Saturday, April 25, 2009
Cake Balls
My friend, Ellen, told me about these cake balls. You bake a cake, crumble it up, stir in some frosting, form little balls from the mixture, dip them in chocolate, and decorate them however you want. Ellen put them on lollipop sticks, which is pretty cool. I just put them in little cupcake wrappers. Here are some pictures of the ones I made yesterday. I made red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. 
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
God is Always Good!
The past couple of weeks have been so different for us! Tim and I have had so much time together since he quit working on April 6th. We have had some wonderful conversations and have been sharing lots of fun and happy moments together.
We feel SO happy! We both have such a strong faith in God and Love Him so much! We trust Him with everything and it has just given us this Awesome Peace! It doesn't make sense to me for people to be so happy in such a situation, but we truly are.
Tim has not seen the doctors again since he went to U of M in March. His lung diffusion capacity could be another 2% lower by now (it was 29% in March and consistently dropping 2% per month for the past 9 months), but we won't know until he is tested again. We felt it best that Tim quit working even though we have no other means of income at this time. It just seemed that he would be healthier and happier to be home now. I think he has definitely been happier although he misses his friends at work. We are not concerned about finances. We know God will take care of us in many ways. We are confident that we will be able to get disability even if it takes some time.
We have prayed for so long that God would touch Tim and heal his lungs completely. We know that He can do that if it is His Will. We have prayed expectantly, believing that in the next moment Tim would take a full breath and be healed. I've laid hands on him and prayed while he's slept, totally knowing that the next morning he could rise and be well. That has not happened yet. We know that God can do it, but He may not choose to do it. We are ok with that. We are hopeful that God will use a lung transplant to heal Tim. Tim hasn't gotten on the waiting list, but hopefully will be doing that soon. We pray that he has time to wait for lungs and that they will be provided. We trust God completely. We know that another way he may heal Tim is by taking him to live in Heaven with Him. We have no doubt at all that Tim will definitely be fully restored there if not sooner!
We know, we know without the slightest doubt, that God Loves Us! We know that he loves us and wants good things for us. We know he is not trying to hurt us or punish us. We know that His Ways are NOT our ways. We know that His Way is so much better than our way. We trust Him in that. We trust His good and perfect plan. We want His Will to be done. We only pray that God uses us and our situation to witness to others and to show them the strength and hope that only comes through Jesus Christ! We feel that what we are going through can and is making us stronger. It makes us individually stronger, it makes us stronger as husband and wife, and it is making us stronger in our faith. We know that our situation really may have nothing at all to do with us. It may be something that God is using to benefit someone else.
Tim and I and all 4 of our children have accepted Jesus as our Savior. We know that He is the Son of God. We know he died on a cross for our sins and was buried and that he rose again and is living in Heaven, preparing a place for us. Because we know that, we are secure in our life. We have eternal life with God. Others in our life do not have that security. We pray that God uses us to affect others so that they will know the Love of God. We just want to be used by Him in whatever way He chooses because that is the best way.
Monday, Tim and I will celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary! His parents recently celebrated their 39th. We think it's cool that we are married exactly 1/3 of what they have been. We feel that 13 years is a good start to our forever together! We are hopeful that we will grow old together, raising our children, loving eachother, and serving God.
We will never doubt or question God. We will rely on Him knowing that only in our weakness can His strength be our strength. We will praise Him forever and thank Him for all that we have been blessed with including the trials he lets us go through.
Please pray for Tim, that he will get on the list soon. Pray that he will be able to have the double lung transplant and that it will be a new start for him. Pray for comfort for our loving family and dear friends. Pray that others will have the peace we have. Pray that we do not fail in our faith, but that we always keep believing in the goodness of God. We know that no matter what happens, God is Always Good!
We feel SO happy! We both have such a strong faith in God and Love Him so much! We trust Him with everything and it has just given us this Awesome Peace! It doesn't make sense to me for people to be so happy in such a situation, but we truly are.
Tim has not seen the doctors again since he went to U of M in March. His lung diffusion capacity could be another 2% lower by now (it was 29% in March and consistently dropping 2% per month for the past 9 months), but we won't know until he is tested again. We felt it best that Tim quit working even though we have no other means of income at this time. It just seemed that he would be healthier and happier to be home now. I think he has definitely been happier although he misses his friends at work. We are not concerned about finances. We know God will take care of us in many ways. We are confident that we will be able to get disability even if it takes some time.
