Trusting in God's Plan

Do you ever have days that you wish you could forget... We had one of those yesterday.

It was a day that just kept getting worse and as the evening wore on, our eyes were opened to more and more destruction.  I will share more later, but as of right now, it just feels as if the life we have known and loved for the last 8 years is quickly coming to a halt.  It's a dream that might have to be set aside for this period of our life and it saddens me.

My Mom and Dad stopped by yesterday and as we were talking my Mom reminded me of a trip we were going to make when I was 10 years old.  We had been planning it and saving for it for years.  We had finally saved enough money ($2000) for our family to drive down to Disney World and camp for a week.  The day before our departure, our blue van was packed and ready to go when something went wrong on it.  My Dad took it to our family mechanic and was told that the van was unsafe for travel and it would cost $2000 to fix it.

Years, of digging through trash cans at the beach, looking for pop cans to turn in for ten cents, years of planning and reading books on the best and least expensive way to experience Disney World, down the tubes.  Little did we know that we had scrimped and saved to fix our only vehicle, not a family trip.

It was a devastating blow to all of us.  Even now as I think back, I still feel the feelings of loss.  But as my Mom pointed out, it was an important life lesson.

Last night, as I was shedding some tears, one of my best friends, who is such an amazing women, wrote me this....

"Oh Lyn, I am so sorry. I know how frustrating it is with minor issues... I can only imagine how discouraged you are right now-- and I know its frustrating for several reasons.  God will get you thru this and while its hard to count your blessings right now, stop and remember what He has done.... Kev has work, you have a home, your daughter who was supposed to be crippled dances, and you do not have the C word hanging over your head.  He does miracles - big and small - every day.  We all face trials, but this all develops perseverance.  James:1-3.  In the physical, yup, this sucks and I weep with you.  In the spiritual, I know He wants you to have joy... and this trial may be serving a greater purpose.  It just sucks on this side..."

She lovingly spoke to my hurt and then gently pointed my eyes back where they needed to be.  God blessed me so throughly when he placed her in my life 19 years ago!

As the kids started to understand the scope of the situation, Jilli just kept saying... "God has a plan, we have to trust in God's plan."  She cried too, but she didn't waver in trusting her Savior.  She is SEVEN and speaking truth to her Momma, showing me what a child-like faith looks like.  It's humbling...

Today is pick-up-the-pieces-and-try-and-figure-out-what-to-do day.  The rain outside speaks to my mood, my soft instrumental music soothing my hurting heart, and my almost minute by minute prayer is "I am trusting You, I know your plans are for our good."

Back to the Disney story.... Our family never made it to Disney, then when I was 18yrs old, I went with some friends on Spring Break to Florida and one of our planned stops was Disney, long story very short, I didn't end up making it there then either.  However on May 19, 1997 I saw Disney World for the first time with my new husband.  He was the one who showed me all the fun rides and special places, his hand was the one I was holding when I saw Cinderella's Castle for the first time.  He was the one who laughed at me while I rolled my eyes because he MADE me go on the WORST ride ever... It's a Small World.  So, my Disney story does have a happy ending, it just took awhile to get there.

Today, it's hard to see what is around the corner, but in the words of Jilli "God has a plan, we have to trust in God's plan."

Blessings!!

Sweet 16 and Counting

This past weekend we hit another milestone in our lives.  Part of me can't believe it and the other part of me has a hard time remembering life any differently.

Kevin and I are beating the statistics by God's grace.  16 years, I have almost been married longer than my pre-Kevin years.... just a few more months and we tip the scales the other way.

I can honestly say marriage grows sweeter with time.  Kevin and I have moved to a place where we work so well together, it hard to imagine life without the other.  We enjoy just being together.

When I was a young women I remember my Mom telling me that when I married I had to work hard at finding hobbies to do with my spouse.  That to create a life long friendship takes work, but it is well worth the effort.  I have taken my Mom's advise to heart.  Over the years we have discovered things that we enjoy doing together, we have found hobbies we both like.  Our friendship has continued to grow.

