Harvest Fest

Well Saturday night was our annual Harvest Fest. We have usually had this on the same night as Halloween but this year we decided that it would be better to move it to a different night. This was also the first year that I was in charge of organizing the whole thing. Let me tell you this is not one of my stong points. I am great at the computer stuff but not so much the organizing of an event of this size. We do not have a huge church and the age range is wide so it was really hard to know just how many people to expect to attend. We didn't have much when it came to games but the kids seemed to have fun. We had face painting and pumpkin coloring and Pinatas which I think were the biggest hit. We had a hayride and would have had a bonfire but there was a high wind advisory Saturday night and we thought it was best not to have a huge fire going. We ended up having over 125 people come. We had seating for 80 up originally in the gym and had to keep adding tables. I really wish that I had some pictures but unfortuately the batteries on my camera died the day before and I didn't have time to get new ones. The night was a big sucess and I had many people I had to thank for all their help. I've been told by so many people how much fun they had and it makes me feel good but I have to say I owe God so much praise. I was here Friday night trying to get a few things done with the kids running around and I just stood in the gym and prayed and put the night in God's hands and asked that He would be blessed and honored by the night. This was a party but also a night of outreach to our community and friends and family. There were a few crazy times, like frozen hot dogs and missing kids (mine) but everything worked out great. I've I'll ready started thinking of all the things I would like to do next year. I was wornout by time I left late Saturday night and thankful that we got to set our clocks back an hour, but I knew that in the end everyone had fun and the most important person I had to thank for that was my Wonderful, Loving, Gracious Father in Heaven.

God's in Control

Ok so today I was happily chatting away with a friend of mine when I saw that I had received a new email. I opened up my mail and it was a note from a friend of mine from high school who was pregnant with twins the last I had talked with her and was due anytime now. I thought well she must have had the babies early. As I read on through her email some other things jumped out at me and I decided I needed to pick up the phone. So I called Julie who lives out in Salt Lake City now and yes she had her babies back on Aug. 28 when she was only 27 1/2 weeks along. The babies shared a placenta and one was getting 70% of all the nutrients and stuff and the other was only getting 30%. Because they took them so early both have had problems with fluid on the brain. They are both very cute little boys who are now 4lbs and 3lbs. They are still in the hospital not quiet ready to come home yet but are doing better. The next thing was the main thing that made me pick up the phone and call her. Julie was diagnosed with Lymphoma when she was 20 weeks along. She was having a lot of trouble breathing and really just thought it was part of her pregnancy when they finally did a chest x-ray they found a mass about 16 centimeters. They are not able to operate on it but she is doing chemo. The mass is down to about 7 centimeters and she is feeling pretty good. She said she has been blessed by a church family that is bringing them meals and taking very good care of them. She knows God is in Control and that His will will be done in all of this. I can only pray that if I had this much stuff happen to me at one time that I would still trust that God is in control and that no matter what he will take care of me and my family.

Julie asked me how things were going with my family and I felt guilty because we have been so blessed lately. Justin has just recently gotten a promotion to another store. He is working a little farther from us but we didn't want to pass up the opportunity. The kids have colds but otherwise are doing very well. Sophia may only be 16 months old but she has no fear. She's climbing up on everything and getting into everything she shouldn't. Abbie is in a reading group in kindergarten and I've received several compliments about how well behaved and mature she is. I don't know if we see the same girl but really Abbie is a sweetheart even if she already thinks she's smarter than me. Which I don't have any doubt that in time she will be. Kaleb is going to be 4 in just a week and a half. He's my boy and I love him so very much. I love them all don't get me wrong. Kaleb is quite a character. He has two favorite outfits he wears around the house because I won't let him wear them outside the house. The jeans have a zillion holes in them and the t-shirts are too small but he doesn't care. I'm still working at our church. Things are going pretty well. We are starting a second service in January. It's going to be a less formal type of service. Our church is very traditional but we want to be able to reach out to others who may like something a little more informal. You know no choir or organ playing, less hymns and more contemporary music. There are a few that think we have just thrown the church to hell and that we are just going to fall apart but yet they are still coming. Yes, we have some of those people who feel that even though the bible says not to judge that they are somehow not included in that. God is doing some amazing work in our church and I have no doubt that some may leave but I truly believe that we are following God's will and that our church will be blessed in the long run. We aren't a big church. Our average attendance in only like 175. We don't have to have a second service for space we are doing it more in hopes of bringing others in. We recently learned that only about 10% of people in the area even know we are here.

