Gettin' Closer!

okay....now the count is down to 6 days! Yippee! Momma is in desperate need to see her little blue-eyed baby....okay...She's not my baby any more; where has time gone?

The Countdown is On!!

16 days til we see our Snuggy Bear! The next few weeks might be loooooong weeks for us as we anticipate seeing Chelsey Gayle! We are excited to meet her friends and teachers! Milwaukee in the middle of winter isn't our favorite place to be, but we are sure the weather will not keep us home this year! (Troy's health might, but NOT the weather!)

Detox Days...UGH!

Well, Troy received his lab work and we met with the detox specialist on Friday. The results show that he has HIGH amounts of Mercury and Uranium in his system. The Doctor believes he is poisoned with uranium due to his years working in the rock quarry. The mercury probably has come from the fillings in his mouth and allergy shots. He also tested positive for Lyme Disease....those pesky little ticks! He has started a detox program that seems to be beating him up a bit. He is having a pretty rough go of it. We continue to trust our Lord and His plan. The heart seems to be a little bit more steady. He did test positive to gluten, dairy, and mushroom allergies. My cooking style has had to change....and NO, the kids don't like it!! He got his wisdom teeth out as well on Friday. He was not too happy about losing all his wisdom, but understood how the teeth might be interfering with the heart. Studies show that connection...seems weird, huh? We continue to covet your prayers. I have a really cute picture of Troy after his wisdom teeth were out, but I know my limits...:) He has been tortured enough! I know Troy would love to hear from anyone who has a little time to call or write with some encouragement!

We Covet Your Prayers!

As most of you know, Troy has been struggling with health problems since March 2009. He was diagnosed with an irregular heart rhythm due to an electrical problem in the heart. The actual structure (heart muscle, veins, arteries) all looks great. He decided to do an ablation on the misfiring tissue in '09. The problem seemed to subside for a time. In the spring of this last year he began feeling very sick. For those of you who know Troy it is very rare to see him "down" or in "slow mo", but that is the state he is at now. The function of his heart has dropped 20%. It went from 68% in August to 45% in December. (Regular heart function is usually 55% - 75%) We have doctored in Kansas, Arizona, New Mexico. At times we feel that it is to no avail and are reminded that man's wisdom is vain. Our Great Physician is the ONLY one we can truly trust. Where are we at in this trial now? Well, a few weeks ago a very dear friend of ours asked us if we had ever considered that Troy might be poisoned by mercury. We had not considered that. After much research and pray, we are now being led to go down this road and see if it might be the answer. He had all but two of his mercury fillings removed from his mouth 2 weeks ago. This next Friday he is scheduled to get his wisdom teeth removed. Studies have shown that Mercury poisoning as well as the wisdom teeth might interfere with the heart. We have also considered the exposure he has had to pesticides over the years. He is going through a very slow detox program to try and remove all metals from his body. We are waiting on many different tests they did on him and will get those results back in the next few weeks. Lyme Disease is one of the many tests he has had. Pesky little ticks have been on him in our Eastern Kansas days. We do want you all to know that our dependance is on our Lord. We know that He has allowed this trial for a reason, and we trust Him to see us through it. It is not easy to sit back and watch my husband go through this storm, but it is comforting to know that as we keep our eyes on our Creator we will not sink. Please pray for us. We need God's grace and strength. It is comforting to know that we have so many friends and family that are praying and bearing our burdens.

My Sweet Nieces

We were once again privileged to go to Pratt and keep Trinity Dawn while Joe and Anita spent some time alone! Charity Pearl blessed us with her presence as well. I have the sweetest nieces in the whole world! Don't you just LOVE Pearly Mae's new car? Trinity LOVES snuggling her Uncle Troy!

Many Memories!

Christmas break flew by in a flurry! We are so thankful to have gotten to see all of my(Heather) family this Christmas Season. Kelly and Doug even ventured to Ulysses in the snow to spend some much needed time together! From eating, game playing, bowling, eating again, girls giggling, and much more, we sure did make some wonderful memories!

Christmas Fun!

Thanksgiving Break

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break! We headed to New Mexico immediately after school on Tuesday. We were greatly motivated to get there....Chelsey and Trevor were to fly in at 10:40 pm. We arrived at Gma Becky's around 7:30pm. There were two very precious girlie's awaiting us...Lillie and Emma...Oh, their parents, too!! We visited for awhile then the parents headed to pick up their much missed college students! Oh, what a wonderful sight they were as they made the long trek down the corridor to their weepy parents! After much food, late nights, whiplash on the go-carts, the flu, and head colds, we are back home counting down til Christmas! The Lord has truly blessed our family, and we praise Him for the time we had together! Thank you, Gma Becky, for putting up with this crew! You are always so hospitable!!

Whew! What a Weekend!

