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Picture In Portrait 5x7 folded card

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A Year in Facebook Statuses

 Just (intentionally) did some grocery shopping at Menards. Pretty sure my dad would be proud... (Sun, 26 Jun 2011 02:25:40 GMT)

 Covenant Love, Year 9 - here we come! (Wed, 13 Jul 2011 03:12:04 GMT)

 4 years ago now we were getting ready to head to the hospital to welcome our precious Evie into the world...(Fri, 15 Jul 2011 04:09:09 GMT)

 Evie is referring to herself in the third person as "the four-year-old" today. "The four-year-old" is going upstairs now." :) She even asked for her four-year-old clothes and shoes this morning. I had to inform her that she hasn't fit into "four-year-old" clothes for some time now... (Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:28:49 GMT)

 Are rejoicing with those who rejoice today - have had so many reports of God's faithfulness! (Tue, 19 Jul 2011 16:04:53 GMT)

 For the first time in our lives, we will have more nephew/nieces than children. Congratulations Tim-Angela Little! So excited!!!! (Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:14:39 GMT)

 "For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?

http://esv.to/2Sam22.32 (Thu, 21 Jul 2011 06:52:47 GMT)

 I think one of the best parts of being a stay-home mommy is being able to snuggle up on the couch after lunch with your kiddos, an enormous pile of books and no concern for time. Ahhh... (Fri, 22 Jul 2011 01:55:08 GMT)

 Can almost smell camp... (Sun, 24 Jul 2011 03:49:04 GMT)

 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

http://esv.to/Luke15.10

Amen! God is building His church and adopting more sons & daughters into His family!!!! (Sat, 30 Jul 2011 06:23:42 GMT)

 "For we are His workmanship, creative in Christ Jesus..." ~ Evie. (Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:52:51 GMT)

 I called for the girls to come in for naptime. Lily (dripping and slightly less blonde) came first and reported that she had dunked her head in the aquasand bowl. Evie came next and reported that they had both made snow angels - in the rocks and dirt below the deck. Guess bathtime will precede naptime today. :) (Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:50:29 GMT)

 When Jesus comes into the heart, He issues a general licence to be glad in the Lord. No chains are worn in the court of King Jesus. - Spurgeon (Fri, 26 Aug 2011 20:06:07 GMT)

 Near the cross! O Lamb of God,

Bring its scenes before me;

Help me walk from day to day,

With its shadows o’er me. (Sun, 28 Aug 2011 19:39:12 GMT)

 In an attempt to use the remainder of our FLEX money we have scheduled appointments with every kind of medical professional covered by our plan. The result of all these appointments can be summarized in this phrase: The Capon genes are dominant - all of them. (Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:19:31 GMT)

 have the happy privilege of having Gran Vi at our house to celebrate her 102nd birthday today before she heads off to a concert this evening! What a show-off! :) (Sat, 17 Sep 2011 15:25:15 GMT)

 Had family dentist appointments today. Daddy and the girls had terrific reports. Mommy needs a filling replaced, wisdom teeth out and braces... Yikes! (Wed, 21 Sep 2011 22:03:00 GMT)

 When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.

http://esv.to/Ps94.19 (Thu, 13 Oct 2011 07:05:37 GMT)

 When I thought, "My foot slips," your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.

http://esv.to/Ps94.18 (Thu, 13 Oct 2011 19:50:57 GMT)

 Overhead between Evie and Lily today as Evie handed Lily some shoes, "Look - you've been wanting these and I found them on Craigslist on sale at Walmart!." (Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:16:48 GMT)

 Thus says the LORD: "Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them,

http://esv.to/Jer10.2 (Thu, 10 Nov 2011 01:51:28 GMT)

 Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

http://esv.to/Prov16.20 (Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:02:35 GMT)

 Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.

http://esv.to/Ps111.2 (Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:20:01 GMT)

 Decided to take my 102 yr old Gran Vi last-minute Black Friday shopping. What an adventure! (Sat, 26 Nov 2011 01:02:42 GMT)

 Evie(during a discussion about heaven): We won't go there for a long time will we?

Me: Well, if He comes back right now, then we will go now.

