(Honestly, more like "Can't catch a break kind of 4 weeks!")
And we felt like this ALOT the past month.

We had some renovations done on the downstairs of our home. We had a new ceiling, lighting and flooring installed. The journey getting there was a challenge with two small kids. It is ever so challenging to live mainly on the upstairs of your home, when your children are way too curious about all the construction on the lower level~!STRESS!
I had to be creative with the cooking, amongst all the drywall floating around.
Only so much $ allowed for takeout. I for one love to cook! However, I do not love a messy house and cooking in one. It was alot of added stress to my life and trying to contain our busy two year old and keep him out of the big buckets for drywall, and the raftors=super stress!

(Caught in action "jumping"on the raftors during renovation time).
I don't recommend cleaning the drywall on your countertops nightly. It was a waste of my time to go into the kitchen and clean every night!
Needless to say that part of the construction took just about 11 days and dead smack into the end of the contruction we hit a HUGE curve ball.
As I blogged earlier-we had been waiting for Feb. 3 to come. We had sleepless nights and a miserable two year old. He had not been responding the last 3 antibiotics for ongoing ear infections. So, Feb finally arrived and it was the night before Kaden's surgery.
Day 8 of renovation was the night before Kaden's surgey.
I had to take Parker over to a friends to spend the night. We had to be at the hospital super early for Kaden's surgery.
Therefore, a sleepover was in the plans for Parker.
I got home 1 hour later to find our hot water heater exploding in the garage.YUP!
A flood of water came streaming down our driveway.  I was shocked! I opened up the garage storage room and it sounded like a shower was running in our garage. I just stood there starring and was completely NUMB. I was in complete, utter, shock!  It really felt like an out of body experience. I was not really seeing it. But I snapped back into reality ~and it was REAL!
Mike was still at work (wrapping up a corporate meeting);I call him in a complete panic and demand that he leave immediately.
I was not a sweet "Proverbs 31" wife at the moment.
I think my tone was calm, but I honestly have NO clue what I said?
I was still trying to unwind from all the construction inside, and preparing for Kaden's surgery in the AM. I was really not prepared for the Hot Water Heater explosion. I was actually saying "WHY!?The night before surgery!?" Really God!??? (A lot of laughter because tears had already overflowed the week before.) "We really can not take anything more."
I called our neighbors, the Hoeyes, and they came right down while Mike was in in route.
They figured out how to shut off the water and gas. Mike was home within 20 min and they investigated the outside meter and it appeared to be a leak going on underground as well.
We called the water company and of course, it was our fault! Not theirs. So the water was shut off!
LOVELY!
No water before a 4:30 wakeup time....NOT fun! We had to be out the door by 5:30 for Kaden's surgery. I don't really think Mike nor I slept much that night.
All Mike was seeing was $$$$$ in his sleep and all I was seeing ?????!!!and thinking~ "OH NO,one more thing of chaos"
So, first thing in the morning we headed up to the hospital and got Kaden all prepped for his Tubes.
  
About 7:20AM they came and wheeled him off to surgery in a wagon.
 He LOVED it! (SMART distraction for a 2 year old!) No tears at all.

Once he was wheeled off, guess what we were doing?
We were on the phone calling plumbing companies.
Great distraction while your child is in surgery...just spend the time and call all the plumbing companies and see who can service you ASAP!
I was on the phone with the local plumbing company setting up a 9AM arrival and in walks the surgeon.
(WOW! That was a fast 13 minutes!.)
I quickly hang up and tell them I will call them back and we hear from the surgeon~
"Everything went great! I drained out his right ear! He was a trooper. No tears the whole time and everything was smooth sailing, he should be peacefully sleeping come today!"
He did fabulous and only cried for about 30 min following surgery.
He has been a different kid ever since!
We are so happy we went through with it for him. This construction was so worth it for him.
His little body had been exposed to so many antibiotics and could not snap those ear infections out of his system. The ears are draining and doing well.
Speaking of draining~As for that water damage that was going on the night before his surgery,it got it all fixed by 3PM.
A 6 hour job; a new underground pipe,a new valving system completely replaced and a new hot water heater!

 Emergency funds are a great thing to have when you own a home! :)
We finally were back on the uphill journey as the end of renovation was wrapping up and then Kaden picked up a virus following surgery. :( That kept us housebound.
Kaden finally recovered, was back to sleeping 3-4 hour naps daily and 13 hours of sleep uninterrupted at night.
And then the very next weekend, Parker's asthma flared up and he went into a really bad attack! So, we added the nebulizer back into his life, 3 days of Prednisone and finally got him back to well.


