Anna and Levi

Anna and I have really been enjoying our Mommy/daughter bible time up at church on Saturday mornings... Honestly, she has been almost giddy to the point of having to settle her down. I think she is just that excited.

She is growing up so quickly... will be 9 in the fall. Gone are the days when she seems like a little one... with that comes great joy in my heart... yet there are pains there too.

How can time be passing by me so quickly??

To see her with Levi just melts my heart. She has such a tender heart... but to see her with a little one shows me her mommy heart and I can see God growing that part of her as she helps with Levi. She is the best little helper.

She is about the same exact age I was when my littlest brother Josh was born and I was all over that kid:) She is just the same with Levi... but in a really good way. She is so careful and can hardly wait till he wakes up in the morning.

Boy I love these 2 precious ones...

On the road again:)

We are on a much needed vacation... Oh my... my hubby has worked so hard and really has only taken a couple days off in the last 6 months. He was busy being dad, homemaker, pastor, boo boo kisser etc etc, while I was in the hospital. Then we had sweet Levi and Greg hadn't taken a breath yet, until now...He soooo deserves this time. I will update with some pics from vacation once we get home... but for now we are in Texas enjoying some much needed family time... extended family time... and long time friend time.

I am about to hit the sack but we are so excited to go back to our 1st church as a married couple tomorrow morning. I know it will be like going HOME! Salem is such a special place to us with so many special people who I know have been lifting us up in much prayer over the past couple of years. I can not wait to give these people some hugs in person... It is long over due... and this girl is soooo excited too, to actually sit by my hubby in church and worship together side by side and as a whole family for the first time in a long time.... Tomorrow is going to be a great day, I can feel it:)

But for now I will leave you with a few picture from before we left home...

Look at these 2 knock outs... Are these beads fun or what? They were a gift from a friend and ALL the kids love them:)
These 2 brothers love playing in the water after it rains... and it NEVER seems to happen with out adding a little mud to the mix...

Blessings

Louis took these fun pictures of the great farm eggs we get from a lady at church...

She is so cool... she is Jojo's Sunday School teacher and she and her husband live on a vineyard about 10 minutes from our house.

It is absolutely gorgeous!

Every couple of weeks she rings the door bell and has an abundance of eggs for us.

I never have to buy eggs and it is such a blessing to us...

That has been one of the great perks and bonuses to being a pastor here...

OUR FILL OF FARM FRESH EGGS!

Have I ever told you Caleb is the egg maker in the house?

He, by far, makes the best scrambled eggs I have ever had...

COME ON... REALLY????

This is a picture of a place I pass every time I head into town... We live in the sticks a bit...

But... Come on really?

I honestly can't believe people post signs like this.

At first it sort of made me laugh...

But then it sort of just made me sad... people can be so catty, persnickity (is that even a word??), bitter and mean... I could go on and on....

I don't know... it just strikes me in a not so warm way....

Just had to share it with you all...

I am hoping that NO ONE ever feels that way when they come to our house... I have always said that our house is the Lord's and hopefully we have the doors open to anyone for a warm visit:)

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

Ahhhh.... I love Greg more now than the day I married him almost 18 years and 7 kids ago...
Happy Father's Day Greg...

He is such a good daddy to his kids...

Such a good provider to his wife and family....

He puts up with a whole lot of craziness each day:)...

These kids are so blessed to call him daddy today and everyday!! :)

I wanted to also wish my sweet papa a Happy Father's Day up in Wisconsin:) I miss you daddy! Life was NEVER dull with you as my dad... it was and still is downright fun:) We will celebrate next month together:)

And we wanted to wish Greg's dad a Happy Father's Day as well...I owe him so much in raising up my hubby to be such a great husband and Father to all of our sweet precious gifts from God!

JOJO

Since we took this picture just a couple of weeks ago... his other top middle tooth is gone... he looks different... older... sigh:)

We've been enjoying our watermelon this summer... I think we are on our 4th already:) They have all been awesome!

