My Crazy Blessed Life as a Jar of Clay

2011-11-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

Small things with GREAT LOVE...

What a weekend we have had already! Our family was able to play a small part in our church's global outreach this weekend. In partnership with Feed My Starving Children, Nappanee Missionary Church prepared 1.2 million meals to be shipped worldwide. Here is a video from one of the local news stations talking about the effort (click here.)

Before I packed meals with my family though, I had the privilege of working with these delightful young ladies last night. No, wait...

It was these delightful young ladies. ;) I'm sure you are wondering how I ended up with this crew of beauties...

As you may know, Madeline's twelfth birthday was last month. We had promised her a slumber party, but October (not unlike other months in the Renfrow household) got a little crazy, and the sleepover was rescheduled for this weekend.

We planned on taking the girls out for a fun night and then bringing them home to chat until the wee hours, but Madeline found out that our church's youth group was reserving a block of volunteer slots for the FMSC event on Friday night, and she wanted to be involved. Our family was signed up for Saturday, but Madeline (knowing her sweet friends well) thought that her buddies would have an interest in packing meals with the effort as well. So...we reserved our places during the youth group time. (10:00pm-12:30am, oh my!)

The gals had some pizza and then we headed out for some fun....mini-golf...

...bowling....and go-carts too!

Then, about the time I'd like to go to bed, we showed up at Nappanee Missionary Church to work our shift. The girls donned their hairnets and gathered in the sanctuary with hundreds of other youth to hear about the organization, what they do, who they serve, and what our jobs were for our two hour shift.

Here are the girls gathered around one of the work stations getting the flight attendant style briefing before beginning.

Station 3!

Working hard....our mantra for the evening: Chicken. Veggies. Soy. Rice.

This young lady was very happy to seal our lovingly packaged meals for us...

At the end of the shift, the volunteers were given the opportunity to join in prayer over the boxes that had been packed. In our two hours of work, 520 boxes were packed. Each box contains 36 packages, and each package is six meals when prepared. They told us to remember the number 307. Three hundred seven is the number of children who could have one meal a day for an entire year from the meals we packed that evening.

I am so grateful to the parents of these young ladies for entrusting them to me and allowing them to participate in this event, because it was such an honor to be with them. I was so impressed, so very impressed, by their tender hearts as they learned about the vastness of the problem of hunger, and I loved to see the conviction they had as we started towards the gym on our mission. Most of all, I loved to see their joy. These girls were absolutely joyful as they served. Yes, I know they were up way past their bedtime, hanging with friends, and bopping to really loud music, but it was more than that. What we did was a very small thing. Two hours of our time is a small contribution in the grand scheme of things, but it made a difference, and the girls knew it. It made a difference for the children who would eat the meals, in the girls who packed the meals, and in the old mom who got them there too. ;) I would definitely take them all again.

Even if this is when we got in the car to make the forty minute drive home....

Happy and blessed (and maybe a little tired too),

shannon

2011-10-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

Running Renfrows!

This morning our whole family, along with Uncle Matt and Aunt Hannah, participated in the IU Health, Ball Memorial Hospital 5K! All of the "grown-ups" had been planning on running for a few months, and before I left for WA in September, I talked to Madeline about running with us as well. She jogged with me several times in preparation, and then last week, Timothy decided he wanted to run as well!

This was their first race ever, and both of them ran nonstop for the whole 5K! They were awesome!

Here's a shot of all us crazies trying to stay warm before the race starts.

At the start.....

....and off we go!

Brother and sister after the race!

My little running buddy....this little guy had more speed left in him than I did at the end!

Madeline ran hard! Taking a few minutes to recover....

Cheesing it up with Aunt Hannah!

The Renfrow ladies.....Mom's first outing since her second knee replacement. She is doing great!

Beautiful lady and a guy in tight pants....

I love that Madeline ran with her daddy, like I used to do!

Me and my running partner! (He was so cute....when people would cheer him on during the race, he'd yell back, "haven't walked yet, no water either!')

The Renfrow boys with Mom...

Can it be....is our little man drinking water?

Can you believe that a hotdog entered this race?

Timothy on the podium receiving his award for FIRST PLACE in the men's aged 9-10 division!

Madeline WON TOO....here she is receiving her award for the ladies' age 11-12 division!

The kids had a lot of fun, and Mike and I didn't fall apart.....so we think we'll do it again! =)

I hope you read until the end, because this was the highlight of the whole day for me. When Timothy stepped off of the podium, he walked over to me and his grandma, who was telling him how proud she was of his hard work and winning the race. He looked at us and said, "but Grandma, it wasn't me. It was The One in heaven who gives me the strength."

I have the best kids in the whole wide world and I am so blessed to be their mama.

-shannon

2011-10-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

We have a new hobby!

-shannon

2011-09-02T10:36:00.000-07:00

Yeah....I did this.

-shannon

P.S. I loved it!

2011-09-02T05:35:00.000-07:00

I guess I should blog, huh?

Much has happened, here is first installment of an update! I spent the month of July in TX on active duty with the army. I worked with their obstetrician/gynecologists, in the departments of urogynecology and maternal fetal medicine. I also spent a lot of time on the labor deck. I love labor and delivery....but, as you can imagine, that is where the crazy hours come from! I was exhausted by the end of the month!

There are five places that the army has ob/gyn residencies and our top two choices are TX and WA. I have been leaning more towards WA, but Mike and the kids have been pushing me hard to like TX. After spending a month down there, I'm pretty sure this will be our first choice on our rank list. Of course, it is a match, and it is the army, so certainly no guarantees. I was impressed with the ability of the residents and I really loved the teaching staff that I worked with and interviewed with....plus San Antonio turns out to be not so bad when you're not in basic training! =)

Mike and the kids came down and visited for a week while I was there. They looked at real estate and hung out by the pool while I was working and we went out and had some fun when I was off duty. It was hard to be gone for a month, so it helped a lot that they came down to visit.

Before I left, we were able to get together with several friends and enjoy some time as a family. Mike got in some target practice while we enjoyed the company of good friends.

This picture is kind of awful because of the sun in the kids eyes....but it was after church on Sunday, July 3rd, the day before I left for TX. We had service out on the hill....it was a gorgeous day, and I absolutely love standing outside in God's creation with so many others just lifting our praises to God.

This is a pic of the kids after dinner one night down in TX. We ate at the Spaghetti Warehouse....I'm so glad my kids love each other! =)
We got to go to Sea World too! Here I am with the kiddos after a show in Shamu Stadium.
They were even brave enough to go on the big water ride you see in the picture behind them...even Timothy! Plus, as you can see from the video in the post below, they enjoyed lots of time in the pool!
Maybe I'll post more....maybe even today...we'll see. =)

-shannon

2011-07-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

Our Little Fish!!!

2011-02-13T20:43:00.000-08:00

Getting our Greeeeen Belts!

2010-10-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

Things on my camera that have not been blogged about...

We have been busy bees as usual, and I thought I'd take some time and unload some pictures from my camera and update the blog a bit.

So, in some semblance of chronological order (sans pic #1 which was yesterday)...here is what we've been up to in the past several months.

Madeline played Upward soccer.

Sometimes Timothy would play a bit too.Sometimes when Madeline played....
....Timothy hid under his jacket and played DS on the sideline.
The kids have been working hard at school. Here are a few pictures from the end of the last school year...

Madeline at her booth on Upper El Museum Day. (Yes, as a matter of fact, the yellow pipe cleaner creation hanging off the table IS in fact a heme....isn't she brilliant?)
Some of the violin students went and played in the local Montessori preschools...
We went to King's Island with Grandma and Poppy....
Madeline and Daddy got wet, while Timothy and I stayed dry...

Alas, my son had another birthday....this makes 8!He loved his stuffed turtle from Mimi and Papa. =)
Madeline went to summer camp....
She got the second most "bunk notes" of anyone in the camp! Thanks to everyone who wrote her! She felt very loved. =)
She was quick to make friends during her time there....
We enjoyed some fireworks with some of our favorite curly haired sisters on the 4th of July.

Speaking of sisters....my baby sis came up to visit me....
OK, maybe some of the visitors were here to take in an ND game weekend too, but we love our visitors whatever their motivation!
Can you believe my little girl is 11?!? She and her friends thought the roof of the shed was the best place to enjoy their pizza....
Then off to Splash Universe to enjoy some fun in the water and to meet up with more friends and family!
We surprised our birthday girl with kittens!
Who love to sleep in brother's room....
The kiddos went to a costume party at the dojang where we take taekwondo. (Yes, I did say we....our whole family is now getting ready to test for our orange belts....I know....aren't we precious?) Here they are with Master Sponseller. Timothy is dressed up as a Jedi, and Madeline is wearing the dress Grandma Elaine made for her. She is a pioneer girl, like Kirsten. P.S. She made the ragdoll she is holding...

And finally....a video finale! Timothy playing "Over the Rainbow":

2010-05-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

Spring Recital
The kids had their recital yesterday afternoon. This was Timothy's very first, and Madeline's second. Timothy has been playing piano for a few months now, and Madeline the violin for a year. They both enjoy playing....though we do have to prompt practicing most days. It has paid off though!

They are pictured here with their teacher, and she has done an excellent job with each of them. They are so very different...as you probably know, and can see from the picture...but she has found a way to get the best from both of them, without taking the joy out of it. We are grateful that it has been a positive experience for each of them, and look forward to many more recitals. =)

2010-04-04T21:16:00.000-07:00

Easter

Well, here is the picture of my little sweethearts in their Easter best, as promised to my family. We had a sweet day together celebrating what Christ has done for us. I am always overwhelmed when I try to comprehend the magnitude of what He gave up for someone as undeserving as me.

The past couple of years have been tough ones...Mike and I were talking with someone this morning about all of my training, and during the conversation, I made the statement, "It's not about becoming a doctor, it's about being obedient." It really is. When I think about the sacrifice that Christ made on my behalf, and all of the blessings he's bestowed in addition, obedience is such a small offering. So I keep pressing on...only by His grace.

I recorded a bit of the kids' music this afternoon. Because it is late, and I have a very full week coming, I will close with these and call it a night.

Happy and blessed, shannon

2010-03-25T10:08:00.001-07:00

Some life that's happened since last I blogged:
I know this has become a barren wasteland of a blog. I have so many pictures and stories, but life is so full right now; there is seldom time to publish our adventures...many of mine seem to be survival quests! Ah, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. On June 1st I start my third year of medical school, which will begin my more purely clinical years of training....yes, years. Still far to go, but we are making it, and growing on the journey.

We do manage to find the time to carve out moments in our hectic schedule, and we've shared time and made memories with many loved ones that will not be forgotten.

Before my spring break, I made it over to Ohio with the kids to spend some time with my grandparents. We had some dinner with my dad's parents. The kids shared their music, Madeline on the violin and Timothy the piano. They played outside in Grandma's playhouse. Then when Grandma and Grandpa dashed off to root on the girls' basket ball team ;), we made our way over to my great grandma's house. The kids did puzzles and made some magnetic creations. Their favorite game by far, however, required only a ping pong ball, a cleared table, and a 98 year old great-great grandma with a strong set of lungs! They put the ball in the middle of the table and then tried to blow it off the other side without letting it fall off their own side. It was too fun! As much fun as this was for everyone, I think Grandma was even more delighted to hear how far the kids have come with their music lessons.

I was also able to shadow my papaw's oncologist while we were there. I would certainly love to be able to go my whole life without being able to write a sentence with the words "my papaw's oncologist" in it. My papaw does have an oncologist though, and in all circumstances, God is good. So I will rejoice in the fact that I have been blessed with a wonderful papaw, and I will report, with gratitude, that I am thrilled with the medical home that the Lord has provided for him. They have a family doctor whom they trust, and he has referred them to a wonderful oncologist. I had the honor of spending some time with her in her practice, and I found her to be an encouragement and an inspiration. In this time when there is so much conflict and frustration in the field of medicine, it is refreshing to see someone practice it so well. To see patients and doctors really connecting and enjoying that relationship in the face of tough circumstances. I needed to see that right now.

So...about spring break. It was exhausting in a completely wonderful way! I made a facebook album of pictures, and you can click the link and see the album, even if you don't have facebook. Here are a few of our pictures:

Here is a link to more: Disney Album

Worn out, but very happy and blessed, shannon

2009-12-15T11:27:00.000-08:00

Lunchbox notes:

This is the note I put into Timothy's lunchbox when I packed it:

This is the note I found in Timothy's lunchbox when I unpacked it:

Blessed, shannon

2009-08-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

He's #1!
Yesterday in the car Madeline and Timothy were making up their superhero theme songs. It was Madeline's turn, and conversation in the back seat sounded a bit like this:

Madeline (singing): She so fast! She's so smart! She's number one! She....
Timothy: Madeline! Wait!
Madeline: Um, what?
Timothy (very matter-of-factly): She just can't be number one. Jesus is number one!
Madeline: Oh, you're right. Can she be number two?

He is right. Love those kiddos! =)

2009-08-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

A little performance for you...

She is improving with each practice and really enjoying it. What a blessing to watch her learn and grow!

2009-07-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

More Summer Adventures...
Before we took off for our roadtrip this summer we had a few other adventures. One of which was a trip to Ohio to visit my family....specifically to see this good looking pair. My Uncle Dwight and Aunt Letty are missionaries who have been serving the Lord at Echo Ranch Bible Camp in Alaska. Before Alaska, Dwight was a missionary in Holland though, and it was there that he met my aunt.

They now have two handsome boys, and after a decade at Echo Ranch, they are moving back to Holland to work with American youth on a military base with MYCM, an organization that plants missionaries on military bases to establish a "Club Beyond" ministry for the youth. Such a perfect fit for their family!

We had such a busy weekend! We started by spending some time at my grandparents' house. Madeline and Timothy had so much fun playing with their cousins David and Ruben.

Here are Madeline and Ruben setting the table for a yummy brunch...

Mike and the kids playing with a fussball table outside grandma's clubhouse...

Grandma has the inside all decked out...the kids had a ton of fun...

They even talked grandpa into sawing off an old ladder so they could fit it inside the clubhouse and climb up to the "loft"...

Later that afternoon, we were able to go visit my great-grandma Lenola....that makes her Madeline and Timothy's great-GREAT-grandma. Timothy told her he was turning seven. You can imagine how impressed he was when she informed him that she is 97! The kids had fun doing a puzzle with her...one of the same puzzles I did when I was their age.

If they look proud it's because she went on and on about them the way she always did me and my sisters...."look at them! this is the fastest this puzzle has ever gone together! they don't need our help at all!" and just like it worked on me, Heather and Laura...those kiddos worked all the harder and faster...it was precious. I am so glad my kids have been so blessed to know so many of their grandparents.

The next day after church we had ourselves a cookout at Spring Lake.

In addition to good food, there was swimming and fishing. Here Madeline and David show off the first catch of the day...

It took awhile, but Timothy mustered the courage to go down the slide...

Here he is checking out a turtle one of the boys found for him. Right after I took this picture he leaned over to grandma and said, " Look Grandma Elaine! The turtle is reading the nutrition facts!" (I'm not kidding.)

