Soaking In the Son

Yesterday, we experienced our first full day of vacationing here in Florida and it was a glorious day!!

The resort we are staying at has its very own water park and that is where we spent the first few hours of our day. 

Yes, once again I'm the official photographer of our vacation but this is a vacation I plan to experience as well as document. I think I shocked the kids when the first thing I did was join them riding the lazy river. I have to admit my vantage point is usually from a lounge chair and not in the "thick"" of the activity BUT I vowed this vacation would be different. Now that the kids are older, I'm realizing that soon I will blink and they will be in college, I've made the decision to be a participator and not just on the sidelines watching. Of course, when I went under the double waterfall and got pummeled by gallons of water, I had a moment of wishing I had stayed on my lounger.  

At the water park, they also have a splash zone, this I chose only to observe from a safe distance. The kids enjoyed running around the zone spaying water guns at each other but they were drawn back to the lazy river and spent the rest of the morning going with the flow of the current. Oh, they also have a slide that goes into a grotto on the lazy river. The kids, including Dave, really loved that!! Matt actually did it more times than Emily which surprised me.  

Ahhh....vacation!! We are so very blessed that each year we are able to take time as a family and just enjoy being together and where we are. 

As I was sitting on my lounge chair in between lazy river rides, I took some time to take in the beauty of my surroundings. My eyes were drawn to the palm tree directly in front of me and at the slight sway of a few palms even though the air around seemed to be still and hot. The palms seemed to be whispering. 

If you didn't look close enough you wouldn't notice their movement. In that moment, I thought of how God speaks to us and works in our lives. 

You see the evening before and this morning we were receiving updates regarding a very special boy, Jordan, (I grew up with his dad and aunt in NY) who was having a double lung transplant. Jordan has been on the transplant list for over 8 months and temporarily relocated with his mom and brother to Houston while his dad travels back and forth from his job and their home in North Dakota. This was Jordan's 5th attempt at receiving a transplant. Jordan and his family have been an amazing testimony of God's love and the plan He has for each and every one of our lives. Today we are rejoicing that Jordan has come out of the surgery well and he is in the beginning steps of recovery.

Oh how God cares for us but so many times we are not listening or we are doing our own thing outside of His plan. As I saw the palms swaying on that tree, I was praying for Jordan and also being shown what I need to be doing and that is listening for the whispers of God. The whispers meant for me but I allow life and its craziness to drown them out. So many times I want shouts from God and I "want it now" but God surely doesn't give us what we don't need and he doesn't go by our time table. So far on our vacation, I've seen God working in whispers (the nail in our tire, Matt's upset stomach) and in shouts (Jordan's new lungs). I'm so blessed that God never takes a vacation that He is always working everywhere, in every situation.  Is how He working always how or what I want? No!! But then this life I live is not meant for me but for Him and bringing Him glory through everything I do the big and the small. 

Today is a new day!! A day I choose to enjoy my family soaking up the Florida sun BUT also a day I plan to be soaking in the Son, listening for God in the whispers and praising Him with the loud shout of my life, a living testimony of His love and grace.  

Enjoy your day whereever it may take you!!

Florida Here We Come!

The end of last week turned into a flurry of activity as we prepared for our family vacation - this year to Florida. 

Most people who know me, know that I am a very organized person so packing for a vacation shouldn't be that big of a deal, right? Not right!!! Packing for me is a necessary requirement for vacationing. In the past, I didn't mind the task as much but this time I truly dreaded it. I think mainly because I had limited space to what I am used to packing (when we travel via car we usually take our van this time we were taking our Outback). Also, my husband was packing for one week away while the kids were packing for two. After our time together in Florida, the kids and I are headed to Tennessee while Dave heads back home. We also chose to drive to FL from northeastern NJ, a 17 hour trip (stops not included). Dave and I fully admit we are not night drivers, so our trip consisted of a 2 day split - 10 hours the 1st day, 7 the next with  the  stop over in SC. This decision resulted in an overnight bag to pack. In the end, the packing did get done and after a very busy Saturday we headed out Sunday morning, Father's day.

The kids were ready for this driving adventure. We had been preparing them for weeks letting them know this was NOT going to be a quick drive in the car. They were armed with DS units, Kindles, a DVD player, books and more to pass the time.

