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| {update}
Gramps came through surgery brilliantly. His heart is beating strong.
The night was rough though... he stopped breathing twice.
But this morning things look good -
and he's even responding with a move of his hand to questions asked.
Thank you so, so much for all the prayers...
I told my Grams that people were praying all over the world and she said,
"Well you tell them I'm so grateful. I can feel it. And please keep it up!"
Remember how I said that every artery was blocked... and one 70%?
Well, the doctor said once they were operating they discovered a very tiny artery -
"nearly hidden," were his words - way back in the heart....
It was working 100% and probably, "the very reason he's alive."
Thank you little hidden artery doing your job, pumping away. : )
It reminded me when things look bleak, without hope...
GOD SEES what is hidden to us, and sends help through sometimes small and seemingly unimportant ways {life lines} to save us and keep us going!
"In my despair I cried unto Him, and the Lord heard me.. and answered me."
Last night when I called Grams to check on her she answered the phone, and said-
"Hey, baby girl... we've still got him!"
That made me cry...
tears of joy. tears of praise.
"We've still got him!"
love those words. : )
"If we have seen the miraculous workings of God in some marvelous case of healing or some extraordinary providential deliverance, I am sure the thing that has impressed us most has been the quietness with which it was all done, the absence of everything spectacular and sensational, and the utter sense of nothingness which came to us as we stood in the presence of this mighty God and felt how easy it was for Him to do it all without the faintest effort on His part or the slightest help on ours."
hope to post some of other life going on around here soon. there's been so much happening....
Recitals for piano and ballet
Decorating with spray paint
Killing deer (though not by us)
And little children crying while Shayne and I tried to sing..
hmm.. yes, well... we might not post about that come to think of it! ; )
hope your Friday is a great one.
Love~
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| {would you pray with me}
My grandpa was taken to the hospital last night with chest pains...
they ran tests this morning and discovered every artery was blocked, except one -
which was 70 % blocked!
The doctors said he's a walking time bomb - and are doing open heart surgery asap.
I find it strange that several months back when he was taken to the er with the same thing they said no blockages were found... and I wonder, can someone have this severe of heart condition happen in a matter of months? Or was the medical system faulty?
Makes my heart grow a bit anxious in other ways too~
I was telling my mom this morning that dad needs to have his heart looked at, since heart conditions are hereditary.
And actually, every person in my family and life I care about should go in for an exam.. or two .. or three.
just to be sure! I mean, really really sure they're okay. :)
I can see my Christmas gifts now, "Coupon: good for one free ride to doctor's office to have your health checked."
But even in the midst of worry for Gramps I find myself smiling over my thought pattern -
thinking I can somehow control things..
thinking I can take measures and precautions to "guarantee" I'm secure, happy, and get what I want~
which is, by the way, for my entire family to be raptured together and never have to face sickness or death. :)
I'm reminded too with all this that people who seek control are nothing more than people led by fear.
Sure, fear is an emotion that grips our hearts when we don't know what the outcome of something will be -
but I believe in the Sovereignty of God and that everything serves His purpose and plan.
Our lives are in His hands.
I believe that with all my heart.
But even having said all that I would really appreciate your prayers ~
That God would let us keep Gramps down here a bit more. :)
He's the only Grandpa I've known (never knew my mom's dad).. and we're very close.
He's exactly everything you'd imagine a grandpa should/ and would be.
I'd love for you to sit and hear his stories.
They're amazing.
Like from another world...
a world that's mesmerized me since I was child and would hear him tell of it.
here's a video I posted last year~ to give you a glimpse more of who he is.
Gramps is talking about how he and his brothers got the same thing every year for Christmas - rubber boots.
I love it when he says you could "smell them rubber boots..."
and he knew his dad had bought them, and they would get so excited.
My grandparents will be celebrating 63 of marriage next week too - the 18th!
They were married when Grams was 14, and Gramps 20.
Like I said, another world. ;)
I read these verses this morning and wrote them down -
guess God knew I'd be needing them today.
"Out of the depths have I cried unto you...Lord, hear my prayer.
I wait for you, my soul does wait, and in your word do I find hope." Ps.130
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| {i love pictures because...}
....when there doesn't seem to be words to describe how you feel,
or enough time to say it if you could,
you can look at a picture and it seems to speak for you!
Have had lots of posts running through my head this last week...
Some thoughts made it into my handwritten journal..
some, will more than likely never make it out of my head. :)
And no doubt, some should probably stay there too!
I've been trying to keep what's "important" important lately.
And with as much as I love to blog, well..
it just doesn't always fall on my important list.
Though to be honest..
sometimes I let the important go and blog anyway. (like sleep)
I'm working on that one... ;)
But I did want to record some from our time in Texas.
which I can't believe was just last weekend?
Feels like forever ago.
But, there we were 1,200 miles away...
and I think on this particular night, at just about this particular time..
I was sitting in a car, in the middle of a parking lot talking with Kat and Alyssa. :) a sweet time.
The wedding was beautiful.
How could it not be... look at the bride and groom! ;)
I think one thing that stood out to me from the day more than anything was how content they both seemed.
And also just a feeling of being "complete" in each other.. or, I should say, more complete.
Contentment. Completion. Those are some great things to feel in a marriage. :)
Here's some of my favorite shots from their day~
  
