January 14th a friend from John Brown University gave birth to a healthy baby boy and everything about him is perfect. I loved seeing all of the new pictures posted on Facebook. I'm so thankful for LIFE!!
This evening I received an email from a church friend/neighbor informing us that she's starting her labor and it could be midnight tonight or tomorrow morning. I'm thankful I'm asked to pray for her labor and delivery. It is such a wonderful privilege to be ask to pray and anticipate with those who are bringing new life into the world. I'm so thankful for my friend and the way the Lord weaved us all together. I am along with many others are waiting for every Facebook update or email so we can know what she's having! Yes, she really went through the entire nine months without knowing her baby's gender. They're leaving it as a complete surprise. I want that for myself but I'm not sure if I can take not knowing.
There are several friends on Facebook that are expecting too. One just completed her first 20 weeks! Wow, I'm so amazed at us all and how we all grow in different season. What a blessing to watch all of this unfold.
Father, thank You for new life! Thank You for blessing each and everyone of these women who had brought life, carrying life in their womb, and laboring. I ask that You would encounter each of them right where they are. One might be nursing, one might be trying to get some sleep before the next sleepless wave hit, one might be experiencing birth pangs right now. Would You put Your hands over them and give them peace, Father. The peace that goes beyond understanding and only comes from You. Let them feel Your infinite love, Jesus, as they are embracing the task You've given them. Amen.
Sunday, January 16
Saturday, January 15
T'is the season for sneezing
I'm so thankful our family hadn't had any major sickness the past year. The Lord has been protecting us from harm. He is so good to His children. I came home from work on Tuesday and everything was fine until late that evening I started to feel crummy. Then Wednesday morning was a full blown of sneezing, achiness, coughing, headache, dehydration, sore throat and ear ache. I thought if I could give myself sometime to rest on Wednesday, which thankfully was my day off, so I slept for a long time and felt a little better.
I had promised Allison I was taking her to her first gymnastic lesson/sign up. I felt really bad then but I felt even worse if I couldn't keep my promise so I mustered up all my strength to pick her up at our Mema's house (her great-grandma) and got her there early to sign her up. Changed her out of her thick clothes to gym clothes. My little baby is no longer a baby that day as she sat down among her class mates and listened attentively to their teacher. I sat on the chairs and couldn't help myself to keep switching to different seats so I can see her better. Finally I got up on the second level to observe. She was so precious to me! I love my baby so much! She did the best she could since it was her first lesson but she enjoyed it thoroughly. At the end she got a stamped star on her hand and refused to let me hold that hand because she was afraid it was going to be ruined.
We got home, I made dinner for us and ate together. Then I gave her a bath because she skipped nap that afternoon. She was worried about her star on hand getting wet because she wanted Daddy to see it. So I asked her wait as I ran to grab the camera. When I got back she had already poured water on her hand and the star was vanishing before our eyes. Oops! I reassured her that she'll get another star next time she goes. She was happy about that. After a nice bath I got her ready for the evening. We read a story, snuggled for a while and then she settled in.
I began to feel worsen that evening that I emailed in to work letting everyone know I was sick with a cold and needed their prayers. I was so sick on Thursday and thankful that Danner was home all day to take care of me and Allison. He's such a good husband and Daddy. My condition worsen Thursday night. I couldn't sleep because of the coughing, nasal and throat burn everytime I swallow. Kept drinking ice-water and having to get up to use the bathroom.
Friday morning I gave in and asked if we could schedule an appointment to see the doctor so Danner set that up for me. Because he had to leave for work at 3pm I had to drive myself to the doctor's office while he dropped Allison off at the in-laws for the weekend. There at the doctors office they diagnosed me with a sinus infection with fluid behind my ear that caused my balance to be all over the place. Then Danner came to join me in the doctor's office before he had to leave for work. I asked the doctor if it's not the flu, and he wasn't sure as I was still running a fever. So he thought we should take a test anyway. Turned out I was right. I had the flu! To top that off I had the sinus infection too.
