There is no place like home

Friday night we helped host a going-away party for some DEAR, DEAR friends.

They are moving to Kansas and as I thought about a theme for the party,

once I thought of the Wizard of Oz there was no going back.

Here are some of our decorations and treats.

Yellow Brick Road Rice Krispie Treats

Lollipop Guild Lollipops

Emerald City Jell-o Jigglers

Glinda the Good Witch Wands

Here is the decoration and treat that made the party.

(BIG thank you to Jenny Deane, cake baker and decorator extraordinare!)

We all tried to dress the part.

These two girls took the cake when it came to most authentic and cute!

Here are some faces and families represented at the party.

Brian, Christina, Taylor, Trevor and Joey,

We love you and we will miss you.

You have been such dear friends and we are so thankful for the timing

the Lord had in bringing you into our lives.

Although we don't totally understand His timing for your departure,

we trust that it is just as perfect as when you arrived in Wausau.

One huge consolation that we have is "There is no place like home."

It is consolation because Pancho and I know for certain

that our home is in heaven and we know that is your real home as well.

We will continue to pray for all of our children that it is

their real home and then we can truly say,

"We will see you again, at home."

Blueberries or Strawberries

Yesterday was a big day for the Duran family.
We went from being a family of 2 boys and 2 girls to ...

I had heard several ideas about "gender reveal parties."
I was intrigued and wanted to do one.
I was nervous about the planning and did not plan
it until we had our 16-week appointment and heard the
heartbeat one more time.
Once I had that assurance, I began to finalize our plans.

I had seen an idea that I tweaked and here is how our
"gender reveal" went...

At the ultrasound Katrina gave the doctor a picture of a
blueberry and one of a strawberry.
She asked him to please give her the picture according to what
gender the baby is:
Blueberry = boy
Strawberry = girl

Then, after the ultrasound we had invited family
and friends to join us in the big reveal.
Each person in attendance built a sundae based
on their guess about the gender of the baby.

Here are some of the guests guesses.
Leave it to Pancho to make a spreadsheet with all of the guesses!

Pancho Sr. -- boy
Emelys -- girl
Francys -- boy
Fanny -- boy
Veronica -- boy
Ron -- boy
Dorothy -- girl
Shawn -- girl
Leanne -- boy
Nick -- girl
Amber -- boy
Stuart -- boy
Dawn -- boy
Joe -- boy
Rachel -- boy
Suzanne -- boy
Dan -- girl*
Kristy -- girl
Abby -- boy
Brian -- girl
Christina -- girl
Taylor -- girl
Bethanie -- girl
* Dan guessed girl but built a blueberry sundae because he wanted blueberries and not strawberries

Once everyone built their sundae we called Katrina down
from her room (she had been sequestered up there!)
with the bowl...

And the baby is a BOY!!!

Lord Jesus,
We praise You for the revelation of another boy
for our family.
We praise You for the 147 beats a minute of his little heart.
We praise You for where You have brought us
in our walk with You.
You have used this pregnancy and this
boy in such a tremendous way to teach us about
You and Your gracious hand upon our lives.
Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.
We commit him to You now.
Help us to remember that You love him
more than we do.
Help us to remember that You have a plan
for His life and help us to work in
accordance with that plan and to trust
that it is Your PERFECT plan.

Para los abuelos

Today around noon Samuel
laid down on the living room floor and
within minutes this was his condition.
He had a rough night last night, falling
out of his bed two times.
I think that coupled with how much time he has
spent outside while we have had
nicer weather has finally
caught up with him.

Abuelo and Abuela have been asking for
pictures of Samuel so when he was sleeping
on the floor I figured it was a great time
to snap a few!

Trust and Obey

Today as we left the library and walked to the car

the Lord touched my heart with another great word picture.

Samuel has been bent on walking (versus being carried)

so I have been working diligently to instill in him the understanding

that he must hold my hand while crossing the street.

He would rather be independent, free to walk on his own

and yet that is not a choice for him at the young age of 2.

Katrina, on the other hand, has proven that she

is capable of crossing the street with us without

holding my hand and she knows that she

must walk with us, at our same pace, etc.

Today, Samuel was fighting me as we began to cross the

street and Katrina was right behind me.

Samuel and I were already half-way across the street when

out of the corner of my eye I knew that Katrina was no

longer right behind me.

I stopped, looked back and called her name.

She said, "Mama, I am looking both ways."

"I know you are looking both ways, Katrina,

but I already looked both ways for all of us

and you need to walk with us like you are expected to."

There were no cars in view so it seemed harmless to her.

She quickly ran to catch up and as we

finished crossing the street and walked to the van.

I was struck with the idea of how often I do the

exact same thing.

God has checked to see if there are any cars coming.

He is there, guiding me across the street

and I am still at the curb, looking both ways

making sure He is right.

Making sure I can trust Him to cross where He

has already given me the go-ahead.

Lord, please forgive my lack of trust.

When I do not obey, I am not trusting.

It is that simple.

I am not trusting that You have given me the go-ahead.

I am not trusting that You have it all worked out.

I am not trusting that You have a perfect plan.

When I do not obey I am not being protective of myself.

I am thinking that I know more than You.

Plain and simple.

Just as Katrina stood at the curb, checking for herself,

so do I stand, checking for myself,

when it has already been checked for me.

Thank You for yet another word picture.

You are so gracious to give them to me

just when I need them.