Christmas Morning

Since we have been in PA, sleep has not been something that Kiara likes to do much of at night...so although the boys slept well, Kiara, Phil and I were a little groggy...as you can see from this picture.  They came down the stairs together at Grandma and PawPaw's house to see if Santa had stopped there or left their gifts in IN.  Hooray....Santa found us after all!

For some reason, the tree picture will not rotate the right way so I left it out, but it was really pretty with all of the presents around it and Santa even stopped in Indiana for our stockings before stopping here.  He is a pretty amazing guy, that Santa!  The most exciting gifts for the boys this year were their Denver Broncos jerseys.  They have asked for them for a couple of years now and were really hoping that this would be the year...It was their last present to open and it was amidst whoops and hollers!

Kiara was pretty excited about her sweeper that she got too.  She has been vacuuming Grandma's living room several times a day since then! 

Here we all are...Daddy and Mommy looking a little groggy still after opening presents, but the three kids wide awake and ready to start the day!

Here are the kids hanging out on the steps together waiting on breakfast to be finished up.  Daddy fixed a yummy breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage and toast. Mmmmmm... 

More to come later....

"Making the Blog"

This one's for you Chad and Naomi!!! I have so many Christmas pictures and stories to tell of both sides of our families, but I needed to get this one up right away.  You are now famous Chad and have "made the blog"!  Tonight we went to visit Phil's cousin and his wife (Chad and Naomi).  We watched some football, ate some snacks and played with the dog.  Wish we could see them more often.

All the kids had fun playing with Gabby their puppy. The boys played fetch with her, chased her around and even went outside with her for a little bit in the windy snow. 
Kiara just shared wet kisses and food with her!

Here are the Witmer grandkids on Christmas Eve...some nice looking kiddos if I do say so myself!

 Here's the newest addition to our family, our nephew, Jackson who is nearing 6 months old.  He is too cute for pictures I tell you and this just doesn't do him justice!

OK...more to come of Christmas, but this was just a glimpse so that Chad could make the blog! :)  Oh, you may notice as well that there is a new picture at the top of the blog of our family.  We were fully decked out in our Denver Bronco attire for the game today...finally a WIN!  Woo hoo!  Thanks to Chad for taking the picture even if it hurt to see all that orange and blue!

Miracles of Christmas

At my school prayer group last week we talked about the Christmas story (well, sort of)…
Matthew 1: 18-25 (I won’t type it all out…essentially it is when Mary and Joseph each separately learn of Mary being pregnant by the Holy Spirit).
How many times have you heard the Christmas story…a gajillion, right? For me, it has become a nice story and I can tell it backwards and forwards…but how often do we REALLY stop and think about it. We focused just on this first part of the story, but it is easily carried into the rest of the story as well. Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit…Can you imagine what she thought and the fear and doubt that she felt? Can you imagine what others were saying about her?  Her response...that she was the Lord's servant and she would gladly endure for Him. (my translation!)  And Joseph…he did as the Lord commanded and stayed with her….stayed with this crazy lady that was causing a lot of grief in his life as well…They both did what they did because of their great faith and trust in God. Did they question God? Or say “why me?”…I’m sure that they did, but the fact remains that they trusted and believed during those questions.
So often we let life’s little things build up and wear us down. The craziness of the season, one more gift to buy, one more party to attend, one more card to send…STOP!!!!! Stop to remember the faith and courage of Mary and Joseph and the miracles that occurred in the story. We often think the miracle is in the birth of Jesus and it truly is…but the miracle started long before when Mary accepted this gift from the Holy Spirit and chose to continue the story….the next miracle was Joseph sticking it out in the midst of the scorn and shame…and continues in every aspect of the story. (Consider the shepherds who saw an angel and believed…and followed the star, trusting to see this baby they had heard about)…Search for the miracles this season and be encouraged that the Holy Spirit also is alive in us.

Our wonderful pastor added so much more to this story that I have been thinking so much about and having to do with the nativity scene...Maybe a new blog on that one coming soon as my heart has been stirring over it.  What an awesome God we have that He would become man like us and SAVE us.
Merry Christmas!

