Happy Birthday Alexis!

I am a mother of an 8 year old. That is hard for me to believe. I am just about to go wake her up for her birthday pancakes this morning. She loves pancakes. It is hard to believe that 8 years ago, on a day alot like today, our world changed at the sound of that first little cry. Who knew we could love someone so much so quickly. We couldn't take our eyes off of her, and I didn't want to

ever put her down.

Now she is a big 8 year old and tells us she is almost a "preteen." She wants to grow up way too fast. Being the first child comes at a disadvantage. Most people think middle children have the toughest time, but I venture to say the first carry a lot more weight. They have to bear all of the NEW parents mistakes. I know I have made many! Especially with Alexis. I thought I had a alot of great ideas on how I would raise my children and how I would get it done "right." Well, not so much. Do you wanna know the most wonderful thing about Alexis? When you apologize, she is quick to throw her arms around you and wrap you in forgiveness. I need alot of that. I would love to be able to go back and "undo" so many things, but I must trust the Lord to redeem those moments and He does. Afterall, He is her maker and her Saviour.


Alexis is a wonderful big sister, who looks out for her brothers. She loves to play lots of make believe and put on "shows" for her family. She enjoys history and crafts. I love the way that when she wants to find out how to do something or learn about something, she goes and looks it up. She is very resourceful. She laughs alot. I especially love that when Dad gets home she immediately starts giggling and runs to hug and greet him. She likes dollar stores and stuffed animals (way too much) and has a heart for animals. She loves to have her toe nails painted, but hates to brush her hair. She is not fond of cleaning her room, but will dust, wash windows and sweep joyfully!! I am so thankful for her and believe this will be a wonderful year in her life!!!

Happy 6th Birthday, Aaron! (April 11, 2010)

Sweet Aaron,

My heart wells up within me as I think about you and all the things I want to say about you. First of all, you bring so much light to my life. You always have. I remember the day after you were born, there was a few "issues" that the nurses and doctors wanted to investigate. You were poked and prodded at for hours and I kept asking for you. Finally, they brought you into the room screaming, picked you up and then handed you to me. And in that very moment, you stopped crying and fell immediately to sleep. You loved to be snuggled. You still do. I know that when you are having a bad day or moment, if I just hug on you a little bit it changes everything. I don't often remember that in the moments I need to and I am sorry for that, buddy. I delight in watching you. The way you build, create, and imagine. I delight in your smiles and your sweet voice. I delight in your full body hugs--even your legs hug when you hug. I know that being in the middle can be a tough place, but I believe the Lord put you there for a reason and you have a very important purpose, not only in this family and in this world, but in God's Kingdom. He tells me of His great love for you over and over, and He calls you Valiant. I am honored and humbled to be your mom. I love you, Sweet Aaron.

MOM

We got good news concerning Eli last week, followed by a heartbreak for our family. Eli's blood test results at the middle and end of last year revealed hypothyroidism. This is apparently uncommon in children and more common in menopausal women. We don't know for sure what was causing the condition, but the Dr. assumes it was auto-immune--anti-bodies attacking the thyroid making it un-productive. The Dr. we were seeing last year didn't believe it was related to some of his skin issues. But the Dr. we saw over a week ago believed it could be related. He has probably had it since infancy. She re-tested his thyroid, and the good news is that his thyroid, which was progessingly getting worse, has CORRECTED and is now within normal range. In the last month we have seem major improvements in his skin. He will go days without scratching and the intensity of the itching has significantly improved. There are still a few trouble areas, and his severe reactions to food are still evident. But we remain hopeful. (oh, and by the way, did you know that the archaic word for "hope" is actually "expectation"?) I read this in a medical journal on line shortly after we got the last results :

"In the case of eczema low thyroid function can be a major cause of eczema. When the thyroid function is low, circulation is reduced. In advanced cases of hypothyroidism, the skin, in fact, may receive as little as one-fourth to one-fifth the normal blood supply. With reduced circulation, the nourishment supplied by food is reduced and, at the same time, waste products are not removed promptly and completely since the blood is the primary remover. The result is skin which is not normally healthy and the development of itching, swelling, blistering, oozing and scaling of the skin." (Barnes, pp.112-114)

This article went on to say that the skin is the last to heal. So we are just watching as he slowly gets better and better.

