The Lord's Been Good to Me(Us)

As you all know, Ed has been out of work since before Christmas 2009. He has been deligent in looking for work, and we even were willing to move in order to get a job. Fortunately we didn't have to. The Lord truely has been sustaining us through this past year. We did have to dip into retirement a bit, but then that just means not as many trips to Disney Land once we retire.

Well, as of April 18th he will be back in the work force where he actually gets paid for the work he does. (He has been hard at work around the house with the remodel, so I can't say he has not worked this whole time.)

Life Changes

Well, we have a new addition to our household. Ed's mother has come to live with us. It was decided back in January that after she retired from Craft Warehouse she would not be able to afford her own home and would come to live with us. We set about remodeling the downstairs to accomodate this. Ed installed a door between the kitchen and what was the dining room.

He also installed French doors between the dining room and living room flanked by glass blocks.

To complete her "apartment" he installed another set of French doors between the living room and the entry way.

Finally, he is in the process of installing a shower in the old laundry room between the family room and the garage.

Then on February 10th, our world was turned upside down. Ma's back had been aching for months. It was the main reason she decided to retire, she just couldn't cope anymore. Her primary doctor told her that she had degenerative disc diesease. After weeks of physical therapy and no relief, Ed finally took her to the emergency room to try to get a shortcut to see a neurologist. Instead, Ma was immediately admitted to the hospital for a broken neck vertebrae! Two major operations later, she has been diagnosed with a carcenoma of unknown origin. For a while we weren't sure she was going to make it out of the hospital. The prognosis is 6 months to a year and a half, hopefully longer. Right now she is having to wear a full neck/back brace when she is up and walking about, and just a soft collar at all other times. Tomorrow she'll finish her radiation treatment.

Ma was released from the hospital to our house yesterday. We were told not to leave her unattended due to the fact that she can't see her feet when she walks in the walker with the brace on, and she gets a little confused when she gets tired. Plus, the pain meds make her a little loopy. She needs to be checked on every four hours to see if she is in enough pain to warrent the meds. This means we will not be getting a full night's sleep anytime soon. (Now I know why God gives babies to young people.)

A Great Visit

We drove to Rexburg Idaho last Thursday to spend the 4-day weekend with Jennifer. When we arrived most of the snow she had been telling us about had melted and you could see the grass. We even walked around campus without coats on it was so warm. Then came Saturday night and along with it 5 inches of snow. I heard the snowplows running up and down the street outside her bedroom window at 5am.

While we were there she took us to Craigo's all you can eat pizza parlor. Edward really enjoyed himself. I must admit their Oreo pizza was good.

Saturday night after the boys dropped us off at the dorm and drove back to the hotel to have a swim, I dyed Jennifer's hair a dark auburn color. I also dyed her dorm mate Heidi's a light blonde. We had a great time just spending "girl time" together.

It was hard to say 'good-bye' once again, but she'll be coming home in just 42 more days. She'll then be home until September when we take her back and do it all again.

Had to Laugh

I was looking over the new photos taken of our family by Ingela and picking one to replace the old one in my wallet which happens to be quite a few years old, when I realized that even though the children are still in stairstep, it is now by height not age. Jennifer has lost two positions already, and we figure in a few years she might just end up at the bottom spot when Aaron hits his growth spurt.

Still Waiting

It has been over a year now that Ed has been out of work. We are still waiting for one of the many companies he has talked to over this year to start hiring again. With the economy as it is, as well as the uncertainty the government is imposing on businesses, is it any wonder that they are holding off hiring? We continue to put our trust in the Lord and with His help we have made it a year so far. We count our blessings that Jennifer is able to attend BYU-I. She was given a Pell Grant that has paid for her schooling thus far. At the end of December we found out that she was also awarded a "Smart Grant" that helps pick up further costs involved in attending school away from home. I know that it is the hand of the Lord. He sustains us, and we will continue to wait upon the Lord and do our part.

Happy New Year!

I told you, we love our Union Titan Football. Jennifer sweet talked the coach into letting us borrow some jerseys for our photo shoot with Ingela. I opted to wear Edward's sweatshirt and go as the number one fan of my family. I love the stair-step photo of the kids the best I think. I told Ingela she was supposed to make me look thinner in these pictures, but I guess she hasn't figured out how to do that yet in Photoshop. I hope you all have a great new year as we start 2011.

Merry Christmas

This Christmas has come and gone so quickly. I don't know if I was truely prepared as I would have liked to have been. We spent Christmas Eve over at Ed's father's house visiting with his dad, his younger sister and brother and their respective families, and with his mother. It was a very relaxing afternoon. Afterwards, we took our kids to see the newest Narnia movie. That was very enjoyable. Yesterday for Christmas we spent the whole day at home devoted to time together watching a lot of our new DVD's. The Christmas tree is dried and ready to come down, but it seems like we just put the decorations up and I don't want to take them down just yet. We never did get around to making Christmas cookies or carmel corn, for we were flooded with goodies from our friends. (I will really have to get back on my diet this week!)

Jennifer has been home for a week now, and already is preparing to return "home" to BYU-Idaho. She also comes and goes so quickly. She is a burst of energy when she is here. As always, I will miss her when she is gone. I got to laugh at her today as two of the male figures in her life decided to join her at church today and she had to balance her time between both of them. We like both of them, but felt bad for one as he doesn't really stand much of a chance against the returned missionary. Both are sweet though and welcome at our home any time.

This time of year also brings with it Aaron's birthday. We celebrated it with him on Wednesday. Dad took him up to Cabella's near Olympia to go shopping for his Scouting supplies. Now that he is 11 he is an official Boy Scout and needs all the camping/hiking gear. Later that evening we met Grandpa Mueller and Grandma/Grandpa Greenfield up at Chuck-E-Cheese for his birthday dinner. Since we figure that this will actually be the last time we go there for anyone's birthday, the kids all pooled their token tickets (all 3342+) to win a remote control vehicle.

2010 has been a year full of anticipation. We have waited all year for Ed to get a job, with no luck so far. We go into the New Year with high hopes that our unemployment status will change soon. We continue to see the Lord's hand in all that we have. He continues to bless our lives everyday. Thank you all for your continued prayers on our behalf. Please know that we are praying for you and our country as well.

Love you!