Thankful

We had dinner with 19 people this past Thursday, for Thanksgiving. We're very thankful that Dave's brother, Nathan, and his family, so willingly open their home to all of us "turkeys." Nathan's in-laws joined us for dinner, and we had a nice day together. The sad part was, with all those people, we only had 9 pies to enjoy. Dave's family love their pies. They eat them for dessert, and then again for breakfast. That's one tradition I haven't been able to embrace...pie for breakfast just isn't appealing. Although Dave continues to ask me what the difference is between eating a slice of pie, or eating a donut? Well...It's just different, that's all. (I don't have a good argument here...but I'm working on one)

Below are some pictures from our day.

Julie posing for a picture with "the pies."


Julie and Jeremy (Dave's sister's youngest). They are only two months apart.


Julie and Grandma Legg....our Thanksgiving cook.


Alayna enjoying some whipped cream.


Joel & Baby Nate (Dave's brother's baby). They are only two months apart.

"Toofless"

Julie lost her very first "toof" on Friday night. We knew it was lose, but I didn't think it was quite ready yet. It was bothering her at supper and she kept begging me to yank it out for her (this from the child who cries when she "almost" bumps into something). I told her I didn't think it was ready yet. A couple minutes later I turned around to see her handing me the tooth. She was more traumatized by the bleeding that followed. The "Toof Fairy" delivered .25 to her...the exchange rate has not gone up since I was a kid. :)



A sweet moment...


My cleaning helper. Alayna loves to use my electric broom, and who am I to discourage a child from helping me clean?

Julie & the Philistines

Last night I was feeding Joel his cereal while Julie sat at the table talking with me. We were discussing Christmas and what to buy people. She said she knows what daddy wants, "hunting stuff." That's a given.
As we're talking she mentioned that she wanted a Bible for Christmas. She said, "I want one that talks about Jesus and His Philistines."
Maybe I need to set up a parent/teacher conference with her Sunday School teacher?? :)

Pictures Taken By Aunt Andrea

My sister-in-law, Andrea, took lots of pictures of the kids last Saturday afternoon. I will have to post more later, as it's now past my bedtime, and I don't have time to get them all on here tonight. Here are four for now. You'll notice that Alayna is not smiling in any of them. As we were heading outside to take pictures Alayna got her finger closed in the storm door, and was sobbing before getting her picture taken. So, the normally happy little girl, is very sober for the photo shoot. Oh well, she's still cute.
You will notice, however, that Joel is smiling in every picture. He's such a happy baby, and he was especially happy with the wind blowing in his face.

 

 

 

Here are all four grandkids.

 

Pictures from Mimi & Papa's

The kids and I returned home to New York yesterday. Dad & Dave met halfway, and we had a safe trip back. Erie got hit with 10-12" of snow Sunday night. Even on the way back to NY Tuesday, the first part of our trip was still trecherous. Dad kept driving in to pockets of white-out conditions, and icey roads. Once we got on the other side of Cuba, NY it seemed to clear, and by the time we arrived home there was no snow at all. Very disappointing to the kids.

Mom has another chemo treatment tomorrow, then she'll have next week off. Overall she is feeling (and looking) very good.

Here are some pictures from our trip. I will post these ones for now, and post more later. Aunt Andrea did a photo shoot of the kids in mom & dad's yard...before the snow hit. They turned out great. I don't have time tonight to post everything.

Grandma Andrews holding a sleeping baby Joel.


Julie was the "ring leader" for Danika and Alayna. They thought she was wonderful and followed her around. Julie trapped the girls in mom's laundry room between the pocket doors, and they played for the longest time. You could hear lots of laughter.


Uncle Doug The Horse! All three girls piled on to Doug and rode him around mom & dad's living room. Doug even managed a few push-ups with the girls on his back, but I think they wore him out pretty good. He was a good sport. It was hysterical to watch Danika's expressions. She wrapped her feet around Doug's neck and didn't hold on, until she'd start to fall, then she'd grab his hair to stop herself.


The snow hit Sunday afternoon. This is the picture of the girls outside Monday morning. They helped Papa shovel snow, and had a great time playing in it.


I really didn't pose this picture. All four kids swarmed around Mimi, and it was a great photo opportunity. So perfect with the fire going in the background. I love this picture!

Kiddos

Two Sundays ago I discovered that Alayna demonstrated her artistic abilities on my walls. I gave her a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (a must have item when you have children), and made her scrub the red crayon off the wall herself. I think she might have been slightly confused as to why I was repremanding her and taking her picture at the same time. :)


Joel is now eating some rice cereal once a day. He sort of likes it, but isn't quite sure yet if he loves it.

Erie Is Still Drearie

Once again the weather is rainy in Erie. Tomorrow there's a possibility of seeing some snow. The beauty of being near Lake Erie.