Music Programs

Both of the boys had their school music programs in the last month or so.  I was unable to go to either concert, which was definitely hard for me.  I had parent/teacher conferences on Grant's Fall Program and MY school program on Brock's program night.  Phil and the boys were able to get a little bit of video from each concert so I could see some of it.  And Grant took lots of pictures of Brock's program.  Thankful for that and for a DVD of Brock's concert that I ordered and will get in January.  I was so proud of both of them and they did such a great job.  First is Grant singing one of his songs. 

Here's Brock as a toy soldier doing a special dance part in his concert.

I think he is a very handsome toy soldier! (He's on the right)

Here's a picture of me at my concert then..."The JingleBell Jukebox"...We were singing Silent Night at the end of the concert.

And although I don't have a picture of Kiara and Phil to put up...they worked hard too...Well, Phil worked hard entertaining Kiara and keeping her quiet during both concerts with me not there.  Thankful for my family.

My Blessings

My day started out with me whining a bit...
*My kids had a delay and I didn't.
*A reminder that I don't work in the town I live in.
*A reminder that I am a working mom.
*A reminder that I miss out on a lot with the kiddos
*And the list goes spiraling on...
So, as I began praying on the drive I decided to think about how I am blessed and thanking/praising  God for it.  I have so much to be grateful for, yet this struggle of the things mentioned above haunts me regularly.  Here is where the list started...and then it went on, and on and on.  I am truly blessed.
*I have a husband who loves me and I love him.
*I have three beautiful children that I love so much.
*I have a job to go to (with so many unemployed).
*I have a reliable vehicle to get me to my out of town work.
*I don't have to panic about practicing for my concert cause there was no delay.
*I am blessed to have my mom watch my kids and be with them on this delay.
*My kids had joy in their delay and were safer for it.
*We have a home to live in and food to eat (in abundance).
*God provided a beautiful snow-covered landscape for me to see.
*I have teacher-friends that I would never have had if working elsewhere
And yes, the list goes on and on...So, even though I still wish I had a delay today and that I was either at home or working in the same system as my kids...I am blessed.  Too blessed to whine about it.  God is so good to me and mine.

7 Years Journey

I meant to post this a couple of weeks ago in the midst of all of my "feelings"...but life has been crazy for the last couple of weeks without a minute to spare, so it hasn't happened.  Tuesday, November 9 marked the 7 year anniversary of my neck pain beginning.  I had a very emotional day that day.  Seven years...SEVEN years. Really?  I thought I would be healed long ago. Counted on being healed LONG ago.  But God has not answered my prayers in my timing. I know HIS timing is perfect...but again, I must say...SEVEN years??? The day is vivid in my mind, a normal-getting ready for school kind of day.  As I was fixing my lunch to take, I reached across the counter to pick up my lunchbag and..SNAP, something snapped and I was in excruciating pain and unable to move.  I remember sobbing on my drive to school, and getting there to have my principal take one look at me and send me packing.  I remember getting a chiropractor appointment on emergency need basis...trying physical therapy, drug after drug, doctor after doctor...a trip to Mayo clinic...more doctors...and now finally with my chiropractor, family doc, and shoulder doctor conspiring, I have gone to a great doctor that has given me some hope (at moments)  I had much progress throughout the summer with the new treatments that I was having (prolotherapy)...and then my shoulder issue snuck up on me again.  ARGH.  So, finally, had the shoulder surgery and in my mind...all should be "fixed" right?  Not so much.  Because of the pain from surgery and sling that I wear, it has actually created some worse pain again in the neck area.  I wake up each morning in terrible neck pain and shoulder pain now.  I keep reaching forward to..."when I get finished with therapy for my shoulder" AND..."when I can quit wearing the sling"...AND..."when I can do some exercises for my neck again and go back to my prolotherapy doctor". BUT, I must admit that there have been times (or days in a row) that I have literally looked up and said "ENOUGH!!!" to God.  I'm tired of it.  7 YEARS!  7 YEARS!  I get mad and angry and then I go through a spout of getting into God's word and being encouraged and focusing on Him...but it always ends up coming back to me and what I want.  That is hard.  The other day on the radio I heard a scripture that I believe I was supposed to hear.  It was:  1 Peter 5:10-11  "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen"  This got me to thinking about His timing and the fact that what are years and long periods of times to us, are mere blinks of an eye for Him...So in His eyes, my suffering has only been a brief snippet...AND, it says he will restore me, not might, but WILL restore me.  I am clinging to that today.  I want to be able to be normal and do normal things without worrying about how it will affect my neck.  My journey has been long, at least to me...but I'm trying to cling to the promise that He will restore me and make be strong and firm.   Trying...sometimes not so successfully.

