Gingerbread Men

A little of this and a bang of that...

We thought it would be fun to make Christmas cookies for our neighbors, so we set out to make gingerbread men! After dividing the dough into four parts, they got to it! There was much flour flying and rolling pins banging.....banging?....it had to be explained that rolling pins roll....not bang. Titus (1) just wanted to be in on all the action, so we gave him a little flour to play with. When it was icing time, you had to keep a keen eye on those M&M's! Mom came in the kitchen to see all the mess and left laughing as she said her grandchildren will be the most artsy children, but her daughters will probably have a messy house. Of course, we laughed and said she was wrong....we would just do all the baking at the sister's house that was clean. =) The kitchen was a mess, but the boys had such fun. After seeing all the finger licking and wiping on the shirts, we decided we wouldn't burden our nice neighbors with such sweet contamination, so Olivia kindly made fresh, "clean" cookies for them the next day.

Enjoy the pictures above...

Family Christmas Pictures [behind the scenes]

Every year we take a family picture, and every year, we come home look at all the shots and mom laughs so hard she has tears coming down her face from all the funny faces everyone makes during the 200+ pictures that are taken. We don't necessarily look for a "perfect" family shot....simply one shot that everyone is looking at the camera. =) Of course, we have sister/brother shots, just the girls, just the boys...etc. This year, we chose the coldest day in Florida history to take our picture. =) Maybe we should try and do this from now on, because we only had to take 4 pictures! It either had something to do with the cold weather or the hot chocolate that was waiting at home...

Anyway, we didn't end up with such hilarious "behind the scenes" this year...there's always a first!

Santi

Alexis and Ben

Cilicia and Alexis

Sweet Pete

Anita, Cilicia, Alexis, Olivia and Treasure

???

Hmmm....

Our little men

Setting up...

Our wonderful parents...

Tybee Pictures

Georgia Pictures

Santi Goes Abroad

At the beginning of the year, a family trip wasn't even a thought, much less a possibility. We still didn't know when Santi would have a surgery date, and it was hard planning such things as vacations when the unknown was...so unknown! Even when we did finally have a surgery date, traveling seemed out of the question.


Fast forward a few months, Santi is recovering, and small vacation talk is being talked.....why? We received a call with someone out of state blessing us with a home to stay in, if we would like, on Tybee Island, GA.


After much prayer, planning, and excitement, we pulled out of our driveway early last month, Tybee bound! Suffice it to say, we have never been to a more beautiful place....well, Dad says it's almost as beautiful as the mountains. =)


We agreed that if it had rained every day we were away, we still would have had a wonderful time, for it wasn't as much as the places we were staying, but rather, just all of us being together. We enjoyed the sun, just as much as the thunderstorm that moved across the ocean.


We had the honor of speaking and singing in three churches, whom we love dearly and who have prayed for Santi faithfully. This was such a blessing for us to be able to go and share God's goodness to Santi and our family. Who would have thought that Santi could stand up and testify of God's goodness just two months after surgery?!


We packed "traveling food"....you know, the foods you don't normally indulge in on a regular basis...and travel the many miles to enjoy real southern sweet tea and learn to once again say, "Hey Y'all!" instead of just plain, "Hi!". Did y'all know it was fawl up yonder? My, those trees are a Floridian's wonder...


Well, since our blogging staff seemed to take a holiday, =) we thought we'd share some of our pictures with you. We tried sitting down and picking a few, but that seemed an insurmountable feat, as our photographer...ahem....seems to be camera happy. =) So, just click play and enjoy the slide show...


As always, we thank you for your continued prayer and support. Please keep praying!

Anita

Sant's Doctor Appointment

Santi and Jon-Michael talking while in the waiting room at Shands today

Hello All!

It's been some time since you've been in touch with Santi! Santi's doing great.

Today he had a routine check-up with Dr. Woo and all went well. One of our biggest prayers has been on behalf of Santi's weight gain. Well...he gained a pound!! .....for Santi, that's BIG....=) We tease Santi by telling him that we can tell when he gains weight by how kinda pudgy his nose looks...we think it's getting there!

One thing that Santi will be working on with more vigor and regularity, is his therapy. So far, Santi has been in a healing process with not much "hard" therapy. Today started some therapy that will work Santi's muscles, hips, and about everything else that is connected to the waist on down. He will start using a walker as part of therapy in order to help him stand straighter, and practice walking in a different way. So far, the only way Santi has walked, has been hunched over, and with a little shuffle. Santi doesn't have to walk that way anymore...Santi CAN'T walk that way anymore. The Dr.'s need Santi to practice hard on posture or there will be consequences for Santi's body if he doesn't.

Well...I think I've covered about all of it! The Lord continues to meet and provide for Santi, as well as for our whole family. God is is an amazing God...

