Sydney’s birthday was actually July 16th, but we just had her birthday party last weekend.  LONG STORY!  We had an Elmo party at the house with bubbles, beach balls and a parachute.  The kids had a great time and Sydney was in heaven.  Presents, playmates, Elmo and ice cream!  What more could a girl want?  Here are some pictures of her fun day!

Sydney checking out her new puzzle board

“Oooooohhhh, what’s in that bag?”

“Mmmmmm  Ice Cream!”

My BFF Kim (aka Aunt Kim)  I could have NEVER pulled this off without her!!!  Love you Kim!

The Amundsons… Ethan, Angi, Olivia, Judd

The Hickeys Sarah, Kenna, Michael and Ellie)  and our Zachary

The Loftin…  Mr Loftin (sorry, went blank), Shelli and TJ (Tawni is under the parachute)

The Youngs… Adam, Tiffany-Darling, Wynter and Zach

I went to Dallas for the Women of Faith conference (which was amazing… another post).  I left early and got a chance to meet up with Heidi and her handsome Henry and Cherylwith her beautiful Ruby!  We met at Cheryl’s house and the kids played on the floor and had a good time.  It is so funny that we knew so much about each other from blogging.  We were asking each other on updates of past events as if we were long time girlfriends getting together for a regular play date.  I LOVED IT!  Heidi and Cheryl are sweet beautiful women and I am SO glad that I got a chance to meet up with them face to face.  I WISH that I could have brought Sydney with me.  She would have had a great time!  I thoroughly enjoyed my time with these ladies.  Thank you Cheryl for hosting our little play date, and thank you Heidi for driving down to visit.  I can’t wait to do it again, this time with Sydney. 

Henry and Sydney are peas in a pod.  It was cracking me up to watch him play and hear Heidi’s stories.  The cutest thing was his innate talent of posing for pictures.  I would flash my camera and he would turn, pose and flash this brilliant smile!  I love that his eyes sparkle!  Sydney has her posing face, which is cheesy as can be, but oh no… not Henry.  He sits up straight, pushes his shoulders back and tilts his head and gives you the “How you doin?” smile.  I think I took 50 pictures because it was so much fun. 

Ruby is an absolute doll.  She was so interested in all that was going on around her.  I was thoroughly impressed with her tummy time skills!  None of my kids were that happy and strong on there tummies.  She sat up and watched and enjoyed every minute of the activity around her.  She has lots of very sweet brothers and sisters who were dashing in and out.  They were all so sweet.  I think Cheryl could publish some parenting books!  I would buy them.

One funny side note is that I have only been to Dallas a handful of times.  That was to visit my brother in law when he lived in the area.  As I was following my GPS’s robotic instructions to exit blah-blah, take a left on Blah-blah street… I started looking around and thought “NO, this couldn’t be…. surely not…. what would be the odds?”  YUP, I was… Cheryl lives one street down from where my brother in law lived!  Can you believe that!  I could hear Humphrey Bogart’s voice in the back of my mind saying “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world…”

Today was a day for firsts.  They are both AMAZING and I am thrilled to death… but so tired.. so pictures and details will wait until tomorrow.  But here is a teaser…

First and foremost… Sydney took 5 steps today!!   Woo Hoo!!!!!  We cheered as if a Gold medal was being awarded!!!!!  Happy, happy mommy dance!!!!!!  We have a long way to go… BUT THIS IS HUGE!!!!!

Second… but no less important, tonight was Anthony’s Kindergarten camp.  We went to the school and met his teacher, walked around the school and he rode a bus.  It was magical and he is SOOOO excited!!  He starts school next Monday.  I will post pictures tomorrow!

My babies are growing up!

My friend Shelli sent me this. 

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, “God! How could you do this to me?” Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! “How did you know I was here?” asked the weary man of his rescuers. “We saw your smoke signal,” they replied. 

 The Moral of This Story:   It’s easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn’t lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

In and amongst the storm that seems to encompass our lives right now, there have been blessings.  First, I have seen an outpouring of love and affection of those closest to me.  I am repeatedly humbled by the love of our circle of support.  Although things are tough, I KNOW without a shred of doubt that I am not alone.  Not only is Christ walking with us through everything, but he has surrounded us with family and friends beyond belief.  We are not alone, Thank you God!  More than anything else… Randall and I are solid.  We are standing together and that makes all the difference in the world!  I had a realization the other day when someone asked me a simple question….  “How are you and Randall doing?”  I said “Hanging in there” and she replied… “No, how are YOU-and-Randall doing?”.  I realized when she emphasized our names that she was talking about our relationship.  It was a wake-up call for me that WE are doing fine.  In fact, we are stronger than ever.  I am so blessed to have the sanctity and serenity of my marriage.

