Birthdays Are So Filled with Wonder...Fun and Family

We celebrated my sweet Levi's 4th birthday party a few weeks back, and he had the most fun!!!

Of course there were kids running a muck every which way, and this was my first "kids" birthday party, so it was eventful to say the least :)

My mom with our siss dog, Izabella, and my dear friend Mandy...to Levi its Aunt Manny haha

This beautiful train turns into a desk he can write on, it was found at a yard sale!!

Now he cooks in the kitchen with Gramma

Everyone visiting and having a great time :)

Wonderful family from L.A. who we were so very lucky to have join us!
They went to all my birthdays, including my very first, the day I was born...I love it!

Me and Mandy, are family but not related.  I love her!

Mandy, Steven and the kids, we are all family

Levi's yummy cake...

My Holly and her hubby Jason...always a pleasure!

It was so nice to have friends and family all come together, he wanted the Cars theme, so that's what he got!

*Update on My Levi*

This past summer, some of you went on a journey with me and my lil guy, who is now 4.

We have been going through doctor after doctor, through different Neurology departments, different hospitals.

He has had this issue, it looks like a seizure, but we found out for a fact in August that it was NOT a seizure disorder. In fact, that was all they could tell me without a doubt.
They still did not know what was wrong with him, and because he's so young, just assumed he would grow out of it.  Well, in fact, as he is getting older, it is getting worse.
It used to only affect his hand movements, where today, it affects every muscle group in his body including his face, which gets disfigured and he grinds his teeth.
As his momma, it breaks my heart to watch him, do this almost constantly every day, and not know how to fix it, or make him feel better. And it physically exhausts him.
Well I finally was able to get us referred to UCSF,in San Francisco. They are one of the most prestigious and well known hospitals any where.  Well, we went down and spent the day there, and wouldn't you know, we saw the doctor for about an hour and a half, and she knew what was wrong with Levi, and how to fix it!
The other doctors wanted to push heavy anti-psychotics and things on my son, because they didn't know what else to do.
This child Neurologist who is an expert in her field said absolutely not!  He has a condition called Stereotypy. Basically, the body has not learned how to control any form of excitement be it stress, happiness or anything else.  She said we are each born with this, uncontrollable movements, but most of us by age 2 or 3, has learned to control these movements by outside stimuli.  But Levi's brain just has a hard time communicating with the nerves in his body when to calm down, and so his body does it continuously, unless he is outside playing or deeply focused on something.
But the doctor said that we must create a behavioral plan, and as he gets older, he will learn to control these movements, and he will be able to control everything on his own, and so we are all working together, his teachers, the neurologist and I to come up with a good plan for my sweet Levi.
Please pray for this, and that things would go smoothly from here on out, so that Levi can feel like he has a normal childhood...and also for patience, for all of us :)

Lay 'Em Down

This song is so fantastic!!

Have you ever felt like what ever is on your shoulders, whatever your barely able to drag around with you is just to much to handle?  Like it's going to consume you?  I think we've all felt that, and that's what this song is about, whether young or well of age, He never tires of us laying'em down, at His feet...What a treasure, that I can do that!

Soldiers pray, those struck numb by addiction(s) pray, those that are struggling to hold their families together, or maybe even just themselves pray too...at some point I think we all do it, unknowingly even at times.  

Come down to the river

Come and let yourself in

Make good on a promise

To never hurt again

If you're lost and lonely

Broken down

Bring all of your troubles

And come lay 'em down

All you sinners

And the weak at heart

All the helpless

On the boulevards

Wherever you are now

Whatever evil you've found

Bring all of your troubles

And come lay 'em down

We're all tied to the same old failings

Finding shelter in things we know

We're all dirty like corrupted small towns

We'll bring our troubles

We'll bring our troubles

Come lay 'em down

All you rich men

And the high above

All those with

And without love

All you burdened

And turned around

Bring all of your troubles

Come lay 'em down

Not much else is as healing as being able to lay all of you down, at His feet, and

having the trust to just let it all go...to entrust all you are, all you have to Him.

  After all, it's all His anyways, yes? He created you, yes? YES!!! He did...

He says we are beautifully, and wonderfully made!  I take that to heart!  

The Maker of MY Soul, has captured my heart...

Freedom

I have been away from my blog for a good while now, and much to my chagrin, I see it has been far too long.
Yet, I have many things to post about, and will get to those in due time.
however, tonight, as its about 10 p.m. already and I have to be up at 5 a.m. to start my day tomorrow, this post is rather somber, and thoughtful.
With the passing of Aunt Trula, a most beautiful and lovely Christian woman yesterday morning, I began to think, and have to cease...about those that God has called home, because their mansions are ready.
aunt Trula was my dear friend David's grandmother, but also his whole world. She raised him, and though she had many in the family around her when she went home, I think that David had a different connection with her.
And so it seems like a wave of sadness for the loss that is here, what about the joy that is there, for her finally getting to hear the words that she has pined for her entire life..."Well done, my good and faithful servant..."
That is, isn't it, why we as Christians, "run the race that is set before us?" That we travel the road less traveled, and we pick up our cross whatever it may be, and follow Him?
She had the front porch light on, in the days before she went home, so that her beloved husband could find his way to come for her and take her to heaven.  What a precious moment, and a precious thought.

