The Boy in the Mirror!

 

This morning Sam discovered himself in the mirror!

He had never paid attention to the mirror or himself before.  This was so cute!!!!   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God is STILL faithful

Yesterday was TWO years since the accident.  It was a hard day, not as hard as last year but still very sad for me.  I noticed the time as I was eating lunch at Habitat for Humanity and tears welled up.  I still remember the moment two years ago that I became aware something was wrong....12:10 pm.

 I was sitting in the dining area of Ronald McD House, we'd eaten pizza with our friends and were waiting for them to come to the lobby with their luggage and for Jon to get back from his walk.  Shad had gone back outside to the Lemonade Stand to raise money for RMH, Steve had gone to the tv room with Sarah and I was reading the newspaper. 

In the newspaper there was an obituary for a little 4 year old boy who had drown over the weekend.  Sitting there I said a prayer for the family who was having his funeral that day.  Then someone walked in and said there were a ton of emergency vehicles down at the end of the street.  I looked at the clock and remarked that Jon & the little ones should have been back by now.....

Little did I know as I was praying for that little boy's family, my own family was already involved in a tragedy.

Since there was so much traffic on Westmoreland Dr, I went outside to check on Shad, not wanting him to be too close to the street.  We also had a radio station there, LIVE for the Lemonade Stand, lots of commotion going on.  As I looked down the street at the dozens of emergency vehicles,  something inside of me said "GO" and I began running down the road in spite of having just had a foot surgery the week before......   the rest is history, horrible moments that I will never forget.....

Somehow in that way a mother feels, I just knew that the emergency vehicles were there for my family....


So now two years have passed since that day......

The one thing I can stand on is that God is so a good God.  He is near to the broken hearted, He is a very present Help in time of trouble.  Those are not trite Christian sayings, they are things I have experienced first hand.  If you read nothing else on this blog that I have ever written (by the way this is the 998th blog post on here)   Know this God is who the Bible says He is.   I've tested Him and know it to be true. 

Maybe you don't understand this, maybe you've had hard times when it seemed like God was a million miles away and you've gotten angry at Him but know He is near, He doesn't promise us in the bible to deliver us from every problem (despite the many silly claims that you hear from misguided people who put silly slogans on FB) but He will walk with us through the hard times. 

Through all of this I've prayed that God would keep my heart and He has.  I've made choices to trust God and I've made choices to not give into despair and hopelessness by reminding myself that this life is not all there is, this is not the End.  

I encourage you to turn to God with whatever you are going through.  God is not a genie in the bottle who will give you every wish, that is not His character but He will give you strength if you turn to Him. 

He is a God that will walk with you through this life and lead you into eternity if you chose to walk with Him. 

Happy 10th Birthday Selah

Happy 10th Birthday Selah. You were our "surprise child" but God knew we'd be your parents. I'm so glad we have you & I'm so glad you are safe and that your health is stable. With each of my children, I have cried for various reasons, for you I have shed more tears than I ever knew I had in me. We are as committed to you today as we were the day we left the orphanage with you. You'll never be alone again. I pray daily, throughout the day, and even in my sleep that God will bring you out of the coma. But even if He doesn't we know that this life is short and eternity is long. For all of eternity we will be together for that I'm thankful. Love you La-La girl.

 

 

 

 

 

PILLS!

Day 4 almost done with the H Pylori pills....only got the 3 bedtime ones to go for today.  I've kept them all down and I'm thankful.  During the day I have a low level nausea but by about 5 pm I feel like I have morning sickness.  I have no appetite but crave salt (just like I did when pregnant!)  The only thing that I can eat that helps is fried chicken (LOL my absolute comfort food!)  and a baked potato from Wendy's.  By supper time I can't even feed the kids, I can't stand the smell of food.  Nor can I cook.  Tomorrow I'm going to do a roast in the morning before I start feeling sick so it will be ready by suppertime. 

But what helps me the most is I think of friends who for various reasons have to take a lot of meds and I tell myself to "SUCK IT UP!"    If they can do it for a lot longer than 10 days I need to just shut up and that helps me. 

I have 7 more days to go and I will be so glad to get this over with!