Madeline had fun paddle boating....we fit a lot of activity into our weekend away!

After we got home, we discovered a very cool new place to play. It's called Bremen Bounce and it is a warehouse full inflatable toys that the kids can play on. They had a great time!

plus I got to catch up with this little peanut's mama!

I even got to hold her sweet little sister =)

We weren't home but a few days before we headed down south to see my family in TN. The kids had fun at a splashpad...

Then later we celebrated Timothy's birthday! Check out that cake. I mean he doesn't ask for much...just a cake that is "half white and half chocolate and has all the United States with the lines between them and a dark blue frame..." (Way to go Mimi!)

Upon arriving home (again) the kids were off to a week of day camp at IUSB. I stopped in to see them one of the days when they were visiting the library....

Madeline read so many books in that one week that she maxed out the library's summer reading award program and got prizes, coupons, and a free book of her choosing =)

I can't say enough how much I love this lady! Miss Jennifer has had both our kiddos in her class at IUSB Child Development Center. She is such an amazing teacher who really makes my kids feel loved. We're so glad God put her in our lives.

Since I was at IUSB...I stopped by and saw Mike. Doesn't he look thrilled to see me??? ;)

That weekend Timothy had his long awaited birthday party/sleepover. We started out at Chuck E. Cheese so the kids could play...

See, the kids?

Timothy was so excited that this buddy could come to his party....especially since he is a friend from his old school. They're a pretty sweet pair...

Again....see how much fun the kids are having...

We finally headed back home for cake and presents.

Timothy was tickled with the thoughtful gifts that his buddies picked out for him...

There was a lot less pressure on me to get the perfect cake, since he'd already had it....but we did get another to share at this party....

One of the gifts that Timothy got was a remote controlled car. Mike and the kids came up with this (extremely safe) game....the kids stood on the trampoline with the car and then Mike steered it around trying to tag them out...last one on the trampoline wins. They could have played it all day.

Here's the whole gang playing inside...

Mike and I decided that our little man had grown enough that it was time for a new bike!

The whole slumber party came out to see the maiden voyage...

Phone calls home to reassure mom....no homesickness here!

Finally asleep!

Here's another treat....we got to spend the afternoon with some good friends after church, and wouldn't you know it? They let me cuddle their sweet little boy. Don't I look happy with a baby?

Mike and Kevin and all the kids...I think they were watching "police chases gone wrong" on youtube or something...

We cut all the snapdragons from our garden and brought them into the house to enjoy before our big road trip. Aren't they beautiful?

Another quick visit before our big trip. I met up with a friend of mine who is starting med school in the fall...here's my oldest holding her youngest.

A visit to the park to run off some steam...

Even more fun when you meet up with friends!

So, as you can see, we've been as busy and blessed as usual. We had so much fun on our road trip too. I look forward to sharing our adventures from all over the U.S.!

-shannon

2009-06-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

JUNE....Well, June before last weekend.
Can you believe that this little girl is going to be in the FOURTH GRADE??? The kiddos school had a blessing and sending ceremony before the school. The ceremony is mostly for the sixth graders who are graduating from upper elementary and moving into junior high, but after each of the sixth graders have a few minutes to share their reflections, they give a small bouquet of wild flowers to one of the third graders, since they will be graduating from lower elementary and entering upper el in the fall. Miss Madeline was so proud.

I snapped this sweet picture as we were leaving the sanctuary to go to a potluck. What a tremendous blessing it was having these two wonderful ladies to nurture and love on my Timothy for the school year!

Mike helped with the grilling...he's the best there is ;)

Madeline having fun with some of her friends during the potluck. These two young ladies happen to be moving to upper el with her next year.

Check out these last day of school smiles!

Riding his bike after the last day of school. He happens to be patching as well. He's doing such a great job. It isn't fun to use his weaker eye, but he has been patching for over an hour a day now for the past couple weeks. (Some days over two hours!)

We've been to the park a few times already since school let out for the kids. They love this park right by the zoo in town.

Madeline still loves climbing to the top of this every visit...

...even though it's a lot of work, and has already left her with several blisters!

We went to the drive-in and saw Up! Loved it! Before the show started we played some miniature golf.

Pretty sure they weren't supposed to be climbing on this "mountain," but there was no sign...so I snapped a picture before I made them get down. =)

I'm really enjoying this business of having no classes to attend! I hope I haven't ruined myself come fall, but for now, I'm just enjoying summer as Mom. I'm always Mom, but Mom sans medical school is a lot more fun! I have some great pictures of this past weekend when we went home to Ohio to visit our family, so those will be up soon too.

-shannon

2009-06-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

The Cruise
I will start by saying that vacation pictures are way cuter when there are kids involved. So, unfortunately for the blog, Mike and I went on a "grown up vacation" while the kids were still in school. Grandma was so wonderful to come stay at our place and take Madeline and Timothy to school (she even got to go to farm!) while we were away. I missed the kids so terribly, but it helped a lot knowing they were with Mom Renfrow while we were gone.

This first shot was taken the night we flew into Orlando. We went with some friends of ours from Nebraska who celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this summer! So, we took them out for some delicious seafood to treat them for their anniversary. We got them another gift too, but that's a very long story.

Here are Rick and Linda on the ship the next day. They were total newbies. They put their life vests on the very first time the cruise director made the announcement that there was going to be a safety drill. ;)
They got the hang of cruising pretty quick though, and we had lots of fun. Our first port was Nassau, Bahamas and we rented segueways and took a tour. We watched Paul Blart Mall Cop the day before to get ourselves ready.

It was a bit overcast, but we didn't get rained on except for a few sprinkles, so it was a pretty nice day. Mike was excited to be somewhere with palm trees. I was excited to be somewhere he couldn't use his cell phone or check his work e-mail!

The food was awesome that night on the ship. It was a formal dining night and they always serve their best meals that night so we all had lobster!

Rick and Linda...looking sharp!

They wouldn't let me take a picture of them without getting one of us too.

Our server, Igusti, was awesome. Mike figured out how to work him so he could get the lobster and the steak, or the next night the veal and the shrimp....and so on. OK, if you must know I might have finagled myself the tiramisu and the "bitter and blanc" bread pudding for dessert one night. I just wanted a bite of both of them...how's a girl to decide?

Of course there was a towel animal on our bed each night when we got back from dinner. My favorite was the elephant.

After a day at sea, we made a stop at St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. We took a jeep tour when we got on shore. Here are Mike and me in the back seat enjoying the scenery while Rick chauffeurs us around the island. =)

It was beautiful!

Some people took extra measures to ensure that the experience was properly recorded for posterity. ;)

We got behind a school bus and got to see all the kids getting off in their uniforms. It was pretty cute.

Back on the ship for dinner that night.

Did I mention the food was yum-o? Prime rib and veal parmesan....mmmmm.

HA! This one cracks me up. Because this picture is from right after we got off the ship at St. Maarten, when we realized that we had ourselves a cash limitation. Everyone was trying to figure out whether or not we'll be able to afford a taxi back to the ship if we take one to the other side of the island to look around.

No worries....we had enough. We rode over to the French side of the island and went to the open market, which was very cool.

This day held probably the best weather we got during a port day. It was beautiful and sunny and hot hot hot....but not as hot as Texas.

Awww....I know. We're so sweet. I told you vacation pictures are better with kids. Are you sick of seeing us yet?

SO HAPPY to be in a taxi on the way back to the other side of the island.

They told us that the Dutch side of the island was a lot cheaper than the French side, but the prices seemed about the same. I think the taxi drivers turn a faster profit if they stay on the same side of the island...

Ok, so this was supposed to be all four of us with the ship in the background...complements of Rick's long arm. However, after so many tries we gave up on the ship and were happy to just get all four of us. =)

Look at that...back on the ship for dinner. We were so good looking every night Linda couldn't help but take our picture. ;)

Someone ask Mike what time it is.

Awww...the swans the last night.

Even cuter now.

We are so awful....our steward took the divider out between our balconies so we went over to our wonderful neighbor's cabin and altered their towel animal display. Mike looks cute and mischievous...I look like I'm about to have a cow because we're not running back to our room. I think it's obvious who is more accustomed to getting into trouble.

Fortunately our dear friends were still our friends even though we had ruined the romantic display. Here they are on the beach back in Orlando the next day before we headed to the airport.

The best part of this vacation for me? Getting home to see these little turkeys! They're donning the souvenirs we picked up for them in St. Maarten...made in India, of course.

So...that was the cruise. I'm doing pretty well with this blogging stuff. Don't get terribly used to it. You know how I can be. ;)

-shannon

2009-06-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

May
Ah, May. The sun is shining, the flowers are peeking out, and we take the time to celebrate mothers. Incidentally, it is also the month that my husband leans over during Hallmark commercials to remind me that I am not his mother. This awesome shot of both my kiddos is the one that graced our Mother's Day cards this year. I used to think that as the kids got older that it would be easier to get a picture of them simultaneously looking at the camera and smiling. not so much the case. We managed to get this one though...so no complaining.

Because I was done with classes, I was finally able to drive/chaperon for the kids' trip to farm. Every week, the kids take an afternoon field trip to a farm. They have science lessons, learn about the workings of the farm, and get some hands on experience too.

I went on a Tuesday with Timothy's class. Check this picture out...that is in fact a MOUSE crawling on the arms of my little guy...and that is a SMILE on his face!

Here Timothy and some of his classmates are digging holes for tomato plants.
Here's my little beancounter with one of the gals in his class who has been a good friend to him. (They really are counting beans.)

Here he is climbing under a tree to retrieve pine cones with classmates.

Timothy is doing an observation exercise using the sense of touch here. They were blindfolded and then a partner led them to a tree and they felt it. They were then led back to the circle where the blindfold was removed and they had to try to find the tree again.

Because Timothy has a summer birthday we brought a treat in to share with his class to celebrate early. This picture is fuzzy because the lighting was low and I didn't configure my camera accordingly, but I wanted to snap a picture before they finished their song. It was so sweet. Timothy held a globe in his hands and walked around a candle in a holder that looked like the sun. They sang a song as he walked around the "sun" seven times, to represent his (almost) seven years of life.

That was on a Thursday and it was that afternoon that I went with Madeline's class to the farm. Here she is with some of her classmates during circle...as well as some very colorful visitors.

One of the activities Madeline's class did was to find wildflowers and talk about the parts of a flower.

Then they pressed them. She loved this! She has been pressing flowers in books for quite awhile now. In fact, her teacher told her that she had noticed Madeline pressing flowers and it was her inspiration for this activity. My little gal felt like a million bucks! =)

Madeline got to dig holes for tomato plants too.

Then they went over to the pen to check on the baby goats. I believe they were about three weeks old at this time.

She was so excited when she came home from farm the day after they had been born. It has been neat for her to see how all the animals on the farm grow and change throughout the year.

The farmer also keeps bees. Here she is telling some of the children about the hives...

...and looking at and touching some real honeycomb.

In other news, May is the month that our little Timothy got his glasses! You've seen this picture already, but I thought I'd post it again. It was taken within an hour of picking up his new specs. He's been doing such a good job wearing them everyday, taking good care of them, and also patching. His myopia and astigmatism are so severe that he has a lazy eye. So, he wears a patch for (up to) a couple hours a day now.

So this was our May. Well, we went on a cruise too, but that's a whole new post. We'll see if that one makes it up tonight or not. ;)

-shannon

2009-06-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

April!
My camera held pictures from the month of April too...lucky you! Of course I had to go visit that precious newborn baby girl and her super sweet big sister this month. Here's a picture of me with my BFF and her two sweetie pies.

Then, as if that wasn't awesome enough, another one of my dearest friends had a sweet baby boy! So, of course I had to go bother them too =)

April is when we celebrated my favorite holiday of the year. Easter! I love Easter! Not because of the hidden eggs, either. I love the fact that I serve a RISEN Savior. (There were hidden eggs though =))

Quite a few, obviously!

The kids got kites and had lots of fun figuring out how to fly them, with only minimal tree entanglement.

They got so many Easter goodies. Here they are with more Easter treats.

Grandma picked out some super cute Easter clothes for the kids. I know, they couldn't be any cuter. ;)

She looks so grown up!

April is when Madeline started her violin lessons. That's right! Violin! She's been asking for months and we finally decided to start her in lessons. Here she is heading off to school with her instrument in hand for the first time.

You know a mom can't run out to the car and snap a picture of one child without getting a shot of the other, right?

We have been part of a new small church (Sunday School class) and the class had a bowling outing in April. Here is Timothy with some of the boys...

and Madeline with some of the girls.

April was a super great month because it marked the beginning of the last summer of my life, or so they say. I finished up year one of med school...all the glory for that must go to God, who carried me through the weeks that were tougher than I ever could have prepared myself for. We are definitely looking forward to having a summer quite different than last year's!

-shannon

2009-06-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

March...

March was awesome, because LOOK! My bestest friend had a gorgeous baby girl! =) Here's my grown up little lady holding her and one of my little man holding her too.

This is her big sister, who will now tell you, if you ask her, that the baby may be new, but she is no longer "brand new." This was back in March, after all.
We also went bowling with some friends. Here are the kiddos having fun at the bowling alley.
They later dressed up as superheroes to play video games. (I wonder if it helped their scores...)

This was also the month that held QUIZ FINALS! Madeline worked so very hard for weeks on end. She studied and drilled these questions from the book of Exodus, and the tournament was a lot of fun.

Family came from near and far...mostly far.

This was at lunch between matches. I snapped this picture after the sweetest exchange. Madeline asked Timothy if she could play with his Nintendo DS. Imagine my delight when, without hesitation, he replied, "sure, Sissy! I've been playing all morning and you haven't had a turn at all!" Moments later, as he was watching her play, he looked at her and said, "Madeline, I sure do love you, but you already know that." Melted my heart!

When all was said and done, Madeline found out that she had ranked in the top 15 quizzers in the district! She was mighty proud...and we may have been too. ;) Here she is with another one of NMC's ranked quizzers right after they received their plaques.

Here she is with her sweet teammates and the flowers my mom picked up for them, just so they could feel as special as they all are.

So, another good month. I was still taking classes, by the way...so the fact that I was there to record any of these events is really kind of a miracle. Never mind the fact that I didn't blog it until now.

-shannon

2009-06-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

What you've been missing!
I know I haven't blogged since January. I thought it would be so nice of me to tell you what you've missed...or at least what you've missed that I took pictures of...

So, starting with February, this is what we've been doing the past few months. This first picture is of Madeline and some of her friends from school at Barnes and Noble. They had a fund raiser and the kids all came dressed as one of their favorite characters from a book they've read. Madeline is dressed as Kirsten, the pioneer girl from the American Girls series.

Timothy found a book and settled in to read with his daddy-o. Yes, he's wearing a skeleton costume....he promised me that his absolute favorite book is The Human Body. (Cutest story...he found that book on his shelf a couple years ago and came out to me and said, "Mom! Please read me The Human Body! I LOVE The Human Body!" Except he pronounced it "The Hummin' Boe-dee" Still makes me smile to think about it.)

