Excitement!

I almost forgot to tell you all! I am so excited! My sister called me yesterday and told me she is expecting again! I am so happy for her! She has a little boy who is almost four, so it is about time for another baby in the family!
I am going to be an aunt again, hooray!

Okay...so maybe you aren't as excited about this as I am, but bear with me, please. :)

Kendra

Bride of Frankenstein Part Two

So...my lymph nodes are almost back to normal. Only two unsightly bumps left. Thank goodness! My Bride of Frankenstein days are almost past...whew...what a relief!
Thanks for all your kind comments and suggestions. They are much appreciated.
Also...as a side note, check out our new church blog at www.newlifecenterchurch.blogspot.com!
Talk to you soon!

Kendra

Bride of Frankenstein

So....last week...on Thursday, I started feeling a little bit sick. Figured I had a summer cold, or something. On Friday morning, I woke up, and realized that I had this lump behind my right ear. So, off to the doctor I went. Turned out that I had a swollen lymph node, and a few more acting up, so he put me on antibiotics. Saturday I was feeling lousy. Sunday I was REALLY feeling lousy...Scott made me stay home from church and abandon all my usual Sunday duties/activities. So I stayed home, in my pj's for much of the day.
Monday I woke up and felt okay, so I did most of my usual Monday things, and we went to Kelsey's preschool graduation on Monday night. By ten o'clock Monday evening, I was back to square one...feeling lousy. I went back to the doctor on Tuesday afternoon. He immediately picked up on the fact that the antibiotics were NOT working, and sent me off for some blood work.
They took NINE vials of blood from me! NINE! Oh joy. I made it through the ordeal without passing out, or even feeling dizzy, and went home.

I finally got the results today, and they are, naturally, almost normal. They did show that I have some sort of virus, that apparently looks kind of like mono. The nurse told me to rest. Rest? Ha! With an almost five year old and a six year old? Right....as if that is going to happen.

I have five swollen lymph nodes. One behind each ear, one if front of my left ear and two on the side of my neck.
Scott said I look like the Bride of Frankenstein.

Question: Anybody know how to rest with two wild little girls underfoot?
Question: Anyone know how to get rid of Frankenstein's lumps?

A Lovely, Exhausting Weekend

This weekend was our church's special dedication services. Wow....what a weekend! We worked so hard on this, and it really payed off. The congregation worked on the building nearly every day for the past two months or so. We got it looking really nice, invited many, many people, and had two special services this weekend.

Our Saturday night service was mainly for ministers and friends of the Pastor and his wife (they are my parents, for those of you who may not know.). A few of the ministers spoke and reminisced about my parents and their friendships with them. They spoke many encouraging words about my father and his ministry. It was such a blessing to be there.
My choir sang, and my mom, my sister and myself sang as well. We used to be known in the Michigan UPCI district as "The Roberts Trio", and traveled from church to church once in awhile to sing. It was wonderful to sing with them again. There is nothing like family harmony.
We had wonderful fellowship with our congregation and with the visiting ministers.

Today we had our second service, combined with an Open House for our friends and the community. That went very well. We had a lot of visitors show up for our Sunday School hour and some stayed for our service as well.
Once again, my choir sang, as well as the children's choir and our a cappella group. Everything went really well, and I feel so thankful for the many friends my family has accumulated over the years.

God is an awesome God, and I will forever praise Him!

Excellent News!

I have VERY good news! My sister called me today to update me on Granny. She is doing very well. They took her off the oxygen, started taking her for little strolls, she is eating, her bladder infection is clearing up....AND....they started her on an Alzheimer's medication. My Granny hasn't spoken more than a word or two at a time for probably two years. They have been giving her this medication for a couple days now, and she has been speaking lots of words and some sentences! This is a miracle!
I talked to my Papa, and he sounded so encouraged. They are going to keep her on the medication and see what happens.
Obviously, the medication does not cure Alzheimer's, but it stalls it. And it seemingly helps the person's mind to be sharper and more aware of their surroundings.
I am so thankful for the small miracles. God is so good!
Thank you all for your prayers. I know they helped!

I will keep you updated.

Love,
Kendra

Update On Granny

Just a quick update. The results of the scan of her lungs have not been released yet, we are still waiting to hear about that. Her infection is clearing up, however. Her fever broke in the night, and she is resting well today.
Thank you all for your prayers, I really appreciate them.
The doctor wants her to stay in the hospital for another day and then they will release her and they are planning on sending an in-home nurse to their house for a couple of weeks to take care of Granny.
When I know more, I will give another update.

