Friends

There are times in your life, when it becomes evident how important your friends are to you.  I am so blessed to have so many friends, but I have to tell you about one very special friend.

I met Amy 13 years ago when we worked together.  If there was ever an instance of “separated at birth”, this would be it.  Our mothers swear we are just alike.

 

In our 13 years of being best friends, we have walked together through many fires. We may not agree on everything (which is rare, but it has happened), our friendship has always remained unscathed. 

These last 9 months, Amy has been my ROCK!  She has gone to doctors appointments, ultrasounds, sent out prayer requests to all of her prayer warriors on my behalf, sat in a hospital waiting room, held my precious daughter, comforted Cade and SaraGrace, helped take care of me, and most of all she has been my FRIEND!  But Amy is more than a friend, she is my sister.  The older sister I never had and my sister-in-Christ.  She has encouraged me every step along this journey. 

Amy, thank you for being the best friend a girl could ask for!  God has richly blessed me by putting you in my life.  I know we have seen and lived through some crazy, hard times, but I can’t imagine going through any of them without you.  Thank you for standing by my side, and walking this road with me.  You will never know what you mean to me!  I am so thankful for the blessing of calling you my friend!  I love you!

Songs that Inspire Me

I LOVE music! I love to sing, and play the piano. I just wish I did it more often. There have been several songs that have meant so much to me over the past several months and I wanted to share them with you. These songs were sung at Faith’s service, and they will forever hold a special place in my heart. I have posted the links to the original artists singing the songs on YouTube.

The first one is “I Will Carry You.” It was written by Angie and Todd Smith after the loss of their daughter. I wore out the Selah CD listening to it so much. Kelly did a beautiful job singing this song.

The next one is “Lord I Run to You” by Tommy Walker. Our choir got this song to sing and it spoke to me in such an amazing way. I have sung it over and over. So Michael sang it for us at Faith’s service.

This last one I had never heard until I had asked Brad for some suggestions for songs. Steven Curtis Chapman sings this song, “With Hope.” Brad sang this at the end of Faith’s service. What a message! We can cry and and say goodbye with hope! We know it’s not the end:)

I hope they encourage you as they have me. Do you have any songs that inspire you?

A Day at Disney

Yesterday we did this…

These lovelies….

..and these lovelies….

bought our tickets and sent each of our children with some spending money.  What an awesome gift they blessed us with! 

We spent the day with these folks (for the second time in 2 weeks)…

and had us a good ol’ time.

It only took us 1/2 day to get through the ticket process and on the ferry boat, but the kids were soooo……

 

(Note the princess sitting so princess like.)

Speaking of princesses, that was the first thing on the agenda.  SaraGrace got to see all of her favorites; most importantly….

 

But for all of the money that was spent to send her to the “Happiest place on earth,” the thing that entertained her the most was this…

  

She could not keep her hands (nor her mouth) off of the chains and snaps.  I am thinking Aunt Kiss and Aunt Beas could invest in a trip to the hardware store for her birthday.

The boys split off and rode the race cars.  Meanwhile, the girls (and Ryker) ventured through the long line to ride….

We met back up with our handsome men, and got in a pirate boat.

Then I took this awful (meaning I am not one who has mastered the skill of taking a picture of myself or any other passenger who may be riding with me) picture inside the Haunted Mansion.

We never get a family picture anywhere, so I made sure we got one.  Rob is actually smiling, which is amazing considering this was at the end of our second lap around the Kingdom.

It was almost time to go, so we decided to catch a short line and ride one more ride.  So we made it through to Pooh.  Though the ride is a little slow, we soooooo appreciated the fact that our children had something to entertain them through the 10 minute-that-turned-into-30-minute line. 

Daddy rode with his little “hunny”…

while Mommy rode with hers.  (See those picture taking skills again.)

Since the kids had money to spend we ended our day in the shops, and here is what they bought…

 

We had a really good time spending some much needed time as a family, along with some dear friends.  Thank you Beas, Jah, Kiss and Jacob for sending us to Disney for the day!

More Than Enough

The days have seemed to swirl by me as my life just wants to stand still. It hurts so bad some days that I want to believe I am further from Faith and further from God with each day that passes. Though our journey was not an easy one, the sweet tender moments that we spent with Faith, brought sweet tender moments that we shared with our Savior. I am scared for that closeness to fade away.

I laid in bed the other night, and just prayed and asked God to please help me to cling to Him. That He would help me to continue to trust Him. Throughout this situation, I have often thought of Job. Others have mentioned him a lot also. So I decided to take the time to read the book of Job. I am also reading a great book called “Holding on to Hope.” This book is the journey the author takes through Job as she is walking her own pathway of grief. I am at the halfway mark with both books, and something stood out to me as if God just screamed at the top of His lungs to make it grab my attention.

Job 1:21 says “And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” The author of the book then goes on to say that everything we have in this life is a gift from God. We have to be willing to trust everything to Him. And if we leave this earth with nothing, we will still have Jesus. He should be more than enough.

Um….Hello! More than Enough? That happens to be the name of my blog that I share with the world.

So I have decided to repost the ORIGINAL blog post from April 2009 as a reminder of where we started, and how much “More than Enough” my God is for me.

