Miley Cyrus

The flu hit our house this week when Raegan was sent home from school on Tuesday with a fever and headache. By Wednesday morning we were pretty sure it may be H1N1. I called her Dr. and they said no reason to bring her in but because of her respiratory problems this time of year (she's on a Flexhaler, Inhaler, & Singulair -- druggie!) they wanted her to start Tami flu. We picked it up that afternoon but hadn't started it because by Wednesday evening she was feeling much better. However, the word on the street is that with this H1N1 they are sick a couple days then feel better and then they are hit with the secondary infection. Well, to avoid that we started the Tami flu. [As a side note if you are lucky enough to get Tami flu it is VERY expensive! We do not have prescription coverage so we pay all meds -- this one is $140 bucks a bottle and it's not a big bottle!!!]

Now I will do anything to keep my child from getting deathly sick but I also had ulterior motives in this decision. You see I had purchased tickets to a Miley Cyrus concert in State College, PA and I really didn't want them to go to waste. What would you do?! By Thursday morning Raegan woke me at 6 am and begged to go to school. I think she thought she could only go to the concert if she was well enough to go to school. She rested the rest of the morning and then we headed for Penn State at 2 pm.

We were there before the doors opened!
Raegan & MarysolYou can see that Raegan wasn't feeling 100% but she never let it show

Marysol and her mom Esther. They are the ones
that found out about the concert and called us.

We didn't think we had the best seating - nosebleed section!! But we soon found out that they actually WERE the best. We could see everything, even some of the behind the stage stuff.

The opening song - she had just broken out of that plastic,

bubble looking thing on the left.

It's actually Miley Cyrus!

Miley singing some ocean song - didn't recognize it.

There were some great visual effects. This is part of the song FLY.

Same song, she is flying over the crowd.

The girls groovin' out!

Miley playing the piano

She did a "tribute" to the song I Love Rock n Roll"
and they took her over the crowd on this motorcycle

Not exactly front row seats but what a great view of it all!

The last song.

The girls had a great time but look at those tired eyes!

We had a 3 1/2 hour ride home to go but the girls didn't mind! We also had to find our way out of State College - rahr, we did it!

Happy Halloween!

Okay, so I'm only seven days late on posting the Halloween pictures - that's not bad for me!!

As usual, Mimi made the costumes for Raegan and her twin cousins. She continues to amaze us all with her sewing and crafting abilities. The kids are still "in to" Mimi making their costumes but we aren't sure how much longer that will last. For now we enjoy seeing what characters each Halloween brings about.

This year Raegan decided on Super Girl.

Jansen was a robot and Isaiah was "Harry Potter" - it was a perfect look for him! Notice their bags always match their outfit as well - this ain't Lillian Vernon!

There are several neighbors that enjoy scaring all the kids in the neighborhood. This year our next door neighbor disguised himself as one of their bushes and jumped out at the kids! It was a riot but I think we had some very frightened little ones! Can you see him?

Here he is up close.

The weather cooperated with us somewhat - it didn't rain BUT it was very windy and cold. We had a great time but we were anxious to get back to the warm house and have pizza with friends.

Look at the treasures Super Girl "rescued" from the bag guys.

No taffy or caramel -- braces will be off soon!

October 5th, 2009

This view of Evitts Mountain was taken on the anniversary of Aaron's death. I traveled around to visit my family members and stopped at the cemetery. This view from Aaron's burial site is breathtaking year round but the colors that were beginning to transform the mountain side were especially picturesque.

The flag not far from Aaron's site was flapping crisply in the air.

Mother and Daddy, you diligently keep up the ground and the decorations at his grave site. I'm so glad you are right there to care for it. When I am able to travel out there to visit, it is comforting to see it so well cared for.

View of the valley where the C-130 approached the burial site. The memory of that moment still gives me chills - it was immensely overwhelming.

For some of you this may not seem quite appropriate for my blog but for other family members that aren't close by, I think it helps to remain close and connected to Aaron and where he was put to rest. We all know he is NOT there but rather with our Lord and Saviour in Heaven. The site, however, and all of its surroundings allow us to pray, cry, grieve, and even celebrate Aaron's life & death and how the Lord has used it for His glory.

From Bitter to Better

She's just a bitter old woman!" Have you ever heard someone described in that way? I have. And amazingly, when someone uses the word "bitter," I know exactly what they mean. Webster defines bitter as "galling; exhibiting intense animosity, harshly reproachful, marked by cynicism and rancor." It stems from deep seated anger and a lack of forgiveness that plants itself into a soul and is watered and fertilized by playing and replaying the video of the offense in the theater of the mind.

