Friday, February 29, 2008

ServiceMaster to the Rescue...

Well...an update to our minor flood. Aaron and I got up on Thursday morning to a squishy carpet still. We had to wear our shoes everywhere went. What a pain. So, I get to thinking about all of this at work on Thursday and decided it would be best to call our trusty insurance agent, Pam. She just happens to be my cousin and the service is top notch!! After a phone call to Aaron it was decided we would call ServiceMaster. Am I ever glad!!! We did not know what damage had been done. So....now our house sounds like an airport....just listen...can't you hear the air movement? We're sleeping in our office and all of our stuff is in places that it shouldn't be. But...God is good! We were home when it happened and we're safe...a little annoyed with the disarray of our surroundings. Oh that's probably just me.....over and out from our noisy home to yours!!!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Joy like a Fountain!??

So...I'm minding my own business while Aaron is cleaning up the dinner dishes. I'm on the computer oblivious to anything else....just relaxing. Anyway...I turned on the printer and it was making a HORRIBLE noise..right about that time I hear Aaron from down the hallway...."we have a problem here"....I'm thinking everything seems fine to me, but...boy did we ever have a problem on our hands. Right before sitting down to dinner I had started a load of laundry....what both of us didn't know when we sat down was that our washing machine was going to OVERFLOW!!! Yes, that's what a I said. Good Grief!!! So, we had about an inch of water in our little laundry closet and the water had leaked all over the hallway, into our bedroom, into the entry way...I have no idea how it did that...under the wall I guess. Aaron had towels everywhere when I brilliantly suggested we use the wet/dry vacuum. Thank you Jesus!! It's a small one, but...it's doing it's job. I did take some pictures...so, hopefully I'll get those on here. So, we're not sure, but...it looks like our washing machine was stuck on the fill cycle. Can you imagine? SHEEEESH!!! Hopefully, it was just a fluke. We can't really afford a new washing machine right now. AND...we have to have a stackable set. Well...that's the most exciting Wednesday night we've had in a long time! We've had some issues with our plumbing ever since we moved in. I think we'd only been here a few weeks when I came home to water dripping from our ceiling. A chunk of our ceiling had to be replaced...so, "Professional Plumbing" strikes again. Can you even believe that's their name? Seriously! But...the jury's still out...it could the machine and not the plumbing.

***It's now 10:40pm and our load of laundry is FINALLY in the dryer. So, alas, it was the washing machine, but...we're pretty sure it's fixed. We have NO idea why it decided to stick like it did. Big thanks to Aaron's Mom, she brought us their carpet cleaner.....it worked great to suck up all the water. I think we'll still need it for a few days. It still feels squishy in some parts. Thank goodness we have cement floors under our carpet and padding. Ok...hopefully, it's off to bed for us***

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Sweet Isaac!

Hugs from Isaac! Gotta love that. When we went to visit our friend's, Josh and Dena this was one of the only pictures that turned out. Can you look past the fact that we were sitting down to eat breakfast and I had yet to shower or get ready? In spite of that I love this picture!! He is such a sweet baby! And so good, I don't know many 5 month olds that would ride in their stroller for 4 1/2 hours while hanging out at Cabela's! Thanks Dena for sharing him with me!

Arrival in Texas...

That is our application!!! We received a phone message from Angie at our adoption agency....she wanted us to know that they had received our application. She was so cute on the message...."your picture is so cute with you in the snow standing next to that pine tree"....of course all in her so cute southern accent. Aaron keeps asking if we can get a baby with an accent like theirs...pretty funny! I suppose they probably don't get that much snow there. Wow...God's hand is so in this. We only mailed the application on Thursday and they must have got it on Saturday. Angie left the message for us yesterday. I'm reminded of something a friend told me when referring to the adoption time line, "if it's supposed to happen quick it will" Praise the Lord!!! We serve a mighty God.

Friday, February 15, 2008

The Big Day!

Well...we did it. We mailed off our application for the adoption. We had planned to bring it to the prayer center at our church and have others we know join us in praying over the package of papers that would change our lives forever. But...all those we invited were unable to come. So, Aaron and I prayed ourselves and sent it on it's way. We still have more paperwork to work through, but...the good news is we already have over 50% of the next batch done. Praise the Lord!!!! So....please continue to lift us up in prayer as we get closer....I'm so excited, aren't YOU? I can't wait to see what this little person will look like! UMMMMM....and snuggles, I can't wait to get those. But...most of all, I can't wait to see our son or daughter sleeping on their Daddy!!!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Remembering...

I'm feeling reminiscent....my good friend Amy Westerhof sent me a link to a video clip from the Lynden Relay for Life last year. It made me cry....and made me think of my Dad! I miss him and his laugh, his smile and all the funny things he would say. I miss that my children will never get to go fishing with their Grandpa Dwight. I miss that I won't get to go camping with him again or hear him sing "How Great thou Art" in church. I can just picture him with his right hand raised in praise while his left hand was in his pocket...clear as day I can picture that. We went to Cabela's this weekend and I almost cried knowing Dad would have loved it so much. I know he wouldn't want us to be sad, but...I miss him so much. So...this is why again this year I will walk in the Relay for Life....it's a way I can show I care....if you haven't participated in something like this, I suggest you give it a try. It is so powerful...and challenging. Here is the video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=przst_WX1hc

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Blessed...

I know this is long, but...I had to share. We received this letter from Aaron's Uncle Merle on Monday. He and his wife Barbara adopted their daughter Karen when she was a year old. Get out your kleenex....

