February 2009

Elisha in the Summer (I just thought is was so cute.)

Bath Time is fun time!

She's officially a fan of spaghetti!

(Videos at the end!)

Greetings family and dear friends! Brad and I have deeply coveted your prayers over us as we've desperately needed them during this time. We know a lot of you all are going through quite a bit yourselves and are keeping you in our prayer times as well. We love you dearly and treasure our relationships with each one of you.

Brad is still waiting for a job opportunity to open up. He's been searching and looking like a mad man for about a month. He has heard back from two of the job opportunities he applied for. He heard from the Lee's Summit Fire Dept. that he has been excepted to take the practical exam this month! Please pray that he does excellent on this test so that he can go on to the interviewing process and physical exam test... which will be very rigorous. He also heard from Sherwin Williams via email that the lady he was supposed to interview with was in Dallas this past weekend. They have planned to reschedule his phone interview. The only way he will be accepted for this job is if we're willing to relocate. We are, so please pray that if this is the door we're to go through that the L-rd gives us complete peace about it. Thank you!

He will be working with Steve May in Warrensburg this week so that will be good to have some income and a few other little jobs have come in.... so PRAISE THE L-RD!

In the mean time Brad has been building our computer desk, helping me around the house, helping with Elisha, and getting lots of extra G-d time in... as well as a new game fettish called... "Who Has The Biggest Brain" on facebook.... he's pretty darn good too.

Elisha is walking, talking, moving, and shaking things up around here lately! She's such a joy to have. We feel so blessed to have her in our lives right now while we go through a rough period she's our little sunshine! Her new favorite words are... Daddy, puppy, bye bye, appo (for apple thank you Janessa!) boo (for book). She takes a huge interest in books, she loves them. Especially the cardboard kind that have easy pages for her to turn. She likes to be sung to when she's kinda freaking out! (praise the L-rd we have some silly ones) She also likes to look at picture albums and video recordings of her and other people she loves. Please pray for Elisha as she is going to see an eye specialist Feb. 24 to start the process of her tear duct being dialated. She's had an "imature" tear duct now since she was born. It's a very simple procedure but most opt. dr.s like to put the children under while it's being done so that it doesn't tramatize the child and the parents! (Most likely the dr.s and RNs too!) Also please put the date: Sunday, March 8, 2009 on your calenders! We are going to celebrate Elisha's 1st birthday from 12-2pm. You are all officially invited to come. I'll send out e-vites to remind you as well and get a count of how many can come.

Well... I have been going through a most humbling start of the new year to say the least... I should say Brad and I both are together. I found out I was pregnant the 22nd of January and two days later I began to bleed... which I thought maybe I'm having one of those rare moments in pregnancy where you bleed a little at the beginning of your trimester for whatever reason. On January 29th, 2009 at around 6:30p.m. I had a miscarriage and lost the baby. We are saddened and quite shocked. We are going through a time of grief, however we are also glad for the L-rd's intervention in this. We understand that sometimes things go wrong for unexplained reasons and He comes in and takes care of things. He designed a women's body to do certain things when something is not going right. My body did it without any problems. Brad and I have had our up and down times and have wept on and off. I'm sharing this with you all because we've told some of you that I was expecting. We ask that you lift us up in your prayers. We believe that we will have a lot more children in the future. I heard the L-rd speak to me and He said, "This child is in my hands rest in peace on that. This child was not the son that I have promised to you it was a different child. One day you will be reunited in glory with this one."

Though I do not have understanding of why this happend, I trust the L-rd and what He says. It has been hard and heart breaking but we truly believe He knows just what He's doing and our precious one is resting in Him as I type this. I found out that 1 in 4 pregnant women will have a miscarriage... usually one or two during their entire child bearing years. I don't have any words to express what we're truly feeling... If you could know you would see tears and you would see expressions of joy to know we will meet this child one day. I feel like Job right now... we truly believe we are being tested and tried through the fire... but like Job we will not curse G-d and we will pray to Him and humble ourselves and rest in His arms during the raging storms. One day we will have restoration 2x-10x over!

Hebrews 12:25-29

"See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more i shake not only the earth, but also heaven." Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve G-d acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our G-d is a consuming fire."