Noticeable Pause

Evie: Well, He didn't come right now so we won't go for a while, huh? (Sun, 27 Nov 2011 03:46:08 GMT)

 After the Daddy-daughters date to the choir concert tonight, I asked Evie what her favorite part was. Without hesitation she replied, "Getting to see Brianna sing and seeing Dakota in a ballerina skirt. (Insert giggles) (Fri, 02 Dec 2011 04:29:22 GMT)

 Today, Danny made our first-of-the-season Egg Nog Lattes. It is probably for the better that AE Egg Nog is only available for a short time each year. Wow. Perhaps you are thinking you should comment and remind me that Egg Nog freezes well. Perhaps you should not. (Wed, 07 Dec 2011 23:09:09 GMT)

 Last night as two little girls were supposed to be falling asleep, I heard giggles and squeals and could make out the words "Krisanna", "Rehearsal" and "JRob". (Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:47:03 GMT)

 So thankful for the clear and simple, yet profound instruction found in God's Word for days like today: Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. (Sat, 10 Dec 2011 15:45:35 GMT)

 Because I live, you will live also. - Jesus (Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:00:57 GMT)

 "God is SO righteous! Like 25 pounds!" - Evie (Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:28:16 GMT)

 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

http://esv.to/Prov14.4 (Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:28:33 GMT)

 Apparently Lily's New Year's resolution was to be potty-trained before her third birthday. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. :) (Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:55:11 GMT)

 As we were discussing Evie's Cubbie verse, she was explaining part of her understanding of the verse by stating that God is Jesus. There was a brief thoughtful pause and then she said, "Actually, I should say Jesus is God." She's very particular about her theology of the Trinity. :) (Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:10:40 GMT)

 Me: Ok, kids. We are going to go to Walmart after lunch.

My sweet nephew Josiah: Oh, that's a good idea, Auntie Brenna! (Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:08:51 GMT)

 And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.

http://esv.to/Ex14.13,14 (Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:06:08 GMT)

 "You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

http://esv.to/Ex15.13 (Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:09:16 GMT)

 Today at Lily's appt, the doc said she is on track to be about 5'7" or 5'8", which is approx. the average of mom and dad. :) (Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:58:16 GMT)

 "I will be Cinderella and Milton will be the prince and Lily will be Ariel and Jackson will be the prince. Oh boy...(Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:47:46 GMT)

 My poor sick 3 year old just fell asleep on the couch waiting for me to come rock her. Being sick is so hard on these little ones. (Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:06:24 GMT)

 "Mom, I am a vowel!!!" - Evie (Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:42:35 GMT)

 "I am not tired. Evie is not tired. We are two not tired." ~ Lily (Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:34:03 GMT)

 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.

http://esv.to/Ex19.17 Whoa. (Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:15:45 GMT)

 It only took Lily a little under an hour to eat 1 green bean. That's actually progress. (Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:32:08 GMT)

 "Ev, Do you want conchilla?"

"NO, ITS CHINCHILLA!"

Repeat. (Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:29:20 GMT)

 Were treated to a lovely tumbling show this evening. :) (Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:54:56 GMT)

 Lily is cracking me up today. When Daddy left after lunch she told me,"I'm gonna miss him very much." Then, while discussing the shepherd and the 1 lost sheep, she exclaimed, "I lost ALL my sheep!" (Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:44:09 GMT)

 When Evie got home from Tumbling today, she immediately proceeded to split her Valentine candy haul evenly between her and her sister without a word from anyone encouraging her to do so. I need to focus on these kind of blessings more often. :) (Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:15:17 GMT)

 The girls are making placemats out of their Valentine cards. Since the cards left a lot of blank space I found some heart stickers they could use to fill in the gaps. I gave them to Lily and asked, "Do you want to put these on your placemat?" She nodded and proceeded to glue the entire sheet of stickers onto her placemat. Perhaps I should have clarified. :) (Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:09:26 GMT)

 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

http://esv.to/Ex34.6 (Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:51:06 GMT)

 Does anyone who is headed to GPBC have a hairbrush with them? I totally forgot to brush the girls' this morning. :( (Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:27:09 GMT)

 "Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise," says the LORD; "I will place him in the safety for which he longs."

http://esv.to/Ps12.5 (Thu, 16 Feb 2012 01:45:41 GMT)

 Evie's game summary: We won. The whites won. Not the Warthogs. (Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:37:55 GMT)

 Danny to Jayde: "Are you a man?"

