Monday, March 19, 2007

Our Pictures

If you read in our last blog on Sam's website, you will know why his individual picture is not on here. We are going to get his done soon. If you click on the pictures, you can zoom in.

Susanna-5 years

Luke-3 years

Elijah-10 months

Our Easter Picture

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Dad's birthday is this week. Last year at this time, we were still in a bit of shock. This year, we just miss him so much! I didn't want to write a sad entry so I thought I would let it be a little lighthearted. These are just some memories that I have of my Dad. If any one wants to add on, just post a comment


Top Ten Memories of my Dad:
10. He always beat the local oldies radio guy, Eggman, in any contests that he had. Dad could answer any trivia questions about oldies music. He was insane.
9. He could not stand it when ever a referee would call a ball on a decent pitch or a net violation on me in softball and volleyball. He would sometimes almost get a little embarrassing. He also would sit behind the batter when I was pitching and yell for the batter to swing at terrible pitches. My teammates always got a kick out of this because the batter would think that it was their coach yelling at them and swing.
8. He hated to see any of his kids cry. He could not stand it.
7. I remember him always telling me that I was his favorite. I'M JUST KIDDING! Just checking to see if my sisters and brother are reading.
6. After a surgery a couple of years ago,while he was in recovery,he told me on the phone that Mom had just shot him with a bazooka. He was totally serious, He said he had to get a nurse to help. He also kept telling Mom that he wanted a steak for his dinner. Mom told him that they were having spaghetti instead. When they brought him his spaghetti, He took one bite out of it and said, "Man, this is the best steak I've ever had." I know that this sounds like we were making fun of him but when he got some of his memory back, he laughed hysterically at all of the things that he had said.
5. He knew everyone. I have never heard him say anything mean about anyone. He was loved by everyone.
4. Him and Mom always holding hands in the car. Sure, they had their arguments, but we as kids always felt secure in their love for each other. As kids, it was kind of embarrassing how they were but now it is just sweet memories.
3. Dad had a way for making each of us girls to feel beautiful and special. He would always whistle at us on Sundays when Mom would have us all dressed up. I remember one homecoming that I was getting ready for and my hair would not do anything, It was frizzy and puffy and terrible. I remember just wanting to not go and Dad told me that I looked great. The sad thing is that I believed him and went feeling beautiful. Those pictures from that night are dreadful! I cannot believe that I believed him. But, he just had a way of doing that.
2. Dad playing with the grand kids. He loved them all so much. We used to go over and see him and he would play with the kids the whole time. He let them play hide and go seek and let them help him walk the dogs. They loved it! Susanna carries a picture of him in her purse all of the time. We will always long for the day to see him again.
1. Dad's love for the Lord. Dad's life that he lived was a powerful testimony to his love for Jesus. He lived a life that many people knew that there was something different about him. It was genuine and it was real. Many people have told us what an impact he had on their lives. Even right before Dad died, he could not stay awake if he sat down to read his Bible, so Mom said he would be standing with his Bible on the bed reading and praying.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Updates...

Today, we had speech therapy for Sam in the morning while Jeff took Elijah to the Doctor. He's been running a fever since Saturday and pulling on his ears,but no ear infection. He must just be teething. Jeff HATES taking the kids to get any kind of shots or tests. He just cannot stand for them to be in any pain. I was pretty sure that today's visit would be pain-free but they had to prick Eli's finger. OOPs!
After Sam's therapy, we decided to go to the toy library. This is a place for families of preschoolers that can check out any educational toys,books,games,etc... It is a really neat idea. I like to rotate the kids toys anyways because they only seem to play with them for so long and then get tired of them. They have so many great things to make learning fun. We are busy trying to prepare Susanna for school. We have entered her into 2 lotteries for charter schools in our area. Her odds are not good,but we are praying that God will help us with this decision. At one school, there are about 350 applicants for 25 spots and at the other one there are about 185 applicants for about 20 spots. We will know at the end of this month if she will get a spot. If she gets in, the other kids will get in automatically. Jeff and I went to a meeting for parents interested in this school and were very impressed. The kids wear uniforms,the parents have to each volunteer for 60 hours during the school year, if the kids do not behave they are removed from the school-there is always someone else waiting for their spot,they operate on their own,etc... We have heard so many great things about the school and know some of the teachers personally. It is so scary to have to make these kind of decisions concerning your children. We just pray that God will close the door or show us clearly what to do.
Tonight, I'm going to try and find the kids something to wear for their easter pictures that we're getting done on Wednesday. Hopefully,we'll find some good bargains. It gets expensive trying to dress 4 kids. Susanna's stuff always costs more. I don't know what we'd do with 4 girls.
Jeff is going out of town on Thursday for a leadership conference with our church,but I will not have to do the complete lockdown(previous post) since he will be home that night. Our church is making a big change by starting another church in UNION county(where we live). My brother in law, Chris Brown, will be the campus director. We are very excited to be able to help with getting it started. Well, I'm not much help besides keeping the nursery full=),but Jeff will be. Please pray for Chris as he will be taking up an extraordinary task. The chuch is hoping for several hundred on the opening Sunday which will be On Easter Sunday. God has done some amazing things with Chris's life and we're sure that there is more to come. Last Sunday, 50 people gave their lives to the Lord!

Saturday, March 3, 2007

The Lockdown

Today, Jeff and I were able to get quite a few things done. We joined the YMCA a couple of weeks ago and so we were able to go today. The kids have a program that they get to go to and they do a different little activity every half hour. On top of that, the childcare is free. The gym by us charges for childcare which about doubled the monthly dues,so we are relly excited about it being free. Now, if we can just stick to it.=)Jeff is going to be in Baltimore this next week so I will be getting ready to put all security procedures in place. For those of you who don't know, I am a chicken when Jeff is not here. I put the highchair in front of the back door, turn on every outside light that we have, deadbolt everything,have my cellphone charged by the bed(in case the phone lines get cut),etc... I'm just kidding, well sort of...When Jeff is out of town, I always gain respect for single parents. I don't know how they do it. We just rented the first season of LOST. We've never seen it but have heard that it is really good. The last movie we watched at home, A Night With The King, was so interesting. It was a great movie! The kids are in bed early tonight so we're going to start our movie.
Please remember our niece, Emma, in your prayers. On Thursday, she was having seizures and they are still not sure what is causing them. Right now, she is on medication to control them.