Saturday, June 19, 2010

Boo Bear :)


Today marks the first day of us just being a family of three again. As many of you know for the the past seven months Jon and I have had Rebekah (my 16 yr old sister) living with us and in January of this year we were granted custody. It has been an adventure! However, there is season for everything and very sadly that season for us came to an end yesterday, as she left to go back to our Dad. :( Words can't really describe how sad I am over it. I thought I would be upset, but I didn't expect to feel such a loss. We were so blessed to have her here and although at times things were difficult, I felt like I had another daughter. It feels strange around the house now and her bathroom and bedroom are so empty :-/ it will take a while to get readjusted and I must admit I am sad that I will be home again by myself, with no one to really talk to expect a one year old heh. Despite the sadness, after a lot of prayer we really felt in our Spirit's that it was in Rebekah's best interest to go to her Dad's. He's recently married a wonderful christian woman and they are making a great like together. They want Rebekah living with them and her daughter who is a couple years younger then Bekah, wants the same. Rebekah has many educational and musical opportunities out there that Jon and I can't provide for her here. She should be with a parent, she has a nice church to go to, a nice home and my Dad can provide a car for her. The dynamic of my dad's has changed drastically and that is why we felt at peace for her to go. I feel at peace, but that doesn't mean I don't want to snatch her right back and bring her home! I absolutely would! But what God wants and what we want doesn't always line up.
In the past 7 months Rebekah has matured and come leaps and bounds from where she was the night we took her from my mom's house. She has been counseled and absorbed in church two times a week. She did excellent this semester in school and even held a part time job in town. She grew much closer to the Lord and overcame some tough emotional hurdles in her life. She also overcame alcohol and drugs. She made great friends that love and support her and she is dating mine and Jon's nephew Mason, which I'm very thankful for. Her glow returned to her face and she wasn't afraid to laugh and smile anymore. I watched her blossom. When I look at where she is now I am filled with joy at what God can do! I guess our home was only supposed to be a place for healing and then she would be on her way. I am confident that she will continue to do well. I know that God will complete the good work he has begun in her.


I am saddened by the fact that Ava Grace is going to miss her and not understand where she went. Her Bobby ( Ava's name for her) is a major part of her life and that kid adores Bekah! Thank the Lord for airplanes and trips to visit what we will always tell her is home. Rebekah this post is dedicated to you, you have grown so much and you are loved by sooooooooooooooooooo many people in this town! You have the sweetest heart and the best smile. I am honored to have had you live with us while you did and I know you will do outstanding at Dad's. I am so proud of you for everything you have overcome and the right choices you have made. You are growing into a beautiful young woman. I can't wait to see what else God has in store for you. Just remember to keep Christ and his word as the apple of your eye, the most important part of your life and honor him in all that you do. Remember that when God is for us who can be against us and that he is at your right hand and you can't be moved! Come home to visit often :)





Friday, June 18, 2010

My girl :)



I really suck at updating my blog...I'm just saying!

So Ava Grace is almost 15 months now :-o I can't believe it! I call her "tot along", because that is what she does all day; tot around behind me. She's a seasoned pro at walking and being in the pool. Oh how cute she is in her little bathing suit and sun hat strutting her stuff. I thought she would never walk, she was taking forever and then one day she decided crawling was out and walking was in! What fun its been! I realized she could now reach a lot higher and move a lot faster and sometimes her lightning speed is too much for me. Like the morning she dipped her hand in the toilet. I was mortified, thank God for soap!!!!!!! Some of her favorite past times are to pull all of her clean diapers out of the container in her room and throw them about, look to see what's in the kitchen trashcan, eat the cats food ( which is now safety behind a baby gate and out of her reach), watch way too much Mickey Mouse Clubhouse then I can stand, re-arrange the DVD cabinets, chase the cats around the house, hide her passy's and read a LOT of books over and over...or should I say have us read her the same books over and over hehe. My girl loves to read, yay!


Ava Grace has also fallen in love with her Mumba ( Christy, my friend), Bobby ( Bekah), Erin ( just like it sounds- Erin, Christy's daughter) Beebee ( Christy's husband Will) and Danny ( Christy's son Daniel.) I love that she has her own names for all of them, we didn't teach her she just named them on her own. She walks around their house like the owns the joint. She's also blessed with her Papa John and Grammy ( the best grandparents ever!) and her auntie's Cara and Heather, uncle's Chad and Curtis and her best-pal's, her cousins! She loves my dad ( Papa Ed) and enjoy's "talking" to him on the phone. We wish he lived closer, he is also in the category of "best grandparent ever!" My mom is Purple Nana and although she never see's her, she know's who she is and love's her.  We are so blessed that she has all of them in her life and will grow up with such love and support not only from us, but from them as well. She and the boys ( her cousins) are getting to the age where they are interacting in play. Last night she and Justus were chasing each other around the house squealing and laughing. I love to watch the three of them strut around Grammy's house together. What a blessing that they are only all two weeks apart in age. It's such a blast!

She and our cat Simba have become good friends. Simba must have been a lab in his earlier life ( j/k) because he allows Ava Grace to pull on him, smack him, lay all over him, chase him and basically torture him and he is fine with all of it. I'm so glad, because she loves cats!

One of the thing that brings me the MOST joy is that she loves to praise and worship! If I turn on praise music she runs to the cd player and begins to dance and raise her hands, she has even shouted "amen!" after a song! I didn't teach her to do that, she's seen it in church but I chalk it up to being blessed by the Lord even at her age. Sometimes if I say "praise the Lord" she throws her hands up and says "amen." I've also taught her how to say "Jesus" and it comes out more like "gjus" but its okay :) She gravitates to the Bible and will sit and listen as I read it. I'm so blessed to see a heart for the Lord being formed in her. I pray every night for her to walk in fear and love for the Lord and have a heart for his house, his people and for ministry. I also pray for her future spouse. I can lead her to water, but I can't make her drink, so as I diligently lead, I pray that she will follow always and choose to live for Christ on her own one day.