my-most-favorite~ the girls praying together beforehand
 
a few I edited - the first, because it was over exposed :) and the second just cause I liked it and wanted to put that quote on one! :)
 
 
 
candid~
 
Emma and her new friend, Will...
She kept telling me, "I not hold dat boys hand, mommy."
But by the end of the day she had recanted...
 
But when I asked if she could give him a hug... there she drew the line!
Will hugged her anyway, despite her protest. :)
Though he's probably wishing he hadn't...
Emma woke up that morning with pink eye! : o
I couldn't believe it.
Not the best wedding day look~ still, she was a sweetheart.
  .
==::==::==::==::==::==
a few random memories from the trip::
eating our Thanksgiving meal at Cracker Barrel - and when asking the waiter for extra whip cream for our pumpkin pie.. he returned with the whole can for us to use!! maybe not the most sanitary thing.. but the kids sure thought it was fun. and it WAS like a little taste of home. :) visiting the Alamo... and having the kids ask, "where's the rest of it?" it does seem awfully small compared to the movies. hee hee. ;) taking in the River Walk. and going back at night to see all the lights. stopping to take a shot of the kids and having a rat run out of the garbage can next to me. my brother, Scott, had jokingly tried to throw me in the river earlier that day - - that time, I almost went in on my own trying to get away from that creepy thing! getting to spend time with old friends. and meeting new ones that instantly felt like "old" ones. :) having the kids fast asleep as we drove through the night and straight home. Shayne and I talking for hours. that cozy feeling a warm van and a dark night brings. traveling in our pj's and laughing as we went into restaurants wearing them. i felt very.... hmm.. what's the word - liberated!! :) that happy sigh you let out when you pull into your own driveway after 20 some hours in the car...
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
  
  
 
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
  
I was telling Shayne today that I feel like we're still on a road trip...
it seems I haven't gotten OUT of the van since being home!
Things have been crazy busy.
It's kinda funny...
I've decorated 6 Christmas trees.
Fluffed about 200 feet of garland.
Hung 800 or so lights.
Strung dozens of wire through ornaments...
and I haven't even started on my own house yet!! :)
We do have the tree up.
It's in the corner of the living room, and bare.
I'm thinking of leaving it that way this year...
going for the earthy, natural look.
Then again, knowing me the way I do -- I probably won't. ;)
But rather than staying home today and decorating we headed downtown.
I told Shayne I had to get out or I knew I WOULD start putting stuff up,
and I wasn't in the mood ~
ever feel that way?
not wanting to do something, but if you're sitting staring at it - you can't help yourself!
Instead we went to watch Santa repel off the side of a building!
Yeah, it's as funny to see as it sounds.
And way more fun than fluffing garland and stringing lights. ;)
We took a carriage ride too.
loved that.
Drank Starbucks.
loved that too.
The kids got their faces painted.
which they loved. (and plan on wearing to church tomorrow if it stays on!)
and Emma sat on Santa's lap.
which she wasn't sure if she loved or not..
then - decided she did.
and now it's her new fascination!
On the way home Shayne was talking to the kids about deep, meaningful things :) and asked, "Why do we have Christmas...Who was born?"
Emma yelled excitedly, "SANTA!"
oh dear.
I can see we have some deprogramming from our holiday excursion today!
though I think her new found "belief" in him might have something to do with the fact that he told her,
"if you're a really good girl and pick up all your toys and help your mommy you might get the things you wished for...."
guess what she asked for~
"A wheel tar that dwives on the woad... an a ipod!"
:)
amber.
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{Thanksgiving Road Trip}
This year instead of turkey and dressing we'll be munching on either animal crackers, potato chips, or slices of granny smith apples... and probably be somewhere between Little Rock and San Antonio about the time we'd be sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner.
Jeffrey and Bryn are getting married this Saturday... so we're headed south!
 
