Alayna's Prayer

When Julie was little we worked on teaching her to pray. We would say something, and she would repeat what we said...this went on for some time, until we finally told her that she could do this herself. Well, Alayna is an entirely different story. She is SO independent about everything. Julie is strong willed, but at age six, if I still helped her get dressed, that would be fine with her. Alayna must do everything herself. Get dressed, pick out her own clothes (she insists that everything can be worn with her blue snowman socks), put her shoes on by herself - well, you get the picture. This also includes saying her own prayers - which is perfectly fine, and I'm glad she wants to. But sometimes her prayers go on and on and on...and we wait, and wait, and wait.

Last night her prayer before bed was very brief. Alayna had her Bible story with me, by herself. Julie was sitting on her bed, because she wasn't obeying very well. This is how Alayna's prayer went:

"Dear Jeshush, Julie is shashy (sassy), mommy has a haircut, daddy has a haircut, help mimi feel better, AMEN!"

I'm pretty sure she was just trying to get the Lord caught up on all the current events in our home - and she kept it brief. :) I love the prayers of a 2 1/2 year old...and a 6 year old. I am sure the Lord enjoys the conversations these little ones are having with Him.

Alayna...before the "independent" stage kicked in. :)

Update

This past week was fairly uneventful at our home. Unless you consider losing a filling, while flossing my teeth, eventful. The dentist was able to get me in to check out what exactly happened, but he's unable to re-fill it until the 8th. Until then I have this strange feeling in my tooth, and food gets stuck there. Oh well, it saves me something to snack on for later.

Alayna is making more attempts towards potty-training this week. She insists on sitting on the big potty, and not the potty chair we have for her. Whatever works is fine with me. She went once this morning, and I gave her a marshmallow. She was so excited, but then she assumed that every time she sat on the potty she should have a marshmallow - even if she doesn't actually go. I can't say I blame her. I probably should switch the treat to raisins, to prompt a need to use the bathroom more often. Just a thought...

Joel took his first steps tonight. I'm not sure whether to be excited, or scared out of my mind. He walked a couple steps to me this evening, and was so proud of himself.

On another note, my mom's health is still not good. She is very weak right now, and when she exerts any energy she is out of breath right away. She is unable to work right now, as well. Her family doctor has some guesses as to why she's having so many problems, but we're still waiting to hear a diagnosis from her oncologist, in Pittsburgh. I just ask that you continue to pray for my mom, and dad, at this time.

Family Fun

Today was gorgeous outside, and it's amazing what warmer weather and sunshine can do for my mood. Dave suggested we get subs tonight from a local fire house that was selling them to raise funds for their department. $7.50 for a 12" sub, soda and bag of chips. Dave got a chicken parm sub, and the girls and I shared a ham & cheese sub. It was yummy, and it's great to support a local cause. Especially your volunteer firemen.

Since the weather was so gorgeous we decided to eat outside at the picnic table. After supper the kids ran to their swingset and played for another hour, before coming inside for baths. Dave also got out the basketball and we shot some hoops in the driveway for a while. We had a lot of fun, and the fresh air felt great! Now, we just have to make sure our kids don't have any ticks on them...oh the joys of living in a wooded area.

Here are some pictures from our evening....sorry, no pictures of the basketball game...I was too busy chasing after the ball that I kept failing to get into the basket. Oh well, I tried.

Dave & the kids.


Julie's impressed that she can climb to the top of the ladder, but she refuses to try going across the monkey bars. I can't say that I blame her.






A wonderful family from our church brought us this double swing last year, and it is the greatest thing for Joel & Alayna. It keeps them happy for a very long time.




I think I'm looking a little tired these days (despite the fresh air)...but that's a whole other post.

Easter Festivities

I would like to say that this past Easter Sunday was a relaxing, calm day, full of lots of reflection on what the day really means...unfortunately, if I said that, I'd be lying, and the guilt would plague me. So, this is how Easter Sunday really breaks down for us:
Our church puts on a wonderful pancake breakfast from 8-10a.m., at a local fire house, for our church, and the community (around 100 people were served breakfast). At 11 we have service at the church.
So, Easter morning Dave has to be at the fire house by 6a.m. to start cooking with the other men from our church. I am on my own to get the kids up, dressed for church, get a shower and get myself ready, feed Joel, do the girls hair and be out the door around 8:30a.m. to go have breakfast. Okay, so I woke up at 5a.m, and could not sleep any longer. I got up and had a little time to myself before the kids got up. When the girls got up I excitedly reminded them of the pancake breakfast, and Alayna announced loudly, "I WANT OATMEAL!" Okay, okay, I made her a quick bowl of oatmeal, since she's used to eating when she gets up, and I didn't want her to be starving and cranky. I fed Joel his cereal, got us all ready, and had really good intentions to take the kids picture in their Easter clothes. I forgot about the picture, and put the kids coats on to leave. When I remembered about taking a picture I had no desire to take their coats back off and try to make them smile, rebundle them, and leave. So I took my camera to the breakfast with me. Here are the results of my efforts:


You'll just have to trust me that the girls looked adorable in their dresses and white sweaters. It was too cold for Joel to wear the short sleeve shirt I bought him (35 degrees outside), so he wore a winter outfit.

