Nathan's Prayer

I was driving the boys' to their gym class yesterday. We usually talk & pray together in the van, so there was nothing unusual about that, but  Nathan's prayer struck my funny bone...

"Dear God, please help us while we are driving. Please help us not to hit anything. Please help us when we do. Amen. "

 

Two Brothers & A Wagon / Back Yard Drama

I spotted Mark & Nathan sitting in the wagon together & knew a good photo opp. when I saw one. The only thing is, Nathan is an actor. A good actor! He possibly has a future on the big screen. So...he went from 
1st picture - pretending to be crabby
2nd picture - pretending to be pensive & unaware of the camera
3rd picture - pretending to feel sad
4th picture - revealing his true happy/silly mood when Mark "helped" him out after I told them they would be sitting there until I got at least one good one! 

Oh, the backyard drama! :) 

More "Us Pics" - mostly for Nana & Papa :)

Our Anniversary & Some of the Mushy Details

Yesterday marked 15 years since John & I said our official "I do's" & I am thrilled to have reached this milestone & very, very thankful. Even though we were mature when we got married, I think it's probably impossible to know just what a huge decision marrying is, what huge consequences will follow, either good or bad or even somewhere in between.

I am so grateful that my John was, & still is, an amazingly kind, giving & servant-hearted man. He puts the boys and me first & works so hard to take good care of us. 

Do we have a perfect life? Puuulease! As far as I know that doesn't exist! But, we are blessed hugely (is that even a word?) & I am very thankful. 

"I love you John. 
I appreciate you so much.
Patty"

First Camping Trip

It has been a lot of fun to get to observe all of Luke & Nathan's "firsts". Last weekend we did their very first camping trip. They loved it! They met wild (but very friendly) ponies, hiked on the Appalachian trail, slept in the tent, made lots of new friends (we camped with several other families) & went home completely sacked out! :)






Details: for family members who want to know!
*That's John in the orange shirt, reading from the "Jesus Story Bible" to several of the kids. He read to them about how God created the world, which was so appropriate since we were spending the weekend out in nature.
*Nathan, once again, had an uncanny connection with the ponies. The little stallion he was hugging wasn't even one of the friendlier ones, but he was calm & still with Nathan. So interesting to watch.
*The last two pics are the boys asleep in the van on the way home. Nathan fell asleep hanging waaaaay back! So funny how tired out they were!
 

Community: Serve

Last week the kids and I, along with a lot of friends, did a community service project each day. The kids had a great time & learned a lot about being servants & missionaries in their own city. We bagged up 300 lb. beans for a food shelter, brought cookies to several Fire & Police Departments, visited a senior's home & prayer walked around a local neighborhood.

Oh My Goodness, God is So Awesome....

My little boy, Luke, who has had such pain in his young life, has started singing! It's that sweet, unplanned kind of singing kids do in their rooms while they are playing, just making up the words as they go along. It is the most beautiful sound I've heard in a long time. Oh my heart!

"C*nsus Smensus"

OK, maybe my title threw you off. Well, I felt pretty thrown off today when a lady with the C*ensus Bureau knocked at my door to ask questions. I told her we had sent ours in weeks ago & I was informed that it had never been received & our postal worker must be negligent. Seriously!!!What?!!

I told her there are five people in our home & she said, "Names please!" What!? As far as I know, that is not required by the Constitution. Has there been some change? 

Has anyone else had this happen? I am going to do some digging & try to figure out what exactly is required by law...

Recovering & Learning "Americanese"

Nathan is recovering well. The only tough part right now is bandage removal. That has been really painful for him. I've been grateful to have some Tylenol with Codeine to help him with that.

Luke & Nathan spoke English in Ghana, but it wasn't American English. The other day I overheard:

"What do you call these?"

"Friends Fries."

"No, that's not what they're called."

"Yes! It's because you eat them with your friends!"

Recovering

The pictures show the improvement Nathan has made just today - "lights out" to sitting up with ice cream tonight! Kids are so tough! The toy dog is a get well gift from our church & Nathan named him "Jaguar Mountain Six Muffin Nine". Yeah, he's still on some good drugs.  :) 

Home From the Hospital!

We're home from the hospital! Nathan went into surgery at about 7:45am today. The pre-op meds. that were supposed to make him sleepy, instead made him very happy (so funny to watch!) & he went off into the OR sitting up in the arms of the wonderfully kind anesthesiologist instead of sacked out on the bed like all the other kids. 

He woke up in the recovery room with me right there beside him and was able to take some pain meds. & a sip of juice but was otherwise very, very groggy. A sweet friend of mine happened to be working there that day & it was wonderful to have her nearby! 

He's home now, asleep on the couch, with concerned brothers/parents hovering & some good meds. to ease the discomfort. He's been walking a tiny bit but needs help getting up & is very wobbly. He's pretty well covered in bandages - ouch!

As I'm typing here, I'm listening to him breathing next to me, so thankful that he is home - not only from the hospital, but with us - his forever family, that loves him, well, forever. I am, as I so often find myself, very thankful...

Sugery at 6am tomorrow.