Thursday's school day was very looooong as we anticipated a trip to Texas to see family and go to Six Flags! The kids thought this day would NEVER come!! We had a great time riding roller coasters, water rides, and antique cars (ReAnne is quite the driver thanks to Gpa Chuck!) We got to spend a short time with Derek, Michelle and family, and Nina! Our time was short, but sweet! It is quite interesting when you get the whole clan in one dwelling place! Thanks to Kyle and Michelle for opening up their home to us. What a blessing!!

Weekend with Grandma Becky

Grandma Becky came on Friday for the weekend. It was a very relaxing, fun time. We grilled kabobs on Saturday and enjoyed crafting and visiting. Just not the same without Trevor and Chelsey here :( Definitely time for Thanksgiving break so we can see them!

"Center" of attention....ALL Weekend!

Children are definitely a Blessing straight from Heaven! We had a wonderful time with Trinity Dawn this weekend. She didn't get spoiled AT ALL.....(well, you know) and she is truly one of the sweetest babies I have ever had the privilege of caring for. We awaited soooooooooooooooo long for little brother to bless us with his offspring, and we must say, "Thank You for such a sweet one!"

We Get the Snuggle Bug!!

The crazy aunties get Trinity Dawn again this weekend! Yeah!! She is such a snuggle bug. Will post some pics after the weekend!

Back to School

Well, the time has come to get back to school. Can't hardly believe it. We start school tomorrow at 8:00 am sharp...one great change.....we get out at 2:30 pm this year! YEAH!!! That is the beauty of a home-school coop! We have had a wonderful summer. God is so good!

Annie and Silverado

Wow there haven't been posts on here in a long time! I know that most people have already seen Annie's little colt, Silverado, but I have been doing some experimenting with videos on blogs so I'm posting this one on here. Hope you enjoy. :)

Enjoying the Louisiana evenings!

Troy and Luke at Southland Christian Camp in Louisiana!

Camp at Southland!

As God decided to allow the fire in AZ, we had to decide where we would take our teens to camp this year.  With prayer for guidance, God worked out the details for us to come to Ringgold, LA to Southland.  Mike Herbster is the director.  We must say that we were a bit "concerned" about the heat, bugs, and alligators:), but much to our delight, we have not encountered any strange bug or any large lizards!  The heat is bearable and the kids are LOVING it!  Rich Tozer is the preacher and God has definitley led him to preach on many of the needs in our youth group.  God is working in the campers as well as in Troy and I.  We are being pampered as Sponsors, but most importantly, they have designed sessions for us as well.  They have each been a real encouragement bringing the "refreshing" we needed!  Pray for us as we travel home on Saturday....we have a very long haul ahead of us! 

Last Teen Night

Yesterday evening was one of my last teen nights for a while. Even though I’ll come back, I have a feeling that things will never be the same again. When I get back, David will be at boot camp, so we’ll have lost a member, and then there will be 5 other kids that will have moved up into the teen group. So my actual teen group is beginning to disperse. We had so much fun though last night! We played ultimate Frisbee, which is like our favorite game. The sun was shining, the wind was CALM for a change, and we just had a blast. Especially since my team won 4 out of 4 games. : ) We gave some testimonies and had a sweet time of fellowship, and even shed a few tears. I just want all my teens to know that I love you guys!!!!!!! Even though I won’t be here for a while, I’ll think about you all and pray for you, too!

 

  

Friends & Graduates

We know… we’re nuts. : )

End of The School Year 2010-2011

 

May 20th, 2011 marked to end of Abbey and Luke’s 7th grade year, ReAnne’s 3rd grade year, and kind of Chelsey’s senior year, but that was finished already at graduation. : P It was a little teary, because four people won’t be coming back next year (myself included!). I’m going to miss all of my students so much! I’ve really enjoyed teaching this year; I think I might go into a science withdraw! 

Mom speaking at the closing assembly.

 

After the awards ceremony and lunch, we went on a “field trip” to the Alpaca farm right outside Ulysses!

 

The kids making felt soap thingys from the Alpaca fiber.

 

Isn’t she funny? Most of the alpacas had just been sheared, so they looked quite interesting. : )

Here’s one that wasn’t sheared yet.

These are the studs; their fros are hilarious!

 

The day was very fun, then it ended great because Ms. Rachel took everyone in her van to McDonald’s for cokes!  We were the lucky ones. : P

Snip Snip Snip

A couple of days ago Miranda & I cut our hair and donated it to American Cancer Society to make into wigs for ladies who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment.  It's a big change, but it was fun and exciting to do together!

I donated 8 inches, and Miranda donated 7.

Last smile with long hair!

Ahh! Here it goes!

Miranda's turn

New style

At the post office mailing our ponytails. : )

Saying the final goodbyes... : P

Sorry I couldn't really get the package in. : )

And it's off! Hopefully in 6-8 months it will be fitted onto a lady, and brighten up her world a little bit. : )