. It's amazing that the best part of Christmas is still the giving!!

After that , we settled down to a yummy homemade dinner complete with my first homemade apple pie. I have made fresh fruit pies before but never apple. If you can't tell from the picture, it was hard to wait until Christmas to have it so it's a half eaten pie that we enjoyed on Christmas Eve too :)

Samson was wiped from a wonderful Christmas but he wanted to me to wish you all a very Merry CHRISTmas and a very good night ;)

Christmas Happenings

2011-12-28T06:48:00.000-08:00

Of course getting ready for Christmas is just as fun as the day itself! We decorated although no tree this year as we kinda needed a new one and I was thinking we would be in Texas this year and I would get one there but it didn't work out as I had thought. Oh well, we still loved our decorations!!

The church was the first Christmas decoration that Dave ever bought me!

Forgive the messy table in the background. We were cleaning and baking that day :P

One of our favorite things to do is to do our advent calendar which is quite unique. It is a beautiful Fontanini set and each day you hang a new piece on the nativity with the last piece being baby Jesus on Christmas Eve. Our kids get so excited to do this every year!

We also enjoyed some baking this year as well. Well, Kira and I enjoyed baking, Andrew just enjoyed licking the beaters :).

One of the most fun things that we were able to do this year was that Dave was able to Skype with us through his phone and allow us to be a part of the GFA staff Christmas party. We don't have any pictures but the memories remain as he carried his phone to just about every table and allowed us to say Hi and Merry Christmas to everyone. It was wonderful because I was having a really hard time that day not being there and just missing Dave. It truly made my night!!

And then there is Samson who just enjoyed lounging on the couch with the remote in his paw without a care in the world ;)

Christmas Photo Shoot

2011-12-27T15:26:00.001-08:00

I love taking pictures of the kids and Christmas time is no exception. I love finding new places to take their Christmas pictures too :) Last year was the park and this year was the beach. I figured this was the last Christmas we would live close to a beach so it would be fun to capture some fun photos of the kids. They really have a hard time at first getting in the mood but by the end of the pictures, they are all into it and telling me to take a picture here or let's try here - they really are amazing children and I love them with all my heart!! So without any further anticipation, here is their 2011 Christmas photo shoot :)

Festival of Lights

2011-12-27T15:19:00.001-08:00

Usually the first few nights after Dave leaves for Texas are the hardest for all of us. In order to help with this, I decided to take the kids to the Holiday Festival of Lights for a fun time together.

We took Andrew's best friend, James with us and we all had a blast!

Every other year we have gone, we have gone during a day that was closer to Christmas. This year we went right after Thanksgiving and it was great. We also went early on in the night. We drove through with literally no traffic at all.

After driving and seeing the lights, I surprised the kids and took the train ride through the county park for a closer look at all the lights.

It was a ton of fun but I must say the most fun was stopping and roasting marshmallows and making smores.

Yum, Yum, Yummy!!

If you look real close, you can see the flame on Andrew's marshmallow ;)

Thanksgiving

2011-12-27T14:54:00.000-08:00

We got a wonderful surprise when GFA had offered to help Dave get home for Thanksgiving - we were soooo excited!! Of course there was much preparation to be done and the kids were very willing to help, well at least at first :)

Dave came in on Wednesday night and spent the whole Thanksgiving holiday with us. He left again on Monday to head back but we were so happy for the special time we had. Of course as the man of the house, he had to carve the yummy turkey ;)

We enjoyed a super yummy homemade dinner with a turkey that I brined which in my opinion is the best way to prepare a turkey!

We also enjoyed some family time which we so desperately needed!!

And we even were able to get a quick family photo - our first one in almost 2 years!! Crazy!

14 years and counting....

2011-12-27T14:09:00.000-08:00

Dave and I do not really get to go on a date very often. As a matter of fact, the kids and I were talking about it the other day that it has been over 2 years since we have hired a babysitter. Crazy, I know!! We decided that for our 14th anniversary (which was September 6th - yes, a very late post, I know) that it would be wonderful to do one last little getaway before we headed to GFA (which happened a lot sooner than we thought, more on that later).

We have been blessed with a couple of wonderful neighbors here and they were very willing to watch our kids over the long Labor Day weekend while we went away.

We decided to rent a cabin in Tennessee which was gorgeous! It truly was an amazing time together and something we so desperately needed :). Little did we know that it would last much longer than a weekend. About our 3rd climb up the mountain our lovely powerful GMC Yukon XL would struggle to make it's way up. I remember Dave saying that all these little tiny cars were passing us to go up the mountain and how he felt so silly that here he was in the big truck and it couldn't make it ;).

Well, if you remember earlier in this post, it was Labor Day weekend. Yep you guessed it - not a mechanic in sight (or for that matter out of sight) was open. I had a friend in the area who I had not seen in years but was thinking it would be nice to stop by - A huge thank you goes out to Tanya and Dave for not just allowing us to stop by but for them helping to try and get the truck fixed since by this time, it could not even make it up a driveway :(. Unfortunately after some work by Dave and Dave, the truck was still not working correctly. We decided to say thank you and head on our way to try and rent a car and wait to take the car to a mechanic on Tuesday since there were none open until then.

Dave and I traveled about 25mph in the truck to the nearest rental car place but wouldn't you know it? They had closed early for the holiday. By this time, we were at a loss - the closest rental car place open was at the airport and that was over 45min away and that was traveling the speed limit. Sweet Dave and Tanya got a phone call once again and they were more than willing to help. We dropped the truck off at a shop to sit until Tuesday and Dave drove us to the airport to pick up our rental.

But wait, the kids????? and the dog????? Since the kids were staying at a neighbor's house, they were coming home to take care of Samson. What now? Pat and Kim (our neighbors) had to work on Tuesday and their kids had school. Another phone call to our friends who we know homeschool and our kids were taken care of. And the dog, another call to another neighbor and Samson was all set too.

Oh, there was still this little problem of where we were going to stay since we were supposed to leave the cabin Monday -- another call and a huge discount and a couple more days and the our cabin remained ours!

In all of this, I struggled. What was God doing? Were we wrong in being selfish and wanting to spend time together? As we sat and prayed, it wasn't about us (and I thank my husband of 14 years for showing that to me). God had orchestrated all of this for something He had planned, something we would have never known about if it were not for our truck breaking down. He allowed me to have a friend in the area that even though we had not seen each other in over 20 years, they were willing to show love and friendship to us. He gave us neighbors and friends that were selfless and willing to help. He did not allow the cabin to be booked for the extra days that He knew we needed it. It is in these times that we need to know, none of this happend by coincidence - we know and serve a God who is sovreign in ALL things!! A lesson I for sure needed to learn and realize it's not always about me!

In the end, it wound up being the catalytic converter that broke on the truck and it was fixed and we came home on Wednesday - 2 days later than planned but I praise God because those 2 days mean the world to me now and God knew it and why we needed it even before we did! As it turned out, just 2 months later Dave would leave for GFA without us (more on that later).

This post would not be complete without a huge thank you to our neighbors and friends -- The Johnson's, Mrs. Cookie Lindsay, The Henderson's, and of course Dave and Tanya!

Playing catch-up...

2011-12-27T14:05:00.000-08:00

Well, I will try to compile a post that incorporates the last few weeks of October as well as the beginning of November (I mean I cant rightfully start the New year without finishing up 2011, can I? :P)

We did not expect the call we got in October to put the house on the market and get ready to come to GFA. In a matter of a week, the house was up for sale - crazy, I know but we had been landscaping and preparing knowing that one day this would come :)

The rest of October and November consisted of a bunch of meetings for us for support-raising. We spoke at our own church, traveled to a church in Seabrook Island, SC, also spoke at a church in Aiken, SC, and went to Tennessee and spoke at a church there. We were also thrilled to be a part of a large missions conference in Myrtle Beach as well. I think it was more of a blessing to us than we were to them ;). God is good and has continued to raise our support and we give Him all the glory.

A few weeks after the first call to put the house on the market, we received another call from our mentors and leaders at GFA that they really needed Dave there to help in the IT department. After much prayer and consideration, we knew this was God's leading. On November 9th, without me or the kids in tow, Dave made the long 17 hour journey to Carrollton, TX to work in the home office at Gospel for Asia. The kids and I wait here for the house to sell and then we will join him there. I resigned from my job in the neonatal ICU on November 17th and now am a stay at home mom to the kids. I continue to seek out churches and pastors and schedule more meetings for support since we are not 100% supported yet.

Please continue to pray for us as it is hard being away from each other but we know this is God's calling on our lives and we just want to do our part to help bring others to Him even if that means a small sacrifice on our part.

So as you can see, it has been a whirlwind the last few months and that is why this blog has suffered. For the one or two of you that actually may read it, thanks for being patient with me ;).

A special visit to our door!

2011-12-07T18:57:00.001-08:00

We love homeschooling - sure it has not been easy at times but we have had a lot of fun this year doing it. There are some great benefits that can occur when you homeschool, like having the kids be able to go to the door one special morning (note, Kira is still in her pj's) and get a surprise visit from some of the locals in the area. It was great fun and the kids had a blast feeding the baby ducks. Who needs textbooks when you have a whole world of learning right outside your door? (Actually, I desperately need the textbooks, just was having some fun with ya :P)

Has it been this long?????

2011-11-15T20:46:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know the blog has been severely neglected for quite sometime but I can guarantee there have been a lot of fun and crazy stuff going on that I will post about soon! Check back later for the latest and greatest in the Bernetich happenings.

Homeschooling in the morning, Fun in the afternoon...

2011-09-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love being with my kids and being able to have the privilege to homeschool them this year. The neat thing is that we do have a rigid yet flexible schedule that we can tweak to fit our needs. It's great because we have been able to show the kids that they can work extra hard during the week and then have a "free treat day". It has worked wonders for their work ethic :). I decided to take them down to a new park and pier that was recently built to just enjoy the sunshine and warm weather, especially since the kids were excited and started school in July.

This was kind of crazy and fun. There was a woman fishing off the pier and caught a shark - yes, a shark. It was just a little one but was a really neat treasure to see. Of course she released it since it was not a tasty treat for her family but it was still a pretty cool thing to see :)

And this one is just one I love of the 2 of them - just them being them :)

Beach Trip

2011-09-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

This summer we made it to the beach a number of times and truly had a great time. I love the beach - there is something about the salty air, the warmth of a summer breeze, and jumping into the waves. I love it and it seems we have passed on the love to our children. We were able to be blessed and go to the beach with a number of families from our church and had a blast! The moms chatted and laughed while the kids ages from 6-17 played in the sand. I think the highlight of the day was playing football in the sand with all the kids and adults. Andrew was a stinker - that little kid can dodge in and out of people so quick, maybe we do have a football player on our hands. By the end of the day, everyone was telling me we have to get him into football :). Anyway, enjoy the pics - none of the adults, not really sure why, but a few of the kids. Oh, and check out Andrew's mermaid - cute :)

d

Faces of Summer :)

2011-09-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

Carried to the arms of Jesus!

2011-09-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

I have so much to catch up on on the blog but just felt the need to jot down my thoughts right now (as remembrance). It was a crazy and sad night at work last night. My present job is one that I always say is bittersweet. I have seen amazing miracles and yet I have seen the sting of death more times than I care to say. Last night was no exception. After a long hard fight, a child was taken home to Jesus. The parents weren't there when their baby passed - I am grateful they were there before and got to hold their precious daughter. I was in charge and volunteered to hold the child as she took her very last breath. Our chaplain was there and as she was pronounced we both sang "Jesus loves me" and he prayed the most beautiful prayer as we both now knew God had her in His arms. He prayed a gracious prayer of love and praised God that she was spared from the hurt and troubles of this life and yet he prayed for comfort for her family as they are left behind. I can honestly say that in all my years of being in the neonatal ICU, this was the most beautiful moment and one that I will remember forever. It was my honor and complete privilege to hold this baby knowing that the very next moment, she was with my Savior!