Jayde: (emphatically) "Yes, I am!" (Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:26:13 GMT)

 The girls just gave a lovely ballet interpretation of Beauty and the Beast. I love watching Evie put to use what she learns in ballet class. And I love watching Lily, well, doing her Lily thing. :) (Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:06:20 GMT)

 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah ~ Ps. 32:7

For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield. ~ Ps. 5:12

In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men; you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues. ~ Ps. 31:20

Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.~ Psalm 73:23-24

My soul has been blessed by these Psalms today. Sometimes I am tempted to worship safety itself and not the God who provides it, the One who will one day bring me safely home. (Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:01:06 GMT)

 Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD has said, 'Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" And Aaron held his peace.

http://esv.to/Lev10.3 (Mon, 05 Mar 2012 05:46:32 GMT)

 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,

http://esv.to/1Pet1.10 (Tue, 06 Mar 2012 06:28:44 GMT)

 Enjoying a BEAUTIFUL (though rather windy) afternoon at "Joy's Park." :) (Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:22:53 GMT)

 I LOVE having neighbor kids in our backyard and around our dinner table. What a blessing! (Wed, 07 Mar 2012 00:08:00 GMT)

 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.

http://esv.to/Ps3.5 (Sat, 10 Mar 2012 14:32:05 GMT)

 "You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

http://esv.to/Lev19.32 (Thu, 15 Mar 2012 05:32:44 GMT)

 Just started using progressivephonics.com. Love it! Just wanted to share with other interested mommies. :)(Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:23:57 GMT)

 I remember as a kid wanting to get my mom the most spectacular thing for Mother's Day and thinking it was so strange when she would tell me just to make her a card or something equally mundane, sure on the inside she was just saying that but really wanted something big and amazing. But, today, as my girls were telling me what they wanted to get me for Mother's Day, I found myself asking, with all sincerity, if they would just give me hugs instead. (Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:14:41 GMT)

 Evie: (very seriously introducing the competition) Let's see who can be the quietest, obeyerist. And not move. And don't blink your eyes.

Lily: (very cheerily) Not me! (Fri, 27 Apr 2012 03:00:07 GMT)

 Evie has a loose tooth. Not exactly an area in which I would like her to be "advanced". At least she's excited about it. (Wed, 09 May 2012 14:27:08 GMT)

 Danny just told me he was only going to read one chapter of The Hunger Games tonight. I hope he didn't hear me laugh. (Fri, 11 May 2012 04:22:49 GMT)

 E: Dad, when can we go to Pizza "Hot" again?

L: Yeah, I wanna go to Pizza Ranch.

E: No, I said Pizza Hot.

L: You call it Pizza Hot. I call it Pizza Ranch.

E: No, they're different. Pizza Hot doesn't have ranch. It has hot.

L: Oh, yeah. You're right. (Mon, 28 May 2012 16:26:44 GMT)

 "Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. I can say all the months of the world!" - Lily (Mon, 18 Jun 2012 23:29:08 GMT)

 Today one of my children snuck into the fruit snacks and gorged herself. Then when the nutritious (and delicious) food her body really needed was set in front of her she had no appetite. I couldn't help being overwhelmed by the spiritual parallels. I think we both learned a lesson. :) (Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:47:23 GMT)

 "If thunder hits you, you die." - Storm Chaser Evie (Fri, 29 Jun 2012 20:23:21 GMT)

 First question of the day: "Mom, when are we going to Chick-fil-a?" Cow Appreciation Day is apparently a major holiday in our family. :) (Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:14:14 GMT)

 My nearly 103-year-old grandma is currently holding my 3-year old daughter on her lap and they are reading together. It is beyond beautiful. :) (Fri, 27 Jul 2012 20:55:58 GMT)

 A good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. http://bible.us/Luke6.45.HCSB (Sat, 28 Jul 2012 06:36:54 GMT)

 "I really want to be a mother, not a ballerina." - Evie :) (Mon, 30 Jul 2012 01:49:38 GMT)

 Me - "We're going to Best Buy." (not a place we frequent)

Evie - "Do you mean Best Buy and Beyond or Best Pro Shops?" (Mon, 30 Jul 2012 18:04:29 GMT)

 "Sometimes I get lonely... without Lily around. Sometimes the laundry is my friend." ~ Evie, while downstairs starting the washing machine for me and, apparently, missing her sister who was playing upstairs. (Tue, 31 Jul 2012 21:34:15 GMT)

 Amy Sternquist, your lesson from Sunday obviously stuck with Lily because we were watching the Olympics tonight and Lily exclaimed, "They said Jordan River!" while the announcers were discussing one of Jordyn Wieber's performances. :) (Wed, 01 Aug 2012 03:16:57 GMT)

Stationery card

Hand Drawn Joy Religious Christmas Card

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Out of the mouth of... chicks

L: Mom, may I please have the kitty plate?
M: No, it is Evie's turn today. You had it yesterday.
L: But she had it tomorrow!