Well, I finally made it to the blog world. I have held off as long as possible, but I just gave in. God has put it on my heart for some time to do this, so I hope it will glorify him. Of course it will be filled with stories and pics of our precious children, but I hope it will be an encouragement to those who read it.
If you know me well, you will know that if I do something, I want it to stand out and be different. Of course my blog was no exception. I have pondered the name for some time, and I finally decided on More than Enough. I wanted something that would stand for how I feel about my life and all I have been given. It is a worship song that I had never heard until I was asked to sing it. The words are so simple, yet the meaning is more than powerful.
I have been in a funk, pretty much all week. Just overwhelmed! Melinda is graduating Friday, she is getting married NEXT WEEK, we are planning for our mission trip to Costa Rica in June, trying to sell 2 dive scooters to raise money for our trip, attempting to stay on a budget in these tight financial times, maintaining our busy social life, and the list goes on and on. My life gets so busy sometimes, that I get too caught up in the things that don't matter. I finally prayed about it and here is the peace that passes all understanding,,,,
The many friendships in my life, that mean so much to me....are More Than Enough to love and support me.
The great (most days) job that I have in this terrible economy.....is More Than Enough to meet our needs.
My most wonderful family that I am so close to....is More Than Enough to count on anytime I need them.
My more than AMAZING husband, whom I love unconditionally, who is a changed man following God's desires for his heart....is way More Than Enough to love me for who I am.
My most PRECIOUS miracles, Cade and SaraGrace, who were never to be mine, but God was more powerful than any doctor or treatment....are More Than Enough for me to love and cherish every second I have with them. They make me a better Momma.
And the GREATEST gift of all, my SALVATION....is More Than Enough to see me through this earthly life, and to escort me to see my Savior when I get to Heaven.
My life is filled with far more blessings than I deserve. For that, I am most grateful.

***And now I have to add…..My daughter, Faith, who was too precious for this earth, is More Than Enough to show me that we can love our children with everything we have in us, but no one can love them like Jesus. She is More Than Enough to teach us to trust in God’s plans, for He promises us hope and a future.

And most importantly, my Savior is More Than Enough to sustain me here on this earth, as we walk a path of grief, suffering and despair. Though one of our most precious gifts is no longer on this earth, THE most precious gift will endure forever…..the gift of God’s love and grace.

All About Cade and Prayer Requests

Things have been so crazy lately, I haven’t had the chance to share all about my little man. 

This little man has made me so proud!

Not only has he grown so much over the past few months,

He also brought home straight A’s all year long!

  

That’s a HUGE accomplishment, and his parents couldn’t be more “prouder.”

We would like to do something special for him.  If you have any suggestions, please comment and let me know. 

I would like to ask you to pray for two families specifically today.  The first is Cricket.  Cricket is expecting her third child, a son named Tate.  Tate has been diagnosed with Trisomy 18.  She will be induced tomorrow morning, and the emotions that are running through her mind right now are unexplainable.  Both Cricket and her husband have shown AMAZING faith in God, and are trusting in His plans for their son.  I know it was very encouraging to know how many people loved and cared for us enough to pray for us, so I would like to do the same for her.

I would also ask you to pray for Heather and Aaron.  Their son, David, was born into the arms of Jesus last Wednesday.  He was also diagnosed with Trisomy 18.  Please pray for them as they are dealing with the loss of their precious baby.

How Great is Our God

Two weeks ago today, as I type this, our angel came into this world and without ever saying a word, she spoke the love of Jesus to many people around the world. She’s our little missionary (as her Papa has named her.) Her life has proven to us and to the world, that God is Great!

The splendor of the King; clothed in majesty;

Let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice;

He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide

And trembles at His voice, trembles at His voice.

How great is our God, sing with me, How great is our God

and all will see How great, how great is our God.

Age to age He stands,

And time is in His hands

Beginning and the end, Beginning and the end.

The Godhead Three in One, Father Spirit Son

The Lion and the Lamb, The Lion and the Lamb.

Name above all names

Worthy of our praise

My heart will sing, How great is our God.

Thank you to Chontelle at Cotton Blossoms (and Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep) for the priceless gift of capturing our time with Faith in pictures. She did an amazing job, and we will be forever grateful.

A Better Day

Today has been a much better day. Though yesterday was extremely emotional and tough, God showed Himself in so many ways. Amy, Christina and I have been calling these moments “God Winks.” Apparently there is a book with this title, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

The biggest moment of my day was when Rob and I had our devotion time last night. As I mentioned yesterday, it had started in the book of Job at the beginning of the week. The title for last night’s devotion was “Crisis of Faith.” Here is what is said:

“Sally and I went through a time when my faith was challenged to the very core of my being. When our daughter Becki developed cancer in 1978, I believed God would answer my prayers to heal her. When that didn’t happen, I became very angry at God. I was totally devastated. After the doctor told us he would have to amputate Becki’s leg, I turned to Sally and said, “We’re going to have to be very strong from now on because God isn’t going to care for us.” I was ready to leave the ministry. Sally was busy helping Becki after surgery, but fortunately I had three close friends who let me pour out my grief. They stood by me and let me ventilate for hours on end. It ultimately came to a point where I had to say, “I’m either going to trust myself, or I am going to trust God blindly.” I realized if I trusted myself there would be nothing but despair, because I could not control life. So the only viable option was to trust God-Jim Conway”

The verse for the day was Job 13:15-“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.”

When he talked about the three close friends, I just had to laugh! I poured my heart out to Amy, Christina and Sarah. I had to vent too! But God just spoke to me ever so softly, to remind me that it was Satan wanting me to feel defeated. It was Satan wanting me to believe that Faith would be forgotten. He reminded me that this is His story, and Satan will not have a say so, unless I allow him to.

So, I have decided that I will not trust myself, but I choose to trust God blindly, because I know by trusting myself and the world will bring nothing but despair. But trusting in Jesus will give me the strength and the hope to endure. He has given us hope in eternity, and that is what we have clung to the last several months. As my Uncle Ron reminded me at Faith’s service, we now have treasure in heaven, waiting for us to meet her there.