Wild & Crazy

Today is the last day of October. I must say that last two months have been wild. We have been at the doctors office so many times with each of the kids I am about doctored out! But today that last day of Oct I believe we are heading for the holidays with healthy happy kids! That is what I am praying and believing for!
Just wanted to share a bit here of how our family has been watched over and blessed. Last week our van just decided to quit working again. Not fun specially when Sean had to work. Needless to say we had it towed to the mechanic and he worked his magic. It is back up and running. Sadly though we had to rent a car but we got a great deal for the weekend so that was a blessing. The mechanic who always expects up front payment decided to give us a break and is allowing us to make payments. A huge blessing! We also finally have heat in the van! Last Feb. when we had the first ice storm go through the van lost all heat. It was not a good thing! We finally were able to get it fixed, the blower went out. God has seen us through so many rough patches this year! I am looking forward to the next two months. Although busy months for us in ministry I am so looking forward to what God has planned for our church and our family.
Last night at midnight I had to run back to the store for the party items we signed up to bring for the kids. Unfortunately Sean did not call and was not answering the cell at work so I was up and out really late or early if you see it that way. Thankfully the school does not "celebrate" Halloween, they are having Harvest Parties. But we all know that the kids will come home with candy and spooky treats.
Last year we had a party at church celebrating Jesus. This year I have opted not to the harvest party at church. It did not go over as well as I would have liked it to last year. So this year we will just have our own family fun night. Bought the kids some candy (in lew of trick or treating) and a few little gifts. Such as bouncy punch balloons, whoopee cushions (Kris ask for those) and some silly string. We'll go out to get movies later tonight and then come home to play some games. The kids really want to go trick or treating and I did when I was a little but that was a different time. There are so many dangers out there now and maybe there were then and its more known but I think it's just getting worse morally as well as just the dangers in this country. Plus there is NOTHING about Halloween that celebrates Jesus what so ever. So we will do something as a family tonight and just have some great family fun times.

AMAZING!

We received the boys report cards last week and I have had little time to just sit and share with our family how well they did. Michele over that An Adoptive Family's Life blog reminded me that I hadn't shared with the family and since i know most if not all the family comes to read what is going on with the kids thought I better let ya'll know. We are so proud of both boys!

Jaron has a very tough teacher this year! Put it this way, if Jaron does not put the date on his papers he gets 5-10 points taken off so even if he had a 100% if he forgets that date he ends up with a 90-95%. Which really stinks cause how many 8 year olds remember to put a date on things? I mean I am good to remember to put a date on letters and cards I send out. Anyway the boy did fantastic for his first grading period! He got all B's and A's! YAY JARON! I know he could have had all A's had he just applied himself a little more. But as we stress with all the kids all we really want is for them to do their absolute very best!

In fact that is the theme in children's church this year. Doing everything in excellence to give God the glory. I stress every week as long the kids are doing their absolute best in school academically and behaviorally then they are giving God the glory through their actions. I explain to them how their actions and behavior can be a witness of God's love and work in their lives to their classmates and to their teacher. They all are doing great!

As you know if you have been reading this blog for any time, Kristofer had a very hard time the first 7 weeks of this grading period. But we have a fantastic group of people from the OT assistant, his teacher Mrs Moore down to the lunch aides. They really stepped up to help him move forward and push through that difficult transition. He is doing so much better! Although I am sitting her listening to him and Eli playing this morning. Just when I though all the kids would be back in school today...he woke up with pink eye in both eyes and Eli has it in one eye as well. I can't wait for my kids to all be well at the same time!

Anyway, we were sure how Kris was doing academically. WE see his papers but I don't keep every page that is sent home. We were pleasantly surprise to see his grades! At our school the grading system lists the percentages but until they are in 3rd grade they actually receive S, N, & U. I was expecting more "N" but he had all "S" and one "N" in PE. His actually percentages were As and Bs. His percentages were even higher than Jaron's. Which surprised Jaron. SO we are very happy with how he is doing! His behavior in class has gotten a lot better to.

We know that for Kristofer academics present struggles for him and he needs the extra one on one instruction to help him push through to focus and get his work done. Jaron told us that he is super proud of Kristofer but thought the special ed teacher was giving him the answers. We had to explain that the special ed teacher does what I do, and works one on one and helps him focus not give him the answers. That made Jaron feel better and he shared how he was worried Kristofer wouldn't be smart.

