Monday, September 15, 2008

The "jewel" is now a gem!

Praise the Lord! Isaiah is doing great & was such a trooper today ... he hung in there until they finally took him back for surgery at 2 pm - that's 14 hours without food! He hardly ever fussed unless he saw me (I believe all he saw was a giant milk bottle at that point) so Drake kept shooing me out of the room. Of course he charmed all the nurses with his sweet smile & hand clapping. There had been a mix up somewhere in the scheduling so they didn't have us on schedule in the operating room thus we got bumped to the last case of the day. But the bottom line is his little "jewel" is now all fixed up & something to be proud of :) It's kind of swollen & doesn't look pretty quite yet but that's OK because he'd better be keeping that thing tucked in his pants until his wedding night (which I've told him won't be until he's at least 30!)
Thank you for your prayers & we give all the glory to God.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Taking Care of the "Family Jewels"

Don't worry, no pictures for this one ... and I'm refering to Isaiah! My poor little man has to get re-circumcised on Monday the 15th. :( I think I'm more nervous than my patients were before open-heart surgery! Evidently, not enough skin was taken off when he was first circumcised & then he developed a bunch of adhesions. My Granny is gravely concerned that he can be proud of himself on his wedding night! It's a minor surgery as far as surgeries go, but he still has to be put to sleep which I don't like and he won't be able to eat anything after midnight & they won't be operating until after 10 a.m. For those of you with nursing babies, you can understand ... I'm afraid if I hold him or he even sees me he's going to try & rip my shirt off! However, he'll much more easily rip my heart out if he gives me that look like "Mommy, I need you, why won't you help?" That's the part I think I am most dreading right now - Just him looking at me for comfort not understanding what's going on. My heart hurts already.
Please be praying for our little boy & for the doctors to do a good job.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Just Protein

OK, I knew it would happen at some point, I just wasn't quite ready for it before church this morning ... after all, statistically 84% of all little kids eat about 9 bugs in their lifetime ... of course 47.3% of all statistics are made up on the spot :) ... so Isaiah is getting pretty mobile now, military style, and he was down the hall sounding like he was having fun - nothing harmless down there so I continued to write my Thank You note until I heard the definite sound of jaws working. Eeek! I jumped up & the little booger had something dark on his face & in his mouth... fuzz, oh please let it be just fuzz! Some leaf bit was hanging on his upper lip & I did a quick swoop of his mouth ... and now stuck to my finger was some who-knows-what along with a LEG!! UGHH! My heart started racing, beads of sweat began breaking out on my forehead & my knees went weak - thankfully I was already sitting down. By the grace of God, it was not a roach leg - Thank You Jesus! However, it was something that should not be in my son's mouth ... it's unbelievable what can hide on dark brown wood floors. So you can guess what I'll be doing this afternoon ... & it won't just be with a mop - the knee pads are coming out for a serious scrub down!
I know it's just protein but I'd prefer him to have the dairy variety for now!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Kicking high!

What a night! "I got Christ up in me, Christ up in me, Christ up in me maane..." This is how Reddy, our new rapper who says he is always "ready" to share Christ, kicked off our 1st weekly meeting which just finished an hour ago! It was phenomenal - to God be the Glory! Over 100 students packed the room & I most proud of all our student leaders really stepping out & meeting new people... I think every person that walked in felt welcomed & accepted and they definitely heard the gospel! And at the end of our meeting, you'd have thought we were giving out money at the back table so many students were clamoring to sign up for small groups - Praise the Lord!
The only downside to the night when I called Laura, my new friend & running partner, on the way home to hear "WHAAAA!" She was so sweet & wonderful to watch Isaiah for me but my normally mello fello had totally lost it. I guess I can't blame him too much though as I think there's only been one other time in his little life that I haven't been there to put him to sleep. Poor guy -I feel like such a bad mom.
So anyway, these first 2 weeks on campus have been Great & we're already seeing God at work ... in fact, just yesterday a guy named Jonathon prayed to receive Christ with Drake - Amen! That's all I've got for now ... I'm tired but full of joy!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Off & Running!!

It's actually here... Or actually, it was there! UAB has started school & our first week was more than we could have hoped for - To God be the Glory!! We spent this first week meeting students & letting them know about the ministry. The result? 800+ people interested in knowing more about having a personal relationship with the Lord &/or the ministry ... that's a lot of people to call back! Sprint will be loving us this month :) Thursday we had a Kickin' Off the Year Cook Out & had over 100 students come! Praise the Lord!
And this past Fri-Sat we had an overnight retreat with our student leaders ... 16 students excited & ready to reach UAB came. We are so encouraged & just overwhelmed by God's faithfulness. For those of you receiving our newsletter you recently read that God has sent us another new staff member to take us to a team of 5 ... well, make that 6!! Another wonderful guy is joining our team - so if any of you gals out there are considering full-time ministry, I would love your help & company!

Monday, August 18, 2008

Isaiah's new friend ... Nathan Mack Matteo!


Welcome to Planet Earth Nathan! We couldn't be more excited for Dan & Ashley as they finally got to meet their little boy, Nathan Mack Matteo today weighing in at 7lbs. 5oz and measuring 20" long. He is an absolutely beautiful wee man & looks to have his daddy's dark hair & skin with his momma's little mouth. We praise the Lord for a healthy boy & for Ashley doing so well.

