New Chapters.

The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.

-Lamentations 3:22-23 

Last May I wrote this family update, not having the slightest inkling that life was about to change again. I can't share the details here, but in the end God provided my beloved with a wonderful new job.

 We love the job, but it is 90 miles away. So.....

WE ARE MOVING!

God has provided us with a lovely new home in Mankato, MN. We will be moving in less than two weeks, so we are busy sorting and cleaning. We are incredibly blessed to have movers coming to pack and move us.

God has been so good to us over this past year.

Soli Deo Gloria

May 2014 Bob DeWaay Health Update

This past Sunday my dad mentioned in his sermon that when he started preaching through Galatians last year, he didn't think he would be alive to finish it. But God is good and his given him more time here on earth to preach the gospel and, Lord willing, he will finish Galatians this Sunday.

Overall, he has been feeling very well. He is still dependent on blood transfusions, but has been able to go 2-3 weeks between transfusions. Of course, he loves to share the gospel with the nurses while he there receiving blood. My sweet friend Sylvia drew this awhile back:

Thank you for your continued prayers!

(You can read the rest of posts about this here)

Make a Joyful Noise - take two!

Psalm 100

100 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

 It seems that all little kids love to sing and be sung to. And while there surely is a place for fun children's songs, I think it is important to teach them that God made music for HIS glory. I love singing hymns and Scripture songs to the boys, and it is amazing how fast they can learn them. Not only are they having fun singing, but they are learning Scripture and sound theology while praising the Lord.

Part of our morning routine is to sing a hymn and read a portion of Scripture at breakfast time. This morning I captured just a few minutes of this. Someday these boys will be grown and I will miss the sweet sound of little voices singing "Holy, Holy, Holy."



(Can't see the video? Click HERE.)

Even at 17 months James knows some the words words and loves to sing along. His favorite hymn is "Be Thou My Vision" and he really belts that one out.

We sing all throughout our day, and it is worth every moment of it to hear these little ones praise the Lord.

Precious Moments

Life.

One of the things I most like about this blog is looking back at old posts and remembering days gone by. And so, for my own future enjoyment, here is a post about life these days.

The family:

~Jojo is two and a half and is very articulate. He loves to go to church and "see pastor" and asks to go just about every morning. He usually sits through the whole sermon. He loves being outside and is always on the lookout for buses, boats, "motorbikes", and campers. He is very shy. He loves to be read to and can recite many of his books from memory. Mr Ed is his favorite librarian. (Every 2 year old should have a favorite librarian!)

~JR is 14 months old. His vocabulary is exploding, which is very helpful. He is the outgoing one and says "Hi" to everyone he sees. He is full of energy and doesn't stop moving until he falls asleep :-)
He still takes two naps a day, but the morning one usually takes place in the "Jumpy Barn" - JR's name for the Jumperoo. He takes a few steps here and there, but isn't really walking yet - and that doesn't slow him down at all! He can crawl like the wind and climb anything. There is no baby-proofing that he can't thwart. He will eat ANYTHING but can't handle dairy.

~Taylor is 17. He's finishing up his junior year and is a math and computer whiz. I can't believe how fast he has grown up. My heart aches for him...please pray for his salvation.

~My husband. What can I say? I love him! Still playing hockey, still riding his motorcycle, still bringing me chocolate...

~My dad just finished his ATG treatment. Now we wait (and pray) and see if it worked. My mom is as sweet as ever!

Currently reading:

-The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer (very good)
-The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs (a MUST read). I've been very slowly working my way through this one. It has brought about a lot of repentance!
-The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace (also a very convicting book)

About to start reading:

-A Christian Manifesto by Francis Schaeffer

Recently finished:

-Humble Orthodoxy by Joshua Harris (another MUST read)
-The Creedal Imperative by Carl Trueman (very good and interesting whether you agree with him or not)
-Body and Soul: Reclaiming the Heidelberg Catechism by M. Craig Barnes(Warning - this book contains serious theological error and is a grave distortion of the Heidelberg Catechism.)

Keeping busy:

~We walk about 4 miles a day. The boys love being in the stroller and I love the exercise.

