All these Blessings...

2009-12-31T21:42:00.004-05:00

We are still alive! Thought some may be wondering with my great way of keeping up with our blog! :) My sister and I made a pact that we would post today -- to end the year off right. It's not much, Sis, but here it is! :) I have so much I want to write about -- countless blessings and stories of happenings these past few months, but it won't happen tonight! :) My mind is running pretty slow these days ( I know I left myself wide open! :D ) and I am waiting until it's clearer to write much. Let me just say that God is good. So good. All the time! Looking forward to posting -- a REAL post -- soon.

Have a wonderful day tomorrow. Happy 2010!

Thanks for taking the time to read and pray,

Family Sickness, Family Pictures & Answers to ?'s.

2009-11-16T23:50:00.002-05:00

Well, we definitely weren't on the mend like I had thought in the middle of last week....silly me!! It ended up being the eye of the storm. Paul got much worse and by Saturday morning was MISERABLE!! I felt so bad....so hard to see him hurting. Always want it to be me when my husband or children are in pain. I'm sure you wives & mothers know where I'm coming from. So often with my lupus I have thanked God that He gave it to ME and not another member of my family. If my husband had it, how would he have continued to Pastor the people we love with all our hearts?!? God is soooooo very good to us!! As Saturday evening drew near my husband was really praying he would be able to do the services. At this point he was barely swallowing at all and I had a look at his throat.........won't go into detail, but let's just say we were very close to going to the ER and we knew for sure that our people (love us though they do) would NOT want him coming into church and sharing what he had with them!! :D He called our new WONDERFUL assistant pastor and asked him to take care of the services the next day. Our asst. pastor and his wife (Bro. Richard and Lee-Ann Paasch) have only been with us a few weeks and wanted to get busy right away. Well my husband was hoping to ease into things a little more, but the Lord had other plans! Praise the Lord for His timing that He allowed Paul to get sick after they came. Although he had a rough time missing Sunday, he was so thankful for the man of God the Lord sent our way to help. We had a talk with our doctor in Indiana today and we were taking all the natural products to get rid of the strep plus other problems, just needed to up the dosages A LOT. Paul is seeing a bit of improvement tonight and we're praying he's back in full swing by Wednesday. He has so much to do, it's not been fun for him to be down. I certainly have enjoyed having him around though -- sickness or not!

I'm so thankful that during the "eye of our storm" that Jen and her family were able to be here for a day and a half! She took some great pics of their time here and hopefully both her and I will post some soon. Especially since my husband helped her get connected to her blog again on their laptop. (Hint, hint, Jen! :D )

My parents and Uncle and Aunt were here the week before for a day and we had a GREAT time with them. We had our family pics done on the day they were here and I'll post some of them in a minute. The day they were here I finished a 14 day fast. The salad I ate that night while they had their lasagna was amazing!! Greens never tasted so good!! :D I had done several 7 - 8 day fasts this year as part of my treatments with my lupus, but had not done 14 days before. I had taken several steps back the weeks proceeding and felt drastic steps needed to be taken as I was getting a little scared at how bad the pain was getting again. What a difference it made and what bountiful blessings that came from it! I would like to post sometime some of what I learned from it and what a help it was for me. It was a little difficult at times, but so worth it.
Also the day my parents were here we had a couple over for dinner from our church that my mom had won the wife to the Lord on one of her visits here. What a nice time we had with John & Christine! After dinner we worked together on a calendar for Christmas to put up after Thanksgiving. Thought I had pictures of us working on it, but apparently I haven't downloaded them yet. So much to do.... :)

I do have our recent family pics downloaded and here are a few-

My life is made so rich and full by being married to this man. Only God could love him more!

A girl could not have possibly been blessed with a better mother than I have. We didn't plan to have the opposite with our black & red, but I like how it turned out!

Love having my parents in this one!

Stacey had some done by herself as we had missed her birthday pics in August. She turned 4 and is growing up much too fast!

These 2 are so close...

I also wanted to answer a few questions that have been left in my comment section.

Rose, the Mommy Moolas information can be found on my sister's blog here. Just go to her side bar and she has a heading for it and all the info for them is there. I love her ideas!!

Amy, yes Paul & I have both lost some weight. I have joked with a few ladies in my church that the Lord saw I wasn't having the character to get the weight off on my own and decided to "help" me out a bit! :D The last time we weighed a few weeks ago, I had lost 55 lbs. and Paul had lost 58 lbs. He's always ahead! :) I still have a ways to go to be where I want to be, but am enjoying the journey. Thanks for asking.

Mandy, you just go right ahead and enjoy those scooters at Walmart! You can have them!!

Sarah Berry, it was so good to hear from you! Thank you for taking the time to not only stop by, but leave a comment to let me know you were here.

Julia & Missy, I'll get to the eating changes and life style differences soon. I want to take pics to post of some of the supplements we're using and that is what is holding me up. Thank you for caring and being interested!

Paul & I redid our bedroom a few weeks back and I'm excited to post pics of it soon also.

