Salvation Stories....Grace Abounds...

Seth's Story: It was a typical Tuesday, September 29th, 2009. Noah and Chloe were at preschool while I was home schooling Seth. He was having difficulty obeying and needed to be disciplined. He broke into tears and said, "I just can't obey." I told him that he was right. Without the power of the Holy Spirit in his life he could not truly obey and that He needed Jesus to be His Savior from sin. Mark and I had told this to him many, many times over the years, but never had it really clicked. Seth just peacefully stopped and looked at me. I asked if he wanted to pray and ask Jesus to be His Savior, forgive him of his sin, and fill him with the Holy Spirit so he would be able to obey. He said he did. We prayed together....he wanted help, even though he had often prayed on his own in the past...he often fears not doing things "perfectly" and we are helping him with that. Anyway, afterwards, he had a big smile and seemed so relieved! I told him angels were rejoicing for his soul in Heaven and that he would get to go to Heaven when he died! He was so happy about that, but made sure Mommy & Daddy would be going there, too. Later that day it, rained and as it stopped and the sun came out, there was a huge, beautiful rainbow that filled the sky in the front of the house. Seth spotted it out the upstairs, front window and said, "Mom, come look!!!" I reminded him of Noah and God's promise to him. Then Seth said that maybe God put it there for because of God's promise to be his Savior. I couldn't argue with that and now every time Seth shares his salvation story, he includes the rainbow that God sent that day! Each time since, when we see a rainbow, Seth remembers that special day. Noah's Story: On Sunday, October 18th, 2009, Noah was saved. It was a typical bedtime and I was tucking the boys in bed. While it was my turn to pray, Noah interrupted my prayer and said, "Mom, I REALLY want to be a Christian! Can I?" Since Mark was home, I said, "Just a minute, Honey. Let me go get Daddy." So I hurried down the hall and got Mark out of bed so he could be there when Noah was saved! Mark, led Noah in praying and when he was done, we told him that the angels were rejoicing for him in Heaven. We reminded him that now he, too, had the Holy Spirit alive inside him who would help him not sin. He knows he does still sin and will as long as he is here on earth, but what a difference it has made in his life, knowing he has the power of the Holy Spirit inside! Both Seth and Noah have continued to struggle in sin, but what a difference we as the parents have seen in the softness of their hearts and the desire to choose the right path. We continue to encourage them to rejoice in the Gospel and the grace given them by their Savior Jesus. We want them not to be discouraged by their sin, but encouraged that they can see how precious Jesus blood and sacrifice on the cross was for them as they now have the hope of eternal life with their Lord forever in Heaven!

Latest News on Gist Baby #4! :)

Hi, Praying People in our Lives!

Where do I begin????  First of all, Mark and I are absolutely blown
away (once again) at the way the body of Christ has stepped up and
overwhelmed us with kind service in the name of Jesus!!!  Your rewards
will be in Heaven and there is no earthly way we could ever hope to
repay you....  So, if you don't have time for a lengthy email, maybe
you could just listen to the attached song and let the Lord bless you
through it today.

Little did I know when Lisa (my sister) and I chose to sing "Out of
the Depths" together at Lakeside Bible Church in Montgomery, Texas on
August 2nd, that the lyrics would grow to become an even greater
comfort than they had previously. (Some of you may be aware of my
battle with depression and insomnia in 2008. The end of that battle
came exactly one year to the day (Aug. 3rd 2008) that I went forward
in church and was prayed for so specifically for all that was
tormenting my soul (w/o sharing my need). From that day forward, I was
freed on so many levels and I give God ALL the glory for that! That's
all to say, here I am with the Lord showing Himself so graciously and
being my sustanence in the depths, once again.  We all have "stuff"
that we are facing and my prayer for each one of you receiving this is
that you might be comforted in your "stuff" just as I am by my Jesus!

