A Good Kind of Hiding

We are so proud of all of the recent hiding that has been happening at our house. Hiding God's Word - particularly in the hearts of Toads and Girly Girl. They have worked hard over the past year at the Awana Club at church to memorize their verses. Girly Girl finished up her second and last year in Cubbies and memorized 30 verses. Toads completed his first year in Sparks where he memorized over 40 verses in his two books. At the award ceremony, he was part of the team that was scheduled to recite the Sparks code - P is for Power.

I continue to learn that even with the best of intentions, life with four kids never goes as planned. You just have to laugh. Awards day was one of those days. Sunday afternoon in preparation for the award ceremony, I had to finish applying all of the kids' patches/awards to their vests. I spent over an hour looking for Toads' vest that was not where it always  is....still haven't found it. My attention to finding the vest was derailed when he woke up screaming from his Sunday afternoon nap. As a toddler he experienced the very painful nursemaid's elbow - a child's elbow bones get partially pulled out of joint and do not line up normally - in both elbows multiple times. Assuming he had outgrown it as most kids do, we had not given it another thought since the last epsiode three years ago. We have now been reaquainted with the blood curdling screaming that goes with putting the bone back in place.

I say all of that to emphasize how proud I am that Toads continued with his committment to recite the verse and receive his award. We went on to the church with his arm wrapped up tight next to his body and he climbed up on the stage and said his verse perfectly. We slipped out early to go to the emergency room where it took three adults to get the bone back into place - on the first try!

We are looking forward to alot more hiding of God's Word around here. They are always so excited when they hear one of 'their verses' somewhere else like in class or from the pulpit on Sunday mornings.

Great is our Lord and mighty in power. Psalm 147:5

Last One, I Promise

This is the last of the graduation videos.

Yes, There's More

The introduction to Girly Girl's preschool graduation. (mainly, just for the grandparents)

Not Often Enough

We were able to spend some of our weekend with our sweet friends from college.....well, actually a little bit longer. Amanda is the only friend I have from birth that I keep up with and see on a regular basis. So many of my other friends from that long ago are the Facebook type friends now. Thirty four years later, we are both more than happily married and have seven kids between us.....four Cs and 3 Ks. Yes, the grandmothers have a hard time keeping them straight. I wish we could be together more often, but I am always blessed by the time the Lord does grant to us to spend time visiting and letting the kids play. We are the type of friends that time does not hinder. We pick up right where we left off the last time. There are few people in the world who mean as much to me as Amanda and her bunch.

Me and my four Cs (6, 4, 2 & 11 mos) with Amanda and her 3 Ks (6, 4 & 9mos)

The maternal grandmothers with the two youngest

String Bean (11 months) and KR (9 months)

The Preschool Diploma

The preschool diploma means so much.....the real world is just around the corner. There were days that our Girly Girl just did not want to go to preschool because it was 'too much work.' She really did enjoy her preschool and especially her friends and teachers from this past year, Ms. Brock and Ms. Thompson. After spending three years at ECC, she is sad to see it go. Slowly but surely, she is getting used to the idea of making new friends at PFE.

The Females You Just Don't Hear About

gendercide

gender-selective mass killing - the deliberate extermination of persons of a particular sex

I realize that I live in my 'four kids, suburban, 5 mile radius' world, but I like to think I keep up with some of what's going on in the world. I do watch the Fox News ticker. The information in these articles on the gendercide of females is staggering. You just don't hear about the millions of little baby girls that are either aborted or murdered upon birth simply because they are not male. My world is so insulated that this horrific information does not filter down to me. The problem is, as stated in Mohler's article, that the 'Western media have generally resisted any direct coverage of the horror' so it is not filtering down to most of America. Please read Dr. Mohler's article as well as the investigative report by The Economist to start educating yourself on this tragedy.

Ohh, how I love my one boy and three little girls!

