Harvest

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

TICKLED PINK: One Week Later

Today, during the BSF lecture, our teaching leader gave us the principle: "Interceding in prayer is carrying someone else's burdens to the Lord." As soon as she said that I immediately thought of all of you who have taken the time this past week to pray for Miss Charlotte.

One week ago today she underwent her third surgery. You all came alongside the Tousey Family at a time that they needed to be encouraged. Some of you will never meet them this side of heaven. But you know the power of prayer and Miss Charlotte is a living witness to it.

Her recovery has been remarkable. Her God-given "spunk" is back and she should be going home tomorrow. So, thank you for taking the time to pray. Thank you for not treating God as if He were weak and trusting Him to answer those prayers in exactly the way that was needed.


~ I Thessalonians 5.15-18 ~
Be joyful always; pray continually;
give thanks in all circumstances, 
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

TICKLED PINK: Post Fontan Day 2

God continues to prove His mighty hand over Charlotte as she recovers. 
For those of you who continue to be faithful in prayer, thank you. 
Here is a precious picture of her sleeping...
Notice those GORGEOUS PINK Lips

And since her Mama has gotten some face time on this blog, 
I thought it was Dad's turn. 

Please keep up to date with all the latest details here.

And as we enter into the Easter weekend, may we remember:

~ Romans 5.6-8 ~
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, 
Christ died for the ungodly.
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, 
though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
But God
demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, 
Christ died for us.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

TICKLED PINK: Update on Charlotte

Thank you so much for all your prayers today. 
Please keep praying as Miss Charlotte recovers.
 
The following is from Charlotte's Mama:

"I know that God did not choose to heal Charlotte outright, and while that would have been a miracle in itself there is no denying that we have a little miracle on our hands here. She has met or exceeded every expectation every time. I know we still have a ways to go before we get to take her home, but we are so thankful to be on this side of the surgery. Post-Fontan is a great milestone for a heart family dealing with HLHS and HRHS.

Charlotte is officially post-Fontan, and we are tickled PINK!"
 Again, shamelessly stolen from their family blog.

To read the entire post by Charlotte's mama, go here.

Strong Heart ~ Clear Lungs ~ Can’t Lose!
Hebrews 4.16 -
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.


Monday, April 18, 2011

Dinner Theatre

Let's just say that two of the items on the menu tonight were 
spaghetti and strawberries. 
 Jackson seems to think that food should be applied before eating.
AND I should probably mention that he does not 
appreciate it when the items are "all gone".

Sunday, April 17, 2011

A Day at the Zoo!

The weather Saturday was incredible. We decided to take a short drive and visit the North Georgia Zoo. It's a quaint petting zoo that was perfect for a child Jackson's age. There are other areas with more exotic animals, but we kept it simple for our first visit. We'll definitely be going back!
Remember Jackson's aquarium face? Well, this was his zoo face {and mine too}.
 Jackson wasn't sure about holding the rabbit. 
But he did like touching it's fur.
 Tortoise!
Feeding the sheep was such a fun experience. 
Luckily, Jackson thought so too.
 1, 2, 3, 4...10!
 This is Jackson's counting face, and his bossy face.
 He kept telling the animals to "Share."
"Dad, what do I do?! I don't have any more food?"

Before we left, we went to pet a baby sheep and a baby goat in a little play area. They had created the pen using an old baby fence that had "toys" to manipulate. Jackson kept leaning over the side playing with the toys. Finally, he asked to get in with the animals so he could play properly.

 "Uh, baby, I need you to move. I can't get to the ball. 
Seriously, can you scoot over?!"
"Now see ladies, this is how you use the phone."

If you live in the area, you really should check out this zoo.
If you have older children, be sure to take 
advantage of the other animal exhibits and tours. 

Thursday, April 14, 2011

{20 Months}

That sweet baby is 20 months today.

Ok. Ok. He's not a baby.

He's a little boy.
 
Oh, alright! He's not really little either.
Sigh...
 He's my BIG boy who's almost...2.

