Only For A Season

As I am sure you are aware, it has been awhile! To those who do not know what has been going on in my life, please let me give you the Reader's Digest version.

In April my husband, James, started working in Baltimore, MD. This job is wonderful. Good pay, great company and James seems genuinely happy to go to work (as happy as you can be!) He was commuting between Baltimore and SWVA thanks to a very nice friend of my MIL's who allowed James to live with him. James made the 6+ hour drive weekly. Well, this past weekend we mad the move up here. No more commuting for James, no more family for me! I know they are a email, or phone call away, but it is not the same. Alas, I praise my most gracious Heavenly Father that James is employed in this economy and that he is happy again.

The reason for my title is this, I know that everything only lasts for a season. Some seasons are pretty and nice and some are dark and cold. I am praying that this season is full of God's presence and grace and that we will grow as a family and as believers. We know that God has placed us here for a time as this and praise Him for working in our lives.

So, upon request of my sister, I am starting to blog again. Sometimes it will be funny, sometimes I will make you cry (in boredom) and sometimes, I just need someone to listen. I am doing this for family to keep up with us so I plan to be real. Period. Welcome back...

Love you!

Maryanna

Fun Saturday and Bekley, WV

Well, we are on our way home from Bekley, WV. We decided to male an impromptu trip today to see the area that we may be moving to. It is a cute little area, lots of winding roads and the drive to get there from where we currently live is really not that bad. It could be in the winter with heavy snow, but not right now. In fact, it is a nice drive and the kids did amazing. We are still waiting to see if James will get the job in Bekley, the company that contacted him needs to get the contract accepted. I am so thankful that I don’t need to be anxious, that God has walked ahead of us and already has the path set out, no need to fret. Just put it in HIS hands, It would be a big change, with lots of decisions. Do we move or would James commute? If we move do we move all the way to Bekley or somewhere in between there and home? James already drives 45 min, so it would be no bid deal. We have found such a family at Highlands. I just made praise team; in fact I have yet to be put on the schedule so would I get on praise team just to never sing? I love the choir, doing the deaf recording, our small group, the friends, the family. Again, I must remind myself God is in control, I am not. I will just mess things up. We need Him, His direction, His guidance. We have too many times tried to go our way without seeking Him and each and every time we fail. The only way to be successful, ok bad choice of words, to be content Is to be in His will. So we pray that we grow closer and closer to God and that His will becomes our own. God is good, He is faithful. We are thankful.

My prayer Is that we seek God’s will and that every step we take be wrapped in prayer, that we TRUST that no matter what the outcome that God is in control. Well, we have had a great day, a full day. We saw the hot air balloons take off and land today, a first for the boys. We went to the park, went to the mall, went for a drive, went to another park, had dinner, and now are on our way home. We have been blessed to have to major meltdowns, no major crying spells. God is awesome. We are blessed by the best! Looking forward to church in the morning and getting the house clean in anticipation of Devon coming home on Tuesday. (He called today and had been on a Dune Buggy, mommy was terrified) Please pray for us as we seek God, as we take life day by day.

Praying that you all are reminded daily of His faithfulness and love for you. We are so lucky to have a Father who cares, loves.

Love you all!

Ginny Owens “Own me” or “Only yours”

updates...

Hmm...where to start? God is awesome! We are blessed. I think I will take it one by one...

Grace- She is doing great. She is sassy and sweet and everything in between! We were unable to make her appt at UVA due to car problems and our flight being cancelled thanks to Obama being in the area, but we will be contacting her doctor via email instead. She is still choking, but her runny nose and coughing has improved so much. God is good!

Zachary- He was officially diagnosed with autism. I am not sure that I have posted that yet. We have started Paxil and aren't seeing a difference yet, but it can take up to 3 weeks, so are waiting. He is having more bad days, he is stuttering a lot and the need for consistancy is increasing. We just have to take it day by day. Please pray that he will start to sleep better, we have started melatonin and it seemed to be working for a couple weeks, and now, he is waking at night and wandering again.

