Easter

we make our plans, God directs our steps

We had such fun plans for this weekend!  My niece turned one and were were going to her birthday party.  While we were in NH, we planned to stay for a couple of days and celebrate Easter with all of my siblings and my parents.  It was going to be such a lively and laughable time!  Cousins everywhere, church together, games, food, talks, all sorts of fun.

Well, first Micah got a fever.  No big deal- he had no other symptoms and the fever was gone soon after.  Until.....he got this mysterious looking rash on his sweet little face.  Teething?  Isn't that what you blame everything on for the first couple of years?

Then Leah developed some mild cold symptoms and .....what?  A rash on her cheeks too?  And why oh why does she have a rash on her hands and feet as well?  

And now.....a fever for Andrew?  Poor little guy keeps complaining that his eyes are burning and needs me to keep refreshing a cool cloth for his head.  Well, a 103.8 fever will do that to a fella.  (It was already a rough week for him.  He was in the middle of a rowdy basketball game with Caleb using his over-the-door basketball hoop when he tried to dunk the ball over Caleb's head.  I forgot to ask if he made the shot but either way, the hoop broke and the jagged piece of plexiglass back board came down on his head/ear.  The amount of blood was frightening.  He was holding onto the base of his neck and saying, "I broke it!  I broke it!"  I was pretty scared and asked him what he broke.  He was in agony when he told me he broke his basketball hoop.  Poor Drew.)

A little research led me to the conclusion that the three of them have fifth disease.  Just a virus.  Should pass without major complications, but.....contagious.  And potentially dangerous for an unborn baby if its mother gets it.  (and my little sister is expecting a baby) Guess we're not going to NH for the weekend after all.  :(


When I got up this morning to make my coffee and the machine wouldn't work, it was about the one over.  Thankfully I was able to get out my old coffee maker and got my coffee after all.  I needed it!  I needed my time with the Lord too.  Lots of prayer.

I tried to look for the good in our time at home.  Micah has been so difficult.  It's hard to know what's going on physically because he shows some signs of illness but he can't talk so we are left to guess.  One good thing was the beautiful warm weather today.  I opened all the windows to start with!  Alissa took Micah outside for a bit and he loved it.

It was short lived though.  He turned back into a bear when he got in the house.  All he wanted was mama, mama, mama.  He held his arms up for me to hold him, bringing me his blankets.  I'd pick him up, he'd settle and when I put him down he'd cry for mama again.  I decided to use the sling.  Can you tell what he thought of that?  :) I was making oatmeal cookies in this picture.  He almost fell asleep.  He loved being in it!  It killed my back so it probably won't be an everyday thing but it helped restore some sanity to the household.

Tomorrow we celebrate Easter.  I won't be going to church.  I had forgotten all about it until Leah said to me tonight, "Mommy, remember the song we learned?  Up from the grave He arose!"  Oh yes.  I thought for sure we'd sing it at the sunrise service in NH and I wanted her to know the song.  We've been working on learning it.  I was glad for the reminder.  Glad that Jesus is alive and He is with me whether I am where I hoped to be or where I am.  Also, when I was outside today I noticed the snow here and there.  It reminded me that sometimes you need to see the winter in order to appreciate the spring.  I will  appreciate seeing my family because of having to miss them, I will appreciate health because of our 7 months of sickness, I will appreciate sleep because of the lack of it right now!

I appreciate my Savior because of my sin.  I appreciate the empty tomb because of the cross.

easter party club

Our family did an Easter Party Club at a youth center in Springfield this past week.  Leah was so excited to help me put together the goody bags.  She really was a help- she is so good with things like this!

happy birthday micah!

It seems to be rather traditional for Currier little ones to be sick on their birthdays.  Poor Micah had a fever all day- so he stayed in his PJs and got lots of snuggles.  