About three quarters of the way through our first day of travel, we notice a tire pressure light come on in the car. Turns out we "picked up" a nail during our travels. Although having to make a few extra stops to add air to the tire, thankfully we got to our destination without incident. We made a game plan to get the tire fixed in the morning as traveling on a Sunday resulted in most places being closed. The funny thing is with my organizational craziness I'm usually a stickler when it comes to schedules being kept and this delay didn't really bother me. I had a peace about it, that it would be taken care of and I was very thankful that we didn't have a blow out or got stuck on the highway. The "peace" seemed a little unusual but I was glad for it. I believe everything is in the hands of God and even this nail in our tire and need of repair was part of His plan. 

At 6:44 this morning, we found out how all this was working together. Matt has an issue with allergies and phlegm. Sadly, it builds up and the only way to relieve his upset stomach is spitting it out. Gross I know, but a way of life for him. Well, at this very early hour, he headed to the bathroom to start this elimination process. Once he starts, he goes until he is done and there is really no time table. With Dave having to take care of the tire, Matt was able to take his time and get "better" on his own time table.  We still left by a little after 9 am. 

God truly made this all work together. I know He is always working in the big and little things and I am thankful to be held in His hand.

Our trip took us through the states of South Carolina and Georgia, two states the kids and I have never been in. We can now cross those off our list of states we've "visited". The "Welcome to Florida" sign was a wonderful sight. We still had a ways to drive to our final location but we were happy to say we were in the state!

The place we are staying is a few minutes from Disney but we don't plan on going there until the end of the week.  For now, we are enjoying the pool at the resort, get to go to its water park tomorrow and we will be visiting Dave's sisters and the kid's cousins.

It is so wonderful being on our family vacation and I enjoy sharing it with all of you!  

Last Day of School, Last Day of School

Wow! It is hard to believe I'm actually saying those words, "last day of school". It feels like we were only just celebrating Christmas and attending the kid's Christmas program. Truly, time does pass quickly as you get older. 

This year was a year of change when it came to school. The kids had been attending public school since preschool. Then, God laid it on our hearts to send them to Christian school and we laid it in His hands to allow it to happen financially. We knew that if this was where God wanted them He would provide. Once again, God has proven that when our lives and decisions are placed in His hands "that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them" (Romans 8:28 NLT). In September 2012, the kids started attending Hackensack Christian Schools.

Now, please know that it has not been an easy year, we are not promised easy! We started the year by having to have Emily reevaluated for special education services which resulted in her official classification of "autistic". When it comes to Emily's learning challenges, I'm always very honest.  When this reevaluation was being done, I was "hoping" that with all the time, effort and early intervention done on Emily's behalf that the classification would have been different. It was a selfish moment on my part, wanting to take away the challenges that will always be there in regard to her having autism. BUT I also know that God made Emily exactly the way He wanted and that she has been and will be used mightily for His glory. Also, Emily's learning challenges has made my faith in God grow and also helped me become a true advocate for my children's needs. It has also given me the opportunity to support other parent's, especially mom's, of kids with similar learning issues. This is something I never would have thought of myself doing and of course I only am equipped because of the gift of Emily. 

I have to say this is the first year in quite a while where I have been very actively involved in Emily's progress and her day to day school assignments. This is mainly due to the fact that we are attempting to "teach" Emily how to structure her time and learning as she gets into the older grades, to be more self sufficient.  This is not because we do not want to help her, but our thinking has always been that we need to train her to be able to function in society and as much as possible without us as a safety net. After all, we will not be with her at college, job interviews, career, etc. 

Emily had a first year teacher, a wonderful man, who had not experienced dealing with a special needs student on a full time basis. Thankfully with his support, the special ed services and the school principal, Emily had an academically successful year. 

As a matter of fact, all Emily's hard work and our "monitoring" assisted in Emily being awarded a trophy for "Most Improved" in the school's 4th grade class. We are so very proud of all the effort she puts forth. Emily works hard for her grades and knowing her capabilities, strengths and weaknesses we come along side her to be the most "successful" she can be.

Emily really liked school this year too!! How do we know? She also was awarded a trophy for perfect attendance. This was a first for her. I guess she really liked being at school, with her teacher and classmates, that she didn't want to miss one day.

