Took Tradd to the library today and while he was being asked about his "girlfriends" he said "I'm not so successful, you need to talk with Cooper." What? I've never heard him say anything like that. By the way, please don't ask my children about girlfriends or boyfriends until they're about 20!! Seriously, I don't think Tradd even understands that you are "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" before you get married or whatever. I'm pretty sure he still thinks (as I have told him), they are girls and they are friends! They'll naturally form crushes etc. but I don't love the idea of them talking about having a girlfriend or boyfriend when they're in first grade or something. Ugh!! (There I go being controlling again. HAHA!) I'm pretty tired, otherwise I'd try and explain more about why I feel this way. I do want to say that Cooper also said a cute thing today. We were reading a book at bedtime and he pointed to the picture of the giant dump truck and said "ehn I sro up I unna be dat sruck." (big brother had to tell him that's not possible) I think my favorite word in that sentence was "sro" because I literally thought he said "throw up." Oh my, many laughs today!! What a charmed life we live with these three little rascals!! I guess I have to even things out and talk about Coleman. She's growing quite a personality. She's quite possibly the happiest little girl on the face of the earth. She loves climbing all over her brothers and she laughs and jabbers at them. But, nothing makes her go crazy like a bath. (She's had to take about 3 a day since starting to eat because she plays with her hair in between bites.) I can hardly get her undressed she wiggles so much when she sees the water running. Getting her out, however, is not such a happy occasion. This is where her personality is beginning to shine through. Oh, she's very disappointed when the bath is all done. She gets over it pretty quick but not before she puts her lower lip out and gives a little attempt at a tantrum.

Quite sure her first word will be "stop." Scott and I can't kiss and hug on her enough and although she loves it, the more independent she becomes, we're bound to be told to "stop." I don't know, maybe (hopefully) not. Good night!!

Yesterday I picked Tradd up from his classroom at church. He had colored a picture that the teacher told me was a dinosaur. I told Tradd I loved the colors he used and then I asked what kind of dinosaur it was. He thought for a minute and said "it's a Cooper-eater dinosaur." I laughed so hard I thought I'd drop Coleman!!!!!!!!!

By the way, if you're a control freak like me, have you ever tried playing Shutes and Ladders or Candy Land with two year old and four year old boys? Unbelievable experience in letting go. The board moves constantly so you have no idea where you're supposed to be because you're game pieces are never in their proper place. They want the slides down as much as the ladders up so they just put it there instead of counting and waiting turns. Tradd grumbled evertime he didn't get a picture in Candy Land and they didn't want to take their cards in an orderly fashion, they wanted to look through the pile and only draw the ones with pictures on them. I knew from the beginning it was going to be crazy so I just let it be but now I think all that tension of not having things go in an orderly fashion is all built up inside me. I wanted them to have a good experience without mommy getting impatient but now I think I've checked out altogether. You should see this house!!!!

Thank You

Wow 2007 is quickly coming to a close. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by and all that has happened in 2007. I was just feeding Coleman and rocking her to sleep, and I started thinking about all the wonderful people in our lives who have walked beside us throughout this roller coaster year. Here is a list of people we would like to say thank you to for their help and support; (They are in no particular order (other than the first one)

• First and Foremost God for His many provisions, peace, and blessings throughout the year
• Our Family for their support and help while Coleman was in the hospital
• Jim and Charlotte for their love for us and our children and for taking care of the boys during Coleman's hospital stays
• Wendy - for introducing us to Tefra and helping us with the paper work
• Steve, Paula, Matthew and Michael for their support and love and knowledge of Downs Syndrome and giving us the scoop on Babynet and Easter Seals and connecting us to April
• Maggie and Grace for their encouragement and love
• Chad and April for their help and support and introduction to DSAL
• Melissa for her love, support and positive out look on everything related to DS
• Keith for loving Coleman as if she were his own
• Michelle and Daniel for their love from across the big pond and their continued prayers and encouraging words
• My Staff who are our great friends - they were a HUGE blessing throughout this year in more ways than I could ever list
• My fellow staff members and all of Seacoast Church for their love, prayers, food and support
• Mary for her love, support and blessing us with her friendship
• Aunt JoJo (and Lucy) for always having a way to make us laugh and to put things into perspective
• Joel, Tina and family for their friendship, love, prayer and support and regular phone calls, just to check in on us
• Dr Scott Bradly and his staff and crew for doing such an incredible job on Coleman's Surgery
• Dr. McQuinn and the Peds Cardiology staff at MUSC for taking such good care of Coleman and being so friendly and nice and answering all our questions
• Colleen for her friendship love and always looking out for us
• Dr. George for taking such an interest in Coleman and looking out for us while at MUSC
• Cindy (Coleman's PT) for her hard work with Coleman
• Chip, Mary and Corbin for their love, friendship and many blessings
• Travis and Chrysti Carol and boys for their love, friendship and many blessings
• CC and Laura for the wonderful I AM books. Their ministering words and images were such a blessing to us time and time again. Check them out at www.Isaiah4310.com
• Super Rog for his wonderful sense of humor and caring heart
• Judy and David for assisting us with our broken dishwasher
• Moneca for your introduction and wisdom to eating right and naturally
• Stephanie and Sara, God's answer to our prayers for Meghan to have folks who are doing the natural thing too here in Charleston
• Lori F for having great hair
• And everyone else who has blessed us by your thoughtful words and prayers as you have read this blog

Boy, when my husband is right, he is right!! I thought we should get one scooter so the kids could learn to share. hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!! They're having a hard enough time sharing the drums. Cooper is quite the drum hog!! Scott was the one that said they each get their own scooter. Thank goodness for smart husbands. Also, because the boys are boys, they are no longer just riding on them but they are getting many battle wounds from trying to do wheelies and crashing each other and this is all in the house!! They've taken them outside but are really enjoying roller derby in the house on the hard wood floors. What a riot!! Truly, passersby may believe there is a riot going on. Surprised the police and DSS haven't shown up yet.

We are currently helping Cooper go potty twice in the middle of the night. And, Coleman woke up several times last night. (Coleman may have had a belly ache from the spicy sausage and shrimp and potatoes she ate all day yesterday. Oooops!) So, aside from major sleep deprivation, we're having a blast! Hope you are too! Blessings for today, Meghan

Little Drummer Boys

Merry Christmas everyone! It has been a fun time at our house this morning. The kids woke up around 6:30 and came into our room - about 6:50 Tradd finally said something about opening Christmas presents. (Cooper already made the venture to the living room and peeked at one of them.)
Here is a little taste of what will be going on in the Kinney home for the next several days, weeks, months and possibly years! Enjoy the Video - and again Merry Christmas to everyone and Happy Birthday Jesus!

