Two Are Better Than One

Support of friends and family is so important and is so much appreciated... 

In my Mom's case it would be easy for her to let herself get upset, down, feel alone, and even get depressed.  But she has always been surrounded by good friends, family, and a devoted - loving husband.  My Mom, Gloria Hastings, was officially diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis about three years ago.  I am not going to mislead you, and tell you that everyday is like a field of beautiful Sunflowers blowing in the gentle wind... Nope, it is more of a roller coaster ride...one that you don't want to get on, but you somehow find yourself on it, and you want off, badly. There is no escape or chicken exit.  For if there was it would be an easy choice to walk out that exit and not look back.  My Mom has up days and down days.  I believe there may be some upside down, loop-de-loop days too, but she probably wouldn't tell you that.  What she would tell you is that she has a great support system. 

 ~ She has a husband who loves the heck out of her and always has.  He helps her daily with her meds and shots.  He tackles the huge task of helping her make phone calls, do paperwork, and figure out all of the hoops to jump through to get the medicine she needs when she needs it. And, on days when Mom is exhausted and feeling extreme fatigue (a symptom of MS) he keeps going...completing household tasks, yard work and absolutely anything else that needs to be done or that he knows she would like to get done.  He is her rock.  

~ She has some amazing friends and family members who have never failed her.  They call her, and go out to lunch and to various events with her.  They listen to her when she needs an ear, and they hold her up when she starts to lean.  She, in turn, has always done the same for them.  These friends and particular family members know what it is to be a "True Friend" through thick and thin.  

It is amazing how much stronger you can feel and how much easier things can seem when you have a friend by your side.

"The tremendous support of my friends and family has been both amazing and humbling.  My MS symptoms are more than outnumbered by the thoughtful and caring acts shown by those that care so much." 

- Gloria, diagnosed with MS in 2009

One of my good friends, who just happens to be my cousin's wife and the owner of The Rusted Chain jewelry, Beki Hastings, kindly agreed to help us raise funds for the National MS Society again this year.  We are very grateful to her for her help with a cause that affects so many individuals and their families.

I helped Beki design this year's MS fundraiser necklace... "Two Are Better Than One..."  25% of each one of these necklaces sold during the month of March will be donated to the National MS Society.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.  But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."  Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

To order one click on the following link, which will take you directly to The Rusted Chain's online store.  There you can complete the easy online check out process.  The RUSTED CHAIN website

The Rusted Chain necklaces make great gifts for your friends too.  And, what a great message to share with your friends! They are never alone, and neither are you!  

"Two are better than one..."

A good friend is a treasure.  A blessing from God.  

I am thankful for each one of you that show support for my Mom and my family each and every day.  

These are just some of the friends and family members that joined us last Spring in Emporia for the MS Walk.  It was yet another opportunity for us all to get together and show our love and support for one another, and for my Mom.

February Schoolwork

We had our second parent teacher conferences with Sarah's teacher this month.  It went very well!  Sarah is right on where she should be and a little ahead in all academic areas.  She gets along well with everyone in her class and has lots of friends that she talks to us about.  Her teacher is very complimentary of her.  It is a joy to hear great things about our daughter!

Me: What kinds of new things have you been learning lately?
Sarah: "Sight words and a game with numbers."

Me: Did you have a Valentine's party at school?
Sarah: "Yeah. I got lots of candy and I got some Valentine cards."
Me: What did you take to share with your class for the party?
Sarah: "Ice cream.  We got to put chocolate on it and made an ice cream sundae."

Me:  It looks like you got a lot of cards from your classmates.  Did you have a favorite?

Sarah: "Uhhh, hard to pick.  Well. the Ring Pop. Some of them are my favorite too... the Fun Dip and the Suckers."

Me: What did the cards look like that you picked to give to all your friends this year?

Sarah: "Brave!"

Me:  You had four extra days off this month because of all the snow we recently got here in Kansas.  What did you think of missing school that many days in a row?  How did you like the snow and what did you do in the snow?

Sarah: "Fun! We went sledding and we built a snowman.  It was really really really really fun!"

Women's World 2013

Last weekend I had the chance to go to Women's World in Manhattan, KS.  This is a women's conference put on every year by Manhattan Christian College, and held on the Kansas State University campus in the student union.  Hundreds of women come from all over the Midwest to attend this conference every year.  We had 21 ladies in our group from Wichita and Antioch Christian Church this year.  This was my third year to go and each year just keeps getting better.  I had an amazing time with some of my great girlfriends and heard some things from the key note speaker, Dee Brestin, that will help me to be a better friend, mom, wife, and Christian.

The theme for the weekend was "Lean On Me".  The key scripture was Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.

My good friend, Michelle, sang in the choir.  This was the first year that there was a Women's World choir.  Michelle is in the front row on the end, wearing purple.

