I AM SO EXCITED!

The little boy that reminds us of Noah. We took this picture when he was here a few years ago. It is my understanding that he is not returning this year.
Yeshoda from Nepal.
Rose from Uganda
The Central Team Choir


Almost 6 years ago our family had the opportunity to see worship at it finest. In October of Kayla's second grade year our church held it's first Global Impact Celebration "GIC". This was an amazing experience for our family and it was a huge milestone in the life of our church. Hundreds of people came forward and surrendered their hearts and lives to the mission field.

James and I were one of the many that went forward that night confirming that during the next two years we would seek God's direction concerning missions. We pledged that we would allow God to send us on the field for either a short term mission trip or full time missions. We left that evening so excited yet nervous wondering what God had in store for us.

That evening our children's choir preformed for the missionaries that had come for GIC. The children selected a country that they wanted to represent and then dressed accordingly. Kayla choose China, so the search began. We were able to find a precious outfit and even had her hair done in these braids that were wrapped in fabric and then tied up in circles. After the kids sang they were taken upstairs to play until the rest of the service was over. After the service I wanted to get a picture of Kayla with the Chinese flag. I waited and waited for James to bring her back down and began to get a little frustrated because he was taking so long. I decided to hunt him down and see what was taking so long. When I found him he said that Kayla had hurt her thumb and was upset. I asked some questions and tried to look at it while James went to get the car. It was late and she had school the next day. While I was waiting for him Kayla kept crying so I looked at her thumb again and tried to have her move it. At that point I knew we had a problem. I felt the thumb move in and out of the socket. We went directly to the ER (in full Chinese dress) where her injuries were confirmed. She had dislocated the thumb, hyper extended it and broke the growth plate. They were now calling in a surgeon. We were told to expect emergency surgery. Thankfully after the surgeon reviewed the ex rays he was able to determine that the thumb was properly set and that we could return home with a splint. We could then see him the next day at his office where they would cast it. Needless to say we returned home with only a glimpse of the mission field on our minds.

The story actually starts the night before when our plumbing burst and flooded our house. We actually returned home to carpets pulled up and huge fans drying our floors and walls. We were spending every night at the church and our days at the orthopedists and working with our insurance adjuster.

So back to the reason I started this post. The Children of the World Choir preformed at our First GIC. They also returned to preform at our last GIC a few years ago. We were so blessed by these amazing children. The second time we saw them preform we had just brought Noah home from Guatemala. One of the little boys that preformed reminded us so much of Noah. Several people in the church picked up on this. At the time Noah was the only young child that attended our church that had been adopted internationally so he was well known. While this little boy gave his testimony I just wept. It was such a privilege to experience the worship that these precious children gave so freely and it was humbling to see them through an adoptive parents eyes. God had rescued our son and had placed him into our family. He had spared him the hardships that these young children had already gone through. I thanked God so much for what he had already done in Noah's life. Since that night I have wanted to be a host family to these children. I had hoped that our church would be able to have them back and that some how we could get on the list to host them.

So....the Children of the World are returning to our church and will be preforming at our GIC in March. We had our first host family meeting and we received the names of the two girls that will be staying with us. I am so excited. One of the little girls is from Uganda and the other is form Nepal. Noah is very excited and Kayla has chosen not to attend the youth weekend so that she can be with the girls. Did I say that I am so excited! I am so giddy that one might think that we are going to keep them forever. Maybe not forever but I have no doubt that the few days we have to spend with them will be eternally rewarding. We are so privileged to have this opportunity and can't wait to meet them in person.

PS We did end up going on the mission field just not as soon as we had thought. While traveling to Guatemala was not a "mission trip " it was life changing for our family and it paved the way for us to spend 17 days in Thailand. While we were in Guatemala we were able to share what God had done in our family and we were able to reach out to our Lawyer and to Noah's foster mom. So in a way we were on the mission field.

