We are finally off!

After much packing....unexpected blunders....and crabbiness....We are off! Love you all and have a good Christmas!

Another Hardship...Another miracle?

The past few days have been pretty tough....Ethan ended up getting really sick on Wednesday. He was complaining of a headache and he ended up throwing up everything we tried to give him. By mid-afternoon he was throwing up every fifteen minutes. We thought maybe it would slow down after awhile, but it kept on going right through the night. By Thursday morning his throwing up had slowed down to about once an hour but he was so tired and worn out that he would sit up sleeping and throwing up. Thursday Afternoon around two I would tell he was getting really dehydrated and I brought him to a small hospital by my house...I figured they would have to give him an I.V. It has happened to my children so many times that I knew he would perk up finally after he got fluids...except he didn't. He got worse and more lethargic. THe doctor was thinking of sending him home and when he walked out of the room I prayed. I asked the Lord if their was any doubt in that doctor's mind he would keep him there and do some more tests. The doctor came back and he asked Ethan a couple more questions to which Ethan responded...uhhh, mmm, and went right back to sleep. The doctor said.." I can't send him home....I need to do another test!" Praise GOD! They did a CT scan of his abdomen because they thought maybe it was appendix and the test showed inconclusive...so Ethan and I had a nice ambulance ride over to Toledo Children's hospital where we got checked in. By that time I couldn't wake Ethan up. If he did open his eyes it was almost as if he didn't know who I was. It really started to scare me. The doctor came in twice to look at him...and he still was unresponsive...this time they did another CT scan of his brain and after that they did a spinal tap. THe test result came back. It was Meningitis. Viral or bacterial they didn't know. Ethan slept for almost two days straight....barely waking up even if they moved him. I left at 2:30am Friday morning exhausted. Adam spent the night with Ethan and I arrived again around 9:00 am. Ethan was still sleeping! Adam left for work and I called people to pray. Around 11:30am one of my friends called me and we prayed. I laid my hands on Ethan and just cried. I didn't know what else to do.....5 minutes after we hung up the phone Ethan woke up and wanted to EAT. He was bright eyed and bushy tailed from that moment on. We played video games, watched T.V. and we had a lot of conversations! I missed that! He never complained of one headache again and ate every meal...and again played video games of course for two days straight! (I think he liked it there too much! :) ) Anyway, the 24 hour test came back and they said it was viral and we could go home! What relief! I know God did something. It was a total 100% turn around. So we just got home tonight. NONE of my other kids are sick! AND wont be in Jesus name! Thanks for all who were praying!

HOLYWEEN 2007

I had a blast this year with the kids...I usually try to make something out of nothing and I did it this year with a couple of things....First off Josiah has been wanting to be a ninja for around 4-5 months now....everytime asking me when Holyween was and such....(by the way holyween is what my church calls their little fall festival w/games and stuff and I like to refer to the Holiday as that anyway.) I told him I'd have to wait and see how much costumes were. Well everything was like 20 bucks and I didn't want to spend that much money so a few days ago we went to goodwill....and I found this ugly black nightgown/bathrobe. ( It reminded me of something my mother wore when I was young!) It was perfect! It even had this red embroidery on it that looked kinda asian...so I cut off the bottom...made a ninja belt, arm and leg ties and a made a ninja mask from the arm cuffs and part of the bottom as well. It turned out so cute. I also went into Joann Fabrics that day and all their stuff was 70 % off! YES! and I got a ninja sword...and a pirate sword, hat, and eye patch for a couple of bucks for Ethan.....and Ellie's precious angel costume for only 5 bucks! Isn't she an ANGEL!
Ethan was the same thing.....I found this white shirt I use to wear and soaked it in coffee to get it to look old...it had these huge flare sleeves and I gathered them up and made ties to make it look like a flared out cuff and cut off the bottom and tattered it...found an old leather vest and used my old red Christmas napkins as his belt! Isn't he cute!!!! And of course there is Spiderman with his cocky little attitude...he is too much of a doll! They are so cute!

Here I am getting into the spirit....
(you probably have no idea who I am! do you?)

Well....let's take a loser look and find out...

All I can say is watch out TBN....here I come!! :)

Hope you all had fun!!!

The Past Month!

Where Have I BEEN! Busy to say the least. My most recent project besides homeschooling my wonderful kids has taken up most of my life lately and I haven't really been on much....I do check in on everyone...but time for me it's not really there any more.

My husband is amazing to say the least and I'm so proud of him for one thing, but this is our life the past month or more....Can anyone say CORNHOLE! I live, eat, sleep, dream about this most wonderful new horseshoes sweeping the nation by storm. And....I am in it.......over my head?....maybe....but it's life now.....maybe always.....

