Leave of Absence

I do apologize to those of you who check in regularly. I have been on an unplanned LOA from the blog. There has been so much to post about, so many pictures, so many stories. But now being back to work in the OR 4-5 days/wk--putting in 18+ hour days--I have been just too tired and too occupied with other things to blog.

Please forgive me.

I will try to post at least some pics, if nothing else, over the weekend!

And if you're reading this, please pray for continued strength and rest for me as I'm still adjusting to the added rigors of working in a Level I facility and still caring for my family as I always strive to do. I really enjoy it and the kids love having Daddy home so much, but I still struggle :) And I know that this is only temporary.

It has been a ROUGH week in the OR, so I'm especially drained this evening. Thanks for hearing me out!

Unexpected blessings

So often in life the blessings are unexpected, unpredicted, unwarranted, unrealized. Christmas reminds me of this fact. God becoming flesh to redeem one so unworthy such as me--unexplainable. But Christmas isn't the focus of this particular post...I still have a few more days to cover that subject :) So I digress.

My life is full of the unexpected, unpredicted, unwarranted blessings. I post about many of them often. I try to live my life in such a way that the blessings do not go unrealized. I fail often, but I do try. Even in the worst circumstances, there are blessings to be realized. There truly is always something for which to be thankful. ALWAYS.

Most of you who follow this blog are family and close friends. So many of you know my story. You may even have lived part(s) of it with me. Abuse. Broken home. Divorce. And therefore, times of anger, rebellion, bitterness, emptiness. Sin. It is never pretty or fun. But the amazing thing is that God can take all that bound up in the heart, blanket it with Jesus' blood, and bring the blessings out of charred, barren wasteland. Bitterness becomes rejoicing. Empty is full. Rebellion is obedience. Anger is joy. AMAZING.

Too often kids in a divorce are prisoners of war. No matter if the parents are "friends" and its an "amicable split" or any other explanation people tend to give, its not the way God intended for marriage. Period. And that is not a debatable topic with me. I've lived it. And I wouldn't wish it upon anyone--ever.

That being said, I--along with the full support and encouragement of Daryl--had long since decided that I would not continue the cycle of unforgiveness and mistrust and rehashing of old wounds (that so often is the case in divorce) with my kids. They would not become second-generation prisoners as long as I had something to do with it! They will know (as they and I already do) that they are loved so very much--by all their family. They will find that people fail, but God is faithful. They will see that forgiveness trumps any hurt. That's God's way. Not the easiest at times, but always the best. And they will witness that God can do anything and everything with any situation to His glory!

So my story doesn't begin or end with the sin that tried to rob me of all things joyful--of all things from God. I have realized a multitude of blessings in the midst of the many storms. I'm still realizing them every day! And the storms aren't anything as they used to be thanks to my trust in the Anchor!!

All that to say, today I'm sharing about a special, unexpected blessing. Totally unexpected yet more appreciated every day. Today is my step dad Jim's birthday! And today I celebrate the handiwork of God in our relationship. What started years ago as a time of weekly fasting and prayer by Jim on behalf of the strained relationship between my mom and me has been rewarded by healing not only between she and I, but also he and I--something I'm sure he never thought would occur. But that's the business God's in--full out amazement so there's no question as to His power and glory!

I celebrate the many, many blessings not only in my and Daryl's life, but also in the lives of my kids because of just this. I am continually amazed at the healing that has taken place in my heart, the love that grows and flourishes, the peace that overwhelms me when it comes to "Pap"--as he's so affectionately called around these parts.

I know there was a time when he worried as whether or not all the grandkids would love him differently or less when they found out he wasn't theirs by blood. Well, out of the currently seven grandkids, none of them could give a hoot about bloodlines. All they know is their Pap thinks the world of them, loves them to the ends of the Earth, prays for them regularly, and makes them feel as though they are the greatest bunch of kids running around this planet. What else is a Pap for if it isn't to do just that??