School is going well. Am loving teaching my children!!

Was supposed to have a ladies meeting tonight/secret pal reveal night and we had to cancel. It wasn't the time to be bringing them into our home. I was very disappointed as I thoroughly enjoy any and all time I get with our ladies. God knows though and allowed this time, so He'll take care of us getting together soon!

Thanks for taking the time to read and pray.

If you do stop by, please leave a comment and let me know you were here. It is extremely encouraging to hear from you and I pray for each one that "visits".

Quick Post

2009-11-13T00:15:00.003-05:00

So much going on and so little time to blog!! :) Jen and her family are here for a day and a half as they travel home from a conference. Our day tomorrow will be filled with taking care of 9 little ones and 2 big ones!! Such fun...

I picked up our family pics today we had done last week. So happy to have these done for Christmas. I put one of them on my header and will post more of them soon.

I'm going to try and take pics tomorrow of our wonderful family time. Everyone in my family has been sick off and on these past few weeks (as just about every family has!!) but I think we're all on the mend. Praise the Lord!!

Can't stay awake ;)

Will post soon (bet you've heard that one before!!) :D

Thanks for taking the time to read and pray,

It was only 5 weeks this time!

2009-10-07T14:38:00.008-04:00

Well, it's been only 5 weeks since my last post instead of 6 -- I'm getting better! :)

Such busy days they have been, as for everyone I'm sure. We made yet another unexpected trip to Indiana this past week to be with family who are going through a very difficult time. During this trip I was able to see my doctor a few times. We (the doctor, my husband & I ) are definitely encouraged by the results we've seen these last 7 months with my lupus, although I've had some setbacks these past few weeks. We are "going back to the basics" and doing everything we know to do in the next 2 weeks to see what God will do. Please pray that He will choose to do some mighty things. However, whatever He chooses to do is good. This involves another lengthy fast, some nasty (no better way to describe it!) drinks, 4 visits with 3 different doctors to check for blood clots and an organ that is giving me increasing difficulty. Plus several other daily things to do. I'm still trying to put a post together to answer the kind questions of what has changed for us with our food and the supplements and all that goes into the direction the Lord has led us. Also, just to answer all the ?'s that have been left in my comments. Please forgive me for the delay in answering. Hopefully it will be in the next few weeks. I appreciate your patience!

I have been keeping up with the other blogs I follow.

Of course, Jen, yours is the one I check first -- can't get enough pics of my nephews and niece!!

Amy, I so have enjoyed all your posts and pics!! Thank you for keeping us updated on the prayer requests!!

Missy, I missed you when you didn't post for a few weeks! Glad you're back!! :) Still waiting to see the pic of you and Angie from your last trip to Maine. -- No pressure or anything!! :)

Amy A., so thankful your new little one arrived safely and that you all are home! What an answer to prayer!!

Mandy, have a wonderful time in Maine!! Can't wait to see pics. Take LOTS, please!!

I won't keep going as there are several I like to keep track of and pray for.

I haven't taken many pics these past weeks, but here is one of Paul with his new potato gun that a man in our church made for him. I think I'm happy for him! :D

He was shooting it off the back deck of our house into the lake. Couldn't believe how loud it was!! Since we have a policeman living right next door, he only shot it a few times! :D

We celebrated his 33rd birthday on Sunday. It was a quiet day for him, but the Lord blessed and we were able to purchase a few suits for him on clearance at Penneys. He desperately needs clothes that aren't hanging off him and the Lord was so good to let us find some!! We also had cake ($12 homemade all organic...tasted great!! )and ice cream with my parents last week and they spoiled him with filet mignon grilled out for his lunch.

I had a ladies meeting with "my" church ladies a few weeks ago. What a sweet time it always is with them and already I'm looking forward to our next meeting on the 19th. One of these days I'll take a pic of them to share with you all.

On Monday my husband is taking a group of our young people to Connecticut for a 1 day preaching conference. They are excited to go. Would love to be with them, but I'll definitely be praying here at home!!

I was hoping to see several friends at Ladies Spec next week in Hammond, but with our last recent trip and my setback, we decided I'd better stick close to home. At this point Paul won't let me travel without him. "What could possibly happen?" I ask him. You don't want to know his reply!! :D He did say he would order the DVD's for me and I'll watch as much as I can online. My husband had something planned to do for a few days originally while I would have been gone. Although I won't be at Ladies Spec, I'll get some extra time with Paul -- it doesn't get any better than that!

I know I'm rambling, so I'll close. Just writing things as they come into my mind with no prior organization. If I waited to oraganize my thoughts to post -- who knows when I'd post again!

I have been praying for many of you, some on a daily basis. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement.

Thanks for taking the time to read and pray,

First Day of School

2009-09-01T21:36:00.016-04:00

We had our first day of school today. It went wonderfully and I have a "few" pics of our day, but first a few captions from this past week.