Paul warns us that having a "root of bitterness" can grow up and "defile many" (Hebrews 12:15). James tell us that bitterness is from the devil (James 3:14-15). And Peter cautions that bitterness can keep us from being effective in ministry (Acts 8:22-24).

Just like Naomi in the story of Ruth, bitterness in our hearts will produce bitterness in our actions. The only way to be free of bitterness is to let go of past offenses and refuse to collect them. Collect antiques, beanie babies, or even shoes. But don't collect grudges. There's not enough storage space in your heart to bear the load. Grudges just tumble out every time the door to your mouth is opened.

"My mother used to be a bitter woman," Tim explained. "But then she got Alzheimer's disease and forgot what she was so bitter about. She actually became a very pleasant person to be around." Oh, that we would forget while we are still well enough to enjoy the freedom!

Rather than growing bitter, choose to be better! Think on the words to this poem found in John Cook's book, The Book of Positive Quotations.

The Hard Way

For every hill I've had to climb,
For every stone that bruised my feet,
For all the blood and sweat and grime,
For blinding storms and burning heat,
My heart sings but a grateful song-
These were the things that made me strong.

Those do not sound like the words of a bitter person but a better person. The fact is that hurt is inevitable in relationships. We are sinful creatures living in a fallen world and it is only by the grace of God that we can be a blessing to anyone. The only way to be better rather than bitter is to extend the same grace to others that God extended to us through Jesus Christ. The key to writing a beautiful life story is to have a pencil with a good eraser.

If ever there was a person who had the "right" to be bitter, it was Joseph. The Bible tells us he was thrown into a pit and left for dead, sold into slavery, falsely accused of attempted rape, forgotten by his friends, and unjustly detained in a prison cell for many years. And yet, after his release and subsequent appointment as governor of Egypt, he came face-to-face with the very brothers who caused his demise. Rather than give them the punishment they deserved, he said, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (Genesis 50:20). Joseph chose not to be bitter, but to allow his circumstances to make him better. And with God's help, we can do the same.

Dear LORD, I choose to let the struggles of life make me better and not bitter. I forgive those who have hurt me and refuse to hold a grudge. I will look for the good in every difficult situation and think the best of others. I know that a bitter heart produces bitter fruit, and I refuse to allow my heart to get caught in that trap. Now, Lord, help me accomplish what I have just confessed.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen.

WVU Fans Show Their True Colors

This is from the UCONN School Paper "The Daily Campus"

Over the past three years, I, like any other self-respecting UConn undergrad, have grown to hate the West Virginia Mountaineers. Whether it was the 66-21 drubbing the UConn football team received in Morgantown the year they were crowned Co-Big East champions or Joe Alexander and the Mountaineers knocking the Huskies out in the 2008 Big East basketball tournament, I developed a deep and undying hatred for everything West Virginian. But Saturday changed all that.

With the football team playing the hardest game that they have ever played, the Mountaineers - and more importantly their fans - welcomed the Huskies with open arms. As the Huskies raced out of the tunnel, the first time in two and a half years without Jasper Howard at their side, and into a packed Milan Puskar Stadium, nobody, the team included, could have expected what they were met with. A large banner read "Today we are all Huskies: No. 6 Jasper Howard" and was littered with the signatures of thousands of West Virginia students.. Students who had even less exposure to Howard than UConn undergrads took the time out of their day to sign a banner commemorating his life. Furthermore, Mountaineer fans in the crowd held signs that read "RIP Jasper Howard" among other tributes to his accolades both on and off the field. They welcomed UConn out of the tunnel with cheers, not jeers. The Huskies may have expected an olive branch, but the Mountaineers forked over nearly the entire tree.

While my column last week reminded us that Howard was a student first and a football player second, the Mountaineer fans took this one step further. Undoubtedly, none of the students who signed that banner or held signs in the crowd had ever met Howard, and yet they felt compelled to show they cared. They boiled the situation down to the bare essentials; that a fellow human, regardless of his university affiliation and regardless of the fact that he was a football player, had been murdered. I would like to take this time to congratulate each and every West Virginia fan for their kindness and understanding on Saturday. I've been to my fair share of sporting events and seen the bad blood that can exist between rivals, especially at the college level. But the Mountaineers, at least for that one game, put the rivalry aside and realized there was more at stake than just a football game.