Baby Hunter

My cousin Amber had her second child on December 4th, Hunter. A day or so after he was born she found out that Hunter had a hole in his heart. Yesterday she had another appointment with the cardiologist and found out that he is going to need surgery to fix the two values that are smaller than they should be. He will have surgery between 4-6 months of age. Meghan and I know all to well the stress that a parent faces when their child needs heart surgery. We are asking that you keep Amber and Hunter in your prayers at this time. We will keep you updated as we learn more.
Meghan and I know the power of prayer and praise God for the healing He has done in Coleman.

In Christ's Love,
Scott

Observations

I just thought of something sweet to share. Yesterday Tradd colored on some paper and I told him I loved it and the colors were beautiful. He said, "I have a tear in my eye." I said, "why?" He said, "I sometimes get tears when I look at beautiful things. Just like you cry when you see beautiful things." Well, that qualified as beautiful because I certainly had tears in my eyes when he said that. Later that night after I had relayed the incident to Scott, Tradd told Scott that while looking at a picture of a beloved friend of his (who happens to be a girl) he had a tear in his eye. When Scott asked him why, he said, "because she's so beautiful." Today he told us he'd like to marry this girl and I said, "I thought you were just friends." (we don't encourage the girlfriend stuff at this age!) Tradd quickly replied, "friends can get married." Well silly me, I thought he was turning 5 in February, not 35!!!!!!!!!!! He is sooooooooooooo full of these one liners that I don't have time to write them all down. Cooper is talking a lot now and he loves to sing. Tonight before bed, he was singing very loudly, the Air Force song "off we go into the wild blue yonder." He just learned it tonight and was doing a wiz bang job. He had obviously learned the tune but not so much the words. He's still getting into things like crazy, climbing on counters, making daily messes in bathroom or bedroom or kitchen. Tonight when he was whining and crying about something his brother was playing with, I sent him to his room until he could get some control. Scott later found that he had eaten the rest of a bottle of homeopathic remedy for his cold!! Yikes! This was my fault since I had left it in there. Couldn't find any info. about overdose so we just did the 'wait and see.' My favorite thing that he says is "wecuz." You ask him a why question and he'll always respond with "wecuz" followed by some adorable little explanation. You kind of have to be there for that one. You really have to see his face when he says things. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute!!!!!!!!!!! The boys were arguing the other day and Cooper finally said, "I taulkin' to mommy." He wrinkles up his face in a scowl that looks hilarious for a two year old. Oh, do we have tons of laughs. Cooper is quite the little personality. He's got several shirts that he loves to wear as well as winter hats that he has even worn to bed. He's got a pretty strong personality while Tradd tends to be more sensitive and easier to guide and mold. Tradd has no opinion about his clothes other than he'd rather be in his underwear. Coleman is the happiest, most content little thing!! She pulled up on the couch the other day for the first time and even the boys cheered her for that. She hasn't done it since but I'm sure she will. She's been saying something that sounds like "I did it." Everybody thinks that's what she's saying and even the speech therapist thought so. Cooper has been saying this a lot since he's learning to do things on his own. So, it's entirely possible that's what she's saying. She loves to be around the boys and doesn't mind their noise and jumping around while toys fly through the air. Honestly these kids drive me nuts most of the time. Only because there are 3 of them and they are all at various levels of independence/dependence. When I take time to think about how crazy things are, I realize I heap most of it on myself by expecting them to act any different than 1,2 and 4!! Anyway, they are amazing little blessings in our lives and the source of sooooooooooooo much joy!! It's always helpful to sit down and laugh about their antics instead of stressing about it. It's usually when we're trying to go somewhere that I feel the most stress because I spend at least 15 minutes looking for sippy cups to bring and then there's potty messes that require change of clothes before we leave etc. The same is true when I try to cook breakfast or supper. I can't count the number of interruptions during those times!!! It's mind boggling! Just in the midst of typing those last four sentences, I thought of how blessed we are to have all this craziness because so many people are dealing with infertility issues and they would do anything to have the insanity of raising 3 children. Oh, what a humbling thought!!

I could go on and on about these crazy and amazingly brilliant little ones but I'm tired and ready for bed. May God bless you all richly!! Meghan

Merry Christmas from the Kinney's!

Merry Christmas Everyone! I don't know about you but Christmas is my favorite holiday. Not because of the decorations, food, gifts or anything like that but when I think of Christmas I can't help but think that it was the beginning of the beginning for us. God came to earth as a tiny baby - that first Christmas the whole world received the greatest gift ever and it wasn't because we were good all year long - we weren't on the nice list, but rather on the sinner's list. Yet, God still loved us enough to give us the gift of life. You see without Christmas - there would be no Easter (My other favorite holiday). One of my favorite songs is "End of the Beginning" by David Phelps the chorus goes like this;

He was born of a virgin one holy night in the little town of Bethlehem,

Angels gathered round him underneath the stars singing praises to the great I AM

He walked on the water, healed the lame and made the blind to see again

and for the first time here on earth we learned that God could be a friend.

And though he never ever did a single thing wrong, the angry crowd chose him

Then he walked down the road, died on the cross and that was the end of the beginning

...But three days later He rose!

You need to go to http://www.youtube.com/ and search out End of the Beginning by David Phelps to really appreciate this song. But it sums up the story - "He came, He lived, and He died, but that's just the end, of the beginning." You see if Jesus came, lived and died what purpose would he have served - he would have been another prophet or preacher but God didn't stop there - God raised Jesus from the dead - and that gives us the hope of eternal life with Him, if we just believe.

We serve and awesome God - and 2007 has just been more testimony of God's great love and faithfulness to us and we praise Him for all His blessings - including you our family and friends.

May God Bless and Keep you and yours this Christmas Season!

Much Love in Christ Jesus,

The Kinney's

Happy Birthday Nanny

Hope you have a great day!

Awesome Confirmation

First of all, we're a little late in posting a Christmas greeting to all who found this address from our Christmas postcard. We've got some stories of the many blessings we've had this year and haven't taken the time to summarize it. I still don't have the time right now but I wanted to write about an awesome story I just heard from our friend Betsy. Betsy's friend is in the process of adopting from China. The little girl is in need of surgery on her heart. Betsy's friend had the results of the tests sent to the Mayo clinic for review and asked who was the best Doc for the job. The Mayo Clinic responded with "The best guy in the country for this surgery is in Charleston, SC and his name is Dr. Scott Bradley." You guessed it, the very same doc who so wonderfully fixed Coleman's heart. Can you believe it? We knew he was renowned for his work but what an awesome confirmation that we had the right doc. And, of course, The most capable Physician (God) chose him! Thank you God for the reminder of how you took care of us during that ordeal! More stories of our 2007 blessings and experiences to come. Merry Christmas, Meghan

Happy 1st Birthday Princess Coleman!!!!

