Well, there was no possible way we'd be embarrassed today, since we had two carts of
groceries. : ) (I don't think I have that problem!)
One of my boys wants to try to an interesting experiment. I told him this was 'very blog able.'
He wants to sell one of his Game boy games for $20 and then use the money to" buy all my own food to live on for a week."
And his own food would consist of:
~white bread (which he's never had)
~t.v. dinners (which he thinks look really good, but I know better)
~and those pancake and sausage corn dogs
I think this could be a really good learning experience. Especially on how much you can buy for $20 and how long it lasts. ; )
~Becky
June 28, 2007
June 27, 2007
The perfect color
After 8 months I have finally got up the courage to do it!
Color my hair!
And I am excited because it is the exact same color that I have had for 37 yrs!!! And that is quite a feat, because who knew there were SO many shades of brown!?
I have my kids to thank for my color success.
I probably have them to thank for the reason I need to color my hair too. ha ha
Eight months ago we were at Target on one unforgettable day, and I was holding my head next to all those loops of artificial hair and asking their opinion on which one was closest to mine. I kept asking them if my hair matched the ladies on this box or that box. "Is mine darker or lighter than hers?" My poor boys were wishing they were anywhere else in the world. : )
But, Joy didn't mind a bit! I must be color challenged or something, because I could not tell from the boxes pictures or the loops of fake hair... So, they were stuck for like 20 min. helping me try to pick one.
But, then I chickened out and I didn't use it. But 8 mo. later, it's either -go for the "hoary head" look or do something about it....
And so, I finally did it! And it was painless! Accept the smell made me want to pass out!
And it didn't turn out to be a funky color
like I was expecting and dreading and praying against. : )
Now a certain somebody in our family thinks that he ought to be able to color his hair since I did. And this person wants a funky color which would be blueish black. And it will take me a lot longer than 8 mo. to say 'yes' to that! ; )
~Becky
Color my hair!
And I am excited because it is the exact same color that I have had for 37 yrs!!! And that is quite a feat, because who knew there were SO many shades of brown!?
I have my kids to thank for my color success.
I probably have them to thank for the reason I need to color my hair too. ha ha
Eight months ago we were at Target on one unforgettable day, and I was holding my head next to all those loops of artificial hair and asking their opinion on which one was closest to mine. I kept asking them if my hair matched the ladies on this box or that box. "Is mine darker or lighter than hers?" My poor boys were wishing they were anywhere else in the world. : )
But, Joy didn't mind a bit! I must be color challenged or something, because I could not tell from the boxes pictures or the loops of fake hair... So, they were stuck for like 20 min. helping me try to pick one.
But, then I chickened out and I didn't use it. But 8 mo. later, it's either -go for the "hoary head" look or do something about it....
And so, I finally did it! And it was painless! Accept the smell made me want to pass out!
And it didn't turn out to be a funky color
like I was expecting and dreading and praying against. : )
Now a certain somebody in our family thinks that he ought to be able to color his hair since I did. And this person wants a funky color which would be blueish black. And it will take me a lot longer than 8 mo. to say 'yes' to that! ; )
~Becky
June 25, 2007
An 8 yr. old's theory
Andrew: "You know what moms do? They go to the store for milk
but they never come home with just milk.
They are too embarrassed to check out with only one thing!"
but they never come home with just milk.
They are too embarrassed to check out with only one thing!"
I'm actually off to the store now for eggs...and it would be a good thing for my budget if I could handle the embarrassment. ha ha
~Becky : )
What's up
Life right now, pretty much consists of remodeling, but there are a few other things going on:
Nathan just graduated from our church's JBQ team. And just in time, the Lord brought someone to our church who has started a Teen Bible Quiz team. So far, there are 2 people on the team but hopefully, more will join. Nathan is so excited. He wants to memorize the entire New Testament! (Is that an awesome goal or what?!) This year they are going to memorize Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon!
Zachary and I have taken two Movie Media classes at the library this summer. I love those FREE classes! It's great fun to make slide shows and add music and titles. He really enjoys it!!! I'm going to give him an assignment to make a slide show of all our field trips and educational activities from the past school year and then we can take it to our evaluation on Friday. (the one that got rescheduled because they were so sunburned and ill) Hopefully he'll have enough time to do it. He is pretty busy being Carlos' main helper on this kitchen remodel. Anyway, you relatives can expect some slide shows from our visits with you from now on. : )
Here is what the kitchen looks like now and here is Zach working.
Here are some pictures of our temporary kitchen for my mom and dad who asked about it. It works pretty well. Except that it doesn't have hot water, so I do a lot of boiling. But, I do get to have the dishwasher hooked up which is a big blessing. (no garbage disposal, though)
I've learned why cupboards are such a good thing! They hide your food from YOU. When you have to look at your food all the time, you want to eat it! ; )
This whole remodeling process is just growing, but it's a blessing. We had no idea that the foundation of our house was sagging. Scary!!! Carlos is working hard to get it propped up and in place with cement pillars. Also, because of the water heater that burst, our floors were still wet when we pulled them up! And that wasn't the part of the kitchen that was sagging!!! So, who knows what would have happened if we'd never torn them all out. We may have stepped right through the floor one day.
