MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Happy birthday, Jesus!  Today is the day we celebrate Christ's birth!  Not that we believe He was born on this date, but rather we choose this day to celebrate His coming as a babe in order to grow to be a man Who would die on the cross to pay for the sins of the entire world.  Isn't Christmas wonderful?  A special time each year to remember that most wondrous event when the God-child was born and angels filled the heavens to sing praises to God on high for His incredible gift to man.  Wouldn't you have loved to have been a shepherd that night in the field?  Or the innkeeper wondering what on earth was causing that bright light that set the stable out back aglow?  Or, even better, one of the wise men who nearly came unglued when you realized that the sign you had been looking for for years had just appeared in the sky?

Even more amazing is the knowledge that Christ Jesus did all this......fulfilled prophecy, came to earth as a baby instead of a full-grown man, died on Golgotha.......for me.  He came for me.  If I had been the only sinner on earth, if everyone else had been perfect, Jesus would still have done it all---for me.  Thank You so much, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth that night so long ago.  Thank You for growing up as any child would and yielding Your will each day to Your earthly parents so that we might learn from and follow Your example.  Thank You for choosing to die such an awful death because You knew it had to be done and You were the only One Who could carry it through.  Thank You for being born, living, and dying for sinful mankind so that we might have the choice to live in Heaven with You one day.

How does your family celebrate Christmas?  When I was seven, my family started the tradition of opening our gifts on Christmas Eve for two reasons:  1) Christmas was on a Sunday that year, and my pastor urged folks to open their gifts the night before so that there would be no excuses for staying home from church the next morning, and 2) my mom was due to give birth at any moment.  My parents chose to open gifts Christmas Eve to avoid any disappointment from us kids if Mom and Dad wound up in the hospital Christmas Day.  As it turns out, this was a good idea---my sister made her appearance early Christmas morning!  Each year after, our family opened gifts on Christmas Eve and had a birthday cake for Kathy and Jesus on December 25th.  So, when my husband and I got married, we decided to open gifts Christmas Eve and celebrate Jesus' birthday on Christmas Day.  We still do that now with our kids, except Christmas morning has morphed into "Stocking Opening and Treasure Hunt Time."  We have my mom to blame thank for that!  The kids really enjoy opening gifts the night before Christmas while knowing they will get even more stuff the next morning.  I think we overdid it this year; Chad and I each buy stuff for the children and sort through it all in the weeks before Christmas to see what we have stored up for whom.  We wound up having to stuff two stockings for each child since there was no way to fit all their junk into just one stocking!  It was a lot of fun!  The only sad part is that we're missing Amanda this year; she opted to stay at college for the holidays and work ahead on next semester's school bill.  I know the college and church there will have special events planned and gifts for the college students who don't get to go home, but I also know that nothing will replace time with your family.  Mandie, we love you and wish you a very Merry Christmas in Santa Clara!

I hope your holiday has been just as wonderful as ours.  We're looking forward to tonight's Christmas service, too---what a great way to spend Christmas.......in God's house!  Merry Christmas to all!  In the words of Tiny Tim, "God bless us, every one!"

Luke 2: 11  "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

GO KNIGHTS!!!

I am presently at school, enjoying our teams' first victories!  We don't normally start our season this late in the year, but for one reason or another, here we are.  I think we can look forward to a good season this year in both volleyball and basketball.......not that we are so good that we'll blow everyone else away, but our teams practice their hearts out each week and are striving to do their best.  Only our girls have played so far, but both JV and Varsity won!!

Ashley played her very first official volleyball game today.  She's in seventh grade this year and excited to be on the JV team.  For the past couple of days, all I've heard from her is, "I can't wait for our first game!"  This morning she woke up and said, "Mom, today's our first game."  But her voice held a tinge of anxiety which only increased as the day wore on.  She began to get more and more nervous as game time approached, so afraid that she would make some horrible, glaring mistake.  (I began to seriously think that she would wind up throwing up!)  However, she held herself together just fine and played quite well (no prejudice here).  Coach even left her in for all three games, which greatly boosted Ashley's morale.  She's following in her older sisters' footsteps as a good volleyball player!