I came home without filling the prescription because I was so exhausted. Last night I slept really well without waking up to drink water and my nasal passage and throat didn't bother me as much and coughing wasn't as frequent. This morning I woke up and started coughing up stuff. This means everything is draining from my sinus. My achiness is gone and I'm feeling a lot better. Probably 60% better. Just want the rest of me to full recovered. Since I didn't fill my prescription and my body is recovering that means my body is beating the virus and infection on its own. I love it when our body just mend itself. Of course, I'm sure with many prayer warriors I have around me, no wonder I'm feeling better!
I'm thankful for Jesus today! For my husband who is so patience with me and takes good care of me and Allison. For my in-laws who took care of Allison while I'm under the weather and preventing her from catching the crud too. Now I'm going back to resting before Danner and Allison come home. I miss spending time with favorite two people! I've been pushing them away, especially Allison because I didn't want her to catch it too. I feel bad but I know it's better for her.
I had promised Allison I was taking her to her first gymnastic lesson/sign up. I felt really bad then but I felt even worse if I couldn't keep my promise so I mustered up all my strength to pick her up at our Mema's house (her great-grandma) and got her there early to sign her up. Changed her out of her thick clothes to gym clothes. My little baby is no longer a baby that day as she sat down among her class mates and listened attentively to their teacher. I sat on the chairs and couldn't help myself to keep switching to different seats so I can see her better. Finally I got up on the second level to observe. She was so precious to me! I love my baby so much! She did the best she could since it was her first lesson but she enjoyed it thoroughly. At the end she got a stamped star on her hand and refused to let me hold that hand because she was afraid it was going to be ruined.
We got home, I made dinner for us and ate together. Then I gave her a bath because she skipped nap that afternoon. She was worried about her star on hand getting wet because she wanted Daddy to see it. So I asked her wait as I ran to grab the camera. When I got back she had already poured water on her hand and the star was vanishing before our eyes. Oops! I reassured her that she'll get another star next time she goes. She was happy about that. After a nice bath I got her ready for the evening. We read a story, snuggled for a while and then she settled in.
I began to feel worsen that evening that I emailed in to work letting everyone know I was sick with a cold and needed their prayers. I was so sick on Thursday and thankful that Danner was home all day to take care of me and Allison. He's such a good husband and Daddy. My condition worsen Thursday night. I couldn't sleep because of the coughing, nasal and throat burn everytime I swallow. Kept drinking ice-water and having to get up to use the bathroom.
Friday morning I gave in and asked if we could schedule an appointment to see the doctor so Danner set that up for me. Because he had to leave for work at 3pm I had to drive myself to the doctor's office while he dropped Allison off at the in-laws for the weekend. There at the doctors office they diagnosed me with a sinus infection with fluid behind my ear that caused my balance to be all over the place. Then Danner came to join me in the doctor's office before he had to leave for work. I asked the doctor if it's not the flu, and he wasn't sure as I was still running a fever. So he thought we should take a test anyway. Turned out I was right. I had the flu! To top that off I had the sinus infection too.
I came home without filling the prescription because I was so exhausted. Last night I slept really well without waking up to drink water and my nasal passage and throat didn't bother me as much and coughing wasn't as frequent. This morning I woke up and started coughing up stuff. This means everything is draining from my sinus. My achiness is gone and I'm feeling a lot better. Probably 60% better. Just want the rest of me to full recovered. Since I didn't fill my prescription and my body is recovering that means my body is beating the virus and infection on its own. I love it when our body just mend itself. Of course, I'm sure with many prayer warriors I have around me, no wonder I'm feeling better!
I'm thankful for Jesus today! For my husband who is so patience with me and takes good care of me and Allison. For my in-laws who took care of Allison while I'm under the weather and preventing her from catching the crud too. Now I'm going back to resting before Danner and Allison come home. I miss spending time with favorite two people! I've been pushing them away, especially Allison because I didn't want her to catch it too. I feel bad but I know it's better for her.
