After a long hiatus...

MoneySavingMom posted this saying today, and I think it pretty much sums up my life right now. Our family of 4 is headed to Haiti in a month. This is something I never anticipated or planned, but God did. He knew this long before I did. He worked on my heart for months to get me to the point that I can say that I am EXCITED to be going to Haiti with my boys in tow. You see nine months ago I told God that there was no way I could go to Haiti with our boys. I was nervous because of Vance's recent health issues (that turned out not to be anything major- PTL!) I had my reasons, but mainly I wasn't ready to leave it all in God's hands. How we love to live in our comfort zone! Well, come September 15 we are flying out of our comfort zone and making our way to a place that Jeremy has worked and lived off and on for 18 months. Yes, 18 months. How time flies! Can I say how excited I am that for the first time since March 2010 the boys and I will be with Jeremy for 4 months straight (Aug.-Dec.)? I couldn't be happier, nor could the boys! God is so good!

Thankfully God is our guide, our protector, and our fortress. And as Samuel sings (mainly chants), "God, you are all powerful and in control of all things." Yes, Samuel, He is! We need not fear, my sweet boy!

That being said we still need your prayers as we make this journey. Please pray for us as we prepare to leave. Please pray for God to provide for all of our needs- financial, physical, emotional, and spiritual-as we prepare to leave and while we are there. In Haiti my job will be to homeschool our boys and also to help with the mission teams that come to build rubble homes and stay at our "compound". We will live at a safe place, but naturally, we will still be living in a country that has obvious risks. You can pray for our health and safety. Please add to that Vance's lungs in a humid place with no a/c. You can also pray for God to use this time for us to grow even closer as a family and to also love on the Haitian people we meet. Pray we are salt and light to a people in need of Christ. Pray lastly (but not least) for God to protect our boys from any fear that might come from being in a strange place far away from home.

Keeping up with a blog became next to impossible for me with 2 kids, but now that we are headed to Haiti, I am having second thoughts about leaving it behind. After all, a blog would help me keep in touch with family and friends that I won't talk to or see. That being said I am going to attempt to post from Haiti, but I am going to go private before we leave. If you would like to keep up with us, please send me your email address, and I will add you.

We have been so busy that the thought of catching up is daunting, but I would like to share a few recent pictures.


Jeremy's Dad's visit- April 2011

Easter Egg fun


Samuel at the AWANA Awards Night- April 10, 2011

Brotherly love- April 2011

Samuel's 5th birthday balloons (a Holloman tradition)
Marianna's 36th Birthday

Samuel's Pre-K Graduation- May 2011

Marianna's first trip to Haiti- June 1-8, 2011

10 Year Anniversary Trip to Dominican Republic (2 months early)

Vance's 3rd Birthday

Family Vacation to Waynesville, NC and the house of some dear friends- July 30-Aug. 4, 2011


Blessings!
Marianna

Book Review: For the Tough Times by Max Lucado

For the Tough Times by Max Lucado

When we go through tough times, we have lots of questions, and we want answers. For the Tough Times by Max Lucado walks us through the reality of difficult times in our lives and answers those important questions. Every single one of us will go through tough times. Life is difficult! This book did a good job of reminding me of things I knew but tend to forget when I am hurting or struggling. First of all, God is on His throne through all of life's struggles and heartaches; He is still in charge of all things. Also, Just because we suffer doesn't mean that God isn't listening or doesn't wipe our tears. Next, He loves us unconditionally and nothing can ever separate Him from his love. The one constant in our crazy life is God. Lastly, God uses these tough times in our lives to do a work in us. Through the tough times God is making us more like Him if we would only listen and pray more. God is right there reaching out to us!

Max Lucado has always been a favorite author of mine because his books are easy to read. He uses scripture throughout, which is also important to me. I know what it is like to go through tough times, and since we all face trials, I recommend this book to everyone. It is a good book to read when you have a few free minutes or an hour to read it all. I am going to keep it on hand to read again one day when I need a few reminders. That day is sure to come!


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Praising God in Every Season

This has been a season of grieving for me. Two months ago my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and the grieving began for me. I am very emotional when it comes to family and friends (well, even heart patients that I don't know). I love to pray for them and pour my life into them. It isn't easy when they don't live nearby. This was part of the reason it was so hard for me when I heard that my grandmother had cancer; I knew I would not be able to be by her side through it all. I so longed to be there...

I was unable to return to see her before she passed away on October 29. I had to give it to God because every time I tried to work out a trip there, it just wasn't possible. I thank the Lord for one last conversation I had with her. It was the day before she died, and my mom called to say that the Hospice nurse wanted us to call her. I say it was the Lord because even though she was unable to speak to me, she did indicate to the nurse that she heard me. I was able to tell her how much I loved her for the last time. That was bittersweet. It felt so good, but then the next morning when I got "the call", it felt final and was devastating. Many times I cried out, "God, I wasn't ready for my time with her to be over."

I was sick with a sinus infection when I got "the call" and actually had a doctor's appointment a few hours later to have my ears "cleared to fly". Thank the Lord for the timing because I was in fact ok to fly. I left town 2 days later.

