Pictures and Update...

Hello All!
We had new pictures taken last week and thought we would share them with all of you.Riley is almost walking now,so that meant four little ones who can run away!Needless to say family pictures are always exciting! Hope you all like the new layout too,it was time for a change!

He Has Made Me Glad...

I love this song.Many times during long nights sleepless nights,and dark stressful days God had brought this song to my heart. I love to hear my children skipping through the house humming this song.How I want this to be our family theme song...HE HAS MADE US GLAD! May God bless you with these lyrics,I encourage you to post them around the house,great reminder.Oh,and here's the link to the music video...so encouraging! He is your very present help in times of need,he loves you,he will give you the strength,and he is your shield!Be blessed dear friends!
Verse 1
I will bless the Lord forever
I will trust Him at all times
He has delivered me from all fear
He has set my feet upon a rock
I will not be moved
And I'll say of the Lord

Chorus
You are my shield
My strength
My portion
Deliverer
My shelter
Strong tower
My very present help in time of need

Verse 2
Whom have I in heaven but You
There's none I desire besides You
You have made me glad
And I'll say of the Lord

Link...

Hey Everyone!
Here is the video slide show we put together for our family and friends share night,
after we came home from Romania last summer.
Big thanks to Dad Allen for uploading this onto you tube for us.He had to re-arrange it,because you tube would only allow for ten minutes.
This will give you a little idea of what we saw,and how God touched our hearts.
The little girl in the baby orphanage,who was blind,and lived there all of her life.Is now in a wonderful foster home! If you would like more information about going on a mission trip to Romania.Hop on over to Pathway To Joy's Website!
Enjoy!

Riley turns One...

Hello everyone!
I just had to jot this milestone down somewhere.Yesterday Riley took his first steps.Bitter sweet I must say. He was so cute about it too (of course). Brandon and I were sitting in the basement.The other kids were in bed.I set Riley up to stand.(his balance is great) Brandon is sitting across the basement,and cues at him to "walk to Dada".Riley took three whole steps,before slowly sitting back down,and crawling the rest of the way. Then today he took five whole steps,by himself.Aparently I make too much of a big deal of it,cause as soon as I say "yippee for Riley",he grins,and slowly squats down.He is growing like a weed,a happy weed though.He laughs and smiles all the time,and is just a joy to be around.How blessed we are to have him in our family.It's hard for me to believe that a year ago,he was a teeny tiny little guy,hooked up to tubes,under bright lights. When he came home from the hospital on valentines last year,he was a little over five pounds.My how time flies! Currently,he is 25 pounds! Talking saying "aw done" (all done) "hewo mama" (hello mama,while holding the phone to his ear) "paise JeJe" (Praise Jesus,while throwing his hands up in the air).And,he will dance on cue,and mercy is that the cutest thing ever! Don't worry,all you baptists out there,he only moves the top half of his body,his feet always stay firmly planted!(haha) Here is Riley's Birthday Invitation.Though,we may be changing the date now,becuase I did not know that Brandon's parents were going to be out of town. How we love you Riley Samuel! You are a blessing and a gift,and we are SO thankful God chose us to be your mommy and daddy!!!

Greetings!

Hello Dear Family and Friends!
We are ever so sorry for not updating in so long! Busy times! We will be posting soon about Kaity's wedding (Brandon's sister),Our Christmas festivities, and Our New Years Celebrations! Our sweet baby boy will be turning one year old very soon,and so we will most certainly post many pictures of his first year with us! Our hearts are heavy for so many friends and blog world friends,and we are lifting them all up in prayer,and would like to ask all of you to do the same.

Please pray for our Friend,Caleb Arnold,who was in a tragic car accident,his best friend Adam was killed in the accident.Caleb and Adam went to high school together,basic training together,and were stationed at the same army base.Caleb is a husband to Veronica,and a father to Max,Adam was in his early twenties.

Also there are two sweet babies that were born recently,that are fighting for their lives. I(Bethany) have followed their family blogs,and am praying God heals these sweet babies.Harper and Brayden need your prayers. I feel a kinship in these woman,who are from the south,as I am,and I too have had a baby born early,who had a difficult start.My heart goes out to them,and I pray that your heart will be moved to pray as well!

Also please be praying for our brother Adam.Who is heading to Indianapolis tomorrow for a check up,we are praying he gets a good progress report,and that his hands are healing as they should. Keep praying for no infections!!!

Thank you to our prayer warrior Family and Friends! More updates to come,as well as a new blog makeover!!! Stay Tuned!

Mommy is away...time to play!

While Bethany was gone today, Daddy decided we needed a cool project to work on. We thought about cleaning our rooms, doing dishes, or putting up c-mas decorations. But none of that sounded very fun. Then we remembered the "kit". My mom bought a gingerbread house kit for the kids, and we had not built it yet.

Our two oldest, ready to get started

Looks easy enough

Awesome, directions with pictures!

Can we eat it now dad?

Jackson using the "glue" (frosting)

Clara finishing the base

Big Brother telling sister what the next step is

Construction is complete. Now we have to wait? Yeah, 30 minutes to dry.

We "organized" (tasted) each kind of candy while we waited.

Starting to accesorize.

Building the sidewalk to the front door.

Finishing touches.

Thanks Grandma for buying this gingerbread house kit for us. We enjoyed putting it together, and will enjoy it more when we can eat it (after mommy gets to see it).

long day...

Hello friends,
Today has been a long day.I (Bethany) woke up this morning not feeling well. I had really bad stomach pain,that by nine am,was so bad I had to go lay back down in bed. Once the pain got so bad that I was feeling light headed,and thought I might pass out,I decided I better call the doctors office. They had me come in asap,then sent me to the hospital for a CT scan.The entire time I kept praying that it would not be my appendix,as the doctors thought.Prayers were answered,it's not my appendix or Kidneys.I have an infection,and two ovarian cysts. I have another doctors appointment tomorrow,and was sent home with the only pain medication I can take,Tylenol. Prayers would be appreciated. As the Tylenol does very little for the pain.I will be seeing my doctor tomorrow,to talk about the options,of either laproscopic surgery,or trying some different medications. Thanks again for all the prayers for our family during this time. To say things have been stressful is an understatement! Blessings to you All!