E: Mom, how many years has Krisanna been on this earth?
M: About 22.
E. Wow! That's hundreds!


E: (as we are driving home) How do you get to Brianna's house?
M: (pointing) You just keep going this way a while and then turn that way a while and you'll run right into it.
E: (aghast and pointing) You mean if we go this way and this way we will BONK INTO HER HOUSE!


M: Evie what color are you going to make that frog.
E: Whole Green.
M: Whole Green?
E: Yeah, you know, whole green?
(Apparently this is what she thinks we are saying when we say "whole grain".)

Game On

We are playing this game today. I laminated the pieces instead of using cardstock. I didn't have a fastener like they used so I made one out of twist ties. I just bent two twist ties in half and linked them together where they bent in the middle. Then, I poked a hole through the middle of the spinner and put the free ends of one twist tie through the hole. I then cut off the other twist tie's free ends and wrapped what remained around the part where the twist ties joined to form a knob to keep the twist ties from going through the hole. Then I put a paper clip under the knob. Works great if you're not picky.



 If you are anything like me, you just read all that and have no idea how it ended up like this at the end. It's rough to be us in the age of tutorials. Especially when I am the one writing them.


 Now, it is really against my grain to play this type of game where "we all win", but I will make an exception... this time.

7 Up Biscuits

I found this great recipe here.

These are really good, though they require a little extra Bisquick and a little less butter. Also, the fresher the 7up, the better. As the 7up loses its carbonation, the biscuits become more like drop biscuits.
We tried and loved them three ways:
1. Plain
2. Brushed with Butter and Garlic Salt
3. With Cinnamon, Raw Sugar and Craisins drizzled with icing.

What in the world are U doing?

I am guessing that question was running through the minds of some of our neighbors a few nights ago as they watched the girls and I pass by on a little bike ride ~ at about 9:30 at night. If only they had known we were on an educational excursion. You see, we have been learning about the letter U this week and our little development just happens to be shaped like a U. I couldn't resist taking our tracing activities large scale and it was WAY too hot to do it during the day. The girls thought it was fantastic, though I am not sure it had a profound impact on their educational development.

Perhaps some of these activities were slightly more formative...

Letter U word pasting
I cut out pictures of the letter U, the United States, a unicorn, an umbrella and utensils and put them in little styrofoam cups (which were leftover packing material). Then the girls glued the pictures onto the big letter U. We then wrote "We miss" above the U and sent it to Daddy at camp. :)

Styrofoam Poke Tracing
We flipped over the little styrofoam cups that held the U word pictures and I had drawn a U on the bottom. The girls then used little toothpick umbrellas to poke and trace the letter U. This activity seems to particularly delight Lily because most of her poking endeavors are swiftly squashed.

Pudding Drawing
I whipped up a batch of instant butterscotch pudding and put it in deep and wide containers to help minimize the mess. Evie drew a U a few times and then they both decided to go all hands in. So, we adapted and decided we were now going to make handprints on paper towels. :)

Our U words also popped up throughout our daily activities. We had umbrellas in our sandwiches for lunch and watched Singin' in the Rain to continue our umbrella theme before naptime.

Maybe now that Daddy is back our educational endeavors will be a little bit more mainstream. :)

I want to remember...

They grow up too quickly, hard to believe I will have a 4 year old soon! Inspired by the book LET ME HOLD YOU LONGER and my overly-active Roth sentimental gene I have decided to try to jot down things I want to remember from time to time. Because someday Ev won't come out of her bed repeatedly asking for hippo hugs & butterfly kisses and Lil won't tell me that she "don't can't hear it" when the music is quiet and I want to remember:
How Lily prays..."Jesus, thank you Fader for our sins..." (her theology needs some work)

How Lily cuts her hair (maybe I do want to forget) and puts everything in her mouth

How Evie "cuts coupons" and tells me what is free and on sale.

How Evie doesn't want to wear leggings, anything that is "scratchy" or has "belts", and the list goes on...

How they LOVE animals and people and the little things. They soak up everything.

How Ev is so easily broken and how anything entrusted to Lily is also.