We roasted marshmallows in our fireplace at some point that month. (I know because there are pictures I had never downloaded from my camera and they are date stamped.) Please admire the wonderful contraption Madeline is making use of. It's a hanger from the dry cleaner, but it had plastic coating on it that would have melted into the marshmallow. SO...I tangled one of the beaters from my mixer all into the hanger and stuck the marshmallow on the end of the beater. Innovative, I know.

S'mores! We are such health nuts, I know.
Oh, it was during this month that our kids decided that Bob Evans is their favorite restaurant. Seriously, they have reasons. Well, at least Timothy does. 1) It's a great place for families. 2) They play nice music. 3) Their food never upsets his tummy. (He gets macaroni and cheese and applesauce every single time.)

OK, that's February. I was in medical school, you know, we couldn't do too much.

-shannon

2009-05-21T14:01:00.001-07:00

How many differences can you find between these two pictures???

I know I haven't blogged forever, but I will soon! Mike and I are leaving for a cruise tomorrow, so when I get back I'll have plenty to write about. In the mean time, we wanted to share a couple pictures to remind you how precious my kiddos are and to show you Timothy's surprise!
Take care! shannon

P.S. They we coincidentally wearing the same clothes today (when we picked up Timothy's glasses) as they were when we took the first picture (right before Mother's Day)...how about that?

2009-01-18T16:36:00.000-08:00

Fun at Quiz Fest 2009!
So, I am inserting a non-Christmas update blog in the mix here because we had such a big weekend! Madeline's quiz team from church had their annual quiz fest, which made for a very rewarding/exhausting weekend!

Here's our Madeline Rose with her two sweet teammates, ready for the first match of the day on Saturday.

Here's a clip that I took of the girls during a match. You'll have to turn the volume up pretty high to hear it, but I actually caught a streak where they all jumped and answered questions correctly!

The night before Madeline and one of her teammates got to quiz together in the 2 on 2 tournament. It was fast paced and fun to watch. They did great and had fun together. Here they are having some lunch together on Saturday.

Timothy had fun at quiz fest too. He watched a couple matches, but they had a game room, and he spent a lot of his day playing with other kiddos, informing me later that he wants an air hockey table for our house now.

The girls won second place in their tournament that afternoon!

Our NMC boys team brought home the first place trophy from their tournament!

Here are two of our NMC teams right after the awards ceremony with their trophies.
The girls were super excited. They all worked so hard, and each one of them contributed so much to the team. Their interactions are sweet to watch as they cheer each other on and strategize together with their coach.
They thought this placing the trophy on the head of their smallest team member was pretty cute...
until she ended up getting knocked on the noggin.....don't worry....no tears, just lots of laughing.
Here is the team with all the moms and dads. We were maybe a little proud of our girls!

This is Jim, who coordinates the quizzing at NMC and also for our whole region. He has done such an amazing job, and his fuel for doing it is his desire to see the kids hide scripture in their hearts. We are so grateful for his ministry. The battery on my camera was starting to go by the end of the day, so my pictures got progressively fuzzier, but here is one last picture of the kiddos on the way home. Do they look just a little bit excited? They slept well last night!

One other achievement worth noting I won't tell you, but show you...the kids and I have been working on this for the past two weeks during the drive to school. =)

Oh, and just because it was so precious, I have to share Timothy's prayer from dinner tonight. He said, " Dear God, thank you for my family and for our food, and thank you for everyone on this globe, even the USA, and even Alaska, and even Mrs. Garland's brother that lives in Hawaii. AMEN!" He's been learning about maps in school, and his prayers have since had more and more geography in them. I love our little turtle!

OK, that's all for now. Thanks for reading, and as always, thanks for your prayers for our family!

-shannon

2009-01-10T18:56:00.000-08:00

Catching up: Installment #2

OK, so the Christmas tree is up...now we need Christmas cookies! Here are Madeline and Timothy working away at the icing while our cut out cookies bake.

We made a ton of cookies!

Here they are cut out, baked and icing ready to go...and that's how they traveled to Ohio with us.
Sunday morning the kiddos went to church with Gramma and Poppy...I know this is not the best picture. They were tired and it was impossible to achieve simultaneous cooperation. But aren't their outfits cute? Timothy's sweater is from Aunt Heather, and so is Madeline's top, a pillowcase dress that Aunt Heather made for her!

Mike and I played hookey (I know, shame shame...) to attend a Browns game. Now before you chastise me, I have to say that this may be one of the most monumental acts of love from wife to husband ever. Sure....it doesn't look sacrficial here when we're all smiles on the way....

But here we are during the game with a windchill down to -25 and gusts of wind up to 45 mph!

Take a look at the stands during third quarter....the place was so empty. "only the committed fans are out today," they kept saying. Well, let me tell you it was the committed fans and their even more committed wives!

Here's our number one Browns fan (decked out in Tarheels gear!) during fourth qaurter. Check out those stands. The game was still going on!

Well, after our hike back to the car, we took awhile to thaw out. Here are some pictures of the thawing process... We did finally warm up, and even had a nice dinner together before heading back home to Mom and Dad Renfrows'. Look who surprised Mom and Dad and made it up for Christmas after all. We love you Matt and Hannah!

Aunt Hannah helped ice our Christmas cookies...look, we even let her use the sprinkles ;) Well, that's all for now!

2009-01-10T09:42:00.000-08:00

Catching up: Installment #1
So, we obviously have had a ton of stuff going on, and I have a lot of pictures to add, which is why this lengthy update will come in installments. I am making no guarantee on how many there will be or how soon they will be up, but for now, here is installment number one!

Madeline's December quiz meet went well. She had a lot of fun with her team; they did a great job too!

She had three quiz outs that day. Here she is with one of her buddies after the last match of the day.

And guess who came to see the quiz meet....our favorite little peanut!
We all went to Chuck E. Cheese afterwards and had a great, though extremely overstimulating, time.

In other news, the kid's had a Christmas program at school called "Advent Lessons and Carols" which was a treat to watch, and we enjoyed some cookies and punch afterwards. Here is Madeline with her directress (that is Montessori code for teacher...) The teachers at the school are amazing, every one of them. The kids have been blessed to be in such a loving school.

Having punch and cookies with some of their friends....

The kids with the assistant from Timothy's room. They love her so much!

That evening the kids put on some new jammies and then had a good night of sleep before the last day of school before break.

Pajama day at school! I was volunteering at the school that week and got to help them make cookies that morning...here's some of Madeline's group...

Timothy's group...

Later that day we went ice-skating. Madeline took right to the ice!

Timothy with his directress....I am pretty sure that God brought her to Good Shepherd just for Timothy. She has been such a blessing this year!

Madeline with the assistant from her class...another amazing person that we are thrilled to have our kids spend the day with!

Even I got a pair of skates and ventured out on the ice!

The kids had a blast!

Back at the school warming up with some hot cocoa...

And look! We finally put up our Christmas tree that night =)

2008-11-15T20:07:00.000-08:00

So, I'll try to make this worth the wait....
I thought I'd update the blog this weekend, since I had some time (relative to previous weekends, anyway....) In case anyone still stops by here, this is what we've been up to!

Madeline is on the quiz team at our church. They are studying the book of Exodus this year, and she has been working very hard. Yesterday was her second quiz meet, and the first I have been able to attend.

Here she is ready for questioning with the two gals who were on her team.

Time out with the coach....
The look on her face here is one of realization that she just had her first perfect quiz out and earned her gold medal!
picking up that gold medal.....

After the final match of the day with her team. (I tried to get one with everyone's eyes open....maybe next month!) They did well, got better with each match of the day. One of her teammates had her first quiz out and earned a silver medal!

So.....other things we've been up to.....Madeline learned to ride a bike without training wheels!

We took the kids to the top of the parking garage at IUSB and had them ride in circles. Here's a shot of Timothy having fun and working hard.

We went down to TN and had a surprise party at Chuck E. Cheese for Madeline. Here she is with her beautiful aunts....

Here's Timothy with Uncle Brent...looks like he loves him ;)

Now, you tell me, who is more excited about that token Timothy has?

Madeline getting ready to blow out her candles....birthday song! I can't believe this is birthday number NINE!

Uncle Brent and Aunt Laura brought their nephews from the Robinson side, and Madeline and Timothy had a blast with them.

Mimi and Papa got Madeline tickets to see Veggietales Live that night! Timothy even got to come along =)

Doesn't look like he's scared of Harley anymore....getting some kisses!

While we were down south, I decided it was time to get a haircut....

I was able to donate close to 11 inches to locks of love......

Plus I went home with a cute new haircut from Laura....thank you!

The next weekend we had our Ohio family over to celebrate Madeline's birthday. Here she is waiting outside for some of our guests to arrive. It was such a beautiful day!

Timothy's buddy from church came too. Here they are playing a game, waiting for the festivities to start.

Madeline with my cousins from Ohio.....what a precious row of princesses!

See how we got the guys to watch the present opening? We placed it right in front of football.

With the yummy ice cream birthday cake.

Papaw even got on the trampoline to jump with his princesses!

Biggest birthday surprise came the next day on her birthday....when she went to her room to get ready for bed she found a new bike!

Our church had a Halloween alternative night for the community. It was the first chance Madeline had for quite awhile to see some of her best friends. They had a fun night together, and a couple weeks after, the girls had Madeline over for a sleepover. Good fun with good friends!

Here's Timothy climbing one of the blow up toys at the church event. he had fun too!

The kids were part of a choir that sang at a dinner/fund raiser for their school. This is the only picture Mike was able to get of the two of them together. He did get a video of the singing, but it was pretty dimly lit. I'll post that so you can see as much as you can see....

A picture of my best friend's little girl because it was so precious I couldn't resist posting it! My BFF and her little gal came by because they were in town. We were supposed to go out, but I had sinus and ear infections and was feeling really crummy. It was good to see them for the short time they stopped by though.

Timothy is such a good friend, helping her get her shoe back on when she jumped right out of it on the trampoline.... (This picture is a definite keeper....we'll have to use it in their wedding slide show...can I get an "Amen!", BFF?)

All three of the kids having a little fun on the trampoline.

We took the kids back to IUSB so Madeline could try out her new bike.....she loved it, of course.

Timothy enjoying his bike ;)

Ok, now anyone that knows me, will be able to tell from this picture that something is up.....how in the world did Madeline's hair get so fixed up on a Sunday morning?

Aunt Laura flew in to surprise us for the weekend! That's how! (Uncle Brent got to come up too! What a treat to see them....sorry I didn't have more time to spend with you guys....you know how med school can be =P)

We went out for dinner that night with our friends Mike and Jaci from church.....

We met up after dinner with our friends Marcus and Heather too....we had to take a picture of the three of us gals together because look, it's "Heather, Shannon, and Laura"

To cap off the surprise weekend, Mike had gotten tickets to go see Third Day in concert. Here's our whole crew after the concert.

So, that's some of what we've been up to the past couple months or so. As far as school goes, I am now done with embryology, anatomy, and on Friday, finished biochemistry. The Lord is faithful and I am receiving A LOT of prayer power, I am well aware of that! Thanks so much for caring about our family and lifting us up in prayer.

Speaking of thanks......if you are still reading, you need to know that my mother-in-law is a saint! She came over last weekend to watch the kids so we could go to the concert, (Mike had planned that whole weekend without me knowing.) and the next day she drove Laura and Brent to the airport for us, before heading back home. As if that wasn't a tremendous enough help to us, she came back this Thursday to pick the kids up from their half day of school and spent the night with us. While I was away studying, she didn't just love on my kids for me....she did all my laundry! Thanks so much for your help, Mom. Love you!

Ok.....it's off to the wonderful world of Histology for me now. The last class before Christmas break....cannot wait!

I uploaded some new videos, so you can find those below. Thanks for reading!

-shannon

The kids riding bikes on the top of the IUSB parking garage.....

One of Madeline's first solo streaks on her bike.....

Here's a spin on bike riding....now it's my dad who needs a push from Mike. You thought I forgot I had this, didn't you, Dad?

Not that you'll be able to make any of this out, but here is the dimly lit video of the kids singing for the school event. Timothy is on the front row on the left and Madeline is in the back row closer to the center of the group.

2008-11-06T13:08:00.000-08:00

Hello out there.....

So....I have a ton of excuses, and if you're interested in hearing them, go ahead and ask next time you see me. One of the reasons I haven't blogged in forever though is actually logistical. I can't find the adapter to my memory stick to get the pictures off my camera! So...even if I did have the time....well, you know.

I took a few pictures with my phone though, and was able to transfer them, so I thought I'd share them. Not the best quality photography, since they were from my phone...but the the subjects, as always, are of the highest quality!

Madeline came with me to cast my vote. Since Indiana had early voting, we took advantage of that, but still had to wait in line for close to two hours! She was surprisingly patient....for the most part.

Yes....my vote....but I wanted her to feel like she was part of the process =)

On election night, we went to the park....it was such a beautiful day, and since I'd already taken care of my civic responsibility.....we had a bit of fun before the kiddos went to bed and I hit the books.

Speaking of books....I need to get back to them. Thanks for remembering me and my family in your prayers; we are so grateful for every prayer that goes up on our behalf. The Lord is faithful!

love, shannon

P.S. My friend Jodi went to the baby center in Kenya! Check out her blog and see her pictures. I am SO excited for her...and excited for her family, since they have her back now ;)

P.P.S. I got an e-mail from the kids' school today, and they have a new way of raising money for the school through a web search engine that makes a small donation to the school every time it is used. I reset my homepage to goodsearch.com and now every time I search for something the school will get a (very small, but it adds up!) donation. If you want to use the search engine (powered by yahoo) consider putting Good Shepherd Montessori down as who you'd like your search to benefit.

2008-09-20T07:13:00.000-07:00

Med School...
You know what med school does to you...ok....what med school does to me? It makes me forget that I want to be a doctor. We move so quickly through the material that I find myself questioning how I'll ever take in everything. I have so little time for my family, and yet I still feel like I am not doing enough studying. It seems like there is always something to feel guilty about....why didn't I study more? How many nights in a row is this that I have come home after my kids are in bed? How long can Mike keep going like this? I thought I studied so hard in my undergraduate studies, but I really had no idea! In the midst of all the academic work, it is easy to get bogged down and to lose sight of why I started on this journey.

Thursday night, however, I was reminded. At the South Bend campus we run block scheduling the first year. That means that we take our science classes one at a time, and right now, I am taking anatomy. Anatomy is classically the toughest class as a first year, and having it all crunched into 7 weeks is intense! In addition to our science classes though, we also take a course called "introduction to clinical medicine." Every couple of weeks we meet for dinner at the med school with our professors, and we discuss issues in clinical medicine. Thursday night we had a session on death and dying.

I first have to say that our faculty is amazing. Dr. Faye Magneson is the course director and is assisted by Dr. Diane Musgrave. Dr. Magneson has such an amazing personal story, as a physician, wife, mother, and now as someone who is battling ALS. Dr. Musgrave leads the class in speech, but she made it clear to us from the beginning that although Dr. Magneson has lost her ability to speak, she is still the driving force in this class, and she continues to add so much to our experience through her preparations, feedback, and written contributions during discussion.

