Giving Thanks!!!!

"It is good to give thanks to the Lord, And to sing praises to Thy name, O Most High; To declare Thy loving kindness in the morning, And Thy faithfulness by night." Psalm 92: 1-2.

Hannah called me this morning just hours after taking her test. She passed it!!! Thank you Lord for answered prayer. And she said that your prayers really did help. When she received the test and first opened it up, SHE PANICKED! But then she took a big breath and she said she had confidence knowing that you all prayed for her. The Lord was near. She was so excited and thankful. Her next test will be the week before Thanksgiving. Thank you also for your encouraging words. Susan was excited when Hannah first decided to be a nurse like Susan had been before having children.

Prayer for Hannah

Keep Hannah in your prayers in the next few days as she studies for a major test on Thursday in her nursing program. Her grades are hanging in there but she needs to get a good grade in this upcoming test to remain in the class. Pray for her sleep that she won't be thinking about the test and that she would be able to sleep soundly. Pray for clarity as she reads the questions and answers them. And that God would give her wisdom in answering them correctly.

"My soul waits in silence for God only..." Psalm 62:5

Hello friends,

I found a journal the other day that Susan had been keeping in the early 2005 time period. Susan wrote this:


"My Bible verse for my 4th round of battle is Psalm 62: 5-6, "My soul waits in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken." I picked this verse this time because my hope for healing is in Him alone. Therefore my soul can wait as long as it takes even if it never happens here on earth. He alone - not my healing - is my rock and refuge. My deliverance from cancer is not my source of hope - HE is."


Susan always held on to the eternal perspective, the hope that we have in Him, not looking at our own circumstances. She lived what she always spoke about. She didn't get cured of cancer here on earth but she now is cancer free with our Lord Jesus. I hope this helps you with what ever you are dealing with these days. Her life is a fresh reminder to me to always be looking upward for my source of hope and strength.


This past weekend we went to Carver farms to get corn stalks and pumpkins to decorate the front of the house. Last year Susan was unable to go to Carver farms because she was in the hospital, to get MRI's, get her pain medicine under control and to gain some weight. We decorated the house last year before she came home from the hospital. This year we decorated again. She would be pleased. Here is a picture of us at Carver farms.

And then on Sunday, I took Mary, Laura and Kayla (along with Dawson our black lab) over to English Point and we took a hike through the woods. It was so nice and we had a great time too!
Praises:

1) Leah finished her Portland Half marathon (yes another one this weekend) in 5 minutes faster than her run last weekend.

2) Mary finisher up her volleyball this past week. She has really improved in the game. Who knows where she will be in volleyball in a few years.

3) God just keeps making my schedule of events fall into place. Sports events, yards work, etc. have been happening without too much trouble. But keep praying for my time management.

4) Hannah has been doing well in her nursing studies. Her last test went well. She studies a lot but it seems to be paying off.

5) Aaron got his drivers license. Yay!!

Prayer:

1) That I make the right decisions and not doubt myself when it comes to family management.

2) Our family, the grieving process for each of the children and for me.

A Beautiful Day!

The Marathon went very well on Sunday! The fall colors were a treat while running along the nice views of the Spokane River. Skies were clear, no wind but it was cold at the start of the race, 30 degrees F. Leah finished the half marathon in 1 hr, 54 minutes. She did GREAT and finished 20 minutes sooner than she expected. I finished the marathon in 3 hrs, 52 min, 53 sec. My goal in other marathons has always been to break the 4 hour mark. So this was a good day. God blessed the whole day. And Susan was with me the whole way. I wore one of her Angel pins and the angel is carrying a pink breast cancer ribbon. She kept me going during the run. This run was for Susan. I love you Susan!!!!!!!!!

Change of Seasons

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10



Fall is definitely upon us. We all love the Fall season. One of Susan's favorites too! But she would tell you that she loves all the seasons. The leaves are falling all around and she just absolutely loved raking up the leaves. Along with the kids (and even I would too) we would fill plenty of bags of leaves, playing in them along the way. Good memories. The work awaits us this year.



God has been speaking to me a lot lately about this verse in Psalm 46. "Be Still" When things around us get a little bit crazy (family, stock market, elections, etc) and sometimes out of our control, He tells us to "be still". Not give up, but realize that we are nothing without Him. We are weak, we grow weary and faint but God cares about us, loves us. It is such a comfort to know that whatever we are going through, the God of our vast universe, loves and cares for little old me and my family. And it is in our quiet times that we put it in perspective and rely on Him, His strength and grace. In Isaiah 40:31, "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint."



We have been having some fun lately. Kayla just finished up her cross country season at her elementary school. She loved it although it was a challenge for her. Here is a clip of her last race, running with a smile.

Speaking of running and not growing weary, pray for me and Leah on Sunday. Leah runs the Spokane Half marathon and I run the Spokane marathon. Pray that we stay healthy and finish the race. We have been running quite a bit lately and we are ready. Thanks... we will tell you how it goes on Sunday. Also Laura and Kayla go to their sewing club this afternoon. Will include some photos of their quilts that they have been working on. Blessings to everyone.......

Made it Home Safely

Thank you Lord for taking care of the family and keeping me safe while I was away. It was soooo good to see my children on Saturday. They were glad to see me too. We all got together Saturday night and had Hawaiian Burgers. Hamburgers, topped with slice of ham, slice of pineapple and then swiss cheese. They were so good. And we ate in the backyard with Tiki torches all around. It was a bit cool though, nights are definitely fall..ish feeling. The days though are beautiful, warm and there is plenty of fall colors now. Thank you all for praying for the family these last two weeks. Laura and Kayla stayed at John and Ann's house; thank you. And Mary stayed at Nan's house; thank you. They had wonderful times.
My brother John finally got power back last Wednesday. He was back to school on the Monday before that but with generator fed power only. The real success story though was the fact that 37 other states sent power line crews to Houston to help with all the downed lines. What a great effort and meaningful way to help those in need. Johnny was very impressed and thankful. His house sustained about $700-1000 in damage. Not too bad considering.
Pray requests:
1) Kayla came down with Shingles, which is a form of the chicken pox virus but usually occurs in older people. It formed on her back about the size of silver dollar coin. She is on medicine and it is healing. Pray that no one else gets chicken pox or shingles. Our family has all had chicken pox.
She is doing well. She even ran her cross country race last Friday night and did well.
2) Hannah's nursing studies are going well. It has been challenging but she is setting her mind to doing well and we are so proud of her. Pray she would continue to enjoy it and be a blessing to her patients.

Also, Susan had borrowed a "Mr. Wonderful" doll (He always knows just what to say!) from someone several years ago. We are trying to find out who we got that from, so we can return it. If anyone has any leads, please email me. Thanks. We definitely had fun with this gag gift.

ALOHA!

This photo shot from my sixth floor of the Quarters on Naval Station Pearl Harbor. This is the Arizona Memorial with flag flying in the wind.

And a beautiful sunset looking the other direction from my room. Susan loved coming over here just because it was so unique and tropical.
Just a few more days and I will be flying home. Will leave on Friday evening, fly over night, get home around 10:30 am. So pray for my safety and keep praying for the kids. They are all doing well. Time has gone by fast for me. Talk to you later....