This whole remodeling process is just growing, but it's a blessing. We had no idea that the foundation of our house was sagging. Scary!!! Carlos is working hard to get it propped up and in place with cement pillars. Also, because of the water heater that burst, our floors were still wet when we pulled them up! And that wasn't the part of the kitchen that was sagging!!! So, who knows what would have happened if we'd never torn them all out. We may have stepped right through the floor one day.
God bless Carlos for all of this work. I'd say it's more than he bargained for but he seems to be enjoying it. (or he fakes it really well) ; )
~Becky
June 22, 2007
A hubby and a recipe like no other
Everyday I think about doing a post about my wonderful hubby. And everyday, I change my mind, for two reasons:
1. I don't think I write well enough to convey just how wonderful he really is
2. I don't want to make all the ladies of the blogasphere jealous by trying ; )
So, I'll just say, I am really blessed!!! And "I picked the right one, Babe!" (that's an inside joke we have)
Tonight, I am making one of his favorite meals. I only make this about once a year because:
(I'm into lists today)
1. It takes forever to make
2. It has a gazillion ingredients
3. It isn't very healthy
But, oh is it GOOD!
Monte Cristo Sandwiches! yummy!
I use french bread for these but you can use white bread
cooked turkey
cooked ham
American cheese
Swiss cheese
1 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 T baking powder
1-1 1/4 cups of water
Vegetable oil for deep frying
raspberry jam
powdered sugar
Place turkey and Swiss cheese on one slice of bread and ham and American cheese on the other slice. Place a third slice between both, for a triple decker sandwich and secure it with tooth picks.
Place egg in a mixing bowl, add water, and beat together. Add salt, sugar, flour, and baking powder. Beat batter until smooth. Dip sandwich in batter and carefully cover all the sides and surfaces. Carefully place in hot oil and fry until golden. When sandwich has turned a warm gold color remove from hot oil and place on paper towels. Let cool a few minutes before removing the toothpicks. Cut in fourths and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve raspberry jam on the side.
I'm going to serve them with dill pickles and Ceasar salad.
I'm just sure that we will be eating these at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in heaven someday and not worrying a bit about the calories. ; )
~Becky
this recipe is from CopyKatCreations under Bennigan's Monte Cristo
1. I don't think I write well enough to convey just how wonderful he really is
2. I don't want to make all the ladies of the blogasphere jealous by trying ; )
So, I'll just say, I am really blessed!!! And "I picked the right one, Babe!" (that's an inside joke we have)
Tonight, I am making one of his favorite meals. I only make this about once a year because:
(I'm into lists today)
1. It takes forever to make
2. It has a gazillion ingredients
3. It isn't very healthy
But, oh is it GOOD!
Monte Cristo Sandwiches! yummy!
I use french bread for these but you can use white bread
cooked turkey
cooked ham
American cheese
Swiss cheese
1 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 T baking powder
1-1 1/4 cups of water
Vegetable oil for deep frying
raspberry jam
powdered sugar
Place turkey and Swiss cheese on one slice of bread and ham and American cheese on the other slice. Place a third slice between both, for a triple decker sandwich and secure it with tooth picks.
Place egg in a mixing bowl, add water, and beat together. Add salt, sugar, flour, and baking powder. Beat batter until smooth. Dip sandwich in batter and carefully cover all the sides and surfaces. Carefully place in hot oil and fry until golden. When sandwich has turned a warm gold color remove from hot oil and place on paper towels. Let cool a few minutes before removing the toothpicks. Cut in fourths and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve raspberry jam on the side.
I'm going to serve them with dill pickles and Ceasar salad.
I'm just sure that we will be eating these at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in heaven someday and not worrying a bit about the calories. ; )
~Becky
this recipe is from CopyKatCreations under Bennigan's Monte Cristo
June 21, 2007
The future band
Our goal is to one day have a family band that can worship the Lord together on instruments.
My hubby played the guitar a little, before we married. He and some other people in our small church way back when, took lessons so that we could have live praise and worship.
Soon after that a 5th baby joined our family...not really a child, a guitar. A Martin. And is 'Martin' ever loved and cared for. : )
Even when our house was only 800 and something square feet, we were determined to fit instruments in it and play. We had a keyboard packed into our little living room and a digital drum set (very space saving) in the hallway. (kind of hard to play along from the hallway though!)
When we added on to our house, we also closed in our carport and that became the 'family room.' My hubby and I both dreamed about that room for years! It's where they can play together, that is when it isn't being used as the 'temporary kitchen.'
Zachary is our drummer. He took six mo. of lessons several years ago. His teacher said that "he was born to be a drummer." He loves it. Now, he has a regular drum set and is it ever loud. He plays along to contemporary Christian music on his ipod to practice. He loves to practice!!!
Joy took a session of voice lessons a couple years ago. Daddy wants her to be our vocalist. She has a pretty voice and can sing high notes that I won't reach until I get my glorified, heavenly body. : ) Now, she wants to learn acoustic guitar and so that is what Daddy is working on with her right now. One day, those two will be so cute, playing and singing together. My hubby has a great voice!
Andrew has had to wait until the magic age of eight (like everyone else) to join the family band. We are still saving up for his electric guitar which he decided was his instrument of choice years ago. He is learning on Daddy's adult one for now.
