Our adventurous past couple of weeks...

Thanks to an email from a relative of a friend, I have been able to fix some of my posting problems... Thank you, Elisabeth D! I still have problems posting certain pictures on my blog from my computer, and they just so happen to be the pictures that are taken with my new camara. A friend of ours, Jerry A., stopped by one day to check out our computer, and he and his wife believe the pictures are "too big" for our computer to handle. I guess some pictures are heaver than others. They think they might be able to help me out with that, too. Thanks again to my new friend who helped my figure out the other problem!

A rest stop



The Washington Monument at night (below)





I believe the above picture is the Lincoln Memorial.



The White House



Another cool looking building



the great theatre where we saw "Daniel and the Lions Den"


My beautiful family!











Don't ask... just found it interesting!


Bus Convention (nursery) and hotel pictures (above)
The BIG BLIZZARD (below)


No, my girls do not usually wear pants out, but I figured a snow adventure might call for a snow suit for the toddler age since a little snow certianly measures up on their little legs... just for those of you who might be confused by the change of dress. Still hold to the belief in girls being dressed like girls... as found in Dueteronomy. Just not sure how else to keep them so warm in the snow.
Below is my first video to be put on my blog! I know that it is really dark, but we were in Washington, D.C.

Figuring out my computer!

Here, I thought I had fixed those spelling errors, but my spell check has personality! Oh, well, I think it is better now. Got that time thing fixed, too.

Well, it sure was nice to see our friends at the Kenwood Bible Methodist Church last night. Ron was to give his life story (shortened and edited version, of course). He did a good job. Glad the weather was better. Never know what to expect these days. It was nice to see GBS's President Michael Avery and Sister Avery, Dr. Wingham (who married Ron and me), Ohio Bible Methodist's President Clair Sams and his wife, Brother and Sister Durr, Larry Smith and his wife, the Cassity's, Jenny, Brother McLaughlin, and several others at the service last night. There wasn't a large crowd, I am sure it was the weather, but it definitely was fun seeing some of the ones we know have been praying so much for us. Enjoyed the meal afterwards cooked by the Durrs and Sams. Thank you, dear friends, for inviting us!

Today is a big day at the Cook home, for today RON RETURNED TO WORK! He was really tired, but he got up and went! He's a tough guy if I ever saw one! We actually figured things up again, and it might be that his chemo will be over in May! Then, of course, there will be more tests to see if it was sufficient. Hopefully, it will all be over! Would you believe the man still has hair!? Many people loose their hair, and he has been, but he still has plenty (although he is keeping it very short). His scar looks like it is fading some, and when his hair all grows back, you may not even notice it much!

A spiritual thought: I am lately realizing the power behind fasting and prayer. I have never really made myself do it much before, but I realize now that it is a Biblical practice, and that if I want to see some people saved, I am going to have to do it. I love our teens we work with, and I went to prayer for them one day, for many of them had been missing church and I was really concerned for their souls. I missed them sooo badly! Would you know that the next Sunday nearly every teen was at church! There IS power in prayer! But, I also know that it takes sacrifice and discipline to pray this way, because Satan loves to use this time to fight against you. He did it to Jesus, too, when He was fasting and praying, but Jesus was victorious and we can be too! I am excited about this new "ministry." It is difficult in the winter for me to get out and go witnessing, because of the little ones, but when it gets nice outside, I like to go for walks with the children. This is when I get to do alot of witnessing. Parks are an awesome place to talk to parents (or grandparents) about Jesus and going to church. Or, going door to door passing out cookies and tracts is fun, too. So, in the winter, I feel at a loss! I can't take a newborn out in the snow! But, for those of you who also cannot get out, pray! That is where the real power is anyway! God is answering prayer, and I am excited! I know that you are not to brag and show off the fact you are fasting and praying, and I do not want that, but I would love to challenge my fellow readers in joining me praying for lost souls and for our own selves... many of us have some hurdles to jump. I know I do!

May you have a great week!

Okay, so I can't spell!

I am sure those who read my previous post before I just fixed it had a good laugh at my spelling errors. That's okay... I just cringed! Get used to it though, as I am not the best speller out there.