This is my mission now.

I have made over 250-300 of these puppies in the last few weeks! AUGHH!
It's fun..! A little bit...I have another100 to make this week.....hmmmm

My darling husband makes the best boards anywhere!! I am totally serious too! And....for the best price so if you would like a set...we ship them out everywhere and do local pickup....what is weird is California is one of the most popular places and people spend bukoo bucks to get them shipped there.

So back to my life.....right now....while I wait on God....this is my life....GOD first.....husband...kids...work....life......God is in control of this too....

These boards are truly amazing....almost overwhelming we are selling so many...but if this is how God provides so be it!!!!! AMEN!

Please pray for us in this transition time.....I am tired and downright discouraged....God has to be up to something....waiting is hard....and HE has produced a lot of patience in me....very well needed patience....if anyone could leave me some encouraging words and give me some scriptures to hold on to, it would mean a lot to me. Till next time!
JESSICA

The Joys of Homeschooling!

SO....after the first couple of weeks of homeschooling I am still sane! I can't believe how much I am enjoying this and how much I have a peace about it. I didn't take as much time with my children before....I was worried about cleaning and life. This has calmed me down...forced me into a schedule... and given me time with my children which I have loved and needed right now.....My playroom is now turned into a school room vibrant and full of colors and seeping with learning.

My Curriculum came in books...8 to be exact for this year. I spent all hours of the night ripping and tearing out page after page, three hole punching them, and putting them into neat little folders so I can copy them for the next child. It was a lot of work but well worth it. Here is my window sill in the basement...full of curriculum and folders and notebooks....

Here is the desk top where the kids do their homework....

This is my bulletin board...(didI mention I stayed up all hours of the night making this myself!) I was at my brothers house...they didn't have a printer or a computer that really worked so this was the next best thing.

We have a calender....with the days of the week and the months of the year...we have a "days of the week" song and a "months of the year rap" that we do every morning. :)
sight words, color words, letter of the week and other things we work on for the week.....

I have a curriculum set up with
Breakfast/Bible time....lessons...activity/free-time....lunch....EXTRA CURRICULAR (music, art, gym, home-ec.- science experiments), more lesson time.... and re-cap of what we learned that day. It's been a lot of fun and It gets my creative juices flowing....

Well I'm off to plan another adventure and do a science experiment.....WHAT FUN! :)

IM BACK.....BABY!!!!

The kids and I are now back in Toledo for a while, I finally have a computer that works (praise you Jesus), I am back into a routine after a few days, and my house is clean and I get to spend some time on the computer.....I've missed you...................= (

So we have officially had an offer on our house.....maybe this one will work out and we can finally move....I'm not getting my hopes up like the last 5 times someone wanted to buy our house so we will see....please pray for God's perfect timing....

What has been up the last month or so:

1. I have started homeschooling.... Josiah (1st grade) Ethan (kindergarten) and Eliana (Pre-K).
I actually never wanted to homeschool before this but was forced into it this year because of
the situation with moving.....I LOVE IT! I have never had so much fun and to see my children grow and learn has been rewarding!
2. Adam and I have had lots of time apart....you know how they say "absence makes the heart grow fonder" I have missed him so much and have a new appreciation for him.
3. God has been teaching both of us so much through this time...patience for one....but other things too.
4.I had so much fun finally getting to know my other brother Justin again. We haven't been together since high school so seeing him again was amazing and we were able to become friends again.
5. I missed this stinkin' computer SO much! I could barely get online in appleton and really didn't have the time to breathe....so IM BACK BABY!
6. SO.....please message me and tell me how much you missed me.....;)

Appleton, WI

Hello ALL....it has been a long time.....I am currently in Appleton , WI with my brother Justin and his family. The kids and I are staying here right now until our house sells. Adam is currently in Toledo working and keeping up with the house stuff. It is difficult to be away from Him but we all need this break. I needed to get away from Toledo for awhile. I will tell everyone some of the stories we have had with the house...kids....etc when I can get on with some more time! I miss everyone in Toledo....please pray for us..

By the way, my brother's computer does not work very well so I will not be on very much.

Summer Fun

It was starting to get really hot about a month ago...and our old pool had a hole in it so we decided to get the kids a little kiddie pool this year to romp around in. It was so cute and had a little sprinkller attached to it. Here are some pics of the kids playing. (ethan wouldn't get in it until later)

After taking the kids out and getting them showered and dressed we looked around for samuel and we couldn't find him....all of a sudden I look out the back door and this is what I saw!!1 I was horrified at first because I didn't think that he could open the door and then I started laughing and got the camera. He loved it so much he didn't want to get out! He's gonna be my little water baby....

His diaper weighed at least 3 lbs! It was so funny watching him walk back to the house!

