Thanksgiving

We have SO much to be thankful for -- a house, Jeff's job, our kids, health, family, etc. The list could go on forever. It certainly would take more than ONE day to tell all the things we have to be thankful for. But, this year, I got to thinking...yes, all of those things are good and yes, we should be thankful for those, but too often we forget about the most important things.

Grace, Forgiveness, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, God the Father, Sacrifice, Mercy, Peace, Joy... Again, this list could go on forever. Seems only fitting to me that we should be thankful for THE GOD who gives us all of these good things, not just the things themselves. But, how often do we forget the giver of the gifts?!?!

During this season of Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas, may we remember the GIVER and be thankful!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HANNAH!!

Wow, the craziness...time needs to stop flying! It is so hard to believe Hannah turned 8 yesterday!! It really does not seem possible for her to be 8! It's been a really rough year for her, health-wise...the Lyme disease is really taking its toll on her -- we are fighting a major battle and it feels like we are losing. I just keep praying that God will continue to work through the doctors and bring her to full healing...it's just taking longer than this mommy would like! I trust in God's timing and His hand and I can see how He is working in the whole situation...but, as her mom, it's hard to sit by at watch it happen!! So, if you think of us, pray for Hannah!!

She had a great birthday, though. She was allowed to have 3 friends over for a sleepover. It was fun!! They made pizzas (Hannah's was cheese-less, of course) and had cake! Then they watched some Tinker Bell movies, it was a Tinker Bell party after all, played hairdresser, and lots of other fun stuff!! She had a great time, but no sleep, with her friends!! Her actual birthday was yesterday...2 Sunday's before the musical is a crazy day to have a birthday! But, I don't think she was bothered by it! She is such a sweet young lady and we are so thankful to have her in our lives!! We are looking forward to a great year, 8 is great!!! :)

Enjoy some pictures of the day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB!!!

Wow...has it really been FIVE years?!?!?!

Can't be possible!! But, it is. My 'baby' is FIVE!!!! I wish I could somehow stop time and keep my kids little forever, but I can't. The fun part though is watching them grow and the fun we have as a family with 'big kids'...certainly changes life to not have any 'babies' in our house!

Here are some pictures from his fun day!!

Fall Fun

October has flown by! It's hard to believe it will be November soon.

We've had a busy October filled with lots of fun and family time. The beginning of October was my birthday and a trip to NY -- the kids stayed with Nana and PapPap while Jeff and I were in Brooklyn. After we got home, our October family fun brought Grammie and Grampa to us from Miami. We had a fun time going to a farm, apple picking, down to ENC's homecoming, and to Parker's Maple Barn. It was sad to see them go, but we really did have a fun time together. That brought us to the middle/end of October. We had the privilege of watching Margaret for a few days, which was/is (as she's still here) a lot of fun!! We have also become keenly aware that Christmas is around the corner, as our musical rehearsals are now in full swing! The 5 of us will all be a part of the musical again this year. But, this year Kaitlyn has a solo and Hannah is one of the narrators!! We are so proud of both of them and love watching their talent grow and be used for the Lord! If you're in the area, we'd love to have you join us on Dec. 4/5.
Here are some photos of our October adventures for you to enjoy!!

Birthday Dreams Come True - Warning, it's long! :)

So, for my birthday this year Jeff and I headed into Brooklyn, NY and attended the Brooklyn Tabernacle Music Leadership Conference.

This year they added a new 'feature' -- recording with the choir!! AHH!!! Not only were we going to get to worship and sing with the choir on Sunday morning...we would be learning 3 songs and recording a CD!! HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!?! SO exciting!!! It truly was a dream come true!

The weekend started out with us not really knowing what to expect. We headed in to Brooklyn and were amazed at how beautiful the church was! Wow! It seats over 3,500 people. The choir loft holds 300! Still, a dream come true to even go to the church. Then, we find our seats and wait for the conference to start, still not knowing what to expect...Carol Cymbala walked past us and said, 'Welcome, it's good to have you here.' Another dream come true :) Although, I am sure she said that to everyone she could, but still! :)

Then, it started. I was overwhelmed by the movement of the Holy Spirit as we stood and worshipped our God! It was like Heaven itself had descended upon me and said 'OK, get ready for something new!' Now, don't get me wrong. I walk into a church service looking, ready to hear from the Holy Spirit, ready for Him to do something in my life, but to have that full-body 'something is going on' feeling, I haven't felt in a long time. I stood there worshipping and weeping! I was so overcome with His Spirit, it is truly indescribable!

