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Dontcha Just Love It When...
You're standing in line at the grocery store and someone makes a comment about your pregnant belly/toddler/baby-in-the-cart that goes something like this:
"Just WAIT until he's/she's two!"
or
"Just WAIT until they're teenagers!"
or
"Girls, huh? Just be glad you don't have BOYS!"
or
"Boys, huh? Just be glad you don't have GIRLS!"
I always get a kick out of their reaction when I spill the beans. And as of today, it's official:
I have two teenagers, three grammar-schoolers, one preschooler, one baby, and another due in seven weeks. And you know what? They are all a lot of fun. Wouldn't trade any of them!
Happy Birthdays, H and N!
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Grace is Going Home!
With great excitement we got the news that Grace is being released from the hospital this morning! She's been breathing well without oxygen for over 24 hours and has had no need of the breathing treatments for over 8 hours.
Thank you for your faithful prayers! |
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Grace Update
Update on Grace
Little Grace will be in the hospital for the better part of this week. Her oxygen levels dropped again this morning so she won't be going home soon. Please pray for Lisa as she stays with Grace all day and night (and gets little sleep) and for Eric managing the other seven kiddos and his job.
Another little guy from church is in the ER tonight-- same hospital as Grace, but his daddy is a nurse there so we can assume he's getting good care. If you are a member of our church, hang on for more news... we're waiting to hear from Mark and Amy.
These are the second and third babies in our church family of barely 200 to fight RSV this season. Doesn't make me relish the thought of exposing our sweet one year old (today!) or the new little guy arriving in May.
Are you seeing this crazy, tenacious virus where you are? I'm not a big run-to-the-doctor girl, but last week I gave in after ten days of fighting this thing and asked my doctor for an antibiotic. All of our kids have had it, and now my hubby is dealing with it, too.
If I disappear for a few days, you can assume I'm in a hospital visiting someone  I've visited five area hospitals since November. What a season, eh? |
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Grace and RSV
Contest Winner- Johanna Stanford's Books
Oh, I wish I could box these up and send them to every one of you! They are lovely.
Our winner is Anna, who said:
"My name is Anna and this gift would be incredible to win!!!! I love homeschooling because I love being with my kids. I love seeing the light bulb moments and all the "firsts." I love that I don't have to contend with the junk that my friends' kids come home with from school. I love that my kids are becoming best friends and that they love to spend time together. I love that we can go on vacation on the off season and that we can stay up late on weeknights if we so desire! I really do love home schooling!"
Anna, email me your address and I'll send them out ASAP! |
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"Honey, I Don't Have a Headache Tonight " Contest Winner
Our winner is Rain, who wrote:
Wow, this sounds very interesting.
My favorite date with my husband was a recent one, for our 14 year anniversary.
We only had an hour, so we went to a local diner and I ordered the prime rib, but it was dry-so he made me a special sauce out of horseradish and a yogurt garlic sauce from his gyro. It was soooo delicious. It touched me deeply that he knew me well enough that I love sauces and condiments and made me one especially.
Rain
Congratulations, Rain! Email me your address and I'll get your prize to you ASAP!
~Kendra |
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Eric
And he said:
"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD."
Job 1:21
Eric Davis went home to be with the Lord today. Please pray for his grieving family and our church family.
God is good, all the time. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
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Grace Elisabeth
Prayer for Eric
Thanks for being so willing to pray and for asking about Eric's illness.
This afternoon while Eric was working in a nearby town, he collapsed in the parking lot. His daughter was with him and courageously called 911, to no avail. But a woman saw the incident and when she called 911, there was, thankfully, a response. The ambulance rushed him to the ER where he then went into cardiac arrest four times over the course of the next few hours. By the time we and other friends arrived at the hospital, the doctors were telling Heather that they didn't think they'd be able to keep him alive through the next hour.
