What a month! (or two)

A lot has happened since I was last able to post. We were, indeed able to bring that precious little girl home with us on June 18th, although we still have a long road before she will be officially ours. Your prayers will be much appreciated. We are adjusting well to having 4, although it helps that the boys love her and act like she's always been here. It also helps that she is a very easy baby. :) She has already started to sleep through the night most nights! Woohoo! I don't like broken sleep ;)
So here is a break down of everything (or at least everything I can remember anyway) that has happened in the past month and a half. We picked up Elisabeth (Lissa) Marie Analia Walton in San Diego on Thursday June 18th and were blessed to stop by our good friends the Orpilla's house on the way home and share our joy with them. The very next day we drove up to Northern California for my family reunion and My Mom, Dad, and a whole bunch of my family got to meet Lissa and for the rest of my family, Jeremy and the boys, too! This is the first time anyone in the Strong family had met My family :) We had fun and celebrated the life of my Grandparents, both of whom have passed away recently.
We got home and started adjusting to having a baby in the house. The boys have been a great help, as you can see in some of the pictures. Joshua will come up to me at varying times during the day and say "that's my baby sister. I love her very much" So sweet! We have been super busy with school starting (I am homeschooling and really enjoying it! I love having James read to me!) We officially start our school year on the 17th of August, although I might start earlier to allow for down days. Jeremy has been taking guitar courses online and doing well, but it has been harder then his last course when he did not have to divide his time between the class and us due to the fact that we were all in Texas :)
The boys and I all got sick at the beginning of July, so that was fun. Praise God Jeremy and Lissa have stayed healthy. We gave Jonathan his first hair cut a week before he turned 2 (it had gotten quite long) and he looks so cute :) His 2nd birthday was the 13th of July and we had fun celebrating it with him at home. Daddy even shared some of his precious cookies and cream ice cream with the boys that night! We took all the kids to the doctor and they are all doing well and growing like weeds... all but Jonathan who at least has grown enough for the doctor to be satisfied... he's still wearing 6-9 month pants! He weighs 23 lbs at 2 years old! Lissa might have hearing problems so we are going to go get her hearing tested tomorrow. We have to sleep deprive her... so fun.
Grandma Walton arrived on July 20th and we have loved having her. She will be staying for another week or so before heading back to Texas. James turned 5 years old on the 23rd. I had fun making Superman James a birthday cake. You can see the picture below. He enjoyed a special picnic on the porch for lunch and make your own pizza's for dinner. Daddy also found a gigantic beetle that day and James had fun carting him around for a while. We finally convinced him that "Jimmy" (as James called him) had to go back home to his Mommy and Daddy outside. Daddy took all of us to the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate his 5th birthday and my 30th, which is today :) Daddy broke two glasses while playing with the kids ;) Sometimes he's the biggest kid of them all!
Today is my birthday and I have had fun. Jeremy got to come home at lunch today and did not have to go back in :) Mom made a yummy dinner for me and they all sang Happy Birthday to me. Saturday at the restaurant Jeremy gave me his birthday present. It is the cutest shirt which I will have to get a picture of and post it for you all to see. He spent hours customizing it for me. It says "the Walton Family 2009" on the top and has cartoon depictions of each of our children underneath. It is too cute. He did a very good job on it. Yesterday we went to a friends house after church and BBQued. They got a cake for me, so I have had a three day long birthday to celebrate my turning 30 :)
We learned recently that my Dad's cancer is still growing and spreading, so please continue to pray for him. We are hoping to make a trip to Texas in September to see him.
I think that about brings us up to date. Hopefully I will get into the swing of things and be able to post more frequently soon! We love you all and appreciate your prayers! Please keep in touch!

First family picture the day we picked up Elisabeth


With Grandma and Grandpa at the Strong family reunion


Big Brother James feeding baby Lissa


Making a swing set with Daddy


Jonathan's first hair cut


Don't I look good :)


playing on the floor with sister


We can help too!


Hi!


All four!


We love to read!


Our school work came in!


Silly boys!


Jonathan is 2!


