We love Dad!!

Yesterday was a special day.  Yes, it was Father's Day, and it was my hubby's birthday!!

I interviewed all the kids and put their answers in a big card.  Here are some high-lites:

If I could get or do anything for Dad for Father's Day, it would be...  "a 71" flat screen LCD TV."  --Jacob

Dad's a great dad because...  "he wrestles with us, and he lets me mow the lawn."  --Josh

Dad is funny when he...  "is around Uncle Greg."  --Cassandra   (They are brothers, and she is right.  They are something else when they get together.)

Dad's a great dad because...  "he buys us, like, the Wii, and he lets us go in the pool, and he swims in the pool with us, and he made us our log cabin room."  --Ben

If I could get or do anything for Dad for Father's Day, it would be...  "a phone, and a briefcase." --Ben

Dad's a great dad because... "he's great because he's great!"  --Sarah

What do you like to do with Daddy?  "I like to Dad tickle me." --Sarah

When is Daddy funny?  "That's so crazy, Daddy.  He's crazy."  --Sarah

What would you like to get Daddy for a present?  "Hmmmm,  hmmmmm,  how 'bout a present?"

What kind of present?  "A purple present."

I am so thankful for my wonderful husband!  A man who loves the Lord and strives to live for Him.. Who makes me laugh...Who can work on the engine, paint a picture, plant a garden, fix stuff that breaks, program a computer, teach science, and bake a cake!  One who prays with our kids and plays with our kids, and teaches our boys what it means to be a man.  Happy birthday and Father's Day, Man of Mine.  I love you!!!

 He's great at Nerf fights...even though he kind of cheats...

 He makes cool stuff like working, hospital  "light fingers!"

 He doesn't mind a rubber band fight--3 against one.

 He's a great story teller.

 He knows how to program robots!

 He's great at wrestling.

 Don't ask. ; )

 He makes stuff with us.

 He's good at snuggling.

 He spends time with us.

 He plays video games.

 He teaches us how to plant things,

 And use our hands to make things...

 He plays with us.

And swims with us.

And lets us help.

We love you, Dad!!!

Thoughts about peonies...and little surprises from God

I do not have a green thumb.  I don't even have a kind-of green thumb.  I really just can't grow flowers.  Well, to be honest, I don't really try that hard, even though I truly love them.  I wish I had a yard full of them, but I know they would probably die a sad death of dehydration, or nutrient starvation, or just simply bug-devouration.

Anyway, that said, you can probably guess that we don't have many flowers in our yard.  None, really, except a couple straggly looking perrenials in the front that try their best to survive my neglectfulness each year, and a couple of hanging baskets given to me by my sweet hubby because he knows I love them...that typically last a good half of the summer.  Almost.

And we also have peony bushes. 

And this beautiful flower actually grows in our backyard!  This is a real, honest-to-goodness picture of one of our own peonies! 

Late May to early June is peak peony season in our yard.  They truly are gorgeous.  I enjoy them outside, and I love the vases full of them that we bring in the house.  You see, the reason why we have such beautiful peonies is because you pretty much cannot kill them.  They are perfect for me!  Bushes full of vibrant color, and they take very little care.......for about 2 or 3 weeks.  After that, they droop, and then they are done for the summer.  No more blooms.  Just green bushes.  Which are nice, but not very colorful.

We have lived here in this house for 6 summers now, and the peonies came with the house.  Every year I debate over whether or not I really want to keep our beloved flowers, or if we should pull them up and replant something that would give me more joy for the entire summer.  That is, if I could keep something alive. 

Well, I consider those choices every year, and I honestly had been leaning toward saying good-bye to our peonies.  Until we traveled to China when we went to get Sarah.  That is where I learned something special about peonies, and it made me see again how God delights in surprising us in big and small ways.

I learned that the peony is China's most loved flower--widely considered its national flower.  It is known as the queen of flowers, and the flower of riches and honor.  Not only is it special to the Chinese people, but it is most highly revered in Henan Province, where the city of Luoyang is famous for them and  hosts a grand peony festival every spring. 