Everything is good in the Clanton household.  Selah is doing just wonderful.  We think we have figured out WHY she was having spikes in her heart rate and so many issues before the hip surgery, she was in pain, more than we knew and for longer than we knew.  Now she is just perfect day after day once she got over the worst of the surgery.   So thrilled that we were able to get her in and have the surgery so soon after noticing a problem. 

Some times the "TROLLS" I've told you about love to talk about how Selah could walk by herself before the accident and how that skill was taken away from her.  In fact she did not like to walk, she scooted on her bottom all through the house.  She would grumble if we took her by the hand and made her walk to the van.  We used to hear her coming down the hall of the orphanage crying because she had to walk down the hall.    Because she was bedridden for so long, she did not put much weight on her legs and her hips were a problem for her.  She did not have much cartilage and  her femur was probably always a bit out of whack.  She couldn't bend her legs while she walked and she waddled like a penguin.  Of course we had hopes that she would get better with therapy but had no assurance of that at all.  Obviously with some spacity  this problem got worse and that is why she had to have this last operation. 

I do not think Sarah will ever walk with out a walker and then only for short amounts of time.  We are going to the specialist next week but it seems she has gotten to a point and can't get beyond that point.  Again she was bedridden, her legs/hips are all out of whack in a different way than Selah. 

 

These pictures are from earlier.  I was busy doing something and Sarah decided that Steve would do as her buddy to sit with even if he was reading. 

  But a little later the world's cutest Energizer Bunny wore out and took a late nap in her very favorite chair.  I do believe she thinks this chair was bought JUST for her.  She will "pat" people on their legs if they sit in it!

Bomb Them To Hell!

With all the news out of Iraq, how can the United States NOT act and act strongly & decisive with the Terrorist group ISIS?  This is a group that not only targets Christian and other non Muslims but even targets Muslims!  It's so bad that al-Qaeda cut all ties with the group, reportedly for its brutality and "notorious intractability".  OMG al-Qaeda doesn't want to be associated with them-that should tell us something.  Of course that could be the "pot calling the kettle black" so to speak!

They were started by and supported by a variety of Sunni insurgent groups.  The Sunnis and the Shiites/Shias have fought in Iraq for years.  In fact the beginnings of this particular group goes back to around 2004 when small Sunni groups merged.  "ISIS follows an extreme anti-Western interpretation of Islam, promotes religious violence and regards those who do not agree with its interpretations as infidels and apostates"   Their first goal seems to be the purification of all Muslim countries BEFFORE they can actually undertake  jihad and go after the rest of the world.  For example  ISIS  "regards the Palestinian Sunni group Hamas as apostates who have no legitimate authority to lead jihad, it regards fighting Hamas as the first step toward confrontation with Israel." 

Steve asked us to explain all this to him and the closest way I could was to say that there are all kinds of Muslims just like there are all kinds of Christians. In the Christian faith, there are different denominations but most believe the basic elements of Christianity like Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died an atoning death, was raised from the dead the 3rd day, ascended to the Father and is coming back.  Ok the Pentecostals, Baptist, Methodists, Presbyterian, Most Independent churches, all Evangelicals, etc have that as a base.  BUT then the Methodist believe in Free Will while the Presbyterians believe in pre destination.....  The Pentecostals believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit is for today but most Baptist believe they ceased when the last Apostle died.  Most everyone thinks that everyone else is still a Christian even if they don't agree completely with each other doctrinally.  They just figure they are right and the others are wrong!

The DIFFERENCE is we don't kill each other over the differences!!!!

While the radical Muslims kill other Muslims in their quest to be the "right ones" 

So what is the answer for this problem?

So many people are worried about "winning the hearts" of the radical Muslims.....OMG that is an oxymoron if I've ever heard one!  It's almost comical if there was not so much at stake!

Listen think about to WW II.  The Japanese were in a war that they believed in 100%.    There was no "winning their hearts"  They were committed to fight to the death men, women, children.  Our president had to make a decision to drop an atomic bomb on them to prevent many million American deaths that would have occurred if they would have had to fight on the mainland of Japan.   It took TWO atomic bombs before they would concede to the end of the war.   THEN after that massive show of force, Japan did change.  They were a defeated nation that grew into a strong nation.  Now we can not really understand how our grandparents and most of the Eastern world were so afraid of the Japanese.  Little Japan was a HUGE threat to BIG China.  Today can you imagine Japan being a threat to China?  The war and their defeat changed Japan in a huge way.  It brought stability to that area of the world as far as the Japanese menace was concerned.   ( Interesting fact the area of China that Shad is from had heavy fighting during WW II between the Chinese and the Japanese) 

Now I am not saying to send an atomic bomb but I hope that the USA and our president will have the backbone to do what needs to be done.  ISIS even has said one day they will hang their flag from the White House.  Now you may think that is a lot of talk but if you look at what they have done in just the past year and how much money has poured into their organization you will see that it is their goal to take over the world. 

