Long-awaited update....

How to begin... The last six months have been a roller-coaster ride of emotions. Good and bad, happy and sad...etc. As most of you know, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer this January. This was not the news we were hoping for (obviously), but praise God she is now cancer free. She had a double mastectomy and was spared the horror of chemo and radiation...we all found this a huge blessing and relief. Josh and Shelly continue along on their difficult journey with amazing faith and honesty. I won't be redundant and write more about this as I'm sure all of you keep up with their blog. In the midst of all this God has given me a new joy in the day to day. I find myself thanking Him for all the little things...Ezekiel's snotty kisses, the sound of Emmy's tap-dancing, Elijah's way of telling a joke just like his Grandpa Syswerda. I sometimes feel guilty when my day is uneventful and enjoyable and find myself keeping my joy to myself. I don't know if that makes any sense, but it's just where I'm at. For instance, yesterday... The 5 of us took an afternoon trip to a beautiful park and let the kids ride their bikes and scooters all over the place. It was sunny, the kids were happy and healthy, Jason and I were quietly enjoying eachother's company...you get the picture, and I found myself weighed down with guilt for my happiness and peace. But I digress. I have truly come to realize that my life is not my own...God is in complete control of each moment and I thank Him for each tiny blessing...because I know how quickly they could all be gone. Perspective really is an intersting thing.
OK...enough rambling. What have we been doing the past 6 months?? Elijah turned 9, Emmy turned 7, and Ezekiel turned 4. Emmy lost her 2 front teeth and looks absolutely adorable! Zeke is riding his bike like a pro (no training wheels I might add). Elijah continues to love playing baseball and riding his ripstick...basically just growing up much too quickly!
We took a great vacation over Spring Break. We drove to Myrtle Beach and stayed in a condo for a week. We had such a great time we're hoping to do it every year.
The church continues to be a constant source of blessing...we had our first baby dedication and had 11 kids dedicated! Emmy sang a solo and had everyone in tears.
My job is still great fun. The new honors choir has experienced great success and will be a stepping stone to making the schools choir program one of exellence. The honors choir and I have also had a lot of fun making up a challenging summer reading list. We picked 30 classics and I offered $100 to the student who could read all of them and pass a simple test when we return for the fall. A friend of mine from church loved the idea so much she offered another $100! Really, this kind of thing really fires me up!!
We have continued to spruce up our house...my favorite thing to do! The kichen now has recessed lighting, a new beadboard ceiling and molding, new colors and new appliances...whew! We put in a stackable washer and dryer on the second floor last summer and finnally got is hooked up this week...my rheumatoid arthritis makes trucking the laundry up 2 flights of stairs a bit difficult. Lot of little projects we finish when we have any extra $50 dollars here and there. I am truly thankful for our little place and couldn't love it more (well...maybe if it had just one more toilet...HA!)
Well, that's about all for this 6 months! I will be posting pictures in the next couple days so check back soon. Love to you all!