CINCINNATI, BABY!!!

We love this city and we had a great time
with Mike's family this past weekend...

Started at the Newport Aquarium on Saturday morning....

Lunch at Skyline was a must...
and as you can see, Michael enjoyed it!

An afternoon of swimming in the pool...

A little bit of relaxation...

An evening shot for the birthday boy at Rafferty's!

Uno on the bathroom floor at the hotel for the kids!

Gifts to help with the "aging"process!

And fun with Devin at Sunday morning breakfast...

Made for a great weekend with the Lyons Family!

The Divine Valentine

A Valentine may play a love song for you, but God sings you the sweetest love song in the universe.

The Lord your God…will rejoice over you with gladness, He will keep you quiet with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

A Valentine may give you flowers, but God sent you the most beautiful rose of all, Jesus.

I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. (Songs of Solomon 2:1)

A Valentine may take you out to dinner, but God has invited you to the most amazing feast ever given.

Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb! (Revelation 19:9)

A Valentine may bring you chocolate, but God provides you with something even
sweeter, His Word.

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103)

A Valentine may be far away, but God is always with you.

I am with you always. (Matthew 28:20)

A Valentine may give you something, but God has given you everything.

God gives us richly all things to enjoy. (1 Timothy 6:17)

A Valentine may love you for a lifetime, but God loved you beore you were born
and will love you for all eternity!

Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love…with loving kindness I have drawn you. (Jeremiah 31:3)

I Love My Daddy!!

Today is my Daddy's birthday and I want everyone to know:

I LOVE MY DADDY!!!!

What Our Husbands REALLY Want...

I have been cyber friends with Jen Murray from 4tunate for a few years. First... we're both from Indiana and we Hoosiers stick together! But, I really started to lean on advice from Jen a few years back when my dear friend Marli was going through some issues with getting pregnant and working through the IVF process. Jen was a huge source of strength for Marli and gave me direction on how to love and support Marli... and now Marli has her Long Awaited Miracle!!

Jen often posts things on her blog that speak directly to me!! I don't know HOW she does it... but she does! And this week was no different. As many of us are preparing for Valentine's Day and I hear the mumbling of "what do I get him..., I am sharing parts of her blog post with her permission. I have also linked her blog above in bold italics if you'd like to read it in it's entirety.

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Valentine gifts for guys always seem to come up short.

Cheesy. Trinkety. Hollow.

I’m not knocking your heart key chain, or your photo mug. If he’s in to that kind of thing, then by all means! However, I bet you that there’s something deeper and lasting that he wants from you…

Have you thought about what your husband really wants while you search through the aisles of a department store or peruse the candy aisle?

He wants you to trust him. Do you believe in his pursuits? Do you trust him with parenting your children? Are you still depending on him “to have and to hold” or are you trying to tackle it yourself because “you know best”?

Psalm 31:24 “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.”

He wants you to respect him. Do you use your words to uplift him and encourage or do they tear down? How powerful our words and attitudes can be in belittling our mate’s character!

Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

He wants you to admire him. What first drew you to your husband? Do you still allow yourself to be swooned by him? Is he confident in your affection and loyalty for him? Have you told him recently what makes him attractive to you?

Ephesians 4:2 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

He wants you to be confident in your beauty. Do you constantly point out your imperfections? Do you find yourself changing his compliments into a self-critique? Are you allowing the signs of gravity, the battle scars of bearing children, the comparison struggle to steal joy from your relationship?

Song of Solomon 7:6 “How beautiful you are and how pleasing, my love, with your delights!”

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There are definitely two things listed that I struggle with that I am certain my husband would appreciate.

(Well, Okay... maybe 3... being confident in my own beauty is a toughy... but it's getting a little better as I'm losing weight and watching sizes drop!)

Michael, I love you with all of my heart and promise to you to trust you more with our family and respect you more by loving and encouraging you as you come up on an uncertainty with your job. You are just as handsome and loving as you were the day I met you and I look forward to many more holidays (including the Hallmark holidays) with you!

Our Conflicting Views on Prayer...

This one is kind of personal... don't usually post about things that are personal, but it's been on my heart to post this for a while now.

Mike was faced with giving a prayer request at small group last week. Something he's not too comfortable with because of events that have taken place over the course of our marriage that give him "different" views that most have.

So, let's start from the beginning..... (might wanna grab some coffee because this could take a while!)

