Sunday Snow Day!!!

Another blustery snow day. We slept in and made pancakes from scratch. We were out of pancake mix so I headed to the Internet to find a recipe for a homemade mix. It turned out really well. I will add it here soon. It was VERY easy. We then added a can of pumpkin, to be different, and they tasted so good. Nate then started a fire downstairs and we played a mean game of Disney Monopoly. Katie ended up bring the winner!!

Nikolas's Birthday party

Nikolas picked Chinese for his birthday so my parents came with us. My wonderful father first came over and plowed out our driveway and then Nikolas opened presents from them.

Nutcracker Ballet/ Bathroom

My friend, Kelly, called me yesterday and asked if I would like to go with her to the Nutcracker Ballet. She got some tickets because she donated something. I have never been to see this so I am excited about going. I have heard that its really good.

We also were able to have our bathroom tiled on tuesday. It looks so nice.
Here is the picture of the bathroom before: Nasty carpet and plain walls. Yuck.
Here is the bathroom after: Here are picture finally too of the girls bedroom walls:

Snow Day!

Hmm.... Is this trouble waiting to happen??!! These two have been friends since they were born.

Nikolas hanging out having his Hot Chocolate!!!

Nyah's 2 year birthday Party!

We have been blessed find a wonderful Haitian church in Grand Rapids. We love to go to Lighthouse in the morning for church and then head to the Haitian church for their service. We always have a great time and we have made some really good friends there. We were so blessed to be invited to Nyah's birthday party at the children's museum. The kids had such a fun time!!

Nyah

She is so adorable!!!

Children's museum - part 2

More pictures from the Children's museum!

Caleb and Katie playing in the cafe.

Heather and Nik playing in the post office.

This is Shella (Nyah's mom)

Happy Birthday, Nikolas!!

Not only was it Nikolas, 11th Gotcha day this week but its also his 12th birthday today!! God blessed us so much when we adopted Nikolas that we were able to spend his first birthday with him in Russia!! We also spent our first Christmas together as a family in Russia!! I remember it so vividly!! We had no hot water, no electricity, but we were a family!!

Nikolas, you were our first child. You were born in our hearts and we love you so much!! What a treasure you are to us!! You have a heart of gold and I cannot wait to see where God does with your life!! Happy Birthday, sweetheart!!!

Almost Christmas time.

Its been a crazy 1 1/2 weeks. First we hit a deer and then all but two of us came down with the flu. Heather and Hannah do not have it yet and I am praying they stay healthy.

Tomorrow is the possibility of a snow day for the kids and I am praying not. The kids have so many fun parties to go to. Nikolas especially has a fun day planned at school. This is the one day of the year that I can actually get them to want to go to school.

We finally got our van back today. I didn't mind driving the big black diesel but I am glad I no longer have to!! :) The van feels a little small to me now!! Thanks Terri for bringing me to get the van today and for covering me!! LOL you know what I mean!!

11th Gotcha Day

Today is Nikolas's 11th Gotcha day. I cannot believe has been here for 11 years. On Friday he will also turn 12! Wow where has that time gone!!! He has grown into such a nice young man and we are so proud of him!! We LOVE You Nikolas and cannot wait to so what God does with your life!!

Vans and Deers

This is not our van but it is kind of what kind of damage we have except the damage was in the center and not on the sides.

Last night we were on our way to church when a group of deer ran right out in front of us. There was no way we could stop and we hit a deer head on. It crunched up the front of the van and wrecked our radiator. No one was hurt thank goodness but the kids were VERY scared. However now I do not have a van. I do have Nate's truck if I need to get out but I HATE driving it. It is SO huge. I am just so thankful that if we were going to have to hit it that we hit it the way we did so that it did not come up over the hood and went off to the side. Poor thing.

2008 Christmas Card

This year unfortunately I had to email most of my Christmas cards. I went to smilebox and made up my own. I think its kind of cute. Or at least the kids are cute!!

Here is the card I made up this year!!

enjoy!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Saturday Fun

Yesterday was such a nice day. I had to take the girls up to the local nursing home so the kids could bring some small Christmas trees and sing some carols and hang out with the residents. They had a nice time there. Afterwards we all love going to the airport viewing area and so we hung out there for a few hours just watching the planes take off and land.