Making butter...

2011-08-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, I love to make homemade things for my family. Homemade ingredients just make things taste better in my opinion, better than all that nasty processed stuff. No, I have not gotten away from all of that other stuff but I am trying to really provide better meals for my family. Anyway, the kids and I decided to make some homemade butter this summer and it was so easy and so yummy. All you do it take some heavy whipping cream and some salt if you desire your butter to be salted.
Shake it up and you get butter - no lie, it's really that easy. We placed the whipping cream into a tight container and shook, and shook, and shook (actually it really didn't take that long but Andrew will tell you otherwise - hehe).
We were left with a clump of butter. We removed the excess liquid which is actually buttermilk that forms so you could definitely use it in other recipes but we just chucked it :). We added a smidgen of salt and placed the butter in a container in the frig -- there you have it - some super yummy (yes, better than the store bought kind) homemade butter. Try it sometime. It really was a fun activity and the kids couldn't get over how great it tasted over piping hot raisin bread :)

Shock and Peace...

2011-08-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

There has been so much going on in our lives right now that I don't even know where to begin. If you would have told me back at my cousin's wedding that I would be making another trip up to PA for my mom to have brain surgery for a tumor/lesion, I would have fell over at the thought, but alas that is what happened. Mom had been having some neurological issues - losing her memory, difficulty walking, etc. I knew she was being followed by a neurologist but never would have dreamed we would be dealing with the things we are now. After an MRI that was taken of mom's brain the end of June, she was placed in the hospital to try to place a diagnosis on this "thing" that has taken over the right side of her temporal lobe (think above right ear - in that area). After multiple scans, tests, spinal taps, blood work, no one could diagnose what this was, but our fears were there. As some of you know, mom was diagnosed with stage 3-4 HER 2+ breast cancer almost 5 years ago. We were told at that time that her risk of reoccurence and metastasis would be extremely high. She went through a double mastectomy, lots and lots of chemo, another special drug for the specific type of cancer she had, as well as radiation. Fast forward almost 5 years to now...
Anyway, with nothing pointing to what this was except for hunches on ours as well as the neurologist's part, mom went through a procedure where they drilled into her skull and removed a piece of the mass (or so we thought). Mom had a really difficult time after the surgery. My aunt and brother called me to let me know it may be a good idea to come because we just weren't sure what she would "get back" so to speak. She wound up needing full care, unable to really do anything on her own, she was having seizures, her memory was awful (praise God she was able to remember my brothers, me, my dad, and my aunt consistently). Needless to say, I was on the first flight out the next day. The 9 days I spent there with her and my family were truly some of the most difficult times in my life. I mean just a month before, my mom was fine (sure I knew she was having some issues but never dreamed of this).

I think that is where my peace has come. Peace that truly passes all understanding, peace that no one can explain. Don't get me wrong, I cried, I yelled, I felt lost at times but there was this peace that though this was a shock to our family, it was not a shock for our God!!
Nothing surprises God - sure I know this, I mean He is sovrein, omnipresent, omniscient, but I think He allowed me to really focus and understand it at this time. He created us, He knew us before the world existed, and nothing surprises Him!! This is what I have rested in - knowing that the God of this universe loves us, knows every detail of our lives, knows the very number of hairs on our head, and desires for us to know Him deeply and intensely and never is surprised or shocked at the things that have happened. What peace and rest there is in that.

Mom has since gone to rehab and is improving there. She is able to feed herself, is walking with a walker, getting memory training and speech therapy, and is doing well.
Do we have an official diagnosis yet? NO! Do the doctors believe this is a cancerous tumor - Yes!
The plan now is for mom to have a full-body PET scan (more diagnostic than an MRI) to make sure they have not missed cancer in other parts of her body. She is also going to go see a new neuro-surgeon as well as a neuro-oncologist. The difficult part is that she may very well have to go through a full craniotomy (surgery to remove her skull, visualize the tumor, and get a good piece of tissue) in order for them to have a definitive diagnosis and treat her correctly. Please pray for peace, wisdom, healing and comfort for us all right now.
The most blessed part of this is that I have seen a love in my parents that I have not seen in years, I have seen our family grow closer together, I have seen relationships being restored and hurt disappearing. Sometimes God uses the difficult things to remind us how fragile and short this life is and the neatest thing is that mom is grateful that God can use her in this way.
Please take a moment to say I'm sorry to your loved ones - don't let hurt and bitterness, and pride stop you from enjoying those precious moments. And don't forget, there is so much more than just the life we live on this earth - God has Heaven and eternity awaiting those who have repented and placed their trust in Him. May we all be living in the light of eternity (thanks K.P.) and realize this life is short and share Jesus with those around us!!

Wanted to let you know....

2011-07-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

I have so much to catch up on on the blog but I wanted to let you all know we have started our first year of homeschooling. Yes, you heard me right, we are homeschooling the kids this year and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to do this. I have already seen God's hand in this as new things have come up. There were many things that helped in making this decision but we believe it is the best one for us this year. We don't know what the future will hold but we believe God has led us to do this for this year in particular. We are doing a home school video program that is accredited and has videos of teachers teaching so it is not just me which really helps as far as my confidence goes. I know there are varying views on home school and to be honest, I always said "Homeschool? Certainly NOT me, never!" Funny how God moves us to where He wants us and our families. I am excited and have been encouraged by many in this and look forward to seeing my kids grow this year. Please keep me in your prayers as God teaches all of us this year and remember "never say never" - LOL :)

Playing at the Pool...

2011-07-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

Kids bowl free...

2011-06-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

The kids love to bowl and there is a wonderful program called "kids bowl free" - Check it out at their website. The whole program is free (hence the name) and all you do is sign up and your kids can bowl 2 games a day for the whole summer for free!! All you do is pay for shoe rental. You can even allow the whole family to join in for only $25 (we have not done this just because we don't have a lot of time). For a rainy summer afternoon, you can't beat it except that we here in the lowcountry of South Carolina do not know what a rainy summer afternoon is because we have had no rain in weeks but I digress...
Anyway, it is fun to go and see the kids bowl. Check it out - for our family, you can't beat free :)

School Days are over....

2011-06-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

The end of the school year was really crazy this year. We had Kira's spring chorus program, 2 awards ceremonies, and fun end of the school year parties. The kids had fun this year at their school and the pics are proof.

The focus of Kira's chorus program was all dogs as you can see :) She was Brittany Basset Hound. She had a part in the play as well as being part of singing all the songs.

This is Kira at her awards program. She received a gold medal award for her A.R. reading program and a Chorus certificate.

This is Andrew at his awards ceremony. He received the top excellence in art award for the 4th grade and then received his award for patriot honor roll.

And this cute pic is just one thrown in because I think my kids are cute - hehe :)

Fun pics of home...

2011-06-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

So... Let me take you back a month or so since I have been really bad about updating the blog. These are some pics from when I was home in Philly that I absolutely love. It was a joy to be back and see all my cousin's and their babies, and all my family. They are just tooooo cute!!

My aunt Kathy dancing with her son Brandon

The McCool's - well for me, formerly

My mom and I

My dad and his sisters (Susan, Ed, and Kathy)

My hansome brother Brent and I

Siblings

My wonderful grandparents - Ed and Doris

My sweet daddy and I

Sweet Sava -- aka Savannah

My sweet Isaac

Handsome Hez (Hezekiah James)

Beautiful Abby

My handsome brother Free (aka Will) and me
Brent and I being goofy :P

And to sum up my crazy family, I think this quote says it best...

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts. ~Author Unknown
I'll let you decide which is which :)

Yes, we are still alive...

2011-06-22T06:54:00.001-07:00

In case you all were wondering where we have been on the blog :). Lots of fun craziness full of God's blessings that I will post soon :)

Wedding and remembrances...

2011-05-31T07:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was able to go home to Pa/NJ for my cousin Jennie's wedding. It was such a blessing to be able to witness her and Michael commit their lives to each other in marriage. As I sat through their ceremony I was reminded how important our relationship with our spouse is. The Bible makes it very clear that a man and wife become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). There are no longer 2 but 1! It really is something quite unique how God's math works out in that 1+1=1 (a quote taken from my wedding and my amazing grandfather Rev.William M. Kolb). Marriage is not always easy - in fact a lot of times it is hard. You have to work at it, you have to fight off the selfishness that infuses our sinful nature, you have to deny yourself and give all for your partner. Hmmm, makes me understand why Jesus Christ himself has called those that are His followers "the bride" and He is the bridegroom. Is it not the perfect picture of marriage?...
A groom that has given his entire life, literally, for His bride. As I thought about my own marriage and the man God has so graciously given me, I thought about how my sin and selfishness have crept in at times and caused dissension and difficulties in our marriage. In Genesis it speaks about how the woman's desire will be for her husband (Genesis 3:16 -- To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”)
This desire is not a sexual desire but one where the woman will want to be the leader, the head of the home and yet the man as God has designed should be the head of the house. This is a direct result of Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden. Many times I have wanted to control my husband because I have a better way or I see things a different way, but this is wrong, and it is sin (Hmm, I want, I'd like, I desire him to be... sounds a lot like selfishness to me)! I need to give up myself to allow Dave to lead our home and our family. You know what's crazy? When I do, our family is so much more peaceful and in line with what God wants. I don't have to be the one to fix my husband, make him see things my way because I have faith in the one that has created my husband and He will lead him and guide him and our family way better than I could ever do. Ahh, there truly is peace and comfort in that. Here's to marriage designed God's way and to my dear sweet cousin and her new groom!!
Enjoy some photos of the beautiful bride, Jennie Saul and the handsome groom, Michael Bury.

Blessed...

2011-05-20T05:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!!

2011-05-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body" - Author Unknown.

This quote really sums up being a mom to me. No matter what your kids do, good or bad, I almost think we as mom's feel it more than them.
We cry with them, we laugh with them, we hurt for them, we get angry at and with them :), we live for the hugs they give, and we spend hours praying for them. They truly encompass all parts of our life and I wouldn't want it any other way.
I am so grateful that God chose me to be a mom to these 2 amazing kids. Yes, they drive me crazy sometimes, and yes, they make me mad and sad sometimes but they are truly the joy of my life. Enjoy the pictures which even includes one with my furry son as well :)

Help my unbelief.

2011-05-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

Our mentors and family at GFA have been encouraging us to "pray big" for our support to come in and that we will go soon. I have struggled with this. I never have an issue praying for God to do awesome and amazing miracles in this world or in others lives so why, why do I find it so difficult to know that God can and more importantly wants to do the same things for me?
It boils down to my lack of faith in the almighty God. I feel like the man in Mark, chapter 9 who took his son to the disciples to have a demon casted out of him. Here is the story...

Mark 9:14-28 -- And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, "What are you arguing about with them?" And someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." And he answered them, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me." And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." And Jesus said to him, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, "He is dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

I read this passage a couple months ago in my daily Bible reading and really marveled at how the man asked Jesus to "Help my unbelief". God is the one who grows our faith and this is my prayer now!! "Help my unbelief, that I may know and trust you more and that you will do great things" Please pray "big" with us that God would see fit to send us soon.

Gardening and lessons learned.

