For Poppa Rick

So, I have this video I have been meaning to send to my father-in-law for some time now. Since Father's Day to be exact - 2 months ago. I thought perhaps the best way to get it in front of him would be to post it here.

I have the best in-law a girl could dream up. They LOVE our children and treat me like family, like the daughter they never had. I love being part of the family. My father-in-law, Rick, is wonderful with the kiddos. He has always loved children. He used to play with strangers' kids when we went out for dinner. He seems to have a radar for them. Now, Chloe and Jake receive the full benefit of his affections. They adore him. Here is the video they made for him 2 months ago:

Rick, thanks for all the joy you bring into our lives! We love you!

Pics of Jake's Hand

Here are some pictures of Jake's hand on July 7th, 4 days after he burned it:

The blisters have popped.

These two are from July 10th, a week after the burn:

Little man was such a trooper! He didn't try to remove his bandage and actually ran to me when I told him it was time to change it! Brave boy!

I'm back!

I'm sorry for my long absence. We have not fallen off of the face of the earth. We did not lose all Internet access. We have, however, been many places - just not home. We went on vacation for 2 weeks and then returned for a few days and left again for a few days. Really, we are just settling back in since our exit on June 26th! How I love being home! So, we are really due for some updates:

1. Romans. I am indeed still planning to finish memorizing the book. I am on chapter 11 and have a plan to press on. I have begun reviewing chapter 11 and will continue to do so until I catch up (I think verse 24. I am on verse 15). When I reach verse 25 I will begin memorizing one verse per day. I have 130 verses left to memorize (meaning that I have 303 verses done! Wow). The baby is due on January 4th and I would like to have it done before that (for fear that once the baby comes I'll have difficulty memorizing even one verse per day!). So, my new goal is December 31st giving me 159 days. Thanks to those of you who have asked me about this and encouraged me in it. I am grateful for the support.

2. Baby. Our littlest one is doing very well! I feel movement frequently and enjoy knowing he or she is happily swimming around in there. Our appointment for THE ultrasound is on August 10th and we very much hope to find out the sex that day. This is, more importantly, the one where they look at all of the baby's vital organs - heart, brain, kidneys, etc. We pray for a healthy baby who's parts are where they should be and in perfect working order. We know this is not guaranteed so we would appreciate your prayers as well.

3. Chloe. Not much new with girlie. She is growing and talking more and more (I know, it seems impossible!) She is insistent that the baby I'm carrying is a boy - and the baby in her tummy is a girl! :-) I love watching her become more caring. She takes good care of Jacob and is eager for a new baby to mother.

4. Jake. Now for the big story of the last few weeks. Jake. Our accident prone toddler burned his tiny hand. It was truly a freak accident. We stayed at a beautiful cabin in the Smoky Mountains and had enjoyed 4 days there. As we were packing up to leave, my father-in-law, Rick, cleaned out the refrigerator, putting some things in the cooler to take with us. Jake was "helping". The door was open for a while and he left it that way to put something in the cooler. As he did, Jake started crying. Rick went to him and thought he had pinched his hand between the shelves. I heard him cry from downstairs, but when he stopped, I went about my packing. A few minutes later, I heard him crying again so I went up to check on him. By this time, his hand is white and I know he has been burned. Rick had gone outside with Chloe, so I didn't know what could have happened. Jake is crying really hard. If you remember back a few months to when he fell down the steps, you may remember that he barely cried. Last year he was stung by a wasp and didn't cry at all. Well, that day (July 3rd to be exact) he cried for a solid hour. He cried until we got him to a doctor's office and the nurse put silvadene on it. To back up a bit, and to make a very long story short, Kevin held Jake and tried to sooth him until we could leave. We figured out that Jake must have stepped up into the fridge and grabbed the light bulb. (Would you ever think you could get burned in the fridge?) Rick made a phone call and found a clinic we could take him to. So, we abruptly ended our stay at the cabin and raced to the clinic, which turned out not to be a clinic but a private doctor's office. They were closed according to the sign in the window. My heart sank and, by this point, I was also crying. Rick pulled around back and saw a nurse. Rick asked her some questions and she began giving us directions to another place. Then, Rick made his most brilliant move. He opened the sliding door to reveal the crying baby with his obviously swollen, blistered, burned hand. She told us to come in! Praise God! I carried Jake while Kevin filled out paper work. The nurse slapped slivadene on is hand and INSTANTLY he stopped crying! My heart began to slow back down and Jake smiled for the first time in too long. She wrapped his poor hand and gave me what I needed to do it again and again for the next few weeks.

I think that is enough for one day. There is more to tell about our lives and many, many pictures to share. Thanks for even checking in!

Father's Day

Sweets,

I am excited to have the opportunity to honor you publicly!

For those of you who don't know my husband very well, let me summarize. He is a man who loves the Lord and seeks to honor him by serving our family. He leads us very humbly, very well. When he comes home from a long day of work, he eagerly dives in to his role as father. He doesn't not come in and kick back on the couch, tuning everything, and everyone, out. He takes over as leader and makes our evenings joy-filled. His leadership is clearly felt when he is home and dearly missed when he is not. I am a better mom because of his gentle leadership and patient guidance.

Kev, I love you. I love you more today than I did almost 6 years ago on our wedding day. Parenting with you has deepened my love and respect for you and has revealed more of your character. You are patient, gentle, kind, slow to speak and abounding with love. You represent our Savior very well to our children - and to me. I have seen you grow over the last 3 years as a daddy. I love to watch you read the Bible to Chloe. You are seizing moments that could be spent on something easier to train our daughter to love God and his Word. It is working! Even this morning, she carried her huge Bible across the house so you could read it to her. She is eager for those times with you and she is memorizing the stories. When you left today, I read "Life outside the Garden" from her Big Picture Storybook Bible. I paused often and each time she filled in the words verbatim! That is your investment into her growth. She is learning about God's character and you read and explain. Thank you.

Thank you for humbly pursuing help from others. I have seen you grow in godliness as you have humbled yourself. God's promise is true; he does give grace to the humble. Thank you for leading me to grow as a mom and for pointing to Jesus when I am discouraged. Thank you for recognizing and encouraging me that what I'm doing day by day is important and worthwhile. Without your leadership, help, sacrifice, encouragement, etc. I would not be able to be home everyday with our children. You make it possible. Thank you for sacrificing cars and houses and toys and extra money for the sake of our family. Thank you for loving us and for giving us your self: your time, your effort, your prayers, your care, your leadership, your all. We benefit everyday from being in your family. Lord, all glory be to you for giving us Kevin to lead us!! I will never be able to praise and thank you enough!

Well, I could go on all day, but Chloe has somethings she wants to say:

And then I asked her if she wanted to sing Daddy a song:

We love you, sweetheart! I can't wait to enjoy this day with you!

Father's Day (for Papa Tom)

Dad,

Today the kids made a video for you. We were talking about Father's Day and what we could do to bless the dads in our lives and Chloe wanted to say this to you:

Then, she wanted to sing this song:

I would like to say how much I love you. You are and have been a wonderful dad whose example of faith has be an encouragement to me. You are anchored to the Rock and the steadfastness of the Lord shines in you. You are steadfast. You are a rock in our family. You are a faithful man who trusts God in everything. You entrusted us, your children, to the Lord when we were small and you've continued to entrust everything to the Lord. Thank you for your example. Your faith encourages mine. I love you!

Happy Father's Day!