My Mom also told me that these hobbies you create together will help you through the years as your children grow up and leave your home.  So often, after the children are gone, spouses find out there isn't much they have in common anymore.  As Kevin and I were having dinner Saturday night together, we talked about how we continue another 16 years together.  The next 16 years we will see our children grown and move out, starting families of their own.  We will need our hobbies to help bridge that gap.  Especially me, who's sole purpose has been to raise and equip my children for life outside of my jurisdiction.

Few men in my life do I have as much respect for as I do Kevin.  As I was standing next to him in church on Sunday and we were singing praises to our Savior, I looked up at him, and was overwhelmed with love for this man.  Kevin has stood as the head of our family protecting us from all that the world throws at us.  I look at him and see a man of strength, a man who knows what he believes and stands strong when others crumble around him.  I see a man who takes the role that God has given him willingly, he is our leader.  I see a man who has been gifted with an amazing talent and uses it to provide for his family.  I see a man who earnestly tries to do his best in all that he does.  A man of Strong Character, a man of Honor, a man of Integrity.

This is for my Children... Satan speaks many lies that the world happily believes.  Satan says that not all men can be men who are leaders and that most men are spineless and worthless.  God says that the Man is the head of his household.  So boys, learn how to be a great leader from your Daddy, he has modeled it well for you.  Jilli, someday you will be a wife, I pray I modeled for you how to stand strong next your husband, but not take his leadership role away from him like so many women do.  Submission is not a bad word, it is a strong women who can submit and honor her husband.  And kids, when life gets hard and you want to give up, hold strong, God's blessings for marriage are on the other side of the storms.  You will grow as a husband and wife through the bad times and soar through the good.  Love God above all else, then your spouse, then your kids... in that order.  Daddy and I are enjoying the blessings of God because we didn't give up when the world said to give up, we held tight to God when nothing else made sense.  Our prayer is that years from now we will celebrate your anniversaries with your spouses, and our family's legacy of beautiful loving marriages will continue!

Chair Parade

Let me give you a snapshot into what a typical evening looks like on the banks of the St. Mary's River for our ever growing UP group.

Chairs come out and start lining up all on there own.

Then slowly people come out to become one with their chairs.

The kids usually don't claim a chair.  They are too busy running around or playing the latest "Grandma Linda" game.

Even I get captured on my way to my chair.

And the climax of the chair-lined parade??

The very special freighter The Edwin H. Gott who salutes the campground every time he floats by.

Painted Sky

The first year we made our way to the UP, it was cold.  Jilli was around 15 mos old.  We went to bed one night and woke up to 6 inches of snow on the ground.  We were bundled up in winter jackets, hats, and gloves, just to take a step out of the trailer.  But it is a year Kev and I will never forget.

Kev stepped out of the trailer about midnight to make sure our water hadn't frozen up yet and there in the sky were the dancing lights.  He called me out and we stood for as long as we could watching the green glowing vapors move across the night sky.  I could have burst into song, but I think it would have frozen in my throat had I tried.  And tears (which I am so famous for) would have frozen as ice mounds on my eyelids.  But it was that moving.  It was like watching God paint the sky.

Every year since that magical night Kevin and I always look to the skies before we close our eyes for the last time at night, in hopes of catching another glimpse of the magic in the sky.  And every year the magic glow as not made an appearance.  But God does not disappoint, he sends us amazing sunsets that color the sky pink and sunrises that I usually miss out on.

Blessings!!

The Last Two

I have two final pictures from the Soo Locks Tour.  These are the last two pictures I took as we were crossing over the Locks doors heading back to the "Main Land".

Here is one looking upbound at an empty lock.

Here is one looking downbound.

Blessings!!

My Grandma Would be Proud

What do you do, when you are in your trailer, you have a child that can't stop coughing, and you have no humidifier??

That was the question I faced at 2am Wednesday morning.  I got out a blanket, trapped it in the doors of our cabinets (that are over the couch) and made a little tent.  Then I took my biggest pan and started some water to boil.  Next I took a chair from our table, turned it so the back of it was next to the couch. When the water was done boiling, I added some drops of peppermint essential oil, placed it on the seat of the chair, tucked in my baby girl with her blankets and crawled back into bed.

This is what it looked like come morning.  Jilli liked it so much she spent most of the morning cuddled inside of her little tent.

**please excuse the poor picture quality**