Tuesday, April 21, 2009

two years today

that's right folks; it's that time of year in which i post a crazy pic of me celebrating life in Bend Oregon!!! 2 years ago on April 21 2007 i finished packing up life in Lynden WA and moved south to Bend Oregon! i can hardly believe it has been 2 years...
last year i said Woo-Hoo... and this year i echo it with Hooray!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

life at home.

A little while back i wrote a post about my new living situation and how much i LOVE living with a little family!!! This weekend our little family grew! Brie Ann Summers joined the household!
here are some pics from this weekend;



This is big sister Sienna...

Sienna loves her mommy and little sister...

Monday, April 13, 2009

This is what i was made for...

3:42am. the silence of my dreams was broken by these four precious words "i havea go ponny(potty)". silence again for a couple seconds and then the pitter-patter of 2-year-old feet on wood floor break the silence again. "mommy?".... "cassie, i havea go ponny." i sit up an throw off the blankets, i stumble out of bed and see precious Ella standing at the foot of the bed. I pick her up and take her in to the bathroom and help her go 'ponny'. After jammies are zipped back up and hands are washed i carry Ella back to her bed, kiss her forehead and walk back into bed. As i snuggle back into savor the last 3 hours of sleep, right before silence again fills my head this thought blazes across my mind... "THIS is what i was made for."

This weekend flew by in a flurry of pastel dresses, dark chocolate, beautiful songs, large choirs, messages of Hope and 29 hours of held breath. Yesterday morning between Easter services for Westside Church cell phones in Bend started vibrating with shocking and scary news, a dear friend and brother in the Lord was being rushed to the Hospital in Portland with a Brain Aneurysm. Within a couple hours Suburban loads of friends were making the trek across the mountain to be with loved ones. Being that i wasn't especially close to this friend, but close to his family, my place was to stay and pray... and pick up my favorite 'hat' to wear; the fill-in mommy hat!!! 4 kiddos for the night and then adding Seven in the am... no problem i thought!!!!

The rest of Easter went on without a hitch, underneath the looming feeling that all the adults were holding our breath the kiddos went on with the hunting of Easter Eggs and dividing the goods found in each one. We ate ham, pie, deviled-eggs and too much candy. And after the guest had left i settled into my most favorite role. We played games and colored pictures and then one by one the kiddos were sound asleep and i snuggled in with prayers for Steve on my heart and a big day ahead of me. I the last 3 hours of sleep after the potty break and woke up to the Central Oregon Sun rising in the window. As I showered and got ready for my day I carefully planned out who needed to be where when and how "my" little Seven fit into the day.

11:47am News from Portland was a little more hopeful than the night before, surgery was on the schedule, we held our breath and prayers for skilled hands went up. I was driving from 'here' to 'there' with Ella (2) and Seven (almost 1) buckled in car-seats on the back seat. "Twintle Twintle little staw, how i wonder what you are..." I glanced back through the re-view mirror and again, the thought blazed through my mind "THIS is what i was made for." Seven was blabbering on in "baby" language as Ella sang him Twinkle Twinkle over and over again. The smile on my face wouldn't go away.

4:21pm Surgery went well! Steve was coming out of the coma(drug induced) and responding to voices and commands! Within half an hour the house was full of the noises of 5 sweet kiddos wanting dinner and attention from this fill-in mommy. As i held one, gave advise to another, separated 2 from pulling each others hair out, and ate a little of the other's snack there it was again..."THIS is what i was made for."

6:15pm Seven went home with his mama, Dinner was done, homework for the freshman was hanging in the air and 3 balls of energy and i bundled up for a little game of baseball while the sun went down. I pitched. They hit. Stanley(the dog) ran and caught the ball and brought it back to the pitchers mound. Once our fingers were sufficiently cold and our cheeks were the color of the cherry Popsicles we headed inside for jammies and back rubs before bed. Little Ella was falling asleep standing up, in we went and got tucked in and prayers said. Shelbi (the freshman) was not feeling too hot so i got her Nyquil and said prayers for her before she fell asleep on her History books. Brodie(7th grade) asked my advise on the running shoes he was checking out on Eastbay.com and Parker(7 years old) was just happy if someone answered any of the 1,000 questions he had.

8:15pm Dishes done, living room cleaned and now it was Parker's turn for a back rub and chat on the couch about Rocketships and going to outer space to look at the Earth. Brodie went up to the xbox to veg. for a little while. There it was again "THIS is what i was made for."