We've decided to switch Dale over to all PACES as he seems to do so much better working at his own learning speed.  We'll order the PACES now, but he probably won't begin them until next semester starts; this way we get a definite end-of-semester grade in each of his classes so far.  The possible negative of Dale having to stay in the Learning Center most of the school day will hopefully be offset by the positive of his grades improving.

Dale is growing by leaps and bounds---that might not be an apt comparison!  Dale is growing by shuffles and jerks.  :-)  He's taller than me (no great feat); he's taller than Katie now (slightly better achievement); he's grown so much in the last year that he'll pass Mandie soon and challenge Dad's height before he's done.  We tease him about the "caterpillar" on his upper lip......which I have to help him shave because, each time I envision trying to explain to the ER doctors why my almost fifteen-year-old son sliced off his upper lip, I shudder!  He has absolutely no excess fat on his body; his arms are long and bony; but his grip is super strong.  Sometimes when we are holding hands, walking together, and he feels shaky, he will tighten his grip on my hand until I feel like he's going to break my thumb right off!  And, of course, when I mention this, Dale just sort of shrugs his shoulders and chuckles like, "What did you expect, Mom?  I'm stronger than you!"  I threaten on a bi-weekly basis to walk off and leave him standing there to make his own way to wherever he's going, but so far I haven't carried through on my threat.  (I'm beginning to think he doesn't believe me!)

Well, tomorrow is the last day of school this week.  One more week before Christmas break!  The students have not been too crazy to handle, just crazy enough.  Sometimes they're bouncing off the ceiling which makes me want to climb the walls, but we've been able to keep our feet on the ground and still reach for the sky.  How's that for a mind-bender?!

I love the Christmas season, not just for the lights and food and presents, but because I get reminded every day to thank God for sending His Son to be born to die for my sins.  What an amazing gift God gave mankind that day!  It goes against all reason to suppose that the great God Who formed all things would create man, watch him walk away, and then choose to die for man to win him back.  Are we really that important to God?  The answer is---YES.  God loves us beyond all human comprehension, beyond all understanding, beyond all reason, beyond all boundaries, beyond all time limits, beyond all explanations.  He simply loves........us.  Thank You, Lord, for showing us true love that day millennia ago when You first formed the plan for our salvation.  You are truly a wondrous God, One worthy of all praise and all glory for ever.

Galatians 4: 4 - 5  "But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law,  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow!  Can you believe it's already time for Thanksgiving?  Didn't we just start the year a couple of months ago?  When we were kids, time seemed to crawl by---Christmases took forever to come and birthdays seemed to be a couple of years apart.  Nowadays, however, time flies so fast Boeing is trying to figure out a way to harness the speed for commercial use!

We in the Ostrander household have so very much for which to be thankful.  My husband and I have steady jobs; our children are fairly healthy (all things considered!); we have a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs; our vehicles run most of the time!!  No matter how much we feel we have to complain about, the truth is that our God loves us and provides for us exactly what we need.  I cannot tell you the number of times I have wanted a magic lamp to rub and be granted wishes by a genie for a new car, a new house, a slimmer figure, a better voice.  I'm 43 years old and I have yet to find that lamp!  God gives us what we need, knowing full well that if we had everything our hearts desired, we would not need Him as much.......or at least we would act that way.  If I had a brand-new van that didn't break down every time the weather changed, I would not be in constant communication with my Father about keeping the van running.  If I had a beautiful house all on one level (so we wouldn't have to worry about Dale and stairs) with plenty of space (and a maid to clean it all!), I wouldn't be as appreciative of my family and our joint efforts to make our house as homey and comfortable as we do.  If I seriously got everything I wanted, I wouldn't be any better off than I am now.  I'd still be looking at something else and wishing I had that.  So, I'd best learn to be thankful for what God has given me right now so that He will be able to bless me later on with other good things instead of having to withhold them because of my rotten attitude.

