Update on PA

We've settled in nicely to Lancaster County, PA!  The boys started school easily.  They enjoyed taking free swim lessons before school started.  They are both doing well and learning a lot.  Malachi is reading more fluently, and we are trying to tackle the comprehension during reading more now.  Ezekiel loves school and is right on target.  He is beginning to sound out and spell simple words.  Our church is a fabulous place to be with fabulous people.  I'm still looking for a job, but God will provide.  I'm sure of it!  I think that about sums it all up :)

Happy 7th Birthday, Malachi!

Dear Malachi,


Today, you are "finally" 7 years old.  I say "finally" because it always seems like a long time until your birthday.  When summer begins, we start to count down until the day.  Since it is close to July 4th, we usually celebrate with a party a week or two early.  So, it feels like forever until your big day.


You have had a great time today and the previous days celebrating your birthday.  You got lots of money and items that you wanted like Jimmie Johnson gear, Build-a-Bear, Lego store, and Cars2 cars.  This past year has brought a lot of trials, but it has also brought great success.  You started out the school year in an NC public school.  Everyday was struggle at school.  After many tears and sleepless nights we moved you to FACS with Z.  It was most definitely the right choice.  Your 1st grade teacher was awesome!  After you ran out of the room, she stopped the class, and they all prayed for you.  When Daddy came to pick you up that day, they were all excited to share with him that you had a great day after that.

You got into full-swing in life and enjoyed playing soccer on a team with your brother and your Daddy as a coach.  Your skills and team work are greatly improving, and we are excited to see you grow in athletic ability.


We have enjoyed you growing spiritually, as well.  You prefer to sit in kids church when your Daddy is in charge, but you love to worship and sing.  Right now, you request "The presence of the Lord is here" the most.  We love to hear your sing.  We love to watch you worship.  We love seeing your grown and learn in the footsteps of our Savior.


Your tender spirit earned you the Kindness award in school.  That doesn't surprise me.  You are gentle and sweet to all (except your brother).  But, you LOVE Z, too.  When Z went into the hospital back in March, you cried before we took him to the ER.  You cried when you saw him in the hospital room with his breathing treatment and tubes attached.  You love him, and we all love you!


You are growing in height.  You are growing in ability.  You are growing in spiritual depth.  You are becoming an incredible young man, Malachi James, and we love you so very much!
-Momma

We are moving to PA!

I mentioned to others that I would explain how this new adventure in our lives cam about.  So here it is:


Back in March, Daniel submitted his resume' to Evangel AoG in Ephrata, PA.  He doesn't remember why he sent it to this particular church because he typically had not been sending resumes to NE states, but he felt God nudging him to do so.  He first interviewed a few days before Easter.  He had a second interview 2 weeks later.  On June 1, we drove (as a family) to PA to interview with the church and visit the area.  We had an incredible visit.  We had interviewed with several churches in the previous years, but they weren't in God's plan.  As we were visiting for a very short weekend and in continual prayer, God made it clear to us that Evangel was to be our new church family and home.  We had a long week of waiting, and I nudged Daniel to call and share his feelings.  He did, and P. Kevin shared the same feelings.  God was leading us to each other for this very season.


We were "unofficially" offered the job on June 12.  Daniel was officially offered the job as Family Ministries Pastor on June 14, on our way to FL to pick up the lawn mower and visit friends.  They asked for Daniel's first day to be June 15.  We had all ready been praying and knew that this was God's will.  This made the position very easy for us to accept.  We returned from FL on June 19.  We had a busy June 20, and Daniel and I departed to find a place to live in PA on June 21.  June 22 was our 10th anniversary, and God gave us an incredible semi-detached home at an excellent rate to rent.  At the same time, we got word that our tenant in our FL wanted to sign a lease for another 2-3 years.


Since returning home on June 24, we have been packing and sorting and preparing for the move to PA.  We are so excited about the location of the house in relationship to downtown, the church, elementary school, and the general atmosphere of the town.  We will be loading up the U-haul on Wednesday, July  11, and driving it up to PA on Thursday, July 12.  Daniel's first official day will be Monday, July 16.


I'm still not sure what I will be doing to earn money to help support the family, but I am wanting to work part-time, so that I can have the flexibility to help the boys in school and assist Daniel in his new job.  We work well together, and I want to be more involved in ministry.

