Lots of Pictures

This was the sunset the other night at Corporation Beach...I wish we had a better zoom on the camera. The picture really doesn't do it justice. Praise the Lord for His creation!

Gracie and Rocky playing on our bed this morning

I went in to get Gracie the other morning and found this. I don't know how she twisted her shirt to look like this (it's actually just a regular T-shirt).

The next morning when I went in, she figured out how to get her shirt off altogether!

Lou and Gracie at the beach

Rocky catching up on some reading

Gracie, Rocky, and Mommy

We took the kids to the beach the other day. Gracie was playing with her pail and shovel on the beach towel. Then, before we could stop her, she used the shovel like a spoon and ate a mouthful of sand! I think she actually swallowed it, although Lou tried to get it out of her mouth.

Lou and Rocky being silly

Rocky playing on the floor with the frog. He loves this frog; thanks, Diane!

Only on Cape Cod...yes, this is a real sign in someone's yard. We HAD to take a picture. I love that they actually show the cat with a horn!

It's been another busy week for us with something going on almost every night. Seminary really was good preparation for how time-consuming and busy ministry is! Lou's been out the last few Tuesday nights at the local cable studio taping preaching videos. They air twice a week on the local mid-Cape cable station. We've been doing it for a little while now, but it's pretty time consuming. There's a group from church who help run the cameras, equipment, etc., but Lou has to do all the editing and burning to a DVD. The cable channel is a community channel, so the it's open to the public for a small fee, but we have to do all the taping, editing, and so on ourselves. We hope that God will use this to help us reach the community.
The kids are growing so fast! Rocky is 6 months old now. He just had a check up on Monday, and he weighs 20 lbs.! He and Gracie are only 5 lbs. apart now! He's tall for his age, too, so he's really not a chubby baby, just big. Gracie's on the small side, but we praise the Lord that she's healthy. She's talking more and more. She can say "Cape Cod", "Get down please", and her latest is "morning" for "Good Morning". She's figured out how to climb on the couch without help, so she's busy putting her doll up there and then climbing up with a book to read to her doll. She still loves Rocky. She's always hugging and kissing him and bringing him toys. I hope they grow up having a close relationship.

Visiting Grandma & Grandpa

Playing at Grandma's house (a little ray of sunlight fell on Rocky's mouth; it looks like he's eating a french fry...)

Playing on the little bridge

Getting ready for the 4th of July!

Rocky making funny faces

On Thursdays, we usually visit Grandma and Grandpa (Amy's parents). Gracie loves to play outside; they have a little wooden bridge that she likes to walk on. Praise the Lord, my dad is done with chemo and radiation now, and the tumor has shrunk quite a bit. He also had a clean catscan (the cancer hasn't spread), and if all continues to go well, he will have surgery on July 7th. Please keep him in prayer as this is major surgery (it's supposed to take 8 hours!!!). God has taught us all a lot through this. We have continually been reminded that God is sovereign, and He is trustworthy. He has been (and continues to be) so faithful through all of this. How wonderful it is that God can and does use every circumstance for His glory!

Outdoor Fun

Gracie with a flower and a pine cone. It's amazing how much she enjoys simple things. I should be more grateful...

Gracie in front of our house

Rocky sporting his Indiana Jones look...

Gracie showing me her hand (it looks like she's doing a cheer)

Gracie with lilacs and a big rhododendron; I love the smell of lilacs! That and the scent of beach roses make me think of summer on the Cape!