So this is our new net for the trampoline.....I hated not having one, especially when neighborhood kids would come and play. The trampoline was left here when we moved in...and then some friends of ours gave us their net. I feel a lot safer now.

One Monday morning Adam's mother, brother and the kids and I headed up to the Zoo! It ended up being a scorcher that day and the kids were all crabby(as you will see by ellie's face in practically every picture) Let's just say I was glad to come home that day....:) Here we are in the car ready to go....

WE rented a wagon...it started off ok...until everybody got thirsty and wanted to go home after 5 minutes.....

I had to take a picture of Adam's cousin...I never thought I'd get to meet him but I did....(just kidding!!)

some birds...I know how boring!

This was Ellie the whole day we were there! *sigh*

Everytime I am at the Zoo I never get to see the elephants...this time I got some good pics and I was actually able to see...(when I wasn't reprimanding my kids) *sigh*

All four with Grandma....

the best part was at the petting zoo when I got to watch samuel chase around the goats (he called them puppies) It was so cute!

I got some bad pics of the gorilla, but I had to tell you about them....there was about 4 or 5 of them and all they did the whole time was pick there noses and eat them. My kids could not stop laughing. It was funny to watch!

Grandma and the kids again...

Uncle Seth and the kids.....

Ellie before we left....it was like this the whole day!


And I just had to share the cute picture of Ethan I got afterwards! I don't capture the moment with him too much....


We have had a great summer so far and now....in a month or so we are going to pack on up and head to the Great Outdoors and move up north! That will be fun when we FINALLY get there. Keep praying for our house to sell...we have 3 interested buyers.....we want the right one for this house!

Our Fourth

We had a wonderful and very relaxing fourth of July this year. It was nice and we got to spend it with some really great friends we have had here. Pastor Ted and Anna Slater are spiritual parents and grandparents to us and our kids ever since we moved to Ohio. They still are the music pastors at our previous church over at Bethel Assembly...but we get together when we can. I love them so much and it will be so hard to move away from great friends we have made here! Anyway...we ate, relaxed, played games, and then we went and enjoyed beautiful fireworks that I could not get any pictures of. Anyway...it was a great time.....

Here is a picture I will cherish always! I love you P.T. and Anna!

This is where I always see Anna....she is an imaculate housekeeper ...but she never stops! ;)
Here are the guys talking and having a good time....P.T., Adam, and his dad...doing what guys like to do....

The kids watched movies and played....it was relaxing....nice for a change sometimes!

Of course...Eliana posing like always...

A great picture of Adam and I!

Brett....he has been with us since he was 12....he's grown into a young man and is headed off for Hillsong in Australia this January! How exciting! Of course his sister Lindsay wouldn't get in any picture....she is great too!

Two peas in a pod......

My sucky firework pic....I took like 10 and I couldn't get it to take at the right time! Oh well!It was an enjoyable day! Like always...and of course I got the beautiful sunset in my photo of the week that day too. It makes up for my awful picture taking over the past few months! ;)

Another open house....

This Saturday and Sunday we will be having another open house. Please pray that God will give this house as a blessing to someone else. I have been very discouraged, but yet I know our mighty God is in control of it all. This past Tuesday Adam and I met with the Eastern Regional Board of Pastor's for Adam's credentialing in the Open Bible. I was so nervous, but meeting with these Godly men was so amazing! The thick presence of God was in that room and the Holy Spirit confirmed to me once again that this is what God wants. (Sometimes you can question when things aren't happening the way that you planned.) I am so excited and I just need to learn to be patient! Anyway...they did put our open house in the right section of the paper this time....and I also made a blog where people could go and look at the pics of our house, and we put that in the paper as well! Check it out...... OUR HOUSE.....love you all!

Could everyone take a minute....

Adam and I would like some prayer. The couple that wanted our house, are not going to be able to buy it. We know that God is in control of this situation and selling this house is no big deal in His mind....so we are just asking if you could pray for the miraculous for us. We are having an open house this Sunday from 1-5pm. and we really feel that God is going to sell it for us. We also put an add in the paper but get this. They messed up and put in in the wrong section of the paper. They put it in South Toledo instead of East Toledo and the are running the add on the wrong days. Just pray that God has his hand on this and it was meant to be a mistake.....so that he will send the right people. Love you all. Also pray for me....I'm very tired....and a little stressed! :)

SO....I decided to go black-raspberry picking....

....in a tank top & sandles.....!!!


So silly old me decided to try my luck at picking black-raspberries for some friends of mine. Their season just started and they pay people to come out and pick for them. I figured since I'd be outside I would like to get a little tan so I wore a tank top...made sure to slather myself with 30 spf sunscreen so I wouldn't burn and wore my flip-flops. Big mistake!!! I think I bent over to pick little prickles out of my toes all day!

