Tuesday, March 19, 2013

His Little Feet 2013 & God’s Perfect Protection

Wow! The past week has truly been a whirlwind.  At the beginning of last week, we once again had the privilege of hosting America, a member of the His Little Feet children’s choir, and ‘Uncle Ben’, his sponsor.  Just like our own beautiful children, America and Ben were born in Ethiopia.  It did so much good for my heart to have Silas and Saylor get to spend a couple of days with people from their birth culture.  We knew we would be blessed by having them here, and we most definitely were!

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Each member of the choir has lost one or both of his/her biological parents.  These children have come from some very difficult places, and yet they are filled with such joy! ‘Uncle Ben’ as he is known by the choir also has an amazing testimony. He was an orphan himself, and he is now using his life to impact so many others on the same road that he once walked.

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America and Ben

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It was too much fun watching America experience the joy of ride on toys!

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Tuesday included a little bouncing fun as well as dinner at Chili’s.

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Silas and America played well considering the three year age difference and partial language barrier. 

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This was Silas saying goodbye to Ben.  He told us he wanted him to stay for one hundred nights, and that he liked ‘Uncle Ben’ because he carries him and we don’t:)

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Silas and Ben with their crazy faces.

The His Little Feet choir was off to their next destination on Thursday, March 13.  On Friday afternoon, I was making dinner when I received a phone call from my father-in-law.  He lives out of state, but he informed me that Troy had been in a car accident and they were taking him to the local hospital.  Later we found out that the trooper found Troy’s cell phone, and he called his dad first. My first thought was to panic, but I remained calm and managed to get the kids to the neighbors.  I then called the hospital and they told me he was just brought into the ER, and that I didn’t need to rush to get there.  Upon arrival, I see Troy in a neck brace with blood pouring out of his left ear; however, he was alert and talked to me which was a positive sign.  We already had so many people praying for us at this point because a friend’s husband saw the accident, and he started the prayer chain.  We had other friends come into the ER and pray over Troy.  Ben and the entire His Little Feet choir sent texts that they were praying.  Wow.  Humbling. 

The ER physician ordered a CT scan which came back negative.  Praise God.  Troy’s left ear had glass in it due to the driver’s side window shattering.  The next order of business was numbing the ear and removing the glass.  Although, I am sure it was very painful they were able to get all of the glass out of the ear and sutured it up.  He was cleared for everything else, and we were discharged with a prescription for strong pain medications and muscle relaxers.  We finally made it home to pick up the kids around midnight.  I cannot tell you the roller coaster of emotions I had during those six hours, but I also had a sense of peace.  I am 100% confident that was due to all the prayers lifted on our behalf.  As you can see from the picture of the car below, we serve an amazing God who is our mighty protector.  I just kept thanking him over and over and over for allowing me to have more time with my husband, and allowing my children to have more time with their daddy.  Thankfully, Troy is going to be fine once his ear heals. This accident was a reminder once again of the fragility of life, and that we never know what tomorrow may bring.  I do know that God is in control, and for that I am grateful. 

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Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.” 

Psalm 91:14-16

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

9 Months & More

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This sweet girl is 9 months old today! This was the best smile I could get out of her this morning. She was a little tired because she didn’t seem to want to fall asleep last night. 

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Silas wanted to sneak in for a picture too, and he always manages to get better smiles from her.

During the past month, Saylor has continued to develop, and she always keeps us smiling around here! Once again, I have listed the new things for her during the past 30 days

-She has added broccoli & cauliflower to her diet, and she is now eating solids for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

-She is getting fast with her army crawling, and she is beginning to pull up onto furniture.  This also means she is learning how to open many drawers and doors(and yes….we never child proofed them for Silas, and I suspect it won’t be happening for her either).

-She has now dropped her late afternoon cat nap, and she is taking two naps a day

-She likes to pretend various toys are phones and put them to her ear like she’s talking

-She has outgrown all of her 6 month clothing, and she is primarily wearing 12 month clothing now

- She has caught onto me with all the bows in her hair, and she is beginning to pull them out(even the small ones)

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Saylor & Silas also got to meet Mammaw for lunch as she was traveling home from visiting extended family

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She is already a full fledged Hoosier fan, and she is ready for March Madness! She’s pulling for a 6th banner to be hung in Assembly Hall this year:)

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She continues to benefit from Mammaw’s sewing talent!

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She is trying to start new fashion trends.

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She remains as adorable as ever!  We love you Saylor, and we celebrate these 9 precious months of your life with you!

In other news, Silas has also had some fun over the past month as you can see in the pictures below.

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He had a date with mama to the circus!(where we happened to run into good friends)

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He had a few kisses stolen from him!

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He had some bouncing fun with a good buddy!

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He and daddy attended a friend’s birthday party at a local bowling alley!

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He got to eat more snow which I am sure was mixed with some dirt; however, it didn’t phase him!

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Finally, he had a couple of days with outdoor play which he loves! We are all ready for warm weather around here!  I think that wraps up the last month for us! We are certainly blessed, and we are looking forward to hosting some beautiful children(and their sponsor) from His Little Feet this month.  Based on last year’s experience, I know we are going to be blessed!