Jackson Alan 1yr. pics

Hope you enjoy! I can't believe my baby boy is almost 1! What a blessing he is to our family! We love you Jackson Alan Lohrer!

Busy Busy!

We have been quite busy lately! In Oklahoma the state playoffs are going on! YAY! It brings back so many memories and I LOVE the excitement in the air! So Thursday we went to watch a good friend of ours team play. They won a very close game by 1 point. It was a lot of fun. Friday night we actually decided to stay at home and just hang out. Sat. our day started at Byron's game. Byron is playing with a group of guys from Velma in a men's league in Duncan. Which is really great b/c he is getting to know some people around here. He is getting to be known as Byron not Dana's husband! Their game was a pretty good game. They went into double overtime and won! They only had 5 players there. It made it quite the workout for all the guys. Mom volunteered to keep the kids so it was great getting to sit there and watch. Amy and the girls came home on Sat. as well. It had been a little while since we had seen them. So Jaycee was thrilled to see her KiKi and KeeKee. When we got home Mom told us if we wanted to go to any basketball games to go she would keep ALL the kids! So my sis, Byron and I loaded up and went to watch Regional Final games at Washington High School. (Its around the Norman, OK area) We watched 2 good games. I got to see my old high school coach's team play. It was a lot of fun visiting with him and his family. I was really close to them. So if pretty much felt like old times hanging out with them.
Sunday we went to church and then headed to Oklahoma City again. This time is was to take family pictures and Jackson's 1 yr. pictures. The photographer was great, but the kids didn't really want to cooperate. So family pictures was a little difficult. We got a few good ones. Jackson's 1yr. pictures are pretty cute. Check back later and hopefully I will have had a chance to post some pics. We came home, ate pizza, and watched National Treasure.(One of my favs)

My sis and the girls stayed the night again. Amy had to work in Oklahoma City today and the girls are out of school. In a little while we will get out and play. Its suppose to be in the 70s today. YAY! We are also getting ready for the arrival of Nana and Papa. I know they won't be here til this Sunday, but its so exciting knowing that they are going to leave their house on Wed. morning! They have plans to stay in Vegas for a couple of nights. So we will have that to prepare for and also Class A and B state tourn is going on Thurs.,Fri., and Sat. All other classes are playing in Area those same nights. So I am sure we will be somewhere on a couple of those nights.

One funny little comment. As we were getting ready for church yesterday, Jaycee wasn't in the mood to do that. As I was getting stuff together she would come and ask can I stay in my pjs just a little bit longer. I would say, yes but when mommy is ready for you then you need to come. So a few minutes later she came back and asked again to stay in her pjs. I said yes. She replied, Thank you homey! So funny! She had been watching Snow Buddies lately. I am pretty sure that's where she picked that phrase up!

Don't forget to check back for pictures!

Sharing God!

I am 5 days in now! My mom and I were talking the other day about fasting. I was sharing with her that I really felt like I needed to do this, but I didn't really know how to go about it. She said that she needed to as well, but for her fasting from food isn't an option.(For all who know my mom she NEEDS to eat every moment of the day) I didn't feel like this was something I could do either. Fasting means giving up something and in return you take that time and spend it with God. Giving up meals with my family is something I am just not capable of doing. I have 2 small children and to say okay your on your own isn't going to happen. Mom had received this email from Gregory Dickow Ministries. He is a pastor out of Chicago, Ill. He has started a 40 day fast of wrong thoughts! I thought yes this is it! I can totally do this!

So I felt like I should share the website. Its www.thinkingfast.org. You can login and print off daily devotionals and the daily thought that we need to kick out the door! Its been incredible!

Today, was about I am so worried! Let me tell you at this point I have battled everyday with this. I have been so worried that our house isn't going to sale. I struggle everyday with this. Today, God has shown me that I don't have to worry! That it does absolutely nothing for me. It just brings me down and therefore affects my daily life. It affects my relationship with my husband, my kids, extended family, and friends. Most importantly, it affects my relationship with Him! WOW! When I sit and dwell on all of the negative, I push myself away from the goodness of God. God is so awesome, that he provides the dew for the lilies of the field how much more does he care for me? Now when a worry comes up, I am going to be God this is for you. You are my Abba father, you love me and you care for me. You care for the lilies, the birds and all of your creation you will care for me! I am the crown of His creation!

So I encourage you to take part! I really do believe your life can be changed! I know 5 days in mine already has!

Who needs a stinkin' pacifier?

