A Strong Heartbeat!

Today was my regular prenatal appointment. Immediately we heard a strong heartbeat! Yea! It truly is the sweetest sound. I wish there was someway I could hear it all the time. I can't wait til I can feel the baby moving every day, consistantly. I am about 17 weeks now and everything is great! yea! Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. My next appointment is in 4 more weeks... October 28th.

BTW, my thumb is healing up great! I almost don't notice it hurting anymore... unless I bend it too much, hit it on something, or some little one grabs it! It looks great. No sign of infection.

Thanks again for keeping our family in your prayers. Your prayers are such a precious gift to us!! Thank you, again!

Love,
Melinda =0)

Ouch!

Isn't that a beautiful picture of a thumb? Well, that is my thumb. Actually, I think it looks GREAT! If you'd seen how it was gaping open after I cut it yesterday afternoon, you'd agree! That cut is exactly 3/4 of an inch long which doesn't sound long, but look how long that is on your ruler.

I was cutting oranges up to take to a weenie roast our SS class was having at our teacher's house. One slip & I knew I was in trouble. I felt the knife hit my bone. I was hoping it was just a good jab with the tip of the knife. When I looked at my thumb, all I could see was lots of blood, so I immediately grabbed a paper towel and applied pressure. At the moment it wasn't hurting too bad. I didn't know if that was good or bad. Dano was out at the barn behind the house putting away stuff where he'd been mowing & blowing. He was about to come in so we could leave in about 45 minutes.

I was kind of afraid to take the paper towel off to reveal the damage. I waited til Dano got back in the house. It was still bleeding but not as bad. When I pulled the paper towel off, it was kind of together already. That was good. I wanted to see how deep it was, so I moved it a little. Yikes. It was a good cut... nice & deep. Thankfully, I was using a nice sharp knife... not serrated! I applied more pressure. I was thinking maybe I should get stitches (and you know how I hate to go to the hospital), but Dano thought it would be fine.

After a few minutes, it seemed to stop bleeding. I put some good ole tea tree oil on it to kill anything that might be in or around it. I let that dry, then we put some liquid bandage* on it (which burned like FIRE). Then after that dried, I put a big bandaid on it that is the length of my thumb to try to help me NOT bend it.

This morning after my shower, I decided to take a picture of my wound... you know, like a kid who has to show you his boo boo! Well, there it is. It is ouchy, ouchy still. Not nearly as bad as it was. It hurts when one of the kids grabs it! It hurts if I try to open a ziploc! OUCH! Impossible! So basically, if it gets hit or grabbed or I try to use it, there is pain. Thankfully the throbbing pain is gone. I can almost forget that it is hurt... until I try to use it or wash my hands!

Thank you, God, for thumbs. I sure like them. They make my life soooo much easier...when they're not cut!

So for now... I guess I go back to peeling oranges!

Will you say a quick prayer for my thumb to heal quickly & painlessly & stay free from infections? Thanks!!

Hope you're having a great Monday.

PS We made it to the cookout & had a fun time! I left the oranges at home!

*A plug for any liquid bandage stuff. I'm sure this stuff has saved us hundreds of dollars by NOT going to the hospital on a number of occassions. If you go there, they use the same stuff except they charge you LOTS of money to do it! Plus you have to WAIT forever before you see anyone. I suggest keeping it on hand. We now need to get some more!

note... in case you wonder, I didn't actually post this until after 4 pm today.

Lots of Florida Photos Added

I've added three albums from our Florida trip. One is our day at the beach. Another is our day at the St. Augustine Fort. The third is the missions conference: group pix, me with kids at conference, the desserts the kids made (and I got to help judge), and the people chain at the dinner. (In case you are wondering, yes all the kids look wet. Part of their day was playing on some inflatable water slides. They had a blast!)

These are Picasa albums, so if you see a picture you like, you can order one for yourself.

There are some really goofy pictures of me at the conference because I'm talking during the pictures. Just look at the kids and other people instead of me. Thank you to all the folks who took pictures for us there!

Maybe later I'll add some more photos to some new albums.

I still haven't figured this out exactly, but I think if you click this link it will take you to our albums. I think clicking "slideshow" is the best and easiest way to view the photos. First choose an album then just above the pix on the left next to a green arrow you can click slideshow. Enjoy! (When you are finished viewing the slideshow, just move your mouse then click on the "x" at the bottom of the screen.)

http://picasaweb.google.com/melianddan


Have a wonderful Sunday worshipping our Lord!

Blessings,
Melinda =0)

Olivia's Birthday

Olivia turned 7... almost 2 months ago! I forgot to ever post the pictures for her birthday! I do remember posting around that time because it was the weekend we lost power and Dano's father was here. We're homeschooling still, and she's a second grader now.

