God is GOOD!

Just as I said, I believe prayer is answered! Many of my friends and family were lifting up poor Elijah in prayer, and God answered! Elijah's worst day was Saturday-- puked ALL day. Sunday morning around 5a.m. his body tried to puke, but there was just nothing left in him. All day Elijah clung to the couch, and slowly but surely began eating and drinking again. By around 2p.m. he asked me for some fish sticks (which I had fed to Tyler for lunch), and I reluctantly agreed. He had been eating crackers and toast like crazy, so I figured we'd try. He ate them up VERY quickly, and even wanted "more toast and fish sticks" for dinner. LOL. I knew at this point we were in the clear! So, he slept GREAT Sunday night, and Monday it was like nothing ever happened. In fact, he actually drove us nuts all day because it was like all the energy he didn't use those 2-3 days of lying around came out ALL IN ONE DAY. LITERALLY. He was uncontrollable, lol. Thank you sooo much to all those who prayed-- just wanted you to know how faithful our God is! And, in addition, NONE of us got what Elijah had, which is totally because of God. Tyler should have caught it since they are always near each other, and Tyler was constantly in Elijah's face wondering why he was laying on the couch, lol. But, thankfully, everyone is well! :) Now we are looking forward to Lindsay and Brayden's visit- expecting them early tomorrow morning!!! YAY!!!!

Power of Prayer

I am a very strong believer that when we pray God hears us, and answers our prayers (in His timing of course). I also believe that when multiple people are praying for something in particular, things HAPPEN! Elijah has been sick all day with the flu. This is a first for him... He has been puking all day, and hasn't kept one thing down. At the same time though he actually HAS an appetite, so he'll continually ask for food or water, and doesn't understand why he can't just keep eating (even after he'd just thrown up!). This is so tough. I want him to stay hydrated, yet I know shortly after he drinks or eats it will come back up. Please- those of you who keep up on my blog- please say a prayer for him. It's hard not to worry a little about this crazy H1N1 flu... Thankfully, he has NO other symptoms- not even a fever. All I know is he is in God's hands, and I know God is watching over him. Please pray for a full and speedy recovery, and that Tyler will NOT catch this. Tyler is already 3 lbs underweight for his height, and cannot afford to be losing weight from puking. Not to mention how hard it would be to have a 1 1/2 yr old puking all day.... I can't even imagine. At least Elijah semi-understands what's going on, and will puke in a trash can, and stay laying down when I tell him to. Tyler wouldn't understand anything, and I highly doubt he'd sit still. Anyway, thank you for your prayers, I will keep you posted!

Dillon Beach

Last weekend was our long awaited annual Dillon Beach trip. Each year the same group of people all join together, and camp for the weekend. Sometimes some aren't able to make it, and sometimes new faces even join in for the fun. This year was so much fun. We had almost 40 people in attendance, at one time or another. We played at the beach, played around camp, went to the tide-pools (which was a LONG walk!), caught some crab, went on kayaks, the boys swam, and we all ate a lot! We celebrated 3 different birthdays over the weekend, and one anniversary. I had heard some reluctance from some concerning the weather-- considering we had JUST had that major storm blow through, there was concern it might still be stormy on the coast. But, let me tell you, we got to experience the CALM after the storm! It was the best weather we've EVER experienced there on a long weekend. We've had great weather before, but not an entire weekend! There were periods of time when the wind picked up, or the fog would roll in, but never lasted long. Only on Sunday night did it start raining, and lasted until about 10am Monday morning. So, it didn't disrupt much. We had a great time. If you are reading this and you've never been with us- you should definitely try and make it next year, we'd LOVE to have you join us! :)

Danielle, Sophia and Tyler
King Tyler :)

Getting dinner ready Friday night

Ian, who turned 1 while we were there, enjoying the dock

Sophie fast asleep- why can't I have a kid who will do this!?!

A way too close up of Kevin and me

Didn't get one good picture, lol

Tyler liked the crabs- this one he would've held, but we MADE him put it in a pale so it wouldn't bite the heck out of him!

Elijah loved the dock

Only part of our nice big group

(L-R: Zack, Alaethia, Lorna, Keith, Danielle, Kelly (holding Brewster) and Kyle)

Grandma Preszler talking with Tyler

Tyler also loved being out on the dock

Kevin and Elijah in the kayak

The kids enjoying the sand hill right in our campground- SO convenient! :)

(L-R: Alaethia, Tyler, Nora, and Ariana) Danielle and me (our annual Dillon Beach shot!) She was my personal stylist for the weekend, and braided my hair:)Keith (don't know if you can tell but his face is COVERED in sand from rolling down a huge sand dune)

Tyler having a blast- even though it was a bit chilly

Kyle and Kelly

Me in the kayak- super fun!