It's finally starting to feel like summer around here with some temperatures in the 80s. Gracie and Rocky really love being outside. Gracie and I will walk down our street with Rocky in the stroller, and she will stop and pick up every pine cone and leaf that she can. She loves flowers, too, as you can see from the pictures. My mom and dad got a little inflatable pool for her, too; I'm looking forward to seeing what she thinks of it!
This has been a busy week; it seems like we've had dinner with someone different every night! Our friends James and Courtney Dolezal are here on vacation, so we have enjoyed some time with them. Gracie has enjoyed playing with their son Judah. Lou is getting ready do a wedding vow renewal ceremony on Saturday. One of the deacons, Paul, and his wife Sally are celebrating their 50th anniversary and asked Lou to renew their vows. My aunt and uncle, three cousins, and my cousin's fiance are all flying in on Saturday from Utah to visit. We're looking forward to seeing them. I haven't seen most of them since we got married, and that was over 7 years ago now.
Praise the Lord! We've had some good news with my dad. He did have to have surgery to put a feeding tube in yesterday since he's had so much trouble getting food down (he's lost about 50 lbs. in the last two months). But, when they were doing the surgery, the radiation doctor checked the tumor, and it looks like it's shrunk about 70%! My dad will finish chemo/radiation at the end of next week, and they'll do another catscan to make sure the cancer hasn't spread. If all looks good, he'll have a five week break and then surgery to remove the rest of the tumor. We are so grateful that the Lord has allowed such a good prognosis. With this type of cancer, there is not usually such a good outcome. When I was reading info at the American Cancer Society online, it said that most people with this type of cancer would be doing well to live for 5 years. Thankfully, in my dad's case, they think they will be able to completely eradicate it. God is so gracious!
Rocky and Gracie are both doing well. Gracie is starting to recognize and name some numbers and letters. She knows "H" really well. She's getting more resourceful, too, dragging the footstool over to the couch so she can climb up on it and look out the window. Rocky has learned how to blow raspberries (why do they call them that???), and it's really funny...except when he does it while I'm trying to feed him his cereal. What a mess that is!! He has started to have some veggies, too. As unappetizing as baby food veggies look, I couldn't help but think as I fed him how good God is to give us so many types of food. How bland life would be if all we ever ate was milk and rice cereal!
Lou is still very busy, no surprise there, but he's great about making sure he has time with us. Mondays are his day off, and we usually try to do something together as a family. Last Monday, we went to Chatham, a little Cape town about 15 minutes from us. It has a really quaint Main St. with lots of little shops. We walked around with the kids and enjoyed being outside. It felt like we were on vacation, and we were only a few minutes from home! I guess that's one of the blessings of being on Cape Cod!

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

Amy's 29th Birthday

the 2 Roccos: Rocky with Great-Grandpa Rocco

Can we have cake yet?

Daddy and Rocky

Lou surprised me and took the day off work to be with me for my birthday. We decided to drive out to the Outer Cape, the very tip of Massachusetts. I hadn't been in years, and Lou had never driven all the way to the end. Here is Nauset Light in Eastham...very Cape Cod.

Gracie at the boardwalk at Nauset Beach. It's really beautiful. Lou got me paints, brushes, and an easel for my birthday because I'd mentioned I'd like to learn to paint. (I have a friend who does it and gives lessons). If I can learn, I'd love to be able to paint some of these places instead of taking pictures!

Gracie and I looking at the Three Sisters lighthouses: They used to be along the middle part of the Outer Cape in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The three lighthouses signaled the middle while there was one lighthouse near the tip, and two lighthouses near the bottom in the Lower Cape. Now each location has just one lighthouse, each with a different flashing pattern so boats can identify where they are. These three are preserved in a park near Nauset Beach. Just a little history for you...

More scenic pics from our drive

Catching Up

Gracie waiting to go to church
Finally, a picture of them together!
Tummy time!
Roses for Mother's Day..and two white roses (I don't know if you can really tell from the picture), one from Gracie and one from Rocky

Gracie wearing Mommy's shoes...I'm amazed she can walk in them. And, of course, she's carrying one of her Biscuit books. She loves Biscuit; we read those books over and over and over. I think I can recite all of them! She also loves the Sandra Boynton board books, especially Hippos Go Berserk! and Pajama Time!--very cute and enjoyable for adults, too
Gracie on her cell phone. She's a riot talking on the phone. She'll babble on and on and then pause like she's listening to someone talk back to her. Then, babble, babble, babble, with an occasional "Mommy" or "Ocky" thrown in...so cute!
Rocky has started his solids! He's having rice cereal in the morning and at night. He's still working on learning to eat from a spoon. We put a bite in his mouth...and then put in back in about four more times. It's teaching us patience. =)
Gracie in her pretty dress that her great-grandmother knitted for her.
Gracie sporting her hood. Anytime we put a sweatshirt or jacket on her, she pats the top of her head to indicate that she wants to wear the hood. I thought most kids didn't like hoods???

I'm trying to make up for not blogging in two weeks and for finally uploading more pictures to my computer. We are all doing well. Last week, we had our friends the Risers come and visit. Lou and I enjoyed the fellowship with Chris and Alisa, and Gracie enjoyed playing with Johanna and getting Josiah to read books to her--one of her favorite pasttimes. My dad started his chemo today, and he began his radiation yesterday. He'll have radiation 5 days a week and chemo once a week for the next 6 weeks or so. Please keep him in prayer and my mom, too, of course. We are grateful to the Lord for good doctors; hopefully, we'll all be a testimony to them through all of this.

Please continue to keep Lou in prayer as he ministers to the church. There is always so much to be done, and we thank the Lord for the opportunity to serve. We pray that the Lord will be glorified here, and that we will find more ways to reach out to the community. We continue to pray that the Lord would raise up another elder to come alongside Lou. We are looking forward to having Phil and Darlene Johnson here with us in August; Phil will be preaching a few times at the church. We hope the Lord would use this as another means of outreach to our community. Thanks for all your prayers!

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.