Ethan the hero!

Ethan looks like an aloof "cool" guy in this picture, but don't let the exterior fool you... this boy is a hero!

Two weeks ago as we were going to school I was praying over my boys and sensed it was going to be an especially important day for them. I felt the urgency to specifically pray that they would make wise decisions and be life giving individuals for their school instead of just taking up space. Little did I know how wonderfully the Lord would move that day.

Ethan was playing at recess when one of the girls in his class he didn't know very well ran up to him asking for help. She said that there were boys chasing her trying to beat her up. Ethan instantly ran to tell the teacher. Since there hadn't been any real incident yet, she didn't take action to avert a possible situation, she told Ethan that she couldn't do anything yet.... Now, if you had told me that as a year old and you were a teacher, I would have shrugged my shoulders thinking they knew best and would have just walked away. Not my boy. The urgency to go thwart a problem rose inside of him and he ran over to the girl who was now being confronted by the three boys.

The details aren't super clear, but his teacher said that the boys spit in her face and started throwing punches when Ethan stepped in. The girls other friend went and told the teacher who THEN jumped into action. All the kids went to the principles office and Ethan got to tell his story. The three boys were suspended for 2 days and Ethan was hailed a hero.

When I went to talk to his teacher about it she said, with tears in her eyes, that she was so grateful for Ethan because if it hadn't been for him she would have been hurt so much more. The girl had had a brain tumor a few years ago and she went from being a bright energetic girl to a somber girl that struggles in school and spends time staring off into space. These boys thought she was staring at them and wanted to "teach her a lesson". They didn't know about her past medical issues, but assumed the worst and decided to be cruel beyond reason.

Needless to say I haven't been this proud of my boy ever! My prayer for Ethan has been that he would increase in compassion which hasn't seemed to come real naturally for him. However, he shines in the setting of school and really does rise to the occasion. There are few things more satisfying to a parent than to see your kids actually doing what you know they can do and making decisions that help others when you aren't there to remind them to do it!

One proud mama!

11 amazing years!!!

Here we are!!! 11 Years and counting! November 6th was our anniversary and we were so blessed to be given 2 nights at a little vacation home about a half hour from here. We had Gracie with us but our boys went to stay with my brother's family and we had about 48 hours of doing mostly whatever we wanted to do. Bliss.

The Bible says that we will go through trials of many kinds, but He promises to keep us through them all.... I am convinced that life isn't about IF you will see troubles, but Who you will turn to when they come. If someone had told me 11 years ago that our first decade of years would be filled with all the stuff we dealt with I think I would have fainted from fear and then spent days in depression.... God knows when to tell us things and when to just give us the strength to stand in the face of great trials. Thankfully He gives us times of joy to outweigh the times of heaviness and restores our souls in the midst of being depleted. We are in a wonderfully restoring time right now. It's been almost 2 years since we moved here to Bend and Daniel and I are just now beginning to feel like we are "waking up" and coming out of the cloud of heaviness and intensity of our first 10 years.

Here we are though, stronger, wiser, better people and instead of shaking and breaking our marriage, those years cemented us together like nothing else could have!! For that alone I am more than grateful for such a tough season. I look back with great peace and overwhelming gratefulness that He knit us together in that tough season.

My husband is amazing. My best friend, and truly the completion of who I am! I couldn't ask for a more wonderful partner.

Looking forward to many decades of wedded bliss to come!

Fall, miracles and milestones

My favorite time of year for sure! Even with our short summer, our fall is a welcome sight. Beautiful in so many ways. Here we get all 4 seasons, which makes me especially happy! The colors these last 3 weeks have been brilliant! We are drawing to the end of the beauty and each day the weather gets more and more sketchy and uncertain. Still, it's beautiful!

Dad is officially cancer free!!! Praise the Lord! This coming holiday season is the first time we have had a holiday without some sort of "cloud" hanging over our heads, either cancer, brain tumors, recent deaths etc.. in the last 5 years!!! THAT is something to celebrate.

My darling children are growing and thriving.

Ethan is literally growing before our eyes. He has grown about 2 inches in the last 2 months since school started. He is by far the tallest 3rd grader in his school and comes up past my chin now! UGH! He is going to pass me up by 5th grade I'm sure. His love of music and desire to play absolutely every instrument he sees is fascinating. He wants to explore the electric guitar and other guitars and his love of drums is unquenchable. I am quite excited to see where he goes with all this talent.

My Micah is a budding artist! Since school has started and his days are filled with "busy work" he is starving for some artistic time, so today he is home from school just drinking in the hours of endless artistic genius he gets to pour over. I wish I could post on here his book that he made, but it was quite amazing and one his mommy will treasure for years to come. I can't wait to see what comes of this passion of his.

As for my baby, she is as amazing as ever. 7 months and she is brilliantly smart. She seems to know and understand a lot more than she lets on and I'm fascinated by her ability to communicate already. We are teaching her a few words in sign language to limit the frustration especially at meal time, but her main form of communication is grunting and growling... funny for such a cutie pie, but when you hear it it is really astounding. I will post a short video we took of her eating at the end of this post and you will see the intensity she takes with eating.

A true Burgess.

In 4 short days my husband and I will celebrate 11 blissful years of marriage. Seems like such a small number for all that we have experienced in those years, and yet I can't remember much before we were married.... I think marriage is an amazing invention and I'm so glad God thought of it. When you are married to your best friend like I am, there truly is nothing sweeter!

