Christmas celebrations

Wonderful Counselor

Mighty God

The Everlasting Father

Prince of Peace

 So thankful to celebrate the Birth of Jesus!

Here are a few pics

Grandma and Grandpa came a few days before Christmas. They were a little shocked by the cold weather after being in Florida enjoying their retirement.  It's hard to catch up with them in between golfing, creating pottery, going to the beach, traveling, fishing, and hanging with friends.

Mom has become a professional at making pottery.  We are still working on creating this little bowl again after she left.  She made it look so easy.

Nana and Papa joined us Christmas Eve, we went to the Christmas Eve service and it was a sweet time of worship.

Olivia didn't make it through the service

One of our family traditions on Christmas Eve is to read the Christmas story, eat Shepherd soup and the kids dress up like Mary, Joseph and the Shepherd's. Olivia insisted she wanted to be Mary so she could hold baby Jesus. Olivia told us how Mary and Joseph knocked, knocked, knocked and there was NO room in the inn. She repeated this line several times and then said Mary had baby Jesus in the manger.

Papa joined the kids in dressing up, although we thought he looked like the Roman guard rather than a Shepherd *wink*

Reading out of  Luke

Olivia is our picky eater so she had Shepherd cereal rather than Shepherd soup (potato soup)

Our family tradition of participating in Advent is a sweet time. We read various scriptures throughout the month. Billy reads out of his Great Grandfather Logans' bible. It is a rich heritage knowing that his Grandfather sat with this bible many times to prepare for sermons.

Another tradition with the kids is they draw names to purchase a gift for each other that they open on Christmas Eve. The kids work hard to earn money in order to thoughtfully purchase a gift for one another.  The kids light up when the sibling opens the gift they purchased.  

Olivia was so excited that she couldn't go to sleep. 

The kids woke up at 7:30am, and this is the first glimpse of the gifts under the tree.

One of Breanna's gifts was a webcam to keep in contact with her mentor Jill, Melissa and friends. We all had a fun time with the special effects.

our abs hurt after using the webcam

ohh what a long day of playing nonstop!

"you'll shoot your eye out kid" yep, Logan received a Red Ryder BB gun. I was a little nervous about this gift however we are raising a "wild at heart" man

"Grammy sue" in the neighborhood gave the kids giant ginger bread cookies to decorate. The kids had so much fun decorating and eating!

Breanna sporting her snuggie and showing us her purity ring. She received several letters with her purity ring and she is anxiously waiting for it to come back from the jeweler with the resizing.

Maddy is super excited about her new bike.  She has had "hand me down" bikes so this is a treat to have her first new bike.

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

 ¹ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

 ⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
 ⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
 ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
 ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
 ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
 ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

This is Olivia looking at the blog waiting to read your comments : )

The fan club

We had a fun time watching Lacey's dance performance. She did great and she is indeed a natural performer.  I'm really not sure how all the other kids did because I couldn't stop watching Lacey long enough to take a look.

The "fan club" couldn't find Lacey after the performance so we left room in the picture for her (we need to photoshop her into the picture). We were so excited to support Lacey today, she means so much to our family and we have had the privilege of watching her grow up. 

snow day

This is our second snow day in 2010. We have developed a little system at our house when the kids come in wet in order to eliminate (mom) doing clothes for a week after all the snow is gone.   (can I hear a woot-woot) This is great practice as we head "up yonder" next year where we will have more snow.

Priceless....watching the kids look out the window in the morning to see the snow.

Olivia all bundled up to go outside. The deal with all the kids, even the neighborhood crew. If you come in the house, you stay inside for an hour to eliminate the...in and out...in and out.

The kids had so much fun playing in the "snow" It was a slushy mess in a couple hours. This is the picture that was on the WRAL local news. The kids thought they were famous!

