Field Trip!

We recently learned of a program at our library (and many participating libraries all across our area) that got us free admission to a beautiful "outdoor museum" called the Morton Arboretum. We went yesterday with our best friends and had a great time, despite a few issues along the way. For one, this place is absolutely gigantic and we only covered a very small area in a day. It was very hard to keep track of the kids and at one point, Caden disappeared. I panicked, but as it turned out he was right above me...I just couldn't see him where he was. They have these huge play areas, but not all of them are enclosed, so that made keeping track of all four kids a little challenging at times.

There were also several areas where the kids could take off their shoes and wade in the water, which they greatly enjoyed. It ended up feeling hotter than it was, and we all welcomed a chance to cool off!

Look at this beautiful hibiscus!
Here are Cody and Caden enjoying their time in the acorns...a great photo op!
Another beautiful plant, though we couldn't find the name of it. These little purple pods almost looked jewel-like, they were so pretty.
These were like little rainbows...yellow at the bottom, orange in the middle, and red on top. So unique and just lovely up close. Only God could be that creative with a flower!
Here's Caden posing in a leaf. So cute. He had such a fun day.
These are my kids' best friends in the world, and their mommy is my best friend.
And we're back to the opening photo, because there is a story to be told here. When we were ready to move on after cooling off in the creek, I grabbed my camera in one hand and made my way over to our shoes. I bent down to pick up the shoes with the other hand, and accidentally dropped my camera in the water. I was thankful that we were able to rescue the SD card from the camera so that I was able to retrieve these photos, but I think the camera (which was only six months old) has taken its last photo...the one you see below. Thankfully, I had just uploaded all the photos onto my new computer, so we haven't lost any. Let that be a reminder to you all: Back up, upload and save your photos frequently!
And finally....Cody is flat on his back right now with strep throat. He got to feeling badly yesterday afternoon when we were at the end of our journey. He spiked a fever and started complaining about his throat. Thankfully, we were able to see the pediatrician this morning (Saturday) before the long weekend. I'm so thankful we live in a country where we have access to good doctors and medicine. We're blessed. Hope you all have a wonderful, long weekend!

I'm Blessed.

I am blessed with amazing friends, family,and neighbors.  If you are one of the sweet ones who has come to see the show, THANK YOU!  Your support and encouragement have meant so much to me.  

My mom and dad came into town to see the show and it was wonderful to see them.  They really enjoyed it, and I loved having them in the audience.  (Thanks, you guys! I love you!)  

A special thank you to Ruth, Glynda, Barbie (and girls!), Tom, Lori, Dick, Debbie, Julie, Terri, all those yet to come and any I've forgotten to mention here.  You all are the best!  Thanks so much for supporting this show.

I've been overwhelmed by the acts of kindness on the part of my husband and boys.  On Thursday morning (the day of our first "official" shows), I woke up to the house being plastered with good wishes for me.  Just look at this artwork:

I am indeed blessed.  Thanks, everyone.  Your kindness and love have overwhelmed me.  

Perspective, Cookies, and Daddy Berger Speaks

Hello Friends.  I wanted to tell you that my hubby has posted a reflective post on his blog.  The last time he updated it was when the earth was rumblin' under the midwest during our earthquake. It's a good post about how Charity's news has affected him and his perspective.  

Also, I wanted to give a shout out to my friend, Julie.  We have become friends through church, but strangely enough, our blogs have helped us to get to know one another a bit better.  : ) Julie came over today with her little boy, and we baked cookies.  I so enjoyed my time with her and I know my boys loved getting to know little Asher better today too.

Tonight we made it a family night (a tradition we hope to continue every Friday), whereby we ate pizza, did the dishes, took a walk, watched a movie, popped popcorn and kicked back.  The cool breeze blowing through the windows and my little guy sitting on my lap brought me such joy.  We take so much for granted in this life.  As Dave (Charity's brother) battles cancer, may it bring to light how blessed we are to take our next breath.  God has ordered our days.  May we live them to the fullest.

