Friday, December 10, 2010

2010 Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! It is so hard to believe that another year has come and gone once again. We hope that you all have had a blessed and productive year in 2010 and that God will bless each and every one of you in the coming year.


The James Grant family has had a good year all in all. James is still working as an in-home care giver. He is well loved by all of his clients. He does such a good job of taking care of them and goes above and beyond what his job calls for. Plus he has taken on my jobs this year and so is the shopper and bill payer as well as home organizer and chauffer

Mom (Audrey) has had a rough year, health wise, and has spent most of the year at home. There isn’t much change for me but I am hanging in there and am so very thankful for God’s faithfulness and the hard work of my family and the encouragement of family and friends and especially for those who have taken an extra interest in helping with the kids in their outside interests!

Mathew is an amazing young man! We are so very proud of him. At 15 years old he is in 10th grade and is on the basketball team. He has his drivers permit and loves to drive and has been my salvation this year, driving me around to Drs apts. and other places I needed to go when I couldn’t drive because of pain and/or medication. He has worked quite a bit in construction this year. He worked with his Uncle this summer and is working with a friend of ours now. He is learning a lot and really enjoys it!

Joanna has become quite a little “Momma”. She cooks and cleans like a little lady. She has her own cook book that she is making when she learns a new recipe she adds it to her book. She is a whiz when it comes to laundry and is quite the little bathroom cleaner! She just has a hard time keeping up and I feel bad that there is so much work for her to do. More of it has fallen on her shoulders in the last few weeks with Mathew working more and starting Basketball. She is doing so good with her school work. Her reading is doing pretty well. We found some books that she can read with the dyslexia and she is so excited and loves to read! She is also reading her Bible, it is very hard for her but she is proud that she is on Gen. Chapter 18 all by herself!! We are so proud of her!

Andrew is still “Chewy”! We are trying so hard to help him “grow up” but he is definitely the baby of the family and likes to milk it for all it is worth! Although he is starting to enjoy learning to cook so he’s coming along too. He is now quite expert at Mac-n-cheese which is pretty good for having just turned nine years old. He also cooks soup and ramen and a few other simple things. Joanna is trying to teach him to fry an egg but he is frustrated because he can’t seem to flip it without popping the yolk and he LOVES his yolk! LOL But he is our resident loader and un-loader of the dishwasher and is becoming quite a pro with the vacuum! So he is coming right along. He has decided that he doesn’t like home school. In fact he doesn’t like any school that isn’t Mrs. Ruffridge because “She makes school fun! She gives us cool stuff to do like projects and pulling seeds out of pumpkins and all kinds of stuff!”

So as you can see we are all doing good and hope that each and every one of you have a wonderful year in the coming year! We love you and are thankful to have you in our lives!

James, Audrey, Mathew, Joanna, Andrew

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Pregnancy ~ The Journey

A very dear friend of mine is pregnant and coming towards the end of her pregnancy. She and a couple of other friends and I were discussing the last trimester of pregnancy and how uncomfortable it can be. But I responded to them in the following way...
35 weeks ~ with Joanna

Some times when you are going through it or have just recently gone through it, if it was a rough pregnancy, it can seem that way! I KNOW! But the farther away from the pregnancy you get, especially when you know you can't or won't ha...ve any more, the more you remember and treasure the wonderful moments and parts of each pregancy.



I had such a hard time with all of mine, but I wouldn't trade them for anything. Every memory of each pregnancy is something I treasure! Even the pain and hard times brought me my beautiful children!


I know, easy to say when it has been nine years since I have been pregnant. But I would do it all again in a heartbeat!


I guess that is one of the reasons I try to encourage women who are pregnant to relish, treasure and enjoy every moment, even the wierd and not so comfortable ones! Having waited and prayed for so very many years before I finally had my first baby. I know what a blessing it is to acctually BE pregnant! It's about enjoying every moment of the journey!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Pain and Loss ~ Sickness and Death

This has been such a rough week and a half for me. I know I am being selfish in thinking of myself when others are going through each of these in such a more personal way but they just seem to keep pileing up on me one after the other.
At one point this week I just wanted to drown my poor cell phone! It seemed like I was just getting one text and call after another of bad news and I was just cringing every time the thing went off!
It had really started quite some time ago with James' Dad finding out that he has a brain tumor and then finding out just before Thanksgiving that it had grown and was going to have to be removed with surgery. So we were all kind of holding our breath with that.
Also my cousin Cathy who lived in TN. and had had cancer once before was very sick again and I knew she wasn't doing well.
But then that night late I got a text that my cousin was in a coma and they had called in the family. The next morning I got the news that she had passed away.
While I was still trying to take this in we got a call to come to the hospital because my father-in-law was in the hospital for emergency surgery for a gall blader that was three times it's normal size, had ruptured and was gangrenous! He's 71 years old! And we were worried about his brain!!
By late that night he had had a successful surgery and was out of danger, but I was physically and emotionally drained!!
BUT within a few days one of my friends who has a pace maker had to have her appendics removed in the middle of the night. Another friend's husband also had to have emergancy gall bladder surgery!
And now two days ago we find out that my Uncle has lung cancer that has spread to his brain and the Drs have sent him home, telling him there is nothing they can do!
Then last night we found out that one of our children has been going through a time of stress and trial and something is really bothering them and now we have that burden to bear with and for them! They will be ok, but we may not! (Isn't that the way it goes?!?!)
I just don't know if I can take much more!
I am an emotional wreck! I'm doing my best to lay it all in God's hands and leave it there. But I am so sad I am haveing a struggle with haveing JOY in my day to day right now. Being down and sick is sooo very hard during the normal day to day times of life. When things are this rough it is very hard. I know God is still on His throne and in control. I just have to not let myself get too far down. I have to keep "lifting up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help." Psalm 121:1