Jaron is such a great big brother. He worries about Kristofer and loves playing with him. He gets so frustrated when Kristofer goes into his own world. But he understand that when they get home from school Kristofer needs time to retreat from "having" to participate and be attentive to things going on in the room. It's just his way of destressing. We all need that time when we "escape" from the pressures of the day for me writing and playing video games gives me that escape.

When I Call...

When I call on Jesus allthings are possible! Sometimes I need to be reminded of that. DO YOU??

EWE something stinks..

OK all weekend we have had some strange smell in the house, near the corner I sit in all the time. NO, IT'S NOT ME! LOL! But seriously this smell has just gotten worse over the last few days. We have torn the house apart trying to figure out what it is. So yesterday I couldn't take it, and I flipped my chair over thinking maybe I was missing something. Still nothing there. I figured something had to have gotten trapped under the house. That is till I bent over and smelt the chair. OH MY GOODNESS! Oh the stink...I almost lost my lunch!
We have been dealing with mice since the weather is changing again. SO I dragged the chair outside gt a knife and ripped the back off...the stench that came out of that chair about knocked me over. It was so bad! Inside...a small dead mouse that had gotten trapped in the springs and cushion. SO bye bye chair. The smell was so strong from such a small creature.

I wonder....hmmmm

If our sins smell as bad as that dead mouse, why doesn't God throw us out like I have had to do with the chair? Sin is death therefore we can assume it smells like that dead mouse or worse. And yet unlike the chair a soon as we ask for forgiveness we are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ! Which makes us clean and pure in His sight! Thank You Jesus for grace and mercy and for the powerful blood that washes my stink away as soon as I bow before You and ask for forgiveness!

Events of the last few days...

We have had such an eventful weekend. It started Friday when Sean went to take the van to the mechanic. It wouldn't even start so we had to have it towed. Had to rent a car so Sean would go to work and finally got the van back late Sat. night. We have to go into town today to settle things with the mechanic and find out the damage. We still have to get the blower fixed or we will not have any heat this winter in the van. Which by the way we are suppose to be down to 28 degrees tonight...ugh! The first freeze/frost warning. I am so NOT ready for winter. I feel as if I have just been able to really start enjoying the outdoors again and mending to my garden and now things are starting to go dormant and after this week we will lose half if not all the plants. Only part of the seasons I hate is not having flowers all year long like in Florida.
So early Sunday morning around 4 AM I was sitting in our bathroom with the shower on full steam. Eli was coughing up his lungs it seemed. It got to the point we decided he needed to go to he ER. So I head with him there where he had two breathing treatments and an oral steroid. CROUP! It is scary to watch your child not be able to breathe right. I knew what it was, have dealt with it so many times with Kristofer. Kristofer seemed to live with breathing treatments for the first two and half years of his life but this time was the worst for Eli. Thankfully last night he slept through the night and s feeling a whole lot better today.
Friday afternoon after taking Sean to work the kids and I went fall leaf collecting. Jaron has a leaf project so we were hunting for different kinds of leaves. While on our drive we saw a bunch of the woolly worms. My camera is out of juice so I found some pictues of the worms. Found two different kinds and the moths they turn into. I have posted the one of them before but I will post them again. It is the strangest thing to be driving down the road at 55mph and see these things crossing the street. Specially the big black ones. We have one right now that is as long and wide as my index finger. The other kind is smaller in size but just as hairy. The kids love them and honestly last year we didn't see these things like we are this year. The farmers almanac say if you see them crossing the road going south or southeast we are in for a bitter winter. We will see.

A Gentle Reminder

WHY IS IT...

Why is it....when you want a pbj sandwich there is never any peanutbutter left?

Why is it....after pouring cereal and you realize there is no milk?

Why is it....on a rainy day the kids can't stop fighing no matter how many activites you give them to do?

Why is it....when you need two eggs to make a cake you only have one?

Why is it....when one thing breaks on the car more follow?

Why is it....when you are exhausted you can't sleep?

Why is it....when you really start feeling better you end up reinjuring the same old injury (yes I have reinjured my knee again...slipped on hidden water on the floor!)

Why is it....you set mouse traps and the mouse figures out how to still get the bait and ot get caught?

Why is it....teachers wait till a week before to inform you they plan to have a party and you have to provide something...HELLO we have 4 kids all having fall harvest parties ~ a little bit mor warning would be nice!

Why is it....you can plan a big event at church and either no one wants to help or show up?

Why is it....when you need answers no one can answer them?

Why is it....when you tell your children only one snack they end up devouring the whole box before you reaize it?

Why is it....even if you save every penny you have left to set aside it's never enough when an emergency comes up?