One more story for you! Ron went into a little store while we were in DC to ask for directions, and he decided to buy a package of cookies. Well, when he went to pay for it, they asked for his ID! He was shocked, and inquired at the reasoning of his being IDed for a little pack of cookies. It turns out that only military could buy there or something, and so my poor hubby left without his cookies. We may never recover from such a rejection! :-) Just another funny story to add to the pile!

VACATION!!! Well, sort-of...

if you count toting three children three and under all over the place and driving hours upon hours as vacation! But, hey, it WAS really fun! Our kind church paid our way to the Outreach and Bus Convention in Lebabon, PA! On our way, we took a quick detour down to DC. It was a crazy and fast trip, and it was night-time... the traffic was horrible, but we got to drive by the White House, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and, I believe that one building was the Pentagon. It was very fast, but sooo exciting! I love the way some of those old buildings are made. We were all so fascinated! Oh, but, you should have seen us try to drive around that area! The weather was nice, and I had my window down; then, Ron made a quick turn and my cell phone, which had been lying on the dash, flew out the window and into the street, and we were horrified watching the cars fly by it! Ron stops the car, puts on the emergency lights, and jumps out to run and to get it! It still worked! Still shocked that those cars did not hit it! Praise God!

Then, Tuesday, we went to Sight and Sound, which was putting on Daniel and the Lion's Den! So cool!

Then, Tuesday evening through Thursday was the Convention. While going back to Ohio on Thursday, we drove through Hershey, PA. Didn't get to stop, but I was fascinated... I am a chocolate lover!

Then, that night we stayed at a "nice" hotel that appeared very clean... but, alas, upon pulling back the bed covers for my little girls to get in bed... BEHOLD! A ROACH LYETH UPON THY PILLOW! We quickly made a change of rooms!

During our final hours of driving home... a blizzard struck (to our dismay)! We probably passed 20 accidents, even a patrol car appeared to be a part of one of the accidents! One accident had a vehicle on TOP of a guard-rail. (Sorry, but that DID fascinate me, too!). Then, there was that semi that had jack-knifed, too. Yep, it was a little scary out there... so please pardon the absence of pictures of our trip, for I don't feel like going to the library in a blizzard in order get my pictures on my blog. I do plan to share those with you, however, in the near future.

Ron had chemo today, so we had to get back for that. He teases me about the Nupogen shots I have been giving him. He thinks I enjoy it as a type of revenge or something! Ha! I enjoy it because I have fascinations with health and medical stuff, NOT as a revenge... bless his heart!

We had a great week, and wouldn't trade it for anything! Enjoyed the sessions and seeing many old friends and making some new! Loved the crazy things that happen to us on family trips! Gotta have a good laugh!

Monday, Ron is scheduled to return to work after perhaps four months of being on medical leave of absence and receiving sick-leave and catastrophic sick leave pay!!! We have been VERY well cared for, and everyone has been so kind. Life is returning to a little more of a schedule... don't know whether to me happy or not... but, I am glad my hubby is as well as he is! Thanks again to EVERYONE for all you have done... keep praying! Love ya!

By the way, the word for today is "fascinate."

The library, at last!

Here a a few pictures of what my children have been up to... Hope you enjoy!
And, by the way, with her little outfit on today, Hope weighed in at 14 lbs 4 oz. She is now 2 1/2 months old! Big girl!

Brand new?

Yes, we are alive and well; I was just hoping to get to the library soon to share some more pictures with you, but I have not gotten there yet. If any of my grammer or spelling turns out wretched in this post, the real time (don't pay attention to what the time says below... still haven't fixed that!) is 1:40AM. You say, "Sarah, what ARE you doing up at such an hour?" I say, "Why, I am writing to YOU, of course!" I had some housework to catch up on, and what better time than when all others are counting sheep. It is quiet, and noone is begging for my attention!