Speaking of Randall.  We haven’t had much of a chance to chat today other than a quick call this morning and a few text messages back and forth.  He spent time with his grandmother today.  She cannot speak as a result of the strokes, but she communicated with pen and paper.  Apparently it was an amazing blessing for them both.  Randall enjoyed time with his uncle Rodger (his dad’s brother) and his brother Caleb.  I am dying to see pictures since apparently the family genes are incredibly strong (duh… did you see the pictures of Randall next to his dad?).  I am glad that he is able to get to meet and know more of his new extended family.  I wish I could be there… and I REALLY miss him!

When we went through the months surrounding Sydney’s diagnosis, there were several life events and tragedies that preceded the diagnosis as well as followed.  It was a VERY difficult time in our lives.  We kept our heads up, our eyes on God and just plugged along praying for relief.  I feel like we are there again, just with different circumstances.  I remember a friend of mine, Elizabeth who is in my women’s group looked at me one day and said “Jeanette, I am so sorry that so much has been happening to your family.  I am sure that you are tired of being a good sport”.  AMEN sister! 

I am really wondering about this current cloud over our heads.. I mean Seriously?!?  I an DONE, DONE, DONE!  I am NOT going into any details, but I had a HORRIBLE day yesterday.  I was absolutely furious about a public assault on mine and my husband’s character yesterday.  I won’t go into it any further, but it is just important to know my state of mind and that YET again there was another punch in the face.

Randall was due to come home today but there is a snag in that plan.  Unfortunately we found out yesterday that Randall’s biological father’s mother (grandma)just sufferred several small strokes in the last 24 hours.  She lives in Oklahoma and Randall is currently up north in the panhandle…so instead of driving south to come home, he is going to drive up there today to go see her.  Well, go “see” her is an understatement… he is going to go MEET her as well as his uncle Roger and his family.  More family reunions.  I wish I could go with him!  I am sorry that he will meet more family under these circumstances, but it is an opportunity nonetheless.  He spoke to his uncle this morning (for the first time ever) and he welcomed Randall with open arms (I suppose you can do that over the phone).  I am happy for Randall and sad for Glenna (the grandmother). 

Randall is the long lost grandson/nephew and he was nervous about calling and saying “Hi, I’m Randall.  I’m sure you have heard about me.  I heard the news, is it okay to come visit?” Well, that’s not exactly how it went, but you get the point. So, Randall is taking his brother Ron to the airport in Lubbock, then plugging in Roger’s address into the GPS and heading north for ?!?!  days. I am really glad that he is able to go…. but for the record…. I REALLY miss my husband!!!

I just read that Zoey’s tests came back Leukemia free!  (thanks for the tip Shelli) Praise God!  She has something going on that is causing the blood level issues… but the leukemia is gone and that is WONDERFUL NEWS!  What an amazing answered prayer!!!  For more details see Zoey’s page. 

I am blessed by this news!  Thank you Lord!

Today I was stunned to hear that a sweet little two year old named Zoey, who has been through two rounds of Leukemia and a host of other terrible medical issues, is being lifted up in prayer tonight for the possibility that the cancer is back.  I wept as I read Heather’s post.  My heart literally aches for this little girl and her family.  I cannot stop crying for this poor family that I have never actually met them. I have been praying for Zoey for almost a year and I just don’t understand how all this can happen.  For lack of a better word, It is tragic.  Words cannot express what they all must be going through. 

As you know, we have had a horrible year this year with the lay off and I am making arrangements to go back to work which has been killing my spirit.  I don’t want to leave my baby girl.  I want to be with her, work with her, help her through her milestones and enjoy her.  It is crushing me to think of going back to work and missing her daily life and going back to a few hours a day.  It was hard with Anthony to go back to work, but with Sydney it is doubly hard.  As hard as this is… it is dwarfed by the pain that Heather is going through.  Her sweet baby will not be sitting in daycare playing with other children… she will be back in the hospital for weeks on end. 