How I found them when I went in to check on them tonight; Evie curled up in a ball with no covers and Lily perpendicular to the bed with both legs through one leghole in her pajamas.

Homemade Caramel Latte - YUM!

We actually calculated the calories in this tonight. Not as bad as I feared, but certainly not a health food drink. Unless you mean mental/emotional health.  :)

Progress Report

Evie's seed sprouted today - fun to teach her about the reward.waiting for the patient farmer.

L is for Learning

If you happen to have a preschooler and you happen to do Letter of the Week with him/her, then you probably have noticed that we are on letter L and you are probably on X or Y or Z, or perhaps you have started on the Hebrew alphabet. Yes, we are behind. We do more like letter of the month-ish, but we have SO much fun doing it!

Today we learned about lilies (very fun for Lily, but Evie wanted to know when we would learn about Evie flowers)and made these lilies out of our handprints.

Since we were on the topic of flowers, we planted some seeds so we could watch them grow. When we came home from church tonight Evie seemed a little disappointed that they hadn't grown any yet. We are going to keep a picture diary of their progress so she can see the growth over time. Here is what they look like today. :) Evie took this picture herself!

We also embarked on a scavenger hunt for pictures of words that begin with L. I had 7 pictures that I showed them first and then I sent them away with their baskets so I could "hide" the pictures. This turned out to be a hit. The teacher in me isn't so sure what objective, standard or benchmark this really satisfied, but they LOVED it. We played this over and over again. The best part was when they "hid" them for me. Evie gave me the BIG basket and then walked me right up to each L picture so I could "find" it.

We also did a worksheet where Evie was supposed to practice identifying and tracing the letter L. She skipped the identifying (circling) completely and turned every L into an E. I didn't take a picture of that - not exactly something that will boost her portfolio. :)

Mad Money

Evie calls everything pennies so we are working on identifying coins. The fun part is that the "big pennies", aka quarters, make the carousel go so we get pretty excited to find those! Lily, as usual, redefined the objective and worked steadily at dismantling the carton piece by piece and then pushing all her coins off the table into her cupped hand, which lacked both the surface area and the position to prevent all but 1 coin from being redistributed to the dining room floor.

J is for Jellyfish

J is for Japan

We are learning about letter J this week so we are learning a little about Japan and some missionaries we know there. So, it only seemed fitting that we dig our hands into some rice!

No Name Steak - $2 after rebate

Store: Menards
Item: No Name Sirloin Steak, 12 oz pkg (2- 6oz steaks)
Price: $6.99
Rebate: $5 Mail-In Rebate (Merchandise Voucher only good at Menards)
Final Cost: $1.99

Conditions: Limit 10 pkgs per household, Limit 1 rebate submission per household

Cheep Talk: We had these for lunch on Tuesday and they were really tender.We are going to use the leftovers for fajitas. Very much worth the $1/steak - if you shop at Menards and will use the merchandise . Not worth it if you think you can take the voucher (which looks a little like a check) to the bank where your husband is employed and try to cash it and have them look at you like you are crazy and really embarrass said husband. Not that I know from experience...

Hy-Vee Two Day Sale (3/10 & 3/11)

Red Grapes - .99/lb
Skippy Peanut Butter (not the recalled kind) - .99
Colgate Toothpaste - .88 (It seems like there are always coupons for this out there for .75/1 so this could be very cheap)
Tostitos Tortilla Chips - 1.99 (Ad says select varieties - hope that means the black bean and garlic)

Find more items on sale here

The Greatest Physician

Today we went for a follow-up visit with Dr. White. While we are thankful that Danny can be under the care of such a great doctor, we were reminded during Danny's checkup that he is also (and more importantly) under the care of the Great Physician.
When Dr. White removed the packing she told Danny that it looked a million times better - she had said it had to be a thousand times better to avoid surgery. She said the tissue (which had previously been black and described by her to be an area of necrosis)was red and meaty. When Danny asked her how that could happen, that "dead" tissue could become "live" tissue, she responded by saying, "I can't really say. It's kind of a miracle." This means (if everything stays the same) that no surgery will be needed and he will only need staples to encourage the spot to heal. The first picture below is from today. Note the absence of black, dead tissue in the one from today compared to the second picture that was taken Monday.


