"Home" with her Savior

I received news this evening that my grandmother, Bettyfae Sullivan, went home to be with Jesus, after a long battle with Alzheimers. Although there is a sadness that I will not see her again in this life, I rejoice that she is finally with her Savior. What joy she must be experiencing right now!

I am so thankful for the godly heritage that my grandparents have given me and my family. I am so blessed to have had a grandmother who loved God so much, and who diligently prayed for me every day.

And I am so thankful that God granted me the privilege of seeing her one last time, just one week ago, and of introducing my children to their Great-Grandmother, a woman who has impacted our family so greatly through her continual prayers. We will miss you Grandma, but look forward to one day seeing you again in heaven! I praise God for your life that was faithfully lived to the glory of God!

Bettyfae and Wendell, engaged

Wendell and Bettyfae on their wedding day

Ashlyn, Barbara, Grandma, and Micah

Celebrating at Disneyland!

The boys had a fun day celebrating Daddy's birthday ~ they went to Disneyland!!! It's been 2 1/2 years since we last went, so Nathan said it was like the first time all over again for Micah. So fun! And he is tall enough for Splash Mountain now ~ he loved it!

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Happy Birthday Nathan! I love you and I am so blessed to be your wife!

Thankful for God's Grace!

Sunday night was a scary time for us. Ashlyn woke up in the middle of the night crying with a high fever. As we were trying to bring down her temperature she had a febrile seizure that lasted six minutes - which seems like an eternity when you are watching it happen to your own child, and there is nothing you can do to help her.

Ashlyn is doing well now and we learned that this type of seizure is very common with young children whose temperature rises quickly. She is still recovering from the illness that caused the high temperature, but today her fever finally broke. As I thought back to what happened late Sunday night, I was so grateful and awed to see God's hand so evident in the midst of it. He has given me so much to be thankful for!

• I'm thankful that Ashlyn woke up and cried so that I was awake and with her when the seizure happened.
• I'm thankful that Nathan was home, and also that he woke up just a few minutes before the seizure. He is so calm and controlled in the midst of crisis situations, and I am not. God is so good to give me a husband who helps me through these times.
• I'm thankful for the 911 dispatcher who stayed on the phone with me, continuing to answer my questions as the seizure seemed to go on and on.
• I'm thankful that my mom immediately woke up to the phone ringing in the middle of the night so I could know that someone else was praying for us. And for my other family members whom she called and prayed for us as well.
• And I'm very thankful for David and Cheryl, our wonderful neighbors who also answered their phone in the middle of the night and came over to be with Micah while we went to the emergency room.
• I'm thankful for a doctor who was kind and gentle with Ashlyn, and very patient with us. He even gave us his cell number when we left. Do ER doctors do that?
• I'm thankful for Steve and Judy, and David, who came to the ER to encourage us as we waited to find out what was wrong with her. It was a blessing to have other people there with us.
• I'm thankful for the timing, that we were in our own home and not on a plane. Only 24 hours earlier we had been on a long flight from Chicago to LA.
• I'm thankful that the seizure is not something that will cause permanent damage for Ashlyn and that she is starting to feel a little better.
• I'm thankful for God's faithfulness to teach me to trust Him just a little bit more through all of this. God is so good!

"The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion' says my soul, 'therefore I have hope in Him'." Lamentations 3:22-24

Arriving in South Carolina

Our first stop after arriving in the Carolinas was visiting the Snyders in Columbia. It didn't take long for the kids to get acquainted and have fun playing together. They did all this in just a few hours before we headed off to North Carolina....

Enjoying the jungle gym

Micah and Karah had fun "cleaning off" the deck with ice and water

And Micah always loves to jump on the trampoline!

Especially when everyone jumps together!

But Micah's favorite thing is building forts. And Karah and Ruthie love it too! They were quite creative in their building. Notice the rope in the background. We realized that Karah and Micah both LOVE to tie things up. Uh-oh! Keep the string away from those two!

They built up the sides of their fort with "sand glue" adhered to the wooden slats.

Before driving up to NC, we stopped to see my Grandma. This was the first opportunity for my kids to meet their Great-Grandma. What a blessing to introduce them to a godly woman who has prayed so diligently for our family! We love you Grandma! And look forward to seeing you again next week.