Let us all count our blessings and hold our loved ones a little tighter tonight.

Just Like Old Times

This weekend was WONDERFUL. Let me say that again...wonderful.

What a privilege it is to know my dear friend, Kari. You know you have a great friendship going when nearly twenty years have passed, and it still feels like just yesterday that you were freshmen in highschool. Only older. And wiser. And married. With kids. You get the point.

We got together this weekend for some focused "girl time" and we had such a great time. We came into the weekend with no firm plans, except to go into Chicago on Sunday. Otherwise, we just decided to "wing it" and simply BE.

When we arrived in town, we headed to my mom's studio to say hello real quick. Then I took her out to my mom and dad's house where we talked and talked....

We did lots of that this weekend.

We went to lunch, talked some more, and then headed to my older sister's house to catch up with her for a little while. My nieces kept asking where the boys were (my sister Kari often refers to my boys as "rock stars"), and I told them this weekend was just for the girls.

A highlight for me personally was getting to see my two sisters "perform" at church. I hate using the word perform when it's really ministry. They did a song called, "I'm free." My sister Kari signed while my sister Darci danced. It was so beautiful. I don't believe there were any dry eyes in our row. The two of them had a light around them up there...it was almost angelic...and impossible to describe unless you were there. I thought I should take a picture of them but figured that could be a wee bit distracting. Suffice it to say they touched hearts and God used them greatly in that service, I am sure of it! I jokingly told them that the only thing that would have made it better was if I was able to sing with them. : )

On Sunday, Kari and I headed into the city (by train, which she'd never experienced before), and we walked Michigan Avenue for a while. We ate a fantastic lunch at one of my favorite places. I can't begin tell you how good the food was, but perhaps you can gain some understanding from this photo (this was seriously the best strawberry shortcake I've ever had in my LIFE):


We also got to see "Wicked." It was her first time seeing a real stage production, but my third time seeing this particular one. She loved it, and I so enjoyed seeing her reaction to this wonderful show. The music is great and she tolerated my singing along when I just couldn't HELP myself! It was the perfect show for the weekend. The friendship theme is unmistakable!


I knew I needed a break...a time to get away and just be by myself for a little while...when on Friday, I freaked out over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich dropping on the floor that got quickly got gobbled up by the dog. Did I mention the sandwich belonged to a hungry, screaming toddler (who shall remain nameless), the floors had just been cleaned, and this mama was nearly at her breaking point?

I know. You're wondering why I'm mentioning the sandwich episode.

It's merely to say that I desperately needed a break. When my boys greeted me at the door upon my arrival home, we were all smiles. We kissed, hugged, and cuddled, and this mama felt refreshed. I was ready to tackle whatever came next. I was reminded that I need to take care of myself sometimes...to take a break away. Not because I don't love being a mom, but because I need to take care of her.

To my dear friend Kari of nearly twenty years, I thank you. Thanks for making the trip, for taking the time, and for just being you. I can't wait until next year! (We are SO totally making this an annual tradition!)

Gratitude

I want to thank you all for your prayers for my MIL. She is doing much better. Jerry saw her again last night, and says she looks good and is gradually improving every day. This is great news! The docs expect her to be in the hospital another week or so, but once home, she's going to need a lot of help. Thankfully, one of Jerry's aunts is coming down to help out, and we're grateful for that. Her recovery from there will take about a month, and again, that's something we were told and had expected.

This past week has been a faith-builder for all of us, and a reminder that we are loved and cherished by God and by our friends and family. We've had so many phone calls with great concern for how we all are, prayers spoken all across the country for her, and support in the midst of these challenging few days. It's been a wonderful blessing, and we thank you.

“ We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.” (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

Doxology

Tonight we had the blessing of being invited over to dinner with some friends who just recently bought their first home. They are so hospitable, and we love them to pieces. It still blows my mind that we are friends today, all because I taught their daughters when they were in high school. Today, those girls are both married...one expecting her second child, and the next expecting her first baby in about a month. I honestly believe the Lord had me at that school so that I would have the blessing of knowing this wonderful family. They are precious people, full of wisdom that I try to soak in whenever I am with them. I just honestly and truly enjoy every single moment I get to spend with them.