Today is Princess Coleman's First Birthday!!! God is so good and we are so blessed and today is just a reminder of how blessed we are! Here are some pictures of Coleman over the past year, enjoy.

Thanksgiving in PA

This was our year to spend Thanksgiving in PA with my family. We got up Tuesday morning for the long drive, however we didn't realize it would be as long as it was. 15 hours to get to my parents house, it normally takes us 12 hours. Coleman did really well on the trip for the first 12 hours, after that she was done traveling and just wanted out. By the time we reached Nanny and Poppy's everyone was asleep.

While at Nanny and Poppy's, Grandma and Grampa Ramage and Grandma Weaver came over to celebrate Coleman's birthday (we'll be posting about the birthday girl soon). We had a really nice birthday party with family and friends from PA. Here are some pictures of Coleman and her first taste of birthday cake.

Watch Out WWF Here Comes Cooper

Cooper and Tradd just love to play around. Here is a little video of them being boys;

Please join us in prayer

I don't want to release names but Meghan and I have some dear friends who are going through a hard time right now with the loss of their infant child. Meghan and I have witnessed the power of prayer by those of you who read this blog and we are asking you to join with us in prayer for this family and the grandparents. We ask that you pray for God's perfect peace to cover them and that the enemy would not be able to get in and make a bad situation worse.
We stand on God's promise that where ever one or more are gathered in "His" name He is there too. We are gathering together through this blog at this time in agreement knowing that God is going to show up in this situation.
Thank you for your prayers.
In His Son's Love,
Scott

My Trip to AZ

Okay where to begin? My boss has asked me to go and check out other churches around the country and see how they are doing Children's Ministry. One church that I was thinking about going to visit was in VA, I'm blocking on the name of the church but it is well known for it's special needs program. Anyway I have a good friend who is a pastor in AZ and started thinking about going there instead. So I went to my boss and asked him which one he thought would be better, a trip to AZ or VA. He said that if I could visit more than one church in AZ that would be his choice for me.
So I contacted my friend Jeff and he set up some churches for us to visit.


Since I was heading to AZ and my cousin Lydia and her husband Vol are out there I thought I would head out a day earlier than planned to spend some time with them.
(This is my Cousin Lydia, we took a hike to see the area!)

This is where God took over my schedule (actually He took it over a long time ago, but this is one area I really saw him working). I found out the Monday before I left that Vol was in the hospital. Lydia was still going to pick me up at the airport, and she was hoping Vol would be out by the time I got there on Thursday. Well, later in the week we found out that was not going to be the case. Vol has been in a wheelchair from an accident that happened when he was younger and due to some complications he was going to need to have his leg amputated. (He had one done a year earlier). It just so happened that the surgery was going to take place on Thursday afternoon, and I arrived Thursday morning. I believe that it was God's plan for me to go to AZ and be able to be with Lydia while Vol was in surgery. (By the way, Vol came through surgery really well, the doctor did think that his leg may not heal properly and that they may need to take more off, but through the power of prayer and a wonderful God, Vol is doing well and without having more of the leg taken off.)


So after spending some time with my cousin (which I love, thank you Lydia) I hooked up with my friend Jeff and headed over to his house to spend time with him and his beautiful family. (Pictured here!)

While I was with them I got to meet an incredible couple, Lori and Brett (sorry if I spelled your names wrong), they are getting ready to have a very special baby. While we were talking I got to share with them the many blessings we have had with Coleman since she was born. Even the time we got to watch God work in our lives through her surgery. I can't wait to hear what God does in their lives as they prepare for the arrival of their little one. And how much more he will bless their lives after the birth.


After being in the middle of what I feel was God's Will for my life during the few short weeks, I was just in awe of God's perfect timing and plans. Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you..."


Two things that really touched me on this trip were, one, being able to be there for my cousin, because I know what it is like to have to sit in a waiting room while a loved one is in surgery. And two after talking to Lori and Brett, I went to bed that night and said, "For such a time as this, God has allowed me to experience all that I have with our special needs child" And I can honestly say that I am humbled and honored that God would take me through something like Coleman's birth and surgery, and allow me to share it with others. If it gives those I'm sharing it with a bit of hope and a glimpse of the AWESOME GOD I serve it is all worth it.


Thank you God for the opportunity to go to AZ, and thank you Lydia and Vol, Jeff, Cristen, and Savannah for opening your home and your hearts to me. I am so blessed to have all of you in my life!


It's good to be home with my family, and I am waiting for the day when God allows Jeff and I to do God's work together, at the same church.


Few prayer requests; Pray for continued healing for Vol and strength for Lydia. Pray also for Lori and Brett and the arrival of their new little one. And pray for God's constant blessings upon Jeff and Cristen and that sweet little princess Savannah.

Her Royal Highness

This little outfit really makes her look like a princess. It was a gift from our friends Jeff and Cristen, whom I recently visited in AZ. I will blog about the trip when I catch up on my sleep. This jet lag thing is a killer. (Plus the rainy weather of SC isn't helping much either). I can tell you this, God was in control of this trip!

Enjoy the pictures of our princess...



Here is a picture of the top of the bow that Cristen made to go with the outfit. Savannah, their daughter, has a matching bow for every outfit. If you are interested in purchasing Cristen's bows just let me know and I'll get you connected to her. They are really sweet, the bows that is, although so are Jeff and Christen!