Visiting North Carolina

As you drive north or south on the 95 you simply can't miss the signs for South of the Border. So Micah kept himself occupied looking for each new sign. After all that advertising, here it is...

And after all those signs, Micah wanted to know how we could just pass by without stopping. Well because we've stopped before and know that the only reason to stop is to get fireworks. But since we can't mail them or check them on the plane, it wasn't worth the stop. Oh well, at least he enjoyed all those signs!

We were so excited to take Micah and Ashlyn back to our "first home." Micah had always heard us talk about NC and our friends there, so it was fun to finally take him to meet everyone and see where we used to live.

We stayed with the Briglins while we were in NC. Gloria was so thoughtful to make the kids feel right at home.

Micah was excited to hear about Gloria's adventures at Space Camp. He even got to try on her flight suit!

Practicing his astro-jumping!

Ashlyn had fun watching!

The Bellomy Family

It was such a blessing to see Hank again and to meet his family. He was one of "our teenagers" while we were involved in youth ministry. It was a great encouragement to see someone we invested so much time in, now serving the Lord in full-time ministry. We're so proud of you Hank!

We also had a lot of fun visiting with the Pow family. Here's Micah and Christa building a fort in their yard.

Ashlyn and Christa - I remember the first time I met Christa. It was Christmas Eve and she was only a month old! And now she's nearly 14! I can't believe how quickly she has grown up. The kids had so much fun playing with her. And it was a blessing to see what a remarkable young woman she has grown into.

Micah had fun playing with Philip.

Shannon and Barbara - so fun to renew an old friendship!

Back at the Briglins, Micah had fun building a rain fort. (Notice a theme here? Micah LOVES forts!)

It's amazing what you can do with wood, bricks and a tarp!

We also visited the children's museum where the kids had fun playing with real life "toys."

Checking people out at the grocery store was one of Micah's favorite things!

Ashlyn had fun shopping...

... and talking on the phone.

While we were in Fayetteville, we were able to get onto Fort Bragg so we could show Micah where we used to live and work. So much has changed in the last 11 years!!

The old building that Nathan used to work in.

Water fight in the kitchen...

Micah started it, but I think he lost. He sure looks wet!

Micah - the energizer bunny! He kept Cory going the whole time we were there!

Ashlyn and Gloria

Enjoying a nice evening rocking on the porch.

Gloria and Barbara

We had so much fun visiting with the Briglins! Thanks so much for your southern hospitality! We miss living so close to you guys! Come see us in Cali.

Berry Picking

Here's a few pictures from our fruit-picking adventure a few weeks ago with the Thomas' and the Sedy's...

Before we headed out to the fields, the kids had fun playing in this little playground area. Ashlyn loved this little John Deere tractor!

Brianna, Micah and Bethany playing on the bus

And climbing on top...

Ashlyn had lots of fun in the strawberry patch...

She picked quite a few before she realized they would be fun to squish in her hand!

Micah had fun running all over the farm, but he also helped pick a few berries.

On to the raspberry bushes. Ashlyn wanted me to hold her while I was picking raspberries so I tried to include her in the picking. I picked the berry, gave it to Ashlyn, then she put it in the bucket. After several berries I noticed that our bucket wasn't gaining any berries. That's when I realized Ashlyn was taking every berry I gave her, and putting it in her mouth! I guess the girl loves raspberries.

It was a hot day - 100 degrees - so we stopped by the little water trough before we left. The kids had fun playing in it and cooling off.

Labor Day Surfing Adventure

Although he grew up in California, Nathan has never been surfing. He's been wanting to go for quite some time and finally got the chance on Labor Day. We all headed to the beach with the Lotz family and Doug taught Nathan to surf while the kids played in the sand and water. Nathan was too far out for me to get any pictures of him, but Doug says that he did a great job. Here's some pictures of the kids playing, and Micah's introduction to the surf board...

Ashlyn loves to play in the sand!

Kelly and Micah had a blast running in and out of the water.

Wait for me! Here I come!

Playing around on the boogie board.

Hang on!

Whoa! That was fun!

Moving up to the surf board

Wahooo! This is great!!! Micah loved surfing!

That sure was a fun ride! Let's go again Daddy!