Sue Anderson's Birthday today - RIP

My mom would have been 73 years old today. I always remember the year because she used to say that it took 4 days for the effect of her birth to reach Hawaii. I guess it was her way of remembering one of the biggest events to happen during her lifetime, the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

I remember sitting in class at school one day and the teacher mentioned the date of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and I had an epiphany. I remember thinking, "My mom's 40 years old!" At that age, 40 seemed old and a long ways away.

She's been gone for twenty years but I still miss her and wish she was around to see her grandchildren.

If you knew Sue, my mom, would you respond to this post and tell a short story about her or something that you remember about her?

HOPE KIDS - Restoring Hope. Transforming Lives.

My daughter, Aria, is a Hope Kid and I want to say how glad we are to be a part of such a great organization. Hope Kids is a non-profit group that helps families who have children with severe health problems be able to go out as a family and enjoy time together. Anyone who has had health expenses knows that usually the first thing to go is any sort of recreation or family fun time together because the family can’t afford.

This organization allows families to have fun together without have to worry about the expense of it, except for the gas to get there. We’ve been a part of several activities in the past four months since we joined. A couple times we went to family fun center where the families were treated to a movie, bowling, laser tag, and a free game card for each child in the family.

This past weekend we went to a family carnival that was sponsored by a local preparatory academy where the families had access to free food, lots and lots of games, face painting, music, zip line, bouncy house, and lots of prizes. It was a great afternoon that we were able to spend with our family that we would not have been able to enjoy without being a part of Hope Kids.

In December, they will be hosting a Christmas party where all Hope Kids will get a day of fun with snow, Santa, and a gift individualized for each Hope Kid.  It's going to be a real fun event for the families.

THANK YOU, HOPE KIDS!!

Our Dark Cloud OR God's Plan

Last week I had to tell my boss about going out of town in June for the trial in NH and I gave him a quick rundown of Tina's life and what we've been through over the past four years of churches, media, trials, etc. He said, "that beautiful, young woman who I met a couple weeks ago has gone through all that?" I said, "yes, she's beautiful and she's been through that and much more. I'm just giving you the Reader's Digest version."

He's been my manager for the past nine months and so he's been told about Aria's five surgeries since last October and what she's been through. He's extremely amazed at our strong, sweet, little girl whom he met once when she came to my job.

He knows that we're in the middle of trying to sell our house to pay down some our debt.

On Friday, I told him that our dog's not doing well and we may have to put him down. He doesn't know yet that we did it. He was just amazed at one more thing going "wrong" in our lives. He joked that we have a "dark cloud" over our lives and moved himself back from desk.

I thought about that and I can see why people might wonder how we keep our sanity. On some days, it's not easy.

I don't see this as a "dark cloud." No, it's not easy or pleasant but it's life. It's the path that God has given us to walk and we won't turn back and we won't sit on the sidelines and we won't quit.

Here's what I believe.

1. This is God's way of showing us that He's in control.
2. This is God's chance to show us His grace worked out in our lives.
3. This is God's method of bringing Himself glory.
4. This is God preparing us for the future and what else He has planned for us.
5. Our lives reflect God's control, His grace, His glory, and God's working in our life to our friends, co-workers, and relatives, if we allow it through our faithfulness and willingness to accept and do what God has set before us.

Isn't that what life's about? Yesterday, the youth pastor made a great point as he preached to our church. He said, "God's not just a part of your life, He is your life."

My prayer is that as our family goes through the trials of life, or as some people may see as a "dark cloud," that they see God's Hand. They see a witness of God's power and grace and that God is magnified through our lives by us being faithful to Him.

R.I.P. Charlie

Today we lost a close companion that we all loved, Charlie. He was such a great dog. He loved the kids and was very protective of them. He was a very kind and sweet dog. We will miss him greatly.

A couple weeks ago we noticed that he had trouble with one of his front legs. It seemed to get better and then it was hurting again. About a week later, we noticed that he was having trouble with his back legs and was having trouble getting up and down the stairs.

On Monday, we took him to the vet and she told us what she thought he had degenerative disc disease and gave us some medicine. Throughout the week, he got significantly worse, especially starting Wednesday night. We mentioned to the kids that we didn't know how long we'd have Charlie. They cried themselves to sleep that night.

By Friday, he could barely move and his back legs would only support him with great difficulty and he couldn't hold his bowels and so we called the vet again. We went as a family but the prognosis wasn't good and we decided that the best thing was to put Charlie to sleep.

You can't imagine how devastating that was to the kids. They cried and hugged and said their goodbyes. Nothing prepares you for that. How do you comfort your kids? How do you prepare them to lose someone so precious to them? We hugged them and hoped they understood that it was for the best.

Our hearts are broken tonight.

We'll miss you, Charlie. As the kids said, "No dog will ever be as good as Charlie." I'm sure they're right.

I know the kids are hoping to see you in heaven. I hope so too!

REST IN PEACE, CHARLIE.