This was great news and we have been rejoicing. Unfortunately, it was quickly followed by some trauma. A sweet little lost dog found our home last Tuesday (over a week ago) and wouldn't take no for an answer. We all quickly fell in love with the little guy. He was potty trained, quiet, loveable, and fit right in to the family. I was not really excited about having a dog around the house, but eventually he would worm his way into my heart. He was especially fond of me--jumping in my lap when I would sit down, following me everywhere, taking one of my shoes hostage until I would sit and play with him. He must have had a female owner. But he loved Kevin, too, and they became buddies. I was suprised at how Kevin took to him so quickly. Lexi thought Sparticus (which is what we affectionately called him) was a "dream come true." And he was for her. She has wanted a dog since she could talk. Aaron, who shyed away from all dogs, declared shortly that "Sparticus must have dropped straight from heaven." And Eli just laughed at him all the time. It was a fun week of loving Sparticus. But this past Tuesday, little Sparticus escaped through the front door. While I was trying to get Eli down for a nap, the other 2 tried to get him back inside. They ran in crying saying that Sparticus chased a cat across the busy road. I told the kids to stay and ventured out to find him. I saw him and he saw me, and just as he stepped into that busy road to run home, a utility truck hit him. It was awful.

Fortunately, our sweet neighbor Harold, took care of matters as I consoled the kids and cried buckets with them.

So for a short 7 days, we were able to love on this sweet little dog. We miss him so much and wish we could have a do-over on that day. Ironically, I resisted Sparticus the most in the beginning, and yet, I think I have had the hardest time letting go. I would just love to hold him in my lap again.

Sparticus, we loved you and we were so glad you were in our lives for those short 7 days. We will miss you, buddy.

NEW

I have been meaning to write this post for awhile, but didn't have the words yet. I am amazed that here we are in 2010. 2009 was a monumental year for us. When I made the blog header last year, I didn't know at the time how much it would play out in our lives:

I even wrote a post on December 31st, 2008 that told the story in Voyage of the Dawn Treader about Eustace's scales, see New Clothes. Our journey with Eli got to a point early this year that forced us to draw closer to the Lord. When nothing was working for the little guy and we were up every night hours at a time, life got difficult. We were tired, frustrated, confused and things started to fall apart. Nothing eased the ache. We needed more of the LORD. Period. We began to realize how much we depended on our own efforts, strength, guidance, whatever...it wasn't working for us.
We fortunately have these amazing friends who have a love for the Lord that encompasses their life. We met together every other week, prayed alot, cried alot, shared the good, bad, and the ugly. They loved us even when we were unlovable. They believed in a Big God who is living and active through the Holy Spirit and we were hungry for more of Him. Our scales began to shed.
This past year was full of revealing and healing things deep within that was part of our "former self." It was ugly at times, and even painful, but with each step we wanted more. We began relying on His strength and eventually began to even recognize His voice--because He does still speak--not in the" earthquake", or the" fire", but in a" gentle whisper." (I Kings 19:11-13). We started not making moves without hearing from Him. Both of us would know and confirm it in eachother. We had made so many decisions based on fear or insecurity, and we didn't want to do that anymore. I remember one night, Eli was having one of his more intense scratching times and on top of that he was coughing every 10 seconds. No one was sleeping and he was miserable. I went to a quiet room and to the Lord and asked him for help BEFORE I attempted anything else. I waited for a few minutes and heard "vaseline and vicks vapor rub. " I had both. I coated his body in vaseline and put the vicks on his feet. He slept peacefully the rest of the night (and trust me, vaseline has ONLY worked this one time, we have tried it before and after with no results). It is amazing how He answers when we call, and yet so often I just don't think to do it. OR I try everything else and when it doesn't work, I (in exasperation at this point) plead for help and am too anxious to even hear. "My sheep listen to my voice." (Jn 10:27). He has never stopped talking. Discerning His voice is the hard part. But make certain, He never condemns, and always stays true to His word. His voice convicts, brings knowledge, encourages and bears much fruit. And, GOES WAY BEYOND vaseline and vicks vapor rub. :) So much of our life has been blessed by His voice and His word.
So, here we are in 2010, still being shaped, still letting Him peel the scales. Trying to rely on Him for strength, for love, for peace, for understanding. Our children are learning with us and asking questions. Eli has become a little worshipper. He gets up every morning and wants us to play worship songs while he sings and raises his little hands. He has gotten so much better. Our nights are still the hardest part. But He gives us what we need for the day. When I look at pictures from last year I am instantly reminded of how far Eli has come. He is so happy, energetic, chatty, fun and growing. He finally has tears (which began in October), his eyes just sparkle now. and his skin is softer than ever. We take these all as good signs.
More than anything else, though, we are experiencing the Lord in ways that overwhelm us. This is the GOD our hearts have longed for our whole life. And we want more. So, we continue to seek, and to embrace His will and His power. And we hope He will find us worthy to engage the battle. I was reminded just this week, of how desperately people need Him. No matter what our circumstances, we all do. Take heart, HE makes all things NEW.