Just when I thought I was 'ok', and I could 'relax' and enjoy the conference it happened again. This time, during the speaker's message. You see, I've been dealing with a lot of hurt, past hurt that keeps coming back to haunt me. Hurt that Satan uses every time he gets to tell me I am not worth anything, I cannot be used by God, He doesn't want me as this messed up, broken person. In my heart, I know that is wrong, but my mind couldn't grab hold of that truth and kept replaying the hurt over and over. I've been praying for healing, praying for release and freedom, and was waiting for that to come.

The speaker said something so profound to me that day...He was talking about a part of the Scripture found in 2 Kings. About King Hezekiah and how he had been scared - literally and emotionally by past hurts, but that God overcame those scars and 'robed' him as King and blessed his reign. The speaker said this..."We stand in our Sunday garb and no one sees what's underneath, no one sees the scars. But, God can still use you and make you who you were meant to be. The danger is God can use you to minister with scars, but not wounded. When we have wounds that have yet to be healed, the venom, anger, animosity come out, not the sweetness of the Holy Spirit. The language of the scarred does NOT talk about the people who hurt us, it does not focus on the scars, but on the power of God in and through those scars, and God's big picture. Your scars DO NOT disqualify you from doing the ministry God has called you to!"

Wow! Did he just say exactly what had been playing in my mind? Could it be this is really happening?? Is anyone else hearing this?? This was me, walking wounded. God was speaking directly to me. He does not want me to walk around wounded, He wants to put His 'robe' on me and bless the ministry He has called me to.

Ok, that was enough to digest, right??? NO! God in His infinite mercy wasn't finished with me yet!! More worship services speaking into my heart exactly what I needed to hear...more and more, over and over, God was saying, 'Are you listening? Do you hear? I WANT to heal you, are you ready???' I needed to go through this whole process to get to the place where I was ready for the healing. Doesn't that seem stupid. I was praying for the healing, but I wasn't ready for the healing God wanted to bestow. He walked with me through the process and at every single step filled me with His love and grace, telling me it was going to be ok, it was time to let go.

The culmination of the weekend came on Sunday. Worshipping with the congregation, climbing those risers and sing with the choir, what an experience, but that is not really what I will remember the most. It's what happened next....

It happened in the sermon. Jim Cymbala got up and said these words, "I don't know why I feel this, but I think God has brought some of you here this weekend to hear these words"...ok, at this moment I was thinking, 'here we go again...' He kept saying it, 'I think God has brought some of you here just to hear these words.' And then through Jim Cymbala God hit me upside my head with a ton of holy bricks!!

It was during that message as I sat and listened to the words from God shared by Pastor Cymbala that the GREATEST birthday dream came true...TOTAL FREEDOM! A COMPLETE healing of my mind!!! It's gone, that record that has played over and over for years, that bondage Satan had placed in my mind, it was GONE! Completely gone! It was like nothing I have ever experienced. I could not stop sobbing. The healing I had longed for, the healing I had prayed for was there, right in front of my face...it was happening in that moment!

It was the greatest birthday gift ever. A new year, a new life, a new me. Was it that I didn't believe the healing was possible??? No, I knew God could do it, I was just beginning to wonder if He would...now I know why. I don't think I would have been ready to receive it had it happened any sooner. God sweetly and gently prepared my heart and mind for the healing and in that moment as we sang 'I Surrender All' with our hands on our heads, God healed my mind!

You see, we worry about what we put in our bodies, the food we eat, the exercise we do, we are concerned about everything else, but do we put the same thought into what goes into our minds?? No, we really don't. Our minds are an open door, a revolving door, and we allow all kinds of crap to go in and out of our minds. But, the Bible is clear...we are to 'GUARD OUR MINDS!' Satan knows this which is why it is so easy to steer Christians in to worry, doubt, etc. We are not good at guarding our minds. Well, not this Child of God...NO MORE! There's a wall around my mind now, if Satan wants to get in there again, he'll have to go through the Word of God and the Blood of Jesus that has healed me if he wants to succeed again! Now, I am not naive, I know this is not going to be easy! I know that Satan is going to come at me with everything in his stupid bag of tricks, but I have a plan! :) When you sing of God's greatness, when you read His word, you can't worry, you can't doubt, you can't replay lies in your head...it's not possible, those things are not of God!!