We did it! Jaycee Ann Lohrer no longer needs a pacifier! Yippee! Monday morning I couldn't take it any longer. With both kids being sick for the past 2 weeks, we had been giving her pacifier to her more often. She is back to normal except for a little cough. On Monday, she was asking for her pacifier. I told her no that she didn't need it. Usually, she says Mommy I tired. B/c she knows if she takes a nap she will get it. (She was asking @ 10:30 a.m.) So she had a meltdown. I put her in the bed and told her she had to proof that she really needed a nap. So she sat on the bed crying. God just gave me the boldness and confidence to "break" her pacifier. I took the scissors and cut it.(Thanks Amanda) So I took that pacifier to her. She held it in her hand and cried. She kept saying Mommy my paci's broke. Then she would ask me for a good one. I told her I didn't have any good ones. Then she would go through the house saying, Good paci where are you? She didn't take a nap at that point. We decided to play kitchen for a while. That afternoon when it was time for a nap she asked again for a pacifier. I told her the only one I had was the broke one. She said no I don't want the broke one. She laid down her head and went to sleep. The rest is history!

In other news, Jackson is 11 mos. old today! I can't believe it! In 1 month we will celebrate his 1st birthday! Wow!

Also, Nana and Papa are coming to visit! YAY! They will be leaving a week from today or tomorrow. They are driving our Suburban down. They hope to arrive on Sunday March 2nd. So please pray for safe travels for them. We can't wait for their arrival. Jaycee talks about it all the time. When you ask her what Papa is going to do when he gets here and she says twist my arm off. (Not literally!) Then she says Nana will play with her!

I don't think too much else has happened over the past week. I look forward to Sunday though. We are having family pictures taken. So I can't wait to post them! Have a good one!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Enjoying their gifts!

Jackson LOVES eating oranges with my Dad! I know the face doesn't show that, but He always wants more!

Jaycee's Pink Poodle!

Jaycee having candy at Mam Mam's house, wow that is a special day!

Jackson with his new pup-pup!

Sickness, Sickness go away!

So we are starting on the 10th day of the kids being sick! UGH! I have now had 9 nights of only sleeping part of them. Thank you, Jesus that I have stayed healthy and believe that I will continue so! Byron is doing much better. He only has a cough and its taking a bit to get his body back to full strength. Jaycee is better, but her nose is still stuffy and she has a pretty bad cough. Jackson was doing great for a few days and yesterday his nose wouldn't stop running. Last night he woke up with a little bit of fever again! I know that this is just a moment in our lives, but please pray for quick recovery and that everyone will be well soon! My parents and I haven't gotten so! We are so thankful! My babies need to be back to themselves. I am proud of them. They do well most of the time. They go all over the place still playing! Needless to say, there isn't much to blog about b/c there just isn't much going on around here!

*One thing we are really excited about is, Nana and Papa might be coming to visit in a few weeks! We ARE so excited!

I guess I haven't told this story about Jaycee so I will share. Everytime we talk to Nana and Papa, Jaycee always gets on the phone and says I want to come to your house! So the little darling is missing them so very much and I know they are missing her as well. So the other day Jaycee came out of our bedroom. The closet in there has all of mom's toys. Jaycee was dragging this bag with blocks in it. She looks at me and says I got my suitcase. I said, Oh you do well where are you going? She said, to the airplane. I said where are you going on that airplane? She replied, to Nana and Papa's house. I said okay and why are you doing this, Jaycee said cause I need to get out of Mam Mam's house! It was so cute! A lot of times when we are getting dressed she says are we going to Nana and Papa's house? Oh, how we miss them so much! So Papa and Nana HURRY up and come see us! We need to have some Papa and Nana time!

We LOVE to get mail!

Jaycee and Jackson received a care package today in the mail from their Nana and Papa! Oh what fun it is to watch Jaycee rip through to see what is inside. Jaycee of course so happy to find that there were stickers, LOTS of stickers and a water paint book of her own. Those are 2 of her most favorite things to do when she visits Nana and Papa's house! So needless to say, we have already done lots of stickers and have painted 2 pictures! She also got some Valentine tattoos which she as 2 on her body at the moment. She kept asking for more, but I told her she had to wait! I have gotten some pics of the kids with the stuff animals they received. I have captured my most favorite picture of the kids together thus far in their lives! You will know when you see it!

Here's a Faith Builder for you!

Once again Jackson has been up tonight. This time making it until 3 a.m. before he needed to let off some energy. So mom came into the room and said that she would take him. Well, I could hear him cry at different times so I decided to get up as well. So mom stayed up with me and shared these 2 testimonies of 2 different couples from our church. Mom and Jackson are off to sleep, but I am wide awake with more faith and renewed strength in my Heavenly Father. So here are some faith building stories for you.

