I love Thanksgiving!  We headed south to visit with family and friends for Thanksgiving.  We had such a wonderful time that we hated leaving!  On Deron's side of the family there are 15 grands including our four kiddos.  It was wild.  It was crazy.  And it passed us by far too quickly! 

Ethan buried in the corn box!

Lately, the kids have done nothing but talk about hot chocolate, Christmas trees, and "Oh please oh please, won't it just snow?!" 

Family movie night... Ain't Grace adorable with her bubbas?

So here's to jingle bells and Christmas lights!  I've got some Jim Brickman Christmas music playing just to get us started this season, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Alvin will make an appearance very soon.  Alvin and the Chipmunks, that is.

Do you see the M-M's clutched in Hannah's hand?  That, my friends, is called bribery.  This was attempt number one with some new camera settings, and it remained attempt number one since my battery died...

The situation is sad when your husband is the one who asks you to update your blog!  Deron called today and asked me to do him a favor..."Update your blog.  I need new background pictures." 

I celebrated my 27th birthday.  Deron went to Sacramento, CA for a week and encountered quite a bit of scary turbulence on the way home after his layover in Colorado.  Daniel, Grace, and Hannah had check-ups.  (Don't even get me started on taking all four chillins to the doctor's office!  It's definitely not on my list of favorite things to do.)  Daniel celebrated his 5th birthday! (More on that another day.) My sister and her husband have been down to visit twice.  My brother-in-law has been in Iraq for the past year, so we're very happy to have him home in the States.

And my grandmother passed away.

Honestly, it's hard to write about it.  It's hard to think about her being gone from our lives here on earth.  She was a very special lady, and we're all going to miss her very much.  She was the type of selfless example that you don't see very often in this world.  You know,  the type of person who makes everyone feel like they're her favorite.  And she wouldn't be happy with the amount of sadness and tears that have been shed over losing her in this life. 

I know her memory is in our hearts, and I know she's in a better place.  She's with her Lord and Saviour.  And I know she's not really gone .  She's just gone home.

Oh, this child just warms my heart! 

Deron started his new job this week, and so far, things are going very well.  He's enjoying it so much.  We are very thankful that the Lord has blessed him with this position.

My boys advanced to their next belt.  Ethan earned his orange belt, and Daniel earned his yellow.  The graduation was at a local elementary school, so it was fun watching their faces inside this big school.  With them being homeschooled, they've never seen the inside of a cafeteria.  They went up onstage and did a short demonstration of what they'd learned this quarter.  It was a lot of fun, but they weren't terribly thrilled at having to actually go in front of everyone.

I can't believe it's Friday, already...  It's been a busy week around here.  May seems to get busier every year!  Deron technically starts his new job Monday, so please pray for him. 

This picture is so sweet, and I thought it would be a good one to start off the weekend!

We are so thankful that Deron was offered and has accepted a position nearby.  We're in shock since we were prepping ourselves for a long layoff term.  We are so grateful and completely speechless with what the Lord has done for us.  We have certainly felt the prayers of those we love.  Thank you!

Can you guess the name of the huskie puppy my sister gave her while we were in VA? ..."kitty cat!"  She's actually standing next to me right now saying, "Dat itty tat 'as a 'at on!"

We are truly humbled with this news.

My dear husband and I have now been married for seven years!  Seven sweet and wonderful years!  You can read about our meeting here. 

(Everyone says, "Seven years...and four kids...wow!"  And we'll smile like it's the first time we've heard such a brilliant joke.  But it's totally not the first time we've heard it...but if you ever say it to us, we'll probably just smile again, like it's the first time we've heard it!...And NO, we're not trying to set some sort of record...We only have four chillins!)

I'm still in awe of all that led up to our meeting one another. The Lord was certainly at work, and I'm so thankful that He led us together.  Considering that I graduated...from high school...a little less than eight years ago, most people wouldn't think I'd be here...now...celebrating our blissful seventh wedding anniversary. 

Y'all, we believe in celebrations!  We love to think back on all the emotions and special preparations going into our special day... But I'll tell you what...it gets better!  It all gets better!

The wedding was incredibly special and wonderful and we loved every second of it!  But our marriage is what we really enjoy celebrating!  Our marriage is what we enjoy reminiscing about each year on our anniversary.  What's happened during our years together?  We know each other more now than we ever could then. 

Eight years ago, right now, I was completely self-absorbed with the fact that I didn't have a prom date.  Oh...I just knew I'd never get married...I couldn't even get a prom date, for goodness' sake!  I still laugh at that thought.  Like seriously, it brought me to tears.  How sad is that?! 