I am sometimes not so smart when it comes to some things....and then by the end of the day realized that I slathered myself with sunscreen and forgot the back of my neck which I started to feel stinging by 4:00 pm. I had been out in the sun since 10:30 am so it has gotten quite red and really really hurts! So now....a couple days later I decide to take some pictures.

It looks like I got in a cat-fight!

This is the worst part! Don't you feel terribly sorry for me!
Ouch!

My son Ethan wanted to take a picture of me while I was working with the camera so I decided to let him....I usally don't post picures of myself but it turned out good. Maybe he will be a photgrapher some day!

I can't post pictures.....

Does anyone know why blogger won't post my pictures when I do a new post? I keep trying to put them in with the URL and it's not working! HELP all you smart computer people!

Jess

Pray for Kaleb!

• I've been reading updates regularly on this little boy....his link is on my page! Please say a prayer for him today!

The Great "Instead" War!

Today while reading my friend Melissa's blog about her marshmallow war with her husband, a memory came crashing back to me about our war we had in college. We would pass this ugly "instead cup" around as a joke to eachother. I believe she won the war when she emptied out my closet and hung it on a long piece of tape that said surprise! (....although I do remember after college sending it to her in the mail......i don't remember what happened to it after that? hmmmm.) SO this is for you Melis!

A story.......

Hello there......Let me tell you a story....I do have some pictures that will be exciting! Here is my story about my new phone....our vacation to Pennsylvania....my need for change....and what God is currently doing in our lives.

This is my story.....

This is my new phone! :) (as of March)


I have currently waited over a year for my contract to be up to get this beautiful phone! You can ask just about anyone and they will tell you cell phones don't work in our family. We get one....it gets stolen...milk spilled on....lost....dead....run over....slammed in a car door and countless other ways you can ruin a cell phone. I've lived with hand me down cell phones for two years and I was so excited to be able to get this phone. It was a dream...(poor adam does not have one...so he is stuck using a pink razor:) HeeHee!

March '07 Adam and I took a trip to Pennsylvania without the kids. For his Birthday I got him Delirious? tickets. It is the one thing that he wanted real bad so I kept up with where they would be in the U.S. and bought the tickets for Pennsylvania.
Adam at this time also had his resume on line. We were beginning the process of finding another church. We hadn't been getting paid since November so we prayed and felt God's leading to start looking elsewhere. Well to our surprise a church was interested in us in Pennsylvania. The church was only an hour away....so we also set up an interview the same weekend. It was an exciting thing because we thought that maybe God was in this. All the figures seemed to fall into place. We prayed hard that we would know. We were supposed to drive down to Pennsylvania with another couple to go to the concert but since we had the interview the day before Adam and I took a train to Pennsylvania and met the couple at the concert. What fun it was to ride in a train! ALSO VERY EXHAUSTING! It was an experience I will never forget. We also got a nice tour of the whole state of Pennsylvania from a lovely young mennonite couple we rode next to the second half of the trip. It was fun! (Of course I got to sport my fancy new pick cell phone the whole way! How exciting! It was only 6 days old!) After the interview and driving back to Camp Hill where the concert was....we really felt that wasn't the church for us....it was sad and maybe we thought we were missing God on it....so we continued to pray....

Delirious was AWESOME! I LOVED IT!

THe day after we returned from Pennsylvania we received a phone call from the pastor saying that they had chosen someone else.... we already knew in our hearts this wasn't the place...but of course I was a little bummed.....I was so ready for change....
My kids missed me...that was nice to come home to though! :) The next day I was giving the youngest ones a bath! Not unusual, but this day was a little different. After I had given the kids a bath and got them dressed I went to empty the bath water out.....guess what I found.......

My 1 week old Beautiful Pink RAZOR cell phone was sitting in the bottom of the bathtub (which was still full of bathwater mind you!) I cried! The only reason Adam did not get the insurance was because the computers were not working the day we bought it and the man told him we had two weeks to buy insurance so he could do it another time.

Well to make a long cell phone story short....We called Verizon and the lady told me if I could get it to turn on and call to get the insurance...then I might still be able to get it covered. No luck it would not turn on. SO........I baked my cell phone in my oven in a glass baking dish(without the battery) for 12 hours at 190 degrees, got it to turn on, called and got the insurance....got a new phone...and VOILA...I have a beautiful pink phone again! *sigh*

Anyway... back to Pennsylvania....I felt so bummed and empty about the situation...even though I knew that it wasn't God.....I needed change

SO......I decided to rearrange and change everything! It's the only way I could cope! :)

(to be coninued)