Sumertime Fun With Friends

So my bestie, Jennifer, and her family (Batman and Avery) like to entertain at their house. And it doesn't hurt that Batman just recently purchased a "Big Green Egg" smoker. It is INCREDIBLE!!! Incredible enough that when Superman decided that he just wants money for presents now so he can save up for one, I didn't argue ;-)

About a week ago, Batman decided he wanted to smoke a ham - which happens to be Superman's favorite! So naturally, we were the ones invited to be the guinea pigs!!! And we weren't upset about that at all. Not only do we get to eat some great food but we get to spend some time with our great friends, too!

I was so hot out that we decided after dinner we all needed a cold treat . . . SNOW CONES!!! We loaded up the cars (we don't get to ride together anymore since car seats take up so much room) and headed to Cotton Eyed Joes in Mustang/Yukon (I don't know the difference!) for some tasty treats and play time.

The girls were so excited . . .

But ya gotta be careful eating snow cones . . . even super heroes get brain freeze!

After snow cones, there was time to play. Good thing Batman doesn't get too tired because he has all these fun "games" that he plays with Avery like "monkey swing" and "rocket ship." Hannah and Chloe can't resist learning new things!

Then back to the house for the girls to get baths and bed so the grown-ups could have fun playing a game of hearts!

This will make GREAT blackmail in about 16 years!

All in all it was a great night! I thank God daily for these friends and look forward to many more fun times ahead!

Relationships . . . Easy? I think not!

So when I started this blog, I had an idea what I wanted it to be. It has turned into something completely different than my original plan . . . but that's okay. I like what it has become :-) It has become my outlet. Not necessarily for venting or expressing anger. But for letting the thoughts out of my brain. That's what this is all about tonight. I've been writing this in my head for over a week now. I don't know why I didn't think to blog it before!

So, we start building relationships from the day we are born. We build a relationship with our parents. Other family members came next. Then siblings (at least in my case that was next). Sometime soon after that (or in the midst of all that for other people) we start school and have to develop even more relationships - teachers, classmates, bus drivers . . . Before we know it, there are employers and co-workers. Boyfriends or girlfriends. And for most, eventually husband or wife (which brings more family members into the mix!) and often children. I know there can be other relationships but these are the basics.

Why do I think relationships are NOT easy? They all take work. Well, at least if you want to have a good one. How many of you can say you have a good relationship with someone that you have not spoken to or seen in over a year? Too often, we loosely use the word "friend." I've been more aware of my semantics lately and began clarifying with "a girl I went to high school with" or "someone I used to work with."

I have learned the value of true friendship. This is never an easy lesson because it means you'll see the truth about a "friend" at some point in your life. What's awesome about a true friend is this . . . you may not always agree but you care enough about each other to work through it. AND you care enough about each other to share when you think the other is getting themselves into something that may not be the best for them. And you love them - even if they end up getting them self into a mess! I've been on both sides of that kind of friendship - most recently when my bestie shared that she thought I was making a wrong decision. Turns out it didn't pan out anyway but that's beside the point. We have worked on our relationship enough that we were able to share our thoughts with each other, even though it may have hurt initially, and still love each other through our disagreements.

And in marriage? THAT'S a relationship that takes some work! Why does it take more? Because this is the person that you vowed to spend the rest of your life with. Don't get me wrong. Superman and I have a great marriage. But that doesn't mean it's easy or without its own problems. We have our share of disagreements and frustrations. But with God's guidance and good communication (which in itself takes a lot of work) we work it out. I'm more and more grateful for this as I see the sad reality of so many around me who have gone through, are going through or are contemplating divorce. Such a sad situation for all involved; often because they are not willing to work on the relationship.

What's the point in sharing all of this? Well, basically to offer hope! No matter what your history has been with relationships, there is someone who wants to offer you the most amazing relationship ever! No matter where you come from. No matter where in life you are now. No matter where your life is headed. Jesus Christ loves you so much and wants a relationship with you so desperately that he gave his life for you! The Bible - God's Holy Word - tells us that no greater love has a man than this, that he lay down his life for a friend (John 15:13). And God loves us enough that He sent his ONLY SON to die as a sacrifice for our sin (John 3:16)!

