Too Late for Easter?

I know it has almost been a week since Easter, but I didn't want to let it pass completely without posting some of the fun things we did! On the day before Easter (Easter Eve?), we went to the big egg hunt in Jefferson for lots of fun. Then on Easter Day, we went to church to worship and then to Grandma Jackie's for food and fun!

There was lots of egg-dying...





And cupcake decorating....




Cupcake walking (and Clara actually won one!)




Egg hunting....

Clara got tired and sat where she was to collect her loot. :-)

Success!

Plain 'ole cuteness...



Fun at Grandma Jackie's house.....



And most importantly, we went to church to worship our risen Lord. These pictures are taken in the Prayer Garden at church. It's become a tradition since I can never get my act together at home before we go to church. Also, since it is rare for us to all go to church at the same time on Easter, it has become necessary to take all pictures after the service. The life of musicians. :-)




And don't forget a handsome Daddy!


Thanks for letting me share. :-) I hope you had a glorious Easter Day.

Love,
Jeannie

The Least of These

Hello everyone - this is Jeff. This is the first time I've posted anything to this blog. Jeannie does a great job keeping everyone up to date on our life. (Thank you honey!) What I need to say is not about recent events for our family, but about something God has been doing in my heart.

One of the things God has been impressing on my heart is the verse, "Whatever you do to the least of these, you do it unto Me." As I have meditated on this verse, I have been convicted of many times where I did not behave as I should.

I have had to seek forgiveness for the way I have treated our children many times. There are others in my life I have had to ask forgiveness in the past. God continues to bring situations and events to mind as He directs. The incident He most recently reminded me of happened years ago, and I have no real way to contact the people involved. God did lay it on my heart to use this blog to seek forgiveness, and my desire is to be obedient.

During the mid 1990s, I taught middle school band at Clements Middle School in Covington, Georgia. I have many great memories of some truly remarkable teachers and students. God used that time to shape my life, and I am grateful for the experience. However, I do need to ask forgiveness from the students whom I hurt with my words and actions.

There were many times I completely lost control and as the Bible says, " gave full vent to his anger." Not only was this unprofessional, it was rude. The worst part is, I behaved this way as an example of Christ before so many students. So, I need to humbly ask, "Will you please forgive me?".

My desire is to be obedient to the Lord. My prayer is God will use this for His glory. Thank you all for allowing me this opportunity to 'borrow' this forum for a few moments.

We love you all and are so thankful for your support and encouragement.

God Bless,
Jeff

Pretzel Fun!

As many of you know, we had a showing of our house yesterday. It is probably not this way for everyone, but getting our house ready for showings nearly kills us. Even if we went to bed with a perfect house every night, we would still be here in the morning. :-) I would think that could be an advantage to going to work and school...if I cleaned my house, at least it would stay that way until supper. Anyway, after the grueling task of getting it ready, we are usually pretty useless afterwards. Today was no exception.

Around 5:00 this evening, Alyssa was inspired to bake. She chose a recipe from her favorite cookbook for pretzels. Since the kitchen was clean (because we had just showed the house the previous day), and we had everything on hand, I told her to have at it! Thought you might want to see how much fun we had. :-)

Megan thought a more creative use of her dough was in order. :-) Silly Girl!

The babies agreed....a very fun night!

Alyssa to babies: "Do you want salt or cinnamon-sugar?"

The babies response: "SPRINKLES!"

That's a good lookin' pretzel!

I'm not sure what Emilie was doing (as usual). :-) Whatever she was doing...she was enjoying it!

Coming out of the oven...do you smell them?

They tasted as good as they looked!

We all agreed that this recipe was not as good as the one we got at Family Camp, but like most things we love, it is packed in a box somewhere in the garage waiting to see the light of day, and has been for the past year and a month. (But who's counting?) Maybe soon!
There were no complaints, however. Just silence and chewing. :-)

Good Night!!