It just so happens that our daughter is not only from China, but hails from Henan Province as well. 

Needless to say, our sweet peony flowers are a little more precious to us these days, as year after year they grace our yard with beauty (and they are the only thing that does...).  Just to think years ago when someone was planting those bushes, they would have had no idea that God was going to use them to bless someone in a special way.  A little reminder that He always has a plan, and His plan was for a little girl from Henan to come and be our daughter. 

I think we'll keep them.

All we need is a parade!

Here is what Josh does when school is done...

He was out there a long time rigging up this 4th of July float!  (Don't worry, he had that chair secured pretty well, and I was always within reach when someone was sitting in it!)

 Cutest little passenger!

 Everyone gets a turn around the driveway!



Mr. Red in the back there is made of a cardboard box and pvc pipe, and a balloon tied in place somehow.  Josh is available to construct your float as well, if you would like.  Just meet us on our street on the 4th of July, since I am pretty sure there will be a parade........and we kinda need more floats.  : )

How beautiful Heaven must be...

Ed Kosten liked to wear bow ties.  : )  He blessed us with his amazing saxophone playing.  He had a twinkle in his eye and a seemingly permanent smile.  He was quick to laugh and tease, and always had an encouraging word to say.  He loved the Lord.  And I mean he truly loved the Lord with all his heart.  He praised God with everything he had in him.  He lived for Him, and loved to tell others about Him.  Ed was one of those people.   You know--the real deal.  I didn't know him that well, but I KNEW him.  He walked with the Lord. 

And today, I sang at his funeral. 

This past Sunday evening at church, the sermon was about Heaven.  I was in the nursery, so I didn't get to hear it, but our pastor told us that after the service that night, Ed came up to him and proclaimed, "Sounds great!  Let's go!"  The next day he had a heart attack, and on Tuesday, that is exactly what he did.  He went to Heaven to walk with Jesus in Person. 

Ed left behind a wife, a daughter, and something like 5 married sons, and they are all grieving today, as well as our church family... but Ed is home.  Doesn't that sound wonderful?  Finally HOME....

Do you ever stop and really think about what happens after we leave this earth?  Sometimes I look around me and pay attention to the people passing by.  Everyone going about their business.  We are all busy with something--running to Little League, helping the kids with homework, work issues, endless cleaning, honey-do lists and bill paying....busy, busy, dreadfully busy.  But sometimes we need to stop--
and realize that this is not all there is.  We are only on our path to eternity.  What is that going to look like?  How can we be sure of WHERE we will spend it?  Can we really know? 

Well, I have good news.  We really can know!  1 John 5:13 says,  "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; THAT YE MAY KNOW that ye have eternal life."  We don't have to hope we have it.  The Bible says we can know for sure.  : ) 

You see, it all comes down to one thing, and that is our problem with sin.  We all do it because we were born into it.  We are all guilty of sin, which keeps us apart from God in His holiness.   And according to the Bible in Romans 6:23, "the wages of sin (our payment for sin) is death."  (Meaning eternal separation from God.  Other passages explain it to be a place of torment eternally.)  "But the gift of God is eternal life!"  Did you catch that?  The GIFT of God.  It is a gift, not something we earn.  Once you do something to earn a gift, it ceases to be one.  It can't be a gift if you work for it!  God loves us.  He loves YOU.  He made the ultimate sacrifice out of His great love, and that was sending His beloved Son, Jesus, to take the punishment for our sins as He died the death of crucifixion on a Roman cross.  And then he defeated death three days later as He came to life again.  He died for everyone's sins who ever lived, but each one of us has to decide if we will accept the gift of His salvation. or not. 

I love John chapter 10.  Here is some of it:  v.9-11, 27-30--"I am the door:  by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.  The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:  I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  I am the good shepherd:  the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep...My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  My Father, which gave them to me is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.  I and my Father are one."  How awesome is that??  Do you want to go back and read it again?  Go ahead. :)

Someday, those of us who know Him will spend forever with Him.  I don't know exactly what Heaven will be like, but I do know it will be good!  Imagine a place with no tears, pain or fear.  1 Corinthians 2:9 says,  "But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."  So we have no earthly idea what is in store for us...but our friend Ed is experiencing it now.  I am so happy for him!

