Nature is pretty cool.

So, we looked out the window about a month ago, so see this little "perch type" bird flittering outside our window. She kept flying back and forth, it was obvious she was building a nest on one of the flood lights above our deck. Yesterday, we looked at the nest and found her sitting in it....while she "stepped out", to eat, I'm assuming, we peeked in her nest and saw 3 tiny eggs! The kids are really excited and check for her every day (through the window). We are careful not to disturb her, though it's hard for the kids because they want a better look. :) Can't wait until the babies are born! What a good lesson in the life of a bird for the kids!

A glimpse of spring.....

Here in GH it's still mostly in the 40's and rainy of course. Even though I looked out my window a few weeks ago to see flowers coming up in my yard, my first glimpse of spring came today. We were driving home from church and it's an amazingly beautiful day....sunny, crisp and 65 degrees! It's one of those days where you just HAVE to be outside. Anyway, when we were almost home, I rolled down the windows and as I did, I looked in my rear-view mirrow to see Bella...I watched her long enough to see her face as the window came down.....she watched the sun filter in and the moment the wind blew in her face, she smiled. Aahhh....spring has come.

LOVE

You know, there are days where I feel like the best wife ever...supportive, loving, touchy-feely. Then there are days where I was just annoyed with life in general....grumpy due to whatever, who knows, just one of those days. It's in those days where I'm sure I was a pretty grumpy towards my husband. Short responses, rude tone of voice, withdrawn. To make matters worse, he was great...loving, patient, supportive....he even took the kids, so I could have a break. What?? Talk about humbling. So, this is when I swallow my pride and ask for not only His forgiveness, but God's....along with the ability to LOVE my husband despite my emotions being what they are.
So, what is LOVE? I didn't like the definition found in the dictionary:
(1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties
(2): attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers
(3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests

HELP ME LOVE
by Pearl Barrett

Father, forgive these thoughts in my head
That are playing a chorus,
They don’t need to live, but I’ve been watering them,
Helping them flourish.
Been finding his faults, then pouring on salt
Into old wounds I never let heal.
So take all this mess, this bitterness,
Let me trust You, not trust how I feel.

Chorus-
Help me love unselfishly,
Help me learn to give and not expect anything,
Help me serve willingly,
Help me lay aside my pride, my rights, and my needs,
Help me learn to honor him
With a word, with a smile, with a touch,
Help me love.

Father, you see every corner of my heart,
All is uncovered.
Lord, search me please and tear up the weeds
That have grown and smothered
The truth of your Word that helps me to learn
To be the wife you have called me to be,
‘Cause I need so much to show this man that I love,
That I’m grateful for wearing his ring.

I love it.

I have to say now that 7 months into living life with 3 kids, that I love it. I know that sounds strange as if I could give one of them back, claiming I "changed my mind". There are so many times during the day where I just sit and watch them all interact. To see the looks on their faces when they see each other, is priceless and a blessing to my heart.
When Annie first sees Bella, she shrieks in excitement because she knows she'll be laughing in just a few moments! When Ethan first sees Annie, the words, "Hi baby!" in a high pitched voice come out of his little mouth followed by a kiss on the head. When Bella first sees Ethan, her eyes get big and says, "hey bro, wanna go play 'bro's'?". It's fun to be at home with my children, so capture every sound they make, every experience of a game they make up, every look they give each other, whether nice or grumpy!
Some nights I lay in bed and my mind fills with prayers for them...for everything...their innocence protected, their destinies to be fulfilled, their spouses, a love for learning, a teachable spirit, always being a close knit family, being the mom God called me to be, etc. I often pray myself to sleep because there are so many things to pray for!
Other nights, I lay in bed repenting for losing my temper, choosing to check "facebook" instead of answer the call of "mooomm!" (though I do feel I need "mommy time" to check facebook). Sigh....I don't like those nights...I don't like the feeling of letting my children down. Thankfully I serve a God who is bigger than my failures as a mother, wife, woman that I don't need to dwell on those times. I can lay in bed, repent and be refreshed for the next day.....so I can LOVE having children all over again and not miss an experience with them.

Can you believe it???

Ok, so today was Pop's urology appointment. Understand that for the last 10 months, he has been having issues with his Prostate....after numerous appointments with doctors, who we trust and know are highly trained, and after numerous tests...there's a final result: Diagnosis: Prostatitis (infection) Remedy: Ibuprophen.
We don't feel this was just a misdiagnosis.....we honestly feel it was a miracle! Every doctor we went to and spoke with said, with a PSA that high, it was likely cancer and not just that, but that it had already spread. Not only was his PSA high, his prostate was lobulated (not symetrical), and his symptoms were fairly sudden onset over the last year. EVERYTHING pointed to Cancer! Again, let me stress that 2 of the medical providers we spoke with, who treated Pop, were Christians who believe in the healing power of Christ! We believe this was nothing short of a miracle. Test after test came back clear.....this is unreal and almost unheard of in the medical circle we run in....so praise God....He is Good. And yes, we BELIEVE it!

God is good...ALL THE TIME.

As we all know, God is good. CT scan results came back today....no metastasis (spreading)! Though, we all still knew everything would be ok, it is still a MAJOR sigh of relief to know Pop's "innards" are cancer free! Thanks to all you who are supporting us and standing with us in faith! We will keep you posted...Bone Scan is Tuesday, Urologist/biopsy on Wednesday.