The first couple have attended our church for as long as I can remember. They have 2 teenage kids. They are very active in our church, in fact the lady is amazing. She has taken care of several women in our church who had illnesses. She would take them to all of their doctors appointments, she made sure they had food and their houses were clean. She totally went above and beyond. This family has struggled finiancally for quite some time now. They have been faithful to the church, they have been faithful in tithing, and they have continued to server God no matter what. The man a few weeks ago was contacted about some land that he owned. This is the kicker the man wasn't even aware that this land was his.(I think it was probably left to him by family but his brother knew and didn't tell him) So the man was like okay. Just this past week an oil company has contacted him and they want to buy the 750 acres from him. They told him they would pay him $3 million dollars for the land. They said if he sold the land to them they would hand him a check for the full amount that day! Praise you Jesus. This is a couple who have been faithful for so many years! Yes, they have an abundance of blessings stored up in heaven for them, but God has opened the flood gates for them and is showing them His favor. They weren't even aware that they had land a few weeks ago much less that an oil company would want it! That is just amazing! That is God! It has nothing do to will the money, it has everything to do with their faithfulness and obedience to God. What a mighty God we serve.

The next couple are an older couple. The wife has been sick for quite some time. She is a diabetic. Recently, her husband had lost his job. So they have no insurance and no money coming in. The wife had been feeling really bad, but was just afraid to go to the doctor b/c she didn't know how they would afford the bills. So anyways, her daughters told her go it will be taken care of. So they went and ended up putting her in the hospital for a few days. Well, an organization had heard about their situation and have come along side of them and have PAID FOR EVERY BILL! The bills were over $100,000! The couple hasn't had to pay a dime. So when she was released from the hospital they had give her 4 prescriptions that she needed to take. Well, she had 2 of them but not the others. So her husband went to their regular pharmacy and said I don't have the money to pay for this and I don't know when I will, but my wife needs these pills. The lady that was working said well, my dad past away about a week ago, the husband said I am so sorry to hear that. The lady said its okay, but I'll be back in a moment. When she came back she had the medicine the man needed. She still had her dad's medicine and it was the same thing the wife needed. The lady said they are going to reimburse me for all of the medicine for my dad, so you take this and give it to your wife. The gentlemen was battling a cold and she said here you take this for yourself. You don't owe me anything. It was $800 worth of medicine! How awesome is our God. Opening doors for this couple to show them how much he LOVES them and that he CARES for them. God is so good!

Both of these testimonies of God showing up in people's everyday lives has touched me. Has given me new hope, renewed strength, and is just a reminder that God does care about my family. That I just have to keep pressing into Him. Lately, I have just been so down b/c I am like God do you hear me? Through these testimonies God is saying Yes, Dana I hear you. Just stay faithful to me. Allow me to be in control of every circumstance. Your time is coming! Thank you Jesus for your wonderful timing, thank you for blessing these 2 couples' lives! Thank you Jesus for where we are! I am thankful that we have a roof over our head, we have food on the table and we have clothes on our back! Bless my parents for taking us in, b/c they sure didn't have to! Thank you for our health. Thank you that Byron can provide for his family! Thank you that I am able to stay at home! Thank you Thank you Thank you Jesus for your unconditional love, your forgiveness, and for new grace and mercy every day! Thank you for sending your son to die on the cross for this world! I pray God that you will use this family any and every way to serve your Kingdom! Thank you Jesus!

Sleep who needs it?

Well, this is the second night that I have not been able to sleep due to a little boy who thinks he needs to be playing! Tonight, my little girl decided she needed to be up as well. Craziness I tell you! Jackson is teething! So he has been running a little bit of fever. Yesterday, all I did when he was awake was hold him. I couldn't put him down at all. He did sleep quite a bit, but that's b/c he didn't sleep that much the night before. Its hard b/c him and Jaycee share the same room. If he was in his own room I would tend to his needs and then let him cry it out. He is a happy boy just roaming around in my mom and dad's office. Jaycee is sitting in the chair watching Fox and the Hound. So hopefully, before too long we will head off to bed. Maybe they will sleep in for me!

Not a lot has been going on for us. Jackson got his first boo-boo on Sunday. He fell and hit the metal frame of the bed right between his eyes! Thank you Jesus that it didn't split it. It just brought a little blood to the surface. His nose was bruised but it has already faded. He cried pretty good from that! It took me a little bit to settle the little boy down.

Hope everyone had a great night of rest! Hopefully, a great night of rest is in store for me tonight!

You will be moved and touched!

