8th Grandchild on the Way

 A couple of months ago, Cheryl announced that she and Parker are expecting their third child. This is very exciting news, particularly because Cheryl didn't need to go through fertility treatments this time.

Interestingly, last December I had a dream that Cheryl and her cousin Raymon's wife, Amanda, were both expecting a baby. We hadn't received an announcement from Cheryl, but I reached out through a text to Neal to ask him if Amanda was expecting. He said no. Because of that, I didn't think the dream was anything significant. Fast forward to March 8th - Cheryl announced that they were expecting. I mentioned it to Neal in another text and he told me that Amanda is expecting as well. She is due a couple of months before Cheryl. Neal admitted to me that he knew that Amanda was pregnant when I first inquired about it, but he wasn't allowed to tell anyone about it yet. Funny! 

Dreams are an interesting thing. This isn't the first dream I've had regarding my future grandchildren. I guess that is one of the spiritual gifts I've been given. I love that I have those kinds of dreams. They are very special to me.

This ultrasound of baby Stronk was taken on March 28th when Cheryl was about 3 months along, I think.

Cheryl & Parker decided not to know ahead of time what the sex of their first two babies was. However, this time around, they decided to find out. She let the kids announce it to the rest of us. She did this in two ways. She sat Kessler and Wesley down on the sofa and through a video asked Kessler if they are getting a new baby brother or a new baby sister. Kessler answered with "a sister". He also got to show his pink donut they got to enjoy to represent the baby being a girl.

Another way the sex of the baby was revealed was through a video with Kessler riding his strider bike trailing a balloon with the color representing the baby's gender.

It was a very fun way to find out the gender of the baby. We are thrilled that they are expecting another little girl. It's exactly what I pictured her having. The baby is due on October 2nd, but will be born by c-section sometime in late September. Can't wait for that day to arrive. I'm so excited to meet our 8th grandchild later this year.

70th Birthday

I just celebrated the completion of my 70th year on this planet. I'm so old!!!  Why is it so hard for me to advance to another decade in age? I'm sad to leave my 60's behind and move on to my 70's! 

My birthday didn't go without celebration this year. We took Cheryl, Kessler, and Wesley out to dinner at The Olive Garden on my birthday. We were celebrating Cheryl's birthday as well since her birthday is only 4 days before mine. The staff sang happy birthday and presented this cake to us. It was delicious and plenty for all of us to enjoy.

Two days later, my children and Jane's children combined forces and planned a fun party for us. After all, you only turn 70 once, right? It was held in Bountiful at the church. It was well attended and a lot of fun.

Some of my siblings couldn't attend for various reasons, but Gayle (and Scott) and Kent (and Ann) were able to join Jane and I in the celebration, along with all of our (Aird and Stott) children and most of our (Aird & Stott) grandchildren. All of my grandchildren were there, which was a lot of fun. I don't have nearly as many grandchildren as Jane does. I believe we had over 50 family members in attendance. Family is forever and I'm glad to be part of this amazing extended family.

The cultural hall was decorated very nicely by Jane's family. Several tables were set up with family pictures as the centerpieces.

The serving table was decorated very nicely. Costco pizza was the main course (missing from the right side of the picture)

Heather made these two beautiful cakes for us. We each got our own! That's a first! We always had to share a cake as children. Heather did a great job decorating them and they were so delicious!

I was aware that we were going to be playing a game called "Name That Twin", but I was unaware that my children were going to come out dressed up as Jane and I. Prior to them coming out, Ben gave Jane and I a navy blue shirt to put on, but we didn't know why. When my kids showed up wearing the same shirt, the why was clear and it was hilarious!

Later on, the Aird children donned the wigs and glasses for a photo op.

Playing the "Name that Twin" game was fun. Jane and I submitted questions to Cheryl (who put the game together) and everyone had to guess which twin the question applied to. To make it harder, some of the answers were "both".

The correct answers are circled. Alan won the game with nine correct answers.

After that, Jane and I had to sit back to back and Cheryl asked us questions. We had to raise the shoe of the person who we thought the question best applied to...like who spends the most money; who is the prettiest; who is the best driver, who got the best grades, etc. It was hard to choose on a lot of them because we are so alike, but it was very fun.

With the games completed, it was now time to sing happy birthday to us and cut the cakes. Just as we were about to blow out the candles, Jane whispered to me "wish for 20 more years together", which I did. It would be so wonderful if we could be together for that much longer, then we could have a celebration for our 90th birthday!

 I don't know about everyone else, but I had a blast. I enjoyed every minute of it, and it was so good to see the Aird and Stott families come together for the celebration. We appreciated everyone who put in so much effort for the party to come together. 

My Answered Prayer

 

Lately, I have felt in some ways that my life parallels Job's life in the Old Testament. Job's life was filled with trial after trial...and so has mine recently. Job never lost his faith and trust in the Lord, and neither have I.  When faced with trials, some people blame God and turn away from Him. I could never do that. He is the one you need most when you are going through trials. You are only doing yourself a disservice if you turn your back on Him.

My trials of late have been of a physical nature. I have written about some of my physical problems in this blog recently, including my latest surgery to repair a torn meniscus in my right knee. It has been a slow recovery, but I'm finally seeing improvement in my motion and I'm not in as much pain as I once was. 

Because of the way I walk, compensating for my bad knee, I started to experience a lot of lower back pain on my left side yesterday. It felt like it could be the beginnings of a pinched sciatic nerve. I know how painful those can be and I desperately hoped to avoid that kind of flare-up.

 Throughout my lifetime, I have leaned on the Lord through prayer for numerous reasons. Sometimes I'm seeking strength, sometimes I'm seeking comfort, sometimes I'm seeking forgiveness for my sins, and other times it's simply a prayer expressing gratitude for my blessings.  My prayers last night and this morning, were for healing of my lower back. 

I know that God hears and answers prayers of all types. I have seen miracles of healing previously in my life, where, without a doubt, I was healed. Other times, I guess it wasn't in the Lord's best interest to heal me instantly. and I haven't received the healing I desired. With my latest two prayers, I received an answer, but not in the way I thought it would come.  I was hoping to be healed instantly like many recipients of Christ's healing in the New Testament. That did not happen to me. That doesn't mean he didn't answer my prayer, however. 

With lingering back pain this morning and literally finding it hard to even walk across the room, I called my physical therapist's office to see if I should cancel my appointment tomorrow where he would continue therapy on my knee. Instead of canceling my appointment, I was told to keep the appointment because my therapist, Bruce Applegate, felt that he could help me with my back problem along with the knee. I asked the receptionist if there was any way that I could get in today instead of waiting until tomorrow and she said that they had just had a cancellation and I could take that time slot. Perfect! I could clearly see how the Lord opened up a pathway for me to get the help I needed. This was the answer to my prayer.

My therapist was able to get my back onto a path of recovery. It was, indeed, a problem with my sciatica. After a few manipulations and exercises, by the time I left the building, I was able to walk more freely and almost pain free. I will see him again tomorrow and hopefully see even more improvement.

The following scripture verses have brought me comfort as I have struggled to heal from my knee surgery and back pain. I have had the opportunity to put these scriptures to the test and found out that it works.

Matthew 11:28-30 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

I'm grateful to know that as I yoke myself with the Lord, he will make my burden light. He will carry any of the load that I cannot bear on my own. Through His suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross, He knows exactly what I am going through. He has suffered even as I have suffered. Unlike anyone else, He infinitely and intimately knows my pain and my sorrow. As we turn to Him, He will truly help us bear any burdens we are asked to endure. God is my strength, my hope, and my light. I testify that He lives!