You asked for pictures

Here they are....pretty cute if you ask me:)

New Beginnings

My last post was at the beginning of summer and now my girls head back to school in one week.  I had great plans this summer of relaxing, going to the pool everyday, and just really enjoying time with my kids.  It has been a great summer...but I wouldn't say it was relaxing:)  

We started the summer off with Kyle heading to General Assembly.  First time as a head pastor, he did miss many of the WI friends that were there last year.  As soon as he got home our church hosted a VBS for special needs adults and then I headed out to MN and SD for a friends wedding.  It was a great get-away and always a special time with friends.

The girls enjoyed going to 2 different VBS's this year.  I'm that mom, the VBS hopper:)  The first one Elayna and Aubrey went to was huge.  There were over 500 kids attending.  The girls had a blast.  Mari was old enough to go to the second one.  We are still singing VBS songs:)

We had a special visit from Kyle's grandparents for a long weekend.  His grandfather spoke at the senior luncheon at church and then again at the men's breakfast.  It was great to spend time with them and have them get to know our girls better.  

One thing that we wanted to do before the summer was over was go to a beach.  We squeezed it in:)  We headed to Myrtle Beach after church on a Sunday and came back home late Tuesday night.  We had a great time as a family and enjoyed mini golf, swimming, and the beach.

Trip to Sweet Frog

Putt Putt...the girls loved it

Sisters

Myrtle Beach

More Sweet Frog:)

As soon as we got home from the beach Kyle's parents came for a visit.  His dad was able to go to work with him two days and they enjoyed a game of golf.  The ladies spent time together watching old home videos, swimming, and spending time downtown.

One thing that did happen ALOT this summer is torrential rain showers.  I have never seen rain like we got here in the early summer.  After many days of rain we got a really hard rain (3 inches in an hour) there was flooding everywhere and the ground between our church and the road broke open.  It started out as a 12 foot sink hole...it has grown to about 50 feet.  Bids are still coming in to get everything fixed and most are around 100,000 dollars.  It is a mess but we are now known as the church with the sink hole:) Free advertising, okay not free. 100,000 dollar advertising!

The sink hole

We have done our school shopping and are ready to start school real soon.  Aubrey will be in kindergarten and Elayna will be in 2nd.  They are excited to be in school together.  After lots of thought and prayer I have decided to go back to school also.  I will be going for my RN degree.  This semester I was able to get into all online courses...hopefully that will be a good transition into school.  I hope to have all of my schooling done by the time all of the girls are in school.

We have started our search for a home as our lease will be up in January.  This past Friday we went with a Realtor to look at several homes.  We found one that we really like and it is within 5 minutes of the girls school and less than 10 minutes to church.  Kyle has spoken with a mortgage company and we are discussing an offer.  We are so excited to be closer to things.

Our biggest news happened just hours after we finished looking at homes.  We were downtown planning to get supper when I got a phone call.  Department of Social Services had an emergency removal of a sibling group (girl 8, boy 7, boy 4) and wanted to know if we would take the children into our home .  We were shaking with excitement and fear and we said yes.  Within 2 1/2 hours three little kids were standing at our door.  So we had six kids in our house over the weekend.  This morning the kids social worker called and told me that the children will not be going back home and wondered if we would consider taking them long term.  I knew that this question was coming and it still took me off guard.  Well as of 4:30 this afternoon we are a family of EIGHT.  We don't know what this is going to look like but we know that we can love these special little kids.  We ask that you will pray for us.  Pray for me and Kyle as we learn how to parent new children through hard feelings.  Pray for these three kids as they are dealing with really hard issues. And pray for our girls as they adjust to these changes. 

So that is it.  God is good and is stretching us and teaching us to rely on Him.  I told Elayna tonight that change can make new emotions come up and that can be scary.  But we know that God is still in control and we need to go to Him for comfort.  That is what I will cling to.

Summer Times

Summer has quickly begun in our household.  As we finished the school year Elayna said, "I'm happy that school is done, but I'm sad too."  That comment is a true blessing.  One of our major concerns when we moved here mid school year was that Elayna would adjust well to school.  She loved her teacher and the school was very welcoming of us.