WHY I LOVE MY WIFE

My wife texted me and said, “I love you.” I responded “I love you, too.” She responded, “why?” I thought about it for a little bit because I wasn’t sure what to answer. I texted back, “because you’re awesome.” It’s the truth, but is that really a good answer?

There are a lot of things that I love about my wife but they’re not the reason I love my wife.

I love that my wife is beautiful. I find her very attractive and time won’t be able to change that.

I love that my wife is frugal. I can’t tell you how much time and energy my wife puts into saving our family money. It’s awesome!!

I love that my wife is a great wife. She takes really good care of me.

I love that my wife is a great mom. She always has their best interests at heart. She’s heavily involved in their safety, medical care, school education, training, and anything else you can think of.

I love that my wife is a great cook. I have many people, not just my kids that can attest to that.

I love that my wife is creative. One of may things she can do is sew and this has allowed her to make Easter dresses for our girls that past few years and she's made hats for my daughter so she doesn't have to feel uncomfortable after Aria's brain surgeries.

I love that my wife is friendly. People love my wife. They love talking with her.

I love that my wife is caring. People reach out to her for support. A person may just want to talk and they'll know Tina will listen and that she'll care. Sometimes a person will want advice and they'll ask Tina. They know she'll give them an honest answer. 

All these things above could change. It won't matter. It won't matter why the change. It won't matter if she can't do them any more. I won't matter if time takes away these things or if chooses not to do them any more. I will love my wife.

I love that my wife is my wife. I can't imagine my life with anyone else. I don't want anyone else to be my wife. 

I love my wife because she is my wife. I love her because I choose to love her. I love her because I WANT to love her.

If I choose to love my wife because of the things that I love about it, my love is conditional. My love is based on the things that I love about her.

If I choose to love her because I WANT to love her, then when and if those things change, I can still love her unconditionally without worrying about her changing and not being the person I think or want her to be. I can love her through the tough times. I can love her through the times when I don't "feel" like it.

I love her and I always will. No matter the time that passes, the circumstances that happen, or the changes that occur, I will always love my wife because I made that choice when I married her and I WANT to love her for the rest of my life.

I'm Relating to Jesus' Disciples when they doubted Jesus

Have you every doubted your faith? Do you ever go through times when you doubt the goodness of God?

For the last few months, I've been going through that myself.

Is God real? Why doesn't He answer? I've done what the Bible says but I'm not seeing any results.

I came across this blog post, The Correct Theology didn't help these guys, that was written by this guy, Ed Cyzewski, as a guest post, who wrote a book called Unfollowers: Unlikely Lessons on Faith from Those Who Doubted Jesus. I have not read this book but I will when I get a copy of it.

He wrote some things in the blog post that I really related to and are some of the lessons that I'll learn when I read the book. We sometimes forget how flawed the disciples were before, during, and even after they met, traveled with, and said goodbye to Jesus on the Cross and then at His Ascension.

Below are some things that really spoke to me.

They witnessed miracles. They listened to hours and hours of perfect, undeniably correct teaching. They’d even had the future predicted for them.

They still doubted.

When calamity struck, they bolted. They didn’t join their friends in prayer. They didn’t wait for clarity. While they had every reason to believe, they couldn’t make sense of their experiences. Doubt was too much for them. 

I take comfort that Jesus showed up even as they ran away.

He reveals himself to the incomplete, the uncertain, the wandering, and the unattached.

I relate because I've seen God's work in my life. I've seen Him answer prayer and guide me in my life but when you don't see those answers and you don't see the results of what God is doing in your life, it's easy to have doubts.

I have my doubts and fears and struggles but I believe in God. I believe in the God of the Bible. I believe in my heart that He knows what's best for me and my family, especially my little girl. I'll keep believing but I'm being honest when I say that it's not easy and at times I have a lot of doubts.

I take comfort that the disciples who lived with Jesus and was taught directly by Him, still had doubts, still didn't understand but when the time came, Jesus (God) came to them and helped their unbelief and didn't chastise them but understood them, loved them, and met them where they were in life, and used them greatly to serve Him.

They witnessed miracles. They listened to hours and hours of perfect, undeniably correct teaching. They’d even had the future predicted for them.
They still doubted.
- See more at: http://redemptionpictures.com/2014/03/26/the-correct-theology-didnt-help-these-guys/#sthash.fVYTybJv.dpuf

They witnessed miracles. They listened to hours and hours of perfect, undeniably correct teaching. They’d even had the future predicted for them.
They still doubted.
- See more at: http://redemptionpictures.com/2014/03/26/the-correct-theology-didnt-help-these-guys/#sthash.fVYTybJv.dpuf

They witnessed miracles. They listened to hours and hours of perfect, undeniably correct teaching. They’d even had the future predicted for them.
They still doubted.
- See more at: http://redemptionpictures.com/2014/03/26/the-correct-theology-didnt-help-these-guys/#sthash.fVYTybJv.dpuf