I had days that I felt like I could take anything! And I had my days where I felt like there was nothing left of me to conquer another "disaster" or "issue."
Many mornings-I would pray; "What is going to happen today? God, we are in this together and I am ready!"
Thankfully, both of the boys are on the mend and Mike and I stayed well!
We are coveting all the prayers of protection around us.
I know Satan really wanted to get in the middle of Mike and me.
However, I kept praying "Lord, help us come out shining like gold!" I don't want to look ugly!" I trust in your timing but I really don't like all that has happend in just 2 weeks!
I had my days that I really got down and discouraged and panicked alot about the list adding up financially.
However, God continued to remind us that he has never once let us down and his ways are greater then ours! (And he always provides!)
I kept coming back to Jeremiah 33:3,"Call unto me and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things that thou knowest not!"
Isn't that the truth! Our home is his and our lives belong to him.
He is in charge yet we have plans! But he can wake you up and change plans in an instant.
The Lord was in the midst of it all! The night our water heater busted, I happened to have been out.(Many nights we are home and boys are in bed by 8PM) Good thing I had to be out, or we may have found out about the end of it's journey in a bad way.
Our water heater was withinin a few hours of a gas fire! (Quoted from the Plumber and Gas specialist who had already seen the copper burning away at the bottom of the water tank).
So, we could have had a gas fire occur. Our water heater was 17 years old. Most water tanks have a 10-13 year life span. EEEK!!! (Sadly,we have been homeowners for 7 years and just learned this.)
So make special note and go check your water heater. If your water heater is older then 13 years get it replaced and save some chaos and $$.
I don't want to go through it all again.
However, I am thankful for the lessons, new renovations and most of all happy to have our home AND Kaden all fixed!


 *Happy moment they were enjoying a cakepop from mommy on Valentines Day!:)
Until our next "piece" of excitement,
Blessings to all,
Jenn :)

On the 4th of July we spent the morning touring around Marathon, NY and getting some History on Mom Riese's family. Brian has been doing some heavy research on family names for their little boy. We visited where Mom Riese's father (Ludlow Parker) grew up.
We also got to visit the grave sites of her parents, (Ludlow & Doris Parker)


 (We also visited Uncle Moose (AKA Uncle David)...he passed away in Feb of 2005. This was my first time to see his tombstone. His service was beautiful and he lived a life to the fullest serving the Lord, but we sure do miss him. We got to attend his burial service-and to see his gravesite was extra special. I wish the boys could have met him and for that have known Grandma Parker. I never got to meet Grandpa Parker *(Ludlow) but I have sure loved hearing stories about him.  There is a beautiful Moose on (Uncle David's tombstone) but our shadows are in the photo :)

Here are Grandma Parker's Parents (The Kings) /(Mike's Great Grandparents)
                                      And here are the Great-Great-Grandparents (George & Carrie)
                             
                  And here is  Susan Parker (I Think she is a Great-Great-Great) for Mike!?
Following Susan we got all the way to the first Parker relative of hers that landed in Marathon, NY...WILSON PARKER Born in 1776!!! (I believe this is Great-Great-Great-Great for Mike and make that 5 Greats for the boys :)
And that name happens to be our little Parker (but backwards). Our Parker is actually Parker Wilson (named after Mom' Riese's maiden name (Parker) and Wilson (after my mom's maiden name). How cool is that??!  We had NO Clue that Wilson was actually a family name on Mike's side!
So this is Mike's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandpa (Who was born in 1776 and died on March 21, 1839)! So how far back can you trace your family history. I have to say it was very inspiring to hear stories of Grandma Parker's family and just see names of family members! I even ran across some Wilson gravesites and saw a "Clark" gravesite on our tour.... I wonder?

Please forgive me Mom R if  I goofed on the order here.
We did capture a photo of Parker with Brian, Phil &Dad Riese at his father's grave site. Vernon Riese (Passed away in 1969) and though we did not know him, it was still special to see his grave site and hear special stories.

Dad Riese was only 14 years old when his father passed away. :(





Hope you enjoyed our walk down history on the Parker side. May have not meant much to you-but this is special for the boys to have one day. I am greatful for all the time Brian and Mom have invested to trace back to these special relatives.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-15Baby Boy Riese is a sweet little blessing to the WHOLE Riese family. He has been prayed for, for over 2 years. We have walked a journey with Uncle Brian and Aunt Courtney, and have watched them loose 3 precious babies before he was formed.