Of course, what we are most grateful for is our son's continued life.  Dale is well and growing and alive!  Just the other day, I was talking to a friend of mine who reminded me that, even though Dale talks with more deliberate speech and struggles with simple memory tasks, he is very much still Dale.  He's a smart aleck who thinks he's right about everything and constantly argues with everyone around him as a result.  He deals with his physical difficulties (shaky legs, falling, etc.) by simply getting up and getting going again.  He said something the other day that nearly brought me to tears.  One of my third grade students was in my classroom after school for a while one day and asked Dale to play a game with him.  During the course of the game, their conversation got around to "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  Dale answered this question with one word:  "Mobile."  I was working at my desk nearby and not listening much but his response caught my attention.  I said, "Oh, Dale" in sympathy, and he looked over and kind of shrugged his shoulders.  I decided then and there to start working with him to exercise his muscles and strengthen his body.  God can do amazing things---and has!---but we need to work at making great things happen, too.

This Thanksgiving, remember to give God thanks, not just for what we consider the good things but for everything in our lives.  He knows what is best, and He always gives what is needed.  God bless you this week and always!

Psalm 30: 12  "To the end that my glory may sing praise to Thee, and not be silent.  O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto Thee for ever." 

I think I'm losing my mind!

I'm going to stop apologizing for my erratically timed updates and just blog whenever I can!  My husband, poor guy, has been complaining in his kindhearted way that he never sees us because of our "busy schedule" and tonight, I agreed with him.  He should record this event and store it in our safe!

I want our family to be as involved as possible in our school and church functions, and I encourage our kids to volunteer for stuff as well as volunteer for stuff myself.  Usually we manage things just fine---I think.  But lately, it's been one crazy merry-go-round of chaos that has not been very beneficial to us, our family life, or anyone else, for that matter!  Church choir is now practicing on Saturday afternoons for cantata; we're in the middle of our Fall Campaign to push for extra visitors (That's been exciting!  Our first Sunday was our church's 39th anniversary with a big service in the morning, special guests including the man who started our church, and a fellowship after the evening service.  Last Sunday, we honored all First Responders---police, firefighters, emergency personnel, etc.  What a unique and special service that was!  This Sunday, we will honor Healthcare Workers, and our last Sunday will be......I forget.  Did I mention I've been working too hard?); at school, we just wrapped up our first quarter and are looking forward to our Patriotic Program next Thursday, volleyball/basketball games starting soon, and Thanksgiving; Chad's delivery routes got rearranged a bit, so I can't predict as well what time he'll get home on some days---this makes making time to spend with him a bit more challenging; and WE STILL MISS MANDIE!!!  She kept teasing me that I wouldn't be able to survive without her, and I'm afraid she was more right than she knew!  I depended on her so much at school to keep order in the classroom when I needed to step out, to keep up on daily grading of math lessons and such, and to decorate the room each month.  I leaned on her even more at home to help with the cooking, cleaning, refereeing between younger siblings, and other stuff.  It's been quite a wake-up call for Katie and me both to just how much responsibility Mandie had taken upon her shoulders.  (I have the sinking feeling that I will have finally adjusted to life without Mandie when it will be time for Katie to go to college.  Aaaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhhhh!!!

I stood in our kitchen tonight, looked Chad square in the eye, and said, "I think I might be doing too much."  He just grinned, silently acknowledging my admittance that he was right all along.  But my question now is:  how do I stop doing so much without feeling like I'm backsliding?  I mean, every single activity that I or my family is involved in is in God's service, right?  I don't sing in the choir because I want fame or recognition but because I love to sing and I want to praise God.  My girls don't go out on teen soul winning because they want to spend extra time with their friends but because they want to invite folks to church and tell people about Jesus Christ.  By the way, Ashley led two people to the Lord this afternoon!  She and her friend stopped to talk to a group of four, and each got to lead two of them to Christ.  YES!  Back to the previous topic, how do I give something up without feeling like "If I don't do it, who will?"

Even while typing this, the Holy Spirit is speaking to my heart, telling me, "Do you consider yourself to be the only person who can work in your ministries and be effective?  If so, you are full of pride."  He's right, of course.  I am only an effective teacher, mother, choir member, bus worker as long as I lean on God for His strength and wisdom.  If I keep close to God and daily ask for His guidance, I will not take on more than I can handle and I will know which tasks to say "no" to.  I know that some jobs I have now will not be forever; I will need to listen to the Holy Spirit's reminder to wait on the Lord and serve in the areas He wants me to serve in.  Sure, our physical bodies get tired or sick, and we need a break or some healing time.  But when our minds and our spirits get tired or sick, many times it's because we've labeled ourselves indispensable or "Super Mom" and feel we have to accept any task mentioned in our hearing because simply no one else is able to do the job right.  Then, when we begin to fail due to lack of Spirit guidance, we think we are overworked and under appreciated, instead of realizing the simple truth that we bit off more than we could chew.  God, help me to trust You to provide just the tasks You know I need and forego the self-promoting desire to sign up for everything.  After all, only God is able to do everything!