Halloween Sweets

Here are our Halloween "Sweets"...although I'm not sure if the two Star Wars guys are supposed to be sweet...but they are my sweeties!  The lady bug balances it all out I guess.  We had a full day on Halloween with two back-to-back football games (it was windy and freezing) and then home for a quick nap for Kiara and I before getting ready and heading out for trick-or-treat. We just walk around to a few houses in our neighborhood before heading to Phil's boss' house and then my parents.  In just those few houses, these kiddos racked up a LOT of candy it seems. Whew!

Here we go....

Here's my first Star Wars man...Grant

Darth Vader...or Brock...quite a time with this outfit as the original costume I got was WAAAAYY too small and while I lay in bed after shoulder surgery, Phil ran around trying to find things to make this costume work.  He did great!

And of course, our little lady bug--Kiara.  She LOVED this outfit and especially the shoes which she frequently wears to play in at home now.

Trick-or-Treat Grandma!!!!

We had a good time.  It was an exhausting day for me because of my shoulder and all of the activities we had, but even more so for Phil...He is an amazing guy!

Surgery

Surgery is finally over.  It was a long wait (7 weeks from when I found out I needed surgery).  It was set up for my fall break and we weren't sure what we were going to find when the Doc got in there.  It ended up that there was NO tear in the rotator cuff (Thank you Jesus)!  I had several issues that needed fixing though.  I had a lot of scar tissue built up from my fall last year at school and a spider web of threads coming off of my labrum with a lot of redness, along with a large bone spur that was the culprit of much of my pain we think.  So, this is me in my sling...a bit inhibiting, but I'm so thankful for it.  You would be amazed at how much we move our arms/shoulder out of instinct and this keeps me from making too many "mistakes" of movement.  I'm sore and very tired, but God is carrying me through this as well.  He is so good.

Here's a close up of just the arm portion of the sling.  I wear it all of the time, even to sleep.  After seeing the doctor this morning, I am released to take it off at times when at home to encourage more movement, but will need to keep it on in public and especially at school to keep it from getting injured.  Physical therapy begins soon and I'm on the road to recovery.

Here are the flowers I received from the staff at school...the picture doesn't do it full justice of all of the orange in the arrangement...but they do know me well by making it orange! HA!

Before the surgery I began to feel much fear and apprehension.  I called on friends to give me their favorite scripture about fear and casting it out and then asked some people to pray specifically in that direction.  I just want to tell you that the night before and day of the surgery, I was as calm as a cucumber.  I had NO fear at all.  Just a peace that truly passed all of my understanding.  God was present with me and I was very calm...even in the midst of a tornado warning at the hospital and a post-ponement of the surgery because of it...All for a reason that I don't know...but the key is that there was no fear.  It was taken away. Thanks for your prayers and scriptures for those who gave them.  He is good!

Below is a picture of me icing that shoulder at school...good times!

Our "Doll"

Oh our little girl...she is such a "helper" and such a sweet dolly!  A couple of weeks back, as I was figuring out what to make for supper, I was bent down looking in the cupboard.  She of course, imitated me right away.  As I began preparing breakfast for supper, she began unloading the cupboard and loading down the counter with what she was making for supper...she got it all up and said, Now eat it!  Too funny.  As you can see it is a wide assortment, from soup, to spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, ranch dressing, ravioli...mmmmm...can't you just taste it?

A different night, I was feeding her some pudding.  Grant called me to help him do something, and when I came back...this is what I found! A chocolatey girl...and of course, in a white t-shirt!

Below is a new sweet picture that my mom took of her.  Grandma and her had created a bed and lined up all of her dollies for naptime.  Then Kiara realized that there was no spot for her!  So, they created a new arrangement and took a "nap" together, which lasted at best, seconds long! :)  She is our baby doll and we love her so much...don't worry, she plays with tractors (or as she calls them "Tractor Power") as much as the dolls.

FOOTBALL!!!!!!

This year we decided to let the boys play football...I mean...the real thing. Tackling, hitting, blocking, running, throwing...did I mention tackling?  Yikes!  These are my "little" boys!  But they are soooooo into football that we let them sign up.  They have been pumped about it since sign ups...so we spend parts of our week and every Saturday playing/watching football!  Unfortunately they aren't on the same team.  Because of Brock's age, he had to be in the bigger kids division.  Here's Grant ready for his first game! Go #14!!!