I personally entered this personal relationship with Jesus Christ at the age of 7. I am not going to tell you that life is easy or that it is all fun-and-games. But I can tell you that without Him, I would have no hope for my future. Do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ? If not, I'd love to share with you how you can! Until then, I pray that the relationships we have here on Earth all lead to Him. And I pray that I will be bold enough to begin sharing this story with the other party in every Earthly relationship I have.

Pray for me . . . I'll pray for you!

Answered Prayer

I don't think I've updated you all about Kathy's surgery. But everything went great!

Thursday was a long day for Superman and his family. An early morning at the hospital and a full day of surgery (it was scheduled to take 6 1/2 hours!). Updates came as promised throughout the case when finally, around noon (only 5 hours after starting) the surgeon came out to tell them that he was finished and was very pleased with the way things went.

Basically, Kathy's cancer was all removed and he was able to connect the esophagus to the stomach. He also did not have to remove her spleen as he had anticipated. He left with a good prognosis! A long recovery, but no signs of cancer remaining!

In the days following, pain control has been the hardest. Michelle has been in Houston to stay with her in this immediate recovery phase at the hospital. I know Michelle is exhausted but I'm glad she has been able to be there with them.

Up until today, there really were no complications other than difficulty controlling the pain. Throughout last night, a few complications did arise and there was some concern that there was some leakage around the surgical area or where some of the drains were removed yesterday. After some testing, it was determined that she has developed a case of pneumonia (fortunately, in the early stages and now being treated) but that the surgical site all appears to be healing well.

This is an answered prayer!

Now, be praying for Charles. In the midst of all this, he has developed kidney stones (he has had trouble with this in the past) and is having pain of his own. So, that being said, continue praying for Michelle too! She is not only helping to take care of both of them but she will be coming home on Wednesday (she is missing her husband and son) and then having her own surgery (for carpal tunnel) on Thursday.

Through all of this, we know that God is the great physician and is still in control.

Continue praying for family as we all travel to visit and for the medical staff as they continue treating Kathy's recovery.

To all of you who have already been praying . . . THANK YOU!!! I truly believe that prayer works miracles!

Out of my comfort zone

Tonight is Monday. Superman goes to a Men's Meeting (Bible/Book study with other Christian men, mostly from our church) on Monday nights. Usually, the girls and I will hang out with my mom and sisters but they are at Falls Creek (mom is cooking again) so it was just me and mine :-) I really enjoy spending time with them doing things like this:

But today was a crazy long day at work and I just didn't feel like going home. There is too much work here to do and I knew I wouldn't relax and spend time with them. So, we headed to a favorite hang out for dinner and play time . . . Chick-Fil-A!!! One reason I like going there is because it is a Christian based business and I will support those as often as I can ~ even though it is frustrating that (even though it's one of the things I like about them!) they are closed on Sundays ;-) The other big factor in my liking to go there is that the girls will choose the fruit cups over the french fries! They don't even ask for fries (I think they believe fruit is the norm at Chick-Fil-A!) and I like that they are making a healthy choice.

So, after we ate dinner, they did a little of this . . .

THEN . . . a little of this!

Then, Hannah decided she wanted to be a photographer too.

What I didn't get pictures of was the incredibly nice family we befriended in the play area. It was a mom, a dad, an 18 month old girl and a 6 year old boy. The kids all played together really well (it was only the 4 of them in the play area) and their parents and I were able to strike up a conversation about nothing other than . . . our families :-)

I didn't find out a whole lot about them other than the 6 year old will be attending the same school as Dallas and Makenna and will be in 1st grade so there is a chance he and Makenna will be in the same class. What a small world! The entire time we were talking, God was prompting me to invite them to church. But I kept fighting it. I would make a comment here and there about things like "my husband's at a Bible study right now so we thought we'd come play" and "our Hispanic pastor's daughter is so smart" but never flat out said anything about Christianity or church.