Thursday's chemo treatment went well for mom. We went to Pittsburgh strictly for chemo. She did not have a scheduled doctor appointment. In two weeks she'll see her doctor, and we'll get an update on her CA-125. Now that she's going weekly, she doesn't need to see him every time. Our trip to Pittsburgh was uneventful, and Joel travelled well. Dad took Joel for a nice long walk outside in the stroller, around the hospital. Joel was not permitted back in the chemo room. No children are, because of the chemicals.

I sat with mom while she received her chemo. We had a nice time visiting, except mom did get a little loopy when her chemo nurse, Patty, administered the benadryl through moms port (Benadryl is one of the pre-meds for mom, to prevent an allergic reaction to the chemo drug). The benadryl hit mom so quickly that her head started to spin, and our conversation suddenly didn't make sense any more...not to mention the fact that mom kept staring at the people across from us. The loopy feeling stayed with her for a while, but the initial feeling passed fairly quick for her. Mom & I had a nice conversation with the lady across from us, who was getting Herceptin (a drug for breast cancer patients, to help them not get cancer again. it's not a chemo drug). She was a year younger than mom, and her sister was with her. Her sister patted my back when they were leaving and said "take good care of your mom, she's a sweetie."

My Grandma Andrews stayed with the girls for the day, and they had a great time together. I think Grandma was a little worn out by the time we got home. She said she played enough Barbie Dolls that day to last her a lifetime.

Tonight my brother & his family are coming for dinner, as well as my Grandma Andrews. We're having a little birthday party for Grandma. Mom fixed ribs and I made apple dumplings. Mom is feeling really good. Tomorrow she will probably crash a little and sleep the afternoon away, after church. Monday she's back to work, and does the same thing all over again. Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, Work. Thursday is chemo. So far her hair is still in tact, but she said her head is starting to itch, which means it won't be much longer now until it starts coming out.

Yesterday Aunt Andrea did a photo shoot with my kids, and I'll have to post those when I get home. Mom & I were also able to get a little Christmas shopping done. I won't be ready to leave next week, but it's nice to know I will be home again at Christmas.

Oh, my dad went hunting this morning, but didn't get anything. My Grandpa Bierer got a turkey, though, and insisted on my dad taking it. Dad brought it home and Alayna & Julie watched him "clean" it. Now all Alayna can talk about is the fact that "Papa hurt turkey." Get used to it Alayna, this is "normal" for our family. :)

I Love Drearie Erie!

The kids and I have arrived safe & sound in Erie. The trip on Tuesday was fairly uneventful, and everyone travelled much better than our trip home in August. Which, to say the least, was a nightmare of a car-ride. Dave drove the kids & I as far as Corning, NY, where we met mom & dad at Denny's for lunch. Julie insists on meeting at Denny's so she can have mac-n-cheese for lunch. (Why is it that I can pay .50 a box for something that costs $4 as a kids meal in a restaurant...oh wait, it's because of the applesauce that comes on the side. Now that makes sense) Mom & Dad brought Doug & Andrea's mini-van to pick us up, and Andrea has graciously loaned her van to me while I'm home. She has a company vehicle for work, and Doug has a truck. It must be nice to have extra vehicles sitting around...I just tell the kids that we're borrowing this van from their "rich" aunt & uncle in Erie.

Today is mom's chemo day in Pittsburgh. Joel & I will be travelling down with mom & dad, while the girls spend the day here with Grandma Andrews. It's a "drearie" Erie day today, but I'm thankful it's not snowing. When we arrived here Tuesday there was around 4 inches of snow on the ground, which melted yesterday now that the temps are rising a bit.

The kids and I spent a few hours with my Grandma and Grandpa Bierer yesterday. Julie went back over in the afternoon for a couple hours by herself. She loves to have special time with Grandma. They baked cookies together, and looked at family photos. When I asked Julie if she had fun she said she was bored, but when asked if she wanted to go back she was excited and said yes. If Julie has to sit still for two minutes, then she's bored. I love being bored!

I won't have any pictures to post while I'm in Erie. As it is, I'm being forced back into the stone age with dial-up while I'm here. I am excited to say that my parents did recently subscribe to digital cable, and I'm so proud of them. Now if mom could just figure out how to program her remote, we'd be set. :)