Last Thursday, Drs. Magneson and Musgrave made arrangements for a chaplain and a palliative care coordinator to come for the evening. Along with them, Nancy Sawyer joined us. Nancy is the mother of four children and the young widow of Patrick Sawyer, who passed away this summer after being hit by a drunk driver as he was cycling to the YMCA to work out in the morning before his classes at IUSB began for the day--he was only two weeks away from graduating with a nursing degree.

Talking through the scenarios that were given to us, composites of actual experiences the chaplain had during his time at the hospital, it came back to me....the reasons I want to be a doctor, I mean. There are a lot of reasons to become a doctor, a lot of good reasons, even. For me though, it is out of a burden for demonstrating love, for building relationships and ministering to people physically, and emotionally, to provide an opportunity to demonstrate compassion. Not my own compassion, but that which was given to me by God. I don't claim to have or be anything special on my own....you know the whole "jar of clay" thing....but God is so amazingly loving and so unconditionally faithful. I was talking to my sister, Laura, last night. What a beautiful young woman she is. We were talking (I was doing most of the listening) about how serving others is so easy when you realize what God has done for you....when you're so grateful and humbled that your heart aches to serve Him...and when you realize that by serving others you are serving Him.

It's not that I had literally forgotten these things, but I had gotten so wrapped up in the academics of medicine, that I lost sight of the mission.....I know that sounds cheesy....but it's true...and maybe I'm feeling a bit cheesy. What I know right now though, is that it is a lot easier to drive on after having an encounter with someone like Nancy, who so willingly sat with us and shared her thoughts and feelings about doctors and death and dying, and what it's like to be broken and looking to the doctor because you're the one who's survived.

I think I started to feel like I would get the academic part of medicine taken care of, and then I would go back to worrying about the "people" part of being a doctor when I finished medical school. For some, I suppose that might work. For me though, I just don't think it is possible. The people part, the ministry of medicine, that's my fuel for the academic part, and if I get too wrapped up with the latter, well, I just don't think I'd make it.

I really do need to get back to the academics right now, but I encourage you to check out the blog that Nancy keeps. (click here) She told us she started it to share the story with Patrick, when he woke up from his coma. Now we know God had other plans for it. Please remember her and her four children in your prayers.

Thanks for remembering me too!
love, shannon

2008-09-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

My husband ROCKS!
Yes, I know I have already used this blog title, but I can't help but restate the fact. I have no idea what I would do without my wonderful man. Packing school lunches, doing laundry and dishes, driving the kiddos to church and OT on Wednesday nights, and giving baths and bedtime kisses--this superdad does it all, and very often by himself.

The past five weeks have been more stressful and exhausting than I ever could have prepared myself for.....we're making it though. God is faithful, and what He calls us to do He'll carry us through! I just finished up the second unit in anatomy and have three weeks to go....then on to BIOCHEMISTRY!!!! Yes, BIOCHEM! I'll give you a few minutes to celebrate with me....continue reading when you're ready ;)

Having kids as adorable as mine, and a life as busy, you know I have pictures to share, so here are some snapshots of the past month.

Madeline on the first day of school...

Timothy on the first day of school....
Madeline and Timothy, you know, on the first day of school....(oh, and also Timothy's dog, Bud)
Heading in for the first day at Good Shepherd Montessori School...
Timothy, with his super sweet teaching assistant....
Madeline found a book and settled in to read. (Mike told me that he was the only parent that followed their kids in with a camera.....isn't it sad that more parents don't love their kids as much....just kidding...thanks, though, honey, I know you did it for me!)
Pick-up after school....Madeline spotted Daddy first....
On the way home after a great first day!

I am so happy to have the kids at Good Shepherd this year. We met with Timothy's directress (teacher) and her assistant last week. I came with some ideas to give them on how to help Timothy transition and some explanations of some of his quirky little nuances that make him the little Tim we know and love....well, before I started they already began telling me how they've noticed things that have been stressful for him and how they're already helping him adjust. He had a hard time starting back after summer off, but has already settled in beautifully, and I am really tickled with how well things are going. (Madeline LOVES her teacher as well....so happy!)

Here are some pictures from before the school year began. I headed down to Indianapolis for my white coat ceremony and orientation the weekend before classes started. Mike and the kids came down for the ceremony. Here are the kids at the hotel. I got a great rate at hotwire.com and we stayed right down town at the Crowne Plaza. Here are the kids in front of a train at the hotel....it is an old train station.....they thought that was pretty cool.

We went out for a late dinner when they got in to town....here's Madeline mastering her chopstick skillz. I have no idea what Timothy said to her to get that reaction, but I thought it was priceless =)
They were pretty tired!
Mike and me after the white coat ceremony....I love my man =)
My precious kiddos....
with my lovely sisters....
my sweet little man.....
with Grandpa and Papaw =)
Madeline worked so hard to make the masterpiece in front of her....
with Grandma and Grandpa....
(There were lots of other pictures taken this day, but the battery on my camera ran out....so I don't have them. =( Maybe people should e-mail their pictures to me????)

We've been getting lots of rain up here. We decked the kids out in their rain gear so we could head out into the downpour to get some dinner together this weekend.

My little ducks! (and also our new vehicle....yay for two reliable vehicles!)

Timothy and Daddy at dinner...

Mommy and Madeline....stormtracker in the background....

Today at church I got to sit with my dear friend, and former babysitting charge (how old does that make me?), Caitlin! She's a student at Grace College and comes to NMC some weekends to worship with us, and it is always a treat to see her. Since it's my weekend "off" we had time to take her out for lunch afterwards.

Oh, and speaking of NMC.....you should check out the blog that our church updates regarding the African Gospel Church Abandoned Baby Center in Kenya. It's an orphanage that our church has partnered with, and our pastor is there right now. Someday I'd really like to go there....we'll see what God has in store.

Well, that's all I have for now....it's back to the grind tomorrow. One more thing.....check out the Flick Family blog for some excitement =)

P.S. OK, maybe just one more thing.....here's a video clip of a funny conversation with the kids....

2008-08-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

Burn your boat!
Before Mike and I got married, I had a pretty established plan for my life. It had primarily three components--marrying Mike, having a LOT of children, and then being a stay at home mom to those (four to seven...seriously) children. No part of my plan included working outside the home, and it most certainly had no place for medical school. There's still a part of me that really longs for the last part of my plan.

I am at peace with the fact that God has placed me on this path, but I am also very aware of the fact that it is beyond me. It is beyond what I would have planned, beyond what I would have attempted, and honestly, beyond what I would have been capable of doing, acting on my own strength. This, of course, is why I cling so heartily to that passage in II Corinthians where we are reminded that we are jars of clay, and the all-surpassing power is God's. Having just finished my first week of anatomy though, can I say that I feel like a pretty pathetic jar?

When I start to feel this way, I have been known to entertain thoughts about how great my plans seemed. I LOVE my kids; they are awesome. I love the idea of never missing a soccer game or spring concert and being there for every skinned knee....with a huge mom purse that has band-aids and antibiotic ointment and crayons and wipes and all of the other things that are the tools of the trade, when you are supermom.

Today's message was on being ready to give yourself in obedience to God's will and eliminating anything that might pull you back from God's will for your life. (Think of Elisha burning the plow when Elijah recruited him for God's work, I Kings 19.) Pastor Dave included an illustration about how these commanders of armies would always give the same command when they arrived on the shores of enemy territory. You know what it was? Burn your boats. Those troops were motivated to take the land when they realized there was no returning to the place from which they'd come. The point he was making was that "burning the boat" is what Elisha had done when he burned his plow, and that it is what we need to do when we step out in obedience. It was around this point that I realized I am fully committed no matter how hard it gets.....you know why? I burned my boat. When I joined the army, I burned my boat. I'm not going to be a stay at home mom; even if I quit med school, it's no longer an option. So....how about that for keeping me committed? That's not why I joined the army, of course, but it did work out that way....interesting realization.

With all that being said, I need to go overtake the enemy in the Lord's name....the enemy, in this case, being anatomy. Anatomy really is amazing, and I do have a healthy appreciation for it, but right now that appreciation is being overwhelmed by my need to conquer this course. So, for now defeat, and later appreciate ;)

-shannon

P.S. I'm pretty sure my blogs are going to have fewer (often no) pictures for quite awhile....I'm working on getting Mike to blog though....

2008-08-17T12:51:00.000-07:00

No pictures...sorry =(
What's the point of blogging if I don't have pictures for you, right? Sorry about that....I will have pictures from my white coat ceremony soon, but I'm not able to get them up today. "Why?" you ask? Well, that would be because I started med school on Monday, and now, over the course of five days, have completed my first course, embryology. That's right, an entire textbook, cover to cover, in one week. My final is tomorrow morning.

Med school is so much more intense than I could have imagined. After the embryology final we start anatomy, which will last seven weeks, and class will start at 8:00 and go to anywhere from 4:00-6:30....of course, the second years students have already told us that there are no guarantees, and we stay until they tell us to leave, and even then it's advisable to stay longer. The light at the end of my tunnel is this.....after we finish anatomy, we start BIOCHEMISTRY! You may think I am crazy for saying this, but if you know me you will totally understand.....isn't God faithful? He knew how badly I'd need my biochem after finishing anatomy, and so He made sure our classes were so ordered ;)

Well, I need to study.....a LOT. I'm trying to adjust, but it is difficult. I don't have very much time with my family, and without my truly AMAZING husband, there is no way I would be able to manage....God gives us everything, and in this case everyone, we need to accomplish what He calls us to, and I am grateful for that. And very grateful that all He expects me to be is His jar of clay.

Please continue to pray for us (and for me a whole lot)....I am so grateful....so so grateful...and still hanging in there.....

-shannon

2008-08-05T20:33:00.000-07:00

Exhausted, but SO VERY HAPPY to be Home!
Well, we made it! I survived OBLC, Mike made it through his crazy summer, the kids had an amazing time being loved on by so many, but we are elated to be reunited! WHAT A SUMMER! God is so faithful!

I posted a TON more pictures to facebook, so make sure to check the albums, by clicking these links (I'll add them to the side of the page too):
OBLC III:the final countdown
home and catching up...
birthday/birthday/birthday/anniversary/welcome home party weekend

Here I am in uniform and showing off the diploma that my hard work won me =)

My honey, my mama, and her dear friend came down to see me graduate...

Here we are, on the last leg of our flight home to our babies!!!!

Reunited with my princess and having some lunch the next day.... ....playing the long awaited game of putt-putt. (I love that he sticks his tongue out when he's working hard!)
Playing at the new park not far from home....I just love being a mom again....what a long summer it's been!
The weekend after I got home, Mike had a party to welcome me back and celebrate everything I had missed while I was away....Timothy's birthday, my birthday, our wedding anniversary...we celebrated HIM too....his birthday fell on the day of the party. As usual, we had lots of good cooking =)
I had to post pictures of me with the following two lovely ladies, because they've never made the blog, and they are both amazing friends!

I don't know how people make it in life without friends like these! Madeline, of course, had friends of her own there....friends you may recognize from Lisa's blog....these girls got to spend lots of time together....that of course is because their mom helped me out so much! I was happy to finally get to see her!

"Let's all jump into the pool at once!"
our birthday/anniversary cake ;)
and poor Timothy finally got his birthday cake too!
The biggest surprise of all was that Mike schemed with some friends of ours from Nebraska who drove all the way to come see us and spent the weekend with us.....thanks so much, Linda and Rick! What an awesome surprise!

Certainly, never thought I'd be hosting a LAN party.....but there you have it!

There were a couple guests that didn't make it to the party, and that would be my bff and her sweet little one. Monday, though, they drove up to South Bend and we had a nice visit together. Thanks for coming to see me! I missed you this summer! ;) Here's her little peanut with my two kiddos...having some fun...

Like I said, I posted SO many more pictures to facebook, so check those albums out, because this is such a small sampling.....I am so tired though. It's all I have left in me!

I can't wait to see so many of my family next weekend at the white coat ceremony. I love you guys, and I thank anyone who sent a prayer up on behalf of me or my family this summer. We made it, and all the glory goes to God. He sure does have some crazy plans for us.....we will continue to hold on and enjoy the ride!

blessings, shannon

P.S. Here are a few more video clips I posted to youtube.....enjoy!

I told you it would be on the blog, honey.,..here you go!

Madeline's best shot at our family's putt-putt excursion...not too shabby...

Timothy's best shot....not bad at all ;)

2008-07-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

Sad news
I updated last night to let you know that Mike had flown out to be with his grandma in California, and now I'm writing to let you know that she passed away this morning while she was sleeping. She has been battling cancer for about a year now and she has been in horrible pain for the past couple of weeks; we are grateful that she is no longer suffering. Mike will be out in California for the rest of the week helping his parents to get things in order. Please remember him and his parents (who are the best in-laws ever) in your prayers. I am so grateful that I can make that request and know that so many will lift them up to our Lord who is faithful to respond.

I also wanted to let you know that the kids are doing great in Nappanee, having a blast with their buddies. In fact, Lisa updated her blog today so you can check in on them by clicking here.

thanks for your thoughts and prayers,
shannon

2008-07-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

Mini-update
It takes forever (and ever) to upload anything with the connection in my room here on post, so I am just going to provide a mini-update, for those of you who have been faithfully checking my stagnant blog.

This summer has been crazy for sure, certainly full of more unwelcome events than any of us anticipated, but God is faithful, and we are almost done! Graduation is on Sunday (July 27th), and I am very looking forward to my mom (and friend Sara Beth!) coming in to San Antonio on Friday night. Almost there! Then my wonderful hubby will fly in on Saturday, and we'll fly home to the kiddos Sunday night.

Since I last blogged, I completed another field training exercise, got attacked by more fire ants and contracted another case of cellulitis, which again landed me in the hospital. I survived, and even made it back to the field without missing any training time! Since our return from the field we have spent most of our time in the classroom and, of course, doing PT in the morning. (Who would have thought, by the way, that I would actually pass push-ups, which I did yesterday morning!)

I'm not the only one who has been tested this summer though. Mike has been put through the wringer, and managed to still be the amazingly supportive husband that he has been from the start. From having his wallet stolen at work, to waking to find our van rear-ended (hit and run in the wee hours of the morning), it's been a tough summer. He is now in California with his mom and dad, helping to take care of his grandmother who has been fighting cancer for the past 10 months. Please lift his family (my family) up in your prayers during this difficult time. Grandma will probably not make it but a few more days. While it is difficult for Michael to witness, he is grateful that he is able to be there to help and spend time with his parents.

This summer has truly been a reminder of God's faithfulness. Many nights, many of us in the Renfrow clan have hit the pillow (for fewer hours than we may have liked to) feeling like we had nothing left to make it through the next day, but Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are NEW EVERY MORNING! (Lamentations 3:21-22) This has been a special verse to me and some of those closest to me (Laura and Mindy!), and I have thought of it and claimed it many times this summer. Laura and I were talking about this verse between field exercises, and she made the comment that it's a good thing His mercies are new every morning, because right now I don't have any "rollover mercies." I got a kick out of that one!

