My Natalie

It is so hard to believe that 8 years has passed since my very first, beautiful baby girl came into this world. We so enjoyed cuddling her and meeting her needs. We laughed constantly during her toddler days as she was learning to communicate and have fun. Never before had I seen a child hum every time they were concentrating. Then she became the big sister that would pile the toys on top of "sissy." She was just helping of course. All too soon she began kindergarten and that started her love for reading. She enjoys school and does well at it. With each year that has gone by she has grown a little more. She tends to be on the shy side around strangers, but is learning to overcome her fears. I have watched her struggle to do things, but in the end I have watched her enjoy the outcome from branching out. What a joy and privilege to have Natalie in our home. She is overflowing with emotion and that can be hard to deal with at times, but I cannot imagine life without her. Natalie excepted Christ just before she turned 5 years old. It has been fun to watch her grow in her knowledge of her Savior. I pray that she will continue to grow in His grace and knowledge as well as in her academics. I pray that she will always know that we are here for her and that we love her unconditionally. I love you Natalie and I hope you have a wonderful birthday and year to come.

It is absolutely amazing to me that it is time for school to start. The classroom is set up (real frogs and all), and the lesson plans are made. It is so exciting, but also such a great responsibility. This will be my first year with 4th grade. I pray that God will work in our class this year. The theme of the year is "Exalt His Name," From Psalm 34:3. At the end of that verse is the word "together." I want us all to learn to work as a team to get things done. When we are cleaning, I want a team. When we are working on school work, I want a team. Most of all I want a team that is going to strive to grow spiritually together. I believe that when working together we can go so much further. I am looking forward to what God has for us this year. I hope you will all pray with me that God will be exalted in all that we do.

Blogging vs. Facebook

Hello all my dear blogging friends. I promise that I have not disappeared. Facebook just seems to have taken up more time lately. Sitting here tonight though I could think of nothing that I wanted to do more than come here to update this blog. LOTS of things have happened lately. First we had the "Spokane stomach flu and fever" Half the city seems to have gotten it. It doesn't seem to last long, but you sure feel horrible while you have it. Right after we were better from the flu Rachel was getting down from the trampoline and broke her arm in two places. Both, thankfully are buckly fractures, and did not need to be set. She went in for x-rays today and they said that the bones are lining up nicely. She will have one more set of x-rays next week. The doctors will get together to view them to make sure they all agree that the bones are doing what they are supposed to. They do this because there is only a small window of opportunity to fix the bones if they decide to shift. So far all has been good news though. For the 4th of July we went out to the Harding's property in Idaho. We had so much fun spending the day there with our friends.
Monty is struggling with his back. He has been put on light duty at work. It will hurt the paycheck, but God knows our needs and He knew this was going to happen. Hopefully the light duty work will only have to last for a week and he can be released back to his normal job. In the meantime we are doing everything we can to make sure he heals up. The doctor says his back is strained so no more twisting and lifting for a bit. He has some pain meds that help, but still let him function. We are confident that God is taking care of us and will continue to do so. The Bible tells us that there will be times of testing and struggles, but He never leaves our side. Right now is a great time to know that.
I am continuing to do the paperwork for Best Loading. What a blessing to have that to do here at home. In the fall I will begin teaching full time. I'm so excited for the opportunity that God is giving me to work at Faith Baptist Academy. I can't think of anything I would want to do more. I will miss the teenagers, but I will still be there to help them. For now it is God's will that I work in the elementary and I'm excited and ready to get started.
I guess for now I will get going. I will try to be a little more faithful to my blog. Have a great day.

