Annikah is now 6 years old.  


She's pulled out 2 teeth and keeps hoping a few more will get loose, soon.


Annikah is a big sister - her new sister, Paulina came home in October, 2011; 5 years after her surgery.


She loves to sing (really loud); dance; play dress-up; and to smother her Daddy with millions of kisses.


Annikah thrives on spending one-on-one time alone with her Mommy.


She adores her older sister, Allison and wants to be grown up like her...until then, they'll simply continue their nail salon, their girly-giggles and exciting nights of silliness.


She loves to watch her brother, Nicolas as he explores new worlds with his Lego creations.  Together, they ride their bicycles into all sorts of adventures.


Being a big sister has been a 2-year long dream for Annikah - now that her dream is real, it's a lot more work than she realized.  Yet - the early morning giggles of two sisters playing quietly (sometimes) in their bedroom, followed by a day filled with entertaining twists is always wrapped up with two freshly-bathed little girls hearing a story read by Mommy or Daddy; a couple of songs about Jesus - and a prayer of thanksgiving for a wonderful day.


God continues to demonstrate His love for us through Annikah's life and God keeps drawing Annikah closer and closer to Himself.


Recently, after Annikah had found herself in trouble for disobeying, she asked with full sincerity, "Daddy, why does half of my heart feel clean and want to do what is right and the other half sometimes feels dirty and doesn't even care about it?"


Wow!  Annikah has already discovered that when we try to live life on our own, without totally surrendering EVERY part of our life to Jesus so that His Holy Spirit can fill us with His guiding peace, we live a very frustrated life filled with tension and brokenness.


Annikah is a precious, precious gift from God.

Annikah - always finding flowers, wherever she goes - at the Volcano Poas in Costa Rica

Growing God's Way

Every day is a new adventure as we watch Annikah grow more and more - God's way.

Annikah is nearly 18 months old (on May 3) and is growing "normally" by all accounts. She's climbing on things she shouldn't climb on; she yells at her brother and sister when they get a little too bossy; she's "talking" in her own language; and she LOVES to give hugs and kisses.


Our family is heading to the midwest for the months of May and June - for deputation (visiting churches to share about our ministry and our story of what God is doing in our lives) and to spend time working in our office at the Church of the Nazarene International Headquarters.


Annikah has her final follow-up CAT Scan and consultation with Dr. Singhal in Kansas City on May 24 and May 25. We are excited to hear the GREAT report on her development at that time.

THANK YOU for your continued prayers for Annikah and our family!

What Will This Year Hold?

We have no other way to describe this past year (2006) other than being
a year of grace.

Everything that we learned about Annikah's condition; the seemingly endless waiting; and then ultimately the journey through her surgery and recovery - it is all highlighted with the evidence of God's hand on our lives and the outpouring of His grace.

Here we are, at the beginning of a new year and we have no idea what this year holds for our lives. Yet, one thing we are sure of is that as we walk daily with God, His hand is ready to guide and His grace is more than enough for each day.

Annikah's development at this point is unquestionably "normal." She's walking, running, "talking," and learning to say "No!" and "Uh-oh!"

As you enter a new day; a new year; a new season of your life - may you be reminded of how much God loves you and wants to lavish His grace upon you.

May God's richest blessings be upon you!

The Leaves are Falling

...but my kids keep growing.

For those who read this that are from outside of the USA - specifically those who are from tropical areas of the world where you have two seasons - sunny and rainy...the central part of the United States has four seasons. December through February iw Winter (extremely cold and awful!); March through May is Spring; June through August is Summer; and September through November is Fall - this is when the leaves on the trees end their season of life, change colors, and fall to the ground.


Yet...the tree continues to live...and grow. In fact, I must confess...while I HATE the cold winters of the central USA, I still find hope in them...

This is how it works with me...as soon as the last leaf has fallen from the trees in my neighborhood, I begin the anticipation of waiting for Spring - knowing that in just about three months time...maybe four...new buds will start to show up and within a few weeks of those buds appearing, new green leave will emerge and the tree will do what it does best.

I LOVE SPRING!

When I think of this past year in our family's life, we've had a lot of SPRING...we've also had our Fall/Autumn season, too. Our hope has never waivered and our faith has never failed. God's promises have held true every moment of the way.

Through it all - good, bad, and great - we have continued to grow. Our hope is that we will continually do what trees to best - grow stronger roots and taller - upward...towards our Creator.

Wherever you are in the world reading this - keep growing Godward!

Happy 1st Birthday!!!

Annikah's first birthday party was this past Saturday (6 days before her actual birthday). She enjoyed the presents and the cake! But she stayed pretty clean even with all of the frosting. :-)

Her next visit with the surgeon will be 6 months post-surgery for a follow-up CAT scan to check how the bones have healed. We anticipate no further treatment.

Annikah continues to delight us with her happy personality, silly games, and her giggle. She is walking fairly confidently now and has no fear. We praise God for her life and the testimony of God's grace that she continues to be!

She's Doing GREAT!!!

We could not have asked for a better recovery!

Just 2 weeks after her surgery and Annikah is doing fabulous. Actually, just one week after - she was doing great. She had her first follow-up appointment with the surgeon today and he gave her a great report.

We are praising the Lord for the way He has answered OUR prayers...thank you so much for praying!

Now the new prayer request...Annikah just started walking this past week and keeps us on alert at all times :)

Notes from Mommy...

Pam writes:
I have been so blessed to be able to spend all of this week with Annikah, in the hospital and now at home. She has been so calm and even happy, and we know that is another evidence of God's presence with us!

We have had many questions from people about Annikah's recovery time, so here are some details...

She has numerous disolvable stitches across the top of her head. We have been instructed to clean and medicate the incision three times a day for 2 weeks. At that point we will have a post-op visit with the surgeon to determine her progress.



Annikah also has a helmet, which is evident in the pictures. She is supposed to wear this when playing or active for the next three months. That is a long time for Mommy! But who am I to complain when God has been so gracious so far!

Something that I learned anew while we were in the hospital is that God allows our times of crisis to be a conecting point with other people. I had the opportunity to share God's grace with 2 other families who were experiencing crisis this week as well. We talked together about fear and uncertainty, but I was able to testify of God's faithfulness.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

Another thing that I learned is how easy it is to miss the opportunity to praise God out loud for His work. People kept coming to Annikah's room and commenting on how good she looked. The doctors and nurses kept saying, "Normally she would have more swelling and bruising. She looks amazing!" It was easy to say, "I know! I am amazed as well!" Then, in my heart I knew that God was calling us to give Him the praise for everything. Praise in my heart is not enough. The world must hear my words of praise.

Annikah's recovery, calmness in the hospital, everything, is a direct result of God's presence. We cannot miss the opportunity to praise Him for what He has done!