Looking forward to 100 more years of wedded bliss.

Ethan is 9

My big guy turned 9 a couple days ago! Truly seems impossible that Ethan is 9 now.

This is him on the first day of 3rd grade. He loves being in school, he is my social butterfly, loves people, loves life. He is a clown and enjoys being center stage but he is also extremely sweet and enjoys his friends and family. He is especially taken with his new sister. She lights up when he comes in the room and begs for his attention with squeaks and grunts and then when he gives her his attention he is greatly rewarded with smiles.

Being a mommy has never been more of a joy. I couldn't have anticipated the journey it's been. 9 years ago I received one of the greatest commissions of my life, to see children raised up to be Godly, loving, amazing additions to society. I was created for this! This is the only job I ever wanted and I love it!

Ethan's birthday is also a bittersweet anniversary for me personally. His 6th birthday was the day I was officially diagnosed with the brain tumor. To see where I am 3 amazing years later, to see all that God has done, has delivered me from and taught me is astounding to say the least! What a treasure this journey has been.

Learning more everyday and loving life! I am truly so blessed!

Living in true riches!

We're back

Not sure if anyone is even out there still. I've missed blogging terribly. I think I felt like I didn't have much to blog about anymore... our lives have calmed down so much and fallen into a beautiful lull of sweet simplicity.

I haven't blogged for 8 months so I had better begin with some pretty major updating.

First and most importantly we have added our newest addition. Grace Elizabeth Burgess. Born March 12, 2010. The sweetest most perfect little bundle of love. She is now 5 months and full of more joy and peace than any lovely bundle could possibly be. She has a quiet personality, loves to sit and observe life, especially her brothers who absolutely adore her. When she wakes up from sleep they are the first ones there saying "Good Morning cutie"! Oh how my heart swells with joy at their love for their sweet sister.

Daniel is working like crazy. He is still painting for my dad's business and he is holding up the business for the summer for my dad.

Which brings me to his situation. Dad has bravely fought and won a battle with cancer!!! He began having some recurring pain from a tumor that he was diagnosed with 4 years ago, when he had another MRI in May it showed that the tumor had grown and needed to come out. Since they don't do surgery on the tailbone they decided radiation was the best way to get rid of it. In the process Dad continued to work like a dog. He is now on the other side of the radiation and we are praising the Lord because the cancer had not progressed into the bone marrow!!! So amazing considering the tailbone where the cancerous tumor was located is one of the places that bone marrow is manufactured! The Dr. was astounded that there was no cancer in the bone and we know it was miraculous!! God is so profoundly good.

In exactly 2 weeks from today my boys will be heading off to school. Last year was Ethan's first year in public school and I continued to homeschool Micah. This year we felt like both we to be in public school, so on Sept. 7th Ethan will be going into the 3rd grade and Micah into the 2nd grade!!! They are beside themselves with excitement. I have mixed feelings. I have loved having them home this summer, and I have enjoyed homeschooling, but they need more than I can give them here at home and we live in such an amazing school district that I felt it was time.

With the changing of this schedule I am having to reinvent myself. I haven't been a stay at home mom of a preschooler in many years and it will be so fun having her all to myself and actually getting to do things like clean my house and go shopping without lots of little ones to undo or make harder those jobs!

As for my health I am finally feeling 100%. I had to deliver Gracie cesarian section so the recovery from that was overwhelmingly hard. I tell everyone that brain surgery was a piece of cake compared to that!! But I am finally recovered and my body has rejuvenated from morning sickness and brain surgery... I feel better than I have felt in about 3 years!!! I have energy and stamina and a desire for life again. God has truly restored and I can't imagine having faced all that we faced without his amazing Grace.

So here we are. Truly truly enjoying the beautiful mercies he has given us every morning. Life is so good.

Life

We are literally days away from meeting our baby girl. I have more joy and anticipation daily as I feel her movements getting slower as she gets more crowded in there. It's amazing to me how the Lord so perfectly designed this season, how we get so uncomfortable as moms that we welcome every twinge of pain, any form of discomfort that would mean the anticipated moment is just around the corner. I don't like pain, but only this kind of awkward discomfort would make me anticipate that kind of pain, to bring about that kind of unspeakable joy!

One year and counting!

Well, an update is definitely in order.... I feel so bad that it's been so long since I've updated this blog, but posting everyday stuff just isn't that exciting.

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of my surgery. I was quite sober all day yesterday. It was an amazing anniversary, one that I am so thankful to remember and never to experience again!!

So many things have happened this year and I am just in awe of God's great goodness. First of all, and most amazing of all is that the Dr's made no guarantees about our ability to be able to have more children. They said that because of where the tumor was and the way it manifested, it might be very likely that we could never conceive again. HOWEVER, God had different ideas. The whole time we were contending for my healing we would regularly receive a word from other people or from the Lord that we were going to have more children and that we would have a girl! Here we are just 8 weeks away from meeting our little miracle...

I have had so many people receive hope from our story when they are going thru something health wise that they never imagined they would have to go thru. We are so grateful to get to be witnesses of God's great goodness in the midst of trial and see Him proven faithful time and time again.

We are so excited about this new year!! With a new year always comes new life, new promises, new joys and new hopes. We pray that you will find everything the Lord has for you this coming year!

We'll keep you posted as the due date draws closer.

Happy New Year!

Heather and family