Talking With Julie

Yesterday afternoon I was explaining to Julie that we'd be going to visit Mimi & Papa this week. I thought I would prepare her for the fact that Mimi would be losing her hair while we were there, and she would be needing her wig again. Julie has seen the many changes of Mimi's hair, over the past several years. She prefers Mimi's "real" hair, to the wig, but she prefers the wig, to seeing her with no hair at all. When Julie was younger she tried tugging at her own hair, in an attempt to change it, like Mimi does.
While Julie & I were talking I was explaining a little about cancer, and what that means (keeping it simple and just emphasizing how we need to pray more for Mimi). I told her how my mom was diagnosed when she was still a baby (10 months old). Julie prays for mom daily, but I know she doesn't understand all of this. A child doesn't need to have worries over "adult" issues, but she does learn at a young age the power of prayer.
Further into our conversation I asked Julie if she had any questions about this, and she said, "No, can we not talk about Mimi anymore?" My first thought was that I had overwhelmed her and she didn't want to hear anymore about Mimi being sick. But, then Julie continued her statement with "I would like to talk about me now, and when I was a baby. I was really cute, and I did a lot of cute things." SHEESH! It's good to know I didn't overwhelm her.
I wish I could be so honest with people sometimes. "Could we stop talking about you, and start talking about ME? I'm awfully cute and I do cute things." LOL!

Here's Julie, when she was younger, with mom.

He's Such a Great Dad!

This past week Dave took me to an appointment. We had Joel & Alayna with us, while Julie was in school. Dave kept the kids entertained in the waiting room. As we're getting ready to leave, Dave is buckling Joel in the carseat and an older woman comments "you're such a great dad." Okay, I don't disagree with this statement at all, but here are my thoughts on this comment. For one, this is not the first time we've heard this from little old ladies. Any time Dave has one of our children with him, or all of our children with him, he gets stopped so people can look at our kids, and make comments about what a great dad he is. Secondly, I was standing in the waiting room, too, getting Alayna's coat on her, and no one said, "you seem like such a great mom."
First of all, what is it about men and children that get people to make adoring remarks? Any time I have the kids with me, whether it be one child, or all of them, I receive the comment "you really have your hands full," or "I've been there, it's a lot of work," or my all-time favorite, "you'll miss this when your kids grow up." Seriously, will I miss grocery shopping in WalMart at record speed while Julie wants every item she sees, and Alayna tries to grab everything off the shelf, and Joel would rather be held than ride in his carseat in the shopping cart????!!!! Okay, maybe I will look back and miss some of that. But, just once couldn't the little old lady stop me and say "you seem like a very involved, attentive, organized mom, with very well-behaved children, who are obviously cared for because their clothes are clean and their noses have been wiped." I mean really, is this too much to ask??

Okay, I get it. Who wouldn't look at the man in the picture below, and say, "he seems like a great guy, and he's probably a wonderful father." Well, they'd be right, he is!

It's Better to Praise...

My blog has becoming a little more "wordy" lately. I guess my heart is over-flowing with things to share. Bear with me... :)

This past week had it's share of "downs", if you will. We found out that the tumors on my moms lungs and liver are increasing and spreading. Her CA-125 is 998, an all-time high. This number is higher than when she was first diagnosed almost 5 years ago. She is experiencing some pain in her abdomen area and was told that she is feeling the cancer. By all accounts, this is not good news in man's view. But, I can honestly say that I feel more peace now than I have in the past five years, since she was orginally diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I can say that this feeling is true for my parents, as well. God is granting us such peace...truly "peace that passes all understanding." My mom and I have been sharing a lot of verses with each other lately. Verses that we feel the Lord is bringing us to, during this "bump" in the road, as my mom put it. There is so much in Jeremiah 33 that stood out to me the other day, but the last part of v. 11 is what I want to quote now. "Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever." For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before, says the LORD.
I love that part about restoring the fortunes of the land as they were before. It gives me such an incredible mental picture of restoring mom to the way she was before!

Mom said to me the other night that she wants us all to praise God right now. No worrying, just praising! Romans 8:18 "For I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." God is revealing His power and His glory, and it is exciting! Do I love what is happening with mom, NO! But I see all that God is doing with this, and it's an awesome thing to be a witness to.

Mom is starting weekly chemo-therapy treatments, in Pittsburgh. Each week the chemo dose will get stronger. She'll do three weeks on, and one week off. This chemo will deplete her blood cell count and she might have to get shots for this three times a week. She will lose her hair again, and nausea is another side effect. I ask for all your prayers on her behalf. Also, prayer for my dad, as he takes her to Pittsburgh each week.

The kids & I are headed to Erie this coming Tuesday. Dave & I are pulling Julie out of school for a little while, so she can come with me. I'm hoping to spend lots of time with my parents, and possibly do some Christmas shopping with mom.
All of your prayers are greatly appreciated, but please Praise God for all He is doing, and all He is!

I Wish Her Vote Counted...

Yesterday, this is what Julie looked like when she got home from school. They had little voting booths set up for the kids. Apparently it had pictures of the candidates, and you could color in the box next to the picture you wanted. I asked Julie who she voted for, and she said, "John McCain...ya never know." Well, I do know, and I wish Julie's vote had counted for real. Maybe it did, maybe Acorn registered the kids at Marbletown Elementary? hmmmmm

This reminds me of a story about my brother when my he was young. During Sunday School his teacher asked the kids "Who are God's chosen people?" Doug spoke up and answered, "The Republicans." Good answer, Doug! It's wrong, but good answer!