~I have several knitting projects in the works, so that's how I spend much of my free time.
~I think it might really be spring now so I hope to get the garden planted over the next week.
~Teaching Jojo Scripture songs. He loves to sing, and we have a lot of fun with this.

Psalm 150

King James Version (KJV)

150 Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

² Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
³ Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
⁴ Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
⁵ Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
⁶ Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

March 2013 Bob DeWaay Health Update

Friends, 
This just came from my mom. Please keep him in prayer.

Please pray for Bob, his inflammation levels (sed rate and CRP level) have increased and his white cell count is back to normal so his immune system is no longer wiped out, which is not good. They are increasing the Cytoxan dosage and the dosage of Prednisone. He will be starting the new drug to strip the iron out of his system next week Wednesday. Please pray it will be effective with few side affects.  He sees the hematologist at the University of MN for a consult next week Thursday. Thank you so much for praying!

 

If you are unfamiliar with his ongoing battle with Churg-Strauss Syndrome, you can read about it here.

Bob DeWaay Health Update - March 2013

Please pray for my dad. He met with his Hematologist yesterday and is now scheduled for a consultation with a Hematologist at the University of MN on 3/28/13. His Rheumatologist thinks there are two separate issues going on, the Hematologist thinks it is all Churg Strauss Syndrome. The problem is the 2nd drug they put him on his not working. It worked as far as wiping out his immune system, but it hasn't helped his red blood cell aplasia problem. The theory is if it is from an auto immune disease, and his immune system is wiped out, it should solve his red blood cell problem, but it hasn't. 

He has now developed a complication of weekly transfusions - iron levels that are way too high. Normally if someones iron is too high they have them give blood, he can't do that. The iron can build up and deposit in his liver, pancreas, heart and other vital organs and cause problems. He can't take any supplements now that have iron. Neither of his doctors know what to do for him so they are referring him to the U of M.

There is a chelation process that can be done to get rid of the iron in the blood, but it is very expensive and we don't know if his insurance company will cover it. That is one of the things this new Hematologist will be going over with him. That and what other courses of treatment can be done. Stronger drugs, running more tests to see if there is a 2nd condition causing the problem, and to see if a bone marrow transplant may be an option. We won't know anything until we see him on 3/28. My dad is doing well but is more tired now that he is down to 5 mg of prednisone a day. Please pray for wisdom for the Doctor's and healing for my Dad. We know that God is sovereign and in charge. Thank you for praying, it means so much to us!!!!

Jojo's Genesis 1:1

Jojo is learning his first memory verse this week - Genesis 1:1.

He has the first part down fine, but the second part is always interesting. Just now he said:

In the beginning God created.... (thinking)

         ...Alligators.
         ...and bears.
         ...and Grandpa Bob :-)

 

 This boy cracks me up!

Update on Bob DeWaay

Update on my dad:
He saw his pulmonologist and hematologist yesterday. The good news is that his lungs, heart, and kidneys are showing improvement. That bad news is that his hemoglobin dropped again. Please pray that his bone marrow would respond to the steroids and produce more red blood cells.

 Previous health update

A Bob DeWaay October 2012 Health Update

Those of you who are Facebook friends already know this, but because many of you aren't, and many of you know and love my Dad (Bob DeWaay) I've decided to share a quick health update here. 

-He was recently hospitalized with a hemoglobin count of only 4. He has had multiple blood transfusions, a bone marrow biopsy and a lung biopsy.

-He has been diagnosed with Churg-Strauss syndrome. It is very rare and he is in the last stage of it (Vasculitic stage).

-It has affected his lungs, heart, kidneys, and bone marrow.

-He has fluid in his lungs and on his heart (congestive heart failure)

-His bone marrow is not producing any red blood cells. 

-If he is not making red blood cells after 30 days they will do another, more extensive, lung biopsy.

-We don’t know if the damage is permanent.

-He is home now and being treated as an outpatient with blood tests on Mondays and Thursday and infusions (if needed) on Tuesdays and Fridays.

-All of this is being treated by high doses of Prednisone. If that doesn’t work they will try another immune-suppressive drug.

That is all we know right now. Please pray that he would respond to the treatment and begin producing red blood cells and, above all, that God will be glorified through all of this.

Psalm 121

A Song of Ascents.

 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade on your right hand.
The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The LORD will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.