Miss Long and Elayna 

These past months have been very busy.  For those of you who know our family you know that all of our birthdays...except Kyle's, are in Spring and early Summer.  My birthday started off the birthday run 2 days after mothers day.  Kyle and the girls did a great job of making me feel special:)  Aubrey was next and we decided that she was not going to do a friend birthday this year (she said that she doesn't have any friends:(). Her day was filled with lots of things that Aubs loves.  We went strawberry picking, out for pizza, to the dog shelter, Chuck-E-Cheese, and finished up with presents and cupcakes at home.  Elayna was celebrated with a Pajama and Pancake party with 11 little girls from her class.  They all ate crazy toppings on their pancakes and decorated pillow cases.  Fathers Day started with breakfast in bed for Kyle.  We did a treasure hunt for him to find his presents...the girls had a blast.  Mari's birthday is not till July 1st...so I will update once that happens:)

Big 5 year old!

My attempts at making a cake look like a stack of pancakes:)

Big 7 year old!

When we were not busy celebrating we made the 13+ hour trek back to Wisconsin.  Our girls were asked to be flower girls in Audrey and Ian's wedding (friends that were in Kyle's youth group back in WI).  Before the wedding we went up to Green Bay for a week.  It was great to see family and friends who had sent us off 5 months earlier.  Our time in Green Bay was very relaxed...which was needed.

The annual Ferguson girls birthday party at the Froelich's

We went to Waukesha on Saturday for the dress rehearsal.  Stayed with wonderful friends who were very hospitable:)  Kyle was able to preach at Cornerstone on Sunday...almost brought me to tears (not sure why).  It makes me proud seeing him in that role.  The wedding  was Sunday afternoon.  The girls were super cute and did a great job.  By the time we got to the reception Amaria was sleeping.  Elayna, who was the least excited to dance, rocked the dance floor.  It took her a while to get going but once she started she couldn't stop.  She was fist pumping and everything...very happy girl:)  Monday morning we slowly woke up and were dreading the ride back to Virginia.  We did come back with one extra person.  Ella, best friend of Elayna and Aubrey, came back with us and stayed for 10 days.  Before I go on, we were nervous about the ride.  Amaria can be a real treat in the car but all of them were AMAZING.  They were great on the way to WI and on the way back to VA.  I don't want to do the trip every weekend, but it was very doable.

 

Ella is an amazing little girl.  I know when I was 6 there was NO WAY that I would go across country from my family for 10 days.  She fit in great with our girls and they had a very special time together.  Her mom flew in late on a Friday night and they had to fly out again Saturday evening.  We had a short visit but packed it with lots of activities.  We hiked Mill Mountain, ate downtown, went to the zoo, and toured our church.  It was great to have Ella here and see Lisa for a short time.  There were some tears when we dropped them at the airport.

Love these smiles:)

Fun at Mill Mountain

Best Buddies

Too Cute

After hiking up Mill Mountain with the 4 girls!

We have also been very busy taking PRIDE classes.  These are classes required to be come Foster Parents in Roanoke.  We are half way done and should be certified by July.  We had a full day class on a Saturday in the beginning of June and repeating Monday and Thursday evening classes since.  Kyle and I were both kind of dreading what these classes would be like but now we are even more excited to begin this journey.  Our heart breaks for the stories of broken families that we hear about and we hope to make a difference.  Please keep us in your prayers as we continue on this process.  We are very aware that it will be difficult but know that with prayers and support it will be very worth it.

Today in the car two of my favorite songs played back to back.  Meredith Andrews song, "Not For a Moment" and Tenth Avenue Norths song, "Worn."  Here is a little bit of both songs.

