Nan

This blog is dedicated to our Nan, Doralene "Doshie" Parker.



Many of you know that Kyle and I spent the last two weekends in Oklahoma. In mid-January we found out that Mike's mom had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and was given 6-8 weeks. Kyle and I were able to visit her 2 weekends ago. The next Tuesday morning (Feb. 10th) she passed away. We headed back down Wednesday after I got out of school and celebrated her life Friday.

I never could have fathomed the impact that someone could have on my life in 4 years. The love, compassion, and welcoming heart that Nan possessed is indescribable. She has battled cancer off and on since 1996. Her faith and strength has taught me so much about walking through the valleys. We are able to rejoice in the fact we know she is in a better place and her suffering is over.

On our drive home from our first visit all I could think about was something Bob spoke about several weeks ago at church. It was about that common phrase we hear during such times:
"God will never give you more than you can handle."
It provides comfort, but it is not in the Bible. God's Word promises to not tempt us beyond what we can handle. But, at times He does give us more than we can handle. Such times allow us to grow in incredible new ways, relying fully on Him, placing all our trust in His plan, and gaining strength from Him to deal with things we cannot on our own. God's plan is much bigger than just our growth, but it is an added bonus.

Seeing Nan that first weekend was one of the most difficult things I've done in a long time. And I know it was even harder on Kyle and his side of the family since they have known her their whole lives. It was definitely more than we could handle on our own strength. Nan's battle was definitely more than she could handle on her own strength. Even though I would much rather have Nan here with us, I am grateful in hindsight for getting to witness Nan and her family find their strength in God. I am grateful for the experience to grow in my own understanding of what it means to truly depend on God.

I am also grateful for my family, immediate and extended, and the realization that they have all learned dependency on God in similar situations, through the passing on of my aunts, cousin, and grandparents and their battles with cancer, diabetes, heart issues, Parkinson's, and strokes.

God is good.

Thanks Nan. For making me a part of your family. For teaching me more about faith. For introducing me to chocolate gravy. For calling me Emmy. For loving me as your own. I hope you and Pa are enjoying a nice jog before school! (haha...a little laugh for the fam)


Valinda, Nan, Me, and Misty in Vegas last summer.

Cinema Church

Last Sunday the announcement was made:


That's right...LifePoint is going to start meeting at the movies! It's going to be hard work, but the results are going to be worth every bit of it! This move has not been a spur of the moment decision...our leaders have put a lot of thought, discussion, and prayer into this decision. Bob has done tons of research. This move is going to help us solve some space issues. And it is going to be super duper cool!

We also launched a spiritual and stewardship initiative called REVOLUTION. Bob is encouraging us to spend 40 days in prayer, scripture, and fasting to discover how God desires us to be involved. (of our time, talents, and treasures) I'm excited to see how God will push Kyle and me in our faith. God's plans and desires for our life are so much greater than we can fathom!

A special shout-out to Steve Walton. This man will do absolutely anything...I mean ANYTHING. He works as hard as anyone I've ever met. His servant-heart has blessed the people of LifePoint. Here is handing out tickets on Sunday:


And Brooke got to come hang out for the weekend. Great times!

Cold Weather

It all started by having a Thursday/Friday off of school due to the wind chill. That's right...no school because the windchill was like -20. (this is new for us Texans!) The very following Thursday...it was in the 60s. Craziness!

Sunday we took the youth to Winter Jam in St. Charles. The kids had an awesome time but it was stinkin cold! It is first come, first serve on seats...so we headed over right after lunch and stood outside for a few hours. We were actually pretty lucky...it snowed/sleeted off and on all morning and right as we were going in, but while we were standing there was not much wind and no precip. Several different people played but Tobymac was definitely the hit of the night. Our kids love him and his band puts on a great show!


My attempt to get the cold breaths...not so great!


Screaming...what they do best! :)

Tobymac


And FINALLY this week we had a good snow! We had a little snow/sleet on Monday night then Tuesday night we added about 6 inches on! Staying home Tuesday and Wednesday was nice and it was even more fun to go sledding with the James' crew! We went last Monday right as the big snow was hitting and again on Tuesday. I could use a snow like this once a week until summer! :)
He's cute.

Kyle and Haley. He's a dork!

Ashli and Haley K

Our house on Tuesday night when we finally made it home from hanging out at the James' house. I love all the snow!!!

Griffin attacking Haley!

These boys are so darn cute!




CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Last week was a week of news...of good...of bad...and of ugly.

The Good: Our dear friend, Jeff Graves, got engaged to his girlfriend, Jenny! We are so excited for him and can't wait to witness him take this special step in his life.

The Bad: One of my sweetest students, Nate, and his family lost everything in a fire. The good thing is that both parents are employed. The bad thing is that they were renting and didn't have renter's insurance so they really lost everything. We are taking donations: monetary, clothes...good used or new, food, house stuff, etc. if anyone is interested in helping out. I have all the clothing sizes if anyone is interested. (he also has 2 younger brothers)
,
The Ugly: A very special and loved person, our Nan, Doralene Parker, got an ugly report from her doctor. She has fought and bravely battled cancer more than once and it has now spread into her brain and is inoperable. I cannot express in appropriate words what I think about cancer...so I will not attempt to. I'll just say it really sucks...and I hate seeing someone deal with the pain and crap that comes with it.

Think Geek

One of my students had this shirt on the other day:

It detects Wi-Fi signals and their strength. I wasn't quite sure what to think of it so I had to look it up online for myself. I found the "Think Geek" website that has several different interactive shirts including a T-Qualizer shirt and an Electronic Drum Kit shirt. Check em out and buy you one! Crazy what they think up now-a-days!

http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/interactive/

Joker

This is Kyle....after him, Aaron, and Ashli were defeated by me, Vange, and Haley in Joker 5 times in a row.



We may have to let them win tonight just so they will keep playing with us.

Christmas Recap

Well, Christmas break is coming to an end all too quickly. :(

I left on December 19th to head to Texas and returned on New Years Eve. Kyle joined me in Oklahoma for a week. Here is a photo recap of our Christmas celebrations. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

My family in Abilene:


My mom excited that she finally scored on my dad:


When you grow up and get married you get excited about things like an electric flour sifter!!


Of course Valinda set up Christmas in our hotel in OKC:


Opening our mini Chis:


Mike & Valinda had awesome hats:



Kyle taught the kids to make silly faces:



Valinda's sister and her family traveled from Maryland this year:


We also visited Mike's family in eastern Oklahoma:



My trip ended up with me getting to see some great friends and attending round 2 of the Trans Siberian Orchestra. Mike gave my mom, sis, me, and Jodee tickets to attend with them and it was AWESOME. I was head on to the stage this time and it made the light show and everything 100 times better! So glad I got to go TWICE and see it from two angles! Awesome! :)