Girly Girl's Debut with John 3:16

preschool graduation for Girly Girl - each child recited one of their memory verses

Through Something So Short

Last week, the Lord allowed the Six Linos to travel to Ft. Worth to be with our sweet friends, the Deasons and Greens as we honored the work of the Lord through their precious baby girl, Addison Lynn Deason. It was a special time to grieve the loss of this child and love on our friends who are hurting so deeply. The six days that Addison was on this earth have impacted so many, including me. So much of my mothering - the sleepless nights, the whining, the tying shoes all day long, the wiping noses, the changing diapers, the laundry, the cutting sandwiches, the reading one more book, the picking up toys - is all put in a much better perspective. Ginny won't ever do any of those things for Addison. Ginny and Stephen are a marvelous testimony of the Lord's willingness to sustain His children and give them the grace to endure suffering. They have testified to His glory at work in them. I am thankful that the Lord has shown me and countless others more of who He is through this family.

This is from Ginny.........

For those of you who weren't able to be at the funeral, here is a testimony I had my Dad read for me. The Lord kept me up 'till 4:30 Wednesday morning writing this, and I didn't stop typing until He told me to. I hope it encourages you...

A Testimony of

~Addison Lynn Deason~

From: Her Mommy, Ginny Lynn Deason

I was given the great honor, joy, and privilege to carry my sweet and precious baby girl, Addison Lynn for 9 months in my womb. What an incredible blessing! From the day I found out I was pregnant, and even before we found out we were having a girl, I loved that baby more than I can say. The first time I felt her move and kick inside me, I was in awe of the Lord’s amazing miracle of life growing in me. I was completely overwhelmed with joy and excitement the first time Stephen and I heard her amazing and strong heartbeat. From the time I was old enough to hold a baby doll in my arms, I wanted so badly to grow up and marry my “Prince Charming” and to experience the joy of being a Mommy. Well, I grew up, and found my Prince who loves me deeply and tells me that every day through not only his words, but his actions as well. Not only did I find my husband, but I became a Mommy also, and I can truly say that the Lord has given me the desires of my heart! Even though Addison can no longer be here with her Mommy and Daddy, we know that she is safe in the arms of Jesus, and that He is taking good care of her. He loves her very much, and we know that we will get to see her again some day. Until that day comes…we will live to serve and honor the Lord, and we pray that in doing so, many would come to know the Lord, and they will get to spend eternity with Him like Addison and us (her parents). We know that we will spend eternity in heaven with Him, because the Bible so clearly tells us in Romans 10:9, “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Sweet friend or family member, I pray that you too have made that decision, and that I will get to spend eternity in heaven with you as well. I would like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the prayers, love and support you have given to Me, Stephen and our families. I can not find the words to properly thank you all enough. I am overwhelmed with how much you all have cared for us, loved on us, and prayed for us during this most difficult time. My prayer throughout this whole trial has been that I would shine the light of Christ, and that I would live to be a blessing for life. Even in the midst of great pain, I can still have joy, because I know that the Lord is my rock and my strength. He alone is the one who gives us strength for each day. Although I am deeply missing my sweet baby, I know that she is with her maker, and that I will see her again some day in His timing. I praise God that I can echo the words of Job 1:21 that says, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD." Addison Lynn’s short life of just 6 days, has impacted my life in so many wonderful ways, and I long to see her precious face again some day. Lord, thank-you for the time we had with our baby girl. Thank-you for giving her to us for 6 short days here on the earth, but also thank-you for the 9 months I was able to enjoy her in my womb. I love you so much Father, and I pray that I would come forth as gold after I am refined by the fire. Oh how I long to see your face Lord, and to be with my little Addison again! Thank-you for all that you have done for me, and for the blessing I have received in being a Mother. You are truly faithful and Your will and plan for my life is the best, and is more than I can hope for or imagine. In Your name I pray…Amen. In closing I would like to share the words of a song that has spoken to my heart, and it is truly the desire of my heart to express this to the Lord.

