Half-Way

We are half way through the 2012 year.  It's hard for me to believe.  Where does the time go?  The second half of the year always seems to move so much faster than the first half of the year.  I just blinked once and was transported from January 1st to June 30th.  I hate to think how fast the second half of the year is going to go by.

There are so many big things happening over the next six months.

• Hayden is going to Philmont, hiking with the Boy Scouts
• Ryan and Makenna each turn a year older and School starts back
• High School Football
• My trip to Haiti
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas

These are the things that just pop into my head.  If I were to pull out my calendar there would be a list of things that is about 3 times longer.

I'm looking forward to the 2nd half of this year.  I'm anticipating many good and wonderful things that God has in store for us!

FAITH and the Power of Prayer

My Mom called today.  My Dad had a visit with Dr. Black, one of the docs following him for the lung cancer.  The broncoscopy that was completed on June 20th came back with all negative tissue samples.  Dr. Black decided to repeat the chest x-ray.  The chest x-ray revealed that the mass was much smaller.  Dr. Black feels that maybe they made a mistake and what they were actually seeing was some sort of lung infection.  Regardless, they are going to take a wait and see approach.  My Dad will have another chest x-ray in August and we will move forward from there.

Thanks to all of you for your words of encouragement and your prayers.  God is Good!  We only need to have Faith that he will take care of us according to HIS plan.

Everything and Nothing from Essex: Spaghetti Strip

Everything and Nothing from Essex: Spaghetti Strip: brought to you by the self-feeding experts, Chubbs and Carter

This is one of the Blogs that I subscribe to.  I wanted to share this because it made me smile.  I spend the better part of my days working with children who have difficulty with feeding and eating.  These difficulties are from a multitude of reasons.  However, regardless of the reason, my main priority is for my babies to enjoy food from every perspective.

Today's Blog from Everything and Nothing from Essex is priceless!

myLIFEspeaks

My LIFE Speaks is a wonderful organization working to make a difference in Haiti.  The following information comes directily off of their website.

Vision Statement

myLIFEspeaks exists to speak up for those around the world who can’t speak for themselves by bringing LIFE-giving aid to orphans with and without special needs and showing all people around the globe their worth. This will happen by allowing orphans with special needs and typical orphans the opportunity to grow up together in the same family environment. When complete, myLIFEspeaks efforts in Haiti will include a campus with orphan housing, community center, medical center, and more.

Mission Statement

myLIFEspeaks exists to SPEAK UP for those who can’t SPEAK for themselves while allowing people in the United States and around the globe the opportunity to be a part of something BIGGER than themselves.

Outline of Problem

With a population of over 9 million, Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Haiti currently has almost 500,000 orphans. Recent estimates have indicated over 50% of the population is under the age of 15; 80% of the country is unemployed; and almost 50% are illiterate. In a society with such staggering poverty, children with special needs are often overlooked completely. myLIFEspeaks seeks to provide the best quality of LIFE possible to orphans with and without special needs through providing safe housing, quality education, and the best possible medical care in a campus setting.

I also want you to Meet the Kings.  They are a wonderful family who are part of the the myLIFEspeaks Organization.  The Kings will be moving to Haiti to be a Family for the children of Haiti.

In October of this year, I am planning on going to Haiti with the King Family as part of a Medical Mission Group.  Please pray for the children of Haiti, the King Family, and those of us who are preparing to embark on this trip.

You'll see more about Haiti in the upcoming months.  Lots of planning and preparing in the months ahead.   I'm very excited about this opportunity and for what God has planned!

Let's Go Scouting. . . (part 1)

I LOVE Scouting and everything that it represents, be it Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts or Girl Scouts.  All three of my children are involved in Scouting.

Makenna is a Brownie in Girl Scouts.  Today she participated in archery.  They have an archery program at her school.  I've been trying to convice her to try archery.  Each time I bring it up, she just walks away with no interest.  I was excited to see this picture of her today.  Not that I think she has suddenly changed her mind and wants to participate in archery.  But, I'm thrilled to see her stepping out of her comfort zone and trying something that is not all frills and lace and Barbie dolls.





I Love everything that Girl Scouts has to offer and teach Makenna about the world, from respect for herself and her peers to respect for the country that she lives in.  Girl Scouting is a powerful program that has the opportunity to make such a huge impact on the lives of so many young girls and future women of America.





This year is the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouting in America.  Makenna has had the opportunity to be a part of many wonderful activities this year from Tea Parties to Un-Birthday Parties, this has been a year of celebration.  Next summer, Makenna and her troop are going to Savannah, Georgia to visit the home of Juliet Low, the founder of Girl Scouts.

If you have young girls that are entering kindergarten or older and are interested in learning more about Girl Scouts check out the the Girl Scout website. 

More to come at a later date about my boys and their involvement with Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

Just Another Day

Today was a typical day.  Lots of planning and organization for the five of us so that we can each get to all the places we needed to be throughout the day.  Makenna has Girl Scout Day Camp this week.  She was so excited this morning as she prepared to leave with her Daddy to catch her ride.  She was extremely tired this afternoon.  She was asleep by 7:00 pm and she did not eat dinner.  Twice we tried to wake her up but she was so disoriented, we just put her back to bed.

Hayden and I juiced some blueberries and some strawberries and ate them over some pound cake with a little cool whip.  Let me just say for the record, I love my juicer.  It's been one of the best investments I've made.

RJ is hanging out with his friends across the street for the second night in a row.  Moving to town has been a huge blessing for him.  He very seldom is in the house.  He's always out hanging with his friends.

I talked with my Mom this evening.  All the lung tissue samples came back negative for cancer.  The Doctor says the cancer is in there, they just can't seem to get a sample of it.  Still looking for treatment options.  The Doctor is going to present Daddy as part of a case study to a group of Doctors to look at treatment options.  Daddy finished his Chemo and he has one more day of Radiation.  Then he has 4 weeks of rest followed by more tests and then more decisions about what to do next regarding his brain cancer.

Please continue to pray for my Dad.  Pray for strength.  Pray for comfort.  Pray for God's will to be done.

The Grass is Greener. . .

I was on Facebook a few days ago and I read a post that caused a slight twinge of jealousy raise it's ugly head in myself.  I'm not accoustomed to feeling jealous.  My life, though far from perfect, is good, I have no reasons to be jealous of anyone or anything.  This jealousy thing caused me quite a bit of concern and I went desperately searching for a way to resolve this conflict within myself.

The answer came in a "pin" that I came upon on Pintrest.  "The grass is greener where you water it" - Neil Barringham. 

God speaks so subtly, that many times we miss the answers we are looking for because we do not pay attention.  God was letting me know that I need to "water", cultivate, and grow my own "grass".  If I want a better relationship with God, I need to pray more and read his words more diligently.  If I want a better relationship with my husband, I need to spend more time cultivating that garden.  If I want a better relationship with my children, I need to spend more time fertilizing their soil and pruning their weeds.  By paying attention to my "yard", I don't have time to worry about what my neighbors are doing in their "yards" thus having no need to be jealous.

Today I pulled out the water hose and got to watering. . .