Update on Jake

Since my last post Jake has been in the hospital. He saw our family doctor who sent him to a surgeon the following morning. The surgeon admitted Jake to the hospital immediately after seeing him. The next day they did a laproscopic surgery. They removed adhesions that had wrapped around his intestines and gall bladder. He has four small cuts that are healing nicely. He stayed two night in the hospital and got to come home today. He is sore but doing better. Thank you so much to everybody that helped out during this time. Especially Kimmie, Jordan, and Jewels who were such a huge help. I really appreciate you guys. Also, thanks to everybody who called, visited, and sent flowers. We have the best friends and family. We feel truly blessed.

Careful, It's Breakable

This post title has more than one meaning for this blog. Firstly, I attended my first glass fusing and slumping class last night. Kimmie and Jordan are going with me and we had a blast. I can't wait to go back next week and see how my first project fired. We have really turned this into a hobby. We have been making all sorts of stuff. I will post pics as we get them done.

The second part of this post is poor Jake. Over the weekend he started having pain in his right side right where his appendix scar is. Then on Sunday it began to bulge. By yesterday it was a huge bulge and he was in terrible pain. He went to see the doctor who became very concerned. X-rays showed fluid built up that should not be there. Our family doctor said it is a herniation right where the scar is and has sent him to see a surgeon today. Poor guy, he has been joking about falling apart now that he has turned 30. I will keep you all posted on how his appointment goes with the surgeon.

Whatever you do for the least of my people

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. I have talked before about my pastor and his wife adopting from Uganda. My pastor's wife has shared some blogs she has found that shows the plight of children in Uganda. This led me to do my own research and what I have found has both saddened and inspired me.

One of the things that I have realized is how much we as Americans take for granted. One of the blogs I read about an "orphanage" showed the the children there get one milk carton, and one bowl of watery gruel to eat and drink for the whole day. That is it. I ate more than that for breakfast. I realize that not every orphanage is like this, but a lot are. I realize that there are children that have no clothing or shoes, or only one set of clothing. I have felt guilty because since I have gotten laid off, I only buy clothing if it is on sale, or at garage sales, or on clearance. Now my children always looks nice and have dressers and closets full of clothes, but yet I feel guilty because there is not a little tiny logo sewn on the front that means you pay three times as much. What is wrong with that picture?

Recently Jamie has been asking for a Nintendo DS. He is a very caring kid, so I am just using this incidence as an example. He has three different gameboys, an X-Box, A Nintendo 64, A NES, A Wii, and a Sega genesis. These are older systems though, and he wants the newer system. There is no harm in wanting something I suppose. In addition to that in my house alone there are 5 televisions, 4 DVD players, 3 VCR's, two computers, and three of the TV's have cable. Now my televisions are not the new flat screens or HD or anything, but still, everyone has the luxury to watch what they want when they want to. Jamie has two bikes, a scooter, and 2 skateboards. Lind has about 100 barbies, a bike, a scooter, a dollhouse, and numerous dolls and dress up clothes. It doesn't matter that some of this stuff was not new when I bought it, the point is that they have it.

Jake and I live in a house that has four bedrooms, 2 vehicles, a new roof, new gutters, heat, electricity, and air conditioning. We are being blessed with an even bigger house with more room. What is the point of all of this? The point is that I have realized that my family has so much and has taken for granted that fact. While we have always tried to help people, I think we have done it the easy way. We mostly help family, or friends, or charities. It is easy to give of your stuff and your money. What about giving of yourself?

I have decided that my kids need to learn about the plight of others. I am starting a new trend that I am hoping will revolutionize my family. I am hoping to teach my children not only gratefulness for what we have, but a compassion and a willingness to help others. I have begun by showing them some of the pictures of the orphanages I referenced above. I am also looking into volunteer opportunities this summer for us as a family to work at. We are also beginning to pray everyday for others. When we move into the new house, we will thank God for his blessings, but also remember to pray for others less fortunate. I have already begun to fruit from this. My mother goes on a mission trip every summer. When I was packing, I found a whole bag of McDonald's toys that had never been opened. Someone had given it to me and I had put it in the closet and forgot about it. I gave it to Jamie and Linda to have. My mother saw it and made the comment that the kids in Muldova would love to have something like that. They have so little toys. Jamie and Linda made the decision on their own to give the toys to my mom to take on her mission trip. I am so proud of the work God has done in their hearts and I only hope to continue it. Please pray for me as I make this journey of leading myself and my children to be more mission minded.