For Santi and the Hurons,


Cilicia

Santi and his Doctors

Dr. Woo showing Daddy some therapy exercises


Santi and his pound!

Santi and one of the Doctors

Shands hospital is located in the same town as UF (University of Florida). The Florida Gators are a big thing at Shands along with all the other sports! This the Hall Of Sports at Shands!

Happy Birthday, Anita!

Today we celebrated Anita's Birthday! The last Birthday was quite awhile ago, so Santi was kinda rusty on the birthday song!

Happy Birthday Anita!!!

This Life I Live...Coming Soon!

We have had the joy and privilege of being interviewed and filmed by IVL Media of Florida. This Life I Live, doesn't dwell on the Huron family, rather, the faithfulness of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We are humbled and blessed to have been able to participate in this project. We hope you enjoy the trailer! The trailer is a little clearer if you visit the official website. =)

Here is a little expert from the cover...

We invite you to celebrate the faithfulness of God as we explore some of the many ways God has shown himself faithful to this amazing family. God is faithful in provisions. God is faithful in life. God is faithful in infirmities. And God is faithful in death. The Huron family has experienced all of the above and in each instance, they have experienced the Joy that comes from trusting their awesome and loving Heavenly Father.

Coming soon!

Skittleache

We would all have to agree....skittles are just fun. They come in all colors, and oh so many flavors. Have you all noticed the newest skittle invention? Yes...chocolate!

Santi loves these fruity tasting candies...they are very high on his favorite list. When he received a surprise box in the mail (Thanks Sheltons!) containing 3 whole packages, it was candy heaven. I think "just one more" turned into a few more, and Santi ended up with a skittleache. After a little lecture from Mom, Dad said, "Santi, did they taste good?".....Santi brightened and said, "Yes Sir!"

Noah and Santi

Some of you may remember the little yellow truck Noah have Santi while in the hospital a couple of months ago....

Just this week, Noah and Santi were able to see each other again...Santi a little more perky this time! These guys are the same age and both love to talk...=)

Noah and Santi

(this week)

Santi's First Church Service...

Santi was so excited to "Go to church". Everyone who knows Santi will recognize his excitement...Going to church is santi's favorite thing to do!

Last night, our parents excitedly told Santi that this would be the day he would be able to go to church! Santi has long awaited those words! Santi has two particular days he likes best...Sunday and Wednesday. So far, he has waved everyone off to church with a'few sniffles and tears for (3) Sunday's and (4) Wednesday night church services.

For the last few days we have been able to participate in a series of services held in Plant City Florida.

The first night, seven of us Huron children sang. These are a little girl's sermon notes from the evening...

Peter, Santi and Olivia

Treasure, Santi, Cilicia and Peter.

"Sweet Pete" and Santi

Paul, Olivia and Treasure

Benuel and Treasure

Cilicia and Paul

North and South

When Uncle Benny and Aunt Treasure say they are coming,...we know we're in for a fun day. Out comes the grill, and in go the baked beans. Uncle and Aunt are always there for us. They always check up on us when Santi is in the hospital and are always there to have a coming home party with! Since they live south of us, they are know as, "Huron Clan South". When North and South meet, you're in for some sweet fellowship.

Mmmm....

Jon-Michael helping out...

Santi and Ann, our sweet cousin...

Peter ready to eat!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Treasure!

Samuel found someone to read to him...

Titus Sweets...

Lovey...

Cooking funnel cake & pretzels...

Just warm out of the oven...hmmm...

SANTI IS AWESOME!

Well, Santi had his first doctor's appointment after having surgery! After having x-rays and talking with Dr.Woo, we got the news that Santi is doing GREAT! We are so excited! I think, according to one of the doctors, he is "awesome". =) What an answer to prayer.

Just as a fair warning, I am posting a picture of Santi getting his staples out. For us, this picture is encouraging as this is what we prayed for! If you decide to skip this picture and not look further, you miss out on some other great pictures....

After seeing the new x-ray of Santi's back, Dr. Woo noticed that Santi doesn't have a hiatal hernia anymore! Santi has struggled with this hernia for many years, and what a blessing for it to "go away" after surgery. We knew this would be a possibility with his back straightened again, and his organs having a proper place to be. A hiatal hernia can be very uncomfortable as part of your stomach is herniated into your esophagus, causing extreme acid reflux. Santi can now eat pizza and spaghetti! This is just another wonderful blessing.

Many of you are faithful to pray for Santi's weight gain. Even though the scale dipped, and showed a pound less, Dr. Woo was still very happy. In most cases, children lose from 5--10 pounds after such a major surgery. Even in this, we are blessed!

Santi all ready to go...

Dr. Hanff taking the staples out...

Mom and Santi holding hands down the hall...