• Michael and I were married November 2nd, 1991
• In the summer of 1992 we had lost our first baby
• Devin was born emergency c-section in distress on June 12, 1993
• Kayleigh came quickly after on July 26, 1994, 7 weeks early
• We had the normal marriage struggles up and down that were intensified with that of a premature baby who was always on breathing treatments and financial chaos
• Mike lost his job in 1996... that was a huge hit!
• Decided then to go to college as a married couple with 2 young children... yeah... no stress there!
• In 1997 we lost another baby...
• Early 1998 we found out we were expecting again, but later in the pregnancy we learned there were complications... big ones!
• August 14, 1998 Chase was born with some problems with one of his kidneys being quite enlarged
• Oh... and let's not forget the massive amounts of blood loss and near death experience I had giving birth to Chase
• In the spring of 1999 Chase had surgery to have his renal problems corrected
• Mike started having seizures in 1998 that progressively got worse and more frequent over the next 2 years
• Winter of 2000 we unexpectedly found out we were expecting TWINS!
• April 3, 2000 our twins became angels with our two other babies that were lost
• Shortly thereafter it was "confirmed" I would not be able to get pregnant again due to significant scar tissue in the uterus... honestly... this was a sigh of relief!
• Spring/Summer of 2000 my Mom was diagnosed with Melanoma
• We moved home in 2001 to be there for her and help Dad with her appointments an care
• Oh... Mike's seizures continued, kids were sick with one thing or another, multiple sets of tubes in ears, etc..... you know... more stress on us and our marriage
• Spring of 2002... better sit down.... PREGNANT!!!
• The next several months consisted of more seizures from Mike, Mom's health declining, and my pregnancy being very rocky
• By the early fall of 2002 I was on strict bedrest, Mom was on daily radiation, Dad wasn't sleeping, Mike was still seizing...
• October of 2002... Mom's cancer was officially terminal and there was nothing more that could be done
• November 7, 2002 Paige was born 9 weeks prematurely, spending the next several weeks in the hospital
• December 2002 Mom's cancer was in her brain and we could see her slipping away
• April 13, 2003 we said goodbye to Mom one final time
• By spring of 2003 Dad had his first heart attack
• June of 2003 Dad was rushed to IU Med Center with an aneurysm
• Summer was consumed with Dad's health and Paige's health
• September of 2003 one of Mike's best friends was shot and killed
• Winter of 2003 into 2004 Paige continued to have terrible health and Chase began to lose weight
• Spring of 2004 Chase became lethargic and almost unresponsive at times
• May of 2004 our pediatrician diagnosed him for the first time with an auto-immune heart condition and he was admitted to the Children's Hospital CICU.
• School year of 2005 we started noticing Chase was a bit "different" than the other kids
• Spring of 2005 Kayleigh collapsed at school with a blood sugar of less than 40!!
• Fall of 2006 Devin had his first asthma attack while running a cross country race
• Through all this, illness continued, Dad's health was up and down, Mike and I were always stressed out!
• Spring of 2006 we moved to North Carolina
• Summer of 2006 Mike was involved in an accident at work where he lost the hearing in his left ear
• Fall of 2006 Chase was diagnosed with Mild Developmental Delay with Autistm Tendencies.... even though we suspected this, it was a huge hit to Mommy!!
• Winter of 2006... Dad left my house in NC the day after Christmas and had a heart attack half way home, while driving in the middle of Kentucky!
  
• 2007 3 of the 4 kids had surgery to have tonsils removed, adenoids, removed, and tubes put in AGAIN!
• Spring of 2007 Kayleigh was diagnosed with LABRYNTHITIS!! Never heard of it? Yeah... us either and we still aren't sure! LOL!
  
• Summer 2007 Devin belly flopped into the pool and broke a rib
• Fall of 2007 Mike had shoulder surgery to repair bicep tears, RTC tears, labral tears, AND bone spurs!!! LONG RECOVERY!!

I could keep going... but I think you get the point and I'm tired of writing it all out! Making me get all down again!

Anyhow, In the 20 years we've been married, suffice it to say that we have endured more than our fair share of stress, heartache, tragedy, illness, and more. Now, I'm not saying there weren't happy times in there. Just seems like there were way more lows than highs!

For me, during all those things listed above.I prayed. I will cry out to the Lord and sometimes yell "WHY?!?.... This is not fair, Lord!". Other times I thank Him. Sounds crazy, I know. But through it all Mike and I always support each other and we have always had good doctors to care for the kids, supportive friends, loving parents, and more. In James, we are told to "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." and persevere I have done!

