Moving forward…

Someone once said there is only one thing that we can be certain of and that is CHANGE. They must not have known the love of God because I am here to testify that He does not change and His love is unfailing. However, the statement does have some truth in it in that we can also be certain that life will bring change. Some good and some not so good but if you are living in Christ it will always be “God-filtered” and so we may as well embrace it. Many of you know that our family has gone through many changes in the past few months not to mention the past few years. But we can praise God for each of the changes because we know that they have brought us to a closer relationship with one another and more importantly with Him.

I have heard from a very good source that my brother, Joshua, and his lovely wife, Corrina, and their two girls, Sydney and Olivia are going to be moving to Chicago in July. Praise God!! Finally, we will be close to family again. We are so excited and can’t wait to spend some time with them and get to know the girls. We have never even gotten to meet little Olivia yet.

April Update:

Jennifer and Jordan finished their first Team Triathlon and it was Jordan’s debut in the triathlon. They did AWESOME!! We can’t find the disposable camera from the weekend events but hopefully it will turn up soon... pictures are MIA.

May Update:

The kids and I went to Nueva Vallarta and had a wonderful time just relaxing and enjoying the sunshine. The vacation had been planned for over a year and it was a hard choice whether or not to go in light of everything going on but I am glad we did. Jennifer did come down with an ear infection while we were there and I got a bite of some kind that swelled my whole right side of the face but as always God is faithful. We both were treated by the doctor at the resort and were able to have no further complications or problems. It was a good opportunity for us to see God working in our lives. You can see pictures at www.http://members2.clubphoto.com/hal219370/guest-1.phtml

We are preparing for Memorial Day weekend with orders in for four full size sheet cakes and Jordan’s birthday cake to bake. I guess I will be in the kitchen. LOL!

Ironman Coeur d’ Alene is just 4 ½ weeks away and I am not feeling as prepared as last year physically but mentally I am more prepared. Right now I am praying that God will give me wisdom in deciding whether or not to race it this year. Either way the kids and I will be going to Idaho to visit the family. Can’t go wrong with either choice.

April Showers

But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God. I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought! Job 19:25-27 NLT

My dear and close friend, daughter and sister in Christ, Valerie Sydnor, passed away on Wednesday the 19th of April on her 28 1/2 birthday. Born October 19th in 1977, Valerie came into my life in August of 2003 but we did not really get to know one another until June of 2004 when she moved into our home to live with us forever. Over the past two years many people have wondered and questioned the unique relationship that God built between us and even now I can only say that God had destined it. From the first day until the last day Valerie was a part of our family through the good and the bad. She will be missed so very much. There is so much I wish I could share so that others could see her the way that we do but I am beginning to realize that there are some things that just have to be treasured and cannot be expressed to do them justice. I appreciate all the love and support from each of you and want to apologize for those that I have seemed to neglected over the past two weeks as our family has been grieving and dealing with the sudden and unexpected loss of our beloved Valerie.

and time goes by....

That about sums it up. It has been a month since my last post and it seems like three months. The fact that I have been extremely busy doesn't really matter but it is the truth. In fact, I have been told that I must be too busy as I had to be taken to the Emergency Room on Saturday for fatigue and vertigo. OK, truth is I was constantly on the verge of passing out. However, after 8 sticks in my arms and countless blood tests, a CT scan and X-Rays.. the doctor said it must be exhaustion since everything seems to be in the normal range. There is one blood test still pending but I expect it to be normal as well. I have been so fatigued/tired for the past three weeks and thought I was anemic so started back on the iron tablets. I slowed down on the training for my Ironman and even started sleeping more. (Honest truth!) In fact, I started sleeping so much I was feeling downright lazy and sluggish. It hasn't helped with the fatigue though and so when the dizzy spells started last Thursday I got worried enough to call my doctor who said it was probably viral and give it a few days... Saturday I had a really bad attack of vertigo and nausea and called the doctor on call who said go the the ER and DO NOT wait until Monday. Now it is Monday and I am still tired, feeling run down, yet I haven't worked out in 5 days and have been sleeping 12-16 hours a day for three days. Well since I am normal and nothing is wrong with me, tomorrow I am back into training and I am going to just pray through it until something happens. God is bigger than my exhaustion, fatigue or whatever. Praise His name!

Kids are doing pretty good but really getting lazy too with Mom not feeling up to par I have let their schooling get sort of slack. Jordan has been working consistantly but Jennifer is a little less likely to be self motivated and so she is skating right now. They will get a surprise real soon. I am taking them in to Christian Liberty Academy for testing at the next session. : )

Val is excited as her medical card was finally approved and she is looking for apartments and scheduling doctor appointments that are LONG overdue.

Spring looks like it is finally on its way and the wind is howling. Praise God for His wonderful timing. I am so blessed and cannot thank Him enough for the wonderful friends, family and people He has put into my life. God is Awesome all the time!!