This morning I sat down to read my Bible, trying to gain some encouragement, and the first verse I read was, Jeremiah 16:10 "When you tell these people all this and they ask you, 'Why has the LORD decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the LORD our God?" (I'm not kidding, this is the first verse I read)....anways, I read that and immediately thought, I think I'd rather read a Psalm or "See Spot Run." But, I felt like I needed to read on, and I'm so glad I did. The verses later in the chapter jumped off the page at me screaming, and I wanted to share them with you. Jeremiah 16:19-21"O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress, to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, "Our fathers possessed nothing but false gods, worthless idols that did them no good. Do men make their own gods? Yes, but they are not gods!" "Therefore I will teach them - this time I will teach them my power and might. Then they will know that my name is the LORD."
Also, 17:7 says "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him."

So, today, even though I'm not happy about what I see in the news, I'm reminded that it is not man in whom I put my trust, but the LORD, and my confidence needs to be in Him!

On My Mind...

I don't typically post two things in one day, but this is something on my heart that I am passionate about, and want to share with you. Unless you live in a hole you know that Tuesday is election day. More than likely most of the people that read this blog are family or friends that I know where they stand on issues, but maybe, just maybe, I have a reader that needs to hear this. Please vote on the side of human life. No other topic during this election is more important than this one. We have a responsibility to the unborn, who cannot defend themselves, to fight on their behalf. Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you..." God knew us before we were even conceived. Each life has a purpose.
I was also reading in Deuteronomy 30:19, 20 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you LIFE and DEATH, blessing and cursing; therefore CHOOSE LIFE, that both you and your descendants may live; "that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your LIFE and the LENGTH OF YOUR DAYS..."
It is not for us to determine the length of someone's days, it is up to God. Please vote on the side of the unborn this November 4th!

My Achy Breaky Back...

I remember a time when I liked the song "Achy Breaky Heart", by Billy Ray Cirus...yes, I'm actually admitting this. But, for some reason now that I've turned 30 I feel like the title should be changed to "Achy Breaky Back", by Hannah Montanah's dad. Life changes, that's for sure.

Well, my back has improved some since Thursday, but I'm not "healed" yet. Anyone have the number for Benny Hinn??? Okay, never mind. I visited my chiropractor Friday, and over the course of the weekend I'm feeling slightly more mobile, but I go back again Tuesday for another treatment. Poor Dave is running around like crazy with church obligations, and home obligations...mainly a wife who decided that this past weekend was a good time to become crippled. Friday was especially busy. I had my appointment at the doctor, then I promised Julie I would attend a party in her classroom, then bring her home from school early that day. Dave stayed with the two little ones so I could go, but I was in a great deal of pain by the time I got back. Friday evening our older youth at church hosted a harvest party for all the kids, in our basement. They were supposed to be in Biblical costume, or some kind of Christian character (ie., Veggie Tales, Bibleman, etc.)...well, our kids were "sorta Biblical". Julie wanted desperately to be a flower, so she was part of God's creation, and Alayna...well, she's not Snow White, she's Queen Esther. LOL! Oh, and Joel's a deer off of Noah's Ark. See the pictures below:







Saturday morning, Dave had a Hunter's Blessing Breakfast planned, at the Fire Department he volunteers for. The breakfast was sponsored by our church, and meant as an outreach to hunter's in the community. Dave gave a brief devotion and offered a prayer for safety during the hunting season. There were many door prizes that were handed out, as well. Lots of business' donated items for give-aways. Gander Mountain, Dick's, WalMart, Dunkin Donuts, a couple area taxidermy shops, Valvoline Oil Change, etc. Dave was able to share the gospel with about 10 people that might not otherwise step foot in a church. We pray that God will continue to work in the hearts of those that attended. Oh, and bless Dave with a nice deer for our freezer this hunting season. (I'm such a redneck...yikes)

Since Dave had this breakfast to put on, that meant that he had to leave at 7 a.m. Saturday. Knowing that my back was out, and I was unable to lift anything, or clean, my dear friend, Diana, came over with her daughter, Amber, at 8:15 Saturday morning to spend most of the day helping me. Amber and Julie are great friends, and they had a wonderful time playing together. What a HUGE blessing! Diana vacuumed, cleaned up my kitchen, did a couple loads of laundry, brought us supper and homemade cinnamon rolls. It's during these times, when I'm sick, or my back is hurting, that I miss being near my family even more. I know that my mom or grandma would be there to help me with my house, or kids. This was just a big reminder to me of the "family" God has provided us in Stone Ridge. I can't repay Diana enough...however, she told me that someday when she's old, and breaks a hip, she's calling me for help. We'll probably have moved by then... j/k