Now, today (or technically yesterday) HAS been a special day! You see, God has always supplied our needs so fully, we have never REALLY gone without... I mean, there were plenty of times I was not sure what we would do, but then God stepped in and took care of it. So it has been with even our furniture... we have mostly used furniture... other people's trash is our goods... no, really, people do throw away, or give away, very nice things sometimes, and we don't have a bunch of junky stuff. I actually like used furniture because we are so rough with it that I think I would be a nervous wreck worrying about all this "stuff" getting "messed up" if I always had to have the best or the newest. But, today was a special day... Ron and I actually bought something BRAND NEW! Okay, yes, we have bought some new bookshelves and a couple of years ago, we bought a new computer... but, today... I am so excited! Okay, you say, what is the big deal, Sarah, what did you get? BRAND NEW, I MEAN, FROM A STORE! HA! We bought a nice set of boxsprings and a mattress for a very reasonable price! I love income tax returns! I picked it out myself... you know, come to think of it, I wonder if perhaps this is the first time I have ever had a new mattress and boxsprings, not that this means I was deprived or something... I am not sure I really cared when I was younger. If you are fed, sheltered, clothed, and loved, you have much more than what many people have... and, I was! But, I just thought I would share with you my excitement! So, you say, why aren't you sleeping on it at this late hour... well, it turned out that they were out of stock on it, but it should arrive safely at the Cook home in the next day or two!

The girls are doing great! Faith has been making up whopping stories that I am not sure are her imagination or what, but it IS interesting to hear the things she says people do, and I KNOW that they don't! One was that her Grandma broke her bike! HA! Her bike is in the basement and I don't think any of her Grandmothers have any desire to try to ride her bicycle or tricycle. She even makes up stories about her "other mother" and "other father" and her "brother." I am not sure what she is talking about, because, of course, there are no other parents, but you could imagine the questions raised when she requests prayer at church for her "brother and sisters." Oh, what a three year old can say?! I have learned to ask her now what she is going to say prior to her testimonies and prayer requests! I am proud of her, though, as she is sooo interested in God and the Bible. I love seeing her pray and participate in church and devotions.

Charity is very glued to me these days. A mommy's girl, for sure. Perhaps, it is separation anxiety, but I feel velcroed to her. She is talking well, and she's a doll baby!

Hope is as happy a baby could be. I LOVE her smiles and "babytalk." She looks very well fed. I can't help but to just hug and kiss her so much!

Ron is doing well, and planning to return to work very soon. I will miss my 1AM chats with him. We have really enjoyed being able to talk to one another until the wee hours of the morning. I have learned even more about him than I even knew before. Ron has lots of stories to tell. It has been so fun to spend the extra time with him, but I am sorry that he had to suffer to get that time. Do pray that God will give him the strength he will need to work, as he is still doing chemo, and that is tough on the body.

Well, it is almost 2:30AM, so I really must go! Have a good night, or rather, morning! Don't forget to give thanks for all things, and I thank God for caring about everything! He has truly taken good care of the Cook family!

Good News!

Well, we had our visit to the oncologist today, and received such exciting news! He said that Ron's cancer is 80, if not 90%, better! Praise God, praise God, praise God! The cancer on the femur and pelvis is gone! And, it sounds like there may not be any cancer in any bones showing up at all on the PET! Wow! What a change! The uptake levels are lower, and I believe there are no large masses! The battle is not over, but things look much, much brighter! He still needs to finish his chemo, which may go through until July, but he is doing well! He may even return to work soon!

Thank you all so very much for your continued prayers, as we want a 100% remission! This right now is considered partial remission. We are excited!

About the rest of us... we are doing really well. The children are still as funny as ever, and Baby Hope is getting really chubby and smiles alot. Faith has been testifying and giving prayer requests in church, and one of her prayer request was about a dream she had about a camel in the window of the gym at the church. Strange dream, indeed!

Oh, the hair thing is going well. Found some styles I really like for Faith. She looks beautiful with double French-braids, buns, and "messy-buns."
Charity looks cute in pigtails, messy-buns, and if I could get it finished... French twists. I like their hair parted on the side, especially Charity; it really changes the way she looks.

Well, it is past my bedtime. Ha! So I must be going!

Signing off with another PRAISE THE LORD!

Success or no?

Well, potty-training isn't so smooth after-all! But, I am trying to get her used to it, anyway.