Dale is doing his usual thing---walking some/falling some, doing well in some classes/failing others, being sweet to his mom/annoying his sisters, claiming his faulty memory as an excuse for not doing something/ refusing to admit he did do something because he does not remember doing it!  Yep, that about sums it up!  Dale is exactly who God wants him to be right now, and we thank God for our son.

Take care and God bless you!

Proverbs 3: 5 - 6  "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."

Welcome, Fall!

Once again, I apologize for not updating this blog in a timely fashion, but this time I have a really good excuse........Mother Nature.  Or Father God, to be more accurate.

I've been thinking about what news to share, and I realized I really only have three newsworthy items to relate:

1.)  We have had the weirdest weather here lately.  You know how, a few years ago, everyone was blaming El Nino for all the rain we were getting?  Ever since September began, we here in western Washington have been subject to a whole range of inclement weather that we don't usually get to experience.  (Notice how I put a positive spin on that......"we don't get to"!)  In fact, I've begun to wonder if we're in some version of the Twilight Zone and have been secretly transported from Washington State to some other part of the country.  We've had lots of lightning and thunderstorms, and we even had a tornado!!!  Can you believe that?  A tornado right here in Spanaway---well, Frederickson.  This kind of severe weather knocked out power in some places and caused us to lose our internet for a few days (told you I had a good excuse!).  Plus, the city is doing road work down the street our church sits on; this construction combined with the storming knocked out our internet at church/school.  Qwest says they're working on it, but we've been without access for several days now.  Who's for moving to Hawai'i?  (Wait.....they have hurricanes there.  Never mind.)

2.)  Chad celebrated his 48th birthday on Saturday.  Katie paid him the ultimate compliment when she asked me how old he was.  I told her, "He's 48," and she replied, shocked, "He doesn't look 48!"  He just grinned when I relayed this to him.  He's been working out at our local gym and has lost quite a bit of weight in the past six or seven months.  He's quite the hunk now!  :-D  He gets to reward himself and take a well-earned vacation later this week when he goes hunting.  His cousin is planning to join him for a few days; he and Chad grew up together and will enjoy spending some time doing something they both love.  Happy hunting!

3.)  Our JV/V football teams played at home this past Friday, and we got to watch most of the games.  Our boys were victorious!  There were some awesome plays made on both sides of the ball.  Our guys were catching passes and running for touchdowns, and our defense was chasing down their receivers and pulling flags.  Two other teams came to play us and each other, so the field was busy all day.  I think our JV won one of their games, and our varsity won both.  We had a lot of fun cheering our teams on, and my students took a bit of time to run around before we headed back up the hill toward our classroom to get ready to go home.  The weather was actually really great that day---nice and sunny---and the only drawback to the day was the fact that the bees were out en force enjoying the day as well.  I don't think anyone got stung though, so that's good.

Don't we have a wonderful God?  It is amazing to realize that He loves us and wants to have a personal relationship with us.  He isn't waiting for us to become a better person or clean up our lives and anything---He wants to be close to us right now.  And we use the stupidest excuses to avoid that close relationship with our Maker.  Like "I don't have time right now" or "I don't feel worthy" or "I will when I'm older."  We will never have more than 24 hours in each day, so why wait for more time?  Will there ever be a time when we feel worthy to approach God......as if we could ever accrue enough good works to impress Him.  We should start now, today, and take just a few minutes to read His Word and pray.  As I tell my students, "If you never get started, you'll never get it done."  God is waiting to hear us say, "Hello, Lord.  I'm ready to start."

Hebrews 4: 16  "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."

Busy, busy, busy!

