Remembering and Missing Dad on His Birthday

O Teach Me What It Meaneth

Happy Birthday, Dad! Remembering you today and missing you! We know that the celebrations in Heaven are so much better than we could ever imagine

This is a hymn that Dad asked me to find the words to. I think the words might have been found for him before, but I had never been able to find them. Well, I happened upon them the other day while searching for something else. It is sung to the tune of "The Sands of Time Are Sinking", another old hymn. Dad loved the old hymns. Mostly because they had so much to say, and I'm sure he felt that he had so much to learn.
My generation has mostly adopted contemporary music. But, just read this poetry and dwell on the deep, rich meaning. I love the second verse! If I was the only sinner, Christ still would have died for me.

Injury!

Yesterday, Alana was jumping on the trampoline during a break from her schoolwork. She came in limping and saying that she had landed on it funny. I looked at it, made lunch, and sent her to work on her math. She complained briefly about not wanting to do math while her ankle hurt, but being the suspicious mom that I am, figured that she just didn't want to do her work. She finished up all her schoolwork and then went back out to play. I said to myself, " I guess, I was right and that ankle isn't really hurt since she is playing again." Later, she came in limping again and sat in the recliner. She whimpered a little and said that it hurt more now. I reached down and pulled off her sock and was surprised by what I saw...a blueish, swollen ankle! I called Terry who came home to take a look. He was a coach and has seen many injuries. He wrapped it and put ice on it, and she was all set. I'm so glad he was there or I would have run her straight up to the emergency room. And all I could think was, "and I made the poor, little thing do math!"

Mother's Day

We took my Mom out to eat this year on the actual Mother's Day. Terry surprised me by ordering jewelry for me and having it delivered to Sears. He gave it to me on Sunday morning so that I could wear it to church. Sundays are so busy for us that Terry decided to do something for me on Monday. Breakfast in bed and homemade cards from some sweet kiddos. Is there anything better?

Celebrating

Life moves forward. We celebrated, amidst tears, my Dad's life and homegoing. We celebrated our whole family being together again for the first time in I don't know how many years. Only days later we celebrated, with fun and laughter, our miracle, Alana Marie. Born a healthy 9 pounds and 8 ounces, no one suspected that she had a birth defect that would cause her to have to fight for her little life. Alana spent two weeks in the NICU with friends and family across the country praying for her. While staring down in shock at all the tubes coming out of our precious baby, doctors told us of the many, many problems that she could potentially have. So far, she has had very few problems, and we feel overwhelmingly blessed when we compare her health to that of others born with the same thing. Alana asked Jesus to forgive her of her sin when she was 7. Her Sunday school teacher, who just happened to be her Grandma, had been teaching about salvation for several weeks. Her big brother, having heard his Dad speak on Revelation, had been worried that she would be left behind when the rapture occurred. So he had been sharing with her about how to be saved. One night after our family time, she climbed up in my lap and said, "Mama, I want to ask Jesus to save me. Can you help me?" She is now a healthy,fun, loving, sweet nine year old as of April 18th. We can hardly believe that she is so big so soon. Here are some pics of her birthday. She and her friends Reilly, Julianna, and Melodie, along with her brother and sis, had a blast at a quickly put together Build a Bear party.

We love you, Alana Marie!

The cake that Mikayla and Alana decorated.

Cake at home
The birthday girl. She was glad they didn't give her a crown.

Finished!

Ice cream at Dairy Queen On our way home. See our new animals?

Games at Build a Bear

Nathanael enjoyed the party, too, even if he was the only boy.

Don't let her fool you...she had a blast and loved doing the bear just as much as the little kids.