God is faithful!

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

Philipians 4:13

My sweet Hailey reminded me the other day in a card she gave to me of God's promise to all of us. She surprised me by tucking away a 'Thank You' card in the napkin holder after I had a hard day. Her words of encouragement reminded me that God will never give me more than I can handle. I am so thankful to my children for their constant encouragement to me lately as times have been really tough. Let's just say, the past 5 weeks have been less than perfect. In spite of it all, we have learned many valuable lessons and are learning to smile through the good and the bad. We are stronger today because of what we have endured. Here is a re-cap of what our life has looked like. As I write to you this morning, I can't help but laugh.

-Repetitive visits to the Pediatrician's office for bilirubin testing, a rash, colds & ear infections resulting in more than $200.00 in co-pays.

-Kids home sick from school. (Thank you Nana Warta for taking kids to & from school and replenishing our sweets.) (Thank you Susie for bringing the kids home from school on a last minute plea.)

-A head cold that raged through our home infecting everyone except Daddy and lasting 2-4 weeks.

-A painful breast infection resulting in fever, chills, low milk supply and an episode of a 'black-out' due to a high fever. (Thank you Kristin, Michele & Destiny for bringing me food, flowers & breast feeding supplements.)

-Brian was accepted onto the A.T.R. team (Advanced Technical Rescue Team) and continues to head up the TEMS Team with the Yuba City SWAT Team.

-The new 48/96 hr. work schedule is still taking some adjusting.

-Keagan is wrapping up the season of Upward Basketball. (Thank you to the Morrison family for transporting Keagan to practice.)

-Baseball season is in full swing at our house. (Thank you Applegarth's & Ahler's for bringing Keagan home from practice.)

-Hailey is heavy into her State Report.

-Keagan and Hailey participated in their school Speech Meet.

-Keagan is constructing a Swiss Family Robinson Tree House and Hailey is constructing a State Float. Both are due on March 15. (Thank you Aunt Kate for taking Hailey shopping for supplies, giving her so many great ideas and filling her 'love tank'.) (Thank you Grandpa & Grandma Penterman for taking time out of your evening to entertain Bethany, make dinner and assist Keagan with his project.)

-The weeds and pasture grass are loving all this rain but it doesn't seem to let up enough to keep the mowing under control. At times the property looks like a jungle!

-Sleep is hard to come by.

-Brian's mastered the task of running ALL our family's errands. (Thank you so much Brian! You're the best!)

-The dogs are exceptionally hi-per from the lack of physical activity. Most of the time, they are kennelled because we can't trust that they aren't going to cause raucous around the neighborhood due to their lack of attention.

-The cat is just being right down obnoxious!

-The goats made a speedy recovery from pneumonia after a shot of penicillin.

-Taxes were filed and school registration for 2010/2011 completed.

-A home owners claim was filed on our newly constructed shed which was damaged from high winds in a recent storm. All the while Brian was recovery from a minor surgery. (Thanks Tim for leaving work to come secure what building we had left!)

A very special thanks to Tim & Casey for lining out meals and helping out with Bethany. You guys mean the world to us! We find encouragement in knowing that we're not alone in raising our kiddoes.

A great big 'THANK YOU' to the following families for cooking us dinners: Kizer's, Finch's,

Roger's, Geyer's, and to Tim & Casey for providing us with 5 meals & a couple batches of cookies.

Thank you Amber and Jennifer for diligently checking in on us and always listening to me with an open heart.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, this I know to be true!