In and Out of the Woods: April 2015

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Spring Break 2015 - Smoky Mountains

We decided after everything our family went through last year, changes with the boys going to school this year, and only having 4 or so more years with Noah in our house (huh? that part is a joke, right?)... it was time to attempt an actual trip for Spring Break that included some family bonding, memory making, and road tripping. Gatlinburg was chosen. Manageable distance (9 hours) in the new (2006) tricked-out, extended cab conversion van, beautiful mountains, and cheesy tourist town. What more could our crazy family with funky health, social/emotional, and attachment issues ask for? So we did it and it was a wild success. I was COMPLETELY exhausted when we got home, but the kids thought it was amazing, so mission accomplished! I even heard at one point, "I love this family so much, I'm never leaving it for 2,000 years." We did have to talk a bit about how doing fun things isn't necessarily the best motivation for wanting to stay in the family God gave us, but that's not always what we hear lately, so I'll take it! And Louisa even left the state of Michigan for the first time too and she survived!!

First road trip in the BAV!

Of course Louisa did amazing in the car

We made it!

Nice pose, Kelvin

Early morning cinnamon rolls with an amazing view!

Every morning we watched the fog roll in and out

We hiked on the official Appalacian Trail for about 7 whole minutes!

Can't get too many pictures of that cute little miracle baby on her first family vacation!

Their favorite thing to do was hike in the mountain streams

Incredible views everywhere we turned!

Cute little critter hiding in the rocks

Oh, there she is again!

The Vanderwey clan even stopped to have dinner with us on the way to Hilton Head, what a circus we were at the Smoky Mountain Brewery!

Went to the aquarium on the last day, the kids couldn't believe the saw fish

And we finally saw a real shark!

These crazy jellyfish changed colors

The little girls loved the penguin tunnel

Our last night we spent at the dear Rader's house in Indianapolis. What a joy!

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Easter 2015

The plan was to go to the Greigs for Easter dinner after church, but sadly kids were sick and it didn't work out. So we ended up having a large pan of cheesy potatoes (what I was planning to bring), some scrambled eggs, and "empty tomb" rolls (Mom and Dad came and ate with us and saved the day with an egg hunt in the front yard). Mol and Joe even stopped by for a bit. We left at 6 am sharp the next morning for the Smoky Mountains!

Encouragement from the Psalms

Ps. 65:4,5 - "Blessed is the one you choose and bring near; to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas;"
Ps. 63:3,4 - "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands."
Ps. 62:1,2 - "For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken."
Ps. 61:1-3 - "Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy."
Ps. 59:16,17 - "But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love."
Ps. 57:1-3 - "Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, until the storms of destruction pass by. I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. God will send his steadfast love and his faithfulness!"
Ps. 56:8,9 - "You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me."
Ps. 56:3,4 - "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?"
Ps. 55:22 - "Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved."
Ps. 52:8,9 - "But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. I will thank you forever, because you have done it. I will wait for your name, for it is good, in the presence of the godly.
Ps. 51:8-10 - "Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot our all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renrew a right spirit within me."
Ps. 50:10,11 - "For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine."
Ps. 46:10,11 - "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."
Ps. 46:1,2 - "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea."
Ps. 43:3 - "Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!"
Ps. 42:11 - "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God."
Ps. 40:11 - "As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!"
Ps. 37:39 - "The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble."
Ps. 37:3,4 - "Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."
Ps. 36:7 - "How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings."
Ps. 34:8-10 - "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing."
Ps. 33:20-22 - "Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you."
Ps. 33: 18,19 - "Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine."
Ps. 32:6,7 - "Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance."
Ps. 31:3,5 - "For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me; Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God."
Ps. 30:5 - "For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning."
Ps. 28:6,7 - "Blessed be the LORD! for he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exalts, and with my song I give thanks to him."
Ps. 27:13,14 - "I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!"
Ps. 20:7,8 - "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright."
Ps. 18:35,36 - "You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great. You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip."
Ps. 18:30 - "This God -- his way is perfect, the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him."
Ps. 16:11 - "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Ps. 16:5,6 - "The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance."
Ps. 4:8 - "In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety."
Ps. 3:3-5 - "But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me."
Ps. 1:1,2 - "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is on the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night."