Joshua- He is onry! He is feeling his oats (I think that is the saying) We are trying to find a discipline that works with him so that we can get him under control, slow and steady wins the race right? He goes back to school at the end of the month and mommy is so happy, I think he is too. He loves swimming, he is becoming quite the fish and he has a tender heart.

Devon- He is in Oregon visting family. :( We miss him so very much. He is having a great time though and is being able to do so much more than he can here. Can't wait until he gets home.

James- He was diagnosed with Sleep apnea and we are praying that he can get his CPAP soon so he can get quality sleep and hopefully get his blood pressure under control. He is in serious talk with a company in West Virginia about a 5 year contract. We are praying for God's guidance because that would be a BIG move.

Maryanna- I am ok. I had a heart thing that sent me to the hospital a week or so ago. My pulse was 256 and I was diagnosed with SVT (basically a really fast heart rate that is caused my a weird current in my heart) I went to the Cardio on Friday and he is running a bunch of tests, put me on a beta blocker and referred me for an abaltion. In great God news, I made praise team at church and am so very excited to be able to sing praises to an amazing God.

Our van is dying a slow and painful death. The transmission needs to be replaced and there is something wrong with the engine (it won't start easily) The other day I was sitting at a stop light and my car just died. Thankfully it was not on the interstate. :) We are praying that we can find a way to get it repaired. We have faith that God is in control of ALL things and that He can make way.

Well, I think that is all, praying that all is well for all of you!

Love you you all!

Grace Appt

I forgot to add that Grace has an appointment to see her ENT at UVA on Wednesday, we are excited for this appt since Grace has been choking so much since the surgery. We are still trying to figure out what we are doing for the appt and who is taking her up or if we are all going. It is such a long drive and with only one person doing the driving, an 8 hour round trip is a lot, plus with the van not working well. Please pray we make the right decision.

Also, the kids have a dentist appt on Monday. All three little ones. Pray for peace (I would say patience, but I know better) Grace has some teeth that have been trying to come in for months and are stuck under the gums so I am praying he can give us an idea why.

Ok, I will update after her appt on Wed. if not before.

Love to you all!!

Maryanna

Overwhelmed

Because nothing in our lives in simple, I ws in the ER last night with a pulse of 256, yeah, you read that right. I was diagnosed with SVT. Now adding a cardiologist to my list of docs. I am thankful to MckMama because had I never heard of Stellan, last night would have been much scarier than it was. When I went into the hospital, it was like a scene from ER. As soon as they saw that my pulse was so high, I had 6 nurses and a doctor in my room, two IVs in, oxegen and a heart monitor on. I just closed my eyes and prayed, not because I was scarred just overwhelmed. Luckily after a few doses of an IV med, they were able to get it down to 120. Today I am still having heart flutters and pain, but my pulse is staying down.

Oh, and earlier this week, James lost everything off his computer including a bunch of pictures. also, since a couple weeks ago, our transmission has been going out, and it is so bad that there are many times, ok all the times you first start the car, that it will not go into drive. I am feeling very overwhelmed. Please remind me that God is in control. Right now, I feel like things are spinning further and further out of control.

Just had to get all that off my chest. I know that this is not my usual positive post, please forgive me and come back. I am just in a place where I really need my Abba Father. Please hold me close sweet Jesus.

Love you all!

Pray for my husband James

Oh goodness, I just typed a blog and when I went t0 publish it kicked me out.

The short of it is my husband James, 31, is in the ICU with uncontrollable blood pressure. Every time they get it down with the Nitro drip, as soon as they take him off it rebounds.

Please pray for James and for all of us. I will update more later, but for now, I have been up for 40 hrs and just finished picking up the house and putting kids to bed and I am beat.

Love to you all!

Grace is doing so well!!

Thank you all for your prayer and encouragement these past few weeks. Grace is doing so wonderfully! She is almost back to her old self, almost. She is still very needy and mommy obsessed, but I guess I should take advantage of that as soon she will move on and not want anything to do with me like the older ones. She is back to fake burping and saying "cuse me" and when she hears loud trucks, banging her fists, saying "boom, boom, boom, bye bye" So adorable.

