Why We Don't

I've been thinking on doing a post on this topic for some time, and I figured that now is the best time!

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. I love the colors, the pumpkins, the family get togethers, the cooler temperatures, the promise of holidays around the corner....but one thing I'm not crazy about is the fact that in the midst of my favorite time is also another holiday

halloween

My family and I have chosen not to celebrate halloween for many reasons. But, before I tell you why we don't, let me ask, Why do you? 1 Corinthians 10:31 says "Whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" We should have good biblical reasons why we don't do something, but do you have a good reason why you do something? What is the purpose for celebrating this day that has origins that do not honor our God. You may say, "Oh, it's just in fun" Let me tell you, there are plenty of other ways you can have "fun" and honor Christ at the same time.

I choose to fill my home and the life of my children with things that will bring honor and respect to Christ. Are you absolutely sure that halloween will do that? You may not do all the witches and goblins and such, but what about all the celebrating in general? What about it's purpose and its past? And a final question, would Christ celebrate halloween?

I took Callie and Silas to the doctor the other day and as our dear Pediatrician and I chatted, he brought up the subject of halloween. Before I had a chance to respond, he said, "but wait, that's not really christian holiday, is it?" The world knows what halloween really is, and if you think about it, you do, too.

I am definitely a person who does not want my child to "miss out" on something exciting and fun happening, but I do want them to "miss out" on something that could be detremental to their Christian walk. My children have never celebrated halloween. They've never carved pumpkins or went trick or treating. But, each year, we try to do something special. October 31st just happens to be my spiritual birthday, so some years I've thrown myself a birthday party. Other years we went to Fall Festivals at church where we would go on hayrides, play games and fellowship with other Christians. Last year, when we knew we lived in more of a residential area, we filled up goody bags with tracts for all the children that came to our door. We used that time as an oppurtunity to witness. Sometimes it just takes a little planning and creativity. Whatever decision you do make, I just challenge you to pray about it. Ask the Lord what is best, not just okay, but best!

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8

A Taste of St. Barths

About a week after we arrived in Florida, Patrick's Aunt and Uncle came for a visit from St. Barths. It's been so good to visit with them, try to speak a little french and talk about St. Barths. It makes us even more excited to get there! They bought some fresh Snapper while they were here and it was delicious. We grilled it and it smelled wonderful. They do eat it a little different than what we are used to....they don't exactly filet it, so the fish is sort, well...staring back at you! A little different, but it was very good.

Brenna is by far, my seafood eater. She loved the fish and wasn't too worried about the eyeballs. Her Grammy actually thinks the eyes are pretty tasty. Brenna said she's just not quite ready for that yet.

Denise and Mariane had fun feeding Callie Grace. She's been eating cereal for almost 3 weeks now and she loves it!

One night we went to a Hibachi Grill with Patrick's Mom and brother, and with Mariane and George. It was so much fun, I just love going to a Hibachi Grill!

Patrick and his brother, Marc.

Denise, Mariane, and George.

It was a great visit and all the kiddos loved meeting their Aunt and Uncle for the first time.

So Much Better, Praise God!

Patrick woke up this morning and was amazed at how wonderful he felt. He said it's the best he's felt in 2 months! yay! He went to the doctor and found out some of his test results. Things are looking good, and they think they've figured out part of the problem. He explained it in detail on our family blog Gimenez Family Life Blog. He'll continue to take meds for 6 months, then the doctor thinks he should be fine. Thank you everyone for praying! God is so good!

Thank you for praying, more waiting...

Thank you everyone for praying for my Patrick. He had his CT Scan this morning. Poor baby keeps getting stuck with needles and they rolled his vein again. He drank all of his yummy banana shake before leaving. I offered to put it in a McDonalds cup with a straw and he could pretend it was a shake, but he wasn't all that crazy about my idea. It actually wasn't very delicious. I thought it smelled good! We thought we would get results today, but they are sending them to the two doctors we've seen. They should get them in 24 hours, so it's more waiting for us.

Our Sunday School Teacher here at WRBC encouraged the class to memorize scripture. Sunday I chose to memorize Colossians chapter 3. While waiting for Patrick to finish with his test this morning I decided to read the chapter, asking God to give me a verse I could cling to right now. He's so good to me and gave me Colossians 3:15 " And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful." It's easy to think of all the things that the next few days may hold for us. I tend to worry and not fully give my cares to the Lord. I'm so thankful God gave me this verse and that He has peace that He wants to give me and wants it to RULE in my heart. That's so amazing to me. I'm thankful God gives me exactly what I need. I love you, Lord.

Please Keep Praying

Thank you, everyone, that has been praying for my Patrick. Shortly after we arrived in Florida his chest started hurting him, It's the same pain that he's been having off and on for about a year and a half. We thought maybe it was his gallbladder, so he decided to do a natural cleanse. It didn't get any better, so he finally went to the doctor. The doctor believed it was his esophagus damaged from acid reflux that was giving him pain. So, he sent us to a Gastroentologist. He agreed with our doctor, and thought it could be an Esophagus Stricture that is possibly giving him the pain. He scheduled Patrick to have Endoscopy for today. He was going to stretch out his esophagus and hopefully get rid of the pain.

The procedure went well, but the doctor said Patrick's Esophagus looks very healthy. He's not really sure what is causing Patrick pain that is steadily getting worse. Dr. Choudhery took a biopsy of Patrick's Esophagus and stomach, we also went today to have some more bloodwork done, then he's going to have a CAT scan done of his stomach on Wednesday.

Please pray for the doctor to have wisdom and to find out what is causing him so much pain.