Afterwards we went to a place called Yesterdog. It is a really old nostalgic restaurant that only serves hot dogs. Nate has done work on the owners house and so we took the kids there yesterday for a snack. It was really good and they kids loved looking at all the old stuff. Last night we played a mean game of Mickey Mouse Monoply with all 7 of us. We set up a big table next to the fire place downstairs and had a fun time. It can be a little stressful playing with 7 but it turned out to be fun!! Of course I won!! :) That is highly unusual!!

Have a great night. We are getting quite a bit of snow here and I am wondering if the kids will have school in the morning.

Mattresses

We had such a nice day yesterday!!!

I have to share a huge blessing that happened!!

You know we have been searching for mattresses everywhere we can think of. Well we had some VERY generous people buy us each a mattress for Caleb and Hannah. We NEVER asked for such a gift as we were willing to pay for a mattress we could just not afford brand new. God truly has blessed us over and over again in the last few months and we cannot thank Him enough.

I know there are so many people in need right now and I pray that someday God will allow us to pay it forward for someone else.

Nate's dad

I got a phone call a little while ago from Nate's mom. She said that Dad was doing good and that he had one stint put in. He had another stint put in the artery that was blocked 3 years ago. This time it was again 90% blocked. He is doing good though and we praise God for that! He should be out tomorrow sometime. Thank you for the prayers.

I hope you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving tomorrow!!!

things

Not a whole lot going on.

If you could remember Nate's dad, Harold, in your prayers that would be great. He is going in on Wednesday for another Heart Cath. Most of you will remember that 3 years ago he had 6 stints put in had been doing well. He was supposed to have rotor cuff surgery next week but needed to be cleared by the heart doctor first. He went into have some tests done and they found an abnormality in the bottom half of his heart. They are not sure yet what that will detail. We will know more hopefully Wednesday sometime.

Also I had someone just email me that they have a tie that Nikolas can use!! Thank you, Janell!!
That is a huge weight lifted off!!

Hopefully Nate will have the girls room finished and then I can take the final pictures of it for the blog!

Cheri, if you are out and about tomorrow you can always stop in and see it!! :)

Items needed

We have a couple of items we have been keeping our eye out for.

We are in need of 2 twin size mattresses and 1 twin box spring. If anyone hears of any that might be available could you let us know. Thanks. I have been watching Craig's list but they are gone by the time I call.

Also I am in need of 1 boys black clip on tie. He needs this for his Choir concert. I have been searching everywhere. I even went to a couple of stores but they are even outrageously expensive or they do not even carry them. He only needs it for about 2 concerts.

Thanks!!! A friend today said that I should post these items here and I never even had thought of it before.

Nate's Aunt

I just received an email from Nate's cousin!!! Thank you all for the prayers!! Please keep them coming!!

What a roller coaster this past week has been! In a 24 hour period we went from anticipating a very serious surgery, to staying in the hospital for 6 - 8 weeks with only IV fluids for 4 of those weeks to eat a full meal, keep it down and you can go home!

I don't think the doctors are still 100% sure of what was going on with my mother! Hower, on Tuesday she made such a turn around that it was decided that she could try a small amount of fluids by mouth. When that went well, they added more fluids, then a soft diet then a regular meal. Alll this was done on a trail basis, if there was any pain in the stomach, it would be immediate surgery. THERE WAS NO PAIN!!! It was amazing.

My mom came home yesterday afternoon, and last I heard she was dusting. Since she has her left arm is in a cast - this is not easy. But I have a very stubborn and determined mother! I think this personality trait helped her throughout this trail.

The doctor kept saying how he could not believe what was happening! He told my mom she was a miracle. I agree - but I also KNOW that it was the prayers of those who love and care about her that played the biggest role in her healing. So thank you - and thank you for the help you gave me with your comments and concerns.

Please continue to pray for a full recovery. If there is any indication of pain, it is an ambulance ride right back to Spectrum. So with this excitement, there is fear and trepidation that we are not out of the woods yet. However, we are celebrating the measure of health she has and continuing to trust that the Lord will bring her complete health and strength. After these past 24 hours, how can we expect anything more?!!