This is the kids in their over sized Curtis Corner Baptist Church shirts. They love them and look adorable! :D

This past week was again a bit more difficult with the lupus and Saturday was especially hard. When my husband came home that late afternoon from soulwinning, all I had towards dinner was a pot of chicken boiling. Paul very graciously took over, ordered me to the recliner (whom am I to disobey? :D ), and proceeded to make the most incredible homemade chicken soup I think I have ever had. He used no store bought broth, but did all his own seasonings and chopped up all the vegetables. He is a "Jack of all trades" and in the kitchen he is no less. It was amazing!!

Can't you almost taste it?!?

Thank you, Babe!

As the week was hard, I didn't expect to be able to go on Sunday, but the Lord woke me up at 4:30 and I decided to slowly get ready and see how far I could get. This happens often (not the getting up at 4:30, but the getting ready and seeing how far I can get. :D ), but this time I actually got to go!! Paul has been doing all the kids baths since Christmas, and I knew if I attempted to do them, I definitely would not be going anywhere. Soooooooooo, long story made long :), I washed Stacey's hair for the first time in the kitchen sink early on Sunday morning. She thought it was a great adventure! She's my brave one, usually ready to try about anything.

It was a great Sunday morning. What a BLESSING to be there!

Now onto today. (This is mostly for my mom and sister, so if the rest of you get bored, that's fine. Skim as much as you'd like! :D )

I have been preparing for weeks for this great day for our 2 oldest. They were so excited and had a harder time sleeping last night than they do on Christmas Eve!

We don't have a school room, but are using our dining room table to do their schoolwork. This is Paul's chair by the orange pencil box and I sit directly across from him.

Stacey sits right by me.

My seat!

My Mommy Moolas are in the small white plastic container. Thanks, Jen , for such a terrific idea!!!!!! I teased Paul that I wanted to call them Daddy Doolas, but he was having NONE of that!!

This is the beginning of our store for their moolas...

No school is complete w/o a candy bowl (although they get very little of it these days!) and here are a few books I am using with the kids during story time.

We are Lord willing getting a cabinet built to place under the counter soon to store our school items in after we finish each day, but for now I am using a card table and storage bin.

These are the smiles they started school with.

They were so glad Daddy could be here--

Putting her first Mommy moola in her envelope.

Paul immediately wanted to know what he could buy with his dollar! :)

Whenever Paul can be here, he is going to do the Bible time of school with them. This does not take the place of our family devotions.

Kate watching school from her pac 'n play...

Stacey & Paul's first page in their first PACE. Didn't they do great?!!!!?

Adding more & more toys to keep her busy!!

After their first fun day was finished, they had lunchables and capri suns for lunch -- another unusual treat for them!

They all took their naps (and so did I) and this evening Paul took us all out for the start of our annual go out in the evening of the first day of school. We love family traditions!

First he took them (us) for ice cream -- not only was it a major treat for them, but he did it daddy style and had them eat their dessert first! :)

Back in the car on the way to the ocean. (It's 5 minutes from our house, but we stay away in the summer! It was a cooler evening, so people had their sweatshirts on! :) )

Paul & Kate leading music as we were singing in the car.

Just a few quick pics (times like these, wish I knew more about photography!) at the water. We didn't get out here, I wasn't able to do much walking, but enjoyed the sights and smells!

The last stop he took us to was the park. We did get out this time ! :D

He was acting like he had to work so hard to get across the bars! :D

I TRULY LOVE THIS MAN!!!!

Well, that was our day. So full and rich of blessings.

Thanks for taking the time to read and pray,

Missing my man, but focusing on the sweet time with my sister and her children!

2009-08-25T22:39:00.010-04:00

I'll post more soon, but what a wonderful visit it has been with Jen -- as always!! They are leaving around lunch tomorrow to go back home. :( The only plus being that Paul will be back!!! CANNOT WAIT!! He's only been gone at camp for 2 nights and I've been with him for a part of each day. I know I really can't complain, but....will be so glad to have my man back home! :D

Please, please pray that I can be at church tomorrow. The need to be there and the desire to be there is so very great. I know everyone loves their own church -- as they should -- but there is truly no place like Curtis Corner Baptist!! Still am amazed that the Lord called us here and I hope to never get over it!

Have a wonderful day tomorrow! (Missy, hope your Wednesday is much better than your Monday!! :D )

Thanks for taking the time to read and pray,

Jennie's coming!!

2009-08-23T14:18:00.006-04:00

Hello-
Just a quick note to let you know that Jen's internet is down. :( They had a storm a few days back that knocked them offline and it will be a few days before the repairman can come to fix it. Why will it take him a few days? Because they (their whole family) are coming here in the morning until Wednesday so he can't get there until Thursday! We are so excited they are coming! We're having camp for our junior age kids this week and they're bringing a few kids from their church to our camp. The men (...and Rick :D -- couldn't resist. You should hear how rude he can be at times! :) ) along with Ricky & Ryan will be at camp, and us girls and the younger kids will be home. I am looking forward to evening chats with coffee & hot chocolate and kids everywhere playing during the day. We'll take lots of pics and Jen will be able to post from here. So if she doesn't, you'll know she didn't have any excuse!! I for one would never go several days without posting!! :D

Hope you all are having a wonderful Sunday. I am not able to go -- again. Kate's fever is right back up. We can't seem to help her shake it. Also, my pain has been a little more severe the last few days so I'm laying low. Miss so much being there -- more than I know how to express -- but God knows all about it and has allowed it. I'm resting in that.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah

The Last 6 Weeks...

