Watching, Praying, Waiting

Watching Papa slip away

Praying fervently that he has great comfort and peace

and that his suffering is short. 

Waiting for his Savior to take him home.

Isabelle's note speaks from the heart of each of us.

Revelation 21:4

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes,

there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.

There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.

Ordinary to Stupendous

For the christian there is always a

connection between the ordinary events of life

and the stupendous work of God in history. 

Everything we do in obedience to God,

no matter how small, is significant. 

It is part of a cosmic mosaic that God is

painting to display the greatness

of His powers and kingdom to the world. 

John Piper

Caterpillar Cupcakes and a Cutie Pie

Our Little JD turned 4 this past Monday!! We had such a fun day spoiling him and he gladly soaked in all the spoiling! He got some sweet phone calls from family and friends, played games in the morning, played outside part of the afternoon and even got in a little Mario Kart time! He chose hot dogs and macaroni and cheese for his birthday dinner and caterpillar cupcakes for dessert! He took forever to pick his cupcakes, right up until the night before. There were so many cute options in our cupcake book…..monkeys, frogs, dinosaurs, fishies…..too many choices for a soon to be 4 year old, but he finally settled on the caterpillar.

I was reflecting once again how thankful we are for our littlest Honey. When we consider the devastating choices his birth mom made which resulted in this 4lb. little one being born 7 weeks early and testing Meth + at birth, we are so thankful for the sovereign hand of God in bringing this miracle boy to us. There is so much beauty in the journey of adoption and we are grateful to have received and experienced this gift, not once, not twice but three times!

Happy, Happy Birthday to our little Jeremiah Daniel… May God make you a mighty man who lives up to his namesake…..a worshipper of God whom Jehovah has appointed. We love you little buddy!

Moments

Happy Moments

Praise God

Difficult Moments

Seek God

Quiet Moments

Worship God

Painful Moments

Trust God

Every Moment

Thank God

Look Who's 8!!

Birthdays are some of my favorite days and we had the joy of celebrating the twins 8th birthday on Saturday! I know, I know, I am only echoing what most Mom’s say when I ask…”I can hardly believe it, where has the time gone”???

The day started off very fun with breakfast in bed for both of the twins….and Daddy had surprised all of us and purchased Pop Tarts for the special occasion! We haven’t had Pop Tarts in the house for quite a while, we used to keep them around only as “after Sunday night church” treats but it has been a long time since we have done that. Needless to say, EVERYONE was quite happy over Daddy’s purchase! The day included Will getting to play Madden 10 and Mario Kart with Mitchell and Shelley checking many things off her “birthday to do” list! We had a delicious birthday dinner thanks to the delectable palates of the twins…..50/50 marinated sirloin steak, baked potatoes with all the toppings, lots of salad with Ranch dressing, Sierra Mist and Toy Story 3 and Princess cupcakes to finish! We also extended the celebration a bit to Superbowl Sunday when we had both Eschbach families out for some Superbowl fun…GO Pack GO!!! Since Dan’s birthday is today (Happy Birthday Dan!!) we got to sing to him also yesterday! It has been a fun weekend rejoicing in the lives of Will and Shelley and simply spoiling them on their special day!

Here is a peak at Shelley’s “to do birthday” list…. exactly as written…..we were able to accomplish numbers 1-12...I loved it!

1. Breakfast in bed
2. Make a crown
3. Dress up nicely
4. Curl your hair
5. Play a game
6. Paint nails
7. Go to jo-anne Fabrics
8. Sew peddiecoats
9. Have tea
10. Have dinner
11. Have dissert
12. Open presents
13. Play dolls
14. Do crafts
15. Make heart valintines
16. Make crown for Will
17. Paper chains
18. Paint with easle, outside if 60 degrees or inside if cold
19. Play house
20. Make big bed

Great Wolf Lodge

A couple weekends ago we had the joy of “opening” another Christmas present. This one was to the children, in fact it was the only Christmas present we gave to them this year… a night away at Great Wolf Lodge! It was very fun on Christmas morning to see their reaction when they opened the one present from Momma and Daddy…it held 5 pairs of goggles and a brochure for GWL! We had originally scheduled the time away for the morning after Christmas, but when we knew Gigi’s was close to going home to the Lord, we rescheduled our getaway.

We had never been to GWL, and we had a ball! Everything was truly on a grand scale and we enjoyed the entire experience!  We also had fun making a Dairy Queen blizzard run in PJ’s late at night. Actually we paid for it later as for some reason I am not sure where my brain was when we got JD his OWN mini blizzard at 10 o’clock at night! Even after all that swimming, bedtime was quite a chore after the mass sugar rush!!

We spent many fun hours laughing and swimming…I even braved the Canyon River Run a few times and the Howlin’ Tornado ONLY once!! I love the last two photos....they say it all for JD at the end.  He had done so good all day and had a great time but when we were leaving he started melting down!  Those were our "out the door" photos and as soon as they were taken, we quickly loaded up in the van.  Before we hit I-5, he was sawin' logs!!  Thanks to Mom for coming to take care of Papa for our getaway.  The timing for late January ended up to be such a blessing and gave our family some much needed and very sweet time away together.

