Concert with Jodi Benson

You may not recognize the name Jodi Benson right away, but if I asked you if you have seen The Little Mermaid, Toy Story II, Flubber with Robin Williams, Thumbelina, or a number of Broadway shows, you would recognize her voice. We were privileged to have her come to the Center for the Arts here in Midland and sing in the Christmas concert. The first half of the show featured all of the musical groups in Midland, including the Chorale, of which I am a part. I made my "debut" (Ha ha) by singing a short solo, accompanied by harp, during our performance of Benjamin Britten's Ceremony of Carols. Thankfully, it went very well! After our part and other groups performed, we had an intermission (or as Emma has called it, "interception"--probably because of her football dad :-) ), and then Jodi Benson came out for the second half singing, "Part of Your World" and then many other Christmas songs. We ended the concert with her singing, "Let There Be Peace on Earth" and "O Holy Night." It was amazing! Jodi and I had an opportunity to talk for quite awhile on Fri. night at the dress rehearsal. I had gone into the green room when Chorale had a bit of a break, and Jodi came out of her dressing room. I wanted to welcome her to Midland and let her know that I had found out she was a Christian, and I would be praying for her that weekend. She had arrived in Midland without her luggage arriving at the airport with her. :-( Long story short, God gave us a wonderful time of talking about Him, our families, etc. I was so encouraged by her testimony, genuineness, and friendliness. She said I could bring the girls back before Sat. night's show to get a picture and have their books signed. We were able to do that, and again, Jodi was gracious, taking time to talk to the girls, and let us hang out for more than a minute in her dressing room. I was trying to be sure both Fri. night and Sat. that I was sensitive of her time, and mentioned something both times. She was so laid back and real, for lack of a better word, and said she didn't mind at all and enjoyed the time to chat. Well, the real kicker was her calling out to my girls during the performance! She asked where they were and waved to them, talked about their time together before the show, and was very kind to me in referring to my solo. To say the least, we were on a high that night. I had other opportunities to talk with Jodi briefly the next day before and after our performance. She was so wonderful on stage too, talking about not caring if she is politically correct about saying/not saying, "Merry Christmas." She made no bones about it that her faith is in Jesus and she is celebrating His birth. It was just a wonderful weekend, and again, I am so ecouraged and thankful for the kind of woman she is in the entertainment world!

Many Fun Events Lately

We certainly were busy in the last month, but we have had a lot of fun. We took the girls to see A Year With Frog and Toad. This was Olivia's first theatre experience, and she did just great. It was in the little theatre, and I think that was perfect for the girls. They were both mesmerized by the costumes, music, etc. What a fun show! We had the Sunday School Christmas program a couple of weeks ago, so I have included pics of both of the girls in their groups. Kris was trying to video and get still shots as I was leading the music for the kids. That was a bit difficult. :-) Emma played her violin for an audience for the first time last week. She did so well. She has been taking violin lessons since the start of this school year. She and the other two beginners were featured together first. They played "Jingle Bells." Kris took the girls to another concert that I will be posting about seperately. Last week was Kris' school program, our church Christmas cantata, and my two concerts at the Midland Center for the Arts. Yes, we were crazy! Every night was either a rehearsal, performance, or something going on. I am very much enjoying catching up on things at home this week. It was crazy, but thank the Lord, everything went well and was lots of fun.

Merry Christmas

Emma's Birthday Party

The Birthday Girl

My Seven Year Old

Yesterday we were able to celebrate Emma's birthday and thank God for the wonderful 7 years He has given her. It is hard to believe in some ways that we have a child who is 7 and in first grade. What a blessing though! Emma is a wonderful little girl. She is definitely entering a different phase of life. Preschool is over, interests are changing, physical and spiritual growth has been very evident. I am reminded to cherish each day with Emma and Olivia. They are gifts from God, and as you all know about my friend, Laura, recently losing her 5 yr. old, we've been reminded that we don't know how long any of us will be here. We do know that God is in charge of our lives and knows how long we will have them on this earth. We want to make good, lasting, precious memories along the way that God will be pleased with. I don't want to look back with regret one day, wishing I had spent more time with my girls, wanting to take back words I have said, or having not pointed them every day to our God. With His strength and help, Kris and I are trying to raise them the right way and enjoy every stage of life with them. Pray for us as we continue this huge, but wonderful, responsibility.