They witnessed miracles. They listened to hours and hours of perfect, undeniably correct teaching. They’d even had the future predicted for them.
They still doubted.
- See more at: http://redemptionpictures.com/2014/03/26/the-correct-theology-didnt-help-these-guys/#sthash.fVYTybJv.dpuf

They witnessed miracles. They listened to hours and hours of perfect, undeniably correct teaching. They’d even had the future predicted for them.
They still doubted.
- See more at: http://redemptionpictures.com/2014/03/26/the-correct-theology-didnt-help-these-guys/#sthash.fVYTybJv.dpuf

VALENTINE'S DAY 2014 - My Favorite One - so far

On February 14^th, my wife and I had plans to go out for dinner. Our two oldest children were at a church activity for a couple of hours and we had a friend at our house ready to watch Aria. It had only been one week since Aria’s brain surgery but she loves our friend and we thought it would be fine.

As we tried to leave, she starts begging us not to go. She’s clinging to us and didn’t want us to leave her. So, my wife came up with a brilliant idea of ordering some food and having Aria be our waitress and include her in our romantic evening.

I headed out to Pei Wei to pick up a couple dinners to bring back. While I was gone, my wife set up a small table with candles in the front room. When I came home, we sat down and Aria came to take our order and asked us what we wanted to drink. She brings our drinks and then takes our food order. Our friend helps her put food on the plates and she brings us our food. Every few minutes she would come in and ask us if we need anything more to drink or some more food.

She was so cute. It was great to be able to include her in our special evening. After we were done, she asked if we’d like to go to a private room to snuggle and kiss. She was coached by our friend but it was really sweet. She walked us upstairs to our room and then went back downstairs to be with our friend.

We didn't get to be alone too long because we had to go pick up the kids from church and then we all headed to the airport to pick up my sister, Tammy, who was coming into town to spend a week with us.

Overall, it was just a great and wonderful evening and definitely one to remember.

Love For Aria Hope - The YouTube Video

Our friend put this video together in honor of Aria. In this video you can see how adorable she is.

They also put together a medical expense fundraiser called Love for Aria Hope. 

THANK YOU to everyone who has shown your love through your prayers and financially!! THANK YOU!!

Four Surgeries in Past Five Months for Aria Hope

UPDATE - Feb.'14

In the past five months, Aria has had four surgeries.

In Oct. '13, she had a fundoplication.  I talk about it here. Future Surgeries

In Nov. '13, she had her 2nd chiari brain surgery but this time they cut the dura (the sac around the brain). It was at this time the doctor realized that she also suffered from hydrocephalus (too much water pressure on the brain).

In Dec. '13, she was back in the hospital because she was leaking spinal fluid through the incision that's in the back of her head. She was there a couple days to watch for infection. Later in the month she started developing lumps near her incision but we hoped it would go away.

In Jan. '14, Aria went through another Chiari brain surgery to fix the spinal fluid leak in the back of her head and she spent two weeks in the hospital with a temporary shunt in the small of her back hoping to allow the brain to adjust to the hydrocephalus. We chose this option because the other option was to put a permanent one in her head.

Feb. '14 saw us back in the hospital because she had developed lumps in back of head again and within two days of telling the doctor they put her back in the hospital and put the shunt in her head, making this her fourth brain surgery. The good news is that they didn't have to open up the back of her head again and in three months they'll check to see if the shunt can be removed. We didn't know this was an option when we first heard about shunts but we're glad that if her body can heal and deal with her hydrocephalus it can be removed.

A friend started a medical fundraiser for us to help us with our hospital expenses called Love for Aria Hope. The video of Aria that our friend put together was very sweet. It brought tears to my eyes.

We're also very thankful to those who blessed us financially during this major event in our lives.

We're even more thankful for your prayers for Aria's healing. Please keep praying for her.

ARIA - "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made"

How many people do you know that have five or six rare health issues? Until my daughter, I didn’t know any. That’s what my daughter, Aria, has to deal with but if she was to walk into the room, you’d never know anything was wrong with her.

I was thinking, “How could so many things be wrong with her?” I have to realize that God made her that way.

In Psalm 139 it says,

13 For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

I know that’s a strange thing and it’s easy to think that when you’re “healthy, wealthy, and wise” but what about a little girl like Aria.

Looking at just a small part of Aria’s medical history, you’d wonder how I could think that she’s “fearfully and wonderfully made” but here is why I believe it’s true.

1. God has made an incredible girl who has allowed her body to deal with her health issues as we try to resolve them as best we can.
2. Aria has an incredibly high pain tolerance and is able to handle things that most children could not.
3. Aria has such a sweet spirit about her and is just a blessing to all those she meets.
4. God has given her such patience and grace to accept her life the way it is with very, very little complaining.
5. Although God has made her beautiful on the outside, more important, she’s beautiful on the inside. That’s what’s important and that’s what comes through her daily life as she lives, a much a possible, a “normal,” spunky, happy, and satisfied life.
6. God has a special plan for her life. Through her, God will bless others and God will be glorified.

Aria is a little girl who has been “fearfully and wonderfully made."