2009-08-20T22:40:00.012-04:00

...have been quite incredible! Never thought when I left for Youth Conference that it would be 6 WEEKS before I posted again!!

Y.C. was amazing as always is what I heard from our teens. I spent my time recouping from the drive out there and resting up for the return trip! :) Also had some wonderful time with my mom. I went to the doctors a few times and had been hoping to hear "I don't want to see you for at least 6 weeks!", but what I got was, "I need you back here no later than another 4 weeks." It was a little discouraging and I didn't know how that was going to work out financially, but I truly did trust that the Lord already had it worked out -- and He did -- just not in a way I was expecting. --that's nothing new!!

A few weeks after our trip, Paul told me he would take me to Maine for an overnight to see Jennie. I have missed her GREATLY and needed some sister time. She lives about 4 hours away and we left early on Monday morning (the 3rd) and arrived around 10:30. We had called Rick to let him know we were coming, but surprised Jen. It was a lot of fun!! She in turn surprised me by watching all my kids so Paul & I could have a night out. Watching Paul & Stacey is one thing -- they are just about 1 person as they seem to breathe at the same time -- but you throw Kate in the mix and.... :D

Here's Jen with Joshua & Jack. All the kids were sitting around the table with her eating popsicles!

Katelynn around the corner while they're snacking waiting to see what she can get in to. She "cheeses up" the moment she sees a camera coming. It's hard to catch her w/ her eyes open!

The boys had a camp out in Mommy's (Aunt Jennie's) room for nap time. This is them pretending to be asleep...

...but eventually they did succumb to slumber! (Good word, huh, Jen?!?) :D

That Monday night we received a call from several people at Paul's home church that the man who had led Paul to the Lord was passing away quickly. He had been battling cancer for several years and had suddenly taken a very bad turn for the worse. This was not ONLY the man who had led him to the Lord, but was Paul's bus captain from the time he was 4. This man, Bro. Bo Eikelman, had knocked on Paul's door and invited him to church. Between that time and when Paul got saved (at age 16), he moved twice and each time Bro. Bo found him again by faithfully knocking on doors. We had the honor & privilege of having Bro. Bo and his daughter, Miss Tina, fly out here to RI a few years back. Paul was able to introduce him to our people as they had heard so much about him and also was able to take some time to honor him in church. What precious memories we have of that visit!

Instead of heading for home on Tuesday as we planned, we loaded up the kids (and our 1 change of clothes each!) and drove through the night for 20 hours until we got to my in laws. We stopped a total of 3 times for a QUICK bathroom and gas break. God was so good to us to give us the great little travelers that He did! Oh yes, we did make 1 more stop in Terre Haute ( about 45 minutes from my in laws) so Paul could get a shirt and tie for church that night. We arrived a few hours before church and Paul quickly showered and changed to get over to Bro. Bo's. He was able to have some precious time with him while the kids and I got ready for church. God again was so good to us to allow Paul that last time with Bro. Bo. Although Paul would go back to his house every day the rest of the week, that Wednesday was the last opportunity he would have to talk with him. Bro. Bo was in and out of consciousness from then until he died. Miss Tina said he had been asking for Paul all that day knowing he would be coming to see him. That was definitely a trip we'll never regret making!

This picture was taken this past May-

-and this one was taken 5 days before Bro. Bo went to be with the Lord.

The kids had a great time at Pappy and Grammy's house. Paul & Stacey collided and had good sized bumps on their heads. Amidst the tears, Paul was sure that some of Grammy's "colorful bandaids" would help heal their wounds. Uncle Kaleb was feeling their pain! :)

As I mentioned at the beginning, I didn't know how God was going to work out yet another doctor's trip, but a week early I was there (the doc. was proud of me! :D ) as he is 3 hours from my in laws. My parents only live 45 minutes from the doc.'s, so we stayed a night there in between dr.'s visits. I love EVERY minute spent with my mom and it was a little hard "running in and out" and because of the craziness of the trip we were all exhausted. I stayed awake out of pure enjoyment from being with Mom, but the rest of the crew didn't make it so well!
The kids struggled when we left my parents the next morning to go back to the dr.'s, but had a wonderful time while we were there.

Paul & Stacey asleep on my parent's couch.

I actually caught her eyes open on my Mom's couch. Of all the people that went to sleep, she's the one we couldn't get to sleep!