Someone needs a haircut:)

Hmmmm, anyone want a bite??

One happy, tummy full, content customer... ahhh... I love summer... but I could easily do with out this 95+degree heat:)

MY SURVIVOR:)

MY GREG WITH HOPIE ON HIS BACK...

GREG WALKING THE FIRST LAP WITH THE REST OF THE SURVIVORS.... (I KNOW... NOT THE BEST PICTURE:)

THESE WERE ALL THE SURVIVORS WHO STARTED THE SURVIVOR LAP... THEY HAVE BEEN CANCER FREE FOR A YEAR OR LESS...

MY SWEET SURVIVOR WITH HIS NEWEST LITTLE GUY:) I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN TELL, BUT HIS HAIR NEVER DID GROW BACK FULLY IN THE BACK AFTER HIS RADIATION...

A week ago we participated in the Relay For Life, a cancer walk to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. It was really special for us.

My sweet husband has been Cancer free for almost 19 years. That is absolutely crazy to me. I remember as clear as can be, when he was diagnosed just 2 1/2 months after we started dating. I remember his parents calling and telling my parents before they called me, just not sure how I would take the news. I had only met them for the first time just 3 weeks before. I remember my parents being at a marriage retreat the following weekend and hearing my mom say that when they requested prayer for Greg, that my dad just lost it... it was one of the first times she had ever seen him cry... I remember almost passing out as I watched some of the tests they did to determine what stage the cancer was in... I could go on and on and on.... all distinct but very distant memories of the battle my honey was in for his life... Wow... I can't believe all God has brought Greg through... brought us through...

What a strong and amazing man I am married to. When we first planned on getting married Greg had wanted to work for the American Cancer Society... it just never worked out that way. God had other plans for him. I was a proud wife watching him walk the survivor lap. I am always amazed at the story the Lord is writing in Greg's life... He is such a willing and humble servant... really I learn so much from him in those areas...

It was a really cool experience to be a part of the Relay for Life. Members from our church have a huge part in it. Greg had to do the opening prayer... next year we hope to be more involved or even just stay longer or even over night with the kids. I think we need to celebrate each and every bit of what the Father has brought us through... He is the great healer...

Tonight, I just want to ask you to pray for my sweet friend Mary's mom who is fighting lung cancer and our dear friends Matt and Janet and their 2 girls. He is a pastor in Illinois and is fighting Multiple Myloma and the battle is intense right now. Please pray for the Lord's healing, comfort and peace for their hearts, and His will to be done in their lives through this difficult time.

A YEAR AGO TODAY...

BE STILL MY BEATING HEART....
THE MANY FACES OF LEVI...SUCH SWEET PRECIOUSNESS AND HEALING ALL WRAPPED UP IN THIS CUDDLY BUNDLE...

A YEAR AGO TODAY...

WE ADOPTED THIS SWEET PRECIOUS LITTLE GUY...

AS AN EMBRYO, ALONG WITH HIS 6 SIBLINGS ( AND THAT MICROSCOPIC DOUBLE CHIN...LOVE IT! :)...

(HE HAS SOME OF THE CUTEST, FUNNIEST FACES... THIS IS HIS FAMOUS SCOWL:)

WHAT A RIDE... WHAT A JOURNEY... WHAT A MIRACULOUS BLESSING YOU ARE LEVI RYAN!!!
WE ARE SO SO THANKFUL FOR OUR DONOR MOM AND TO GOD WHO GAVE YOU TO US A YEAR AGO TODAY:)

GOD'S BEAUTY

Louis took these pictures a few weeks back... I thought they were sooooo pretty...

I am so thankful that summer is here...

We have some History to finish up... we may be at it most of the summer if we just take a little each day...

Anna and Lou have one full day left to complete... but last week we were pretty caught up in the beginning of summer and didn't get to any of school work... tomorrow is the day ...

