Seeking joy in the small things.....

I am just trying to seek joy in the small things....like spending time with my precious family, loving my child and husband, and enjoying the beauty of each new day. These last few weeks have been a little hectic and are soon going to be even busier. I continue to work more hours each week with parent conferences, ballgames, and day to day duties. I have atleast two 12-14 hour days a week. In mid October, I will begin my remedial program for students to prepare for the fall test. This past week I was approached and asked to be the administrator over ACT testing at our school. Although thrilled about the opportunity, I don't think I can manage any more on my plate. Keeping up with what I have to do now is challenging enough. Later this month we will have a meeting about another grad. school program that I am interested in. If I go back to school again then this will definitely be my last degree for a while. I aspire to one day earn my doctorate but right now it just doesn't seem within reach. However, I am still young and you never know what God has in store for me.

Raegan is doing excellent! We love her school. Despite being the baby in her class, she is achieving and excelling. Her teacher tells us each week that she is doing great. Her favorite part is reciting her Bible verse each week. She has become even more independent than she was before. She is making many new friends. This week we took her to the fair and she loved it. It was hard to keep up with her. I thought she would be afraid of the rides but I was wrong. "We" rode until we(I) just couldn't go anymore. LOL! She loved the demolition derby and the cotton candy.

Mom will be having surgery on the 29th and 30th. It is such an extensive surgery that it will have to be split into two days. There is a higher mortality rate this time due to the nature of the operation. She is really scared but knows that it is her only option as the doctors gave her 6-12 months to live without it. We would appreciate your prayers. The doctors anticipate a lengthy hospital stay with much of the time spent in ICU. She will be off from work for approximately 3 months. She has blocked stints in her femoral artery and will need a bypass and possible stint replacement. Thank God for my sweet family for helping us all plan ahead and get through this. Never understimate the value of your loved ones near or far. We have some family coming in from out of town as well as those who are close by pitching in to help. My dad and my grandmother are helping as much as they can even though my parents have been divorced for over 20 years. My husband and his parents are showing unwavering love and support. Thank you God for all of these special people in our lives.

In the midst of my mother's ordeal I have a CT scan and if everything is going well with her after surgery then I will be having my ear surgery at the end of the same week. This was planned so that I can recover over Fall Break and so I will be well enough to help her by the time she gets out of the hospital. I am anxious and nervous about everything that is going on but fully reliant on God to get me through. Last week Raegan was assigned one of my favorite verses.....I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Thank you Lord for speaking to me so clearly and showing your presence in my time of need.

Enjoying a Day at the Park.....

Oh how I miss the days like these.....




and treasure the ones like these.




I love you baby girl.

Please be praying for our family...

My mother had two knots come up on her legs and she returned to the vascular surgeon since the knots were close to her previous surgery sites. She went to the doctor and they said that the stints are blocked and will have to be removed and replaced. She goes next week for an MRI and a CAT scan to check for more blockages and to have her brain checked. She has so much trouble with her short term memory as a result of poor circulation from the blockages. Please pray for her surgery and healing.

I went to the ENT yesterday after dealing with an ear infection for the last month. I took very strong antibiotics and steroids but they did not work. I will do another round of steroid/antibiotic combinations for the next 2 weeks. I have oral meds and drops. Then I will have a CT scan to check for bone damage. Then they will schedule surgery. I need another tube in the left ear and reconstruction in the right ear. The CT scan will determine if I need a mastoidectomy where they drill the bone just behind the ear from the ouside. They will repair the perforation in the ear drum and check for cholesteatomas (benign tumor growths). They will repair the retraction pockets in the drum. I have never had an external surgery to the ear where they cut from the outside. My previous 7 surgeries have all been through the ear canal and invisible to others. I am praying for restoration of my hearing and for quick healing from the surgeries. The doctor is leaning towards the external surgery which means a longer recovery time for which I will possibly be out of work. I am trying to get everything scheduled for fall break so that I won't miss too much.

Praise be to God

Have you ever had one of those days where you felt Satan creeping into your life because of the work he has done in others? Have you ever experienced the cruelness and selfishness of another human being because of jealousy and indecency? Have you ever thought you were doing "what was right" only to be hurt by someone else in their attempts prove you wrong? Well this happened to our family recently. I being my worry wart self let it get to me as usual. I didn't say much to my husband because I was too upset and he tried to comfort me as he told me he expected things to work out the way they did. Because these experiences have been ongoing he has become numb and expectant of them and able to cope more. I on the other hand am the glass half full kind of girl and I expect more of people so I get let down when they act so immaturely. All I could do was Pray. I prayed for peace and comfort. I prayed for God to heal hearts and help with ongoing psychological issues so that joy could be restored instead of hurt.

God knows our hearts and intentions and I believe that he honors our prayers and requests, especially when they reflect his will. Although for a short while Satan was able to steal our joy we did not succumb to it. We went out for a family dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. Raegan fell asleep in the car so Scott held her in the restaurant. She awoke and needed to go to the bathroom while we waited for our food so I took her. At a nearby table sat a lonely soldier dressed in civilian clothing. He looked to be in his mid 30's. He ate a modest meal and intently studied some papers that were stapled together. While I went to the restroom, he and Scott struck up a conversation and talked for a few minutes. This would not be relevant to share until he left so as I approached they ended the conversation and I sat down to eat. I heard him exclaim, "Best of luck to you and your family," and he and Scott shook hands. We ate our dinner. He left sometime midway through the meal only nodding as he left. Then Scott told me that the soldier struck up a conversation because he saw his firefighter shirt and asked about his job. The soldier shared that he had just finished a tour in Iraq where his job was to inspect fire stations and equipment. He shared his years of experience and commented about our nice family. Scott thanked him for his 14 years of service to our country and likewise the soldier thanked him and they shook hands and concluded with well wishes. The waitress brought our...to go boxes and our dessert. We waited for the check as she was very busy taking care of other diners. She came with a smile and told us that our check had been taken care of. We thought she was joking. She laughed as she told us that the nearby soldier had requested our bill and paid for our meal. We were overjoyed by the generosity. We were elated by the gesture of kindness. I completely forgot about the previous happenings that had made me so blue. We felt God's presence through the kindness of a stranger. He was gone...like a ghost, probably never to be seen again. So I prayed for him also. Praise be to God for all his Glory.