We are in the heart of Amish country, and it is BEAUTIFUL!  We'd love to have you come visit.  We just bought an inflatable queen bed and have 2 inflatable twins.  We are having to down-size, and only have 1 bathroom, but we are always open for guests :)

Z's 3rd Hospital Stay

Almost 4 weeks ago, on March 23, Ezekiel came home from school coughing a little. He had been getting breathing treatments for a few days, but he had been responding well. Daniel gave him treatments at home, and he seemed to be all right for a about an hour. After that time, his breathing became very labored. It had been over a year and a half since he had had an asthma attack, and we were concerned that he wasn't responding well to treatments. We took him to urgent care as soon as they opened. I had just gotten home from work. We hadn't had dinner yet. We were hoping it would be a short appointment, and it turned out it went pretty quickly. Z's oxygen levels were not as high as we would have liked. They were hanging around 92-93.The doctor gave him a treatment and sent us on our way with a few prescriptions. I asked if he needed a shot of a steroid, the dr. assured me that he would be fine. She seemed to also think that the machine was malfunctioning, and that his blood-oxygen levels couldn't really be that low. Because, apparently, I don't know my kid as well as she does :(

We went to dinner and picked up Z's meds. After being home for a few minutes, we realized Z's breathing was not much better and was getting worse by the moment. Thankfully, my parents were home. They were happy to take care of Malachi so we could take Z to the ER. Malachi knew that we were going to leave him right before bed, and he knew Z needed to go, again. We sat down, as a family, and prayed for Z before we left. When I looked up, Malachi was crying. How much he loves his brother, and God blessed him with such a tender heart! After looking at Carolina's Medical wait times, we decided to make the 25-30 minute drive to the children's ER at Levine Children's Hospital and CMC main. They had a short wait time and had taken good care of Z during his mri, earlier.

Once we arrived at the ER, Z was back to a room within 25 minutes. He was soooo tired. It was late. They quickly got him on a continuous nebulizer treatment. He rebounded for about an hour, then was able to sleep. After being on the continuous neb for several hours and not having much lung function improvement, they decided to admit him. We move

d up to a room around 2am. They kept him on the continuous neb, got him on a round of 3 shots to open up airways, an IV with another medicine to open up something else in the airways. It was a loooooooooong night all ready, and poor Z had to be poked, shot, and a mask on his face for hours. The doctor even said that she didn't hear any wheezing because his airways were so closed off and restricted. We were definitely wise to take him to the hospital or the effects could have been much worse.

Daniel went home around 9am and returned a little after noon with items for me to get a shower, lunch, and Malachi. As soon as Malachi walked in the room and saw Z in the hospital bed, he began to cry a little, again. Malachi hadn't slept well that night. He w

ent to bed around 11 that night, was up for a little while at 3am, and was up for good around 6am. Malachi is not good with change.

Z was on a liquid diet, and was able to eat a popsicle and a little more. His levels didn't stay up while he was eating, but he began to pick up his spirits. We were visited by the children's pastor Andrew and his son, Garrett. The 3 boys played a few games on the hospital bed, and Z was starting to feel much better and talk a lot more.

By late evening, he was able to come off the continuous neb. He had been on it for about 17 hours, total. He ate all his servings of his liquid diet. After that, he began to say he was hungry. Doctor and nurses said he was doing well enough to eat real food. So, he ate crackers and goldfish. He was visited by Grammy & Grandpa (who let us get a quick bite while staying in the room with the boys), Maw-Maw Carol, Nana, Uncle Nathan, Ivey, and Bryson. Z was ready for bed by then.

He stayed off oxygen all night and let me sleep in the bed by myself instead of IN his bed! I kept expecting to wake up and see his oxygen levels down, but God was healing him and giving doctors wisdom. That boy was ready to go home less than 48 hours later! His previous 2 stays had been 5 days.

Sunday afternoon, April 25th at 1pm, we were on our way home!!! God loves us soooo much! I was able to get a sub for Monday. It was so nice to just sleep and rest. I had to catch up from all the events and lack of sleep from the weekend. Z needed to continue to rest, and we needed to keep a close eye on him. It was hard to go back to work on Tuesday, but I managed. Z was at home that day. We still weren't confident he was ready for a day of school. He did return on Wednesday to school, and he did just fine!