This was my last attempt at a picture, and then I just gave up.


After Sunday morning service we quickly fed the kids a light lunch, changed our clothes, and piled into the van to go to Dave's brothers house for the afternoon. We celebrated their baby boys 1st birthday, and had Easter dinner with Dave's whole family.

Dave's mom & sister filled 160 Easter eggs and let the 6 younger grandkids have an egg hunt. 160 eggs, divided by 6 kids...well, I never was good at math, but we did have a LOT of eggs to sort through when we got home.



Alayna, Julie & their cousin, Lily.




You'll notice I have no pictures of the kids getting their baskets from Dave & me. We did give them baskets, and they thought they were great...as for pictures, well, you'll just have to take my word for it. They got baskets.

I truly am grateful for what Easter really means, and in the hecticness I tried to keep my mind focused on what Easter is all about. However, I'm reminded that sometimes in life, when your kids are little, things are not always as calm as you'd like them to be.

The Effective Fervent Prayer...

...of a righteous man avails much! (James 5:16) Going back to verse 15 it says, "And the prayer of FAITH will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up."

Oh, how my faith feels so small at times, and yet the comfort from the Lord is indescribable! Many reading this are already aware of the news we received this past Thursday, regarding my moms health. If not, here are the facts - she had a test done this past Thursday, because of a side effect she is experiencing from one of the drugs they had her on. The test showed nothing, but this is not good. There is definitely SOMETHING wrong. Her CA-125 count is now at 3400 (as my mom said in her e-mail, this is not a typo). She will have a CT Scan done this Thursday, so the doctor can get a better look to see what's going on. But, he told her this past Thursday that they've run out of treatment options for her. He suspsects a tumor around the colon, and if this is the case, he wants to talk surgery. We won't know anything more until the CT Scan results are in.

I am grieved by this news, but I refuse to lose hope. Losing hope would be saying that I doubt what God is capable of doing. A friend of my moms recently said, "pray for Susan, as if her life depends on it, and I believe it does." Do we really and truly grasp how powerful prayer is? I know these past five years through the journey of cancer, with my mom, has taught us all a great deal about the power of prayer. God has used prayer over and over again. The doctor was baffled this past Thursday at my moms CA-125 count, and how she could be sitting there, looking so healthy, and have so much wrong inside. THIS IS THE POWER OF PRAYER!!!

My uncle (my mom's brother), sent my mom an e-mail after we received this news. In the e-mail he quoted the verse I Corinthians 15:56-58, "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be STEADFAST, IMMOVABLE, ALWAYS ABOUNDING in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." I am finding great comfort in these verses. God has a purpose. He has always had a purpose. His purpose is to be glorified, and we all want the outcome that will bring Him the most glory!

Julie Continues to Celebrate

The kids & I just got back last night, after visiting my family in Erie, PA. Dave drove all the way to Erie on Wednesday, and took us home Thursday. Dad & Mom had to head to Pittsburgh on Thursday and so dad was unable to meet Dave halfway this time.

Here are some pictures from Julie's birthday celebration at my parents.

Julie with my Grandma Bierer. Grandma has been very sick recently, but we were thankful she was able to come to Julie's party.


Grandma, Joel & Julie


The new flip flops from Uncle Doug, Aunt Andrea & Danika.






Joel & Danika


Joel & Aunt Andrea. I think Andrea is using Joel to do ventriloquism. :)


I made the Strawberry Cake with Strawberry frosting. The same one I did for Julie's party at our house.


Alayna with my Grandma Bierer

I think I hate the fluffy white stuff

The kids and I have been in Erie, PA for the past week. We came last Thursday, and are leaving tomorrow to go back to New York. When we first got here the temps were milder, and we had rain. Then Sunday it was sunny, beautiful, and around 60 degrees. On Monday, Erie got dumped with the yucky white stuff. It has snowed for the past two days, and in some areas, they've received about a foot of it. We have around 4 inches at my parents, and it's the wet messy stuff. Today the snow is supposed to stop, but I think the temps are going to stay cold.

Unfortunately the kids have not had a lot of outdoor play time while we've been here. I packed their winter coats...just in case, but did not pack snow pants and boots. Silly me, I thought it was spring. :)

We've had a nice time visiting my parents, and Julie was able to celebrate her birthday one more time. My mom has been very tired (blood cell count is probably low), but she's been great, and pushes through the tiredness to play with her grandkids. My dad was fighting a cold when we first got here, but he's feeling better now. The kids love to tease their papa, and usually run away screaming when he teases back. He was kind enough to share his cold with Joel & Alayna...so, I'll be leaving them in Erie, when I go back home tomorrow. j/k

I'll have pictures to post when I get home.