Ice Storm 2009

Cleanup is over till spring
This entire area was piled high with limbs after the storm

I woke up to this truck picking up limbs in our front yard

Kayla and I were a little jealous that this claw picked up this pile in 30 minuets when it took so many people days to put it there.
Bon Fire any one?

The picture does not even begin to show how big this pile was. When the red truck above arrived at our house it was empty. They filled the truck and continued to smash down the pile of branches in the truck and still had to go dump before they started the next yard.
Our favorite maple tree. We will not know if it will survive until Spring. It will possibly have to come down because it does not have enough support.
The tops are gone out of these trees. They were so thick that you could not see between them. Now they are so bare and top less.
This is our favorite tree in the yard. The blooms arepurple in the spring.
Not sure what will come of this one. The picture right below is of our neighbors tree that we see out our front window. The entire top of the tree fell to the ground. The tree is aprox 60-80 feet tall (at least it use to be)







These are a few pictures taken during and after the storm. It was very difficult to capture what it was really like. I wish that I had taken video but we were not able to get out of our car unless we were in our driveway due to power lines that were down. We are planning to wait till spring and see what recovers and what still needs attention. We are still loosing limbs when the wind kicks up. We are also going to have to repair the end of our drive as we now have a lake. Even our road is starting to buckle because of all the moisture.

I am looking forward to things drying out a little bit and looking forward to the warmer days ahead.

We have a new pet.

Yes we have a new pet...pet rock that is. For some reason Noah has latched on to a rock that he found in the drive way. So far it has been banned from Church but has accompanied us to the dinner table and other such places. It sleeps in "Penny's bed." That would be his build a bear puppy's bed that he got from Aunt April at Christmas. When I asked him to leave his rock outside he said "but it is special to me!" I asked him what he was going to do with it and he said "wuv it." How can I say no at that point. I thought that it would not last past the end of the day but it is still holding a special place in his heart today. So for now as long as it behaves we have a pet rock.

Sorry to disappoint those who were looking for the cute pictures of something furry. I must say I am growing fond of this pet that does not require house training or regular feedings. We may be onto something. I guess this is what happens when "Penny" the real puppy goes home.

Clean Up begins

We are home and the clean up has begun. The guys are making huge progress. We have about 8 or 9 guys working between our house and the neighbors. You can actually see the ground again.

At some point I will post pictures. It was easier to come home today knowing that we were going to be staying and that progress could begin. The only way to move past this is to move forward so that is what we are doing. There have been a lot of tears shed and we know that there is a lot of work to do but we are are so blessed.

Please pray for safety as our community tries to clean up and get back to "normal."

Staying warm.

We made a trip back home yesterday. We needed to get more clothes and items since we will be staying with Amber longer then we thought. Obviously we are still without power and not sure when it will be back on. There is rumor that maybe Saturday by midnight.

In some ways I am ready to go home but at the same time I am overwhelmed by the site of everything. It makes us physically ill to drive down our road. A palce that use to be serene and peacefull looks like a war zone. I have been in several tornados and had not experienced such destruction until now.

I am glad we left. It was so cold in our house. By the time James and I left my nose was running and I was starting to cough. There is no way the kids could have stayed. I am so thankful that Amber opened up her home to us.

I am trying to cancel kayla's birthday party. I am disapointed that we have to keep pushing it back so far. She is very understanding though.

I will try to post more later. For now we are doing very well just have a loft of cleanup ahead of us.

We hope this finds the rest of you safe and warm.

Dropping Like Flies.

This is the first time since our little man came home that the entire family has been affected by sickness at the same time. It started when Noah threw up in his bed Thursday night. We had no idea that he had thrown up and he did not make any noise during the night. Of course I felt horrible and thought what if he did cry and I didn't hear him. I just wish I would have known so that I could have comforted him and cleaned him up. Friday he said "mommy I sorry I coughed in my bed." I explained to him that he had thrown up and that I was not upset just worried about him. He had to miss his play day at the gym so he thought he was in trouble. I tried over and over to explain to him that he was not naughty but that when you are sick you have to stay home so you do not get your friends sick.

