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!

You want pictures... you got it!

I am sorry about some of the pictures being strange and alike... but, they are showing up on the screen as words and codes, and I need to figure out how to change it... yes, Ron, I am sorry about the one of you taking a nap, but I have much to learn about how to fix this issue!

If you all want an update about our family, read the previous post! By the way, I am at the library, using an adapter thingy Ron bought!

Lovin' church

Well, we went to the Heartland Bible Methodist Youth Rally at Franklin on Saturday. It was really nice! So good to see the young people seeking God. Liked the evangelist... after all, he is our very own pastor! Praise God for the victories there.

Then, of course, we went to church both services Sunday, and Ron had the opportunity to preach for the first time since his brain surgery! He told the story of his cancer, and preached beautifully. God really helped him. It was a laugh and cry sort of sermon! His text was Psalm 23. Ron loves to preach!

Yesterday was the beginning of the revival at our church. I must confess that most services I spend much time in the nursery... but, I am sure glad that they have a speaker in there so I can hear while I care for my baby. Hunger seems to strike the babe often. She is big and beautiful, and I can hardly wait to catch you all up on pictures when I get my computer fixed or borrow someone else's. You won't believe how many times I have tried fixing the problem myself or tried to post somewhere else, but alas, all my efforts seem to be in vain!

This week, I have tried to step up to the plate and be a better wife/momma... except yesterday, I took it a bit easy. Monday, I cleaned house like crazy (my house gets messy fast). I was a bit proud of how much I got done! I think it was Friday or Saturday that I got rid of tons of clothes, some old toys, etc., and I wanted it to go to the homeless shelter, but hubby dropped it off at Goodwill instead. Oh, well! My closet is so organized now! Yeah for me! Last night, I started up a meal for today. We had homemade rolls, a venison roast, garlic cheddar mashed potatoes, corn (something Charity can't get enough of!), and Jello salad (I think that is what it is called when you put the fruit cocktail in with the Jello... I think it was the first time I had ever made it and it was yummy). Unfortunately, my rolls weren't as yummy as usual... the yeast and flour were expired, and I usually let it rise twice, but I only did it once this time! Oh, well, it was still good. You have to understand that I have cheated on cooking for a while, and you eventually get tired of leftovers, freezer meals, speghetti, sandwiches, and fast-food. I think my poor family was in need of a fresh homecooked meal! Well, I have been making some cakes, but that is certainly not a meal! Now, I have the clean-up to do!

I bought some neat books for a neat price the other day for my children. One was "A Little Girl After God's Own Heart" by Elisebeth George. I love her books! I also bought some educational books for them... Faith learned yesterday who the first President of the United States was... don't know if she remembers more than the "George" though. I also bought for 50 cents two books that were about a child with a sick parent and the other was about a new baby. Faith enjoyed them. I also got a DVD Bible... Faith is learning Bible stories fast this way... we are very choosy about DVD viewing, but hoped that this would be a good one. Well, the stories are cute, and most of the songs are okay, too, although some were too "rocky." The girls love it. I have been reviewing the Ten Commandments with Faith with hand motions and she is doing well. Her Sunday School class is learning them. I also have been teaching her Abeka's ABC Bible verses... I had quit for a while, so I have been tryin to help her remember them again... She is pretty easy to teach so far. Charity can remember the G verse "God is love."

The girls are suppsed to be taking a nap, and I am struggling to get them to sleep... since we have church tonight, I would like them to be rested up. My children are not fun to be around when they are tired.

Well, I sure do enjoy y'alls comments and thanks for your prayers. Ron is tired and suffering from minor side effects of the chemo... but, over all, he is doing well. Guess when that scan is that will tell us how all is going?! I believe it is on Valentine's Day! It had BETTER be a good report! IF all looks good on this scan, he has a HIGHER chance of cure! PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! He is still talking about preaching and doing missions work in the future and told me the other day that he is far from dying! In fact, he continues to reach out and witness now with much influence with God's strength and help. He goes calling, teaches Sunday School, helps pick up kids for church, helps family who are in trouble, and shouts and runs in church praising God for His faithfulness... no, Ron is VERY much alive! He can hardly wait to get back to work and in the swing of things! Yep, that's my Go-get 'er!