The Fourth

We spent this past 4th of July down at Atlantic Beach. It was a short trip but a lot of fun. Click HERE to check out our time with the Pattersons.

Sink or Swim

Okay. So we didn't just throw Judah into the pool and hope he made it. With Rebekah, the challenge is keeping her from jumping in and hoping she makes it.) However, we did get Judah into swimming lessons this year over at Pullen Aquatic Center in Raleigh. Click HERE for more.

Return to Emerald Isle

Back in May, the week before Memorial Day, we made our annual excursion to Emerald Isle. It's our main vacation each year, so of course we really look forward to it, especially since some of our best friends come up from SC to meet us there. We took a couple pictures of the trip, which you're welcome to look at by clicking HERE. Enjoy. We did.

Happy Anniversary!

Do you ever stop to count anniversaries (other than your wedding)? This July 31st will be 5 years. Five years since the doctors diagnosed me with a fatal lung disease. Five long years and yet I now have the opportunity for many more. Back in April 2002 I became ill. I spent the next few months trying all kinds of meds and in hospitals running tests. Finally on July 31st we would have the answers we were waiting for only our answer was PPH a lung disease that has no cure and no answers. I was given the bad news that I only had 3-5 years left to live. Paul and I were shocked. We were young and thought we had our whole life together. For crying out loud we were still newlyweds so how could this have been happening.

The next month we experienced emotions that neither of us knew we had. I kept thinking of all the things I never got to do. Before I knew it I was telling God about my list of things that I thought I would do one day before I died. Didn’t he know it wasn’t time? The emotional journey was rough, and in the midst of it all God asked us to have a child. Paul and I were like Gideon [Judges 6:11-18, and Judges 6:36-40] asking for signs and testing the fleece. We thought we were crazy, but against all odds I was pregnant.

Long story short some miracle happened in the birth of our son Judah that doctors can’t understand. After labor I died and was brought back to life but the strangest thing was I no longer had the lung disease. No one knows where it went. I had test results showing it there before I was pregnant and then was tested again after I had Judah and no disease showed up anywhere. Paul and I believe it was our miracle. Our prayer warrior had informed us prior to Judah’s birth that she was praying for the disease to be birthed. Well I guess God answered her prayer. She also prayed that Judah and I would both live [I went into the hospital in April 2003 to die and to give up my life for my unborn son]. God had answered that prayer as well.

Even though I no longer had the lung disease it had severely damaged my heart. I spent 9 months in pulmonary rehab. During my pregnancy I had not been given the correct meds and dosage and was severely overweight from fluid retention. I had also spent 1 year in a wheelchair and had atrophy of most of my leg and arm muscles. It was hard in the beginning – I was too weak to both take care of my son and try to manage rehab. In 2004 I achieved incredible results that puzzled my doctors. I was improving when they thought that I couldn’t. The 5 years they had given me left to live became the 5 years it would take to get my life back and I was achieving it in 1.

Also in 2004 I was given the green light for another child. After getting pregnant we learned that my heart damage would not allow me to carry more children. With proper meds and a lot of prayer I did better delivering Rebekah. Back to outpatient rehab I went.

Fast forward to 2007. I have lost all of the weight from my pregnancies and almost all from the initial lung disease gain. For the first time in 5+ years I’m able to ride a bike, lift weights, vacuum my carpets (yes, I wanted to do that again), clean my house and run with my kids. Also in 2007 we paid off the final medical bill. AND TODAY July 28th I helped my husband haul 1.5 TONs of rocks to form a ditch (we have 12 more tons to go).

As this July rolled around I have experienced a different set of emotions – joy, happiness, contentment, love, and peace. Peace to know that God is in control. Prayer, well it just darn works. There are still milestones left to accomplish but I no longer fear dying. I no longer look over my shoulder wondering about my future. Yes, right now I still have a heart disease (more like damage), but if I follow my cardiologist instructions I’ll live a full life. I’ve been given a second chance. It’s been a hard 5 years but there’s a beautiful rainbow at the end of this storm and in the midst of it we learned to live 1 moment at a time.

Remember the list of things I wanted to do before I died; well, I just checked off another one this week. I got my first tattoo. Yep, a symbol of the Japanese word for prayer. It’s to remind me of these past 5 years, to remind me of prayers that were answered. Prayers from family members, prayer warrior friends, yet mostly from Paul and I. For those that walked with us thanks. As we watch our children grow we will never forget your prayers and your love. Happy 5th Anniversary!

She's already two?!

Time, it seems, has steadily been moving forward, and our little girl is now, well, a little girl. She's not a baby anymore. Half angel / half... not - all cute! We celebrated her birthday with some family and friends, and had a great day for it. You can click HERE for some more on her little to-do.

