CREED Family Blog

Family Reunion

2010-08-03T13:36:00.001-07:00

Every 3 years our family gets together for an extended family reunion. It's so fun to see aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and siblings again! This year, our reunion was held in Virginia, and there were 96 of us altogether!

Visit with my Dad

2010-08-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

I saw my 97year old Dad on July 8th and was able to spend time with him. I knew that things had really changed from the last time I saw him (7 years ago), but I truly wasn’t prepared for the magnitude of how much his health had deteriorated. It was nice to know though, that for the moment, he knew who I was and was so touched that I flew out to see him. He cried with joy and just said my name over and over again: “Martha, Martha!” He was in a wheelchair, so I wheeled him outside and sat and held his hand and we enjoyed the sunshine and the warmth of the day. He fell asleep for quite a while, and I sat and cried while I watched him. I remembered him as a robust hard working farmer who was so full of life, and it was hard seeing him completely unable to do anything for himself. I hope that my being there will help release him to go ‘home’ now. I was the last of the kids to spend time with him. It was so good for me to be able to see Dad and to sit with him; even when knowing that most likely 5 minutes after leaving him, he probably had no memory of my being there. I’ve wanted to be able to see him for a very long time. I hugged him and kissed him goodbye, knowing that that was the last time I would be with him until we’re both in heaven. It was a bitter sweet reunion.

Easter Sunday, April 4th, 2010

2010-04-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful representation of new life in Christ!

Praise the Lord! He is indeed risen and living TODAY!!

Fall Colors 2009

2010-01-26T16:19:00.000-08:00

We were able to enjoy beautiful fall colors this past year, and they were oh so pretty!

Christmas Gifts

2010-01-25T15:27:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun making Christmas gifts this last Christmas! Since budgets were tight, I wasn't sure what I would do, but I wanted very badly to make something special for each of our family members and for some of our friends. I prayed about it, and then remembered some crafts items that I had downstairs in my craft room. I tried an idea and liked the results so much, that after making one - I took off like a 'gang buster' and let my creativity take over! I tried specializing each gift as much as possible, and having something that represented that family or that person. I had a great time putting them altogether!

Thursday, June 4th

2009-06-08T19:46:00.000-07:00

Wow! Another amazing thing has happened, and I am baffled, once again, by God’s goodness, His faithfulness, His watchful eye upon me, His grace, His protection, His unconditional love and His mercy!! Thank You Jesus for being so incredibly awesome!

The surgery that was supposed to happen last February finally took place this past Thursday, June 4th. Ever since our kids were little, I have complained through the years of feeling that something wasn’t right on the right side of my ovaries. I have had lots of examinations, several exploratory surgeries, and ultrasounds, and the Doctors were never able to find anything wrong. My surgery that was scheduled was for a total hysterectomy and a bladder reconstruction. During the past 2 months, I have experienced so much pain and I thought that the majority of the pain was probably due to my bladder condition.

After waiting for 2 hours, Roland and Rachel were met by the surgeon and told that once the surgery began and they started working on me, that he was surprised to find a fibroid tumor (the size of a man’s fist) sitting right next to my uterus. He worked and worked at getting it out, but wasn’t able to dig it out or pull it out, and ran out of options. So he ended up performing an abdominal hysterectomy rather than a vaginal hysterectomy, and instead of taking 1¾ hours, the surgery took 2½ hours! But, I am alive and I am still here!

Now it’s just a matter of ‘putting on the brakes’ and making myself not do anything, and that will be the hardest part! I have a hard time obeying those kind of orders, but it's pretty obvious that this recovery will take quite a while!

Sunday Mornings

2009-04-27T19:19:00.000-07:00

The 4 year olds through 3rd grade enjoy their own Worship Hour at 11:00 AM called "Worship KidStyle."

This is my partner and helper, Cameron Griffith.

ZOEY --- Jonathan's Dog

2009-04-27T19:05:00.001-07:00

Zoey joined our family in February of 2009. She is a pitt bull/red heeler mix and is a very sweet delightful dog and brings much joy to Jonathan and to all who meeet her!

God is in control!