Back at my in laws on Saturday night, we were trying to figure out clothing for us all to wear to church the next day. Originally we had thought we were going to be home by Sunday, but with the dr.'s visits and time with Bro. Bo, we weren't going to make it. I called my incredible friend Elissa (who now lives basically next door to my in laws) . She and her husband (Bro. Bo's grandson) have 4 children around my kid's ages. She told me to come over and outfitted all of us (except my husband who bought a suit as he desprately needs one after losing over 50 lbs. ) for Sunday. She was going through her tubs of clothes for the girls and after we found outfits for them for the next day she started giving me clothes from the bins. At first I started to refuse and told her how thankful I was to be borrowing what we were and she had it in her head that the Lord wanted me to have all these clothes and there was no stopping her. If you know Elissa, then you know that I have my met my match with stubborness! (Jen, you would love how she can put me in my place -- and so sweetly too!) I cannot begin to explain what a huge blessing and answer to prayer those clothes for my girls were. We went there with 1 change of clothes and the Lord provided complete wardrobes for both my girls for the next several years. -- Beautiful dresses and coullottes. -- (Never could spell that word and it's not in my dictionary!) I'll have to take a picture of their closet soon. You should have seen us traveling home in our minivan with all those BIG black trash bags full of clothes. They were everywhere -- plus we had Kaleb coming back with us and his luggage. What fun unpacking was!! It felt like Christmas, only better as the clothes truly were an answer to prayer -- especially for Stacey as finding the right length skirts and coullottes for her lately had become very difficult.

That Sunday (the 9th) was Stacey's 4th birthday. She had a great time celebrating it with family and Grammy got her a special cake and decorations.

She loves her HANDSOME daddy!!

Not a great picture, but that's me and my girl. She definitely wasn't adopted! :)

Eating homemade ice cream that Pappy let her help make-

We arrived back home in the middle of the night -- Wednesday morning. While I was unpacking (much later that day!) it became quiet and that is never a good sign when the kids are up! Kate was asleep as she had become sick on the way home, so I knew it couldn't be too bad. I walked into our hall bathroom and found this..

(BTW, that's one of her new outfits!)

I'm not sure if it was bath time for the animals or what. :)

After a few days all 3 became sick with what Katie brought home with us, so I have spent the last several days home with my children. The older 2 have bounced back well, but Kate is trying
to hang onto her "bug." I'm praying she'll be well enough by Sunday. I miss "my" ladies!!!!

These were taken during one of the few times she hasn't felt miserable the last few days--

I'm almost done. 6 weeks is a lot to catch up on!

This past Tuesday was our 9th anniversary!! My husband had literally been planning for months to take me away for a few days, but between our unexpected trip to Indiana and the fact that Paul finally caught the kid's virus late Sunday night, we stayed in. We truly had a wonderful day together. I don't have pics of us on our special day as he was too sick to do much posing, but I did manage to grab a few pics of what we did to make our day great. We moved Katie into Stacey's room!!! For the first time in over 5 1/2 years we are kidless in our room!!! :D No more being quiet and keeping the lights low when we go in at night. It's wonderful. As a matter of fact, I'm in our room now typing this on the laptop because I can't sleep and the typing can't disturb a baby! How fun. We don't know what the Lord has in store for our future with more children, but at the moment, we are enjoying some just us time.

Katie was thrilled to be in "Sasie's" room. Stacey has been sleeping on Paul's floor the last several months as she had not adjusted to sleeping in her own room yet. This first night Paul asked to sleep in the girl's room to "help" them adjust. Isn't he just too thoughtful?!? -- or something! :)

Kate cheesing again...getting ready to go to sleep.

Paul tucking her in and praying with all 3.

"Goodnight, Mommy! We won't talk AT ALL!!!!" :)

A few random pics from this week --

Paul hauling Stacey off to who knows where!

As I'm cleaning things out, Katie keeps trying to keep what I'm giving away!

"See Mommy -- I still fit!!"

Little Paul walked into my bathroom yesterday and saw my husband shaving. He quickly grabbed his razor that he keeps in the drawer with his dad's and started shaving too. As I took his picture, I realized he would need to be doing that much sooner than I am ready for. Already how quickly time is flying with my children. Each day I am trying to savor them and memories.

Last, but not least, a picture of them with Uncle Kaleb. Kaleb is only here for a few weeks as he is getting ready to finish his LAST semester in college, and we are all enjoying our time with him -- especially the kids! If he is in the house, usually 1 or all 3 are hanging off him in some way!

The Lord has truly blessed us bountifully these last 6 weeks. I don't plan on going this long in between posts again -- if nothing else but as a way for me to see written out just a little of what the Lord has done in my life and in the ones I love.

As far as lupus goes -- there are good days and bad days. Definitely we (Paul keeps a very close eye on me) are seeing progress. When the pain gets extremely bad, I am able to come out of it quicker, instead of straight agony for days. I can move much better on my "good" days. Please continue to pray as I have a ways to go yet. The doctor has said right from the start that it was going to take 12 -18 months to see where I am going to be with this and it looks like he is going to be right. Again. What an incredible journey the Lord has allowed me to be on. The blessings through it all are overwhelming.