As they left the play area to eat their dinner and the girls and I went to get our ice cream, I could NOT get God's voice out of my head. What made the whole thing worse is that just yesterday, dad's sermon was about being "sent" (which is also the theme at Falls Creek youth camp this week. So, I said to myself "Tabitha, God is giving you an awesome opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and STEP UP!" As I looked into my purse to grab my keys, here is how God worked:

First, I realized that I had a blank offering envelope in my purse with our church name, address and other information on it.

Second, the mom took the little girl to wash her hands (she had to pass by our table).

Then I finally stepped out - out of my comfort zone. I wrote my name and the names of my brother and sister who may get to meet her son on the back of the envelope. She had told me where they live and I had mentioned it was close to my parent's house. As she walked back by, I stopped her and said something about how it was so nice to have met them and gave her the envelope first showing her the side with the names and then said "and I don't know if you all attend church anywhere, but if you don't, there is information about the church we attend on the other side. We would love to have you visit sometime!" And her answer . . . "yeah! I know where that is! We may just come see you sometime. Thanks for the invitation."

Why am I sharing this with you? Well, let me start by saying that it is not to boast. Remember, I told you it took a lot of things for me to build up this courage so if anything, I should be embarrassed that this does not come naturally - so definitely not boasting!

I share for this reason alone. I want to encourage myself and you. Striking up a conversation is so natural for most people. Silence is more awkward. But striking up a conversation about our faith? Why is it so hard? Who knows if I will ever see this family again? But I can rest tonight knowing that I followed God's prompting. And I know that if a similar situation arises again, I AM able to carry on the simplest of conversations. God leading, this will happen again. I pray that next time, I will be more willing and more ready!

Really?! TWO?!

So, this morning I woke up SUPER early because Chloe was screaming (and I mean bloody-murder screaming) "DADDY!" "DADDY!!" See, she's a little it of a daddy's girl. And she knew he wasn't here when she went to bed last night. I guess she thought that he would be here by this morning. Fortunately, it was 5:15 and I knew he would already be up and at the hospital with his mom. So, I sent him a text that she was wanting him - thinking that he would call. Little did I know, he took his computer with him so we got on Skype (great invention, that Skype). But it actually made things worse. She cried even harder because she could see him but he couldn't hold her :-(

Once we got her settled down, though, I realized she turned 2 today. I don't know why but it seems harder to believe that she's 2 than it did when Hannah turned 2. Maybe because I'm 99.9% certain she is truly my "baby"? Either way, when I got her dressed and asked her how old she is, this was her answer:

I two!

After a day at the day care for the girls and a long day for me (work until 12:30 then to the church to sing at a memorial service for a very dear man) I picked them up in the midst of a torrential downpour (the 2nd this week!). I had wanted to take them to Chick-Fil-A to eat dinner (Chloe always wants to eat there) but there was no way - I could see this rain was more than just a summer shower. So, we came home and cooked spaghetti. And yes, the word is WE. Hannah LOVES to help cook dinner!

I'm not sure exactly what Hannah was upset about but I think it was the fork. She thought it was a baby fork. But when she asked nicely and with big-girl words, she got a metal fork!

After dinner and baths, the girls have settled in watching a movie before bed. Well, Hannah's watching the movie. Chloe is crawling in and out of my lap. But that's okay (I love to cuddle that baby girl!)! With the whining that's starting, though, I think it's about bedtime.

On another note . . . THANK YOU for all your prayer support! Kathy came through surgery great! They are having a hard time controlling her pain but she is not having any problems with nausea. The doctor told the family that he was "very pleased" with the way things went. I know we serve a mighty God who is the great physician! I just talked to Superman. He and his brother are on their way home and should be here around midnight. I'll be ready to see him but even more excited to see the girls's faces tomorrow when they see him here before they expected to!

A prayer request update.

So, if you're paying any attention to the time stamp you will see that I can be really stupid sometimes when Superman is gone. Tonight is even worse, though because he and his brother did not start out on the road to Houston until late in the afternoon. So, I'm waiting on his call that they have arrived safely. His sister flew in earlier in the afternoon and has been spending time with their parents.

