Cancer

I hate that word and I hate that we say it everyday around here as my father in law has been diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer. There have been a whirlwind of tests and doctor appointments as well as research on nutrition and alternative treatments. My eyes have been opened to a whole new world of doctors, money & drug companies. But the good news is that my eyes have also been opened to nutrition ~ real nutrition and a body that God created to heal itself if we put the right foods into it.

At this time Richard (FIL) has decided to not go down the chemotherapy path, but put his faith in God and nutrition.....they have contacted alternative therapy doctors and are pursuing natural treatments rather than the harsh reality of chemo & radiation. We are completely supportive with routine visits to their apartment, daily prayer and building up of our own faith in a God that heals!

We are changing some of our own eating habits and trying to make sure that this cancer will NOT visit us (as the doctors have warned that it is hereditary).....the kids haven't been receptive to everything, but we are changing what we can. In another post I will list some of the changes that we have made and ones we are working on......need to get off here and do other things now.

Please pray for Richard's healing and the Lord's guidance, peace for the family knowing that God is in control and He is a good God.

Florida Vacation 2010 - Cinderella Dinner

We stopped by the Grand Floridian hotel at Disney World to have a magical dinner with Cinderella and Prince charming. The girls were even asked to dance with them!

Florida Vacation 2010 - Character Breakfast

We woke up Sunday morning and headed to Disney World to have breakfast with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto & Goofy! We had a great time ~ sporting our new t-shirts from Wal-mart! My mom and dad treated us to this wonderful breakfast buffet. The food was delicious and they make every effort to see each child at each table! A great way to start our vacation!

2010 Hopes and Dreams

I welcome 2010 with alot of hopes and dreams of what I could accomplish this year and ways that I can do things better. I would love to be a more consistent blogger this year, if for no one else, but my own enjoyment and benefit. I would love to look back one day and have all of the family memories written so that I can easily remember (my brain seems to hold less and less of those wonderful memories as time goes by).

The kids have been passing around a fever - comes with a headache and sore throat. This kept us from going to Indiana for New Years, but we have been busy taking down the decorations and cleaning up clutter here and there.

Business is still booming for us and a goal for this year would be to keep expanding into more cities so that more of our income is coming from the orders that we pass on to others, thus freeing up Kev's time for more ministry.

Zach is learning the acoustic guitar and the goal for him is to be able to play for me and girls when needed. Sometimes I need a guitar player help me sing with the kids at church ( a piano is not that portable) and the girls would like to be able to sing at the nursing home, when we work with the homeless, church and any other opportunity that would come up.

I need to start doing piano lessons with Jord and Rach again - not sure why, but it is always hard to find the time to teach them something that I already know how to do......But I am determined to set a time and stick with it. The girls and I have also been working on learning songs that they can do - just to have a repertoire to pull from........you might have guessed that my living room has turned back into a music studio with drums, piano, guitar, microphones and a sound system. Hopefully with it being so cold outside and neighbors having their windows shut and not being out as much we won't bother anyone.

We are planning a trip to Florida (end of Jan/1st of Feb) with my mom and dad. We will be staying with them in their condo and doing the Disney, Discovery Cove and Seaworld parks. Our plan is to drive - Lord help us! My mom and dad go every year and we are always welcome but we haven't been able to go for 6 years now so this will be a wonderful experience for the 2 little girls who will get to visit Cinderellas castle and possibly have dinner with her and Prince Charming (haven't got those tickets yet) and the older ones are going to have the opportunity to swim with the dolphins @ Discovery Cove. We have found some wonderful discounts for Discovery Cove and Seaworld and Kevin has a family friend that works for Disney.....so hopefully we won't blow the budget too much!

The kids are signed up to start Swim, Gym and Art and the YMCA for homeschoolers this week in hopes that some swim lessons will benefit our trip to Florida and also get out some energy that is exploding in our house. We are still taking classes with UACH - this semester Zach will have a 2 hour Art class, Jord will take Astronomy and US Geography, Rach will take Gym and Plants and Abby's class is doing a Safety Town with special visits from Firemen, Policemen, the Red Cross and others. We are a few weeks behind where I would like to be in our curriculum, but.........anyways we keep pressing on!

Kevin and I have dreams for this year......we look forward to seeing God open the doors and hopefully we will be sharing with you the ministry that this dream will bring about (I call it a dream because I find myself daydreaming about it - Kevin would call it a vision because that's what a guy would call it).

May God Bless You as you begin your 2010 Adventure!

Christmas Pictures

Here are a few Christmas pictures of decorating outside, our Christmas tree and Advent calendar.

