Spring is here!

Gracie in her high chair

Rocky striking a pose =)

Praise the Lord, our health is much better since the last blog. Kids are healthy again, and I'm almost there. It's hard to get much rest with two little ones, especially lately. For the last two weeks, Rocky has been waking up during the night hungry. He'd been sleeping through the night just fine, and all of a sudden he started getting up at 5:30 a.m., then it was 4:30 a.m., then 3:30 a.m....We're hoping it's just a growth spurt, and he'll stop soon. He is such a big baby--not chubby, just big. I had to buy him 12 mo. shirts the other day because I couldn't snap his 9 mo. ones! (He's only 4 mo. old). He and Gracie can actually wear the same size diaper now (she's on the small side). He's developing well, though, and smiling a lot. We love that. Gracie is learning her animal noises; it's so cute. We'll ask her "What does a lion say?", and she'll say "RRRAAARRRRR!" And whenever she wants something, it's "Pease, pease"; she hasn't quite the "pl" sound yet. I love watching her with Rocky, too. She'll want to hug him and hold his hand. She'll try to give him toys and put his pacifier in his mouth. This morning, she lifted up his pj shirt and kissed his tummy--so sweet. He loves her, too; he's all smiles when he can see her. I'm so grateful to the Lord for those moments; I try to think about that when my patience is low or when they're cranky.
I can't believe April is almost over. Time is just flying by! The spring flowers are out all over the Cape. I love this time of year. Gracie, Rocky, and I have started taking walks on our street. I put Rocky in his infant carrier and let Gracie walk. We have to stop and pick up every dead leaf and pine cone, but she loves it! My mom and dad just got her a little ladybug sand box; it rained today, though, so she hasn't had a chance to try it out yet.
Lou is still quite busy at the church. We've started a Sunday school class for 3-5 year olds now that we have a need. They have to meet at a table in the foyer because there nowhere else to put them, but it's nice to see people willing to serve in whatever capacity. We praise the Lord that we are able to work with these kids.
I'm sure there is other news, but the lack of a full night's sleep is catching up to me....

In Sickness and In Health

Lou and Gracie at West Dennis Beach yesterday

A little over a week ago, Gracie started it all with a runny nose and a cough. Then, Rocky got a cough and a fever. When we couldn't get his fever to leave, we brought him to the doctor's, only to discover that he had a double ear infection. By this time, I was starting to feel sick, and within two days, I had laryngitis/conjunctivitis/tonsillitis. I think this is one of the worst illnesses I've ever had. I praise God that my mom was able to come over and help me with the kids; it was tough. Thankfully, we are all on the mend now. Gracie is all better; Rocky is just about there. He'll finish his medication on Wednesday. (Giving a baby medicine is horrible!!! He cries, tries to spit out the medicine, and in process chokes on it). Thankfully, each day I'm feeling a little better, too. Thank the Lord, Lou has somehow managed to stay healthy through all of this.

To celebrate our improved health, we went to the beach for a little while yesterday since the temperatures were in the 50s (this is spring for us). Lou and Gracie flew a kite on the beach, and then, Gracie and I gathered some shells. Rocky slept through most of it. It was beautiful to be out enjoying God's creation; I never get tired of looking at the ocean. I love that we live so close to it.

Thanks to all of you who are praying for my dad. We are still waiting for all the facts on his cancer. He did have a cat scan last week, and so far, it looks like the cancer hasn't spread. He'll have another more precise test tonight to find out for sure. He's also meeting with a surgeon this week to talk about taking the tumor out of his esophagus. In the meantime, he's having an increasingly difficult time eating because of the tumor; this is especially concerning since he's a diabetic. Please continue to pray as we wait to learn more. Praise the Lord for faithfully providing the medical help he's needed.

I'm grateful that God has given me Gracie and Rocky to keep me busy; otherwise, I might be tempted to dwell on all of this instead of trusting the Lord. They keep me laughing, too. Earlier today, Gracie dropped one of her toys on the floor, and it made a loud noise. So, I said, "Crash!" She thought this was funny, so she started throwing toys on the floor, yelling "Crash!" Poor Rocky didn't know what to make of all the noise.

For Prayer

We've had some serious news, and we would like to ask you to pray for my (Amy's ) dad. As you know from our last post, he had a diabetic episode recently. This led to some further tests to make sure he was ok. He had been having trouble eating for a while now, problems with phlegm...we won't get into it. The doctor thought he had a sinus infection, but it turns out he has esophageal cancer. We just found out last Friday when he had a biopsy. Please keep him in prayer as we wait to find out more. He did have a catscan on Friday night, and praise the Lord, it doesn't look like the cancer has spread. We're still waiting to hear the results of the biopsy and what sort surgery/chemo/radiation we're looking at. Obviously, this is all very unexpected, but we praise the Lord that He is sovereign and He makes no mistakes. Please pray that we would glorify Him through all of this as we seek to minister to and encourage my mom and dad. This hymn has been especially encouraging to me this week...