Out of the mouths of babes

I told Tradd about the dedication ceremony for Coleman and described it as something we do that lets everyone know we are serious about or committed to raising her up to know and love Jesus. I told him that we did this with him and with Cooper. Tradd said something to me about Simba from the movie The Lion King. I said something like "was Simba dedicated too?" Well, we took Tradd to church with us instead of sending him to his classroom. We tried to do the same with Cooper but he wanted to see Miss Jessica. After Coleman was prayed over by our beloved Pastor Michael, Tradd asked me when Coleman was going to be "raised up" like Simba!? All of a sudden his words from earlier came back to me and I pictured the movie where Mufasa, the King and father of Simba, raises him up to show all in the prideland his successor. We got a real kick out of that!
Speaking of Tradd, let me brag on him a little bit. We went to Walmart the other day to buy a small toy which I was using as bribery because I needed to run some errands and I wanted it to be a happy time. We were expecting company after nap time and these were kids we'd never met before. Tradd picked out three toys, one for himself and two for the children that were coming to see us. I thought that was really precious of him and so, of course, we bought the other toys as well. Tradd does that sort of thing a lot. He spent most of this morning talking about his friend Andrew and creating gifts to give him. Tradd is an inventor. He likes to put things together that don't originally go together, in order to make something. He told me that sometimes he has to bite the toys to make them fit together but he says "that's o.k. cuz' that makes the toys better." When he gets a little older, I can't wait to see the stuff he'll come up with. He kind of reminds me of that kid in Toy Story, the one next door to Andy. I know that's probably a bad comparison but that kid was pretty ingenious. The storytellers just made him sort of evil. So Tradd is like him except he's not evil. I know he's gifted to be able to think of uses for things that were not originally designed for such uses and I think this will be a real asset to whatever he chooses to do when he grows up. (Not sure if that made sense, been awake since about 5 AM) Tradd has also recently learned how to swing all by himself. I told him that I wasn't going to be pushing a 5 year old boy on the swing and that he needed to learn. So, he made it with about 6 months to spare! Tradd is tearing up the memory verses we've given him and is also doing quite well with some Spanish vocab. He's a bright one. I really need to spend some time with him on writing skills. I know he could be doing that by now, I just haven't taught him. His attention to detail and his memory have always impressed me and has made me think twice about home-schooling someone so precocious!! I'll have to brag on Cooper some other time when I'm not so worn out from all his antics!! I must say that I've wised up. I now shut the bathroom door tight so that anyone going in there makes a big noise which tells me I'd better go check it out. Then, I put the hand towel out of reach on top of the shower rod because Cooper soaks it every time he's in the bathroom!!!!! Well, now he can't do that. Of course, it requires lots of energy on my part to be where he is all the time and still cook, clean, do dishes and laundry etc. I really think we should get rid of all chairs in our house. I don't get to sit in them anyway so what's the point!? (HA HA! Don't feel sorry for me, just being funny!)

Coleman's Dedication

I want to share with you Coleman’s dedication that took place today, October 14, 2007. We don’t baptize infants at our church; we believe that they are covered by the Grace of God until they reach an age of understanding when they can make a commitment for themselves to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
It was a beautiful service, but it did not arrive without its challenges. It started off with pretty much a sleepless night. The kids were up and it was tiresome for Meghan and I. Then as I was waiting for Meghan and the kids to arrive at church, Meghan sent me a text message saying she was stuck in traffic due to an accident on 526 (the highway that we take to get to church). At that moment I realized the enemy was trying to stop us from this special day and having Coleman dedicated. The sleepless night so that we would not have the energy we needed for the day, the accident slowing up Meghan’s arrival.
But the Bible tells us that Greater is He who is in us than he that is in the world.
The service began but not without its problems. The projector that is used to show the words to the songs, as well as the video message that is watched in the Chapel Venue broke right before service began. But that did not stop anything, the service began and the congregation stood to sing “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, a song that means a lot to Meghan and I, especially after Coleman’s surgery. (thank you Pastor Jeanne for making that happen)
Our dear friends, Jim and Charlotte White, sat in front of us, Charlotte was holding Coleman and after we were done singing Charlotte said something about singing that song at Coleman’s wedding. That wasn’t the first time she mentioned Coleman’s wedding to us. Meghan and I have just never really thought Coleman would get married, it isn’t a common thing with children with downs syndrome. But after hearing the song and hearing Charlotte’s words I thought, great is God’s Faithfulness, and if His plans include Coleman being married one day, then I’m on board.
Anyway, they called our name and we went forward to have Pastor Michael pray for us and for Coleman – It was a special moment having a big guy like Michael who has the most sensitive heart of anyone I have ever met. He had tears in his eyes and a crack in his voice has he prayed for Coleman, the boys and us. We are very blessed to have Pastor Michael as a friend.
It turned out to be a most beautiful occasion and there were several friends there to celebrate with us.
We know people have been praying for us and we feel it every day.
May God bless each of you as he has blessed us above and beyond all we could ask or imagine.
In His Great Faithfulness
Scott

PS. The other thing that made today's dedication special was to be able to have Coleman Dedicated with Samantha, and Abby two beautiful little girls whose mommy's work with me in Children's Ministry - as well as the other wonderful families and friends that had their children dedicated today! We love you all!

These are a few of our favorite things...

We just love these three...they may wake us several times during the night, they may make messes or ask 4,000 questions in one hour, but that's what they are supposed to do, they're kids.

(I can write this now because Coleman is napping and Meghan has taken the boys to the store so daddy has some alone time).

Enjoy the photos and video, I'm sure there will be more to come later.

Coleman Video

It's a long one, but if a picture is worth a 1,000 words then this must be worth a million!

Tradd's New Drum Set

Tradd loves music and loves to play the drums, so every now and then he or Cooper will get the pots out and play. Enjoy his drum solo...

Cooper's Audition for the Lawerence Welk Show

I will be adding more video of the boys and Coleman later, but wanted to share this one with you. It's a little dark, but it is a good night song after all.

The boy's new swingset

Along with our yard makeover we were blessed with a new play set. The boys love it and there is a special swing for Coleman, which she loves.

Wow I'm loving the idea of putting video on here for everyone to see.

Coleman Crawling

I have tried to figure out how to put a video on the Blog - who would have guessed it was as easy as clicking "Add Video". Hope this works - if it does I'll be adding more.

Pictures from the Buddy Walk

As Meghan said, here are some pictures from the Buddy Walk. We had a great time and got to see so many of our new Buddies! Thank you so much to all of you who supported us in the Buddy Walk either financially or by showing up and walking with us, or through your prayers, we are a very blessed family because of all of you.

Meghan and Coleman at the Buddy Walk!

Tradd and Cooper had fun on all the slides and jump castles!

Great t-shirt slogan

Just saw a little boy at the park who's shirt read "0 to naughty in 6.2 seconds." Is that the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even Coleman is speeding along now doing her army crawl. She's mostly motivated by paper items and not necessarily her toys. I'd love to download some video footage if we can. Scott may work on that tonight. Also, some pics of the very successful Buddy Walk yesterday. We had a great time and will be better prepared next year with pics of Coleman to hand out and a banner and maybe even a tent. Thanks so much to our "Buddy's" Bill, Kelly, Liam, and Colin Nixon for coming out and walking with us and also the Propes family for coming out to support Coleman. We sure do have great friends!! Happy Monday!