Update?

No real news on Granny yet. They found that she needed oxygen and that her white blood count was very high. She has a bladder infection, and they are keeping her in the hospital for a few days. Papa is supposed to find out how her lung x-rays came out today.
My sister and one of my cousins are going down there to help out for a few days. OH I wish I could go! I hate that I am too busy to leave when Papa needs me!
At least somebody can go and sit with him at the hospital.
When I find out some more news, I will post another update.
Thanks for your prayers.

Kendra

Sadness

Sadness is my close friend this evening. My mom called and said that my Papa had to call an ambulance to take my Granny to the hospital. You know things must be really bad for him to take her to a hospital. She has Alzheimer's and has been getting steadily worse for quite awhile now. Today he found her hunched over, staring into space, totally unresponsive.
I have a terrible time with this. My Granny was always such an active person. She worked hard her whole life, even when they retired and moved back to Tennessee. When she wasn't cleaning her house, or helping someone else who was in need, she was fishing with my Papa, or working at their church.
Its so hard to think of her like this, like a child. And now, like someone who very well may be close to death.
I am sad.
I try to think of the good times, and there were many of them, but its hard to remember them at this moment.
Please pray for my Papa, and that God would be with my Granny.
I will post more when I know more.

Kendra

Easter

Easter is always such a joyous time for me. I have very fond memories of waking up on Easter morning to a wonderful basket filled with candy and books. Easter was one of the two times each year that my sister and I would get a new church dress. I loved dressing up in my new dress, shoes and fancy anklets! Church was always special that day, as well. I loved listening to the Easter story, year after year.

Now I have children, and its just the same, except a little MORE fun! Most years they get a really fancy Easter dress (usually from their Grammy Lynn) and new shoes and hairbows. This year, we didn't get to see Grammy Lynn, so we are making do with sweet little second-hand, cotton dresses. I did get Kelsey some new shoes, but Merry can still wear hers from last summer. Grammy Lynn sent gift cards for Easter, so we went out and bought cute little Easter hats and gloves and handbags. The girls are absolutely thrilled and cannot wait until tomorrow!

I think they are more excited about wearing their new dresses and going to church than they are about their Easter baskets. I know they will enjoy the baskets, but I am so glad that they are thinking about Jesus, as well.
I hope that my girls never forget the real meaning of Easter.

Tomorrow will be a very busy day for me. I am sure that everything will go well with our Easter service, but as usual, I am nervous.
So, if you read this post before two p.m. tomorrow, say a little prayer for me, please.

Happy Easter!

Will It Ever Let Up?

Okay. So sorry about the crazy lapse in blogging. Our lives are in constant motion, here in Michigan. Scott acquired a new job, and is still running his business on the side. Also he is finishing his thesis for his Masters degree. Needless to say, he has little free time.
Neither do I, due to his busyness. I am constantly with the girls, and free time is a thing of the past.
We are still working hard at church. I am preparing for our Easter service, which is taking a lot of thought and time. Not only do I have the responsibility of the music for that service, I also have to organize and put together Sunday school lessons for the next two weeks. We are hoping to do an Easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday for our Sunday school class, and I still have to buy and fill eggs for that.
I do have a wonderful assistant teacher who is a tremendous help to me. I am so thankful for her!
Merry is busy with school. She now has daily homework, which I am also responsible for helping with. She is learning to read, and is so excited about it! I love listening to her sound out new words. She is really getting into it, and I hope and pray she loves to read.
Kelsey is also learning to sound out words. She can't read yet, but she is well on her way. She has picked up phonics this year in pre-school, and she can not wait to learn to read! She spends hours each week pouring over books. She looks at the pictures and pretends to read me the story. I love it! Her new place to spend time is our public library. We've been going there for three weeks in a row, and she hates to leave. She will spend an hour there, picking out book after book for me to read to her.
We will be going to New Jersey over Easter break, and I am looking forward to a little time away. Scott has promised to take it easy (mostly) while we are there, and we may even catch a Broadway show in the City with the girls.
Life is good, in spite of its busyness, but I am looking forward to the slower days of summer.

In April we will be dedicating our new church building. This will be a big deal. I am working on the special music for that weekend. There will be two services, so I have to plan for both of those. After that, I can breathe easy for awhile. What a relief!

