Wonderful Memorial Weekend

Over Memorial Day weekend, we had the pleasure of being able to attend our friend Jill's wedding. She is a friend from Corban, and was a beautiful bride! It was a great time, catching up with some friends. Micah hadn't met Jill before, but he was in love right away. He's in the middle of a shy/Mama's-boy phase right now, but he went to Jill as soon as he could.

We finally got a good, recent family picture!

My college roommate, Sara, stayed at our house after the wedding and it was really nice to have some time to catch up with her. Unfortunately, I somehow managed not to get a picture with her. We went for a run (what? who am I??) on Monday morning and then made a trip up to Tri-Cities to pick up Micah's new carseat:

He seems like he likes it a lot - and he sure does have a lot more room than in his infant seat! He was smiling right as I took this picture, but of course he stopped and gave me this "what are you doing with that thing" look instead.

We had a great weekend off, and now we just have to finish this week of school and we're into summer. This week includes a day off and a field trip, so it won't be too difficult to get through!

Walking for Life at McKenzie Park

I've been having a hard time writing on this little blog of mine lately. Partly it's because I haven't had much time - we've been busy these last couple of weeks, doing whatever it is that we do. It's also partly because I just haven't had anything that feels important to write about. I want to get back into the groove of blogging, though, and here I go:

Last weekend we had our good friends, Kayla and Aaron, here for a visit. They were both our roommates in college - Kayla was my roommate and Aaron was David's - and then they got married just 6 weeks after we did! We were even in each others' weddings!

On Saturday morning, we did the Life Walk for the new Crisis Pregnancy Center here in town (Hermiston Pregnancy Care Services). This was a fundraising event, where we raised sponsored donations and then did a two-mile (or so) walk around Hermiston. It was fun to be able to do this event, and with our friends. Plus, the Pregnancy Center raised almost $3000!

Even Micah got to participate - we put sunscreen on his head so he wouldn't get burned, which is why his hair is so spiky.

Hanging out with Uncle Aaron

Aaron, and David holding Micah

Walking for Life!

Kayla and Aaron

We had a great time together with our friends! If you weren't able to make it to the Life Walk, you missed out!

I Hate Cancer

I'm not really sure what to say about this. I don't know how to write about what has happened and has been discovered in my family in the last few weeks. I thought about just not saying anything, but that seems dishonest, and it seems unfair to myself. This is a place where I can write what I think and what I feel, and to not say anything just wouldn't seem right.

Cancer is a scary beast, but it's one that for a long time hasn't been a part of my life. It hasn't affected my family or friends very much recently. When I think of cancer, I have always have thought of my grandpa. He died of lung cancer. But I was in middle school then. It's been a while, and though I still miss him very much, it feels like a long time ago.

But it's back. That stupid jerk who I wish would never come around again.

My mom has brain cancer.

Doctors found a tumor, and then removed it, but now she has to do radiation and chemotherapy. The next few months are going to be hard. For her - she has to endure the treatment, which is going to make her feel sick and will be hard on her body. For my dad - who has to be strong and help her, all while working to support the family. For my brother and sister - they're with my parents, taking each step as it comes and being supportive. Helping out when they're able to.

I'm not there. That's one of the hardest parts of all of this for me. I wish I were there with my mom and the rest of my family. I want to be able to help take her to doctor's appointments, do the dishes, weed flowerbeds if I need to. I want to help.

But I'm here in the desert; I'm waiting, praying, trusting that God has a plan in all of this; that cancer isn't going to ruin everything.

I shared back in March that one of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 29:11 - "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.'"  I know that His plans are for good.

In the midst of the waiting, the praying and the trusting in Him, I know that God has a good plan for His glory in all of this. And I know that I worship the God of miracles, who is infinitely more powerful than I can imagine. I know this. I know that my God, who created this world, is more powerful than that stupid cancer that I dislike so strongly.

And that gives me hope and peace as I wait to see what He does.

source

It's A Good Life Together

Today is my third wedding anniversary!

I kind of feel bad for all the other girls in the world who didn't get to marry this guy - he's really a great husband and dad. I'm so thankful for him, and the joy, love, laughter, protection and security (he's really strong!) he brings into my life.

Thanks for three great years, David! I love you!

This Baby's Changing

This is a re-post, since Blogger deleted it after technical problems. :(

In the past two weeks, Micah has changed so much! I can't believe how quickly it can happen - overnight, it seems.

He's army crawling all around my parents' living room these days! He has an obsession with the entertainment center, and the glass door is covered with his fingerprints and slobbery mouth marks. We've made it into a little game, where he can crawl over to the entertainment center, and then I pull him back by his feet (gently, of course). Then he just crawls right back over.

Last week, Micah got his third tooth in! We were spending a lot of time in the hospital, and he was very fussy the second and third days we were there. Then once that tooth popped through, he was a happy camper again, entertaining everyone around! Right now, he's working on his fourth, the second tooth on the top, and is drooling all over the place.

Because of his teething, he's been biting me, I think because it makes his gums feel better. It doesn't make me feel any better, though, and last weekend I had a tooth-shaped bruise on my shoulder where he sunk that top tooth in. I let him play with this plastic container, which he liked for a teether, but he liked it even better for a hat!

He's also gotten (twice in a week) to spend some good play time with his friend Noah, who we don't get to see nearly enough! They were crawling all around and passing toys back and forth last night as they played together. It's so much fun to have friends with little ones close in age to Micah. He'll never be lacking on friends!

In the midst of a stressful couple of weeks, this baby is a great blessing! He's such a happy little fella, getting people to laugh, and constantly smiling and playing. I'm so thankful for this little boy, who loves everyone he meets and brings a lot of joy into their lives and ours!

I had to throw in a few pictures from a couple of weeks ago - I haven't gotten a chance yet to share them. Micah was able to borrow this swing from his friend Kai. We got to spend a little bit of time outside before heading up to Everson, and Micah really enjoyed it!

Choosing Joy in Hard Times

You may remember that at the beginning of this year I chose a word to work on in my life. To strive to include in my daily thoughts and routines. That I would integrate this idea, as a choice, into how I respond to every situation I come across.

Joy.

It wasn't a difficult decision to choose the word joy as my word of the year. I know it's important to have joy in my life. God has blessed me beyond what I could ever ask for, and when I chose this I thought, "Of course I can be joyful. Life is good!"

It's probably a good thing that I was blind to the future, or I might have chosen a word like frustration, anger, confusion, stress, worry. Those are all the emotions that I want to feel right now, and the ones that are coming to me the easiest right now. I'm glad that these aren't the words I wanted to work on this year, though.

What is it that Jesus said about worry? "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" and "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:27 and 6:34) 

I don't need to worry. I choose joy in the midst of trouble, in uncertain circumstances, which we're surely facing right now.  I keep thinking about the verse I quoted way back in January, James 1:2 - "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

My family is facing 'trials of various kinds' right now. I don't know how to even explain what we have ahead of us, and I don't really know what we have ahead of us. What I know, though, is that God is good. ALL the time. And I have made a choice that when the going gets rough, I'm going to be joyful. I may be sad, frustrated, worried and a little stressed out too, but I know that God has a plan in the midst of this battle.

That gives me peace, hope, and a whole lot of joy!

Proverbs 17:22 - "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."