 To be honest, I don't think I could have been in their shoes. It is something that God had planned for them and it has made them a very strong and special couple. Their love and desire to be parents has been evident from the start. No doubt-they will be phenomenal parents. There are so many unknowns about the little one's personality, but they are willing to love and accept him as he comes. We know he will rock their world....after all-he is a RIese and they are Precious! :) I am not bias at all to having a Riese baby but we can't wait to see how he looks compared to Parker & Kaden. I hope you will join us in prayer as they prepare and embark upon Parenthood. Thank You for the many prayers that many have you have already bestowed upon them. This little guy is a miracle and we can't wait for his arrival.
It was a joy to throw a shower for Courtney and Baby Boy. My Mother-in-law, Miracle, Cousin Rachel & I all put it together. It was great and the food was awesome. We did an ABC theme shower, since Courtney is a Kindergarten teacher.



 She loved it but I think the most touching part of the shower was the baby blessing bank. We got a special turtle bank for the baby's nursery. We had everyone put a penny in the bank and wish a blessing upon the baby boy, It brought tears to all our eyes. I got it on video and hope that he knows how much he was prayed for before he was born. "Baby Boy-We are so excited to meet you and want you to know how much we all love you. Now promise to sleep ALOT for Mommy, and never cry except when you are hungry or tired!"
 HAHA (We all know that only a few babies out there are like that) but I hope they get a baby that is like this :)
Enjoy the sweet photos of the shower...We will keep you posted upon his arrival.

Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.




 (I can't take credit for carving this baby! My Sister-in-law Miracle is SO talented and did an amazing job with all the decor and much more) How Cute is this?
 Ok! I can take credit for this yummy treat! We made Red Velvet Cake Pops and dipped them in White Chocolate and drizzled baby blue chocolate on them....*shower was on July 3, so they had a patriotic look :)

(Courtney with all her hostesses :) *Mom R. Me, Courtney, Miracle & Rachel)

The week before Thanksgiving we began with a handful of illnesses. We totaled 19 days of illness and it got to be discouraging for me! I had many sleepless nights and I vented to my mom many mornings over texting at the yuckY 3am! I am the first to count my blessings that God has given us 2 sweet boys. However, there are moments in the midst of non stop illness that you have to mentally look hard for some joy. There is no such thing as a day off when you are a S.A.H.M! I am so thankful for other friends who are in this role and choose to give "breaks" to me! It has been a huge joy to have Joy and David finally here. They live about 2 miles from us and have jumped in to help me and Mike often. We had, pink eye, ear infections, hives, colds, asthma flare up and Strep throat all in 19 days time frame. About 2 months before Thanksgiving, Mike signed up to play in Orlando for a softball tournament. We agreed in Sept.that we'd make a family trip out of it. Little did we know that it would be so needed. However, the week before we went, I doubted that we would make it. Parker was SO sick w his strep. Thankfully, I found the energy to pack for us all and we made it. It was the first time for me, Parker and Kaden to go to Magic Kingdom! 33 years old and I finally made it to the most Magical place on earth! We had perfect weather, happy boys and 9 hours of complete fun. Parker lit up when we ran into Woody from Toy story! He was excited to see the characters all over but seeing Woody and being able to ride on a real train was the icing on his cake! I have tons of photos. Not only have we been I'll..but so has my computer.It has a virus and a friend is fixing it. So, when I get it back I will upload photos from our trip.
God really knew we needed the trip. It was a great trial for an upcoming drive we will be making in Jan to NY to attend Mike's auntS wedding. The boys did great...thanks to our spacious van, a DVD player and a mommy that could sit in the back and entertain while daddy drove! Memories for sure...we will cherish! I know in 5 years I will laugh at the rough month we had, but seriously....no more illnesses for the rest of 2010! We hope you all have a Merry Christmas...and stay warm!

Thursday, marks the first day of fall and it is 90 degrees today! EEK...it has been SO humid and as much as I have enjoyed the southern weather, I am SO ready for fall weather!  Fall is my favorite season for many reasons. It is no longer sweltering hot, it's comfortable weather, and everything is so colorful outside.