Quote of the Day

"I can't wait to eat at a Mexican restaurant,
so I can use chopsticks and stuff!"

Shelley, age 7

Seventeen Years.....

and happily counting more! This past Saturday marked 17 years married for Chad and I!  On January 15, 1994 at the tender ages of 19 & 20 we vowed to love, honor and cherish each other till death doth part us. Seventeen years and five children later is a good start but truly just a drop in the bucket compared to the 64 years my grandparents spent together, but none the less a joy for us. We truly had no comprehension of the depths to the vows we were making that cold winter day in Alaska, but by the grace of God, He has intertwined our two individual lives with Himself and in Him we are one…. a three cord strand not easily broken.

We were very thankful for the opportunity to go away for one night! This only happened because of the many sweet people who took our responsibilities for a time so we could have this special night away. Mitchell offered to stay with Papa and so with sweet R’s help for the overnight, he took care of Papa for us….we love that boy and are so grateful for who he is and his kind heart. The younger four had an absolutely wonderful time with Kelsey and Aaron Tolsma for the night! We have heard all about what fun they had….the Library, Dairy Queen, Edaleen for ice cream, movies, dress up….the list goes on…thank you Kels and Aaron! Sweet Mrs. E came out when the children were brought home to spend some time with them and help Mitchell as he needed it. The kiddos so enjoyed their time with Mrs. E also…thank you Barb!

Earlier in the week we took some time to watch our wedding video with the children… what a hoot that was! We had a little shocker when we realized that Mitchell now, at 14 ½, and being 5’10’’ and 185 lbs. is the same height but weighs 40 lbs. more than Chad did when we got married!!! Not to mention his current shoe size …between a 12 and 13 totally dwarfs his Daddy….even now! We often lamented how over quick our service went, almost a drive thru wedding! This time while watching the video we timed it and after the processional and all the wedding party was up front, from the Pastor’s first words until he pronounced us man and wife was 6 min. and 40 seconds!!!! There was still a song and a couple small happenings after that but the total service time from the first lighting of the candles to the last person walking off the stage was something like 22 minutes….YIKES…how many things we would change about that day if we could! We love how different the weddings are now and how there is much more than just the “I DO’s”. Special vows and a charge by the pastor are just a couple of the sweet things we get to enjoy now. It is fun to look back and enjoy memory of the day but in reality it is not the “wedding day” that matters but the marriage itself. To God’s glory we are best friends who are so grateful to be married to one another!

Ecclesiastes 9:9

Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.

Then and Now.....quite a difference!





Much Love and Many Thanks

We have been overwhelmed with the love and care of those near and far as my Gigi went home to be with the Lord. We have been abundantly fed in all areas….. physically, emotionally and spiritually. We have been so blessed by the words of love, sympathy and encouragement that came in the form of cards and letters and still come from near and far… almost daily. The flowers and gift baskets were amazing….so beautiful and so many. It has been so neat to have people contact us from my grandparent’s history….family, people from childhood, others who worked with them, went to church with them or simply old and dear friends. All of them deeply impacted by my grandparents lives and they want to express that to us and give their love to Papa. Yesterday Papa was able to talk to a friend from his childhood who is 91 and still living…. living even in the same area where they grew up together! We were also able to connect with the wife of another friend from childhood (the friend passed away years ago) but his wife still keeps in touch. These relationships have stood the test of time, remained in touch over all these decades and now we are privileged to experience just a taste of the depths of these friendships. What I love the most are the Italian last names...Ranieri, Carducci, Panici…oh how I wish I could have spent just a few minutes in one of those home in the 20’s, 30’s and 40's! Those were very difficult times I know, but from the fascinating stories we have heard over the years from Papa, how neat it must have been. I can only imaging the amazing meals that came from those Italian kitchen's!

We are still astounded at the outpouring of love and service from our family and friends and from our precious church family. The meals came like crazy… hot ones…freezer ones…extra ones, dear friends taking our youngest children for the day, others coming to just be with us as we sat with Gigi for her last days on earth, loving on Papa and other family members that were here…genuine love in word and deed. Many details of the memorial service… programs, guestbook, the fellowship and food afterwards, clean up….all of it diligently taken care of by our dear, sweet church family. Words cannot express how thankful we are to have Silver Beach Community Church be where God has planted us for these last 10 years. We are especially thankful for our Pastor(s) and Elders and their example of loving and serving others in many practical ways. We thought we had known and experienced love at the hands of the body before, but these last few weeks far surpassed anything we could have imagined. What an encouragement it has been to our family as we are reminded how important it is to minister to others in their time of need or sorrow. Our church family is a beautiful gift from the hand of the Lord.

We are tremendously blessed.  We know it, are grateful for it, and don’t take it for granted...thank you.  We look forward to the opportunities to love others as we have been loved. 

Romans 12:9-21

"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."