agnus dei

agnus dei....lamb of God.

an eventful weekend.

thursday night, a call from my brother nobody wants to get. he is following an ambulance to the hospital...gracie's been hurt.

i love my brother...love his wife...love that girl like she's my own.

me, my mom and other brother all head to de vos children's and sit in the ER w/ kirk, court & gracie.

i'll spare the details...lots of unknowns...fears...just super emotional. LOTS OF PRAYERS.

meanwhile, we know my other sis-in-law should be flying from japan at this very moment...well, zak gets a text from april...there's a tsunami warning...no flights are going anywhere. more unknowns. LOTS OF PRAYERS.

going home at 2 a.m. with no answers. just praying and expecting God to show up. one thing i've learned recently is not to pray selfishly, but to trust Him completely. and know that he will work things out for His glory...and i'll praise Him no matter what.

so after watching some ugly tsunami footage in japan at 2:30 a.m. - i realize it wont do me any good. i listened to "agnus dei"...oh, how i LOVE that song. i KNOW that's heaven in a song. it brought me so much comfort...reminded me to look UP...

He is Holy...Almighty...Worthy...He reigns...He is completely Sovereign and in control of all things.

we have the assurance of salvation...the permanence of being engraved in the palm of His hand (isaiah 49:16)

i sent that song to kirk in the hospital, because i know he likes music and i thought it would be good to listen to while they stayed up there... i told him i like thrid day's version best, but couldn't find it

God faithfully answered our prayers...Gracie came home after a couple days w/ a concussion and a skull fracture...but she'll be o.k....April finally flew out from tokyo the next day and is home safe.

i've just been so thankful for an amazing family and a gracious God...

sunday morning i'm getting ready for church... i like to listen to pandora on my i-pod, but its been acting funny lately - always cutting out. i turned it on, and what was playing? AGNUS DEI by THIRD DAY!!!!! it played the whole song, i just shut my eyes & let the words sink in....and you know what? after the last note was played, it cut out...shut off. God just wanted me to hear that song - His gift to me :)

now i'm at church...i look at the bulletin. whats the first song we are going to sing?

AGNUS DEI

really?! we haven't sang that since easter...i had tears streaming down my cheeks the whole song.

i call my brother kirk, to tell him my agnus dei story...when i get done, he says, "you won't believe this...i'm just NOW watching that video you sent me, cuz i couldn't open it in the hospital"

God shows up all the time...you won't want to miss it.

Isaiah 49:16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

your walls are ever before me.

nine years old.

dawson jay ... nine years old ...it's true what 'they' say ...they DO grow up fast

...and we're out of the toy stage...anything football or U of M please.

go vikings!

uncle zak stopped by on his way to work and dropped off a present for dawson...auntie april is in malaysia, so zak was responsible for shopping and picking up a present...the boys thought he did excellent wrapping the present!

how did he do april? a PLAID sweatshirt (which he wore all night)...2 hats ...football cards...and $5...

he was in heaven :)

then uncle kirk, aunt court and the kiddos ...and grandma & grandpa came over for lots of fun...chicken alfredo, mac & cheese, strawberries & pound cake - ALL courtesey of costco...thank you very much :)

happy birthday sweet boy...we love you to pieces!

make my monday.

this made my day.

sick.

my baby is sick.

this is where we spent most of today.

he will not let me leave his side.

this is him at 7:30pm...he finally fell asleep. and i couldn't resist taking a pic.

i love my buddy.

race #2...

another fun day at the races...february 12...i am just getting to posting...it was a super fun day...the sun was shining & warmer...@ 30 degrees and windy...i'm starting to get in the groove of where to park, what to pack, what to wear...but NOT HOW TO VIDEO TAPE :( ...

doug had THE BEST RACE I'VE EVER SEEN....it was SO unbelievably CLOSE - a total nail biter...everyone was seriously standing up and freaking out it was so close...and i was video taping the whole day...my dad and dad-in-law (along with everyone else) couldn't wait to watch it on tape...especially doug.

it was only 2 sleds...doug was racing a sled with a bigger motor...i dont think it was supposed to be that close - BUT IT WAS!!! in the last straight-away, doug blew a belt and lost by MERE INCHES.

and....it didn't record. i did something wrong. i blew it. i've got nothing. so sad. i felt sick. it is only a memory.

ugh.

dodge trying on daddy's race vest. wow, he is so cute!

i love how after a race, dodge has "pointers" for doug.

doug got a 1st place here...so fun

cool pic...this is doug & jason...it's jason's sled...thanks jason!

trying to quick replace the belt before the next race...thanks to amber for these sweet pics!

we end each race day with the trophy ceremony at the cozy establishment nearby...ok, warm bar-restaurant that serves food and has a real toilet...

always a lot of fun & such a cool thing to do with our family...its been fun for the grandparents too...and we've met some awesome people along the way...can't wait for this weekend!!

happy valentine's day

valentine's day is always just a special day at home...taking care to make it special, with candles and fancy dishes...well...fancy glasses anyway! i love that the boys get so excited by a table that is set extra special, they make stuff so fun!

packaging paper makes a great table runner...and the candles were from around the house...and my 3 favorite boys got a special sweet from me with a note for them

xoxoxo

chicken and rice...doug's favorite and the boys like too...so it was a very peaceful meal...everyone is happy!!

doug had the boys say something they loved about me...so sweet...

dodge: "i love it when she snuggles with me"

dawson: "i love her cuz she is always trying to make things special for us & doesn't even care if she gets anything or not"

LoVe.

snow fun.

yesterday, i could see grass everywhere...i didn't need my snow boots...i was starting to dream of spring.

today we got more snow. michigan.

 doug plowing himself out after the 'big blizzard' a couple of weeks ago...i thought it was fun...if it's gonna snow...please dump on us...yay snow days!

 dawson...wet, cold, and never enough dry snow stuff between 2 boys!

 path out to the barn...

 doug pulling the boys on 3-wheeler...

 february fun....winter in the woods...3 boys who LOVE snow...and a momma who is kinda missing the beach right now :)