The roller coaster

Never in my life have the highs and lows been so high and low. Doctors with mixed messages, hope and pain mixed with medical counsel and faith. Dan's mom has developed an infection that looks like it may be meningitis. They are gonna try to fight this at this point, two doctors with two totally different opinions helped the family make this decision. One gave them no hope for recovery (the neurosurgeon) and the other encouraged them to press on and give her a chance to fight (the chief of the intensive care unit). God is sovereign and we eagerly look to him for counsel, hope, and His glory to redeem this.

Thanks for the prayers

Those prayers are working and things are looking better by the hour. At first, Dan's mom was so unstable that they couldn't even do an MRI, but yesterday they were able to do an MRI and it looks like she doesn't have any serious brain damage. She's still in a coma, but they are gonna try to slowly wean her off life support to see what she is able to do on her own. Right after the crash the doctors said her injuries were not survivable, but now they are thinking she may even be able to make a recovery to the extent she could wake up from the coma and be okay. Obviously she has many injuries but we were really scared our only choices were a vegetative state or death. We are cautiously optimistic now.

Please pray!

Please pray for Dan's parents. They were in a plane crash in their private plane today. His dad needs ankle surgery but is okay physically. My mother-in-law is in very critical condition. She has swelling on her brain among other things and needs all of our prayers. Though the doctors are not expecting her to recover, we serve a very big God who has done far greater than this. He is able to redeem the worst of situations, and we believe he will redeem this whether that is on this side of Heaven or not.
kob.com has information on the crash. Click on two in plane crash near Gallup, NM.

Note to self...

When you drop your car off to get worked on... don't leave your child's lovey in the back seat. This will cause serious problems.

Camp Christy and Mary

Some more precious friends are moving, along with their 8 beautiful children, soooo I decided I'd be helpful. Instead of unpacking every box they pack (which is really what I'd rather do), my friend Mary and I held a mini day camp at my house... 2 days, 12 children and 2 adults. Toooottallly safe! We baked cookies, brewed sassafras tea, played starwars, ran a beauty shop, made a waterslide, watched movies, popped popcorn, and we only went to the ER once. Anna dislocated her elbow; that's all.:) We had a blast! Anna did too. 4 lollipops later, and she's good as new. As one friend said... "long live the lollipop."

Kate

And walking is this little cherub's favorite mode of transportation these days!!! That's right she started walking last week, and now it's hard to get a picture of her that isn't blurry cause she's a girl on a mission!

And then there's Tink

She may not have the faith of Peter yet, but she looks just like an angel sometimes.

While we're on the subject of Peter . . .

He became a Christian this year on February 3rd. I have it recorded on my iphone! It was one of the most exciting days of this mommy's life. When he asked about asking Jesus in his heart, I sort of hesitated at first, worried that he might not get the in's and outs and the gravity of the commitment he was making. How could a four year old grasp what a 32 year old is still working on grasping herself? Never under-estimate the faith of a little one, now I think he gets it a little better than I do . The next day we were at Subway and he broke off a piece of his cookie to share with Tink. Now if there is a sign of a major life change, that is one in and of itself. When I complimented him on his thoughtfulness, he said, "I have Jesus in my heart now, Mom. He helps me."

He's always asking one of the most important questions that I rarely ask, "Who else is going to Heaven, Mommy?" Yesterday, I gave him a Bible that my parents sent him. He was so excited he couldn't wait to sit in his daddy's chair and read through his Bible, page by page, just like Dad. Today we shared in his first communion. It was such a precious moment in time, whispering the simple gospel in his ear... "God died up on that cross and gave his life for you, Peter, so that you could be forgiven of every thing you ever have done or ever will do." It's a simple gospel, for a simple boy with a simple faith.

Uh oh, gotta go Pete wants to read some more of his Bible together.

Pete's new look

I cut Peter's hair. No son of a Marine can have hair that hangs over his ears... or shall I say my Marine. I digress. However, my Marine might have been a pinch disenchanted if he'd witnessed the gnashing of teeth that took place. You would have thought with each pass of the clippers that I was cutting his scalp instead of his hair. Until, the lollipops were distributed. Then he asked for another haircut. Thank God for lollipops, or there would be no way he'd come even close to those clippers again.

Tink is back

Well, true to form Tink makes life just a pinch more interesting. First day of Dan's "new schedule" and Anna has already decided to do a little redecorating. We now have a mural upstairs in florescent pink (her signature color). She also added a little color to her dad's snowboarding pictures because what picture is complete without a little pink? Phew what a relief! I was beginning to think life was getting a little boring.

P.S. Thank the Lord for Mr. Clean Magic Erasers they cover a multitude of magic marker moments!

And as I was scrubbing and discussing my frustrations with Peter as to why his sister continues to do this... His reply...
Yeah you would think her trouble instinct would tell her not to....
Where does this guy come up with this stuff.

Truly, life wouldn't be as precious without these little people! Magic Marker moments and all!

Just in case . . .

Just in case you start thinking it's all doom and gloom around here, Anna tells me there's smooth waters ahead.

Battles

‘Why does God allow us to spend so much of life in the heat of battle? Because He never meant for us to sip His Spirit like a proper cup of tea. He meant for us to hold our sweating hands over the fountain and lap up His life with unquenchable thirst.’

-B. Moore

Taken from a friend's blog. Who is going through quite a seasoning experience herself.

Frankly,

I am overwhelmed. It has been a rough few weeks, saying goodbye to some of my closest friends, preparing for a lot of tough transitions with a lot of responsibilities on my plate. The pace of Dan's schedule is gonna make life rough in the coming months. It's gonna be a stretching experience, and honestly, I'd love to skip this part and fast forward to the part when it's all over. However, that's not what God has for us. He has so much more for us packed inside the year ahead. I've always dreamed of becoming a rugged Christian who is unafraid and undaunted by trials, seasoned with wisdom from a lifetime of stories of God's unfailing love and faithfulness. There's no way to avoid the storm without sacrificing that person I have spent my life dreaming of becoming. There's no way to skip the weathering process if it's a rugged soul I'm going for. Those stones weathered by the sea are only soft from the friction of the tumbling process.

Now is the time for faith. Now is the time to watch for my Saviour who will deliver me when deliverance is needed, and rescue me when rescuing is needed, and challenge me when challenging is needed. He is my teacher. He will walk me through this syllabus of trials to get me to the other side rugged, time-tested, and seasoned with experiences to tell of His faithfulness. It's all part of the plan.