I am enjoying the boys being home, but looking forward to school starting. Three boys are fun and challenging. They are rambuncious and full of life. The are constantly into something or planning their next adventure. Zachary is having trouble sleeping, so he is a little more challenging, but I'll take it. I loved my kids so very much and could not imagine life without any of them.

My hubby is amazing. He is so loving and caring. We celebrated 6 years on Friday and I look forward to 100 more, ok not that many, but you get the picture :)

Finally, church this morning was just awesome. The worship was so full of the Holy Spirit. You could just feel everyone lifting up the name of our Father and praising Him, surrendering to Him. The sermon was about God's will and God really spoke to me. It really laid out the three types of God's will. The moral will of God, the providental will of God and the personal will of God. My prayer for you all is the you let the light of God eliminate your darkness.

Love you all!

So much better

Grace is doing so much better. She was back in the ER on Sunday for fluids and came home with an IV because we were afraid she would need to be put inpatient on Monday. God had other plans and by Monday midday she was eating and drinking some. Today, she is normal Grace, ok needier and less trusting, but eating and drinking like normal Grace. We went to the park and went to the pool, it was so much fun! It was great to have Grace back. To hear her laughing and talking. Unfortunatley, Joshua started running a 102 fever, so please pray that she doesn't get whatever he has because I am afraid that will send her back.

God is awesome! Truly and completley AWESOME.

Love you all!

Sorry for the lack of updates!

I am so sorry for the lack of updates. Things have been crazy to say the least. Tuesday we decided to go to DC because we were staying in the area until Grace's followup on Wed anyway. It was really fun. It was nice for the kids to get to do something special and get Grace's mind off of everything.

Unfortunatley, we ended up in the ER on Wed evening following our appt with the ENT. Grace was obviously dehydrated and in much pain. She would do nothing all day but cry and sit in my arms. After 4 attempts they were able to get an IV in and gave her lots of fluids. They let me have the decision to keep her or to let us drive home. I decided to come home, praying she would start drinking once she was in her normal element. Not the case. She has had one wet diaper in 24 hrs and that was not very wet. So, we are going to the Children's ER today, more than likely to be admitted again. Another holiday away from family.

Please pray for Grace. She is just miserable. Yesterday she slept most of the day and when she was awake she was crying in pain and wanting to be held. She really wants to eat and drink, or she did, she really won't even try much anymore. The previous days, she would stick things in her mouth and cry because she was so hungry, yet the pain was so bad she couldn't swallow anything. There were times that I just cried along with her.

Also, yesterday Devon woke up throwing up and was sick all day, last night, Zachary woke up throwing up at 2:30am he was covered in puke as he calls it.

Guys, I won't lie, I am weary. With all this medical stuff and now the flu, I feel sometimes we can't get a break. Then I think of other families who have kids that have terminal illnesses and am reminded that while we have a lot on our plate, that it is not even close to what these families are experiencing. Please pray that I remember those that are less fortunate and remember that God has been faithful, therefore I must be too. There is some other stuff that I could really use prayers for that don't belong here (for those that know me personally, no it's NOT my marriage)

Thank you all for your prayers, I know that God hears every one of them and I trust that HE is in control.

Love you all!

Grace is home~~

Grace is home!! OK really she is at the hotel, but she was released yesterday. She stated running a fever, it went away and is now back. She is a lot of pain, even with Tylenol 3. She mostly sits in mommy's arms and moans. It is really sad to see her like this. She also won't eat today or drink. Please pray that she start drinking and eating so she is not readmitted! I will update more later, but I typing in the dark and the kids are waking from the noise.

Love you all!

Until Journey's End

This is an AMAZING organiztion that helps families with kids that are sick and have to travel away from home. They are an absolutley wonderful group and we are humbled at the love they have shown us. Please if you have a moment visit the website, visit some of the other kids blogs and if you can donate to help a organization that is more amazing then I could begin to explain.

www.untiljourneysend.org

Saturday Update-God is AWESOME!