Love,
Jeannie

Clara and Her "Boy"

Over the past 2 1/2 years, we have been SO VERY thankful for all the wonderful people God has put in Clara's life. Family and friends who have loved her beyond measure and prayed for her faithfully every day. Doctors and therapists who have provided the best of care for her. Ten years ago, I am sad to say that I couldn't have even told you what a physical therapist did, and now, ten years later, we love our physical therapists so very much, and we know that what strength and skills Clara has gained have been largely due to their expertise and time spent with her. As far as doctors go, we really feel like God has provided the very best for her. We LOVE our pediatrician and have been very pleased with the other specialists she has visited (and there are many). But of all the doctors we have, her favorite is Dr. Berenson, her neurologist. She and Megan "play" Dr. Berenson, she talks about him between visits, and this morning as we were getting ready to leave, she told Megan that she was going to see her "boy". She informed her Daddy that she wanted to eat lunch after she saw Dr. Berenson because her pretty dress might get dirty while she ate. After one visit she looked at her Daddy during dinner and said, "Dr. Berenson is soo 'bery' cute". Okay...well not only is he "so cute", but he provides great care for her.

Today was kind of a big visit. Now that we have all of her test results, it was a time for him to talk with me and Jeff about her disease and the implications of it. He would not speculate on her future...he said there is too wide of a range...and so I have decided to not think about her future, but to think about each day and let it "worry about itself". He was, however, very pleased with her progress over the last few months. She has gained a tremendous amount of strength and balance since he saw her last. He is concerned that she is still not running....but we are getting there! She is pedaling a bike...that's HUGE...and she is making great progress at going up and down stairs while alternating feet. Since we began her CoQ10, she has an increased amount of energy and rarely wants to lay around...or be quiet since her mouth has more energy, too. :-) So all in all, it was a very successful visit. No urgent concerns for now. She had her yearly EKG and is being set up for her yearly visit to the eye doctor (heart problems and blindness are two common problems for Mito kids).

Finally, anyone who thinks that Chick-fil-A is just a restaurant is wrong. It is not a place we can eat often, as Alyssa and Emilie are both allergic to peanuts and peanut oil, and Megan can't be exposed until she is 3 years-old, but on doctor visit days, we try to always take Clara. It is special for her because 1)She has us all to herself and 2) Right now, she is the only kid in the family who can eat there (and her mother loves it more than any food in the entire world) :-). We have found one in particular one exit past Dr. Berenson's and they have been wonderful. After one visit where we had received some bad news, I was by myself with Clara and quite frankly, behind my smile, I was on the verge of tears. One of the employees went out of her way to wait on us, get us refills and even brought Clara a coloring sheet and a free ice cream. Today, the manager gave her a little St. Patrick's Day cow and sat at our table for a few minutes to talk to us. So for us, not only are they a restaurant with the most fabulous chicken sandwich EVER, they are a ministry. We told them that today and I pray God continues to bless them.

So those of you who are dying to know how cute Dr. Berenson really is, here is Clara with her "boy":




Here is the chandelier at his office that Clara calls the "purple Christmas tree". She can't figure out why they still have it out, but she loves to look at it. :-)






Speaking of people Clara loves:






Her physical therapist, Ms. Leigh (or Ms. Leigh-Leigh to Clara) whom we adore and who also happens to live in our neighborhood. :-) :






Work those steps, girl!!






Her physical therapist, Ms. Peggy, is standing right beside her with the other volunteers at "Butterfly Dreams Ranch". We are so very thankful to everyone involved. Without them, Clara would not have this wonderful therapy.





And of all the people God has put in her life, I think this one was especially for her:

Everyone needs a sister like that!!


Please pray for Jeff this week. He has had some pain in his arms and foot that is job-related, and this week for him has been spent at the doctor, physical therapy, and at home. Please pray he will heal quickly and that Frito-Lay would be gracious to him.

As always, thanks for your prayers!!!

Love,
Jeannie

You want me to do WHAT?!?!?