At his 2nd game, he got to be one of the captains at the start of the game...He looks little next to those others, huh?  That's because HE IS!!!! 

Here's Brock before his first game.  Weather looks great, right?  Well...it let loose and poured the entire game.  Most of the fans sat in the car...but not this mom...I toughed it out, although I did have an umbrella. Go #8!!!

Here he his...it doesn't look like it's raining, but trust me, it is.

Grant again below playing in Warsaw.  Both boys are almost the smallest kids on their teams...on Brock's team the weight range is from 66 pounds to 239 pounds!!! Yikes!

Kiara doesn't like to be left out of things and HAS to do everything the boys do, so they were helping her out a little bit here.  Don't worry Grandma Elaine...she is just the cheerleader during the games saying "Go! Go! Go! Go!"

She can barely hold her head up with this helmet on!

It has really been fun so far watching the boys play.  Our schedules have been much crazier than normal because of it, but they are having a blast and that is what matters!

Treasures

A few weeks ago I RE-started a prayer group of staff at the school where I teach.  We had met for several years under the tutelage of a fellow teacher that always had wonderful lessons/ scripture to share for our devotional and then we prayed together for our needs, praises, and for our school body.  That teacher went to a different building and I felt God tugging at my sleeve and saying..."Your turn to lead".  For a few weeks, I replied back to Him..."no thanks, i can't do that".  Well, we know where that was headed, so yes, I gave in and started it back up again.  The numbers have been few in attendance, and I must admit that I was discouraged at first about that...then I realized that even if no one else shows up to the group...I have still prepared, prayed and given a lesson for myself if nothing else.  A couple of weeks ago, below is what we talked about before our prayer time.  God hasn't let me down in leading me to things that someone in the group needed to hear.  I'm out of my comfort zone in leading this group, but God will provide...I have no doubt in that.  So, every now and then I may share on here a bit of what we discuss (scripture-wise...don't worry teacher friends that I will share anything "pesonal"!) This lesson stemmed from a sermon that our pastor gave a few weeks ago.  It had my brain working and may not be the direction he was really taking it, but it is what God showed me...
Matthew 6:19-21
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do NOT destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
We talked about how our “treasures” are not just money to give to the church, but our time and our possessions as well. Where do we “invest” our time at each day…Am I trying to simply survive until the next day or am I using opportunities today? Am I teaching music or am I teaching students? Am I being a Godly example to my own kids, or just trying to “get it all done” in the evening so we can start again the next day? What does the world see as my treasure? My most important focus? Praying that the answer will continue to get closer to my treasure being whatever God wants my focus to be…people and relationships and eternal glory…not survival, doing my job and earning a check. Many times I've had to stop myself during the day and refocus on the treasure that God wants me to be focused on...hoping that continues.
May you be blessed today and may your treasures be in line with HIS for you.

Blueberry Baseball

No, we didn't play baseball using blueberries! :)  During our Blueberry Festival they have a c-league baseball tourney that all the teams compete it. It is very official even with brackets based on how you finished regualr season, etc.  We spent the ENTIRE labor day weekend at the ball field!   The tourney was double elimination and they lost their 2nd game, but went on to beat our two biggest rivals and earn a spot in the championship game!  Way to go DQ Phillies!  The kids were exhausted and played so hard.  So proud of them all.  We finished 3rd in the regular season and the boys got a trophy for that.

Unfortunately we lost in the championship game, but we were so proud of our kids. They had only 20 minutes between their last two games but played their hearts out and did a great job!  Here's the team for one last picture together.

And of course their huddle cheer of:  Who are we? DQ!  Who? DQ!  Who!  DQ!!!!

Grant with his 2nd place Blueberry Festival tourney trophy.

And of course we had to go to Dairy Queen ONE more time to finish off the season.  We went after every win during the regular season, so it was only fitting to go one last time!

Great job boys!  You had a great summer...Now it's off to football practice!

I Win! I Win!!!