Grace is now on the regular ped floor. She did great during the night. She was in quite a bit of pain, and poor daddy sleep poorly with Grace, but she had no major respiratory problems and was drinking some this am and then by this evening is eating small amounts of soft food! Praise the LORD! She is still in quite a bit of pain but daddy is being sure that they are staying on top of the meds so it isn't that bad. She also took a walk this evening and went to the playroom. WOW~ My heart is full. God never ceases to amaze me.

Please continue to pray that she heals and that the pain lessens. God has been so faithful.

Love you all!

God had planned every step...

Ok, so where do I even start? I guess instead of trying to do things in a chrnological order I will bullet the amazing things that God has done.

• 2 or 3 months ago I started following a blog about a heart baby names Stellan. On this blog, was referenced a non profit organization called "Until Journeys End" Grace got scheduled for surgery and we had no money for the trip. My sister remembered Until Journeys End and contacted them for us. They immediatley contacted us and got us a hotel for our whole stay. Oh, and did I mention the Ronald McDonald House was full and we would have no place to stay?
• We had a babysitter planned out for the time we were at UVA, then two days before they closed on their house and the kids had to come! If we had been at the RMH, we would not have all fit, God knew that.
• A few months ago the founder of UJE came to visit her husband, a JAG lawyer, that was in training in Charlottesville. She went to a local church and made friends with some of the people there. Well, since we had to bring the kids, we were afraid that we would not be able to be together the day of surgery, Tiffany, from UJE, called her new friends from the Charlottesville area and God provided a babysitter. God had worked this out before we even knew Grace was having surgery.
• God put different people in our path with money for food. One sweet lady from choir was opening her birthday card while reading an email from me. She felt God move her to give us that money. Another lady was a teacher for one of our sons many years ago and gave us money and was talking to a coworker who gave as well. Then there was our choir director and our lifegroup. Each step we were unsure we would have enough, God provided.
• On the day we were leaving, we were filling our tires and there was a family in front of us that obviously had little money. I felt the tug of the Holy Spirit on my heart and knew that although we had little that they needed $20. I had James put it on the front seat of their car. James had no sooner walked to the car that I got a call from my sister saying that someone had walked up to her and said that they knew we needed a $20 bill and gave it to my sister. God had immediatley given us the 20 back. WOW!

There are more awesome God stories and I will tell you them as I have time. I pray that you have some awesome God stories and I truly praise the Father of Heaven and Earth.

Maryanna

Still in Surgery...

Grace is still in Surgery. We waited in the waiting room for 3 hours before being sent back, but Grace was an angel. God is awesome! He is faithful! Please continue to pray as they finish the surgery and she recovers. There is an awesome lady from a local church watching the kids today (her husband is a principal at a local school) and they are taking them to VBS tonight. I am humbled by how our Abba Father has been there each step of the way, making everything go smoothly and peacefully. We are so blessed to have Jesus in our lives and have this hope and peace. God is good!

Love you all!

Quick Update! Surgery time...

We are in Charlottesville in a hotel thanks to the wonderful group At Journeys End. We will be here for a week. Grace has her surgery tomorrow, Friday at 10:30 or so. She has to be at the hospital at 9am. Please pray that the Great Physcian guide the doctors and the He holds Grace in His loving arms. (Peace for mommy and daddy too!)

I have so awesome God stories, but for now, kids are calling. I will say GOD IS AMAZING and FAITHFUL!!!!!!!

Maryanna

God is faithful

God is good, God is faithful.

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. Deut. 7:9

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Psalm 36:5

This phrase, God is faithful, has been everpresent on my mind lately. As we get ready for Grace's surgery as we try to get the financial aspect worked out, God keeps reminding me..."Maryanna, I am faithful" He is not going to leave us. He is not going to forsake us. God is faithful. So, I praise God for this amazing promise that HE alone is faithful. I cling to that promise and stand firm in that truth.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" Prov 3:5

Praying that you see God's faithfulness today!

Maryanna

So much to do

There is so much to do right now and so little time! I know, then why am I here instead of working? Good question. I don't have an answer. Procrastination. I could say that it is because I am coming on here to ask for prayer, which is 100% the truth, but that is not the reason that I had to check MckMamma's site and others. Do you ever get so overwhelmed that you don't know where to start? Yeah, kinda there. Ok, breathe in, and out. Then RUN!