2011-04-18T04:02:00.000-07:00

OK, I must admit I hate to garden. Well, let me rephrase that, I love gardens and I love fresh flowers and veggies and being around God's beautiful creation, but I absolutely, positively hate weeding!! Well, unfortunately it is a task that needs to be done since we truly want people to come over and visit and not be attacked by the weeds and run off screaming in horror. As I was weeding, (yes, you may laugh or just plain think I'm crazy) I was quietly but oh so sternly calling the weeds "sinners". I was just imagining the garden of Eden and thinking how it must have been beautiful beyond our thoughts and how there were no weeds until the curse when Adam and Eve decided to take a bite of the forbidden fruit. Then, as my thoughts continued, I realized how many times ugly weeds, or shall we say sin, show up in my life, hidden weeds that take careful and deep digging to find and uproot and even ones that are "blowing in the breeze" for all to see. And my thoughts turned once again toward my Savior. I thought as much as I hate weeding, doesn't God do that to us? Doesn't He weed us, prune us and shape us and water us and grow us into His likeness? As much as I hate the process of getting rid of weeds, it is a task that needs to be done and I realize that it is something I so desperately want God to do in my life. I want Him to remove all those ugly things that keep me from serving and loving Him with all my heart. I want Him to take away the distractions that entangle me and keep me from the call He has placed on our lives. Just as our front yard needs weeding, so do I to keep me looking beautiful before my creator! So you know what, I guess my weeding experience yesterday wasn't all that awful. I guess God was weeding me as I was weeding my garden and for that and all the other times He so gently and lovingly does it, I will be eternally grateful!

It's true...

2011-04-15T06:22:00.001-07:00

We have joined a gym. For me, this is the very first time I have ever joined a gym and I must admit, I love it!! We joined the "Y". It is actually very cheap for a whole family to join. I know some of you must be thinking, "what, the first time you have ever joined a gym?" Well, I must admit prior to kids and my mid 30's I was very thin. I never watched anything I ate and was always a "twig". Well, unfortunately age and gravity have become my new best friends and I don't like them :P. To be honest, I also want to be a better steward of the body God has blessed me with and be able to use it for His glory.
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? -- 1 Corinthians 3:16

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. -- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
I have done Zumba (which I love), water aerobics (another love), and the elliptical machines and treadmills, as well as the weight room. What's even more wonderful is that Dave and I workout together which is a whole lot of fun. Also, since the "Y" is very family friendly, they even have family Zumba one night a week and we all got to try it last week. I do think that it might only be a special time for Kira and me but I was very proud of my boys for stepping out of their comfort zone and doing it.
So send me some well wishes and healthy thoughts. I could really use them :)

Better Eating...

2011-03-30T03:51:00.001-07:00

Ok, I have a confession to make. Since couponing (which is a truly wonderful thing), I have really neglected good, healthy meals for me and my family and I think we ALL have been suffering for it.
Well, no more - and last night was the perfect start to eating right and using my meal-planning and couponing together to make the best, most healthy meals I can make for my family.
For starters we had a really yummy Strawberry Spinach salad with poppy seed dressing (Thanks Jess Fragile for that one!)
The main course included salmon with fire-roasted tomatoes, a splash of sherry cooking wine and some onions and dill on top -- umm, super yum! Spanish yellow rice, and some green beans to compliment and voila - a perfect meal.
I know it may sound silly to some but for the first time in quite a while, I felt like I did something good for my family. It was not just a thrown-together type of meal but a wonderful, sit-down, healthy meal. This is what I love doing and I have truly missed it. When it was all said and done, a little wink and a hug from my hubby and 2 little kids with big smiles on their faces saying "this is delicious" was all the thanks I needed.
Oh and I must give a shout out to my sweet daughter Kira who very much helped with this wonderful dinner -- thank you my sweet little girl for your precious help! I love doing things with you!!

Are You a Living Sacrifice?

2011-03-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

This man and his family gave up all they had and went to live in the slums to reach others for Jesus Christ - What are we willing to give up out of our abundance for the cause of the Gospel??? Would it be a dinner out, a Starbucks coffee in the morning, cable TV, a night out at the movies...? We never pray and ask God if we should go out to dinner, buy some new clothes, buy a newer car, but somehow when it comes to missions and the things of God, we have to pray and see if God wants us to help. We do not need to pray about the things that God has already told us we are here on earth to complete in His name. Take a step of faith and reach out to save the lost world as we are commanded to do.
What are you willing to give up for the One that has given His life for you? Would it be $10, $20, or more a month to help us get to Gospel for Asia and reach those who have never heard the name of Jesus?
Please take time to team up with us in the work God is doing to reach the lost world by clicking here or you can pledge to support us without having to send any money until we actually arrive at Gospel For Asia by contacting us or calling 800-946-2742 and letting them know you want to pledge to support us. Our staff account number is: 6334.

Struggling but why????

2011-03-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

I have been struggling for a couple of weeks now. For those that don't know, Dave had surgery and has been recovering for the last 4 weeks or so. That was not why I struggled but I must admit, I was not the caring wife I should have been. Too many times, I was frustrated at how his pain was affecting me. I was more focused on me being tired and having to be mom and dad than on my husband who was going through a really rough time. To make it even harder, even though Dave was in severe pain, God was using it to draw him closer to Him. Not that that is a bad thing by any means but I kept wondering why.... why was I being short, why was I feeling down and miserable, why is our support not being raised as quick as I want it to, why was I struggling to trust God for ALL things, why was I not "feeling" close to Him, why does He allow things to happen that put "our" plans on hold...
Hmm, sounds pretty selfish, doesn't it? All of the thoughts I was having were about me - what I could gain, what I could feel, what could happen for me. Then it hit me...
My time with the Lord was really limited for those weeks - I was not reading my Bible as much, I was not in prayer with my Savior. I was focused on me :(
It amazes me how so many times in my life, I have lost my focus, lost my first love -- not that I am not in awe of a God who has saved me from the pit and despair of Hell, but that I have not given Him first place in my life - in ALL things.
This week has been different for me. God is working in our lives in amazing ways! And you know what, I have been renewed and refreshed from my time with God.
I want to encourage you as well as keep a remembrance for me that our time with God needs to be our absolute #1 priority - our thought as we wake up should be how thankful we are to live another day to serve the One who gave His life for us! I want to hunger and thirst for God - I want to have a yearning so intense that I am not able to function without first spending time with my Savior. I truly want God to permeate my every being and be the woman, wife, mother, missionary, and child that He wants me to be!

Being a better steward!!

2011-02-18T13:39:00.000-08:00

I know this may be a crazy post to some but can I just tell you how much I love couponing (is that really a word) and saving money? It is true. A few friends of mine have totally encouraged me in this and it is wonderful to be able to save our family money. I believe this will help us a ton when we go to Gospel for Asia and will have to be on a much stricter budget. I also believe God wants us to be better stewards of our money (1 Corinthians 4:2 - Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy). After all it is God's money to begin with :).
A few of the ways I save is by going to CVS, shopping sales, and using lots (and I mean lots) of coupons!! I love CVS - I don't think I have paid more than maybe a couple dollars at CVS in months with their extra care bucks. To pay full-price for toothpaste to me is unheard of :)! I also use coupons and watch for items on sale - do you know there are times that stores will actually pay you back money for buying an item? For example, let's say that toothpaste is on sale at CVS for $3.79 with getting $3.79 in extra care bucks back plus you can use a manufacturer coupon (which I had for $1.00 off) so in essence I just got paid $1.00 for buying toothpaste :)
Also, this week Harris Teeter had super doubles which means they doubled all coupons with a face value of $1.98 or less -- ummm, WooHoo!! Here is a pic of my deals - cereal for $0.25 - yes, you read that right a quarter!! All of this that is in the picture I got for $42 - and that included 3lbs of sausage as well as some fresh kale!!
So yes, I am loving this and am so grateful to be a good steward as God has called us all to be!!

The Other Side of Me

2011-02-14T18:30:00.001-08:00

If they were to write about
The story of my life
They would have to mention you
With every page they'd write
There's another side to every story told
If I were the ocean
You would be the shore
And one without the other one
Would be needing something more
We are the shadow and the light

Chorus:
Always love me
(and) never leave me now
(and) now you are the other side of me
Always love me
(and) never leave me now
(and) now you are the other side of me

I have known the emptiness
Of feeling out of touch
And living life without you here
Would be living half as much
Cause I've a need that only you can fill

If love was mathematical
You'd understand the sum
To the heart's equation
Where one and one makes one
And lonely equals me minus you

Words and music by Michael W. Smith and Wayne Kirkpatrick

Dave is my partner, my best friend, and my love but he is truly so much more than that. As God puts it so awesomely in His amazing word - we are one flesh! He really is the other side of me!! Occasionally Dave will surprise me and sing this song and it truly melts my heart!! I thank God for this man constantly!!

10 years have flown by...

2011-02-14T14:01:00.001-08:00

Andrew turned 10 on February 4th and to be honest, it truly made me a little emotional. I have been thinking about him growing up a lot lately as things start to change on and in him. To me, he is my first baby, the one I prayed for and the one that I was in awe with those first few hours, amazed at God's creation of him. To think of him as a young man is really quite surreal and yet, that is what happens - we get older. It's hard to imagine him being a teenager or in high school, and then on to college or where ever else God may lead him and don't even get me started on girls and marriage - uggghhh :P. I guess it's true, he will always be my little boy no matter how old he gets. It is my prayer for this amazing little boy of mine as he grows older that he would hold tight to the faith and values that we have instilled in him and to love God with all his heart, soul, and mind and keep Him first in his life. Until then, I will enjoy more precious moments as I get to hold on to him for at least a few more years. Enjoy some moments of the last 10 years with Andrew!!

Hives, Hives, and More Hives...

2011-02-03T11:03:00.000-08:00

Poor Andrew!! He came in from playing outside on Sunday and told me he had a few bumps on his side. I looked at it and sure enough they were hives. It was warm out so I asked him if he had been on the grass at all - he said yes and I just assumed it was a result of that. Everything was fine but Monday night he said, "Mom, those hives are back". Sure enough it was true. I had given him some Benadryl and sent him to bed. After about 30 minutes, I told Dave "oh my goodness, maybe Andrew is allergic to the Tamiflu." He woke up Tuesday morning and didn't say anything was bothering him and went to school. After school, he came in and said "Mom, the hives are back and they are really big." I looked at him and about had a heart-attack. He had the largest hives/welts all over his back, his arms, some on his belly, and a couple on his face. I asked him if he was breathing ok and he said he was. I immediately called the pediatrician and took him right in. I kept asking him if he had eaten anything different at school. He kept saying "no". The pediatrician looked at him, asked if we had done or eaten anything different and I told him he was started on Tamiflu on Friday when his sister tested positive for the flu. Sure enough he said that Andrew was allergic to the Tamiflu and told us to never have him take it again. Ummm, duh - sorry, a little sarcasm :P
Anyway, we came home and started Andrew on a Benadryl and Allegra course and by the next morning they were gone. Unfortunately the doctor did tell us they could come and go for up to 6 weeks and sure enough they were back last night - not as bad, but they were back. I am so glad God protected him and it was not more serious affecting his breathing or anything like that.
Here are some crazy pictures of my poor boy and his hives.

My special necklace

2011-02-01T07:22:00.000-08:00

Here are the pics of the necklace I got for my birthday - it just came in the mail yesterday and I am so excited!! I love it!!

40 years!!!!

2011-02-01T07:02:00.000-08:00

Happy 40th Birthday Dave!! I am truly the one with the wish that came true!!

Yes, Dave turned 40 on Sunday! Unfortunately with Kira having the flu, some of our plans got altered but we were still able to celebrate as a family and truly celebrate the best husband and daddy we know!! The only thing Dave wanted for his birthday was a new thin-line ESV Bible so that is exactly what he got :). We are so blessed that God chose this man as the head of our family and we just love him so much, can ya tell???? :)

Myasthenia Gravis info...