Ms. Teri Emma, a most wonderful friend

and advocate at Shands...

We thank the Lord for Dr. Woo!

Thank you for continuing to keep our family in prayer,

Anita

Count Your Many Blessings

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
James 5:16b

Over the last couple of weeks, the Lord has poured his blessings on our family. It is easy to go from day to day thinking of God’s faithfulness and how good He is, but for those of you who live half way across the world or who live in the next state and have diligently prayed for Santi and our family, you may not know how your prayers have been answered! I don’t think there is a day that our father doesn’t ask all of us children to name just one way the Lord has blessed us or encouraged us, and I thought I would share some of those blessings with you…

While Santi was still waiting for surgery, he had a g-tube placed for extra nutrients before and after surgery. Our family was willing to walk this milk feeding road as we had walked this road earlier in Santi’s life. This posed a problem though…we had given our pump away to another family we had heard about a few years prior. Pumps are quite costly, even to rent, so we made this a matter of prayer. Within a week, a family heard of this need and blessed us with an “extra” pump they had…for free! Count your many blessings…

While we were trying to balance Santi’s “real meals” with the feedings, we were reminded once again how expensive PediaSure or Boost can be. With 3-4 cans a day, one can easily use up to 28 cans a week! We never complained about this as we saw this as meeting a need in Santi’s body…we just asked the Lord to make every drop add calories! About a week before surgery, a couple heard of Santi being on a pump, and donated six CASES of PediaSure to our family! Count your many blessings…

It was our prayer that our parents would be able to stay at the Ronald McDonald House during their extended Shands stay, and for those of you who have kept up with the blog know, the Lord saw fit to answer that prayer. It wouldn’t have changed God’s goodness to us if a hotel was His plan and desire for us, but He provided a place to rest only a quarter of a mile away from the hospital…let’s not pass over the extra blessings at R.M.H. like having a washer and dryer, refrigerator and caring people around you. Count your many blessings…

I guess Santi was thinking big thoughts when he stepped on the scale to be weighed because the weeks leading up to surgery, he gained a total of 3 pounds 2 ounces! What bigger thought than Jesus, right?! Count your many blessings…

Ms. Sandy, a precious woman who attends our church made herself available to us while our parents were away, as she is a nurse by occupation. We were so grateful, but at the same time I was hoping that we wouldn’t have any broken bones or incidents while our parents were away and “need” her. Come Wednesday, we noticed a few of the younger ones were coming down with colds…nothing to worry about. Wednesday night nearing midnight, one child was having difficulty and I felt uneasy with mom (who can fix anything, right?) being gone. After staying up ‘till 3:15am, we knew we needed to call Dad and Mom. After dialing my Dad’s cell 5 times, we couldn’t get through. We had been talking with our parents every day, multiple times a day, and had never had trouble getting through. This was strange. We called the hospital, they weren’t there, we called Ronald McDonald House, no one at the front desk, “please press extension number”…oops…didn’t have that number. “O Lord please help us”, was our prayer that night. Unbeknownst to us, Dad and Mom were sleeping with those loud hotel air conditioners in the background and Dad started having reflux (a rarity for him). Because of the discomfort it brought, he woke up and picked up his cell phone to see the time. As he was holding the phone, it vibrated and he saw that Josh was calling (the 8th time now). It was now 3:29am. With Dad and Mom on their way home, it would still be two hours, so another couple from church drove the 10 minutes to our home came right in with monitors and most importantly, comfort for the situation. Ms. Sandy came, pronounced the patient out of harms way, all before 6am. We were sorry Dad had to have reflux…but God sure answers prayer in mysterious ways! The Lord was watching over us! Count your many blessings…

Santi had wonderful understanding nurses. Count your many blessings…

After losing feeling in his legs three times during surgery, Santi can walk, talk…especially talk!...and eat by himself. Count your many blessings…

We didn’t need an ambulance to drive Santi home after surgery! Count your many blessings…

This post would not be complete if I did not mention the sheer army of people that prayed for Santi and our family. There are so many of you that prayed for us that we have never met personally, but are sisters and brothers through Christ. Thank you! I pray you see the Lord’s power through your diligent and heartfelt prayers through this post. Some, we heard, set alarms so they could pray every 30 minutes the day Santi had surgery, and others that had their little ones pray before every meal and bedtime. What a blessing! The outpouring of love has been overwhelming.

There are so many blessings…from food on the table, to family coming safely home in the evenings, to experiencing hard times together…

We are not different from many of you out there. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, for me and you….He is not partial to one family over another. “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Heb. 14:8 Just as He moves in our family, He works and moves in yours. Take the time to think on His blessings and thank Him for His goodness and mercy. We all have something to be grateful for…

“I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore!”
Rev. 1:18

Count your many blessings!

Anita