Update on McHaney

My friend's little girl, McHaney, is doing much better and is at home. The surgery went well. Thanks for praying!

Rescue Center in Haiti

My friend Tamara is selling these adorable shirts to benefit the Rescue Center in Haiti. $5 from each shirt sold will be donated to the center. She has some very good friends who are adopting two children from there. Lately, I have been made more and more aware of the needs around the world. I so often take for granted how blessed I am. So, if you can, buy a shirt! Claire has one and it is PRECIOUS!! Also visit Aaron's blog and Jamie's blog. These are her friends who are adopting. Thanks!

Pray for McHaney!

My friend Rachel's sweet little girl, McHaney, is having heart surgery today at 11. Please pray for her, Daren and Rachel, and the doctors that she will come through this with flying colors!

Sometimes when I need to get away for a few minutes, I read Celebrity Baby Blog. It is kind of fun and just lets my mind wander. Anyway, today I read something from the rapper Xzibit (about whom I know nothing) whose newborn son just passed away. They had a quote from his myspace page and it just really touched me. I wanted to share it here.

"Xavier passed away this morning at 3:30 a.m. and I must tell you this; it is unnatural for a parent to bury a child. I am telling you this because of the same reason I tell you when I'm having a great time, life is too short to be fake. Hold on to your kids if you have them, protect them, and show them you love them every day you wake up and see them, don't take a second you get to hug them, teach them, and care for them for granted. You can have all the material wealth in the world, but it is NOTHING compared to having your family.

I am thankful for all of my blessings and I'm not one to question God's perfect plan, so I leave you with great love and thanks for all the love that was sent earlier on my previous blog to my son. Of course I need to take some time and handle my loss, STAY FOCUSED PEOPLE. It's not promised to any of us."

No matter where we are in life, we all share this need to love and be loved. We are all similar in more ways than we're different. This is what I am learning as I get older.

"The streets of Heaven are far too crowded with angels tonight."

This morning, I learned that my friend Mandy from college lost her father very suddenly on Monday. She and her sister both happened to be in their hometown when their father died. I don't know if I can share the circumstances, but let me just say that they desperately need our prayers. Please pray for the Justice family.

Also, Stephen Curtis Chapman lost his 5 yr old daughter this afternoon. His teenage son accidentally backed over her in his SUV. She was playing in the driveway and he simply didn't see her. I can't even imagine.

Please lift these families up in prayer. They need the comfort only God can give.

Happy Birthday baby girl!!

Hurry up and wait.

This is where we are right now. We have applied for a total of close to 25 jobs. Haven't heard from any of them. We did get some good news this week. Lipscomb is going to let Stephen do an independent study with his Greek. This basically means that he will actually have his degree at the end of this summer and not next May. That is a HUGE blessing. I am still trying to figure out what God wants me to do about working. I have applied for a full-time job at a bank. I honestly can't imagine not being at home everyday. But, it may be something I have to do for a time. We also need clarity on the timing of when to move out of our house. Without going into detail, we need to move but aren't sure what that means, when to do it, whether to do it at all.

We have been overwhelmed by the support we have received. People we haven't seen in years, people we talk to a few times a year, my "readers", long time friends, most of our family, we just can't thank you enough for the support and prayers. We are tired, stressed, ready to see what God is going to do with this. Please continue to pray for the effect this is having on our kids. They are feeling the effects of our stress and it isn't pretty. We are trying to shield them as much as possible, but it's hard. I have a lot more running through my mind right now, but I need to save it for another time. We covet your prayers.

That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

At least I sure hope it does. Stephen lost his job Monday. I won't go into all the details here. They are still fresh, and honestly they still hurt. We are moving on and ask for your prayers. He has already applied for around 10 positions, some close to home and some not. Right now, he just wants a job.

The one thing I keep telling people, much to their disbelief, is that I am not worried or scared about this. We have been through this two times before. We have NEVER lacked anything. Whether is has been through our family helping us out, our friends supporting us, praying for us, whatever, we have always had our needs met. So, when this happened, strangely enough, I had peace. I hated that it happened, and I hated the circumstances around it, but I had peace. Peace that I know only comes from God. He is our provider. We will keep trusting Him and seeking His will for us, and He has promised to take care of us. So I am not worried about that part.

Please pray for Stephen. Pray that a job comes our way quickly. Pray that God protects his heart. There are some close to us that seem to only want to point out his faults and failures and not let him move on from past/present mistakes. It really isn't very helpful. In fact, it is very hurtful. We are dealing with it. Pray that we will deal with it the way God wants us to, whatever that is. Pray that if I am supposed to work, something will work out that doesn't involve me paying for child care. Pray that the kids won't be scared or worried. Pray that Stephen and I will be able to comfort them and show them that we have faith God will provide, that we can show them their home is stable. Pray that whatever lesson we are supposed to learn through this will be obvious. Pray that our eyes will be open to Him and that we will be looking for God, we will be looking for His will, and we will be looking for what He wants us to know.

If you are a family member, and you didn't know yet, I am sorry that you found out this way. It is still very new (Monday afternoon was when it was official) and we just are exhausted from talking about it, dealing with the consequences and trying to come up with a plan.

We love all of you and covet your prayers right now.