I have these moments often enough to know that God is reminding me of sweet dreams He put in my heart when it started beating. I have these moments in 180 all the time. It happens when i pray with my small group gals. It happens when one of those girls tells me about the awesome things God did that week. It happens when i think about being back in Africa someday. It happens when play with my little roommate Sienna all the time. It happens with Seven more often than not. It happens when i see prayers answered in front of my face. Steve is breathing on his own and talking to his wife and daughter as i write this.

Soon, Daddy and Mama of these sweet ones will be home and i will be on my way to my own bed. I will hang up my fill-in mommy hat and say hello to "normal" life at 6:25am, but i will never live a "normal" life as long as i am living to see what Jesus has made me for and as long as i keep having these moments that blow my mind and make me think "THIS is what i was made for."

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

God is Good Part 3

i spoke in oneighty.
it was a delight.
i learned a lot from it.
it turned out alright.
i truly love Jesus.
it keeps me in tight.
i should really stop rhyming.
or it could end in a fright.


The Gathering March 25 2009 from The Gathering on Vimeo.

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

God is Good. part 2

Is there any chance we can learn to embrace the hard times and
see them as the goodness of God in our lives?

Romans 8:28-29
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose.
29
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

James 1:17-18
“Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above who created all Heaven’s lights. Unlike them he never changes or cast a shifting shadow.
In his goodness he chose to make us his own children by giving us his true word.”

Because of the never changing character of God,
we need to begin to see the things he gives us as good and perfect.
He is good.
He is perfect.
He doesn’t do things by mistake or say oops!!

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Josiah Daniel

April 2, 2000 was a record hot day in Puyallup WA, so much so that the downtown McDonalds was out of Vanilla and Twist ice cream. Chocolate only. We were in the midst of moving 10(+1) people 250 miles. Mom's blood pressure spiked. Diacogiannis Baby #9 would be born earlier than planned. We all waited for the call. It seemed like a million hours, and i was getting ansy. I wanted to see this new little sibling... and mostly know if it was a BLUE or PINK baby!!! We went to the park (and McDonalds) to try and make time move faster. It didn't. After chocolate ice cream, and being that this was little sibling #7 for me, i knew it had been long enough to go to the hospital. I knew my mom and that once she was in labor, with water broke it wouldn't be long before baby was here. I convinced our driver (aka i was 14 and too old for a babysitter, but too young to drive) to take us to Good Sameritan without full knowledge if baby was here or not... We got there and i sprinted to the elevator leaving, Jeremiah and Josh in the dust with Joy "the driver". Once we got to Labor and Delivery i went straight to the nurses station, and out of breath said. "Diacogiannis?" the nurse smiled and said, "Down the hall, second door on the right, baby was born about 15 minutes ago." I heard what she said but it didn't really register, i just headed down the hall... again leaving the other 3 in the dust... i heard my dad's "daddy" voice calming a screaming new born, and that was the clue to what room to enter. I don't even remember seeing/ talking to my mom for about 5 minutes i just remember running in the room and standing on my tip toes to look over my dad's and the nurses shoulder to see the most precious pink baby with a blue hat, and squinting eyes, and a scream that pierced the room. "It's a BOY!!!!!" i ran out of the room and shouted at Jeremiah, Josh and Joy("the driver"). I ran back in and hugged my dad as he finished wrapping up my new brother in the hospital blanket (you know the ones with the pastel colored bunnies on it). I wanted to be the first to hold him, but dad let Joy... whatever! Josiah Daniel Diacogiannis. 7lbs. 14 onces. 21.5 inches long and perfect! I was thrilled to have another brother, and this little dude came out with blond hair (it'd been a few siblings since a blond one). He was so little, so precious, he smelled amazing... baby lotion plus clean. His fingers were long just like all of us D babies when we were born. He was perfect.

Happy Birthday Josiah Daniel. I can't believe you are 9 years old!!! It amazes me. You are my little think-tank brother. You had 2 sets of stiches before you were 2 years old. I think you might still have a scare in your ear. My first award winning picture was of you. As you started to grow from baby to little boy your personality started to show. You were so distinctly different from all of us. Your heart has always been in tune with people, and feelings. You have a heart that cares. I remember when you first fell in love with Art. You were so little and loved to color and paint. I remember when you were sitting at the kitchen counter and God told you that you would be an artist when you grew up and you were SO excited about it. I remember when you were a big brother to Elijah and you were so in awe of this little baby, yet you were still so little yourself. I remember when that same little brother was so sick and you sat on his bed and talked to him at the hosptial, you even brought him your favorite beanie baby to keep him company. That's just who you are. You care about people. I love you Josiah, and i'm so excited to see how you change the world. Never stop listening to Jesus. Never stop painting or drawing.

i love you to the moon. i win.