Isaiah has been eagerly awaiting the arrival of his friend ... you've heard of arranged marriages, well this is an arranged friendship! :) And Ashley & I have already made plans to get them out on the lake next summer!

Monday, August 4, 2008

Who's yo' Daddy? ... You need to check mine out!


After all the endless hours of cheering me on throughout a life of sports, the least I can do is give a great big shout out to my dad ... who at 60 years old is still a stud! If you've met him before you'll know he is one of a kind :) but did you know he is a 2-time world champion in the high jump?? He still competes in Masters meets all over the country & even in Europe. Last weekend he got to compete at his old stomping ground, Florida State University (where he set the school record at 6'8"). He had a great article written about him in the Tallahassee newspaper which you can read via this link:
http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200807310200/SPORTS/807310325

Way to go Dad! I'm proud of you ... and little Isaiah says, "bababa" :)

PS this title "Who's yo' Daddy?": funny or poor taste? Let me know honestly so I can edit it before too many people read it!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Calling all Bloggers ...

Real quick ... just thought I'd try to beef up our blogger list as I'm slowly (Ashley, don't laugh) starting to enjoy the blogging world. So, if you're reading this & you're a blogger - send me your blog site so I can see what's going on in your life as well as post your blogspot to our page. Thanks!

Preparing for Rain


If you haven't seen "Facing the Giants", it's a must see! Not a blockbuster or Hollywood flick but it'll do more than touch your heart & it's full of Truth. In the movie, there's a little parable about "preparing for rain" and that if we're truly asking & trusting God, we ought to get ready for Him to answer. The Lord is trying to drive this home for me.

Many of you know Drake's grandfather, Jimmy, was moved to hospice this past weekend & Monday was taken off of all support. So Monday night we headed to Columbia, SC with heavy hearts as we beseeched the Lord to soften Jimmy's heart to the gospel. In the past, each time we've shared the Truth with Jimmy or tried to pray with him, we have been met with cynicism & indifference.

With multitudes of saints behind us in prayer, we asked the Lord to give us another opportunity. The hour before we left the hospital to come back home, he was very alert & responsive. And somehow the room emptied & it was just Drake, me, Isaiah & Jimmy. Through a bit of blundering, we told him we loved him & that above all else, we desired his peace with God. I've never seen Jimmy so kind & at peace. He confessed his faith in Christ Jesus and said he was 100% sure he would be in heaven.

To God Alone be the Glory!!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

"Once upon a Potty" by Isaiah Drake

As many of you know, I have valiantly been attempting "infant potty training", a feat successfully accomplished among Asian babies all the time. If they can do it, I can do it! (I don't know where I get my competitive nature from!)
Well what a grand idea!

So off mom went to Babies R' Us to get me my very own training potty & at 3 months old, the games began! I came out of the blocks at lightening speed & was pooping on the potty like a champ ... until a few hurdles entered the track. For some reason, mom doesn't always seem to hear when the "gun goes off" and well, when you gotta go, you gotta go. I was exuberantly jumping in my exersaucer & it kinda took me by surprise. There was nothing I could do but fold my hands in infamy. When mom got there the whole room was filled with the stench & I'm afraid to say ... this isn't for the faint of heart ... it began coming out of my diaper, down my legs, between my toes - it was terrible. (If you really have a strong stomach you can check out the picture below.)

What's done is done and perseverance is key ... I knew I had to get back up on the potty. There's no shame in this game - you win some, you lose some. This week I'm batting about .600, so I'm feeling pretty good about things ... and Mommy looks quite pleased too!





Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Whew ...

Ok, so I'm still saying I want twins & that I ultimately want 5 kids but oh my! Some days here lately I've wondered what in the world I'm doing ... is he cutting new teeth, tired, hungry, just plain cranky?? I have GREATLY appreciated all the other new moms letting me know I'm not the only one who feels like a horrible mom when I want a little "time off" from motherhood. This is definitely more challenging than heart surgery!
Isaiah is still the most amazing thing ever - and every night before I go to bed, I look in on him, kiss his fuzzy, pumpkin head and whisper, "Mommy loves Isaiah" ... without fail, as I'm gazing at him my heart all of a sudden feels like it might leap out of my throat or pound from my chest - he is such a miracle & I love him so much it hurts. In those moments, I am reminded Whose he really is and I thank Jesus that ultimately my little boy is in His hands. Daily I pray that Isaiah will know Jesus as Savior & Lord, love our Father with all his heart & serve the Creator with all his strength... and I pray that somehow Drake & I won't mess him up too much!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Family Pictures





I wanted to put in a little plug for "A Bryan Photo" run by our friend Bryan Johnson who is a fantastic photographer! He took lots of wonderful pictures & helped us save precious memories. You can find more of our pictures & his work at www.abryanphoto.com/drakefamily

Wednesday, July 16, 2008


Is this for real?

Oh my, I really said I'd never do this ... I feel like I'm just writing to myself & maybe my mom ... But here we are!
Trivia: Anyone know why we called this "Just Quackin' Along"? (Besides the fact that we're a bit unique - I'd say we're just fun but...)
Answer: A "Drake" is a male duck - Aha! There's a useless fact for you! So now you get it?

Hopefully someone will get something from this & more importantly that the Lord is glorified through whatever silly, mundane, new or exciting things I write about as He works in & through me daily ... after all, following Him is quite an adventure!