It can be so hard for us to continue running that race, when things don't go our way, life gets frustrating and it seems like we have exhausted all our options...but then Jesus swoops in, and says "here, take my yoke...it is so much easier to carry, you won't believe it."  And we don't.  We argue, we complain, we grab tighter than life itself to old hurts, habits and hang ups.
And for what?  For extra punishment?  Sometimes, I think so.
I found a song, and it is kind of like my own personal mission statement.  I encourage you to listen to it sometime, you tube it :)
But there is power in these words, power that can only come from once source.


Run Kid Run - FreedomFrom the album Love At The Core
All my chains I can't disengage
and I don't believe that I want to
One hand sings your praise the other brings me shame
I have selfishness to blame

Chorus:
And I'm singing for freedom
I know I'm not the only one
praying to the one
who can bring me this freedom
I'm ready for change

Broken down I lay
I keep holding my chains
No longer bound but here I stay
I scream Father please
I need rescuing I need You and You alone

Chorus:

Still You patiently await
yet I won't just let go
I see You and You alone
saying come follow me despair has come so you can see
release

And so I'm singing for freedom
and so I'm singing for freedom
The time has come separation lost the war to love
Take my hand grace has found you where you once began
Your alive your alive in the waking of new life
Take my hand in the end there's only love
There's only love

There's only singing for freedom
I know I'm not the only one
praying to the one
who can bring me this freedom
and I'm ready for I'm ready for
Father please I need rescuing
I need You and You alone

Seeing Is Believing...Or Is Believeing Seeing...?

I can't believe it's been 5 weeks since I have been on...since then I have...celebrated a birthday, started school again, began my application for graduation, and for my 2 degrees in April, and so very much more...

I have many pictures to share, along with their stories, but tonight is more of a thought from my heart, and a song that truly touches me, and it is one of those that has actually helped shape, or re-shape the way I look at things...

It's by Matt Brouwer and I really encourage you to listen to the whole song, it's incredible...it's wonderful...

 Come to me now
And lay Your hands over me
Will You find me tonight
Say it will be alright
And I will believe

Broken in two
And I know You're on to me
That I only come home
When I'm so all alone
But I do believe

(Chorus)
That not everything is gonna be
The way you think it ought to be
It seems like everytime I try and make it right
It all comes down on me
Please say honestly You won't give up on me
And I shall believe
I shall believe

Open the door
And show me Your face tonight
I know it's true
No one heals me like You
And You hold the key

Never again will I turn away from You
I'm so heavy tonight
But Your love is alright
And I do believe

That not everything is gonna be
The way you think it ought to be
It seems like everytime I try and make it right
It all comes down on me
Please say honestly You won't give up on me
And I shall believe
I shall believe

That not everything is gonna be
The way you think it ought to be
It seems like everytime I try and make it right
It all comes down on me
Please say honestly You won't give up on me
And I shall believe
I shall believe

I shall believe
I shall believe

This song is so healing, it heals the spirit, and every time I listen to it, I seriously play it over several times...I have been so busy lately that I have noticed a pattern...I go so fast, I am forgetting to slow down, and enjoy the days that I have been given.  I worry so much about what "should" be, or what I "must" get done, and so much other stuff, so much of my life in fact, gets passed by, or treated in a way that I would not ever want to treat it had my heart and mind been in sync with each other.

As a single mom, and being a full time student, life is hectic, and sometimes difficult. But you know what's funny? Whose isn't? :)

I have noticed that every time, EVERY TIME I try to make it all right by myself, it does seem to some how unravel right before my very eyes...and yet, I can't stop, and give it to The One who is the only Healer of my soul?  Again, I find myself putting God in this tiny box, my box, saying,

 

"Ok you can only go this far, nope, not over there, just here. Fix THIS first, then we'll see..."

  

When I KNOW better than most that God, my God, doesn't operate that way.  

This song helps bring me back down...to my knees, with my arms lifted high, in just a type of worship that can only be described by experience...wherever your at, He finds you there...if your broken physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually, or in any other way possible, the beauty of my God is that you don't have to do anything...ANYTHING first! 

He meets you...right then, and right there...we go through life, and we have times where we are feeling beaten, battered, bruised, broken, either spiritually, emotionally or physically, and for as many reasons as there people on this earth...and yet, He's there.  If I let Him in.  

The things I struggle with are my own, and in a sense, they are my treasures, because they are a big part of who God has made me to be, and for that I feel rich. It doesn't make it any easier, but somehow, it's ok.  Because He is the healer of my soul...He is truly the only one that can heal a broken heart, heal a broken anything for that matter...if we believe. 

