Mums

Do you notice anything wrong with these mums?

Here’s another look …

Anything?

Me either. I think they are beautiful. However, when I bought them, I got a $5 discount! I find the story cute – the lady selling the mums quoted us one price and when I started to pay her, she said “ope no – I think the one side is white flowers, so I’ll give it to you for less”. Now, that’s driving a hard bargain, right there! I did appreciate her honesty and integrity, however, as the flowers weren’t as she thought they should be.

I like them just the way they are and actually like the variety that the white adds :)

Visit

We had a wonderful visit from John’s Dad and wife, Beulah. The weather was a little hot at times, but overall beautiful.

We ran them ragged with soccer and baseball, but they didn’t complain. Savannah had a soccer tournament over the weekend, so we had 2 extra games in addition to her regular season game. Savannah played very well her last game, even though they lost. Hadden had 2 practices and a game while they were here. He played a very good game and even got a home run and received a game ball.

During the week, we drove up toLake Guntersville to see replicas of the Nina and the Piñta that are here for a short stop. The kids even got to meet Columbus while we toured the ships. Let me just say that the ships are amazingly small and I would not have wanted to be out on the open ocean in one!

In front of the Nina; all of us at Lake Guntersville (not such of a great shot); emu at the water treatment plant.

For Luke – here is a plate from Alaska :) We saw it at Lake Guntersville while viewing the ships. :)

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A friend recommended a book for art – and I absolutely love it so far! The book introduces an artist, tells a little bit about them, and then the kids get to try doing a similar type of art. And it was fun!

Today our artist was Vincent van Gogh, and here they are hard at work.

Voila! Finished products. This is a really big step for Hadden, as he does not like to do art – at all. He even admitted that this was “kind of fun”. Savannah on the other hand absolutely loves art. They like to be as opposite as possible, at all times possible :)

Replacement for bloglines

Since bloglines will no longer be in service after Nov 1, I searched to find an alternative. I tried one that I didn't like and today found one that I do (at least so far).

I found this - feed reader 3 (just click on the button to go to the home page):




If you are currently using bloglines, you are able to export the blogs that you read and then import them into this reader.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, this is just a one-stop way to check up on all the blogs that I follow.

Trips – field, day, friends …

We have been doing a LOT of running around this fall – mostly for soccer and baseball. We have also been doing field trips, day trips, trips from friends, etc. Great fun!

 

Lake Martin – we recently had a We Care staff day there and it was a beautiful setting.

At the lake, there was a lookout (they called it a silo) with a spiral staircase leading up to it. Very beautiful view from the top.

Speaking of spirals – check out this awesome play structure at a local park! When our friends were visiting, the kids and I spent some time here while our friends were at a museum. I think it was a win-win all the way around.

Our friends spent about 2500 miles on this bike, covering 8 states (I think), 2 motorcycle rallies and visiting with friends along the way. We had a fun time catching up with them and are thankful they made it home safely :)

The kids and I have attended several field trips for school, as well. We went to the Greek festival, to a Botanical gardens and learned about George Washington Carver and to a local printing press. The weather has been beautiful, so it is nice to be able to do some things outside.

This struck me funny – a mobile ATM! I hadn’t seen one before, have you?

And lastly, we spent a couple of hours last Saturday at Trade Day! We have been hearing about the need to experience Trade Day almost since we have moved here, so we finally made it there. Last Saturday was our 3rd anniversary of arriving in Alabama, so what better way to celebrate? It is a cultural experience all its own :)

818

This post is long overdue, but even despite delayed obedience, my hope is to bring glory to God through it. (** Interesting enough, this is now my third attempt at writing this – first, my pc crashed and I lost the draft; then, blogger crashed and didn’t allow me access)

First, some background information. While my parents were on their return trip from AZ this past spring, my Mom started experiencing dizzy and slight blackout spells. She went to the doctor to try to determine the cause and to hopefully find a solution. After several months, many doctor visits without a solution, some scary moments of “it might be …”, they finally diagnosed her with severe pulmonary hypertension. She was referred to a pulmonary specialist, and (as with most specialists) scheduled an appointment about 6 weeks out. During that time, she discovered ways to mostly avoid the spells, but still didn’t feel well and was limited in her activity (ie – no golfing :). We all researched pulmonary hypertension and discovered that it can be a very scary disease, much more than we originally thought. Several times, Mom said she really wasn’t sure she had pulmonary hypertension because the symptoms didn’t match what she was experiencing.

On another note, even before this occurred, I had been seeing the numbers 818 in an abundance - the store number for the local hardware store, addresses, time on the digital clock, etc. So much so, that it was hard to ignore. Knowing that God has to pretty much beat me over the head to get my attention at times, I wondered whether there was something significant about 818. I searched every single chapter 8, verse 18 in the Bible, but didn’t see anything obvious – nothing jumped out at me.

On a trip to PA in July, I was finishing up “So long, insecurity” by Beth Moore when the reference for Romans 8:18 literally jumped from the page. Romans 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Aha – that must be it! Excited to narrow down the exact verse, I started to wonder who specifically it was for … me, family, friends, my Mom? I shared it with some dear people who were going through some “present sufferings” in hopes that they would be encouraged by His truth.

My Mom went to her initial appointment with the pulmonary specialist and was very pleased with his care. He scheduled a follow-up appointment with a cardiologist for a right heart catheterization, which is the only way to accurately measure the type and extent of the hypertension. In this, I had lost track of the exact date of her appointment. However, unknowingly, the night before as I lay down for bed I sensed the Lord nudging me to pray. I also sensed Him saying that I hadn’t prayed for healing for her, that I had only prayed for comfort, peace of mind, etc. It was true – I had only prayed for those things, and never for healing. I immediately prayed in faith for healing for her, fully knowing my Father knows best and that He has the power to heal her, but that He also is all-knowing and wise and that He could choose not to.

The next day after the test, which was August 18 (or 818), one of my sisters emailed the report to the rest of us that Mom did NOT have pulmonary hypertension! When the cardiologist ran the test, they determined that she did not have the disease at all. Praise the Lord!

Divine healing, or false-positive for pulmonary hypertension? Apparently, the only conclusive test for pulmonary hypertension is to go into the heart and measure with a catheter, so some may say that she never had it. Perhaps. She wasn’t even sure she had it, after all. Or, was she healed from it? Perhaps. God is certainly capable of healing and we did pray for it. I am not sure the question even really needs an answer, but in any case, I am praising the Lord for her health!

My hope is to be attentive to Him and where He is leading and speaking to me. I have felt like I needed to write this post for a while and am finally obeying. Glory to Him!

A.G.T.G. (All Glory to God – borrowed from one of John’s coworkers :)