This weekend we are going to paint our bedroom. It has been a mess for over three years. Scott built a second closet for himself, and we have never repainted. So...Friday we prime the room, and Saturday we paint it a nice, sunny yellow. I can't wait to see how it looks!
Well...once again, I apologize of not keeping in touch. Maybe after the middle of April I can get back to regular blogging. I certainly hope so.

For those of you with MySpace, you can find me there, Kendra Roberts Lynn.

Talk to you soon.

Benevolant Dreamer

You are a Dreamer

Your combination of abstract thinking, appreciation of beauty, and cautiousness makes you a DREAMER.

You often imagine how things could be better, and you have very specific visions of this different future.

Beauty and style are important to you, and you have a discerning eye when it comes to how things look.

Although you often think more broadly, you prefer comfort to adventure, choosing to stay within the boundaries of your current situation.

Your preferences for artistic works are very refined, although you vastly prefer some types and styles to others.

Though your dreams are quite vivid, you are cautious in following up on them.

You are aware of both your positive and negative qualities, so that your ego doesn't get in your way.

A sense of vulnerability sometimes holds you back, stifling your creative tendencies.

You're not one to force your positions on a group, and you tend to be fair in evaluating different options.

You're not afraid to let your emotions guide you, and you're generally considerate of others' feelings as well.

Generally, you believe that you control your life, and that external forces only play a limited role in determining what happens to you.

If you want to be different:

Your imagination is a wonderful asset, but don't just dream—be bold enough to take action and explore new things!

Consider a wider range of details and possibilities when thinking about the present and the future—don't be too set in your ways.

how you relate to others

You are Benevolent

You are a great person to interact with—understanding, giving, and trusting—in a word, BENEVOLENT

You don't mind being in social situations, as you feel comfortable enough with people to be yourself.

Your caring nature goes beyond a basic concern: you take the time to understand the nuances of people's situations before passing any sort of judgment.

You're a good listener, and even better at offering advice.

You're concerned with others at both an individual and societal level—you sympathize with the plights of troubled groups, and you can care about people you've never met.

Considering many different perspectives is something at which you excel, and you appreciate that quality in others.

Other people's feelings are important to you, and you're good at mediating disputes.

Because of your understanding and patience, you tend to bring out the best in people.

If you want to be different:

You spend a lot of time taking care of others, but don't forget to take care of yourself!

Sometimes you can get overcommitted, and when you sacrifice spending time with those close to you, it can make them feel unimportant.

Okay...is this really me? Let me know what you think.

Kendra

Eternal Love

She sits, she fidgets, rubbing her hands together in constant motion.  Her eyes dart back and forth, never quite settling on any one thing.  After sitting for just a moment, she rises, and paces.  
He watches quietly, eternal sadness in his eyes.  She doesn't know his name anymore, but she recognizes love when she feels it.  She goes to him, and holds out her hand.  
"What do you need, honey?" he asks.  "Are you hungry?  How 'bout a cookie?  You sure do like those."  
She smiles and nods, her eyes brightening.
"Come on, then, " he says, leading her into the kitchen.
I love to watch them, even now.  He takes care of her every need, physically and emotionally; taking his vow seriously.  
"In sickness and in health, 'til death do us part".
The years weren't always easy.  Many things tried to part them, but, choosing love and forgiveness, they pressed on.
They fought addiction, jealousy and poverty.  
They lived the greater part of their lives without eternal hope.  And when 
they found that hope,
they found a greater love than they had ever imagined.
And now, sickness is taking its toll.  She isn't the same woman he married so long ago.  But sometimes, the young beauty he fell in love with shines through a laugh, a smile, a simple touch.
I watch as he leads her back into the den.
"How 'bout some bluegrass?" he asks her.  She claps her hands and smiles.
As the music begins, she moves her feet and sways, lost in a past and a present that we can't be a part of.
Nevertheless, I can't help but smile as she does, and I feel the beat of the music.
I tap my feet and sing along with her, and feel that somehow, she is happy.
I go to him, and hug him.  Tomorrow I go home, and leave him here alone with her.  But now I see, love will see them through, 'til death do them part.

