TULSA ROCKED!

Hey people...wow....Tulsa came and went. Too fast, in my opinion. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, here's a quick update. At the Tulsa Workshop this past week, many ex-AIMers got together for a sort of reunion. AIM (Adventures in Missions) is a missionary apprentice program that I was privelaged to be a part of. I lived in Kosice, Slovakia for 18 months with a group of missionaries and a team of young people (6 of us). I was blessed with a life changing experience there. So many ex-AIMers and current ones too were together for a few hours on Friday night. We sang and sang and sang some more. It was for me, in a word, overwhelming. My heart was so full, I thought it would burst. I'm thankful for the time I got to catch up with so many. There were so many more that I didn't get to talk to as much as I had intended to. Heather Winter, another time girl! I was really looking forward to seeing you and catching up, but another time. It was good to see your face and hug your neck! Amy G, you are fresh on my mind and I prayed lots of prayers for you and your family on my way home. Please keep me posted on your life!! I love you! Wow...there were so many...I'm thinking of Claire right now. Claire..it would have been so great to see you there! Angie and Selandra..you have no idea how blessed I felt to be able to see you both and to talk and catch up...and to SING! Thank you, again, Angie, for pushing me to come and for taking care of me! Doug...I really enjoyed catching up and am praying for you brother. I could keep going, but I'll stop dropping names. If I got to see you face to face, I loved every minute of it!

I just want you guys to know that I felt so blessed, we all did, I'm sure. I can't understand why God has blessd me so much. It is too much for my mind sometimes to ponder. So...I won't. I receive it, and thank him for it, and allow it to empower me to paying it forward.

Also...some of you may not know this, but I only was able to come because of a very dear friend of mine. My friend, Donna, offered to keep my kids on Friday. She did it because she loves me and she knew how badly I wanted to be there with you all. If you don't know her, someday you will, and you will be blessed for knowing her too.

So...next year, same time, same place. We have to do it again...and make it bigger in number! Thanks Jason and Heather for spearheading that. You guys are awesome and your kids are precious and I love you both!

flee

Branson...

Hey everybody...we had a great time in Branson. Here are a few pics from our trip. We had a full couple of days...from miniature golf, go karts, swimming, walking around a new shopping area (way cool outdoor mall), to a day and a half at Silver Doller City. This place was perfect for kids because they could ride most all of the rides...even the big coasters! Asher and Todd rode a pretty fast coaster, which was impressive, since Asher tends to be very cautious. We are all still pretty worn out, but still talking about the memories we made. We also got to spend a little time with our friends, Andrew and Amy Baker and their kids, Julianne, Maryella and Baby Isaac. We really enjoyed hanging with the Bake's!

Todd....

Heather...here is a picture of Todd. I don't have one of him by himself and he wouldn't let me take one anyway! He had blonde hair as a kid so that is probably where Asher gets it. I was a honey blonde. So...everyone, this is Todd. Todd, everyone. Although those of you that read this thing already know him, most of you anyway.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. We are going to Branson for part of Spring Break this next week. Much love to you all....flee

Asher Thomas Patten...

I just wanted to post some recent pictures of Asher.

The top one is of him with his teacher, Mrs. Barden. He was giving her the Christmas present he made for her: a coffee mug that he painted and decorated himself. I know, I know, you're not supposed to give teachers coffee mugs, but this is our first year. We're all learning. I wanted to say something about Mrs. Barden on here too. It really has been a huge blessing for him to be with her. She really loves him alot. The cool thing about her is she feels that way about all of her kids. She is a great teacher and has been so great with him this year. He enjoys school and works hard. He is reading chapter books now and does so without much hesitation. His confidence has grown alot this year. Thank you Mrs. Barden for all that you do for Asher! We all love you!

The middle one is of him at the Kindergarten box car derby. He won his heat. And of course, he wanted it to be Lightening McQueen! That was a fun day.

The bottom one is just cute. His hair is growing per his request. I don't know how much longer I can hold out though. He is such a good boy. He has his moments like any other boy, but he makes us very proud. I wish I had a picture of him with his dad from this weekend. They ran/walked a 5K race in Little Rock. At first, Asher was not happy about it. It was cold and early in the morning and he was tired. But Todd said that after the first mile, he warmed up and saw how so many people out there were having fun. It was like a party. He really got into it then and would sprint to get ahead of different groups. In the end, he got a medal for finishing which was a BIG deal to him. I'm so proud of him for doing it. They are going to make that a tradition the two of them do. Maybe we'll all join them next year.

