Our Family

Our Family
ANCIENT CHINESE BELIEF: When a child is born invisible red threads extend from the child's spirit and connect to all the significant people who will be part of the child's life. As the child grows, the threads shorten, drawing closer those people who are destined to be together.






JOHANNA'S FAVORITE VIDEO!

















Sunday, August 17, 2008

A Fun Day Trip





Yesterday Chuck took us up north a bit to show us more of the area. It is just beautiful up there! We stopped at a couple different lakes along the way and played in the water a little bit. We stopped at a restaurant in the cute little town of Stanley for dinner and sat at their outside tables that reach out over the river. What a great day! Here are a few pics.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Surgery Was A Success!

Thanks for all the prayers for Johanna during her surgery! We are back in Idaho sooner than expected, and she is recovering nicely. The doctor was very happy with how surgery went and we were very happy with the wonderful surgeon that we found and the care that we received at Cedars Sinai! We know that the Lord led us to a wonderful doctor and we are so thankful. Johanna had her strange reaction in recovery again and they ended up moving her to the pediatric ICU instead of her regular room. But once again, she snapped out of it in the middle of the night and we were able to take her home to my parents house in the morning. We are now through with the major surgeries, so our next step will be speech therapy. Well, first a long recovery with no solid foods. Johanna is NOT happy! Have you ever seen a kid refuse ice cream and beg for a saltine?! Poor little thing. Please pray that the next 6 weeks fly by quickly for her. And if you have any creative recipes that she might like please let me know!

Monday, July 7, 2008

Surgery Update

Today we finally got confirmation that Johanna's next surgery will be July 22. We will be traveling to my parents house in LA where the other kids will stay while we are in the hospital with Johanna. This will work out nicely because the kids and I can stay at my parents for as long as Johanna needs and Chuck can get back home to work. We will head home when Johanna is up to traveling. Ashley our oldest has graciously offered to stay at our house while we are gone to take care of our animals. It will be fun for her as she did most of her growing up here and will get to spend time with old friends. Please keep Johanna in your prayers! It is heartbreaking to see her go through these surgeries. In my opinion she is at the worst age to have them done. She is old enough to be aware of what is happening, but not old enough to really understand why this must be done. I just have to keep reminding myself that Gods timing is perfect and she is in His hands.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Kids and, well..kids!

In Texas we purchased our goat milk from a farm. But in Idaho, as in many states, it is illegal. They spray our fruits and veggies with pesticides, pump our meat full of hormones and antibiotics, but tell us we can't buy pure fresh milk. HUH?? Anyway, since we can't buy our milk anymore we bought the whole goat! We decided on mini's so that our milk production is not too big and to keep feed costs down. Our goal is to save money by raising and growing what we can at home. So we have purchased two females and a buck. Thats the little brown and white one. He's so cute! The kids absolutely love him. He follows Jonah around the yard like a puppy. He is still bottle fed and today Johanna fed him all by herself. One thing about goats, they create a lot of laugher and "precious moments."



Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Update

Just in case you thought we had fallen off the face of the earth, we are still here and safely transplanted in Idaho. We are all doing fine and are just busy unpacking and getting to know our new area. We finally got to start the church that Chuck had found for us when he came up here and we are all enjoying it. It was freezing when we first arrived but the past few days have been warm and beautiful. The kids are absolutely loving being on 5 acres and I can hardly get Jonah inside anymore. We are able to walk to the end of our street and out into the open. It is great exercise for all of us, including the dogs. Hogan gets to run free and is really building up his muscles. He is as happy to have the open space as Jonah is. As much as we miss our lives in Texas, we are really enjoying being free of the humidity and love being outdoors more. Below are pics from our trip to Idaho through Fathers Day.

Enjoying a beautiful Father's Day