God bless!

Nate's Aunt

I just received an email from Nate's cousin!!! Thank you all for the prayers!! Please keep them coming!!

What a roller coaster this past week has been! In a 24 hour period we went from anticipating a very serious surgery, to staying in the hospital for 6 - 8 weeks with only IV fluids for 4 of those weeks to eat a full meal, keep it down and you can go home!

I don't think the doctors are still 100% sure of what was going on with my mother! Hower, on Tuesday she made such a turn around that it was decided that she could try a small amount of fluids by mouth. When that went well, they added more fluids, then a soft diet then a regular meal. Alll this was done on a trail basis, if there was any pain in the stomach, it would be immediate surgery. THERE WAS NO PAIN!!! It was amazing.

My mom came home yesterday afternoon, and last I heard she was dusting. Since she has her left arm is in a cast - this is not easy. But I have a very stubborn and determined mother! I think this personality trait helped her throughout this trail.

The doctor kept saying how he could not believe what was happening! He told my mom she was a miracle. I agree - but I also KNOW that it was the prayers of those who love and care about her that played the biggest role in her healing. So thank you - and thank you for the help you gave me with your comments and concerns.

Please continue to pray for a full recovery. If there is any indication of pain, it is an ambulance ride right back to Spectrum. So with this excitement, there is fear and trepidation that we are not out of the woods yet. However, we are celebrating the measure of health she has and continuing to trust that the Lord will bring her complete health and strength. After these past 24 hours, how can we expect anything more?!!

God bless!

What your height says about you!

I saw this on my friend Cheri's blog. I loved the part about me being about the average height of a mexican woman! LOL

What Your Height Says About You

You are a gifted communicator, and you understand other people well. You are compassionate and empathetic. You feel other's pain a little too easily. Because of your open heart and open mind, many people admire and adore you. You are classy and well mannered. You have the art of charm mastered. You are about as tall as the average Mexican woman.

What Does Your Height Say About You?

Nate's Aunt Millie - update

Nate's aunt is awake and doing better!! This is a huge praise!!

We just found out that on Saturday the Doctor told Nate's uncle that if a miracle does not occur and if things do not turn around in 2 days she would die.

Today she is awake and they think they will be able to do surgery now. Thank you Lord!!!

She is not out of it completely yet but the doctors are amazed! How can you not be amazed when you have a God like we do!!!

Nate's Aunt Millie

Could you all please keep Nate's aunt in your prayers. She has been in the hospital since last week.

She had some kind of pocket of poison that formed and they were trying to figure out how to drain it. There is MORE but its not very easy to explain. We went and saw her on Friday night and she looked really good and they thought she might even be able to go home as they did more tests to see how to get rid of the poison. If they did it wrong it could burst and she would die immediately.

Yesterday when we got home from church we had a message that said she was on life support and they were putting tubes in to try to get rid of the poison. I will post more when I know more. Just please keep Millie, Bob and their family in your prayers. Their son is a pastor out west and is flying in today for a week to be with her. She was SO excited to see him.

Thanks!!!!

