New Addition

Today we went to the animal shelter and came home with a new addition to the family.
A very sweet little Lhasa Apso mix that was in very high demand as while we were sitting doing the paperwork, 2 people called and one came in to try and take this sweetheart home. She will require some potty training, but she is very sweet, so I hope it won't be too difficult. Her 'cousin' Bella the pug is already looking foward to meeting her.

Here she is watching TV with Kate
Just being cute.

Frolicking in the back yard, enjoying life outside the kennel.

Solitude

This week, I travelled to Young Life's Lost Canyon to spend Monday afternoon through Wednesday night in "Group Solitude".

We each had our own room and were only allowed to talk during dinner and a short amount of time after each dinner. It was nice to get away from everything and spend time in silence, prayer and rest.

It was also entertaining watching a group of YL staff, normally noted to be a robust group of very social people, try to not talk as we spent time in the same general area.

I took two things from my time;
-I have never felt more happy in where I am with the Lord as I do now. I have often been 'afraid' of silence in the past as I think I've always known that I wasn't really following him.
-I was assured through a very specific incident of God's love.

Pomagranate

We own a rental house that I do the yard work at regularly. About 1 year ago, I had some friends help me do a major cleanup, which included hacking down to nothing a major pomegranate plant in the back yard. We took out everything we could see, but didn't touch the roots.

This week as I was picking some weeds, I noticed something. Not only had the pomegranate tree grown to about 4 feet tall again, but it had fruit on it again!

It got me thinking. As Christians, we concentrate so much on what is above the ground and the fruit that others can see in our lives. Often times we are devastated or suffer great deals of emotional pain or frustration when our fruit is taken away or we are pruned back and it seems like we will never bear fruit again.

What people don't see is the roots, the important part of the plant. I hacked away (with great effort and help) at this plant for some time, but the tree was well rooted and even though I attacked everything that could be seen, the tree was still a tree and without any assistance, it not only grew again, but bore fruit quickly.

If we keep our lives rooted in Christ, we know that no matter what happens to the fruit or if we suffer great setbacks in our ministries or our lives, God will be there to help us grow and bear fruit again. Just like my pomegranate tree.

Lovely visit

Today marked the departure of Rachelle's brother Chad and his family. The cousins are so close in age and I look forward to a lifetime of watching them grow together and continue to be friends.

Our week included the zoo and aquarium, golf and lots and lots of Guitar Hero. Rachelle and Teralynn got into it, which brings my favorite picture of the weekend:

Rockin moms, patient kids. Can you just hear the questions, "When is it my turn mommy?"

Better late than never, right?

One discipline that I've struggled with over time is journaling. It's no surprise to me that I don't update the blog that often.

The Bakers are doing quite well, feeling overwhelmed by all that God is doing around us.

The church has moved into their new building and are near the end of their search for my replacement, hiring a full time children's pastor in my place, I'm quite excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel of this tri-career time in our lives.

Young Life in Surprise is going GREAT with the volunteer leaders doing a fantastic job loving kids and sharing God's love with them. We continue to pray for finances as we still are short of our goal to come on staff full time.

Rachelle continues in her stability with her part time physical therapy to special needs kids, working with many of the same families that she has for years.

Kate is our mini-teacher and super reader, with a very sweet and kind heart, taking extra care of a girl with special needs in her class.

Ryan is a fantastic little ball of energy that is so funny and often surprises with his silly comments and desire to wrestle.

On another note, we purchased (and expect delivery tomorrow) of our new camera, so I hope to gain better knowledge with photos and share some of my work.

Ryan's Biopsy

Biopsy procedure went well today. Ryan was so great, what a blessing! He had nothing to eat or drink and was not taken to the operating room until 9:30am (up at 6 am). He was in good spirits the whole time, enjoying the toys at PCH! The people there are so so great! Ryan loved getting a stuffed animal and trying on the mask they would give him the medicine through. When they wheeled him to the operating room, he gave us a hug and kiss and did not fuss one bit - he had his blanket and new stuffed animal and the nurse was talking it up with him about something with a balloon they were going to do, so Ryan was happy. The procedure took 1/2 the time is was supposed to and Ryan came out of the anesthesia fine. His first words were "I want a milkshake" (we told him that we would get him one on the way home). He did not like that the nurse wanted him to drink some juice - too tired/groggy and all he wanted was the milk shake. Ryan slept most of the day today and complained of a tummy ache and headache here and there, but that was all.

We find out the results one week from today, when we get to drive back to PCH again to meet with the surgeon and find out if Ryan needs another surgery. At least he was not traumatized by this surgery at all. In fact, I think he will be excited to go there again! He keeps talking about "when the doctors fix my bum bum". I pray they can!

Thanks for all of your prayers!

Rachelle for the Bakers