He now gets 2 puffs of the Q-var inhaler 2 times a day, a spray of flonase up his nose once a day, and we still continue the 1 tsp. of children's zyrtec daily. The cause of Z's asthma attack---high levels of pollen. We had a mild and wet winter. The zyrtec that he takes daily could no longer hold off all the pollen that his body was taking in. He will be on the Q-var inhaler "forever." He'll continue the regimen until he is cured of asthma. I'm ok with that. We were blessed to be at a great hospital with great nurses with knowledgeable doctors and a spacious room and a nice cafeteria. We had a short stay. We are blessed!

Dear Ezekiel,

Today, you turned 5 years old. The past few months have brought about challenges and many more joys. Since you turned 4, things have changed a lot! We moved away from Florida, you started physical therapy, had an mri, many doctor appointments to try to diagnose your little leg, and started K4 at FACS. You have grown at least 3 inches in the past year and gained at least 5 pounds. You are growing up and not out at all :)

God has been with you every step of the way. His hands are all over your precious, little life. You continue to surprise the doctors. Your legs are the same length! They were positive your left leg bones were shorter than your right, but they aren't. You still don't walk completely right, and your muscles are much smaller on your left than your right. You wear a brace in your shoes and have personal insoles. Each day you get stronger and stronger.

You don't have an enemy in the world. You are so much like your mom. You truly have such a gentle spirit and love everyone around you. Everyone is your friend. You come home and talk about "the friends" at school. Our say "my boys" or "my girls" when talking about them. Mrs. Z even had to teach you how to tell the friends to leave your alone, because you wouldn't say anything. The only person you were hurt intentionally would be your big brother, and that doesn't happen very often. Malachi is, of course, your best friend and your worst enemy. You 2 have always shared a room and usually do so extremely well. He needs you as a little brother to help ease his fears and anxieties. Through it all, you never complain and enjoy the fact that your big bro needs you.

Your laughter always fills the house. Your sense of humor continues to develop, and you get that from your Daddy. You LOVE to laugh, and we LOVE to laugh with you and at you :)

You still encourage us (as your parents), daily. For a time, you would often come up to me, as I was doing the wash, or vacuuming, or cleaning, and say, "You're doing a good job, Mommy!" If you had a knightly name, it would be EZEKIEL the ENCOURAGER.

Even though you were a surprise, even though you have experienced such intense health issues, even though you have been sedated 4 times, you hold the greatest outlook on life and have the most contagious laugh ever. You have taught us not to sweat the little stuff and to be thankful that every day that God gives you. I can't imagine life without you. God must have an incredible plan for your life, and you already have an amazing testimony of God's goodness and grace. Thank you for being you. Thank you for loving me unconditionally and loving God, too, as you grow and learn. I think God gives us children to teach and raise up in His image, but I often think that God gave you to us to teach us how to love HIM more and more.

Everyone is blessed to have known you. I thank God everyday for such a special young man.

Love,

Momma

Pumpkin Patch

We visited Carrigan Farms' Pumpkin Patch in October. The boys enjoyed seeing the animals, drinking cider and picking out pumpkins We even met up with family to enjoy the day!

School Starts

On Thursday, August 18, Ezekiel began his first day of school at FACS in K-4. He did great, of course, and has enjoyed being with others.

On Thursday, August 25, Malachi began his first day of school at C.A. Furr Elem. in 1st grade. He, also, did very well, but we have had some bumps in the road since then. He is a great child who struggles with the changes of life.

There is no picture of Malachi in the classroom because he walked into his class all by himself after getting out of the car!

Dear Malachi,

Today, you finally turned 6 years old! I say finally because being in a public school, you barely missed the cut off for starting kindergarten last August. So, most of your friends have been 6 for at least 6 months, now. AND the fact that we had your birthday party a week early to try to get some of your school friends to make it. We knew going into it that you would be a "young one." At times, you were proving our fears right. At times, you proved us wrong :) You have always been a child who HATED change. You have also seemed to have developed strong "fears" that only come out at certain times. However, this past year was a HUGE success for you!

You survived kindergarten & kindergarten survived you. You started out the year crying and crying and not wanting to go to school. The AP at your school literally had to climb in my car and drag you out (only for a few days). Then, you gladly did it on your own and had a great attitude! You had so much change to deal with the first few months of school. Your little brother went into the ICU for the second week of school. One of your grandfathers passed away in September, and you had to miss a whole week of school to travel back to NC. Then in October, Z went back into the hospital for another week. You would think it wouldn't bother you too much, but, again, things were different, and you don't like change.