For those of you wondering what the kiddos are up to, they are spending a few days with some good friends in Nappanee, and this weekend will get to see "Uncle" Kevin and "Aunt" Mindy who will bring them to the airport to pick up mommy and daddy. At long last! Timothy has gotten trips to the library two days in a row, water gun battles in the backyard, and of course some quality video gaming with his buddy, and Madeline.....well, tonight she told me that she was having A LOT of fun and felt bad because she was happy, even though I wasn't there...but she did still love me and miss me....was that ok? I assured her that it was, and I am tickled that she is having a ball! (THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, LISA! You are a superhero!)

On that note, I will close with a couple of links to some albums I created on facebook. Some pictures have already been posted to the blog, but some are new. For some reason it is harder to upload the pictures here than it was to facebook, so if you're interested, check them out by clicking the links: OBLC I and OBLC II.

Thank you so much for everyone who has been faithfully praying for us this summer. I am inexpressibly grateful for all of the love and prayers we have received and I am absolutely humbled by everything we've made it through, and even accomplished, on God's strength and with your prayers! I look forward to updating you again soon, from the other side of OBLC!

-shannon

P.S. BONUS! I forgot that I had videos uploaded to youtube that haven't been posted here! So....

Here are the kids recounting some of the fun with Sang and Song:

Here is Madeline dancing the night away at Matt and Hannah's wedding:

Here are the kids getting soaked at Seaworld:

Here is....well, here it is...not sure how I feel about having this knowledge: (me clearing, disassembling, reassembling and performing a function check on an M9, in roughly 60 seconds)

2008-07-06T18:08:00.000-07:00

A Texas sized Vacation....
in just one day, and it all started with this Texas sized breakfast! What an incredible weekend we have had together as a family. I cannot even begin to express how wonderful it has been to feel all of the love and prayers, to receive all of the mail (shameless plug: 2LT Shannon Renfrow, 2250 Stanley Road Unit 377, Fort Sam Houston TX 78234-6404...I LOVE mail!) and then to be able to have these past three days with my family. I am so very grateful. God has sustained me through more than I thought I could manage for sure, and then blessed me on top of it!

I heard through the grapevine that active duty military families were eligible for free tickets to Sea World, which is right here in San Antonio. I looked into it, and sure enough, Anheiser Busch provides complimentray tickets through the Hero Salute program. So, yesterday, on our eleventh wedding anniversary, Michael and I celebrated with our kiddos at Sea World San Antonio! Here we are on our way to a day of fun in the sun!

And here are the kids on their way to "they have no idea" where!
The only hint I would give is that they could read road signs, and if they paid close attention they'd figure it out.....which of course my little readers did!
Michael and Timothy making their way into the park!
At our first attraction....a 3-D movie we ended up leaving because it scared the kids, and Timothy wouldn't quit crying.....may not have been the smoothest start to our day, but we had a quick recovery =)
Madeline making her way up the rope nets at Shamu Harbor....
Timothy was a little less sure of himself, so he talked me into joining him....

Madeline and Timothy rode a ride similiar to this one (the Jumpin' Jungle) when they were at Cedar Point last summer....they remmebered it, and it was still Timothy's FAVORITE!
Riding a ferris wheel with mommy.....while we were in line for this I was dancing like a crazy person with Timothy and out of no where I hear, "Hey, Renfrow!" We ran into one of the soldiers from my platoon who was there with his wife and two children. We were loving our few days off and free park admissions!
Madeline and Daddy waiting for the Critterville show....
Mommy and Timothy doing the same....
Taking a spin in Virgil's Paint Mixer with mommy...

...and then again with daddy....
Seeing our first Shamu show....the kids LOVED it! I knew Madeline would, but I was suprised how much Timothy enjoyed it too!
A nice shot by my photographer husband....
This is maybe my favorite picture from the whole day....apparently they get their land navigation expertise form their father....
mmmmmm.....cheesy pizza for lunch!

Madeline quite pleased with herself at the ski show...she sat two rows in front of us because she wanted to be in the "splash zone!"
after the ski show with some of the stars....I love how Timothy is looking at his shoulder, thinking, "you better watch yourself, buddy...."
Madeline with some of the lovely ladies from the show....those uniforms bring back any memories, Heather???
This was at the "Viva" show....it combined beluga whales with land/air/water acrobatics....diving, trapezes, synchronized swimming....the kids really like this show too...
after the show with daddy...this one cracks me up...Madeline looks so old....

In front of the flamingos.....my kids are pretty doggone good lookin'!
coolin' off with some ice cream....
Outside the Shamu Stadium....
Michael and Madeline went to go ride Adventure through Atlantis....Timothy went back for more Jumpin' Jungle....
This young lady was the ride operator for Jumpin' Jungle....she got to know Timothy pretty well. I'm pretty sure he was her favorite passenger of all time ;)

This is the water ride Madeline was brave enough to ride (Mike had to cover her eyes through the whole thing) with her daddy.....she also learned just where to stand so as to maximize soakage from the passing boats.....when we walked by it later, she and Timothy went back to get wet again!
In Shamu Stadium waiting for another show, in the splash zone...freshly soaked from the Atlantis ride.....
Sissy was soaked too!
To entertain us before the show started they took videos of the audience members, adding captions and what not above our heads....the kids thought it was super cool to be on the big screen.....then they played "we like to move it move it" and told everyone to dance for a dance contest.....here is Timothy busting a move.....he didn't win the stuffed shamu though, and he was truly shocked and devastated.....it took a lot of calming to get him to settle down before the show started....he was confident he had it in the bag!
Some more of my man's excellent photo shooting....

That evening we enjoyed the fireworks from the very back of ski stadium....it was pouring down rain and we made a run for it, grateful for the standing room we were able to find. It was beautiful and patriotic, and yes I cried. It was such a grand way to end a marvelous day of celebration.
The kids after the fireworks....
Mike and I celebrating every minute of the day.....
Loving each other....
Mike snapped this on the way out of the park.....what a day to remember....we squeezed a summer worth of fun into our day together!

The kids were worn out to say the least....
Mike and I took advantage of their slumber and had ourselves a date at Sonic.....YUM! I love this picture too, and it's because you can see how happy we were....it's plastered all over our exhausted faces like we're a couple of kids....we so were!
We did finally get them into bed =)
....and this is how I spent most of my day today.....blogging that is. It has taken forever, but I feel like updating you all is the least I can do to show how much I appreciate all you've done for me and my family to get us through this summer. Keep the prayers coming. I am so humbled by all we've been through and so completely unashamed of the fact that it is God's power and not my own strength or efforts that are getting me through this crazy journey I am on!
I head to the field tomorrow morning....bright.....er actually....dark and early. Thanks for the love and support and prayers. I couldn't do it without you.....I am after all just a jar of clay!

-shannon

2008-07-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

This AIN'T Camp Cupcake!
Well, here are the pictures that most of my readers have been waiting for....me in uniform. I have to say that basic training (in my case Officer's Basic leadership Course "OBLC") has been anything but what I expected it to be. OBLC students from years past assured me that it was camp cupcake....getting put up in a nice hotel off post, shuttled to wherever you need to be, having days full of power point presentations, with all your nights and weekends off, and then towards the end of training....five days in the field which consist of operating an air conditioned field hospital. I mean of course there is PT (physical training) and it's pretty hot in TX, but for the most part, the report has been that OBLC is a blast.

OBLC soldiers of the future....things have changed! We had two days of in-processing after which we were trucked off to the field for 11 days. We did get one five minute shower during the time in the field, but we were sweating again before we were dressed. We were issued our weapons and firing them the next day. Our gas masks....well, we did the gas chamber and then got trained the next day on how to use them. I'm not feeling too sorry for myself because I know that everything I am doing Mike had to do even more of, while being yelled at through all of it. Being officers, we're getting treated with a bit more respect than the poor enlisted guys get....whether we deserve it or not. (It still takes forever for us to fall into formation....I know our instructors are probably dying to smoke us.....smoke=lots of push ups.)

Here I am before we left for the field. There was a reception we went to to meet all of the batallion big wigs. Not looking too bad at this point. Maybe a little sunburnt from the afternoon of drill and ceremony.
When I got home that night, though, I examined my leg which had been bitten by a fire ant that afternoon. I'm allergic to fire ants, I've since learned, and the swelling around the bite provided fertile ground for infection, which truned out to be cellulitis. I went to sick call the day before we headed to the field, my leg was red hot and more swollen than I've ever seen it beofre, but they loaded me up with prescriptions and let me go to the field.

Here I am with a friend from my platoon (6th platoon, best platoon, hooah) Gilbert (we don't know first names so much) always has a smile and an encouraging word. Those weapons we're carrying never left our sides....neither did our gas masks.....everywhere we went....including the port-a-pots....our weapon and mask came with us.

The heat and the activity level in the field took a toll on me, the infection seemed to clear up, but my legs continued to swell pretty severely. I slept every night with my legs elevated, but continued to have what is known as pitting edema....this means, when you press down on my skin, it leaves an indention....in my case for a very long time. So, I tried to take opportunity to elevate my legs any time I could throughout the day.

You can see how packed full my pockets are in this picture. Every morning we were issued what is called an MRE (meal ready to eat) whether or not these are actually intended for human consumption is questionable, but we loaded it into our pockets and ate lunch whenever we found the time. (I actually ate a beef ravioli MRE for breakfast on my birthday, at about 0400, our first day in the field. That night I was issued a gas mask before going to bed. They say you should make your 30th memorable, and I'm certain I'll not foget this one!)

Here I am with my friend Nancy.....I met her before we were wearing ACUs (our camoflauge uniforms) so we actually learned each other's first names =)
This is my group on the leadership training course. We had just accomplished our first task. We had to build a bridge and get a box of ammo and our whole team accross a "river" with limited supplies in ten minutes....yay us!
This was one of the tasks we failed on....a little too much planning and not enough execution.....this is the day I broke my tailbone too, by the way....no joke....I'm older than I thought I was coming into this!
This is called "soft shoe profile" and it rocks! Because of my cellulitis, the doc didn't want me in boots because he wanted good circulation in my legs. It gave my blisters a chance to heal too...I love sneaker profile!
This was the morning that my platoon was responsible for breakfast in the field. We are fortunate enough to get two hot meals a day in the field....I'll admit I'd trade one of them for a shower though!
The hits kept coming....I got bit by more fire ants in the field. This time I got bit by one on my face, and on my other leg. The one on my face just swelled up, but wouldn't you know I ended up in the hospital by the end of the day because the bite on my leg turned into cellulitis again, even though I was still on antibiotic for my previous infection.

I was so afraid they were going to not let me go back to the field, which would have meant that I'd have to come back next summer. The ER doc didn't want to send me back, but I pleaded and assured him that the hard part was over and I only needed to survive four more days. He changed my antibiotic and let me return. This photo was actually taken after I'd been treated and the swelling had gone down quite a bit. The guy who carried my rucksack for me that afternoon didn't recognize me two days later.....I must have been pretty scary looking!

Here I am back in the field....I never thought I'd be happy to go back to Camp Bullis, but here I am all smiles...even after the gas chamber!
Back to the FOB (field operating base) for the day....getting some rest and elevating that leg every change I get.
My family had never looked so wonderful to me after 11 days at Camp Bullis! Here I am with my beautiful kiddos. Mike drove them down (1300 miles!) to come see me for my three day weekend. The first days off I've had since I got here.....we're loving every minute of our time together!
The Mexican food is GOOD in Texas!
One of the guys in our platoon lives here in San Antonio and his grandparents invited the whole platoon (that's 65 soldiers) over for a 4th of July picnic.
My family hanging out with 6th platoon (best platoon, hooah)
Sam's grandpa and dad who hosted all of us and cooked up some amazing food! They are such a sweet family. They took good care of us, and we joined hands and blessed the food before we dug in.....it was good to be at a family event.
Some more 6th platooners....
Sam is the one in the green shirt, here with some of his cousins, it was his family who hosted us.

Madeline taking a plunge into the pool....
Mike looking hot.....
Madeline and Timothy playing at the pool....
More of the 6th platoon crew enjoying the pool...

Madeline hanging around the guys ;)
and then putting me to shame with her rope climbing abilities....
Timothy climbed UP the slide and then was too chicken to slide back DOWN....the ladies with him were so sweet...all part of Sam's family....they played with the kids and made them feel super special....it was a great afternoon. We're so grateful for their hospitality.
After our busy day we headed back to our hotel for some rest (before another BIG day) and were welcomed "home"by this beautiful rainbow. God is faithful.....that's the only reason I'm making it through!

I came down here thinking I'd get in great shape and be a super soldier.....at this point, I'm thinking I'll be happy to stay away from the doctor long enough to graduate! I am so grateful for all of the prayers that are going up on my behalf, and also for my amazing husband who has been so supportive and encouraging, and has done an awesome job of holding things together at home without ever complaining to me. What an amazing man I have. Happy anniversary, baby! Eleven years, yesterday, I couldn't love you more. You're the best husband and daddy I could have ever chosen for my family. I'd go through everything life has brought our way over again to get to where we are. You are a blessing.

-shannon

2008-07-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

The Renfrows hit Tennessee!
After preparing as well as we could for what this summer was to bring our way, we packed our bags and headed to Tennessee for Matt and Hannah's wedding (also for my last opportunity to see my family before I headed to basic training at Fort Sam Houston.)

When we got to TN, we were greeted by lots of family! Here is Timothy, the (at the time) soon to be birthday boy, with an early birthday present from Grammy and Poppy. Mario Party DS for his hand held gaming system. He was more than a little excited!

And here's Miss Madeline enjoying the "birthday" festivities at Grandma and Poppy's hotel.

Mike and the kids with Poppy....

Timothy and Grammy....
The kids came up to Aunt Laura's hair shop, Hair on the Square, for haircuts, and they were lucky enough to get to see Uncle Matt. (I won't tell you that he was there to tan in preparation for his wedding, per his future wife's instruction.....oops.)
Timothy playing some Nintendo DS while he waited for his turn to get trimmed....
The owner of the shop, Kim, had a birthday that day! Happy birthday, Kim =) She is such a sweet and encouraging friend to Laura. I'm so glad Laura found a place in her shop.
Here's Aunt Laura doing what she loves to do....give the best haricuts in town that is =)

One for Timothy too.....
"Almost Aunt" Hannah stopped by too!
Matt and Hannah had a cookout for the wedding party the day before the wedding.....here we are visiting with family....
....but we got rained out! Here's Madeline after making a rapid retreat to the car.
Back at Aunt Laura's place...playing with Harley...

...and having a snack...
At the rehearsal with Grandma....what lovely ladies!
....and how about these handsome fellas?
Madeline with Poppy, Aunt Connie, Uncle Jim, Seth and Jeremy at the rehearsal dinner.
The next day at the wedding.....Grandma did all of the flowers, including the wreaths on all of the flower girl's heads.....

Madeline and Timothy with the happy couple...
Our sweet family...
Me and my mom-in-law!
Maddy and Daddy...
The Renfrow clan...