Being silly with Brayden


Special time with Miss Savannah


Baptizing & celebrating our niece, Elle, with Uncle Frank


My most favorite memory caught on film...The Puddle


Enjoying The Puddle together


Happy, happy birthday, PAP! Here's to the unexpected, unpredicted, unwarranted blessing that you are to us in so many ways. We love you & celebrate you!!

My Midnight Musings

I know that nearly all of you check in for pics of the kiddos and I'm just the measly photographer/narrator, but tonight I can't sleep. It hits me every now and again when Daryl is away. He knows I get like this and will actually question as to whether or not I'm physically lying down in bed when we hang up the phone!

It is Monday. 9 weeks. Every Monday I spend alot of the day rejoicing and crying tears of gratitude that our LORD spared Daryl's life.

It never ceases. And I pray that it never does.

My life would be so very different had events of that day gone the slightest bit differently. And I won't even go into what my kids lives would be like. Talk about a humbling thought. They have a hard enough time (like their Momma) with Daddy rumbling out of the driveway early Monday morning and not returning until Saturday afternoon. Our home erupts with so much rejoicing when his diesel rolls in! There is nothing like it!! Sophia is the one who goes the craziest. And watching her absorb her Daddy as he scoops her up brings me to tears every time.

Had things gone differently, Sophia would not have a memory of her Daddy.

Instead she shrills, runs in circles, then waits for the door to open before she really lets loose! And once Daddy picks her up there's no putting her down. For any reason. Period.

Its funny because when I think of my husband, I often think of a story I received over email a long time ago. The story tells of a man entering Heaven upon his death and Jesus greets him. Jesus wants to give the man a tour of the home He's prepared for him. The man is overwhelmed by all the blessings, the gifts and beauty in every room--all becoming more elaborate and impressive as the tour continues. But throughout the tour there is one door Jesus keeps passing. The man finally can't take it any longer and questions Jesus as to why He doesn't show him what is behind that door. Jesus informs the man that He is unable to show him that room. The man becomes really confused and presses the issue. Jesus sadly informs him that behind that door lies all the blessings the man would have received--all the things that the LORD desired to give him--if he had only obeyed. All the things he missed out on because of his own stubbornness.

I relay that story only for the reason I often think of what would possibly lie behind that door for me because I feel that the LORD gave me the most amazing, undeserved blessing when He gave me Daryl. In all sincerity. My life has been so richly blessed--my faith strengthened--because of my husband. He has taught me more about giving and receiving love and forgiveness, seeking wisdom, earning trust, honesty, conviction, laughter, holiness, humanness, falling short and getting up to try again, grace, growth, and seeing people as God sees them than any other I have known in my life. And I tell him this every day. Honestly. I think as any wife should about her husband--he ROCKS! And I'm humbled that God would pour out such a rich blessing upon me. A sinner. So undeserving, yet so very, eternally grateful.

9 weeks.

I have found the freedom--and blessing--in obedience.

And I thank the LORD He chose to teach me from the blessing that, in my mind, could only have come from behind that door.

"Baby Girl" is THREE!

Today our sweet Savannah is three. What in the world?! Of course she wanted a princess birthday and that she got last evening! She was quite the sight in a pink feather boa, pink sparkly shoes, a pink princess dress, and of course the tiara with pink fur trim. Did this child come from my womb?? You could not have paid me to wear anything remotely "princess" as a little girl. Pretty much a tomboy here. But not our Savannah. The more pink, purple, sparkly, and/or girly--the better. And she also wanted Becca to join her in the Princess Brigade--it was classic. LOVED IT!! They're already planning their next Princess Tea.

She then traded in her regalia for princess jammies and her new "Fancy Nancy" sunglasses and purse. She did not remove those glasses until bedtime! She was definitely epitomizing the saying, "Sugar and spice and everything nice..."--with an extra added splash of spice for our Savannah, I might add.