"THE WAY WE WERE"
Remembrances of the Merle and Barbara Craner Family

Karen Isabel Craner on her fortieth birthday
October 10, 2007

Karen was born on October 10, 1967, in Aberdeen, Washington. She was named "Karen" by her foster parents in Aberdeen. After we adopted Karen in September of 1968, we kept her name and gave her the middle name Isabel after Barbara's mother Esther Isabel Case. Karen was our "Bonus Baby"!
After Barbara and I were married on June 6, 1955, we moved to teaching jobs in Kellogg, Idaho, and Nancy was born in Wallace, Idaho, on October 18, 1956. From Kellogg, we moved to Benge, Washington, where Dan was born in Ritzville, Washington on August 21, 1958. From Benge we moved to Albion, Washington, and Edward was born on February 18, 1962, in Pullman, Washington.
Barbara and I had planned to have at least four children, and were somewhat dismayed when her obstetrician advised her not to have any more children because of the difficulty she encountered in birthing Edward who weighed almost eleven pounds! About six years later we decided to adopt a little girl as a little sister for Nancy, Daniel and Edward.
We pursued adoption through the State Adoption Agency in Whitman County. Our caseworker was Helen Knox of Pullman. In the spring of 1967 we went through weeks of interviews and home visits by Mrs. Knox and she approved and initiated our search for a baby. In early September she called us and told us she had found "our" baby in Aberdeen so we strapped a collapsible infant play pen on the top of our Nash Rambler station wagon and hurried across the mountains to the coastal town of Aberdeen.
The plan set down by the Aberdeen caseworker for us to see Karen was quite elaborate. We were to check into a motel and then call the caseworker who would come to the motel to interview us. After ascertaining our identity she informed us of the process, which was to bring Karen to the motel to get acquainted with us. If all went well she would leave Karen with us for the night then come back in the morning to check on her adjustment. The intent was that we would stay in Aberdeen for two nights and if all went well we could take Karen home on the third day. It sounded like a good plan, but the Lord had other plans!
Here is how it went! After the caseworker visited us at the motel the next morning she went to get Karen. The ensuing drama was like something out of a spy movie. The motel we were staying in was a two story building with a courtyard and exterior walkways. We were in our room on the second floor peeking out from behind the curtains when the caseworker drove up with Karen. You could have heard a pin drop in our room as we all maneuvered for a place at the window. One of the kids said, "there's that sweet little baby".
Karen was a beautiful eleven- month-old. Her foster parents had bought her a pretty dress and patent leather shoes. She was a little shy and nervous, but after Barbara took her in her arms and the children started loving on her she was all right.
We kept her that night without incident. She had her own bed in the play pen and she slept well. I am not sure how Barbara and I slept!
The caseworker returned the next morning and found all was well with Karen. Before she came Barbara and I discussed the fact that to stay In Aberdeen another night would be superfluous ... we knew Karen was our baby. So after a few pleasantries. I said to the caseworker that we knew that God wanted Karen to be in the Craner family and that we would like to take her home that day, not staying another night. She was somewhat taken aback saying, "This is highly irregular but I will check with my Supervisor and get back to you". She left for an hour or two and came back with the necessary paperwork for us to take Karen home that day. Praise the Lord!
Karen legally became our child about a month later in front of a Judge in the Whitman County Court. We all dressed up and filed into the courtroom for the proceedings. The Judge reviewed the papers, chatted with us for awhile, then pronounced Karen of Aberdeen, Washington, as Karen Isabel Craner of Pullman, Washington. That was a wonderful day for all of us.
Karen has been a joy to us and to all our extended family and frlends. She was nicknamed "Peeps" by our friend and neighbor Nellie Woods, and she got the nickname "Doodles" when we stopped by the State Capitol building in Olympia on our way home. She will have to tell you about that. She also garnered the name "Karhorn" sometime in high school and carried that name to Whitworth College.
Our "Bonus Baby" is now forty years old and is the English Department head at Priest River High School where she has been teaching for 14 years. Like her idol Henry David Thoreau she lives in a cabin above lake Cocolalla where she retreats after a hard days work. Unlike Thoreau, however, Karen's family includes a trusted watchdog named Rusty who guards her cabin day and night!
Karen's Mom Barbara loved raising her children and took special joy in Karen. When Karen was in elementary school she came home and asked Barbara if she was "dopt". Barbara said yes, she was adopted, and explained to her that she was very special because God wanted us to have her and because we got to choose her. Later Barbara said to a friend with tongue-in-cheek that Karen wasn't really adopted because she (Barbara) remembered having her!
In recent years I realize that our adoption of Karen was not so much about us enlarging our family as it was God's provision for Karen, a little soul who was only a case number in the Social Services of the State of Washington for eleven months. We know that our family is part of God's provision for Karen. The same Jesus who said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven" has provided for the infant Karen, and we are all the benefactors of His love. That is why we continue to praise the matchless name of our Lord Jesus Christ who sits in heaven at the right hand of the Jehovah the Father interceding for all those who would believe and become His children!


Merle R. Craner
Cheney, WAshington
October 10, 2007

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Proud of Myself

HOOORAAYYY!!! I can use the exclamation point here at home!! I figured out how to add a picture to our profile and that makes me happy!

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Thankful...

For friends like Andrea. Thanks so much for setting this up for us...we are thankful for friends like you that are so computer savvy. Right now I'm not thankful for my friend Dena's computer. I can't even use the exclamation point to show just how thankful I am. And...the number one on the keyboard doesn't work either....why do we have number one's in all of our passwords....hmmmmm....something to think on. Ok...just know that this is a work in progress. We had a busy day today with Dena and her three kids at the new Cabela's store in Lacey. WOW...again I can't use the exclamation point. Just know I'm showing lots of emotion, in my head anyway.