We've got spirit!

So here goes trying to blog about our past few weeks. I had a trip to the ER and learned that the ER is really only for dying people and should never be attended unless like I said you are dying. I visited a hypochondriac Dr at the insta who thought I had anything from shingles to a fracture in my neck. Then I went to the Chiro and found out I had a rib out of alignment and it was causing a pinched nerve. I guess it is ok to listen to hubby every once in awhile. (He suggested I go to the chiro in the first place) Then Emma and Joseph come down with really high fevers, 102. The fevers keep coming and going so we are assuming it is viral. Emma's went up to 103 for a very short period last night. We gave her medicine and put her in a cool bath. Joshua doesn't have a bad fever but he has lost his voice and it cracks me up. When he laughs our cries it is an adorable sound.

Cute kid bits:
When we were playing cards tonight Jared was on Emma's team and he was getting really excited for her when she would do good. The kids seem to get along so much better know that we home school.
*Emma is learning how to read and I think she finally gets the concept of how to sound out words. She is so proud of herself. And we are to.
*Joshua is starting to thin out and I think it is due to his mobility. He is waking up so I guess I will try to write more later.

Joshua is 7 Months already

*****Seven Month Milestones*****

*Jan 11th he finally figured out how to crawl with both hands and knees. He has been doing his seal crawl, or rocking on his hands and knees then throwing himself forward.

*Jan23rd he pulled up to standing. Wait not yet!
*Joshua can pick up very small things and put them in his mouth. He loves to eat Cheerios and does not like that it takes to long to eat baby food.
*He said Mama really clearly a few days ago.

*He weighs about 24 lbs

*He loves to be around us. He was sitting in his walker the other day and he was bending backwards to look at us.
*He mimics the sounds the other kids make. Joseph will scream so Joshua will scream.
*His voice sounds older. Sometimes I am not sure it is him "talking"
*Joseph has discovered that it is fun to sit on Joshua. He thinks it is very funny. Amazingly Joshua doesn't seem to mind. I think it is good that Joshua is such a big kid! That way he can rough house with his older brothers.
*I had to go to the Dr's on Friday and when I told him how big Joshua his mouth almost dropped to the floor. It was funny to me!
*He laughs when you get him from his nap. He cries to let you know he wants you to come get him but then once you walk into the room he laughs at you! Almost to say, "It worked! I got you here."
*He can switch toys from one hand to the other.
*He gives big huge slobber kisses. He grabs your face and won't let you move. Love it!

"All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them." Walt Disney

I have just finished a most heart wrenching story. The kind you don't just read, you live and breath right along with the characters. I woke up this morning with pictures in my head. As though I had seen the movie not just read her words. It will leave an everlasting memory in my heart. The book is called The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.

What amazed me most was the strong influence of the Holy Ghost in their lives. These women were good. They struggled with their difficult situation but they truly tried to do what was asked of them. They searched diligently to do his will. Once their situation became what we would consider unbearable the teachings they had known their whole lives took on truth. It was no longer bible stories, it was reality. What examples of faith these women share for all is something to be desired.

Two powerful points stuck out to me above others.

When Corrie and her sister Betsie arrived at yet another camp that was more crowded and more filthy and less cared for then the one before. The interchange between these two sister. " " 'Betsie, How can we live like this?"
"Show us. Show us how." It was said so matter of factly it took me a second to realize she was praying. More and more the distinction between prayer and the rest of life seemed to be vanishing for Betsie."
The answer then came to them through a memory of a verse they had read in the bible earlier that day.
"That's it Corrie! That's His answer. 'Give thanks in all circumstances!' That's what we can do."
They then start to name off simply thing Gods have given them. Betsy even suggests being thankful for the fleas. That is such a stretch for Corrie. She replies, "There's no way even God can make me grateful for fleas."
"'Give thanks in all circumstances' " Betsie quoted. "It doesn't say 'in pleasant circumstances.' Fleas are part of this place where God has put us."
Later in the story you learn how she was able to give hope and peace to many women because they were infested with fleas. The guards did not want to come into their barracks because of those blessed fleas.
Would I consider to give thanks for fleas? What are the fleas in my life that will turn into potential blessings if I can allow my Father in Heaven to turn them into such?

The next amazing point that stuck out to me?
Betsie was very clear about what their after war life would be like. She would describe it in great detail. They were going to have a beautiful, large home were those who had suffered from the war would come to heal physical and emotional hurt. She talked about gardening being an essential key to recovery and forgiveness.
"I would stare at Betsie in amazement as she would talk of these things. She spoke always as though she were describing things that she saw-as if that wide winding staircase and those bright gardens were the reality, this cramped and filthy barracks the dream."
Betsie dies in those barracks. When Corrie was released and given the chance she shared her sister dream. After one of her speaking engagements a women came to her and expressed that she felt very strongly that her missing son, who was fighting for the resistance, would come home and to express her gratitude she would offer up her house to be used for Betsie's vision. When Corrie was walking the grounds of the house for the first time she was shown the beautiful gardens and then looked towards the house. With hesitance she asked if it had wood floors and other details her sister had described. The lady asked if she had been there before. She said no but that she had heard about it.
How amazing it is that Heavenly Father can give us glimpses of our future so that we have something to hold on to and work for.

The power of our mind is so much grander then we realize. I think this book has helped me to see how we can truly rely on the one who has created all things and trust in his goodness. He can put into our hearts what we need when the time comes. He can give us courage in our hour of need. He can mold us into what we are asked to accomplish. We don't have to be anything more then what he needs us to be at the time he needs us to accomplish it. No need to worry about tomorrow when we can truly trust that he can take care of today.

"And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When he tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself" Corrie Ten Boom