~Miracle Monday...Elijah~

A Happy Monday to you!  I know the world calls Mondays "Blue Monday" and I understand the overwhelming feeling of waking up to a bunch of laundry from the weekend, school work for the kids, meals to make, all that is facing us that week, etc.  But EVERYDAY is the day that the Lord has made and we are to rejoice in them! =)
This morning I woke up not feeling the best (due to my cold which you will read about below) but I chose to PRAISE THE LORD and depend on Him.  He's given me a great day.  I have the 5th or 6th load of laundry in my washer right now.  YEA!  (My problem is that I have no dryer, and it's pouring rain outside and now I've run out of lines to hang up my wet clothes.  =)
Several of us have a terrible cold right now.   You know what happens when Elijah gets a cold...(ever since we lived in that apt. with mold) it goes straight into asthma, and he struggles to breathe, his lips turn blue, it's heart wrenching, we give him everything in the book to drink, oils to breathe, etc., and we always PLEAD the blood that God will help him.
Yesterday was another one of those horrible days.  He grew from BAD to WORSE and Phillip grew VERY concerned!  He prayed all afternoon for him, (while I was trying to rest/take care of Mary) and finally Phillip came into our room and told me that Elijah was very bad off and that he wasn't for sure what he should do.  (Phillip is the Doctor in our family!)  After several breathing treatments Elijah wasn't getting any better! 
He then wrote and asked our 2 pastors in the USA to please PRAY FOR ELIJAH!
Shortly after he sent that email off, Elijah came up to our room, and God had touched him and he had turned a corner.  He still has a cold, which could go back into asthma, but we are trying to take good care of him.
I'm sure he has more trouble with asthma due to the carpet in our home here (it was here when we moved in so...who knows what all is in it, though we've had it cleaned and try to vacuum often!).
When he gets sick...His asthma gets worse and he gets more short of breath due to Bogota being a HIGH Altitude! (nearly 9,000 feet above sea level!)
Elijah said to me today, "I think I'm missing a part of me!"  (I think he thought that since he's always sick...there must be a part missing...Like a puzzle part comes up missing. =)
That made me smile (though it nearly broke my heart at the same time!)   I assured him that he wasn't missing any parts and that God has a special plan for his little life!
We thank the Lord for loaning us little Elijah and for continually taking care of him!
~Noah invited his little neighbor friend Nicolas to church and we were SO HAPPY that he came with us yesterday.  Here are the kids before we loaded into the taxi and headed to church.~

 ~Elijah, Noah, and Nicolas at church.  Nicolas really liked church and told Noah to tell his Mommy that he wants to go to church every Sunday with us.  =)  Please pray for Nicolas and his Mommy.  Thank you!~

 

~Where does time go?~

~Back in October 2006 my friend Janet took this picture of our little Noah (then 3) and I.~

Today, Kimberly and I sort of reenacted this same photo with our little Elijah who is also 3.
~Mommy and her baby boy Elijah.  (Elijah was being so silly, he was making me laugh.)~

~I love snuggling with my children...I'm a very blessed Mommy!~

~Elijah's first haircut~

~Our girls had their last violin and piano lesson on Friday June 19th. With us going to visit our church in Cartagena for nearly 2 weeks, then coming back to TONS of work to do to get ready to go to the USA and pack up and move, I knew that we wouldn't have time for the girls to practice their instruments like they should. Here they are with their teacher Adriana. She's a dear. (I think that Kimberly needs to brush her teeth more. HA! (These are Billy Bob teeth.=)
~Also on Friday June 19th (which was my sweet sister Laura's birthday) Phillip got back from a ministry trip to Medellin. He brought these cute cookies back for our kids.~
~On Saturday June 20th before we flew out to visit our church in Cartagena for 13 days, Phillip gave Elijah his first hair cut. We strapped him in a chair so he wouldn't fall, gave him cookies to eat, and he did great. =)We had TONS of things to do before we were to fly that day. In the human it looked impossible, but God really helped us and we made our airplane on time. =)


~Elijah being silly...all trimmed and ready for our trip~
Today, Kelly Becker comes to help us for 4 weeks or so. We are EXCITED to have her come. She is the youngest daughter of our dear mission director(s) Mark and Krystal Becker. We will love having her here with us, just wish that we could be more settled. If you recall, we have to move before we go to the USA in August, so things won't quite be like I would like them while she is here. =) Please pray that Kelly will have a safe trip and a safe and profitable time here in Colombia. Thanks! =)

~Some pics of Elijah~

~Noah is THRILLED to have his little brother to play with. They are both early risers so they LOVE to greet each other in the morning and run off...Opps! I mean "crawl off" playing and laughing together. =)~
~Our little Elijah is growing~
~Looking cute with his curls.~
~Our kids were APPAULD when they saw that I had teasingly put Elijah's hair in a pony tail...just to see if I could do it. We plan to cut his hair soon, it's just that his "barber Daddy" is running his legs off for the Lord, and hasn't had time yet!! And I'm too scared that I'll mess his hair up for Life. =)~
~This picture is for Gramp and Gram so that they can see Elijah wearing his birthday gifts from them. =)~
~While Daddy was away teaching/preaching in Medellin, the kids and I went to our nearby bakery for a yummy breakfast treat. =)~

~Elijah and his "walker"~

~One day I had given Elijah a bath and Kimberly got him all dressed and did his hair. Then she put him to bed for a nap, for we were going to go to a park for our family day after his nap. Here is what his hair looked like before his nap....~
~All slicked up with no where to go. =)~
~Here is what his hair looked like AFTER his nap. =)~
~I love how his hair sort of curls. He's our sweet loveable little boy. I think I like the "relaxed look" better. =D~
~Elijah...using a little stool for a "walker". =) (Sorry this is soooo Dark, hopefully you can at least tell a little of what he is doing.)~

~Is our little son... now 1?~

Happy Birthday, Elijah!
A year at a glance...
~Before he was born. =)~
~3 days old~
~1 month~
~2 1/2 months~
~4 months old~
~5 months old~
~Scrub-a-dub-dub...6 months~
~Feliz Navidad~
~7 months...all packed up for Colombia~
~Our little Colombian cowboy (8 month old)~
~Our little 9 month old~
~Our little 10 month old chef~
~Our little 11 month old Construction worker~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And here are his one year old pics! =)
~"I can't wait to "dig into" this cake."~
~"Yummy, how did I get so lucky to get to play in a real cake?"~
(I had wanted some wooden blocks to spell Elijah's name for this picture and a sweet lady whom I have never met sent them to me. Thank you very much, Kris Stwarka. She is a friend of Sharon H's and attends the Ladies Meetings at our church in Ohio.)
~Love this smile! (I made this little romper for him.)~
~"Mmmm...these wooden blocks are tasty, but not quite as tasty as the cake." =)~
~Too cute~
~Awww...I LOVE THIS PICTURE!~
Happy 1st Birthday, sweet Elijah, we LOVE you tons and are soooo GLAD that Jesus sent you to our family!

~Kids under construction...~

(Elijah's 11 month pics)
~Hi, My name is "handyman Elijah"~
~At your service.~
~How DO I use this cell phone?~
~I THINK this is where I'm supposed to talk. =)~
~If you need any repairs done...just call me on my cellphone at 1-513-4-ELIJAH. =)

~YES!!! I got the day off!~
~Who cares about "OSHA"...forget this hard hat!!~ =D