Traveling alone was not easy for me. I was emotional. Oh, and did I mention that I have a fear of flying? Thankfully, that was the last thing on my mind on the way up there. (The way home was another story...) When I got to Baltimore, I rented a car and drove to her house where my parents were staying (and I would stay too). Talk about difficult.

During my trip, the Lord blessed me with time with my family (parents, cousins, uncle, ex-aunt, and a distant cousin and his wife). I arrived on Saturday, and the funeral wasn't until Monday morning. We had time to sort through her belongings and also be given the things she left for us. That was special and hard all at the same time. I could still smell her on some of her things...

When Monday morning came, I wondered how I would be able to sing in her service. She had asked me to sing "How Great Thou Art", and I wanted to do it for her. It is a miracle that I made it through the song without crying. I would like to think she gave me a chance to compose myself during Communion which preceded my song.

Speaking of the service, it was awesome. She planned the entire service about 8 years ago. Needless to say, that made me more emotional. I knew that these were the things she wanted us to hear. She had quite a heart for God.

As I look back on my trip for the funeral, I wish I could have stayed longer. I guess being there made me feel closer to her; it didn't feel as final. Once my parents left town days after I did, it felt so much more real to me. It hurt, and it still does. I have good days and bad days. I have a hard time believing she's gone, but at the same time I feel a deep loss. Crazy...

This was my last living grandparent and the only one that died suddenly. Jeremy would say because of those things I took this death the hardest. (He has been in my life for all 4 of them.) It is not easy to see someone looking well (with a few symptoms but nothing major) and then hear they are going to die quickly. It was such a blessing for her not to suffer for long though, and I thank the Lord for that. We all prayed that she wouldn't linger. After seeing her body, I wouldn't have wanted her to stay here. The Lord was merciful!

A few days ago, a friend sent me a link to a video by Hillsong. It spoke to me. You will have to watch it to understand why it ministered to me. My prayer is that through this season of my life I will praise Him! We are to praise Him in all seasons.

Blessings!

Tall Timbers Trip- Labor Day 2009

I am experiencing so many emotions right now as my grandmother is on her death bed. Hospice gives her a few days. It all happened so suddenly. One day they found a lump on her breast and the next thing we knew, she was diagnosed with breast and then lung cancer. It has been a whirlwind... I do thank the Lord for prompting me to make the trip to Tall Timbers for Labor Day. I know it was His prompting since it gave me one last time to spend time with my grandmother and the chance for her to meet Vance for the first time. 3 of her 4 grandkids were together for the first time since my grandfather's funeral back in 2005. I wish I had made this trip every year. I wish I had done several things differently. I am learning the hard way.

This is my Facebook status for tonight:

Hard lessons learned: Pick up the phone and call your loved ones when they come to mind even if you only talk for a few minutes. Plan trips to visit them even if it means long car trips with little children. Life is fragile and things can change so quickly. You never know when your time with them will come to an end. It will most definitely be sooner than you wish.

I am going to end with some pictures from our trip. This trip was from Sept. 4-8. My grandmother had not yet been diagnosed with breast cancer, but she was not feeling well. You wouldn't know it from her smile. She was so happy to have us all together! I will miss her like crazy! I already do!


Grandmommy and the grandkids -Huge smile on all of our faces














Samuel enjoying the hammock




















Samuel fishing with Daddy




















Samuel caught his first fish- reeled it in before Jeremy knew it




















Samuel and his first catch




















Cousins playing together




















Samuel (3) and Caiden (6)




















Vance playing in the rocks




















Jeremy was obsessed with fishing
















Vance smiling




















Vance and Ma enjoying some time together




















Vance and Da
















My brother John, his wife Nani, and baby Ertter due in February 2010

Easy recipes that I tried and liked

I am not a cook, but I will try a new recipe if it sounds good and looks easy. I don't like to spend a lot of time cooking dinner either, so I make sure the recipe isn't time consuming. Recently, I found a blog I like, and it includes recipes. I tried 3 of them, and I can honestly recommend every one of them!

The first one is an easy Mac N Cheese recipe. Yummy!!! I actually doubled the amount of cheese and penne pasta because it wasn't going to make enough for leftovers.

The next one is so tasty- Creamy Chicken Enchiladas. To save money and time, I used canned chicken breast chunks. (Like tuna in a can, but it's chicken.)

The last one is Mighty Meaty Nachos. It's delicious... I was short on time, so I melted the cheese in the microwave and then continued to use the microwave to heat it. The crockpot would be better if you plan ahead... I also decided I wasn't up for making chips, so I bought some. :) It made a ton of meaty cheese, so I don't recommend this for a small family. I ended up throwing some out. :( It would be awesome to take to a party!

Check out Kevin and Amanda for free fonts and scrapbooking too.

Happy Monday!

20 Free iPhone apps for parents

This is my 2nd post of the day. Believe it or not! If you have an iPhone, make sure you check out this article with 20 Free iPhone apps for parents. I have already added several of them.

20 Fantastic Free iPhone Apps for Parents

Enjoy!

Run, don't walk to make this pie!

It's no secret that I have a sweet tooth. I love sweets. I always have, and I always will. Today I was reading through my Bloglines, and I came across a recipe for Peanut Butter Pie. It looks amazing. I can't wait to make it. This lady is quite the cook and baker, so I imagine it's to die for!

Peanut Butter Pie