So this is all that is going on here. Actually I am also in charge of our Harvest Fest this Saturday. I don't know how good it will be I just know that God is in control and that the kids will have fun and that I am doing the best job possible with only a couple weeks of planning. This is really not my thing but somehow it is all working out. Who knew? Anyway these are the things going on here in the cool air of southern ohio. It was 29 degrees last night. BRRRRRRRR

Many, Many Things

First I will start with the happy exciting thing. Abbie started kindergarten today. I was more scared about it than she was. It was a little hard watching her get on the bus this morning. I know that she had a great time today. Kaleb will start preschool in a couple weeks. He doesn't start until September 14. He doesn't understand why he's not going yet and Abbie is. I think that he misses his sister. They may beat up on each other but they have a great bond that I think will be there forever.
Sophia is finally walking it only took her till she was almost 14 months old to do it but she finally did. She is such a sweet little girl, but we have discovered that she has her mothers lack of patience and temper.

Now I am going to step onto my soap box and tell you a story about a three year old boy named Marcus. Just over two weeks ago hundreds of people came together in search of this little autistic boy who went missing from one of the parks just a few miles down the street from us. He went missing after his foster mother passed out due to heart problems. Now two weeks later the foster parents have been charged with his death and many other counts. Well over the last couple of days the real story has come out and it truly breaks my heart. Back on August 4 the foster parents David and Liz Carroll wrapped Marcus in a blanket with his arms behind his back and then wrapped packaging tape around him. Leaving his head uncovered. They locked him in a closet and then left for 2 days to go to a family reunion. When they came home he was dead. They did not do anything until on Aug. 10 a social worker came by and they told her he was in bed sick. The social worker had bad knees and did not go up to see him. At that time if I understand correctly David Carroll had already taken Marcus’ body out to a farm about 40 minutes from here and burn him. August 15 was when they staged this whole thing were he went missing at the park. It’s a sick and twisted story that just truly boggles my mind that people really are that evil. Here are a couple of links if you want to see anymore info on this. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060830/NEWS01/608300348 , http://www.wkrc.com/News/Local/story.aspx?content_id=0B456EE5-5932-47A9-A536-3C74062D4048 I think what bothers me most about this is that this little boy died probably never really knowing what it was like to be loved. It just breaks my heart that he had to go through so much at such a young age. It makes me look at my life and realize how truly blessed it has been.

Friends

Yesterday I had the chance to help surprise my friend Angie for her 30th Birthday. Angie and I have been friends since we were little girls and she is still one of my closest friends. Angie, Missy and I were together all the time growing up. Angie and I have remained the closest but the three of us are slowly coming together again. Missy went through a hard divorce last year and has really grown and changed since then. Angie and I have both been married to wonderful men for 9 years now. It is so great to be able to still be friends and to still share so much together.


Above: Missy, Angie, Me, Jessica

We had a great time at Dave and Buster's last night. Angie was very surprised. So what that Missy and I got her to her party 45 minutes late. We can't help that there was an accident. Well if we would have left on time maybe but well we still had fun. Back in May we celebrated Missy's 30th birthday and now in 6 months we'll celebrate mine. It's amazing how much we've changed but it's still great that we have remained friends all these years.

I am Blessed

Lately it seems like many people around me are having marriage problems. My sister and her husband are pretty much ready to call it quits. My good friend is having a really hard time with her husband and they have baby number 3 on the way in just a couple of month. I always find it hard to know what to say to people who are having problems in their marriage because their husband doesn't help. That's all I ever hear from my sister is how her husband doesn't help around the house or with their son. I don't know what to say to that. I have a husband who does not hesitate to help me when ever I need it. Sometimes I have to ask but most of the time I don't. Like yesterday when he finished painting the entry way wall that we had to get a special ladder for because it's so high. He did this while I was at work and he was home with the kids. Then he made the kids pancakes for lunch too. After I got home from work he went out and mowed the grass and sprayed for weeds. Then we all went to his softball game. When we got home Justin decided to give Kaleb a hair cut, which really isn't too hard. Then while the kids were in the shower he cleaned their room up and then scrubbed the bathroom, shower and all for me. I never once asked him to do any of it he just did it. That is why I am blessed. I am blessed with a husband that has a servant heart who loves to help me and do things for me. I always make sure that I let Justin know just how much I appreciate all he does for me. We really work well with each other and after all the complaining I hear from others it just makes me more thankful for Justin. God has blessed me so much with a great husband and father for our kids. I just can't thank God enough.