Danae, Danielle, and Karen

Karen, Danae, Danielle, and Alicia

Joys of Boys

These are just a couple pics of the boys a day or two before we left for Dillon :)

The Blessings of Boys

Rats Are BACK

I've been hearing rats again underneath our house, and in the walls in certain areas at night (I know that sounds INCREDIBLY gross, but for those who've never dealt with this before, I hear it actually happens quite often to homeowners!). It is SUCH a creepy sound to hear them. As I've said before, we live right behind a big empty field, and behind that is a levee-- so rats are definitely present in our neighborhood. So, me hearing them meant Kevin needed to go under the house and put out some rat poison. Elijah and Tyler BOTH were interested in following him under the house (no thank you- not even if you paid me!!!), and Elijah ended up being a HUGE help. Kevin pointed where to put it, and Elijah did it all! Tyler was under there for about 60 seconds or so, and didn't grasp the concept of ducking very well. After knocking his forehead twice, he wanted out (which I was relieved!). So glad that the rats will soon be GONE! :)

Getting ready to go under... see how low and small that entrance is!?

There goes Kevin...
Elijah was RIGHT behind- could hardly wait

Tyler wasn't so sure

Finally he went in...

I snapped this blindly, but it actually turned out!

And Tyler was done, lol ;)

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we went to the pumpkin patch with Mark, Steph and Nora. It was SO much fun. We were hoping to get a bigger group of family in attendance, but it was so hard to coordinate a good day for everyone to go. We really wanted to go on a weekday this year, to avoid the crowds, and I'll tell you what-- that's the BEST time to go! We had the whole place to ourselves, it was incredible! NO lines, no crowds.. and there's so much to do there. We took a ride through the cornstalks and saw over 50 scarecrow scenes designed by local boy and girl scouts (we were to vote for our favorite-- they must be getting some kind of recognition if they win); we went on a real train ride around the perimeter of the farm; went in a petting zoo; Steph and I rode a zip line (new this year! And neither of us had ever done it!); the kids played on a play ground, and jumped in 2 bounce houses; Elijah and Mark jumped on a big "pillow" full of air; and there was so much we didn't have time (or money) to do. Many things are free, and many things are reasonably priced, but it all adds up quickly! They have a HUGE corn maze also, but we never go through that- it is almost $10 a person. They also have "pumpkin blasters," which shoot pumpkins out of this gun-type thing, which Kevin enjoyed last year, but didn't do this year. Anyway, it was fun for all, and we even got a pumpkin to carve later this month!

Elijah, Kevin, Tyler, Nora and Mark on top of a huge pyramid of big tires

Elijah riding a John Deere bike on a paved "race track" (FREE!)
Elijah and Nora petting the goats (who were quite persistent for the bag of food we had for them)

Kevin and Tyler checking out the ducks (Tyler's favorite)

Tyler peaking in to get a closer look

Elijah petting a chicken that was resting on top of a lamb
Tyler and I feeding some goats

Me and the boys

A baby donkey (not in the petting area)

Kevin, Mark and the kids (Tyler's a sheep, Elijah's a cow, and Nora's a pig)

Tyler and I on the train

Steph and I on the zip line- she's on the left, and I'm on the right. The platform was 3 freight containers high, and the zip line lasted about 300 ft. It was SO hard to jump off at that height, but once I did it was a fun ride! :)

Awana Awards

Elijah is in Awanas, and really loves it. (I believe I already posted about this, but can't remember) Every so often he gets "awards," or patches for his vest that he already earned. I'm there every week to watch him get his awards, but last time there was another mom there with her camera. I was bummed I didn't have mine, and she offered to take a picture of Elijah FOR me, and e-mail it to me. SUPER sweet! Anyway, here are the pictures of my big boy receiving his patches because he remembered all the verses he was supposed to memorize over a few week period. :)

Finally Home...

My sister-in-law's mother went home to be with the Lord last night. She was such an example of a Godly woman, who served Him faithfully right until the end. She had been battling cancer for many years on and off, but it finally claimed her life last night. Although we will miss her terribly, we can rejoice that she is no longer suffering, and is in the presence of our Almighty King, worshipping Him for eternity! My prayers go out to you, Janay, and your family!! We love you!

Brayden Update

My nephew Brayden is 3 months old now... actually more like 3 1/2. Here are a couple ADORABLE pics I snatched off my sister's blog so I could do a little bragging of my own.. is he not just the cutest!?!? ;)