God Supplies Our Needs

What a blessing it is to see God work in totally unexpected ways. Our minivan "died" on us recently, and we knew the problem could be a thermostat (approx. $10), a water pump (approx. $400), or a blown head gasket (approx. $2000). As you can imagine, we as a family have been praying that our van would have the least costly problem. We did ask God to provide if something major was wrong, because we just couldn't imagine that big of a bill right now. Well, God provided 3 days ahead of time before we even had the diagnosis. On Saturday we were informed that we would be receiving a check in the mail this week that we never dreamed was due us (long story). We immediately knew that it would possibly be just what we needed if the van was going to need major repair. On Monday our van was checked, and our dreaded answer came--a head gasket was the problem! God knew what we would need, and He took care of it (in a way that surprised us) before we even had a definitive answer. We still need to make decisions about the van (who can or do we want to fix it, when will it get done, etc.) and don't know what the real cost will end up being, but thanks be to God Who has already done great things! May this encourage us to live without worry, anxiety, and fear. We have a big God--bigger than any of our problems. He is sovereign and working all things out for our good and His glory. May we trust Him more and have our first reactions be to rest in HIM!

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Funny Mistake

Last night we had Emma's first grade teacher over for dinner. Toward the end of our meal we were talking about things Mrs. Reece could pray for or help with concerning Emma. One of the things that we mentioned was that Olivia is not saved yet, and we are praying for her salvation and for Emma to continue to be loving and kind to her. We want her to be a good example and help point Olivia to the Lord. Mrs. Reece asked Emma, "Emma, when did you get saved?" Emma just very confidently said, "I got saved on Happy Friday!" Mrs. Reece looked confused, as did we for only about a second, and then Kris and I just started laughing. Emma was saved on Good Friday when she was four years old. She just replaced "Good" with "happy." Oh, the funny things kids say. . . .

Here Comes Winter!

Final Fall Fun

Thanksgiving

Psalm 107:1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. NASB

As you meet with family and friends this Thanksgiving, may you cherish the moments you have with them. In our thinking of all that we have to be thankful for, we first thank our God for His love that He showed to us by sending Jesus to die for our sins. We praise God for Who He is and worship Him. We thank Him for the abundant blessings He pours out on us daily. We have freedom to worship Him and to teach the next generations His truth. God has blessed us with special relationships in family and friends. He has graciously allowed, especially those of us in this country, to enjoy many tangible things in this life, many of them above our needs. Life is about God, and so to Him we first direct our thanks. And then to you, our friends and family, thank you for your love and prayers for us. We appreciate your encouragement and support. Your calls, e-mails, comments, cards, etc. always mean so much. So many of you are far away but are close in our hearts. We are thankful for each of you and pray for you often. May God bless you and may you have a wonderful Thanksgiving day!

Love and prayers,

Kris, Andrea, Emma and Olivia


Enjoy the bountiful food, but don't stuff yourselves too much! ;-)

AWANA Talent Show

For a few years now, our church has been doing an AWANA talent show night, allowing the kids to play instruments, sing, recite things, and even do more physical feats like soccer tricks, tumbling, etc. We had almost 60 kids signed up to do something this past Wed. night, and the gym was pretty packed with people. Well, our girls sang a duet--"Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God." A couple of things were very cute about this. During practice at home the week before, Olivia had what Kris says was a Freudian slip for a three year old. She got to, "and all these things shall be added unto you" and, for some reason sang instead, "and all these toys shall be added unto you." :-) We'll keep teaching her about the kingdom of God. The other cute thing was at the talent show, when Mr. Tomko handed Emma the microphone, she realized that she was quite a bit taller than Olivia, so she got on her knees to be more at Olivia's level. Olivia must have thought, "Oh, o.k., I guess I should get on my knees to sing the song." They did the whole thing like that. Ha ha It was really precious. Here are the pics:

Many Thanks to You!

