This and That

We have had a wonderfully peaceful week around here!

That was sure nice.

Part of my week entailed getting some pictures ready to go up on a new frame a David's office.

Oh did I have fun going through some photos from a couple of summers ago.

We  all miss the life Drew brings to our house!

 I think Drew feels it his personal responsibility to toughen up his little brother!

Then again what big brother doesn't!

 But they he is so very gentle with Hannah.

I have watched this phenomenon over and over with the males in our extended family!

The tough side helping boys to become men and the protective side with the young ladies, treasuring them.

It is wonderful to see.

Can you tell we are in Drew withdrawals?

I guess it is mostly because we just realized that when we head to Seattle for the Refresh Conference, Drew will be in town to run a indoor track meet.  We are very excited that these two activities crossed.

So looking forward to some long quality time with my family this weekend and some special friends.

David and I will also have a long period of time to talk about some future plans with schooling and testing and such for the kids.

We are in the process of having Hannah tested again at the Child Development Center.  Being that we homeschool, I felt it was the best way to document her developmental delays in case there was ever a question about how she is doing in school.

It is always good to have quality time with David to discuss the kids progress and any ideas he may have that I have not seen.

So after our productive week, it looks like we may be moving into a sweet weekend.

Processing

I have spent a large part of the last week processing how God has been working in our lives.

We had a path we thought we were being called to follow, both of us were in agreement on where we were heading, and it felt as if God was opening one door after another.

Then there was the BIG PAUSE and the WAIT.

Lots of prayers for wisdom would continue to sail to the Lord.

Then the ANSWER.

It was not what we thought, not the path we planned.

But very obviously GOD'S PERFECT PLAN!

The processing for me came in the form of finding HOW God used me in this situation.

It was not what I thought at all, but a totally different direction, with a totally different outcome than we originally thought.

But stepping back and seeing God's perfect hand was faith affirming, and the knowledge that He knew what was best for all involved  confirmed His all encompassing love.

I was not used how I thought, but in a whole new avenue.

I don't need to always know the best way, He will lead me in that if I just choose to walk in faith.

God is ALWAYS good!

Back Upright!

I was looking through pictures for Erinn today and ran across this one from the summer of 2011!  What fun to see older pictures again!

Right after New Years I was sick with what I thought was Hannah's cold , but after 3 days of non-stop coughing and no other symptoms it turned NASTY!

Sadly we had company over to watch the bowl game on Thursday night, by Friday morning I could barely move the pain in my body and head was so bad. 

I went off to the doctor hoping they could do something---turned out to be not much! 

Ride out the flu bug.  They did give me some cough meds that thankfully helped a lot.

Kids were a big help on Friday.

Saturday was Hannah's turn.  Yuck.

High fevers and cough and feeling awful!

Caleb got something, but not the same, though he tried to make me think it was and got a day of movies too!

Funny thing that my husband, with the depressed immune system never got sick!

He is the only one who got a flu shot, so maybe they do work.

Anyways, we are thankful to be feeling much closer to normal, and had a regular day of school---yeah!

Happy 2013

 What a gloriously beautiful morning to welcome in 2013!  David sadly is nursing his Achilles tendon again, so it was off on a hike again instead of a morning run for him and Caleb.  The kids enjoyed 'popping' all the ice holes!

 We were the first ones up this morning so we got some tracking prints.---Deer!

 We were thinking rabbit?

 David was thinking these were quail.

 Caleb really liked this tree, thought it looked like something from Africa.  He climbed up the hill just so I could get a picture of him with it.

 David and Hannah with Mt. McLaughlin behind them.

 What a beautiful daughter I have!  And a good sport---two 5 mile hikes in a week for a 9 year old!

 It really was a glorious morning!  David decided to leave the nice path you see here and.....

 ....side hill it!  Doesn't look too bad, but looks can be deceiving.  It was very soggy mud with ice and water running down in all that moss.  As you can see it did not stop him too much!  There is our cell tower we are headed to---half way there!

 Me and Hannah enjoyed going at our own pace, slip sliding away!  Almost can see the mountain in the background.

 David and Caleb waiting for us!

 Love the look of the mountain floating in the clouds as they kept creeping in.

 There is our car!  Kind of looks like a Matchbox car!

 David contemplating 2013 before he led us in prayer for our new year and all the Lord may have in store for us! 

Life with God is a wild ride, especially when you seek to really hear His voice and let the voices of the world fade away.

That is my prayer for 2013---Less of me and MORE OF HIM!

 Good morning Medford 2013!

Can't believe we are so blessed to parent these two treasures!  Hannah will officially enter the double digits this year and Caleb will become a teenager!  Lord continue to give us wisdom to be the best parents we can be to these treasures!