"All the way my Savior leads me,
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell,
For I know whatever befalls me
Jesus doeth all things well."

~Fanny Crosby

A Busy Week

Gracie wearing Mommy's slippers

Earlier in the week, we were busy with all the usual morning activity and noticed that Gracie was quiet--usually an indication that she's up to something. We went to see what she was doing and found her in our room with my slippers on, trying to walk in them! We had to take a picture.

It's been a busy week for us. On Monday, we met up with Rich, one of the deacons in the church. He's managing the finances/possessions of a long-time family friend who has just needed to go into a nursing home, and he needed to clean out her old apartment. She can't take the things with her, and she doesn't have any family left, so he invited us over to see if we wanted anything. She has very unusual, although expensive taste--art deco black lacquer dressers, Asian masks, and a round bed (I thought about the round bed for guests, but where do you find round sheets and blankets??) As we stood there, I felt so sad. Here this woman has so much money, yet from what Rich says, her mind is going, and she finds her comfort in alcohol. All I could think of is the verse in Matthew, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his own soul?" None of her wealth or possessions matter now. How much more infinitely valuable is Christ! We continue to pray that Rich will have opportunities to tell her about Christ in her lucid moments.

Speaking of what's really important, we had a scare this week with my dad. By God's grace, he is still with us, but he very nearly died on Thursday. He had a diabetic attack and had to be taken to the hospital. It was brought on in part by an illness that he's had and by an imbalance in his medication. Praise the Lord, he was with my grandparents when it happened (they live with my mom and dad in an in-law apartment). My mom and I were out shopping, and if he had been alone, it would have been too late by the time we got home. He's still having some tests done to get to the bottom of all of this; we would appreciate your prayers for him. God is so gracious. My mom and dad were supposed to leave for a cruise the next day, which unfortunately, they had to cancel. However, we thank God that this happened here and not while they were away.

After that, any other news seems pretty tame. We took Gracie (and Rocky, too, of course) to a birthday party yesterday for one of the little boys in the church. It's only our second kid party, and it was at one of those indoor playground areas. She seemed to enjoy it. Lou took her down the big indoor slide and climbed through some sort of maze with her. Her favorite, though, was the toddler room which had the big duplo legos. She spent quite a while gathering up the legos and putting them in a bucket. She loves to put things in containers and then carry them around. Maybe she has my appreciation for organization! Rocky was content to hang out in his car seat and take in all the action. He's such a sweet, happy baby. He has the cutest little soundless laugh. He contorts his face like he's laughing, but no noise comes out; it's a riot. Of all of us, I think Lou had the most fun at the party. There was a little arcade section, and he and some of the other dads were having fun challenging each other to some of the games. They'll get to have a rematch in a few weeks. Gracie's been invited to another birthday party. I think she has a busier social calendar than we do!

Easter Photos

Rocky smiling with Daddy
Rocky on his tummy
Gracie laughing

Just a few of our many Easter photos! We took a bunch; it's harder to get Gracie to stay still these days, let alone get her to smile. Rocky is much easier to photograph! Still, we were able to catch a shot of Gracie laughing.

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

May His shed blood make me

More thankful for Thy mercies,

More humble under Thy correction,

More zealous in Thy service,

More watchful against temptation,

More contented in my circumstances,

More useful to others.

~a Puritan prayer

Thanks to all of you who prayed for our church service this morning. The Lord enabled Lou to preach a powerful sermon (one lady said it was his best yet), and we pray that the Lord would use it to encourage His saints and to draw unbelievers to Himself. One of these days, we'll figure out how to upload his sermons to the church web page so others can download them. (If anyone knows how to do this, please email me. I've tried but with no success). Praise the Lord, He is risen!

Lunch at the Beach

Skaket Beach
Gracie enjoying her yogurt
Mommy and Rocky
Daddy and Gracie with the crazy hair
Gracie in her cute rain boots!

It's the start of spring here in Cape Cod as the temperatures approach 50, we start to see spring bulbs push their way through the soil. The birds are coming back again; we've been hearing the Canada geese flying over our house. Today was such a nice sunny day that we decided to sit at the beach to eat lunch. It's such a blessing to be just minutes away from so many beaches. It was still too chilly to sit outside, so we sat in the car. It got a little messy as you can see by the yogurt on Gracie's face, but we had fun enjoying God's creation. It was nice to have a little time with Lou, too, before he goes back to reviewing his sermon for tomorrow morning.

I had to include the picture of Gracie in her boots, too. She loves her boots. She takes them off and puts them on again and carries them all over the house. We think she's going to be quite girly, although she won't keep a barrette in her hair. Her hair is a challenge for me as it's very curly and tends to puff up all over. I've tried to put it in a ponytail, but the pieces in the front are too short to fit into it, and she ends up looking like George Washington (little ponytail in the back and curls in the front).