In Christ Alone our Hope is Found

This is what my girl looks like just after she gets up from her afternoon nap. She gets her Bunny Lunny usually only in bed and it's the only time she sucks her fingers. Without her Bunny, she doesn't see the point of sucking her fingers. Without sucking her fingers she won't sleep. So you see, fingers, Bunny Lunny and sleep go together. So we better never loose Bunny Lunny! My baby girl is now 8 months and 13 days. I have given up trying to do this on the day of the month birthday. She is starting to move all over the place. She can do everything except actually crawl forward. She even is rocking on her hands and knees! It won't be long.  She has started eating lots of food. She loves rice and cauliflower and I don't even have to mash it. She loves cantelope and peaches. She likes pablum and still drinks 4 bottles a day. It is rare for her not to be smiling. She has been playing a little strange lately. But if you are the stranger to pick her up and she st...

There is a blog that I have followed for quite awhile now. I don't know them. I don't even know how I found them. Jess is a stay at home mom and her husband Joel farms. They are Christians. They lost a little girl named Cora, at about 8 months or so from cancer. She was their first and now they have a little boy named Levi, who is a little older than Grace. Their lives are not flashy or all that exciting, but I love to follow their little family and see how even through sorrow, God works. It is beautiful. Anyways the reason for this post is to direct you to one of her posts. In January she wrote a post about being intentional. Sometimes we just coast through life and let it happen, instead of being intentional about things. I am not going to say anymore. She has already said it and it is much better than I can explain. I read it a month  ago and was so convicted, but I didn't do anything about it. Today I thinking about it again, so I re-read it. Please, please read it ...

This is what our place looked like a week ago. Look at that CRAZY snow! We have a deck on the front of the house that doesn't have any rails yet. Once the snow got as high as the deck, the kids made a big/small sliding hill off the front. I just loved watching them out the front window. They played so well together.It is nice that they found something they really enjoyed doing together. They slid quite far! My Josh, feels he doesn't need a coat. He is wearing snow pants, hat, mitts and a sweater. They had been out for quite a while by now. He is looking rather wet and chilled.But I am sure he wouldn't have admitted it!(o: This was the first time I remember being a little sad that the snow is leaving. They really had fun with this one.

Grace has never really been outside for any period of time. This summer, fall and winter, she was really too little to be outside.  Today since it is warm, I put her outside on the deck for a few minutes to see what she would think. The little lady went crazy. She was screaming with delight as the wind blew over her face and through her hair.  Her little clenched hands tell me she is excited, even without looking at her face.  That look, is one of bliss! Bikes and scooters are out! Below, they are already telling each other to move here. I love it when they get outside. It is good for them and good for me.  But I can already here the shrieks of   "Mom, she ran into to me!" or "Mom he won't move!" or "Tell him not to ride me bike!"  Ah good times! (o: Really, they are good times! Enjoy the weather people, it won't be here for long!

So it seems that the little kids get all the attention on this blog. I think maybe part of the reason is that Josh does not love getting his picture taken, thus it doesn't end up on the blog. I do like the word thus very much!  I think if I would ask him if he would mind if I would do a post just about him, he would probably roll his eyes and ask why. But I know that he secretly wouldn't mind. At almost 13, he LOVES Grace. I found him the other day in the playpen with Grace. She loves it when the kids do that, but I have never seen Josh do it. I got the camera out and the first thing he said is, "You are not going to take a picture of this are you?" Hehee. I had to. It is so cute. He is such a love. He will be a great dad some day. That is a great quality in a man. He has a great example! Do you see the slightly perturbed look he is sporting because I got the camera out?   Josh..... I love you boy!

  This purpose of this blog is so that I could document my family's life and do updates on Micah.. But it also serves as a place that I can write. Sometimes I just need to write down what is my mind and heart. It helps me process. But the problem is that the things that I tend to write about, are things that hurt me or things about our experiences. They tend to be a little sad and sometimes a little personal. I want them here on this blog, so I can remember our journey through these years. I didn't want to start something separate just for me. I want our joys and our sorrows to be meshed with our family pictures and Micah updates. So then, in the future when I read this blog, I can see a true picture of where we were at the different times. I am not sure why I needed to tell you this. I think I just feel the need to apologize for the sad words. Once you have heard these words, no matter what happens, your life will never be the same. "There is a recurrence in his lungs...

My Josiah, who is mere months away from turning 5, has big eyes. When he was a small guy, his eyes were the first thing you saw when you looked at him. The other Sunday I was getting him dressed for church and was washing his face. I looked at his eyes lashes and was shocked. I knew they were big, but I think they have grown! When he closes his eyes you could brush them. They are almost strangely long! He will grow into them! (o: I think there are women who would love to have such full eye lashes. Josh and Micah have girl eye lashes too! Josiah has the alphabet on his wall in his room. He loves letters and is very interested in learning. Part of the alphabet keeps falling off the wall and going under his bed. He informed Ken at bed time that the alphabet is not the alphabet without Q R S and T. (o: He is the boy who says in the morning when I pull out a pair of jeans, "No mom, I don't want hard pants, I want squishy pants." Which in his language means sports pant...

This is what I am thinking about today. It may be a little messy and not really cohesive. I am just going to write. It is, what it is....   We have a good life. We are blessed in so many ways. God is our Father. I have a husband that I adore. We have been blessed with five beautiful children. We both have amazing family that is so special. Micah is super healthy. This kids are growing in the Lord. The Lord is continuing to work in Ken and I. God is supplying our physical needs. The kids are doing well in school..... There is a huge list I could write. But you get the point. But I find myself really looking at the big picture of life. This world is so broken. There are broken families and broken children. There are broken churches and broken countries. There are so many sick people - physically, emotionally and spiritually. There are dying children. It's sin. We are sinners and we live in a sinful world. There is not one thing in this world that isn't touched by sin. Rea...

Kate has been one of our "girls" for quite awhile. Along with our kids, we have loved her and prayed for her. Micah and Josh especially, have asked the Lord to help her feel better and for her cancer to be healed. God answered those prayers.  We have a bond with this little girl and her family.   Yesterday we found out that they found new spots on her brain. Devastating. They are hurting so much. They are broken. I wish I could explain to you what it is to have a child relapse. It is way worse than the initial diagnoses. There are no words. It is more a feeling. Despair might be one of the words I would use. Thank the Lord they are Christians. Their faith is beautiful and so strong. God will no doubt hold this family up. But being held up, does not mean that your heart is put back together. Oh, it hurts so much. Would you PLEASE pray for them. I know that for many of you, your prayer lists are full. I understand that. I know you don't even know her and her little f...

I really do not like snow. I don't like wearing coats. I tried the other day to be/appear normal and wear a coat, even though it was making me very miserable and it slowed me down during my groceries. I should have taken it off, but my cart was very full of groceries and kids. Ahh the wonderful No Frills dollar sale! I met my sister in law in the grocery store and she told me I looked weird wearing a coat. That is how rarely I wear one. But I guess winter is kind of pretty from inside the house and if we didn't get snow, I couldn't take pretty pictures like this! (o: