Peace out Man-Ram!!

Ok, so my first, gut reaction is…”WHAT THE CRAP!!!” I can’t believe the RedSox actually thought that by trading Manny Ramirez they were bettering their situation and securing a bid for the playoffs.  He is by far a crucial part to their success and they traded him like a poke’ mon trading card…PLUS two other players…to the LA Dodgers for one measly player from Pittsburgh.  Granted, Jason Bay is much younger and has similar numbers this year to Manny…there is honestly no touching his greatness. This was my first reaction.

The more I thought about the “trouble” that Manny causes, the more I think…Good Riddance.  He is great at the game, don’t get me wrong, but his attitude and the effect he has on his clubhouse and the owners is just about too much for one ball club to deal with.  “Manny being Manny” isn’t funny anymore, especially when he pushes senior managers of the team, picks fights with teammates and bad-mouths the owner.  Boston has given too much love to Manny for him to disrespect the team the way he does.  The adjustment will be difficult, but team morale is sure to improve.  So as an avid RedSox fan and lover of anything that comes from Boston, I am somewhat happy to see him go.  He causes to much controversy and has been asking for a trade for sometime now.  To hear him say, “Boston doesn’t deserve me” makes me sick. 

With LA not likely to make the playoffs, or at least win the division…Manny will probably disappoint west coast fans for the remaining of this year.  What does he have to fight for out there?

The Way Life Should Be!

So here we are, finally in the good ‘ole state of Maine.  And lucky for us, we are here for two weeks.  Unfortunately, we are missing half of the family.  Lori, Jenny, Josh and Isiah and Becky and are in Durham beginning the treatment plan for Isiah.  How we miss them so! Not that hanging out with the men of the Merrow clan is suffice (Lori…I can’t begin to tell you how you are missed!), but a little more female in the house would be nice. 

Our trip on the airplane was much better than expected.  I am not ashamed to say it though…we drugged baby Boston with a touch of Benadryl.  Just enough to make him sleep…and boy it did the trick. 

We got here and the first thing we did was survey the 65 acres of forest that Mike and Lori have.  It is bigger than I could have imagined.  The new house is great, but to be honest, we loved the mule the most!!  The mule is this golf cart of steroids It can maneuver any terrain and was able to help us completely see the whole 65 acres.  Kiser loved it and it lulled Boston to sleep.  Good times!

Day 2 was lots of relaxation and a trip up to see Auntie Linda’s million dollar, 8000 sq ft. estate.  HUGE is not a sufficient enough adjective to describe it.  It is gigantic, and beautiful.  Here is a picture of Linda, Mike (Josh’s dad) and the boys.  Isn’t Linda fabulous

 

So, we are having a great time laughing at the family, riding the mule and watching movies, movies, movies with the father-in-law!  Our plans are simple. A couple day trips…Boston to see Fenway Park, The Lobster Fest in Rockland, Maine, a trip to the rocky coast to see Bar Harbor and a couple hours without the kids!!!  IF I can convince Josh, I want to take a bike ride around the town to snap some awesome pictures of the scenery.  I’ll post in a few days to let everyone know what we are up to.

Go Ye Into the World

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”   ~Edmund Burke~

This quote started off the message on Sunday.  Isn’t is so true?  We don’t have to work at evil, it comes “all natural.”  But what is worse… by doing NOTHING, evil still triumphs. We must “go ye into the world…” so that in the end, good can win!

Our pastor is out of town for a few weeks, and this past week the Men’s minister gave the message.  INCREDIBLE.   Basically, he talked about being wise to the world and going out to make a generation of believers.  How we as Christians think we can only talk and be friends with other Christians and that no where in the Bible does it say that. It says to not be yolked together (as in form relationships that can comprise your faith.)  What it does say is to go and make disciples of all nations!!!

Proverbs 11: 30 says “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.”

Jesus didn’t just hang out with the righteous and believing. “Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.  But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”  Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”  ~Luke 5: 29-31

I know the hardest part for me is getting into that “religious conversation” with people I know that don’t go to church or believe in God.  To be quit honest, I try to avoid it at all costs.  Besides, who honestly comes into a bar to have a beer and talk about how God can save their soul? But this is a problem that God showed me I need to work out with him.  Some advice the pastor gave was joining in conversations and meeting them where they are comfortable.  Showing genuine interest in them as a person…getting them to invite you into their world. 

Using the verse Matthew 28:19, he broke it down pretty basic.  “Therefore, go ye into the world and make disciples of all nations…”

GO:  to leave a place (your home, job, CHURCH…)

YE:  YOU!!  Yes, that means you!!

INTO:  inside of, to become interested in. 

WORLD:  human nature, humankind…the human race.

To be even more honest, there are a lot of people at my work that I don’t particularly like or even actively engage in conversation with. Even my friends that I do have at work, I avoid the religious conversation, which in turn can lead to avoiding encouragement and uplifting when they seem to need it. I find my comfort in God and don’t really know how to communicate that to others without using my faith and putting God right in the middle.  I hope that makes sense.  So hearing this message was eye opening.  I fear the failure and dont’ want to be judged as being the “religious wack” at work.  But I have to put that behind me.  “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible.  To the Jews I become a Jew, to those under the law, I become like one under the law…..To the weak I become weak.  I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”   I Corinthians 9:19

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?  Matthew 5:46

I hope this speaks to you the way it did to me.  I am not perfect and I try to like everyone, at least for the sake of the gospel, but it is hard.  These verses and message helped me to see what I have been called to do.  Do you know your calling?  I do know that as christians, we are all called to “go.”  So happy dicipling :) 

Check out this video by Hillsong.  This group is so good and this song is Amazing.  It is called Hosanna.

 

more about “Hillsong’s Hosanna“, posted with vodpod

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isiah’s Story made Public!

Copy the link below and paste it to your web browser to check out the local news story done on Isiah.  Be prepared, it will make you cry.

http://www.wabi.tv/index.php?cat_id=4006&url_news4006=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wabi.tv%2Fmodules%2FNews%2FdisplayNews.php%3Fid%3D3452&formFocus=news4006

WannaMaker

Forget Carowinds or Kings Dominion….we have Whirlin’ Waters!!!  Literally in our back yard, we have a water park.  It is part of Charleston Parks and Recreation and it is so much fun.  They have all you could need for a summer fun spot.  Lazy River, Wave Pool, slides, dippin’ dots (my favorite ), a baby pool with slides and sprays for Boston and an area with middle sized slides and a huge bucket that dumps water every 5 minutes or so for K-Shizzle. 

This was our afternoon on Sunday!  It was fabulous, considering you don’t ReallY get to relax with a wee one who likes to run around and create havoc.  We figured out that if we give him crackers, he can actually be “lazy” on the lazy river and let Josh and I relax a bit.  This is what he is eating in the picture. Too Funny!

   

And of course, this is Kiser being tossed in the air by Patrick, Josh’s buddy from work.  I sometimes think he hangs out with us so he can hang out with Kiser.  They are two peas in a pod!  I thought this was a cool picture of them in the wave pool.  Poor Patrick was being crashed by waves up to his neck, but still continued to toss Kiser in the air! What a cool friend.

Sweet Baby Isiah

So this is a picture of Isiah and his mother, Josh’s sister, Jenny.  We recently found out that Isiah has a rare genetic syndrome call “Hurler’s Syndrome.”  Without a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy, Isiah will sure suffer and eventually die . 

Hurler’s Syndrome is a disorder that keeps his blood cells from making an enzyme that helps break down sugar molecules.  A healthy body naturally does this, but without this enzyme, the sugar mounds up and will eventually cause organ failure.  Duke Medical Center, in Durham, NC will do Isiah’s transplant, but Jenny and Isiah’s father, Josh Washburn, will be out of work for up to six months.  We are desperately trying to assist in raising money and finding them a place to live, rent free, for this time.  Thanks be to God for the friends and family we have in Raleigh (Vanessa).