We are so thrilled that we can say things like this happen. Last night, Danny's parents came over and told us they were praying for a very clear and remarkable recovery so that it would be obvious that no surgery was needed. My initial instinct was that it was a nice thought, but not really possible with all that dead tissue lounging around under the wrap. But then, God brought me to the book of Job and I was reminded that a small view of God is both an error and a tragedy. I was also reminded how Jesus used physical healing (the lesser act) as an evidence of the fact that He could forgive sin (the greater act). If I believe (AND I DO) that Christ has authority of the spiritual man, then I need to believe also that he has all authority over the physical man as well. God quickly encouraged my heart with the truth that, while He may or may not choose the no surgery option, He certainly was able to bring about whichever option best accomplished His will at this time.

We are praising the Lord for His goodness to us and want to thank all of you that were asking God to work. We hope that your heart is encouraged to see God availing much through your prayers! Now for some pictures of the girls celebrating the good news, each in their own way.

Spiderman

About a week ago, Danny noticed that he had a spot on his leg that looked like an angry bug bite. Since he generally reacts to bug bites, he didn't think much of it, but did decide just to watch it since it looked a little angrier than normal. He even drew a circle around it so he could tell if it was getting bigger, which may not seem to you like showing a great deal of concern, but this is the guy who tried to walk off a stroke-like incident and tough it out when he had a stricture. Any acknowledgment that an injury exists and that medical treatment might at some point be an option to consider is a sign of progress.
Well, it did get bigger and he acquiesced to seeing a doctor. We are SO thankful that we have a Doctors Now clinic nearby. It was Wednesday around suppertime when the irritation trespassed the boundary he had marked off (about the circumference of the top of a pop can) and so we decided to split our family along injury lines. Evie and I went in the healthy van to gather teens to take to the Sparks' house and Danny and Lily went to the clinic to get checked on. [Lily cut her forehead two weeks ago today and had it glued so I decided to kill two birds, er chickens - bad analogy. I decided to have them both go at once. :)]
When we met up at the Sparks', Danny said they thought he had cellulitis, [not cellulite, I am sure he has none of that] which is just a skin infection so they put him on a strong antibiotic. We continued to monitor the area and it didn't seem to spread but the nucleus seemed to get uglier. On Friday, I noticed that a little area at the very center that wasn't even the size of a dime was turning black under the surface. When I see black on a swollen, ugly looking area, I think something is dead. So, we agreed that if the black didn't go away in 24 hours Danny would go back to the doctor.
The black didn't go away but we weren't able to make it to the clinic Saturday before it closed so we decided to go back after the Sunday morning service. I think Danny was secretly just holding out because he wanted to (and did) use it as a visual aid during his Student Ministries lesson on Sunday morning and was afraid seeking medical treatment might interfere with his ability to use it in communicating of the Word of God. The man has his priorities. :) In case you are wondering, he used it when explaining what Jesus was saying in Matthew 9, "On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Anyway, we went to the clinic right after church and Danny went in while we girls ran errands and ate lunch. He texted me updates while he was in the clinic and informed me that the doctor was also concerned about the black area and was going to lance the area and clean it out. The doctor indicated that he was only slightly suspicious of a brown recluse spider bite, but not with any certainty. He instructed Danny to keep his leg elevated and return on Monday.
Today, Danny was in more pain than he had been when he woke up this morning and so we went into the doctor as soon as we could get all of us ready and out the door. So, yes, it was several hours before we left the house. We all went in to the procedure room and the doctor (one who hadn't seen the wound yet) unpacked the gauze. She was not at all hesitant to diagnose a brown recluse spider bite and told us that the area was looking "really angry" and that she "didn't like it at all". Because we hadn't been treating it as a spider bite, a lot of tissue had been damaged already by the toxin the alleged spider left behind. She added a stronger antibiotic, a steroid and some pain killers :) to Danny's medical arsenal and packed the wound again. We girls were absent for this process.
It was very interesting to observe some of Evie's personality in response to the event. She was very aware (and she can be so flighty) that something was not quite right with Daddy and kept asking questions about what the doctor would do. She wanted to be near him to know that he was okay and offer comfort, but had to leave the room when the doctor started treating the wound. I think her sensitive little heart gets overwhelmed. She would stand by the door and "check on him" periodically. Lily just wanted to ram the doctor's stool into the wall.
We decided to extract ourselves from the situation and went to the lobby to wait, but both girls came on way too strong to a nice little boy in the lobby so we retreated further to the van. Lily does not understand yet that hitting someone on the head as hard as you can with a variety of objects while laughing is not generally considered a gesture of kindness, at least not by this 4 year old boy. Even Evie's offer to let him hold her 2 foot long stuffed dolphin didn't seem to win him over. Perhaps it was because she was standing an inch from his face and petting him with it.
So, we waited in the van until daddy emerged. The final report was that we would come back on Wednesday for another evaluation and had to stay off his feet and home from work for a week. If everything goes well and Danny's body naturally deals with the dead tissue, the doctor will just help us manage the process of healing the wound. We are praying for that to be the outcome. If not, the doctor advised us that we would have to look into another option, most likely having a surgeon clean out the dead tissue and manage the process of healing the area.
In the meantime, I am holding out hope that Danny will soon develop the ability to climb up and swing from buildings so that we can maybe find a way to generate some income as a result of the whole ordeal :)
The pictures below are before and now (we aren't really to after yet) and they are not as cute as the ones I normally post here. They also don't come close to capturing the full ugliness of this thing.