We have prayed for so long that God would touch Tim and heal his lungs completely. We know that He can do that if it is His Will. We have prayed expectantly, believing that in the next moment Tim would take a full breath and be healed. I've laid hands on him and prayed while he's slept, totally knowing that the next morning he could rise and be well. That has not happened yet. We know that God can do it, but He may not choose to do it. We are ok with that. We are hopeful that God will use a lung transplant to heal Tim. Tim hasn't gotten on the waiting list, but hopefully will be doing that soon. We pray that he has time to wait for lungs and that they will be provided. We trust God completely. We know that another way he may heal Tim is by taking him to live in Heaven with Him. We have no doubt at all that Tim will definitely be fully restored there if not sooner!
We know, we know without the slightest doubt, that God Loves Us! We know that he loves us and wants good things for us. We know he is not trying to hurt us or punish us. We know that His Ways are NOT our ways. We know that His Way is so much better than our way. We trust Him in that. We trust His good and perfect plan. We want His Will to be done. We only pray that God uses us and our situation to witness to others and to show them the strength and hope that only comes through Jesus Christ! We feel that what we are going through can and is making us stronger. It makes us individually stronger, it makes us stronger as husband and wife, and it is making us stronger in our faith. We know that our situation really may have nothing at all to do with us. It may be something that God is using to benefit someone else.
Tim and I and all 4 of our children have accepted Jesus as our Savior. We know that He is the Son of God. We know he died on a cross for our sins and was buried and that he rose again and is living in Heaven, preparing a place for us. Because we know that, we are secure in our life. We have eternal life with God. Others in our life do not have that security. We pray that God uses us to affect others so that they will know the Love of God. We just want to be used by Him in whatever way He chooses because that is the best way.
Monday, Tim and I will celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary! His parents recently celebrated their 39th. We think it's cool that we are married exactly 1/3 of what they have been. We feel that 13 years is a good start to our forever together! We are hopeful that we will grow old together, raising our children, loving eachother, and serving God.
We will never doubt or question God. We will rely on Him knowing that only in our weakness can His strength be our strength. We will praise Him forever and thank Him for all that we have been blessed with including the trials he lets us go through.
Please pray for Tim, that he will get on the list soon. Pray that he will be able to have the double lung transplant and that it will be a new start for him. Pray for comfort for our loving family and dear friends. Pray that others will have the peace we have. Pray that we do not fail in our faith, but that we always keep believing in the goodness of God. We know that no matter what happens, God is Always Good!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Easter Eggs
Today we colored our Easter eggs for tomorrow. The kids did a great job! They look so beautiful!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Update on Tim's lungs
Tim recently went to U of M for another checkup. He goes every 3 months. For those who don't know, Tim has pulmonary fibrosis. The doctors think he has had it for at least 17 years now. One of the tests that they do on him when he goes for checkups tells them how well his lung tissues absorb oxygen. For the past 9 months Tim's has been decreasing about 2% per month and the measurement is now at 29%. If it continues to decline at this rate, he will be down to 0 in a little over a year! Obviously the doctor said there is no such thing as 0.
The doctor put him on prednisone. If it doesn't help, then he wants Tim to meet with the lung transplant specialist again. He was told a couple of years ago that eventually he will need a double lung transplant. It is pretty scary, but I'm trying not to worry too much until we see what happens. So far, Tim says the prednisone has not been helping. It usually helps him within a couple of days.It didn't really hit me until today, but if the decline continues at 2% per month, we really don't have much time to wait on a waiting list for lungs. We will see the doctors again soon and I'm sure if the prednisone doesn't work, they will have other ideas for slowing down the progression.
We trust in God and we know that He will get us through whatever is to come. We know He has the power to completely heal Tim. We know He can do it miraculously or use doctors and medicine (which in Tim's case would still be miraculous). We also know that He doesn't always choose to heal us here on Earth. It will not keep us from praising Him, because we know that God is always Good. It feels good to have that hope and just to know that He never leaves us alone.Please keep Tim and our family in your prayers. Pray that God's Will be done in our lives and those around us. God can use this for His Glory.
The doctor put him on prednisone. If it doesn't help, then he wants Tim to meet with the lung transplant specialist again. He was told a couple of years ago that eventually he will need a double lung transplant. It is pretty scary, but I'm trying not to worry too much until we see what happens. So far, Tim says the prednisone has not been helping. It usually helps him within a couple of days.It didn't really hit me until today, but if the decline continues at 2% per month, we really don't have much time to wait on a waiting list for lungs. We will see the doctors again soon and I'm sure if the prednisone doesn't work, they will have other ideas for slowing down the progression.
