So...there's this hole.

I've had a stress test, an ultra sound, a bubble test, and a couple of weeks ago I had a TEE test that confirmed that I have a hole in my heart. This is very unusual to be found in an adult, and has apparently been there since birth. I am ever so grateful for the Lord's protection! It hasn't caused me any major problems through all my pregnancies and life until as of late. Though I have gone to the doctor 4-5 times because of chest pain since I was 13, but it was always excused away as 'your changing', 'you're pregnant', 'you just had a baby', and so on.  But now it needs fixin'. I did not handle the anestectic too well. Jeff was so sweet and tender with me, holding my hand, helping me drink, praying with me, walking me in the house, by my side all the way - I love that man!
So since this is usually taken care of as an infant I am being sent to a specialist on the 15th, of this month, a pediatric specialist. My doctor said I will be his oldest patient! There's a 90% chance that this can be fixed through a catheter, otherwise it would mean another doctor and another surgery. So we know just what to pray for!

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Blessings!

Tomorrow we need to get up and go so today I took advantage of a keeper at home day and lounged in bed for a bit snuggling my little ones. There were 6 of us all together piled in bed and talking about the day ahead. Then one suggested that they get some apple cider - a favorite this time of year! So everyone quickly got up except for me and Ben. He moved in closer and said with a great big smile, "Aha! Save the best for last!" So the two of us snuggled a bit more! What a great way to start the day!

iHeartFaces - Lydia

This is my first time entering the iHeartFaces photo competition. I snapped this picture of Lydia on a fishing trip this summer. Lydia loved playing with the worms and crickets, and splashing in the water. :)

~Megan

P.S. Just noticed this is post 101 for the Kunkel bunch. :)

Lydia is 2!

Today was Lydia's second birthday! When ever we would talk to her about her birthday she would say, "Eat cake!" and hold up 2 fingers. This is such a playful and fun age! We are cherishing every fleeting moment!

Harvest!

I have been talking about it for years now. It made me a bit nervous, broken glass, hot temperatures, pressure...but now - victory! I had a coupon for jars, and we just got a hot water bath at the store, and we started canning! Our garden was devoured by deer this year so we got absolutely no vegetables from it. We did get several handfuls of strawberries and blueberries, and our peach tree gave us 5 peaches! But they were consumed quickly! We picked up a couple bushel of peaches and started with them. It worked! We were so thrilled! The girls kept saying, "This is so old fashioned! Such homesteading!" Then, we were blessed abundantly by a dear friends who brought us pails of beans, potatoes, beets, and corn! And then neighbors generously gave us tomatoes! So with a bit of confidence under our belt and many helping hands, we got it all put away - minus what we ate! The kids just can't resist a raw bean!

Luk 10:2 Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

Emily's Birthday

Emily Grace turned 11 on Thursday! Love ya Ems!











Emily loves
~ Sewing - she made her dress!
~ Playing piano
~ Reading books
~ Playing doctor-she loves to be in charge of vitamins, bandaids, and medicines when needed
~ Holding babies
~ And baking bread!

Daniel's Frogs

Daniel LOVES these frogs. One of the prime entertainment sources around here has been 'feeding the frogs'. They have such lovely table manners! Since we all enjoy it so much, we just assumed you would too!

Daniel got these frogs as tadpoles last October. They looked like a bag of dirty water, they were so small you could hardly see them! We started out with 17 tadpoles and now we have, well, 4 frogs. :) We pet them and hold them whenever Mom lets us! They are very loved!

Shoes!

They bring the greatest panic when we're trying to go somewhere and can't find them! But this time they bring great joy! I imagine for a middle child of 8 kids to get something that is not a hand-me-down, something new off the shelf that you actually get to cut tags of is pretty exciting! Especially when it's not even your birthday! This time it was Joey's turn to get new shoes! Our biggest dilema was whether to get laces or velcro. He wanted to learn to tie, but Jeff and I were a bit apprehensive because we knew if he didn't learn quickly, we were committed to tying them for him until he did. And re-tying them. And re-tying. We conceeded to his wishes and brought the tying shoes home. Joey imediately cut the tags off and asked when he would get his first lesson in tying! He followed me around, making sure as soon as I finished a few things I was keeping my word. So we sat on the couch and did the whole rabbit hole, rabbit ear routine. It took him 3 tries and he could do it all on his own! He was so excited he wanted to sleep with them!