All the colors of the fall indeed are like a beautiful mosaic or even better put,"October is a symphony of permanence and change!"  I appreciate the seasonal changes and I think God brings them before us to remind us that we need to have a time of "harvesting" in our own lives and replenish our souls.
Our church is going though the book, "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. It is so fitting to be reading it at this time of year. I get so busy and caught up with all that is going on, and shamefully I'll admit that I do not sit back enough and take the time be in "awe" of my God! God has been apart of my life since I was itty -bitty. I have loved him from a very young age and accepted him as my Savior when I was 6. I really did not grasp who he was to me until I was in high school. My love grew for God in a a more intimate way when I attended college. During my four years at Baptist Bible College, I came to appreciate his plan for my life, his purpose for me and prepared to serve him in Christian Education. Since that decision and being in Christian Education for seven years, my life has been established and settled very comfortably!
I have been given food, shelter, and a great home.
 I have been blessed with an awesome husband.
I  have been given the opportunity to stay home with our two sweet boys whom I love and adore.
So all this= a good comfortable thing called "LIFE!"
That deep love and appreciation for God that was once radiant during high school, college and even the first few years of marriage, has been put on the back burner. I've allowed other things to take first priority.
Society has become "FAST" paced and there is no such thing in life as the "SLOW" pace. I have really been striving to make it a daily habit to appreciate WHO God is to me, and even more then that~ humbled that I AM a child of His! My daily priorities and purpose all need to start with him and admiring Him.  I take the time to do my quiet time with the Lord, but my mind starts running and I am not always in "awe" of  this amazing God who is in "awe" of me! Even more then that-he loves me unconditionally.
That's why I LOVE Crazy Love! I need it as a refresher especially at this seasonal time. I actually bought the book when it first came out and read the first 4 chapters and then of course ....life got busy and I put it aside. But this time we are doing it in small groups with our church. I am not putting it aside. Our Pastor is doing a series at church along with this book and I highly recommend it!
 Here is a background of the book;
The God of the universe is crazy about you! His love is the most powerful thing in the world and He wants to give it to you, so you can live for Him. If you have made a commitment to follow Christ, then read Crazy Love to be reminded and challenged in your walk. Sharing from his own life struggles and sacrifices, author Francis Chan issues a call for selfless, Christ-like living. Let the love you have received from God impact your life like never before.
I was reminded of a song we used to sing in Youth Group and Lake Ann Baptist Camp-
“Casual Christian”

       by
DeGarmo & key

I don’t want to be,
I don’t want to be a casual Christian
I don’t want to live,
I don't want to live a lukewarm life.
Because I want to light up the night
With an everlasting light
I don’t want to live the casual christian life.

I am excited to continue this "Crazy Love" series and praying that my heart does not become "lukewarm" in this busy life!  My youth pastor always said to us; "In everything you do, do it with eternal values in view" (Pastor John Cousins). The only things that matter on my list are the things that are making an impact for eternity!  Here's to my soul being " a symphony of permanence and change" for Him!

Today, I said "I DO" to the love of my life and dear husband!
Yahoo says our gift should be a medal!
(This year it is suppose to be something Bronze) ~But we don't really follow the list.
So, anyone who makes it to 8 years should get an award!
UMMM! OK??! As society says....we made it through the "7 Year" itch!
Well, the day we married we made a promise and a commitment to God and each other!
Divorce is NOT an option and NO the journey has not been "a bowl of cherries" but we have had God and each other to get through the tough times!
So, what shall we do to celebrate this "Supposedly" big milestone?
Well, we usually just go out and have dinner-but this year we are taking some special, MUCH needed time for us!
We are grateful to God for the role-models in our lives, our parents!
We can't wait to see our marriage at 34 and 40 years!!

Happy Anniversary,Honey!
I love you,
Your Sweet-Lips

Every girl has hopes and dreams. Growing up, it was SO much fun to sit and dream about what I was wishing for. I will just say that many of my dreams have come true!  Now that I have grown up "a little," my dreams have turned into prayers. I have seen God say, yes to some, wait, and no to some!
But I have had one very special prayer request since 2006. I am in the midst of seeing this dream/prayer coming true! However, God is answering it in a way that I would have never dreamed! It involves a very,very dear friend! I can honestly call her a "best friend". She has been my support, encouragement, confidant, listening ear etc. you get what type of friend I am talking about!