2011-01-29T07:53:00.001-08:00

I know some of you are not familiar with Myasthenia Gravis so I thought I would give ya some information so you know what I was talking about in my last post about the flu.
Here is a link that gives wonderful information...
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/myasthenia_gravis/detail_myasthenia_gravis.htm#165423153
Here is some information on me and my time with M.G.
I was diagnosed when I was 16 (1991) when my mom noticed after I came home from an overnight trip for school that my eye looked like it was "drooping" (My mom knew about MG since my aunt has it as well). We went to the doctor the next day and they weren't ready to diagnose me right away even though my left eye was about halfway shut and said, let's just wait and see if it might be an infection affecting her eye. By the next day, my eye was completely shut with just a slit opening. We went back to the doctor and they sent me to a neurologist. They did the edrophonium test and immediately my eye opened. That was the definitive diagnosis. I was placed on Mestinon (the drug of choice for MG) and have lived with it ever since.
In 1994, I was having more difiicult symptoms and went to a new neurologist who did a CT scan and found out I had a Thymoma (a benign tumor on the thymus gland) and sent me for surgery to have it removed. Yes, today I have about a 5 inch scar down my chest (it was the same type of surgery as open heart since the thymus gland is located in the chest wall). I did very well after surgery and needed limited medication and we almost thought I was one of the rare cases that had been "cured". Unfortunately not.
In 1997, I went into my first "real crisis" and had undergone 2 weeks treatment of plasmapheresis and was placed on high dose steroids at that time. I weaned myself off the steroids slowly after 8 months since they were awful and causing me more issues than they were helping. (yes, my neurologist knew). Again I did very well and had even gone off the medicine for a while again until...
In 2004, I went into another crisis and needed plasmapheresis again.
Since then I have had some issues and just take the Mestinon at times and do fine but there are times as in both of my crisises that the medicine just does not work. I have been tested for all antibodies associated with MG and have been negative for all that they know about. However, the only thing that will "pull me out" of crisis is plasmapheresis so they are removing something that my body does not like :)
Usually my first symptom of MG is that my left eye will droop and my vision gets a little blurry. Second, my right eye will start but never closes as much as the left one does. Then I will get very weak in my arms and legs and every neurologist I have ever been to say they can tell in my voice as well (I can't figure that out but they can :P).
So that is me and MG in a nutshell - I thank God that it has never affected my breathing and I have never had to be on a ventilator because of it even though I have met those that have :(
God is good and there are months I can go without medication and you would never know I have it and then there are other times when I need something more. I am grateful that God has kept me safe and that I pretty much continue to function as any "normal" person the majority of the time.

Stupid flu...

2011-01-29T07:32:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true. A strain of the flu not covered by the vaccine has come to the Bernetich household. Kira had been running low grade fevers Mon-Wed (100.2 was the highest) and the only thing she was complaining about was a headache. The fever broke on Wednesday afternoon so we sent her to school on Thursday. All day Thursday she was fine. She went to school Friday morning and I had gotten a call that she had a 99.5 fever and needed to be picked up from school. I had just gotten home after working and really all I wanted to do was get into bed since my neuro-muscular disease (Myasthenia Gravis) had started to kick in at work. I went and picked her up and took her temperature and it was 100.6. I called the pediatrician and made an appointment for her for yesterday afternoon. We both went to bed and slept for a few hours and then got up and went to her appointment and they tested her for strep and the flu. I truly did not think anything would come back positive especially with her symptoms being so limited. Well, supposedly the flu test is supposed to run for 10-15 minutes and hers had 9 minutes left and was already positive. Even the pediatrician said that just by her symptoms she would not have guessed flu. Dr. Lopez also looked at me and noticed me having trouble. I told her I have M.G. and my symptoms started the night before and she immediately said she was going to put me on Tamiflu as well since she said that I might be trying to fight off the flu and of course it caused my immune system to be "off" and has triggered my M.G. Made perfect sense to me. She also prescribed a prophylactic dose for Dave and Andrew too and told me to "bump it up" to the treatment dose if they started to show any signs of sickness. To be honest, I was kind of excited to know there might be a reason my Myasthenia has kicked in since I have been really good for over a year as silly as that might seem. So for now, we are all taking our Tamiflu as prescribed and I have rested so much last night and this morning, thanks to my wonderful hubby who let me sleep for many hours. We thank everyone for their prayers and truly appreciate them!!!

Hope vs. Faith....

2011-01-24T11:27:00.000-08:00

I have always wondered about the difference between the two.

Hope is defined as (just briefly looked up some definitions from the web):

a specific instance of feeling hopeful; "it revived their hope of winning the pennant"
the general feeling that some desire will be fulfilled; "in spite of his troubles he never gave up hope"
promise: grounds for feeling hopeful about the future; "there is little or no promise that he will recover"
expect and wish; "I trust you will behave better from now on"; "I hope she understands that she cannot expect a raise"
someone (or something) on which expectations are centered; "he was their best hope for a victory"
be optimistic; be full of hope; have hopes; "I am still hoping that all will turn out well"
intend with some possibility of fulfilment; "I hope to have finished this work by tomorrow evening"
one of the three Christian virtues

Faith is defined as:

religion: a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny; "he lost his faith but not his morality"
complete confidence in a person or plan etc; "he cherished the faith of a good woman"; "the doctor-patient relationship is based on trust"
religion: an institution to express belief in a divine power; "he was raised in the Baptist religion"; "a member of his own faith contradicted him"
loyalty or allegiance to a cause or a person; "keep the faith"; "they broke faith with their investors"

I think I have always had hope -- hope that our support will be raised, hope that God would send us quickly, hope that our home would sell quickly, etc...
But I think faith is what I have been lacking for when trials and struggles come or when things don't go as I think they should, I am quick to cry and get angry, and complain. Faith is more than just trusting, it is a complete and utter reliance on the creator of this world, the One who has given me salvation. It is complete trust even when things don't go as I had "hoped" or planned knowing that His ways are higher than mine for He created me and knows my inmost thoughts and what I need the most. It is knowing and having confidence that He has called us and will bring it to pass when His timing is right. It is knowing that if I could see things as God, then I would request everything that He is allowing to happen, if only to grow my faith :)
I know many of you have heard this analogy before but it is one that is good to hear again for reminding us of the beauty that God creates in each of our lives.
God is the designer of our lives, he is creating, and weaving, and designing the beautiful tapestry that He wants for our lives. Now, what happens when you look at the underside of a quilt or a piece of tapestry - it is not that pretty. It has threads out of place, and looks like a jumbled mess from the underside but when you turn it over or see it as the designer has intended, it is beautiful with every perfect piece in place.
Even though I struggle and fail, I pray that my life is a beautiful tapestry that God can use to bring glory to Himself and make His name known so it is my prayer that when these difficulties come, that my faith may be strengthened and His glory be revealed!!

Birthday Pictures :)

2011-01-20T11:04:00.001-08:00

So here are the pictures from my birthday. My necklace has not been shipped yet so I will post more pics of it when it comes. Here are the beautiful flowers and the poem Dave wrote (yes, I am sure he will be mortified knowing that I posted it but I truly want to have memories of such an awesome day) and the slippers my awesome kids got me. :)

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!!!

2011-01-19T04:34:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true, I am another year older. 36 - WOW!! Truly, I don't really have that much of a tough time getting older. We'll see in 4 years when 40 hits :). God has blessed me so much in my life that really, how can I be upset???
It truly was a wonderful day(s). It all started Monday since we all had off. The kids were so excited to give me their gifts and cards that they could not even wait for my "real" birthday. Dave had taken them out earlier while I was still asleep to get me a gift. They knew what I wanted - slippers!! Yes, I am an extremely cold person and my feet freeze so slippers was probably the best gift they could have gotten me :). The cards they gave me truly were indicative of who they are as people. Andrew's card was funny (of course) and Kira's was taken directly from a sweet Hallmark commercial. Andrew was excited later when he found out that his was actually a Hallmark card too - haha!! Next it was Dave's turn. His card was beautiful and he always seems to make me cry. He also brought home pizza for lunch later which I was really excited about. I do truly love to cook but sometimes I really just don't feel like it. We spent the day as a family just playing games and enjoying our time together. Yummy Tiramisu cake was the perfect ending to my pre-birthday day!!
Tuesday morning (my real b-day) came and I was so lovingly awakened by a beautiful serenade of the Happy Birthday song from the 2 most handsome guys and 1 beautiful little girl in my life!!
It was a wonderful way to start the day. The kids headed off to school and Dave headed to work so it was just me. I checked my e-mail and was utterly in awe by all the amazing birthday wishes that were posted for me. You all are awesome! I enjoyed my quiet time with the Lord and reading my Bible after that and then off to take a shower. As I was coming downstairs after getting ready, I received a phone call from a very handsome man that I should check outside b/c there may be something there. I opened the front door to an amazing bouquet of flowers and an awesome poem written to me by the man of my dreams!! He also told me he wanted me to order the hand-stamped necklace that I had been wanting with the kids names on it!! Yes, it was a truly wonderful surprise!! After a day of just "bumming" on the couch, my family took me to Santi's for a truly wonderful dinner. It is a yummy Mexican restaurant and I always get the same thing. Grilled shrimp with garlic, avocado salad, and spanish rice. I can't ever seem to try anything different b/c this dish is sooooo yummy!! After dinner, it was back home for a restful evening complete with GFA prayer night. Yep, definitely a truly happy birthday!! Pics to follow :)

Don't you play with your food?

2011-01-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

Apparently my son does. Had to take a picture of his pretzel dragon breathing fire on a poor young man and his friend trying to save him with his freeze gun - so creative :)

Reminders....

2011-01-12T10:33:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had God do something amazing in your life (of course, we all have) but after a few months or even years, you forget? When I was 14 I had an injury that caused me to be paralyzed for 7 months. The doctors had actually told my parents that I may never walk again. Well, as you know, I walk today and God truly performed a miracle in my life. Yes, maybe once a year I remember this story (on the day it happened) but not always. It is so easy to forget the miracles and even everyday blessings that God gives us in our lives until something happens and it reminds you all over again...
Last night and today I have had some of the worst pain and similar feelings in my right leg that I had 22 years ago. I believe as God has really been working in me to trust Him more, that maybe He allowed this to help remind me of His blessings and miracles and that He truly works for our good. (Romans 8:28 - And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.)
In our support-raising to go to GFA, it has been a dry time the last few months but God has really been working on my heart to trust Him more and know that He is in control and will raise our support in His perfect timing. And to also realize that He is a God that still performs miracles today!!!!!

CraNkY pAnTS!!

2011-01-07T11:02:00.000-08:00

Yep, that has been me - I have been snippy with Dave, the kids, the dog - ugghhh. I think part of it is that I have been really tired. Working nights is no piece of cake, I don't sleep well during the day anymore and then I am back to work so I could potentially be up for 48hrs with only 3-4 hrs of sleep. No, I am not trying to complain - just being real! I am blessed to have a job and help provide for my family but I do get frustrated at times in regards to this. The good thing is that I work 3-12 hours nights one week and 2-12 hour nights the next so on my 2 day week, I feel great :). I guess it's a good thing that my 2 day week is coming up or someone in my family may just buy me these :P

Happy New Year!!!

2011-01-04T12:14:00.000-08:00

Wow - truly, where does the time go? I still can hardly believe it is 2011 and I can't wait to see the exciting things that God has planned for us this year!!
I have never been one to make resolutions for the new year but I have decided to make one this year and that is to be healthy. Being healthy encompasses so much I think. It most certainly includes diet and exercise but it is so much more than just that. I want to be healthier in the foods we eat. I have started making more and more homemade things and not just store bought and you know what - it is so much yummier :). I have made homemade granola, homemade granola bars, kale chips, sweet potato fries and chips, and even homemade laundry detergent. It is not hard and when I serve it to my family, I feel so much better. I want to be a better caretaker of the body God gave me. I don't believe it was his intention for us to be unhealthy and overweight. After all, when we are healthier, we are able to do so much more for Him!
But again it's not just my outer body but the inside as well. This year has been a true growth time for me in my quiet time and Bible reading. I have truly stuck to a daily reading of God's word and will be excited when I can say soon that I have read every book of the Bible!! But I want more, I yearn for more...
for more of God, to be more like Him, to be the woman He has always wanted me to be! I struggle in my prayer time with God - yes, I pray almost everyday but I know God desires more - more of me. More of a desire to talk to Him and have Him speak to me in those quiet moments.
So for 2011, yes I am making a resolution but not one I don't intend to keep - one that I pray will continue to be a reality from now on. So if you see me looking like this
Encourage me to look like this...
And especially this :)

Snow!!!