We found out that he's also got some skills on the drums recently....And we only found out because Zach was away for the weekend. ; ) He doesn't share his drums. But, Andrew doesn't mind living dangerously and so he gave them a try and the little guy has 'skills!' I was surprised at how much he has learned from one or two lessons from Zach and just watching him play all the time. He played them all that weekend. We thought at one point, Andrew wouldn't live to see age nine because something happened to the foot pedal but thankfully Daddy was able to fix it. : ) When I told him that Zach wasn't going to be too happy about him playing his drums without asking, he said "I know. I'm going to have to confess and tell him I played his drums and that I'm good at it!" I guess Zach was impressed too because ever since then, Andrew can be heard playing the drums and he isn't even tackled for it. : )
Nathan is our keyboard player. He's had a beat inside of him since he was a baby! He is gifted at it. It comes easy to him. (unlike me) He can memorize any song and play some from ear. He and I took keyboard lessons together. We learned to play chords so that we could quickly learn to play worship songs. After trying to figure out some of the famous composers' songs by ear, Nathan decided his goal is to be able to play classical music and so he is taking lessons again, but this time starting from the beginning, so to speak, by learning to read music.
Carlos is going to be in the family band too. (Because he's 'family') And so now the band will have a trumpet player one day. That is, when we aren't adding on to or remodeling our house and actually have time to practice! : )
It's a long process but my hubby makes sure we all keep at it.
One day, Lord willing, we will all be:
"...sing(ing) praises to Your name,
O Most High; to declare Your loving kindness in the morning
and your faithfulness at night on an instrument of ten strings,
on the lute, and on the harp,
with harmonious sound." Psalm 92:2-3
~Still have a lot of work to do on that harmonious sound part. : )
~Becky
June 20, 2007
Wednesdays in the Word
Yesterday, I was thinking that a couple of my favorite people in Acts besides Paul of course, are Philip and Apollos.
They both have qualities that I want.
I like Philip because he went on these missions for God. Major divine appointments. And when they were over he was whisked away or as the Bible puts it "found" somewhere else doing something else for God. I think that is awesome.
Apollos is remembered as the guy that Priscilla and Aquila had to 'teach the way of God more accurately.' Somehow he didn't get the memo about the crucifixion and the RESURRECTION, bless his heart. What a lot of good news he heard that day!
Here are the three qualities that Acts 19 tells us about him that I admire:
1. He was 'eloquent'
2. He was 'mighty in the scriptures'
3. He was 'fervent in spirit serving the Lord'
Being 'mighty in the scriptures' isn't a gift, it just takes work and dedication to the Word. Reading it, knowing it, memorizing it. I'd like to be mighty in the scriptures one day.
And I love what my reference says about being 'fervent.'
It means: "living fervor, fiery hot and full of burning zeal."
I really love this part: "It is the opposite of dignified, cold, and unemotional."
Woohoo! I want to be like that! Actually we are suppose to be. Romans 12:11 tells us to "keep your spiritual fervor" (NIV) or "be fervent in spirit." (NKJ)
I've been hanging out in Acts lately and so next time I'll share some things I love about Paul and or Ananias.
Blessings,
~Becky
They both have qualities that I want.
I like Philip because he went on these missions for God. Major divine appointments. And when they were over he was whisked away or as the Bible puts it "found" somewhere else doing something else for God. I think that is awesome.
Apollos is remembered as the guy that Priscilla and Aquila had to 'teach the way of God more accurately.' Somehow he didn't get the memo about the crucifixion and the RESURRECTION, bless his heart. What a lot of good news he heard that day!
Here are the three qualities that Acts 19 tells us about him that I admire:
1. He was 'eloquent'
2. He was 'mighty in the scriptures'
3. He was 'fervent in spirit serving the Lord'
Being 'mighty in the scriptures' isn't a gift, it just takes work and dedication to the Word. Reading it, knowing it, memorizing it. I'd like to be mighty in the scriptures one day.
And I love what my reference says about being 'fervent.'
It means: "living fervor, fiery hot and full of burning zeal."
I really love this part: "It is the opposite of dignified, cold, and unemotional."
Woohoo! I want to be like that! Actually we are suppose to be. Romans 12:11 tells us to "keep your spiritual fervor" (NIV) or "be fervent in spirit." (NKJ)
I've been hanging out in Acts lately and so next time I'll share some things I love about Paul and or Ananias.
Blessings,
~Becky
June 19, 2007
June 17, 2007
Princess time
It was so much fun to spend the weekend with my sweet Joy!
Rev. 3:11 "I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
The retreat was a blast! We had a great time with some sweet moms and daughters from our church. I found out that you just haven't lived until you've tried to beat 50 girls to 3 shower stalls. ; ) Or been talked into sitting in a dunk tank. -Ahh! Now that was scary! I kept telling myself that if someone hit the bulls eye and I went down, then I was landing on MY FEET and NOT going to get my hair wet! HA!!! Not a chance! Down I went!!! Completely under, twice!!! Too funny!
We had a silly string fight with 400 girls, played games, swam, made purses and ate lots of good food including having a royal banquet. There were some great lessons and fun classes. It was precious to see the older women pouring into the lives of little girls.
