Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas! Travelling to PA on Christmas Eve and being able to spend time with the Landis family was a huge blessing. I'm not sure there are too many families that ALL get together any more. All of Matt's 4 siblings and thier families were there as well as his mom and dad, 17 of us total- i think!



Here is a slideshow of some pictures from the PA trip, as well as the couple hours we got to spend in Staunton on Saturday the 27th!
My family too was all together to celebrate Christmas. This was a bit unusaual for us, so it made for even a more special time for us.

Kaitlyn seemed to enjoy the wrapping paper and tissue paper more than anything! But as usual she was a delight and did w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l even though she was staying up late, sleeping in places other than her own bed and being around LOTS of people!

Family- if you want to download any of these pictures, just click on the slide show and it will take you to Picassa- you can download from there!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2009 be better than we all could imagine!

Boston

We are trying to plan a vacation to Boston for this May!
It is an extended family vacation, therefore- meaning LOTS of people involved!
We would love to be able to rent a house IN Boston, or very close to Boston for about 5 nights. One would think with an historic town that is a tourist attraction, this would not be a problem...but let me tell you- we can't find anything...well for all of us anyways. There are several smaller places you can rent, but nothing inside of an hour's travel that will sleep 14+ people.
So... i'm posting in hopes that someone might know something that I haven't tried yet!
So if you know of anything.... let me know!

Merry Christmas to all!

Angels Among Us

Below is a testimony sent to me by my cousin's wife, they live just outside Charlotte, NC. This is an amazing reminder to me.... enjoy!

So many of you have heard me tell the story, but I wanted to pass it along anyway to those who didn't hear it and for those who wanted it in email.

A couple of Wednesdays ago, I got an evening phone call from the pediatric ICU at Presbyterian Hospital, where I work as a child life specialist. Usually when they call at night, it means something bad has happened. This, however, was different.

My coworker told me that the most amazing thing had just happened and she just had to call to tell me. We had a patient who has really grown up in and out of the hospital. All the staff knows her and her family. She had been in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for about a month, and had been intubated - on life support. She was not doing well.

The doctors had approached mom about taking her off life support the Saturday before. Mom was okay with it, and said that she'd been through so much and if was her time to go she wanted to honor that. So they had taken her off.It was Wednesday and she was still alive. Amazing.

The doctors approached mom about taking off her oxygen mask. Mom was supportive, and began praying over her daughter. The mother of another young patient who was in the bed next to her began praying with her.

The nurse practitioner went to the nurses station to chart that she had taken off the oxygen mask. While doing so, she looked up at the security monitor that videotapes the double doors leading into the PICU. It records anyone who may be waiting outside the doors to get in since it is a secure unit. She saw a man standing there, and it looked a little funny to her, so she decided to walk down the hall to open the double doors personally. When she opened them, no one was standing there. She walked back down to the nurses station to finish charting, assuming he had walked away, but saw him still standing there on the monitor. So she opened the doors with a button near the nurses station and leaned over to see him walk in, but no one was standing there.

She pulled over another nurse and both stood staring at this man on the monitor and opening the doors to find no one there. The nurse practitioner leaned in closely to look at the man on the monitor and said, 'Oh my gosh. That's an angel. You can see his wings!'

They said that the sun starting shining so brightly and the whole PICU was strangely filled with light. They said he was a tall man and you could see wings behind him. They pulled over all the staff of the PICU and the two praying mothers and everyone was staring at this man on the monitor and opening the doors to find no one there. Crying, everyone pulled out their camera phones to take pictures, but no one could get it to show up on their camera. The mother of the girl pulled out her camera phone and finally got a picture of the angel who was guarding the doors to the PICU. He turned out as a man of light. I have attached the picture from her phone. The girl was later discharged from the hospital to go home.

A Miracle.

This story makes me so grateful for the way that God reveals himself to us, and the how Great He is really is. We have much to be thankful for this holiday. :)--

Katy L. Field,
CCLSCertified Child Life Specialist
Presbyterian Blume Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clinic
Charlotte, NC

Wanna save 30 bucks?

As I sit here by my gas fireplace, I am reminded again how incredible my husband is!

A week or so ago we ran out of propane. After they came to fill us up they left the bill, and to our surprise discovered they were charging us $2.99 a gallon for the gas!

My husband, the cost conscientious man that he is, decided to call around and get prices from other local propane companies. I was thinking, there is no way our carrier will reduce the price of propane they’ve already put in our tanks. I was also thinking, oh geeze… I’m going to end up losing my gas fire place all together.

Anyways, to my amazement, Matt called around discovered the best price is actually $2.39 a gallon.

He called our carrier, spoke with the owner and explained that he had called several carriers in the area. He explained that they were not the highest priced, but they were also not he cheapest. Matt explained that he needed for them to come down to the $2.39 per gallon or come and remove their tanks. O-U-C-H!

The owner agreed to the price reduction and the price was immediately reflected in the bill that we owed them for the fill up!

FAVOR! Thanks Lord!
And Thanks for husband that is so diligent in being a good steward of what you have given us!
I would have NEVER thought to challenge a utility company on their cost of a commodity!