Myrtle Beach

Angela and the Dynamic Duo took a little adventure down to Myrtle Beach back in May to visit one of Angela's best friends and her family. I'm noticeably absent because, well, I wasn't there. Had to save my vacation time for our annual trip to Emerald Isle later that month. You can click HERE to see part of the trip.

Replenishing Our Supply

Back in May we took the kids on their 2nd annual Strawberry Picking. (This event will be annual until they move out whether they like it or not.) Angela actually took them twice this year, though I only made it for one of the trips. While it was a bit cold for early May, we still had fun, didn't eat too many berries while picking, and Angela took some great shots like the one below. (Pretty much anytime you see a great shot in any of our pages it was her taking it. I'm the tech person; she's the photographer.) As always, click HERE to see more of this outing.

Judah's 4th Birthday

We had a great day for Judah's 4th birthday party. This was really the first year he was old enough to be able to know what friends he wanted to come, what cake/theme he wanted (Dora), and what he wanted - a bike.

Fortunately, we were able to deliver. Now, when it's a car someday instead of a bike, well, I'll direct him to a good paying job. In the meantime, click HERE for some more pictures.

Breckenridge

Back in February, Angela and I had the privilege of attending her brother's wedding in Breckenridge, Colorado. While we expected the trip to be a bit nippy since it is the Rockies in the dead of winter, we didn't expect 0 to be the about the high. (I don't want to talk about the wind chill - even now on a NC summer day I still get cold thinking about it.) Anyway, we took a couple pictures of the festivities. You can click HERE to see them. Sorry, no commentary yet, so I hope they speak for themselves!

O Tannenbaum

The saga of Christmas tree continues down the ages. The newest generation of our families are now beginning to get involved.

As usual, the picture will take you to some more candids from this event.

Halloween

Our annual trek through our neighborhood collecting candy and chocolate. The number of people who do nothing for Halloween amazes me. I guess it's a sign of changing times, and the greater disconnect even within a subdivision. Huh, guess that's a subject for our other blog. This post is simply devoted to the fun our kids had that day. Click the pic for some more about our adventure.

Fun at the Fair

In October we braved the crowds at the North Carolina State Fair. It was unseasonably warm, but that beats cold or wet. So, wagon with kids in tow we slowly weaved our way toward THE RIDES. Click here for some of our adventures.

The Beach

Yeah, this picture pretty much sums it up. We had our annual trip with our friends, the Johnsons, to the North Carolina beach this past September. Definitely spent of lot of time in the sand. We had a great time as you will see by clicking the pic or here.

Haven't abandoned ship (yet)

In case anyone regularly checks our blog and is quickly growing discontent with no new posts, please be patient. We've had some projects with definite deadlines that have taken priority over our blog. Currently, I'm working on a picture calendar, and I SHOULD be done with that by the end of the week. At that time I'll do my best to get us closer to up-to-date.

Sorry! Here's 1 pic that will likely show up later in our Halloween post:

The Museum of Life & Science

This past Labor Day weekend we spent a day at the Durham Museum of Life & Science. They had drums, trains, animals, insects, and tractors (and many other things). Our kids were in paradise! To see some pictures from our foray, click on our son.

The 4th of July

Like so many other communities, every year the Clevland Community has a parade on the 4th of July. We've made it to every one since we moved to this area. As the fastest growing community in the state of North Carolina, we have more people coming, and I think in a couple years they'll have to make it a little longer than the current 200 - 300 yards in length. One of the big attractions, for my son THE BIG attraction, is the parade of fire trucks. For a little more about our day, just click here.

King Kong and the Zoo

This past June Judah and Rebekah went to the

zoo in Asheboro with Mommy and Miss Crystal.

Since I wasn't there, I can only assume many of

the animals were wondering how this monkey escaped

from his exhibit and why nobody was putting him back in.

Click the pic for your ticket to the zoo.

Birthday Parties

Spring is a busy party time for us since Judah & Rebekah's birthdays are only 2 weeks apart. So, we had Judah's 3rd birthday party one weekend, and Rebekah's 1st a couple weeks later.

The Big Ditch

Okay. That's an almost sacrilegious title for a place that left me speechless. Well, I'm not sure if I was speechless or if so many adjectives and superlatives came to me at one time that I simply couldn't get any of them out. There's more shots from the Southern Rim on the other side of the picture.

Vegas, Baby!!

Oh, there's some stories that go along with these pictures, and if you're lucky you might even find some of them out. Of course, if you do happen to be that lucky, maybe you too should book a date with Lady Luck at the Bellagio.

Click the pic for more.