I will tell you that yesterday was AWESOME!!! We went to church and the music was so spirit led! Our Choir director Kim lead worship and wow, she is a woman of God! She is on fire!! God just filled the room and it felt like you were standing at the throne singing to HIM! Then, Kim sang "Arms Open Wide" by Hillsong. Ok, total God moment. I cried throughout the song and not just tear, sobbed. This song is amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvNdybdyeOc

I hope the link works, if you can take the time to listen to this song, do. WOW!

We then came home from church and finished our dad's day crafts while dad went to work, and made dad a cake. When dad came home, we took him to the pool at our apartment and then we ate dinner. James got to finish his father's day with a sleep study. There is something funny about that.

I want to take a moment on Father's day and that James for being such an amazing father to our children. He is wonderful. He was a single dad for 7 years before we married and Devon is a great kid, and this past 2 yrs he juggled work, getting his MBA and family and did it all with class and love. We are so blessed.

And to our Abba Father. WE LOVE YOU! There is none like you. We praise your holy name.

Love you all!

Maryanna

Grace update and more!

God is faithful. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understandings, in all your ways acknowledge HIM and he will direct your path" Prov. 3:5&6

This has been my life verse since I first became a Christian. I find this verse so powerful. What an awesome promise, we might not always know why things go the way they do, we just must have faith that God is there and HE will take the reigns. I have nothing to worry about. Nothing to plan perfectly, HE is going to guide me. Guide my family. Guide my husband. What a wonderful God we serve!

Ok, there was another paragraph here and it disappeared. The update on Grace...I took Grace to the doctor on Thursday and her prescribed her Omnicef. Due to God's awesome grace, Grace is no longer snotting green stuff anymore!! Some might say it was the antibiotics, some might say it was our great Physcian, I prefer to believe the later!

Yesterday was supposed to be a day of celebration for James for Father's day since he is working Sat and Sun (he has to work one weekend a month). Instead, it was a day of stress and tension. (I told you that I am transparent) I won't go into huge details, just please pray. James graduated with his Masters in May and waiting for God to show us where He wants him is hard. Pray that we wait for where God has called us to be and not that we get inpatient and jump at anything, or begin praying for anything instead of praying for His will.

There have been some very cool life changes these past couple weeks in our lives, so I will attempt to show those in pictures below (WARNING:I am not a professional photographer and I don'y know photoshop)

This is the Global Glory of God summit at our church in May. This was a very pivitol moment in so many things. The wonderful men of God that are in the picture are from Denmark, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Albania.

My Adorable Kids!!! Ok, so Grace looks a little awkward, I think she was running from her brothers, and honstley, who blames her! Yes, we are at Mc Donald's. My husband makes fun of me because I can go in there and feed all my children for under $7.

Best Friends! This is Grace and our best friends daughter Hayden. They are so cute together and we are so blessed to have such great friends!!

Playing in the Rain! I love letting my kids be kids! Like playing in the rain and puddles! Grace seems to be saying "Should I jump?"

Devon got BAPTIZED!!! On June 7, Devon made the decision to make his faith public and get baptized! We are so proud. The first picture is Daddy and Devon, the second is Grammy and her boys, the thirds is MIMI and her boys and finally Devon and his cousin Mikaela who got baptized together.

My baby, I mean oldest son, graduated from elementry school on June 11. WOW! He is going into middle school. Lord, help us! I missed the graduation because Zachary was having a bad day and decided to throw a massive fit, so we got to sit in the car. He got Presidental honors for academics and physical fitness! We are so proud!!!

Thanks for sharing in our lives, and thanks for your prayers!

I have a special prayer request for our 1 yo daughter Grace. She is scheduled for Surgery next Thursday, June 26 at the University of Virginia. As most of you know, Grace was born with a rare birth defect called a Laryngeal Cleft that causes her to aspirate thin liquids into her lungs. She chokes often and has frequent respiratory infections. The surgery she is scheduled to have will Lord willing take care of the problem. The surgery is very delicate. She will be in the Ped. ICU following the surgery to monitor her airway. During the surgery, they will also be taking out her tonsils and adenoids. She has had problems with recurrent strep and sinus infections. Adding these procedures adds pain that is usually not present with just the cleft repair.