Thank you for your prayers for our family as we went to AZ for Kris' grandma's funeral. What a special time we had having so many family members together once again praising the Lord, remembering Grandma Lu's life and the legacy/heritage she has left behind. We have sorrowed, but as Kris had opportunity to do the graveside service and share, we sorrow not as one who has no hope (I Thes. 4:13-14). God sustains us and gives us peace knowing that He is in control of all things and that He has taken Grandma to be with Him. Praise the Lord! My sister-in-law, Karmen did a great tribute to Grandma Lu that you can find on the Jordan's blog.

I had opportunity to be with my Aunt Carolyn for quite a while on one of the days we were in Phoenix. I am so thankful for that time I had with her. She and Uncle Leonard are going to be facing decisions on treatment this week. Please pray for them (healing from surgery and this cancer completely, choice about treatment, peace from God, etc.) as this is a difficult time.

While in AZ, I received word that my friend, Laura Boehm, lost her 5-yr. old little girl. Many of you have heard this news through my e-mail this week, but if you had not, please pray for the family. Here is a new post on Laura's blog that shares the program from Lindsey's funeral and the heart of Laura and Jason. Thank you for your prayers for them as well.

Through all that has gone on in the last week, with three difficult things to hear of, I have been reminded that God is always good (Psalm 34:8, Rom. 8:28). He loves us and always does what is best, for our good and His glory (Jer. 29:11). We find refuge in Him through the storms of life (Psalm 46). As we run to Him, we are given supernatural strength and peace as His grace is rained down on us during the trials (II Cor. 12:9-10, Isaiah 26:3). Our confidence and trust can only be in Him (Prov. 3:5-6, Psalm 18:1-2). We must hold loosely the things of this life (Col. 3:2). We must love God and people (Matt. 22:37-40). That is what is important, not our things or our even our way of life. We know all that can change in an instant. Life is precious and a gift from God. We musn't forget to communicate with those we love how special they are. We don't know how long we will have them.

Thank you for your love and prayers. I am so grateful for the family and friends God has given me. You each are important, and we pray for you as well.

Memories of Seeing Grandma

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Promotion to Glory!

This morning we received the news that Kris' Grandma went home to be with Jesus. She has longed to see her Savior for so long now, and it was God's plan that she do just that today. Grandma was 93 1/2 years old! She had her first heart attack at age 40 and was expected numerous times in her life not to survive more heart attacks and other illnesses she had along the way. We called her the "energizer Grandma" sometimes. She did just keep going and going. . . . :-) It was her time to finish the race and to rest now.

Kris and I had the wonderful opportunity of going out to Arizona to see Grandma in March. Someone graciously gave us enough frequent flyer miles to send us and the girls. What wonderful memories we made! We had a better week than we even had planned on or thought possible because Grandma had rallied yet again and could actually do things with us that week. One of the most precious memories with her will always be our trip to Sedona. That was a special place to her, and she had not been there in years. We weren't so sure we should be taking her 2 hrs. away or that she would be up to a big day like that. She was determined to go and seemed to have a burst of energy just thinking about it. She shared so many stories of her time with Grandpa Stephens and the fun trips they had made together as we drove along that day. She talked of her Lord and being ready to go home to Heaven, saying she didn't know why God kept pulling her through different sicknesses and keeping her here. Kris told her it was because God wasn't finished with her yet. She was still constantly encouraging others, being a strong witness and testimony, prayer warrior for the family and others, and pointing others to the Lord all the time. We thank God for the godly heritage He has given.

It is emotional for us as we know that she is the last of the generations before Kris, as he has lost both his parents and now all grandparents. We trust in our sovereign Lord and thank Him for the grace and strength He has given the family to go through each of these deaths. We remember that Psalm 116:15 says, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." So many verses and passages of Scripture flood through my mind at this time and bring such a peace, comfort, and joy that only comes from God. Isaiah 26:3 is one of those. Grandma is home now worshipping her Savior like never before in her earthly state. What an amazing thought to think of praising our Lord with a pure heart and having a non-distracted, sole focus on Him!

