Not exactly what I was expecting...

Well, the past couple of days hasn't been exactly what I expected for my vacation but I'm so glad that I've been here and have been able to help!

Thursday morning, my dear friend's husband got very sick with the flu. This poor guy has a bread route that he does and has to deliver to grocery stores and restaurants about 90 minutes away from home. There was no way the route was getting done. So, Becky and I loaded Gracie up in the van and headed for the bread depot to meet a guy so that he could at least deliver the buns to McDonalds and Burger King. Once we got home, we finished making the grocery list and headed to town to do a few errands. By that evening, Gracie got sick...she had been sick earlier in the week before I arrived and we figure she just ate the wrong things too early for her little body.

Yesterday, Friday, Chuck was well enough to go to work and took their son, Robert, along with him to help. They were able to get a good chunk delivered but had to quit early because Sheffy was graduating last night. While they were working, Becky and I stayed home all day with Gracie cleaning everything from those who had been sick. (I'm so glad I was here to help. My poor friend is exhausted!) I was also able to get some good tanning time in!!

It was nice to just be able to sit outside and enjoy the warm weather because from what I hear from my family, it's cold and raining at home. Yuck!

Friday evening was graduation for Sheffy and I am so glad that I was able to attend. Sheffy's class had about 35 graduates. She attended a college prep school.

...this is Gracie and I before graduation. She was starting to feel so much better!

 ...Sheffy and Chuck after graduation...

Isn't she a beautiful girl! It has been great spending time with Sheffy and getting to know her better. She got a laptop for graduation so this afternoon, she and I spent time together getting things set up!

Speaking of today, Becky got a call at 6:30 this morning. Of course, I was thinking it was someone calling with a very early birthday wish...HAPPY BIRTHDAY BECKY!! I was wrong. It was Chuck, he was feeling worse than last night and there was a ton of bread to be stocked because of the holiday weekend. He was feeling bad for asking because he knew that I was here to be spending time with Becky but he desperately needed our help. So, Becky came in to my "room" and told me the situation. Of course, I was totally willing to go and help. That's what I do...help in the time of need. So, we left the house by 7:40 and headed for Sedona...a 90 minute drive. Sheffy came along for the extra help and she's stocked the bread at the grocery stores before so we desperately needed her help! We were able to get it all completed and headed for home by noon. It was actually kind of fun. The three of us girls had some good laughs. I was joking with Chuck and Becky that I've now earned my room and board and I have something new to add to my resume.

Tonight, Becky and I took Gracie to In-N-Out for dinner. Chuck was home in bed and Sheffy and Robert both had to work. So, it was just the three of us.

I have been craving In-N-Out since I have been here. I bet looking at this picture, you are wishing you were here with me! :) (The most amazing cheeseburger, the best french fries, and a great tasting Strawberry milkshake.)

After dinner, the three of us girls headed over to Frank and Wanda's, Becky's parents, for birthday cake. Wanda and Gracie made Becky a cake this morning while we were in Sedona. Becky always has a strawberry cake with powdered sugar frosting. She has had this for longer than I have known her. It's tradition. She was a little worried this morning that the cake was maybe not going to be made once we found out that we needed to go help Chuck. Thank you Wanda for making Becky's cake...it tasted great!

Here Becky and I are after our long day...

We were both so tired! It has felt good to just be sitting here kicking back relaxing now this evening.

Tomorrow and Monday...WE ARE DOING NOTHING! There are no bread deliveries so we won't be called in for back-up and we have decided that we all just need to skip church tomorrow morning and stay home for some much needed rest. I'm planning on lots of time in the sun...or as much as I can handle. I've been successful at avoiding any sunburn up to this point! I am definitely getting some color but am determined to not get burnt!

Really, it's been great being here. I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm so glad that God has allowed me to be here during this time. Robert and Sheffy keep joking that I really picked a bad time to visit. I keep telling them that I'm glad I'm here to help Becky. It's what I do.

Thank you Chuck and Becky for allowing me to come and stay with you. It's been so long since my last visit and in no way do I feel put-out for having to help with the different things going on here. Love you guys!

Coming to you from............

the land of sunshine, warm weather, and beautiful, blooming cacti (plural for cactus)!! Yes folks...I'm in Arizona!! Gracie, Becky's little girl who is about a month older than Ethan, has already had me playing hide-and-seek and has shown me tons of stuff. We are taking a break from all the play though so that Auntie Tanya can rest before going for dinner tonight. I'm loving every moment of just sitting here on the couch, doing nothing.

I just looked at the clock and it's 4:00... I better end this short, little post to call the kids. I told them I would call once Jason got home from work. I'm sure they are all sitting there, waiting patiently for the phone to ring.

I will hopefully write again later and maybe have pictures to share. Until then, have a great week!

Little update on life

Awhile ago, I wrote about how we were in limbo. Our application with FamilyLife had expired and we were in the process of going through a loan re-modification process with our mortgage company.

Well, today we got the bad news. Our mortgage company is not willing to work with us and do a re-modification for us. They would rather us quit making payments on our home and attempt a short-sale or just loose our home. Does this make any sense at all? Of course, at this point we have not made the decision to quit making our payments. We just don't know what to do.