Madeline in a sea of flower girls...
The arrival of Aunt Laura and Uncle Brent....
what a good looking pair....
"This is my silly face..."
Timothy fell asleep during the ceremony....I shed a few tears, knowing that this would be the last day in a long while that I would have the opportunity to hold my sweet boy....

Beautiful Madeline...
Swinging...
They love each other so much....
Kisses from Sissy!
Timothy getting his swing on ;)

My beautiful mom and sisters....
Mamaw and Papaw.....fifty years since their wedding....Matt and Hannah, I hope you two still look at each other like this fifty years from now =)
My little stud...
Madeline and her dancing part for the evening....these two were the best dancers on the floor!
These two stunning ladies are my marvelous moms.....and according to Madeline and Timothy the world's best grandmas. (I can't confirm that, because I was pretty sure I had the world's best grandmas....but I am so grateful for my moms and all the support they've been while I have been away.)

Me holding sweet Brooklyn Rose....the newest family member on the Rader side....she was such a good baby all day! She got passed around and loved on a lot!
Me and my two awesome dads...how's a gal get so lucky?
Matt's best man....explaining that now that he was married all the gals who were holding keys to his place needed to turn them back in....a long line of ladies obliged, and just when we thought all the keys had been secured....
Mamaw emerged from the crowd with her key to Matt's place. This was all in fun of course, and it provided a good laugh and an opportunity for Matt to get a hug from Mamaw....worth the embarrassment ;)
Mike's cousin, Alexis, super mom to Brooklyn Rose. So proud of you, Alexis!

Madeline giving Uncle Matt the card she had made for him and Hannah....
Timothy cutting a rug!
Mike had the DJ play our song (Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, It's Your Love) so, of course, I had to cry again....
One of my favoritest pictures from the day! Love from Daddy's girl!
What a great day with family. Congratulations, Matt and Hannah. Love you!

-shannon

2008-07-06T09:05:00.000-07:00

Catching Up...
Today we're resting up and, for all of my faithful (and patient) blog readers, catching up! We've had a more than eventful summer, already, and it's going to take a few installments to get up to date. Here is the first of probably several blog entries for the day, and it encompasses the brief stretch of summer that we had between the end of the kids school year and heading to Tennessee for Uncle Matt and Aunt Hannah's wedding. (See next blog installment =))

We enjoyed the short time we had together before heading out. We visited the park a few times, visited Daddy at work for lunch, and the kids ran more errands than they would have liked to, getting me ready to leave for basic training.

Here's Madeline all smiles at the park....

The weekend before we left for TN we headed up to Michigan to visit some dear friends who used to live in Nappanee. Sang was my organic chemistry lab partner, and her husband, Song, was one of Naptown's favorite docs before they made the move. (You may remember them from my previous blog entry.)

Here are the kids at Chili's with Sang. Friday night visits to Chili's were frequent when Sang and Song lived closer....the kids talk about them every time we drive past a Chili's now.

Mike and Song catching up.....you may find this hard to believe, but Song actually gives Mike a run for the money in the talking department, so between the two of them, there's seldom a dull moment =)
What meal is complete without a giant mound of chocolate cake exploding with chocolate sauce and ice cream....not this one!
You'll see a trend in our Michigan weekend.....food. After Chili's we headed back to their place, got some rest, and the next morning headed to IHOP for breakfast. As soon as we finished, Song made the executive decision that the morning wouldn't be complete without Krispy Kremes.....seriously....so we headed to Krispy Kreme. The kids loved watching how the donuts were made. They were especially impressed with the glaze fountain.
Of course when we got home we had to sample some of the Krispy Kreme bounty.....can you say sugar buzz?
We actually had to veer Song away from Ritter's Frozen Custard after Krispy Kreme...he claimed it was for the kids.....they didn't seem to mind missing out on the ice cream though.
Afterwards we headed to Sam's Club to pick out a tube for the lake and get some life vests for the kids. Here they are debating on whether or not the boat would be able to tow this tube, which is actually about the size of the boat ;)
We worked up such an appetite, of course, that we ended up having to stop at Ritter's for ice cream after shopping.....I am not even kidding (well...maybe about the appetite, but not the stopping for ice cream part). Photo evidence.....

I think the kids were wound a little tight.....we wore them out later though.....
Madeline finding treasure on the lake.....
Timothy sporting his cool new life vest....safety first!
Getting ready to head out on the lake....READY CHECK!

Ready!
Ready!

Ready!
Here we go....with Mike at the wheel....
Song and Timothy taking their turn as co-captains.....
Me and my sweet little man.....
Having worked up an appetite on the lake, and (can you believe) playing straight through lunch..../gasp.....we headed out to dinner at Olive Garden.

Sang and Song, by photographer extraordinarie Madeline Rose....
Madeline jumping in on the next photo op....
Had to stop by and check out a boat on the way home.....Mike tried to help Song talk Sang into "investing" in this fine specimen, but we ended up leaving without it.
Madeline picking clover while the guys checked out the boat.....
Even grocery shopping is fun with Sang and Song =)
/train......
....and here's what I made for our princess from all of her clover.

She insisted that she needed to have my picture too.....Back out to the lake to try her hand at fishing.....she was so excited to report that she caught something when they came in for the night....it may have only been seaweed, but she was pretty pumped about it! Timothy was worn out and quite content to stay in and spend some time with the Disney Channel =)

Having a snack before bedtime.....
Back out on the lake the next day....after breakfast from Panera Bread, of course!
Fishing again.....
.....unfortunately (or fortunately...depending on who you ask) nothing was caught this time.
Our excursion was cut a bit short because of a storm that was brewing.....we made it back to the shore in the nick of time.

One final meal together...this one at Outback Steakhouse.....Timothy with Sang and Song.....
and Madeline with Mom and Dad....
Back at their place, the kids made some artwork while Mike and I packed up to head home.
One more hug for Sang before we headed out.
We had an awesome weekend with good friends, a much needed reprieve from the stress of the previous week. Thanks Sang and Song! Love you guys!

-shannon

2008-05-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

End of the School Year Adventures....

I can't believe the school year is already coming to a close! Don't get me wrong, there were many drives home from Nappanee that had me feeling it couldn't get here soon enough, but as is often the case, finishing this chapter of our lives is bittersweet, as we'll miss Nappanee Elementary and the many encouraging faces that fill its halls during the school year. Lots of memories have been made this year. One of which, was Timothy's trip to Wana Waves last Friday! His smile gives away the fact that he had a blast splashing in the pools, going down the slides, and just having some fun with friends. I was able to go with him, and I'm so grateful I did. It was a lot of fun to see my little guy so enjoy himself!

I'd gotten a phone call earlier in the week that some friends of ours were anxious to have Madeline and Timothy over after school so they could show off the newest additions to their family--kittens! So Friday afternoon we headed over to their place and got to see these tiny little fur balls. The kids loved snuggling them close and listening to their sweet meows.

Madeline loves animals!

Timothy had fun holding one close too.

This good lookin' fella is Timothy's buddy, who enjoys Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario about as much as he does. They've had fun playing together this year.

Lucky for Madeline he has big sisters for her to play with too!

She's enjoyed many afternoons playing with these gals.

When we did get home after our busy day, some of my friends came over to get dinner, one of them with a new baby in tow! Madeline jumped at the opportunity to hold this sweet little bundle....I admit I did too....several times that evening.

We tucked the kids into bed, telling them that when they woke up they'd be at Grandma/Grammy ;) and Poppy's house, but by the time we were ready to head out, Mike and I realized we were too sick to spend a weekend on the road. Both of us had sore throats and headaches and had lost our voices.....you can imagine how painful this was for us! We called Mom and Dad Renfrow and let them know that we didn't think we could come, and while we were all pretty bummed, we knew that we needed our rest.

The next morning Madeline came into our bedroom and asked, "Why am I not at Grandma and Poppy's?" I handled the situation the best way I could think to handle it....I let Mike field the question! He explained our decision, and she said she understood and was sad that mommy and daddy weren't feeling good, but she's starting to feel like we keep canceling her "fun stuff." (We had canceled a visit to the YMCA on Tuesday for the same reasons.) Mike and I felt pretty bad for canceling all the "fun stuff" in her life (you can see from the blog that she leads a relatively uneventful life, so any cancelation would have to have been devastating....that was sarcasm.) We decided that just because we felt crummy didn't mean the kids couldn't enjoy their long weekend, so we took them to Chuck E. Cheese that afternoon.

This is the only picture I got of the kids playing that afternoon.....

and this is why. We'd been there about 30 minutes and Madeline decided she'd like to lay down on the bench and take a nap....no on second thought....she wanted to go home. Now who's cancelling the "fun stuff"??????
We spent Saturday and Sunday resting up. Michael, Madeline and I were all under the weather, but Timothy was fortunate enough to stay healthy. By Monday we were all feeling quite a bit better. So, after getting some lunch, we went back to Chuck E. Cheese to spend all the tokens that never got used on Saturday.

Now that is more like my Madeline!

After Chuck E. Cheese, we headed over to the park. There is a beautiful path with a waterfall that we walked, and, of course, we took advantage of the setting to get some cute pictures. Here are some of my favorites.
After our walk, we went over to the "real" park and the kids played for awhile.

Mike and I were sitting on a bench, and I decided a snapshot was in order. Not bad....but I told him his eyes were kind of closed.
to which his response was..... and then.....
I guess I should have left well enough alone! =P

At least Madeline still has smiles for me.

About this time, Timothy came over and informed me that this was a "really bad day" because he was getting stuff in his shoes. I reminded him that we went out to lunch, played at Chuck E. Cheese and the came to the park.
He was undeterred.

There is a splash pad right next to the park where the kids were playing, and even though we didn't have swim suits with us, Madeline still really wanted to go and just, you know, watch. Well, I pushed Timothy on the swing for a few minutes, and when we found our way over to the splash pad we discovered that Daddy had in fact given himself over to Madeline's wistful looks and let her run through the sprinklers in her clothes. Timothy ventured out a little bit, but he never gets as wet as Miss Madeline. I'm pretty sure he was having a "good day" though when I took this picture. =)

At least the kids were able to enjoy one day of their long weekend. Here they are worn out and watching a movie after we got home.
The next day at school was track and field day. Since I made the trip to Nappanee I felt, as always, it was my responsibility to chronicle these events for my children. Wouldn't you know it though? I left my camera in South Bend! Well, I went to CVS and picked up a disposable, and can I just say the whole event became a reminder of why I so LOVE my digital camera!

Here is Madeline's class playing tug-o-war. She is in the pink shirt two children to the left of the teacher in the middle.Here she is with her partner from the three legged race. These two gals had a great start and a commanding lead, when they lost their footing and toppled over. No ribbon....but they did get up and finish the race, and really could a ribbon have made me any prouder?
Madeline doing the long jump...
Timothy's extended day class came out and did some of the events as well. Here he is in the three legged race. (You can also see Mrs. Matthews behind him. She was his extended day teacher and was so wonderful with him! She was so patient and understanding, and one of the reasons we LOVE this school!) Enjoying the sun with some boys from his class....
and playing tug-o-war. I'm pretty sure he was on the team to the left, but it doesn't look like he's pulling for the right team in this picture!
mmmmmm.....enjoying a slush with some gals....

Did I mention that I missed my digital camera terribly? Sorry this picture is fuzzy, but I have to include it so I can tell you about Mrs. Nickerson. She was the teacher's assistant in Timothy's classroom this year, but she finished out the year on maternity leave because she just had a beautiful little girl with a head full of dark hair =) Her son was in Madeline's class (and a good buddy of Madeline's) this year, which is why we ran into her on field day.

At the beginning of the school year Timothy had some rough mornings transitioning into the classroom....he's not a morning person, you know. Well, Mrs. Nickerson would come down to the office and get him and talk to him as she walked him to the classroom easing him into the transition. She was so patient with him on these occasions I was able to witness, that I know she was one of the reasons Timothy did so well in the classroom all year long. One morning she came to help pry him off of my legs and I apologized for the inconvenience and thanked her. She looked me in the eye and said, "Don't you ever feel like you need to apologize. I look forward to seeing your son every day." That's what makes NES so special to us....the people here care so much....it's not just a job to them. I know my kids did so well at NES because they felt loved there.

I was talking to another one of the moms at field day, and we pretty much agreed that we had hit the teacher jackpot this year. (She has a daughter in Timothy's class and a son in Madeline's)

Madeline's teacher was amazing! Have I mentioned that to everyone enough this year? Madeline had a kind of rough year last year. She was pretty hard on herself and discouraged with school. She didn't like reading because she wasn't at the level she wanted to be at, so trying to improve ended up just causing more frustration to her. Well, we worked with her over the summer. She did a summer reading class, which was a ton of fun, and we took her to the store and let her pick out books that she enjoyed reading; we just tried to bring back the joy of reading. I knew that this year would be pivotal though....I didn't want her to have a bad year and end up not liking school as a result. Mrs. Dodson could not have been any more of a blessing to us. Madeline loved Mrs. Dodson from day one, and Mrs. Dodson was such an encourager to Madeline all year long. She started the year about one level behind her reading goal, but by the time second trimester had rolled around she shot right through her appropriate level and was two ahead. She's turned into a regular bookworm! She's always making some art project or picture for Mrs. Dodson, and when we told her we were going to have to move this year, the first thing she said was, "but what about Mrs. Dodson? I'll never see her if I live in South Bend!" Come to find out, that Mrs. Dodson is retiring this year. Thank you, Lord, for letting our paths cross for this, her last school year! I have a feeling Sheryl Dodson will be one of those teachers that Madeline remembers fondly as an adult.....she certainly inspired Madeline to do her personal best this year! Speaking of teacher jackpot.....Mrs. Miller has been a treasure to our family as well. She is so sensitive to Timothy's needs, and knows just how to draw him into a group so he'll participate, or comfort him when he's beginning to get overwhelmed. When she discovered Timothy's love of reading, she began sending home supplemental materials for him to read at home. My parents were able to recognize what a special teacher she is in just the short interaction they had with her at Grandparent's day this year. I've told her many times that it is so apparent to me why God placed Timothy in her classroom this year. I can't imagine a better way to start school! We have truly been blessed by these two precious ladies that taught our children so much more than they even realize!
I'll wrap up on that note, but before I sign off I wanted to let you know that my dad made it safely to Nigeria and should be coming home this Friday night. In addition, my grandpa is out of the hospital and recuperating at home; so thank you so much for your prayers. God is so faithful to us. I've got another request for you though.