Written by Kendra Roberts Lynn
December 29th, 2007

Incredible Song

This is a new song by Bonnie MacDonald. I thought it was so incredible that I just had to post it here.
Enjoy.
Kendra
Mommy, Can't You Hear (or The Mommy Song)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, all!  Just stopping by to say thank you for all the recent comments.  We've been busy and stressed in our house for quite a few months, so I haven't been around much, but things are looking up.
Scott started a new job last week, we are very excited about having a steady income!  The girls are excited about Christmas.  We are heading to Tennessee tonight, and then after Christmas we will be going to Florida with Scott's family for the Disney World thing.  I KNOW the girls will love that!
Our Christmas programs are all over with, thank goodness, and I can sort of relax now.  (one more service to do this afternoon, THEN I can relax for real!)
We wish you all a very happy and relaxed holiday season.  Enjoy your families and friends.  
Lots of love,
Kendra

Happy Thanksgiving

Hi, everyone.
Just stopping by to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. :)
We are in New Jersey to celebrate the holiday with Scott's family.
Today we went into New York City and took the girls to see the Radio City Hall Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes.  They were totally enthralled!  We had seats about five rows behind the orchestra, so we could see it all.
(My inlaws are incredibly generous, and really spoiled us all today.)
The girls really liked the Santa Claus part of the show, and Merry said she knew he was the "real" Santa.  She also said that she thought he might have left his sleigh and reindeer on the roof.
(Scott's losing the war on whether or not our kids believe in Santa...they seem to really enjoy talking about him.)
They also loved the Nativity.  There were real camels, a donkey and a herd of sheep.  Kelsey LOVED the sheep.
After the show we walked around the City for awhile.  We took the girls into The American Girl Place.  That store is incredible!  Merry is getting an American Girl doll for Christmas, and she is completely captivated by the catalogues.  When she saw the store she flipped!
After that we started trying to make our way home to NJ.  It took us almost half an hour to hail a cab and then the cabbie only took us within a block and a half of Penn Station.  We had to hoof it the rest of the way, carrying two sleeping little girls.  Oh man, it was rough.  In the meantime, I developed a major migraine and was ready to collapse.
We finally made it to Penn Station, missed our first train, and managed to catch the next one half an hour later.  It was jam-packed,  but we got seats all together, so that was good.  We were ONE stop away from home, and the train just stopped.  We sat there for close to an hour.  What should have been an hour and a half trip turned into over three hours!
I am exhausted, and still battling a migraine, but it was worth it to see those little faces light up today!
I hope you all have a really marvelous day tomorrow.
God bless!

Kendra

Moments Like These...

Kelsey:  Mommy, could you hand me that book?

Mommy:  Sure.

Kelsey:  Thanks, Mommy.

Kelsey:  Mommy, could you hand me those crayons, please?

Mommy:  Sure, Kelsey.

Kelsey:  Thanks, Mommy.

Kelsey:  Mommy?

Mommy:  YES, Kelsey?

Kelsey:  You are a great mother.

I live for moments like these.

So....What to Say?

Hi.
Okay...I know its been awhile. I just can't seem to get back into blogging mode. Life has been crazy hectic all summer long, and seems to be continuing on that way through the autumn.
We are in our new church building. I'm hoping Scott will help me post some pictures soon. That's been a bit stressful for me. And now the kids are in school...we've started a young adults' Bible study on Wednesdays in our home, and we are now the "official" young adults' leaders in our church.
So...if I'm not around much, I'm probably counseling someone on the phone, or in person, in between cleaning my house, starting choir back up, and taking kids to and from school.
I love you all....please keep in touch.

Kendra

What Color Am I?

You Are a Blue Flower

A blue flower tends to represent peace, openness, and balance. At times, you are very delicate like a cornflower. And at other times, you are wise like an iris. And more than you wish, you're a little cold, like a blue hydrangea.

What Color Flower Are You?

I'm a GEEK?

What Your Pizza Reveals

People may tell you that you have a small appetite... but you aren't under eating. You just aren't a pig. You consider pizza to be bread... very good bread. You fit in best in the Midwest part of the US. You like food that's traditional and well crafted. You aren't impressed with "gourmet" foods. You are dependable, loyal, and conservative with your choices. You are unadventurous and boring. You should consider staying home when taking a vacation. The stereotype that best fits you is geek. You're the type most likely to order pizza to avoid leaving your computer.

What Does Your Pizza Say About You?

Just dropping by...

Well...life has certainly been busy.  I am sorry I haven't been by your blogs or called or emailed.
I hope that all is well with you and that you are enjoying your summer.  We bought a church building and are in the midst of remodeling. Also, I am trying to prepare myself for Merry starting kindergarten.  That is going to be an emotional day..any advice from those of you who have already gone through that phaase?
Anyways...love to you all....keep in touch...and I'll be back around soon.

Love,
Kendra