So, now...do I start applying for full-time jobs and put Ethan in daycare or try to find another part-time job to add to the bakery job and try to juggle both around Ethan's Preschool schedule? We are at a complete loss and don't have a clue what to do.

Of course, this all comes just 4 days before I leave for Arizona. (Just clarifying that I'm going to Arizona on all airmiles. We are only having to pay $5 in airport taxes for me to fly!) I think getting away right now will be good but at the same time, I feel like I need to be home figuring out what our next step is.

Bottom line of all this...I'm just asking you to pray for us right now as we try to figure out what it is that God is wanting us to do. Currently...everything is "clear as mud".

Saved by a surprise visit!

Today was a full day of extra kids! Here's what the morning looked like...

6:45...I'm up and getting ready
7:00...Kids all up and getting ready
7:25...VanWerven children (2) arrive
7:45...Breakfast for all of those needing fed
8:00...Collin arrives
8:30...Make sure all kiddos leaving for school have hair done, teeth brushed and shoes going on their feet
8:35...Get Collin his breakfast
8:45...Girls and VanWerven kids out the door for the school bus
8:47...Wayne, Weston and Wyatt arrive

That's just the start of the day. From there...I was asked at least 20 times (and I'm not exaggerating) when the boys were getting snacks and when I was going to make lunch. I finally set the timer and told the boys that when they heard the beep I would make lunch. PHEW! Solved that problem!

The rest of the morning consisted of getting babies down for naps and keeping the bigger boys playing quietly and nicely. They did great considering they are 2 and 4.

All 5 boys were fed by 12:30 and babies were back down for afternoon naps by 1:00. By 1:30 the girls were home and noise level increased. (It was early release today.) Just when I was beginning to wonder if I was going to survive this crazy day...SURPRISE! Two lovely ladies arrived at my front door with the most precious little girl!

Thank you Katie, Molly and Macy for the wonderful little visit! It wasn't a long visit but it was perfect! Adult contact was just what I was needing. (I'm so glad they were understanding of the mess they walked into...it's a little hard to keep the house clean and dishes caught up when balancing all these kiddos.)

Now...I have the kids outside and the babies are still down for naps. The sand toys are out and they have all had otter pops. Thank you Jesus for the beautiful sunshine today!!

In about 1-1/2 hours mommies will be arriving for their precious children. It's been a crazy day and, for the most part, they have all been pretty good. But, I am hoping for a quiet evening tonight!

Turning bad into good...

It's been a couple of week since I have posted...sorry about that. To say that we have been busy is a complete understatement.

The last two posts were regarding friends of ours that had been in accidents. The first was our friend Darin, from California. As of today, he is off the ventilator and they had him sitting in a chair. He has a couple of skin grafting surgeries coming up and will be in the hospital for awhile yet. Please continue praying for him.

The second was our friend Nathan. Nathan was in a very bad motorcycle accident two weeks ago, yesterday. God spared Nathan's life. He has Nathan here for a purpose and I can't wait to see what that purpose is! This guy has been through many surgeries in the past two weeks and has more hardware than anyone I know holding him together right now. He was telling us about his hardware and I was having a hard time envisioning a chain link going through his pelvis to hold it together. A chain link?! It's amazing!! He is tough though and will have to work hard with physical therapy but he is going to be okay. 

Guess who came home though yesterday? That's right...Nathan. He's not doing any moving on his own but he's home! The kids were so excited when I pulled them from school a little early to go visit Nathan. They have been wanting to see their Nay-Nay for two weeks and it has been so hard explaining to them why they can't be at the hospital. I think Ethan was the most excited...although he didn't show it once we arrived at Randy and Janice's. He was a little nervous, not sure what to expect, and Nathan's friend was there. Ethan gets very quiet around people he doesn't know. It was great though to finally be able to take the kids to see their Nathan and to let them see for themselves that Nathan is going to be okay. Please pray for continued pain management and healing for Nathan! His road to recovery is still long.

We have been praising God for the healing that has been happening with both of these guys and the progress that they have made. It's been awesome to see everyone rallying around these families, lifting them up in prayer.

We've had a few other sad situations happen within our church family. We had two very special people go home to be with Jesus...one older gentleman and the other was just 19 years old. We celebrated one life on Monday and the second on Thursday. We were blessed to be able to help with both of these services. And again, our church family rallied around these two families lifting them up in prayer. The pain doesn't stop though with a loss like these. We look forward to having the opportunity to love on these families and to continue praying for them.

God has used each of these situations to really grow our church family. I have never seen so many people just come together and pray for one another. To see people give of their time to help others is awesome.

I've had several people ask over the past couple of weeks how our church family is holding up during this time of what seems to be an attack from the devil. My response was..."God is using these situations to grow us closer and to bring us together to just pray and care for one another. In no way do we feel attacked by the devil." This response shocked a few people but in no way do I feel like these situations are an attack. I love my church family and these past few weeks have made that love grow deeper.

Last Sunday was a hard service because that is when we learned of the passing of the 19-year old but it was so amazing to listening to everyone just worshiping our Lord and Savior in the midst of tears. I think it was probably one of the loudest worship services we've had in awhile. Just lifting our voices up to our Lord and trusting in Him during these times.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow morning. Not because it is Mother's Day but because we get to go and worship our Lord with our amazing church family at Christ Fellowship! Would love to see you there!