I shared with Emma before bed last night that Grandma Lu was not doing well, and God might be saying it is really time for her to be with Him in the next couple of days. She got a little emotional about that and said, "But I don't want her to die." I told her that I understood and that we didn't want her to die either. I also said that Grandma has lived a long life as a godly woman, and we want her to go home to Heaven, not suffer here on earth. Emma had real tears by this point and fell in my arms saying, "Mom, I just pray that I can live that long and be a godly woman for the Lord too!" Needless to say, my tears came, and I just hugged Emma and told her how much I appreciated that sensitivity in her and that we should both pray for God's help in living godly lives. Oh, that life will truly be about Him and His glory!

We appreciate your prayers for the whole family in the next week. I also request prayer for my family as my Aunt Carolyn, only age 53, was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer two days ago and she was found to have many cancerous tumors spread throughout the abdomen in a variety of places, including the liver. Pray for my Uncle Leonard as he has just learned this about his wife, and they have gone through some other difficult circumstances in the last several years. Aunt Carolyn and my mom have been best friends for over 30 years (which is why I call her "aunt"), and mom is very much struggling with this news. My mom's sister, Barb, and her brother, Mike, have also been diagnosed with at least stage 3 cancers in the last year. Each of them is in her/his 50s as well. We had an emotional day yesterday with all of that, and now with Kris' grandma passing away, it's been a lot to take in. Isn't it awesome to know that none of this has taken God by surprise though and that He has a perfect plan? We can truly claim Prov. 3:5-6 and many other verses right now and be assured that God's ways are always best. I saw Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Leonard when we went to Arizona in March to see Kris' grandma. They live in the Phoenix area too. This is another reason that I really want to go this week. I would be able to see them and try to be there for them as they just found out about the cancer and are having a difficult time. Thank you all for your prayers and taking time to read this long post.

Halloween Happenings

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The End of Emma's Soccer Season

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Congratulations Emma!

Well, this past weekend was Emma's last soccer game. What a way to end the season too! Before the game, we had a party at Pizza Hut, and the girls got their trophies and the coaches their gifts. We were all excited to see the head coach's daughter. She was one of the best on the team, but she was in a terrible car accident a couple of weeks ago and broke her jaw and leg. We are thankful that God spared her life. Emergency workers used the "jaws of life" to get her out of the car when they arrived at the scene. We enjoyed the lunch together, but the talk there was of all of us dreading going out to the field for the game because the weather was awful for playing that day. We had high winds (gusts up to 50 mph) and rain. The regular temp. was only in the mid-40s at the time too. Wind chill definitely was in the 30s. Games are only canceled for lightening. Anyway, we noticed the rain slowing and then stopping as we left Pizza Hut and went to the field. That was our first answer to prayer. Well, Olivia and I stayed bundled under a heavy blanket and still felt like we were going to blow over or at least freeze. She was not a happy camper, and our team was losing 3-0. I thought, "What an ending!" Everyone was saying things like, "This is just crazy!" or "We're all nuts being out here!" I finally looked at one of the other moms and said, "I just pray we would score, and I wish Emma could make a goal since this is her last game. That would make it more worth it." Well, not two minutes later the score was 3-2 and our EMMA made the second goal!!!!!!! I jumped out of that chair, which did blow over then, and about threw Olivia on the ground. Ha ha We were so excited! The crowd really got intense as we saw a chance to tie or maybe even win. Well, we DID win with the score ending up 5-3! What a game. Emma played defense almost all last season, but this season she got to play almost every position. The coach was great in moving the girls around even during the game at the half to teach them what is like to play in different parts of the field. We saw great improvement and skill as the season went on with Emma. She had never scored before in either season. It was a special time! On our way home, it started to rain. God is always good!

What A Cutie!

Okay, Sarah just sent this to me yesterday. Do I not have the cutest little nephew?!? Man, I miss him!