One thing you may not know about me is that I have translated my own version of the Bible. The JBPV: Jeannie Bryant Paraphrase Version. Jeff loves to tease me about that every time I try to recite a verse from memory, and botch it. Or, I don't always botch it, but I just know the gist of it. I am not sure why Scripture memory is so difficult for me, but it is definitely something I have to work at. So, now that you know that about me, this story will be no surprise to you.

A few weeks ago, I hit a point in my life where I really thought I had endured all I could stand. The weight of the world weighed so heavily on me, I didn't even want to get out of the bed in the mornings. I didn't want to face my children. I didn't want to get dressed. I didn't want to go anywhere. Pretty much, I was just tired. It was in this frame of mind that I pouted into the kitchen one night where Jeff was washing dishes (that sweet man of mine). I don't think my arms were crossed over my chest or my lip was poking out, but in my frame of mind, they could have been. :-) I said to him, "I know the Bible is true and all that, but there is something I just don't get. It says 'They will mount up on wings like eagles. They walk and not grow weary. They will run but not faint.' But I'll tell you one thing, I am just about to faint and I am flat out weary." In my mind, I was, "So explain THAT one, Mr. Bible memorizer." (I can never stump him on Bible questions...Don't know if that is a result of his maturity or my immaturity.) Without missing a beat, he said,"Sweetheart, I think you are forgetting the first part of that verse. The first part says,'They that wait upon the Lord.'" Well, I must say, that totally knocked the wind out of my little tantrum. Arms down and lip back in. "Oh," was all I could muster. I walked back to my room, totally humbled at this point, looked up the actual verse (what a concept, huh?), and meditated on what he had just said to me.

For weeks after that, that verse just kept popping up every time I turned around. I don't know if God does that to you...bops you in the head with things over and over until you get it. You may be a faster learner than me. I guess He knows that's what it takes to get through my thick skull. Lo and behold at Bible study a few weeks ago, Beth Moore talked on that verse. She started the lesson by asking, "Do you ever feel like God has called you to something, has you sitting on 'go', but there's only one thing left you are waiting on?" I almost laughed out loud. That is the story of my life right now! I think the friend next to me did too. She leaned over and said, "Jeannie ...that's YOU!" Towards the conclusion of her lesson, she began to talk about Isaiah 40:31: But those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they will mount up on wings like eagles; they shall run but not grow weary; they shall walk, but will not faint." She talked a lot about how we are to wait and then she said something that will change my life forever. She said (and this is NOT a direct quote), "We are to wait upon the LORD, not an EVENT, or a person, place, or thing." All this time, I have been waiting on test results, waiting on the house to sell, waiting, waiting, waiting..... This is why I have been so frustrated. I am waiting on the wrong thing.

I cannot tell you that I woke up the next morning and life was all better, but every day I am reminding myself that I am waiting on HIM. Can you think of anything or anyone better to wait on? Am I ready for this house to sell? YES! Am I ready to have answers about Emilie? YES! (story for another day) Am I ready to unpack my boxes and start living in a home again? YES!! But I now realize that, until it is God's time, it means nothing, and if I am waiting on Him, there will be peace and contentment in the process. So many times in life, it is the process that is the most important anyway. Where we would be if we were instantly gratified all the time? For me, I would be without character, without a true appreciation for all God has done for me and blessed me with, without a lick of patience, selfish beyond belief-believing that it is all about me, and the list goes on and on. After all, Noah had to wait 120 years for rain, the Israelites wandered around the desert for 40 years, and how many years did the human race have to wait for our Savior? There's no way around it. God is worth the wait.

There are many things in my life I want to see resolved right now...we all have those things. But in the meantime, I will continue to work at waiting on HIM, and I will keep trying to memorize the Bible the way it was written. :-)


Speaking of waiting, I have promised you pictures, and you have waited patiently....so here goes:

Here is Clara mounting Dink at her very first hippotherapy.

Clara working hard.

She loves taking toys out of the saddlebags and putting them in the mailbox.