I had all these wonderful plans for the cake I was going to make for her, and sweet decorations, etc. but that all changed when the dreadful stomach bug got me with a vengeance Friday night. Pretty much wiped me out. Needless to say, I was more than thankful that all she wanted was pizza for her birthday dinner! So we grabbed some pizzas and a DQ cake and she was happy as a debutante at the ball ;)

So, despite my feeling like a wrung-out old rag, the smiles and laughter on the face of our little princess and all her cousins as together they celebrated her third birthday were priceless...and worth every minute!

Overheard at My House

Brayden (on the phone with his older cousin, Leighton):

Leight, you're seven?! Are you big now? 'Cause I am five and I'm HUGE!"



Enjoying a late night ride--Summer 2006--sheesh, time flies!

The New 'Do

The kids were to have pictures first thing this morning, so I thought it would be a perfect time to try out the sponge rollers I picked up recently at a clearance sale on Savannah's hair. Note to self and others: Using sponge rollers on naturally curly hair will most likely result in looking like a Chia Pet:


How could I forget this fact being a naturally-curly-haired girl myself???? Anyways, maybe I should have taken the result as an indication of how the pictures would go! No professional pictures were to be had today...but the ones I captured on my camera are PRICELESS!!

Interesting...and maybe just a bit scary...is the only thing I can think of to describe it. Brayden thought it was nothing short of hysterical. And Savannah, although intially quite shocked at the reflection staring back at her in the mirror, found it to be quite hilarious as well. I just loved how soft and poofy it was! And I always did want to have a Chia Pet to call my own...but that's another blog for another day. Of course, she's still the cutest thing even if she looks like she put her finger in the nearest light socket! But I'll let you form your own opinion on the 'do:

BEFORE:



AFTER:




Come to think of it, I know some people who would have done close to anything in the seventies for a 'fro like this. But, despite of what they thought, I doubt they were lookin' as cute as this little one!

WE LOVE FALL!!!

Thought I'd make an annual event out of taking the kids' picture on our old wagon. What a difference a year makes! Compare our three to last year's photos. Here's to hoping you have a blessed weekend!

A whole hand...PART II

Brayden is five. Its still crazy to me. He's growing up so quickly and I don't like it one bit! What a blessing our boy is to us. A few things that I love about him before I share pictures in no particular order: his eyes, the compassion he has for others, his love of helicopters, airplanes, shuttles, satellites, and trains, how he glows after spending the day working with his dad, his love for family, his love for anything camo or army related, his innate and unending curiosity about everything, his HUGE child-like faith, the sincerity of his prayers, his conversations on the phone, his vocabulary, his love for reading, his unbelievable driving abilities, his love for building things, that sweet face of his that melts my heart, his creativity, the amazing playdoh sculptures he creates, his love for me, the love he has for his sisters, that he's a great big brother and takes his role seriously, hearing him and his sisters laughing their heads off together, his silly faces when I'm taking pictures, the blessing of being his mom, his abhorrence to carrots, his love of anything chocolate and how it gears him up, his ability to tell a great story, his love for scaring people and loving to be scared in return, how hard he laughs when you do manage to scare him or he scares you, how he starts laughing for no apparent reason--only to tell you he's thinking about when he scared you or you scared him, how he serves (with his sisters) as a reminder to enjoy the small things in life and take in each and every moment...its gone all too quickly! I could go on forever, but now without further ado...

HIS FAMILY CELEBRATION

The cake that he LOVED (Please note there are four men on each hill battling for control):




Suddenly, Commander Mom left the post to tend to other matters at hand (AKA guests) and the troops called in for reinforcements...LOTS of reinforcements:



Unbeknowst to Mom, it must've gotten ugly 'cause the reinforcements (AKA Sgts. Becca, Brayden & Logan) kept delivering...






Hard to believe our boy is five!