Today it was a little hard to transition from princess back to construction clean up crew member, but we managed. This weekend someone taught us that 'daughters of the King are servants at heart. They know how to take off their crowns and serve like servants.' : )
By the way, my sweet hubby worked really hard while we were gone to surprise me by ridding our house of all that construction dust. I came home to one clean house! He is so sweet! He and Carlos and the boys worked really hard while we were away but they enjoyed it.
~Becky
Here is my favorite princess!
Rev. 3:11 "I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.Happy Father's Day, Dad!
I'm blessed!
I hear about people who have a skewed view of their Heavenly Father because of how their earthly father treated them. I am not one of those people.
I have such a sweet Dad!
I have precious memories of:
~being taken to church 3 times a week
~being taught to be quiet in church or be taken to the foyer... : )
~going for Sunday drives
~taking the trolley to Mexico to find out how blessed we were
~getting tucked in bed and prayed for (until I started staying up later than he did)
~folding flyers for his stores to earn money for church camp
~receiving more mail than anyone else in our small college (I got a card from him every 3 days)
~being his employee and working together
~sitting on his lap even in my 20's
~a certain talk with a nervous young man over mexican food
~the tears in his eyes before walked down the isle
Thanks Dad, for all of these and the many more......
I'm looking forward to seeing you in September!
I hear about people who have a skewed view of their Heavenly Father because of how their earthly father treated them. I am not one of those people.
I have such a sweet Dad!
I have precious memories of:
~being taken to church 3 times a week
~being taught to be quiet in church or be taken to the foyer... : )
~going for Sunday drives
~taking the trolley to Mexico to find out how blessed we were
~getting tucked in bed and prayed for (until I started staying up later than he did)
~folding flyers for his stores to earn money for church camp
~receiving more mail than anyone else in our small college (I got a card from him every 3 days)
~being his employee and working together
~sitting on his lap even in my 20's
~a certain talk with a nervous young man over mexican food
~the tears in his eyes before walked down the isle
Thanks Dad, for all of these and the many more......
I'm looking forward to seeing you in September!
June 14, 2007
Gladly going....
Tomorrow Joy and I head to the Missionettes Retreat. We get to leave all this grunt work, dust and remodeling behind.... If we weren't thrilled before then you know we are now. ha ha
I've decided that do-it-yourself-remodeling is great training for missions! It's all team work and perserverance... And doesn't this remind you of a third world country? : ) And the dust. Ick!!!
Zach isn't in the photo because he was helping Carlos with one of our many trips to the dump. Joy isn't in the picture because when she found out it was time for all of us to clean up this mess, she had an urgent need to go learn some memory verses and do her lesson for church. I let her, because it was such an ingenious excuse! ; )
Today she said "I don't like carrying splintery wood. It isn't girly."
So, off to the girly retreat, we go! We didn't know when we signed up that we would be doing all of this, but He did! He must love us girls quite a bit!
June 13, 2007
Greetings from remodelville
I thought I'd show you the lovely look of kitchens in the 1950's. Or at least this kitchen in 1954 and I don't think it was very lovely, really.
"organically grown vegetables" and "organic fruits." Sounds like an add for a health food store. Maybe it was "tres chic" to be into organic produce way back then??? : )
This is the original layer of wallpaper and linoleum that we found yesterday after lots and lots of demo.
The wallpaper is too funny. It says:
"organically grown vegetables" and "organic fruits." Sounds like an add for a health food store. Maybe it was "tres chic" to be into organic produce way back then??? : )This was the floor. Which is pretty psychedelic looking...maybe it was ahead of its time?! Scary!
~Becky
who doesn't want any wallpaper and who can't wait to have Travertine floors!
June 12, 2007
It looks like a bomb exploded in the kitchen
We had bread crumbs in our clean laundry yesterday! That's what happens when your toaster oven has to be relocated to your laundry room. : )
In the midst of the transfer of sink, stove, and fridge to the family room, we did find some time for some summer fun. We played some geography games and 'go fish' with the Impressionist Artists game cards. (minus the really revealing cards which went into the trash) Everybody read for an hour. Joy had a friend over and I tutored the little boy down the street. I love summer!!!
Carlos and Zach finished up the temporary kitchen this evening. For my sake, it was a pizza night! Hooray!
This is what was happening at our house at 10:00 pm last night.
Carlos didn't want to quit until he got to do this -knock out the kitchen wall!
At that point, I said "I'm really getting a vision for this." ; ) Because the guys tease me since I just can't visualize these amazing projects they come up with.
Once that wall came down and I could see into the kitchen from the living room, I knew I was going to love it!
It was rather scary to rip apart the house in such a major way. Carlos and my hubby kept rejoicing that the ceiling wasn't caving in because of the beam Carlos built in the attic.... and how it wasn't going to fall in on us during the night... just ya know, scary stuff like that! ugh!
But I know the end result will be spectacular! Everything Carlos works on, turns out to be absolutely gorgeous!!!!
I don't think there will be any time for geography bingo today, since we have this to clean up!
~Becky
In the midst of the transfer of sink, stove, and fridge to the family room, we did find some time for some summer fun. We played some geography games and 'go fish' with the Impressionist Artists game cards. (minus the really revealing cards which went into the trash) Everybody read for an hour. Joy had a friend over and I tutored the little boy down the street. I love summer!!!
Carlos and Zach finished up the temporary kitchen this evening. For my sake, it was a pizza night! Hooray!
This is what was happening at our house at 10:00 pm last night.