Tuesday, January 11
Simply Happy
My heart is happy. The Lord healed my back on New Year's Eve in Kansas City, MO when I was among 20k people worshiping Him. He gave me dreams and gifts. I was among thousand of Asians and we were all prayed for. A lady prayed for me and I'm sure unbeknownst to her that her prayer was a confirmation to what the Lord is calling us into - mission to Vietnam!!!
More details later!
More details later!
Friday, January 7
Happy Anniversary to Us!!!
Today Danner and I are celebrating our five years of marriage!!!! Praise the Lord for walking with us through our fiery tests and trials and blessed us with so many things - our Daughter Allison especially!! This morning she came running into our room, climbing on our bed and greeting us with a huge smile on her facing knowing nothing about our anniversary. I watched my husband smiling at her and studying her every move because he is so in love with her as well. I'm so thankful for such a loving husband and beautiful daughter to have and to hold.
The Lord has been faithful and good to our family. This is a BIG stepping stone for our family. We're ready for a new season that's in store for us!
Happy 2011!!!!!!
The Lord has been faithful and good to our family. This is a BIG stepping stone for our family. We're ready for a new season that's in store for us!
Happy 2011!!!!!!
Monday, November 1
Several years ago the Lord placed the plight of the orphan on the heart of our family. We felt strongly that we are being called into the ministry of adoption. While our circumstances have not allowed us to adopt yet, we have not lost that calling in our lives.
At the beginning of the year the Lord impressed it on my heart as I watched a family from our church raise funds for their adoptive daughter Emaway from Haiti. While I was preparing a meal for my family, I prayed about what the Lord would have me do to support them. I knew that the small amount we could afford to give would not add up to much with the big price tag they had to pay to give Emaway a forever home. Then an idea came to me, I believe it was the Lord prompting me to step out and into something bigger than I could ever imagine and it would involve our entire family. We felt that the Lord was calling us to do more than just give money or pray alone. He was calling us to be His hands on the earth and go to work for the Kingdom. With my husband Danner’s blessing I contacted Shelley Womack and received her permission to make fresh homemade Vietnamese egg rolls and spring rolls to raise funds on their behalf. We moved on to praying for provision of supplies and cooking equipment. One by one people brought their deep fryer, a full tank of propane, and other items to help with our effort. The word spread fast through the facebook community and orders started pouring in to support the great cause.
Danner went from one Asian Market to another to gather ingredients to fill our orders. We packed our daughter Allison’s overnight bag and sent her to Danner’s parents so we could focus on the task. Together we prepped everything the night before and rose before dawn on Sunday to begin wrapping, frying, boxing and passing out of orders after church let out. It was not easy work but we covered ourselves in prayers and met our goal. We truly felt the Lord blessed our marriage because of the fund raiser. We were thankful when all 30 orders were picked up and money came in. We felt even more blessed when our daughter handed the money to the adopting family.
October came and we felt like it was time to do another fund raiser for Randy and Tina Kacirek’s adoptive son Maxim in Ukraine. In Ukraine and some other Eastern block countries, children who cannot feed themselves, walk or talk by the age of four are sent to institutions where they will lived the remainder of their lives. In 2006 Tina visited Torez mental institution to care for the children and pray for more doors to be opened to minister to these children. There she met Maxim and felt a special bond, a connection that could only be orchestrated by God. When she inquired about him she learned that none of these children were being allowed to be adopted because it was unknown where the paperwork for the children was. They were not registered with the adoption authorities in Ukraine. Most of these children when they die are placed in a wooden box and buried in unmarked graves behind the institution. Tina vowed the day she left Maxim, to both him and God, that if a door were opened and if a way made, she and Randy would return for him. In April of this year, Father God revealed to Tina that a way HAD indeed been made for Maxim to be adopted.