I love you Asher buddy!

Rested and Recharged..........

I just returned from being away for a night and a couple of days, without my family......I have to say that all mothers should be allowed and forced to do this at least once every few months or once a year. I LOVE my crew..anybody that knows me and has been around me knows this. But I needed to get away for a bit, just to relax. All I did was read my book, my bible, watch a couple of movies, eat when I wanted, had some good chats. It was one of the biggest blessings I've received. This place was breathtaking. The house was called the "Serendipity House" and I don't know that I've ever known what that word actually meant.....until yesterday. The owners have a book with different bits of info and on the front was the definition of serendipity......."unexpected pleasure"............and it truly was. My heart was so full I thought it would burst with gratitude. And I came back with some new resolve, some rest behind me, more gratitude for what God has given me.

Thank you God for giving me some time to be still. Thank you for loving me. I love you so much! amen.

I hope you people out there in blogland are experiencing overwhelming blessing in your life. I know that God has his hands in each one of your lives.....I know this because I read what you write about on your blogs and can see clearly the hand of the Father at work in your lives. Thank you guys for remaining faithful all these years.........you are a part of my life that I love to reflect on........Tim and Kim, Amy and Jeff, Angie, Heather and Jason, Heather W., Jason and Michelle, Carolyn, Claire, Sarah, Lisa, Doug, and the list could go on and on and on! Sorry if you're reading this and I didn't mention you by name. I only know these for sure because they have a commented before. If you are lurking....come on out and join the party. Actually, the party is usually over at Angie's blog or Sarah's at present. Anyway...much love to you all. It's good to be home.

flee

Praise God!!

Well, the appt today went really well. She does have thalassemia minor (a type of anemia), which is what I have. We were thinking it probably was that, but her Dr. wanted to be sure. So...it is not life changing or anything. She will need to be taking vitamins and he also strongly encouraged me to be taking mine too! We will have to watch her. If she gets jaundiced or really run down, we'll need to have her levels checked. Worst case...she'd have to have a blood transfusion. So...all is well. Thank you so much for your prayers. We really appreciate it.

I wanted to mention to you all that we were in the oncology clinic at this children's hospital. There were so many sick kids there...at least a dozen or so coming and going...receiving treatment I'm sure. Most of them were smiling. I felt such hope from them.....and they are the ones fighting to stay alive. Amazing. It humbled me and made me very thankful for the blessing today, that I found out that I don't have to bear that burden at this time in my life. I also felt sad thinking of all that they are going through, their families probably turned upside down. It also made me aware of how easily I get "hung up" on the dumb things in my own life. It will be hard to complain about anything without some of their faces coming to mind.

Anyway...thank you again for your prayers and words of encouragement. Sydney is also FINALLY feeling better. So for now, I am at peace.

Hope you all are too....count your blessings!

OK People.....

You know how when you are doing really good, and sensing the Spirit working in your life, and you are hearing the Father more clearly? Yeah, well, I was having a few weeks of that....feeling good....obeying the Father's leading....things were just easy. Well...that has all come crashing back down to reality. The reality? That life happens. Good and bad. And yet through it all, God is not far away. I was reading in Lamentations 3 of all places this week, about how GOD causes the good and the ill (NAS). He doesn't take pleasure in seeing us suffer, but he causes it. What? Did I read that right? I always thought Satan was behind most of the "bad" stuff in our lives. I am still chewing on that one. But right in the middle of all of that was the verse that "Great is thy Faithfulness" is taken from.

"The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness."

Like a gentle spring breeze, on a sunny day, was this verse to my soul. I am committing it to memory.

We've had a tough few days. Sydney is sick again and it just drains me. She is so fussy and unhappy and just wants to lay or sit on me. I've also been sick the last couple of days. Asher and Sienna are saying they don't feel good either. Todd's mom was having a very invasive biopsy this week to determine if there was more cancer. It's also been 7 years since Todd's dad passed away this week. And yet, in the middle of all of this "stuff", I know that God is still near. Does this "stuff" change what I know to be true? No. But it still stinks.

So, I would appreciate prayers for me and my family. Tuesday we take Sydney to Little Rock, as I mentioned in an earlier post, and we would really appreciate your prayers for her. We just need to get some answers.

Nothing special here...just venting. Thanks in advance.