Carlos didn't want to quit until he got to do this -knock out the kitchen wall!At that point, I said "I'm really getting a vision for this." ; ) Because the guys tease me since I just can't visualize these amazing projects they come up with.
Once that wall came down and I could see into the kitchen from the living room, I knew I was going to love it!
It was rather scary to rip apart the house in such a major way. Carlos and my hubby kept rejoicing that the ceiling wasn't caving in because of the beam Carlos built in the attic.... and how it wasn't going to fall in on us during the night... just ya know, scary stuff like that! ugh!
But I know the end result will be spectacular! Everything Carlos works on, turns out to be absolutely gorgeous!!!!
I don't think there will be any time for geography bingo today, since we have this to clean up!
~Becky
June 10, 2007
Praising Him!
When Joy was 2 weeks old, a little red dot appeared on her forehead.
We thought it was from a bonk on the head by a little truck and an older brother. Then the red dot expanded. Then we thought it was a birthmark. It eventually became enlarged and grew to the size of a ping pong ball. It turned out to be a hemangioma. (which I still don't know how to spell) It grew as her body grew.
By the time we made it through all the processes of finding out what it was, what to do about it and arranging for surgery, she was 4 months old and it was weighing down on her left eye. God was so gracious to us, because the best pediatric plastic surgeon in the country had an office 15 min. from our house! I used to leave his office so humbled and grateful. The deformities of the other children really put this experience in perspective and I would be about in tears and ready for a good cry whenever we left the office.
That was 10 years ago.
Two weeks ago, a little red dot appeared on her forehead.
It is on top of her scar.
I just keep looking at it. Suddenly, other people are noticing her scar as if for the first time. All sorts of people from the mail carrier to friends who have known her for a couple of years are asking her about it.
I wonder if the hormonal changes going on in her preteen body have triggered the hemangioma to come back. Ten years ago, we were told that there was a 30% chance of it returning.
On Wednesday, I called her doctor, hoping that he hadn't retired. Back then, he was in his 70's.
I recognized the voice of the same spit fiery, brash receptionist and cringed. (she was something else!)
We have an appointment for July 11th.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our family has been praying about this for 3 days now and I wanted to ask you, my blog friends, to join us in praying too. Things have been so busy with company that I haven't had a chance to write a post about this or call and tell our family members and ask their prayers.
We've been asking God to curse this hemangioma and disconnect it from her growth hormones and make it die and disappear in Jesus' name.
Doubt has been in the back of my mind because I remember the prayers we prayed years ago. It was a painful but precious road that we had to walk back then. It was precious because of all the things He taught us through it. One of the smaller but still painful aspects of the process, was when this doctor told us that if we had only come to see him when it was a dot, he would have "zapped it with a laser for free and cured her." That hurt because if we'd have known, we sure would have. This week I've wanted to quote him on that and see if he really would 'zap this dot with a laser for FREE'. Somehow, I doubt it! : )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yesterday, (Saturday) I noticed that the dot looked different but was still there.
After church today, Joy looked into our living room mirror and said "It's gone! My Sunday school class prayed!" I looked at her scar very closely and the red dot IS GONE! Completely gone! Oh, what a relief. Thank you, thank you, Lord!!!
~Becky
We thought it was from a bonk on the head by a little truck and an older brother. Then the red dot expanded. Then we thought it was a birthmark. It eventually became enlarged and grew to the size of a ping pong ball. It turned out to be a hemangioma. (which I still don't know how to spell) It grew as her body grew.
By the time we made it through all the processes of finding out what it was, what to do about it and arranging for surgery, she was 4 months old and it was weighing down on her left eye. God was so gracious to us, because the best pediatric plastic surgeon in the country had an office 15 min. from our house! I used to leave his office so humbled and grateful. The deformities of the other children really put this experience in perspective and I would be about in tears and ready for a good cry whenever we left the office.
That was 10 years ago.
Two weeks ago, a little red dot appeared on her forehead.
It is on top of her scar.
I just keep looking at it. Suddenly, other people are noticing her scar as if for the first time. All sorts of people from the mail carrier to friends who have known her for a couple of years are asking her about it.
I wonder if the hormonal changes going on in her preteen body have triggered the hemangioma to come back. Ten years ago, we were told that there was a 30% chance of it returning.
On Wednesday, I called her doctor, hoping that he hadn't retired. Back then, he was in his 70's.
I recognized the voice of the same spit fiery, brash receptionist and cringed. (she was something else!)
We have an appointment for July 11th.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our family has been praying about this for 3 days now and I wanted to ask you, my blog friends, to join us in praying too. Things have been so busy with company that I haven't had a chance to write a post about this or call and tell our family members and ask their prayers.
We've been asking God to curse this hemangioma and disconnect it from her growth hormones and make it die and disappear in Jesus' name.
Doubt has been in the back of my mind because I remember the prayers we prayed years ago. It was a painful but precious road that we had to walk back then. It was precious because of all the things He taught us through it. One of the smaller but still painful aspects of the process, was when this doctor told us that if we had only come to see him when it was a dot, he would have "zapped it with a laser for free and cured her." That hurt because if we'd have known, we sure would have. This week I've wanted to quote him on that and see if he really would 'zap this dot with a laser for FREE'. Somehow, I doubt it! : )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yesterday, (Saturday) I noticed that the dot looked different but was still there.