One of the most valuable lessons I've learned since then is to count my blessings!  Live and grow where God has planted me!  And I'm so thankful He planted me into this life with my sweet and caring husband and our little entourage!  They're precious, and they make me appreciate my husband even more.  Loving each other and loving our babies, together, has taken us to a level we could have never been at on our wedding day.  I loved our wedding, but I love Deron more now than I ever did then.

The Lord has blessed our hearts and lives abundantly.  Far and above anything I could have ever dreamed up in my imagination.  And I am truly thankful! 

Deron,

Thank you, sweetheart, for a beautiful seven years!  I love you, and I thank God for you every day!

Love, Laura

Merry Belated Christmas and Happy New Year!!

May God's richest blessings be upon you and your's throughout this new year!!

Again, the picture was taken by Erin.  She's done a marvelous job!

We haven't heard anything from the doctor, so I'm assuming we'll probably get a call Friday with today being New Year's and all.

We're back online!  I've felt very "out of the loop" without the internet!  I'm so spoiled. 

We actually moved last weekend, and we got "hooked back up" yesterday.  It's been a very interesting couple of weeks, and to be honest, I'm so glad this part is over.  I HATE moving.

Two Sundays ago, Ethan and Daniel went home with Deron's folks for a few days.  They've never done that before, and it was harder than I thought it would be to have them that far away from us for so long.  We called waaaay too much and ended up going waaaay over on our cell minutes this month.  I'm dreading that bill.  We worked and worked Monday and Tuesday to get things ready to move the next weekend.  Wednesday, we went up to Madison to stay with Chris and Kathi, and we closed on the house Thursday.  Friday, we picked up the U-Haul and spent all day long loading and cleaning!  Thankfully, our church family came to help us.  That is a JOB!  Loading a U-Haul is an art form.  It really is.

Saturday, after we'd eaten lunch and finished cleaning and loading and all that kinda stuff, Bro. Lee and Sis. Dina drove out in front of us as we headed out.  When we came up to the interstate, he waved us on, and that did it.  I had to slow waaaay down.  That was emotional.  I was a wreck for a few miles.  We'd been so busy getting ready to leave that it didn't hit me entirely until we drove off.  We really did move 300-some odd miles away from what had become home to us!  We were moving away from our family, and I know we'll go back (January and May!!), but knowing we'll go back doesn't make leaving any easier.  I gotta stop...I'm fixin' to cry...

Back to getting here.  We left at 1:30, and after umpteen gazillion bathroom and nursing stops, we arrived around 9:00.  They got a ton unloaded that night.  We actually were able to make it to church Sunday, but I'll tell you what...the devil didn't want us there!  We couldn't find Deron's shoes, and he switched with his dad in case he needed to go up and lead singing.  Then, we almost got our truck stuck in the driveway...burnt a lot of rubber there.  And while the truck was stuck, Beau-our German shepherd-got out.  Thankfully, he's not the type to want to get away...he just wandered out.  I think he wanted to go to church with us.  Deron had to put the emergency break on while he put Beau up before he could back the truck out of the driveway.  We were able to get out.  We really like Mt. Paran, and we were so glad to be there.  It was such a sweet service!

I'd have to say that for the most part Ethan, Hannah, and Grace are adjusting well.  Daniel, however...  He has such a hard time dealing with change. 

Monday morning, we woke up sick.  Colds galore.  Every single one of us...except Grace.  We've all overdone it and not gotten enough sleep, so I think we'll perk up soon.

I've gotten most of the house unpacking done, except Deron's office upstairs and the garage.  We need to finish putting a couple of things together.  I decided to bunk the girls' beds because the top bunk is taking up too much closet room.  I know that everyone told me to take it slow and unpack a little every day, but we've been living with boxes for a long time.  The kids need some normalcy...some routine.  When we're done with all our unpacking and running errands to get settled, we're going to spend a couple of weeks working on a routine.  And then, we're not starting school until the Tuesday after Labor Day.  Once we get settled into school, we'll start adding trips and activities back into our schedule.  That's the gameplan...

It's good to be back! 

(In the spirit of us moving again, I'll tell you about our move here!)

After Deron passed the written portion of the CCIE, he began applying for various jobs that would be more in line with what he wanted to get into.  We chose different areas of the south...not too far from family and with plenty of sound churches to choose from.  (How blessed are we that we get to choose what church we want to go to?  That is such a blessing...with all that's is wrong in this country, I'm so thankful that we can choose which church to go to!)

There was this one job.

