years are short

we think it is here... we have had 4 bouncing babies and now we have no "babies" anymore, but praying that he has more in the future  :)    ..... for the past 3 or 4 nights Andrew has not had an accident at night!... he has been going in the morning... I am thankful that he is getting so big to do these things on his own.. and I am little sad because it means the time is going sooooo fast.... I will embrace all these days with each one of the kiddos because it flies by! I always say the days at times are long but the years are short!... could not be a truer statement!!!!!

Happy to report...

Got the last call today... all Lymes test came back negative... so thankful to have this behind us and moving forward :)  ... what did we learn during this time...


1. God is sovereign (we knew this anyway)
2. Patience is good
3. our hope lies in NO test (only Jesus!)
4. this may have lead us to maybe the "real" cause... again time will tell
5. our "little" problems are nothing in comparison to others


I am so thankful for God and Him taking care of our family!


as I wrote this blog, I started thinking why do I keep up this blog and the happenings of our family.... my simple answer is .... God is molding me and shaping  me and our family into His image and I want to have it down, so when I look back I can see His hand in our lives..... He is faithful!.. I am Thankful!!!

could this just be our ANSWER???

I, for, years since Caleb was about 3 months or so thought that he was allergic to something...  He stayed sick so much as a little one, I mean, I would carry a box of tissues where ever we went because you know what is coming next.... snot.... I mean ALOT!!!! ask his preschool teachers :)  we did everything from taking out the tonsils to adenoids to tubes in his ears...... and UGH it just never worked... we had blood work done when he was small, we had allergy test run, we went to COUNTLESS numbers of Dr's trying to find out what was wrong with our Kiddo!.. we were exhausted to say the least, when he was 5 his Asthma  flared up pretty bad, between hospital stays and meds, exhaustion, breathing machines ... we made it through!!!

we had about 4 years where things seemed to improve, we had pretty much changed our diets, less time eating out, and changing to whole wheat everything....

I have already wrote a post about Caleb and our happenings over the past 6 month... (go back and read if you would like) though a turn of events (after having the worst week ever on the 2nd week of his antibiotics) I decided to take it into my own hands...

to make a long story short, we have taken Gluten out of his diet!  I am finding out by many and my research that this can really only be detected  through a saliva test...He has so many signs of this..... soooooo we started last Thursday and we have seen improvement... he once could not even jump on the trampoline for fear his joints would hurt or swell, I am happy to report since Saturday he has jumped on the trampoline EVERY day.. we have has NO issues.....  is this our answer????

only time will tell!

and they lack NOTHING!!!!

a few weeks back I blogged about "our 7 experiment"....

 

7 things each day for 7 days that we would get rid of and give to charity...

 

well, the update is WE DID IT!!!! 

 

and they lack nothing!...

 

we got rid of almost 300 items ...

This was day 5 so by the end of the seven days it was 2 HUGE (industrial strength) black bags... sorry no picture, did not have the camera ready...

So what did this teach us??

1. its not ours anyway all things belong to God
2.did not want to feel like we were giving away junk, but did not want to feel bad about giving worn stuff either because people could really use it
3. day 7 was harder..... not as much to choose from
4. this "stuff" consumes us at times
5. we have plenty of things, so we ALL lack NOTHING!!!!!

I challenge everyone to do this.....

when things just don't move ....

for many months now our hearts have been stirred for adoption.... many friends have started, finished, in process etc in the adoption process... as we have encouraged, loved, prayed, wept with them on the needs that face us.. I often say "why" God.... Doug and I have this life of speed............... Why do you have us waiting,... I'm OK with the waiting BUT its hard... What are you showing us.. (my question mark on this computer does not work) LOL!... I always want to rest in HIM! I do not want to try to move ahead of God, I do not want to move if He wants us to be still, and I would never want to manipulate what God may have planned for us!... a few months we have looked at each other and came to the realization that we are in the "waiting" process... again I am OK with that! I know that in the waiting process that we can't just sit back and wait and do NOTHING.... I think of this John Waller song.... PLEASE take a minute to listen


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb7TSGptd3Y


we will wait BUT there is STILL work to be done.... we have a home, love, restoration, commitment, food, water, fun, and JESUS..... this is the opportunity for us to plant seeds not only to these Children but their parents... what a BEAUTIFUL sight......           BEING THE HANDS AND FEET of JESUS!
I do not want to run my race in vain, I want to make a difference, I want to be love, I want to please God in all!...

All this to say is Doug and I are taking classes to Foster children in our home, love them maybe like they have never known, meet needs both physically and emotionally... who knows .... this could be what God has for us!... I press on!... I run the race!

one down, two to go....

we have had so many people ask how our family is doing.. answer is GREAT!!!... we do not want the circumstances in our lives to mold and shape us.. we want ALMIGHTY God to do that!.. although we try to live as biblical as we can BUT we fall short, we worry at times, question, doubt, and just plain get discouraged. we live in this flesh (oh, by the way, I do not like !) I want to be able to say that I am living in the spirit all the time, every second of the day BUT I can't..

