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What started out as a site to update on our daughter's cancer has thankfully grown into a site to update on our beautiful family of four. Enjoy our journey...

Sunday, February 28, 2010

not an empty moment

On our way to the basketball game Friday night we saw lots and lots of deer. I saw that there was about 20-30 in a field coming up so I told Charli to look out her window and she said "mom, I told you. I should have brought my gun and flashlight. Next time, right mommy?"
****
Mom - Charli, before bed go toss Harper's bottle in the sink for me.
Charli - MOM...you know what to say?
Mom - Now??
Charli - if you say please first I will.
****
Charli's bedtime song to me tonight:
Hush little baby don't say a word, momma gonna buy you a monkey-bird, and if that monkey bird don't sing mommas gonna buy you a diamond ring, and if that ring is brass mommas gonna buy you a cup. and if that cup gets broke mommas gonna buy you a goat, and if that goat wont nah, mommas gonna buy you hay and if it falls down mommas gonna buy you a rubber dog, and if that rubber dog wont bark, I will buy you a cart and if it falls down you will still be the prettiest in town.
****


I have decided that in the silver lining that is our life - one thing we took for granted with Charli's "situation" was her ability to not get into everything! When Charli was the age Harper is now, she was not moving around at all. And, when she was able to move around she understood what "no" meant a little better. There are so many things that are "firsts" for us, even though this is our second go 'round!



Charli is not exactly excited about the new way we have to play UNO! Either we play it only while Harper is napping, or we play while body-checking Harper the entire time!

we tried to hard to get a picture of Harper in this hat...we had one of Charli at this same age...but the problem is - Harper is "a little" (aka A LOT) more mobile than Charli was -- no picture for us!

Charli in her new-favorite shirt...and harper taking advantage of being alone for once!


poor - poor - poor harper



I have so many things I could say here...bottom line is that everyone is having fun, even poor harper who is probably peeing his pants from laughing so hard!




feedsack, probably a 50 pounder





Mom - Chalri will you please make sure Haper doesn't fall off the couch
Charli - sure, I will make a Harper gate






good morning world!







lil sneak








so, not a good picture of Harper at all..I know that. But, who could pass up sharing this moment with the world :-) How nice of Wynston and Kasper to share their bone with him.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

great message

I received the story below in an email today, and really liked the message. We never know who we are about to meet when we lay eyes on someone. Who are we to judge another based on lifestyle, appearance, or even some life choices. We are all children of God, and because of that we are all equal. A sermon I heard this summer reminded me that my sin is no greater or less than the sins of my neighbor. Sin is Sin...we ask for forgiveness and we pick ourselves back up to do better tomorrow. God is good and allows us all to have a clean slate once we have asked for one. If He can forgive us, why can't we forgive each other?


Daniel's Gloves



I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just
off the corner of the town-square. The food and the company were both
especially good that day.

As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There,
walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly
goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read, 'I will work
for food.' My heart sank.

I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around
us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness
and disbelief.

We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We finished
our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out
to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat
halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him
again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him.
I made some purchases at a store and got back in my car.

Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: 'Don't go back to the
office until you've at least driven once more around the square.'

Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square's
third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the store front
church, going through his sack.

I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to
drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from God:
an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town's newest
visitor.

'Looking for the pastor?' I asked.

'Not really,' he replied, 'just resting.'

'Have you eaten today?'

'Oh, I ate something early this morning.'

'Would you like to have lunch with me?'

'Do you have some work I could do for you?'

'No work,' I replied 'I commute here to work from the city, but I would like
to take you to lunch.'

'Sure,' he replied with a smile.

As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions. Where you
headed?'

' St. Louis '

'Where you from?'

'Oh, all over; mostly Florida ..'

'How long you been walking?'

'Fourteen years,' came the reply.

I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same
restaurant I had left earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond his 38
years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and
articulation that was startling He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red
T-shirt that said, 'Jesus is The Never Ending Story.'

