Happy New Year!

"When a believing person prays, great things happen." James 5:16

This has been a year of prayer and a lot of unknowns.  When you've got a lot of unknowns, you've got a lot of prayer. Out the door goes the self-reliance, and in with the God reliance. Living day by day in purposeful prayer has changed me.  You find joy in those instant moments and you cling to them and appreciate them.  You learn to live in the moment. I have had a lot of those moments lately.  I've had some scary moments, but I have an abundance of joyful moments. Praying and attempting to trust God in the big and the small things, allows you to see more of these joyful moments because your mind and heart tries to be in tune with what God is trying to tell you. He will also send those God winks to let you know that He is with you. I have so many to write about that I've experienced, that I literally could write a novel about the God winks I've had the pleasure of experiencing.  I KNOW they are God winks, or else I'm psychic. As I have time, I will be writing about them, and they will definitely give you chills to hear them!

2019 has been scary, but has been filled with so much JOY, love from friends and strangers, and the sweetness that comes from learning to live with God's strength and not our own.  I have loved seeing the face and hand of God in all of this.  I am looking forward to more JOY in my life. Hopefully, I can still find this joy as I ride with Rowan and Claire, who are new drivers in our household. Yes, this has been part of the scary in 2019 that I have experienced! Ha

A little update on Joey-he is making progress daily. The doctors have been actively weaning him from his respiratory support, and he has done pretty well.  He has been on vapotherm with a flow of 2 for the past 2 days. Once we can move past this, he's going to nasal canula which is minimal oxygen support, and then the boy can focus on eating.  Keep in mind that he's never had a bottle. He has always been fed through a tube of some sort.  I know I have been so incredibly blessed and fortunate that Joey has a repaired heart and is continuing to improve daily,  but I would love to be able to see Joey eat on his own as well.  I am not ashamed to admit that food is a driving force of who I am. I stick tacos  in my purse. I married Daniel because he can cook, and maybe because of other reasons too. Ha. I have long conversations about foods that I love. I raised a daughter who is a pretentious foodie and does not enjoy eating at McDonalds, and I am proud of this about her. Ha.  Look at Daniel-he obviously likes food (love you, honey).  Joey came from a family of foodies and people who love to eat. Surely, there is something genetic that we have passed down to him that gives him a step up in this game of eating and food?!  I say all this to ask-please pray for his ability to eat independently, to gain weight, and to continue on with his respiratory improvement.  We serve an AMAZING God who has shown who He is through this miracle baby.

Happy New Year!