Isn't that how life always is?  Too busy to even think sometimes, it seems.  We're on this crazy merry-go-round of school and church and teen activities and choir and nursery and bus visitation and upcoming sports events..........AAAAARRRGGHH!!!   No wonder that, when we get a day off, we tend to sit around and do absolutely NOTHING!  Drives Chad nuts, unfortunately.

Amanda seems to be doing well at college.  She calls me nearly every day whenever she has time between classes, homework, and her new job at Chik-Fil-A.  She loves that job so much already!  This is a good thing since she needs all the hours she has been working in order to pay her own school bill.  Some of her classes/teachers she likes; some she is less fond of.  }:-(  Oh, well---you can't get everything you wish for.  Lots of church folks have been asking about her and wishing her well.  Her family misses her incredibly much (still can't think too much about it or we cry!).

The kids have taken just enough quizzes and/or tests to be encouraged/depressed about their grades so far.  And, of course, no matter how much time we spend at school, it never fails that, as soon as we pull into the driveway, someone remembers some vital book that they forgot in their locker.  I've already decided my response for this year:  "Call someone to get the notes or try to get it done first thing tomorrow morning at school."  This may sound callous, but it sure saves gas money!

Dale has has a hard time physically adjusting to the school schedule.  That's the only way I can explain his constant falling of late.  He falls at least once a day, usually with his legs jerking or giving out on him.  Yesterday Dale fell in the bathroom face-first, reddening the area around one eye and causing his nose to swell.  Chad and I were a bit alarmed because Dale's nose seemed slightly off-center.  I have no idea how long it's been like that.......maybe even since birth!  Either that or he broke his nose at some point and it healed slightly crooked.  We decided not to make a big fuss about it either way.  He is what he is.  ;-)  Please do pray for Dale, though, about his falling.  He is walking just about the same as usual, just his limbs jerk sometimes and cause him to be unsteady.  That, and the dog gets in the way and trips Dale up!  One of these days Peanut is going to get kicked and not necessarily by accident.  You'd think she would learn.

Chad is already looking forward to some time off next month to go hunting.  He's been calling his cousins to see who all is going and planning what he needs to pack.  This is his time each fall to get away from work and stress and noisy family and just enjoy himself.  He's not bagged a deer yet, but he says the ratio this year is really good.  Maybe he'll bring back some venison for us to enjoy.  Happy hunting!

It's that time of year again.......time to stock up on candy corn and especially candy pumpkins.  For some reason, I love those stupid candy pumpkins.  I mean, why?  They don't taste like pumpkin or anything.  Speaking of, I saw some pumpkin spice-flavored candy corn in the store the other day but I didn't have the courage to actually spend money to try it.  You never know with some of those flavors---they might be really good or they might be really horrible.  Like those Jelly Belly jelly beans that taste gross on purpose to prank people:  ear wax and vomit and dirt.  Who wants a jelly bean that tastes like that?!  Yuck!!  Then again, jelly beans aren't really supposed to taste like buttered popcorn either, are they?  To each his own.

I'm going to close this madly rambling post with an admittedly terrible joke:  Did you hear about the man who accidentally drank a can of varnish?  He died, of course, but he had a lovely finish.  (I tried using the word shellac, but my kids had no idea what that was!)

Proverbs 3: 5-6  "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy path."

And then there were six.

At 5:10 this morning, I watched my husband's truck pull out of the driveway, laden with multiple suitcases, boxes, bags stuffed to the brim, a huge basket of goodies, my husband, two giggling high school girls, and one rather terrified but determined college-bound young lady.  I've been praying for and dreading this moment for nearly nineteen years!  Amanda is ready to turn this page and begin this new chapter in her life---she has prepared well through school; she has worked hard to earn the money needed to walk on campus and pay her first payment; she has given her heart to the Lord and is willing to do whatever He asks.  This is her moment of triumph, her destiny (if that phrase isn't too trite), her future.  Once she sets foot on the campus of Golden State Baptist College in Santa Clara, CA, receives her dorm assignment, and settles in, she'll do great.  Right now though, she is nearly scared stiff!