It was obvious that the Lord had weaved Maxim into our hearts before we even met the Kacirek family face to face. We were touched by his life and Randy and Tina’s dream to bring Maxim home. This time we prayed to expand our fund raiser further. The Lord answered our prayers by allowing us more time and more strategic planning to almost double our orders of eggrolls and spring rolls. This time we asked for help from family members and friends to make it a successful fund raiser. We even included our daughter in the whole process and now we are so proud that she understands the meaning of adoption at the age of two. Upon hearing about our last fund raiser, several people approached us with seed money that enabled us to get all the supplies we needed. It took us two weekends to complete all the orders. To accomplish our monetary goal I volunteered to detail a truck at a local detailing business in Siloam Springs to wrap up the whole event. When we were done we were able to see how God multiplied our work ten fold. This will not be the last fund raiser we do for families who are adopting. We plan on continuing to grow both the number of families that we can bless as well as the amount we can bless them with. We even created a name for our fund raising, S.A.V.E. (Spring rolls And Vietnamese Egg rolls) for Adoption. More than anything we want to show people that you don't have to adopt a child or give a lot of money to make a big difference in the Kingdom. Just listen to what the Father’s heart tells you and then do it. It's that simple.
At the beginning of the year the Lord impressed it on my heart as I watched a family from our church raise funds for their adoptive daughter Emaway from Haiti. While I was preparing a meal for my family, I prayed about what the Lord would have me do to support them. I knew that the small amount we could afford to give would not add up to much with the big price tag they had to pay to give Emaway a forever home. Then an idea came to me, I believe it was the Lord prompting me to step out and into something bigger than I could ever imagine and it would involve our entire family. We felt that the Lord was calling us to do more than just give money or pray alone. He was calling us to be His hands on the earth and go to work for the Kingdom. With my husband Danner’s blessing I contacted Shelley Womack and received her permission to make fresh homemade Vietnamese egg rolls and spring rolls to raise funds on their behalf. We moved on to praying for provision of supplies and cooking equipment. One by one people brought their deep fryer, a full tank of propane, and other items to help with our effort. The word spread fast through the facebook community and orders started pouring in to support the great cause.
Danner went from one Asian Market to another to gather ingredients to fill our orders. We packed our daughter Allison’s overnight bag and sent her to Danner’s parents so we could focus on the task. Together we prepped everything the night before and rose before dawn on Sunday to begin wrapping, frying, boxing and passing out of orders after church let out. It was not easy work but we covered ourselves in prayers and met our goal. We truly felt the Lord blessed our marriage because of the fund raiser. We were thankful when all 30 orders were picked up and money came in. We felt even more blessed when our daughter handed the money to the adopting family.
October came and we felt like it was time to do another fund raiser for Randy and Tina Kacirek’s adoptive son Maxim in Ukraine. In Ukraine and some other Eastern block countries, children who cannot feed themselves, walk or talk by the age of four are sent to institutions where they will lived the remainder of their lives. In 2006 Tina visited Torez mental institution to care for the children and pray for more doors to be opened to minister to these children. There she met Maxim and felt a special bond, a connection that could only be orchestrated by God. When she inquired about him she learned that none of these children were being allowed to be adopted because it was unknown where the paperwork for the children was. They were not registered with the adoption authorities in Ukraine. Most of these children when they die are placed in a wooden box and buried in unmarked graves behind the institution. Tina vowed the day she left Maxim, to both him and God, that if a door were opened and if a way made, she and Randy would return for him. In April of this year, Father God revealed to Tina that a way HAD indeed been made for Maxim to be adopted.
It was obvious that the Lord had weaved Maxim into our hearts before we even met the Kacirek family face to face. We were touched by his life and Randy and Tina’s dream to bring Maxim home. This time we prayed to expand our fund raiser further. The Lord answered our prayers by allowing us more time and more strategic planning to almost double our orders of eggrolls and spring rolls. This time we asked for help from family members and friends to make it a successful fund raiser. We even included our daughter in the whole process and now we are so proud that she understands the meaning of adoption at the age of two. Upon hearing about our last fund raiser, several people approached us with seed money that enabled us to get all the supplies we needed. It took us two weekends to complete all the orders. To accomplish our monetary goal I volunteered to detail a truck at a local detailing business in Siloam Springs to wrap up the whole event. When we were done we were able to see how God multiplied our work ten fold. This will not be the last fund raiser we do for families who are adopting. We plan on continuing to grow both the number of families that we can bless as well as the amount we can bless them with. We even created a name for our fund raising, S.A.V.E. (Spring rolls And Vietnamese Egg rolls) for Adoption. More than anything we want to show people that you don't have to adopt a child or give a lot of money to make a big difference in the Kingdom. Just listen to what the Father’s heart tells you and then do it. It's that simple.