Here's the news as of the doc appt. yesterday:

- Cyst inside the left (and only) is HALF as big as it was on August
11th when we first saw it! :)
- If in 3 weeks, when I go for a recheck, things look the same/better,
there will be no need for surgery!!!! :)  (I must confess, many of
you, including my beloved Mark, prayed for this, but I sure did not
have the faith to pray this way.  I figured I would just be grateful
to make it to the 12 - 17 week surgery time without the cyst rupturing
and keeping itself "status quo"....THANKS FOR YOUR FAITHFUL
PRAYERS!!!)
- The tear in the placenta is completely healed!
- The extra sac of blood/fluid (doc was never quite sure what it was)
is gone!  There is only one mysterious line of blood underneath the
placenta, but he wasn't too concerned about that.
- The baby is 9 and a 1/2 weeks now and looking like a baby!  The
heartbeat is strong and "she" (at least a 1/2 dozen of you have told
me you think it's a girl so we'll go with that unless we learn
otherwise...ha! Ha! :) was even "dancing" as Dr. McNeely described
her!
- I have be "released" from complete bed rest, but if the
spotting/bleeding starts again, I have to stay flat until I have had 2
days free from it.  I am allowed to walk around "gingerly" as Dr.
McNeely put it and not lift anything too heavy.


Prayer Requests:

- Continued strength and faith for our family as we take each day in
stride, accepting help where we should.
- Pain of the cyst...still there, but not as severe. :)
- Health of baby.
- Tina to know her limits...you all know I have trouble with this.

Congrats to those of you who made it through this!  Our family is so
blessed to have you in our lives and we love you all!

Hoping in the Cross,
Tina

PS Here are the lyrics for the attached song, "Out of the Depths"!  Be
blessed!!!!

Words and music by Bob Kauflin

As recorded on Psalms

Out of the depths, O Lord, I cry to You
When I am tempted to despair
Though I might fail to trust Your promises
You never fail to hear my prayer
And if You judged my sin
I’d never stand again
But I see mercy in Your hands

So more than watchmen for the morning
I will wait for You, my God
When my fears come with no warning
In Your Word I’ll put my trust
When the harvest time is over and I still see no fruit
I will wait, I will wait for You

The secret mysteries belong to You
We only know what You reveal
And all my questions that are unresolved
Don’t change the wisdom of Your will
In every trial and loss
My hope is in the cross
Where Your compassions never fail

Our Hope is in the Lord

Dear Friends and Family, First of all, thank you so much for your faithful prayers for our family during this trying time.  We don't know how we would get through this without all of you surrounding us with love, prayer, care, meals, etc.  Truly we are so blessed to have you in our lives! Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is being honored because of your selflessness and sacrifice in His name!  Thank you!!! If you are squeamish, don't like medical details, just ate dinner, etc....just stop reading and pray! :)  Otherwise, feel free to read on Here's the update from the OB/GYN appt. today: - We are 7 weeks pregnant and saw the baby!  The heart beat is strong and for that we are praising the Lord! - There is an extra sac of blood/fluid next to the placenta and I have been spotting off and on for a week.  It also looks like there is a tear in the placenta which could mean a possible miscarriage or God could choose to heal it. (He healed my sister a little over a year ago when she had a tear at both ends of the placenta. :) - The cyst looks like is shrinking!!!*  The large amount of progesterone that it holds could be serving to sustain the baby!  Only God knows, but if He continues to shrink it, there may not be a need for surgery in 5ish weeks! :) - If the cyst doesn't shrink, then Dr. McNeely will remove it around week 12 or so.  If he does this while the uterus is fairly small, it can be done laparoscopically.  If the uterus is too big, it will be like a regular C-Section surgery. Prayer Requests: - Spotting would stop and the baby would live. - Our family would be sustained by God's grace as things look very different than "normal" around here since I have to be in bed 80-90% of the time. - God's hand would be on the cyst and continue to shrink it!  Such a blessing that it has not yet ruptured like the other one when it was this size! - Hope would fill us and faith that God's best will happen no matter what! Mostly, thank you all for your prayers and begging the Lord for mercy on our behalf.  We are so blessed and see God's grace all around us in His body who have stepped up to the challenge (once again...)!  THANK YOU!!! Psalm 42:5-6a "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." Confident in our Hope, Tina (Mark, too :) PS Feel free to forward to any other prayer warriors! :) *There are many types of cysts, but mine is a Cystadenoma. This cyst forms within the outer lining of the ovary. This kind of cyst has a one in eight chance of being cancerous, according to Women's College Hospital in Canada, but most are not malignant before menopause. -- "When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul." - Psalm 94:19 -- "When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul." - Psalm 94:19

Mediterranean Cruise 2009

Mark & I were blessed by Grandma Anderson to join her on a 10 day Med cruise....Italy, Greece, Croatia, and Turkey...so fabulous!  