The job was three hours away from where we were currently living in South GA.  He went through a phone interview, and then, they called back and wanted him to come in person for an interview.  The boys were with us since we were going to try and visit relatives while we were there.  Ethan was two and Daniel was nine months old. 

After getting lost and forgetting his belt...etc...etc...etc, Deron dropped us off at a shopping center where we looked around and ate lunch while he rode down a few blocks for his interview.  After he came to pick us up, we decided to ride around a little while and see what might would be some options in terms of where we'd live should he get the job and we move there. 

We knew where one of the churches we would be considering was, so off we went to look around that town...about 30 minutes from where his job would be located.  With cranky children in the backseat and a Florida rainstorm brewing, our car broke down on the interstate entrance ramp.  My brother-in-law called the pastor of that local church, and he came to pick us up at once.  Little did we know that he lived less than two miles from where we were stranded!

We felt like the Lord was almost audibly telling us that 1) yes, Deron was going to get the job,  2) yes, this is where we were going to live, and 3) yes, we were to go to that particular church.

He came to pick us up and took us home with him where his sweet wife had cooked up a storm!  She told us that she doesn't usually cook so "big" on a Monday night, and after we got there, she knew why she had that particular Monday!

A couple weeks later, we got the news that he'd gotten the position.  So, off we moved.  The Lord provided someone to buy our single-wide trailor.  He provided a home for us to live in.  He provided a life for us to live away from all of our relatives.  And during the time that we've lived here, we've "adopted" our church family as our family.  Or they adopted us would be more like it.  When you live so far from your family, your church family is your family. 

 

It's hard to believe we'll have closed on our new house a week from today.  We'll be running about trying to get last minute things done before we head off to pick up the U-Haul.  (Note to self: Schedule the U-Haul today!)  It seems like I've been on the phone non-stop scheduling utilities and services to be cut on there and cut off here.  I've still got all the insurance companies to call, but I found out that those calls can be completed up to 30 days after you move in.  SO those phone calls will wait another week...

Packing is coming along.  Beth, Jay, and Becca came last weekend to help, and we tackled the dreaded kitchen and a few other things.  The kitchen is down to the bare minimum right now, and we're officially eating off of paper plates and drinking out of plastic cups.  I need to pack what's in the dishwasher and what needs be washed out of the fridge, but we're moving in the right direction.  For the most part, what's still out is still being used. 

Jay and Beth, also, blessed our little family by letting Deron and me go out for the evening.  By the time we got home, the kids were snoozing!  We went out to eat and then to the movies.  Grace nursed and slept throught the whole thing!  It was great! 

After much discussion, we decided to let Deron's parents take the boys home with them after church on Sunday.  They've never been that far away from us, and it's tough to think that they'll be that far away and still be so young.  This will not be a trend, but we're so thankful that they'll be able to go up there instead of riding so much more than they really need to.  It'll be much easier on us, too, and they'll have a far better time than going with me to Grace's two-month check up Monday and going with me to have blood work done and going with me to run last minute errands. And the closing will go a lot faster.  Last time, we couldn't sign stuff at the same time.  We had to take turns with the boys and it took forever!  Yeah, they'll have a better time with Grandma.  We're even letting Hannah stay with them Wednesday night.  But we'll get a chance to see the boys when we take Hannah, and depending on what time we get done at the closing and then at the house up there, Thursday, we'll come back through and pick them up on the way home.  Next Friday, we'll be picking up the U-Haul to begin loading, hand over the keys to the tenants, and Saturday, we'll finish loading, clean up, and head out!

In other news, I'm feeling better again, and the HIDA scan showed that things were normal.  I have a copy of my chart in case I need further attention up in GA, but this is my fourth day feeling great.  They think maybe it was some sort of infection that didn't show up in my blood work.  I went four days last week with no pain and then, WHAM!  So I do hope I continue feeling fine.  Maybe it was some sort of bug or infection that worked its way out.  It really sounded like my gallbladder, but I'm just thankful that I'm feeling better.  The Lord knows what we can handle.  I asked her if it could be stress-related. :-) But my liver enzymes had elevated a good bit, and as of my last set of blood work, they'd come back down.  Now, the doctor wants to make sure they're continuing to come down, so I'll have a bit more blood work Monday. Other than that, I feel like I'm in good shape.

Anyway...we're moving along.  As of Monday, our internet will be cut off, so I'll try and get a couple posts in between now and then.

  

It wasn't very long after Ethan's appointment that we got some more good news.  The Lord had blessed us with another baby!  We were having our second child.  The children would be 18 months apart.  What?  Were we ready for this?  Absolutely! 