The song is, “You are Still Holy” by Kim Hill and it goes like this,

Holy, You are still holy
Even when the darkness surrounds my life
Sovereign, You are still sovereign
Even when confusion has blinded my eyes
Lord, I don't deserve Your kind affection
When my unbelief has kept me from Your touch
I want my life to be a pure reflection
Of Your love

And so I come into Your chamber
And I dance at Your feet, Lord
You are my Savior
And I'm at Your mercy
All that has been in my life
Up 'til now
It belongs to You
You are still holy
Holy, You are still holy

Even though I don't understand Your ways
Sovereign, You will be sovereign
Even when my circumstances don't change
Lord, I don't deserve your tender patience
When my unbelief has kept me from Your truth
I want my life to be a sweet devotion
To You

And so I come into Your chamber
And I dance at Your feet, Lord
You are my Savior
And I'm at Your mercy
All that has been in my life
Up 'til now
It belongs to You
I belong to You

And so I come into Your chamber
And I dance at Your feet
You are my Savior
And I'm at Your mercy
All that has been in my life
Up 'til now
It belongs to You
I belong to You
You are still holy
You are still sovereign
You are still holy, Lord
You are still righteous
You are all-knowing
You are still holy

Dearest friends and family, I am encouraged to say that even in the midst of great trial, and pain, the Lord is still on His throne. He is without a doubt, holy, sovereign and righteous…

Praise be to God forever and ever…Amen.

I love my family so much, and miss my sweet Addison. I am looking forward to seeing her again some day, after I see Jesus face to face. She will take me on the "grand tour" of heaven..and I can't wait for that day...

She's Really Into This Until She Knows You're Watching

One of the songs from Girly Girl's preschool graduation. She knew them all, but this is the one she was waaaay into when practicing at home.

We Have Another One

We now have two preschool graduates! Girly Girl joined her 14 other classmates this evening to celebrate the end of their preschool years and receive diplomas. She was not too excited about going. I had to coax her into her cap and gown, but once she arrived she had a fabulous time. Her experience at ECC has been tremendous. She has learned so much about the Lord, the real world, academics and had tons of fun doing it. Kindergarten, here we come!

The Loss of a Dream

My path recently crossed with this poem by Emily Perl Kingsley. It was originally written to help describe what it is like to parent a child with a disability, but as you will see it applies to much more........

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, the Michelangelo David, the gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!" you say. "What do you mean, Holland?" I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy.

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to some horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy a new guidebook. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around, and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

The pain of that will never, ever, go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.

But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.

Welcome to Holland written by Emily Perl Kingsley

I know people who have landed in Holland. Some just landed and some have been there for years. Some have taken note of the beauiful things in Holland. Some have not. Some are there because of a dream for their child - disabilities, making a team, finding a mate and more. Some are there because of a dream for themselves - career, goals, becoming a grandparent and more. Some are there because of a dream for their spouse - finding the one, divorce, career and more. Whether they express it or not, it's challenging being in Holland when everyone else is travelling to Italy.

While I am not in Holland now, I may find myself there one day. I pray it doesn't take me long to see the lovely things. In the meantime, I pray I am sensitive to those in Holland as I travel to Italy.

After 11 Years

I had a wonderful Mother's Day today...for several reasons. I didn't have to cook. I took a nice nap. Everyone was healthy (for the most part). It was my first as a mother of FOUR. And, my mom was with us for the first time in 11 years. After I married, we moved to North Carolina and there were other celebrations that won out in the 'when do we fly back to Texas' race. Once we started NEHBC, it was a bit challenging to get away on a Sunday. I made a point to invite Mom and Dad over this year because it was the first time that mom would celebrate Mother's Day after the loss of her own mother, Grandmommie. Knowing that they would be free to travel this year, I planned the weekend. Nothing big. Just together. All three of us kids were here and we just spent time together and visited. Today, we worshipped at NEHBC and went out to eat. The restaurant which is normally quite nice was actually terrible. Poor service put many of us in grouchy moods. While I enjoyed not cooking, it might have been better to stay home to cook and clean!

I am so thankful to the Lord for my mom. She has always been the loving and devoted mom that anyone would want. I know I can't even begin to understand all of the sacrifices that she has made over the years for our family. So much of her time in the last 34 years has been pouring her heart, time and energy into helping the three of us become who we are today. I think she did a great job! Thanks mom for loving each of us so much.

Just Makes You Melt

Our oldest typed this on his 'computer' today. O, how I love being
mommy to this boy!

Still Small Enough

After dinner bath at 11 months old....such fun!

While We Are Gone

They've had too much fun with Aunt Jessie and Uncle Derek!