Put it in perspective Jeanette!  Sydney will be fine.  You will be fine.  Anthony will be fine.  It all worked out the last time I went to work… it will be okay this time.  I hugged my children a million times today and thanked God with all my heart that they are healthy.  I have been in a real funk lately, so not sure who is even reading this anymore…. If you are reading this, hug your children, hug your loved ones. Tell them that you love them.  If they aren’t with you now…find a way to tell them and thank God for your blessings!  They are there!

enough rambling… God bless you all…

I have a good friend, Arthur who started a website called Air Prayer.  He travels a lot with his job and it occurred to him one day to pray for those people below him as he flew overhead.  It is a neat concept to look down on the earth and think of all the people below as God might see them, not just passing landscape. 

On my recent trip to go home to Arizona and visit my family, I was about mid-way there when I had a brief moment of quiet (the kids were watching a video for a few minutes) so I thought about Arthur and Air Prayer and I took the opportunity to say a prayer for all of the people below.  It was a nice feeling to pray over so many people below… for no reason, just peace.  I wasn’t asking for something specific, just general intercessory prayer.

As you know, I was flying with Anthony and Sydney… a 5 year old and a 2 year old.  Sydney was rather antsy on the trip.  She did pretty good, MUCH better than the longer trip to Reno in June.  She didn’t want to sit still and the Elmo video lost it’s charm quickly, but I think it was because she wasn’t a fan of wearing headphones.  Has anyone seen Bill Cosby’s routine on air travel with 4 year old Jeffrey?.  It’s worth the viewing if you’ve never seen it.. and if you have, watch it again.  It is still hilarious! (see below)  It will give you an appreciation for traveling with small kids.  For the record.. Anthony was an ANGEL!!!  He is an awesome traveler!

Other than some antsyness, the trip to Arizona was rather uneventful… but on the way home we were avoiding storms and there was mild bumping for a good portion of the trip.  THEN we hit some severe turbulence as we were descending into Austin.  Luckily my 5 year old was brave as can be and was saying “Mom, most kids my age would be scared.  I know that it is just like a bumpy road”.  Sydney was oblivious to the fear of the bumps which were really knocking her around so I was holding onto her while she sat buckled in the seat to keep her head from banging the arm rest.  She was not scared but was DONE DONE DONE with sitting in a chair for 2 hours and wanted to get up.  So I leaned over and sang Elmo songs to her which made her happy.  I was the only one in my little family that was aware of the potential hazard of the bad weather and heavy turbulence.  Let me state that I am a seasoned traveler and believe me, this was rough!  At some point during all of the bumping and bouncing I realized that I was supposed to be praying for those people below me and said a REALLY quick prayer which was immediately followed by a MUCH longer and more intense prayer for the safety of our flight and the guidance of our pilots.  We made it safe and sound, but the experience got me to thinking about Air Prayer.

It made me think about how I can pray on the ground since I don’t travel much these days.  It has been my habit to pray every time I hear or see and ambulance or firetruck go by with lights and sirens blazing, so now I think that I will pray for the planes when I see them go overhead.  And to all of you regular fliers, say a prayer for those below when you are in the air… and PLEASE pray for those parents traveling with young children.  It is a challenge to do so, and trust me, they can use all of the prayers you can offer!

Blessings!

Randall left yesterday to go to Plainview and I pondered whether or not I was up for taking three kids to church by myself.  I decided to go and so glad that I did.  The message was spot on…  go figure.  One of the songs that was sung this morning was Humble Thyself.  It is sung as an echo where the men start and the women echo, then we come together and sing as one.  It is SO beautiful to hear our church sing this song.  It just touched my heart.

The Gospel, the sermon, the songs… the whole thing was just perfectly aimed at my heart.  Now, I could have done without the wiggly, fiesty Two year old bouncing around in my lap and the clingy 5 year old who was hanging on my arm and picking on the two year old.  ARGH!  At the end of the service the kids go up to the front to play instruments for the last song and they were happy as can be.  =0)

Then after church was over I was humbled beyond believe.  I was going to do something to to help out a friend of mine when I was the recipient of the same help.  It reduced me to tears.  We are so blessed to be surrounded by love.  It was very humbly to recieve help… and SO difficult!  I am not a good recipient, I would much rather give.

Then I called a friend LAST minute to see if she and her family were up for dinner… and they were!  I had a wonderful dinner!  And she insisted on buying dinner.  ARGH!!!  We spent about 10 minutes forcing my $20 for dinner back and forth.   She won by slipping my $20 back via Anthony.  Dawn!!