She is always happy on the horse (This horse is Rosie), but this day, she was also very cold. :-) You can tell by the smiles that everyone is having fun...and they have all been charmed by Clara. :-)


***Warning***
The colors you will see in the following pictures are slightly offensive, and for this, I ask your forgiveness. It was the cross I had to bear for the Upward ministry. :-)

My Upward Girls

Future Cheerleader

My Girls

Go Upward!!

Have a blessed day! Much love to you all!
Jeannie

Rewards

As busy as we all have been lately, I must say that things we are involved in have been some of the most rewarding things in my life! Today was the last day of our Upward season. If you don't know, Upward is a basketball and cheerleading ministry at our church. While many of our own boys and girls come and participate, most of the faces I see in the gym on Saturdays are new faces....people who do not go to our church. This year I was the coach for the 4th-6th grade cheerleaders. I had a group of 10 great young ladies (and two little mascots....couldn't leave out the babies!). I had a great time time getting to know them and their parents. There were a few highlights of this season. The slumber party at my house was so much fun and gamedays are always great! In the middle of each practice, everyone does a devotional. This year, one of my girls accepted Christ as her Savior suring one of those devotional times. Praise the Lord!! That's what it's all about. This particular girl was a friend of another one of my girls and was late joining our squad. She was such a blessing to me, and I know that this was a Divine appointment for her! I pray that she will continue to grow in the love of the Lord and I also pray that many seeds were planted in the lives of these young girls. I know I have been blessed beyond belief just by knowing them!

Our family is a part of a homeschool co-op at our church, and has been for the past four years. It is a true co-op where every Mom does her fair share....and then some. I always teach music in some capacity. The ages have varied over the years, but the subject has been the same. When we were planning this year, our administrator didn't want to tie me down to anything because there was always that possibility (and hope) that we would be moving. I was put in an elective teaching spot for one term and in a class as an assistant for another term. As it turns out, the lead teacher of the class in which I was supposed to assist moved so her husband could take a ministry position in Washington State, and so, I volunteered to teach the class...the SCIENCE class. Not where my degree is, but I am having a BLAST! I don't know when I have ever had so much fun teaching. The class is 2nd and 3rd graders and we are studying the ocean. It's an easy topic for me, as that is one of my true loves in life (actually considered being a marine biologist for a while, if I hadn't thought everyone would have a heart attack). And so, even though it is adding a little more stress to my life, it is good...I am feeling fulfilled and useful for that one great hour on Friday mornings. :-)

Also, I am teaching music to a mixed group of students during Alyssa's band time on Fridays. The kids I am teaching are my other three that are not involved in band, the son of one of the band directors, and the daughter of another friend whose son is in band. It has been a little tricky figuring out what to do with a group of such varied ages, but I am having fun with it. I am beginning to see some great possibilities and a chance to teach music in a way I have never been able to in a classroom setting. It is such a blessing to be with people who value music and desire to have their children learn about it and not just be entertained by it. It has been such a huge part of my life....it is a priviledge to pass that love along to another generation. :-)

Jeff is facilitating the parenting class at church I mentioned in an earlier post. I am getting a group of kids ready to demonstrate our VBS music to a group of VBS leaders in the region, and I am still helping with children's choirs on Wednesday nights. Clara still has her physical therapy once a week and hippotherapy once a week, and for now, we are getting a small break from Emilie's lessons, as it is hard to ride with one arm and we don't want her to break the other one. I am still LOVING the study I am doing at church on Esther. What a woman!

Too many times, people give you a list of all the things they are doing in a desire to feel important. I can promise that is not the case here...I am almost embarrassed by this list. I mostly wanted to share what is GREAT in my life right now...I know that not all the news I have shared recently has been good. :-) I am also trying to update those of you who don't see me all the time to know what is going on in our lives. We have many friends, family, and supporters who read this and I thought you would all just like to know what we are doing. If it is not mentioned here, either I forgot or it is not good....this is a strictly positive post!!

Also, I know this would be so much more interesting with pictures,a nd I promise that I will post some as soon as I remember how. If any of my "blog-savvy" friends are reading this, any help is greatly appreciated!