Around that time your teacher, Mrs. Pattie, went on extended maternity leave, and she was concerned that you would not be able to read or "get your act together." Mrs. Lam took over. When Mrs. Pattie returned, she was pleasantly surprised to see that you were doing well reading and had adjusted to kindergarten quite well! Your reading skills were right on target (average) for your class. You excelled in math and earned on level on most things. You were even Excellent in things like science and social studies! Your behavior was on green everyday minus about 3 days, for the whole 2 semester. You are sooooo smart! I mean it, because most kids can't fully "catch up" after being behind in reading skills. Trust me. I know. I taught middle schoolers who couldn't read much better than you :(

So, needless to say, you finished kindergarten on level and with great behavior! I think Florida might be a little advanced from other states, which might put you at the head of your class elsewhere :) Even if you are still just "on level," your dad and I are so proud of you! To be one of the youngest kids in your class and succeed like you did, it something truly amazing.

From Christmas until the 4th of July, you grew about a whole inch! Your body has gone through a great growth spurt in the past few months. I could tell by the way you looked, how short your shorts were getting, and how tight your shoes were getting. You wore the same pair of tennis shoes all school year! I let you throw them away the next-to-last day of school. You never complained about them hurting your feet until then, and there was no way those shoes would be worn by Z. You wore them out! I was so thankful! You also got to throw your Mario lunchbox and Lightning McQueen bookbag away after the last day of kindergarten. Those could not be re-used either! You got your money's worth out of those :)

It's still surreal to me that I will have a young man starting 1st grade in a month and a half. You don't want to go to 1st grade, though. It's not because you don't like school, because you LOVE it. It's because you don't like change and would like to do kindergarten over again :)

Sometimes I wonder about your fits that seem to come from deep-down fears. I don't know where the fears come from and why they are so intense, but I realize that we just have to work through it. You are an awesome kid! I wouldn't trade you in for anyone else, and I try hard not to compare you to your brother. You are smart, incredibly handsome, and a people-pleaser. I guess I can claim all of those traits as coming from me, but your dad has most of those traits, too.

One other bragging point that I have to bring up is how you were able to share about Jesus with your friends in public school. I know you were only 5, but for you to tell your friends that Easter was not about a bunny but about Jesus is amazing! There were other things, too. Your Daddy got to lead you in a prayer of salvation in the car, on the way home from school around Easter time. I'm so proud to know that you are a light in a dark world! Don't ever be ashamed of Jesus! He paid the ultimate price for you to live this abundant life.

I can't believe that you are 6! I can't believe that you "graduated" kindergarten. You are my firstborn child. I am so thankful that God blessed us with you! I love how you love going to church! I love how you are truly your Daddy's buddy and will still crawl up in his lap now. I can't wait to see what you and your dad can dream up to build with all those new legos!

I love you, Malachi James, with all my heart. You are a true gift from God! What a blessing you are to our family and to this earth!

-Your Momma

Cow Appreciaton Day at Chick-fil-A

Today was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A. The boys got free kid's meals for their outfits. Daniel, Grammy, & I got a free entree (sandwich/salad) for wearing the iconic "Eat Mor Chikin" signs. It was fun!

The Back is Back

A little over 2 weeks ago, on Father's Day, Daniel and I were rolling up and moving the inflatable slide that we used the day before for Malachi's birthday party. I'm a lot heavier than I used to be and should be and have been so stressed/tired that I haven't been very active lately. So, needless to say, I strained several back muscles. At first they were concerned about a herniated disc, but we found out a few days later that it was just muscles. It is the worst pain that I have ever experienced. Every time I moved, it hurt. At times, it was hard to walk or even get to the toilet. I'm thankful that my husband was around to take me to all the appointments. He said that he was "driving Ms. Daisy."

It hurt to sit up. The only thing that didn't hurt too much was laying on my back. Monday, I didn't do much and thought the pain would go away. When it didn't go away by Tuesday, Daniel took me to a chiropractor. He suggested I go to the doctor and get pain meds. That was the best suggestion of the week! So, after spending an hour at the chiro, we got lunch. I hurt too much to eat, so it was just the boys eating. Then, we went to the dr., who gave me 2 shots, one was for pain, the other a steroid to decrease the inflammation. I left with 3 prescriptions (vicotin for pain, prednisone steroid, and a muscle relaxer). I felt MUCH better after the 2 shots. We, then, went to the chiro, again, and let him do some more therapy on me. It still hurt a lot to sit up, but I was dramatically better.

