I am thankful

Soooo this has been quite a week here in the house of Basham and at our church. This was our annual missions conference week. We are a very small church and yet our church supports over 80 missionaries. It is a very missions-minded church and I love this time of year even though it is super busy. I love to hear from the young couples and families ( and sometimes not so young) who are preparing to go to the mission field. I am constantly in prayer that the Lord will show us if it is ever His will for us to go. We are willing but so far He has not called us to that ministry. We had some wonderful families this week and I was so touched by their burdens for the countries they are led to go. We had some going to Puerto Rico, some going to Taiwan, some going to Boston, some to California, and some to Italy. What a sweet spirit as they shared their hearts with us.
As I thought about these missionaries I wondered what God has in store for us.

But most on my mind this week has been something completely different. I have been just so thankful this week for my children and their good health. There was a time we were unsure of what Riley's life would be. Test results were inconclusive and we did not know for sure really until Riley started walking if he ever would walk. I have been following several stories of families with desperately ill children and it has made me so burdened for these families and desiring to be a help and minister to them in some way. I have no way to really do this so the best thing I can do is pray for them and that is what I have been doing.
Here are some websites I am following:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brianacolin
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/coleruotsala
http://www.colesfoundation.com/
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hayleyhunter
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sarahparker

Cole was a precious little boy who suffered with cancer for only a short time before God took him home in September. His family's story is amazing and a huge blessing it has been to me personally. I found him through Briana's website. Briana is a precious little 6 year old fighting cancer who came to our Vacation Bible School this year.. She couldn't be there the whole week because the first few days she was in the hospital getting chemo.. Bless her heart. I have actually found Hayley's site through Briana as well and Sarah I just found out about through Cole's site. It looks like the fight may be almost over for her. I find myself wondering, "why these little children Lord??" but I know it is not mine to reason out but I certainly can pray and I will continue to pray.

Hug your kids a little tighter today and don't forget to be thankful for them... even when they are driving you crazy... :-D

The Kids dressed up....

Well, I know there is a lot of controversy about Halloween but we do let our kids dress up. We take them to another town and let them walk around in the downtown square of this place where the businesses and stores give out candy. They looked so cute this year and I just had to share some pictures.. Here they are: