Blessings~ Little miracles

Miracles, how often do I look around and see the little miracles that surround me.  I couldn't help but look over at my husband and daughter snuggling in a chair and thank God for the miracle they both are to me.  I definately don't deserve such beautiful blessings from God, but there they are a few feet away and God gave them to me.

Life is truly a blessing from a loving Father, I thank God every day for giving life, for renewing life, and even for taking life.  Though the last is hard to do, actually nearly impossible, I still strive to thank Him for even taking life, because even that is a blessing.  This past September, we rejoiced to be blessed for only a short time, 10 weeks, with a little miracle.  We learned at our 10 week appointment with the Dr. that our little baby no longer had a heartbeat.  We were shocked, and it hurt, our arms ached to not ever be able to hold this little one on earth.  We felt God's hand in this, and it hurt.  We leaned on eachother and we leaned on God, because in all honesty it wasn't easy to stand under this burden.  We cherished the miracle we could hold, we loved on Malaya, and God brought us closer as a family.  We learned to trust, and have faith that this was all in God's hands and that He was now rocking our little one in His big and loving arms.  We look forward to the day when we walk through those gates and God meets us with our little one in tow.  We know God now has another little angel, and He's taking such good care of our baby. 

In only three months time, we trusted God and He has now given us another little miracle.  With anxious, but faith filled hearts I now carry our third miracle, Lord willing due in Sept.  God has given this new baby to us for almost 12 weeks.  He has blessed us by letting us see his/her precious beating heart at 7 weeks and 10 weeks.  What a miracle!  The Lord giveth and He taketh away, blessed be His name!  We are so incredibly thankful for this new blessing and for its health thus far.  We strive to not live in fear, but trust that God's hands are holding me and this little one.  I love seeing God as such, and the picture I see and feel is that God has His arms around me and He's cradling my now growing belly, reassuring me that He won't ever let me go and He's holding this baby in His hands.  We are so excited for this new addition to our family, and with prayer and trust we take it a day at a time. 

He blesses us with little miracles daily!  I thank God for the miracle of my husband, He is my life, my supporter, my protector, my provider.  I'm so grateful for a courageous man of God, that I can grow in my faith with and experience the miracles of life with.  I thank God for the miracle of my little Malaya.  Oh what joy and innocence she brings to life.  She's a gift from above, and I melt at her loving gestures and how she says I love you, by saying "to".  I love that she's learning to love God, with her whispered prayers and her singing of God's praises.  She's a miracle, and my heart bursts with love for her.  Thank God for these little miracles!

A little blonde haired blessing

As a little girl I dreamed of being a mommy. I have fond memories of playing house with my little sister, and even lining our baby dolls on the basement stairs to play church. Many years later my baby dolls are in the arms of my little girl and my dreams of motherhood are now a reality.

Waking up each day knowing that my sleepy blonde haired little girl is in the next room brings me to my knees daily. Starting my day on my knees in prayer brings to light who this little girl is from and what a precious, serious and wonderful calling God has given me. I'm not a perfect mommy and there are more times than I can count that God isn't always at my forefront. But I know that He is still strengthening me and sometimes it takes those times of frustration and tiredness as a mom to bring me to where I'm supposed to be, on my knees before my heavenly Father. I want to be a Hannah, one whose knees are callaused before God, and has total reliance and trust on God. Hannah was a praying mother of Israel, a mother who trusted in God, enough to give her son fully to God. I know I can't send my child away to be in the work of the temple of God, but I know that I can raise her on my callaused knees, trust that God is holding her little hand and teach her how much God loves her and how to love God with her life. From the time I found out I was pregnant with Malaya I've prayed for her and for myself, I want her to know God to know her savior and how amazing He is. God has done incredible things in my life, I stand in awe daily and I know that He will do incredible things in her little life too.

So, God gave me this blonde haired little blessing, she's growing so big, too fast, but I know that this is all part of God showing me how much He loves me and loves Malaya. There are those moments where its hard to be a mom, to find patience and peace when all you want is sleep or some peace and quiet. But, there are also those times that I find myself crying tears of joy and thankfullness because this little girl is a part of my life and brings such joy. Malaya is now walking, I don't know where my little baby has gone, but she is loving her new-found feet and independance. I never thought I would say I miss that dependance, that time that she needed to hold my hand to walk, but I do. She has grown up way to fast, and its only the beginning. She's learning so much, new words and actions. She loves to be affectionate, she loves to love on her babies with open mouthed kisses. And she's quick to blow a kiss or give you a kiss on the cheek when asked. She loves animals, especially doggies, and any moving creatures, including bugs, worms and birds are so neat to her. She even pointed out the moon a couple of nights ago, Matthew and I told her it was the moon- she pointed and said "moo". She's also learning to pray and be quiet during devotions, it doesn't last long but  she clasps her little hands and watches Matthew,  while he reads and prays, she's learning, and has a ways to go, but she's taking it all in and God is speaking into her little heart. We also sing for our family devotions and she'll sit there sweetly smiling as we sing, and when we close with Amen, she claps her hands and says "all done." These are the moments that just melt me as a mommy, I couldn't be more blessed.

Being a mommy is one of God's huge blessings to me, I didn't know what God had in store for me as a little girl, but He did, He knew the journey I would take to get there and that I would need to go through what I did to make me who I am today including being a mommy. I am so thankful that God loved me enough to bless me so incredibly.

Lasting memories

One of the most enjoyable and special things in life is building the lasting memories with the ones I love.  Matthew and I have so many memories of things we've done together in the 7 yrs. we've been together and love that we can make new memories as the years go by. 
Since Matthew's 21st birthday, everyother yr., i've done something special besides going out to eat.  For his 21st I took him on his first plane ride in a small engine air plane.   This was an experience so unforgettable, he loved every minute of it and I enjoyed sharing in that first experience with him.  For His 23rd we both had our first experience indoor rockclimbing, this was so fun, and so fitting as a newly married couple.  We learned how to help eachother in rock climbing by one supporting/running the ropes while the other climbed and vice versa which can translate into a great lesson in marriage too.  For Matthew's 25th which is this Sunday we went horseback riding.  Matthew had done this before but it was my first experience horseback riding, it was so fun and relaxing besides a sore bumm on my part.  Matthew pointed out at the end of the night that the birthdays where we did something together besides dinner were so memorable and that he was so glad that we got to share in some of our first experiences together.   Memories are a gift from God, and so are the ones we love.  The memories I've made with Matthew outweigh any physical gift.  Physical things will break or get old, but memories never do, they remind us of what's important in life, family, our husband, our kids, our friends, and a God who loves us enough to give us those special people and moments.  So, what do I want to do, live life making memories with the ones I love, before you know it God calls them home to their heavenly home, and only the lasting memories may remain.   Make every day a lasting memory.

A step away from the original

For those who have read my past posts I am taking a step away from what I usually write about and changing gears.  Though I love writing about the past happenings of our little family, I instead want to write and share about the workings of my heavenly Father in everyday life.  I am so excited to share with you how God is blessing my life and my families life.  I want to share with you the little blessings and moments where I just thank him for letting me be a mommy, wife, auntie, daughter, you name it.  And those milestones/events that are a blessing just because God gave me the ability, healing and life to enjoy and be a part of.  I want to give you an insight into how God is giving me the chance to share Himself, especially with my testimony and life experiences.  I want to share with you how God is using Mercy Ministries which as most of you know a organization and ministry so close to my heart.  I want to keep you updated on how He is using me to share His love and hope and how He is giving me the chance to be a voice for Him.  I  want to bless others by showing you God's little blessings in my life.  Many times life can be filled with times when God's blessings seem few and far between, but He uses those times to make us realize that whatever path we travelled was a blessing also and brought us closer to our Heavenly Father.  I'll try to keep up with it as much as possible, bear with me, I just hope you are blessed by this also.

Fall has gone and winter is here

Its amazing how time has flown by since my last post.  The summer came to an end quickly, it always seems to do that, and fall approached and came and went also.  Its already december and the snow has begun its descent on Michigan.  So, where do I start on sharing with you what we've been up to?
We've been plenty busy during the fall season enjoying the unseasonably warm weather.  Malaya loved the warm weather while it lasted, we took long walks in the neighborhood to the elementary school and to the playground at charlies dump to swing on the swings and to watch the kids play.  Malaya loves watching little kids, she'll squeal and kick her legs, its so adorable how social she is already.   We also spent time outside working on our landscape and getting ideas for our backyard which needs some considerable help.  
In September we had a lot to celebrate with many birthdays and the birth of another addition to my family.  Russ and Karisa Lotterman were blessed with another handsome little boy on September 13, Calvin Edward.  He fits in well with his brothers and already is such a little mister.  We are so thankful for the birth of a healthy little boy and that God continues to make our family grow.
October was again a busy month.  The weather was still beautiful and we took advantage of the warmth and sunshine God blessed us with.  Because of the weather we were able to have a last beach outing to one of our favorite places- Phelt mansion in Douglas.  We spent an afternoon out there hiking and walking along the beach.  Malaya loved walking through the woods and we enjoyed hearing her little squeals every so often.  I never get sick of spending time with my two favorite people, God continues to show me how much He's blessed us.  The following weekend we were blessed again to be able to attend the Run for Mercy event in St. Louis.  My mom and sister Kyndra came down with us this year and it ended up being an amazing weekend.  God gave us opportunity to bless the girls at the Mercy home there by giving them some little care packages and I was also able to talk in front of them and encourage them on their journey through Mercy.  My mom was also able to give the home a thank you frame she had made.  It was beautiful and had a fitting verse from Psalm 23 that means a lot to me and I hope to the girls there.  I was able to connect with a couple of girls while we were there and I am currently writing one of the girls who is at the home right now.  I pray God uses me to be a blessing to her and an encouragement.  The day after we visited we did the 5K at a park in St. Louis.  Matthew ran it while my mom, Kyndra and I walked half.  It was such a nice day and a very moving event to be a part of.  One of our favorite parts was when they released balloons, every balloon represented a life that was transformed at the Mercy home since it had been opened; I was one of those lives.  The event raised $55,000, wow, so incredible that that all came from donation and what a blessing to Mercy Ministries, that money will help save lives spiritually and physically!  God also opened another door to share Mercy with someone.  Mrs. Eriks, my pastors wife, and I were able to sit down and talk about Mercy and my testimony.  I am so thankful to God that He continually has been giving me opportunity to do this, in big ways or small ways I know I can make a difference and share the hope God has given me.  We also were so happy to celebrate with Matthew's brother Aaron and his girlfriend Maggie this month.  They were engaged on Oct. 16 and plan to be married March 18, Lord willing.  God again adds to our family, what a blessing, and we are so happy for them.
In the last month the busyness just hasn't slowed down.  November was filled with a bunch of birthdays again plus thanksgiving, church pictures, programs...a lot of things to do and family to enjoy.  We also were so happy that our friends Chad and Melanie Noorman had their first little one.  They had a little boy- Lucas Paul.  What a blessing to them!  Its so fun to have friends having babies, cannot wait to spend time with her and her little boy.
So, now the holidays approach us...and the busyness of life continues, but we are so thankful for the closeness of family that comes with the holidays, and for the celebration of our saviors birth.  Matthew and I have said it many times and I have realized more and more...we are so incredibly blessed to have so much and to experience God's loving hand in our lives.  We are enjoying every day to the fullest.  Being mommy and daddy to Malaya has been at the top of that list.  It comes with those tiring days and frustrations but ultimately we love her so much and enjoy watching her grow and develop.  She's got quite the little personality and is a little social bug already at 7 months.  She's moving around now, army crawling and rolling. Her smiles and laughs and open mouth kisses melt our hearts and make us realize we don't deserve her but God chose us to be her mommy and daddy, and boy are we thankful for that calling.  Every day is a journey as parents and comes with trials but joys unumerable. 
So, Christmas is just around the corner, we look forward to lots of time spent with family!  We also want to remember that Christmas isn't about us, its about Christ and how He has blessed us not only with eternal life but with so much.  Remember to give and bless others, we have so much when there are others who don't.  Praying that you all have a blessed holiday season!  Love from our little family to yours!

As we see the snow on the ground we can realize that God has taken our sins and covered them, making us white as snow.  "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Is. 1:18

Blessed

It hasn't been too long since my last post but I thought I would update you on our lives and share a little of whats been on my heart lately.

Since my last post we've stayed busy.  After the 4th of July holiday we spent the rest of that week camping with Russ and Karisa and their two boys Bradyn and Austin at Warner State Park.  Although I was a little apprehensive camping with a two and half month old it went so good.  Malaya loved being outside and despite the hot weather she was really good.  We spent a lot of time at the beach there during the day, they have a beautiful state park and beach where the boys, Matthew and Russ could play in the water.  I think Matthew spent most of his time out in the water playing with the boys trying to staying cool and playing "ball fight" with them, he definately loves the water and I think Bradyn and Austin liked that he played with them too.  Nights were spent around the huge campfires Matthew and Russ made, while the kids were in bed we found quite interesting topics of conversation, many times continuing into the wee hours of the morning.  We had such a good time camping with Russ and Karisa, the weather was beautiful and its always so much fun hanging out with their family.

The next week I spent most of the first part of the week doing laundry and putting away stuff from camping.  On Wednesday night we packed up again to head to a cottage Matthew's family had rented for the week on a lake near Caledonia. Although Matthew worked during the day I spent the days up there with his mom and sisters and he joined me at night for dinner, boating and to sleep there.  We enjoyed some delicious grilled dinners thanks to his dad and mom, had fun out on the boat and just enjoyed being with family.  Malaya did okay, although I think she was a little vacationed out by that time.  She had fun "swimming in her bathtub naked down by the water and spending some good bonding time with Auntie Kayli- she loved walking around the cottage with Kayli and it gave me a break for a little while- thanks Kayli!

As for this week it has been good to be home all week and to get things done around here.  On Tuesday Malaya had her 3 month pics taken by Tricia Brummel.  We tried them once before and they didn't go so well so Tricia let us reschedule and the 2nd time went so much better, I can't wait to see how they turned out she looked adorable and we got a couple of smiles out of her.  Thursday Matthew and I went downtown Holland to watch the street performers.  Downtown Holland is one of our favorite places to go whether summer or winter, its just got such a cozy feel and some good restaurants.  We had heard about the street performers and thought we would get down there early to watch and listen.  There were some pretty good acts- singers, guitarists, trapeze, strong man, piano playing and even yo-yo tricks.  It was super busy but it was neat to watch a lot of these people perform.   We ended the night at JP's- our favorite coffee house.  Malaya loved all the hub-bub and riding in her stroller- she was so preoccupied she skipped a feeding, by the end of the night she was tired out and a little upset- but still didn't want to eat till she got home, silly little girl!


Well, thats our last couple of weeks in a nutshell, summer is flying by and life continues to be such a blessing.  Every day Matthew and I are reminded of how God has given us so much and we are so thankful.  Two to three years ago I couldn't have imagined being where I am today, but through God's grace we are here and so happy and in awe of God's work in our lives.  We have been blessed with family and friends who have been supportive and have journeyed along with us through those hard times, although those times were tough, we are out on the other side better people, refined people.  God has given such restoration, I know that was one thing staff at Mercy Ministries said they prayed God would give us, and He did, but not only is it restoration, its more than that, the old life that I lived is behind me, I wouldn't want to be who I was 3-5 years ago.  Who I was then was someone broken, though many didn't know it.  Who I am now is someone whole and complete, free of everything the devil tried to lay on me, no more are the chains that bound me but I am free in Christ.  Its hard to believe the journey God has brought us on, it was a hard journey but a journey that was needed.  God used everything to make me who I am today-  I'm not perfect, the devil is always there trying to dig up the past and trying to make me fall, but I am able now, because of who God made me to be, to fight and to overcome.  Its not of my own effort, only when I have Jesus holding me up and on my right and left am I able to be victorious.  I couldn't be more content and happy with my life.  I have a wonderful husband who has been there for me through so much, never left my side and loves me with an understanding that has grown by God's grace throughout all we've been through together.  He has given us a beautiful family- a precious little girl, Malaya who is is such a gift from God and someone who we have already told and will continue to tell of how much her saviour loves her. He has given life and given it abundantly and for that we are so thankful! 
So, with that I wanted to share a little something out of  a journal entry from earlier this year.  After reading  Rom. 5: 1-12 which talks of having peace with God, joy in tribulation and salvation from God's wrath I wrote this:
 All of the things these verses talk about are connected- We have peace with God because of His grace and the faith He has given us.  And with that Grace and faith we find that the tribulations He gives us works in us so much, we experience through those times God's undying love, a love that saved us and spares us from His wrath, and through that love we see that all of lifes circumstances are part of His perfect plan and worked for our good.  And only then can turn around again and experience true peace with God.

A busy summer behind and before us

What a busy summer its been so far, I look at my calender and I can't believe how much stuff has gone by and how much we have yet to do.

The last month was busy with weddings, church picnic and summer stuff.

On Saturday, June 5, I went to one of my friend Esther Griffieon's bachelorette party.  As always those parties are so much fun, we played some fun, clean games and had great food and fellowship.  I left Malaya home with Matthew for the first time so that was kind of nerve wrecking but she did awesome and I sure did miss her while I was gone :)

June 10, I spent a day at the beach with my sisters and neices and nephews, though I got there an hour after I left home (got lost because I tried to find a way around a train stuck on the tracks)  it was still enjoyable, definately harder going to the beach with a little one, but its still so nice to be able to spend some time with family and to watch the kids have fun in the sand.