Things went very well.  At about 8-9 weeks, we got a "scare."  I'd had some spotting, but after a few days, it went away...and thankfully, never came back.  I remember Beth coming with me to the doctor that day.  I didn't want to be alone if I found out something wasn't right, and Deron couldn't get off work to be with me.  But when the doc did the ultrasound, there it was...a nice, strong heartbeat.  I remember that {sigh} of relief.  I couldn't wait to call Deron.

Daniel was born October 21, 2004 after a very easy delivery.  Ethan had paved the way!  And I got an epidural much sooner in the ballgame than I did with Ethan. 

Deron was studying for the written portion of his CCIE by then, and he passed on his first attempt in February of 2005!  It was then that he began studying for the lab portion.  Whew...what a road the road the Lord took us on then!

At this point, Deron had been suffering severe shoulder pain in his right shoulder.  He underwent shoulder surgery in March of 2005.  It was heartbreaking helping him with his physical therapy.  I hated it!  He was in pain, and yet, I had to keep moving his arm in these terribly, painful directions.  Ethan would soon be two years old, and one day, not long after surgery, Deron was sitting in his chair, and Ethan came to "help..."  Smacked Deron good on the shoulder.  I thought Ethan was going to fall apart when Deron screamed in agony!  That surgery wasn't entirely orthoscopic.  There was a three inch incision across the top of his shoulder that held several staples.  I never thought we'd make it through those days...

We've learned so much through times like that.  I used to wish my way past times like that.  Even now.  I look forward to the day I can look back on my hard times instead of enjoying things despite the hard days now.  There's so much joy in the journey God has for us that I don't want to miss it because of my own fleshly perspective.  My own thoughts about how things are "supposed" to be.  (Who am I kidding?  It's very easy to continuously fall into that rut of hoping for the day you can look back on "all this" and laugh! Especially now!)

Prov. 27:1 "Boast not thyself of to morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." 

Today, I've decided to update you all on a few of the happenings.  Aunt Beth guest posted on my blog yesterday and gave you a few of the highlights of the past few monthss.

I was unable to announce our move before last week, but then, I got sick and had no interest being on the computer. And if you've tried to call me, give me a few days...Hannah thought my phone would fit perfectly into a glass of water...It did fit, and now, it doesn't work! Nice.

January- Deron's hernia surgery

February- Deron's shoulder surgery and physical therapy

March- Phone interviews

April- "In person" interviews

May- He got the job!  Grace is born!!

June- Went into contract on a new house (after traveling six hours to search with a three-week old) all the while praying the Lord would send someone to live in our current home...we're renting it out!

July- I end up having strange symptoms of pain and land myself in the ER twice.  Now, I'm undergoing several other tests to examine my gallbladder more carefully.  The Lord sent us tenants this week!!  We'll close on the new house 7/31...hand over keys to tenants and move into the new house 8/2.

August- Deron will start his new job 8/15, so please pray for him as he begins this new chapter.

Honestly, I still can't believe we're moving, and we're moving in less than two weeks.  I feel like I just finished painting the house...wait...I did just finish painting the house.  I remember making the crack to my sister, whose husband is in the military, that I would hate to move that often!  When will I ever learn to shut my mouth?  How often have I moved? Once (four hours away from where I lived) when we got married, obviously. Three years later, we moved two and a half hours away from family and friends as a family of four.  And another three years later, we're moving six hours away from what has become home to us, as a family of six!  

It feels like a lot right now, but it'll work out and be fine.  The Lord hasn't opened a door for us that He doesn't want us to walk through! 

I'll be back when I need a "break" from all that's going on around here. 

backyard

Hey Y'all,

This is a special guest post from Aunt Beth, Laura has been a smidge busy lately. She had a baby 7 weeks ago, has gone to the emergency room 2 times, the doctor 2 times and had a Upper GI just during the past week. They think she may be having gallbladder trouble, she is having a HIDA gallbladder scan on Tuesday, she should get the results on Wednesday. Please continue to pray for her.

Since Deron and Laura did not have much going on ,  they are moving 2 weeks from today! The Lord has opened the doors and they have bought a house and will be moving Northeast of Atlanta. Deron starts a new job on August 15th.

The Lord sent some folks along this week to rent their house here and they are so thankful. Please continue to pray for them! Even though the Lord has opened these doors, making a long distance move with 4 children and the youngest one being 7 weeks old is a huge undertaking.

I don't expect that Laura is going to have much blogging time for a few weeks! Be sure and check back just in case!

This is Aunt Beth signing off, headed to fill another box!