Hi friends and family,
Terence, my Pop, has been undergoing some medical testing and medications for the past few weeks for an enlarged prostate.

He underwent further testing because he wasn't responding to meds. He recieved his test results back on Wednesday.
His PSA levels were high (Prostate-Specific Antigen is a protein produced by the cells of the prostate gland).

A normal count is 3. One that is significantly high and is medical marker to test for cancer is 20. Terence's levels were 350.
(they ran several tests just to be sure).

With levels that high, they have by-passed the biopsies (will run them next week) because the question is not if he has cancer, but what stage it is in.
They said levels that high usually means it has already metatisized (spread) into tissue or bone.

Terence will be going straight to Cat scans and bone scans (the results will show where or if it has spread). They are hoping that the cells have been contained within the prostate.

We will know more after his scan on Monday, the 23rd, and will definittely know more after the appointments with more doctors next Weds. It will take time.


Here is a scripture our family prayed and is standing on:
Please pray this and stand with us: Proverbs 4: 20

20 My son, listen closely to my words.

²¹ Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;

²² for they are life to those who find them
and health to a man's whole body.

²³ Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.

We are praying for health to his whole body.

The eyes of faith sees the answer before it manifest in the three dimensional physical world.

Tonight, our family decided to have eyes of faith, and we are going to walk through this together, encouraging one another and standing on the word of God.

Please stand with us. Love Nadine

Sometimes...

Sometimes, I have a chance to actually sit and think about things without being interrupted by screaming, the sounds of children jumping off furniture, or the sweet melody of "mooooommmmyyyy!!!". It's during these times that I really realize how amazing everything is around me. Despite the clothes and toys all over the floor, the lack of millions of dollars in my bank account, the missing Cadillac Escalade in my garage, I think I have an unmistakably amazing life.
So, here you go...a few things I am thankful for:
1. the smile of my children's faces.
2. the sound of my husband's voice.
3. running water...running, heated water.
4. a full pantry.
5. utility bills, because they mean I have a house to live in.
6. family 5 minutes away.
7. skype to I can talk to family that's not 5 minutes away.
8. sunshine coming through my window.
9. health insurance.
10. the fact that Bella and Ethan are best friends.
11. the ability to breastfeed.
12. an amazing father for my children.
13. pacifiers.
14. books
15. the fact that I can legally, read my bible.
16. a camera to capture almost every precious moment in my life.
17. a big brother and big sister that LOVE their little sister.
18. that each of us have a bed to sleep on.
19. windshield wipers.
20. a washer and dryer.

Neglected blog.....

Well, I suppose it's excused with the "move" that I haven't kept up on here. Soooo much has happened and everyone's changed that I don't even know where to start....so here's a blanket blog:
Moved from Oklahoma to Gig Harbor, WA....love it!
New house...in the woods, near the water...love that, too!
See family everyday...very blessed!
New job for Mike...he's favored there!
New church....it's family now!
Bella into sports...swimming, tae kwon do, and everything under the sun!
Ethan into sports as well, same as his sister, a healthy competition sometimes and others..teammates!
Annie, 6 months and growing.....saying mama, dada, and crawling everywhere!
And last, me...surviving and thriving being a wife, mother, teacher, administrator, and newly Children's Ministry Developer!

the normalcy of life spoils us.

So, today a friend of mine, Amber, is deeply on my heart. Her father was in a tragic and unfortunate accident last week and has been in a coma in the i.c.u. ever since. Today, they removed him from life support and he has passed. Please pray for her and her family.
I have to speak what is on my mind and just get it out:
I can't imagine what she is going through....it all happened so quickly. How is she coping through this? I know if it were me, I'd have been praying every second, daily for God to heal my dad. I can't imagine how she is dealing with that. Why God does things the way He does. Would I be in a world of doubt right now? Would I allow anger to rise up in me against Him? I naturally think I would be shaken to the core as anyone else, but would hope my faith in God would somehow rise above the bitterness and loss.
The other thing that naturally comes to mind is the importance of things around me.....what's more important? Having my dream house or not being stressed and driven to make money that I am not the mother God made me to be to my children. I think of those moments where, "I lose it" with the kids and immediately feel guilty. Why do I act like this.....it's because I am spoiled with life....the normalcy of everything...the fact that my kids have always been healthy, my husband has always been around, we've always had a roof over our heads, cars to drive, food in our pantry. I wish this is something I would realized on a second by second basis and not just occasionally or when the tragedy of life hits. I wish I would react with this in mind, the next time my kids argue and whine at me or they fight over a toy. How bad can it be? How bad do I have it? Spoiled, I tell you....Spoiled because I am blessed.

hair coture...not so much.

One of the greatest parts of being a parent is the fact that we get to act COMPLETELY silly with our kids....that is in the privacy of our own home. :) From made up songs and dances, to dressing up as super heroes and saving the zoo animals, or "fake laughing" because I'm being tickled but not the least bit ticklish.......it's heaven to have the privilege of being a part of their lives like this. So, in honor of making our children laugh, here's Mike and proof that we'll do almost anything our kids ask.