Please remember Suzie Bohlson in your prayers. Suzie teaches at the medical school I will be attending next year, and our paths first crossed when we judged a science fair together last spring. When I decided that I was attending the South Bend Center, I contacted Suzie to see if she could show me around. I discovered that she is heading to Africa this summer, and she was excited to hear that I was interested in going myself. She had been looking for a medical student to work with, as she is trying to establish an ongoing ministry in Uganda. We sat and talked for a couple hours; I had to keep reminding myself we'd really only just met! To hear how the Lord has worked all of the circumstances in her life to position her where she is now for "such a time as this" is awe-inspiring. We serve such a big God. We don't know where this adventure will lead, but we have both agreed to hold on for the duration of the ride and to try not to get in God's way! Suzie's trip will be mostly exploratory in nature, trying to assess the needs and determine how her gifts can be used best to demonstrate compassion in an ongoing ministry, which I hope to be very much a part of! How exciting to see the way she is working to bring science and faith together to help others. Please pray for her safety and wisdom as she continues to plan this adventure of which her trip is only just the beginning.
I'm off to pick up my precious kiddos. Thanks for reading!

blessings, shannon

2008-05-22T18:43:00.000-07:00

So, what was I saying?

When I last blogged, I said that my husband rocks and that we were expecting some company. I submit to you as evidence of both, the following pictures. Our company did in fact come, and my wonderful husband even offered to watch the kids so Mindy and I could go out and have some girl time. It's been a while since we've been able to go out, so it was a treat for us, and as you can see, the kids had a blast too! They always love getting to play with this sweet little peanut! (I have more pictures for you, Min...I'll e-mail those.) We brought home one of Mike's favorite meals for dinner to treat him for being so good to us....he admits to having fun with them while we were gone, and he even took some of the pictures....pretty good, huh? Here's the clan enjoying some dinner after the moms got home.

Well, that was last weekend, and then this Wednesday....more excitement. Timothy's Wednesday night clubhouse awards night at church. At the beginning of the year, we had our concerns about how Timothy was going to do at school, and also how he would do at church as he gets older and children started interacting with him more. His first Wednesday night of the year was a bit stressful. The children's program went all out, and they had quite the kick-off, but for our Timothy, it was a little too much to handle. He ended up melting down and then falling asleep on the floor in the middle all the action. Drop-offs have always been hard, any transition can be, but the next week was really rough for Timothy so I went to the church and sat down with our preschool ministry director and the lead teacher of Timothy's classroom. We talked about Asperger's syndrome and sensory processing, what makes Timothy tick and what makes him fall apart, and then we prayed together. These two ladies made every effort to make "Clubhouse" a place that Timothy had fun, felt safe and loved. Timothy accomplished more this year in clubhouse than I ever expected--memorizing verses, finishing projects, and making lots of friends.

So thanks, Donna....

and thanks, Sarah....for a great year!

Timothy's small group leader was Robin, and she was great with him. Every week I'd tell him it was time to go to clubhouse and he'd pump his arm and say, "awesome!" I worried that Timothy might slip into the crowd and not take part in many of the activities, but he loved his group and his teacher and he even completed enough of his clubhouse book to earn a gold medal this year. Imagine my delight when Robin announced that he had received the "outstanding participation" award for his group--this little fella was certainly a far cry from the wall flower I expected him to be!
This picture, of Timothy receiving his gold medal, you have to click on it. It will enlarge, and then you'll be able to see how proud my little boy is of what he accomplished this year.
Here's picture of Timothy with one of his bestest buddies from the year. (Austin won the "winning smile" award.....can you see why?) Now, I know what you've really been waiting for, and I did take video clips of Timothy singing with his friends. As you watch these, remind yourself that this is the same little guy that , a year ago, would have found himself a book and hid away in the corner to be left alone. Well, what do you think now? How about this for "outstanding participation?" (If you can't download these videos on your computer, I promise it would be worth your effort to find another place to watch them.....so sweet!)

This first video is of a song called, "Wild about God"

(He actually is supposed to be doing some of the "Hums" that he's doing....)

The words to the chorus of this song: and I'll go all out, without any doubt, I want mylife to SHOUT, "God is alive in me!" I loved watching this!

Today, was my last day at the clinic. I have volunteered at Sister Maura Brannick Health Center this year, and it has been a tremendous blessing. I've met some amazing people who get up every morning, go into work, and become God's hands in the lives of so many. This is one of those people. Anne-Marie graduated from Notre Dame last year and then spent the past year at the clinic doing about everything there is to do....among her many hats is supervising and training all the volunteers, and let me tell you, there are a lot of us. She's off to John Hopkins for medical school this fall, and I know God has big things in store for her. This amazing lady is Sister Maura herself. This clinic started because Sister Maura was burdened for others and wanted to do what she could do to help. She took a blood pressure cuff and went to a soup kitchen one night a week to take blood pressures. People caught her vision, and God has now provided this amazing clinic full of doctors and nurses who volunteer their time providing healthcare for those who otherwise couldn't afford it. God's plans are so much bigger than any we could dream up ourselves.....what a reminder her life is. I will miss seeing her each week.
Finally, I want to ask that you pray for my dad. Friday morning he's getting on a plane and heading to Nigeria with two other men from his church. Their mission is to pave the way for those who will follow them. They're going to map out villages that they find and find those who are open to future visits from mission teams. Please pray for God to prepare the paths that they will be walking, that He will go before them and protect them. Also pray for my grandpa, my dad's dad, who we just found out is in the hospital with pneumonia. Pray for his healing and for Dad, as I can only imagine how hard it must be to go at a time like this.

Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed our update ;)

-shannon

2008-05-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

My Husband Rocks!

Friday was "Donuts for Dads" at Timothy's school. Much like "Muffins for Moms" last Friday, the children of Timothy's kindergarten class invited their dads in, shared a treat with them, read a book together, and sang a song for them. Timothy and Michael had a fun morning together, and since Michael had to go to the school this morning he told me to lay out the kids' clothes for them Thursday night so he could get them ready and drive them to school in the morning, letting me sleep in!

Here's a picture of Timothy with the poem he had written for Michael.....so proud =)The kids sang "five green and speckled frogs" to the dads that morning. He gave an encore performance when he got home so I could share it with you.

Here's a picture from last Friday when I came to "Muffins for Moms." It was a fun morning, and Timothy enjoyed showing me around his room and introducing me to his friends.

Here's a video of Timothy reading his poem to me.

Here's a video of the class singing "five little monkeys" to the moms. (It's a little fuzzy at times, but you'll still enjoy Timothy's rendition, which turned out to be more of an interpretive dance.)

I had a great visit with my dear friend Joanna this morning. She is heading back to Oklahoma today where she just finished her first year of med school. Way to go, Joanna! God has big plans for you!
We're having some company today, so I'm logging off for now, but before I do, here's a picture of Madeline so she can be part of the blog too, one of my favorites from graduation. This little lady, by the way, won her class reading contest again! She gets to go have lunch at McDonald's with her teacher, who she could not love more, next Wednesday.Hope you have a blessed weekend!

-shannon

2008-05-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

A whole lot to post about.....

Which is precisely why I haven't posted! We have been busy and blessed as usual. So, click here to see some of what we have been up to lately. The link will take you to an album of some of our most recent pictures which include trips to the park, the zoo, a birthday party and, of course, graduation! If you click on the first picture it will enlarge and you can keep clicking through the album from there....there are captions explaining our antics as well.

More blogging will come soon, but for now, enjoy the pictures.

-shannon

2008-04-11T06:40:00.000-07:00

Easter (not Christmas) Adventures...
Well, if you watched the video in my previous blog, you know that we were expecting a "White Easter." As you can see from the picture to the left, we were not disappointed. This picture was taken not long after the snow started. We headed out of town before it had been going too long, but we were still surprised how long it took us to get to Mom and Dad Renfrow's for Easter! We felt so much like we were driving home for Christmas on those nasty roads! The weather did get better when we got further east though, and good thing!

Yup, you see it right. The needle is actually laying well below the "E". Who knew you could push it that far....we do now! Mike was certain we could make it to Beaverdam, where the gas prices are always significantly better. I prodded him a couple times to pull off and just get a couple of gallons, but only one stop is allowed, and he wanted to make up some of the time we had lost in the snow!
He finally did decide to pull over. The car slowing and sputtering may have had something to do with that. He managed to coast halfway up an exit ramp, where there was a Shell station around the corner. Halfway wasn't as far as would have been ideal, however. A Mazda 6 is heavy. So heavy, in fact, that it takes a daddy and a mommy to push one uphill. Is it worth mentioning the fact that there was a lake to the left and the kids screamed and cried for most of their passive uphill journey? They were quite certain that, even though we'd kept them safe their entire young lives, we were actually pushing the car, with them inside it, into the lake (albeit by our own ignorance). No matter how many times we reassured them, they still found our actions to be both heartless and terrifying.

At any rate, we did manage it make it up the hill, at which time I hopped in the car cranked the wheel and let Mike give me a final push so I could coast downhill to the gas station (which closed in four minutes!)

Ahhhhh.....such a beautiful sight. Isn't it?

Our beautiful children....who are pretty much traumatized at this point.

Us....totally triumphant at this point! (Madeline and Timothy later informed us that we were superheros.....that seems pretty accurate to me.) The kiddos did finally manage to settle in and get some rest that night. Could they be any sweeter all snuggled together?????
What an adventure.....and then we found this on our tire....oh my.....

After a night of restful sleep, the kids had some fun coloring Easter eggs with Grandma. Here they are artistic and full of stories as ever.

Here they are after finding all their Easter eggs and their Easter baskets. They appear to be pleased with the bounty. And here they are on Easter Sunday. Can I say that Easter is my favorite holiday? I LOVE it! I love Christmas too, but without Easter there would be no Christmas, because Easter is the whole reason Jesus came. What a sacrifice, what a triumph, and what a blessed assurance! The creator of the universe took on human flesh, came to earth, gave his life, and conquered death...for us. All because of His love and His desire to be in a genuine relationship with us. He loves us that much, on even our most unlovable days. THAT is something worth celebrating.
Finding treasures from Sunday School class.
Mike and me.....not as cute as the kids, I know.
Out in the parking lot with their buddies from Grandma and Poppy's church.
We made it home and through another week, and guess what Mike found? That's right! My sewing machine!!!! The kids finally have curtains. Here's Madeline proudly showcasing hers. (She likes to close all the curtains during the day, giving her room a pinkish orange glow.)
Timothy's room with his new curtains. He was slightly less excited than Madeline. He did later tell me that they were "awesome".
Last weekend the kids went to Ohio for their spring break. We spent the evening before they left playing their favorite game--Disney DVD Scene It. They love this game, and usually do pretty well with it. Although, I will admit we are working with Timothy on appreciating the joy of playing a game regardless of its outcome. =)
I am actually heading out tonight to go get the kiddos, so I am looking forward to seeing them again, and I have been promised some pictures from Grandma (who has been dubbed "Grammy" by Timothy this week. Will it stick?) eventually I'll blog about those....I say eventually, because I am being honest about it!

Have a blessed weekend!

-shannon

2008-03-21T08:17:00.001-07:00

A Fairy Tale Ball, A New Home, and an Old Story...
The new home blog has been a long time coming, but I know how understanding everyone is....I mean moving is a pretty big ordeal! At last I have mustered the time to sit down and upload pictures and write about the bounty held by my little digital wonder.

February 29th is when the moving began, but in addition to moving his residence, Timothy also graced the townspeople of Nappanee Elementary with his presence at the Fairy Tale Ball. (In reality, there were probably no townspeople. Afterall, what child would elect to dress like a peasant when they could be royalty?) Timothy, as you can see, was quite a handsome "Prince Charming."

In the meantime, we busied ourselves with the move. Mom and Dad Renfrow came over to help in the morning and we packed and loaded as much as our backs could handle....and then some. We met up with Mom and Dad Grismore at the new house that afternoon, only to find that Dad was horribly sick--so sick that he elected to visit the doctor. (Those of you who know my dad, know how truly sick he must have been!) We also had lots of help that evening from friends, and even throughout the next week, as we continued to load things up and drive them up to the new place. Thank you thank you thank you to our family, Kevin, Marcus and Mike who put in hours lifting and loading for us. Here are a couple pictures of the kids in Nappanee as we worked. Timothy we could distract with a game, but Madeline really wanted to help.....we assured her that we desperately needed the snow around Grandma and Poppy's van moved. =)
We had quite a few hurdles to overcome before the move was complete. One of which was the fact that both kids ended up sick as can be the first week in our new home. They spent a couple days home from school, did a lot of snuggling in their cozy new bedding (thanks, Rosebud!), and recuperated pretty quickly, after dosing up with Tamiflu....amazing stuff!
Feeling good as new, the kids have now been enjoying the new house with their own bedrooms and their own play room too! The house has two living rooms, so we designated the front room to be a space for the kids to hang out and keep their games and toys.

Madeline playing a game on the computer....only after her homework and reading for the day have been finished, of course.

Timothy, doing an activity called "write my house" that got sent home from school. He went around the house and found something beginning with "p" in each room, wrote the word, and then drew its picture. In his room it was "puppy," in Madeline's "princess;" the kitchen had "peanut butter," and wouldn't you know the bathroom had a "potty." (He might have giggled a bit about that one before writing it down, but he could spell it with no help!)
Here is Mike in the kitchen....what a good husband =) I don't even remember what he was making, but I'm sure it was delicious!This is the second living room, which we have declared our grown-up space. It has a wood burning fireplace that has already been used a few times. It's a cozy room with plenty of space and comfy furniture....perfect!
Here's a picture of the bathroom. (We have a half bath too, but I didn't take a picture of it. )
Miss Madeline in her room! She loves it, and she's super about keeping it straightened up and making her bed.
Timothy Michael's very own room....does he look a little excited? He sleeps in his bedroom all by himself. The only time he's gotten out of bed during the night was when he got sick right after we moved. He loves his room though and sleeps great in his cozy bed.
Last night I used the video function on my camera to give you a tour of the house. I have had the hardest time getting it to upload. It has literally been uploading for hours, but here it is.

One final thing I wanted to post is an old story about Madeline. (So here's a bonus picture of my princess reading in her castle.) I thought of this the other day and it kept making me smile all afternoon, so I figured I'd better share it.

When we went to parent teacher conferences at the beginning of Madeline's first grade year, the teacher told us that Madeline had a hard time sitting still after she had completed a task, and, while it never kept her from doing well on her work, she often times would chat with her classmates who had not yet finished their work. The teacher said she would appreciate it if we would talk to Madeline about sitting quietly after she finished her work. So, later that night I sat down and told Madeline how proud we were of the hard work she is doing, and that it makes God so happy when He sees her doing her personal best, because really we do our work for Him and not for teachers or mommies and daddies. Well, after commending her, I had to discuss the chatting/fidgeting issue. When I did, Madeline told me, "Mom, I try, but it is just so hard! Mrs. Carlson reminds me, but I just forget sometimes." (Mind you, she can not say "r" at all at this point so what she said sounded like this, "Mom, I twy, but it is just so hawd! Mrs. Cah-wool-son weminds me, but I just fohget sometimes." It makes me a little sad that she is articulating the "r" now, because doggone it.....it was so cute!)

At any rate, I began to query my brain, trying to find a way to help her understand the importance of doing her best to control the wiggles and talking, and my mind lands on the fruit of the Spirit. So, I talk to Madeline about how when we love Jesus, and His Spirit is inside us, it changes the way we live. The Bible tells us that we will have "fruit" like trees, and that people will know what is inside of us because of the fruit on the outside--the fruit being love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. I reminded her that self-control is fruit of the Spirit, and if she was having a hard time controlling herself that she could pray about it and ask God to help her have that fruit in her life.