We saw amazing sights...Ephesus, Corinth, Corfu, Santorini, Dubrovnik, Mt. Etna, and many more....

We did fun things like sea kayaking, swimming in hot springs at the foot of a volcano, donkey riding to the top of Santorini, four wheeling to a black sand beach in Santorini, 

"Daddy?"  Chloe asked looking around our bedroom and bathroom this morning. 

I replied, "Daddy is on a hike." 

"Why, Mommy?"

"So he can get exercise and have big muscles."

"Oh, Coo[l]l!" Chloe commented.

There you have it...a two year old using slang...I believe I have 2 big brothers to thank! Ha! Ha! :)

"Chloe, where are you?"  

All is silent.  Something is going on, but Mommy has no clue...great mom, huh?  

"Oh, there you are!"  

Chloe is about to enjoy a delightful snack...a bowl of carefully unwrapped gum...just before Mommy catches her! 

Noah's thoughts these days....

"Mom, what are strawberrries made of?"

"Mom, what do girls eat?"

Well, I can't think of more brilliance than the raw inquiries of the four year old mind!

Praise the Lord!

Dear Praying People...from all over the world :),

God heard and answered your prayers in amazing ways.  Let's go...

- From Chinese herbs to Shaklee to mangosteen juice to cow colostrum to grapefruit seed extract, God used yo (those who brought these
treasures to my bedside) to blow what was confirmed to be Strep Throat out of the water! Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  A patient left w/o "treatment" for strep all weekend should not have been able to have surgery today w NO fever and NO throat pain or swollen glands!!!  The doctors and nurses were astounded!  Again, to God be the glory!
- When Dr. McNeely got in there to take a look at was supposed to be an ovary on the right side...well, for those a bi more squeemish, let's just say there pretty much wasn't one. That "little" grapefruit sized mother of all cysts ruptured that little ovary like it was coming after her babies...or something like that.  Ha! :)  So, once again God took care of that.  No decision to be made to make Dr. McNeely feel badly about taking the "little" ovary....it was all done. Doc just tidied up a bit in there...yes a big mess, but again I'll spare you more than that (Although, I must say Danny Frese thoroughly enjoyed the pictures the surgeon brought out to the waiting room for Mark and him to see....No surprise if you know Danny. :) and take the fallopian tube.
- On the left side, the cyst that Dr. McNeely had previously considered removing looked "okay" by his estimation and if God wanted to use that ovary for more kids, he thought he would just leave that for God to take care of...yay God! :)
- Did I forget to mention, NO CANCER!!!! Yes, Jehovah Rafa spared me! I am so overjoyed and giving Him the praise He is do.  Thank you for praying and praying and praying to HIM!!!

So there you have it....well, almost!

- Ok, so they come to the "pre-pre-op" room...yes there is such a thing. :)  They nurse who wheeled me back and forth on Friday was there once again to do the same and so sweet and delighted to see that I was feeling better and up for surgery!  However, before she got to me, I heard her ask Mark (outside the curtain) does Tina have a friend having surgery today, too?  He laughed and said, "No, I don't think so." The nurse pondered aloud in her beautiful Romanian accent, "Hmmm, that's funny because the lady next to where I am going to take you said to me, 'Oh, that must be my Tina!' and I said, 'You know her?' and she said she did [pronounced: "deed"]!"  Then the sweet nurse started to worry and asked if it would be awkward if we were placed next to someone we knew and we said we'll just have a party and she laughed and continued on the journey to meet this mystery person. When we arrived we were greeted with big hugs from my dear friend and former Community Bible Study cor leader, Michele Mascolo-Brown. (Some of you may know her or met her at a shower at Diana's house years ago.)  So there we were waiting together for her husband's herniated disc surgery and my whatever...God was so gracious to encourage us this way!!!
- Everywhere I seemed to turn, there were nurses and staff who knew Jesus!  How does this "just happen"?  After Mark prayed with me and said, "Goodbye." The male nurse said, "You are in good hands, not only ours, but His.  You will be just fine.  God will take care of you, but you already know that, right?"  I said, "Amen!" to that and was so joyful going in.