A Birthday Wrap-Up

Evie has had a wonderful time celebrating her birthday. Her first party was on the 4th of July with the Austins. The pictures above are of her watching the parade and fireworks. I thought that was rather nice of them to help us celebrate :)

Then, we had a day at Adventureland and Evie was so much more interested in the rides than she was last year. It was so fun to see her try them out. Here she is on the kiddie space shot, aka The Frog Hopper. This one was a big hit because the guy running it was very good with kids and insisted that it wouldn't "go" unless they made frog noises.

Then, yesterday, we went to Incredible Pizza Company with the Capons and had a blast! Many thanks to the Raytown South football team for the free impromptu show to go with our dinner! We had so much fun before we even got to the games that we hardly had enough time to win enough tickets for Evie to get two 2-inch plastic Care Bear figurines (1 for her and 1 for Lily) - the only thing she ever wants there. I didn't get any picture of that because we had our new photographer (aka Grammy) along and she covered that for us.

And, last, but not least, Evie has received some lovely cards for her birthday. One that has gotten particularly rave reviews came from GreatGramma and GreatPoppa in Indiana. I have posted a video so you can get the full experience of the card. If you want the really full experience, make sure you watch the video over and over again until it won't play anymore and everyone around you has it memorized.

Those are some strong words...

Warning: This post contains lots of references to this post. Sorry if the lack of context bugs you. :)
Sometimes the "small talk" I forget comes back to me, especially late at night. While Lily was napping today, Evie was singing on the floor in the living room. Her mother is an avid maker-upper-of-songs and she seems to be picking up on this game. We sing "God is So Good" every night after her bedtime (or should I say T-O-N-6-O-9) Bible Study with Daddy. Sometimes we make up our own verses that relate to things God has done in her life or the life of our family. Sometimes we adapt it to be about other attributes of God (love, etc.). This afternoon she decided to try an attribute of God we hadn't covered before. This is how it came out:
"God is so strongful"
That put a big smile on my face for several reasons.
1) I love that she can take what she has learned about God and express it in her own little way. I want her to know that God is strong so that when life gets tough down the road, she knows that her God is able to do what she cannot.
2) I love that she makes up her own words to songs (and even her own songs at times - today I was treated to "The Bean Bag Song". She seemed a little surprised that I hadn't heard of it before.) I believe music is a very powerful teaching tool and so I sing to the girls all the time (it will be a sad day when they start to understand what good singing is supposed to sound like and request that I go back to doing math- hope we still live near her aunts when that happens!). Anyway, I love seeing her embracing music as well.
3) The making up of songs may come from mom, but the making up of words is all DADDY! For any of you who have spent any time in Journey (watch out Student Ministries) at some point in your life, you are aware that Danny averages about one non-word per lesson. Usually that word is an adjective/adverb with an extra suffix on it or the wrong suffix on it. Sometimes the word is a fusion of two real words, like inquizzical, probably my most favorite of all of them. It took a lot of work to convince him that this was not, in fact, a viable word. He never seems to think they are complete until he puts his finishing touches on them and, I must confess, his versions sound much mightier. I think one of his life mottos should be, "Good words deserve to be long words." It is one of my favorite of his quirks. It ranks right up there with his ability to identify fabrics down to the percentages without looking at the tag. Anyway, "Strongful" sounds like something her daddy would say, or at least approve of her saying and that makes it even more special.

Bonus: Evie has developed her own description for the current weather pattern. "Mom, it's sweaty out here."