We trust in God and we know that He will get us through whatever is to come. We know He has the power to completely heal Tim. We know He can do it miraculously or use doctors and medicine (which in Tim's case would still be miraculous). We also know that He doesn't always choose to heal us here on Earth. It will not keep us from praising Him, because we know that God is always Good. It feels good to have that hope and just to know that He never leaves us alone.Please keep Tim and our family in your prayers. Pray that God's Will be done in our lives and those around us. God can use this for His Glory.
Monday, March 30, 2009
"Blessed Be Your Name" by Matt & Beth Redman
Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
And Blessed be Your name when I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name
Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise
And when the darkness closes in, Lord Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be Your name when the sun's shining down on me
When the world's "all as it should be"
Blessed be Your name
And blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name.
This song has really been speaking to me lately and I really feel this way. Even though we have hard times, God is still God. He never changes. He is always Good. Here are my own verses I could add to the song.
Blessed be Your name when I prayed for twins and you gave them to me
Blessed be Your name when we moved and Tim was able to keep his job
Blessed be Your name when we couldn't buy my "Dream Home"
Blessed be Your name when we found out about Tim's lung disease
Blessed be Your name when we could buy whatever groceries we wanted
Blessed be Your name when all we have is Ramen Noodles. :)
Blessed be Your name when we got to take a 2 week vacation
Blessed be Your name when we're sitting home all week during Spring Break
Blessed be Your name when my sister was cured from leukemia
Blessed be Your name when my Dad had to have a heart bypass surgery
Blessed be Your name when the children we are teaching listen well
Blessed be Your name when the children we are teaching won't sit still
Blessed be Your name when we are happy
Blessed be Your name when we are sad
Blessed be Your name when we want to bless You
Blessed be Your name when the rocks have to cry out because we don't
God is God all the time. God is Good all the time. He doesn't change. He doesn't move. He can do no wrong. His Will is perfect. He has plans for us, good plans. We are the ones who change. We move. We sin. We are not perfect. Our ways are not His ways. I am so thankful to know Him and to trust Him. Without Him there would be no Hope. With Him there is always Hope!
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
And Blessed be Your name when I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name
Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise
And when the darkness closes in, Lord Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be Your name when the sun's shining down on me
When the world's "all as it should be"
Blessed be Your name
And blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name.
This song has really been speaking to me lately and I really feel this way. Even though we have hard times, God is still God. He never changes. He is always Good. Here are my own verses I could add to the song.
Blessed be Your name when I prayed for twins and you gave them to me
Blessed be Your name when we moved and Tim was able to keep his job
Blessed be Your name when we couldn't buy my "Dream Home"
Blessed be Your name when we found out about Tim's lung disease
Blessed be Your name when we could buy whatever groceries we wanted
Blessed be Your name when all we have is Ramen Noodles. :)
Blessed be Your name when we got to take a 2 week vacation
Blessed be Your name when we're sitting home all week during Spring Break
Blessed be Your name when my sister was cured from leukemia
Blessed be Your name when my Dad had to have a heart bypass surgery
Blessed be Your name when the children we are teaching listen well
Blessed be Your name when the children we are teaching won't sit still
Blessed be Your name when we are happy
Blessed be Your name when we are sad
Blessed be Your name when we want to bless You
Blessed be Your name when the rocks have to cry out because we don't
God is God all the time. God is Good all the time. He doesn't change. He doesn't move. He can do no wrong. His Will is perfect. He has plans for us, good plans. We are the ones who change. We move. We sin. We are not perfect. Our ways are not His ways. I am so thankful to know Him and to trust Him. Without Him there would be no Hope. With Him there is always Hope!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Christian Motorcyclist Association Season of Refreshing
This past weekend, Tim and I took the kids to Gaylord, Michigan for a Christian Motorcyclist Association Conference. It was called "Seasons of Refreshing"; and it's an annual event. We had a super weekend and really were refreshed and revitalized!
Friday night was mostly an introduction. We sang some worship songs and heard from our speakers, Rodger and Rayleen Wilson. After the program that evening, we had a pizza party.
