my GOD shall supply all our needs

I have been frustrated with this blog because I forget how I got it set up and now I can't change anything!! In fact, it had been so long since my last entry that they even removed some of my cool stuff I had! Writing doesn't come easily to me so it isn't a quick entry when I sit at the computer to blog! I have to put so much thought into making it all sound good...making it all sound proper...making it all enjoyable! Today, I'm still trying to figure out how to make the changes to my blog, the words still don't come naturally, but I'm putting all that on the back burner for now and I'm going to just share my heart!

For some reason, today was emotional for me. So much transpired this weekend and I sat today thinking about my God! Let me start at the beginning: As most of you know, our van broke down on Friday on the way home from a Dr's appointment in Akron with Zachary. To make a looonnnnggg story short, we have been dealing with "tummy" problems for about 5 years now. Last April we went to a Gastroenterologist and things had seemed to be going pretty good until January and February. We ran into a few "snags" and felt that we needed to get a second opinion for our little guy. We took him in March and the Dr ordered some blood work: blood work for allergies to milk, soy, wheat, celiacs disease, chrones disease and more. We had the blood work done and when we went last Friday for the results, everything was GREAT! No allergies, no scary diseases, just good news...you would think! We got good news and yet we still have a problem with no clear answers. We may be a step closer to our answer: strep! Yes, strep! We have to have him tested when he is healthy, but the Dr believes that Zachary may be a strep carrier and that is causing all of his problems! A simple strep test during one of his episodes, will give us our answer...if it is positive, then a dose of antibiotics till the infection is out of his system and we are good to go! Something that seems simple and yet took many doctors 5 years to figure this out and help us!! So much of our trust and faith is put in doctors and yet our thinking is so off! Our faith and trust needs to be placed in the Heavenly Father who created us and knows us! He knew what was "wrong" with Zachary even when no doctor did. I am so guilty of worrying about things that I can't control! Why do we do this? Why do we worry when there is nothing we can do to change the outcome of a situation? Because we are human! We had a message at church just a few weeks back and it was about worrying!! Man, how God made my heart sting during this message! He was really stepping on my toes and making me think about some things!

Ok, so back to this weekend! The van breaks down an hour from home (I am so thankful that Jason was with me because I get stressed when I have car trouble...and man, have we had our share of it with the van)! Anyway, we get a stinky, dirty tow truck to get us back to Ashland and we wait! We got a call on Monday morning that the engine was shot and it would cost us a ridiculous amount to fix it and all the other things that were wrong with it! Isn't that usually how these things go?! Being the "worry-er" that I am, I go into panic mode...what are we gonna do without a second car? No more trips to the East Coast to visit family, no having lunch with the kiddos at school, no just getting out of the house...and the list went on! I went into the second mode when I'm stressed ~ CLEANING!! Praying the whole time that God would supply our needs, but not totally believing He would! How many times has He provided for us in the past? How many times has He worked things out? How many times has He proven Himself to me? Oh so many times and yet I still doubted...just call me "Thomas"! I won't go into all the details, but I will say this, God provided in a big way...just like He always does! Trust Him! Cast your cares on HIM because He cares for you! God will supply all of our needs...and He did it again! Thank you, Father, for your faithfulness!

has it really been 5 months?

I can't even believe how long it has been since I've posted. So long that some of the cool little things I had decorating my blog are gone and I didn't even know it! I was looking at my kids notebooks that I write letters to them in and it has been 2 years since the last entry...I'm ashamed. I put off all I had to do today to write a long, overdue letter to my sweet boys. They are about to get off the bus, but my promise is that in the next few days, I will sit and blog. I'm afraid that when I sit and start, I might not get up for awhile!! Until then........

geocaching

Ok, so many of you might be asking, "What the heck is geo what?". That is the same reaction I had when I had heard about it!

I have a friend from high school that has posted pictures and updates about his geocaching days and I just blew it off. I guess I wasn't ready to learn about something that I didn't even know how to pronounce! Last Sunday, Jason got a text from our Pastor saying that they were going geocaching and wanted to know if we wanted to go with him and his kids. Because it was our anniversary, we declined telling him we would do it another day.

Let me tell you my version about what geocaching is! Basically, it is a high tech, worldwide treasure hunt. You get on the computer and search for sites near you or wherever you are going to be. It gives you the coordinates of the location and you then use a GPS to get there and try and find the cache! Once you get to the location, you have to look around for containers...all different kinds. Some are pill bottles, some are wood blocks with holes cut out, some are tupperware. They are filled with "swag", the term used for what is in these containers. When you find the container, you sign the log book that is included in the container and then you leave something of yours and take something out. One box we found was filled with gold coins, rings, bracelets and all kinds of little things. The thrill isn't in what is in the container, but in actually finding it!!

We signed up for our username (countsfamily4) on Saturday night and on our way to church on Sunday, we stopped for a little geocaching!! After church, the boys didn't even want lunch, they wanted to go geocaching...and so we did until 3!! It is something that the whole family can enjoy together! Jason had to work on Sunday so I am going to introduce him to it tomorrow...just me and him while the kids are in school!

If you have never heard about it, here is the website that will tell you a little more about it and if you have never done it, you really need to give it a try because it is really a lot of fun!! Who doesn't like a good treasure hunt?!

www.geocaching.com

This was our very first one - "Ain't No Calf"

"Look down and pull up"

"Treasure Upon Treasure"

"A Lonely Potato Out in the Woods" ~ I don't recommend doing this one in flip flops!!!

10-10-10

Last week Jason and I celebrated our 13th anniversary! I enjoy taking the time on that day to reflect on our wedding day and to remember the vows that we made to each other.

