HAPPY 16th Brandon!!!!

Wow, where did the time go? Ok, I know I say that every year and probably every time I post about my kid's birthday's but really, where did the time go? It seems like yesterday I was up all hours of the night trying to coax Brandon to sleep.

One memory of Brandon when he was a baby was when we had an aftershock from the Landers earthquake (believe me that's another story). I had been trying to get him to sleep for about 4 hours. I was finally able to lay him down in his crib and had just laid down myself when we had a large aftershock. Before I could say anything, Scott jumped out of bed, ran into Brandon's room and grabbed him up and stood in the doorway with him. I stayed in bed and cried that he woke the baby up after I had spent so long getting him back to sleep. Don't get me wrong, I was concerned for his safety but I figured if the house didn't fall down in the over 6.0 quake the month before it wasn't going to when I had just gone through everything I did to get him in bed. Life in California, with a newborn!!!

Scott and I have really enjoyed Brandon during his teen years. Like any other adolescent he has had his struggles. And rightfully so, imagine traveling for 3 years and then moving to a foreign country not speaking the language and being obviously "gringo". There have been lots of sleepless nights in prayer for him to be encouraged and for him to adapt.

It has been a special blessing to watch him grow spiritually, especially so lately. He is serving in our church here as an usher, he sings in the choir and he is the game director for Kings Kids. He lends help and ideas to me as I plan events for ladies and to Scott as he works on ministry things. He is a great big brother. And he is doing great in school in spite of having some very difficult subjects this year.

Brandon, we love you and look forward to seeing what God has in store for you!!!!! Happy 16th Birthday.

Nehemiah at school

Nehemiah had his first day at the school this week. He really enjoyed it and even earned a marble for sitting down and working independantly.

Silas Crawls

"Hey Mom just wanted to let you know Silas is crawling. I got it on video."

Kaitlin definitely did catch this grand moment on film...on her phone. It's not a file type that Blogger will read. So, Grandpa and Grandma Duncan, Grandma Jay, and Grandma and Grandpa B, we'll try to email you the video. Until then here is a different video I thought you might enjoy.

Knees and Toes

After a relatively short wait Kaitlin's name was called for her exam with the Orthopedic. He carefully looked at her x-rays then pushed, pulled and twisted her lower leg. Then he had her stand on the floor while he check her stance and the arches of her feet. It appears as though her bones are good and the problem is muscular. On Tuesday she will begin 10 session over 5 weeks of physical therapy in order to teach her some exercises which should eleviate the pain when it comes.

Our "gordito" (a term of affection here meaning fat little boy) does have a turned in foot as a resultof one tendon being shorter than the other, evidently it's quite normal. The Orthopedic believes it should correct itself once the other tendon catches up in growth. If Silas still has the turned in foot after he is a year old the doctor would like to see him again.

As for Brandon, his nose has character. He saw the plastic surgeon for a recheck on Thursday. Since the break is not affecting his breathing they opt to leave it alone. If at any time that changes they will reconsider their options.

Thank you all who prayed for short waits at the hospital. Since all of these appointments were with the specialists our time in the hospital should have been much longer, especially since Kaitlin and Silas had numbers 4 and 10. Thankfully, I only had to wait for about 45 minutes since the Orthopedic graciously saw both of them at the same time. Scott had absolutely no wait on Thursday. Leaving us both with more time to get other things accomplished.

The Conquer Childhood Cancer Act

Three years ago this month my cousin Valerie and her husband Matt's lives were suddenly thrown into the realm of childhood cancer when their then 3 year old daughter, Madi, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. You can read her story here.

In October 2007 our friends Shawn and Sandy Smith were given the diagnosis of their son, Andrew's Diffuse Intrensic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) brain stem tumor, and of Sandy's breast cancer. (See the previous post for Andrews CaringBridge website link.)

I thought I would post this in honor of Madi Hixson and Andrew Smith.

“Passage of the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act in the Senate is a monumental step in the fight against childhood cancer,” said Coleman. “I am proud that my colleagues were able to come together and pass legislation that will provide the resources to not only support children and families with childhood cancer, but also find a cure.”

Andrew Smith Update

I thought I would pass on this link of some nice pictures of Andrew Smith and his mom Sandy. Please be in prayer for Andrew as he is having some GI problems where he is unable to eat well or to keep the food down he has eaten. You can visit his CaringBridge web site for up to date information.

The Marrs

The Marr children with their Grandmother.

From front L to R - Melissa, Maria, Nahuel; Back L to R- Federico and Nicolas.

Last week I blogged about Federico Marr trusting Christ as his Savior. Scott was just relating a story about Federico. Pastor Archie went to pick him up for Sunday school on July 6th, but Federico felt strongly that he needed to talk to Mr. Tilton, the head elder of the Mormon's in Colonia. He believed he needed to share Christ with them and explain that he could no longer go to their meetings because he had been saved at camp.

The Mormons are teaching that they will become gods, that Jesus Christ and Satan are brothers, along with many other heresies, and so Federico believed he could no longer attend a "church" that taught things that God never said in His Word, and are contrary to the Bible. Like his sister Melissa, he lovingly explained his new faith and shared Christ with them. His message was soundly rejected and Federico was told not to return to our church. When he tried to leave for our church he was told he must stay there. Standing strong in the Lord he managed to get out and eventually arrived to church.

We have literally watched as the Mormons have bribed their members to stay on their membership roles. Many new believers who have been saved out of the Mormons here in Colonia will tell you how they have had many things as a reward for staying with the Mormons. Nicolas and Federico were given new bikes to stay with the Mormons. Another family in our church had their utilities paid for. Others have had specialty imported foodstuffs - like peanut butter, etc. provided for them.

God is still on the throne. And Christ is still at His right hand. Someday Christ will return to claim His own. It may be in the lifetime of the Marr children. One thing we do know is that as we do the work of missionaries, God will draw the hearts of the Uruguayans to Himself. We need not bribe or buy off our church members. When one accepts God's free gift of salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, nothing earthly could ever compare to the peace that passes all understanding or to the expectation of living an eternity with God!

Adeline's Birthday Photos

It seems like yesterday I was posting pictures of Adeline's 7th birthday. The first picture is Adeline and Silas turning "8" together. The next is Adeline with her new wheeled backpack. The last is her with her Wacky cake that Kaitlin baked.

Winter Camp Photos

Simeon with the BIG ball from Emmanuel Baptist SIGMA team NuDelta.

Gustavo, a member from a church in Montevideo, preaching to the 10-14 year olds.

Pastor Cristian, a missionary from Peru serving in Montevideo, preaching in the evening service.

Silas, almost eight months old, enjoying his first 4th of July.

I Must be Hearing Things

Or did I just hear the doctor tell me that Silas is sick because he is cutting teeth?! I think at moments like this, every mother in the world would feel appreciated. Yep, there truly are some things I LOVE about Uruguay!