The End of Another Year

I cannot believe that it is December already....where has this year gone. My time recently has been taken up with MWAS, UACH, RCW & Homeschooling the kids (MWAS-our bread & butter, UACH-homeschool group on which I am a Leadership Team member and RCW-our church in which K's the Childrens/Youth Pastor and I serve in alot of areas). I'm thinking.....I'm way too busy....not sure what I'm gonna do about it but anyways.....

September brought friends to us, sickness to us and a much needed get away for Kevin and I. November brought a lengthy virus for my hubby- in which I took the liberty to find a few more appraisers to help with the workload. We now have 7 appraisers that work for MWAS and we do appraisals in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Dayton ~ and we are still looking to hire on more. We are thankful for the extra good hands that the Lord has provided to help us with this overflow of orders~ He is Our Provider!
November also took us to Kokomo for Thanksgiving. Seeing lots of family on my mom's side where my kids have 3 great-grandparents! Shopped all day Friday with my mom~ a day I look forward to all year ~ My mom and shopping~ It's really a perfect day (except for the getting up at 3:30am). Thankfully we were able to fit all my new Christmas treasures in the van to bring home...it was tight, but we did it!

December now brings us into the Christmas mode around here. The tree, decorations and lights are up. The temperatures have finally started dropping. Christmas music is being played on the I-pods, MP3's and radio's. Pictures are being taken so that cards can be ordered. Lines and songs are being memorized for a church Christmas Play (A King is Coming to Town). Parties, get togethers and singing in the nursing home, as well as gifts for the homeless are all events on the calendar.

Zach recently wrote an article for the Homeschool newsletter about ways to keep Christ in Christmas. His number one way to keep Christ in Christmas was to invite Jesus into our everyday lives and purposely find ways to show His love to others. This Christmas I am committing to do just this ~ ON PURPOSE!
We are also excited to start "Adorenaments" by FamilyLife. We are going to spread it out over the 12 days leading up to Christmas Day.

Looking forward to sharing His love on purpose ~ slowing down just a bit to celebrate and adore Christ the Lord!

November 4th,2009

Off to a great start with school back in mid-Sept., by mid-October we were ready for our first big break. The Hutsells were coming back for a week, the Becks were going to visit, family pictures, kids going to Kokomo, and Kev and I having a weekend getaway. So after a 2 week "vacation" from school we are back into full swing. Did I mention that during this "vacation" we all had fevers and coughs that we lovingly shared with our company?

The kids are still sleeping in after 2 nights back in their beds. After a week of company and sickness, then a week at Nana and Pappy's with a sleepover at Uncle Matt's and Aunt Liz's they are just tired out.

Rachel and Abby have a new found love for cheerleading and cheerleading outfits....we have watched many "shows" recently and they have spent the better part of the past 2 days in cheerleading outfits.

Zach is busy doing school and catching up on a book that he needs to read for a book report. The DVD class is going to start writing their report during tomorrow's lesson. He has a crossword to finish putting together for our homeschool group newsletter. He also loves to play those facebook games.....drives me crazy, but he had time to read 2 chapters of the Boxcar Children to his sisters last night before watching The Biggest Loser (another one of his addictions- he's a funny kid).

Jord is working hard on her Spanish and American History classes for homeschool group as well as reading Heidi - her Nana gave her the book on this last visit. She is preparing for her first book report.....it will be a much longer process than Zach's.

Rachel is trying to memorize all of those special phonics sounds.....1st grade is a BIG phonics year with alot of exceptions to the "rules". Lots to memorize. Adding/Subtracting and Reading. She pulled out a book to read at my mom and dad's and I thought that she wouldn't be able to read it, but she did and she did it well!

Abby is Abby......she colors, cuts and glues. Lovingly tortures the bunny and keeps us laughing. ABC's are now becoming interesting to her....been waiting for this. Just the other day she told Rachel how to spell her name - didn't know that she knew that!

We have lots of work to do before the next break @ Thanksgiving.......

Other updates:

• Kids are working on a Christmas play for church. Z and J both have bigger parts and J sings a song by herself
• MWAS is back on an upswing....have put an add out there to hire on appraisers again.
• I think it's great that my kids ASK to go see Uncle Jim in the nursing home....went today and they always say that they have a good time when they visit him. (Rach and Abby do not go anymore since a couple ladies like to follow them around and try to get their hands on them while making crazy sounds, but Zach and Jord still ask to go)

Looks like it's going to be a nice, sunny weekend.....and there is nothing on the schedule!