Saturday was the main event. Usually Rodger will speak for most of the conference, but this year they did it a little bit different. You have to complete a ministry training program in order to earn the right to wear the CMA back patch. So, we all did the ministry training on Saturday. Tim had already taken it and had is back patch, so it was a refresher for him and many others there. Allison, Clara, and I all completed the ministry training, so we are all official Christian Motorcyclers now! :) They have a special training curriculum for the teenagers. I was so proud of the girls for doing it and proud when they recieved their completion stickers. Tim bought all 3 of us CMA back patches, so now we just need jackets or vests to put them on.
There were over 500 people at the conference! It is always Awesome to see such a big group of Christians all together. It's encouraging and exciting to be able to talk to others and hear their stories. The Wilsons are great speakers. We love to listen to them tell their stories and often they include a tear jerker or two. We are really excited to go to some rallies this summer! I can't wait to ride again with Tim.
Saturday night, after the conference, we went swimming at the hotel. The kids really enjoyed that. We ordered pizza and watched tv. Allison and I stayed up pretty late watching some shows on the Food Network.
Sunday morning after we checked out of our hotel, we visited Tim's cousin, Jimmy. It had been years since we'd seen him so it was nice to catch up and show of our beautiful children. ;)
We decided that since the Mackinac Bridge was only 45 minutes away that we would take the kids over it. Allison is the only one of the kids who had been to the Upper Peninsula before and she was a baby then. We ate lunch on the other side of the bridge and then came back over.
We stopped on the way home to visit our Uncle Eddie and Aunt Marge. We had some coffee and enjoyed a nice visit with them. They are the ones that got Tim and I together many years ago! Aunt Marge had shown me a picture of Tim and I thought he was so cute. I asked for his address and we started writing letters back and forth. A couple of months later we met in person and our life together began. That's another story though. :) We got home around 9:00pm Sunday night. It was a great weekend!
Worship Service
A CMA Back Patch
Friday night was mostly an introduction. We sang some worship songs and heard from our speakers, Rodger and Rayleen Wilson. After the program that evening, we had a pizza party.
Saturday was the main event. Usually Rodger will speak for most of the conference, but this year they did it a little bit different. You have to complete a ministry training program in order to earn the right to wear the CMA back patch. So, we all did the ministry training on Saturday. Tim had already taken it and had is back patch, so it was a refresher for him and many others there. Allison, Clara, and I all completed the ministry training, so we are all official Christian Motorcyclers now! :) They have a special training curriculum for the teenagers. I was so proud of the girls for doing it and proud when they recieved their completion stickers. Tim bought all 3 of us CMA back patches, so now we just need jackets or vests to put them on.
There were over 500 people at the conference! It is always Awesome to see such a big group of Christians all together. It's encouraging and exciting to be able to talk to others and hear their stories. The Wilsons are great speakers. We love to listen to them tell their stories and often they include a tear jerker or two. We are really excited to go to some rallies this summer! I can't wait to ride again with Tim.
Saturday night, after the conference, we went swimming at the hotel. The kids really enjoyed that. We ordered pizza and watched tv. Allison and I stayed up pretty late watching some shows on the Food Network.
Sunday morning after we checked out of our hotel, we visited Tim's cousin, Jimmy. It had been years since we'd seen him so it was nice to catch up and show of our beautiful children. ;)
We decided that since the Mackinac Bridge was only 45 minutes away that we would take the kids over it. Allison is the only one of the kids who had been to the Upper Peninsula before and she was a baby then. We ate lunch on the other side of the bridge and then came back over.
We stopped on the way home to visit our Uncle Eddie and Aunt Marge. We had some coffee and enjoyed a nice visit with them. They are the ones that got Tim and I together many years ago! Aunt Marge had shown me a picture of Tim and I thought he was so cute. I asked for his address and we started writing letters back and forth. A couple of months later we met in person and our life together began. That's another story though. :) We got home around 9:00pm Sunday night. It was a great weekend!
Worship Service
A CMA Back Patch
The Mackinac Bridge from the Upper Peninsula side
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sweet!
Just for fun, I took some "up close" pictures of something sweet...Sugar! I just think it looks pretty. :)
Regular white sugar
This one is that new sweetener called Truvia.
Red decorating sugar
Green decorating sugar
Pink decorating sugar
Blue decorating sugar
Another shot of pink
One more shot of blue
Jelly Beans
Candy Sprinkles
Regular white sugar
This one is that new sweetener called Truvia.
Red decorating sugar
Green decorating sugar
Pink decorating sugar
Blue decorating sugar
Another shot of pink
One more shot of blue
Jelly Beans
Candy Sprinkles
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