2010-12-29T13:34:00.000-08:00

Yes, we had snow here in South Carolina!! No, it was not on Christmas, but it was the day after - haha :) It did not lay very much but it was certainly fun to watch!

Joy to the World!!

2010-12-29T11:39:00.000-08:00

Christmas truly is a joyful time. For if not for the baby born in a manger so long ago, there would be no reason to celebrate. It is our prayer that you each took time this Christmas to praise and give glory to the One who was born and then gave His life for us on the cross!!
This Christmas was a special one for us simply for the fact that I was able to have off for both Christmas Eve and Christmas (and only had to work 2 days that week - woohoo!!). I cannot begin to tell you the last time that happened. God is so good! We woke up early Christmas morning and had a yummy breakfast complete with Dave's famous french toast :). After breakfast, we were able to skype with Dave's mom and she joined us for the reading of the Christmas story (Luke 2) and then for the opening of gifts. It is wonderful that even though she could not be here, she was still able to be a part of it all!! The kids received so many nice things and we are so grateful for the blessings God gives to us each year and truly each day of our lives!!

See Dave's mom "skyping" with us on the computer :)

I also made a yummy dinner that was wonderful except for the new homemade cranberry sauce recipe - woo, can you say sour??? We spent the day playing new games, watching movies, and just enjoying each other!! We pray you all had a truly wonderful Christmas focusing on the reason for the season!!

Christmas Eve 2010

2010-12-29T11:30:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve was a great day - we just hung out as a family this year and it was wonderful. We played games, watched movies, and then got ready for the Christmas Eve service. Yes, Dave wore a suit - shocking, I know and he looked mighty fine too :) Unfortunately as quick as the suit was on, it was off all the more faster - too fast in fact for me to take a picture. Oh well, got a couple of me and the kids though :)

We went out to eat after the service and then came home and the kids were allowed to open one gift - PJ's for Christmas :)

Now, we were all ready for the next day :)

White Christmas...

2010-12-25T05:21:00.000-08:00

Well, it's only frost on the grass and cars but I'll take it :)

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-24T09:58:00.000-08:00

Personalize a free ecard

Christmas Baking with friends

2010-12-22T08:06:00.001-08:00

It was such a blessing to have Amy and her beautiful girls over yesterday for a day of baking. Neither of us had ever invited others over to bake so it was a fun first-time experience for both of us. I can't begin to tell you how much of a blessing the McGaha family is to us! They are amazing friends, sweet encouragers, and truly uplift us, and challenge us in our walk with Christ!
Anywho :), the kids had a great time eating pizza, decorating cookies, and of course eating them too!! Thank you Amy, Jessie, and Katie for a wonderful afternoon filled with yumminess (is that a word?) and good friends!

Christmas Choir

2010-12-22T08:00:00.001-08:00

I know this looks more like a freak show since I was not able to fix the red eye, than a Christmas concert but I had to post at least a few pictures of Kira Rose singing at her Christmas concert. She sang so well - we were so proud of her!!

How Samson spends the Christmas season :P

2010-12-22T07:55:00.000-08:00

Happy 8th Birthday Kira Rose!!

2010-12-17T05:29:00.000-08:00

8 years???? Where has the time gone? I still remember my baby girl's sweet cry as she spent the first week of her life in the neonatal ICU and how I was sobbing hysterically when we thought we were losing her to RSV or her first word bu--bles (emphasis on the separation of syllables) and now she is 8 years old. It has been amazing to watch her grow and mature as each new stage of development has come but sometimes I feel like time is moving way too quick. Oh, how I would love to keep her here where her innocence is sweet and the pain of this world has not affected her yet but I can't. I pray my amazing daughter as you grow and mature that God would keep you close to Him and you will serve Him with your whole heart for I have found there is NO greater joy!! My sweet girl, my love for you is unending and I am so honored that God chose me to be your mommy!!
this picture was taken after her brother gave her the stuffed animal "Max" from the Grinch :)

Forgotten Christmas

2010-12-10T08:18:00.000-08:00

Joy and Sorrow...

2010-12-02T13:15:00.000-08:00

For those of you that may not know yet, Dave's dad passed away on Thanksgiving night. We knew he was not doing well but when Dave said to me he was thinking about taking the kids up to PA for Thanksgiving to visit, neither of us expected this to happen. It always amazes me how God's timing and plans are always perfect. Yes, of course we are deeply saddened over the loss of his dad but we were struggling with the timing of when Dave should go up to PA... whether it should be when they thought his dad was going to pass, after the fact, what???? Now, Dave was able to be here for everything and that was a blessing in itself.
I stayed home over the Thanksgiving weekend since it was my holiday to work. I must say I am truly blessed to work with the people I do. After I got the news Thursday night at work, they offered to just let me go home. I decided to stay since there was nothing I was going to be able to do that night anyway. They offered to find me a flight home the next day and even were able to make me smile that night just by being them and for that, I truly say "Thank you".
On Friday morning, I booked a flight, boarded Samson (our doggie), and was on my way to be with my husband and mother-in-law during this difficult time. Again, another sweet friend and co-worker drove me to the airport. God truly has blessed us in this time and even though it has been very difficult sorting through things and trying to help mom B. with all the things she needs to do, we find our joy and peace in our loving Savior.
We wanted to take this time to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers - it has truly meant a lot to us!!

2010-11-22T09:30:00.000-08:00

An ecard by Smilebox

Our next Newsletter is out....

2010-11-22T07:27:00.001-08:00

To our supporters,
Thank you for your love, prayers, and financial support. God is using you to reach the lost world. We wanted to keep you updated on how you can pray for us! Please keep in contact with us and let us know how we can specifically pray for you! Our love goes out to all of you - Please enjoy our latest Newsletter!
November 2010 Newsletter

Have I told you........

2010-11-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

how much I love being a mom?????????

What can a pair of chickens do?.....

2010-11-11T10:21:00.000-08:00

For only $11 it can give a needy family an income and provide food for their children. In this country, we are so blessed beyond what the "norm" is in this world. We all say we are starving when we have gone 2 hours without eating. I wonder if I would ever say that again if I truly knew and understand what that word meant or if I saw my children begging on the side of the road just for a single slice of bread because they had not eaten in 3 days. It is easy to turn a blind eye to the rest of this world when we live in the most blessed country in the world but we are called to do so much more. Instead of buying that one last toy to throw in your kids pile that is toppling over because of how much stuff there is, how about make an impact for all eternity and give a gift of life? Join us in sharing the true meaning of Christmas this year and impact a family's life in Asia!
http://www.gfa.org/gift/

Matthew 25:35 and 40
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Fall fun at Sangaree Intermediate...

2010-11-10T07:51:00.000-08:00

Andrew came home a couple of weeks ago and told me his school was going to have a Fall Fun night and asked if we could go. I said "it sounds like fun - sure". I truly did not know what to expect but I must tell you I was so impressed. This fall fair was completely free, had face-painting, a small petting zoo, crafts, a hayride, jump and bounce castles, relay races, a ton of yummy food, Christian music playing, and pony rides. It was a great time and I was really happy that we decided to go! The only disappointing part was that Dave was out of town that day for work and could not join us :(. I love the pictures I was able to get - 2 of them are truly my favorite of the kids :)

Kira after the face painting - a butterfly and pumpkin

Kira on the jump castle
Andrew crawling crazily out of the bounce castles with his friends
Kira and her pumpkin craft
Kira petting Hannah the pig
Loving the pony ride
one of my favorites!!!!
Climbing high on the playground
Ryan and Andrew (of course with a silly face)
The crab walk relay race - this is where Andrew spent most of his time ;)
Andrew on the pony
Andrew loved the goat
Cute kids
this is my favorite also - love his expression when the sheep tried to baa and attack him :)

Love these 2 so much!!

Eating Reese's on the hayride

Scary....

2010-11-09T16:25:00.001-08:00

Ok, so you already saw most of the fair pictures but I had to post these 3 in a totally separate post! Andrew wanted me to go on this ride with him and most rides don't scare me so I am always up for trying a new ride. This "free-fall" ride is crazy and I think my belly still flutters at the thought. Dave is not a huge picture taker but I certainly have to give him props for getting these :) Enjoy, I think our faces say it all!

Heading up

A little higher

Yes, this is the pic of our faces on the way down and yes, if you must know, I screamed ;)

Fun at the Fair...

2010-11-09T16:12:00.000-08:00

Every year we are so excited when the Coastal Carolina Fair comes to town. I know this is not everyone's thing but boy do we love it! What is even greater is that since we don't do Halloween, it is a great place to go that day and allow the kids to enjoy some good fun and usually the lines are low since most kids trick or treat!! We had such a great time on all the rides, watching the sea lion show, and petting all the animals!! To top it off we finished off the fun-filled kids night at CiCi's pizza - yes a true favorite and rare treat for our kids :)

Petting the animals
The Sea Lion showThis is what we do to Andrew when he is bad!
My girl and I on the merry-go-round
On the Ferris WheelView from the top of the Ferris Wheel
Cute kids

Prayer....

2010-11-05T17:17:00.000-07:00

What a blessing it is to pray to the one true God of this world!! It is an honor and privilege to go before the Lord on behalf of those in need and now you have the opportunity to join us and other staff members at GFA each Tuesday night as well as on the first Friday night of the month and pray for the lost in Asia!! You will be blessed as you hear stories of missionaries forsaking all for the sake of following Christ and the miracles and work God is doing. Please head over to GFA's website at www.gfa.org/prayer/ to learn more.
James 5:16b -- The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

As promised...

2010-11-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures of Andrew's artwork from the fair. We are so proud of him for getting chosen to have his artwork displayed at the fair. It was truly an incredible honor!

So excited...

2010-10-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

I had to post this as I am one proud momma. Andrew came home yesterday telling me he had a surprise for me. You never know what you're going to get when Andrew says he has a surprise for you. It could be a kiss, a gigantic rib-crushing bear hug, or whatever else he feels like doing. I was prepared to receive either of the former but much to my surprise, he hands me a paper that states his artwork would be on display at the Coastal Carolina Fair - I was so super-excited! I have always thought he may have a talent for drawing but I am a mom and we all know how we can be when it comes to our own children ;). Well this time, I just may be right so if you are heading out to the fair in the next week or so, stop by the area behind the gazebo and take a look. (btw, he has no idea what artwork was chosen -- silly boy).

It's the little things...

2010-10-27T05:27:00.000-07:00

And yes, I know my husband is not going to like this post since he never likes me to post pictures of him or write much about him but it truly is one of the reasons I love him so much!! A couple of days ago before school, Kira was "acting up" and just not behaving. Well, Dave kinda got angry (as all us parents do at times) and yelled at her, probably more than he should have. What is the awesome part is having a husband that is sensitive to God and admits his mistakes. I was on the phone with him when the kids got home from school and he apologized to Kira for getting so angry, not that he was wrong in being upset at her disobedience but that he "lost his cool" with her. She said "it's ok daddy, I love you". Ahh, such music to my ears, a father apologizing and admitting when he's wrong and a little girl that just loves her daddy. I would have been so ok with just that but here is the icing on the cake -- Dave comes home with a bouquet of flowers for Kira -- does that just not melt your heart? She was sooooooo excited - she kept saying "I got flowers momma, I got flowers, aren't they beautiful?" Yes, of course I had to take a quick picture - not the best, but still super cute of my girl and her flowers :)

Blessed once again...

