So much good news!

I know it's been almost 2 months since the last time I posted, but things have been really busy around here. At last, I am TOTALLY finished with my classes! I finished my last CPT class on the 13th, and I am completely shocked at my grade. I ended up with a 100 on the final, after the teacher went back and gave partial credit on some things. I got a 105 in the class! My teacher said that this is the first class she has ever taught that the whole class passed!

My internship starts on the 23rd, and being that it is all online, it will seem like another class, I suppose. But, if I decide to get a job, it will give me credit toward my internship! I think I will wait and see just how much work is involved in the internship before I get one, though.

In other news, I just talked to my mom, and she is on her way to get an infusion! There has been a big mixup with her insurance, and she hasn't been able to get one, even though she really needed it. But, praise God, today, everything has been cleared up, and she is on her way to getting better!

We took Matthew to the doctor this morning, about some behavioral concerns(nothing bad, just...different), and the doctor says he is doing very well, and the concern we had is a very common thing, especially in boys! I am so relieved!

Robby has a play coming up on Thursday. He will be Curly, a robber, in the Brementown Musicians. I will post pictures when I get them.

Rachel has a country report due on Wednesday. She has chosen Austria, since that's where John's family is from. I think she has done well on it, but there are still a few things to get together for it. Please pray that we can get it all accomplished on time.

I got back from New Mexico on Saturday. I went to visit my friends, Theresa and John, and family. They moved there 2 years ago, and I have only seen Theresa once since. NM is such a beautiful place! I had a really good time. They took me to some absolutely gorgeous spots, and it was nice to be somewhere with no responsibilities for a time. It was a very nice, and much needed, break. Thank you so much, John and Theresa, for letting me stay with you, and for taking such good care of me while I was there. It was wonderful to spend time with you again.

And to my husband, John, thank you for taking care of things while I was gone. I really appreciate the support, and the down time without worries.

Theresa has an adorable puppy, named Mejito. He is a teacup yorkie, and he's no bigger than a guinea pig. He spends most of his time with his tongue stuck out. So cute! Theresa says you can't even get teacup yorkies in NM. It's probably because the birds are big enough to carry him away, not to mention the mountain lions and bobcats.

I recently heard that our friend, Fr. Ted, will be staying with us for a week this summer. I am so excited! He is currently living in Africa, so we only get to see him once a year. It is always a blessing to have him in our home. He is Matthew's godfather (one of them), and we have always considered him family.

Please pray for John(my husband) this week. He has to have an endoscopy to dialate his throat, on Thursday. Pray that it is nothing, and for a quick recovery time.

The Tempest

Rachel's play was Friday morning, and it went great! The kids did a really good job. I was there most of Thursday and Friday morning to help get things ready. I helped the kids get dressed, and put makeup on all the girls. Rachel was so excited, and rightly so. She did a really good job as Ariel, even if it is me saying so. She made up her own tunes for the singing parts. She was a little disappointed that her back was to us in alot of the video, but it was still great.

Thank you, Mom, for the beautiful costume. Everyone has been asking me where I got it.

The first picture is of Rachel with her cousins, Jonathon, William, and Kathryn. The second is the whole class. The last is Rachel with her teacher, Mrs. Murrell.

Thank you, Mrs. Murrell, for all your hard work. I think this is one lesson the kids will always remember. They had so much fun!

Much needed prayer

Please pray for my mom. On Friday, when I last saw her, she was fine and dandy. By Friday night, apparently, she had come down with a horrible case of the flu. Dad says he hasn't seen her this sick since they had the Hong Kong Flu in '74. And that's saying alot, since she has an immune deficiency that causes her to catch things fairly easily. I'm so worried about her. I hate not being able to help her. Please pray that Daddy doesn't get it, either.
Lord, please heal Mom quickly. Help her stomach to settle, and her cough to lessen. Help her to rest peacefully, and regain her strength. Please keep Daddy healthy. Give them both the grace they need to get through this. Thank you, Lord, for your blessings and healing. Amen.

Thrilling!

I just finished taking my final for my CPT-4 coding class. I am SOOO excited! I am happy to declare an A in the class! This course has kicked my behind for the whole session, and I finally "got it"! I only have one class left and I will be finished with my courses. Then I will start a 4 month internship.
I am trying to decide whether or not I want to get a job before I finish my internship. If I do, some of my hours will be credited toward the internship. But I'm not sure if I can keep up with both of those and my family too. I guess I will wait until the internship starts and see how time consuming it is.
God has given me so much grace to do this. Thank you, Lord!

My 10 year old girl

My sweet Rachel turned 10 on Feb. 9. I haven't had much chance to write about it, but we had a great weekend. Her birthday always lands on the birthday weekend of our fair Community. So she had an extended celebration.
Friday night, there was the Community birthday party with games for the kids and cake and ice cream.
Saturday, Rachel's actual birthday, we had a women's prayer breakfast, and they called Rachel up on stage to sing to her. She looked super cute that day. We had curled her hair, and took extra time the night before to pick out an adorable outfit. She was so excited! That night, we had a Lord's Day Meal, and I made her a cake to have at our table.
Sunday, there was a Mass, then breakfast, then our Community's covenant signing. That evening, we had grandparents and godparents over for her family celebration. She asked for a book shelf and lots of books, which she got, and is currently spending every free moment devouring said books.
This weekend, we are having some of her friends over for a sleepover. I wish I could let her have all of them, but I know myself, and I just can't handle that big of a group. I limited her to 6. We will have pizza and karaoke, among other things. She is extremely ecstatic. Lucky girl, there's no school tomorrow, so we can spend the whole day preparing for her friends to come.
I plan to take lots of pictures, so I will post some after the party.
Thank you, Lord, for my wonderful girl. She is lovely, talented, imaginative, outgoing. I can't imagine my world without her.
I love you, Rachel!

Prayer Needs

My parents returned from Arkansas last night, where they were visiting some longtime friends. Mom has come home with a terrible cold. Her doctor says it's the same type of stuff everyone else is dealing with, but I still worry about her. She has in immune deficiency, and she tends to catch things, and hang on to them, a little more often than the rest of us. Please pray for her quick healing.
Also, my friend Patti's niece, Amanda, was in a terrible car accident at the end of January. I knew she was in bad shape, but I just didn't realize how bad. Amanda was thrown from the truck she was in, the truck rolled, severed a tree, and the tree fell on Amanda's abdomen. She can use all the prayers she can get. Patti has a blog, but for some reason I didn't think to look at it for updates until today. If your would like to know the details, go to http://www.mercydropsfalling.blogspot.com.
Another who needs prayer is our friend, Father Ted Hochstatter, who is a missionary priest in Africa. He lives right in the area where all the violence is happening over there. Please pray for his protection. He is a precious, wonderful man of God.
To anyone who reads this, thank you for your prayers!

Mia's baptism

Now that I have finally figured out how to post pictures, I can show you sweet little Mia. Pray for her. She has been very sick. Even after how careful Heather has been to try to keep her from getting exposed to things, she has RSV, an ear infection, and a throw up bug. Poor baby! I hate that I haven't been able to see her more, but my kids have been sick too, and I don't want to expose her to anything else if I can help it. These pictures are from her baptism. This one is of me with Mia. You can see her face really good in this one. And this one is of Paul and Heather, Mia, me, and Christina and Jeff. Christina is my niece, and she and Jeff are also Mia's godparents.