A great weekend!

Here are some pictures from the weekend. Elizabeth & Duane's girls spent the night on Friday. Then, Elizabeth & I took FIVE tween girls to HSM 3 Saturday evening. Our family introduced Paulo & Juliana to pumpkin carving (I forgot my camera). Tonight was the big Fall Festival at church. What a blast! Jordan is so tired. Better get her to bed...

Another Fave Five Friday...

Credit to Suzanne: http://susannesspace.blogspot.com/ for kickstarting this Fave Five Friday "movement".

This week has been unusual, topped off by Jordan having strep throat. I sent a fax last night with the pages upside down, so the service coordinator got blank pages. I went all day today with mismatched earrings...and no one said a word. Feeling a bit like I am "losing it". :) Good thing it is Friday!!!

Here it goes:

1. Jordan won the right to be the youth judge at the chili contest at church this weekend. She did this by identifying 5 spices correctly, one of which was ground mustard!! Funny thing is...Jordan doesn't like chili. I asked her why she is going to be a judge when she doesn't like chili, to which she responded, "I have never been a judge of anything! I'll get through it with lots of water and mints." LOL!

2. We got our Matrix back from the shop. This is the 5th time it has been in service for not starting and we think they got it fixed this time!! YIPPEE!

3. Jordan is feeling better thanks to antibiotics.

4. Beautiful weather this week followed by GLORIOUS RAIN today!! I don't usually like driving in the rain all day, but we so desperately need it!!

5. My hubby made guacamole burgers for dinner one night this week...just like the ones at Red Robin. SO YUMMY!!

Have a great Friday and wonderful weekend!

Updates

Updates on my prayer requests:

1. My grandpa continues to heal at home, being monitored by a doctor that is coming to the house a few times a week.

2. My parents and Grandmother made the trip to Mass. safely. They need prayers for the days ahead in dealing w/ my uncle.

3-5. No updates. Please contine to pray.

6. Jordan has strep throat, but with the antibiotic is already starting to feel better...praise God! (I actually hoped it was something that would be helped with an antibiotic, so she'd feel better faster.)

All in all, things are going well. Thanks for the prayers!

Some prayer requests...

We have several people in our family and circle of friends that need prayer. I have been earnestly praying for them and ask my fellow bloggers to join me. Thank you!

1. My grandpa, Vince, fell this weekend and is healing at home with a broken rib and possibly a small break in his hip. Pray for my grandma, Marie, as she helps take care of him.
2. My parents and grandmother, Rose, are traveling to Massachussetts this week. My uncle is having some personal problems and they are going to try to help him. (as well as see the family)
3. A friend has brought her son, who is paralyzed from the neck down, home from rehab. Pray that this transition home goes well and she gets support from other members of the family.
4. Pray for a young girl that was adopted from overseas and is now in an institution due to several mental problems and violent behavior.
5. Pray for Bob as he undergoes a stem cell transplant and his wife, Jackie.
6. Jordan has a cold, sore throat, and fever.

Thank you for lifting up these prayer requests!! God bless!

Fave Five Friday

Go to Suzanne's blog: http://susannesspace.blogspot.com/ to learn more about her Fave Five Friday idea.

The list this week is good therapy. It has been a long week; I guess I'm just tired from all of the traveling. I look forward to some down time tonight!!

1. Captivus on Tuesday night was great and thought provoking. We discussed leadership and being "thick skinned" and then one step further, we discussed taking care of our "skin" so we can be effective leaders. I have discovered I need more down time and alone time to unwind than I realized. I've been worn out this week with no time to unwind the last few weeks.

2. Stephen Ministry training on Wednesday night was amazing! We heard from a chaplain from Hospice. She was excellent and gave many good tips.

3. Found out a friend of mine and her husband are one step closer to adopting their foster children....YIPPEE!!

4. Fall Festival on campus was a blast last night. We reconnected with people we hadn't seen in awhile, ate good chili and had a lot of fun.

5. Lounge outfit from my in-laws. I came home from work and put on this incredibly comfortable and soft lounge outfit. Ready for a night of movie watching...27 Dresses or Made of Honor..mmm.

Have a great weekend!!

Remembering our babies...October 15th

We light a candle to remember the babies that were loved, wanted and are missed. We light a candle to remember our 3 angel babies and Cassie, Lauryn and Elijah.

The big wedding!!

We've made it!

We are in MO and getting ready to celebrate Zane & Kim's marriage. The Minnesota family arrived last night and the boys are in rare form. They leave for Disney World on Monday...way exciting!!

The hall is decorated beautifully with fall leaves and pumpkins. Hard to imagine fall with 80 degree temps today!! Watch for pictures of the reception this week!

Reflections...

No Fave Five Friday this week as we are traveling again and I need to do a shorter post. I've worked a lot this week and am thankful that in the economy today that I am employed and able to provide for my family.

I am amazed at how God takes care of us even in the smallest of things. I have to see 5 patients today while preparing to be gone for the weekend, getting homeschooling done, etc... The home health agency called this morning in a panic and needed a new patient seen. That would take another hour out of my already busy day. Of course, I said I would go, but became stressed almost to the point of tears. I prayed over breakfast that God would supernaturally help me get things done. Not 5 minutes later the phone rang. The nurse at the office called to tell me the patient had a fever and was not released from the hospital. PRAISE GOD! (Not praising that this patient has a fever, but that once again God took care of me.) This seems like a small feat for a God so big, but I know he took care of me in a time of feeling overwhelmed!

If we look everyday at the small miracles in our lives, we will be amazed at what God does for us. Most of us know he is with us for "big" things: times of loss, fear, crisis. But, I know he is there everyday walking with us, holding our hands and loving us! PRAISE GOD!

Trip to our "home state"

We had a great trip this weekend! Got to take Paulo & Juliana up in the Arch and introduce them to some really good frozen custard!! The babies got along great! Carolina really likes Nicholas...attacked him!! We (well, Lance & Paulo spoke) at two churches on Sunday to promote our mission trip to Brazil. It was a wonderful trip!!

Fave Five "Friday"

Yes, it is only Thursday, but tomorrow I will go to work and then we leave for our "home state" as soon as I get home. The Lopes family is going with us...it will be a blast!!

Weekly Fave Five:

1. Women's retreat was awesome!! We experienced how we take in from the world through our senses. We also discussed our body image and how we see ourselves, how God sees us and how the world thinks we should look. Interesting!

2. Our tandem is finally together and able to be ridden. Lance & I took the voyage ride around the neighborhood and then he gave Jordan and her friend Abbey turns on the bike. We really like the way it rides and it is really light. When is the next MS 150?

3. Craft making with Jordan on Tuesday. (See earlier post) Didn't turn out like we had hoped, but we had fun!

4. Lance & I went on a 9 mile ride on Wednesday evening. Took some adjusting to get used to the new bike, but we did a good ride. (At least that is what my legs told me) There are a lot of hills in this state!!

5. Myth busters at church. Jordan's youth group did myth busters last night. We got back from our ride in time to catch the last couple of tests. The two phonebooks held together, even when pulled between a tree and a jeep (after breaking 2 tether cords)!! And...flour does ignite if blown just right into a flame...it did better than the coffee creamer! :)

So I guess I did a Fave Five Thursday this week! More posting about our trip when we get back!