Cathedrals of great character

I just read an email that compared child-rearing to building great cathedrals. The gist of the comparison is that the cathedral builders were so dedicated that they spent their lives doing this work that they never saw finished and never got credit for. They also may have put detail into the cathedral that would never be seen by anyone but God. The idea is that if no one,(including of course your child) recognizes the hard work you do as a parent, God does! And, for Him we are building, brick upon brick (spill after spill, time out after time out, wiping noses and bottoms) "cathedrals" of character in these little people that our pastor likes to call "crumb crunchers." Well the email was very timely as I often do feel completely invisible to my children except for my role as the all-too-frequent mediator between the boys, or as swing pusher or cook or chamber maid etc. So putting all this touching serious stuff aside, I looked at the "cathedral-building" of the last week. Scott's last post explored one of the messes we've had to endure while building this "cathedral" called Cooper. Well, unfortunately that was not by any means an isolated incidence. That same day, as a matter of fact, Cathedral de Cooper decided to help me clean the walls, mirror and floor in the bathroom. This would have been a wonderful idea if he hadn't left a huge puddle on the bathroom floor which could only be mopped up using at least 3 bath towels. Cathedral de Cooper never stops getting into things!!!!!!! There's my purse which almost daily gets dumped even though it's usually kept up out of reach. There's also the dozen pair of underwear that he puts on throughout the day even though I now have the underwear in his closet with the child-proof door knob. There are whole containers of fish food that are disappearing into the tank in the blink of an eye. Seriously this fish food incident happened today and we were outside during Coleman's nap. I was cleaning out the car and I had just turned off the vacuum when I heard Cooper crying because he flew down the slide faster than he realized it would go (wet slide and slippery swimsuit). On my way to the backyard (mind you, I had been at one end of the driveway and the swing set and slide are in full view at the other end of the driveway) I stopped to lecture Tradd on the topic of complaining. I literally bent down and looked Tradd in the face for no more than 30 seconds tops, and when I looked up to resume my walk to Cooper at the slide, he was no longer there and I couldn't hear his crying anymore. Well, where do you think he went? What could have been running through his mind? "I hurt myself and want to get my blankie." "I hurt myself and I want some food to comfort me." "I hurt myself and I want my mom to comfort me." No, I'm pretty sure this is what was on his mind; "I hurt myself on the slide and the only thing that will console me is if I go in the house and dump the whole container of fish food in the tank and wake my sister up in the process of pulling the chair over to the aquarium!!!!!!!" There can be no other explanation for what he might have been thinking at that time because in way less than 2 minutes that is in fact the scenario of what happened.
Well, I've gone on for quite a bit now. You can imagine that I either have Cooper tied up somewhere while I write this or he is napping. Today, I actually have all 3 kids down at one time. I've become so insane from Cooper's 2 y.o. antics that I think I was afraid to lay down for fear of what he might do if he wakes up before I do and I don't hear him. Well, that's my story about building cathedrals. While I thought that was a touching analogy, it certainly doesn't seem like any great "Cathedral" could come of the last 6 months of spills and messes, mud pies and wiping his own bottom. I should also say that Tradd went through this stage with the same messes and silliness and he's now just more verbally inquisitive. And, Coleman the princess, is as cuddly as they come. It's a good thing she's holding her own bottle now because feedings used to get interrupted by my having to get up and get Cooper on the right track.
Time for more cathedral building! They're awake.

Cooper Makes Breakfast

I wish I had pictures to share with everyone on this monumental occasion for Cooper, but at the time the camera was not on my mind.
The morning started like any other, Coleman awoke at her regular 6:00 am time. Shortly after Tradd and Cooper made their way through the house looking for mommy and daddy. Mommy was in the bedroom and Cooper stuck with her, but Tradd ventured out into the living room and found daddy. As they do every morning the broken record started "Dad, I'm hungry, can you get me something to eat." Well I guess I wasn't fast enough this morning because while I was back in the bedroom talking to Meghan Tradd came running in calling "Daddy, Daddy, Cooper's..." At that point I nicely said, "Daddy is talking right now, you are going to have to wait." He tried again, "But Daddy, Cooper's..." again I interrupted him and said; "Mommy and daddy are talking and you are going to have to wait just one minute till we are done."
He waited patiently and when I asked him what he wanted he told me; "Cooper's making a mess." Well, why didn't he tell me that in the first place....
So as I reached the kitchen (expecting Cooper had gotten into the flour - which he has done before) I find Cooper standing in the middle of a nine egg omelet he decided to make for us on the floor with his hands and feet. Can you picture it? I hope so because at the time I wasn't laughing and getting the camera was the furthest thing from my mind.
As I have heard from Meghan, after I left for work and Meghan was trying to get the kids dressed and ready for their outing, Cooper decided he was going to make a snack and dumped the chicken soup all over the kitchen floor too. I think he is going to be a chef!
Other than the cleaning up messes, everyone is doing well! Just another messy day in the Kinney home!

Buddy Walk

Hey Gang the Kinney Family will be joining many other families in the Buddy Walk this month. For more information check out our Buddy Walk website at

http://buddywalk.kintera.org/lowcountry/colemankinney?faf=1&e=1233106221

We are looking forward to making this a yearly family event! We are excited to introduce the boys to other children with Downs Syndrome - I know they will do great as they have become such sweet hearts in the past couple of weeks with Coleman.

As for an update on Coleman she is doing great! She has started to do the army crawl and now can get from one place to another on her own. Time for the gates and barriers to keep her in one room.

Thanks again for the continued prayers and support for the family!

Also, please keep in your prayers my cousin Lydia and her husband Vol. Vol is back in the hospital, I don' t have the details but will be getting them and posting them soon.

IN HIS LOVE,

Scott, Meghan, Tradd, Cooper, and Coleman

Pictures from Vacation

Tradd and Cooper frog hunting at the lake, at one time I think they had about 15 frogs in their bucket. Tradd was frog hunting and swimming from morning till night. Cooper on the other hand, he would get tired and go play in the dirt for a while then come back.

Tradd also enjoyed fishing with Grandpa! I still think Tradd enjoyed playing with the worms best of all! He is all Boy!

One thing Cooper started off enjoying but quickly learned it was not as safe as it looked, was jumping on the bed, thus the band-aid over the eye!

And Princess Coleman, well she just kept working on sitting up and we are happy to say she has perfected it! (However we are still working on the falling over part - with hardwood floors we have to put lots of padding around her when she is on the floor.)

Coleman adores her brothers, especially Cooper!

Vacation and More (with more to come!)