I wish I could fully explain what the healing felt like...I can't explain what it felt like to wake up this morning released and free. It's a new beginning! It's a new year! It's a birthday dream come true!!

Enjoying the last days of summer

Well, if the weather outside today is any indication, fall is here!

While trying to get into the swing of our new school-year schedule we've tried to plan some fun times to balance all the 'work' we have to do. We've cut out a lot of activities and completely de-cluttered the house...all in an effort to live a little more simply. We've enjoyed our new found 'freedom' from the stress and chaos and the chance to just enjoy being a family. Here are some pictures from our recent outing to the park.

Back to School Time

It's that time again, time to go back to school. Once again this school year brings us change and transition...seems like a theme we have going on! :)

Two years ago we felt like the best thing for our girls would be to take them out of school and homeschool them. We had two fabulous years all together. The kids loved being home, loved doing school together, and loved some of the perks of homeschool. I loved being home with all three of my kiddos and while it did pose some challenges for us, the benefits FAR outweighed any hardship we might have faced.

So, we head in to the 2010-2011 school year, with more change! After the struggles we had last year with Hannah's Lyme Disease, and the toll it took on the whole family, we felt God was calling us to place Kaitlyn in a local Christian school. We became introduced to the school through the Upward program, so we were confident in the education she would be receiving. Beyond that, we knew that with Hannah's illness I would not be able to devote the time and energy I needed into Kaitlyn's education, especially since she was entering Junior High. Kaitlyn was slightly apprehensive, but mostly excited about her new adventure. Jeff and I were also excited for her as she would have her own thing, and be able to leave the stress that comes with living with a Lyme Disease infected member...she needed some break time!

Kaitlyn headed off to SMCA this week to begin 6th grade! It is hard to believe she is a Junior High-er!! We also got our first 'teen' parent letter in the mail from church! ACK!!! I am not ready for this, but she is! :) I keep telling myself I'm not old enough to have a child in junior high school, but the truth of the matter is, I am! All kidding aside, we truly are thrilled to have a junior high-er and couldn't be more excited for the new chapter ahead of us!! Kaitlyn is an amazing young lady and I look at her with awe most days with how she presents herself, how she carries herself, how she cares for others, the list could go on...we are SO proud of her!!

Hannah entered 3rd grade here at home. We started two weeks before Kaitlyn's first day, to get a slight head start in order for the days to line up. It's been a rough go so far, but we knew it would be, that's the nature of the disease. We are still praying for healing for Hannah and know that God may chose to do that through long-term antibiotic therapy. We are so grateful He lead us to the right specialist to even BEGIN long-term therapy. It wasn't that long ago that we were watching this disease completely invade Hannah's body, affecting her central nervous system...if you know anything about the human body, you know that's not good!! Since starting long-term antibiotics in May, we have seen some glimmers of hope, though, which we are continually thanking God for!! Now, we just have to wait and see how the antibiotics work and wait until the disease is completely gone. But, despite all that Hannah has been through in her short, little life, she is such a wonderful, vibrant, sweet, kind little girl! You would never know by looking at her all the the medical issues she has had, mainly because she doesn't let them hold her back. We have no idea what God has in store for her, but we know it's got to be something great!!

Caleb started Pre-Kindergarten at home this year. I will be working with him 3 days a week on the 'academics' and spending the other two days on 'fun' -- well, he'll think it's just fun! :)
He is excited to start school, although he said to me, "Mom, I don't want to be homeschooled, I want to be TV schooled. You know, where you sit down and watch TV!" That sounds like my idea of 'school' too. Caleb is already reading and has been for a couple of months now. It is so much fun to hear him read and watch how excited he is to learn new things. It will be interesting to see the dynamic between Caleb and Hannah this year as I try to do school with the both of them. I am looking forward to what God has in store for Caleb and how He is going to work through Caleb's health issues as well.

So much for the 'short' update I had intended!! We are so excited for this new school year and all the new adventures it brings our way. More importantly though, we can't wait to see how God is going to work in our family this year!