 I choose to believe, because He has shown me His face in some very dark places...I choose to believe, because He has brought me out of some absolutely incredible things..some of which you might not believe at first.  

In the quiet moments when it's just me, no noise, no kiddo, no TV, no radio, no anything...just me and the quiet...it's in those moments that I CHOOSE to believe.

Decking The Halls...Among other things :)

Oh my gosh...so to start off, it feels so good to be home!

It has been a long time, I know...and my apologies!  I am just finding that during the school semester, it is very difficult to squeeze anything else in to my schedule...but believe me, I am trying. ;)

So, I bring good news-Good tidings and JOY!!!!! I, yes I, Danielle, passed Algebra! Math 90 they call it in my school.  It's the last class I need before I take my transferable class in the Spring...I was afraid I might not pass, and if I didn't, it would mean being unable to transfer for at least another YEAR!
Praise the Lord, He got me through it :)

All that excitement aside, I have a wonderful Christmas blog to share today...my mom has decorated for the holidays, like 3 weeks ago already lol But this is my 1st chance to get on here :)

Christmas has always been my most favorite holiday, for various reasons, mainly the snow, the warmth, just the overall ambiance I suppose, the trees, the whole idea of people coming together to help others, and most of all, having the ability to show others what it means to truly celebrate Christmas.

~This is my mom's piano, it belonged to our church in it's very early days, and we celebrated it's 100th birthday several years back, so that gives you an idea as to how old this baby is :)

Mom loves to go with more of a "Wintre Theme" here, and I love it!  Mom has always taken a great deal of pride in decorating, for any event, and I kinda think she missed her calling...but now that she's retired..hhhmmm.... lol

~And my little buttercup, in his Christmas jammies :)  Oh yeah, in front of the tree hehe, I think he stole a candy cane off of the tree...Did Santa see that?

~We always hang our stockings with care :)

~My dad and Levi, my precious gem, with his papa, and my dad just LOVES playing Santa, and he is pretty good at it too! I wouldn't want to see him try to get down a chimney though...hahahahaha

~My mom's other piano, her nice one, lol Where she has her doll, and most of her Christmas music, which I'm happy to say, or at least it makes me smile, that many of her books are older than I am! (And my birthday is coming up in a few weeks, so shhhh!)

 ~Just a wider view, to see the whole wintre scene

~This is my Barbie collection, my mom's dearest friend who has been with the Lord for several years now, gave me one of these Hallmark collectible Barbie ornaments every year, and a few on my birthday too...These aren't even all of them!  I have many fond memories of Pauline, but these by far are some of my most wonderful, bringing back sweet memories through each Barbie.  So this year I decided not to put them on the tree, but to create my own little Barbie village, around a beautiful snow globe; I have several Christmas Barbies, a Wedding Barbie, a Cinderella, a Fairy, several from the 50's and 60's, and lots more :)

~At school, they had Santa come to each classroom, and Levi got to tell Santa all about the Buzz Lightyear that he's been pining for :)

~A picture I took of Levi at school in front of the tree :)

~My beautiful son just loves all the Barbies...But he's been instructed "Hands Off " lol  These are to precious to me to get lost, or more importantly broken...I found him the other morning, running over 2 of them with his big truck, he said, "Look mommy, I found speed bumps!"
With a huge grin on his face...Oh, charming :)

~And I end with this wonderful picture, because, who on earth could resist such a face?  Not I! :)

*I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays...*

My Busy-ness update

Wow...so it really seems like forever since I have posted, or even been on here.  I have just been spinning around, always busy!

As for school, school is officially half way over, and it looks as though I have Spring, and then (Lord willing and fingers crossed) I will graduate and transfer to Stanislaus State University!  And it should only take me about 9 months to a year to graduate with my Bachelor's in Ag Business, Project Management/comm. as my concentrations.  I am antsy!
Last week, I applied for two of my degrees to receive them in December!  I am so excited...I have to make sure all of my classes are in line, but I should know by the middle of November at the latest if I will get them.
The first one is my A.A. in Behavioral/Social Science and the other is my A.S. in Agri-business...and I will be earning my A.S. degree by the end of Spring in Poultry Science.....so that will be 3 degrees in a two year period!  It's been amazing, but I'm sooooo ready to start working again!

As for my little guy's health condition, we were finally able to get approved to go to Stanford!!  I should be hearing from them within a few days :)  I'm excited, or more relieved maybe?

My mom has put all of her Halloween decor up around the house, and I will take pics to blog it very soon, maybe this weekend :)

Also, today, I began my very first grape harvest and crush...it is very hard work!  But I love it, and I'm excited to start making some wine!
Adding to that, I have been working in the poultry unit at school, and I'm learning a lot about birds and eggs, and all that fun stuff....I even named my little baby chick McNugget....I couldn't resist :)