Sorry for the delay in getting new posts out there - we have been quite busy lately. We just got back from a wonderful vacation with Meghan's family at their lake side cottage in Michigan. We had wonderful weather, food and fellowship. (More about vacation w/pictures to follow) Before leaving on vacation we had to get all our belongings out of our house into a storage POD because while we were gone we were blessed with our carpet being ripped up and our hardwood floors restored - and to top it off we were blessed further by having the rooms painted (and repainted). Again we will be getting some photos and more details as soon as we can find all the cables and cords and get the furniture unpacked (sitting on hardwood floors to type is not comfortable - I must be getting old). Anyway, just wanted to say we are back safe and sound and had a blast! We are excited to be back in our house and thankful to our good friend Jodi for allowing us to stay at her place while the floors dried! Can't wait to share pictures and stories!
OH BIG NEWS...Coleman is sitting up on her own now, and not just sitting up but going from a laying down/crawling position to a sitting up position all by herself!!!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!

I'll describe why he feels that way about them. They are so full of life and curiosity and pureness. While those are things that make us in awe of them and love them so much, those are also the things that drive us crazy. Cooper's curiosity has broken several windows, wasted lots of dish soap, flour, milk and vanilla yogurt. His openness and lack of inhibition is what makes him the best 2 year old hugger around. While his eyes are filled with mischief, they are also filled with adoration (for his sister especially) and love and wonder at the world and people around him. Tradd's curiosity leads to the catch of many bugs and lizards, the accumulation of much dirt outside, inside and all around our house (as well as the accumulation of tons of laundry). His imagination never stops and neither does his mouth!! Lately his mouth only stops talking long enough to consume volumes of expensive vanilla yogurt, blueberries and ham (also pricey). I'm in awe of his resilience even after I've lost my temper with them. He's always willing to offer forgiveness when I ask it. He's not as forgiving of his brother though. We've spent a great deal of time bandaging wounds (both physical and emotional) that Cooper the brutus has caused. Tradd's not 100% sure that Cooper can stay. Ha Ha! And then there's Coleman. I can't think of anything she does that drives me crazy. At least not yet. She's starting to get up on all fours so I'm sure to have a list of things she does that drives me crazy soon. What drives me crazy in love with her is her cuddly preciousness. She's just happy and cuddly and so easy to please. All our kids were this way so we are indeed very blessed!! We are also extremely well provided for. I'll write more later about all the details but our hard-wood floors are going to be restored and new windows put in while we're on vacation. These things and the recent yard makeover are gifts from wonderful friends and of course the Lord!!!! We are blessed beyond measure!! Meghan

Love Those Kids

Can I just tell you how much we love our children. I mean, yeah they do some things that gets them in trouble, but all and all they are great kids. I'm sure all parents think they have great kids, but we really do. I don't have any specifics at this time I just wanted to say how wonderful I think my children are. I love to listen to Tradd as he tells stories and shares all he knows about life and everything around it. Cooper just has the cutest look about him - I can't explain it but if you look at his picture you will see it in his eyes. And the Princess Coleman has me so wrapped around her finger it's not even funny, all she has to do is smile at me and I melt.
We just Love them and we Thank God for sharing them with us!

The Proud Parents of Three Great Kids!

Swimming Lessons

Tradd is taking swimming lessons. We signed him up with his friend KateLynn (shown in the picture with Tradd). However KateLynn had already taken the first class earlier this year so she was now in class two and Tradd was in class one. After the first day, Tradd was excited. When I came home from work he couldn't wait to tell me about swimming lessons. After the second day, when I was putting him to bed, he told me he didn't want to go back. So I played the good dad and said "why not?" (I was actually thinking, "You don't have a choice, we paid for it and you will enjoy it). He said that he didn't like it when he got out of the water because he was cold. Now remember we live in SC and it is July and the real-feel temps have been over 100, but he was cold. I figured there was more and tried to get it out of him but he stuck to his story. That was Tuesday night and after Wednesday's class he still felt the same way, but this time he told me he wanted to be in KateLynn's class. Well Thursday he got his wish, KateLynn's teacher, Courtney, took him into her class which changed Tradd's whole outlook on swim lessons. He was so excited to be in Ms. Courtney's class, by the way, Ms. Courtney is a blonde high school (or college) student. Tradd has something for blonde's. When he was about two we were eating out and our waitress was a young blond girl. When she came to take our order Tradd chimed in real quick like; "You're Pretty". We had pretty good service that night!

So all weekend long Tradd asked if he could go to swim lessons (which are only Monday - Friday). Yesterday swim lessons started back up again but to Tradd's disappointment Courtney was not there, but not to worry, there was another blonde in her place and Tradd was content, however today Courtney was back and Tradd was overjoyed. I believe he has a little crush on Courtney. We are going to get a picture of the two of them together so we can show it to him later in life.

He's a piece of work, but we love him anyway!

My Friends the Wards

Meghan and I are so blessed to have so many friends and such a huge variety of friends. We met one particular family who have stolen our hearts, and that is Jeff and Cindy Ward, and their kids Abby, Michael and Matthew.

I met Cindy when I started working at Seacoast Church. She was the admin. assistant for our Worship Arts department. Now in all honesty I didn't really get to know Cindy until she gave birth to Michael. (And what a testimony that little guy is - you'll have to ask Cindy about it sometime). Anyway, Michael and I became great buddies. We used to take walks together at lunch and sometimes just hang out in the nursery singing good old fashion Bible School songs.

Michael will always hold a special spot in my heart, he's just an all around great kid. Abby is a special princess too and has developed into a wonderful young lady. (Yet another great story Cindy can tell you later).

Meghan and I had the privilege of being able to baby-sit Abby and Michael while they lived here in Charleston. We like to look at it as our "on the job training" for parenthood.

Anyway, if you don't know the Ward's I am sorry for you, but they are a great family. We love and respect Jeff and Cindy and we had the honor of having lunch with them while they were in town. (Actually, I got to spend every day with Abby and Michael during VBS at the church) but it as great getting to talk with Jeff and Cindy too.

Anyway, Cindy has had the opportunity to speak at her church, Destiny church in VA. It's a great message, she's got a real gift for speaking.

You can check out Cindy's latest speaking gig at http://www.destinychurch.net/ .

Also check out the wards blog and get to know them you can find it under "Blogs I read" at the top.

Cindy and Jeff and kids, we love you and miss you!


(Cindy, Michael and Coleman) (Jeff, Matthew and Coleman)

What you all are not aware of is that I pointed a gun to his head to say those wonderful things. HaHa! Naw! If you know Scott then you know he says wonderful things like that to me everyday! I am blessed!!!!!!!!! It's been like living a fairytale for 8 years and I can't wait to see the wonders of what else God has in store!!