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HIS SCHOOL CELEBRATION

The beloved Birthday Chair:

My only thought: why don't I have a Birthday Chair?? Life (especially birthdays) would be even more fun with one of these around! Daryl just may return home to all our chairs being painted like this. Even funnier is that I honestly don't think he'd be surprised!


Leapin' Leader duties:

Holding the flag for The Pledge


Being the Line Leader

A funny story about Brayden being the leader. The leader gets to pick how the kids will line up by four categories: boys, girls, colors, or tables. The first time Brayden chose colors. He would say a color and if you were wearing that color you line up. This repeated until all the kids were in line. Well the boys just behind him were, well, boys and started running, pushing, and jumping in front of Brayden as they walked to the new Reading Rug--which is super cool by the way. I could tell by his face that he wasn't all that pleased with the outcome. So, knowing my boy, the next time it was time to line up he shocked everyone. Including the teacher. He chose girls! The teacher said that had never been done yet. It was hysterical...and I knew he would do it. You know why? The 5 little girls in his class lined up quietly and stayed in line perfectly behind him. No pushing, no cutting in line, no jumping around, just doing as they were told. Everything was calm and orderly--just as my boy likes it. It was classic. A memory I won't soon forget :)

There was also a little girl in his class who made him a special birthday card. It was so sweet. She kept trying to slide it to him during reading time and he was too enamored in the book to take it. I think that he thought she was just trying to agitate him as Savannah often does :) At the end of reading time the little girl mentioned her card to the teacher and Brayden went over so she could give it to him! Sooo funny!!


Waiting for directions during Art. (Hey, is that Leight sitting next to Brayden?!)

The class singing Happy Birthday to Brayden at the end of the day (he's in the center of the circle). They also sang to him at the beginning of the day!

Enjoying the Friendship Circle as they say goodbye for the day.


And I must say that it was so cool to spend the day with Brayden at school (thanks to Aunt Krystal for keeping the girls). Brayden's snack was a hit--ice cream cone cupcakes, string cheese, and juice boxes! It was great to see what he does each class and to have more insight into what he's speaking of when telling me about his time there. Needless to say, I could work there in a heartbeat...I guess because it is what I practically do everyday anyways and usually love it :)

A WHOLE HAND!

Happy 5th birthday, Brayden boy!!! I cannot believe my first born is five. A whole hand. He is all smiles today as everyone calls and sings and celebrates his day. He is most excited, however, about being the Leaping Leader at school today and also getting to sit in the Birthday Chair...talk about excitement! It doesn't get much better than this for a five year old!!

We had a little party for him on Saturday. He wanted a helicopters and camo theme. So that we did! The party store had NOTHING camo or even anything remotely related so I improvised...got tablecloths in camo colors, balloons in shades of green and brown, and made a battle scene cake. He LOVED it!

We're off to celebrate his day at school and I'm the special guest :) Many more pictures to follow of all the events for our FIVE YEAR OLD!!

Happy 30th birthday, Daryl!

Today is my man's 30th birthday :) I know that I am biased, and with that being said I can say with all that I am that he is the greatest blessing of my life. It may be his birthday but the kids and I are the ones with the gift! Thank you, Daryl, for being the greatest blessing to me/us. You carry many titles: husband, Daddy, son(-in-law), brother(-in-law), grandson(in-law), nephew(-in-law), uncle, cousin, friend, Christ-follower, boss, Youth Group leader, etc. and you carry them all so well! I am continually amazed, loved, inspired, uplifted, challenged, and humbled by you, the man you are, and the man you constantly strive to be. Mere words will never be enough to exclaim my gratitude, my love, and my devotion firstly to God for blessing me so richly and secondly to you for sharing life with me! I celebrate you, your life, your hopes, your dreams--even more so knowing how quickly it almost ended four weeks ago! Happy birthday, Daryl. I love you more every day. We're looking forward to enjoying dinner with you tonight! As always, YOU ROCK!!