So Thankful and of course some mayhem..

We are thanking God today and all of you who have prayed for Morgan over the past few months. Today we got her blood work back and her RA factor was negative and after just three months of eating gluten and dairy free and getting some help with supplements her counts went from 640 to 80! She is clear of any auto immune disease and her body is bouncing back and she is feeling good.  We will continue to keep an eye on her and keep with the diet and vitamins. 

You know how you look at your pets or kids for that matter and think to yourself,"Man they are so cute. They really could do nothing wrong today." Ya I love that feeling but usually in our house it is followed with a WHAT THE WHAT???

I mean look at that sweet face...

Then I come home to this...

Yup that is a brand new pack of like 30 count toilet paper!!

And if the animals inside aren't bad enough; we were woken up by a visitor the other morning around 2am who was clearly bent on getting some food. They were sorely disappointed when they picked the recycle can and not the trash ha! Whether it was the black bear that cruises through here on occasion or raccoons it took off as soon as the dogs started barking...guess they are trying to redeem themselves from their naughtiness....

Then there is this little animal that has been hanging around the house ha! Hope everyone has a great week and thank you again for asking about Morgan, texting to check in and for praying. God is good and we will praise Him! Be blessed!

"We Remember" - Steven Curtis Chapman

Happy Memorial Day weekend. Thank you to all of those who have served our country and lost their lives for our freedom. And to the families who loved them. And to those who have in the past or still serve our country, we never take our freedom for granted or the sacrifices you have made in your service. Be blessed.

Wrapping up Another Year...

May has been full...yes that's the word I will use to describe our month, full! We were able to finally all get together and have a small memorial for Dan's dad and spread his ashes. Afterwards we got to spend a little time with the cousins which was nice. They are all so big and so sweet...growing so fast!

We have wrapped up another year of school and it literally flew by. Like swoosh! Gone! We completed our first year of middle school and high school...swoosh gone!! 

Ryanne has loved middle school youth group and all the activities they do together. She went to her first baseball game last weekend and really enjoyed it. She's so independent and just wants to go! Go! Go!

Being on the go comes at a cost though ha! She was jumping the walls between our house and the neighbors the other night and because it was dark she made it half way over but did NOT stick the land....she's so me!! I still am alway banged up and getting into trouble. ;)

I came home the other day and Ryanne said,"Look mom I made you "happy end of the school year cookies!" So sweet. She had pulled a sugar cookie recipe out and changed it to gluten and dairy free and they were so good. 

Morgan survived her first year of high school classes and did great! She is gearing up for a busy summer of beach camp, mission trips, and working part time. 

She also just completed another year of dance and had her show this past weekend. She's the one in the back holding the girls leg up. The girls all did a great job and the show was a lot of fun.

I'm a terrible mom and only took a couple of pictured after the show. Here she is with my mom. Also, the lighting in the theater makes it terribly hard to take pictures.  I need to learn to take pictures of her before the show because afterwards she just wants to be left alone because she is exhausted.

This is going to totally come off as random but  we love it and thought we would pass on the knowledge. This doorbell is $189 at Costco and it wires right to your existing doorbell or can be attached to your wall and has a portable door bell that plugs into your inside outlet if you don't have a doorbell. This cool thing sends a message to your smart phone and lets you know someone is ringing your bell or walking around near your door. It also starts video taping and records the person. When someone comes to your door and either triggers the camera by ringing or motion it lets you see the person and talk to them through your phone. This is great for me as I don't answer my door to strangers for any reason and it's also cool if you are not home and someone is at your door because you can talk to them and they will never know you are not home. It really is a nice security system and for a reasonable price. The message also gets sent to multiple phones if you want it to so it sends it to mine and my husbands so he can can answer them and they think he is home even if he's not so that makes me feel better.
I pray you have an amazing May. We are looking forward to lots of bare feet and warm days this summer with lots of adventures. 

May Musings....

I've been wanting to sit and blog for a few weeks now but you know how sometimes there are so many different things going on in different directions that your mind is barely able to focus and so you decide it's just better to save any energy you have for prayer and inward reflection of things? Reminding yourself to Stand Firm.

Not to long ago we noticed that Morgan had a wrist injury from dance that happened over a year ago and it kept rearing it's head like it wasn't healing all the way. Then she was having lots of back pain that was keeping her up at night and other things that were seemingly affecting her hormones. We see an integrated medicine doctor in Loma Linda who suggested she needed blood work done and so we got that done and were shocked when the results came back that Morgans body was not absorbing vitamins and she was dangerously low on many key nutrients, tested positive for thyroid issues and also tested about as hi as you can in your blood counts for Lupus. She is being tested next week for juvenal rheumatoid arthritis.  Stand firm.

A few days after we got Morgn's blood work back we were told by our veterinarian that our beloved great dane appears to have bone cancer in her leg. Stand firm.

Then immediately following that news Dan was in for a physical (stress test) at work and was told there was possible something wrong with his heart and he needed to see a cardiologist for further testing. Stand firm. For a week we prayed, asked others to cover us in prayer and asked God for healing if there was something wrong. We went to the cardiologist this week and praise God after a full set of tests and work up he got a 100% clean bill of health. The doctor said better than great actually. The original doctors made mistakes in their tests. Stand firm.

I say all this because just like everyone else, I am guilty of sweating the small stuff. Wondering to myself why in the world I am the only person in our house who has the gift/super power to determine if the dishwasher is clean or dirty. Then letting bitterness seep in because I have "to do everything." Or letting things that are just drama bug me and then wondering why I'm in a grumpy mood..ugh! But when extraordinary difficulties come my way and let's be honest they will; I am reminded ever so gently that my ministry at this time in my life is serving my husband and kids and having dishwashing super powers is a gift. I can't control other peoples behavior or response to things around me but I can have joy and be loving.

I recently read where Charles Spurgeon said,"The Master's word to me is, Stand Firm." And the best thing I can do at these times is to listen only to my master's word, for others will come to me with their suggestion and evil advice. Despair will come, whispering,"Give up-lie down and die." But even in the worst of times, God would have me be cheerful and courageous, rejoicing in His love and faithfulness.

Cheerful AND courageous! I LOVE that! When I'm worried about my kids well being, Gods got it in his hands. When I'm sad or discouraged about something in particular, Gods got in his hands. When I'm supporting my husband as he's struggling, Gods got it in his hands. When people or situations around me seem to be just begging to make it bigger than it is; Gods got in his hands. When people I care about are sick or struggling, Gods got it in his hands. Stand firm.
Blessings this week.