So… we just saved $30! And these days $30 is quite significant!

Christmas Pictures

Well.... the "grandmonie" had to have some christmas pictures.... here is a quick sample!
Tis the season!

We've been quite busy around here. I've baked 100's of cookies and goodies, made cheese balls, and have made up some trays for people! Even though it keeps me busy to do those sort of things, i just love it! I love baking and being able to bless others with the goodies!

Kaitlyn has been watching and learning... by this time next year she'll have her hands in it too, I'm sure!

A blessed Christmas Season to all of you!

6 months Photos++

Well... When you can't decide which picture(s) to post... you just do them all, right?! :)
At least i tried the 'scaled-down' model!
Brittany- THANKS AGAIN! Matt and I just love them... and well Katilyn- she just wants to eat them...

6 months Photos

We had a friend of ours take pictures to commemorate Kaitlyn's 1/2 Birthday! :) Brittany did a fabulous job! She took 333 photos.... and below is a great sample of what she got!


oh yeah... this first one is actually of me at 6 months! Wouldn't want to confuse any of you on WHO that is!!!

I KNOW...it is amazing .... well maybe even scary....how much she really does look like me!

So now... for Kaitlyn Olivia's pictures.... they are just precious!

This is My Prayer in the Desert

BY HILLSONG:

VERSE 1
This is my prayer in the desert
When all that’s within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

VERSE 2
This is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flame

CHORUS
I will bring praise, I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remainI will rejoice,
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

VERSE 3
This is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on its way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I’ll stand

BRIDGE
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

VERSE 4
This is my prayer in the harvest
When favour and providence flow
I know I’m filled to be emptied again
The seed I’ve received I will sow.

(I'm blessed....)

Beyond These Shores- Denton Texas

Matt and I were forturnate enough (yes, FAVOR .... AGAIN) to attend a leadership conference in Denton Texas this past week. We went on Wednesday and returned Saturday. Soooo many things hit me at this conference and I would love to post them all, but instead i've chosen two analogies that really got me thinking that I'd love to just share a taste of those with you.

The name of the conference was "Out of the Bowl". Basically speaking this is analogy about goldfish living in bowl. I think that most of us are aware that a gold fish will grow to fit it's environment. BUT...did you know that the gold fish also continues to grow internally as well. So, as the external body grows to its maximum size because of its environment, the internal body continues to grow and therefore makes for a painful death for these fish. ALSO- goldfish die from thier own toxins in a small bowl; they can drawn in thier own poop, basically speaking! Now, if we can get them to a larger environment, they will live a lot longer!

Now, take a moment and think of that analogy as the Church. Are you living in a bowl that is too small for you? Do you need to expand to a larger environment so that you can truly live and grow into all that you are meant to be?! Not to mention, drowning in your own toxins because you can't get out of the bowl?! hmmmmm.....like i said, i could keep going and going on this analogy, but you get the drift! So, let the Holy Spirit show YOU what HE wants to in this simple analogy! And, I'd like to give the credit for this analogy to Duane White of The Bridge Church and Beyond These Shores.

The second analogy that really stuck with me was one about an arrow. (Using Psalms 127). Let's look at the arrow briefly for some basic principles.
1) Sharpness - an arrow must be sharp to perform it's intended task
2) Balance- (The spirit of the word)
3) Straightness - (character, behavior)
4) Strength- (durable, faithful)
In the Church body, are you sharp, balanced, straight, and strong? Each arrow is made for a specfic purpose and an intended target.
There are times when an arrow must be in the 'quiver'. Are you willing to stay in the dark, until it's time to be brought out for your specific use?
The arrow must also work in conjunction with the bow, where it is pulled back! Are you willing to be in a relationship that is willing to pull you back when you need to be.... of course... it's in order to move forward, don't forget!

Again... I could continue to dive into both of these analogies, but will leave it up to the Holy Spirit to show you personally, what it may mean to you! Thanks to Stuart Bell for the arrow analogy.

One more quick note for those of you who know Stuart Bell, he and David have written a book called "Mud in Your Eye" about their incredible journey...

We were so blessed to be able to attend this conference and to be able to make the connections we did! Once again the Lord's favor was poured out on us in ways we could not have imagined.

6 Months

Kaitlyn had her 6 month check up yesterday! Even the doctor called her a 'little peanut'. She is 'trending' to be on the small side... meaning tall and skinny! She weighed in at 13lbs 13oz and is 26 inches long!
She is still quite healthy- Praise the Lord- not one sick day!!!
She is just so alert and rolling around (nothing like miss anna though) and still loving her swivel seat play station thingy (thanks again Brittany)...
I can't count the number of times people have told us how precious, adorable, beautiful, good, cute, alert, sweet,.... and on and on and on....she is!
I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again... she really is spoiling US!
Here are a couple of recent pictures!

yeah, she doesn't do much for the camera yet...just puts her fingers in her mouth mostly!

Oh- we love her sooooo much!