After church today, Joy looked into our living room mirror and said "It's gone! My Sunday school class prayed!" I looked at her scar very closely and the red dot IS GONE! Completely gone! Oh, what a relief. Thank you, thank you, Lord!!!
~Becky
June 9, 2007
Carlos is at it again
Carlos is an amazing blessing that God has put in our life. He likes doing home improvements at our house instead of his. : )
He says it's his ministry and he loves every minute of it. That just boggles my mind.
He is so excited because tomorrow morning, he is attacking our kitchen. He wanted to know if he could come at 6:00 a.m! He was joking.
So, for the summer, I'll be cooking in the family room. The microwave and the coffee maker are in the laundry room! All of our school books have been put away to make our school area into a 'kitchen' counter. The couches and the instruments have all been squished into the boys' room. Somehow he is going to put the fridge, stove and sink in the family room. And then start bustin' up the place. : )
I almost shudder to think about how turned upside down my life is about to become and I just keep thanking God that the school year is over. In 2005, when we did the addition on our house, we did school with the nail gun blasting away in the next room and the compressor going on and off. It was wasn't easy. It was a great education for Zach though. He helped with just about every exterior aspect of it.
In 2006, we remodeled two bedrooms and a bathroom. I guess, because I know what I am in for I've been a little reserved about the whole thing. And what was going to be a two week project has actually escalated into a 6-8 week project because now my guys want to knock out a wall or two. Oh my!
It's going to be quite an adventure. The end result will be awesome! A larger kitchen, new counter tops and flooring.
It has been reminding me of how we grow in the Lord. Through totally uncomfortable circumstances, He brings about an awesome end result! Part of me didn't want to go on this adventure but it will be so worth it. Just like the things we have to go through in life, to become more like Him.
~Becky
-who is tired and is sorry if she has made a kitchen remodel sound too preachy or dramatic ; )
He says it's his ministry and he loves every minute of it. That just boggles my mind.
He is so excited because tomorrow morning, he is attacking our kitchen. He wanted to know if he could come at 6:00 a.m! He was joking.
So, for the summer, I'll be cooking in the family room. The microwave and the coffee maker are in the laundry room! All of our school books have been put away to make our school area into a 'kitchen' counter. The couches and the instruments have all been squished into the boys' room. Somehow he is going to put the fridge, stove and sink in the family room. And then start bustin' up the place. : )
I almost shudder to think about how turned upside down my life is about to become and I just keep thanking God that the school year is over. In 2005, when we did the addition on our house, we did school with the nail gun blasting away in the next room and the compressor going on and off. It was wasn't easy. It was a great education for Zach though. He helped with just about every exterior aspect of it.
In 2006, we remodeled two bedrooms and a bathroom. I guess, because I know what I am in for I've been a little reserved about the whole thing. And what was going to be a two week project has actually escalated into a 6-8 week project because now my guys want to knock out a wall or two. Oh my!
It's going to be quite an adventure. The end result will be awesome! A larger kitchen, new counter tops and flooring.
It has been reminding me of how we grow in the Lord. Through totally uncomfortable circumstances, He brings about an awesome end result! Part of me didn't want to go on this adventure but it will be so worth it. Just like the things we have to go through in life, to become more like Him.
~Becky
-who is tired and is sorry if she has made a kitchen remodel sound too preachy or dramatic ; )
Blessed with olive plants around a NEW table
Anyone else ever get attached to your furniture?
Our pedestal table was 10 yrs. old and it wobbled pretty bad...but we were all still a little sad to see it go yesterday.
It was especially sentimental to me, because of the money we used to buy it. When I was a baby, my grandmother bought a savings bond for me. I didn't know about it until I was married and it was stolen in the airport when my Dad was coming for a surprise visit. When it was recovered, we bought a table and 6 chairs for the four kiddos we knew we would eventually have.
Now the Lord has blessed our socks off with a new (to us) table! Solid oak! And I don't think it will ever wobble in our lifetime.
Here is a picture of Carlos and Zach carrying it in.
Our pedestal table was 10 yrs. old and it wobbled pretty bad...but we were all still a little sad to see it go yesterday.
It was especially sentimental to me, because of the money we used to buy it. When I was a baby, my grandmother bought a savings bond for me. I didn't know about it until I was married and it was stolen in the airport when my Dad was coming for a surprise visit. When it was recovered, we bought a table and 6 chairs for the four kiddos we knew we would eventually have.
Now the Lord has blessed our socks off with a new (to us) table! Solid oak! And I don't think it will ever wobble in our lifetime.
Here is a picture of Carlos and Zach carrying it in.
The olive plants are experiencing a wonderful thing called elbow room. And they are lovin' it! It seats 10 with the two leaves in it. This, by the way isn't my kitchen and I don't have a dining room. It's the 'mock up kitchen' until mine is finished and that is a whole other post, if not ten! : )
We have a lot of sweet memories to cherish from our old table...
~our babies growing out of their highchairs and joining us at the 'big' table
~ birthdays ~company we've had over ~youth meetings~ Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners~ lots and lots of school work and unit studies ~Carlos sitting at it with us for all of '05 as he put the addition on our house~Friday night game nights...
My hubby and I have been thinking about the memories we'll make at this table...