Saturday night it hit Kayla and by Sunday afternoon mom was down. Dad is home sick with it today. The good news is only one person at a time has actually been throwing up. We have managed to space it out just right. By the time the next person gets it the previous person is past the worst part and can help hold down the fort. I am so ready for this to be over.

While I was typing my post on Hog Noses my sister called very upset. My first thought was that she was still really upset about the move. (We both cried most of the night)

Instead she was calling to tell me that their pastor's daughter was just killed in a car accident. Please pray for this family. I fell it is best to not mention any names as they have not been able to notify all the family. They do have two other children and one child has not been notified yet. Please pray for this precious family. Also please pray for my sister and her family as they are very close to them. Kayla has spent a great deal of time with their children while visiting my sister. The mother taught Kayla's age group and one of her daughters is Kayla's age. The family has always been so good to my kids while they were visiting. They made sure that they were welcome and plugged in even though they were only there for short periods of time.

There so many hurting in the world around us. Our hearts and prayers go out to those who are grieving and those who are facing medical trials. May God continue to comfort the brokenhearted and may He place His healing hand on those that need healing.

God is Bigger Than Hog Noses!

"Arkansas Survival Kit"



I know some must be thinking that some how the title to this post is sacrilegious. It is just my way of trying to acknowledge that God's ways are not my ways.

First I must explain the picture that is featured in this post. In December my sister called to inform me that there was a promising chance that their family would be transferred to Little Rock in August. It was not set in stone but it looked very promising. When they told their two boys they respond with the statement "but there are so many germs there!" Why would they say such a thing? Because every time they visit us they get sick. Really really sick! It is also a fact that when we visit them our kids end up sick, really really sick. In return we get them sick. So why the picture? Well they joked about sending us a Christmas card that said they are ready for us ( we were visiting them for Christmas) and in the card they were going to wear mask and gloves. So when we heard that they may be moving to Little Rock we decided to make them an Arkansas survival kit. The kit included hand sanitizer, mask, gloves and of course a hog nose. My sister was the only one who knew that we were doing this. It was a huge hit and we all had a big laugh. It also made for a great family photo.

We have been anxiously awaiting the big news on his new assignment. It was revealed yesterday that they will not be moving to Little Rock. The worse part is that they will be moving to Washington. What use to be a 6 hour drive for us to see them will now be a four day drive. Needless to say we are both heartbroken. They will finish their last assignment in Washington (4 years) so we will miss the boys High School years and it will be very expensive and difficult to make it for their graduations. Our little Noah will be heartbroken too when he realizes that he can not just go to Aunt April's house on a whim. He kinda got attached to her and Penny (their puppy) when they stayed with her for 17 days while we were in Thailand.

We both know that God's plan for their family is more important than the plans we made for living just 3 hours apart. We knew that it was not a done deal but we had both hoped and prayed that it might be that way. So for now I am so thankful for the past 4 years that God allowed us to live so close. We have managed with this much distance between us before and we will manage again, but I will miss having her so close.

I love you sis! I just hope our guys know that we will be trying to fit in as mush time as we can before the actual move. I still see scrap booking in our future!

So Many Emotions

~17 days on the Indian Ocean half way around the world~
~This was the view from our room!~


I am so far behind on posting that I do not even know where to begin. I always have the best intentions but you know what they so about intentions.

We had a great time with family over the holidays. We were able to see all of our family except my brother and his family. Pretty bummed that we were not able to see him. We traveled to LA to spend Christmas with my older sis, younger sis and my parents. I was able to see one of my nephews for the first time and he is 5 years old. My younger sister met Noah for the first time. It was great to spend time with all the cousins and family. James' parents and his sister drove in from Colorado a few days after we returned form LA. While they were here visiting we renovated our master bath. I'm sure that there would have been a more logical time to accomplish this but it is the only time that James has that much time off to devote to a project. Our bathroom has been in the mist of repairs since it flooded when Kayla was in the second grade. Yes she is now in 7th grade. We simply have had other things that were more in need of our time and money. If I could find my camera I would post some during and after photos.

