We are so happy to begin the new year with all of the promises God has for us. It's not that any year is promised to be easy, but God promises He is with us. And that makes all of the difference when starting, or continuing, any journey!
And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8
I thought I knew what that verse meant before last year! He has proven it to be true over and over. We are so thankful for where we have come and where we will go ~ with Him.
We are thankful for family and friends who have helped us this past year in so many ways ~ so many. We appreciate when people allow themselves to be used by God to help others ~ in this case, our family.
We spent Thanksgiving AND Christmas together as a family, and it was wonderful. And it was a blessing. And we loved it and appreciated it more this year than we could have any other year.
We want to feel the excitement that decorating seems to bring ~ when we know Christmas is coming soon.
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Pete is doing better. He has reached a plateau of sorts, and it has been hard on him. He is doing well with medicines and blood pressure. He has figured out what makes him feel better, and what may make him worse. He still cannot run, but he is still hoping for that this year. That right foot just needs to pick up. He is renovating our bathroom right now. It's taken a lot out of him, but he is doing it. I am helping a little bit and will help more as we do it in stages. We have had a few setbacks - things taking longer than they should and a chipped counter on my dream vanity (bought very much on sale!). Oh well. Will and his friends took care of demo day after it started getting to be too much for Pete. I think it took them 20 minutes! I scraped the popcorn ceiling off AND cleaned up the mess. The boys have been good to carry or help carry anything heavy. We are in the process of sending the vanity back and replacing it with my #1 dream vanity first choice color (still on sale). And we are excited to use leftover wood flooring for the floor. Hopefully, what I learned years ago doing the kitchen will come back to me! Pete has planned it out in stages, so it would not be too much at once. And it will mean more ~ that we did it as a family.
Church is good. Pete has some of the young men at church read the scriptures, so that helps save his speech for his sermon. His speech got worse, but his speech therapist released him once again. She told him to slow down and speak more softly. That has helped, but it's hard to use so much energy just to talk some days. But his thoughts and words go together well, so we are very thankful for that. Strokes are hard and mean and can be so devastating. It's still hard to believe he had so many. But he did, and we are thankful for what he is doing now and what God has for him this year. It may not be our plan, but we want to be content with His plan.
Andrew is running indoor track. He had his first meet at ETSU today. His form fell apart with about 3-4 laps to go in the 3000, but he was still within a few seconds of his PR. So what a PR he would have had if the air had not been so dry and sucked out some of his energy with a cough. He finished cross country very strong and was a huge contributor to the team. We are already looking forward to The Bear again this year. When I have a tough day, I like to think back on that night and see my child run up and win. It reminds me of the miracles God performs ~ sometimes when we least expect them. I wanted him to finish and had no idea, no clue, he would win. What a huge blessing for our family who was struggling through such a tough couple of months!
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| This was from a few years ago when Pete was able to be at The Bear. |
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| Andrew winning in 2015. His dad was so excited when Andrew called him from the top to tell him! What a beautiful and encouraging night! |
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| Andrew was too busy working concessions at the game to notice his picture up there!
Peter is a junior at Appalachian. He changed his major, and I hope he does not go into any field that causes great worry for me! Just kidding, kind of. He is in Criminal Justice. He works and goes to school. He is our comic relief a lot of times. He loves to do anything outdoors - ski, climb, run, play basketball, hike, and many other likes. He is in the right place to do all of those things while going to school! Peter recently ran a 5K on a dare and got second. His time was nothing like his times before, but he ran extra and had not been running. I was happy he was out there. He loves to take our dog Lucy on long walks. And she gets so excited now when he picks up the leash. He has been fighting a shoulder/arm injury for a while now, but we have tested and MRI'd about all we can and hope time will heal him. Fortunately, we can still call on him to do some heavy lifting and helping. It's good to have him at home still - to hear his voice and know I can check in with him.
Peter and Julianna ~ who is here for a visit. She has done laundry and helped wash Lucy! Among other things!
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| Lucy waiting to go for a walk. Will just finished his English! I have wanted to say that for so long, and he finally did it! With help. Lots of help from God and his teacher. I am so thankful for teachers like Ms. Wellborn. She never gave up on him, and I know for a fact God sent her to help him. And us. Will still works with our neighbors. They have been very good with him and to him. He helps them with all kinds of things, even climbing trees and working on trucks. We are so thankful to have him home. We love his greasy Carhartt pants and filthy work t-shirts. Love having them in our house. God has worked so much in this situation. And though it's not perfect, it shows what He does and can do. And will do. And we give Him all of the praise and glory for it! |
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| Will loves cutting trees. And we pray for his safety constantly! Sam is holding his own with his diabetes. It's so draining to keep up with all of it all day every day and all night every night. He is so compliant but threw a huge fit at the doctor when he got some other shots the other day! I thought it must have been time for a melt down, and I am thankful he only has one every couple of years! He really struggles at school for a lot of different reasons. We are thankful for those who are there to help care for him. He has a few appointments in the coming months to see if we can figure out his learning difficulties or disabilities. We know he has some brain damage from a probable prenatal stroke (like Andrew's that causes seizures). It's in his learning and focusing area. And there are his eyes and his blood sugars. It's tough. But he is so smart and sweet and has the biggest heart. God will help us figure all of this out too. But it's frustrating. And it's hard to see him so miserable some days. He loves to play outside. Andrew is his biggest play buddy. Then Lucy. Then he'll play outside alone. He has been able to be out there a lot more this winter, so far. And he has been a close second to Will with the dirtiest clothes - which only means he was having a great time! |
For me, I am just going to try harder and harder to trust God with everything going on in this life. I want my story to glorify Him. To bring attention to Him. To not be about me. And especially not about me whining and complaining. He has so many places to work in my life, because I cannot do anything right alone. He is always there to help me. I just have to remember to call on Him and let Him take over!
We hope you have a great New Year and that God works mightily in your lives this year.
If you don't know Him. If you don't trust Him. Please make this be the time you do. It's an eternal decision. It's the best decision that you will ever make. To accept the FREE gift of salvation. The price has been paid. Don't waste that one! Accept it.
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23
But wait! GREAT news!
" For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16
I have already accepted the priceless gift and aim to share it more this year. There is no better news to share.