That was Hitler's goal too and he started small in a devastated  country and by working together with Japan and Italy, he came close to his goal.

This world is like a ticking bomb right now.  Between Russia and Radical Muslims,  America and the rest of the world is facing a time where we better stand strong! 

One of the videos I saw on TV a few months ago when ISIS was first really starting to try and take over Iraq was two Muslims men who were truckers were stopped by ISIS.  They could not recite the Muslim prayers like the Sunni group so they were taken to the side of the road and shot.  It was unreal how even the other Muslim groups were targeted.  No mercy shown.

Now with all the horrible reports of the Christians being killed, children and women being beheaded...obviously they are shown no mercy by ISIS so I say let's show ISIS NO mercy and bomb them!!!

From what I'm understanding on the news, the limited air strikes are in rather isolated areas I say the USA go in and bomb them to hell.  There is too much restraint being shown by this White House and if this menace can be stopped now, maybe we won't have to deal with it in 10 years on the White House lawn!!!!  

just my opinion......

Again if you want to help the refugees in Iraqi
 https://giving.ag.org/Give/Details/1a1a0e13-612e-4d3d-94b2-80b231a7fac4?CookieCheck=1
select "46" in the pull down related to "class,"
 and type "Christian Refugee Assistance" in the Comments section.

Thank you!!!

Giving & 160 pills!

Here is how you can give to Iraqi Christian refugees
https://giving.ag.org/Give/Details/1a1a0e13-612e-4d3d-94b2-80b231a7fac4
This is a secure site ran by the Assemblies of God.  Our church gave $400 yesterday and I sent it in today.  I'm telling you that because it is a secure site that I trust. 
DIRECTIONS
Go to the site
select "46" in the pulldown related to "class,"
 type "Christian Refugee Assistance" in the Comments section.

this is what our personal friend who works in the region wrote...

Hello Friends...Many of you have been following and praying for God to intervene in the terrible situation in Iraq related to the Christian refugees who have been driven from their homes. We have 200 of these refugees living in one of our churches just outside the northern Iraqi city of Irbil. The church is housing and feeding them. Many of you have also asked how you can give to help meet the ...needs of these suffering refugees.

So if you are praying and concerned, this is a way you can help.  One thing I do love about the Assembly of God is that when money comes in for projects such as this 100% goes towards the need.  So please help, even if it is $5...everything helps!!!!



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Yesterday after church we went and visited the property!

 

the land is cleared

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve standing somewhere near where his room will be LOL

 

 

 

 

ok the black pantyhose seemed like a good idea at the time and maybe looked better when I had the black jacket on but......YIKES that looks awful!!!  LOL  

 

 

Then later the boys and I went to a friends house.  This is the scene we saw as we were leaving.  Just beautiful, the picture snapped with my phone does not do it justice at all! 

Yesterday I finally started treatment for the H Pylori bugs I picked up in Ukraine. Jon and I both tested positive a few months ago & he took meds like a good boy. Me on the other hand called the doc when I realized how many pills were involved and begged for a shot or an IV LOL. Since there were  neither, I kept putting it off as I have a hard time swallowing monster pills AND have issues with taking antibodics, I generally have a reaction to them. So I'm now taking 160 pills over the next 10 days. Yesterday I got violently ill for about an hour after the first dose but since then just a vague feeling of nausea. I made it through this morning and now I'm dreading the lunch dose! 

This morning I only got in a little more than a mile before the rain hit.  As soon as I got on the road and could really see the skyline (cuz around my house you can only see trees and right above us) I realized I might not get my 2.5 miles in.  I went ahead and hit the "hill" and did some jogging to even get in the one mile.  But it was beautiful out if I hadn't been worrying about lightening!!!!  

Hope you all are having a great start to the week!!!!