2010-10-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

Words cannot begin to describe the love we have for our GFA family. These people truly exhibit the love of God in such amazing ways including blessing our family. As many (or maybe not that many - lol) who view this blog know, the last couple of months have been "dry" as far as our support-raising goes. It is certainly not for lack of trying - we call many churches every week and seem to hear a lot of the same answer - "the economy has really hit us hard". There are definite times of discouragement but Dave and I realize that God is teaching us many things through this process, especially since we are going to have to do this for the rest of our lives. Anyway, I digress...
Last night we received a phone call from Dave Chupp - this is the man who will be "Dave's boss" at GFA. He wanted to just let us know him and his family have been praying for us and they want to see us there very soon!! I just broke down crying - good thing Dave was the one talking on the phone. People we have met for one week last November have become such a huge part of our lives and we just love them so much. I think for a number of reasons. One, we have a like-mindedness with them in wanting to reach the lost for Jesus. Two, they are so down to earth and just love the fellowship of others. And three, they are funny and even the leaders at GFA don't think of themselves highly, they are just humble people used by God and are willing to share their individual struggles with you -- wow, what if the whole business world (or for that matter world) was like this??????
It made us want to get to GFA that much quicker. Please pray for us as we continue to seek out God to where He will lead us to raise support and please if you know of any church, or anyone that loves the Lord and would love to meet with us, let us know.
We are praying for God to do a miracle and send us QUICKLY!!!

Joshua 4:24 -- so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever."

Date with my son...

2010-10-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the kids had off from school for some teacher's meeting. I always get excited when they have off from school so we can hang out and just enjoy each other. Well, Kira had decided to spend the night at a friend's house so it was going to be just me and Andrew. WooHoo - I have been wanting to take both my kids out for special one on one times with them and here was the perfect chance. We woke up early and I asked him if he would like to go on a breakfast date with me. He said "sure". We really enjoyed ourselves and just have a great time talking and sharing with each other. I really encourage you to do this with your kids. It truly opens up the doors of conversation and it means so much to them. Anyway, here is a pic of him and me before we left. Yes, he has a black eye from walking into a pole the day before at school - yes, like mother, like son :)

West Farm Corn Maze

2010-10-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we had the wonderful privilege to go to a local corn maze with Dave's friend Brian (from his work) and his family to West Farm corn maze. We had such a great time! We played in the cornbox (like a sandbox except with corn :)), ate some yummy food, got through the crazy huge corn maze, played with the apple slingshot, fed the goats, and went on a hayride around the farm. To top it off, since Fall here in South Carolina is pretty non-existent (even though the cooler temps in the 80's are very much appreciated) on the way home we stopped at Sonic for a yummy cool treat. It truly was a perfect day and I am so grateful to have spent it with new friends and the most awesome family anyone could ask for! Enjoy the pics :)

Support trip back home...

2010-10-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we made a quick support trip back home to Pa. It was a whirlwind but we are so grateful for God's provisions and helping us to share more about what God has called our family to at Gospel for Asia. Our flight arrived late Thursday night. We rented a car (a Ford Edge - God blessed us with free upgrades - we went from a Toyota Yaris all the way up to a Ford Edge) and headed to my parents for the night. We slept in and since my parents were home Friday, Dave and I headed out by ourselves to local churches in the area to see if we could raise more support. We went to 7 churches in the area and praise God for one pastor that was very interested in the ministry of GFA and having us come back and share with his congregation. God is faithful and we need to be faithful as well to His calling on our lives. We are not sure when we will be heading back up to PA but we are going to be sending this pastor our information and keeping in contact with him as we move forward to raise support.
Friday night we had a wonderful dinner meeting with 2 couples from a church that just wanted to meet us and encourage us through prayer. Sylvia and Carl and Joel and Allison. Allison was an MK herself so it was neat to be able to share with her and what a blessing to meet their beautiful daughter Katarina. So fun to hold a healthy baby in my arms :)
Saturday, after a quick visit to see my grandmom - a faithful supporter - we headed to Dave's mom's house and to visit his dad in the hospital. Dave's dad's health is failing and he also has Alzheimers and was admitted back to the hospital the Thursday we arrived. Please keep his mom in prayer as she needs to make many decisions on the future care of dad. God's timing is perfect in ALL things and we realize that he allowed us to go and spend some extra time with his dad that we would not have been able to have without this quick trip. Please pray for his salvation. We were able to talk a little to him about Jesus and he just broke down crying. Only God knows each heart and we rest in that.
Sunday was a big day for us. We had the opportunity to share at a church on Sunday morning for a short time in both services and then with the adult Sunday School. It was a blessing to let people know of the need in Asia and how the majority of this world lives on less than $2/day. God has blessed us here in the US for a purpose - to reach and help others with the love of Christ! We do not know specifics of how much support we may have raised while speaking at the church but we know God does and that He will send us in His time. After the services, we were able to spend some time with more new friends, Ivor and Krystal Griffiths at lunch. They were such a blessing to us and we pray we did not scare them off from having children - lol!! It does always amaze me the awesome bond we, as believers, have in Christ. We can just meet someone and share a meal and just love each other knowing that we have a Savior that loves us and died for us. There is never any awkwardness, just love as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Sunday night Dave and I went to CC Philly for their service which was a complete and utter blessing to us. We prayed with people from the church and again it is just awesome sharing your heart with other believers!! After the service, we met with the missions pastor and shared with him about our calling. He was an encouragement and stated they were going to have another missions board meeting where they would bring us up for support. Again, only God can raise our support and we trust in Him to do it quickly.
Monday, we spent some time with Dave's mom and brother and then headed home on our flight back to SC.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we move forward to what God has called our family to and please pray that many will realize that God is soooo much bigger than this economy and help support us and the work God is doing!!!! We have heard of many missionaries that are struggling to raise their support right now due to the economy and churches that are struggling financially - please pray for them as well.
The verse that I am clinging to right now is...
1 Thessalonians 5:24 -- The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it.

I need my armor today!!

2010-09-29T09:03:00.000-07:00

As God opens many doors in our support-raising, He is also closing many as well and it is hard to rest and wait on Him for His timing. We feel attacks from Satan and we want to withstand - withstand against the discouragement that can sink in and from the negative thoughts and realize we are truly in a spiritual battle. I definitely need my armor today AND everyday!!!
Ephesians 6:10-18 -- Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Jars of Clay at GFA...

2010-09-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night is truly one of our favorite nights of the week. That is the night GFA has prayer night for 2 hours and we get to be a part of it by being able to stream it from the computer to the TV. We so enjoy our time to just "be together" with our GFA family and I cannot begin to tell you how many times we have been encouraged by the message and just the ultimate focus on prayer that is the center of Gospel for Asia. Well, this past Tuesday night was absolutely no exception (and funny that many of our friends at GFA have posted this on their blogs too - guess it made an impact on a lot of us!).
John Beers, one of the leaders and main speakers at GFA shared this week. One of the things that made such an awesome impression on Dave and I when we were there for our interview week was how "open and real" the leaders at GFA are and it is very apparent whenever we have the privilege of hearing any of them speak. I just wanted to take the time and share a little of his message.
All day long I’ve been thinking this thing: “John, remember who you are.” Your stories are all different. Whoever you are, maybe the most highly skilled person in the world – but you were lost and headed to Hell, and Jesus saved you. We are all lost, we are clay pots that’s all we are. And you know, clay isn’t a very precious metal – it’s dirt. We are dirt and water. The only good thing is that the Lord fills us. None of it is us. If He gives us good things – that’s His. That’s what this is all about. I just want to encourage you. Tonight when you go home, ask the Lord to show you who you are. Who you are is a great thing, praise God, but never forget the work in your life. And when you are tempted, remember what you were. Let these be your stones of remembrance. Sometimes I think the longer we have been a Christian, we sometimes tend to forget who we really are without Christ. I am nothing without Jesus! He is my reason for living and my Savior! It is my prayer that we all keep this attitude of humility, knowing that whatever good thing we receive is simply given to us by an awesome God who loves us and knows each and every detail of our very being and wants to bless us (I am not speaking of temporary blessings in this world that have no meaning but of eternal things that will last forever). He chooses to give these things to us just because He loves us but yet He desires for us to know Him so intimately and completely that we realize that we can do nothing apart from Him and ultimately will rely on Him for ALL things.
I pray this encourages you as it did me and that it would move us to a closer and deeper relationship with our creator - that is my prayer.
John 15:5 -- I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

The best breakfast ever...

2010-09-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

For our anniversary Andrew and Kira woke up early and decided to make breakfast for us. It could not have been any better. They made a menu, (oh and just so you know, the stuff on the side of the fridge was raspberry green tea)

cooked, (which means putting waffles in the toaster and cutting an apple ;) ), and served it beautifully. (Beautiful presentation of the waffle and apples in the shape of a flower)

Truly, I think this made our day. Here are the pictures. What I think is most funny is that I snapped a photo of our kids but not of us that day :) Enjoy - we sure did!

13 years and counting...

2010-09-13T13:12:00.001-07:00

As some of you know, Dave and I celebrated our 13th anniversary on September 6th. 13 years - wow!! It seems like yesterday that I met this really tall handsome man with such a heart for God by one of the teens at church introducing us. It seems like yesterday that he told me he could not remember my name but remembered me as "the girl in the brown courdoroy overalls crawling across the pew to say Hi to someone at church during the fellowship hymn". It seems like yesterday when we became engaged only 2-1/2 months after "dating". It seems like yesterday that I walked down the aisle committing myself to this man for life before God. It seems like yesterday that we bought our first home together. It seems like yesterday that I told him we were going to have a baby... and then another one just 22 months separation from each other. It seems like yesterday that we put him through college. It seems like yesterday that we moved to South Carolina, away from friends, family, and all we knew to follow our hearts and ultimately for God to lead us to the plan the He now has for us in full-time missions/ministry with Gospel for Asia. Through all these times and so many more, God has blessed Dave and I tremendously. Don't get me wrong, it is not always easy! You have 2 very different people with 2 very different backgrounds, thoughts, and emotions coming together to live as one! No it wasn't always easy but I cannot begin to think what would have become of us without the faith we have in Jesus Christ. It is something that binds us together so strongly that even during those difficult times, we remain strong in Him. Truly to God be the glory for the things He has done!!!!! It is by Him and Him alone that we can stand together now more in love than when we first met, and truly each be others best friend! I love you David and am so excited to continue this journey with you and continue to grow and love you more and more each day as Jesus shows me how by His example. Thank you for being my teacher, our spiritual leader, an awesome father, and the very best friend I could have ever asked for!
Ecclesiastes 9:9 -- Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.

A slice of wonder....

2010-09-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

Since being in South Carolina for the past 4 years now, we have totally fallen in love with the food here. Things like shrimp and grits, low-country boil, and some of the yummiest BBQ you could ever taste but I must say we have utterly and completely missed some of our favorites from back home. Cheese steaks, soft pretzels, and good pizza are just hard to find down here.
WooHoo - the search is over for one of the items as we found a new pizza place owned and operated by transplants from the north like us. It was the best Sicilian pizza that we have had in a long time. So yummy - sometimes it's the small things :)

Getting Easier...

2010-09-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

WOW, I have so much to post which will not all be in this specific post but keep following :). The transition to the new school is going so much easier. God has blessed us with 2 very adaptable kids and I am so grateful for that even though change is not always easy. Andrew is doing amazing - his grades are incredible and he absolutely adores all the science experiments he's getting to do! Kira is doing very well - her grades are wonderful as well and she told me yesterday a number of teachers have affectionately started calling her "sweetheart" (which we have known for a long time ;) ). Thank you all for your prayers during this time.
Please also continue to pray for us as we move forward and continue to prepare to leave for Texas when God says "Go". We still need support so keep us in your prayers that many more would jump on board to support, not us, but the work God is doing!! God has been doing some awesome things and we will continue to give Him the glory and wait for Him!!
More fun posts and updates to come... ;)

Transition...

