Saturday, October 10, 2009

October 10, 2009

I know it's been so long since I have been here, that I'm sure you are shocked to finally see a new post! You have no idea how many times I have said "I need to update the website" over the last 4 months. We have had such a blessed and extremely busy summer, and then before I realized it, school started. Well, you know what happens when school starts. Life gets busier than ever! But I have finally decided that it must be done, so here I am. So many of you are so faithful to check on us and to continue praying for Jonathan that I really do apologize for leaving you without an update for so long. Let me recap our summer and the last 4 months for you as best I can.

Last time I posted, we had made it through our week of working at Junior Camp and were about to leave for our very first Choir Tour. Jonathan did even better on tour than he did at Jr. Camp! Our trip was to Birmingham, AL. We got on a bus early Monday morning and got to Birmingham late in the afternoon. Tues. - Fri. we were up early every morning to do VBS, back at the dorms for lunch, off to do at least 2 concerts during the afternoon and early evening, having dinner somewhere and sometimes a special event in the evening, then back to the dorms
to meet before the day was over. It was a very full week, with very busy days. Jonathan only had one time when he really had a breakdown and that was Tues. night. I think he was just so tired that he couldn't make it anymore. We we skipped the meeting and got him into bed and he was fine the next morning, thanks to the extra sleep he got that night. It was truly the grace of God that gave him the strength and ability to make it through that week. The kids and sponsors were all so kind and helpful and made sure that he was okay throughout the week. It was another great first experience for Jonathan. We are now anxiously awaiting to hear where tour will be next summer, and I'm pretty sure he won't miss it for the world! Thank you for all of your prayers for Jonathan during those couple of weeks of travel. He did great!

The girls traveled to Chicago for their tour at the end of June/first of July . They also went to Florida for Youth Camp at the end of July. Since it was so far away and included a 14 hour bus ride, we opted not to let Jonathan go to camp this year. Hopefully it will be closer next year and he can go then. During the couple of weeks at home in the middle of July, we celebrated Elizabeth's 17th birthday. At that time, she became a licensed driver! Once they returned from camp at the beginning of August, we spent most of that month trying to get things cleaned and organized around our house before school started. June and July were so busy that they flew by without our getting much accomplished. As I have said before, once school begins, nothing but school and church gets done for the next 9 months. So we worked hard to get stuff done around here and get prepared for school to start at the end of August.


During those weeks, we were making plans to go on vacation. This year, we got to go on our first cruise as a family. Lamar and I have been on a couple before, but this is the first one that the kids got to go on. This is one of the things that I have dreamed about doing as a family but never really expected to get to do it. But God blessed, and we spent one of the most wonderful weeks together as a family on board the Carnival Cruise Ship Ecstacy, sailing to Progresso and Cozumel Mexico. We left from Galveston, so we went down on Sunday and spent the day in Galveston. On Monday morning, we boarded the ship and set sail Monday afternoon. We sailed until Wed. morning and then went ashore to Progresso. We took an excursion to one of the Myan Ruin sites Uxmal. It was a beautiful place with lots of exploring to do. But it was a very hot day so it was a little tough on Jonathan. But as always, he persevered and managed to make it through all of the walking and the heat. On Thursday, we went ashore in Cozumel and went to a beautiful beach called Chankanab where we all snorkled together for the first time. It took Jonathan and I little longer to get the hang of it than the others, but once we did, we had a great time. After spending the morning on the beach, we had lunch and then went shopping for a little while before boarding the ship again and sailing home on Sat. morning. We had a great room with a wonderful window. We all stayed in the same room and it was perfectly fine for all 5 of us. The girls met a bunch of kids their age at one of the clubs and had a great time with them all week. Truly, there was not one thing to complain about on the whole trip - except that we had to leave. Saturday we drove home and spent the weekend in a little state of depression because our wonderful trip was over. It truly was a dream come true for our family, but for me especially. I can't think of anything I would rather do than spend time with my precious family. I am so thankful that God changed my whole life, my perspective and my priorities through the experience we went through almost 5 years ago. Oh the blessings I would have missed if He hadn't. This trip is one of those special memories that I will cherish forever. Here are some pictures and a couple of links to all our cruise pictures so you can see them all if you like.






http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2035996&id=1424264524

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=4&aid=2036035&id=1424264524

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036047&id=1424264524

School is going well so far. Jonathan is doing very well and handling pre-algebra like a pro. He is in the 8th grade, Sarah is in the 10th grade and Elizabeth is a Senior this year. Everyone is enjoying choir so far as well. Both the girls made it in the Master-Peace Ensemble and Jonathan made it in the His Kids Ensemble. We are looking forward to a wonderful year at church this year.

Last weekend, we celebrated Sarah's Sweet 16 birthday at the Hard Rock Cafe in Dallas. We had a great time and spent about 3 days celebrating this momentous birthday. Then on Tuesday of this week, we took our annual trip to the State Fair of Texas. I think we have been going to the State Fair for about 10 years now and we look forward to it every year. It was wonderful as always and we had a great time there.



So far, everyone here is staying well, with the exception of a few small colds. Nothing major. Jonathan is doing pretty well physically. He are still working on keeping good blood sugars and eating well. We are trying to stay active and do all the things we know we need to do. It's not easy, but we persevere, nonetheless. We are working hard over the next month to hopefully see some good results by the time we go to the doctor in November. God continues to bless us and we praise Him for His grace and provision in Jonathan's life.

Well, that's the last 4 months in a nutshell. I could not have asked for a more blessed summer than what God gave us. Again I apologize for taking so long to update. I am always keenly aware that you are there and praying and I want you to know that God continues to hear and answer those prayers each and every day. Thank you for your continued faithfulness to our family. May God bless each of you with His most wonderful blessings. We love you all.

Psalm 126:2-3 - Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with joyful shouting. Then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." The Lord has done great things for us; We are filled with joy.