Sunday, we visited Byron PRC to be there for Alex Kingma's confession of faith.  Alex is one of my friend
Bethany's fiance.  We were so happy that God brought them to this point in their lives together and we look forward to their wedding in July.

That Friday we were invited to witness the wedding of Esther and Nate VanMeeteren, it was a beautiful wedding and quite unique if you consider that they got married in the dark.  The power went out about a quarter of the way during the ceremony, so Rev. Lanning had to finish his sermon by flashlight.  Although the power was out Esther took it well and said that she actually liked it that way.   It couldn't have happened to a better person.  We are so happy that God has blessed another one of our friends with the gift of marriage and we pray God's blessings on them as they begin married life together.

Sunday was Father's day, we had two great sermons on that day as always and enjoyed worship.  After the service that night we went to Matthew's parents for dinner.  The food was delicious and its always so great to be around family on a day like that.  I am so thankful for the Father's he has placed in my life.

The next week was way to busy.  Wednesday we had our annual church picnic. Matthew and I were on the activities or game commitee, so we spend Wednesday during the day making last minute preperations and picking up the big games like the dunk tank and blow up toy.  We were a little worried about the weather since there were tornadoes and thunderstorms all that week, but it ended up being a good time, the weather held up till we had everything put away and of course its always nice to have good christian fellowship with fellow church members.  We were so glad it was done and by the end of the day we were good and tired.

Thursday we had another wedding of two friends of ours.  Jared and Lisa Langerak were married at Southeast PRC.  It was another beautiful wedding and such a beautiful day for it also.  We are so happy again that we can witness friends being united in Christ. 

That Saturday we went to our brother-in-law Tom Pastoors open house, he graduated from college with a degree in nursing.  Congrats to him!  After the open house we headed to Hughes park for the annual Hassevoort family picnic- my dads side.  It was so good to see family again and to catch up on everyone and thankfully it was a beautiful day to be at the park.

The next week was thankfully a little less hectic, we needed a little break before the next few weeks ahead of us.  I spent a lot of time at home cleaning and doing some sewing.  I'm trying to finish the dust ruffle and curtians for Malaya's nursery, I also made some bow clips for some headbands for Malaya's hair, I was pretty impressed that they turned out half way decent. 

On Thursday, we went to my moms to celebrate my Grandma Drews birthday.  The weather was warm but comfortable, we had some cookies and dessert and had a good time sitting around and chatting.  The kids had fun playing on the slip and slide, they all get along so well and its so fun that they are all around the same age.  Its neat that Malaya, my nephew Conner and Russ and Karisa's baby will all be about the same age too.

On Friday Matthew and I headed to the beach to walk the beach and hopefully meet up with Russ and Karisa and their boys.  We were delightfully surprised when we met up with my whole family.  We watched the kids play in the water and even watched my siblings jump off the pier.  It was a beautiful night that we ended with some ice-cream at captian sundae.

Fourth of July weekend was busy, but we tried our best to relax and enjoy the holidays as much as we could.  Matthew had the day off on Saturday and Monday so he was able to sleep in and help me around the house and with Malaya.  It was so nice to not have to worry about him getting to work those mornings, he needed to catch up on his sleep also so that was nice.  Sunday we were blessed during the worship services with sermons by canidate Holstege and Prof. Engelsma, Rev. Eriks was on vacation that week so we had two alternates.  That night we had a fire in our pit on our back porch, it was kinda warm for a fire, but we couldn't resist.  We were also amazed by how many fireworks we could here in our neighborhood that night, I was a little preturbed by the end of the night with them since we heard them till midnight the night before.  Monday, we slept in a bit and went for our annual 4th of July breakfast with Matthew's family at IHOP.  After eating our fill and then some :) we were invited to swim at Tom's parents pool.  We spent the whole day there and had dinner at Tom and Abigails afterwards.  We then ended the night at whats the scoop ice cream shop down Baldwin.  We were ready for bed when we got home after getting lots of sun and having a busy weekend.

So, thats whats been going on in the last month, busy, busy thats for sure.  Our little girl is growing up fast also, she is smiling and cooing at us and we even got our first laugh out of her, it was so precious, it made her mommy cry :)  We are loving being parents and are so blessed daily to have the life God has given us and to have a precious daughter whom we love so much.  This month is going to fly by with more weddings, camping at Warner State Park and going to a cottage with Matthew's family.  Before we know it fall will be approaching, but we won't think about that yet.

I leave you with a favorite verse of mine:  "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."  Prov. 3:5,6