Our Little Helper

Last weekend Olivia really wanted to help Daddy out in the yard. We have a great backyard with many beautiful trees, but it makes for a lot of work in the fall. Olivia saw Kris outside with the leaf blower and enjoyed playing while he worked, but when he got his rake, she just had to help with one herself. You can see the beautiful leaves that were still left in the back part of our yard behind the deck. Well, those pretty much all came down this week, so this weekend will call for some more raking. :-) The colors are all about done now. How sad. We sure had great color though this year and it was nice while it lasted. By the way, Olivia's jacket is reversible. She wanted to wear it on the flower side that day, but we have since changed it back to the solid color. I like it much better that way. :-) The flowers were a bit too much. Ha ha

The rest of our fall color tour

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It's Coming Again!

Yes, the pictures you see are real. Snow has already fallen in MI, and it is predicted to fall again this evening and tomorrow. I doubt it will really be staying around long or accumulating here, but it is making me wonder what we are in for this winter. I do love the snow and am glad we have experienced real winter again these last couple of years. Of course, a few months of it would be just fine. We do have long winters here. In fact our first fall here, we saw the first snowfall with accumulation at Thanksgiving, and then when my parents came the following April, we went from near 80 degrees the day we picked them up to snow that weekend. Aahhh, MI. . . . My husband is not thrilled with the whole thing, let me assure you. Winter in MI has not settled well with him. :-) He does miss that S.C. warmth.

Down by the Mackinac Bridge with a huge moon and gorgeous sunset!

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A fun day at Uncle John's Cider Mill with the Bradleys

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Finally Updating! :-)

Well, I really am still alive and well. Whew! The last few weeks have been so busy but full of lots of fun. As I have mentioned before, Fall is my favorite time of year. It is especially awesome in MI. The colors we've seen this year have been the best yet since we moved. It's been great having all the opportunities we've had out in nature recently to talk of God's power and majesty with our girls and to be in awe of God as Creator together as a family. The last few weeks have brought everything from visiting a cider mill with friends, an incredible week of warm weather with a surprise visit from my parents (who came with us on a fall color tour up north and along part of the western shoreline of MI), to freezing cold temps this past week (complete with snow!!!), a cold 9:30 AM soccer game, AWANA Sparks hike at City Forest, and a fun Harvest party with our Sunday school class Sat. night. That included children, and we had a bonfire, hayride, awesome food and fellowship. We had some new people come, and Kris was able to give the gospel to the husband. We made smores and enjoyed hot chocolate and spiced cider. I tell you what, it has been really fun! I thank God for giving us these wonderful past few weekends. I will be posting lots of pics as I can get them sorted out.

My nephew, Jonas--Changes from July to September

Another fun-filled weekend with our free AWANA Family Carnival, featuring all of our church's ministries

Fun Times With the Girls

The slide show below shows a variety of things the girls and I did while Kris was at the men's retreat up at Camp CoBeAc this past weekend. We had a fun girls' night on Friday, complete with the McDonald's play place, renting a movie, and having popcorn. I put them to bed and watched Pride and Prejudice myself. :-) Sat. morning started out with Emma's soccer game. She did a great job! They are trying the girls at different positions each game. She was on offense this time and played the best I have ever seen her play. We went home for a snack and change of clothes and then headed to the Chippewa Nature Center for their BioBlitz weekend events. It was lots of fun. We saw an animal show first where I took the pic of the raven. Someone had captured the raven in New York to have as a pet. The people got in trouble and had to release it. Well, ravens are known for following wolves and such creatures while they are chasing prey. The raven goes down and bites the wolf's tail, and when the wolf turns around to snap at it, the raven dives in and steals some food. After this raven was released in NY, it started going to the parks and treating people like the wolves to steal their food! It even dropped rocks on people's heads, so they captured it again and put it in a zoo. The mistake there was that they put it in a display with crows and/or blackbirds and other such birds not realizing (somehow) that ravens eat these types of birds. Needless to say, they had some complaints from the visitors to the zoo. Way to go zoologists! Anyway, that's how we have the opportunity of seeing him here. Hope I didn't bore you, but I thought it was interesting. :-) We took a hike into the woods after looking around at things in the main buliding, and the girls were given instructions on how to use their tools for exploring. We found all kinds of creatures and fungus. Ha ha What fun! After a great nap that we all took at home, we headed off to the fairgrounds in the early evening for the balloon festival. It was great! We sure missed Daddy while he was gone, but it was a weekend filled with excitement.