Amanda is my oldest but not necessarily my most independent child.  She is the only one who couldn't go to sleepovers when she was younger without getting so homesick she would throw up and have to be brought home again. She is very independent on the outside but very much a homebody on the inside.  It took her a long time to even be willing to make the decision to move away from home; now she's going to be responsible for herself completely.  She has to get a job right away in order to work her way through college.  She has to plan her class schedule, her work schedule, her shopping schedule, and her ministry schedule.........not to mention finding time to eat!  (She seriously thinks she'll starve to death in the first month because she won't have any time or money to eat!!)  With each of her concerns, I've tried to alleviate the stress by assuring her it will all work out and God will take care of her, but that is something she will have to discover for herself.  I have no doubt God will provide her with a good job, caring roommates, loving friends, and helpful teachers who will guide her through these next few years.  She'll get to come home for Christmas and summer (I hope!), and each time we'll see her change more and more into the beautiful young adult God desires her to be.  I'm going to miss her so much I literally can't even think about it without crying.  God bless my Amanda Rae.

It's a very good thing we have a day off school today!  I have the luxury of staying home, sitting on the couch, and crying any time I feel like it.  And I've felt like it on average about every four minutes!  You'd think no one else in the history of the world has ever had to send their firstborn off to college, right?  The ladies at church last night were giving me hugs and assuring me they knew exactly how I felt and that it would be all right eventually.  The men were joking about how glad I should be to "get one out of the house", but they too know how Chad and I feel.  Chad gets to drive Amanda, along with Katie and their friend Samantha, down to college, but he doesn't get to stick around for a few days and help her settle in.  They get to stay for a few hours on Tuesday morning and then begin the 16-hour journey home, stopping somewhere to stay Tuesday night and arriving home on Wednesday in time for Chad to get some sleep before getting up to work a Wednesday night shift!  I'm glad Katie got to go with them; she's going to miss her older sister/best friend more than even I know.  And Samantha is friends with both of them and will keep everyone laughing on the way down (relieving stress) while comforting Katie on the way home.  It's actually best for me not to go; I have to teach anyway on Tuesday (my boss kind of expects me to be there), and I don't know if I could handle moving Mandie into her dorm room and then walking away.  I do know that I would be a definite wet blanket the entire way home, tears streaming down my face and breathing through my mouth because my nose would be stopped up and winding up with the mother of all migraines brought on by my own misery.  At least at home, I have three other children to distract me and demand my attention.  Who knew I'd be thankful for more kids?!

God has proven His ability and desire to care for us in so many ways of late.  We, being human, tend to see material gain or financial benefits as the only proof positive of God's loving care, but God knows that about us and sends us such proof occasionally just because He loves us.  Amanda has been in near-constant communication with her contact at college, receiving information about dorm life, the job fair, and financial status.  We had checked online earlier this summer to see how much she needed to walk on campus and found the amount to be about $950.  With the $100/month scholarship she received after graduation, Amanda had just enough saved up.  Then, just a week ago, Amanda received an email with her expenses broken down by category; unfortunately the bottom line read about $200 more than she had anticipated.  This nearly sent her into a tailspin, worrying that they would turn her away at the door for not having enough money to make that full first payment.  (God's hand of providence in three, two, one.......)  Last night at church, people gave her hugs and handed her notes of encouragement.  Tucked inside the envelopes were twenties and a couple of fifties!  This, along with her final paycheck from one of her cleaning jobs, totaled $205.  Praise the Lord!!!  Once again, He gives just what we need just when we need it.  Aaaaaaannnnndd, at church last night we were handed a letter that was addressed to The Ostrander Family but sent to the church address.  Inside was a sweet note from someone in the area named Sharon who thanked us for this blog, reminded us we still had prayer partners everywhere, and enclosed a check for $200 to use any way we needed to.  Amanda and I just looked at each other and grinned!  We have a God in Heaven Who is just itching to bless us, don't we?  Thank You, Lord, for Your wonderful hand of blessing on our family.  We don't deserve it---we deserve hell---but He chooses to shower us with His love through the kindness of others.  We get blessed and they get blessed.........it's a win/win situation!

Thank you for all your prayers, love, encouragement, and help throughout these last two years.  It's been amazing to see God's family in action all across the world as you agonized with us, cried with us, shouted with us, and prayed with us.  You have encouraged us and strengthened our hearts with your love and prayers and comments, and we hope to have helped you in return.  God bless you richly for all you have been to our family.  We love you guys!

Philippians 4: 19  "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."