Maddy and Logan are tracked out of school for the month of December so they didn't miss school however, Breanna is on a traditional calendar and she will have to make up the school day on a Saturday in the near future.  It sure was nice not to car pool for the day.

the mini snow man

There are no "coincidences"

I went to see a neurologist Friday and just by "coincidence" I saw a doctor who specialized in concussions and had been a Dr. for the Carolina Hurricanes a few years ago.  Knowing how hard the pucks are hit, and not to mention they are frozen, he was concerned with my injury. He conducted a series of neurological tests and evaluated symptoms of Post Concussion Symptoms.  He said I had a level 3 concussion.  Just to put in perspective, if a professional athlete had a level 3 concussion they would most likely be out for the season if not the remainder of their professional career. He believes it will at least be 4-6 more weeks before I will be totally back on my feet as "normal". I gave him a list of my symptoms during the appointment and needless to say it ended up being a check off sheet for PCS

• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Fatigue focusing on 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
• Irritability focusing on Galatians 5:22
• ringing in the ears
• Anxiety  focusing on Philippians 4:6-9, Joshua 1:9
• Insomnia
• Loss of concentration and memory
• Noise and light sensitivity

The Doctor ordered an MRI Friday evening.  Again, just by "coincidence" the radiologist, Jennifer and I hit it off when she told me she had been hit by a puck 5 years ago at a Hurricanes' game.   I am assured by the doctor who believes that I will have a full recovery due to steady improvement over the last few weeks and I will get the MRI results in a few days.

As the Doctor was leaving the room he made one last statement before he left, "You do realize that the outcome could have been different right?"  This is something that I have thought about over the past few weeks and have praised the Lord for each new morning. Having a deeper perspective for life as a gift which I too often take for granted, which is demonstrated by my complaining and grumbling about the small things in my life. 

I had a Birthday a few days after the accident and I found myself not grumbling about getting older but thankful to be older celebrating another Birthday. Although my life came to a screeching halt and my to-do-list remained on the counter, which didn't seem so important any longer. I am thankful for rest, comfort and peace. Also for my servant husband who held me while I cried in pain, gave me company in the middle of sleepless nights and cared in a unselfish way. I am thankful for the each of the kids who rotated in my bed throughout the day to talk and cuddle.  My sweet Logan who brought me to tears many times with hugging me and asking if he could pray with me and doing so.  During the days of being in bed, witnessing Logan giving his heart to the Lord was truly a privilege. The kids stepped up in ways that would bless any mothers heart. I am thankful for all the phone calls. emails, texts, visits, help with the kids and your prayers that have been heard and God's faithfulness is evident. Although my chances of getting hit with a puck that night was about one in about 22,000 people, I know that God is sovereign over all and I continue to grow in this circumstance. My heart aches for you to know your Creator, to know His Word, to know His promises, to know Him in an intimate way that you will have freedom and eternal life. If you ever experience an accident that results in physical pain,  not being able to read, think or organize your thoughts you may experience a depth of Love, comfort and peace that only comes from the Lord.

Fall leaves to Falling snow

Last weekend the kids enjoyed jumping in the leaf piles and playing together in the yard since it was such a beautiful Fall afternoon.  One week later, my how things change!  Here are some snapshots of how the week changed so quickly.



Jumping in the leaves never gets old.

Olivia enjoying the leaf pile all by herself.

A "flurry" of activity in our yard once the snow started falling.

The boys hamming it up for the camera.

posing for their Christmas Card.

Staying warm while watching all the kids play.

Can't believe that it is really snowing, it was just 70 degress a few days ago

Seemed like a good day to decorate the tree with it snowing outside. 

Unfortunately our pre-lit tree needed a little help!

Holding the lights for Daddy.

Update #2 on Recovery

Thank you for your sweet words of encouragement and prayers over the past week. I have been able to sleep the past 2 nights which is a HUGE blessing.   I am thankful that each day the headaches and other symptoms are easing up. Usually when I wake up my head does not hurt as bad, at the very least its a tollerable pain.  As the day progresses and I'm doing things I tend to feel a little worse in the evenings.   I have a hard time processing more than one thing at a time.  Its frustrating to forget words and to have a hard time expressing my thoughts.  If I have to read or think for an extended period it literally hurts.  I will  be following up with a Neurology specialist next week to monitor the symptoms of Post Concussion Syndrome. Although the symptoms are annoying and uncomfortable, I am so thankful that they are improving.  Its definitely been a slower process than I had imagined but things are getting better and will continue to do so.
Thank you all again for your prayers and support.  I will continue to keep you updated as we go along.  I hope to get back to some more upbeat posts soon!