1. I must brag on Scott for a minute. He took the day off and asked friends to watch the kids so we could go to the beach by ourselves and relax. Then, we had a wonderful lunch at a friend's house where we were given the royal treatment. Thanks a million Elise and Gabriel at the "Lakeside Cafe." Thanks also to the ones who made our getaway possible by giving such wonderful care to our children. Thanks Jill and Edward! What a blessing you all were! Scott says there's more time away throughout the week. Yea, for us!! Meghan
2. On Tuesday evening our friends Maria and Myland (sp) came over and watched the kids so that we could go out to dinner. It was very nice eating without kids and having to entertain them. We then got to walk around the shopping center and just have adult conversation.
3. On Friday our friend Betsy came and took Meghan out for a girls day - she will have to tell you what they did when she gets home. Meghan and Betsy are like twins separated at birth. They both love doing home projects and tearing things apart and putting them back together.

8 Wonderful Years

Eight years ago today I became the luckiest man alive. It's the day I got to marry the women God had planned for me. I can't believe we have been married 8 years, it seems like so much longer, in a good way. I can't imagine not being married to Meghan, she's my best friend and a wonderful wife and mother. We still have days when we look at each other and say "we're really married!" And then if you didn't think God had a sense of humor, not only have we been married for eight years, but we have three children!!!! Can you imagine, I'm a dad! Don't get me wrong, I have always wanted to be a dad, and I love being a dad but wow a dad and a husband that's a lot. But the really cool thing is, that God has shared with me the best person to complete me. Through everything I know that God and Meghan are always with me to share in the good times and the bad times and that means a lot.
I love Meghan and I love that God has shared her with me and made her a HUGE part of my life!
So Meghan, Happy Anniversary and may God bless us with MANY MORE!!!!!!!

Updated photos on Extreame Yard makeover

Hey they finished the drive way and the yard yesterday and Meghan and I couldn't be more pleased. We can't stop taking walks around the house looking at everything. I even have enjoyed the yard! Raleigh went out yesterday after the sod was laid and just rolled around in the grass, it was so cute to see. I can't wait till she can just run around in the back yard.

WE have been so blessed!!!!! God is Amazing and such a wonderful provider.

Enjoy the Pictures!

A nice yard for the kids

Before I talk about what's happening in our yard, I want to update about Coleman. She's doing wonderfully!!!!! We have a checkup tomorrow morning where they will do an EKG and an X-ray. She's just amazingly happy, full of smiles and wiggles. She especially enjoys it when her brothers play with her and she can pull their hair. She's a beautiful picture of health!! She will need to be very hearty to keep up with her brothers and to take full advantage of the most incredible yard make-over in history. We have some amaaaaazing friends who offered to landscape our yard and give us a cement driveway. The boys have had a blast seeing the Bobcat move all over the yard and the dump truck loads of dirt and tomorrow the cement truck comes!! What an exciting week for the Kinney's!!! For those who don't know, prior to this make-over our yard, especially in the back, has been a jungle of wisteria vines and old stumps, fire ant hills, very little grass and a partially broken up slab of cement. We were blessed enough to have a wonderful swing set and slide in the midst of the danger zones. (As a mother, I often worried about all the dangers as it was not a very child-friendly place to be. ) Anyway, that is all no longer a worry. Tomorrow the driveway and I think a patio too, goes in and Friday the sod comes. I forgot to mention the fence too. Don't know when that will be done but we're also being given a new playhouse/swing set/ I don't know what all it has. I told Tradd about this all the other day before they began and he declared "I don't want another swing set." I think he's starting to get excited about what might be coming for him cuz' he hasn't whined about the loss of his old swing. Well, Tradd is waiting for me to finish writing so we can read while everyone else sleeps. Oh, how I wish I could sleep too. Tradd's last nap was Sunday. I know he'd still take one but he doesn't fall asleep then until about 9 or 10. Oh, I just remembered that they also put in an irrigation system and several trees and shrubs (like about $1200 worth) were given to the landscape guy to use in our yard. And, (yes there's more) Scott and I knew the grade or slope of the yard went toward the house but we never realized how bad that was until they were done for the day the other day and it poured like buckets and we had a lake, literally, around our foundation. This was before they brought in the dirt. Well, now they've added 10-12" right up by the foundation to help the water drain away. What an incredible blessing not only for aesthetic reasons but for the longevity of our foundation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow!!!!!!!!!!! Have a blessed day!! Meghan

Vacation Bible School and more...

Good Morning! I have an early start to my day today, because it's the first day of Vacation Bible School. As stressful and time consuming it is to pull off a VBS, and any of you who have ever been involved with putting together a VBS (of any size) knows this, I'm really looking forward to it. Now you won't normally find me writing about my work on this blog, because it is for my family, not my job, but I have to let you know that I have the best job and team ever. For those of you who might be reading this and don't know, I am the children's minister for our church. I have a great staff and they work extremely hard. Usually things slow down for folks in the summer, but our activities pick up. We have four different activities going on this summer for kids from 3 1/2 years - 5th grade. As Meghan recently wrote we just had our camp and that was AWESOME. Throughout the summer we have been doing what we call "Sonshine" which is basically a story time for our preschoolers. And today we kick off two big programs, VBS which we are doing "Take the Plunge" where we will teach kids to Plunge into Obedience, courage, faith, worship and service. We will end the week with a family fun day at one of the water parks down here. We also have a great program lined up for our 3rd, 4th and 5th graders called Nerve 2 Serve Missions Week where we will teach kids how to serve in the church, the community and around the world. I am really excited about all of the programs and ask if you would join me in praying for all those whose lives will be affected by these programs. Not just the kids but the leaders, and the staff, the community and the world.
Thanks for praying and may God bless each of you!

In Him,
Scott

PS. stay tuned for an up date on Coleman and pictures of the kids

July 4th 2007

Hey everyone, sorry it has taken me so long to write again. Thanks so much for your prayers while I was at camp. We had a great time and all the kids and leaders returned home in one piece.

Our Mission focus for the week at camp was on the Roma people, the gypsies of Romania and surrounding areas. Anyway, this was something near and dear to me because for our one year anniversary, Meghan and I got to spend a month in Romania with our missionary friend Michelle. I fell in love with a lot of the folks we worked with and the area. Anyway it got me thinking about the oppression they are under as a country and the way a lot of them live. And I was just in AWE of God that he would allow me to be born in America. If you stop and think about it, any one of us could have been born anywhere in this world, at any time in history. Then I started thinking about today, the day we gather together with family and friends to have parades, picnics and parties, then we pile in cars, fill up parks and watch fireworks...but it is WAY much more than that. I want my children growing up to know that today is more than July 4th, today is Independence Day! I want them to understand and respect all those things so many of us take for granted. Especially our freedom to worship God where, when and how we want. Meghan and I have been so blessed to be surrounded by family and friends who have or are currently serving in the military and I appreciate them so much for giving me my freedom and for keeping us a free country.

