Flower birds

House finches love to make our porch their procreating spot. Before, they chose the Christmas wreath, but now, they have moved into one of our flower pots. And it didn't take more than 5 days between the day they made the nest and actually layed eggs. Hopefully in about 1 week, we'll have 5 new babies to watch.

A trip to the mailbox

Well, I don't know whether Amanda is watching too much Law and Order or what ... but Amanda found what she perceived to be a BIG wrong.... a bag of "cocaine" found at the mailbox.

Jeffrey tried to explain to her that "cocaine" does not come in a white bag with a brown substance and a string with a rose connected to it... but he had no idea that Amanda decided that the police would be the judge of that and she had already called them. Officer McClafferty came and explained to her that it was a TEA bag but that "anyone could make that mistake". Amanda reports that he "took a statement" from her (just got her name and birthday) prior to answering another "call". She didn't even call 911 but used the regular police # which she knew by heart. (of course) And this was all after the last exam when Officer Andy let her have a ride in his police car. He even let her see what it was like to put the hand cuffs on.

Confession

I have been very emotional today....and in trying to figure it out. Several months ago, a friend asked me if I had ever prayed for Amanda to be healed. In recognizing my lack of faith, I did so. Amanda then had a bad seizure and we found out her shunt was disconnected and that the other shunt is working to drain both. After much sickness on her part over the past 2 months, what I realize is that God may have answered my prayer. And quite frankly.... I don't think I really wanted Him to... I love my daughter the way she is. I think my emotions today are really fear of what life might be like without the same disabilities. I think my life might be defined by her disabilities. I find the disability world very comfortable and I understand it and actually REALLY enjoy it. I've always been for the underdog and this gives me an outlet for that. What if my girl changes? And now I realize how incredibly selfish I am to think this way.

The other thing I know from living through the trials is that I am able to experience God in a real way when I have to be dependent on Him to get through each trial. I think I'm afraid to miss out on that as well. Of course, I'm sure God will send something else to get my attention.... but I'm not anxious for that. Laura Story came out with the song "Blessings" that I just heard on the radio over the past week. The song has a really neat message and I know several of you are experiencing your own trials and could use the encouragement. You should listen to it on I-tunes as well. Here are the lyrics:

"Blessings" by Laura Story

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plead
And long that we'd have faith to believe

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

Baby Birds

My sisters talk about this book they read from Ann Voskamp called One Thousand Gifts about thankfulness. Well, in the week where we have experienced death in a very real way, we have also enjoyed experiencing life and I am so thankful for what might seem minor to someone else. Every year, we have finches that make a nest in our wreath on the porch. Although it stinks that it is April and we still have a Christmas wreath up on the side of the house, it is the most amazing thing to watch little birds be fed and taken care of by their parents and to grow and leave the nest all in a matter of 3 weeks. The neatest thing was that I discovered that there are actually 5 babies in that small nest. You can see 4 heads but there is one more bird in the back. I'm thankful for life... even if it means my christmas wreath is still up.

Mom's death

I have been quite overwhelmed today thinking about my mother-in-law with a new body worshipping our risen Lord face-to-face. I have a visual of this in my mind and think about the day when I will worship with the throngs of people present. Today was a rest day for the family and for dad. He seemed energized today after attending church and having so many express their sadness for his loss. I'm sure the rest helped as well. The burial and memorial service will be on Wednesday. Her obituary can be found at http://www.blackfuneralhomes.com/cgi-bin/heald-obit.cgi?Name=Lois A.Fleming

Jeff and Nichole

Jeff's christmas present was for us to fly Nichole out from Salt Lake City for a visit for a week. We love her and really enjoyed having her here! They met at Word of Life in Schroon Lake, NY about 3 1/2 years ago and dated there for 8 months. This was the first time they were reunited in 2 1/2 years. Here's hoping for many more reunions. Salt Lake City is a LLOONNGG WAY!

Scout loves the snow!

We've certainly had enough snow for her to enjoy this year. But we got 7 new inches last night and Scout can't resist new cold snow. It wakes her right up. When she goes out, she tears through the snow prancing like a deer. She also sticks her nose right in a banking and comes up with a white face.

Tim's new animal

Tim loves to "collect" animals and send them to the taxidermy so we can enjoy them longer. His latest is a beautiful river otter which we just got back today. The fish is a trout that they also did so that we could put it in its mouth. It came out BEAUTIFUL and its fur is really soft. For those of you who think this is cruel, he doesn't like to kill the animals. But if we find them on the road and he has a trapping license, well its "Waste Not- Want Not". :)