Daddy shared his cookies and cream ice cream for my dessert! (SHOCK!)


Pretty Elisabeth Marie Analia Walton


I love the sling!


The boys having fun


They are definitely boys!


Grandma is here!


What a cool bug!


Happy 5th birthday, Superman James!


Big Beautiful smile!

Lord willing, we have just one more week before we'll all be back home! We are still waiting on more information, but it looks like we may, indeed, be able to adopt that precious little girl. Please pray for God's will to be done in that. We also received some other news this past week concerning my Grandpa. He had a biopsy come back positive: He has prostate cancer. We don't know anything more and his appointment with the doctor to find out more information and discuss treatment isn't until the 17th of June. My family has really been through a lot this past year, but we know that God is in control and He still loves us and watches out for us. He has blessed Dad with NO side effects from the chemo, Praise God! We will continue to pray for him and for my Grandpa, that God would heal their bodies of cancer, and for my Mom, that God would heal her of the Lupis and ITP. This has been a good lesson in continuing in faith, hope, and love, and we have seen God's hand through it and will continue to see his hand, regardless of the outcome. Please continue to pray for my family through this.

Joshua's 3rd Birthday

Today is Joshua's third birthday. Grandma, Aunt Donna, and Aunt Kim took him and his brothers and cousins out to Chuck E Cheese's for his birthday. Jeremy is still in California and I am here in Palestine, so neither of us are able to be there with him, but Grandma assured us she'd take lots of pictures :) I will post them when I receive them.

This past month has been an interesting one. My Dad is doing better and will be returning to work this weekend, Praise the Lord! His radiation has been effective and has shrunk the tumors in his brain by a third. The radiation will continue to work for about three months, but we know that his life is in God's hands. He starts chemotherapy this Tuesday (June 2nd) and will have treatments administered one day every three weeks for 6 cycles (one cycle being one administration). Lord willing this will help to reduce the cancer and, Lord willing, stop it's growth for quite some time, although the doctors are only hoping to increase his quality of life for the average of 12-14 months that someone with my Dad's stage of cancer typically lasts. He is still in God's hands, though, and we know that God can work miracles if it is His will. Oh! I also got the privilege of shaving my Dad's and Grandpa's heads! Dad was losing all of his hair from the radiation so Grandpa said he would get his head shaved in honor of my Dad and I got to shave both of them! Grandpa let the boys help! :)

The boys have been having fun going back and forth between Houston, where Jeremy's parent's live, and here in Palestine where my parent's live. I have some pictures of the boys playing with Grandpa that I will post for you here. Thank you all for your prayers and support of our family through this!

James holding new baby cousin Kaitlyn (Jeremy's sister Kim's daughter)

Joshua wearing Papaw's glasses (Jeremy's Dad)

My Daddy with all his hair before radiation

James and his drawing of Superman!

Jonathan with Grandpa's hat and Pops' ( my Grandpa) cane

The boys having fun rolling down the grassy hill :)

Shaving Dad's head

Joshua helping shave Pops' head

Beautiful Bald men :)

James and Grandpa

Jonathan loving on Abby

sitting by the garden plot with Grandpa

Jonathan on Grandpa's knee

waiting patiently

Sometimes it is not easy to wait. I feel torn in three pieces right now, but must wait for God's timing to move. I am currently staying with my Parents who live with my grandparents. Dad is doing ok, but very tired. We found out through his new doctor that his cancer is more spread than we realized and the spots are larger than we realized. It is inoperable. The boys are with Jeremy's parents and Jeremy is still in California and I miss them all. And I must wait. please continue to pray for us.

My Grandpa Strong (My Dad's Dad) passed away in March. He was a wonderful man and will be very missed.

crazy hair and sprinklers

Daddy gave the boys baths one day and they came out looking like this. We let them play in the sprinkler outside the next day before washing out all the goop in their hair.

baby shower

I was also able to go to Vanessa's baby shower in March. It was wonderful to see our Oki family again! I wish I had taken more pictures.

The boys playing... James really needed his friend time!

JP, Aaron, and James

wonderful friends

Cathy and Vaness with their quilts