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Friday, January 30, 2015

speed bumps
They are all around us.  This last week we had a bunch of them.  First the dryer broke.  We had to get a new dryer vent, pulley and belt.  My gracious mom has been drying all of our laundry.  The kids were like bonus...no folding for us.  The wonderful worker man let Miah help him and even gave him $.50.  Miah thought it was cool.  He had 9 kiddos and was a sweet grandpa. 
Then we had the tub fixed.  The kids happen to break the drain stop.  Dave and I tried our hand at fixing it for a few hours on different occasions but we had to call the plumber in.  He was a nice guy that let Miah hang around and watch and talk shop and Star Wars with him.  We would of never got it ourselves he said. 
Last but not least the furnace guy came (home school dad, adoptive family and a Christian) to fix our thermostat.  Sweet big guy.  He had to duck walking through our hallways.  His kiddos were all grown up but we shared about life, cancer, God, homeschooling, behavior disorders and foster care and we even got teary in between there.  He was a wonderful man and talked to the kiddos about homeschooling.  Just letting them know how special they are to be able to be home schooled.  He ended up not charging us which was a huge blessing from God. 
That night I took Olivia to get her throat swabbed for strep and had another great conversation with the Dr.  They were also a home school family.  He shared a lot with us about how much fun they had as a family traveling and schooling the kiddos and what a blessing it is to be able to share your whole life with your kiddos.  24/7.  He went on to talk about Booker T Washington and the Plymouth Plantation and all sorts of places they've stopped when they traveled.  By this time Olivia was totally done and bored.  No strep for her which was good.  First cold of the season.   
 The whole day was filled with opportunities.  Instead of looking at the things like problems it’s given me opportunities to meet new people, to learn other’s stories, to be a voice  to remember to be grateful.  These speed bumps blessed us.

So today,  look at your life and the speed bumps that are there. We all have them. Some bigger than others.   Do you see them as stopping points? Or as places where you can learn about yourself and try and celebrate life? Motherhood is full of them. They sprinkle our days and sometimes they feel like months full of speed bump moments.  Our speed bumps always work in 3's.  And a few hundred dollars later!!!  You know, you’ll get around them. And when you do you’ll look back and think about how that very thing that seemed to stop you made you stronger, more determined, and more full of tenacity. 

This little man is so delicious..


.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

We have a wee little one in the house...

We have a fresh little babe here with us for awhile.  We are a bridge foster home for little babes during the transition into their adoptive families home.  So we are loving this right now.  Sleepless nights and all. The kids have had a timer set every 20 minutes and they are constantly rotating and doing shifts.  They are arguing over him otherwise.  No jealousy at this house. They are all deeply in love even though it's temporary.  It's such an honor and privilage to step in for a little bit and love.   We may be a little absent..pray for this little one, their adoptive family and the birth mom who made this courageous decision..

Wednesday, January 28, 2015



Happy 10th Birthday Jonah


Time always goes so fast....
trying to enjoy every minute of it
you will always be a miracle baby to us
can't wait to see what God's plan is for you
we love you so much!












you and Olivia will always be irish twins


I can't believe we let you have long hair...
I loved it.... Dave did not
















Last years cake..My favorite!!




 You are always sitting totally weird and uncomfortable...







We used our Culvers gift cards for lunch...















 














Odin  did the whole cake.



You are loving
kind, stubborn, helpful, compassionate,
full of kisses 24/7 for Gabe.
You love playing with your action figures, playing with Legos, playing board games, very dramatic, quick tempered.
You always have very deep conversations and questions for us.  You love to write to all your pen pals and send letters to God in hopes to get an answer some day.  
You have a heart for the Lord.
We love you Jonah David!

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Dave update

Dave just had his 4th check up after radiation. For 2 years every 3 months Dave has to go to meet with his team at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota .We come back again in April, July, October, and January. We spend 2 days in Rochester Minnesota. Its a long 5 hour drive but worth the time since we fully believe through God's hands they saved Dave's life. The doctors are so wonderful and loving. 


This is our view from his floor...


Everyone there is so nice. Dave is doing very well overall. His sense of taste is coming back so he really has to watch his diet and make sure he continues to eat well. They want him to keep his plant based diet as much as possible. He doesn't have to become a vegetarian but they want him eating mainly veggies instead of meat. This is quite a change for him but Dave seems to know he has to do it and is not complaining at all. They also want him to continue to get plenty of good rest and not get too stressed out. This is hard to do for any of us but especially for Dave since he is so passionate about his job and his family. We're working on that too. He also needs to continue to exercise. His nerves are regenerating so it is becoming easier for him to do more. So far he walks and runs a little on the treadmill. Each week he does a little more. The scar tissue in his neck is OK. They told him as long as he does his stretches every day he should be OK. 

The worst part of the exams are when they use a special scope on Dave to look in his mouth and back of his throat. It is a tube with a camera on it and they run it up his nose and down the back of his throat. I never knew how much it hurt Dave because he never complained. I am amazed at his pain tolerance but this time it hurt pretty bad. His eyes were watering and he was wincing as they ran the tube up his nose. They have to do it but it must be awful. We were trying to count how many times he's had this done and stopped at about 30. It never gets easy for him. Good news is that they did not see anything of concern on the scope. After all was done they gave Dave another thumbs up and sent us home. He has to do some follow up tests here at home and can now go see the dentist. The dental work is going to be tough and costly. The radiation really messed up his teeth so we are not looking forward to what they will say he needs done. We're praying for peace on that part of this journey.  

Tried my hand at the lobby puzzle.  Got 4 pieces.  I would love to be the person who does the final leg of one of those things. I always wonder how long it takes to get done. 



Thank you for all your continued support and those of you who made this trip possible. Thank you mom and dad for watching half the kids and Jasmine watching the other half.  We couldn't do this without you.  This was a whirl wind of a week.  More on that to come.
We love you dearly!


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