I must cringe everytime I look back over my posts, and realize how I make so many spelling and grammar errors... please, forgive me!

Today, Ron is having another PET scan. This should tell us much, but we have to wait until next week fo the results! GRRRR! I am learning patience!

Hey, just thought I would share with you that I am trying some hairstyles on the girls, and some of styles make them look like little ladies. So cute! It is actually kind-of fun! They don't look rough all the time now! Here is a question for you moms... do you have any hairstyles you know of that are not too difficult to do, but looks neat for a child whose hair is not yet long, and is still rather fine. Faith's hair has many styles I can do because it is longer and thicker, but Charity's is still rather fine. Would love some ideas!

Better go! May you each have a very Happy Valentine's Day!

At my mid-night post

Regardless of what time my post says, it really is 12:30am. Gotta figure out how to fix that time thingy. I am, of course, up with my baby who is probably too full of caffiene to sleep! Bad Mommy! I indulged in Coke tonight, and am reaping the consequences... poor baby Hope! Plan to quit pop as of right now!

We had a really nice revival. The evangelist has an awesome photo-memory of poems! Joe Smith... yes, I know that there is more than one Rev. Joe Smith!... did a great job preaching... loved the banjo! I REALLY loved banjo music! Would love to learn to play one! What?! You can't imagine me playing a banjo?! I think it would be so much fun! Stop laughing! No, it's not the Coke getting to me!

I did miss the last service due to some painful stomach issue... not sure if it was flu or food poisoning, but it was not too fun. By the time the night was over, Faithy had gotten ill, too, and vomited big time! My girls cannot handle seeing others sick, so when Charity saw Faith vomiting, she vomited! It was quite the scene! I mean, my girls gag seeing Hope spit up! What a night! But, I did enjoy watching Franklin Bible Methodist's church service Live via Internet! I was touched hearing and seeing our names brought up for prayer! Thank you to all those churches out there who are regularly praying for us!

Guess what?! I officially began potty-training Charity today! She just turned 22 months today, and tonight I removed her diaper, and put on "big girl" underclothes and she did great. She wet probably 4-5 times and even did the other once, all in just a few hours time and all in her little potty... no accidents! Wow! I was VERY impressed! At bedtime, I put her diaper back on, for I am not ready to do THAT much laundry! You may all now applaud me for finally doing this, for I think she has been ready for a little while, but I felt too busy to do it!

Started a little pre-school book again with Faithy, and she is much more ready this time. It is cute, and not as overwhelming as the other book was. She did about 8-9 pages, and did fantastic!

I think Ron has been a little impressed the past couple of weeks, because I have learned how to speed-clean... I love the feeling of looking back and seeing how quickly my house can change... but, it also gets messy very fast with three little ones and a hubby... okay... yes, I make messes really quickly too, especially when I decide to do some huge meal or make rolls... I somehow manage to even get it all over me sometimes!

I wrote out a bunch of goals tonight, but I won't share all that with you. I love to write things out, but it seems I usually don't get it done... would really be impressed with myself if I stick to my plan! Really, I can't do it without God's strength and determination!

Well, I really ought to go to bed sometime tonight... so farewell until next time. Oh, and don't feel bad if you have this urge to leave a comment every now and then... I actually DO enjoy reading them, even if I don't get to respond.

Good night, y'all! Or, should I say "good morning"?

Hope's eight week appointment

Hope Christiana is now 8 weeks and one day. She was weighed today with light clothes on, and weighed in at 12lbs 14ozs. She is riding the 90-95th percentile in her weight. She is only 22 inches long (from head to heal), but still that is an inch growth since last month. That puts her at about 50th percentile in height. Then, her head circumferance is 40cm. Yep, she is growing. Poor little gal got 3 shots today, and did not appreciate it too much. She is healthy and beautiful!

Yes, I know my girls look rough in some of those home photos from yesterday. Sometimes when your at home, you just don't feel like spending much time with hair that they pull down during naptime anyway! Faith does not like anything in her hair when she is sleeping!

Got to get going... got revival tonight and a youth activity afterward! Have a great weekend!