Wow, how fast the time goes by!  I know it’s been awhile since I posted anything.  My life has been complete chaos!  In the craziness of this season I have been trying to focus on the true meaning of Christmas.  We don’t have many gifts to buy so it’s been easier to do that!

Kirk’s Mom is having brain surgery on Tuesday December 26^th, so if you could all pray that this would be the source of all her problems and that she would be completely healed.  Also pray from now until then she would be okay too and that we would have a good Christmas together.  She has been progressively been getting worse by the day and it’s been really hard to watch.  It’s hard watching someone you love so much having such a hard time.  I have been trusting God that he is in control and trust that He has a purpose for what we are going through.  I pray that this will draw all of us as a family closer to each other and to the Lord. 

Thanks for all your prayers and I pray that God would bless you this Christmas

Sorry it’s been awhile since I have updated.  We are finally getting into the routine of Ellie being back to school.  It’s kind of nice to get back into a routine.  It’s very busy but nice.  I am not consistently working three days per week rather than every day which has been nice to have two days during the week that I am home.  It would seem that I would feel like I am less busy but I am don’t.  Oh well that is life. 

I am currently doing a new Bible Study…its “Breaking Free” by Beth Moore.  The study has been awesome!  I just love it.  It really has hit home and brought some things to light that I need to change in my life.  Last week it talked about experiencing God’s peace in our lives.  It was so good!  It talked about peace like a river – I have heard it all before but I never thought about it that way.  Here is part of the lesson that really stuck out to me.

“He (God) described a peace that can be retained while life twists and turns and rolls over boulders… To have peace like a river is to have security and tranquility of heart and mind while meeting many bumps and unexpected turns on life’s journey through change.  Peace is submission to a trustworthy Authority, not resignation from all activity.  Remember, however, any activity that cannot be brought under the umbrella of God’s authority will prove to be a source of turmoil and exhaustion.”

It’s so awesome to know that we can have peace in our lives by totally trusting God with our lives.  He is so awesome and I look so forward to seeing what God is going to do through this study.

This past month I decided to get Baptized, I was baptized as a child and God has been calling me for a few years to make a decision for myself.  It was really an awesome experience.

The girls are all doing well and keeping Kirk and I very busy!  The twins are so busy and into everything.  I think my Dad had it right when he called them the attackers.  They are into everything.  Ellie is doing great in school and has been really enjoying 1^st grade.

Please pray for Kirk's Mom.  Pray that the doctors would find out what the problem is and that it would be treatable. 

Time just flies.  I cannot believe its September.  Ellie just started first grade, wow how fast the time goes by!  I cannot believe she is that old.  The twins turned two on August 23rd.  They are so cute and fun but a lot of work.  Someone told me it gets easier but I have a hard time believing that.  To me it seems to have gotten to be more difficult. 

We had a great weekend this weekend.  On Friday night we went to Kirk's parents in parents in Grand Haven and spent the day with them on Saturday.  We spent the night at home on Saturday.  Went to church on Sunday.  I ended up leaving early because Lexi threw up all over me during church.  I brought her and Nora home and packed to go up to Camp  Ao-Wa-Kiya.  On the way up to camp we went to our nephew Harrison's 1st birthday party and then went up to camp.  We were able to spend some time with some friends we have not seen in some time.  It was a lot of fun.  The girls loved jumping on the trampoline and playing in the dirt.  Kirk was able to use his surf board behind the boat.  The weekend was busy but we had a great time.

 I am starting a new bible study on Tuesday and I am really looking forward to it.  I know its going to be challenging but I need that in my life right now.  I need to spend time in the word every day. 

Wow, what a crazy few weeks!  We had an awesome time in New Orleans!  It was such an amazing experience and it was so awesome to see God at work in the lives of everyone there.  It’s crazy how much devastation there still is there.  You would think after almost a year things would have been more put together but they are not.  My crew that I was with included Julie from our youth group and Emma and Jimmy from Minnesota and Jeremy from Texas.  They all were hard workers and we had a great time.  We worked on a home that had been hit by the flood.  Another group the week before had gutted most of the home so we had to pull out all the ceilings, remove all the nails from the studs and spray them with Simple Green (which is supposed to kill the mold) and then scrub them.  It was a lot of hard and hot work but everyone worked with out complaint.  We worked on that home for three days and after finishing it we went to on of the nun’s homes and put up a fence.   The whole experience was really awesome.  The kids did a great job and worked hard with out complaint.  And the conditions (heat like last week) were something to complain about.  It was awesome to see God working in their lives.  It puts things in a different perspective.  It makes you realize how blessed we are and how good we have it.  It really made me reprioritize my priorities and put things in the place they should be in my life.

Since we have been back it’s been so busy.  I changed my work schedule so now I work three days a week instead of five.  It’s been nice to be home on those days and actually do fun things with the girls.  It’s taken the some of the stress off too.  We still are trying to sell our house which has been frustrating but I know God is in control and it will work out.  My Dad told us Sunday that he will loan us the money to build a deck on to the back of our house so hopefully that will help it to sell. 

Well, I guess that is all that is going on in my life right now.  I need to get the girls ready to go to the park to meet up with one of my best friends from high school who lives in Texas but is in town for the next couple of days.  Until next time….