Our Pregnant Daughter In-Law and a Visit with Luke and His Family

Jesus said unto him, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth". Mark 9: 23

John send us pictures of Melissa, his lovely pregnant wife, so I am including one on this post. The beautiful dog in the picture is Smokey. He has been with John since he lived at home with us. He is actually a very gentle dog so don't let his looks fool you! Our granddaughter is due around mid-July. How exciting! It has been almost a year since I last saw my oldest child and even longer since we saw Melissa. We are truly hoping to see them in the coming months. John will be celebrating his 27th birthday on Sunday. Where does the time go??????

Speaking of time, it is flying by. We have been home from China 4 weeks today. This means that I am half way through my 12 week FMLA leave. We have had a busy few weeks which included a visit with Luke and his family. I am including a picture of the 3 "New Day Kids". They were playing at Luke's house in their backyard. The minute that Luke saw Abigail, he smiled really big and said "Abigail!". He was excited to see her. Abigail is an unusual child and did not respond with the same enthusiasm which was disappointing. Bonnie and I were hoping that they would chatter together in Chinese but neither made any attempt during the visit to talk in their native tongue. Luke and Shane actually played together quite well. They are typical boys! We enjoyed the visit very much and Noelle, Luke's adorable older sister, gave Abigail a beautiful dress that she had outgrown. Abigail received her very own Little Girl's Bible and a tut-tut from a dear friend last week. She had been looking at Shane's Bible he received our Pastor and his family so now she has her very own! She was running around the house in nothing but the tut-tutand her diaper one day! Shane also received a gift of matchbox cars from the same friend. Folks have been wonderful about thinking of him when giving her gifts. Several church family members have also included gifts for him when giving her gifts.

Shane has his pre-school doctor's appointment on Friday and Abigail has a visit with the surgeon at UVA on Monday. Cody has surgery next Thursday to remove his appendix that ruptured before we left for China. Shiloh has a surgery on her ears on May 26th and we have a short two night trip planned at Virginia Beach on May 20th. Did I mention that Mandy has her capping ceremony on the May 20th also and the big graduation ceremony on May 30th? It is hard to believe that Sharon will have a child that has graduated from high school soon......and one that is starting kindergarten in August. Sharon and Andy are celebrating their 22nd anniversary on Saturday and get the privilege of babysitting my two little angels since we have a wedding to attend. Aren't they lucky! Jeremy finishes up with his Junior year at Liberty next week and will be returning home for the Summer. We will be planning a college graduation party next Spring!

As you can see from the picture of the boys, they also enjoy playing with Abigail's dolls and accessories! They will really enjoy this picture during their teenage years. Life is busy and I so enjoy dressing my "little princess" for Sunday School each week. She has the cutest dresses that her aunts have given her and her hair curls very nicely when it is in a ponytail. She is really adjusting well and generally only becomes moody when she is away from home and in a different environment. She is very accustomed to Sunday School so she is happy at church. Who knows what goes through her little mind when we are out and about? I am am not sure who I admire the most, the moms that stay at home full-time with multiple children at home or the moms that work outside the home and come home each day to multiple children. My hat is off to all mothers! It is the hardest and most important job in the world whether you are home full-time or not.