Veterans Day

A big THANK YOU to all the veterans in my family and yours!
For serving in the armed forces, defending our freedom, protecting our country- our families, sacraficing of their own to give to ours.

I just wanted to take a moment to reflect and recogonize each of you!

God Bless America!

A Miracle for Sure

YES! God is still in the business of miracles! And our family was the receipient of one this past weekend.
Trying to keep it simple as to not get you lost, here is an abbreviated testimony!

My Uncle and his grandson went hunting this past weekend and were camping in their mobile home. They were overcome with carbon monoxide during the night. The grandson made it out of the camper, was found by another family member. Then my uncle was found, barely breating (very shallow breaths).

The rescue squad was called (to this very remote location), they arrived and did NOT give a promising report, in fact they pretty much delivered a death sentence.

They continued to administer oxygen to both of them and transport them to the hospital. (It took 3 and 4 hours to get one and then the other to Radford Hospital).

Upon arriving there, the doctor asked my Uncle "What is your name, or Do you know who you are?" My Uncle replied.....

"My name is Sue... who are you?"! HAHAHA

I asked my dad, who was relaying this informaiton to me, was he delirious, or just being funny reciting his Johnny Cash song?!... we're still not sure about that.

They ran tests and discoverd that my uncle's carbon monoxide count was 350... a normal count is between 0 and 1!!! All the medical staff did NOT expect him to make it....

Well, my Aunt had made some calls upon learning of her husband's and grandson's condition and asked for prayer.... well I'm here to remind you that prayer still works today!

I just happened to (do you think maybe God had something to do with that? Because this baby shower was NOT suppose to be at my house....) have about 12 christian ladies over for a baby shower yesterday, and we all stopped and took time to pray for the situation and agree together for LIFE! So THANK YOU LORD for the MIRACLE OF LIFE!

AGAIN... the Favor of the Lord reigns... rains... in our home and our family! Thank you Lord.

Still Celebrating

Matt is still in celebration mode because the Phillies won the World Series!
This is how he dressed his daughter and himself for church on Sunday.

She is trying to hold up her "#1" Finger... can you see it?
Do you think she has any idea what she's in for?!
How precious....

PHILLIES WIN THE WORLD SERIES

As a tribute to my husband, I MUST post about his "Stinkin' Phillies"

They have won their 2nd ever World Series in their 125 year history. Thier 1st World Series was won in 1980 against the Kansas City Royals.

The Phillies Won the 2008 Series in a game lead of 4-1 (best 4 out of 7). Winning last night's game 4-3!

This is quite a memorable time in history for the Landis Family! If any of you know them at all... this is just HUGE! :)

Matt went off to work today in his Phillies Shirt and Hat! What a fan!

And Kaitlyn dressed in her attire - just for daddy- today...

Surprise Visit!

I was very pleasantly surprised today by a short visit!!!

I KNOW- adorable :)... right?

Kaitlyn and her Granddaddy Rog!

Lourdes- thanks for bringing her by!

A Little Bit goes a long way!

Today I discovered the cutest new webpage! It's the Little Bits web site. All proceeds go to support missionaries in Kensington-Philly area. My sister-in-law's - sister-in-law (did you follow that) started a blog and so i was checking it out.

She has a post about this Little Bits web page and ordered somethings from there...

They are all really too cute for words- so you'll just have to check it out yourself.

Here is the link - Little Bits

I know, it's probably more than you were expecting to spend, but keep in mind all profits go to support those on the mission field, here in the USA! :)

So at least check it out and dream, and pass it on!!!

Just wanted to...

OK, I think this is my last post for the day. (Fridays seem to be the best day for me to get some posts up for the week... a no work day for me- YEAH!)

Bath time has become daddy-daughter time!
Almost from the very beginning, it has been Matt that gives K her baths in the evenings. I'm not sure which one of them enjoys it more?!
K enjoys the splashing and kicking, the sucking of the fingers, (and sometimes the TV when it's on in the Kitchen).... she is like a queen, laying there in one of her favorite places, all kicked back, relaxed, watching the scene and color changes on the TV in front of her.... Not to mention having your Daddy stand by and watch you, bathe you, talk to you, tickle you, and care for you the whole time... does it get any better than this?

Told you she likes to suck on her fingers!

Morning Sunrise

Believe it or not- THIS is a Rockingham County Sunrise!
Pictures taken this morning from my front porch.

2.Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. 3. God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. "Selah" His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth. 4. His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden. (Habakkuk 3:2-4)

Evening Walks

Well, it seems it is becoming more and more apparent that our evening walks are quickly coming to an end. Not only will it be dark when Daddy gets home in a week, it is also getting more chilly outside!
However, we might have the chilly problem taken care of! Kaitlyn LOVES going for stroller rides, especially with her black dog, Buxton!


It is much easier when Matt and I both go for the walk, because you simply can NOT go without Buxton! Although we have both done it alone, it is much better together!

Evening walks are a great time to unwind from the day and share experiences, thoughts, issues, problems, concerns, dreams, and love from the day with each other!

I'm sure we will continue our walks whenever possible, but i bet it's going to be more of a weekend event for the next 6 months!