Then Daniel's story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life.
He'd made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences.. Fourteen years
earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in
Daytona... He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent
and some equipment. A concert, he thought.

He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services,
and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God

'Nothing's been the same since,' he said, 'I felt the Lord telling me to keep
walking, and so I did, some 14 years now.'

'Ever think of stopping?' I asked.

'Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me. But God has given
me this calling. I give out Bibles That's what's in my sack. I work to buy
food and Bibles, and I give them out when His Spirit leads.'

I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and
lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a moment and then I
asked: 'What's it like?'

'What?'

'To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to show your
sign?'

'Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make comments. Once
someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that certainly
didn't make me feel welcome. But then it became humbling to realize that God
was using me to touch lives and change people's concepts of other folks like
me.'


My concept was changing, too. We finished our dessert and gathered his
things. Just outside the door, he paused He turned to me and said, 'Come Ye
blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom I've prepared for you. For when
I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, a
stranger and you took me in.'


I felt as if we were on holy ground. 'Could you use another Bible?' I asked.


He said he preferred a certain translation. It traveled well and was not too
heavy. It was also his personal favorite.. 'I've read through it 14 times,'
he said.


'I'm not sure we've got one of those, but let's stop by our church and see'.
I was able to find my new friend a Bible that would do well, and he seemed
very grateful.


'Where are you headed from here?' I asked.


'Well, I found this little map on the back of this amusement park coupon.'


'Are you hoping to hire on there for a while?'


'No, I just figure I should go there. I figure someone under that star right
there needs a Bible, so that's where I'm going next.'


He smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated the sincerity of his
mission. I drove him back to the town-square where we'd met two hours
earlier, and as we drove, it started raining. We parked and unloaded his
things.


'Would you sign my autograph book?' he asked... 'I like to keep messages from
folks I meet.'


I wrote in his little book that his commitment to his calling had touched my
life. I encouraged him to stay strong. And I left him with a verse of
scripture from Jeremiah, 'I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord,
'plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans to give you a future and a
hope.'




'Thanks, man,' he said.. 'I know we just met and we're really just strangers,
but I love you.'

'I know,' I said, 'I love you, too.' 'The Lord is good!'

'Yes, He is. How long has it been since someone hugged you?' I asked.

A long time,' he replied

And so on the busy street corner in the drizzling rain, my new friend and I
embraced, and I felt deep inside that I had been changed.. He put his things
on his back, smiled his winning smile and said, 'See you in the New
Jerusalem .'


'I'll be there!' was my reply.


He began his journey again. He headed away with his sign dangling from his
bedroll and pack of Bibles. He stopped, turned and said, 'When you see
something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?'

'You bet,' I shouted back, 'God bless.'

'God bless.' And that was the last I saw of him.


Late that evening as I left my office, the wind blew strong. The cold front
had settled hard upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to my car. As I sat
back and reached for the emergency brake, I saw them... a pair of well-worn
brown work gloves neatly laid over the length of the handle. I picked them up
and thought of my friend and wondered if his hands would stay warm that night
without them.


Then I remembered his words: 'If you see something that makes you think of
me, will you pray for me?'

Today his gloves lie on my desk in my office.. They help me to see the world
and its people in a new way, and they help me remember those two hours with
my unique friend and to pray for his ministry. 'See you in the New
Jerusalem ,' he said. Yes, Daniel, I know I will...


'I shall pass this way but once. Therefore, any good that I can do or any
kindness that I can show, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way
again.'
(Author Unknown or is it?)


My instructions were to send this to four people that I wanted God to bless
and I picked you. Please pass this to four people you want to be blessed.

This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached. Please do not break
this pattern. Prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost
but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another. God bless and
have a nice day!



'Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and e-mail buddies reading
this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power. Holy
Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where
there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt,
release a renewed confidence through Your grace, In Jesus' precious Name,
Amen.'

Monday, February 22, 2010

how could i

Whooops, I forgot to include these in my post last night!!