House Update

We got the appraisal back on the new house (new to us house). So next week we should be able to sign the contract. After that we will just need to wait for the remodeling to be done. The new counters, tile, carpet, cabinet doors, and fixtures are in. Painting is started and wall paper is done. They are going to do some regrading on the window wells outside. After that is should be ready. We have painted the shed, done some packing, and majorly redone our yard. I love craigslist because if you put it on there for free, they will come. We are so excited about this move. More than one bathroom...yippee! As soon as we sign a contract I will post a picture on here.

More Pictures

I am not able to post captions right now, it makes the pictures not upload. So here are a ton of pictures, I guess you will have to use your imagination for the captions. =)

Birthday Blitz

Jake and I both have birthdays this month. Mine was last week and Jake's big birthday is this week. He moves into a new decade. My mother was here for the first time in years for my birthday. It was a fluke, my grandmother is in the hospital, but you take what you can get. I spent the day with Kimmie and then had dinner with my family and a Scentsy party with friends from church. Jake got me the best present. The week before Kimmie and I had gone to Kechi to a glass art place. I was so impressed by the are I saw. I told Jake how cool it would be to do that. So for my birthday he got me classes for Glass Fusing and Slumping. I am so excited, Kimmie will be going with me. I really hope to maybe find my niche.

I planned a surprise party for Jake last Saturday. Friends and family met us for dinner and then a show. It was a blast. I had ordered an 8 lb. gummy bear. Yes, an 8 lb. gummy bear. It is listed as The World's Biggest Gummy Bear. We arranged the gummy bear on a platter with cupcakes around them. On the cupcakes we placed gummy worms and smaller gummy bears all around. It was hilarious. The comedians at the show brought it up on stage to talk about it. Here is a picture of Jake and his "cake". It was a great day.

Easter

Sorry for the delay in posting. It has been crazy busy around here. I still have more pictures from spring break to post, I will try to get to those soon. Right now it is just a quick update. Easter weekend was wonderful. Friday night was a Tennebrae (shadow) service at our church. It was very powerful and moving. Saturday we worked on project around the house. We are still trying to get it ready to sell in the event everything goes through with the new house. Jake and I power washed 2 sides of the house. We took turns spraying, and then scrubbing the house with a mop. It is so white now. it looks wonderful. Jake trimmed bushes and I got part of the shed painted. Jamie and Linda made a friend on a street over and she came over to play. When her parents came to pick her up I found out I graduated high school with her dad. It is a small world. We still have more work to do, but it is coming along. Sunday I was at church for three services to sing in the choir. God was moving on Sunday with 10 people being baptized. The worship was amazing. Jake and the kiddos came for the middle service. The kids looked so cute. The girls had matching black and white dressed with pink sweater wraps over it. The boys had matching black and white polos. This upcoming weekend we are getting our pictures taken professionally and the outfits will look very cute in those. After church we opened easter baskets. The kids got both Alvin and the Chipmunk movies, wooden blocks, candy, and smaller items. We had lunch and then everyone fell asleep for awhile. Jake and I made a big ham for dinner. Mike came over for dinner with easter baskets for the kids as well. There were balls for the babies, a motorcycle for Jamie and an artist kit for Linda. We ate ourselves silly and then had cherry pie for dessert. Jamie ate 7 pieces of ham, 3 rolls, 3 helpings of green bean casserole, a big bowl of salad, 2 cookies, and pie. Where does he put it? We had a 7 lb. ham so there is a ton of leftovers. Jake's aunt was in from out of town so the kiddos even got to visit her. She has been gone for several months. Overall it was a great weekend, I couldn't ask for any better.