It has been a trying 6 months not understanding what has been going on with Caleb .... BUT as I think about this I actually feel sooooo guilty!... seeing other children who are fighting for their life, taking a crazy amount of meds and children who are not even able to be kids because of their sickness!... I have repented!.. I know I have been selfish!!! 

we got the results for Doug yesterday and he is negative...  we continue to wait for Alexis and myself..

I want to think of my Savior more, others more, think of my neighbors more, think of everyone more than I think of myself :) 

and the waiting will begin AGAIN....

as my last post a few days ago we revealed that we finally had answers for Caleb, Lymes Disease, so as the mommy part of me I have done LOTS and maybe to a fault of research on this... most of my findings have shown that more than one family member has it!... I know isn't that CRAZY!!!!... so I have been praying and Doug has been as well on whether to have the other kiddos tested... well today I took Andrew to the Dr.  because he was complaining of his ear hurting and YES he has a double ear infection so Antibiotics it is and numbing drops.. now I am NOT a fan of medicine but at this point I must relax, use tons of probiotics, and just let go of my hate for them!... so hopefully he will be better soon! He did give him the same antibiotic that Lymes disease is treated with so we do not have to do a blood test on him... Dr Coker today of course ask about Caleb and the more we talked he decided we should test Alexis...
back in late August early September she was sooooo sick... fever for days, extreme fatigue, and just feeling crummy.. we visited the Dr. office a lot, talked to the PA Lauren sooooo much and even visited the ER... she has a rash in late October which we thought was poison oak (which it might have been) but it appeared mysteriously about a month ago.. weird!!!  so he thought it be best to do that!... I am going to the Dr on Friday for yearly stuff but I am going to request I be tested to as I have had a rash and just some other things as well... oh and Doug will be tested too, he has had some wrist issues and some fatigue... well he does run 90 to nothing .....  so we are in a waiting time... trusting in the Lord and His sovereignty... we would also like to pray for our neighbor... her daughter is having some of the SAME issues as Caleb.. we pray that the Lord would give them answers and that she could quickly heal!!!

We covet your prayers, not one is wasted on our family!.. we rest in HIM, not in a test result, but in HIM.. he is our refuge in time of trouble... He says we will endure suffering, may we run to it and HOPE in HIM.... Jesus you are our strength and I am thankful for the peace you give us!

and the house needed a little attention!

well today was a great day only minimal yelling... oh have I ever confessed that I HATE being a yeller!... I am a work in progress and realize that in my own strength I CAN'T do it!  only through Him am I able to not do this... well this post is not about yelling..... maybe later.... maybe..... well just pray for me!...

One of the things that has been on my heart for a LONG time is to have a home where you feel like you belong, can put up your feet, have some coffee, relax, and just feel like you are welcomed! well I have struggle for years now about our home... was it to nice? was it too expensive? did it send off a signal that we were better than anyone? so many weird questions I would ask... should we put it on the market? could we be better stewards of the Lords money? well after attempting to sell about 3 years ago and no luck we contemplated it about a year ago but then God had us in a quiet place, I mean quiet... we want to adopt but God again showed us to be still!.. so we have been...  little things are happening but not at the pace we normally go... 90 to nothing!.. I am good with it... slow down, enjoy the moment.... oh how they fly!... 

well back to our home needing a little attention... Tonight as the ladies that I meet with on Monday nights to do bible study with came in an my house was a little messy. Clothes in the chair, kiddos running a little wild, mini apple pies in the oven (oh BTW they were YUMMY), toys strewn, naked Andrew running after the bath... just a little chaotic, then I said I am so sorry... pick up stuff and then sat down, as I was talking it made me think and say... I had drop in company today... I had Lindsey drop in and it was so nice to catch up, talk of eternal things, prayed together and it was such a SWEET time.. I just love her and her heart and the many peoples lives she touches...then a little later  I also had my sister and niece come over for a short time today, this was their first day homeschooling and it was nice to talk about that and to hear the excitement that she has and knowing that she is right where the Lord wants her!  then some more eternal things were talked about....And then tonight sitting on the bed with Jenna and Jamie studying the word and looking at an awesome book with the chapter on creation tonight... incredible!   

so after they left and I was fixing dinner I started thinking and praising God that our home is open, hopefully welcoming, loving, relaxing and things of the Lord are spoke of!... I am rejoicing that the Lord allows me, a sinner, to be a part of Him... His hands, His feet....