For Mike, it's not so easy. He has faith, and knows that the Lord is in control of all, but prayer doesn't come so easy for him. In his mind, what's going to happen cannot be changed in prayer because the Lord knows and keeps His plan. If we pray for something to be changed, it isn't going to happen if it's not the Lord's will. For him, if he prays about something it's like saying "Lord, I know you have Your will.. but here is MY will and I want you to change yours to match mine." I can certainly see his point, but I don't necessarily agree with it.

For me, I've learned to rely on the love that the Lord has for us and I've really began to trust that He will see us through anything and everything. I don't get stressed out as easily about things like I used to. I just pray for peace, guidance, strength, and for the Lord to cover our needs during times of trial.

Think about it this way.... when you get upset about something or something happens like a death, who do you turn to? Many will call up a friend for support. Just someone who will listen to our concerns, worries, and wipe our tears. We don't necessarily say to that friend or request of that friend to change the outcome or to make it different. They are there to lean on.

Guess what... That's what GOD is there for too! Call on Him! Cry out to Him that you are angry, upset, weary, tired... or cry out to Him when you are THANKFUL in the very same manner. Stay in constant communication with Him and He will give you peace, comfort, and strength to get through anything!

Is Mike right? In my opinion... sort of. We cannot change God's will. But what we can do is pray for his comfort and trust that His will is part of a bigger and better plan that He has for us and for our lives.

To my dear husband, that I love very very much... when you pray to "let go, and let God", the weight is lifted off YOUR shoulders and HE takes it on for because He loves you JUST THAT MUCH!

Being Intentional...

Our youth pastor, Chip Herrera, has been doing a series on Suffering and the Sovereignty of God after the death of student, Nick Doub. It's been a good series that has truly helped the kids work through their loss. This past Sunday, Chip did a Q&A Panel where the kids were able to text questions and they'd get answers, or guidance with Biblical principles and life stories of the panel members. Of course, the answers including turning to their Bibles and prayer for ultimate guidance. One of the follow up questions to that was something along the lines of "How do we find time for the Bible and prayer in our already so very busy lives?".

The panel's answer.... Be intentional!

Be intentional. Seems so simple, but yet can be so complicated. After all... in our crazy technology driven, car pooling, always working, and let's not forget cooking cleaning and parenting lives... where is time for intentional? I try hard to be intentional every night before bed... but I'll be honest... after a long tiring day where I'm finally crawling into bed after 11pm I find it hard to stay up and spend time in the Word for a while.

How wrong is that though!?! Say it out loud to Jesus and see what it sounds like....

"Sorry, Lord. I am just so tired my eyes won't stay open so I'm not opening Your book tonight, and I'd just fall asleep in the middle of prayer time anyway."

Yikes! But, if I'm being honest with myself that's what I've done on nights like that and after saying it out loud to Jesus makes me just want to cringe and smack myself right upside the head! Yep... time for that to change!

There are other areas in my life that need to be intentional as well....

How about marriage?
Children?
And (here's a biggie)... being intentional with MYSELF for time all alone!

So... I've decided to really focus on these things that I need to make priority... be intentional with making sure that I focus on them more often!

Being Intentional with the Lord:

• Spending time in prayer or devotion while I'm driving. I want to get some devotions on DVD and listen to them to and from work.
• Being intentional reading from my Bible. I've found a One Year Bible Online tracker to print and use and have already started this week.
• Being intentional in attending my Small Group each and every week and not letting anything get in my way!!!!

Being Intentional with Marriage:

• Doing a better job of weekly date night!!! How crazy is it that we have access to free movies at the theater whenever we want and we just don't take advantage of it?!?
• Being intentional on the evenings Michael is home in turning OFF the laptop and sitting with him watching TV, games, or whatever.

Being Intentional with the Kids:

• We rarely get 1 on 1 time with the kids and they deserve that from us. We need to work on a schedule or calendar on spending 1 on 1 time with each of the kids 1 time a month. Maybe each week is a different child... but make it happen! (Again... duhhhh... movie theater is free!)
• Having a family meal at LEAST once a week where EVERYONE is at the table! We don't do this often, even when we are all home. But when we do, it always is so much fun! We need to make it happen more often!
  

and Being Intentional with Myself:

• Working out at least 3 times a week while listening to music (if ya didn't know... music is great for calming the nerves!)
• Allowing myself 30 minutes of uninterrupted ME time each and every day.

I'm sure there are more things that I need to address... but if I can accomplish these things in this order, I know that my crazy technology driven, car pooling, always working, cooking, cleaning, and parenting life may just be a bit less hectic!