We are devastated and truely upset about the dangers that Isiah and Jenny will face.  It is a long and tiring procedure that they will have to endure, and we pray everyday that God will grant them peace and protection for this journey.  It is so hard to understand, especially when it is your child…and I don’t pretend to begin to understand, but if God brings us to it…He will bring us through it.  He never brings us to something that we can’t handle.  Jenny is a brave mother and we love her dearly.  Isiah was given his name for a reason that none of us understood at the time.

Isaiah 40: 30-31 ~ Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. 

They have a website set up to follow Isiah’s progress and their journey.  www.caringbridge.org/visit/isiahwashburn or www.isiahsangels.org

There is also a non-profit fund set up to help Isiah, Jenny and Josh survive the financial burden this has put on them:  Any donations can be made to:

THE ISIAH FUND, C/O Merrill Bank, PO Box 306, Newport, ME 04953.

Please keep them in your prayers and ask that God hold tight to Isiah and that He give him the strength and determination to get through this. 

My how time flies!

I can’t believe it has been almost 3 weeks since I posted a blog.  HOLY COW!!  Needless to say, we have been supa busy! 

I finally started my job at MUSC and I must say…I LOVE IT!!  The people are so great and I actually went through orientation with a new physical therapist and we hit it off.  Her name is Jessica and she is from Kentucky.  Good friends we will be!  In fact, I think our first ladies night will be this Sunday.  I have been working myself loopy…all day at MUSC and then all night at Carrabba’s.  Can you say…BURN OUT!!! It is all over now though and I can finally begin working my weekend shifts, so no more double duty.  Josh is super dad..holding down the fort and keeping the kids in line while I am working like a mad mom.  What a good husband I have.  Carting the boys back and forth, giving them baths, playing games…and NEVER ONCE…not even a touch of complaining . NO really…I love him for all he does and our vacation coming up is going to be great.  We are off to Maine to visit the family in two weeks and we can’t wait. 

Kiser…We celebrated Kiser’s birthday at the bowling alley.  We had such a good time!  I can’t believe he is already 7.  What a great kid!!

We are still swimming, but the end is FiNaLly near!!!  Kiser was selected to swim in the city meet b/c of his mad butterfly skills.  We are so happy that he has done so well.  He is such a natural athlete. 

 

As for the Beanie Baby…We had about a week of sickness.  He had the pucky bug and was out of commission for about a week, very tired, not eating much and sleeping all the time.  He was such a cuddle bug…I hated for that to go away, but boy are we glad he is back to his rambunctious self. 

We made our first trip to the beach.  Boston was a hoot.  He seemed to like the sand the most…liked the taste of the sand the most, I meant to say.  He is a water baby just like his brother and relishes every chance to flop around in it whenever he can.  He is getting so big and so tall, although, he is just a peanut, weighing only 17.5 at his one year check up. 

 

Birthday Bliss

So here are the pictures I promised.  Boston had a great time diving face first into his strawberry cake.  Do you ever wonder what it is that makes little ones go face first into their birthday cakes and no use their hands?  It was so adorable.  He hasn’t quit grasped the presents, so he really wanted nothing to do with them. 

Our visit to NC was great.  It is so good to always go back home.  I miss the family terrible, but that just makes going home that much better

First birthdays seem to be the most memorible.  The year flies by and it is so hard to believe that this time last year, Boston was just coming into the world.  I can’t believe how much he has grown and how smart, strong, and brave he is.  He has no fears, loves his big brother so much and is the mama’s boy I always wanted!  If he wasn’t such a devil, he would be an angel

Happy 1st to my sweet boy!

It’s official….my precious Boston is 1 today!  I can’t believe how time flies. 

 

I’m not sure why the infatuation with my iPod…but he likes it!  The party is this weekend in North Carolina, so cake and party pics will soon follow. 

It’s the Mack Attack!!

Welcome baby Mack!  We are so excited you are here!!  Mack Martin Merrow, born June 18th.  Weighed 9lbs, 2oz and is 21 inches long.  We are so lucky we got to be there for the birth.  How we miss our great family in Florida.  We can’t wait to see you again.  Congrats to Adam and Megan…We love you all TONS!!!