Not For A Moment

You were reaching through the storm

Walking on the water

Even when I could not see

In the middle of it all

When I thought You were a thousand miles away

Not for a moment did You forsake me

Not for a moment did You forsake me

After all You are constant

After all You are only good

After all You are sovereign

Not for a moment will You forsake me

Not for a moment will You forsake me

Worn

I'm tired 

I'm worn 

My heart is heavy

From the work it takes to keep on breathing

I've made mistakes 

I've let my hope fail

My soul feels crushed

By the weight of this world

And I know that you can give me rest

So I cry out with all that I have left

Let me see redemption win

Let me know the struggle ends

That you can mend a heart that's frail and torn

I want to know a song can rise

From the ashes of a broken life

And all that's dead inside can be reborn

Cause I'm worn

I've been thinking about these songs all day.  I love that they were played back to back.  Not For A Moment talking about how we know that God is constant and that He will not forsake us and then Worn being completely honest and saying that life is hard and pleading for God to let redemption win.  We have an overwhelming number of things around us right now that make me cry out to God and say, "when will this stop?"  Cancer, addiction, death, broken families, lives changed by illness...the list could go on and on.  It is easy too get stuck in the "Worn" side and not remember that God is constant and that even in these very hard times, He will not forsake us.    
So after a few months of happy with celebrations and family visits we seem to be overwhelmed with the
opposite.  My prayer is that in the good and the bad that my reliance will be on Christ.

Good Intentions!

There are so many days where my mind is full of ideas and thoughts that I want to write down in my blog...what happens from my mind to the computer. LIFE!  That is a good thing, I'm not complaining.  But time to sit and share with you all is slim.

It has been a long time since I have written so I'm sure I will forget some things.

Mid April we had some very special visitors for a REALLY quick visit.  My Uncle Todd, Aunt Kathy, Ella, and Ada (my cousins daughters) got here late on a Friday and were gone after church on Sunday.  It was quick but it was great to have them here.  We went to a kite festival where the kids all got a kite and t-shirt, Mill Mountain Zoo, and looked at the star.  They cooked us a delicious meal on Saturday night.  It amazes me that they would take the long drive to see us for just a short time. We are blessed by wonderful family.

At the Kite Festival

Cute little girls

Uncle Todd was outnumbered by ladies but a huge help

I had two exciting doctor visits.  My first was to get my port out.  I got my port in about a week after I was diagnosed so it was freeing to have it out.  A couple days after I had my routine visit and blood work with my oncologist.  Everything looks great and my next appointment is not for  6 months.  I look forward to forgetting about doctor visits.

My scheduling paper for my next doctor appointment!!!

Elayna's school was putting on the production of Wizard of Oz a couple of weeks ago.  We were a little nervous to bring our scardy-cat girls to it. We were wrong...they LOVED it and are still talking
about it.  Today when I picked Elayna up from school she said that Dorothy and the Witch were in the cafeteria.  She had a huge smile when she told me.

Kyle and I were stressing over the decision about whether or not to put an offer in on the house that we are currently renting.  We had a Realtor come out and look around.  He gave us an estimate of what he thought was a realistic offer.  We still struggled with the decision.  We love the house and the area.  However, the yard needs a lot of work and it is far from pretty much everything.  After a day of running errands and meetings I had a peace about not sticking with this house.  I let Kyle know and he was completely on board...I think he was just waiting for me to be comfortable with the idea of moving again.  We are in our lease until January so we have a while to not think about it.  When we do start looking we will look in the area of church and school.  I look forward to not feeling like I live in my van.

We are looking forward to a trip home in a little more than a week.  All three of our girls are standing up in a friends wedding.  It will be great to spend some time with family and friends.  I will take lots of pictures because I'm sure they are going to be pretty cute:)

Today marks a very hard memory for me and my family.  Two years ago I went in to my OB for what we though was mastitis.  That day I got the news that they believe it was Inflammatory Breast Cancer.  The next day it was verified that I had Stage 4 Inflammatory Breast Cancer.  I remember it like yesterday I sat in our living room as Kyle tearfully called everyone close to us to tell the terrible news.  I don't know if it has gotten easier after two years.  It can still bring me to tears most days.  I am so thankful that God brought me through this trial and that I can still be here for my family.  The thought of not being here with them is too much for me to think about.  I pray that God will continue to heal me emotionally from this.  I want to thank each and everyone of you who walked through this with us.  We could not have done it alone.

Time Marches On!!!