I meant to mention earlier how God worked it out financially to get me back to the dr.'s this past month. I'll tell you real quick! :) When we heard Bro. Bo was passing away, we knew we needed to get to him. We literally left on faith and when we got home there was a letter waiting from Pastor & Mrs. Bish in CT. Enclosed was a love offering check from their church with enough to cover not only the cost of the trip, but my medical supplies for this month!! Paul had recently met up with them at a preaching conference in CT a few months back and he told me at that time he'd met few people with such compassion. What a blessing!!

Thank you to all you who do pray -- it literally is what keeps me and my husband going. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement whether here on my blog, in emails, or cards. I save them all and re read them as needed. :)

Thanks for taking the time to read & pray,

Sarah

I have been blessed...

2009-07-10T18:55:00.009-04:00

I can't believe it's Friday already!! The week flew by. My wonderful help arrived Wednesday night after church in the form of 2 sisters, Laura & Amyrose.

I had a list of things I was hoping to get done with their help and they did so much more than what was on there. They did have some down time--

They stayed until this evening -- what a blessing from God they were to Paul & I. Not only with all their help around the house, but allowing us date time. I also had 2 doctor's appointments this morning that lasted until 12:30 and because they were here Paul was able to drive me to the appts. I had fun talking with them and hearing Laura's dating stories from college last year! :)

On Thursday evening my husband took me on a date. We used to do weekly dates until my friend lupus showed up. For several months we've still had our dates but at home. I was so looking forward to going OUT with him! First he called and scheduled me a haircut with my hairdresser. He heard me mention the day before that I felt I needed a cut and he took it upon himself to see that it happened for me before our trip. He is extremely busy and just as we were walking out the door he received yet another phone call and I teased him that this was how we were going to spend our date...

He did finish the call and we left. We couldn't stay out too long and by the time we got to Walmart (every great date ends up at Walmart!), I was riding in one of those motor scooters. They are definitely not my favorite thing, but when it's either ride those or sit in the car while my husband has all the fun of finding the clearance, then I'll set my pride aside and ride ! :)

Thank you for all the prayers and comments left. It has been a better week. After our date last night I was in extreme pain, but when we left for this morning's first dr. appt., I was walking again. I have been fasting for several days again and that always makes a big difference. It keeps my pain level manageable and when the pain does get out of hand, I can usually bounce back quicker from it if I have been fasting. I am eating mostly raw now with some organic, unprocessed, non dairy, gluten free etc... thrown in there, but the fasting is still necessary at this point in time. Mainly this fasting is to prepare myself for our trip to Indiana. With 28 people going, I won't be as free to do what I need or stop (or not stop) when needed, so I'm praying that I'll not just do o.k. traveling, but be all that my husband, kids and teens need while on the trip. If you could pray with me about that, I would certainly appreciate it!

Hope you all have a great weekend. We're having evangelist Bob Holmes with us this Sunday. He is an amazing man -- you can read about him on his website here.

If you stop by, please know I'm praying for you,

Sarah

Bits & Pieces...

2009-07-06T23:19:00.005-04:00

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th and great weekend. A family in our church hosted a picnic for the 4th and I had been praying for a few weeks that I would be able to go. I couldn't stay very long, but it was wonderful to visit with some ladies from our church while we were there. My legs were still too bad to go to church Sunday morning, but by the evening I was walking well enough to go. Praise the Lord!! My husband preached an incredible sermon (the only kind he knows how to preach!! :D ), and just being there was wonderful! I expected to be down the next few days due to the activity of Saturday and Sunday, but the Lord blessed and it's been a good day. Even got some cleaning in so I can dream about other things tonight and not cleaning! :)

On Mondays it is my husband's "day off" and he tries to stay close to home. This morning we took it slow and I let my children stay in their jammies. I needed to make a phone call and Paul & Stacey were noisy during it. They know the rule, so I when I got off I had them sit on their hands for a few minutes. (They have to keep their mouths closed when sitting on their hands.) Katie walked in the room, saw her bother & sister sitting on the floor and promptly wedged herself in between them and sat on her hands! It was so cute. She wants to do everything that they are doing. I quickly grabbed my camera and took a few pics. As you can see, she doesn't shy away from the camera!

I noticed after I took the picture that my husband's Bible was in the chair in the background. I loved that. That was where he spent time with the Lord early this morning while the rest of us slept. God knew I needed a man with a consistent, close walk with Him to help see us through all He has in store for our lives. I find much strength from the Lord and my heart fills to overflowing with the knowledge that I can also lean on my husband and the strength he gains from the Lord for both of us when I am doing poorly.

We leave to take our teens to Youth Conference in Hammond, IN on Sunday. We're leaving after the evening service and driving through the night. There are 28 people going. This is always a life changing time for our young people and I look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for them this year. I won't be able to attend much of the Conference, if any, but will be seeing my doctor there who has helped so much. My days this week will be filled with pacing myself to get everything done before we leave. I am excited to have 2 of our teens staying with us for a few days to help me -- they're the kind that just dive right in and not only help, but find things that I didn't even know needed to be done!! :) Most of all I look forward to the time with them. They are a joy to be around!