Fall is almost officially here--my favorite time of year!

Kids Say. . .

Miss Olivia is so funny. She just keeps us laughing. I took her to the doctor for a check-up so that she can be in preschool this year. I thought while we were there I would point out a little red, dry spot I've noticed at times over the summer on her arm where it bends. He said, "Oh, that's just a small patch of eczema." Olivia didn't really pay attention to what he was saying at the time. Well, notice the sound you hear at the end of the word "eczema." Later that evening when I said to Kris that she had a patch of eczema, she pulled her arm away from me and said, "No! It's Olivia." I looked confused and said, "What?!" She proceeded to to inform me that the spot was "ecz-Olivia" not "ecz-Emma" I laughed so hard!

I found out about turning my pics into slide shows. Enjoy!

Two Years?!

I can hardly believe that today (well, o.k., it did just turn midnight, so yesterday) marked two years since we left our home in SC and moved north to MI. Wow, God has done amazing things in our lives, and we praise Him for His plan being perfect. His ways are truly not our ways, and as Kris would say, "We shouldn't want our way."

I am quite behind in the posts lately. I have lots of pics I took last week and will be working on updates on the blog this weekend. I just wanted to reflect a bit on the last two years and thank the Lord for all He has done. God is always good!

Beginning School Work

Well today Olivia came home from school with her first school paper. She was really excited to show us what they had worked on today. They are learning the number 1. I thought I would capture the moment. :-)

First Days of School

Well, here are my girls and their first days of school. Emma started 1st grade yesterday, and Olivia started K-3 today. Olivia will just be going for two mornings while I teach general music during those times. Both girls loved school and are excited about being there. I am happy for them and sad at the same time as I have no more baby at home. On to new chapters and other exciting things. . . .

Last Days of Summer Break

Well, the girls and I had a very fun time together on Saturday. We went blueberry picking and brought home 13 lbs.! It was Olivia's first time, and she picked some but had more fun eating them than putting them in her bucket. :-) Emma was a big helper. She didn't want to leave until my 2 gallon bucket was full. We actually picked close to 10 Qts. It was a perfect day and something I could finally do with them. I am glad we had the time together before school started. We ended our "blueberry day" by making a pie. We had lots of fun, and it was sure worth it! Talk about a fresh pie--from the field, to the oven, to the table.

Gym Shoes Blessing

While at Meijer the other day, I decided to stop in the shoe dept. I saw they were having a sale and wanted to check on a plain/cheaper pair of gym shoes for Emma. She has to have a pair that will stay at school and can go only on the gym floor. We found some that I thought would be great, but they did not have her size. I thought, "Oh well, let's check somewhere else. I am not paying $20 to $30 for a pair of shoes she will wear only 2 times a week." As we were leaving the area, my eye caught a clearance sign. There wasn't much on it, mostly sandals. Lo and behold, I see a pair of plain white tennis shoes for girls that were Reeboks. They were the only pair on the shelves, and you guessed it, they were Emma's size. Get this--only 5 bucks! I am including a pic of the tag (couldn't get a very clear shot) to prove it. Check out the original price. God is good and always provides what we need! The coolest thing was Emma calling Kris on our way home and telling him that she just had to share what God had done. Praise the Lord!

Special Friends

Emma's best friend in SC is Suzanna. They are only 3 weeks apart in age, and did a lot together until we moved to MI. They still get so excited to see each other. Suzanna's mom saw our van at my parent's house and knew we had arrived, so they stopped in for a quick visit. I snapped this shot of the reunited friends.

One day Sarah and I took the kids to Suzanna's neighborhood pool. Olivia went in the big pool just a little bit. She had fun doing other things, as you can see in some of the other pics. Jonas just hung out in his car seat sleeping away.