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!  If you have any questions about all of this, or just want to know more, you can go here for a start.  : )

How beautiful Heaven must be...  See you soon, Ed...

Enjoy your weekend,  friends!!

Filling up the pool...

Ice cold out of the hose...

She does not mind the arctic chill...not one bit.

 Brave?  Or crazy?

Bellies in the water...1-2-3!

Updates...

 Hi there!

I remembered that I had mentioned some precious kids in previous posts, and thought you might like to know some updates about them. 

In this post  I told you about Corrie and Vanya.  As far as I know, Corrie still doesn't have a family.  Please keep praying for her.  (To be honest, I am praying that God would call US to adopt her!!  But maybe you are her family??)  But Vanya DOES have a family committed to him!!  God is good, and He totally came through for that sweet boy.  Now we can pray that all will go well with his adoption and transition.

And here I told you about a sweet little boy from our church named Micah, who is battling stage 4 liver/lung cancer.  Well, if you have been wondering, his story has truly been a roller coaster ride.  At first everything was looking really great.  The cancer in his liver shrunk dramatically, and the 20 tumors in his lungs were reduced to 4!  However, later, while the cancer in his liver has continued to shrink, and that is incredibly awesome,  the number of tumors in his lungs increased to around 8 or 10, and now those have begun to grow. 



He loves penguins!!



Micah is still not able to eat normally...I'm not quite sure why that is, but he has a feeding tube down his nose at all times. : (  And he has been sick off and on with his rounds of chemo.  I know that is typically normal, but normal or not, it is so hard to watch your child suffering, so our friends are having a hard time.  They are trusting God, but they are also discouraged that those tumors are not leaving or shrinking.  Please pray for them.

I hope you are all having a great weekend!  God has been teaching me so much lately about what it really means to pray and serve Him.  The time is short.  Let's not waste our time while we are here.  We only have one shot at this life.  Let's make it count!  I can't wait to go to go to church tomorrow.  I hope you have a wonderful Lord's Day too!

ONE YEAR LATER!

Dear friends,

Today we had a typical school day, the kids played outside, I did laundry, Sarah jumped on the trampoline, we ate left-overs........

In short, we had a very normal day.  And a really beautiful one, I might add.

But to our family, June 1 will forever be etched in our memories.  One year ago this evening, we were told that Sarah had cancer, and our world seemed to stop spinning.  My mind continally goes back to these days just last year.  Beginning a few days earlier, Sarah had started crying a lot.  By June 1, she was absolutely miserable.  I remember her lying on the couch, just sobbing nonstop.  When she wasn't crying, she was sleeping.  I had never seen anything like it.  I guess her body would just shut down, and she slept for hours, only waking to cry again.  So, we knew we had to take her in for that cat scan the doctor had said she would need, even though we had planned on taking her later in the week.  The doctor was thinking they would find that the problem was glaucoma, or something like that.  We were shocked when the diagnosis was cancer.  And not only in the one eye where it was quite visible, but there were tiny tumors in her good eye as well.

The large tumor was growing so quickly.  Day by day we would watch it changing, and within just a few days that eye that had been tiny and blind had grown so much, it looked downright scary to me.  The tumor filled up her entire eyeball.

And that was the beginning of our cancer journey.  You can read the whole story over on the right if you haven't been with me long.  Just scroll down in the archives to the very beginning--June 2010.  It's a good story.  A really good story!  God did AMAZING things for Sarah and for us!

Memorial Day weekend last year...

Memorial Day weekend this year!



Then...



Now!

First days in the hospital...



Not in the hospital anymore! 

She was such a trooper.  We were amazed at how well she did.

 Playing at the park after her first round of chemo..

And loving life today.  : )

We are so thankful every day for our sweet and wonderful girl!  How blessed we are!  Thank you everyone who prayed for us during Sarah's cancer journey.  What Satan intended for evil, God intended for good, and we are rejoicing today. : ) 

Praise the Lord!