Easter 2009

Here it is, Easter 2009. What a blessing this day is to me. I remember as a kid how much I enjoyed Easter, but for completely different reasons. I loved going on a hunt for our Easter baskets (mom hid them in the dryer one year) and then I would sit and enjoy all my candy in my new dress and fancy shoes. I still love the whole basket and new dresses for my girls part, but Easter is so much more than that. Easter is about Christ. Without His resurrection His death would be meaningless. As most of you know I am not a person to cry very much, but my heart broke a little today. I sat next to my cousin (We just very recently got back in touch after over 15 years) and during the invitation he raised his hand about salvation. On his own he went forward and spent some time talking with Pastor Donley (I'm so thankful for our church staff). No, he didn't receive Christ today, but God is working in his heart. Without giving any details that aren't necessary, I'm just amazed that he is coming to church at all. God is still in the miracle working business. I don't have any idea what God will do in the future, but He wants those souls that are still out there and He wants to use us to go bring them in. It was such a great reminder to me about the real reason for Easter.

I hope you all enjoy the pics



Daddy and his girls

Natalie, my little princess
Rachel and her curtsy


Hailey with her shy smile

Yes, We are still alive. I can't believe how much running we have been doing. Between work, church, meetings, and all the duties of home there hasn't been much time to spare. I was planning on posting pics of the girls Easter dresses, but at the moment I can't find my camera. Sorry, but you will have to wait. Monty was wondering why I kept saying "I want my camera." I thought that maybe if I said it over and over, it might just pop into view. I was wrong. I still have no idea where it is. I'm sure none of that mattered much to anyone.

Like I said, so much has been going on, but God still has time in all of that to work on our hearts. Amazing how that never ends!!! The theme this year is Making A Difference. Each Sunday we are reminded to reach out and make a difference in the lives of others. Sometimes putting yourself out there can be scary and uncomfortable, but what if doing just that helps change their future. God has put some in my path lately that are easy to help. I pray that He gives me the chance to just be a friend. He has also put some others in my path that I don't know what the outcome will be. It is a time of stretching. Time to put myself out there and just let God take care of the circumstances. I can't make people do right and I can't make them be successful in their Christian lives. I can however be the instrument that God uses to bring them back to Him. It will be interesting to see what God will do. It is, after all, God that makes the difference.

I hope and pray that each of you are having a wonderful time in whatever it is that you are doing. May God bless each of you.

Just Rambling!

Once again I can't believe how much time has passed since I have posted anything. Life seems to pass so quickly these days. I have been working extra with the 1st grade class while my mother in law has been out sick. For more than one reason I'm glad she is doing much better. Mostly just because I care about her health and how she is feeling, but I do have to say that getting back to my "normal" crazy schedule will be nice. They are a sweet class, but the more I was in there the more it affirms in me that I LOVE being with the high schoolers. I'm a weirdo I know. Somehow those teenagers have earned my love and loyalty. I would have never imagined that I would like working with them, but it really is my privilege to do so. There has been so much going on in the past couple of weeks besides working in the school. God has been working over time in my heart about my attitude toward people. Pastor preached a message on Friendship the other night. Wow!!!! Just what I needed. I need to be the right kind of friend no matter what I feel. My friendship should not be based on how I feel they are treating me. I need to reach out anyway and be sincere in what I do and say. I am so thankful that I have a Pastor that is willing to preach the truths of God's word. I don't always like to hear where I'm wrong, but it is needful and right. I'm still struggling with a few things, but I have been praying that God will help my heart. Bitterness is a terrible thing. I've been there and I don't want to go back. Thank you all for checking in. Have a great day.

Well, day two of Spirit week is done. Twin day is always fun, and many of the kids were hard to choose from when judging. Of course I think the cutest pair is right here. They didn't win today, but they had fun anyway.

One of the little girls in Natalie's class ended up without a twin so I was her twin today. We ended up winning and she was very proud. It was a blessing to be able to help her be a part of the fun. She gave me a big hug at the end of the day. I'll update again tomorrow.

Cute Nerds!!!

Nerd day is always an interesting time at school. How often do you spend extra time and money to look bad??? I have to admit though that Natalie is about the cutest nerd I've ever seen. Her missing 4 front teeth only added to the cuteness. I sort of dressed up, but took clothes to change into. I can't concentrate that way. We enjoyed our day.