Early tomorrow morning (5:15!) Kathy will report to the surgery unit at MD Anderson. Last week was full of testing and doctor appointments. There was encouraging news! I'm not 100% sure of what was said because I'm getting it through Superman who got it through . . . well, you know how that goes. But basically ~ the chemo and radiation ALONG WITH THE MIGHTY GOD WE SERVE did what it was supposed to do! The cancer appears to be gone. She will still be having surgery in the morning to remove the tumor that is causing the pain and difficulty with swallowing and breathing.

Pray tomorrow for the physicians's knowledge and steady hands. Pray for Charles and the kids while Kathy is in surgery - it is such a stressful thing, waiting. And pray for Kathy's comfort during the recovery time.

Thank you all for your love, prayers and support to this point. I'll continue to keep you updated. For now, I just got a call from Superman that he and his brother have arrived safely and checked into their room. They have a whole 4 hours to sleep before meeting the rest of the family at the hospital. Now that I know he's safe, I think I'll head to bed too!

A good man.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones." Psalm 116:15

The world defines a good man in many different ways. My version of a good man is something like this:
1) Love God
2) Love Family
3) Love Others

Today, the world lost (but Heaven gained) a great man. Brother Ed will be missed by all. While some think it may be morbid, I am honored that I have been asked to sing at his memorial service on Thursday afternoon. I always have a hard time singing at these services but I think I'll be okay with this one. Not because I won't miss Bro. Ed but because not too long ago, he asked that prayer for him became that he would get to go HOME (his eternal home in Heaven). Our selfish nature will miss him but we can rejoice in knowing that he is in his "happily ever after" in Heaven with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Will we be able to say that about you when your life here on earth is through? I pray that people will know this is true about me.

This loss has also made me realize something about Superman. Remember my 2nd criteria in a good man? Tonight while I was cleaning up from dinner, I heard commotion in the living room. My natural instinct was to holler that things needed to settle down. But, fortunately, God spoke to me quickly and said to grab my camera and take a look. What I saw was this:

I am so grateful for a God fearing man who loves his family. THAT's a good man!

On another note, please be in prayer tomorrow for our family. Superman's mom (Kathy) is having surgery Thursday morning at MD Anderson in Houston (I'll update about this tomorrow) and he and his siblings are all traveling to be there. He and his brother are driving down tomorrow afternoon and his sister is flying out tomorrow morning. Please pray for traveling safety for all. I'll let you in tomorrow night on what the plans are.

Thank GOD for our freedom!

So, have you noticed that nearly all celebration revolves around food? Well, 4th of July 2010 was no different. I wasn't sure what I first thought about the date falling on a Sunday but as the day drew nearer, I thought "how fitting that we celebrate our freedom as Americans while worshiping the Lord and Savior who offered us freedom from eternity in Hell!"

Our morning started out as any Sunday morning. Of course, the girls don't mind posing for pics but this time, Superman took one of me with them!

Our morning worship service was incredible! We took a special opportunity to honor the men and women in our church family who are and who have given of their time to fight to keep our country free. It was an incredibly moving time - especially to see those men and women (some well into their years) stand to straight with pride as their branch of the military was recognized. WOW!!! I am so thankful for people who are willing to serve our country and fight for my freedom and yours. A freedom we so often take for granted. And to their families, a VERY SPECIAL thank you for sharing them!

After morning service, we had an "old-fashioned picnic on the grounds." It was supposed to be complete with "old-fashioned" games and fellowship. Unfortunately, there was some confusion as to what all this meant and with the weather being rainy, it changed the plans a little bit anyway. But it was still a good time :-)

Then, after a few hours of resting at home (we were anticipating a late night, ya know!) we headed out to my sister-in-law's parents property in Arcadia. This has become an annual event and we really enjoy it! First, there is play time while the patriarchs of the family do the grilling.




And of course, there was "big kid playtime" too :-)

At first, Chloe was curious . . .
. . . But with the loud POP! she became unsure!

After dinner and more playtime, the sun finally started to set. Chloe and Grandpa played with sparklers while Josh went to set up the annual extravaganza we have affectionately named "the Josh Show." And then with a big thanks to Melissa, the kids (both big and small) had a blast with glow necklaces and bracelets while waiting!

Then , it was time for the show. As always, it was a "blast!" Thanks Josh for your love of fireworks to end a great evening!