A Week of Vacation to Myrtle Beach

 We just had a blessed vacation with Eric's parents at Myrtle Beach.  We were so thankful for a week of fun and rest.  Here's our photo dump from the week.

The younger members met the chic fil a cow for the first time.

We had some amazingly warm weather for February.  The sun was such a blessing to play in!

7th floor ocean view

A few of the hotels outdoor pools were heated and they would turn on the water slide at our request.  The guy that came was impressed that he had lots of customers and then was shocked to find out that they all called me mama.

Still thanking the Lord for a sweet time of rest.

A little Ugandan influence:

"Look Mama...It's a Bantwe!" (Big headed person and all the shared cultural connotations that go with that phrase)

 Yay for an amazing husband to do life with!

We took the kids bowling for the first time ever.  Lots of fun!

The kids and Eric have been training hard for a 5K.  They weren't to sure about running on the beach, but they are doing great sticking with it, even on vacation!

We also taught the kids Up and Down the River: the tradition card game of the Tuininga clan.

 Probably the most fun we had was going to a jump house.  (Talitha said it was more fun than anything else except going back to Uganda! haha!)  There were trampolines for all of us and then some.

This little guy jumped on my leg and decided to sun himself there while I continued reading my book.

These girls can talk their daddy into just about anything...including waking up before dawn to watch the sunrise.

Awake or Asleep?

In Mark 4:35-41 we read the story of Jesus calming the storm on the sea.  He had been sleeping in the stern of the boat after a full day of ministry and preaching.  His disciples came and basically said, "How on earth can you still be asleep? We are about to die!"  So, he woke up, rebuked the wind and then he rebuked his disciples.  They had little faith, but Jesus' work left them in great fear.

Fast forward a couple of years to Mark 14:32-42.  This time they are in the garden and death was once again at the door.  Jesus was in a spiritual battle and his disciples?  This time it was they that slept.  He came to them three times and begged them to stay awake..."How can you be asleep, disciples... I am about to die!  Watch and pray with me!"  Again they had little faith, but this time it would be Jesus' betrayer that would leave them in great fear.

Isn't this just like Satan, that great deceiver, to confuse us?  We sleep when we should be awake, and we are awake when we should be asleep!  He puts us on alert concerning the kingdom of this world and lulls us to sleep in all things concerning the kingdom of heaven.  We can be so hot when it comes to earthly pleasures, and chillingly cold in our pursuit of heavenly rewards.

Let us pray that the Holy Spirit would so fill us that we see this deception for what it is.  Let us watch, pray and stay awake today for the right things! And when it is time to sleep tonight, let's sleep in peace and let our worries go.  We will never add even one day to our lives by staying awake to fix things.  So often our spirit truly is willing, and our flesh really is so weak.  But God remembers that we are dust.  He knows that about us.  He sends the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness.  Isn't he a kind Father?

What about you?   Do you find yourself fighting battles you don't need to and sleeping through ones you should be awake for?  How is your prayer life?  What do you do to watch for the devious works of Satan?

Dad and Mom's 50th Anniversary

This past week we were in Georgia, celebrating my parents 50th wedding anniversary!  What a beautiful milestone and very much worth celebrating.  Their actual anniversary isn't until this summer, but they were willing to celebrate early so that our family could be a part of it.  Their church, Covenant Presbyterian (PCA), was so wonderful to us.  They took our ideas and ran with them.  My brother and I really couldn't have pulled this off without everything that they did!  It was such a huge blessing to our family.  In addition to the church family celebrating with us, my parents square dancing club was also there.  After dinner, they graciously taught us some dances and it was great fun!  Mom even thought it was more fun than her wedding day. ;-) 

The kids all helped with serving.

Cute couple!

My dad's sister and brother were also able to join us.

The kids recited Psalm 128 for my parents.

And they sang a fun song that was written just for the occasion:

My brother Chris, the MC for the night...

Here's to many more years for these love birds!  God is good.

Health Update

As we have driven all around the country, we have been so filled with gratefulness to hear how many people have been praying for us.  Specifically, how many people have prayed for Benaiah's asthma and Katelyn's back.  What a blessing!

::Benaiah

I took Benaiah to the pulmonologist for a recheck on his asthma and adenoid removal.  He is doing so so well!  His lung function has improved dramatically. So she said we could try to drop his asthma meds for a trial basis!!!  His sinuses are still a bit swollen and stuffy, so she gave him some antibiotics to help clear him out and hopefully he will stay clear.  All in all though, we have seen a huge improvement in his energy levels, his ability to learn, and his ability to run, jump, swim and play like a normal boy his age.  Praise be to God!  As you know this has been such a huge burden for so long, it's hard to believe that this trial is most likely coming to a close!  He will have a recheck on his lung function one more time before we head back to Uganda.  So please pray that this improvement continues!

::Katelyn

Katelyn's back is healing up very nicely.  Her two compression fractures are completely healed.  Her two pars fractures are still there but stable.  She was given the go-ahead to start Physical Therapy, which we did last week.  She has also been able to start running again and picking up more and more activities. While she still often uses a donut pillow to sit on (thanks to the pars fractures), she doesn't wear her back brace any longer.  She still has days where she gets tired and sore, but overall we thank the Lord for his healing.  We are praying for continued improvement and a good push in the right direction with re-strengthening her core before we head back to the not-so-friendly-to-a-sore-back roads of Uganda.

::Dianna

I haven't ever really written much about my health stuff here.  For years I've had Hashimotos Hypothyroidism and what we previously thought was Addison's Disease....both auto-immune disorders.  It seems, with more recent testing (MRI and blood work), that my troubles with my adrenal glands aren't actually auto immune.  While I have adrenal insufficiency, we aren't quite sure what is causing it.  On January 23, my case is going before a board of Doctors at Duke University.  We would really appreciate prayers for clarity, so that we know how to best treat it.  In the mean time, we've been educating ourselves and the kids on what it means to be steroid dependent and how to use my emergency injection if I were to ever need it.  I also got a medical alert bracelet.  At the beginning of the new year I had chosen the word "HOPE" as a word to focus on this year.  Psalm 42:5 "Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him!" and I Corinthians 13:7 "Love...hopes all things."  So, when I saw a bracelet with the word "hope" on it, I knew it was for me...a continual reminder for the next few months to hope in the Lord...our rock solid foundation that we can trust in.

A Great Way to Start the New Year

Today was a great day.  Today we legally gained a daughter and sister in full.  No more foster parenting, no more guardianship...today was Adoption Day!  And it is here, that we can raise our "Ebenezer" and tell you how great our God is for bringing us to this point!!  We trust him to continue to make it a full reality in all our hearts... no longer an orphan, but a daughter... it's just so beautiful, isn't it? 

Our judge was great!  He did a superb job.  He even let Benaiah be a judge for a day.  All rise for the Honorable Judge Benaiah Tuininga. ;-)

He signed the papers and then had Denise press the fancy gold seals at the bottom.  It's official!!

The younger members had a great time noticing the courtroom policy.

Especially points two, three and five (thank you Judge Benaiah)...

What a crew... love them so much!

We loved having the cousins around to witness it too.  Only that one group was sick today so they couldn't all come. :-(

I love this picture on so many levels.  These two... if you remember the post of our family pictures, it might remind you of one.

Praise the Lord with us!  He has done GREAT things!!