Tea Party Fun

One of the things that Hope has recently remembered is the library area that is on the upper floor.  A couple weeks ago, she started asking for us to carry her up to the "pink rug!"  She always loved that area.  Last Monday, Gabi set up a tea party for them up there, to her big sister's delight!  It is hard for Hope to stay upright for long, sitting like that, due to the constant challenge of her scoliosis.  But here are a couple pictures of the girls thoroughly enjoying their little tea party together, before Hope fell over for the fifth time and so daddy took her back downstairs to her more comfortable recliner chair.  : )  I love that they still enjoy tea parties!!!

Hope-ism. . . June 18, 2013

We are daily blessed with the sweet and/or funny things that Hope entertains us by saying.  We are also often amazed at the depth of her understanding, especially when it comes to the things of The Lord.  Here is a conversation that Hope and I had today while driving on our way to school. . .

Hope Update--June 17, 2013

Hello dear praying friends and family!  It has been a bit since I've put on an update.  Although life stays very full, things move very slowly with Hope and so I often feel I don't have much new to tell you.  But after a couple weeks have gone by, or for sure after a month, we see the culmination of those little things into bigger areas of change, which is very encouraging for sure.  I'd love to share some of those things with you.  We've also had a couple discouraging days where Hope has had some setbacks. . . these are always hard to take in and hard to watch our girlie continue to experience the roller coaster of ups and downs throughout this long recovery journey, especially as she is increasingly aware of these setbacks.  To be honest, each setback feels like a punch in the stomach and makes you realize how little we are able to control and how utterly weak we are on our own strength.  It reminds us how much we yearn for the return of our Saviour and the joy and release of Heaven!  The stinging pain of these setbacks are not a place we enjoy being, for sure, but our gracious God uses these times to continue to grow our faith and trust in Him, and especially our dependence on Him to continue persevering for His glory and by His grace!  John 16:33 says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world."  And 2 Corinthians 4:17 says, "Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."  Praise God for the most awesome hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ!!!

So, a few updates to share:

Hope continues to make small bits of progress that over time sure adds up and we are so very thankful for God's obvious faithful hand of healing over her. Boy it stretches our patience some days, but He is always accomplishing His good and perfect plan and we need to stay content and thankful!

Learning Heart Lessons

Learning Lessons

I have another Hope-ism that turned into a good heart lesson for me and I would love to share it with you for a couple reasons. . . first because I love to see God's truths go forth and I pray that it will encourage you as The Lord continues His faithful work in our lives, and secondly, because I love to give you a real picture of the weak and sinful self that I struggle with all for the purpose of showing how great our awesome God is to save, love and continue to sanctify a wretch like me!

Let me start with the story. . .