Several people have said what a bummer it is that we'll be on the road for Thanksgiving - but with as much as I've always loved that holiday I haven't given it much thought... I'd happily miss every holiday from here on out to be there for my brother. Besides, the way I look at it, it's a day to be with family and remember the things we're grateful for~ which is exactly what I'll be doing. :)
I'm excited about the next five days!
Emotional?
Just a tad of that too... :)
It's kind of like the end of an "era" in our family in some ways... You see, there's Scott and I, the older two, then - "The Boys." It's what we've always called them. What they've always been. The group, the gang, the small sized posse. And now the trio will be down to two.. and yeah, I think it'll take a bit of getting used to that "the boys" as we've known them for 20 whatever years isn't going to be the same - -
I'm glad for Jeffrey though.... genuinely truly GLAD.
He's waited a long time, and been through alot.
And I'm happy to see this day finally come for him.
I thought 3 months was a long engagement...
he's waited 5 years!
 
And sure things will be different in our family and life as we know it... but that's what happens - what's supposed to happen. and it's okay. :) It's all part of the process.
I've had alot of things sitting on my heart the past few weeks that I wanted to say to Jeff~ nothing overly significant or even spiritually wise. Things like,"I'm proud of you.." Or, "remember the time we...." Just big sisterly kind of things, and friend to friend kind of things... but we never seemed to get that space of time like I had hoped.
Then on Sunday, by some weird timing of all of us getting into the service late, I found myself sitting next to him in our crammed 2nd row family pew.
And I think it was about halfway through, "Be Unto Your Name," that it struck me this was last time the two of us would be worshiping next to each other like this for.... for awhile, most likely. {Jeff's pastoring a church a few hours away}. And the last time we'd stand side by side, just this way, like we'd done in that 2nd row pew I don't know how many times since he was a little boy with slicked down hair and dress pants pulled up to his armpits with his belt cinched on the last hole possible!!!
I reached over and took his hand...
and as we stood there singing praises to the Lord together
there was just that sense of "knowing" between us~
the things I felt and had wanted to share.. I knew he knew. :)
I think that will always be a favorite moment with him. One that makes me smile whenever I remember it...
and I have lots of moments that do that.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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In other big news .. if you were around my little Emma in person you'd probably be noticing before too long how many times she's pushing her hair back behind her ears these days. And if you didn't realize what it was she'd probably come over and tap you lightly on the arm, then, making sure you were watching... with a big swooping motion, once again, and very dramatically push her hair behind her ears. And if you STILL were clueless I'm sure she would then simply point it out flat and say, "WOOK! My e-was."
She's pretty excited.
Today, while sitting in a traffic jam I was asking the kids what they wanted to be when they grew up...
Kate said - "I just can't decide between being an actress, a missionary, or a babysitter!" {atleast she'll have variety}
Ben said - "A football player. A singer. Or just a normal person!" {i think i like the last one}
Emma said - "A big wady wif alot of pierced e-was!" {i'm still working on my response to that one}
:)
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A few weeks back someone wrote and asked if I'd re-post a video from a blog last year.
It's a cute little song written by a friend of mine and a good reminder as we're about to kick off the Christmas season in a few short days...
the song is called, Tradition.
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Well.. need to finish up the last load of laundry and get the rest of our things packed....
I hear where we're headed is about 23 hours away!
I think between the Sea Bands, {kate gets car sick really bad, and i've heard great things about them and hoping they'll work!}, crossword puzzles, sodoku books, coloring stuff, card games, mp3 players, snacks, the alphabet game, i spy with my little eye, the quiet game, every kid movie our public library owned, and lots of Benadryl ;) we should be set...
except one last thing - The sign I'm going to make that says, "NO WE'RE NOT," to hold up each time the kids ask... "Are we there yet?" :)
I have a feeling this is going to be our most memorable Thanksgiving ever!
amber.
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| {I'm with Him}
this morning in his sermon Dad was preaching from Romans 8.
when he came to verse 34, "Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us."
he explained it this way~
"Several years ago when we had a horrible tornado come through here, Scott and I went down with the Chief of Police to see some of the places that had been hit the hardest... to see what our church could do to help. As we walked into one area, someone came over quickly, motioning with their hand for us to stop as they said, "You're not supposed to be here!"
The Chief of Police who had stepped away saw what was going on and called over, "No, it's okay. They're with me!"
That reminds me of what it's like when Satan comes to condemn us.
Thoughts of,
Why do you think God's forgiven you?
Why are you deserving to go to Heaven?
And what is our answer?
Because we were good...
Went to church...
Looked "right"...
Lived the best we could..
Followed all the "rules"...
NONE of those things hold any merit to allow us entrance into God's presence.
But this...
as we see Jesus hold out His hand for us to come, as He calls out...
"It's okay. They're with me!"
==::==::==::==
over lunch we were talking about that as a family.
I looked at the kids and said...
"So this is it, guys - our assurance of a home in heaven is not based upon our performance, but upon WHO we know!"
and Shayne added...
"Or, actually... who knows US!"
man! what a thought
and i love it.
amber.
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