Thank you for all the encouraging comments I've received. Many of you have asked what exactly I'm doing different with our eating and life style changes. I'll try to answers those ?'s this week in a post. Thank you for the prayers. I see that there have been many people that have stopped by and I know that you are praying and I can't tell you how that helps me keep going.

Thank you for taking the time to read and Pray,

Sarah

A better day...

2009-07-02T21:31:00.005-04:00

First of all, thank you so much to all of you who took a few minutes to leave a comment on the previous posts. I can't begin to tell you what encouragement each one of them is to me. Each time I read a comment I felt like I am receiving a hug.

Philippians 4:13 has been very real to me these past 8 days. It has been a particularly hard time. I have a long way to go to learn my body with lupus and what effects it and triggers greater pain. When the pain gets this bad and I've tried everything I've been taught to do, I start a lengthy fast. (I do not talk about spiritual fasting, but I will refer to fasting for health reasons from time to time.) Today was day 3 and I found some relief last night. I was euphoric!! I wanted to jump up and clean the house! Since it was 1 in the morning, I didn't think my family would appreciate that, nor would my body. You know how it is when you've been sick and start feeling even just a bit better, you want to do everything that has been left undone and you land yourself right back where you were and sometimes in worse shape!! :) Ever laid in bed and mentally cleaned your house room by room? I even threw in some re-decorating this time! :D

Today was my first appointment w/ a new doctor that my doc in Indiana urged us to go see. This one is about an hour away and won't replace our IN dr., but will be able to help us.

One of our college girls, Jessy, (pictured above) who is home for the summer came over to babysit so my husband could take me. She does a wonderful job with the kids and we're not concerned about them when they are in her care.

What a beautiful ride it was to the dr.'s!! We crossed the bridge to Jamestown, the bridge to Newport, and then the bridge that took us into Bristol, RI. The dr. was great and Paul & I left feeling as though the Lord directed again to someone who can help. I was concerned about the financial aspect of this visit as I knew it was going to be quite costly, but Paul assured me that we needed to do this and that God would provide. When we went to pay the bill, it cost less than a third of the price they had originally told us! Praise the Lord!!

Thank you again for all the prayers, love, support and encouraging words -- whether through cards or the comments left. I appreciate you all.

With love,

Sarah

Here goes...

2009-06-30T00:03:00.009-04:00

Recently my husband encouraged me to start a blog for a few different reasons. One of them as a way to journal this new health "trial" we are facing. I use the word trial loosely as already there are numerous blessings He has shown to us through these past several months.

Many kind friends frequently ask how I'm doing and "just what exactly is wrong with you this time?" :) For those of you who know me well at all, this is a very legitimate question. Much of my life it seems I've been waiting to get past a current health issue so that "normal" life can resume. At age 31, The Lord has finally taught me not to wait for "normal", but take however I am doing and make my life and those that I affect as normal for us as it can be. My first post will be a bit lengthy as I am going to attempt to recap the last several months and also give myself points of reference to fall back on for future posts. Please feel free to skim as much as you want or just scroll to the end to see how things are turning out! :)

During the Holidays this past year I noticed pain developing in my legs. It generally was in the evenings after hectic days. It wasn't so much pain at that point, but just an uncomfortable feeling up and down both legs. At the time I thought my clots had returned. (I had been diagnosed with bilateral DVT's in October 2007 - the 27th week of my last pregnancy. They were numerous and moved up into my pelvis. It made for an interesting 3rd trimester! I was cleared of them in April and 8 months later with my legs feeling similar as when I started having clots, I just assumed they were back.) After the holidays we are usually looking forward to our annual trip to Indiana to visit both sets of grandparents. This year was the same and I put off going to the dr.'s as I didn't want to spoil the trip by being hospitalized again. Not one of the smartest things I've done. By the time we returned in mid January the pain was getting so severe that off we went to the dr.'s for what I sure was to be the diagnosis of blood clots. I was wrong. They tested and retested, but no clots. My first thought was, "Praise the Lord!" followed closely by, "but what is wrong?" After $60,000 of testing, some lengthy hospital stays, and several specialists -- the diagnosis came in late February -- Lupus. Part of me was relieved to finally know what was wrong as the pain was now so constant and only the morphine at the hospital took the edge off. My mom was staying with us for weeks at a time, and my Aunt from N.Y. was coming to help as much as she was able. My husband was stretched so thin and his very close walk with the Lord was what was sustaining him. We went home from the hospital that night with a prescription for a drug used to treat malaria that sometimes seems to help with lupus (although the dr.'s don't know why). I would be on this for life. Also, I was on steroids and very strong pain killers that no longer helped at all and was told to begin physical therapy. Paul immediately went into "attack mode" to help us fight this. He went on line and found out all he could about my type of lupus and started praying about treatments. The Lord led him to seek the advice of a natural doctor that had helped me carry my son to full term when I had miscarried my 3 earlier babies. He started making plans and praying down the finances to take me to this dr. who lives in Indiana. He does not accept our insurance, so not only was it travel expenses, but what was to become daily visits with the dr. that usually lasted from 3-6 hours. In the 4 weeks we were there, I only missed 1 business day at his office. When we arrived, I was basically in a wheel chair for any distance longer than from my bed to the couch. My organs were shutting down and in my heart I knew things were getting very bad very quickly. This was confirmed when the first time the doctor started treating me he said, "I am going to save your life!" Praise the Lord for a saved man who God has given great wisdom in the field of health. After a month I was off all my medication (that was in the first week), walking better -- walking period! I won't go into all that we're doing right now, but it has been a dramatic life style change. I am supposed to be going back to Indiana monthly for a week at a time to continue treatments. I missed 1 month and suffered set backs for it, so we're trying to stay on schedule with that.