These are things that are going through my head and that I am dealing with today!
To many things are piling up on us and to be honest I feel like I am being attacked on all sides! YES I have the authority to smash satans little ugly puny head and I have been declaring God's promises over things going on but this week has been the toughest week I have encountered since coming home from the Unstopppable Conference. I know it's an attack I have no doubt about that and unfortunately in the physical realm there is nothing I can do about a few of the things we are dealing with but spiritually I am holding on to the Rock with everything I have!
Wanting and needing a breakthrough this minute, today, this week, this month, this year!

Crazy hair day!

Today the kids have crazy hair day at school. This week is omecoming week for the
8th gade basketball teams. Unfortunately I forgot about it so poor Sara didn't get to have crazy hair but the boys were able to have have their mohawks spiked today. They are such little characters these three boys!

3 Powerful songs

RAYS WIN!!!

SORRY CHRIS AND NEIL and all you other Boston fans....RAYS WIN!!! RAYS WIN!!! RAYS WIN!!! YAHOOO! SO COOL! I can't wait to wake up Jaron in the morning. The Rays are his favorite team other than rooting for his daddy's team...NY Yankees. His first professional baseball game was to see the Rays play in Tampa. YAHOO! He is goin to be so stinking excited! I am too! I love that he is getting old enough now to enjoy watching the games with his dad and I. I love baseball and football too! Specially football but I love a good baseball game! Whihc by the way my nephew Brock had a double header today and won both games. He pitched a no hitter! Isn't that so stinkin cool! He is only 11. That boy has a future ahead of him. His daddy had a talent and Brock's is even stronger than his dad's! CONGRATS Brock...I love and miss you little man!

God's Blessings!

Been meaning to post this all week. It's been a bit busy and crazy around here and as the Christmas season approaches it's just going to get even more crazy. But this week we saw God intervene on our behalf and bless us or our kids in a fantastic way!

This week we had an important meeting about getting resources for Kristofer. While I was sitting in the waiting room I could hear a not so nice woman who just sounded terrible. Another person leaned over and asked if this was the first meeting I was having for our son and I said yes. He says to me, "you will see that woman and she is not nice, scary in fact." I didn't know how to respond but I started praying that I would get someone else to talk to. Well let me tell you God heard my prayers even though I never spoke a word! When I was called back I got the nicest lady who told me I was a last minute addition to her schedule and that she would be helping me figure things out. I have to say it was definitely a God thing! After going over our case with Kristofer we talked for 30 mins about GOD! It was awesome. She is a Christian who is searching for a church. She lives an hour from our church so ours is not close to her but we had a fantastic conversation. I left feeling so relieved and excited about what the future holds.

Then on Thursday I responded to an ad on line through a community yahoo group its sorta like freecycle.com but the items are not free just sold for under $50. We purchased a game table. This table has 14 different games from table soccer to chess. I mean it has so much to do the kids have been having a ball. Yes I should have saved it for Christmas but ya know what, the church honored our family and they have been showing us how much they appreciate us this month and this was one way we were able to show our kids how much we appreciate what they go through with us for the ministry!

We showed Facing the Giants at church as a community outreach and after having some wonderful hot apple cider, coffee, popcorn balls and a whole lot of yummy deserts, Saturday night. We had a great turnout. Most if not a those in attendance had never seen the movie so that was really cool! Tonight we are using the big screen again and showing "The Pirates that Don't Do Anything!" Can't wait! The kids are so excited about it. Hoping we have a big turn out. Plan to take some pictures if I can keep my camera from dying again. This morning (Sunday AM) the children's ministries took over the main service. Naturally I forgot the camera. I need to have it strapped to my hip! Jaron and another child did announcements and helped be the back up singers during the worship service. We had two of our girls take offering and then Sean and I tag teamed preached. Actually Elmer (our mascot in CC) and I preached the first part of the service and then Sean took over the last part. I believe the kids had a great time as did I and Elmer. It is always fun to have the kids participate and get the adults to participate as well.

Fall Colors

I promised my good friends Michele and Leah that I would post more pictures of fall colors. So here is some more fall colors from So. IL! ENJOY!

Something else that seems to go with fall here in IL are these wonderful wolly worms (catepillars). There is a farmer's tale that says, if you see wolly worms crossing the road that we are suppose to have a very cold winter...if this is true then we are in for a long cold winter here this year.

Where is the common sense???