{Alright, I know you need this short novel to be done so you can take care of your home, eat dinner, bathe your children, mow your lawn, clean the garage, or just get off your computer, right...well, feel free and thanks for sticking it out this far. :)  For the rest of you,
really, I'm almost done! :) }

- In the recovery room, Nurse Carol Miller, goes to The Rock and has a son named Kevin who sounds like a godly guy who's a pre-med student. (All that info is for you, Rochel. :) Anyway, she shared her infertility journey very openly.  She had 2 miscarriages, was in the hospital with Kevin for 3 months before he was born, then had one miscarriage after, and that was it for her.  She desperately wanted to adopt, but shared how her husband wasn't on board so that's where it ended for them.  She told me I HAVE to adopt a little Hispanic girl to complete our family for Seth...Hispanic bookends in her mind I guess....OOPS, is it bad that Mark will receive this news via email to the world.  Well, it's all about grace, right, Babe! :)

In closing, today has been one of the best days of my life!  I feel our Savior's and your love and prayers enveloping me...oh and my door is about to be beaten down...kids r home...I'll finish more soon! :)

I'm back and Mark is finishing the tucking in/bedtime routine that Diana so graciously started a little bit ago.  So thank you to all of you who helped today w/ kids!  Thanks, Angela for taking Seth to school!  Thanks, Chris, for feeding Noah breakfast and taking him to school!  Thanks, Bucky, for letting Chloe and Abby play and delivering Chloe to Diana.  Diana, thanks for picking up Noah from school and having all the kids hang out, have dinner, baths, etc., and bringing them home tonight!  Thanks, Rob & Cheryl, for picking up Seth from school and doing whatever fun stuff you all did to wear out that boy!
;)  God has so richly blessed us with friends such as you!

Here's the deal for the week..ish...

Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 12th:

- 8 a.m - 12:30ish p.m. Kathy Locke picks up Seth for home school and
playing and drops him off at Diana's for a nap. (Diana Menne: 839
Pinecrest St., Esc. 92025, 760.745.2698)
- 8 a.m. - 1ish p.m. Kirsi Turbedsky picks up Noah & Chloe  and drops
them off at Diana's. (See above info for Diana.)
- 3:30ish p.m. Chris Detrich picks up kids from Diana
- 5:30ish p.m. Chris brings kids home for dinner

Wednesday, May 13th:

- 7:15 a.m. Seth is dropped off to ride to school w/ McGlassons
- 7:20 a.m. Noah is dropped off to ride to school w/ Detrichs
- 8 a.m. Chloe is picked up by Jamie Wheeler and may or may not be
back for a nap.
- 11:30 a.m. Noah is picked up from Calvin Christian Preschool by
Jamie Wheeler and may or may not be back for a nap
- 2:30 p.m. Lauri Thomas plays "mom" for Seth and gets him from Mrs.
Dereck's class to baseball
- 3:45 p.m. Betsy Yphantides will be picking up Seth and bringing him
home by bedtime.

Thursday, May 14th:

- All Day... Kristen Kitabjian will pick up all 3!  Go, Kristen!!!!

Whew!  Once again, if you got all the way here, you get the "super
duper friend award"!

If you can open the attachment, feel free to do a jig to the Lord!

Let Everything Praise the Lord
Psalm 150

Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent
greatness!

Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!

Love & praise to our Savior Jesus Christ,
Tina

Jehovah Rafa

Happy Mother's Day!  

