The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

This blog has been a way for me to Journal about the happenings in our family so I can look back in years to come and remember these events and the way the lord has worked in our lives. I just don't want to share the fun things but everything. The Good the Bad and the Ugly. I think we have hit one of the Ugly seasons of my life. It has been pretty rough but through it we have seen God really at Work and I do not want to lose sight of that. Many of you know that last April we discovered that I have some form of a muscle disease. They are still unsure which one and I will be visiting UCLA to go through further testing and investigation. This has changed our way of life and it has been a real adjustment mentally and physically. In the last week we have learned that my oldest blessing is having some heart issues. He has had a few episodes where he feels pain in his chest and feels like his heart is thumping all over the place. We decided to take our boys to get an EKG done and our oldest Noah's came out abnormal. Within the last week we have been to the ER and he has gone through lots of tests, we have fought with insurance, and are still going through testing. Jason and I feel deep in our hearts that he has what his momma has(complete heart block) and whatever muscle disease they think I have. This has rocked my world and I'm struggling to come up for air. It is hard to see your almost nine year old in fear and full of sadness because the doctors do not want him to run or do activity until they know for certain what is going on in his heart. We have had some sweet discussions and he knows the Lord is using this for his Glory but he is still sad and scared and so is this Momma. Our life is full of doctors appointments and running from one place to the next and we all long for it to be over. I have learned though that it is not in my time but the Lords and if we lean on him, have trust and be patient he will show his goodness in ways we could have never imagined. Please lord allow my eyes to be open to see your goodness in the mist of this storm and to walk in obedience and be willing to be used by you. Please pray for our family and stay tuned for how the Lord will use this in our lives. We are weak but he is strong.

Happy Chinese New Year

The kids had school so hannah dressed in her silks and they passed out red envelopes. It was a crazy day(will go into why in another post) so my mom brought over chinese food instead of us going out. Happy Chinese New Year Friends.

Another Orphan No More

I'm feeling so overwhelmed right now thinking about God's goodness and how he takes us through these beautiful journeys and allows us to witness his amazing love. Two families that we are very close to are adopting from Ethiopia. One family" the Oakes" met their sweet boys for the first time last month. Days before they left God did something beautiful and unexpected in our other friends life "The Coloumbes". Both of these families are good friends and are in the same small group at our church. Just days before the Oakes were getting ready to board a plane. The Coloumbes get a referral for a 6 year old beautiful girl. This allowed them to put together a care package and have the Oakes deliver it to their new daughter. The Oakes were able to tell this sweet girl that she had a family coming for her. they brought back pictures and video. The Coloumbes left this morning to go to Ethiopia to meet their daughter and to let her no she is an orphan no more. Their oldest child will finally get her wish of having a little sister. I love how God brings us in on his wonderful handi- work. Here is a link to both of these wonderful families blog.

www.youbelong.net/oakesfamily

www.youbelong.net/coulombehome

Happy New Year!

I have been inspired by one of my favorite blogger friends Sharon at http://everythingbeautifulshay.blogspot.com to choose a word for the new year. This word should be something that you would like to work on in the upcoming year. After some thought I have decided that my word is "Hopeful". I know that this should come easy to me. After all my Hope is in the Lord. Some days this is real easy for me but there have been too many days where it is difficult. I struggle with feeling hopeful about the physical ailments in both me and my sweet girl. I want to feel hopeful in every aspect of my life and I pray that the Lord feels me with his hope. I'm usually a very optimistic person but have really been struggling lately. I have a big desire to read through the bible this year. I have tried in the past and have never gotten through :( This year I have downloaded an audio version on my Iphone and want to keep up with our church. Our church will be going through the bible this year and preaching through the books each Sunday. I also have a really great devotional book Jesus Calling that I will use and some other great books. Praying God will use his word to speak into me and fill me with his hope like only he can.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know that plans I have for you declares the lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a future.

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