This is so outrageous! It's completely maddening! How is a parent of a special needs child to feel safe enough to send her child to pubic school? Let alone her typically functioning children?? I do not want to paste the whole article and have no idea how to post the video but please check these two stories out... Experts question benefit of school time-out rooms also on that same page you will find the video of a 3 yr. old autistic child left on a school bus alone for 6 hours. The link to that video is on the left of the Time out article. I simple am disgusted with how little people value a human life let alone the life of a precious child! All children have the right to be cared for and treated with respect and decency. Autistic children have feelings! Our Kristofer is very sensitive to how you talk to him. Talk to him with an angry tone and he gets very upset. Usually ends up crying. I can't imagine the fear these two precious kids must have faced during these two situations.

Mister

So a few months ago we had two kittens born on our front porch. A neighbor boy took them away and we haven't seen them since. Until yesterday! The kids were outside playing and Jaron over heard the neighbors talking. One person said I am getting rid of this cat. The other said what did you do with it...I put it on the church front steps was the answer. So what do my kid do...go find the cat. Well low and behold...the kitten turned out to be our Mister that was taken from us. The kids are besides themselves with joy! He is about 4 months old now, smaller than most 4 mo old kittens. SO her are a few pictures I took of him today.

Shame on Denis Leary

OK this is a repost from a guest blogger: Angela from Memoirs of a Chaotic Mommmy.

Let me just warn you in advance there are some choice words that are not Angela's! They have been ** out. This is a quote from Denis Leary's new book. This really makes me upset! If anyone is a moron, it is Denis Leary! Sorry if I offend you but this quote offends me, a parent of an autistic child! You can read the original article at The Huffington Post.

*******************************************************
In his new book:"There is a huge boom in autism right now because inattentive mothers and competitive dads want an explanation for why their dumb-a** kids can't compete academically, so they throw money into the happy laps of shrinks . . . to get back diagnoses that help explain away the deficiencies of their junior morons. I don't give a [bleep] what these crackerjack whack jobs tell you -- yer kid is NOT autistic. He's just stupid. Or lazy. Or both."

Truly he should have learned from Michael Savage's mistakes.

So, in the spirit of protecting our kids I have found the following:

#1 the book will not be released until November 18th.

#2 the publisher is Viking Adult and you can find them through Penguin.

VIKING
vikingpublicity@us.penguingroup.com

"Fan Mail"

Apostle Pictures Inc.
(Production Company)

568 BroadwaySuite
301New York, NY 10012
USA
(212) 541-4323
Fax: (212) 541-4330

Colors

As promised to my dear friend Michele over at An Adoptive Family's Life. I am posting some colors from our back yard and some other pictures of the kids playing with our not so little puppy. Izzy will be 6 mo old on Oct 18th (Sat), she was born on April 18th (Kristofer's birthday). I plan to take more pictures of the colors as more appear. Many have come out but there are still many trees that are just starting to change. Enjoy!

Oh just a little praise note....Sara's CT scan came back negative! NO KIDNEY STONES! Apparently either she passed it or God healed her. We believe God healed her!

Appreciation

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. Today our congregation surprised us with a love offering and some kind words. Then tonight we were surprised with a small party with some yummy cake, banana pineapple punch and these beautiful red roses. Many in our congregation show us through out the year how much they care about us through small things such as watching our kids for us when we needed to go as a couple for the results of the evals for Kristofer or when I had knee surgery, the ladies made us dinner every night for a month.

If you are not in ministry can just encourage you to show your pastors how much you appreciate them. If you can do anything big because of money, a card of encouragement will do! If you can do more but don't know what to do ~ something from the heart means the most! But respecting your pastor's family time is extremely important! As a pastor's wife who works along side her husband in ministry any time we can spend together as a family outside of the ministry is cherished. Anytime we can spend together without a phone call or a scheduled event we must attend is cherished.

Now don't get me wrong! We love being in the ministry! We are servants by heart! e love teaching and leading others to Christ! But we are also human just like you, we need to be able to just be a family. So respect your pastor's time and wait till the morning if your call is not an emergency.

This month take time to tell or show your pastors how much you appreciate all they do for you, your family and your church! They do much more than you may think they do. It's all the small things that we do that make the ministry continue to flow! We do all of these things to reach the lost for Christ and if it wasn't for the strength that He gives us we could not accomplish all things for HIS GLORY!

Learning...

more than I truly care to know! Once again we are on another medical journey with one of our kids. This just happens to be with Sara again. If you recall at the end of August she was hospitalized for severe stomach cramping. The doctor never figured out what the problem was and we gave God the glory for healing our baby. We still are. Well two weeks ago we went to a WIC appointment. WIC is a wonderful program and I highly advise all mothers to be and of small children to check into it. It truly is a blessing.