It will see three 'daughters in-loves' and one 'son in-love' join it someday for holidays.
(I know, I know, I only have one who is a teen but this is one forever table!)
This morning my hubby told us that he hopes it will see numerous people ministered to at it and even led to Christ...
That would be the best!
~Becky
June 8, 2007
Farewell to our friends
Despite the sunburns and my hubby catching a flu bug, we had a great week together with our dear friends.
We had a great time on Wednesday with their two children who stayed the night while they had their date night. I got a kick out of Andrew telling their dad that his kids were very good and well behaved. : ) Which of course, they were.
I sat at dinner, just amazed that I was eating dinner with A's kids. It reminded me how I used to practically live at his house when I was the kid's ages because his sister was my best friend. Amazingly enough, our dads were good friends and our grandmothers were good friends! Now, our children our are! It's really precious.
On Friday, our boys had had enough sun, so they talked their daughter into hanging out with them at our house. Joy was up for more fun in the sun, so she spent the day with their son and had a blast at the beach and pool.
Since we all used to live in Southern California, Mexican food is our favorite thing in the world beside Jesus!!! : )
Mexican food in FL and TX doesn't even compare, but we have found some place close...
On our last night together, we had a little fiesta in their hotel room.
Here are all our kiddos after dinner:
Then we headed to Clearwater beach. I hadn't been to Pier 60 in ages. There were all types down there. One guy had a sign asking for money because he is an alien. (as in the space kind and not from a foreign country) We saw a guy dressed like Jack Sparrow (from Pirates) and we watched a street performer juggle an ax, a sickle and a machete and then spit fire. (wild things you don't want you kids to try at home) The sunset was gorgeous and we spotted several dolphins.
Here is M and I on the pier.
Our sunburned kiddos had great fun playing in the water at night! It was gorgeous.
~Becky
We had a great time on Wednesday with their two children who stayed the night while they had their date night. I got a kick out of Andrew telling their dad that his kids were very good and well behaved. : ) Which of course, they were.
I sat at dinner, just amazed that I was eating dinner with A's kids. It reminded me how I used to practically live at his house when I was the kid's ages because his sister was my best friend. Amazingly enough, our dads were good friends and our grandmothers were good friends! Now, our children our are! It's really precious.
On Friday, our boys had had enough sun, so they talked their daughter into hanging out with them at our house. Joy was up for more fun in the sun, so she spent the day with their son and had a blast at the beach and pool.
Since we all used to live in Southern California, Mexican food is our favorite thing in the world beside Jesus!!! : )
Mexican food in FL and TX doesn't even compare, but we have found some place close...
On our last night together, we had a little fiesta in their hotel room.
Here are all our kiddos after dinner:
Then we headed to Clearwater beach. I hadn't been to Pier 60 in ages. There were all types down there. One guy had a sign asking for money because he is an alien. (as in the space kind and not from a foreign country) We saw a guy dressed like Jack Sparrow (from Pirates) and we watched a street performer juggle an ax, a sickle and a machete and then spit fire. (wild things you don't want you kids to try at home) The sunset was gorgeous and we spotted several dolphins.
Here is M and I on the pier.
Our sunburned kiddos had great fun playing in the water at night! It was gorgeous.
~Becky
June 7, 2007
June 5, 2007
Seeing red!
Red! Everywhere I look!
Sunburns!
Just about every family member looks like a lobster!
We are having a blast with our special friends from TX. They by the way, are a lovely shade of brown now. I guess we only have two colors, white and red! : ) We did use sunscreen but it wasn't enough.
I thought we learned this lesson last year, but I guess we needed a refresher course on why members of this family should never take off their t-shirts at the beach, or they will surely be wincing in pain for days and looking like sun dried tomatoes. No fun at all!
I feel like I've taken up finger painting as a hobby since I've been 'painting' green goopy aloe on everyone constantly. After using three different products for burn relief, I can tell you that the winner is -Hawaiian Tropic Cool Aloe I.C.E. which my sweet neighbor gave us.
It's been great to have A and M and their children here. We had a fun dinner on Sun. night and then drove over to their hotel with them for a cherry pie that we forgot to eat and some nighttime fun on the beach. Monday, the kids and I drove out again for a day of fun at the beach and the pool. I had to leave early. I have a tutoring job on Mondays. (It's a blessed little job that the Lord has dropped into my lap tutoring a seconder grader in reading) Unfortunately, my little friend didn't show up for his tutoring. A and M brought our kiddos back to us that evening and we did more visiting and eating.
Today, two of my guys were so sore and ill we had to postpone our end of the year evaluations. I did get 3 of their portfolios completed which was a great relief! Zach took the Cat -5 this year instead of doing a portfolio. It was his first standardized test! I was pleased with the results. Good job, Zach!
Tomorrow, A and M are taking all the kiddos to see Pirates 3. Our kids are excited. Even the sore ones. Good thing theaters have cushy seats because they can't even lean back yet.
We get to take their sweet kids home with us for church and a sleep over while their parents have a night alone and a dinner cruise.
Great fun! Wish they lived closer!
~Becky
Sunburns!
Just about every family member looks like a lobster!
We are having a blast with our special friends from TX. They by the way, are a lovely shade of brown now. I guess we only have two colors, white and red! : ) We did use sunscreen but it wasn't enough.