Here I am with my new good friend Ronette.  She is a big Kansas Jayhawk fan... BIG.  On Friday, she wore all KU stuff to the conference... and carried a KU purse.  (In KSU Wildcat land... she is a brave lady.)  I, of course wore my KSU stuff.  When we went into the KSU student union bookstore to look around I made sure to tell her not to spit on anything.... and later she was asked to move her KU purse out of our big Antioch Christian Church group picture...  I gave her a lot of ribbing but she took it well!  Her husband told her not to let the purple rub off on her!  I do think purple would look really good on her though.... Remember Ronnie ~ Red + Blue = PURPLE.  And, I am so glad you went to the conference with us!

The praise music is awesome each year!  

Two of my good friends, Meilssa, Michelle, and I

Michelle, Ronnie and I went to a seminar called "Project Pot Roast...Food, Laughter, Sizzle", presented by Chef Alli.  She talked to us all about cooking a pot roast, and intimacy in our marriages.  (Did you know that you can put a dab of vanilla extract on as perfume, sprinkle a little cinnamon down the front of yourself, and smear some bacon on your lips as lip gloss.... thus reeling your husband in for a night of "fun"?  Me either.  I have yet to try this, but can let you know how it works, if you're interested.)

Here we are with Chef Alli.  She was very funny and did a good presentation.

We had dinner on Friday night and lunch on Saturday all together.  The meals and the desserts were delicious!  Below you can see Nancy and Shelley filling their plates at lunch time.  And, look at those desserts!

These four did a rockin' job singing and performing the song "Lean On Me".  Great voices!

Dee Brestin, was the keynote speaker.  She is an author and public speaker.  Dee's first book, The Friendships of Women, became a classic.  That was the beginning of Dee's ministry.  That book sold over a million copies.  For 25 years Dee has profoundly impacted the hearts of women through her internationally published Bible studies.  She recently paired with Kathy Troccoli to do the trilogy, Falling In Love With Jesus.  In 2009, The God of All Comfort: Finding Your Way Into His Arms, was released which sprung out of her own grief journey after losing her husband, at the age of 59, to colon cancer.  Her latest book, Idol Lies, is a soul searching Bible study that leads readers to face the truth about their deepest desires.  For more information on Dee's ministry click on the following link www.deebrestin.com .

Dee presented three keynote sessions:  The first was titled, The Friendships of Women.  The second was titled, Idol Lies.  The third was titled, The God of All Comfort.  

Our large group photo....still missing a few from our group...  What a truly GREAT conference, with GREAT ladies!

Kansas Snow Day

Overnight we got another 8 inches or so of snow!  So we have about 12-13 inches in our front yard.  Neither Sarah or Phoebe have ever gotten to go sledding... So, this afternoon we walked down our street to a small hill and had some good old fashioned family sledding fun!  (Eric's office was closed today due to the snow and snow-covered roads.  He actually tried to go this morning, before finding out that the office was closed for the day, but could not get the truck out of our driveway.  It is 4pm and our street still has not been cleaned off.  Anyway, he has been able to work some from home today.)

Eric pulled the girls down the street on their sled saucers.  Phoebe was doing great being pulled along until she looked down and saw a "pider" riding along in her sled with her and freaked out... She got off the red saucer in a hurry and would not get back on until we got to the little hill.  (The spider was dead, and had been for a long time.  Eric brushed it off, but we still could not talk her into getting back onto the sled for a ride as we were walking... She insisted there was still a "pider on there".)

Phoebe going down the hill by herself...

Phoebe also liked sitting on Daddy's lap to go down the hill... They only crashed and fell over once.

Sarah really liked sledding!  She was all smiles as she zoomed down the hill over and over.  She crashed a few times, but just kept on going up and down, smiling the whole time.

Eric tried it on his belly once...

Silas and I did not sled.  (Although I seriously thought about taking him for a little ride for a minute.)  He seemed to like being in the backpack.  I bundled him all up before we tucked him into the pack and he just looked all around, taking everything in.  He was outside with us all for about thirty minutes and he never made a sound... just watched the girls and Daddy.  Snow was even falling on us and his little nose was running like crazy.... What a good boy!

Our little neighbor boy was also sledding on the hill with us.  He took this quick family picture with all five of us in it before Silas and I walked back to our house to get warmed up.

Eric built a snowman in our front yard for the girls.  They did not help him much.  Sarah just wanted to help with the face and roll around in the snow, making angels and sitting on one of the sleds.  While Phoebe just sat in a lawn chair, eating a snack, and watched them both.

Snowman for the girls... check! Good job Eric.

Here is a couple pictures of the snow so that you can see how much we got... Our big evergreen tree and up our front walk.  Then, measured in the middle of our front yard.  12 inches!