Love you all!
Jeannie

A Long-Overdue Update

I can't believe I have not posted anything since December! Time really flies! Well, there is no way I will be able to comment on every single thing that has happened since then, so I will hit the highlights. :-)

In some ways it seems that everything is settling down for us here in the Bryant house. Christmas is over....and was great. Even in spite of the grief we were feeling over Clara's diagnosis. For one day we were able to put all of that aside and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In the time since Christmas, we are crying less over her situation and spending more energy educating ourselves and looking at ways to care for her best. We were finally able to get her prescriptions and I can say after a solid month+ of taking everything, she is doing great. When we first started her CoQ10, all of her new-found energy was discovered first in her mouth....that kid talked non-stop for DAYS. We feel pretty certain it has now spread over the rest of her body, and we are seeing great improvement in her energy and pain levels. Thank you, Lord!! Additionally, she started hippotherapy and we could not be more excited! She LOVES it, and as it turns out, she is quite a natural at the whole "horse" thing. If you have ever seen me or Jeff on a horse, you know it is not genetic. :-) Her therapist is hoping to switch her over to therapeutic riding as soon as she turns four (the minimum age). The only difference would be that she would be holding the reins and have her feet in the stirrups, actually learning how to handle the horse in addition to her therapy. As soon as I can remember how to post pictures here, I will post some of her therapy. Seeing her trotting along absolutely takes my breath away...one of the most beautiful sights these eyes have ever seen!

Alyssa continues to blow us away with the young lady she is maturing into. She has a lot of those "quirky" preteen things going on right now, but she also has moments of acting like such a young lady, we forget this our little girl sometimes. We love the young woman she is developing into. Emilie is doing great, as well. She actually fell off a horse last week and broke her arm, but she is healing well and not complaining at all! Both girls have been a part of Upward cheerleading, with me as their coach, and are having a great time. We have made so many new friends this year...there are 10 great girls on our squad...and two little mascots. Guess who?? :-) Again, I will post pics as soon as I remember how. Megan continues to be our little ray of sunshine...no news there. She's our little Steady-Eddy. :-)

Jeff is doing well, but stays very tired. He is facilitating a Chip Ingram class on Wednesday nights at church called "Effective Parenting in a Defective World". That has been such a blessing to us. I have been unable to attend,a s I am leading Children's Choir at that time, but we have enjoyed watching at home together and discussing the things we are learning together. I have been taking the Beth More study about Esther on Sunday nights and cannot remember the last time I got so much out of a Bible study. It has all been very timely for me. The verse that the Lord keeps reminding me of, even before I started this study, was the one that says "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up on wings like eagles. They will walk and not grow weary; they will run but not faint." In our lesson last week, Beth stressed the importance of waiting on the LORD and not an EVENT. Timely, don't you think?

As far as our move with Life Action is concerned, there is no news right now. We feel God moving, but we are not sure exactly what direction He is leading at this very moment. We are so VERY sure of our calling, and the only thing holding us up right now is the sale of our house. We are praying diligently about the possibility of dropping our price...again...to see if we can't get it sold before this tax credit runs out. In our county right now, there is a 40% foreclosure rate...we have three right here in our neighborhood. As it is right now, it looks as if it will be YEARS before we can ever hope to sell our house at a profit, and so we are considering just going as low as we can go. There is so much more to it....a lot of back and forth...and we are far from a decision. Will you pray with us that we would have wisdom and be right smack in the middle of God's will? We are hoping to decide something in the next few days. We want to be good stewards of what God has given us, but we are also willing to give it all up to serve Him if that's what He wants from us. We just need to know what He wants. We know He will show in His time. Thank you for your prayers!

I will try to post regularly from now on. There are daily things that happen around here that are too funny and would be much funnier if I shared them with my friends. :-) As you can imagine in a house with four little girls, there is rarely a dull moment! For now, I need to go to bed and rested up. I need to get ready for the excitement of tomorrow!

Blessings!!
Jeannie