We are back at school again. We managed to stay on track pretty well. The chores seem to suffer more when we are schooling. Noah plays well but after I spend time teaching I feel so guilty cleaning house when I should be playing with him. Either way I feel like some thing or some one is being neglected.

Tonight we had an amazing time of worship and fellowship at church. Our youth pastor and his family will be leaving in a week to serve on international soil. We are so excited for them as they begin this new journey but they will be greatly missed. Tonight when we told Noah it was time to leave he asked where we were going. We told him that we were going to church to say goodbye to his little friend B. Noah asked us were B was going and we told him he was moving. We also told him were B was moving to. He looked at us and said "That's a bummer!" The only response to that was "it's a good bummer." We are so excited for this family because we know what is in store for them but we will miss them so much. Their family has been such a blessing to our church and the youth are so sad to see them go.

Another reason that tonight is filled with so many emotions is that we had the opportunity to work along side this family in Thailand. Our hearts and minds are already stirred as we approach the one year anniversary of our trip. Many of the songs that we sang tonight were the ones that we sang on our trip. One in particular moves us to tears every time we hear the words or tune. Tonight was a sweet reminder of all our new friends that we made a year ago, yet it is a sad reminder that we may never have that opportunity again. Our experience in Thailand was probably one of the most difficult things that we have ever done physically but it was so rewarding. If asked I do believe that I would get on that plane and make the 25+ hour flight and do it all over again. I would endure the smells, the uncleanliness, very late luggage, the mold, the bacteria, the foreign foods, no diet coke, the language barrier, lack of sleep, jet lag and any of the foreign sights and customs so that we could once again work with our new friends and join them in their cause. It was an honor and a pleasure to work with them. We miss them so much and continue to remember them and lift them up.

We still wish that we were able to share so much more with each of you. For now this will have to do. I am still considering a 17 day pineapple fast in remembrance of our trip. (for those who missed a previous post that was about the only thing that I ate while I was there.)

Our hearts are stirred and will continue to be stirred. We are hopeful that we will be able to work alongside some of theses fine folks again some day but until then we are so grateful that we had this opportunity.

Happy 13th Birthday Kayla

It is so hard for me to believe that this beautiful young lady was placed in my arms 13 years ago this evening. I remember that day as if it were yesterday yet it seems so long ago. She was so beautiful and we were so proud to be her parents.


Here are just a few highlights of the last thirteen years:

The first family member that we told we were pregnant was his mom, dad, and sister.

Their response- "She will still be pregnant in the morning, call back then." (We called them at two in the morning) We took the test about 1 in the morning.

The first friends that we told were Shawn and April- we waited till morning to tell them and then went to Shoneys for breakfast to celebrate.

She was 2 weeks early and weighed in at 9lbs 2 & 1/2 ounces

She was the loudest baby in the hospital nursery- we could hear her crying all the way down the hall.

She was born with black hair which fell out & was replaced by curly blond hair

She was the only baby in the church nursery and people fought over who would get to stay with her.

She did not like pacifiers. She was very colicky

She loved to sleep on our water bed (yes I know very taboo) but she only napped there while I did laundry.

She preferred to sleep in her swing or her car seat

She loved music- her first movie was a sing a Disney sing a long that she would watch while kicking one leg to make her bouncy seat move

Her nursery was done in Noah's Ark - Her toddler room in Winnie the Pooh

Her first word was Pooh ( as in Winnie the Pooh) At 9 mo old she could hum the theme song to Winnie the pooh.

Her first boo-boo came from having her forehead pinched in her stroller the day before pictures

Her favorite animal was a cat

Her first Birthday theme was Winnie the Pooh

She has always loved animals, water, and coloring or drawing

When she was two she "practiced" writing her name all over her bed room wall the day after we had it painted. She said that she did it because she did not have any paper.

