Praises!!!!!

Just wanted to share some recent answers to prayers and some that weren't necessarily even prayed. God is good to us and our family and I want to Praise Him in the good times and in the bad.
Karlye has been having a lot of issues with her ears. January 2010 she had ear tubes put into both ears. A few months later she started having issues again :( So they/we decided to have her tonsils and adenoids removed. Kartyr had a lot of ear issues until his tonsils and adenoids were removed then he has done great:) So..... we thought it would cure her too. Well Dec. 1, 2011 she had her surgery. By the end of Dec she had another ear infection, then another one end of Feb and end of March. The ENT wanted to schedule her for surgery but I wasn't thrilled so we didn't schedule it. Karlye had been complaining about a pain above her right ear for a little while during Feb and Mar so I took her to our family doctor one week from her March diagnosis of ear infection. He said her pain was probably because her ear was still infected:( So he really wanted me to schedule to have her ear tubes replaced, so I did. He also put her on 20 days of antibiotics. She has been a little trooper taking her medicine. Her surgery is scheduled for May 16th!!!! Okay so here is the real reason for this post. I was worried about the expense of another surgery. Our insurance is pretty good but it starts over April 1st. We have to meet our deductible and then pay 10%. The surgeon and surgery center require the entire portion of our bill to be paid prior to surgery. Well..... we had signed up for a Flex Spend Account through Larry's job and it went into effect on April 1st. Even though they only take a small amount every pay check the full amount for the year is put on immediately for medical expenses. (I didn't know this. Thanks to my sister for drawing it to my attention). The amount available has paid for the deductible and 10% to the ENT and now waiting to see if the remaining amount is going to cover the surgery center part.
Also our alternator went out on the van. It was a very costly part but we had a great friend that did the labor very cheap. Thankful for that:) I was stressed about the cost of that happening right now. Yesterday I was outside and saw the mail man go by so I walked to the mailbox and jokingly said "I hope there is a check that I'm not expecting". Well it wasn't a check it was mail from the hospital where Larry's surgery was. I sighed and said, "Instead it's a bill uggghhhh". When I opened it, it was a letter saying they had approved the financial assistance application. They had written off $787!!!!!!!!! I am very thankful to God for these very specific situations.

Happy Easter

Karlye and Dylan
Papa Great and some of the great grands

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Brianna and Kierra and Wesley and I too. We missed being with all our family this Christmas but hope you had a wonderful Christmas day and have a Happy New Year. Lots of love, Julie

Andrew is home!

Hi everyone! Just thought we would let you know that Andrew got to come home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. His pain is much better today and his system seems to be moving again (not to be too graphic!). We believe he is on the road to recovery. Thank you all for your prayers, they definitely helped us get through this.

Love,
Chance, Cindy, Brendan, and Andrew

Papa Great's 80th Birthday Bash

The Birthday Boy
Papa and his 3 girls
The 3 newest members of the family
The 5 Great Grands Born in 2008
9 of Papa Great's 10 Great Grands
Group picture on Saturday
Group picture on Sunday
Papa Great worn out from all the partying
We had a belated 80th birthday party/family reunion on Saturday and Sunday. It was so great to have almost all the family together. We had a wonderful time playing, eating, visiting, and holding babies. Papa has had 5 great grands born in 2008. Thanks to all the family for coming and most of all to Aunt Dawnie and Uncle Tom, Aunt Lafreda and Uncle Rodney, and Mom for arranging, preparing, and hosting all the fun. Lots more pictures to come but wanted to share a few for now. Happy Birthday Papa. Love and Prayers to all of you. Love, Julie

Papa and his "lil Punkin"!

A Day Out With Thomas

We just got back from Oklahoma City, where we spent the day with Thomas the Tank Engine. The boys got to meet Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt, and had a splendid run aboard the coaches.