Madeline thought about this for awhile. We were sitting on my bed and we just sat there quietly for a minute, snuggled together with my arm around her. She pulled away and looked up at me and asked, "Mom, what's joy? Is that like being happy all the time?" I started to reply, "well, kind of..." and she continued, "because, Mom, I think the reason I don't have a whole bunch of self control is because God gave me so much joy."

There was more to that conversation, but that's the part I keep replaying in my mind, and when I do, a smile never fails to creep across my face. Madeline Rose does have joy, and I am so grateful that God gave her so very much of it!

Joyfully, shannon

2008-02-26T18:28:00.000-08:00

Homecoming and Hug Swings....
I figured I would go ahead and post a few of the pictures we've taken recently. (Yay for having a camera again!!!) The first pictures I'm posting are from IUSB's homecoming basketball game. Mike is on the University Alumni Board and went to the game to staff an informational table about the alumni association. So, we made it a family affair. The kids had fun cheering on the Titans, even though we went home without a victory. =( Madeline got some pom poms and sat up front cheering with the Titan cheerleaders, and Timothy mostly occupied himself with Super Mario Bros. on his Nintendo DS, but he did have on a red shirt....that counts for something! After the game, the kids got to go down and get a picture with a friend of mine (and Mike's) who is a cheerleader. So here are some pictures of Madeline and Timothy (who's not so sure about the whole deal) with our friend Yuki.

Something else I have finally captured on film is Timothy's occupational therapy or OT. Occupational therapy? What is his occupation? I usually get asked with a laugh, when I tell someone I'm bringing our little man to OT. The fact is his occupation is being a kid....and kids play! Because of some of Timothy's sensory issues, he hasn't been as adventurous and active as the average kiddo his age. He also still has trouble processing some sensory information, which is why he is often easily overwhelmed at things that may seem trivial, or even enjoyable to the average child. So, his occupational therapy works to help strengthen him and increase his coordination, as well as provide "sensory input" that helps him to process things and integrate the sometimes overwhelming information that life throws his way. (This may seem like gibberish, but let me tell you, I have quickly become familiar with lingo such as "sensory diet" "proprioceptive input" "vestibular sense" and found that knowing is half the battle when it comes to managing our little man's sensitivities.)

This first video is of Timothy in the "spider cage." It may have a silly name, but Timothy has fun doing all sorts of different things in it and gets quite the work out at the same time. (Not to mention the fact that it works on his body sense and spatial awareness.)

This next video is of Timothy in the "hug swing," which is probably Timothy's (and my) favorite piece of equipment at OT. It is really nothing more than a multi-level hammock made of lycra, but it is soothing for two reasons. First, the lycra "hugs" his body while he is in it providing the previously mentioned "proprioceptive input." Second, the swinging motion provides "vestibular input," which apparently is something Timothy has always sought due to its ability to soothe him. From the time he was old enough to sit up in a swing, it was the only thing he was ever interested in at the playground. He'd spend his whole summer swinging if it was possible! =)

Racing down the hall on scooter boards builds upper body strength....plus his OTA is always sweet and lets him win =)

Speaking of his OTA (short for occupational therapy assistant). You may have overheard her name, Stephanie, in the first video, and she is a gem! She has been working with Timothy twice a week for several months now, and he loves her....so do I! I'd like to ask for your prayers for Stephanie and her family. She has two beautiful little gals, whom Timothy likes to race on scooter boards and play games with, if they're hanging around OT, and her husband Jeff is an active duty soldier who is overseas right now. He's been gone for the better part of a year and won't be home for good until April. In addition, they're looking to move, ( We love moving! =P) and I'm sure you can imagine what it must be like for Stephanie as she juggles her job, plus trying to arrange a new mortgage, and a move to a new town as a "single" mom. So, if you happen to be thinking about Timothy and his adventures in OT, send up a prayer for Stephanie and Jeff. She is leaning on the Lord, and He is ever faithful, but extra prayer warriors would certainly be appreciated!

Well, after an afternoon slaving away at OT, what did Timothy end up doing when he got home? More OT! This time on the trampoline with big sis. (In keeping with the theme of how God provides from my previous post, I'd like to point out that both Timothy's OT and our trampoline were provided to us through grants for which I applied. The trampoline is from an organization started by Charlie Weiss, the ND football coach, called Hannah's House. The OT that Timothy receives is being taken care of by an organization right here in Nappanee called "Through Our Eyes." Just wanted to take the opportunity to give God some of the glory that He is due. He is so faithful to provide for us!)

As far as moving news goes.....we're coming along. Most exciting for the kids is the fact that their much emptier room now contains unbunked beds! Yup, they thought they were pretty big stuff when they crawled into their "new" beds. Oh, and moving will be lots of fun in the foot of snow we just got dumped on us! OK, maybe not a foot, but it was enough to get school canceled! I heard the kids playing in their room this morning and had to go take a video of some of the exchange. So I'll warn you now. Timothy sleeps in his underwear. If you're not a fan of Elmo underoos, this video may be too much for you =P

That's all for now. We've got the big move ahead of us this weekend. Hopefully next blog will be new home pictures!

-shannon

2008-02-10T20:38:00.000-08:00

God Provides!
I know that my blog gets checked regularly for primarily one thing--pictures of my beautiful children. Unfortunately, my camera has been broken for a while, and the blurry images it outputs would likely result in viewer frustration, thus the stagnance of my blog this month. However, there is a lot going on right now in our family! So I decided to go ahead and post my story of how God is providing for us, even though it lacks the aforementioned photographs. As an, I hope, appreciated substitute, Madeline and Timothy have provided illustrations of our happy family to hold you over until we get a new camera up and running!

Our Very Blessed Family, by Madeline and Timothy:

I posted this story Friday to my myspace blog, so instead of retyping it I just cut and pasted it here. Many of you know the story, and I thank you for your prayers! For those of you who haven't connected with me for a recent update, or if you'd just like to hear it again, here it is:

Well, it's been awhile since an update, and much has happened....and quickly! We have decided that IU School of Medicine is the one for us, and I will start at the South Bend campus in the fall. As some of you know, we live a good 40 minute commute from South Bend, and have been driving two cars that distance and back home for a while now. (Since Mike works for IU South Bend) It's a haul, but we love our little town, our church, and our school system. The Lord has blessed us tremendously through the folks at Nappanee Elementary, and it is a difficult consideration to think about moving from such a great place, especially when I am getting ready to start the most rigorous four years of my training. I feel like I'll be less of a mother than I've ever been during med school, and dropping the kids into SB city schools is scary for me! However, we have been talking about making the move for quite some time.

A couple weeks ago we took a tour of a school up in SB, and fell in love with it. Good Shepherd Montessori School is it's name, and it is even better than we had hoped. The classes are grouped 1st-3rd grade and 4th-6th grade, because the Montessori method focuses on the fact kids are all so different and their interests and abilities across the subjects can vary widely. They also have a very different method of instruction, so hard to explain without seeing it, but essentially they recognize that all children learn so differently, and they provide guidance and the environment necessary to allow children to explore in their own way. In addition, this particular school has received high praise as a nurturing environment, but still an academically rigorous one, from someone I trust and respect. (I'll just say that she has a Ph.D. in physics and knows the value of a good education!) Still, any transition is tricky for our family. Our Madeline is as resilient as they come, and while she does get nervous, she is Miss Adaptability and, I am convinced, would thrive in any environment she found herself. Her brother on the other hand, well, God knew what he was doing when he got me to commit to this journey before I found out what I was going to have on my plate! As many of you know, Timothy has a high functioning form of autism called Asperger's Syndrome. He's doing great, and he's a little genius (I say completely impartially) but change is hard for him. He has done amazingly well in public school this year, Nappanee Elementary (we love!!!!) has done so wonderfully with him, making small accommodations that add up to him functioning beautifully, even without the aid of an assistant. (Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Nickerson are wonderful, and Timothy feels well loved in his classroom!) Well, as we toured the Montessori school with the director, he asked if there was anything particular they should know about our kids. I told him a bit about Madeline, and then I shared with him some of the concerns we have with Timothy, when I asked how familiar he was with Asperger's and if he knows any Asperger's children who've had success with Montessori teaching, he told me his own son has Asperger's and has done great here at Good Shepherd. In fact, a reputable developmental pediatrician sits on the board of the school!

Well, every silver lining has its cloud, I guess, and when we discovered the cost (GASP!) of this wonderful school in South Bend, I was pretty much devastated. God is faithful, and we have always had enough, but the truth is, not always a lot extra, and tuition amounts to more than a third of what our income was this year. We thought there might be some scholarships available, but only for minority students. What to do?

Well on the heels of finding out about this school, Mike got a call from someone at the university who owns a house that needs some renters. Only five minutes from the med school, less than ten from Mike's work, a bedroom for both kiddos and a fenced in backyard, it would be perfect for us. Oh, except for the school system. I'll just say it's, well, not the best...at all, and I will leave it at that.

I continued kidding myself, thinking that I can commute from Nappanee to SB, even through med school, and finally Mike hits me upside the head with reality (figuratively, of course, no abuse took place). "You realize that there were days during undergrad that you were gone before the kids were up and home after bedtime, and that there may be weeks like that in med school..." he reminded me. If we live five minutes from the school, I could come home and eat dinner with the fam and then head back to the library...a reality that just wouldn't exist if I had a 40 minute commute. Well, looks like we're moving. When March 1st rolls around, South Bend residents we will be.

But the schools! I did some more looking which pretty much just led to tears and no answers on my part. We tossed around ideas late into the night....for many nights. About a week ago (last Thursday) we made a decision, and we were resolute. We will put the kids in Good Shepherd and do whatever it takes to make it work. I've got basic training this summer (you knew I joined the Army right? there are pictures posted....no excuse not to know) and we talked about having the family come down and visit me. I'll turn 30, Timothy 6, and we'll celebrate our 11th anniversary while I'm away. So a family visit was in order, but cancelled. I'll save every nickel I make. No food except from the chow hall, no taxi into town on my weekends off, not a diet coke from a vending machine would be had. Every cent will go towards tuition. We were planning a family vacation this summer. I'm finishing my B.S. in biochemistry, Mike's finishing his Master's, and with med school starting in the fall, this is a great summer for a family vacation. Alas, it's cancelled too. Every cent, I'm telling you. No more eating out, no more movies, no shopping (like I do that anyway) but seriously, we're cracking down and making this happen! Of course, this still barely adds up to tuition for one of our children for the first year, but we're committed to making this decision. Mike'll start waiting tables on the weekends until we can do it, seriously! I was going to let my husband get a second job while I was in med school!

Mind you, I have been praying about this, and by praying I mean pleading with God. These are HIS children, after all. He entrusted them to me, and it is He who put these desires for their protection and best interest in my heart. So I cried to God...a lot. He understands and wants to bless His children, so who better to cry out to? Well, we put it in his hands on Thursday night. We said, "This is all we can do, and it is not enough, but we are going to trust You to provide."

I had gotten an e-mail about a scholarship for med school. It was only $1500, which doesn't put much of a dent in med school, but you know my med school is paid for by the Army, right? So if I could get that scholarship and it would get refunded to me for living expenses, well, that would help with tuition. So Friday morning I e-mailed the financial aid office to find out if I could get that scholarship. ISN'T GOD GOOD? The director e-mailed me back and told me that I could apply for that scholarship, and by the way......by the way.....BY THE WAY.....he found out yesterday that the Army is now giving a $20,000 signing bonus to this year's HPSP (Health professional Scholarship Program) scholars. Seriously? God just sent us 20 grand to pay for our kids school. Seriously. Listen to how perfect his timing is. The bonus had just passed that week, and it was retroactive to January 4th. Well I signed paperwork and was supposed to be commissioned back in early December, but because December was such a crazy time for our family I requested an extension and did not get commissioned until January 11th. I checked with my recruiter, and because I had pushed back my commissioning, I was getting the bonus!

And there was much rejoicing in the House of the Renfrows!

God is so faithful to provide! I have so many stories of how God has provided for our family throughout the years. Do you know what I get asked all the time? "How in the world are you/is your family pulling this off?" Without hesitation the answer is ALWAYS, "because GOD IS SO FAITHFUL!" His name is Jehovah Jireh--the Lord will provide! Beyond what we need the Lord has blessed us and continues to do so. It is in His strength that I have been able to continue on this journey, and it is only by His provision that our family's needs have been met. To Him be the glory! I'm only just a jar of clay, but I am loved by The King.

Happy and Blessed,
shannon

Ephesians 3: 20,21

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

2008-01-13T16:16:00.000-08:00

In the ARMY!
Well, who'd have thought that this journey would bring me here, but as of Friday, I am an officer in the US Army. I was commissioned to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, and have now entered into the Health Professional Scholarship Program. First to alleviate some concerns, I want to let everyone know that I will still go to medical school (most likely at IU School of Medicine) as planned. I will still get an M.D. and enter into a residency program to become board certified. The differences are that 1. I won't have to pay for medical school. (In fact, they will pay me to go.) and 2. the residency program will be at an Army hospital instead of a civilian one. In return for the scholarship, I will have a four year service commitment to the Army, during which I will be working as a doctor in Army hospitals, serving soldiers and their families.

Let me assure everyone that our family has been praying about this decision for quite some time now, and we are excited about the opportunities that we know God will have for us as we continue on this adventure!

So, now, I thought I'd share some pictures from my commissioning ceremony. I just had a small ceremony, but my mom and dad came up from Tennessee (surprising me!) and our friends Kevin and Mindy (along with their little Cora) came to witness me taking my oath.

Here is a picture of Mike pinning my rank on me. (When he was in the Army, I pinned his specialist rank on him at his promotion.)

Mom and Dad with Mike and me:

Me with The Flicks:

Captain Moore, me, Mike and Sergeant First Class Vanover:

They give you a cake when you join the Army...how about that?

One more picture of Mike and me...If there were those puffy thought bubbles over our heads, this is what they'd tell you we were thinking:

Shannon: Mike has been so supportive, I am so blessed!

Mike: This is great. I am SO retiring in four years!

OK, just kidding. He has been very supportive ;)

2008-01-08T11:02:00.000-08:00

Madeline's New Look

Well, Madeline decided to ring in the new year with a new look...complements of Aunt Laura. We drove over to Aunt Laura's shop, and Madeline got the star treatment; seeing as how the shop opened just for her, she got all the one on one attention with her stylist that a true princess deserves.

Her hair had grown to her shoulders, and after many mornings of putting in the much begrudged ponytails or braids, Madeline decided it was time to liberate herself with a bob =).

Can you not see in her eyes how much she loves her aunt as she looks up at her while she is getting shampooed?

Here she is during the big cut. She did really well, sitting pretty much as still as I have ever seen her in her life!

Trying to get a look at the new "do" for herself...too cute!
I can't believe how grown up my little girl has gotten!
And here she is with her very beloved stylist, Aunt Laura.
Thanks so much for the haircut, Laura Rose! You did such an amazing job, and we love it!

-shannon