Her first pet- Abby the dog (has had her since she was 4) , second pet- Callie her cat (no longer with us as of a week ago today)

Favorite food then- sweet potatoes and apples and cinnamon oatmeal, Now- I would say pork chops and macaroni and cheese

She has never had stitches

She dislocated, hyper extended her thumb and broke the growth plate in her thumb when she was in 2nd grade ( sported a hot pink cast for weeks) Arrived in the ER in full Chinese Costume

She had an MRI when she was 5 because they believe that she had a tumor on her spine- we believe God healed her-very long story

Has been home schooled since third grade

Has always been drawn to Children with disabilities- would help them in her preschool class instead of doing her own work.

Is known for her tender spirit and compassion

Very trustworthy

I have so many memories and so much that I could continue to share. I might even go back and add things to this post. I have said many times that Kayla has been my biggest challenge and biggest blessing rolled up into one package. She has challenged me in ways that have stretched my abilities and her life has blessed be beyond measure. Together we have overcome so much and we have shared much laughter and tears. I know that my first role in her life is to be her mom not her friend but I can honestly say that she is the type of friend that I would cherish. I know that one day when I am past this season of parenting her that I will cherish her as my daughter and friend. She is a beautiful girl outwardly but her true beauty comes from within. Her faith is strong and her passion for Christ at such an impressionable age astounds me. She continues to make us proud and we are so blessed to call her our daughter. I feel in love with her thirteen years ago when they placed her in my arms and I continue to love her more deeply with every passing day.

Happy 13th Birthday Kayla, I love you so much!

Saying Goodbye to Callie

Tonight we took Kayla to meet her Sunday School class so that they could go caroling. While she was caroling James, Noah, & I ran errands so that we would be ready to leave for my sisters as soon as James gets off work tomorrow. After he pulled in the drive way I asked him if he would back in instead so that I could load the van tomorrow. As he was backing in we quickly became aware that we had hit something. At first James thought it was Kayla's bike and then the horror and reality hit. It was quickly confirmed that the family cat "Callie" had been hit.

It is best that I leave out details but I am sorry to say that Callie did not make it. She was laid to rest between two trees that she loved to hang out by. Most people know that James and I are not big cat lovers but God brought her to us several years ago and she was a great kid cat. She loved to hang out with the kids. They even jumped with her on the trampoline. They would hold her while they jumped. She loved it. Any thing to get attention.

Kayla took it pretty hard but is already doing better. When she is ready we will show her where she is buried. She helped make the decision but did not want to see her and it was just too cold for the kids to be outside. Plus it was really dark. Noah will not stop talking about it which is not helping sissy's grief. It is very hard to explain death to a toddler but we refuse to lie to him. Death is a part of life and we have been very open with both of our children on the issue.

Please pray that we can leave this sadness behind us for a few days and enjoy our time with family. This is Kayla's first experience with loosing a pet. It is the first pet that James and I have lost together. Well unless you count a fish or hamster. Please pray for dad as he bears the weight of being the driver. Callie was always greeting us and getting so close to the van or truck. We have worried so many times that she would get hit.

I better go it has been a long day and it promises to be very busy tomorrow.

Merry Christmas.

Visiting Mr. Clause

A few weeks ago we received a flier in the mail from Silver Dollar City. On the back there was a picture of Santa Clause. Noah brought me the flier and said "mommy mommy I need to go here today. I need to see Mr. Clause and tell him that I need a Bat House"! I told him that we could not go today to which he replied "okay then we need to go tomorrow". We had already been planning a trip to SDC but not that week. We really have not talked to him about Santa. He has seen him on TV but we have never taken him to see Santa. We have also never called him MR. Clause but that is what he calls him. Since that day that is all we have heard him call him.

When it was Noah turn to see "Mr. Clause" he had so much to tell him. They had a hard time getting a picture where he was looking at the camera because he was deep in conversation and would not pose for a photo opp. I finally got him to look at the camera. The woman taking the picture asked if Noah was telling Santa a story and Santa asked me how old he was. When I told him he just turned three he was kind of surprised. Noah was able to relay his desire for a bat house and we were able to get a few cute pictures of his first trip to see Santa. Or should I call him "Mr. Clause"?