Guest blogger - Nate Yonker

Hi everyone! I am doing something today that I would not normally do, write on a blog, but feel very compelled to do so. Today seems to be a day that God is stirring something in my heart and I really want to share with you.
Have you ever wondered how Israel could see the power of God at one time, and then turn away the next? One day they are passing through the Red sea, the next they are worshiping a golden calf. We often wonder how they could be so stupid and blind, yet, are we any different? For those of you that know me, you have heard me speak of the great miracles I have seen in Haiti. Some of you have even witnessed some of them with me. Things so great that I even had an opportunity to share them on the radio, and then hear people say how these accounts moved them. With all of this, still, the last 4-6 weeks have been a low time for me. I have shared with a few of you that after the Isaiah project as I was praying I heard God say that I am not broken enough yet. I feel the last month or so has been a breaking process in my life. It seems that many things have not been going "right". I feel as if I have been losing control of life, and mostly because of things that are beyond my control.
It has brought me to remember where I was 4 years ago. It was the lowest point in my life. I realized that I did not believe in God, people, or even my family. I had lost all hope. my eyes were focused on me, and me alone. God, though, did not leave me there. He put people in my life that helped change my focus, to take my eyes off of myself, and to see the one who was seated on the throne, and to help me understand who I was in Him.
This week I started to realize that I was once again taking my eyes off of Him, and putting them on myself. Situations and responsibilities were helping me take my eyes off of the Kingdom, and focus, once again, on things of this world.
I have had the blessing to be going through Discipleship essentials again. This class was key in helping me understand who I am in Christ, and the depth of the love that God has for me. It seems that once again, God is using it to break me and re-focus on Him.
Jesus told us that we would go through trials. He told us to expect them. BUT, be of good cheer because HE has overcome. We cannot overcome in ourselves, but only the one who has conquered the ruler of this world.
If some of you are getting stressed over what seems to be a barrage of negativity, please listen to these words from Philippians 4; rejoice in the Lord always. I sat it again: Rejoice! let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present you requests to God. And the PEACE of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Jesus is on the throne. He has conquered evil, and taken away our guilt and sin. Put your faith in Him, and Him alone. I know there are some of you reading that do not have this comfort or hope. I know that you have been hurt in the past by people claiming to be Christians. I know you are struggling with life, purpose, guilt, and shame. Please understand that people fail, God never will. He loves us so much that He sacrificed His greatest love, His son, for us. You ARE special, you ARE loved, you CAN have peace.
This all came about this morning as I put in a CD I have never listened to before, even though we have had it for over 3 years. When this song came on it made my breaking complete.
PLEASE, PLEASE, take 3 minutes and listen to this song. The lyrics are posted afterward, but listen to the song first. If any of you want to discuss this further PLEASE let me know. I know what you are going through, and even though I still struggle sometimes, know where to find help.

If not for Christ I would surely fall
Over myself and bear the fault
Of all my deeds so terrible
If not for Christ I would surely fall
If not for Christ I would surely fall

If not for Christ I would surely break
Under the weight of my mistakes
And in my sin be kept away
If not for Christ I would surely break
If not for Christ I would surely break

It was for me He bled and died
It was my sword that pierced His side
It was my name that Jesus cried
When on that tree He bled and died
It was for me He bled and died

And now to Christ I owe it all
He is to me a tower strong
Salvation does to me belong
It is to Christ I owe it all
It is to Christ I owe it all

Birthday Party pictures

My mom gives the kids a jar of nickles on their tenth b-day

Heather's 10th Birthday!!!!!!

Happy 10th birthday Heather!!! Hard to believe that you are 10! You were such a wonderful surprise to us and we are so blessed to have you as our daughter! We thank God for you each and every day! You are turning into such a beautiful young woman that loves the Lord and we could NOT be happier!!!

Third Day concert last night!!

Last night was incredible!! Thanks John and Diane for inviting us to go with you! We love you guys and you are a ton of fun to hang with! John we will work on getting your star back for your trailer! LOL (long story) John is the drummer for our Praise Band at church and that boy can play!!!

We saw three bands.

Revive. I didn't know this but they are from Australia. They were really good.


I stole these from their blog! We were in section 101 Row E. We were SOOOOO Close!!!!


The 2nd band that we saw was called Need to breathe. I didn't realize that they had a song in the movie Ps. I love you called More time.

The song that they are well know for is called Signature of Divine.


They were soooooooooo good!!!


Third day rocked again as usual!!! They played quite a few songs from their new album revelation.

As always they ended the show with Agnus Dei!!!!! It never fails to bring me to my knees!!!

I will leave you today with this song!

Enjoy!
<

Third Day

Nathan got me tickets (for our anniversary) to see Third Day tonight with some friends from Church. I am so excited. This our third time seeing them and they always put on a great show!!!!!!!!

Comments

I have changed my blog so that comments are no longer embedded in the posts. So if you tried to comment in the last day or two I apologize as their appears to be issues with doing comments that way. If any of you are confused.... well.... I am too! :)

Update on friend with cancer

Hi Everyone!