Micah is sound asleep in this picture.  Drewie had invited him up to his lap and within a couple of minutes he had fallen asleep.  That is one of the up sides to  babies with fevers- they actually settle for a few minutes :)

At two years old Micah is definitely still the baby of the family.  He sleeps in a small crib that he could easily climb out of- but hasn't yet.  He still drinks out of a bottle too.  He loves to cuddle as long as he has his buppy (blanket), he loves cars and balls and books. He is trying to talk but if you're not an immediate family member you'd probably have a hard time figuring out what he's saying.  He says mama, dada, dew (for Drew), nana (Brianna) and ee-ah (Leah).  He struggles with the other kids' names.  Ball, snow, yogurt, car, lava (he learned that word from Caleb reading him a book about volcanoes!), stinky....those are words that we can all understand pretty easily.  He likes to scare himself by looking at books that have pictures of scary animals, or most recently, skeletons.  He opens the book, finds the picture, and then whimpers and runs away.  It makes us laugh!  He is not a great eater, but when he does eat his favorite thing is eggs.  That boy can put down three eggs with cheese in one sitting! We often find him sitting on the table so that he can be watching what someone else is doing- like school, playing  a board game, eating a snack.  He hates when everyone is not home.  We've found he has a hard time settling down at night if Matt isn't home or when the kids are at AWANA.  He doesn't smile as much as the others did/do, but when he does it melts our hearts.  He is a precious gift from God.  Happy  Second Birthday, Micah!

happy birthday matt!

 I did not take many or good pictures of Matt on his birthday -it was not intentional!

Matt celebrated his 40th birthday this year!  The kids and I were so excited to make him feel like a king on his special day.  We dragged him to the table to open his present practically before he was even awake!

His parents were able to come over for the day as well.  That was a real treat- he hasn't been able to see them on his birthday for years!   (Matt had worked on Saturday to be able to take his birthday off.)

Why is it that I almost always forget about candles??  Oh well- maybe 40 candles would have started a fire. ;) We still sang to him and had him blow out a candle. (he is such a good sport!)

I have never been more excited about a landmark birthday before.   I believe that God is going to use Matt this year in a way that He never has before.  Matt is such a man of God, he desires to be the leader of our family that God wants him to be, he is giving the ministry his all, he has grown in ways that I never thought possible as he consistently spends time in prayer and the Word. I am so thankful for him!

Happy Birthday, Matt! <3

Scripture Memory Challenge- 6

weekend

So, what was your weekend like?  Mine was.....busy.  Started out normal enough though.  Still had to make breakfast.

Cameron played in a soccer tournament for a U-18 premier team.  Because of sickness and the inconvenient age of a certain little boy that lives in our house, I wasn't able to make those outdoor games.  Matt told me that I would have had a hard time watching because they played very rough.  I had a bit of anxiety when Matt called me at half time and told me that Cam was taken out and the nurse was caring for him.  Matt  figured the bleeding would stop soon.  Ahhhhhh.    He got a fist in the face while trying to score and ended up with a bloody lip and nose.  I can't wait to watch his next game!  I will bring my own band-aids.  I will be his nurse.  And I won't embarrass him at all.  

 Brianna had her best friend over.  Kate's practically a part of our family- we loved having her here!  They did some shopping, eating out, and went to one of Cameron's games.

 Poor little Leah.  She got a cold on Wednesday but ended up with bad asthma.  For some reason I don't remember her ever having it this bad.  She was wheezing like crazy and seemed so ill.  I got this little oximeter to measure oxygen saturation.  96-99 would be a good level for her.  (Alissa was admitted to the hospital for a 91 reading when we were in VA)  I was pretty concerned when it dropped to 90 when she was sleeping.  I prayed and gave her a nebulizer treatment and was able to get it to 94.  I then kept setting my alarm to get up and check again.  It didn't get that low again after her treatment  but she's had to use her inhaler to control it.

Life keeps moving though!  Caleb and Andrew have been practicing for months for the AWANA games.  I brought Leah's equipment with us and we headed to Middletown, CT for the games.

