Family Photo/Christmas Vacation

Our family went to the beach over Christmas break and got to spend a wonderful time with both Derek's family and Julie's family!!!! This was probably one of the best Christmas holidays we've had so far as a family!

We are so thankful for our families and their many, many kindnesses to us!!!!

In addition, we want to give a special "thank you" to Sandra Tabor for providing Christmas gifts for all our children!

God bless these precious "Loves" in our lives!!!!!!

Samuel is 5!

Samuel turned 5 today!

Happy Birthday, Samuel!! We love you SO MUCH!!

Special "Thank You" to Sandra Tabor for always thinking of our children

and showering them with gifts!!! 💙

Teenager in the house!

We have a teenager in the house!

Happy 13th Birthday, Cherish!!!!

Dental surgery

Matthew had dental surgery today at the Children's Hospital, but he and I had fun with my phone keeping occupied until the time came for him to go to the operating room.

Matthew did great!!!

Snuggle bugs

I get some of the best views!

(Had to turn the light on for the picture....)

Influenza A...

has become a part of our family, so it seems.

Six out of 8 of us have come down with the flu thus far. It has played itself out this way:

Matthew woke up with the flu on the day he was to have dental surgery at the children's hospital.

When he went to the doctor's that day for a doctor's note for the hospital, the doctor put him on Tamiflu to cut the duration of the flu shorter.

The following day, Cherish became sick and was put on Tamiflu. She developed terrible headaches from the medicine, so she did not finish the Rx.

After several days on Tamiflu, Matthew developed an allergy to it. It took Matthew about 4.5 days to fully recover from the allergic reaction. We thank God for his full recovery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Andrew came down with the flu, and though his fevers were over 105°F, he never seized. We praise God!!

Daniel came down with the flu, but only after he enjoyed his birthday. 😊

I took the girls to Tennessee to enjoy a family wedding, and Hope and I came down with the flu before the wedding. However, we had all sorts of "bonding time" together in the hotel room. In addition, Cherish graciously chose to skip the wedding and festivities to stay with Hope and me in our time of need. God bless her!!

Derek's parents babysat while I was in Tennessee "for the wedding" and when I had to have a visit with the cardiologist. So far, neither one of them has gotten the flu! THANK YOU, JESUS!!

We are all thankful Derek and Samuel have stayed well so far. May it continue to remain that way.

No matter what, we know we are blessed...

in the good and in the hard!

We are thankful our Lord is Sovereign!

Happy 6th Birthday, Daniel!!

HapPy BIrThdAy, DaNieL!!!!!

This guy is AMAZING! Let me summarize:

Daniel and Cherish had a special plan for his birthday. She and he had planned what cake they were going to bake and decorate together, and what games they were going to have at his birthday celebration.

However, Cherish came down with the flu Saturday afternoon. Therefore, she had to relinquish her "position" as celebration coordinator 😉.

Instead of their plans unfolding, I made cupcakes, and we moved the celebration to a park near our house--instead of having it at our house. We wanted to ensure the guests were safe from the flu germs.

Daniel did not complain.

While I was preparing the cupcakes, Derek had a strong--very strong--impression that he was supposed to go to WalMart and buy Daniel a large Nerf gun for his birthday. So, while he went to purchase it, I prepared for the party.

Two boys had been invited to Daniel's birthday. One could not afford to bring a gift--which of course we made sure no one knew. The other boy arrived about 20 minutes earlier than the other boy (boy #2), and  he gave Daniel a large Nerf gun and several mini Nerf guns for his birthday. (!)

The boys all played with the Nerf guns during the party, and at the end of the birthday party, Daniel gave boy #2 his brand new large Nerf gun and bullets!

At that point, all Daniel knew was that he didn't have any Nerf guns except the ones boy #1 had given him. He chose to give boy #2 the large gun, and he took home the minis. 

Boy #2 was shocked to go home with a gift, and Daddy and I were beyond proud of Daniel!! His act of kindness made our day!

When we got home, Daniel opened his gift from us. It was the Nerf gun that Derek had the strong impression he was supposed to buy Daniel!

God knew Daniel was going to be kind, and He made sure Daniel would be rewarded within the same hour.

"Thank You, Lord, for caring about every little detail of life! YOU are AMAZING!!"

In addition, before bed Daniel lost his first tooth. He went to bed so excited that the Tooth Fairy was going to visit him on his birthday!

Daniel had a GREAT day! 😀

Side note: Daniel refused to have any candles for his birthday. He said, "Matthew caught on fire! I don't want fire at my birthday!"

Not one child has wanted to have candles at his/her birthday celebration since April 26, 2019. The children were traumatized! We are SO THANKFUL for God's protection of Matthew!!!

(Unfamiliar with the story? You can find it HERE.)

Thank You, LORD, for Daniel and the sweet day we had with him today!

Caring for the poor...

can be practiced even by children.

Thank you, Daddy, for teaching them! 😍

Sick boy

Influenza A.

No surgery today.

Julie's Birthday

Today was my birthday, and the day was made extra special by the two cards Cherish made me.

God bless her!!!!!

Matthew's shots

Matthew has begun receiving injections to help him grow and to help with his low muscle tone. (Matthew's extremities have stopped growing, with his hands and feet being the size of a 12-month old. But, Matthew is 5 years old....)

After taking the shots for about three days, I took this video of him....

Samuel

Dressed himself for school today:

He's awesome!

Exhaustion

When school is exhausting and you put yourself into nap time 1-2 times each day:

God bless precious Matthew!

Love

These two had been sitting like this for about 30 minutes when I took this picture. 😍

VPK Begins

VPK officially began this week, and Matthew and Samuel are attending our church's VPK program.

Matthew and Samuel are loving their new school and teachers! When I picked the boys up from school yesterday, Samuel begged me to take him back to school. He thought the days were too short. 😄

The boys attend school Monday through Friday, 9:00 - 12:30 p.m. This schedule provides a good amount of quiet time for the older ones to get their hardest subjects done before the littles return home.

This is a new phase for us, as we've had at least one "little one" in the home for so long during our home-school days. We are excited to see how this year progresses!

In addition, we are so excited for Matthew and Samuel! We are so thankful they have the opportunity to be taught in a loving, God-honoring, God-uplifting environment!!

Hurricane Dorian

With all the preparations and the hysteria, the hurricane ended up steered away from us. (Derek's work had put us up in a hotel near the company so that Derek could remain working through the hurricane.)

This was all we got:

One "downed" palm branch!

Can you see how disappointed the boys were--even when I asked for a nice picture for Daddy?

As everyone walked away from the branch, Samuel seized it. He was going to keep the memory of Dorian alive.

But then as we walked, the gusts of wind began, and Samuel's fun started.

And adventure boy was SO HAPPY he had his trophy piece ready!

And then he shared,

 and the "fortress" (Cherish) held firmly,

and all were happy!

Favorite Scriptures

Last week I spent time compiling my favorite verses and spending hours medicating on them. Therefore, I wanted to share them here, in case God would like to encourage others through them as well.