Matt had a few challenges this year too! Of course, if you know Matt personally, you know he has no trouble socially. Academically, Matt did very well - his biggest strength being in Math and he got to participate in the school's Spelling Bee. He also really enjoyed Bible class. We are always surprised how many details he knows when we start talking about certain Bible stories and he is constantly asking us to "Bible quiz" him during dinner. They are required to learn cursive and it is taught in 2nd grade.  Matt did struggle with this at first - we spent many nights erasing and rewriting words. Within the last month of the year, his cursive/penmanship has totally transformed. When I would review his spelling words, I would have to look twice because of how amazing they looked.
Matt did struggle a little this year with the personal habit of sucking his thumb. Thankfully, his teacher worked with us in trying to implement a plan that would help him to "refrain" from this during school time. We did get him to stop but recently he has regressed a little bit. Something to work on for next year.

Matt did receive a completion of work certificate and received an "A" average in all his subjects throughout the entire year. He did not have perfect attendance but did enjoying going to school, being with his teacher and classmates. He did tell us that he is going to try and get a trophy next year. We said, "it is a good goal to set".
Emily and Matt have been re enrolled to attend Hackensack Christian School next year. Over the summer, we would appreciate it if you would pray for Emily and Matt as we do some work to prep them for 5th and 3rd grade. Please pray for their teachers as they prepare for next year. Also, pray for Dave and I, especially me, as I continue to work on behalf of the kids, especially Emily as the workload and work get harder.

For now, their uniforms are in for their final washing of the 2012-2013 school year. We are looking forward to the summer filled with fun, friends and family vacations.
Oh and on a final note, thank you to all who have prayed our kids through this past school year and for the support you have given us in making this school year happen at HCS. We are truly  grateful!

Kid's Baptism

Here is a small video of the kid's baptism on Sunday, June 9, 2013

Choices, Choices, Choices

This year has been the "birthday of choices" for Emily and Matt. 

When the kids were younger, we would do birthday parties for each of them but in recent years we've been alternating who gets the birthday party based on the age they are turning. Emily being older has changed her style of birthday party to "girls only" get togethers or sleepovers; Matt is more into event parties: Monster Golf or a trip to Monster Jam with a friend. 

As kids get older, we can all attest to the fact that their birthday present requests get more expensive.  So, choices need to start being made.

One Christmas, we purchased a Kindle for the family. In the beginning, I was using it the most for reading. Then, the kids discovered the apps for the Kindle were different from their DS's which had been keeping them content. Slowly, my Kindle reading dwindled as the kids debated over whose turn it was to use it. 

This situation created the "birth" of the "birthday of choices". The kids are currently attending a private school where their classes consist of 10 children. Taking into account their classmates and a few church and neighborhood friends, we gave the kids the option of having a birthday party, which would be their present from us, or a Kindle. We felt this would be a fair choice as both would equal the same amount of money being spent. After several explanations of it is one or the other not both and yes, they could take cupcakes in to school to celebrate their birthday's with their classmates, both kids chose to receive the Kindle. 

Emily's birthday has passed and she was ecstatic to received her Kindle.  Now, Matt is just waiting for the end of the month to receive his. Then, finally, I will be able to go back to using the "family" Kindle for reading.  

As the kids are getting older, we are trying to teach them that life is full of choices and that they need to really think about the choices that they make whether they be regarding the small day to day things or the big issues of life. This birthday choice may seem like a simple lesson but it is a start. It teaches them the value of the gift they are choosing and shows them that  it cost them one thing to get another.  

Our goal is to raise kids who weigh the choices they need to make and choose wisely being good stewards not only of their money but other's too! 

Oh and in the end, I am positive they will be happy with this year's  "birthday of choices". I know Emily is.....Matt has a little more time before his happiness arrives.  

Choosing to Be a Reflection

The month of June is special to Dave and I in that its the month our children, Emily and Matt, were born. 

Today this month became even more special in that Emily & Matt were both baptized today. "Proud" is not really the word that I think of when I reflect on their decision to make their belief and salvation through Jesus Christ public. When I think of being "proud", I think of a contribution being made to result in an outcome. Dave and I have nothing to do with their belief in Jesus as their Savior, it is all a God thing. Yes, we believe in God and Jesus as our Lord and Savior and they know this, we take them to church, we do our best to be examples of God's love and show them how to live a life that brings glory to God but when it comes down to it it is only God who can touch their hearts and bring them to Him. 