This is short, but its to pass along information. As many of you know that Phil and Amanda have adopted children from Ghana. Their are several other families from North County Christ the King that are adopting too. The Diacogiannis family just arrived to meet their 3 new children. If you go to http://nondairyqueen31.blogspot.com/ this blogsite you can watch the meeting of the mom and dad and their 3 new children. Its breaktaking to watch! All I can say is its amazing when you see God's unconditional love flowing! I have watched it twice already and the tears are still flowing down my face! You will never be the same! All praise and glory and honor be to you Lord!

Fun times with Jaycee and Jackson

Disappointments!

My heart is aching right now. The real estate business is definitely not for me. You have no control over anything. You just have to wait. Its like the last stretch of being pregnant and you play the waiting game to see when you go into labor. You have no control or say when that baby is ready come. The plus to labor is that the baby will come, it can't stay inside forever. Will our house ever sell? It has to! What other option do we have? I know it will, but its very hard on me. As I type I just have tears streaming down my face. I don't understand! Of course, to some extent I am bias about our house in Noosack. I think its by far the best house on Jackson Court. Especially, out of the house's that are for sale. People are just not wanting to make an offer.

Our realtor informed us of many things today. Its definitely a strange market right now. The couple that I posted earlier about that had contacted a friend of ours about home insurance is not at this point going to offer on our home. They plan to offer on the one like ours across the street. So our realtor asked why that house over ours and they said b/c its a little bit bigger. So our realtor went to do some measuring of his own. The only difference is the kitchen/dining area is 18in. wider than our house! They haven't made an offer yet, so maybe they will change their mind and offer on ours. Maybe they won't be able to agree on a contract with the builder. Its still frustrating! Then an older lady from Sumas was once interested in ours, but her grandaughter thought the 2 extra rooms in ours were too small. So she is now making a low ball offer on a house in Everson. I guess that is what she does. She has all the money, but doesn't really want to pay for anything. Which, we probably don't want an offer from her! Then the couple that have looked at our place 4 times, their realtor can't get a hold of them. Its like they don't even exist anymore. Then the couple that was friends of our realtor, had liked our house the best, has now decided to stay in Eastern Wash. and he is going to be a stay at home Dad.

This is the crazy one, our realtor had another house listed and had a contract on it. An easy great contact, it came time to close and the buyers are nowhere to be found. The buyer's realtor even went to their home and everything was packed up and gone! So how bazaar is that? So we will just continue to wait so more!

Please, pray for me and all of us! Not that Byron isn't concerned, but I don't think that men carry the same worries as us women. Its truly wearing on me! So please pray for strength and peace.

Oklahoma had snow, yesterday!

Yes, we did! Obviously, not enough to do anything with it! After it stopped, the only place that had any signs of it snowing, were on roofs of homes! Jaycee thought it was pretty cool! She stood at the window watching it come down! The crazy thing is I think its suppose to be really warm today. That's Oklahoma for you!

Another week has past, we still have heard nothing on our house in Nooksack. So crazy! Maybe with the Government cutting interest rates again, maybe that will put a fire under the people that have been looking at our place. Earlier this week, we thought we had something. A friend of mine had a couple call in to get a home insurance quote for our house. They made the comment they wanted to close by March 1st. Our realtor hasn't heard anything, but we hope that maybe they are just getting everything they need in order and they offer today! That would be music to our ears!

There isn't a lot going on around here. The kids and I just hang out all day playing. They play pretty well together. If Jaycee has had enough of Jackson, then she goes to her room and closes the door. Lately, I have been checking on her more frequently. She has been getting into stuff she shouldn't. Yesterday, I went in her room. That room holds all of mom's wrapping paper. So Jaycee had 3 rolls out and had found the tape as well. So she had one roll that had tape all over it! Its just so funny, how they know its something they shouldn't be doing and they do it anyways. I open the door, and she jumps a mile high! It never bothers her if she is playing with her stuff and I come in the room. I just wonder what goes through their mind. Does she really think I am not going to know what she did? Just so funny!

Well, I think that is about it! Not much else is going on! Looking forward to the Super Bowl on Sunday! Our small group from church is having a big party. So that should be lots of fun. Pray that Jaycee will do well with all the kids. Their are some girls from the church that baby-sit all the kids. The kids actually stay at the church and play while we have our group. Jaycee has already found her a buddy in Maddie Lemley. She is our associate pastor's daughter. She is 12. Jaycee adores her! So she is going to be there, so I think Jaycee will be fine. She also already knows several of the kids from church. Our church isn't that big, so she sees the kids every Sun. and Wed. I am going to keep Jackson with me. I don't think he would do too well for that long. He would start looking for me! Well, have a great weekend!