Friday, August 20, 2010

"For this child we prayed......"


Our sweet baby boy joined our family on August 6th.

Curtis David 7# 8 oz 21 inches. A perfectly lovely little son! Notice Grayson getting a first peak.
He was born via C-Sec and that went as well as it possibly could. Grayson & I are so very thankful for a smooth birth and oh, so happy to have little Curtis here in our arms!

What a blessing from God!
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More of Sweet Curtis

Curtis complaining to his Dad about this crazy new world.
Showing us what he thinks!


Poor baby wondering what happened to his peaceful world!

Love at First Sight

Getting to meet for the first time!

There is nothing quite like hearing that first cry from your baby.


Unless it is seeing their face,
or kissing their little cheek,



or holding them close,
or watching them calm as they hear your voice.


Ahhh!! What blessing.

The Family Meets the Newest Member.

The older brothers and sisters were thrilled to meet their baby brother!
Grandma Mary with her 27th Grandchild. Yes, 27.


Tuesday, August 10, 2010

South Dakota

While in South Dakota for the funeral, we got snowed in. Jude had not yet seen snow. He has now!
The wall of snow outside on the deck. Can you believe it?


Kate and her cousin Bryanna. So nice to reconnect!

My handsome son with Aunt Dona. It was lovely to see her again.
More of my handsome son all dressed up.




Thursday, August 5, 2010

38 Weeks

Not sure why this is so tiny. I will try adjust it later. Tomorrow is the big day! We meet our newest addition early in the morning, Lord willing. We are so excited! I better head to bed. Wonder if I will be able to sleep.

Kate's Birthday

Can't believe that I have a teenager now! Yikes, Kate turned 13 in February. We are so happy to have been able to have her in our lives for these past 13 years and look forward to many more!

It was about time we got Miss Long Legs a grownup bike, though it was entertaining to see her knees touch her elbows as she rode her old kids bike!


Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Various Pictures.....

Kate and friends posing for pictures after the Mobile Homeschool Choir Concert.
Jude's 3rd Birthday.


Jude showing off his drum sticks as he poses with his Daddy.


My two little darling cows! We dressed up for "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-Fil-A to get free meals. No one else wanted to be in the picture, but trust me, even I dressed up! Was it worth it? Oh Yes!


Birthday breakfast at Panara Bread with my wonderful husband.





Sunday, August 1, 2010

We Will Not Forget the Works of the Lord!

"We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God"

Psalm 78:5-7


I was reading Psalm 78 and was struck by this verse. Actually, the whole chapter.

It is about the children of Israel and how the Lord did one amazing thing after another for them and yet they kept on sinning. The verse above commands us to tell of the Lord's mighty deeds so that our children will not forget. The rest of the Psalm shows how much WE need to remember!

I so want my children and those around me to see that I hope in God and to know how worthy of our hope He is! One of the ways I am trying to improve on, is in telling and remembering -writing it down. I thought I would share one of the many, many, oh so many, ways that the Lord has been good to us.

It was 1 year ago today, Aug 1st ,2009. 11:32 am. I received a text from my sister, Bekah in ND . "Kiaran hit in head bad pray!" Those 6 word struck me with instant panic. I startled the kids with my gasp and "Oh No!" before I realized that I should not panic until I know the story. I called Bekah who quickly relayed what we knew so far. My 5 yr old nephew had been hit in the head with a golf club by another child. It had fractured the skull and he was on his way by ambulance to Bismark. They were trying to locate Joey, his Dad, who as away at a fishing tournament. My dad had helped get Kiaran to the hospital and reported that he could see right into his skull.

Fears confirmed.

Thousands of miles away my little nephew - just a few months older than my Mary- was in an ambulance. Thousand of miles away, my little sister was going through this hard thing. I can hardly believe that Laura is old enough to have kids. I was 12 when she was born and I remember carrying her around as a baby. She is just too young to go through this, I think.

The rest of the day I waited anxiously,nervously, for the update texts.

"Kiaran arrived at hospital and is still alert and doing well" 3:19 pm

"Kiaran does need surgery but will wait until am. Protective sheath that surrounds the brain
was entered" 4:48 PM

"Broke through the dura mater" 6:09 pm

"They are doing surgery now keep praying" 7:12 pm

"Don't know why they moved the surgery. It is really serious. Fragments in the brain and dura entered. He is still stable and ok" 7:15 pm

"Out of surgery 5 metal plates removed bone fragments from brain and repaired dura all went really well" 11:08 pm

What a nerve wracking day. It is HARD to live so far from family. But the Lord was a very present help as He has promised to be. Many people were praying and we could feel it. Now, 1 year later, Kiaran is fine. He was able to leave the hospital with in a few days. He was suppose to be careful for 6 months - no rough play, sports etc. That he made it through those months with no further injury seems like another miracle to me since I know well what a 5 yr old boy is like!

God was merciful. Not just in giving us the outcome we prayed for, but in giving peace in the midst. He is always good and would have been regardless of the outcome, but Oh how thankful we are for His great mercy and loving kindness!
"The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes!" Psalm 118:23
(I could not get my pictures to post properly, so I will put them in a separate post.)
Kiaran's 5th Birthday just a few weeks prior to accident.


A few days after surgury