Their second try for a baby took place last year and there was no success. (sigh).
They were planning to try for their 3rd and final try in the spring of this year.
BUT God did the "IMPOSSIBLE!"
(Do you have goose bumps yet? You know what I am about to write?!)
 They got pregnant on their own in Feb!
 God IS the God of Miracles. Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." This is just one way I think God shows his power by answering this BIG prayer!  This has been my "other" dream/ prayer since we became friends in 2006! I have longed for her to be a mommy (and Rick a daddy).
 Lorelei is my friend that is: so self sacrificing, drops her plans to help me when she can, nurtures my own boys when the are in her care, accepts  them almost as her own, spoils them like CRAZY, and loves them. Never once has she shown resentment toward me for having babies. Often friends can get so envious of what the other has. Not Lorelei!
Her love and care for our boys has been so special to us! Not having family around has been easier on us because they have filled that gap.
Well, there is MORE News!
Here is the BIG Prayer Request:
They just had their 20 week visit and it is a BOY due on 10/31!
BUT-they got some devastating news at what was suppose to be "perfect 20 week check-up."
Little Baby Boy, Hoeye has Spina Bifida
What? A medical illness?
OK! Rewind~Didn't I just share that this is my dream for my friend to just be a mommy and finally have a baby? I did! And I have been praying for this prayer for 4 years! I guess I wasn't clear with God! I meant a Healthy, Perfect baby!
 Ah-God heard my prayers. I know he did! He answered in HIS time!
Jeremiah 33:3  'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'
This is all part of HIS plan!
Oh-right. God's ways are not always our ways!
(Easier to hear then often to live).
Wow~this is a little angel that is perfect in God's eyes!
Baby Hoeye has been knit perfectly together in his mommy's belly. God already has his whole life planned. ~Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
He does not no any other life. His life is perfect and  in God's eyes he IS perfect!
Psalm 145 talks about the Lord being good to all he has created; and the passage ALSO talks about the Lord hearing our cry.
It is a very comforting passage to me at this time. I am just her friend, and though I am not going through it-I am still on this journey and want to be of support to her!
Well, their 20 week appointment did not give them the news that they or anyone would want to hear!

Lorelei posted an article on her FB page that talks about what it is like to have a child with special needs!This is somewhat what is happening to their dream...and they are accepting it, getting ready to move on and give Baby Hoeye the best world that they can give him!
(Here is the article)
 Welcome to Holland

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this…
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, the Michelangelo David, the gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!" you say. "What do you mean, Holland?" I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy.
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to some horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy a new guidebook. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around, and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
The pain of that will never, ever, go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.
But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.
Written by Emily Perl Kingsley

I feel SO inadequate at times, because my life does seem so perfect (yet it is far from it) compared to her world!   Lorelei reassures me that I am doing everything I can do for her. It is just a healing process and a waiting window now.
Today, they are seeing the neurosurgeon who will be performing surgery on their little boy! I am praying that the news is not more severe then last week!
Will you please sign up here and commit to pray for Baby Hoeye and his family?



I will keep you posted on their journey.
Feel free to share this prayer with others and Link them to this sign up list!
 I would love to have 24 prayer warriors for the 24 hours in the day. 
She is in the midst of working on a blog, but is still going through the emotions and shocking news.
In the meantime, you can look her and Rick up on FB *(Lorelei-Lori Oates Hoeye/Rick Hoeye) or send her and Rick a card.
 If you want their address or email please contact me and I will get it to you!
I only know that God wants me to be a comfort and support for her. It is my job to pray and I am seeking some special prayer warriors for them! I know that some of you have been in their shoes!

Thank you in advance to those of you who have been praying for them.
I will continue to keep you updated on their journey.
Thanks for letting me share a dream and a BIG Prayer request.
Keep following our blog for an update on Baby Hoeye!
Seeking Him,
Jenn
( and the Hoeyes  too!)

We were touched that our church had the dedication service while my sister was here visiting! When we had Parker's dedication we did not have any family in town. I was able to put Kaden in the same dress shirt that Parker wore for his Dedication too! The neat thing was that each of the boys were about 3 months old when we had their dedication service. Our good friends, Kendall & Samantha (and Marlee) and Uncle Rick, Aunt LaLa and Terry all attend the service too. We found it so fitting that the sermon was on Finances ~and fitting because they all came for Kaden and his name has a significance to finances Kaden Mikah "Ramsey" (Since we are currently on the Dave Ramsey Plan). Following the service we had everyone come back for Homemade Spaghetti and cake!


Love,
Mommy & Daddy