Friday, September 17
Look What the Lord Had Done!!!!
Dear All,
Look what the Lord had blessed our family with!! Almost a year since last November Danner lost his job so we got down to just one vehicle. We made it work for our family all this time since we live right behind the Resale Store. Coming up this September 30, our lease is up and our landlord wants to sell the house, we had to look for another place. We prayed for a months for the right house for our family that God wants for us to have. Finally we found it and signed the lease! That's a blessing in itself, however, with moving away from the store, with having one vehicle between the two of us and with Danner in school full time it is hard to get me from home to work and work to pick up Allison from our babysitter (her great-grandma). So we prayed for open door on transportation. We were given a bicycle by my Director at New Beginnings so I pulled a bike trailer behind it to pick Allison up. As winter is approaching and leave little day light for me to ride safely with a child, I silently asked the Lord to protect us and provide a beat up vehicle that we can afford. Late that night I had a phone call letting me know that the Lord impressed it on a couple's to give away their vehicle as they purchased a new one. They knew it was for me even though I never met them. So, Thursday this vehicle was brought to me with it's title and everything while I was working at the store. I was like a bowl of Jello all day long as I was so speechless and praise God all afternoon.
It was such a miracle that I got to share with customers who saw it happened. I pray that their hearts were encouraged by God's faithfulness and blessings to our family. We are so blessed with one miracle after another. Since August the Lord blessed us with a vacation complete with free tickets to Disney World and Sea World. It was a very much needed time of rest, relaxation and prayers for me and Danner. Before we left we specifically asked the Lord to give us the following things: Danner's school to be completely paid for, my U.S. Citizenship application, Danner's lost wallet to be found, a house, and a mean of transportation. Shortly after we got back from Florida Danner got his wallet back with everything safe inside; his entire school year is paid for; I was given a check of $675 for my application (I'm scheduled for biometric prints on September 29); we found the perfect and fitting house for our family; given a bicycle; and finally a Yukon Denali for that will allow me to do so much with New Beginnings and of course our family!
None of these things we asked were a surprised to the Lord but they are miracles to us. We have been under attack after attack since last November and finally see God's break through for our lives. We want to share His faithfulness with you and pray that you are encouraged as well and continue to press in. We pray, too, that you'll receive abundant blessings as we have. Thank you for letting us share with you our news!!
Love and blessings,
Danner, Trang & Allison
Monday, August 2
Busy Busy
We have been so busy and enjoying every bit of our summer together as a family. It's been great with Danner going to school and having days off to spend time with me and Allison. We're loving it!! We feel like our daughter has been so blessed by it because she gets to spend so much time with Daddy and then Mommy more than most kids every do each day. The Lord is using this time to grow and nuture our family.
We're praying for a bigger house and trusting the Lord to bless us with the right one. We're not trying to be anxious and making bad decisions, but we're praying and fasting for what He has in store for us! We want Him to bless us with it because we will use it to serve others. We have so many plans of how to bless others at our home! I can't wait for all these plans to unfold!
We're getting read for our vacation in less than 3 weeks!!! Yay!! We can hardly wait. God is so good and making provisions and showing us His blessings every step of the way, of course, we've been through a few tests and trials along the way as well. Ok...more to come, Allison wants to play now.
Blessings!!!
We're praying for a bigger house and trusting the Lord to bless us with the right one. We're not trying to be anxious and making bad decisions, but we're praying and fasting for what He has in store for us! We want Him to bless us with it because we will use it to serve others. We have so many plans of how to bless others at our home! I can't wait for all these plans to unfold!
We're getting read for our vacation in less than 3 weeks!!! Yay!! We can hardly wait. God is so good and making provisions and showing us His blessings every step of the way, of course, we've been through a few tests and trials along the way as well. Ok...more to come, Allison wants to play now.
Blessings!!!
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