Here I sit with my sweet Jehovah Rafa, the God who heals, who will never leave me or forsake me.  Mark is at church and the children are still in Palm Springs with Grammy so I can rest and recover from a fever, sore throat, swollen glands, and ear aches...hoping to be cleared for surgery tomorrow.  Yes, surgery.  A week ago, I was experiencing pain, difficulting breathing, and nausea.  Blood tests, urine analysis, chest x-rays, abdominal x-rays, ultrasounds, and an MRI were performed within a matter of two days...which is a miracle in and of itself.  Praise Jehovah!  The findings are a large tumor (7 cm round) in my right ovary and little cysts on the left.  Once this was confirmed and he saw me on Thursday, May 7th, Dr. Kevin McNeely (my ob/gyn since soon after Mark and I were married and moved to San Diego) believed that it was necessary to get the tumor out as quickly as possible and scheduled the surgery for the next morning, Friday, May 8th at 11:15 a.m.  

I checked in at the hospital at 9 a.m. on Friday with a temperature of 102.4.  The nurse immediately called Dr. McNeely to see if he wanted to go forward with the surgery and he said it was an "emergency" so we needed to proceed.  Graciously, I was continually provided with warm blankets, but it never seemed to be enough.  I was just shivering.  Rondi Lauterbach, our pastor's wife, came to visit us, read scripture to us, and pray with us.  What  a blessing she was for our souls!  One of the passages she read was Psalm 121.  This is the same Psalm the Lord had led me to bring to the prophecy mic on Sunday, April 26th.  Then Tom White brought it to our "Beautification Committee" meeting on Tuesday, April 28th.  After that on Thursday, May 7th, Laura Fierro came over to our home, anointed me with oil, prayed for me, and you guessed it, one of the scriptures she read me was Psalm 121.  So, in a matter of less than 2 weeks, God brought Psalm 121 to me 4 times.  I shared this little story via email with some family and friends and would you believe within that same time frame, God had brought it to my mom, Danielle, and Kei Laliberte!

Because I'm getting tired and need to rest up before the kids are delivered by my mother-in-law, Joanne Hemingway, I'm going to take the easy way out and cut and paste the latest updates that I emailed to some friends and family...

1st Update:

Hi, Friends!

Thanks so much to those of you who have already jumped in and sprang
into action to help me over the past couple days!

Here's the scoop:

-After a bunch of tests yesterday and an ultrasound & MRI today, a 7
cm mass was found in my right ovary & a bunch of cysts on my left.

-It is necessary to take out the right ovary asap...most likely
tomorrow, but if I am in too much pain, they'll do it tonight.

-Urgent Care is working on tracking down my beloved Dr. Kevin McNeely
(ob/gyn who has been w/ me since newlywed & walked through infertility
& Noah & did Chloe's C-section).

-I am praying that Dr. McNeely will be able to do the surgery.

Help needed w/ kids:

Thursday, May 7th
9 a.m Diana Menne will have the kids (Are you able to keep them for
lunch & naps?)

3 or 4ish p.m. need someone to relieve Diana (839 Pinecrest Street,
Escondido is her address)

5 or whenever my kids will need dinner & a place to hang until we can get them

Friday, May 8th
All Day: Chloe needs a place
____7:50 a.m. Chris D. takes Noah to school
____9 a.m. Seth needs a ride to TCA (Laurie Rawson, would you be able
to swing by & pick him up?)
____9:50 a.m. Seth needs someone to be there at TCA when his class dismisses
____10:30 Seth needs to be dropped off at Tennis at the Escondido
Fitness Center (Lincoln & Escondido)
____11:30 Seth needs to be picked up from Tennis
____11:30 Noah needs to be picked up from preschool at Calvin
Christian (Broadway & Vista)
____12:30 Seth needs to be dropped off at Reidy Creek golf course
____1:30 Seth needs to be picked up from golf

Afternoon...
____Seth 1:30 - ?
____Noah 11:30 - ?
____Chloe ?

Late Afternoon/Evening...

Hopefully, my mother-in-law will be here & Mark will be able to get off early.

Sorry I don't have any more details about myself...length of stay,
time of surgery, recovery expectations, etc.