6 months ago

This month

Christmas Recap

Lexi had her 1st piano recital on the 21st--she played Jolly Old St. Nicklaus--it was great.

This was our view on Christmas morning. It was so pretty.

Christmas morning

Santa brought LULU kitty for Lexi, Double Light-Saber for Aaron, and guitar and mic. for Eli

Eli and his stash

Eli thought LuLu would come to him if called.

Lexi and LULU

Lexi also got an art easel

Aaron enjoyed it as well

It was a wonderful Christmas. It didn't end here. We enjoyed the Chisms on Saturday, but forgot our camera.

Merry Christmas!

I know it has been forever since I posted. And on top of it, I never got our Christmas card out, as well. It is Christmas Eve and we are spending it , for the very first time, at our own home. We are also anticipating the arrival of SNOW! Our first white Christmas. The kids are bouncing off of the walls, which is expected. I hope they can fall asleep tonight. We just opened our first present together, which was Yahtzee (woohoo!) and we plan to play it here when Kevin gets back with our Peppermint Mochas from Starbucks! Ahhh....the traditions have begun. Lexi, who was told last year the truth about Santa after figuring it out herself, has, I guess, decided to believe that their is a Santa afterall. It's quite strange, actually. We aren't really sure what to say. But, at least it is by her own free will. It must be one of 3 things: 1-she's in denial, 2-she forgot, or 3-she just has that kind of faith. I think it must be 3. Aaron has battled the Dark Side all day anticipating more Star Wars Lego sets--lucky for him Star Wars was actually on Tv today. And Eli, well, he is just walking around singing with his imaginary guitar. He will be quite happy when Santa drops his gift off! Anyway, off to NORAD Santa tracker and my mocha!

WE wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS this year. Here is a picture of the card I made, ordered, and didn't mail.

I Know These are late but...

Here are the Halloween pictures taken over a week ago.

WE had a great night. It went something like this:

Started out at the Church building so Kevin could practice leading worship. I got the kids ready while we were there. We went to our good friend's, the Smiths, house for chili--yum. Then we went to Granny and Papa Chisms house for trick or treating. It was great. Aaron the Knight, of course, ran to every house in great expectation! I think there might have been some fighting at a couple doors on who rang the door bell first. But no battle wounds, thank goodness. Lexi looked beautiful in her fairy costume that her talented Granny made for her! She just flitted around just like a fairy, sweet and soft footed. Unfortunately for us and the sweet trick or treat givers, she must have nibbled too much on a bad flower. She left her pixie-dust scent at each door. Needless to say, mom let dad go to the doors with the kids! Eli caught on rather quickly in his little throne. He was quite tired from all the football carrying (that and we couldn't keep his pants on) so he nested in the stroller and yelled, politely of course, "HAVE SOME!!" over and over at every door! We replaced his candy with 100% all organic lolli-pops later that evening, of course! Yes, he will live a long and healthy life for sure.

Anyway, that is the night in a nut shell! Enjoy the pics.

Oh, and this is "Granny Pumpkin." Alexis wanted me to make a face like Grannys on her pumpkin. She painted it herself. What do you think? Any resemblance?

Yeah, I know. Granny is much prettier and not quite as crosseyed!