Anyway, Olivia just picked the picture she wanted me to post. She's posing with her new W.ebkin she got from her Granny & Paw Paw for her birthday back in August.

I just wanted to brag on her for a minute. While we were in Florida, her Sunday school teachers there challenged the kids to read their Bible everyday (for a prize). Olivia is very "motivate-able!" For the prize, she just had to read a verse or two each day from their take home paper. Well, she decided on her own to start reading a chapter each morning before she got out of bed. She started in Genesis. She's now ready for chapter 15.

She told me tonight after dinner that she's decided she's going to read one chapter each morning, one chapter each night, and two chapters during her rest/reading time during the afternoon. Isn't that exciting!? I hope she keeps up with it. That is much more than I'm reading each day. During her rest time she had been reading these missionary biographies for young readers by YWAM publishing that we get at the JAARS bookstore. That's not a bad choice either!

I love that she's thirsting after God's Word. That is one of my prayers for her... for each of the kids. I can't wait til the others can read well enough to start reading the Bible on their own... and comprehend it! She's giving me quizzes... in the "Did you know..." kind of way. So, I better start rereading Genesis. She's already stumped me on something that I had forgotten!

Did you know Abraham saved Lot? Do you know from whom? If not, look it up in Genesis!

Blessings,
Melinda =0)

Derek the Builder

This morning (Saturday) when we got up, Derek was ready to build a house! He was dressed for the part... hard hat, vest, and tool belt. He also had is plans. One side had the before picture; the other side was the after. He was waiting for his partner, Daddy. Dano goes to a Men's Bible study at a nearby church (not ours) that meets on Saturday mornings at 7 a.m.
I took some close ups of the pictures. See, here, the house is sad. So is the sun. This house is old and yucky. The dog house is in need of repair, too. There is even a mouse in the old house. He says it is his house.
This is the new house they were going to build. Everything is happy in this picture. =0)

Derek has an amazing imagination that keeps him busy. This is a great attribute for an energetic five year old boy. Although at times his energy and imagination frustrate me, I need to learn to enjoy them more and even embrace them.

I do believe all children need to learn manners and how to show respect for rules in our society, etc. However, don't you think boys are often "discriminated" against and expected to be less than the boys God created them to be? A couple of years ago I read Wild at Heart and Bringing Up Boys. Both of these books helped me to better accept my boy (now boys) as the little warriors and hunters in training that God created them to be. Gosh, these books even helped me understand Dano better... and other men. If you haven't read them, and there are any men or boys in your life, I think you will find them very eye opening and helpful.

Well, I need to get to work cleaning something around this house! Hopefully the sad picture doesn't reflect our house here!

Have a great day!

Blessings,
Melinda

PS If you haven't made a guess on the previous post, make one! =0)

Guess What's In the Box!

Okay, I want some comments. Guess what is in here. Guess where it is going! Maybe I can get Dano to post the answer. (That is a hint.)

In case you need a little perspective. This is the size of a trailer you see on a semi or loaded on a train or being loaded on a ship.

Hope you're having a great Saturday. We're enjoying some rain here... and fall is sneaking up on us! Actually, the temperatures have been "Fallish" since we returned from Florida, but now the leaves are slowly losing their chlorophyll. Exciting times. I love Fall!!

Okay, now hit the comment button & leave some guesses! You don't have to leave your e-mail address. You can just hit anonymous, but if you want you can put your first name and state in the comment box so I might be able to guess who left the comment!

Blessings,
Melinda =0)

It's Official!

Well, actually tomorrow it becomes official...

I got a wonderful phone call this morning! Wycliffe Bible Translators has accepted us as members! Yea! Woo Hoo! Praise the Lord! Yipee!

Can you sense some excitement and relief? I hope so! We are so excited to take this next big step in our missions career. If the Lord wills, this will be our final step as far as mission organizations go. This is like arriving home! Thank you for all your prayers and patience as you have been on this journey with us! I hope you are excited and relieved right along with us! =0)

While we are "home," we still have a journey ahead of us! We will need to complete more training over the next year or two to get everything completed before we receive our overseas assignment. So we hope you'll stick with us and continue to keep us in your prayers!

Thankfully, since we are already here at JAARS, we won't have to move again until the time comes to head overseas. Most of our training will take place here at the JAARS center except the Training Camp in Orlando, Florida. We hope to go to the next one in January.

If you are a financial partner, please continue to send your gifts to MMS. The financial transition won't be completed until after Training Camp. We'll let you know how to make that transition. (Did you know anyone can make donations here from our blog? See the side bar on the right. There is a link that will take you to the website for MMS. The transaction will be be secure.)

In the meantime, if you'd like to learn more about Wycliffe, please visit their website:

http://www.wycliffe.org/

or you can visit the website of JAARS:

http://www.jaars.org/


Thank you again for all your prayers and encouragement and support!!!

Love,
The Whiteds!