With divorce all around me, this year was even more special. My marriage isn't perfect and it has taken work, but the reward is so great! I love the relationship that my hubby and I have with each other! I look forward to spending time with him and this year we have had a lot of that! With both kids in school all day and his work schedule being anything from traditional, we have a lot of time with each other! I love just being next to him on the couch while he is watching tv and I'm reading a book! I love being beside him in the car with no arguments coming from the back seats! I love that he is my best friend! I am proud to have celebrated 13 years of marriage!

On our anniversary, Dylan was asking a lot of questions about how we met, if we liked each other, what we did when we went out on dates and all kinds of stuff! We enjoyed sharing with him our "back story", as he called it! It made me smile when Jason was talking about how we didn't like each other AT ALL when we first met and then how our relationship grew from then on! It did my heart good to take the time to think back to when things were easy in our relationship. To remember all of the reasons we fell in love. To remind us where we have come from and talk about where we want to go. I want our boys to see how much their Mama and Daddy love each other and how much we love them. We took the time on our anniversary, to share with them how important marriage is and how important it is to us that we keep the promise that we made to each other. Divorce is all around them at school and there have been times when the question of whether or not we would get divorced has come up. I want them to be confident in the unit we call "family". I don't want them to wonder if their Mama and Daddy will ever get divorced.

I know that so many marriages are hard and that things don't always turn out the way that was ever expected. I just know that I want to do whatever it takes to make my marriage work and to be together another 113 years!! I am honored to be Mrs. Jason Counts and I count it a privilege to be walking side by side with him on this journey!

I love you, Honey!

f~a~l~l

I love fall ~ need I say more?!

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W.O.F

Women of Faith ~ where do I even begin to share what an experience this is? I had never been to a W.O.F conference and last year I packed up and drove to Philly to see what it was about! I thought I was crazy to be doing this since they usually make it to Cleveland, Ohio the weekend after Philly...yes, only 1 hour away!!!! My mom had attended for a few years and then my sister started going and it wasn't long before they were both on me about going! You only have to attend once to know that this is a life-changing experience!

I really struggled with leaving this time. I was feeling guilty for leaving the kids only a few weeks into school, I was feeling bad that Jason had to take the time off from work to be with them the whole weekend, the cost of making the trip and I was just sad all the way around...not to mention extremely nervous about making that drive, by myself, in our very UNreliable van!! I know that Satan was doing everything he could to discourage me before I even got to W.O.F ~ he's like that ya know! I got the kids ready to go on Thursday and I got in the van ready to head out. Had to be strong for the kids, but I got in the van and cried! Cried about leaving my boys, cried because of nerves and the trip and cried because of the guilt I was feeling! I was so excited to be going and having this experience with my mom and sister again, but just feeling guilty!! Anyway...I made it to my sister's house with nothing exciting to speak of!!

The weekend was just as I expected ~ full of highs and lows, laughing and crying and just a roller coaster of emotions! As difficult as it is for me to orchestrate this whole trip, I absolutely LOVE sharing this experience with my mom and my sister! I am willing to make the sacrifice because it is just that priceless ~ although, it would be just as priceless if they drove to Ohio for the same experience!!!! I am so thankful how the Lord speaks to us, right where we are. I love that I don't have to clean up before I come to Him. I love that I don't have to make myself look a little better before He sees me. I love that I don't have to candy-coat how I REALLY feel. I love that in spite of it all, He loves me JUST THE WAY I AM!! Did you hear that? He loves me just the way I am ~ and guess what? He loves YOU just the way you are!!! Isn't that incredible?! I love that! Being with all of those women and knowing that God was right there with me was amazing! He looked at my messy self and came and met me in my seat! I am ready to go out, after this halftime of life and finish the game...at least until halftime next September!!

I was on such a high by the time the weekend was over and it felt good. I was ready to come home and be the perfect wife, the mom who never yells and the woman that can do it all! I hate the idea of leaving my family in DE, but I was ready to leave and put into practice the things that I learned over the weekend. I never sleep when I am away from home, so I decided that if I got up in the middle of the night, I would just head home instead of laying in bed HOPING to fall back to sleep! I moved the van forward so that I could start loading up my bags. Now mind you, I traveled alone so I only had two bags!! I really didn't need to load them up ahead of time, but I went ahead and pulled the van forward so that it was in front of my sister's house. To my "surprise", I couldn't steer the van! Are you kidding me? Now? If you know the Counts family and the history of the "van", you really wouldn't be surprised that I was having car problems! My sister went out and had to see what I was talking about! By the time my brother-in-law made it home and took the van for a spin, there was nothing wrong!! Doesn't that always figure?! I didn't sleep the night before because I was even more anxious than I was when I made the trip to DE in the first place!! I woke up to a gloomy, rainy Sunday which I wasn't excited about in the least! I started off on my trek home literally praying mile by mile that I would make it home! I would set a goal and then pray that I would make it there. I kept praying that I would be safe, that I would know what to do if something happened to the steering and that I would get to that next spot and then I continued to do this over and over and over the entire way home! Each time being sure that I said a prayer of thanks when I actually made it to that next spot! I was having some problems on the turnpike, but all across 80 everything was good. I was starting to get more confident as the trip went on! I was 20 miles from home and the car started acting up again! I just had to laugh because wouldn't it just be like God to get me that far and then have me break down on the side of the road?! Needless to say, I made it home in once piece, but I don't know if our van will be able to make another trip like that anytime soon!!

I was leaving the W.O.F weekend a little discouraged, but God turned that around and reminded me to trust Him! He gave me what I needed at that time! I had a great lesson in faith and trust on the way home and I am praying that I will not soon forget that He is with me ~ wherever I am!!

Mom and June ~ thank you for a great weekend! Thank you for the relationship we have with each other! I love and miss you so much!