There are many Branson stories to share but I will probably do so in a different post.

WARNING! This post may not be for the faint of heart!

So... it is possible to cause bodily damage with a cookie sheet. The purple is from all the bruising. The cut is at the joint even though the toe nail looks so bad.

I really thought that this was the week that I would get caught up on school and chores. I'm not sure it is a good idea to enter a Monday with such high expectations. I should have had a clue Sunday when Kayla was complaining of a sore throat and had the chills. I also should not have dismissed the sores on Noah's face as mere dry skin.

We began our week with a doctor visit for both kids. It turned out that Kayla did indeed have strep and Noah had Infintigo (which is a form of step that is contained to the skin instead of the throat). Both are on antibiotics and doing much better. Noah's birthday party is Saturday and it looks as though he will be through with the nasty sores by then. He is not contagious anymore but looked pretty rough for a few days.

Monday and Tuesday I took care of sick kids and by Wednesday it looked as though I might be able to get a few more things done. My plans were to spend Thursday getting things ready for Noah's party. We have a very ful day Friday (which is Noah's actual birthday) and I wanted to spend some quality time with him instead of going crazy with party prep.

As of Wednesday night those plans were shot. I returned home from picking Kayla up from church and from getting Philip. Philip was spending the night since his mom had clinical very early the next morning. We had the boys in bed about 9:45 and I was in the kitchen cleaning up from dinner. I grabbed the cookie sheet off the stove that I had baked the garlic bread on and went to put it in the sink. The pan never made it to the sink. Instead it took a hard dive toward my right big tow and hit it square on. One might think that this would hurt (kinda of like a stubbed toe) but that the sting would go away rather quickly. That is exactly what I thought. The problem is the pain did not subside but became very intense to the point that I thought that I was going to be sick. I still had my head leaned over the counter and had not opened my eyes when James realized that the groans coming from the kitchen were not ceasing. He has heard the crash and the load grunt/moan and decided he better check things out. (Okay if you are squeamish you should probably stop reading now). Remember I have not surveyed the situation because I am in too much pain to do anything but try and shake it off. When he came in the kitchen he said " Angie your bleeding"! I said I know-which I didn't and then it hit me that he was serious. I looked down to see my white sock soaked in blood and thought oh no this is not good. Then I looked around as he said "you are bleeding really bad"! That is when I saw that puddles of blood in a circle around me. At this point I am not sure if I am going to freak out or pass out. I did have enough common sense to ask for a chair so that I could get my foot above my heart. The next half hour was spent trying to stop the bleed and figure out if an emergency room visit was in our agenda for the evening. We were able to stop the bleeding but now we are convinced by hte size and color that the big toe is broke. The pan hit the joint so James was worried that the joint might be smashed pretty bad. We made the decision to stay at home and see my doctor the nest morning. (We do not like emergency rooms). It did continue to bleed some but and soaked through a couple of bandages but I am glad that we waited. The morning brought less pain and bleeding but more bruising. We saw the doctor this morning and I am happy to report that the joint is fine and there are no broken bones. I also did not need stitches so it was okay that we did not go to the ER. I bruised the soft tissue really bad and they said that the cut would seal up by the end of the day and stop seeping if I stayed off of it. I am supposed to keep it wrapped and take it easy for a few days. I can still drive but I can not wear a closed shoe. The birthday party is still on but it may be a little more difficult to get all my errands accomplished.

Sleepover Silliness

It's been a while since we've kept Philip overnight with out the other two. The boys had such a good time. Philip is starting to play more with Noah and they chase each other all over the house doing silly things. It is so much fun to see them interacting and learning from each other. Philip can also say Noah clearly now so he love to chase Noah calling his name.

Here are a few pictures that we took right before bedtime. Are they not the cutest things you have ever seen?

MERRY CHRISTMAS

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