Noah Michael Turns 4

Noah and his new owl suit from the thrift store

A racecar track from Dadat & The Logging Station from

Nana & Poppy. Just look at that smile :)

Happy 4th Birthday to my sweet boy Noah. My first born. The one who makes us laugh. My tender hearted boy who loves to pray for others. My son who was born with a song in his heart and sings it constantly. We love you Noah Michael. You are so precious to us and we are so proud of the little boy you already are.

BECAUSE HE LIVES.....

It has been a while since I've posted on the blog. I apologize but it has been a bit of a tough week. This week, on the same day, I heard that my Aunt who has been battling terminal breast cancer, found out that her cancer has spread to her bones & that our worship leader, Mr. Carson had some type of seizure that was related to his brain cancer and has lost some function (you can read his journey under "friends" on the sidebar). CANCER. A word that I have come to despise. I'll be honest. I've asked God "why" a million times. It is no coincidence that our church theme this year is "Perservering to the End in 2010...... with JOY". Cancer isn't very joyful. It's painful and hard to watch some of my heroes struggle with their bodies. However, I'd like to share how the Lord blessed me through these two wonderful people. Saturday I was able to spend an afternoon with my Aunt. She has always had a vibrant, funny personality and that hasn't changed. She is able to laugh about some of the things her cancer is doing to her body. She is amazing.

Sunday, I had to watch our worship leader make the very hard decision that he just couldn't play the piano that day. The seizure had robbed him of a majority of his vision and it was just too much. I will be honest. It was one of the hardest things I've ever watched. His body wanted to play but it just couldn't. I was so upset. "Why God!!" He has always used this amazing gift to worship you!!" Why take it from him?""

Well, let me tell you what the Lord showed me......... While we were singing, I was able to watch this man worship. While we were singing, the Lord showed me a different way he was going to have him worship.. With his hands raised to heaven. Mr. Carson had never been able to lift his hands in our worship service before because he had always been worshiping with his hands by playing the piano. God didn't TAKE anything from him. He just changed it up a bit. That man of God who has been through so much in just 6 short months STILL singing praises to our God with his hands raised is not a picture I will ever forget.

I'll leave you with a song that has been my comfort in times such as these.....

Because He lives,I can face tomorrow.

Because He lives, all fear is gone.

Because I know, who holds the future.

And life is worth the living, just because He lives!

LAUREL TURNS 3!!

We celebrated in the morning with cupcakes with her preschool therapy class. Then they all got to go outside and see the really cool firetrucks!

She definately felt like a princess!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET GIRL!! LAUREL TURNED 3 TODAY. We started out the morning going to her FINAL Developmental Therapy that she has in a preschool once a week. They were so nice to let me bring in cupcakes for all the kids. After the cupcakes, the firetruck showed up for all the kids to look at. Noah was in heaven! That evening we had Grandparents over for cake and icecream. Laurel felt and looked like a princess. She got her first Barbie (from her therapist), a doll house, a new Max & Ruby movie, a stuffed horse, puzzles and a Dorothy from Wizard of Oz outfit (she LOVES that movie). She had a great night but had no nap and it eventually wore on her. She was a wreck by 8pm and we had to quickly stuff her in the bed with her new toys! I can't believe my baby girl is getting so tall. Her 3 year checkup and shots are on Thursday so I'll be able to see how much she has actully grown in a year.

On another happy note..... If you remember my post about Yulia from ReecesRainbow.org who needed a home then I have great news. Sweet Yulia has a home. In just 5 days, an advocate for her raised $20,000 and prayed for a family for her. Well, God answered YES and her family is working very hard to get her quickly due to her health conditions. You can follow the journey under my "friends" -- Hailee & Harper's blog.

Natural Bridge, VA

I think this is Rach & John but I'm not sure

No, it's not Stonehenge but it's FOAMHENGE. How cool is that!

Believe it or not, Noah wasn't scared of this bear

Right before we went down into the cavern. Can you tell Noah was excited in his

Davey Crockett hat??

Lots of hiking and beautiful trails

Here is one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the world...... Natural Bridge

The babies with Granny & Grandaddy

Feeding the fish & Water watching

Storytelling with Grandaddy

We saw this sign on our way home. Anyone have any idea what it means? It made us laugh!

This past weekend we took a trip to Natural Bridge, VA. My parents used to take us there when we were little and it is truly one of my favorite places. It seemed so strange bringing my kids there all these years later. If you haven't ever been I HIGHLY recommend it. It has Caverns, a really cool Wax Museum, Hiking, the Bridge, good food, and a beautiful evening drama/light show of the Days of Creation . We also visited Virginia Military Institute & Lee Chapel in Lexington. I wasn't sure how Noah would do with the Caverns b/c he hates dark, closed in places but he had a blast! By Day 2 of Creation in the Drama however he was sound asleep. Oh and the Foamhenge is so funny. It looks just like Stonehenge but it is completely made out of tightly packed foam. We had a wonderful time and made lots of memories! A must see for every family. God's creation never ceases to amaze me.