It is now almost 11 pm as I write this, and we are back home after weathering the critical hour with Heather and their children. The kids are settling into a hotel room nearby and awaiting the arrival of their grandparents. Other friends remained to make sure the kids are attended to. Meanwhile, the next 24 hours are, of course, critical for Eric.
At this point, Eric's condition remains undiagnosed. Please pray for his life here to be spared and for the doctors to discover what is causing all the trouble in his body. And pray for Heather and their children |
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Thinking About the Year Ahead
Every year we spend New Year's Eve with our closest friends and their seven children, who are like cousins to our seven. It has been so exciting to see them all grow and change over the years.
This year the dads posed a sheet of questions for us all to ponder. We filled in answers and won't see them again until next year. Personally, I like these types of questions as they cause me to examine what I have really valued over the year and give me a little window into my kids' hearts as well. We talk all the time about where we each are in our relationships with God and one another, but sometimes putting it down on paper helps us to recognize where improvements need to be made or in which areas we can rejoice in God's grace, redemptive work, and faithfulness.
The little ones were asleep by the time we worked on these, but everyone 10 and up participated:
1. How has your character improved since last year?
2. What main sin do you want to conquer in 2008? (Be specific)
3. How will you enjoy God more in 2008?
4. Which one family relationship do you want to improve in 2008?
5. Where are you lacking self-control?
6. How will you serve our church family this next year?
7. How do you know that you are a Christian?
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Happy New Year!
WOW. 2008. Wasn't I just in college???
It's good to be back here blogging and sharing ideas with you all. Thanks for understanding that I needed a little break, and just as when I take a breath from the rest of my responsibilities, I now feel refreshed and ready to jump back in.
Good, fun stuff coming up this month, including a long-awaited NEW Preschoolers and Peace site and blog. With the two of us (my husband and me ;D) working on it in the wee hours, it is taking longer than we wanted. But it is almost ready, and we're excited to show you everything when it does finally go up. Everything in one spot- yay!
I have a book review in the works for tomorrow, so check back!
Blessings for the new year,
Kendra |
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Thanks for the Votes!
Thanks for your votes, friends. In what was a very fun few weeks of voting, my husband’s blog won Best Homeschool Dad Blog (he had some pretty heart-wrenching pleas-for-votes posts), and Preschoolers and Peace won Best Homeschool Mom Blog! I know some of you were lobbying for us and it was a lot of fun to have been nominated this year.
So here’s the really fun part—I am going to be giving away most of the prizes beginning in January! Sound good? There were so many neat contributions to the prizes, and I think it only too fun to share them with all of you!
Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy the week ahead.
~Kendra
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Baby Doll Carrier Winner
Ready to find out who won the contest? Well, excluding the comments that were second posts adding a poster's contact info, we decided that the 25th post would be our winner, that being Christmas Day and all. So...
Melissa at twaddlemenot, you're our winner! Please email me your mailing address so I can let Vision Forum know.
Congrats! Melissa is actually a friend of a friend, and I'm excited she's won-- she has five very young daughters!
My internet service has been down since Friday, so I have to wait to pop over to my in-law's or venture into town to hit Starbucks. If you email me and I don't get back to you, please forgive me... we're hoping to have our service up and running this week.
And I have some exciting news to share with you later this week... it will mean more contests are coming! |
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Quick Contest!
We have loved many of the products Vision Forum sells. This week, we're giving away this super fun doll carrier because Vision Forum says we can! Leave your favorite Christmas memory in the comments and you'll be entered to win. Contest ends Saturday, December 15th.
Have fun, and don't forget to give me your contact info!
~Kendra |
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December
I'm not doing very well at taking a break, am I? But you are all so faithful to pray for Lisa on bed rest and Eric in the ICU--- please keep praying!
Just for fun, I thought I'd share some of our December with you. Like you all, our home has been busy.
Ann Voskamp gave us the idea of making granola to sell as a fundraiser. We are happily selling lots of bags to help support our friends the Kazarians as they prepare to up and move to Armenia in February. Their organization is Armenian Hope, and the goal is to build whole villages that include everything from homes to schools to stores.