Where am I at now?

The dr. said it will be a year before we know where I'm at and what my new best will be. For now I am:

* walking fairly well most days and am only "holding the walls up" in the evenings or when I've done too much. - A mother of 3 small children?!? Sitting in a recliner and sipping tea all day isn't going to happen!

* still in pain all the time, at times it's pretty severe. It now affects my hands and arms the same as my legs.

* off all meds and anything resembling medication! :)

* learning to eat very different (something I was long overdue in learning!) and not eating for lengthy periods of time.

* loving my husband more deeply each day and thrilling everyday to be close to my children. So many women would LOVE the opportunity to be at home with their families, and I have the privilege of doing it every day! -- I mean EVERY day! ;)

* learning to trust the Lord in ways I've never had to before and learning so much more that all I need to know is that He knows and is in control.

* overwhelmed by all the love, the support, and prayers of family, our church, and friends. I am truly incredibly blessed.

* waiting on the Lord to see what His plan is for myself, Paul and our children. The other health issues are better, still 1 nagging organ trouble, and now am facing the lupus. Lupus I have learned is very individualized -- there's no text book on what to expect or how fast it will progress.

For those of you who have asked how you can pray-

* That the Lord will continue to give strength to my husband. Anyone who is blessed to know him even a little, understands what a truly great man he is. He loves the Lord, his wife, his children, and church with all his heart. He is needed in many places often at the same time and needs strength only God can give.

* That our church will continue to grow and only become stronger through this time. They have been amazing and very supportive, yet we're always on the guard for satan's attacks. (Yes I know his name is supposed to be capitalized, but I just can never seem to do that. It seems respectful and he deserves none of that!)

* That I can handle the pain in a way that will be honoring to Him and get as much relief as He thinks I need.

* That my children will learn through this time also, and be closer to the Lord because of it.

* That the Lord will continue to provide the finances for the dr.'s visits and all the supplements and treatments I take on a daily basis. It's quite costly, yet He always takes care of every need and so much more than what He said He would do!

* Most of all, truly and sincerely, that the Lord will be honored through this and glorified. Please pray that He finds pleasure in my life and what He is allowing.

What are some of the blessings? As the title of my blog indicates, I am actively looking for and seeing more blessings every day than I could have imagined. It's amazing what we can see when we get our eyes off ourselves and focus on what God is doing in our lives and those around us!

* More time with Him.

* More time with my family. Since I'm not doing nearly what I was before, I have lots of time for the truly important things in life -- scratching a back, reading books aloud (again & again...), holding and cuddling the 3 precious treasures God has entrusted me with, getting to sit and watch them play -- not just keeping an eye on them as I run from one thing to the next. I have been concerned with how this was going to affect my children, but right now they are more sweet and quick to obey than they ever have been. They pray often and I revel in listening to them pray and getting to know their God. There's nothing quite like a child's faith!

*A closer bond with some of the ladies in our church. Although I haven't been able to be at church very often, "my" ladies have become even dearer to me. I have more time to pray for them and I know they're praying for me. They write such encouraging notes, have cleaned my home (this has been very difficult for me to have help with, but they have been gracious about it!), brought meals, run errands, babysat my children, got our groceries and so much more.

* Just one more for now -- Drawing closer to my husband. Next month we celebrate our 9th anniversary. I'll write more about him in the near future, but for now I'll tell you he has far exceeded my highest dreams in a husband. After the Lord, I've known no love like his, and I have been very loved in my life! He has patiently endured right with me no matter the test, and NEVER complains. All the things I have had to do or change lately he has done right with me. It's something "We get to do", he says, not just things I have to do myself.

I won't be writing books every day -- I promise, so please don't be scared to come back! I thank the Lord for each of you, your love, encouragement, and prayers.
Please let me know of anything I can be praying of for you. We all have burdens that we are carrying, some too personal to share. The Lord is faithful and I firmly believe that "...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16 I am enjoying using the prayer list on Amy's blog. If you have stopped by, please know that you have been prayed for!

Thanks for taking the time,

Sarah

2009-06-27T23:58:00.001-04:00

Welcome to my wife's blog!
Sarah is the most beautiful person I know - inside and out!
She has faced her new foe in Lupus with faith and courage. I am very proud of her.
I am sure you will be blessed as you follow her journey.

Paul Chapman