There have been many hurdles to get to this point. Grace is sick right now. She is running a low grade fever and is pouring green snot. Please pray that she would be healed so that we can have this surgery. We cannot risk there being any compromise to her airway during the surgery. Also, financially. At this point we have no idea how we are paying for this trip up to UVA. We know that we serve an awesome God that can do miraculous things, so we are not worried. We will have gas, food while there, and we will need to have a hotel the day before and after as well as we have to have a return trip July 2.

We also want to Praise God for HIS provisions. We have one of the BEST doctors in the country working on Grace. If this surgery had been done a couple years ago, she would have come home on a trach. God is good! Also, He has put a wonderful couple in our place that is taking care of our 3 other children while James and I are in Charlottesville. God is GREAT!

We truly covet your prayers! I have a blog that has very little activity, but I will use that as an avenue to keep everyone updated on Grace and her progress next week. Please feel free to pass this email along to everyone and anyone that you know that will pray for Grace. I trust in the Great Physician and know that God is in control. http://livebygrace95.blogspot.com/

We love you all and above all we love our Abba Father!

The Wilcox Family (James, Maryanna, Devon, Joshua, Zachary, & Grace)

A New Day

As I reread the last few posts, I was thinking, maybe I should delete them and start over. People don't need to see that much of me. Then I realized that we all need people to see that much of us. Too often we get so overwhelmed and instead of sharing we stuff. So, I will leave the posts up, please do not be judgemental. Just realize that God is so much bigger and that HE has done some amazing things in my life the last few weeks and I am changed. Glory to HIM!

Well, I guess I will start with the a new wind that the Lord has breathed into James and myself (as well as our marriage). We attended the G3 conference at our church, Highlands Fellowship the first couple weeks of May. During that time, James and I went through the classes with pastors from all across the world (we sat with pastors from Denmark, India, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Albania) WOW~ GOD IS AWESOME! We learned so much. James and I talked how we had both been convicted about tithing. I expressed how scared I was as we don't have the money to tithe, we live life in the negative right now and the teaching was what I needed. We are excited to see God provide. The teaching on your Shape and where you should be serving was great. We are both becoming more involved and LOVING it. Also, just because God is so good and faithful, we met our two new friends during this time. One who has quickly become my best friend, and the other that God placed in our lives right now, just when we needed her. God never ceases to amaze me. I will blog later about the G3 pastors as they deserve their own post...

Yesterday we went to University of VA to see Grace's ENT. He was looking back at her records from our local doctors and after the exam decided that she will need not only her Laryngeal Cleft repair, but her tonsils and adnoids out as well. He explained that her tonsils are innes and that is why she has had strep so many times. God is good that we have such an awesome doctor!! She will have surgery on June 26. In ICU for 24 hours and then on the reg floor for hopefully 24 hours! Please pray as the time approaches that she stays well so that she can have the surgery, that we find someone to watch our other children why we are 4 hrs away and that God provides the money that we need for the trip, time off, ect.

As for my ankle, God is truly trying to teach me something with this! I now have 2 broken screws and can barely walk on it. I am awaiting an appt with my original surgeon on June 3 as he is the only one that will touch the broken hardware. Please pray for me and my family. This has been the longest 6 months! I know that God is in control, and I lay it in His hands!

Zachary is having his eval for special ed classes next year in the next few weeks, so please pray for that as well as he will have his appt with the Neuro Ped in July. Joshua is great, loving the pool and struggling with getting rid of the paci. Devon is almost done with the school year and then he will be in middle school. Lord help us!!! :) No really, we are so proud of him. He is truly a tween though!

Love you all and would love to know what is going on in your life. Please drop a letter or email if you have a chance! And please let me know in the comments if there is anything I can pray for you about!

The Wilcox Family
16230 Samantha Dr Apt 50
Abingdon VA 24211

livebygrace09@hotmail.com

Love in Christ!

Maryanna