This is the first email I have attempted to write. I left the hospital this past Friday, October 31. The news was / is good. The cancer was contained!!!! I have a Heimlich tube inserted in my right lung and it drains into a tube. A few things went a little array after surgery but we will get it all corrected - even if it means another surgery. I think I'm in severe pain? I say that because it's what all the doctors are telling me but I'm on strong narcotics so I can't gauge it very well. I will get some more xrays this weeks. If my lung is healed, the tube comes out. If not, it stays in and we'll check it twice a week. It's a very small inconvenience considering the doctors originally told me my future was very bleak and NOW IT'S WIDE OPEN! I'm too tired to express correctly how humbled I am by this journey. I am at God's feet with my life and the lives of my family members. Forgive me if I'm not expressing my victory with enough enthusiasm. I am barely able to put words together for an email. I will keep you all posted. I pray I will have a better handle on reality here shortly!!

Thank You so much for your prayers! Your prayers are the tools necessary for God's handiwork. God Bless You All.

Election

I usually would not say much here on my blog about the election. We do not know what the outcome will be but what we do know is that our Lord is seated on the throne! God's will WILL be done.

This is my favorite song done at the Third day concerts.





I just felt a nudging to share it with you all to tell you that God is ON the throne and He already knows the outcome of this election. No matter which way it will go it will be because God needs it to happen that way to further His kingdom. Not the earthly kingdom but God's kingdom. This world will be destroyed but forever we will be with the Lord!! Now that is what I cling too. Not what happens tomorrow or the next day but when we are with the Lord!!

Downhere - Here I am

I first heard this song around the time we were putting on the Isaiah project!! I just love it!!!

Sometimes Your calling, comes in dream
Sometimes in comes in the Spirit's breeze
You reach for the deepest hope in me
And call out for the things of eternity

But I'm a man, of dust and stains,
You move in me, so I can say

Chorus
Here I am, Lord send me
All of my life, I make an offering,
Here I am, Lord send me
Somehow my story is a part of Your plan,
Here I am

When setbacks and failures, and upset plans
Test my faith and leave me with empty hands
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com
Are You not the closest when it's hardest to stand
I know that You will finish what You began

And these broken parts You will redeem
Become the song that I can sing

Chorus

Overwhelmed by the thought of my weakness
And the fear that I'll fail You in the end
In this mess, I'm just one of the pieces,
I can't put this together but You can

Chorus

Here I Am, all my life an offering to You, to You
Somehow my story is a part of Your plan
Here I am

Happy 6h Gotcha day - oops! I said 5 before!!!

Hard to believe that 6 (this was supposed to say 6 not 5!! Oops!!) years ago on October 24Th we went before a tough judge in Irkutsk, Russia and she told us that she was not sure if she would let us adopt Katie because we already had 3 children at home and she could not begin to know why we would want another child.

How thrilled we are that she did grant the adoption of Ekaterina. She is a big tease with a big heart and just a joy to have around and so much fun!! It seems like she has been with us forever and its hard to believe its only been 5 years!! Katie we love you so much and are thrilled with the person you are turning into!!! You sure keep us on our toes and keep life interesting!!

18th Wedding anniversary!

Sunday October 26Th will mark our 18Th wedding anniversary!! Hard to believe how young I was back then (19) I will forever be grateful for God putting Nate and I together. It has not always been easy but God has really had a plan for the two of us!! Thank you, sweetie. I will tell all the world that I love you more and more each year and cannot imagine not having you in my life. His anniversary gift to me was 2 tickets to see Third day on November 6Th with two friends!! I cannot wait!!!

Where I blog!

Mari asked us to post the spot where we blog from!!! What a fun
idea!! Here is my spot. Its not usually this clean!! :) Yes that is my webkinz dog! :)

Ugh!!

This picture is actually for Troy and Tara livesay buy I had others that wanted me to post this on my blog. These shirts have stories behind them.

If you go back and read the Livesay blog you will see posts about Troy's ugly yellow fishing shirt that he loves to torment Tara with.
On our last trip to Haiti, Nate happened to bring HIS ugly yellow fishing shirt a long and There were some really ugly pictures taken. Nate and Troy like to call each other Dork (why I do not know) so my friend Diane bought Troy and Nate each a dork shirt.

Nate thought he would be funny at our last homegroup and he wore them both. So Troy and Tara, this is for you!!

Praying you had save travels to MN and that everything goes great!!