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 :)
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 :)
You will probably laugh, because this is a little bit redneck :) Remember this post? Well, we needed a solution. We like the kids to have a safety net while jumping on the trampoline, so leaving it in the shredded state wasn’t an option.
I looked online for a replacement net and found nothing. I did find places to buy the entire safety kit (including uprights), but the cost was between $90-$100!! Not too excited to pay for a complete kit … again. So thoughts turned to trying to fix it. At Lowe’s, I only found bird netting which didn’t have holes, so I was afraid the wind would grab it too much, or plastic webbing which would be pretty harsh on the skin. Still determined, I went to Wal Mart and their camping section to search for fly netting, net to catch fish, anything. Found … nothing. Somehow I happened on the household aisle with ironing boards, laundry gadgets, etc and I found …
… for $1.87!!! Mesh … good. Cheap … very good. If it works, a reasonable solution.
I brought the trampoline net into the basement and draped it over the ping-pong table so I could align a large section at one time. Then I cut down both sides of the laundry bag to make a long strip and then sewed it into the old net using heavy-duty thread. Thankfully, the bottom of the net was still intact, so I just attached the laundry bag to the bottom and then to the top. This project took 3 laundry bags and a LOT of time! 36”x2 (for one bag) x 3 (bags) = roughly 18 feet that had to be patched.
So, for roughly $6 in laundry bags and $3 in thread, voila!
Now the kids can play on the trampoline again! And the weather is gorgeous, so it is definitely time to play!! You can see where the patch ends right behind Hadden.
Likely, this patch won’t hold up very well in the Alabama sun and weather, but for now it was a very cheap solution. Since we live in the middle of nowhere, we don’t even have to worry about the neighbors thinking we are completely redneck :)
Don’t you even think about it!!!
Enjoy the beautiful fall weather!
We have been enjoying shooting Hadden’s bb/pellet gun when we have a break from baseball and soccer. Hadden really likes it and I have admitted several times that John was right :) He doesn’t mind hearing it multiple times – ha!
Hadden aiming at the target.
Savannah loves Neli. Neli has many nicknames – Neli Vader (she snores very loudly), Space Invader (she is always in your space), Barge (she barges everywhere she goes), and “the Nels”. She has grown a LOT and still has a lot of growing room in her skin!
A praying mantis landed on the hummingbird feeder. I watched him for a while and when a bird would land on the feeder, he would peek around the corner to see it. Not sure if he was trying to catch lunch or what!
And this adorable little lizard was on the deck the other morning – he was the tiniest little guy. The hole in the wood to the left of him is the size of a screw head. He is missing part of his tail (oops!). Thankful it will grow back. And, no, it wasn’t me :)
Hope all is well on your end!
What happened to my little baby boy? He is becoming so grown up!! We gave Hadden a bb gun for his birthday. While we were shopping, the momma in me had the hardest time thinking he is ready for a bb gun! I kept asking John - “can’t we just wait until he’s at least 12 or 20 or something?” :) I knew John was right, that Hadden is ready, but it was hard to realize he is growing up so fast! And, we both knew that Hadden needed another interest besides Lego’s Star Wars kits!
I want to show you Hadden’s pet spider – well, sort of. This spider lives on Hadden’s deck just outside the sliding glass door! He is HUGE!!! I kept the picture small-sized for you … you’re welcome. Hadden actually likes the spider living there, checks on him frequently and worries about him during storms :) We recently were driving on the wildlife management property and encountered 100’s (literally) of HUGE horseflies. He wanted to bring one home for his spider.
Looking forward to many more years together as a family, as long as the Lord allows!
