Please Pray! ....UPDATE

From an email I received this morning:

"Jeremiah was on television last night and appeared very calm and spoke very clearly. This case has galvanized churches all over the nation and East Africa. Leaders from all over the region have begun to come to his aid.

Mama said the investigation is continuing, which she and Jeremiah want to happen, because until the investigation is fully done his name cannot be completely cleared."

I will keep you updated here when I find out more. Thanks for praying with us, Kathryn

Please Pray!

I received an urgent prayer request for Jeremiah Paragyo, who is a national pastor in Kenya and cares for many orphans in his home. Dan is involved with an organization that works to raise support and involvement with this man's ministry in Kenya. He is pictured below with "his kids".

Jeremiah has been implicated and named as an accomplice in a terrible crime.

"A shocked Bishop Paragyo told the reporters that his detractors were trying to malign him in public. Kisang' said the Bishop would remain in police custody to shed more light on the saga that has left many people reeling in shock and disbelief."
I don't want to share the entire story here on my blog because of it's graphic nature, but please do click the link to read the news article explaining the situation here.

Also visit Child's Hope to find out more about the organization that Dan is involved with, and Jeremiah's ministry.

"Please join us all in praying for Jeremiah and Beth and that the truth is brought out as loud as the National News broadcast these horrid accusations."

Thanks, Kathryn

I'm hooked

I never thought it would happen. I have become a true blogger. I read AND write blogs, I check them daily, and I laugh and cry with my fellow bloggers.  I sit in front of my screen and tears roll down my face as I read what other women have written, what they are living, how they draw others closer to God through their stories. I want to introduce you to two blogs that have blown me away recently.

The first is My Charming Kids.

This is the site I have had in my sidebar as a prayer request. God is doing miraculous things in this unborn baby's life and it's faith-challenging to watch. I love this blog because I am reminded to pray and that God responds to our prayers, and because the photos are so beautiful.

The second is Bring the Rain.

I read this one last night with tears falling like rain. God answered this family's prayers in a different way, and somehow the beauty of life and family is no more apparent than in this story. The pictures and words are beyond moving, and the Sovereignty of God shines through each detail. Here's an excerpt that I love:

(A 5 year old makes a picture for her newborn sister who has recently died)

"I want to give it to her, mommy.  I want to put it in her basket." 

They call her "casket" a "basket," and we don't correct them, because frankly, I like the idea of a basket better anyway.

"OK."  Now what do I say? How am I going to explain this to a 5 year old?

 She looked at me, waiting.

"So..should we put it in the mailbox, mommy? Will the man come and get it?"  

She wanted to understand the details of our new situation, and the truth at that moment was that I did too.

"Well, Abby, the great thing about heaven is that Audrey can see all of the things that we are doing down here.  AND, she can see what you made for her!  She can just look right into our house and see it."  I waited to see how this felt to her.

Without a word, she spoke life back into my tired bones.

She took the edges of the drawing delicately and lifted it high above her head, closer to her baby sister.  She had her head tipped back, looking upward, and after a few seconds, she closed her eyes and a smile made it's way across her face.

"She liked it, didn't she?" I asked her quietly.

She nodded, still glowing, and ran off to play.

I don't know where you are tonight, or what hurts you are holding up to God, but I will promise you this.  If you can just trust Him enough to bring it to Him, He will rejoice in your masterpiece.  And if you need to scream a little, know that you have a God who can take that too, as long as your face is tilted (even slightly) toward Him."

You need to go read some more of this blog, but make sure you have tissues handy.

Blackberry Summer

Family Vacation and Family News

For our family vacation we rented a cabin on Pleasant Lake, and enjoyed lots of fishing, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, and crafts. I always have to plan some crafts because when the kids finally drag themselves out of the water, the first thing they say is "We're bored." In these pictures we are doing fish print T-shirts. We caught fish, painted them and plopped them on our shirts. We made one for each member of our family. And yes, that is a onesie in the middle and we are expecting a new addition in early February! We are very excited and still a little nervous, but as I am moving into the second trimester this week, hopefully the biggest risk is past. You can check Pocketful Of Hope for more baby details. I apologize for not blogging here since May (yikes!) but writing has not been my favorite pastime lately. I'm sure it will come back to me eventually, along with my taste for chocolate, which I really could care less about right now.

