We LOVE Our New Swings!

I think that I shared in an earlier post that Fred's dad bought the kids swings for Christmas. We haven't invested in a swing set just yet, so for now, the tree in the front yard works great!

Over the weekend, my parents, Laura, Maddie Grace, and Ashley came to visit. We had soooo much fun! We celebrated Anna Bell's first birthday with cake and presents. Anna Bell seemed to like cake: she wasn't nearly as messy about it as her brother was!
(I'll try to post some pictures soon)
Joshua adores his cousin, Maddie. They act so silly together! It's so fun to watch. Joshua tries to do everything that Maddie does, which is mostly a good thing. However, one thing that I'm kind of bummed that Joshua picked up from his big cousin is that he decided/realized that he could climb out of his crib! Stink! I thought that MAYBE he'd forget once they all left, but nope: yesterday when it was time for his nap, he climbed out twice. Finally, he slept in his big bed, but only for about 50 minutes. Since nap time is for 2 hours at the Broome house, this was not so great. We've decided that the standard/rule is going to be that there will be consequences for getting out of bed without mommy or daddy, which is working well so far. If any of ya'll have any wisdom to share about this transition, we'd love to hear it!

My Sweet Husband

Tomorrow is our four year anniversary! Some of our dear friends from the college ministry in Indiana are coming to visit for the weekend, so Fred surprised me with a whole day of celebration yesterday. It was so fun! Just as we were falling asleep on Monday night, he casually said, "I took the day off tomorrow." I could barely fall asleep because i LOVE it when Fred is home, especially in the middle of the week like that. When we got up the next morning he said that we needed to go ahead and get ready because we were going to Atlanta! Once in the car, he asked if I'd rather go to the Aquarium or IKEA (my FAVORITE store as of late!). Both ideas sounded super fun to me, but we ended up deciding that it would be a major bummer if we paid all that money for the aquarium and the kids weren't into it....so: we chose IKEA. The picture above is what Fred got me for our anniversary: it's a storage unit for the laundry room. Like most stay-at-home-moms, I'm constantly trying to think up ways to better organize and make it look "cool" at the same time. Doesn't this look so cool!!!!! Thank you, my amazing husband!!!! If that wasn't enough, Fred also made me an appointment for a pedicure when we got back...but we missed the appointment because we were at IKEA for like 3 hours!!! When we did get home, we got ready and fed the kiddos and one of Fred's interns came over and watched them so that we could go out to eat. It was such a great day!!!!

I am so completely blessed by and thankful for our marriage. Fred is such an incredible husband and daddy. He lives out the description of what love looks like found in I Corinthians 13 so much better than I do. I am so overwhelmingly grateful that God saw fit to make me

Fred Broome's wife!!!

Update

Thank you all for praying for our friends...I know that so many of you can picture yourself in Jesse & Shanee or Leslie's place and have great compassion for what they're going through. We haven't heard any more from Jesse & Shanee...but they should be back in the states for a memorial celebration any day now. As for Leslie, all the reports from doctors have been good so far: what they have tested of her lymph nodes has been reported to be cancer-free...which is an amazing answer to prayer since her tumor was so large. Please continue to pray for healing and strength as she starts treatment. Leslie has a website that keeps people updated and allows them to post prayers/Scripture/encouragement : http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/leslieshuler

Psalm 34:18

"The righteous cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

More Pictures

Nana (Fred's mom) gave Joshua this dump truck...he will LOVE to haul stuff outside with it!
Joshua loves trains right now-- David and Melissa (Terry's daughter/son-in-law) gave him this one.

The kids at our Christmas party with the students...they had a BLAST hanging out with the big kids (Joshua wanted to host with daddy all night...he really likes microphones) Anna Bell and Joshua have both had stinky colds since Christmas. I took AB to the doctor and she has a bad double ear infection. She has been throwing up and coughing so much. She finally started to perk up after her nap yesterday, so we played outside for a few minutes. This is her first smile since we've been home from St. Louis!

Picture Catch-up

Joshua LOVES to ride the horsies at the mall...he will often say "let's go shoppin!" (which really means that he wants to ride the horsies...just a clarification that Fred would prefer that I make:))

We're into abstract art at the Broome house

(piece #1 by Joshua titled: "q-tips and cheerios on the bathroom rug"...beautiful, isn't it?

piece #2 by mommy and Anna Bell titled: "peas and bananas")

Check out AB's top tooth in the above picture...thankfully the other three have since come in beautifully!

Amazing Faith

Fred and I just received this email from our dear friends...thank you for blanketing them in prayer, please continue to do so. We thought that you all would be encouraged by their great faith in our Great God.

Priya Jean was born by C-section at about 4:30 on the evening of Dec. 31st. After struggling through the night she went to be with the Lord around 6 am on New Year's morning. She weighed about 5.5 pounds (1 pound of which was fluid), and she was unable to overcome the fluid that had built up in her chest and abdomen. She struggled throughout the night as her blood pressure kept dropping and the doctors tried everything to overcome it. Shanee and I were able to hold her and say goodbye to her with our mothers there by our side. Shanee is doing fine after her C-section. She should be able to leave the hospital tomorrow or the next day. Shanee and I are so thankful for your prayers and for all the support we've received here. Our good friends Nathan and Kari were here in Delhi and they were there with us at every step. Also, our good friends Glen and Marvella flew straight here to Delhi from Thailand and were like another set of parents to us throughout this ordeal. This has been, without a doubt, the most difficut thing we've ever been through. We are pleased that our daughter is through with the troubles of this world and in the arms of her Lord. And we praise Him. We praise Him. Job said it best in the wake of losing all that he valued on earth: "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." That conveys our feelings better than anything we could say. The Lord gave us Priya, and He has chosen by His gracious will to take her away. Blessed be his Name. Her life was an undeserved gift to us. We wouldn't trade one moment of the seven months we had with her. And we praise God for it from beginning to end. We don't know the reason why she was taken, but we know the God who made that decision. And He is enough for us. He is our glory and our strength. We want to praise Him right now as the God of all grace and comfort. He has been our truest and most constant companion in the midst of all this. We are in the midst of arranging the details for a flight back to Missouri. We should be there in the coming week. We'll hold a memorial celebration there--details will follow. Once again, thank you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement. It is our desire that you would praise the Lord with us at this time. He is always worthy of it. For His Name,Jesse and Shanee