update...

my parents, rylee and i went to see mindy eileen friday evening through saturday morning. i was able to stay with her at the residence. she was able to go out to dinner and breakfast with us. it's the first time she has left the hospital grounds. she had an appointment on friday. the baby weighs approximately 1 1/2 pounds and her fluid levels were up. that is a huge praise. the baby can stay in if her fluid levels can stay up!

kent and the kids came on saturday and were able to spend the night with her. that is another praise. she didn't think that her kids could spend the night. this way she gets extended time on the weekends. it's a huge blessing. she has met some ladies at the residence and is already ministering. that's my sister....:) she bought a calling card for one 19yr old that had no way to call home. one of my sister's prayers has been that the Lord would bring those into her path that need His love. i admire her perspective and trust in the Lord right now.

ok...got mucho stuff to do today.

mindy eileen was moved today to a residence on the hospital grounds. she said it is kind've like a hotel room. she has a full bed, recliner, t.v., mini fridge/microwave etc. she is there with other high risk pregancy ladies and they shuttle them to and from the hospital for appointments and meals. she is much more comfortable and it is much better than staying in the noisy hospital. what a blessing!!!

she is doing well...she was able to see her kids today. she misses them soooo much!!! but she will get to see them at least 2-3 times weekly. they'll be back again on saturday. i can tell from talking to her that she is staying positive and she is definitely experiencing God's presence and peace in mighty ways!!! she was encouraged by a doctor and a nurse (both believers) at different times. what a faithful Lord we serve!!!!! thank you so much for your prayers!!!!!!

please email me if you would like her address.

m.e. update

mindy eileen was admitted last night. it's looking like she will be there until the baby comes. thank you for all of your prayers. they need them right now! i'll keep everyone posted as things change etc.

sister and baby kate update

i received a phone call from my mom on thurs. and she said that my sister was at the hospital after seeing her ob/gyn. her amniotic fluid had dropped from 9.3 to 7.2 in a week. my understanding is that the baby is in danger around 6.0. i left work, packed a bag and headed to saratoga or galvestine depending on if they let her go home or not. they ended up letting her go home for the weekend and she and kent go tomorrow morning to the hospital in galvestine and most probably she will be admitted until the baby comes. she is currently 24 weeks and every day is soooo important. i stayed the weekend to help with the kids and came home a little while ago. here are specific things that you can pray for:

1. obviously, baby kate, that she will grow strong and stay in as long as possible.

2. mindy eileen is having a very hard time emotionally for obvious reasons...specifically it is very difficult leaving her two kids at home and being an hour and a half away for who knows how long. she's hoping to see them a couple of times a week and kent on the weekends. our family and kent's are taking weeks to take care of the kids. the other obvious reason is the safety of kate and not knowing what the future holds and what difficulties might be faced.

3. my sister will also be by herself at the hospital. that will take its toll as well. please just pray for peace of mind. i know that the Lord will draw near to her during this time. it's hard for us not being able to physically be there for her every day.

i truly appreciate your prayers during this difficult time. we don't know what the days ahead will bring and i encouraged my sister to take it one day at a time. i need to listen to my own advice. i know our Lord is faithful and though he doesn't always promise us an easy road, He always promises His presence!

update on my sister

thanks for praying danielle :) and all of you who have been lifting my sister and baby kate up in prayer. they are doing fine so far. she actually has another appointment with her doctor tomorrow and i think they are going to try to schedule testing sooner than mid march (the original dates). we are glad about that. mindy eileen had a little scare the other day and had to go to the hospital...kate hadn't been moving very much. they put her and the baby on moniters and they were both doing fine. they also checked to see if her amniotic fluid was leaking and they didn't find a leak. we'll know more once she sees the specialist, which we are all anxious for.

my dad did great in surgery yesterday. he's trying to get up and around a little bit and it's obviously painful but he is doing well.

on a lighter note. i had a premiere jewelry party last night and ended up getting $275.00 in free jewelry!!! woo hoo!!! they have a great hostess plan and it was a lot of fun.

we got up this morning and had a family valentine breakfast. i made little baskets for everyone. the kids were sooooo excited :) it was fun. my mom always used to do something special for us on v-day and it always meant a lot to me. (thanks, mom!) so i want to have that tradition with my kids.

have a very happy valentine's day everybody!!! today is a great day to focus on our two greatest tasks, as believers............................... LOVE GOD and LOVE OTHERS!!! Make it a great one!!! :)

prayer requests...

my sister, as many of you know, is 5mths pregnant with her third child....baby kate. she went to the dr. yesterday and for some unknown reason her amniotic fluid keeps lowering. she got a call today from her dr. who said he is sending her to a specialist in houston. they will do some tests on her and the baby. please pray for them as they are unsure what is going on.

my dad has a double hernia. he will have surgery on feb. 13th. please pray that everything will go well.

our nephew connor fell and broke his leg yesterday at school. he has been in a lot of pain and will have to be in a cast for about 10 wks. kyle's sister and her family have been dealing with a lot these last few months. chris (brother-in-law) has been suffering with some kind of tissue disorder that they can't really put a label on. he has been in a lot of pain. so, please lift up the barnett family.

my best friend's mom fell at church last night and did something to her wrist, possibility that it's broken. i haven't heard exactly what the verdict was. mel.....comment and let me know how she is!!!

please continue to lift up my friend in the previous post. they will hopefully get some answers tomorrow regarding their difficult situation. pray for God's peace and presence as they face the unknown.

some dear friends, the Johnson family, lost a family member to suicide last weekend. please pray for them and their extended family as they go through the grieving process.

it seems like there is so much going on right now. thank you for joining me in praying for these.

so life is hard...

things have been rather crazy for about the last week, which is why i haven't blogged. i have a lot to update.

i'm having a rather crappy day today. one of those days where you just feel alone. not physically alone, but more emotionally. i guess that's not a bad thing because i tend to lean on God more during these times.

one of my best friends is going through a tremendous deal of pain right now. my heart is heavy for her and her situation. (please pause right now and say a prayer for my friend..thanks!) it hurts when the people that we love hurt...

we had merge weekend last weekend. kyle is finally home. he figured up that he worked 100 hours last week. bless his heart....he was soooo stressed. it's nice to have him back. the weekend was very successful and the Lord did some great things in the hearts and lives of our students. i think that we are both still trying to get caught up on our sleep.

i got a new cell phone. it's a razor.... i wanted a black one, but they only had pink. i didnt' have the patience to wait for a black on to come in. so i have a pink phone. i feel like a teenager :) oh well. maybe it will keep me young. yeah right. :)

kriste and i are starting the 6wk body makeover on sunday. we are both excited and looking forward to being 30-40 pounds lighter. we'll see what happens :)

the older i get the more i figure out that i don't have anything figured out. God is good, but life is hard and it will be until we are with Him where there will be no more relationship problems, no pain, no tears, no issues, and no sin! praise God that we have that hope. Praise God that we don't have to live on this earth in these earthly bodies for eternity. Until then...i'm going to go and try to be what He has called me to be.