Wednesday I went to the chiro for therapy and tried to rest and sleep (thanks to the meds). Still in a lot of pain. It was also our anniversary. We made it to Moe's for lunch, but that was still hard for me to sit through.

Thursday, I made it to the chiro, again, and this time he felt comfortable in adjusting me. It made me more sore, but it helped more in the long run. That evening I felt up to doing a "sit down" restaurant. So, we took our family of 4 to Texas Roadhouse.

Friday morning came, and I was feeling much better. Went for another adjustment and therapy at the chiro. I still had to ice my back and rest a lot, but I was feeling like I could move a little without pain. Friday evening I took the last dose of meds. Saturday morning, we decided that Daniel would go and be a counselor at the SC district kids' camp with our friends from Beaufort. So, it suddenly became busy. We had to start packing. We took the boys to see Cars 2 at 2pm. We had an hour drive to church at 5pm. After getting home from church, at around 7:15pm, Daniel cooked dinner and mowed the yard. We packed up a little bit and went to bed.

Sunday morning rolled around. We feverishly packed whatever we would need for the next 2 weeks. After driving to Beaufort that afternoon/evening, we stayed with our friends. Monday morning they headed out early to camp. The boys and I were on our way to NC for the next two weeks. I had 4 hours to drive on my own. My back was ok until the last hour when we got into Charlotte. When I had to keep moving my foot back and forth from the gas to the break, it caused a lot of pain in my lower back. Thankfully, the boys were well-behaved. I didn't make it to the chiro that day.

Tuesday afternoon, I painfully made it to our favorite chiro, Dr. Love. He was able to adjust me, and I began to feel TONS better. I went twice to Dr. Love on Wednesday and once on Thursday. Each visit, I felt better and better. Now, I am just trying to move carefully and not strain the muscles and ice my lower back several times a day. I'm thankful that I can move, again, without any pain. It took about 2 weeks, and I still need to ice it, but I am thankful for getting somewhat back to normal.

...and that I picked Daniel up on Friday, July 1st, to help me and be with me. I miss him when he's gone.

Hinson Great-Grandchildren

Daniel's side of the family is a different H. It was nice to get some pictures of all 5 of them together today. In order from left to right, our boys (Ezekiel - 4 years & Malachi - 1 week shy of 6 years), Chris and Miranda's son (Bryson - 8 months), Nathan & Felicia's girls (Ivey - 2 years & Aubri - 4 years). Ezekiel is 2 weeks older than Aubri. So, they are definitely the closest in age.

Thanksgiving 2010 was the first picture of all the 5 grandkids together! From left to right, Ezekiel (3 years), Malachi (5 years), Bryson (3 weeks), Aubri (3 years), & Ivey (17 months).

Fun with Grammy

The boys enjoyed making cookies with Grammy while Mommy iced her back and rested. I don't think the mix was that great, but they had a blast helping.

Later on the boys helped pick up sticks and take them out to the road. They got eaten up by mosquitoes in the process :-/

Reading with Grammy

One of Malachi & Ezekiel's favorite thing to do while in NC is to have Grammy read books to them. Yesterday was no different. Usually they choose Berenstain Bear books (their Momma's favorites growing up), but since we took most of those books with us to Florida, they chose some Disney books from their Mom's and Uncle's childhood. I'm thankful for the break from reading Berenstain books and from reading them books in general, and Grammy eats it up!

June 19, 2011

Malachi & Ezekiel showing off Malachi's birthday toys - Special Agent Oso & Iron Man plane

Malachi's Birthday Party

For Malachi's 6th birthday we wanted a Lego birthday party with the water slide with his school friends. Since his birthday is in the middle of the summer, we decided to do it 3 weeks early to try to get some of his school friends to come. He ended up with 2 school friends, and 2 church friends. It was a blast! I know he wanted a few more friends to come, but he sure did have a great time and got plenty of Legos!!!

Spring Break at Myrtle Beach with Grammy & Grandpa

It was still a little cold at the beach in late April/early May, but they have 2 indoor pools. It didn't deter the boys' love for swimming at all. They love that Grandpa will get in and play with them!

Palm Sunday/Easter

At the Crossing Church in Brandon, Malachi enjoyed making a cross, and Ezekiel colored palm leaves for Palm Sunday Easter celebrations. Malachi went to his friends at his public school and told them that week that Easter was not about a bunny, but its about Jesus! So proud of that little dude! He loves church and shares his beliefs!!!