Thank you all for your prayers and care!  Please feel free to forward
this to anyone. :)

Love to you all & thanking Jesus for you,
Tina

2nd Update:

Hi, Friends & Family!

Well, I am home, but not because the surgery* was a smashing success
and the most beautiful thing you could imagine.... :)  As you may
know, I have had a fever, sore throat, swollen gland, & ear ache.  On
a normal day that's no biggie and you just push through, right.  Well,
what started as smooth sailing as I was prepped for surgery w/ IV,
sticker monitors, leg massagers, a lovely plastic air bubble heating
blanket, and just about to have the marker taken to my abdomen for a
little art work, everything came to a halting stop when the
anesthesiologist looked at how swollen my throat was, combined w/ the
fact of having a fever.  She was gravely concerned about extubating
the breathing tube and painted possible scenarios of the complications
leading to being in the ICU on an ventilator for a week or more or
even a chance of death.  Well, I knew my doctor believed that the
surgery was "emergency" status (due to the risk of having the tumor
burst and all the complications that may bring) because when the
check-in nurse called to report my fever to him, he didn't even
hesitate and said that we needed to move forward and get the tumor
out.  So, my vote was to trust God and go for.  Mark was not thrilled
w/ my opinion, but spent some time praying about it.  Meanwhile, more
doctors start showing up around the bed.  I almost thought we were in
an episode of ER with a great dramatic debate going on right before my
eyes, but it was so strange to think this was real life.  Ha! :)
After many opinions were share by the 3 concerned anesthesiologists,
my doctor caved...what else could he do.  So, because he is so
adorable he is willing to come in on his days off tomorrow (Sat.) or
even Sunday (Mother's Day) if the pain becomes too great and we have
to take action.  My anesthesiologist stepped up and asked him to call
her as well and said she would do the same!  Wow!  That's when I
really knew they were genuine about their concern and care and not
just covering themselves for liability purposes.  At this point, we
have the surgery scheduled for Monday, May 11th at 10:30 a.m.  So here
is the scoop regarding help...

Today:

- A big THANKS to Chris Detrich, Kelly Trader, Laurie Rawson,
Christina Norwood, and Jenna Shirley for shuffling everyone around and
caring so lovingly for the Gist kids!!!
- At the hospital we had visits from Rondi Lauterbach and Danny Frese.
 Thanks, Danny for your patience while we were tucked away for what
seemed like hours only to find out we were leaving and thanks for
blessing Mark with a Chipotle lunch!  Rondi shared Psalm 121 (as well
as other scriptures :) and I was so blessed by God's specific care as
this is one more example of God's overwhelming care.  In a matter of
12 days now, Psalm 121 has been brought by 4 of us at Grace Church
because of the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  Some may remember when I
read it at the prophecy mic on April 26th, then Tom White shared it at
a "beautification committee" meeting at church on April 28th, the
Laura Fierro came over yesterday and read it to me at my bedside, and
finally today, Rondi was led by the Spirit to bring it to me in the
hospital.  Wow!  God is such a personal, caring, loving God.  Praise
be to Him...from where our help comes! :)
- Currently, the kids are off in Palm Springs with Mark's mom (Joanne
Hemingway) and getting to swim and have a great, fun, adventuresome
diversion from all this craziness from now until Sunday afternoon.
- I have been "ordered" by Dr. McNeely to stay in bed, drink lots of
fluids, and take my vitamins until it's time to leave for surgery.
(I'm cheating just a little to update you all, but from now on I will
check my email on my phone and follow doctor's orders. :)

Sunday:

- I will sadly miss sharing in Mother's Day at Grace Church, but know
that God is doing His thing and He is so good that I must trust His
divine care and love for me.