Pray also for my man, it's so hard to see him in pain.

Now, I'm off to the Pharmacy to fill a few prescriptions for him. One good one for the pain, and Nitroglycerin to relax his Esophagus (just in case it's spasming uncontrollably)


I'm so thankful God has given me prayer warriors as family members and friends. I love you all....
By the way, if you ever want a really good laugh, watch Patrick coming out of being put to sleep! He made me laugh until I cried!

Cereal for Callie Grace

Well...we decided it was time. This is always sort of a sad, yet exciting time for me in the life of my mommyhood. It's really weird how you can have two completely opposite emotions, but I'm starting to learn that when you're a Mommy, it happens all the time. Well, this was one of those moments....time to start cereal. My baby is no longer totally dependent on me, but on the other hand, I'm having fun sharing with her my love of food, even if it is just cereal...for now! With all of our children, Patrick is the one to feed them their first meal of "real" food. He loves it and looks forward to this time for many months. He prayed and asked the Lord to bless Callie's food, then it was time to dig in!

It always takes my babies a while to understand the food is supposed to go down, not be spit back out. After several bites, Callie started to get the hang of it.

There's one happy baby. Just love my girly!

More Cake Fun

Once we arrived in Fort Myers my sister Tabitha told me that the homeschoolers in our church have been meeting on Tuesdays to have cake decorating classes. A talented lady in our church, Mrs. Loretta Lopez, is an amazing cake decorator. The girls were so excited to be able to start classes with her too. I love how the Lord continually gives us the desires of our heart. For one of the classes they made cupcakes for Pastor's birthday.

Then, the girls decided for their Aunt Keela's birthday (my sister) they would make her a cake. I called my brother in law and mentioned the idea. He said she really really wants a Kindle and it would be so neat if the cake looked like a Kindle. Patrick, the girls and I figured out a fun design for the cake and the girls started working.

The made a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream filling, then covered it with marshmellow fondant. Then, they made a Kindle out of Rice krispy treats and covered it with fondant, too.

The cake turned out fabulous! I'm so proud of my girls!

And they had one excited and surprised Aunt!

Enjoying Family

It has been a whirlwind of activity since we've arrived. It's been so very good to be with our family. We told Patrick's Mom ahead of time that we were coming. She had everything set up and prepared for us. She's been so sweet to let all 7 of us move in with her for a bit. It was fun surprising my side of the family. We drove into my Dad's carlot on the Friday we arrived. Patrick beeped the horn and we all ran out of the van to hug my Dad. I sure have missed him! Then, we played in his office for a bit, Silas broke a picture (sorry, Dad!), then we were ready to go surprise my Mom. Joshua, Elisabeth and Brenna rode with my Dad home. Dad went inside and told Mom there's something in the car he wants to show her. Patrick and I parked in the neighbors driveway and watched as the kids jumped out and surprised their Grandma. It was so fun and a memory we'll never forget. Then, we surprised two of my sisters at CiCi's pizza. We were sitting at the table waiting for them and they ran to see us! How fun! I called my sister Tab to tell her we're here (she was at the soccerfield that night). It was so great to surprise everybody.

Saturday we went out to dinner with my Grandma at Hickory Pit BBQ. She was excited to meet Callie Grace, her 30th great grandchild

Dad is loving his Granddaughters and they are all competing for his attention, too.

All the girls in my family were able to go see Disney Princesses on ice together. It was fun having all of us together! Callie Grace absolutely loved the show. She watched just about the whole thing! Of course, Elisabeth, Brenna and I loved it, too!

Sitting with my sister, Taylin and her daughter, Chloe. For some reason, we got the giggles when the Beauty and the Beast Forks and Knives came out. I love giggling and acting silly with my sis!

What a fun girls night!

Callie Grace~5 Months Old

Wow! 5 months already. I can't believe it! My Callie Grace is really growing and doing more and more. She had cereal for the first time last week and ate most of the bowl. For some reason a month and a half ago she quit sleeping through the night. Now, she really likes 3:30 or 4 am to visit with Mommy. But, it's only for about 20 minutes, so that's good.

She's a very happy and content baby and loves her time on the floor to stretch and roll around. She loves to grab for anything in sight.

What a sweetie! I love you, Callie Grace!

Trip to Florida #4

One more post on our endless trip!

North Carolina Cotton Fields! Yay! I think we're in the south! :o)




Taking a quick stop to feed Callie and stretch our legs. There were many of those along the way!

South Carolina

Georgia

Everynight at the hotel, Silas would play and talk with Callie Grace. You could tell he really missed his time with his sister.

The kiddos were thrilled that our hotel had an indoor pool and it was empty! They talked me into a quick swim. As they were getting in the girls were saying that it has been a year and a half since they've been in a pool! Wow! They were giggling and so excited to jump in!

Brenna practicing her jump. Why is she holding her nose? I thought I taught her better!

Then, they were so excited to jump in the hot tub....then, back in the pool....then hot tub, pool, hot tub, pool....a never ending cycle!

Silas loved his new hiding spot in the hotel! I hope we checked to make sure he didn't stuff any of his toys in there! Who knows what we've left behind!

Finally! Florida! Unfortunately, Fort Myers is so far south, we still had a ways to go!

I had fun talking with Joanna the night before we left Canada about crocheting. She inspired me to try crocheting some headbands for Callie with the stretchy yarn. I ended up making 4 headbands for Callie Grace. Aren't they cute!

After 1800 miles, 7 traveling days, 5 restless kiddos, 2 tired parents, and lots of memories made....we made it! Welcome to Fort Myers!