Have a great weekend!!!!!

We brought Ethan home from the hospital on a very rainy and terribly dreary day.  Deron had the all-out-full-blown-flu-of-all-flus and I was sick with bronchitis as well.  On the way home from the hospital, Deron's fever broke.  We took his temperature anyway when we got home and it was 103 or 104 degrees.  He was sick!  Thankfully, Deron's mom was able to come and help us that first night.  I was hurting all over from having him, and coughing every five minutes wasn't helping, at! all!

The second night was the kicker.  At about 2 a.m., Ethan needed a diaper change, so I began tending to it.  He sprayed me in the face while he screamed at the top of his lungs. Then, my shirt became soaked because I was still trying to get used to nursing this little bundle.  By the time I got the diaper on him, he needed a new one because he was, obviously, not finished.  So, everything on my body was hurting and my clothes were soaked through with various liquids.  I remember sitting in the middle of the living room floor crying... crying something terrible!  I was so upset. What was I doing?  I was already a horrible mother and it was only the second night!

We did adjust...

At his six month check up, our pediatrician became concerned that his plates on his skull were closing prematurely.  Because let's face it, his head was very, um...large.  I was terrified!  Deron really thought everything was fine because he wasn't behind on any skills, so it, obviously, hadn't affected his brain.  And if he'd had something like that, it should have affected his brain development.  I sort of went back and forth between thinking things were fine and thinking things were not fine.  Needless to say, he was fine...he just inherited a rather large noggin.  I kinda think he's grown into it.

We were sent to Atlanta to see a specialist.  We ended up going up the night before, and I remember sitting in that hotel room the morning we were to be there reading my Bible.  I was concerned for Ethan.  I certainly didn't know what the doctor would tell us, but a special verse jumped off the pages at me.  One I'd read before but had suddenly taken on a more personal and real meaning to me. 

Ps. 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." 

The Lord would be with us that day and every day.  We rested in that. 

(Disclaimer!! :-) The following contains portions of a birth story, so those of you who don't want to read that type of thing, come back tomorrow!)

Thankfully, it was a very uneventful pregnancy...up until the last month...our one year anniversary to be exact.  I ended up on modified bed rest for a couple of weeks due to some bleeding.  Ethan was fine, but I wasn't.  We were scared!  We prayed and the Lord, once again, took care of us on the path He'd placed us on.  I remember feeling like I'd aged about ten years that night as we prayed for the life of our baby! 

After the bleeding, I had steady contractions all night long, but in the early morning hours, they stopped. You change when you have a child...even when your child is on the way. And everyone knows it's true, but until you experience that helpless feeling, you cannot understand.  You realize anew that God is in control, and He is caring for your baby.  We did all that we could do, but Ethan was the Lord's baby.  God took care of him. Ethan waited another four weeks to get here and even then, I was induced!  We are blessed because of what the Lord has done and what He continues to do.

Labor went fine...I guess...sort of.  I felt like I had to go "completely natural" like it was the "right" way to have a baby.  It wasn't very long before I decided to get some IV pain medicine.  Ethan didn't react well to that.  His heartrate went down too much and the doctor wouldn't give me anymore. 

Not long after that, I began shaking...probably going into transition, but at any rate, my blood pressure went WAY up and Ethan wasn't reacting very well.  All the sudden, there was  a room full of nurses yelling at me amidst the contractions to lay this way and that and sit this way and that.  It wasn't going well for a little while.  At this point, I felt like a failure when I requested an epidural...after much begging and pleading from my dear husband!  Once the medicine took effect, everything evened out and things sped up.  (I thought Deron was going to knock the anesthesiologist out when the man told me I wasn't making things very easy for him. HA! Can you imagine?!  He still did a wonderful job, though.) 

I absolutely do not feel that way about epidurals anymore, though, obviously. When people ask me about it, I'm completely political...  I had great experiences with mine, but I know plenty of people who've had great experiences without an epidural or pain medicine.  But I do think people should do what's best for them and not worry about what other people have or have not done.  There...hopping down off the soapbox!

I was ready to have him in no time, but the last part took two hours!  Later, there were many nurses who assured me that pushing that long is completely normal... especially in first time mothers.  Between me having bronchitis and and being unable to hold my breath amidst all the coughing and Ethan's shoulders being larger than his head, it was a long road.  There were moments when I thought I'd be that way in the hospital room forever!  Really.  Like...I had thoughts of me walking around living like that forever!   I was completely irrational. 

But he was born... And wow!  It's something we'll never ever forget!

John 16:21 had new meaning that day. "A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world."