No, I didn't win in the sense of the word you may think!  I was not in first place...in fact in my age group I finished 14th out of 30, but I still WON!  I feel like this race was MY win against my pain...after 7 years of struggling wtih this nasty neck pain, I WIN!  I proved that the pain is not in control of me and that God can and will give me strength to keep on keeping on!  Last fall, my pain was at an all-time high and I was feeling hopeless.  I've been through some very down times in the past year (besides the last 7 years)...but God brings me through each of those times with flying colors, with lessons learned, growth in Him happening and achievements that make me wonder how they happened.  If you have known me very long you know that I am NOT a runner...I have never enjoyed it and in fact have mostly disliked it strongly my whole life, but I'm actually starting to enjoy it and have great satisfaction in it.  It feels good!  i can't believe i just said that!  AND, I finished the race in my personal best time, which isn't fantastic, but is my best, so I was very excited.  My time by my watch (started and stopped by my croosing start and finish vs. the gun to start) was 29: 52!!So here I am...this is about 1/2 mile into the Blueberry 5K race.

This picture is about 2.5 miles in and believe it or not, I still felt great!

We had to be there early for me to run my race, so Daddy took the kids and got McDonald's and they had a picnic breakfast before the parade, along the street for the parade route!

They are smiling bigger than me for some reason! HA!

Kiara LOVED the parade this year and screamed and clapped and waved at the floats and especially the characters dressed up in the parade.  It was fun to watch in the eyes of a 2 year old!

So, I did it.  It's over. I feel accomplished...yes, I spent money to run what I run every day anyway...but there's something about proving I can do it to the world and to my pain that gave me great satisfaction!  I truly feel like I won!!!!!

The Beach!

I realize those of you who read this who TRULY go to beaches are laughing...but yes...we call it going to the beach here in Indiana if you go to a lake with a beach on it!  Not the same as the ocean and we all realized that very quickly after being at the ocean this summer already.  BUT, we still had a great time.  Kiara does not like having to be held or near us.  She wanted to take off and just go by herself.  She just has no fear at all.  Scares me to death!!!

The boys usually play in the sand a lot and build sand castles with moats etc...this year after being at the ocean, sand castles wren't quite as exciting to them and they wanted to be out deeper in the water.  They loved jumping off the side of the pier into the water.  Grandma got a couple of actions shots of that on her camera...but I don't have them yet.  I may have to re-post them when I get them. 

If it had been up to them, we would've stayed much longer...but after nearly 5 hours there...Kiara really needed a nap and we also enjoyed some air conditioning too!

I don't think she ate TOO much sand! :)  She did make some friends close to us that had potato chips...my girl and her chips and cookies.  Luckily the family was nice and didn't mind her invading them.

Beach days are over for now...at both lake and ocean.  I think next year will be even more fun when Kiara is a little more independent...or should I say when I am able to ALLOW her to be independent?  We know she can do it all on her own already!

Splash Pad Fun

The last week of summer...yes, that was nearly 3 weeks ago...but I"m just making time for it!  We decided we were going to get out and do some things.  Rain was forecast every day so it was spur of the moment fun.  I called my super friend and invited her and her kids to go to the Bourbon splash pad for a couple of hours.  The kids had a blast and especially enjoyed having the water dump on them from the big bucket.

The water was pretty cold and took their breath away... but it was too much fun for them to care, I think.

Kiara has no fear and would gasp as the water hit her (because of the coldness) and then grin from ear to ear!

I think the kids had a great time playing and getting cooled down in the 90 degree temperatures.  Next year I don't think we will wait until the end of the summer to go back to the splash pad! 

1st Day of School

Hard to believe that another summer has come and gone.  I haven't finished blogging it all...so it shouldn't have really ended, right? :)  Last Wednesday (18th) was the boys first day of school.  This was a big year for us...Brock has moved on to a 5th-6th grade building and Grant is still back at the elementary school.  Different buses at different times and separation of these two close brothers.  They handled it really well.  They were both excited for new adventures and are more excited to see each other at night now too!  Can't believe that my oldest is a 5th grader.  Amazing how time flies. And my youngest boy is now a 2nd grader?  When did that happen? By the way, Grant had some poison ivy on his eye which is why it looks a bit swollen...we didn't beat him up before his first day!

Picture time...everyone's favorite part of the first day! HA!  They suffer through it for mom and grandma!  Here's grandma and the boys.

And Mom, Kiara and the boys!  Good luck guys!

Now that we are almost a week into the year...it's been a success.  We are all adjusting, although mommy still wishes to be home and is counting down til days off at home with the kids again!  Happy school year!