So, the word that would better describe how we are feeling today is blessed. Blessed first that God gave them to us. Do they drive us crazy sometimes? Oh yes!! But we wouldn't have it any other way. Blessed that God has touched both their hearts and they have accepted Jesus as their Savior. I have been truly blessed that God gave me the opportunity to help Matt take the steps to accept Jesus. Now, today we are blessed to have been able to watch as our children chose to make their acceptance of Jesus as their Savior and their desire to follow Him public before our church family and friends. 

It is a blessing to not only have them as our children but to have them as our brother and sister in Christ. 

Oh my 11!!!

Today is a very happy and yet eye opening day for me. Today is Emily's 11th birthday. It seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital awaiting her arrival which came at 6:40 pm.

Its funny how in the day to day of life, you don't always "see" how quickly your children are growing. The rush of getting them off to school and to activities overshadows the passing of days. But then there are those moments when the reality of time hits you right in the face. 

Now am I all that surprised she is 11 today? No! She's been asking me for months if I can believe she is turning 11, to which I always replied "yes". However, when I think of the years and events approaching within those years, I sit back in astonishment of how little time she has left to be "little". In 2 years she'll be 13, in 5 years she'll be allowed to drive, in 8 years she'll be graduating high school, in 9 heading off to college and who knows when marriage will come into the picture. Now, I am not trying to rush these years, I'm just in the frame of mind that soon she will be a young woman "on her own" and my job as the day to day mom will have ended. Yes, I am well aware motherhood never ends but the season of being needed on a daily basis will have ended and my motherly role will change.  

Even now we are entering a new season together! Emily is no longer a little girl. She is definitely a preteen who is turning into a beautiful young lady. Oh, we have our times of butting heads but thankfully God has blessed her with a sweet spirit so these times rarely happen and I'm praying it stays that way through the teen years to come.

When I think of my life, I cannot imagine it without her. God truly blessed us with our little girl. He has also challenged us through her too! If someone told me before having her, that she would experience social and educational needs, I would have panicked and wondered "how in the world do we get through this". I believe God does not give us more than we can handle. I'm also grateful that He doesn't always reveal what is coming ahead of time, because in my human insecurity I would want to turn and run, not depending on His love and goodness and sadly miss out on amazing blessings. Emily's needs have been met beyond what we could have imagined. The teacher's she has had, the case worker's, Sunday School teacher's, family friends and friends have all been placed in her life at just the right time and I know that is all a God thing. 

This past year we've seen Emily grow in her belief and faith in God. I cannot tell you how much that means to us as believers. As a matter of fact, next Sunday she along with Matt will be being baptized.

This a quote I've been waiting to put up in Emily's room and I believe now is the time as she enters this preteen stage of her life. I want her to know that not only is she precious to us even more so she is precious to God. He has an amazing plan for her life and she need only to surrender it to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
As she starts her 11th year, my prayer for her is that she grows in God and continues to become an amazing young lady.
We had an amazing day today celebrating the beginning of this new year. She was happy to get her birthday present and eat her moustache birthday cake. Tomorrow starts another year and a year God has intended for her.

Happy 11th birthday, Emily!!! We love you so very much!!

Emily's Mooostache

Now, most girls do not want a moustache but Emily, she loves them!! Not on her personally but on anything else it is "awesome".

To say she is obsessed with them would be an understatement. Earlier this week we went shopping at Claires and she decided she needed a new wallet. At first, she was all set on getting a wallet with owls and a cute little saying and that was quickly tossed aside when she found this moustache one. 

Now when you talk to Emily about her newest obsession you must pronunciate it the Emily way "mooostaches". 

Tomorrow is Emily's birthday and due to other planned activities and her gift choice she is not having a birthday party. Now usually for birthdays if there isn't a party we buy a small cake that serves 4 from the local food store. In Emily's case, it would be cheesecake, her other obsession. 

This year, however, I made a minor mistake by showing Emily a cake on Pinterest that was of course a moustache. What was I thinking? Of course, that is the cake she wants. So, after not having made a birthday cake for her last 10 birthday's and Matthew's 7, I attempted to make her a moustache birthday cake.