Anyway...over this last month Jackson has had a verbal EXPLOSION. It is so much fun to have "conversations" with him. Many of our recent chats have involved FIREFIGHTERS. To say that he's obsessed would be a bit of an understatement. This is our current inventory of library books regarding FIREFIGHTERS:
He has also acquired a fire truck and visited a fire station.
But hey... we could think of a lot worse things to be obsessed with, 
heroic public servants are fine with us.
 
We have also made sure that Jackson knows of one heroic servant in particular. With his recent verbal explosion, we have spent a great deal of time teaching Jack how to pray. For now it's simple:  "Dear Jesus, I love you. Amen." But I must tell you, Amen has a nice southern drawl to it..."Aaaaamen." {I'm sure his midwestern family reading this just burst into tears.}

With this developing love of prayer, our healthy 20 month old 
started his prayer chain today for his special friend, Miss Charlotte.
Would you join him in prayer?
 

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

A Call for Prayer

A few weeks ago, many of you answered the call to pray for Miss Charlotte. Those prayers were in preparation for her big day. That "big day" is one week from today:  
Wednesday, April 20
On that day Miss Charlotte will go in for her heart surgery. Lord willing, this will be her last heart-related surgery ever!

Will you begin to pray now for Miss Charlotte and her family as they make final preparations and travel to Duke for this surgery?


Psalm 16.8-11
"I have set the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me...
You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand."


Isaiah 52.12
"But you will not leave in haste or go in flight
for the Lord will go before you,
the God of Israel will be your rear guard."

Thank you in advance for your prayers. Be sure to check back here for updates on prayer requests and praise reports on her post surgery progress.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Fish!

As a teacher, I know the rules of field trips. The first day back from Spring Break is not the day you take your class {or the entire 6th grade} on a field trip. {It's, shall we say, frowned upon.} But, when you're a Mama who has the joy of being home with her son, that day makes for THE PERFECT DAY to go the Georgia Aquarium.

We had front row viewing to every exhibit. We sat in the tunnel admiring the whale sharks for at least 20 minutes and never inconvenienced a single person.

And we got to see the dolphins. The dolphin exhibit has finally opened and those creatures are just so much fun. Jack got to sit in front of the glass as they played for their admirers.

As a matter-of-fact, this was his face for most of the day:

Since we got to the aquarium at 10 we were able to see the whale sharks being fed. That was incredible. The two photos below try to capture the spectacle...
Notice the raft to the side of the whale shark. That raft is connected to a wire above the tank that the care giver is connected to for safety. When they make the trek back to the side of the tank the whale sharks follow closely.

Whale Sharks are herbivores. So when they open their mouths WIDE to eat the plankton and other plants given to them, some fish get sucked in. The fish that is directly in front of the whale shark's mouth in this picture just got spit back out. It was incredible to see. {Jonah, anyone?}
The last three photos were some of Jackson's favorites.

Jellyfish ~
The black light on these creatures allows you to see every tentacle.

PIRANHA!!

And this fish is just so odd. Jackson kept saying "Face? Face?"

Sunday, April 10, 2011

A First Taste

This weekend boasted temperatures in the 80s. So, what do you do after a fun afternoon playing in the sandbox and the pool? Go to Ritas! Jackson had his first taste of custard. And he loved it.
So, do I use my fingers or the spoon?
I'll go with the spoon.
Wha-What? This isn't a place that has bottomless refills? Oh dear.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Going Back For More

After such a fun time at the soccer field yesterday, we decided that we needed to go again today. Here are a few photos that Trip took during our time there.

I love this kid.




Saturday, April 2, 2011

OUTSIDE!

After what seemed like an endless amount of rain and dreary weather, the sun finally showed itself today. Both the sun and the temperature were glorious.

Trip and Jackson headed out this morning to our local park and played "soccer".  He does quite well dribbling the ball and he might even be the team member chosen for throw-ins. :)


This evening we dined al fresco on our deck. Let's face it, hot dogs just taste better when eaten outside.



Jackson wrapped up his day by taking care of the basil and parsley plants. He loves to help me water. I am excited to plant some vegetables this spring and have him help me care for them so he can learn how food grows.

We hope you are all having a great weekend!