Marathon pics part 3

Marathon pics part 2

Country Music Kids Marathon

Jordan and Claire participated in the Kids Marathon last Saturday. I have a ton of pictures to post, and I still haven't figured out what Blogger is doing to my pictures when I am trying to post them, so it may take me a couple of posts, and there won't be captions beside them. Anyway, I am posting so many pics to update the family, so I hope everyone enjoys!

The kids ran with a group from church. At first, they were running just to run, but then we decided to turn it into a fund raiser. The kids had to each raise at least $50 to participate, and the money went to our local Room in the Inn to purchase new furniture for them. We raised enough money to purchase a couch, loveseat and microwave. We only expected to be able to buy them the couch, so the kids did an awesome job! We are so proud of them!

Claire's caterpillars

Claire has two caterpillars. Their names? Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. Nice.

Remember

Sometimes it's easy to get into the daily routine and forget that families are seperated. Men and women are still sacrificing to keep our country safe and allow us to be free. Say a prayer for them today.

American Idol Shout to The Lord

How cool is this?

Be careful little ears what you hear...

Lately, since having the kids home all the time, I have had quite a few crazy days. Stephen is awesome at letting me have some alone time. He never complains when I go out at night or just have some time by myself at home. Anyway, when the kids are fighting or just playing loudly, I sometimes say, "I could use a vacation, BY MYSELF!" Half-jokingly, because I believe after about two days of that, I would miss my kids terribly.

Well, Claire came to me this morning and told me she had a "terrible nightmare." She said, "Wanna know what it was about?" Sure. She said that we were all at home, but I was going to go live somewhere by myself. She said I asked her if she wanted to come with me, and she kept saying yes over and over. I don't know if that meant I didn't take her or if she didn't get that far in her dream before she woke up. Regardless, she was terrified that I wanted to live by myself in her dream. Then she said, with a huge smile and a relieved tone of voice, "But then I woke up and we are all still here and it didn't really happen."

I have been really bothered by this. I never intended for them to think I didn't want to be here. I explain to them that sometimes Mom needs to have some time by herself to refresh, reconnect with God and that time makes me a better mommy. But I guess sometimes I convey through my tone of voice or the look on my face that I want to be somewhere else.

I don't. I consider my children four of God's GREATEST gifts to me. I love that I get to be at home with them. I love that even the "big kids" get to be here everyday. Even when they are fighting, like right now :) I need to be more aware of how I am coming across to them. I hope this helped someone.

I need help!

I don't know if it's the carbonation or the caffeine, but I am addicted to Coke/Diet Coke, whatever I can get my hands on. Is there anyone out there who has overcome this addiction? I seriously want to cut this out, but I have terrible headaches, am irritable, etc. when I try. Do I just stick it out until I don't crave it anymore? This sounds so silly when I actually type it out, but it is a real problem to me and I really want to stop. I know I'll feel better and I know I'll be setting a better example for my kids.

So scary...

I have tried to avoid jumping on this bandwagon, but I watched a video today that changed my mind. This whole Oprah thing has gotten totally out of hand and it is so scary to me. So, at the risk of sounding too preachy, watch this video, and pray that the Spirit will prick the hearts of those who are being led astray by this false teaching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9eW6OpZiTk

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect."
2 Samuel 22:31-33

So many thoughts, so little time.

Some days I don't share here because what I am going through is too private. Sometimes, I don't share here because what I am going through wouldn't make sense to anyone else. But days like today, it's because I have so many thoughts that I can't decide which ones to share.

I followed a story last year, which many of you did also, about a little girl named Copeland Fair Farley who was born with Trisomy 18. I have visited their blog, www.conorbootheandgirls.blogspot.com, pretty regularly in the last few months since Copeland went to be with Jesus. Today, when I visited them, I saw an incredible video they made to help share their hope and faith in God and what He did with them through Copeland and that whole experience. I also learned that they are expecting another baby. If I could pick anyone in the world to have the blessing of a baby, there would be many, but they would surely be on my list. I was changed by Copeland and her testimony. I am so thrilled for them. Please pray for a healthy baby, for Boothe's health, and for them to experience joy that can only come from God.

I hope you are having a blessed day. Hold your children and tell them how much they are loved. Most importantly, tell them how much God loves them. He is good. So very, very good.

Thoughts...

I was riding home from a birthday party tonight and I was in the car by myself, which is a rare occurance these days. I had about a million thoughts running through my head. If they made any sense to anyone but myself, I would write about them here. Anyway, Chris Tomlin's version of Amazing Grace came on the radio, and I was struck by the words in the chorus tonight.

My chains are gone,
I've been set free.
My God, my Savior
He ransomed me.
Like a flood,
His mercy reigns.
Unending love,
Amazing grace.

They just touched my heart in a new way. I hope you are blessed.

I did it!

I set new workout goals, and today I accomplished my first one! My goal is to workout in the morning on M,T,W and F during the week. Today was the first day and I made it! I was there before 6:00. May seem small to some of you, but this is huge for me. I love my bed and I love to sleep in with the kids. But it's not very productive, so I decided that today was a new day. I have so many things that I want to do, and getting healthy again is probably the main one. So, there, I did it!

Stephen's grandfather's birthday is today. Stephen's dad was here this weekend and told us that they were taking him to lunch yesterday, so we thought it would be fun to show up at the restaurant (in Knoxville) and surprise him! It was so fun and so worth the drive. Of course, I forgot my camera ;) Happy Birthday PaPa!! We loved getting to spend the day with you!

I hope everyone has a great day! Off to the laundry!