Wow!  Kyle and I just said yesterday (as we were driving home from a 12 hour day at church) "why are we SO busy?"  Neither of us know what has changed THAT much to make us busy all the time.  Thankfully we both like to be going going going:) 

So I go back to the week before Easter and we had our second 'Beyer' visitor.  Sarah was on Spring Break and swung by our house for one night.  She came with us to the Easter Pageant at a local baptist church.  The music was amazing and the story very powerful.  It was a great way to set the mood for the week leading up to Easter.  Sarah also was great helper in my Pinterest decorating adventure.  She was a great sport and fit right into our family...she had kids crawling all over her, kids sitting on her lap, and watched the girls do a roller skating performance.  I meant to get a picture with her before she left but mornings are too busy and it completely slipped my mind...I know, imagine that:)

Pinterest Easter Egg Garland

Hours after Sarah left my parents arrived from a long 15 hour drive through the night.  It was great to have them visit.  Although this was not a relaxed restful trip, I think they came on our busiest week since we moved here.  We were very efficient and had our days packed with church activities, zoo trips, hilly walks, good eating, school visits, coffee stops and lots of talking.

 Elayna's 1st grade class had just started the 'tooth' unit in science, so Elayna was very excited that Grandma (dental hygienist) came to her school to give a talk about teeth.  The next day was Grandparents Day.  Very special that Elayna could have 2 grandparents with her.  I did warn her that this may not always be possible...but to enjoy it this time:)

We had a very exciting and encouraging Easter week/end at church.  Maundy Thursday service was a great reminder of the grief and anguish that Christ felt leading up to the cross.  The music and readings were powerful.  On Saturday we held our first annual Easter Egg Hunt and Festival.  We had sno-kone's, cotton candy, popcorn, face painting, games, and inflatables.  80 children came and over 35 families were represented.  We had a beautiful day for the event and LOTS of fun was had by all.  After that we were sun burned and tired.  Easter morning was an exciting celebration of Christ is Risen!  Kyle's message was great.  We had over 40 more people than usual in church.  Very exciting!!!  After church we had a short reprieve before we had an Easter feast with 18 people at our house.  So glad my parents were still here.  They are an amazing team.  We had great food and lots of laughs around the dinner table.  Before my parents headed out for their, once again, 15 hour trek home... they helped with the dishes.  Enough said, thank you dad and mom.

Once they left Kyle and I crashed before 9:00pm.  Exhaustion! 

I got up Monday morning to look at what the weather was going to be for our trip to South Carolina later in the week.  Terrible!  The two days that we were going to be there it was a 90% chance of rain.  Kyle and I chatted it over, we searched on the internet, he called his session members and in less than 2 hours we were packed on the road heading to South Carolina.  Our trip that was going to be Wednesday to Friday was now Monday to Thursday.  The trip was a surprise to our girls.  All we said was for Elayna's spring break we were heading to the beach.  Exciting, right? 

Beach Time

That's as close as I get to the beach...Brrr

The cold doesn't bother daddy

They tried the pool after the beach...it wasn't heated.

Ice Cream in Charleston

 

What we didn't tell them is that dear friends from Waukesha were also going to be vacationing at that beach.  So as we sat at dinner one evening the Mautz's walked in and sat next to us.  Lots of hugs. 
The weather was not great but we had a really nice time touring around Charleston, spending time with friends, eating good food, and doing a little bit of beach.

Elayna when she saw Ella

Aubs was in the bathroom when they got there:)

The special surprise

Great buddies!

 

The kids were not bothered by 55 degrees and rain...they were still in the ocean

 

 

 

 

 

Horse drawn carriage tour in Charleston

We got home at 1:30am on Friday...Kyle headed to work and we layed very low at home.  I had plans of potty training Amaria over Spring break but with the switch of vacation dates I was leaning towards not doing it.  Well after nap on Friday I thought, what the heck!  We are now 4 days into it and she has only had 2 accidents.  She has caught right on...I'm so proud of her.  I know you probably don't all want to know about the potty habits of our family, but I was dreading potty training her.  It is one of my least favorite things about parenting.  But now as she runs around the corner of the kitchen dashing towards the froggie potty in her Dora undies saying, "I gotta pee pee."  I just have to share my joy:)

This is the crazy I have to work with:)

So that is about it.  We are back on schedule and I LOVE that.  I am a creature of habit.  Vacation is nice but I like to feel like things are getting done and in control.  The trees are blooming and short weather is here in VA...at least for right now.  And that is enough for me, I'll take it for right now.

What I get to enjoy outside my front window.