When all is said and done I hope that the football team walks away from the game not remembering the missed field goals, or the long touchdown run that secured the win for West Virginia , but for the way that they were greeted, as friends rather than enemies, despite playing in what is normally such a hostile environment. Though the pre-game moment of silence, players shaking hands and UConn coach Randy Edsall embracing West Virginia coach Bill Stewart were all well and good, those were things that were planned far in advance and enforced by administrators on both sides. Nobody forced those students to sign that banner, nobody asked them to go out of their way to bring signs to commemorate Howard. It was pure, unadulterated human compassion, the likes of which I've rarely seen at a sporting event before and will likely not see again in the near future.

So for those of you who are still moping about the loss and what could have been, take a step back and realize what did happen on Saturday. Taking a look in the stands made one realize that there's more to life than Xs and Os, wins and losses, bowl berths and Big East championships. And for the Mountaineers and their fans, I commend you. Regardless of the rivalry, the wins and losses, you put all that aside and reached out to a team that was visibly hurt. This is the kind of compassion you simply don't see every day. On Saturday, as your banner read, we were all Huskies. For the rest of the season, at least until West Virginia travels to The Rent in 2010, I would like to extend an olive branch of my own.

Mountaineer fans, given the compassion and tenacity you showed on Saturday, you will always be Huskies to me.

No Words Needed

Learning Through Pain

Two years ago I was not thinking about calling Aaron and telling him how much I loved him. I wasn't preparing myself for the most traumatic experience of my life. And I wasn't thinking hmmm....I wonder how much longer my beloved family members will be alive. I was living a normal fast-paced, self-absorbed day when - WHAM - I was hit with the reality of immortality.

Today is the 2nd anniversary of the day that Aaron went home to be with the Lord.

This milestone consumed my thoughts as I flipped the calendar to October at the beginning of the month. I began to reflect and think about all the many changes that have occured since that fateful day. Some of the changes were instantaneous and necessary because of the now empty place that Aaron's life filled. But others have been in the making. Changes that are still evolving, continuing to reshape lives, thoughts and actions.

I can remember back in 2007 thinking, "Lord, there must be someone you are trying to reach, someone's life you are trying to impact with this". I never once thought that that person might be me. I shutter at the thought that it would take my brother's death to make changes in me. But I must admit that in the process it HAS changed me.

I am tempted to itemize these changes and explain in detail here on my blog. But I have learned that this medium tends to bring out the writer in me and I may share more than necessary. So I'll suffice it to say that I continue to see God's hand of mercy working in my life and Him purifying my thoughts and actions everyday. I want (we all should) a life that leaves a legacy of obedience to God's call on my life. And that call is simply obeying His Word. What joy and peace we can find when we release the selfish grasp we have on our lives and fully embrace HIS PLAN.

I can do ALL things through Him who gives me strength and ALL things do work together for good to those that love Him and are called according to His purpose.

You're Invited!

LADIES WEEKEND RETREAT

OCT. 16th & 17th

6 pm -10 pm on Friday

9 am - 3pm on Saturday

Being held at Memorial Heights Baptist Church

Cumberland, MD

301-724-5876

This Bible Study with Beth Moore (via DVD) is for ladies only. We will have worship & praise, fun-filled fellowship, skits and more. Dinner will be at 6:15 on Friday evening and lunch will be served on Saturday.

Cost is only $20. You must be signed up by Oct. 11th so that we can confirm the number attending with the caterer.

We are praying for you to attend .... bring a friend!

First Day of 3rd Grade!

This year was a major change for Raegan. She moved to the Intermediate School. It's still a pretty small school (just 3rd & 4th grades) but all of the 2nd grade classes from two different schools merge and create five or six 3rd grade classes.
She has been so excited about the Intermediate school - mostly because they get lockers, whoohoo! (It's the little things in life, I guess.)

So excited for this first day
She had a teacher picked out that she really wanted to get for 3rd grade and it was a matter of prayer over the summer. I kept reminding her that God would give her the teacher she should have and we would accept it. While we were away at the lake in August the class rosters were posted on the school website - Raegan got the news on our laptop while we were there.....she got Mrs. Alkire, YAYEEEEEEE!

So the excitement level was intensified and by the morning of the first day she was up and dressed by 6 am. She actually woke us up!

I promised I would drive her to school the first morning but that she had to ride the bus the rest of the year. (At the elem. school I drove her to school EVERY day). She kept saying "let's go, I don't want to be late."

We beat the buses to the school and she was the 2nd child in the building, the lights weren't even on in the gymnasium yet! Oh well, she was happy to be there and I'm counting my blessings that I don't have a child that hates school .