I thought we learned this lesson last year, but I guess we needed a refresher course on why members of this family should never take off their t-shirts at the beach, or they will surely be wincing in pain for days and looking like sun dried tomatoes. No fun at all!
I feel like I've taken up finger painting as a hobby since I've been 'painting' green goopy aloe on everyone constantly. After using three different products for burn relief, I can tell you that the winner is -Hawaiian Tropic Cool Aloe I.C.E. which my sweet neighbor gave us.
It's been great to have A and M and their children here. We had a fun dinner on Sun. night and then drove over to their hotel with them for a cherry pie that we forgot to eat and some nighttime fun on the beach. Monday, the kids and I drove out again for a day of fun at the beach and the pool. I had to leave early. I have a tutoring job on Mondays. (It's a blessed little job that the Lord has dropped into my lap tutoring a seconder grader in reading) Unfortunately, my little friend didn't show up for his tutoring. A and M brought our kiddos back to us that evening and we did more visiting and eating.
Today, two of my guys were so sore and ill we had to postpone our end of the year evaluations. I did get 3 of their portfolios completed which was a great relief! Zach took the Cat -5 this year instead of doing a portfolio. It was his first standardized test! I was pleased with the results. Good job, Zach!
Tomorrow, A and M are taking all the kiddos to see Pirates 3. Our kids are excited. Even the sore ones. Good thing theaters have cushy seats because they can't even lean back yet.
We get to take their sweet kids home with us for church and a sleep over while their parents have a night alone and a dinner cruise.
Great fun! Wish they lived closer!
~Becky
June 1, 2007
Special friends
We are blessed to have some precious company coming this weekend.
Our dear friends M and A who live in TX are coming to see us and then stay for the week on the beach! This is the sweet couple who are making our trip to CA possible with their buddy passes from the airline he works part time for. He's also a minister.
Our kids are so excited. They love their kids! Which is really fun, because A and I grew up together going to the same church and our dads were best friends who grew up together going to the same church. Once my future hubby came to know the Lord, they were great friends too. They are both passionate about the Word.
While attending a Christian college, my future hubby and I met M. I knew I wanted to be friends with her. This girl was on fire for Jesus!!! There wasn't anyone else with her zeal and excitement in the whole school. We had Bible studies for girls in her dorm room, while my future hubby held a study for guys in his room. Saying good bye to her at graduation was really sad. She was going home to IN and I was going back to CA. As we said good bye, I felt the Lord put on my heart, that this wouldn't be forever and that one day she would be in my wedding. Now, that was a crazy thought!!! We didn't know each other that well, and usually only your very closest friends are in your wedding! But God had neat things in mind that I didn't know about. She came to visit me in CA. And I told her all about my good friend A and his passion for God. My friend and I used to meet A on a mountain once a week and have him practice his next sermon on us. They were always such a blessing! While she was visiting, she came to one of those mountain top Bible studies and met A.
He invited us to a church service with him. That very night, when he left the car to go and get something (probably a Big Gulp, I don't remember what) M wasted no time in telling me that she wanted to marry him and have his children!!! : )
She didn't let it show, though. It took some convincing on my part for him to realize that she liked him at all.
But, after that, they didn't waste much time! They beat us to the alter by 9 months. My future hubby and I, had the pleasure of being in their wedding.
M became one of my closest friends and she was in my wedding! She's a precious friend today and I love her so much!
So, we are looking forward to some fun in the sun and the Son this next week.
~Becky
Our dear friends M and A who live in TX are coming to see us and then stay for the week on the beach! This is the sweet couple who are making our trip to CA possible with their buddy passes from the airline he works part time for. He's also a minister.
Our kids are so excited. They love their kids! Which is really fun, because A and I grew up together going to the same church and our dads were best friends who grew up together going to the same church. Once my future hubby came to know the Lord, they were great friends too. They are both passionate about the Word.
While attending a Christian college, my future hubby and I met M. I knew I wanted to be friends with her. This girl was on fire for Jesus!!! There wasn't anyone else with her zeal and excitement in the whole school. We had Bible studies for girls in her dorm room, while my future hubby held a study for guys in his room. Saying good bye to her at graduation was really sad. She was going home to IN and I was going back to CA. As we said good bye, I felt the Lord put on my heart, that this wouldn't be forever and that one day she would be in my wedding. Now, that was a crazy thought!!! We didn't know each other that well, and usually only your very closest friends are in your wedding! But God had neat things in mind that I didn't know about. She came to visit me in CA. And I told her all about my good friend A and his passion for God. My friend and I used to meet A on a mountain once a week and have him practice his next sermon on us. They were always such a blessing! While she was visiting, she came to one of those mountain top Bible studies and met A.
He invited us to a church service with him. That very night, when he left the car to go and get something (probably a Big Gulp, I don't remember what) M wasted no time in telling me that she wanted to marry him and have his children!!! : )
She didn't let it show, though. It took some convincing on my part for him to realize that she liked him at all.
But, after that, they didn't waste much time! They beat us to the alter by 9 months. My future hubby and I, had the pleasure of being in their wedding.
M became one of my closest friends and she was in my wedding! She's a precious friend today and I love her so much!
So, we are looking forward to some fun in the sun and the Son this next week.
~Becky
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