Monday:

- We will drop off Seth to the McGlassons about 7:15 a.m.
- We will drop off Noah at the Detrichs about 7:20 a.m.
_____ Chloe needs a spot for the morning.
- Diana Menne will pick up Noah from preschool at 11:30 and take him
back to her house for lunch/nap.
_____ Chloe needs to be dropped off at Diana's for nap time and
possibly for lunch if that works better for other's schedules.
_____ Seth needs to be picked up at The Classical Academy, 2950 South
Bear Valley Parkway, Escondido, CA 92025, 760.546.0101, and dropped
off at Diana's unless someone wants a play date w/ him.
- All 3 kids will do the rest of the evening (dinner/baths/pjs) w/ Diana.
- Diana will bring them home to be put to bed.
_____ In case we happen to not be home yet, is there someone who could
stay with the kids at our house from about 8 p.m. - ?  Lord-willing,
if all goes well, we won't be spending the night at the hospital.  If
we do, it would be nice to have a back-up plan for that...meaning you
could have the kids stay at your house or stay at our house for the
night...either is fine w/ us.

Whew, are you overwhelmed yet?  If you made it this far in the email,
you are definitely a true friend!!!  Thanks for your love, care, &
prayers for us during this time.

May Psalm 121 bring encouragement to your heart in whatever God is
doing with you right now!

My Help Comes from the Lord
A Song of Ascents.

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.

The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

Much love & gratitude,
Tina
 

 

Last night, while I was tucking the boys into bed and it was Noah's turn to pray, he passionately said, "Thank you, God, for making my heart beep..." and then stopped mid-prayer and asked, "Mom, does God press a button to make my heart start beeping?  Is that how my heart beeps?"  Well, I did my best to explain how God breathes life into us and makes our hearts beat from the time we are teeny tiny and I am savoring these moments of such precious questions from these little souls!  Praise be to God for His good gifts!

Seth loves his little sister so much and looks forward to getting her up each morning.  He listens outside her room and at the slightest stirring he runs to Mom and asks permission to get her.  Seth is such a loving, caring big brother.  One of his favorite things to do is give her a "treat" for going on the potty.  :)

While Seth was at Henry Turbedsky's 6th birthday party and Chloe was home with Mommy, Noah went on a "date" with Daddy.  While they were enjoying some intense male bonding discussions, Daddy made a concerted effort to get to know Noah a little better and asked a few questions:

Daddy: "What is your favorite color?"  

Noah: "Uhhhhh...blue, green, yellow, blue blue!"  Clearly, Noah is a very creative, imaginative child.  :)  

Daddy: "What is your favorite toy?"

Noah: "Helicopter."

Daddy: "If you could do anything, what would you do?"

Noah: "Put my shoes on....clean my room." (I think he interpreted it a little differently than Daddy intended. :)

Daddy:  "If you could go anywhere, where would you go?"

Noah: "With my dad to Cold Stone!"

"Mommy, do rock stars put their hands in their pockets?  Maybe sometimes they do and maybe sometimes they don't."  Noah asked thoughtfully as he experimented with the pockets in his pants this morning.

Chloe is a "big girl" or so she thinks!  She made it through the whole night without her "paw paw" aka pacifier!!!  We are so excited for our big two year old!  Also, we are on day #3 of wearing panties!  Since Sunday when she turned 2 years old, she seems like she's not a baby anymore...talking up a storm and taking life by storm as well!  She is coloring next to me as I type and I think she truly thinks she is working in her office.  She just said, "I caw caw.  Mine!"  Translation: "I am coloring my [work]."  

Chloe Girl (as we fondly call our little princess) is now in a "big girl bed" which brings "big girl privileges", but Mommy and Daddy thought they were pretty safe since she can't open door knobs yet.  However, the other night when we checked on her before we went to bed, we must not have made sure her door shut tightly and about 3 a.m., there beside our bed stood "Miss Cindy Lou Who" (another nickname we have for her) with her purse in hand, saying, "Mama?  Maaaamaaaaaaa?  Mama!" with a big smile on her proud little face.

"Mommy, I think I can't go in the bath ever again because this thing (pointing to a scab on his face) keeps coming off every time I take a bath!"  Noah emphatically shared this morning.

First Time Blogging

So, this is a little strange to me...my first time blogging, but I realized that life is too full to scrapbook like I used to and this is a doable alternative. :)  So here goes...well, I actually better run because my shower is running, children need to be fed, dressed, and schooled and the day might slip away.  However, this was a great idea, right?