Iraqi Christians

Listening to the news today is so very hard as we hear the reports coming out of Iraqi of the vicious killing of Christians and other minorities.   We had been hearing some reports from friends who work in that area of the world, for some time.  Now mainstream media is reporting and our government is showing some action but not enough in my opinion.  Some friends of ours are involved in humanitarian work and are reaching out to the refugees.  Hopefully by tomorrow I will have some info on how you can be a part of helping these Iraqi Christians. 

The bible teaches us to "weep with those who weep" and also to regard those who are in prison for the gospel's sake as if it were happening to us!  We have to remember this as various trials happen to  Christians and others around the world.  We are living in some very dark times indeed.  We need to stand with others who are in a situation that we have never been in.  Who knows if there might not come a time when we in America face persecution?  Kudos to France for offering them shelter, I hope our country will open its borders for people who are facing real persecution. 

Please pray and think about what you can give to help these in need!  Our church will be taking up an offering tomorrow morning to help the Iraqis who are now refugees!!   We can not always go to a place to help someone in need but we can pray and we can give.  I believe strongly in doing that and this past year has been a year where there have been opportunities to do that. 

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Jon and I have had a quiet day at home with the little ones while Steve & Shad are working at Habitat for Humanity. Never before today have I called there for Steve but I had a question for one of the other workers.  So I called and pretended to be a difficult customer.  Steve handed the phone off to another worker LOL  I couldn't believe he didn't recognize me!    Monday we have a big meeting to go over the whole plan for the house.  Work should be starting in less than TWO months!  Seems unreal:) 

Last week I actually bought something for the house.  I bought Jon & me a new bedspread set.  I love the "beds in a bag"  This one is white....I have probably lost my ever living mind but it was on clearance, I had a 20% off coupon and it is so soft.  The bedspread we have now, BOTHERS me.  Some textures I can not deal with, it's like finger's on a chalkboard to me.  The white will look beautiful but I'm very glad it was on clearance!  I also got a huge rug for Sarah's room  The house will have wood floors and she does not care for wood.  Sarah spends a lot of time on the floor and she likes a rug.  I found a huge piece of cut carpet for her room for $30.  It should cover most of the exposed floor and when it is too dirty, it can be tossed!   Sarah seems to have lots of accidents due to the fact of eating pureed foods and because she is so active.  There have been a few times she has somehow gotten her diaper off.....   Oh speaking of diapers...she is still having some diaper rash.  One of my college friends just sent me some homemade cream and it seems to be helping.  The problem is everything seems to be helping for a little bit but then the rash will flare up.  The dermatologist has sent in two prescriptions but honestly the OTC stuff has done just as well.  I was hoping that something would be THE magic cream for her but we may have to go in to see the doctor.  It never gets past a point and it seems to come and go in intensity.  We use the same diapers, wipes, laundry detergents and soaps as we always have.   When Sarah first got home we had to use organic diapers on her because she seemed allergic to all the diapers we had tried.   Then she became eligible for a program through insurance for diapers and they've been great.  She has used them for over a year with no problem but I'm wondering if the diaper maker is using something new in them.  She is too big for the organic diapers we used to use on her and they are so expensive.  I'm hoping that we will find a solution for her.  I'm glad the bumps don't seem to bother her, they are only on her hips and never grow from the same little area, sometimes they are less and almost gone and then they come back.  I've never ever dealt with any diaper rash till Sarah.  But I tell her all the time I love her diaper rash and all:) 

We have one more week then Shad starts back to school and the teachers begin coming more often for the three little ones.  Steve has two weeks before college starts.  I feel like I'm on the top of a rollercoaster, ready to be hurled down as we try and figure out all of our schedules and who gets what car when.....LOL   It will all work out. 

By the way two friends sent me this link
http://www.wfla.com/story/26233568/police-large-snake-feasting-on-cats-in-port-st-lucie
go read it!  It's about a huge snake that has been killing cats in a town not so far away from us!  That is what I think is happening to the cats.  I've been bringing in the one that is house trained at night although I hate to have a litter box.  So far she has had no accidents.  But I'm still hoping someone would like to foster her. 

Hope you all are having a good weekend.  Remember to pray for the Iraqi Christians!!!!  And give to help them.  Possibly your church or denomination have a way to give towards aid workers in that area.  If not hopefully I'll have some info by tomorrow of how we can partner together.