Baby is growing-- I'm 18 weeks along and starting to turn a corner past the morning sickness. We don't know yet who's in there, but we are all excited to meet this little one in May.
Advent has begun and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. What are you doing in your home to celebrate the birth of Christ?
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Please Pray!
Another of our dear friends is in urgent need of prayer tonight. Eric Davis, husband of Heather of Lazy D Ranch, is fighting for his life tonight in the local ICU. Please pray for the doctors to finally recognize and treat what they have been inaccurately diagnosing as asthma for many years, for Heather's strength and peace, and for their six children.
Thanks, faithful ones. |
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Thanksgiving
I am so thankful for you all! Do you know I get the sweetest emails from you, and recently I was stopped at Target by a reader (hi Marni!). May God bless your families as you give thanks today.
Someone kindly nominated Preschoolers and Peace for the "Best Mom Blog". Thanks! If you get a chance, pop over to the blog nominations and vote for the blogs you love. There are some really neat ones listed, including my husband's witty writings. But I'm not saying you have to vote for him. Or me I'll be voting for him, though. Wouldn't you hope so? 
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Update on Lisa
Greetings family and friends!
There hasn't been much to report in the last weeks but we've just returned
from the Dr. with great news! Our doctor was the most optimistic today than
he's been for the past five weeks and commented that he thinks we're going
to make it to term with this little girl still inside! Prayers were
definitely answered this past week as my body seems to have again reversed
itself; it now looks like I'll be able to keep this little one within for
awhile yet.
That said, the plan is to keep me on bed rest for five additional weeks
until we reach the 33/34 week mark. That means I'm halfway through my time
in bed and looking forward to the days that I can be up and out with my
children again. How thankful I am that I'm HOME with them, not in the
hospital and NOT watching Grace fight for her life in a NICU.
I discontinued taking the Terbutaline and I'm feeling so much better
physically. The Nifedipine is keeping most contractions at bay and seems to
do so without harmful side effects to me or Grace.
The kids have all been doing wonderfully. School work is continuing on
track, lots of reading aloud is happening, Christopher's reading is taking
off since I've become more consistent in his phonics lessons and the little
boys are learning self control; a lesson that's good to learn at 3 and 22
months, don't you think? :)
Dear friends have continued to bless us with help of all sorts and we
couldn't be more thankful for the community of believers in which we are
raising our family.
Eric has been incredible through this all. How good the Lord was to cause him
to knock on my door those 20 years ago! Our dear friend, Andy Fletcher, even
blogged about Eric's wonderful care of me last week. Here's a link to a
great tribute to my man!
Finally, November is National Prematurity Awareness Month. While we hope and
pray that baby Grace isn't one of the babies that will need the work of The
March of Dimes, how thankful we are for this organization that supports
parents and babies so well. You can read more about this month's campaign
here.
Blessings to you all! And hey, go outside, take a deep breath of fresh air,
and go for a nice long walk in my honor! :)
Joy!
Lisa and baby Grace
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November and December
Some of you knew it was coming  It's time for my annual break, breather, month (or two) to just live here and enjoy real time.
We have some great things coming in January- hoping to launch the new site and blog- plus I need the time to rest and get over the morning afternoon/evening sickness. Seems everyone here needs me more than usual, and that's just fine.
If Lisa gives birth to baby Grace while Preschoolers and Peace is on hiatus, I'll post about it so you all get the news. Cheryl is faithfully providing updates about Lisa and Grace, too.
If you think about us, please pray for us. We love providing Preschoolers and Peace and seeing how God uses this blog and site, but we are also acutely aware of how spiritually vulnerable that leaves us. My husband also serves as an elder in our church, so we often feel the heat from the enemy. Our children battle against the one who would so love to pull them away from their Saviour.
Have a blessed Christmas and give thanks!
Kendra |
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