Raegan & Mrs. Alkire

I wish I could say that this schedule has remained but it hasn't, I'm now dragging her butt out of bed at 6:15, forcing her to dress and begging her to eat breakfast. We then zoom out of the garage at 7:06 to catch the bus at 7:09. Whew! This is going to be a long year!


She is loving 3rd grade and her scores are excellent. We are extremely proud of her.

Football Already!

I always know when my summer is over - it's when pee wee football/cheering starts back up! Practices start the last week in July and you might as well kiss your life good-bye.



The first game was the week before school started and we played the LaVale Lions. The excitement was high as we all arrived at the field at about 7:30 in the morning for a 9:00 game! I've never seen crazier fans (well, okay, maybe WVU could compare!) We've joked that our team should sell sideline lots to raise funds for the team - they would sell!! The parents and their canopies show up way before daylight, I swear some of them set them up late at night in the dark. So if you arrive at 8 am, you are so not going to get a spot. Peewee football is serious business in these parts.


Side note: why don't parents get this excited about getting their kids to church and involved in activities there? It's amazing how many hours we spend at a ballfield during the week and then those same parents can't find the time to attend church on Sunday morning - sorry, I digress.

We won the game 39 to 13.

Since then, we've played 6 more games - our record is now 5 wins and 2 losses. Looking forward to one more regular season game before the playoffs start.

Sea World

When we went to Disney 3 years ago we didn't have time to do Sea World but we kept promising Raegan that we would go sometime. She's asked us NUMEROUS times when we were going. Before Joel and I left for Puerto Rico we surprised her with the news that we would be going to Sea World when we got back. It gave her something to look forward to and helped keep her mind off mom and dad being gone so long.

So July 7th (2 weeks after we returned from PR) we took off for Orlando - flying, that is! There's no way we could drive that far and survive the car sickness between Raegan and I.

When we arrived at the Renaissance and checked into our room this was on the tub - isn't it cute?!

The room was great - the hotel was directly across from Sea World and our room faced the resort so we could watch the fireworks every night from the comfort of our beds!

Posing!

If you've never been to Sea World, you've gotta go! The shows are amazing! We saw every single one there was - all of them! We got some great seats clear down front.......

...but it's the soak zone!!!

The killer whale and dolphin trainers do some amazing stunts, it is just so exciting to watch

The highlight of the trip was the Dolphin Spotlight Tour that we scheduled ahead of time. We spent an hour behind the scenes with the dolphins and trainers. Raegan absolutely LOVES dolphins and she had never been this close to one. What an experience for all three of us.

This was so touching to watch

Saying hi to us

Here we are meeting the three boys that we were going to train.
"Is anyone watching me?" I don't know what we were looking at but our little guy was showing off for us and we weren't even paying attention.

Feeding them fish - oooh yuck!

We were splashed more than once as you can see!

When we finished our bucket of fish it was time to go.

So, I guess you can't go to Florida without getting a hairwrap - well, that's what Raegan said.This stayed in until the day before school, when I cut it out of her head. Not the whole chunk - each strand of string one at a time.
This is this the infamous Luau dinner at Sea World, can't think of the Hawaiian name at the moment but it's a must see when you go. They greet you with a lei, tatoos and drinks while you wait to be seated.

They perform the entire time and keep bringing the food to your table. It's family style.
They taught some volunteers a dance and of course Raegan was one of them on stage.


This little girl was darling, we think she was the daughter of the main character in the show.
After the luau we RAN to the Shamu Rocks! Show. It's performed at night with lights and rock music, a lot of fun!

These were the only 2 pics I got before it got too dark. They just wouldn't do it any justice.


The newest part of Sea World is it's own water park called Aquatica, it's a childs dream park - everything is water, you never have to dry off! ha ha
Raegan makes friends everywhere she goes - must be because she's an only child (or maybe because she's a McCoy) - this little girl was from Wales and they exchanged addresses.



Joel and Raegan wading into the wave pool while it was calm - we went all the way out to the deep and rode the waves. They are so much fun - like being at the beach.
Walking through the shark tank. Some people chose to do the Shark Tour and they actually suited up and got in a shark cage and went down in these waters to be next to the huge sharks of all kind in there.


The leafy sea dragon. We had never seen one of these, what an amazing use of camouflage. It's creator made it to look like the sea weed to protect it from it's predators. Can you make out it's shape? It's like a seahorse with leaves.

Polar bear prints in the Polar Express - this building was a hit with us all it gave us a reprieve from the 104 degree temps

Playing around at the hotel pool - she was so determined to get those noodles to do what she wanted them to do, whatever that was!

Diving off daddy's handsWhat a great week! Do we have to go home?

Summer's almost over!