December 2012 Update

January 9 2013 Update

January 25 2013 Update

March 7, 2013 Update

March 22, 2013 Update 

April 17 2013 Update

April 19 Prayer request

Answered Prayer

July 2013 Update

May 2014 Update

April 7 2015

April 9 2015

April 10 2015 - Critical Update

April 11 2015

April 11 2015 - Afternoon

April 12 Update - Influenza B

Theology for Two-year-olds

Jojo ate a mango for snack today.
After he finished it he wanted the peel.

Me: No, Jojo, we don't eat the peel.
Jojo thinks for a minute. "God made the peel" he says, looking quite serious.
Me: Yes, God made the peel - but you still can't eat it.

******

I just love these moments when I realize he is beginning to really understand what I've been teaching him.

******

That's "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty" for those of you not fluent in Toddler.

Saturday Snapshots 9.22.12

* A rare shot of the Teen, who turned 17 on Sunday and was kind enough to let his mom take his picture.


Jelly Bean is sitting for short periods and is starting to crawl.


Thank you to Ali for hosting Saturday Snapshots.

Saturday Snapshots Returns! 9.7.2012

After a bit of a hiatus, I’m so glad that Saturday Snapshots is back.
Here’s what could be seen around our house this week:



Lunch can be dangerous – one can never be too prepared

Look Who Is Two

Here are a few things I want to remember about Jojo right now:

-Singing. I love hearing his precious voice saying “Mama sing…Mama sing…”

His favorite song is “Holy, Holy, Holy” and he loves to sing the Amen at the end.

-He loves anything Elmo, Thomas, or Bob the Builder.

-Going for “walkawas” in the stroller. He favorite walking destination is the “waddy.” ( the fountain at Trillium Park)

-Reading. He loves, loves, loves books.

-Mowing the “yawn" with his new Bubble Mower.

-His love for animals



-His best friend is Mia and he loves to “Mia see-ya” (go see Mia)

-I love hearing him answer his first catechism question with “God made me.”

-Hearing him sing “A,B,C,D,E, I, K, 9, 10….Amen!”

-Hockey cheers at the dinner table:

 

-He loves his “Bobo”

Thankful Thursday 7.26.12

Last week we celebrated our wedding anniversary. We had I wonderful dinner alone at Olive Garden and talked of the many providences (both good and difficult) that we've been through together. It was a wonderful time of remembering what the Lord has done in our lives; how He has shaped and molded us, strengthened us, and sustained us.

I'm so thankful for the many wonderful things the Lord has done in our lives.

10 Things I Love about My Husband

(With my dad for Fathers Day)
1. He consistently does what’s right, not what easy.
2. He’s not afraid to confront sin in my life.
3. He’s more concerned about truth than popularity.
4. Scripture is his guide.
5. He tucks Bear Cub in at night.
6. He reads to our boys.
7. He’s tidy.
8. He sings hymns with me. Not just at church
9. He texts me during his busy workday, just to see how things are going.
10. He loves the Lord more than anything else.
What do you love most about your husband?

ABC's and 123's

Is it just a mama thing to think this is terribly cute?

Adventures in Toddlerhood

Don’t be fooled – behind those smiley eyes lies a real little rascal. A rascal who has figured out that when mommy is nursing baby brother she can’t reach him quite so quickly.

Today’s antics included pushing down his diaper, peeing on the floor, and then splashing in the puddle. 

Then, just when I thought I had everything under control, he flushed baby brother’s socks down the toilet.

Great fun was had by all.


And yet, all these things just make me love him more. He brings so much joy to my days.

My Heart is Full

I am blessed beyond measure. The last few weeks at home with my boys has been wonderful. Bear Cub seems to have grown up overnight and is a great big brother.

He loves to give baby brother gentle kisses and is always trying to share his favorite toys with him.

We are enjoying a very early spring here in Minnesota. Being able to get out in the sunshine is such a blessing.

Theses boys fill this Mama's heart with joy.

Baby boy has arrived!

James Robert was born yesterday at 5:59 PM via C-section. He's a healthy 6lbs 11oz and 19 3/4 inches. Both of us are doing well.

I'll post more later when I'm feeling better and have a better internet connection.