So today, when you are out having fun with your family, or tonight while you watch the fireworks light up the sky stop and think about this... you could have been born in a third world country somewhere instead of in America, then take a minute to say thank you to God, and to a veteran and a service man or women.

I leave you with the words from Lee Greenwood:

"I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free

And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me

And I proudly stand up next to you and defend her still today

Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land

GOD BLESS THE USA!"

A Ok

Coleman was put on an antibiotic thurs. pm and sat. am her incision looked much better. We went to doc again this am and they said she could continue to have some problems with the incision because they can feel the dissolvable stitches just under the skin and they may cause some more problems but nothing unmanagable. We're very thankful she responded so well to treatment. Scott is off to camp today so my prayers are for their safety this whole week and for God to touch their hearts mightily. Our God is gooooooooooood!

Prayer and a Picture

Hey, just wanted to let everyone know that Coleman went to the doctor today because of an infection that has started over her incision. Please pray for healing. She is doing fine and they have her on antibiotics and will go see the doctor again on Monday.

I also wanted to put up a picture of me and kids that was taken to be used in a special song that was sung at the church on Father's day.

Posting again soon,

Scott

Latest Update on Gabe

I wanted to send this to you all. I just got the email from Pam, Gabe's mom and wanted to share it. Thank you so much for praying for this family - please keep praying. (There's a Coleman update at the bottom, so read on!)

WE ARE HOME!! Gabe is a complete miracle. No one expected him to be home yet. Honestly we could have come home last Tues. (that would have been 1 week and 4 days post surgery, WOW) but the doctors thought that we should probably stay until his heart Cath that happened last Friday. That afternoon we came home! I’m sorry that I haven’t e-mail any updates since June 6th. The e-mail server that we have our e-mails through decided that MUSC’s sight was a risky sight so it shut down my e-mail capabilities. Anyway, Gabe is one of if not the best transplant recipient MUSC has had. He has shown ZERO rejection and his Tacro levels have been text book perfect. He has virtually a perfect matched heart! Thank you LORD!
Thank you all for your prayers, they have been answered! He looks incredible! He is pink and he actually has nervous energy! You know like when kids are sitting and they bounce their legs or move their leg back and forth. Gabe never did these things because he didn’t have the energy.
Another thing that I have learned from all this is to not take the little things for granted.
We still have to be very careful with him from a sickness standpoint. We can’t take him out in public places without a mask. Yea right! That means we can’t go out with him period for 6 months because he will NOT keep a mask on. I can’t say that I blame him. After a year we can relax a bit more but he will always be on the anti rejection med’s that compromise his immune system. Right now he is still on Prednisone and his face is puffy and he has drug induced diabetes. I have to check his blood sugar 4 times a day and sometimes give him insulin. But as soon as we can get him off the prednisone the diabetes will go away. Thank God!
Please continue to keep him in your prayers for protection from illnesses or infection and that we can come off of the prednisone soon!

Thank you so very much for everything!

Many blessing and much love,
Pam, Bruce, Gabe, Carra and Julian

Isn't that GREAT NEWS God is so good!
As for Coleman, she is doing really well. She has started to roll over again and push herself up. She has to be careful because if she lets herself down too quick it hurts, but she only fusses a short time, then tries again.
We had our first outing into public with her, she got to go to church with us this past Sunday. It was a great Father's Day to be able to hold my daughter while singing praises the our Father in Heaven. And the testimony that was shared by Phil Long this past weekend was so moving. You can check out the message at http://www.seacoast.org/ and listen to the message.
Thanks again to everyone, not only for your prayers for Coleman and our family, but for Gabe, and his family and Baby Chester and his family. (still waiting on an update from them)
In His Loving Arms,
Scott

If anybody is still reading this now that Coleman's surgery is over; you should know that today is another important day in our household. Today is Scott's birthday!!!! So, feel free to call, email, or post here a birthday greeting/wish and make his day/weekend! Thanks!! Email is kinram@msn.com or his cell is (843) 478-5552. Mucho Gracias! Meghan

Trip back to PA update

When last I blogged, AAA came to jump start the van and mom, dad, Karen and the kids were heading to exit 160 to get a new battery at Sears. They had the exit in view when the van died again. Another call to AAA and they were picked up and towed to Sears, where they got a new battery, had the car looked over and they were on their way. Then they arrived in Lumberton, NC where, little did they know, but they were about to spend the night and several long hours the next morning there. They got a good deal on the hotel but ended up renting a Uhaul to tow the van back to PA. But since 5 people can't fit in a Uhaul my sister, mom and niece had to take a taxi to Fayettville, NC to rent a car to drive home. When I talked to them around 5 pm tonight, they were just south of Richmond, VA. They should be home in Bloomsburg around 10 or 11 pm. So if you are reading this, please pray for safe travels and pray that some how the cost of the repair will be minimal.
I have been stressed over their journey home and I wasn't even with them, can't imagine how they felt.
Much Love to All
Scott

June 11th Update

Hey gang wanted to give you all an update and a couple of prayer requests. Coleman is doing really well. She slept much better last night and took some really good naps today.
My folks and sister and her kids headed back to PA today. They got to mile marker 130ish and the car died at a rest area. AAA came and jumped them and they are now heading to get a new battery. Please keep them in your prayers for safe travels home to PA.
I also received an email today from a friend of mine who has been following the blog and realized what strong prayer warriors are out there and has asked for you to pray about something - here is her email.
I have a prayer request if you could spread it around to your mighty prayer warriors. Aunt Doe has been working for years with addicts, as you know. There are no long-term inpatient treatment centers for adolescents in the Baltimore area, and there are no inpatient treatment centers for women in the county. She has been working hard with her friends in the county to get a residential treatment program together for girls -- one where they will have a therapeutic horseback riding program and care for the animals as part of their rehab. So, a lot of the pieces are starting to come together, but this has happened before and something or someone has interfered at the last minute to make the whole deal fall apart. This week all of the players are going to come together and give a really good go at making the program happen. Please keep them in your prayers. When I worked at the jail, and just observing my friends and Doe who are involved in helping these women, the deck is doubly stacked against them. There are not half the opportunities, job programs, funds, or rehab facilities that there are for young men. I am not sure why, but it's true, and I have seen some very motivated, hard-working and bright women end up back on the streets because all of their hard work is met with brick wall after brick wall here in Harford County. So -- that's my case! Please add this to your lengthy prayer request list.

Thanks for praying and I promise to add more pictures of the kids soon!
Scott