Anyway...we were sitting at their dinner table tonight, and before we blessed the meal, they did something I had never seen them do before. We all took hands, bowed our heads and they began to sing the "Doxology."

I immediately began to tear up, as this song is so special to me. What a tender moment to share with them, and what a sweet God He is to give me that moment this very week. My heart has been heavy for many reasons, and I really needed the warmth of those hands and the sound of us all singing tonight to remind me that my God knows my heart, hears my cries, and longs for me to praise Him at ALL times. Even when it's hard. Even when I've been wronged. Even when I'M wrong. I need to praise Him continually.

So we closed our eyes and sang, "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen." God knew I needed to hear it. And more importantly, sing it.

I felt like I received a kiss from God tonight. I felt in my spirit that He was saying, "I love you, my child. You are mine, I am yours. You just keep praising me, even when it's hard, and I will walk beside you all the way."

Don't you just love that God keeps His promises? I, for one, will sleep better tonight as I keep that thought at the forefront of my mind.

Praise Him, all creatures here below!

It was Awesome, Thanks for Asking!

This past weekend was incredible. It's hard to describe exactly what the Women of Faith conference meant to me, because on so many levels, it was overwhelming! In my inadequate way of trying to describe what was a phenomenal time of spiritual nourishment, I'll do my best to give you a little recap.

The weekend started with my singing in a funeral on Friday morning. I sang two songs, including "Amazing Grace" and in truth, it was a great way to start the day. God's grace truly is AMAZING! I then caught my train into Chicago just in time and got to support Jerry on his last day of classess (YIPPEE!) as his Orff class ended and the groups put on a show of all they'd learned over the past two weeks and had a small "graduation" ceremony (this class offered certification, so they got their official certificates at that point). Jerry then took me to meet my friend Charity who I was rooming with on Friday night. She and I immediately headed out and hit Michigan Avenue to grab a bite to eat before heading to the conference.

The best part was when I walked into the huge arena where there were 5000 other women waiting to find their seats and I heard this voice call my name. I turned around, and it was my dear, special friend Debbie, from college! She was my roommate my freshman year and you may remember me speaking about her from time to time. She fought and won her battle with breast cancer last year and let me just say, it was a JOY to see her. We grabbed each other and embraced. Of all the times to run into her...in a place that huge with so many people, God planned it so we would both be at the same entrance at the same time.

The conference began with worship, Patsy Clairmont, and my girl, Nichole Nordeman. As always, she was phenomenal and brought all of the women sitting around me to tears. As tender as those moments were, there were also some really funny ones. At one point she told us that she has this "problem." While standing in line at the supermarket, she has this compulsion to buy tabloids. She knows it's wrong, she knows she shouldn't, but she just can't help herself. She said she even began to spiritualize it, trying to convince herself that if she doesn't know what's going on with Brad and Angelina, then how on earth can she pray for them??? That got a good laugh. She also made us all giggle when she recalled sitting in an airport looking at all the beautiful celebrities in People magazine and literally feeling her butt growing bigger in her seat as she sat there! Good stuff...

The next day was a whirlwind, and I can't began to recap it all, as I am still desperately trying to process it all, but I think the best part of it was spending lunch with my girlfriend, Debbie and crying over how good God had been to us both over the past year. Afterward, it was Sandi Patti's turn to sing, and oh. my. word. She brought down the house. And about brought me to my knees. If heaven is half as incredible as her voice, I won't be able to stand on my feet.

I highly recommend this conference to any of you out there. It was incredible and I left feeling so "filled" by the awesome worship, music, teaching, and fellowship with my sisters in Christ.

And to Charity, thank you for making this weekend so fun. I am glad we went through it together. And I'm equally as thankful for your friendship. You're a blessing.