2010-09-02T05:22:00.000-07:00

Everyone has times of transition. Well, these past 2 weeks have been our time! We returned from our time up north and started school 2 days later which was a transition in itself since the kids are now going to public school. So far it has been a good transition - I actually have been very impressed with the work that Andrew has gotten in the gifted program (which has been a lot). He has been doing some really neat science experiments in class which he is absolutely loving. He also has had 2 projects and a 5 paragraph paper that were due already. It is good but has definitely been challenging to get back into school mode - this week has been much better since the kids are realizing that homework is not an option but a necessity :) Kira is doing very well at her school and I just received an e-mail from her teacher stating that it is a joy to have Kira in her class. She has reading and math homework every night with some other subjects thrown in at various times during the week.
The bus ride has been a transition as well. We are learning that the same rules apply to the bus as they do in school. They have assigned seats (one thing they have not really liked that much) and since the bus is full, they have to sit 3 to a seat - certainly does not leave for much room. Up until this week they have had a bus without air conditioning as well which is definitely not fun in 95+ degree South Carolina weather. Thankfully, they now have switched buses and I think it has helped a lot to have some cool air as they ride.
Another transition that occurred for us is that Dave had to travel for work this week and left the Saturday (early morning) after school started. I must admit I have always thought I have got it together - I can handle Dave being away. Well, maybe most days, but other days, I just fell apart. Things would come up and I just wanted my husband to be here to give me a hug or just talk to. The kids missed him immensely too - they would pray that he would come home early and would ask God to help them not to miss him so much. Thankfully he is home now and we are a happy family together once again.
I know transition is good but I just think all these things at once have been a little overwhelming for all of us. We would continue to appreciate your prayers as we move forward during this time. We have learned that Dave may be traveling more often so that may be hard to get used to especially since we don't have family around and a lot of our friends that would help us out with the kids still attend Northwood and it makes it impossible for them to take our kids to a separate school.
God is good and so faithful to us and we will continue to rely on Him for the strength He promises to give His children.

First (and Second) Day of School...

2010-08-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

We returned home from visiting up north on Sunday afternoon and by Tuesday morning, school had begun. Crazy, I know! The kids are going to public school for the first time ever this year in order to help us save some money before we go to GFA (did I mention I pray that is soon? :)). The kids were nervous but we give thanks to God that the first day went great. I drove them to school the first day and it was crazy - so many kids and parents. It took us forever to get them into school that Andrew was even 5 minutes late :P so no pictures that day. Kira was able to meet her teacher on Monday but Andrew had missed "meet the teacher" since we were away, so of course I as a crazy, highly involved mom wanted to meet his teacher as well. It went great and she was very sweet - Kira's teacher was too. I was praying for them all day and was so excited to go pick them up and see how it went. WooHoo - it went great and they both really enjoyed it. Both of them made new friends. Thank you Jesus for protecting our kids and making them such a blessing to us and to others. Please continue to pray that our kids would be a "light" to their friends and the school. I must admit I am still pretty nervous about this whole thing but I praying and know that God has them in His hands.
Here are a couple of pics from the 2nd day of school and their first time riding the bus! Sorry, some are blurry - not real sure why - maybe because it was 6:40 in the morning - uggghhh!!

Visiting and Raising....

2010-08-18T08:38:00.001-07:00

This past week we had and awesome time with our family back home in PA/NJ. It was so wonderful being with them and just enjoying our time together. We even got to see our family/cousins from Illinois which was such a blessing!
We also met with a few pastors and churches when we were home and a few of them have pledged support and some even want us to come back and share with the church in a few months. What a blessing it was to just share about the awesome ministry of Gospel for Asia - how God is reaching those that have never heard the name of Jesus Christ before!!! We are blessed beyond what we could ever say that God called us to do this work for Him - please pray for our support to come in more so we can get ready and go do the work God has called us to.
Here are some of the highlights from being home.

Does Free secretly want to be pregnant like these beautiful women????

Cousins -- Matt and Dwight

Brent and Maria

Mike and me
No time would be complete at my uncle's house without the playing of WiffleBall
Beautiful Savannah, love her!
Isaac - all boy, love him!!
Great-grandmom with 6 of her 7 great-grandkids - missed ya Ilsa :(
Grandmom with her grandkids and their spouses minus Michelle and Mike :(
Great-grandparents
And again, no visit would be complete at Mom B's house without playing pool volleyball
Cutest kids ever!!
Andrew being flipped by daddy
Kira being flipped by Uncle John
Crazy fun in the pool
Daddy and his boy
Daddy's little girl - yes, he threw her in the pool in her PJ's
Uncle John and daddy playing football with Andrew
Uncle John with his nephew and niece
Grandmom B and her grandkids
Dave and his dad - please pray for him as he has Alzheimers :(
Dave and his momma

Thank you to our amazing family for allowing us to love you and share with you - you are a blessing to us!

On a lighter and much happier note........

2010-08-03T10:11:00.000-07:00

WE ARE GOING TO SEE (AND PICK UP) THE KIDDOS ON FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As I stated in the post before I truly believe God has the perfect timing and plan. My kids were taken care of amazingly and so well while I was having the tough time with the stone. I never had to worry who was going to watch them or if Dave had to take off work so they could be cared for - God had it planned the whole time that they would be up north visiting. It is the little things like this where I get excited to see His plan for me.
I have utterly and thoroughly enjoyed my time with my husband - I am so blessed that God gave me Dave to share my life with. He truly is my best friend, soul mate, and love!!!!!!
With that said, I have soooo missed my kids - I have thought about them growing up - it seems it was just yesterday that with my hands trembling, I ran to tell Dave I was pregnant (twice), it seems like yesterday when I was laying in bed on bedrest anticipating the delivery of these precious lives inside of me. It seems like yesterday when Andrew took his first steps and said his first word (cacka - aka cracker). It seems like yesterday when we moved Andrew into a big boy bed, telling him he was going to have a new baby sister. It seems like yesterday when I delivered Kira prematurely and she spent the first week of her life in the NICU. It seems like yesterday when I was praying for God to heal my baby girl who we almost lost to RSV at 2 months of age. It seems like yesterday when we were video-taping Kira saying her first word (bub-bles with emphasis placed on the space between the syllables :)) It seems like yesterday we had signed them up for preschool. It seems like yesterday when I could rock them and hold them in my arms.
Truly our lives are but a fleeting moment but I thank God constantly for allowing me to see these 2 amazing lives grow. I pray for God to continue to draw them near to Him, that they would grow to love Him and serve Him only. Yes, I am so excited to hold these precious children in my arms again and thank God for blessing me and giving me the honor to be their mother.

Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Update...

2010-08-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

So sorry for not updating you earlier, I think most of you I have talked to. I saw the urologist last Thursday and lo and behold I still have 3 stones (NOT 2) left in my left kidney. I was so disappointed because that means a new stone has formed over the last year :( They will not do anything for them b/c they are all passable size so for now we are just praying they decide to make their home in my kidney and stay there forever ;) As the days have gone on I have felt so much better. It is only b/c of God's goodness and your prayers that I can laugh and thank Him even though I don't understand His plan or reasoning but I can rest in knowing He has the most perfect plan and will for my life. Awwww, there is nothing better than resting on His promises!

The Worst Date Ever!!!!!!!

2010-07-29T06:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we went from the perfect date with my last post to the worst date ever this post. No, this has nothing to do with my amazing husband who once again planned a truly wonderful date for me this past Friday. **Warning** this can get graphic and yucky :P**
It started off with a wonderful dinner at a small Italian restaurant downtown. It was beautiful and the atmosphere was very romantic! After that we headed to a small comedy theatre downtown. They have family-friendly comedy nights but unfortunately this wasn't it. Needless to say we won't be going back but it was still a beautiful night. As we were at the comedy place, I said to Dave ooh, my back is hurting - maybe it will be a heating pad night. Well, within 20 minutes of leaving the theatre I was in horrific pain and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what this was - a kidney stone! It was a 35 minute or so ride home and poor Dave had to stop the car halfway and pull off to the side of the road and let me vomit. For about 3 hours I proceeded to writhe in pain and vomit 6 times. It was awful! Saturday brought more of the same but a little more tolerable and Sunday - more of the same until.....
YAY, a stupid stone the size of a (I know this sounds gross but it is truly what I thought of) tick.
This small thing caused all that crazy pain that obviously my body could not handle! This stupid thing is what caused pain (I know some may disagree but I have had natural childbirth twice with only 1/2 dose of Nubain - I say this because with contractions you have a minute or so in between your worst contractions before it builds again - with a kidney stone, there is no letting up!!!) worse than childbirth!!! Well good it was finally gone - now I could get back to normalcy again with some residual kidney flank pain. Not so much....
Later Sunday evening I started feeling really crappy and lo and behold I spiked a fever. Time to call the doctor again. He ordered an antibiotic and told me to come see him on Monday. I continued to break fevers all day Monday and saw the doctor Monday afternoon. He said that my urine showed no signs of infection but that he wanted me to continue on the antibiotics because it could be that they already started to work. He also said it could be my body's way of responding to the trauma of what just happened with passing the kidney stone. He sent me home and told me to come back to see my regular urologist (he was an associate) on Thursday after another x-ray to see what was going on. May I remind or let those of you know that did not know I still had 3 kidney stones left in my left kidney as of last year after my surgery and experience with my first kidney stone ever.
As of this morning I have almost been 24 hours free of fevers which I am very excited about!! Also, Dave and I went to get my x-ray yesterday and lo and behold now there are only 2 stones. This is good to me on 2 levels. NO new stones have formed and there are now only 2 left that I have to deal with. I go to the urologist today and will update later and let you know how it went and what his plans are. Many thanks to those that have been praying!! God is truly my source of strength in something like this so I thank you for interceding for me!!

A Perfect Date...

2010-07-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

Late Friday afternoon I was on the phone with Dave and asked him if he was going to take me out on a date?! He said, well only if you put a cute little dress on! HA - I said bye, hung up the phone, and raced upstairs to the shower :) (now before you get weirded or grossed out by the fact that it was Friday afternoon and I had not taken a shower, I worked the night before and had just gotten up from sleeping not that long before :P)
I locked the door so he could not come in and see me - silly me, I felt like a schoolgirl getting ready for her first date except mine was to a man I see almost everyday of my life and have been married to for almost 13 years!! I must tell you that we had not been on a date in a very long time - probably almost a year, so it did feel kinda like a first date, to me anyway! Anyway I came down all dressed and ready to go! He was excited - hehe :)It truly was a fabulous night! We went to eat at California Dreaming which has amazing views right on the water and then we went and walked hand-in-hand on Folly Beach. It was such a beautiful evening!
We just enjoy God's creation so much - the sound of the crashing waves, the crazy noises of the seagulls (not that I am that big a fan of seagulls - haha), picking up seashells and treasures from the ocean! Ahhhh, this was truly bliss!
After a long walk on the beach, we headed back home but first was a stop to a nearby Sonic for some yummy dessert! For me, a Strawberry Limeade Chiller (oh my goodness, I love these things!) and a Reese's Blast for Dave.
It truly was a perfect date - the perfect dinner (I love California Dreaming's salads and the yummy she-crab soup), the perfect walk on the beach, a yummy dessert, with God's most perfect man for me!!!!!

Yep, the perfect date!

Bittersweet!

2010-07-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, Dave and I are kid-less for a month. It is truly bittersweet. It gives Dave and I more alone time together but we find ourselves calling just to hear Andrew and Kira's voices because we miss them soooo much! We do feel blessed for family that loves them as much as we do and have been keeping them busy doing many more exciting things than we would have planned for them. Thank you mom and dad and mom and dad B. for loving our kids so much - they love you and are so excited to be hanging out with you this month!!

Home Again

2010-07-18T06:25:00.000-07:00

I had the awesome privilege to go home the first week in July! It is always fun and exciting to go home and this time I got to meet 2 little family members for the first time!
Monday, June 28...
We arrived late Monday night after flying from Myrtle Beach -- the drive is about 1hr-45min for us but we saved a huge amount of money flying out of there than from Charleston. The flight went great except that my poor son has inherited allergy/sinus issues and his ears really started to hurt on the descent. I just held him and told him to swallow and for the first time ever told him to chew his gum like a cow - lol :) Once we were on the ground, he did great.
Tuesday, June 29...
YAY - time to meet the babies! I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I was to meet these amazing 2 babies of my cousins. They are both 1 year now and it broke my heart that I was not able to see them for that first year! They are amazing!!
Savannah is walking all over the place, she loves to eat, and you have got to see this girl dance :). She wiggles her shoulders and her hips back and forth, not your typical baby bouncing up and down dance and I loved it!
Isaac is amazing! He constantly claps for you - total moral booster! He is practicing his walking everyday and even went the length of an entire hallway when I was there! He loves to give Savannah hugs and he will yell and sing and has become very good with keeping his grandmom's pitch (which she is very proud of).
More pics to come of these precious gifts of God...

