Happy Halloween

This Week's Verse: Micah 7:8

Official Nine Month Photo

This month's photo was taken in person earlier this month when we visited KC with JD, Janel, and Blizzard. I'm so thrilled when I get to be with him, and having the opportunity for our monthly photo is very special for me!

He's just about ready to walk. He stands up on everything and lets go for a few seconds. He has a very cheery personality and is quick with a smile or a laugh. When he saw us in KC he recognized us which was a thrill!

We love you, Blizzard!

This Week's Verse: Psalm 29:11

This Week's Verse: 1 John 5:11

See What I Found... J's!

In August I posted a request to my children to please not name any more of their kids with "J" names. Scrabble games only come with one "J" and I'm really into making Scrabble crafts right now.

Well, that was then and this is now.

We were in KC last weekend and went to an event down at the West Bottoms. At one of the shops they were selling individual Scrabble tiles for 25 cents each.

You guessed it... I bought J's!

Eight of them in fact. I was so thrilled.

So now, if someone in my family has another "J" baby, I'm prepared!

This Week's Verse: Matthew 6:34

Happy 85th, Dad!

We celebrated my dad's 85th birthday this past weekend. When I approached him with the idea of a special party he requested only family and one family of friends. Since he was the birthday boy he got his wish!

Dad doesn't particularly like cake and he definitely doesn't like frosting, so we had birthday pies instead. Our menu also included a slider bar, which was very popular.

Happy Birthday, Dad... we love you!

He loved his gift...

... and the photo of his birthday banner

Me, Dan, Mom, Dad, Kelly (sil), Mark (brother)

Janel, JD, Zach, Jessica, Mom, Dad, Katie, Gabe

Matt, Shelby

The Martins' with Mom and Dad

The birthday banner

Thanks for Your Prayers...

Storm was released from the hospital late Monday afternoon. Since he's been home, he's gotten his appetite back and is moving around quite well. Thank you for the prayer support you gave us during this time!

As you can see from this photo, Mom and Dad are relieved and Snow and Storm are only interested in watching Netflix. Thankful that their lives are getting back to normal!

Official Eight Month Photo

I'm very late on posting the eight month photo because I waited for Blizzard to come visit me last week so I could use a "live" photo this month. JD, Janel and Blizzard flew in for my Dad's 85th Birthday party. It was his first visit to Grammy's house. It was a thrill for me to have him here! He's crawling all over the place, pulling himself up on the furniture, and taking tentative steps at cruising the furniture. 

He enjoyed all the attention from his cousins and the rest of the family. The dogs loved him and he seemed to love them, too. They'll be coming back for Thanksgiving and I can't wait!

Storm

Prayers appreciated for Storm. He got sick a week ago Thursday and after being sick off and on for 2 days went to the Dr. last Saturday. She immediately sent them to the ER at Phx Children's Hosp. It turns out that he was suffering from Intussusception caused by a Meckel's Diverticulum (feel free to look up on Google, too much to to explain) and had a very small portion of his bowel removed and since they were in the neighborhood they did an appendectomy too.

He is still in the hospital, this is Day Ten. We did not expect this long of a stay. If you're inclined to pray, I appreciate prayers for him to recover fully and swiftly. This is really rough on a three-year-old... and his parents!

Snow is staying with us while Storm is hospitalized. Fortunately, her routine includes going to school every day which we are sticking to. She has done quite well with us, but I know she's wondering what happened to her family, her room, and her toys.

Our thanks to Phoenix Children's Hospital and the caregivers we've encountered. It is an awesome place. We will be forever appreciative!

This Week's Verse: Romans 8:31