Natalie is definitely a cuter nerd than I am.
Teaching 4 out of 5 days for the past three weeks has added a whole new business to life. We are keeping our heads above water. I think when it is done and life is back to "normal" we will probably all collapse and stare into space for awhile. It has been an interesting experience moving back to the younger grade. High school and 1st grade are worlds apart. I have enjoyed my time and I know that God is meeting our needs through all of it. I will definitely look forward to being with the teens again. What a bunch of turkeys they are, but I love every minute of being with them.
I know many of you read my previous post and I will just tell you that God is working in my heart. There is no circumstance to hard for Him. He allows things for our good. I still don't understand it all and yes, some of it hurts, but I know it is not mine to handle alone. My job is to be faithful and move forward.
Thank you for checking in. Have a great day

God will make this trial a blessing.

Have you ever heard the song, "God will make this trial a blessing though it brings me to my knees, though my tears flow like a river, yet in Him there's sweet relief."? It has been a trying week for me. I've been extra busy with extra teaching, but outside of all of that there have been a few trials that I haven't quite known how to face. Really, they may not seem big to others, but I guess they have just sort of piled on to where the weight has been somewhat heavy. The Ladies Ensemble that I sing with sang this morning. The words spoke to my heart. "Bow the knee. Trust the heart of the Father when the answer goes beyond what you can see. Bow the knee. Lift your eyes toward heaven and believe the one who holds eternity, and when you don't understand the purpose of His plan, in the presence of the King, Bow the knee." As Pastor preached another song came to mind. "Although there've been times I've been out of His will, I've never been out of His care." Through every trial and every misunderstanding God is there. I simply must lean on Him. I don't have to understand why, I just have to know He cares and it is for my good. I look at the circumstances of the past and I know that He worked what seemed bad at the time into something amazing. He is the same God now.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONTY!!!!

My wonderful husband's birthday is tomorrow. I'm so thankful for the husband that God gave to me. He is everything I could have dreamed and more. He is my best friend and the one I can always turn to. He puts up with my wild tendencies and spurs me on when I need it. He loves me when I don't deserve it. He is the best father in all the world and is a great leader in our home. Thank you Monty for all that you are and will be. I love you with my whole heart and I can't imagine life without you.

TWINS

Though you would like to see pictures of the twins!! The black one the kids have named Vinny. He is the smaller of the two and I have a hard time getting him to eat. The white one is Vince and he is bigger and more agressive and eats very well. Enjoy!!!

The kids are really enjoying them so far! Also Katie is home and is doing better everyday! She really liked meeting these guys!

Here it is, Late at night again and I'm still up. I just finished up with the paperwork that I have so the only thing I will have tomorrow is the new stuff they give me. It feels great to be caught up on that. I have all the kids laundry from upstairs to get done though. I'm going to try to go through it and reorganize it all at the same time. Their clothes get to be such a mess. I guess if its not one thing its another. I have been working hard to stay caught up on the chores around here and part of that is teaching them to pick up after themselves. It takes longer right now, but if they can catch on to the idea it will pay off later. Natalie does pretty well, but I think Rachel will just be Miss Disorganization for awhile. Hailey is still a bit young to know exactly which way she will go. Speaking of Hailey, she is doing much better. No fever for a couple of days now. I'm not sure what caused it, but it was scary having it go so high.

Natalie has all A's for this quarter. I'm so proud of her. I know she works hard. She tends to melt down if she thinks somethings not PERFECT! For the semester she averaged all A's and one B. I think she has done a wonderful job. She doesn't struggle academically much, but she does struggle with feeling very self conscious. At school she is a very different girl than at home. In our home she is very out going and bubbly. At school she holds back and won't do anything that she thinks someone might consider silly. Getting up in front of her class is very difficult for her. Hopefully over time she will open up a bit more.

