pardon.the.interruption.........

Sooooo, I am going to play a little 'catch up'.
We had a wonderful time in Wilmington with our FCC group celebrating Chinese New Year. It was so nice meeting the members of the group and seeing the Casteen's for a second weekend in a row. Dinner at Double Happiness was delicious. We will definately be visiting that restaurant again. We can't wait to spend more time with this great bunch of folks and their beautiful Children of God again!!!

Lilli is a MASTER at working those chopsticks...
They were the 'real' kind too, not the cheater versions!!

Beauties!!!

Now, to explain my absence. I have had two terrible weeks. I mean really, really bad. Consider my prayers officially requested! After spending several days in the hospital, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer last week. She's sick... very, very sick. The cancer has spread to her lymph nodes, bones and stomach. The prognosis is not a bright one, but we are going to get through this together, with God's help. Danny needs prayers too... he is an only child and his father passed away 20 years ago. This is a really difficult time for him. Also, we are waiting to talk to Lilli about Grandma's sickness. She is a worry-wart like her Mommy, so I don't want it to consume her. Please pray the appropriate time for this serious discussion will present itself to us.
To make things a little more tricky, I have the flu. I went to the doctor on Tuesday, thinking I had bronchitis, but well... the test was positive for the flu!!! I even had the flu shot, but somehow still managed to get it! How does this happen? I am feeling better today, but I'm not well enough ot go back to work. I am still fevered and am coughing quite a bit. I've been taking Tamiflu and luckily, I was able to get a prescription for Lilli as a precaution. So far, so good... she has no symptoms! Yeaaaaaaye God!
So there you have it. Hope you have forgiven me for my blogging absence.
Please keep our family in your prayers. We don't know how much more time we will have with Danny's Mom. We hope that her treatments go well, she is able to live comfortably and perhaps a little longer than the doctors have suggested. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday!! ((HUGS))

Happy Friday & Chinese New Year!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR Y'ALL!!!

I failed to post the pictures from Marbles Kid's Museum over the last few days... The girls had a wonderful time. Going back to this Children's Museum is a definite in our future!!

FIRE CHIEF LIL

Craft time!

Isabella - the pizza delivery girl!

Kiss the cook! MUuuuAH!!!

FRIENDS FOREVER!!

PRAYER REQUEST:
The last few days have been a blur and to be really honest - just plain bad! We were give some very sad news about a very close relative that has been diagnosed with breast cancer. We do not know many details yet, but will soon. I do not know her privacy wishes, so I will not reveal who she is... God knows what He is doing, so His WILL will be done. Your prayers are welcomed!! Thanks prayer warriors!
PRAISE REPORT:

We have also been given some joyous news!! Several weeks back, I mentioned some of our best friends were blessed with the opportunity to foster a 18 month old little girl and asked for your prayers.  Well... they got the call!!! They get to keep this precious little girl in their care... & barring any unforeseen problems, they will begin the adoption process in 5 months! PRAISE HIM!!!! I cannot begin to tell you how excited we are for this precious family! God is sooooooooo good! Please continue to pray for this family!!

A Chinese New Year Outing - Part 2

Initially, I thought I would only have 2 days of posts about our past weekend, but I found that I have far too many pictures to share. We did so much on Day 2, so I am going to split it up. Marbles Kid's Museum photos will come tomorrow or Thursday.
To begin Day 2... after checking out of the hotel and having a good breakfast at the Waffle House... we headed to the North Carolina Fallen Firefighter's Memorial. Ronnie's father passed away in 1968 when he worked as a firefighter with the NC Forestry Service. It was truly special to attend the memorial site with them!

Ronnie's Dad is listed 7th down...

We only love each other... a little!!! LOL

The park is lovely... surrounded by huge oak trees. The girls had a great time running around this beautiful park that the State of NC has dedicated to the fallen firefighters. What a wonderful tribute to firefighters that have lost their lives while protecting the people  & property of this glorious state!
Hope everyone has a great Tuesday! ((HUGS))