In Memory of Cheryl Lynn Young (James)

A few weeks back I get a call and my sister left me a few messages saying she was going to the doctors and probably getting admitted to the hospital. I really didn't think anything of it since I knew some things going on with her lately. I called her back and she was resting in her hospital bed. The doctors wanted to run some tests and it looked as if she was going to go home at the end of the week. Well the weekend came and went and she was still in the hospital. Then I get a call from my brother in law and Cheryl was moved to ICU. Things were going downhill fast. Her family made it to Indiana in time to talk to her, even her 3 yr old niece got to see her and tell her she loved her. What was really neat was how God worked in this situation. The day we left MD to drive to IN my sister was in kidney failure and even the nurses said it wasn't looking too good, but God sustained her life long enough for her whole family to see her and fellowship with her. Another awesome event was that she was moved from ICU to another floor where visitation wasn't restricted so Cheryl got to see and talk to her niece. After that there was a great sense of peace in my heart and come to find out the rest of my family was feeling this too. We knew Cheryl would be with the Lord soon. A few days later her husband and his family were in Cheryl's hospital room and she peacefully left this earth to be with the Lord. All of us thank God for Cheryl's life and the time we have had to know her, love her, and fellowship in the Lord with her.

Happy 3rd Birthday Caroline

Wow we have a three year old! Yep today is Caroline's birthday. For not doing 'much' we have done a lot today. This morning we woke up to a beautiful snow. Then Caroline spotted her birthday cake on the counter and promptly asked to have it for breakfast. Part of me wanted to say SURE...but I told her we needed to wait. Gramma was coming over and we were all going to eat it then. She was happy to eat waffles with mom. Gramma showed up and Caroline was ready to open PRESENTS. We gave her some books and a jumprope. Caroline also got a beautiful dress with flowers on the top and a gingham skirt, a swim suit with hawaiian flowers and cover up skirt, a knitted sweater/skirt/scarf set, money, and various toys. Then it was cake time and the lemon cake with lemon icing with sprinkles went over great with everyone. Caroline wanted more but I figured it might be nice to get some lunch. So we all piled in the Jeep and went to LoneStar-Caroline's favorite place to eat. We all had a nice time enjoying each others company. Now the birthday girl is fast asleep. I'm sure when she wakes up she will request more cake and mom will say 'after dinner' lol. It's a blessing to have Caroline in our lives and we thank God for each day we have together.

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Steve purchased two kites a few weeks ago and we have been waiting for a good windy day. That day was today. After dinner we headed to a local park and it was perfect wind condition for kite flying...at least we thought so. The memories of flying kites as kids didn't seem so involved. lol. After about 30 minutes Steve got his kite in the air for about 2 seconds. The operator says that lack of air lift was due to a faulty design and will engineer a new kite that WILL fly. Needless to say Caroline loved running around in the field even though it was so cold. I ended up wrapping her scarf around her ears. *side note* scarf and sweater was made by Oma for Caroline.

Just another fun day in Southern Maryland

What a blessing it is to be able to live in an rural area where farms of all sorts are right around the corner. First we were invited to do breakfast at our friends' house. After a lovely time there we got to venture down the street to a local sheep farm. The sheep just had babies too-here are the triplets in the picture. Caroline got to feed one of them and as you can see she loved it. The owners were so nice to let us come over and not only see the sheep but check out their gardens. It was just beautiful. My mom (Carole) even got a cutting of a pussy willow tree!

Passing of the keys

It happened..Steve's Jeep Wrangler was SOLD this weekend. This was something that was long coming but it just had to be the right time. We all know what it's like to part with something that has sentimental meaning to us. I thank God for being patient with us and continue to minister his truth to us.