Alissa kept Micah occupied in the van when he started to get fussy.  She's so good with him!
 

Andrew and his buddy Ashton ran a three-legged race....FAST!

 Caleb did the three-legged race for his age group also.

Micah was.....a little tricky.  He was so tired!  I finally used Leah's coat as a pillow and gave him a bottle.  You know when he's tired when he starts folding down his ear.  He stayed like this for quite a while.  Thankfully!

Matt and I both enjoyed the message at church today.  We've been going through some difficulties with a particular situation involving relationships (not ours) and the sermon seemed to be directed right to us. God gave us both much wisdom through the preaching of the Word today.  I remember teaching my SS class of 2 year olds many years ago (when Brianna and Ethan were both in it!) the verse I was glad when they said unto me, 'Let us go into the house of the Lord.'  Amen to that!

It is now 10:30pm.  The kids are all tucked into bed, Matt is reading (I don't want to be a tattle-tale, but he is enjoying his very last night being in his thirties!), and I'm pretty sure that I am going to be asleep in five minutes flat.  Monday's coming!

Cam

I am not a big fan of rap, but one of Cameron's friends sent Matt this rap that he made up about Cam.  It cracked me up- kids these days!

snowman

After getting 10" of snow, Leah was anxious to make a snow man.  Today was a very warm day and the snow was melting pretty quickly!  Matt decided it was now or never.

 He always has had big vision :)

Micah watched from the porch.

All done!

praise

I just finished having some quiet time with the Lord and decided that I wanted to publicly "compliment" Him.  

Yesterday at CC our class dissected a heart.  I was amazed.  From the outside and at first glance it didn't seem like much at all.  But, as we followed the instructions on the dissection guide and the kids opened it up it was so incredibly complex and intricate!  Romans 1:20 kept coming to mind. 

 "since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse"

How do so many scientists believe that something like that could just happen?!  God is so clearly seen through "what has been made."  What an amazing Creator.  I am impressed.

The next thing has to do with what I woke up to this morning.  Pure beauty.  I knelt on the couch by the window and just stared at the snow falling and the trees that held on to the snow that had already fallen.  I wondered if it makes God as giddy as it does me!  It is mesmerizing.  It soothes me and calms me in a way that even the beauty of spring does not.  I just had to thank Him!

it's about time

It's about time. This blog has been sadly neglected.  Sad excuses for posts and pitiful attempts to give a small, and what ends up being inaccurate, view of life as it has been.

 After some extremely trying times and very rough and repetitive spiritual battles I feel like there has been a break through.  In every single one of us.  God is so good to care about each member of our family!  As I take the time to pay attention, I see Him everywhere- in every detail.  That last sentence is very loaded...I can't even begin to say what that entails!

Right now it is quiet in the house.  Alissa had her very  best friend in the world over for three nights.  There were lots of giggles and fun and very late nights.  Then she went today with some moms and girls from church to a conference where she got to hear one of her favorite singers (Brit Nicole) as well as hear some great and encouraging speakers!  When she got home tonight she gave us a brief overview of her day, got into her pjs, read her Bible, and then went right to sleep.  Poor exhausted happy girl!

Micah is sleeping too.  Did you hear that?  Did you get that?  MICAH IS SLEEPING TOO!  When I say it's been a rough two weeks, know that I'm really saying it's a wonder I'm alive!  Sweet little boy who climbed into Leah's bath fully clothed, pulls chairs over to the counter so he can climb onto it, who was walking around the house today with a screwdriver because who knew he could open the tools drawer?, falls down the stairs on a regular basis, and thankfully snuggles like a content baby on his mama while he hums "Jesus Loves Me"....he went to bed easily and without tears tonight.  I am thankful.

