Hansel and Gretel

Last week Trinity and Gracie Lynn participated in a drama camp at our cultural center. It is a wonderful program sponsored by Missoula Children’s Theater. They spent the week learning the musical and then they presented it to the public on Saturday. They both did an outstanding job had a WONDERFUL time. Trinity was a “Cook” and Gracie Lynn was a “Nasty”

Poor Little Eden

Don’t you feel sorry for her! Saturday night after watching her brother win 1st place in the baseball tournament, Eden has an accident with the bat. We are actually not sure exactly how it happened but a group of kids were playing and somehow the end of the bat caught Eden’s cheek just right. Dad had to handle the crisis since I was returning home after missing my flight on Friday night due to weather issues. Anyway, Tim who does not handle any sort of crisis well, did a great job! They were able to use some glue at the ER and avoid stitches. Wouldn’t you know this would happen to the most cautious, careful child of the bunch!

I love you too

I have spent the last 4 days in southwest Kansas. My mother and I traveled here to visit with my Grandma. She has been in a nursing home for several years. She is in ok health physically but it has been some time since she was mentally alert. It is really rather sad as I can not imagine why God continues to let her live in such a way when she could be free of all of it in Heaven. Anyway, I wanted to see her before we left the country. We have visited her several times each day and she has been unresponsive. At times her eyes have been open but she has not communicated with us at all. This evening I went to tell her goodbye. I had prayed that God would give me just one moment of recognition with her. I miss her so much and would love to be able to share with her all that God is doing in our lives right now. We stayed with her for a long while and she was again unresponsive. As I told her goodbye, I hugged her and told her that I loved her. She looked right into my eyes and said, "I love you too" What a gift!! Those are the only words she has spoken to me the entire week. What a wonderful memory God allowed me to have.

God Speaks

The past week has been challenging. We are trying to get into the swing of summer, planning for a HUGE garage sale on Saturday and I am leaving town for a week on Monday. So, it has been a full week! Wednesday night I was exhausted. I was physically and emotionally drained. I had spent most of the day working on garage sale items. Tim had taken the kids out for ice cream and they came home and scurried around the garage taking in all of the items we have for sale. They went upstairs and I broke down. I was thinking about how selfish I was to ask my sweet children to sell their stuff, leave all that they know and move to another country. Really, I was thinking that I bet they wished they could be anyone else’s kids so that they did not have to deal with all of this. As I was bawling my eyes out I really felt like God was telling me to go read some of the blogs I look at daily. The first one I went to was Bethany’s. She wrote this entry that very night.

God Knew - Didn't He
When God chose to let Jesse and I raise Jessie Lyric, Journey, Bridge, Story and baby Manhattan...

He knew what He was doing.

Didn't He?

He knew our strengths, our weaknesses, our talents, our issues, our future...

He knew it all,

And He chose to let Jessie Lyric, Journey, Bridge, Story and baby Manhattan pass through life under our watch.

What a humbling honor.

What a relief.

God knew...

He knew the mistakes we would make,

the sins we would commit,

the courage we would wield,

the lives we would change,

the hearts we would break -

He chose to let Jessie Lyric, Journey, Bridge, Story and baby Manhattan experience life through our triumphs and our mistakes.

They will be stronger, they will be wiser, they will be tested-

Somehow, they will be exactly who God created them to be.

Isn't it a relief?

God's will is done through our strengths and our weaknesses.

God knew...

Can I tell you that I needed to read that so bad! I needed to be reminded that God knew and that my children will all be stronger and wiser and exactly who He made them to be.
I am constantly amazed at how He is speaking to me through this.