Tuesday night I got to see my cousin Matt's band - Compelled - which comes from the verse - 2 Corinthians 5:11, 13-15. They are awesome and led such a beautiful time of worship during a summer camp site for teens! Please if you have never heard them, take a listen here -- www.facebook.com/CompelledBand?v=app_178091127385 -- You may soon hear them on a Christian radio station near you :) Don't ask me why I did not take any pics - maybe because I was too busy worshipping our amazing God!!
Wednesday, June 30...
On to Mom B's for a time of swimming and relaxation. I know there are so many negatives out there about mil's but I truly have a wonderful one! Don't get me wrong, we have had our moments but she is truly a blessing to me and loves me and our kids so much!!
Thursday, July 1...
More of the same as we spent time in the pool and ate some yummy homemade potato salad! I love the fun, crazy candid (and sometimes posed) pics my kids come up with :) Warning: these pics are intermixed - some may be from Wednesday as well :)
Thursday night, I got the opportunity to speak to my cousin's Bible study group about Gospel for Asia and all that God is doing through them - I just can't help but get excited about GFA!! Please pray that God would raise our support soon so we can go be used by Him!!

Friday, July 2...
Today we woke up from mom B's and had a wonderful blueberry pancake breakfast and then my parents came to take us to see my grandparents - my kids great-grandparents. I am truly blessed that 3 out of the 4 of my grandparents are still alive! We had a great time going out to eat and just enjoying them - they are such a huge support and encouragement for us in GFA!!

OK, this pic cracks me up - my grandparents are such good sports :)

One thing that was really neat about today is that we got to go back to the house that I grew up in and take a tour! I walked up to see the house and the owners were in the back and I apologized and said that I used to live here and just wanted to see the house -- the woman said "Are you a McCool (my maiden name)?" I said yes - she said she and her husband were the ones that bought the house from my parents. She actually invited us into the house for a tour and to let my kids see where I grew up! It is weird to walk into a house that you used to live in but looks nothing like what you remembered growing up in! It was a neat treat though!
Friday night Andrew and I went to see dad play softball - yes, he is still playing softball - crazy man! It was great b/c the babies were there and I got to love on them some more!!

Saturday, July 3rd...
We had a blast Saturday! We hung out for the morning and then got to go to the Camden Aquarium that evening and for a special treat got to see fireworks over the river after touring the aquarium. We had a great time - It was Mom, me, Andrew, Kira, Uncle Dave, Aunt Lori, Matt and Kelli and Isaac, and Krystal and Savannah!! We had a blast and loved the fireworks afterwards!
Sunday, July 4...
Today we all got up and went to church - what a blessing it was to be at my family's church! A great time of worship led by my cousin Jon and his wife Bek, and then a great message. After church I headed to Krystal's house to meet another family member I had not met before - their sweet lab, Toby! After meeting Toby, it was on to my parents house for a fun-filled July 4th picnic with everyone. We ate and ate and then ate some more! We played games, watched movies, and just enjoyed being a family. Even my grandmom got to come - she is incredible and I just love her so much! These are the times I miss being so far away!
Monday, July 5...
The party continued on...
Those that could make it back to mom's on Monday were welcomed with more food and fun! Dave, Lori, Matt, Kelli, Isaac, Brent, Maria, Free, and us all had fun just enjoying each other and our time together again! More games, food, and singing were included today! Of course, no day would be complete (at least according to Andrew) without a hockey tournament :) (see pics below)
Tuesday, July 6...
Today was such a bittersweet day for me. It was the day I went home -- excited to go home to see my hubby but sad to leave my family and the kids for a month :( I miss them so much but it is the only time during the year that Dave and I ever get to really go out! I had to take some pics before I left of us together and yes, Andrew requested a mohawk the day I left - silly boy!
A big thank you to my family for such an awesome time and a big thank you to my amazing husband for giving up his wife for 8 days!!!!!!

Do your kids fly - mine do!!

2010-07-07T13:11:00.001-07:00

Crazy kid videos coming up.....

2010-07-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

Enjoy - I did :)

Father's Day Giggles and Pics...

2010-06-21T04:51:00.001-07:00

Yes, this is my family whom I love with all my heart -- Isn't it easy to see why??????

Yes, Even Samson got in on the fun :P
Aahhhh, now that's much better ;)

A Father's Love...

2010-06-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

I think being a parent is truly one of the hardest jobs in the world, but also the most amazing and rewarding one there has ever been too!

I think of my own daddy who loves me incredibly. I think of the times we played bombing together (ask me about it - it truly is a fun game) and the times when he cried the months I was in the wheelchair and even how he put up with me during those crazy hormonal years as a teenager.

I think of my husband and all the sacrifices he makes for his children and me, how he takes every moment to teach and instruct our kids and guide them (and me) toward the love of Jesus. How he puts us first, even giving up his own plans and hobbies because it took him away from us (and God).

And then I think of my Savior and my heavenly daddy in Heaven - Abba Father! How He loves me so much more than even my daddy here on earth, how He loves me and knows me more than my husband (and he knows me all too well). He knows my inmost thoughts, the things I love, the things I hide, the goodness in me and He sees the sins that no one else sees. He loved me even when I rejected Him or was ashamed of knowing Him. He created me and knew me before I was even born and He died on the cross and rose from the grave so that I may have eternal life! Oh my friend, that is what our true father's love is - He loved us even before we knew and loved Him. I don't know if anyone reads this blog, or if it is just my thoughts that are out there in the open for all to see but please know it is our desire for you to know Jesus more and more and to love Him deeper than you have ever thought possible for He truly is our father!

Happy Father's Day to my incredible daddy - Ed, to my amazing husband - Dave, and to my Heavenly Father for loving me unconditionally and for giving me the true gift of life in knowing you!

Beach and Friends...

2010-06-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

Last week we were able to have Tyler (Andrew's good friend) come over for a sleepover and time at the beach. Those crazy boys were in the water the entire time - almost 3-1/2 hours!! What was the neat thing is that about 10 minutes after we got there, Kira already had a friend and was playing with her the whole time! God is good - I was worried about Kira being a third-wheel and God provided!! Yes, even in the little things, I have resolved to thank and trust God!! Here are some pics from that day - not the greatest of pictures, but I was having fun in the water too :)

Digging for crabs and other sea treasures

Kira and Lexi

Heading out for more fun in the water

Still digging...

Crazy boys - their noses were plugged b/c they were trying to escape from
having their picture taken - haha on you boys!!

Blessed in America, but what are we going to do about it...

2010-06-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

We are so blessed here in America that I think it becomes so easy to turn a blind eye to the rest of the world that is hurting and dying. We get caught up in so many material things - what brand of jeans to get, what's the biggest house I can have, what is the newest and latest electronic craze that I can have? Jesus brought hope to ALL, not just those of us that were born here in America. It was not your choice to be born here just as it is not the choice of so many to be born in poverty and despair. God calls us as blessed Americans to help those in need. When God calls us home (and it is our prayer that you know Jesus as your personal Savior and that He will call you home to Heaven with Him) it isn't going to matter to Him how much we had or what car we drove - it is going to matter what we did for Him and for those lost and hurting in this world. As you read this, please consider what you can do for these little ones in need, whether it be in prayer, giving financially to sponsor a child, or going yourself to the mission field.
If you would like more information on how to sponsor a child or ways you can help, please let me know. Also, here is a link to GFA's website on sponsorship of a child through their Bridge of Hope program. Trust me, you'll be glad you did it - we sure are!!! (www.gfa.org/sponsorachild)

Baseball Ends...

2010-06-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

Yes it's true, baseball has come to an end. It was a good year and the Cesco Bulldogs came in first place. Andrew did well this Spring - not a great hitting season but it was so wonderful that he was able to learn a new position -- catcher -- and he truly loves it! We are very proud of him and were very excited that Coach Tim was his coach once again - he truly loves the kids and loves to teach them the sport of baseball. We got to enjoy an end of the season party, complete with pizza and cupcakes. This is Andrew's last season playing sports until we get to GFA. Even though we truly enjoy watching him play, God has called us to be focused on the task of raising support and baseball had taken that away a bit.

Andrew and Coach Tim

A sweet encouraging talk by a wonderful Coach

Coach Tim and Tammy - truly the best team mom ever and a good friend too!

Holding the championship trophy!!

And yes, silliness always abounds!

Sports are wonderful and fun to play but God needs to always come first in ALL things - a gentle reminder to us all!

Sprinkler fun and a fun new bug friend too :)

2010-06-06T07:03:00.000-07:00

So, as I stated in the previous post, it is HOT and it is not even truly officially summer yet :). I am so excited to only be working part-time this year. I work 2-12 hour nights one week and 3-12 hour nights the next week. This has been a blessing to be able to spend extra time with the family and especially with the kids during summer break! Anyhoo, we went out in the sprinklers in the yard this week and had a blast, yes even I got in on the fun and got totally soaked. It always amazes me how much fun and what means the most to the kids - cold water and their mom joining in on the fun on a hot day = wonderful fun and laughter! Thank you Jesus for the blessing of my kids and for their contentment in the little things!
Oh and I almost forgot - meet our new friend, our leaf bug.
These are so cool to me that God made this creature to blend in and be able to protect itself from predators. Actually after we took the pictures he left and headed for the grass and we could not find him! Awesome things our God creates!

Pool Time...

2010-06-06T06:57:00.000-07:00

This week we headed to the pool in our development. It is truly a wonderful thing to have a pool to go to even for just a couple of hours on a hot day! Note to self though -- No matter how short of a time you are out in the South Carolina sun - Please be sure to wear sunscreen and make your kids wear it too! Yes, fortunately Andrew and Kira have their daddy's beautiful olive skin and they only got a little pink on their cheeks. However, this Scotch-Irish girl's skin seems to just soak in the sun and get pink all over :) Good thing it fades quick and I am left with a nice golden brown color that as the summer goes on has less and less of a chance to burn! No pictures of the sunburn but a really cute one of the kids!

Ice Cream Makers...

2010-06-04T11:57:00.001-07:00

One thing the kids have been asking me for is to make homemade ice cream together. Andrew did this with his class last year and it was a ton of fun. I told them as soon as school was out we would make it! Here it is and boy was it yummy on a hot day like yesterday!!

Ice Cream in a Bag

Ingredients

2 TBL sugar

1 cup half and half

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup salt(The bigger the granules the better. Kosher or rock salt works best but table salt is fine)

Ice cubes- enough to fill each gallon-size bag about half full

1 pint size zip lock bag

1 gallon size zip lock bag

1. Combine the sugar, half and half, and vanilla extract in the pint size bag and seal it tightly

2. Place the salt and ice in the gallon size bag, then place the sealed smaller bag inside as well. Seal the larger bag. Now shake the bags (turn then over and over) until the mixture hardens-- about 5 minutes

3. Take the smaller bag out of the larger one. Eat the ice cream.

Amazing how much they have grown!

2010-06-03T07:42:00.001-07:00

First Day of School - August 2009

I was curious to see what a difference a school year makes in how our kids grow and look. It truly does amaze me - they are getting older right before our eyes! It is our prayer that as they grow, that God molds them into incredibly special people that He can use for His glory and to further His kingdom! We are so excited that God has chosen us to be their parents and we truly pray that we can teach them and bring them up in the Lord and that they may be used entirely for Him one day!

Last full day of school - May 2010