Charli was drawing with chalk Sunday afternoon. She ended up drawing this "car", not sure if you can really see it in the background. There are about 4-5 tires on this side and the other circles are windows! She drew this for her buddy Landon she said. However, she said we can't give it to him because it will wipe off :-)

This is from the birthday party too...these girls were so wild in this moment!
Look at their smiles, 100% genuine! Love girl time!



Sunday, February 21, 2010

triplets

The weekend is almost over already, again. How does this happen so fast?!
This weekend we made a quick trip to broken bow to celebrate Ryen's birthday, those three girls have a great time together. And, as they get older they are starting to have little spats too. This time it was over coloring, and I know it won't be the last. Growing pains I guess! Rachelle (their mom and my sister) and I agreed three years ago that no matter what these three girls do we can't and won't get mad at each other because of it! We have the only girls on our side, so they are bff's for life for sure!! It is fun to watch them grow together!

Now that Harper is crawling in all rooms and on all surfaces I thought for sure that Charli would lose some interest in him, which she hasn't. He has, although, gotten more interested in what she is doing!! She has enjoyed being his 2nd mom and I am soaking it in while it lasts! He is working on a tooth, not sure it will break this time or not...but for his sake I hope it does.

Have a great week...March will be here soon which means spring is getting closer!!!!



it isn't the best shot, but Ryen did Charli's hair...she looked pretty cute! She has two clips on the side and a back pony! And, she really was enjoying playing tractors with Harper!

the triplets!!
Macey (4) * Ryen (7)* Charli (3)


Sunday, February 14, 2010

who done it???

Who made Valentine's Day a "sugar holiday"?! I am going to go out on a limb and say it wasn't a parent. I mean really!! Between Valentine's Day, Easter, 4th of July parades, and Halloween does anyone really EVER finish the candy?!!



Kasper patiently awaits her to drop some of her "fun dip" for him!!

green tongue to match her green finger!


we think he is starting to resemble Charli a little more each day!



Happy Valentine's Day!

It's been awhile since I have posted, but I can't really think of much "breaking news" to report! We have been busy with keeping up with life and on most nights we are just happy to be smiling when we call it a day!

Harper officially crawled about two "strides" on Wednesday night. Chad and Charli got to see him but I wasn't home from work yet. He has since been crawling backwards and spinning circles a lot, but still knows that his quickest route from point A to point B is to roll :-) Not to mention...almost each time he gets up on all fours Charli gets so excited she gets right next to him (to cheer him on) and that usually lands him on his tummy!

Harper will be 8 months this week. It's been impossible to celebrate his age without remember Charli's at this age too. You all know the story so I won't go into details, but we are daily seeing the things that we missed with Charli and it is bitter sweet with Harper. Funny how life works out sometimes.

Have a great week!




just like his sister, he has a billion toys and would prefer to play with none of them!

Charli is passionate about coloring right now. You can't really see in the picture, but she has black all over her face. You can see it under her left eye, but it was also on her cheeks. This is the 'caught red handed' look!


I received this saying on a Christmas gift this year. I love the phrase and am learning more and more each day what it truly means!



Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Monday, February 01, 2010

Prayer of Confession

This was our prayer of confession in church this Sunday...and I really wanted to share it. I feel it pertains to me, and maybe some of you will feel the same.

God of great expectations, you know how easy it is for us to make excuses for inactivity. We love to run and hide when a task is set before us. We look at the expectation and think that we don't have the abilities, strength, or wisdom to accomplish this task. We think, too often, that we are doing these things all by ourselves. And we feel sorry for ourselves and angry that you expect so much from us. Forgive our ignorance, our stubbornness, and our stupidity, O Lord. Help us to understand that the opportunities for service that you offer to us also come with your abiding presence, love, and support. It is your love which makes the impossible possible. Turn us around and place us back on the path of joyful service. Let our work be part of the fulfilment of the mandate of Jesus Christ when he made his proclamation in the synagogue so long ago. For it is in His name that we pray. AMEN