Leah is lying down on the couch not too far from where I am sitting.  Baby girl of the family misses her big sis Brianna, Daddy, and the rest of the boys who are at Cameron's soccer game.  It was the worst thing ever that Alissa had the nerve to go to sleep!  Her bedroom just seemed so lonely with half of the family gone.  We are listening to some praise music while most of the lights are off.  Hillsong's Stronger is playing right now.

There has been a lot going on.  And I don't just mean the stomach flu.  Thankfully that's over and at this very moment we are all healthy!  Anyway, it is funny to me that while I am still dealing with diapers and folding lots of little onesies, I am also helping a child get into college.  So much has changed.  Although Brianna still fully intends to go to Liberty to get her nursing degree, she has applied to a state university here and plans to go there for a semester or two and get some or all of her general ed done.  It would be a huge help financially (and of course would keep a little chick in my nest for just a while longer!).  I scrambled to get her transcripts complete and even had to communicate with the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) to clear up some unfair requirements the school was making of homeschooled applicants. Now we will wait to see if she gets accepted.  She has made some sweet friends here and I know the Lord was totally involved with that detail!  She went with her friends to visit the school and decided she wanted to turn her application in in person.  She brought it in to the admissions office and just a minute into the process decided that the lady she was speaking with didn't seem to know what she was doing.  She politely asked if there was someone else she could talk to and was then introduced to an admissions counselor who did seem to know what was going on.  When he asked her why she didn't put a "second choice" on her application she confidently replied that there was no second choice.  If she doesn't go for nursing she is not going at all.  She doesn't get her nerve from her mother, that's for sure!  When she told Leah she was going to stay in MA for college this fall, Leah almost knocked her over throwing her arms around her and saying "Thank you Brianna!"
Bri has been so sweet and giving to all of us.  She went out a couple of days ago and surprised all the kids with donuts.  She likes to make people happy and she most often expresses that through gifts.  <3

Caleb is pretty sure that yellow dye gives him migraines.  He was being diligent, along with us, looking for a trigger for his headaches.  Foods with yellow dye seem to be a sure way to give him one!  Although he's happy to know that, he's pretty bummed about not being able to have baked cheddar chips.  (or Skittles and other such fun food he gets at Sunday School!)   Although, it would truly be better for all of us if we avoided the cheddar chips.  I dare you to research yellow dye....it's not a good story!
He sprained his wrist a few weeks ago  but recovered nicely.
He did it!  He finished all four T&T AWANA books this year!  He is now memorizing the first chapter of James.  He recited the first 15 verses to his leader last night.  (Oh to have a young mind!)

Andrew is one in whose life I've seen a lot of God's work.  The only thing is, it's not a blog story.  It's too personal.  I am so thankful for prayers, thankful for Scripture to pray when I don't know what I am praying for, and mostly thankful for a loving God who answers prayer.
Andrew has discovered that he has a love for speaking.  He enjoys getting up in front of his class at CC to do his presentations.  He claims he doesn't even get nervous!  Whenever I see a love for something combined with a gift for that, I try to really encourage it.  I pray too that God shows Matt and I how to direct that into something that will bring glory to God.

Matt, Cameron, myself.....  so much more to say that can testify of God's goodness.  It's getting late, I am getting tired, and Matt and the kids are headed home from the soccer game.  I guess Cam's team lost 3-2 but it was a close game!  He really is a good soccer player and he is fun to watch.  We keep trying to fatten him up- and he really can eat!- just not quite sure where it all goes ;)

More later.  Because, there is more.  More thoughts that have been floating around in my head.  More precious things that God has taught me that I hope to be able to share.  If my crazy life allows~

really micah?

So I asked Brianna if she would give Leah a bath.  Brianna got the water going for her and left the bathroom to get a towel.  A few seconds later she heard Leah saying "Oh my word!  Oh my word! Briannnaaaaa!"  Micah had climbed into the bathtub with Leah and was playing- completely dressed.  What a soaking wet mess....   It gave all of us a good laugh though :)

Scripture memory challenge-5

                                           

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.

1 Corinthians 9:24