Psychobabble

I used to think that at this point in my life I would be speaking a foreign language and my children would be running around babbling in something very tribal. As it turns out, our family has been learning a language completely foreign to us and to many of the people around us. Here's some examples of common phrases overheard in the Miller house recently.

Situation: Acadia placed in time out.
"I need to get my destructive feelings out. I need to rip grass, tear paper or chew ice, and you're not letting me use any of my coping skills."

Situation: Acadia spits at Lily, Lily responds.
"Just because you're mad about something doesn't mean you have to take it out on me. Why do you always take it out on me? Take it out on a thing, not a person."

Situation: Kids fight over front seat, Lily immediately moves to the back, Mom confronts Acadia, Acadia responds.
"I don't think that's right either, she shouldn't just move...Lily, get back in the front seat."

Situation: Mom tells Lily that she has found a therapist for her. Lily responds.
"Oh good, I wanted one."

Situation: Kathryn, watching PBS documentary on depression, starts asking the researchers...
"Oh, so if those areas of the brain are linked, what happens if you stimulate the prefrontal cortex? Does the hippocampus respond, or does area 25 show any changes?"

Here's some pictures of the restless natives:

For Mother's Day

For Mother's day, I want to ask everyone to watch this video and to remember the women who will be not be getting a card or a kiss or breakfast in bed on Sunday. Pray for the women in your church or community who cannot have a child. This will be a difficult day for them. Those of us who have children have no idea how blessed we are.

Model Kid

Miracle Kid

She played her first softball game, hit two singles, slid into a base, and ran home twice! I am marveling at the miracle of what it took her for her to do something other kids wouldn't think twice about. Since we found out a month late that softball had started, she missed all the practices and ended up starting the night of their first game. She was shy, but did fine socially, and played well for her first game. The game went from 5:30 to 8:00 and she stayed with her team, in batting order, and payed attention really well. She has been having a hard time lately, very intense, agitated and easily frustrated, and we also found out that her thyroid is now UNDER active and she has to start a new medication for that. If you didn't know, you'd just have thought she was the shy new kid on the team, not the miracle kid she is to have overcome so many obstacles just to be able to PLAY!

Normal Update

The blood work I had done after the miscarriage came back and it was all normal, as we expected. I knew I didn't have my Dad's blood clotting disorder which I got tested for several years ago, now I know that I don't have any other ones either.

Lily and I went on a field trip to a greenhouse with our homeschool group. She had a great time with her friends and brought home an elephant ear and a geranium. Later we snuggled on the couch and watched "My Louisiana Sky" with Daddy. I've been working on her scrapbook that covers her birth up to age 2 and I'm finally almost done!

Acadia stayed overnight at Grammie's as she's been doing every Wednesday. She's had some rough days and it was a relief to drop her off yesterday. She's started using language like "what the heck" and "Oh my gosh" and becoming extremely intense and agitated this week. She's been wrecking rooms when she's upset which takes us sometimes hours to get her to clean it all up. On the other hand she's had some good times when she's able to play and work just fine. Monday was a great morning for her but it didn't last more than half a day. I really don't know what's up with her. It could be a response to my feeling sad and depressed, or it could be the weather changing (which is what she claims) or maybe her medication isn't right again. I was glad I didn't decide to drag her along to the greenhouse, it would have been sensory overload! Anyway, it's stressful but manageable and part of our normal.

We've started the garden and we're filling up the pool, and Dan got his van stuck in the muddy yard yesterday so spring is in full bloom at our house! We can't wait for warm weather. We retired our rabbit who lost two litters and bought a new little 12 week bunny girl. I can't post a pic right now but she's the sweetest puffball and the girls named her Nellie. We hope to breed her in a few months and have better success than we've had so far. The rabbits are our family hobby and eventually we want to get the kids involved more so it can be a project for them.

Wow, this update does sound rather normal. Maybe we can hang out here for awhile.