Sunday Nights at the Lawrences

Sunday nights have become one of my favorite times to be at home... about a year and a half or so ago we had family bible study time because our church had decided to have no Sunday evening services and encouraged us to have it in our homes.. so we did... we LOVED it!... well about 5 months ago we started back with Sunday nights and with Doug being a deacon we felt like we needed to support the church .... but we just MISSED it!... well through a turn of events we  no longer have Sunday nights now so for about a 2 months we have started back our "FAMILY WORSHIP TIME".... there is NOTHING sweeter than 11 children piled in the living room floor with bibles open and reading from Gods word... well you know you have to prepare your hearts for Gods word so , yes, we have an opening song... no piano, no band, no drums, nothing but the voices that the Lord gave us!.. it is SWEET time!... tonight we looked at some of every ones favorite bible verses.. and then of course you can't have fellowship with out food... so pancakes it was!.. I am BLESSED each week with this.. I know this must have been what the "church" looked like in the book of Acts!.. so thankful and my cup runneth over!

Glad we FINALLY know!...

oh these past 5 months have been a challenge.. both physically and emotionally... I get tired, real tired, 4 kiddos that are full of life and have lots of fun, BUT oh so exhausting!... and on top of that we have had EVERY sickness that you could imagine... well you know what comes with that ..... no sleep!... oh I already wrote a blog on my sinfulness of being grumpy when I am tired :) 

well all the other children seemed to be getting better and up and about but Caleb seemed to be staying sick and not getting better he was getting worse... I took him to the dr 3 times from September to last week...The doctor finally decide to do intensive blood work and see what might be causing the sore joints, swelling joints, fatigue, crying pain, mysterious rashes, and just plain not feeling good, of course I had done my own research.. oh by the way .... you get the begeses scared out of you !!! so I stopped... I had really got to the point that I was telling him to work through the pain, drink water, and just lay on the couch... but God kept telling me that there was more and I am thankful I acted!... we got all the blood work done last Wednesday and by Friday morning we had all but 2 results... everything looked great on the 1st set, so we waiting for the rocky mountain spotted fever and lymes disease.... so this morning we got our answers.. he has Lymes.. he will take antibiotics for 14 days (strong dose)... I am grateful that there is medicine for this and that he will be feeling better soon!... I admit that my mind was all over the place... but I know that God is in control and I rest in that...                               

Is he not adorable!!!

And he is a GREAT big brother!!!!

religion or relationship??

yesterday I was SSSSOOOOOO blessed to take Laura out to lunch and just hang out.. I mean I am old she is young but God has had her bless me over 5 years.. I have seen her grow in the Lord and I am thankful for what he has done, she has grown so much in the Lord and us being able to talk about eternal things !!!
.... as we were out yesterday we went in Barnes and Noble and we were looking.. I was looking for sign language cards because Andrew LOVES his and knows them already so I thought I would get him more, so as we were looking a young man walks up and I saw he worked there and I ask him about these cards, he took me to the section but before we headed that way I noticed his name... it was Andrew!... I always love running into people with the name Andrew because it is a great time for me to ask if they know about his name in the scriptures, well this time was no different... I ask............  and he had no idea :(  then he proceeded to tell us he is not and his parents were not really into religion.. my heart sank.... I have heard this many times and it makes me sad...

Jesus wants a PERSONAL relationship with you!... its not a religion... as a matter of fact Jesus always was speaking against the religious people... its not a box of items that we check off
It is a face to face meeting with God himself....

so if you know me well then you know what happened next..........  I was able to share with him Andrew in the scriptures , he did not seem interested but I know that a seed was planted ....  I pray it fell on good soil!  I ask we pray for Andrew and his family...

I am always telling the kiddos that we need to be intentional about seeing situations that we can share the scriptures with someone... you never know what seed will come to bear....

our "7" experiment

No, I have not read the book but I have seen an article in the magazine that I get from church... its called Homelife and it really has some great articles in it, but this one caught my attention! (7 ways to declutter your life to focus on God).. I am saddened and tired of all the clutter... in my heart and my home, but we are talking about the house right now.... I know I know some might say that I just got a new washer and dryer, believe me this has gone through my mind but I will be thankful for the blessing of my husband and it will serve great proposes for our family.. hopefully growing family!

again this blog is about our "7" experiment... we (all of us, including Andrew) will be giving away 7 things per day for 7 days ... so 49 things per person ... almost 300 things will be given away and given to charity... I am excited.. it kinda makes me wanna read the book but Doug might say no to only 7 foods so we will start with this...

I will update on our progress... we start on Monday the 7th

Time is flying like usual...

I have finally had time to sit at the thing.. oh this computer and write some of my happenings..
well now it is quiet and I have time to think :)  I have read friends blogs and got a little jealous that their happenings and them actually writing them down.. but jealousy is a sin so I repent.... tonight has been a great night.. Doug and I started watching the live stream of Passion 2013... well I finished and am listening to Francis Chan (notice Doug is not mentioned.. he is soooooo tired) ..We had a very busy month of  December:


Deacons Christmas party
Christmas musical... we missed .... stomach virus :(
Christmas caroling ... got rejected 2 times
Caleb blood work
Christmas with mom, dad, and family
Family time
burning the old swing set
Ladies tea
took goodies to Doug's work
Christmas caroling at the Martinez house

so thankful we made it, we have been so blessed by God and truly thankful for his protection and hand in our lives this past year!

may I be in awe of Him and His presence each day of 2013