First, I baked 2 9-inch cakes. Emily chose to have red velvet cake. Now, I'm a persnickety person when it comes to red velvet anything. For my birthday, I get a red velvet cupcake from Cupcakes by Carousel which in my opinion is the best red velvet cupcake I have ever tasted. I also love PF Chang's red velvet dessert "shot". So, making a boxed red velvet cake, let alone a cake at all is a great task for me. I do have to say it did look very good when I brought it out of the over and after it cooled it looked very moist.  

Now, I did pull up the picture/instructions for the cake when I went to cut it just so I did it correctly.

I did make it a double layered cake. The one on Pinterest was a single layer. What concerned me most was with the amount of "loose" cake crumbs because the one side is flipped over and cutting in half exposed the inner part of the cake.  This made me a little concerned about the frosting stage.

Of course, a moustache needs to be a proper color and Emily was okay with the idea that I may only be able to make a brown one.  However, when I was on my Hobby Lobby endeavor yesterday, I made sure to peruse the baking section. There it was black food color. It is made by Americolor and it is a soft gel paste. I did make sure to transfer the frosting to a metal bowl to mix in the color....could you image what a plastic bowl would look like after this.  I didn't make it too dark, I would say it is more of a dark gray, mainly because I was unsure if I would need more frosting and I didn't want to not be able to make the same color a second time. If you are looking for unusual colors for frosting, definitely look at the baking section in the craft stores. 

When I was finished,  I was very pleased. I called up Emily to check it out and when she saw it she got the biggest smile on her face....that was enough to know I did good!! Tomorrow we get to eat it and I hope it tastes as good as it looks. 

We are Family!

For a long time now, I've been wanting to create a "family" wall in our dining room. Doing my "research", I found many ideas on Pinterest which gave me even more ideas, actually too many ideas. 

At the beginning of last month, I repainted the dining room an amazing crimson color. 

Painting got me into the frame of mind to figure out exactly what I wanted to do for the family wall and get the ball rolling. I knew I wanted to have pictures and then other elements to bring focus back to specific pictures chosen. 

On Mother's day,  I went to Pier1 to check out a photo frame collage I had seen online. Sadly, the one I was looking at was too small for my plan BUT I did find this one which is just perfect and it was on sale!!

As for the other elements, I knew I wanted a "w" which would be for our last name.  Then, I also wanted the letters "e" and "m" for the names of our children, Emily and Matthew.  One idea I did get from Pinterest which I wanted to include was clocks set to the times of the kid's births and I was even thinking of a clock for the time Dave and I got married.  The last element was to be a key which would symbolize that family is key to us. 

Now for the tricky part, where do I find these items. Being a crafter and having shopped all the local craft stores, I knew that finding exactly what I wanted was not going to be easy. I didn't want to be to matchy matchy with my choices. I wanted the clocks and letters to represent the character of who it is on the wall for. In my mind, there is only one place I know of that could fulfill most if not all of my specific needs and that is Hobby Lobby. Now if you've been reading my blog, you know that we have no local Hobby Lobby stores. Usually going means a bit of a trip, which in the end may be a good thing because if I did have one close to home the family budget may be in jeopardy. 

Yesterday, my good friend, Debbie and I headed to our favorite store. Debbie is my crafting and decorating cohort and also the most amazing friend. I found everything I needed but there was a small hiccup. I wanted the initials for each of the kids to be different but in the end in order to compete the wall chose to buy the same initial for both. At one point, we had all the elements laid out on an aisle floor pretending the photo collage was in the middle so we could "picture" the finished look. The trip was a success!

Here is the family wall  with the exception of the pictures in the frame which will be printed in black and white (I'll post it when all is completed). Instead of a clock indicating the time Dave and I were married, I chose to go with a cross that has the verse John 3:16 on it. I decided showing our faith in God as Lord and Savior is pivotal to our marriage and our family and that needed to be on this wall. Emily's tribute is on the left with her "E" and the dainty clock set to 6:40 pm the time of her birth on June 2nd. On the right side, Matt has his section with a more bold clock set to 5:44 pm the time of his birth on June 27. Finally, there is a key under the frame which signifies that God is key to our family and family is key to us.  

I'm so happy with the outcome of this wall. It took a long time from the initial idea to getting it on the wall but it was worth the wait.