Anyway, while at the appointment we were made aware that Sara's iron count was low so they recommended we check with the doctor. So yesterday we headed to the doctor and then was sent to have blood work. While at the doctor's office Sara was complaining about her stomach again, something she does all the time. Sometimes because she is hungry, sometimes because she needs to go potty. But other than in August the pain has never stopped her from being an active little 4 yr old. So she also had the job of peeing in a cup. Which she thought was the funniest thing in the world.

Thankfully her blood work came back all normal but her urinalysis did not. She has all the signs of having kidney stones. I about flipped when her doctor told us that. So tomorrow she will be having a CT done to make sure there are no stones in the kidneys and make sure her kidneys are working correctly.

Am I nervous? You betcha! Freaked out that my little girl has to have this done, OH YEA! But I am also for Godly wisdom. Because to be honest the results at the WIC office weren't so low that I should have been concerned. Even our doctor was like those numbers aren't low enough to warrant any worry but being cautious because she has been ill we took her to the doctor and are thankful we did. God allow things to happen and my experience is that many times He does so that other things can be revealed. In this case that she has crystals in her urine indicating kidney stones. My research and Sean's sister has reassured us that this is actually more common than I ever knew. So please keep her in prayer tomorrow at 8:30 AM central time. We probably won't have the results till Monday morning. Either way just pray what may be there is passed without incident.

Feeling a little tested!

I love my Husband!

I was tagged by my good friend Deanna to do this meme.

Here are the rules: grab the graphic and insert with these rules, in your post. Give at least 5 reasons why you love your hubby. List more if you want. Tag 5 people (or more) to play along and link to their blogs in your post.Then visit those women’s blogs and leave them a comment on any of their posts. Now that I have shared the rules, it’s my time to share my reasons:

1. He loves God.

2. He loves me unconditionally.

3. He is my best friend.

4. He is a good provider.

5. He is a fantastic father.

6. We work well as a team, he isn't the typical man who expects his wife to bow to him and kiss his feet (gross).

7. He supports all that I set my mind to do.

8. He helps manage the house, doing dishes, laundry, caring for our kids.

9. He manages to love me even when I am moody and snappy.

I could list more but I was told to at least list 5 and then tag 5 friends...which will be hard since I do not have 5 friends who have not already done this or actually blog...so I tag

Angela and Jessica

Miracles are happening and what was found...

First off, some great news! I got a call today from my mom telling me that our friend Debi is able to feel her big toe on her left foot (had no feeling yesterday) AND she moved her foot a smidgin' away when the doctor pinche her toe. AND she has tingling in both legs!!! Which are all fantastic signs! Keep Praying we are standing firm and believing for this miracle! God can and still does move mountains!

Things found:

This afternoon my kids brought in the largest black hairy caterpillar have ever seen! Seriously it scared the tar out of me! So what does a good mom do? Tells the kids to go wash their hands and give me something to get him off my bed! Once it was removed from my bed and placed on some paper we started to investigate. Thank goodness for the internet, you can find almost any and everything possible. Some not so nice stuff and others ~ fantastic. My camera is in need of batteries at the moment so I am pasting some pictures from Hilton Pond. This wonderful black beast, which measured 2 inches long, actually turns into the Giant Leopard Moth.

Now you tell me God's creation isn't amazing! To go from a hairy worm to a beautiful flying moth! It's like what happens to the sinner, when they except Jesus Christ as their Savior and allow Him to transform them, they turn into a beautiful creation in Christ! That is another reason I love butterflies! The transformation that is uniquely designed by God!

My Friend Needs A Miracle

On Thursday our friend Debi, pictured here in black, went in to surgery for a ruptured disc. Something went horribly wrong during the surgery and when she woke up she was

paralyzed on the left side of her body. As of last night the paralysis now from the waist down

and has been placed on a feeding tube because she no loner has working bowels or bladder.

Debi is a fine lady. She has been a hair dresser for over 30 years. She has two children and four grandchildren with one on the way. She has endured many life trails and right now she is

on the toughest one of her life. As of last night she was starting to have difficulty breathing. This vibrant, energetic woman needs our prayers and yours. Please lift Debi Gesky up in your prayers, in your church services and spread the word. Debi needs a miracle right now and she needs God to move the mountains out of the way. God is a big God and He created the mountains and He has the power to move them. Stand with me and her family today as we seek God's healing power for Debi!

Something new

My dear friend Angie made me this to add to my blog! Isn't she sweet! I love it Angie! Thank You!!