BUSY WEEKEND!! Friday we had the relay for life, a cancer fundraiser. I am going to do a whole post on it soon, I hope:)

Yesterday I had our first class for the GROWING LITTLE WOMEN class I am teaching at church... It is for moms and their daughters ages 6-10. We had about 20 there and oh my goodness, Anna was over the top thrilled. She was super jazzed up about it. Just seeing her excitement makes me realize all the more that I NEED to carve out that individual time for all of them.

Today we had a pot luck for anyone interested in the mission trips to Grenada next summer. Hmmmm, it sure would be nice to do a family mission trip... I am not at all sure if it will work out, but it was super exciting just to think about it. Then we all headed out to the field to watch the guys play a double header of softball. I haven't seen Greg play in a couple of years, and let me say... he is still really good, at least in my opinion:) Thank God the bleachers were shaded. It was around 98 degrees today...

We have had those crazy pantry moths in our pantry... It was driving me crazy. My mom did a super cleaning back in March when she was here, and we hadn't seen any in about a month, when all of a sudden a couple weeks ago, they got really bad... Greg and Caleb completely emptied the whole pantry and we are HOPING that this is the end of them.

Literally, I walked in the door tonight at 6 pm and crawled right into bed. That is TOTALLY uncharacteristic of me. I slept for the next couple of hours, fed the baby, and just laid there...For some reason, I felt totally overwhelmed... it was almost like I finally took a break, and the weight of the last 2 1/2 years caught up with me. I feel like after losing Samuel and the wildness of having Faith live here and having her baby that we planned on adopting die...we just kept trudging forward trusting and hoping in the Lord, (really it was more like hanging on by a thread a lot of days, and hanging on to every last shred of hope we could find:)... and now that we actually have Hope's crazy adoption in the past and have Levi here safely... it is like my heart can finally just rest.

I don't think I have ever in life experienced the intensity of emotions that I have in the past 2 1/2 years. I am ready for some coasting (emotional wise) and just enjoying this life God has given us... I think that my bad sleep habits don't help either. I am determined to get myself to bed earlier....that is one huge goal for summer. It has already gotten somewhat better.

The weird thing is that there are a lot of things going on for my husband that make me wonder if a resting period is even in place for us... I could easily see big changes in the future that would involve not a whole lot of "rest" for anyone in this house... We have been praying BIG TIME about A LOT of things. I know God can and will work it all out according to His plans, that gives my heart peace, but man I just pray He guides Greg and makes the way SUPER clear...

With that said, I am going to hit the hay... I am super tired, but super thankful... thankful for the lives of each member of my family... thankful for the rest my soul can find in HIM<><

Hello Everyone,

This is Greg... Sara's letting me post info on the terrible destruction in Joplin, MO. The tornado was categorized as an F5 and caused much destruction.

Louis and I had the opportunity to drive up to Joplin and help with Samaritan's Purse. They are so organized and they take care of you while you are helping care for so many hurting people. Our work days included: debris removal, packing items that made it (in some homes), hunting for items that were salvagable (because some don't have insurance!), and sorting (clothes, diapers, toys, food, etc.) from donors trying to help.

If you are able, I highly encourage you to get there and help... the people can obviously use physical help, but they also need a loving heart and a good set of ears to hear them tell you what they have been through. I know Sara has said this before, and I just want to reiterate... don't worry about what you will say, it's important just to have someone to be there with them and know they are not alone.

God bless you and keep you in the love of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior... and please keep praying for the people of Joplin, MO.

Greg :)

YIPPEE!!

I just have to tell you all that I saw God perform a miracle in my friend's marriage last week!

You know who you are:) And I can't wipe the smile off my face when I think about it:)

God worked in hearts, moved mountains, and changed a marriage and the future of marriage for their children... I believe for generations to come...

I believe the Holy Spirit was moving and they were listening... and I couldn't be happier...

It is amazing how God can turn a situation around... on a dime... sometimes when you least expect it... or in a way... literally you would NEVER expect...

What a sweet, sweet miracle to witness!

Prayers that I have been praying for a year were answered...

Thank you Lord!!