Why we haven't posted...

I can't believe it is March already! With March brings Easter break and behind Easter break will be the end of school before we know it.

I haven't written in a long time. I'm sorry for that. But I wonder as to what to write, and then wonder if anyone even reads this?

We have had a full couple of months. We celebrate and mourn the loss of my mother-in-law. It holds true that you don't know how much someone means to you until they are gone. Even though her death was January 5th we continue to miss her, and continue to deal with this great loss. With our girls it has been the hardest. They were so close to their grandma, and loved her greatly. Every now and then anger takes hold of the household, and we have had several "unloving" moments, and as we draw out what is taking root in the girl's hearts we find the pain of their loss as well as fear of death grabbing hold. Duane and I cry with them, and help them through this the best we know how, but we will be seeking professional help to help us with the girls. My heart aches for our girls. We all look forward to Grandpa coming in 1 1/2 weeks. However I always enjoyed the times Grandma and I could talk, while Duane and Grandpa shared amongst themselves, so I think it will be a hard visit for the girls and I too.

Oh, we miss you Grandma!

Funny story that turned our lives upside down -

Our timid cat (Tigger) was playing in a grocery plastic bag. The handle of the bag got caught around Tigger's body, and where ever the cat went so did the bag. Thus our timid cat became our scaredy cat! She took off through the house, constantly trying to outrun the bag. The cat was hitting the walls, and attacking the furniture. I yelled that we had to catch the cat and rescue it from it's fear that literally gripped the cat. Lindsay caught the cat, but because it was so scared the cat bit down on Lindsay's hand - and bit hard.

Knowing we should take all bites seriously we took Lindsay to the doctor where they cleaned the wound and put her on anti-biotics as a precaution. We came home laughing about the incident.

The next day at school Lindsay's hand ached even more and when I picked her up her hand had quadrupled in size. After a quick call to the doctor, we were directed to go to the emergency room. Lindsay received an IV of anti-biotics, stronger anti-biotics for at home, a soft cast and we watched her the rest of the week and continued to wonder with the doctors if surgery was necessary. We rejoiced with Lindsay when the week came to an end with no surgery, and rejoiced again when our cat was officially off "quarantine" a week later.

FACEPLANT -

Lindsay loves junior high at our church. Loves it! Lindsay is also aware that because we have endured a lot of extra expenses this year, money wasn't really available for extra things. So with her sensitivity she didn't hassle us to attend "the event" of the year...the ski trip/retreat the junior high take each year. Being that Lindsay is in 8th grade, this would be her last opportunity with the junior high. Lindsay was surprised and extremely delighted when Daddy signed her up.

We had explained to her parent lecture #3 - Responsibility and #2 - Respect. We cautioned her to use common sense - to bundle up from the cold, wash hands and such to prevent any sort of illness for she couldn't afford to miss any more days of school (she had missed days of school because of Grandma's death and the cat bit incident. Colorado has a law that you can not miss more than 15 days in a semester, and our school brought it down to 12 days. She only had a few left which we wanted to hold onto for we never know what illness will run through the school before the last day.) Duane told Lindsay she was not to take her bathing suit (for the junior highers like to run through the snow and head to the hot tub -which I've heard is more of a science experiment because of all the mold and filth that is growing in it) Not taking her bathing suit would eliminate any temptation of making the wrong choice and again, we wanted to encourage her to do what she could to prevent any reason to miss school - thus showing respect. This was also the first adventure Lindsay went on without the help of her parents on the trip. I was letting my baby go, but knew God was her ultimate parent. We sent Lindsay with our "have fun" wishes, vitamins and "please use some common sense".

Lindsay returned home with a concussion. On that last run down the slope, she went a bit too fast on her snowboard and had a stumble down the hill and fell head over heals. I am so thankful and so proud she made the choice to use a helment! She missed more days of school and is now finishing making work up. Thanks to acupuncture and chiropractic care Lindsay is on the mends. I am thankful that God continued to watch out for her, and continues to.

So I hope you all understand the lake of posting! :)

Many of you have asked where are we with Elijah. We are in the waiting stages. There has been some turmoil in Liberia, which has put some bumps in the road. But we remain confident that our God and Savior is in control. It remains His battle, not ours. However as of last week, we hope to have a court date in the next couple of months - and then our son will be home!