Hailey (and other things) Update

For those of you wondering how our Hailey is doing here it is. She started with the very high fevers on Thursday night and continued at about 103 until yesterday (saturday). As of yesterday she was actually worse. She was topping out at about 105 and her whole little body was red. I think she is probably sick of baths by now. She had a very high fever this morning at 5:30 so I gave her more IB. We stayed home from church, but she really didn't go back up through the day so we went to help with the Patch Club stuff. Just before we left I could tell she was going to go back up so we only stayed for the beginning. By the time we got home she was 101. I'm so thankful it seems to be taming down now, but we will see what the night holds. She likes to spike up when she is sleeping a lot of times. Over all though, today was a much better day and she actually was playing and wanted off of my lap.

Patch Club did a wonderful job tonight. Rachel did her very first solo. (No, I couldn't find my camera). I was so proud of her. She even managed to not dance while she sang it. I don't think she was nervous at all. She LOVES the spotlight. Natalie was in her first skit tonight too. She memorized the part on her own and did great. She was a little more nervous, but carried through and I'm so proud of her too. I'm not sure how she stayed standing because her legs were twisted some weird way and she was standing on the sides of her feet. My feet would have to be broken to do that. They are all great kids and I love them so much. God has truly blessed me.

Has it really been so long since I've posted. The last two weeks have flown by. School is back in session so that means back to the reality of getting up in the morning. Thankfully some of the snow has melted off so it isn't quite such a pain to get around. The first semester ends on Monday and I can't believe it. It seems like school just started up. Natalie is halfway through her 2nd grade year and even scarier is that Rachel will start kindergarten in the fall. That should be an interesting adventure. Anyway, life has been slightly busy. I'm learning more and more that God allows things in our lives so that we can help others. Sometimes circumstances of life are painful, but God makes us stronger through them. Now it is my responsibility with God's help to pour myself into making a difference in the lives of others. What an awesome responsibility it is, but even more it is a privilege. God wants to use me and that is amazing!

Well, we are back to Hailey being sick. She is spiking temperatures over 103. She seems fine with the medication, but as soon as it wears off she is miserable. Thankfully there are no problems with breathing so far. I'm watching her closely though so we don't have the lungs functioning under normal capacity this time. She is definitely my weakest one when it comes to illness. Just pray that she will get better and grow stronger. I pray that all is well with each of you. Have a very blessed day.

SNOW from where?

The snow on the roof is very deep.Here you can see how deep the ice dam is on our roof.

This is the snow in the drive way after 1/8th of the roof was shoveled and Christy had shoveled for half an hour taking it out.

This is where she was putting the snow.

Well, the New Year is definitely under way. We have had our parties, late nights, late mornings and way too many snacks. Tomorrow was supposed to be back to reality with school and work and early mornings. We get one more day however to laze around the house (Or organize some more) and forget that real life does exist. All the public schools have been forced to close and all private schools have been advised to. We are expecting another big snowfall tonight, but even if we don't get much the road conditions are horrible. The snow is to the point of not being able to see around any corners and the ruts make your car go sideways before you can go forward. It really is crazy. Officially 69+ inches and counting. There is no end in sight. Monty unfortunately hasn't had the opportunity to peel away from reality like the rest of us. After work every day he has been somewhere shoveling snow. He is tired, but doing well.
Many of you have asked about how Hailey is doing and I really appreciate your prayers for her. For those of you who don't know, I took Hailey in to the doctor this past Tuesday after turning quite blue. She had been coughing and running a fever for three days, but I didn't hear any wheezing. By the time I got her there they told me that she could not breath deep enough to wheeze and she was breathing over 60 times a minute. Her lungs were no longer functioning properly. If we would have waited through the night we most likely would have been admitting her to the hospital. The put her on Neb treatments every 4 hours (more if I needed them) and gave her an antibiotic to clear the chest. She is doing better although when she runs around a bunch I have to give her more treatments. She gets out of breath more quickly than normal, but she knows when she needs "medicine" to help her. Thanks for all your concern and prayers on her behalf.