Update on Recovery

Hey Everyone, Billy here!  I've taken over the blog at least for one post to update you on Michelle's progress over the past few days.
First of all let me say thank you to all of you who have e-mailed, called and checked on her.   We appreciate you all very much.  Thank you also to those folks who have taken our kids while I was working so Michelle could rest.  Getting them to school, taking them to the movies and just helping out has been a tremendous blessing to our family.
Ok, here's the latest.  Michelle went back to the Dr. this morning to get the staples removed.  They ended up only taking out 2 of the 4 because it has not completely healed yet.  She will have to go back in 4-5 days to get the other 2 out.  Its been a long 5 days since Wednesday but she is slowly getting better.  Each day she feels a little better but as the day wears on the headaches and pain comes back.  This has been hard because when she wakes up ok its that much harder when she starts to feel bad again.  Everyday is literally a roller coaster ride of emotion, pain and being uncomfortable.  She has not been able to sleep very well because the headaches are keeping her up and its difficult to get comfortable because she can only sleep on one side.  Even when the headaches subside its still hard to rest because it hurts to put her head against the pilllow because its sore from getting whacked with a hockey puck.  With all that said, she is improving, its just a slower process that we imagined.
 
Some ways you can pray are:
healing from the pain and the site of the wound
headaches to go away
rest
not to be anxious or worried
me and the kids to love and serve her well

Thank you all again for your prayers and support.

This picture has nothing to do with the post

but I really like it and I wanted to keep up

with Michelle's great blogs!

Date Night, Dollar Dogs and Staples!

After a long week, Billy asked me to go with him and some friends to the Hurricanes game rather than taking Logan.  It was dollar hot dog night which was a bonus and we had great seats right on the glass.  Neither one of us had ever sat that close and we were enjoying the game until 4 minutes left in the 3rd period when a flying puck hit me in the head. Initially I had no idea what happened, I just held the side of my head trying to gather my thoughts and figure out what just hit me. As I sat there I started to feel the blood running down the side of my head. 
I'm certain that I was in shock as I walked up the steps of the arena to be check out by the medical staff. They asked me a few questions that I didn't know the answer to, really hard questions like "where are you from" and "who is the president."  After a short stay in the First Aid Station we headed off to the ER.  After a couple hours I came out diagnosed with a concussion and 4 staples in the side of my head.
As I sit here typing with a headache and my brain feeling larger than my head I am thankful it was me and not Logan who was originally going to the game.  So, currently I don't have a desire to attend another game however in the future I might just make iton ESPN because I will be the lady wearing a helmet.

 Waiting on the opening Face-off

 Face-off in our defensive zone

Eric Staal just scored the game tying Goal!

Alex Ovechkin just before he assisted with the winning goal

The after party!  I think this was rag number 4 to stop the bleeding.

                                                         Yes I did get the puck

Servant Hearts

The house repair punch list could be daunting and overwhelming. The things we put off to keep food on the table,clothes and shoes on the kids. The list that has to be completed before we can move forward with putting the house on the market. What is even more overwhelming than the list is the how the list is getting punched.  There have been days that I pull up to the house from doing errands and people are mulching, cutting down trees, and measuring crawl space doors.  A gentleman in the church coordinating efforts for  Saturday "workdays". Another family providing lunch for our Saturday "work day" just blows my mind with how even the details are being met.  A humbling experience that continues to provide affirmation and  we are praising the Lord for what is ahead in our journey. We are grateful and words can't express our thankfulness for your sacrifice of time in order to serve our family. Here are pictures of a few folks that we have caught in action over the past few weeks.  I am sorry I didn't get pictures of everyone. I wish I could capture pictures of all the prayers that have been lifted up for our families along this journey, however even if it were possible there wouldn't be enough space on this blog.
We love you and are blessed by all the partners we have in ministry.

¹²For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.     1 Corinthians 12:12

    
            

                     
       

               
    

I will continue to keep you posted........