2009-02-27T14:52:00.000-08:00

I am feeling overwhelmed by God's protection, His mercy, and His grace! I am basking in knowing that He truly does care about me, and that He plans to keep me around a little longer!
I was scheduled to have major surgery yesterday, and right at the last second - those plans were changed!
The Anesthesiologist found out what the kind of stents were that I had implanted into my arteries last April when I had my heart attack, and basically REFUSED to assist in the surgery because it would be too much of a risk in losing me on the operating table! That specific kind of stent and the medication that I'm taking has to be ongoing, in the patient, for at least one year before they can do a big surgery of any kind. The interesting thing is that my Cardiologist gave the OK to do the surgery, but my Primary Physician was against it, and my Surgeon wasn’t aware of the high risk until the Anesthesiologist pointed it out to him! The Anesthesiologist had a HUGE article (about 5 or 6 pages long) on this subject and showed it to my Surgeon; and after looking at it – the Surgeon very much agreed. Apparently, the percentage of people who die on the table because of not waiting until the first year is passed – is VERY high! This article had come out in August of 2008. Thank God for Dr.s who are “on top” of things! So, things have been put on hold until at least May.
God’s protective hand was truly upon me! I was prepped for surgery, the IV was in place, and I was lying on a gurney in the hallway – just waiting to be wheeled into the OR room when they came to me and said “No deal!”
I have had other surgeries and have gone with a positive attitude about what was going to happen, but this was very different. Perhaps because my Primary Physician didn’t think it was a good idea, or God’s prodding – I don’t know; but I was very apprehensive about this whole thing. I have had a nagging feeling, for the past 2 weeks, that I was going to die on the operating table. So, when the Anesthesiologist was talking to me, I couldn’t help but feel that that was a confirmation straight from God Almighty!
I am excited to be alive, and I am excited to be in love with a living God!

Surprise visit!

2008-10-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

We were blessed with a surprise visit from Liz and baby Rachel and spent 10 wonderful days together! Rachel is 2 months old now, and we were all so delighted to be able to have some time with her and with her mommy!

Autumn

2008-09-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful fall day, so Roland and I took one of our favorite drives up in the mountains so we could enjoy the gorgeous colors! Wow! It was absolutely breath-taking!

Something to think about

2008-09-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

So often, only in weakness do we reach out to God, and only as we reach out to God do we find the strength He always intended for us, the strength for whatever comes next.

Life

2008-09-23T22:13:00.001-07:00

"... and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us..." Romans 5:5
So many times we hear people describe the Christian life as picture perfect, with no struggles, no hardships; just happiness and love. If you’re a realistic person, you will quickly realize that the Christian life is NOT always full of beautiful roses and perfumed pathways. The pathway that I have traveled has often been crooked and filled with unbelievable hardships, holes along the way, and stumps that I have tripped and stumbled over, sharp horrible prickly thorns have often caught me off-guard, and I have experienced enormous loss, and unbeatable disease. Sometimes the struggles that I have gone through have become almost all-consuming and I’ve thought that I couldn’t go on anymore. The wounds that I carry are very deep. I have questioned everything I could possibly question, and have thrown my fists up high in the air yelling at God – “WHY God, WHY?? I don’t understand!!” Numerous times I have wished for a way out, but I am so thankful for a Savior who loves me regardless of the many times I stumble and fall and want to give up, and for a Savior who gives me hope and a purpose for living. I am so thankful for the moments of unspeakable joy, love, and happiness, and for family and wonderful friends that I have been blessed with along the way! Even when things look bad, God is always good! He is still standing there with His arms spread wide open, ready to accept us, strengthen us, encourage us, forgive us, and love us! How awesome is that?!
"...Put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption..." Psalm 1:30

What a Cutie!!

2008-09-14T16:36:00.000-07:00

These pictures are just so precious to me!

I'm a "Granmama" - and I love it!!

2008-09-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

I spent 5 wonderful weeks in Arkansas with Liz and Josh. During that time, I was blessed with the awesome experience of witnessing my first grandchild being born! I was so proud of Liz, going through 20 hours of labor! She was definitely our hero that day!! Josh did a fabulous job of coaching Liz, and the 2 of them made a wonderful team! Little Rachel had some fluid in her lungs when she first entered our world, and the Dr.’s thought she possibly had newborn pneumonia, so they kept her in the NICU for the first 3 days. She was on constant oxygen and antibiotics. That was hard for Liz, because she didn’t get to hold Rachel during that time. But after a few days, the Dr.’s were able to give her a clean bill of health, and Liz and Josh were able to take her home with them! What a precious sweet baby!

We were all delighted to see that Rachel was born with a whole head of dark curly hair! Right now, her eyes are very dark; but with time, they will be fully able to tell what color her eyes are.

Liz is doing really well. If you saw her today, you would never know she had a baby 2 weeks ago! She looks fabulous! She is already wearing her pre-pregnancy clothes! Wow!

I had absolutely NO understanding of the depth of a Grandmother’s love … until little Rachel Anne came into my world!! Oh my! What can I say? I ADORE this precious little child!! I extended my stay by one week so I was able to spend 7 days with Rachel. She has my heart, and I had a hard time kissing her (and her mama!) “good-bye!”

Baby Rachel Anne

2008-09-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

Rachel Anne Roggasch
August 23rd, 2008 ----------------------------- I left my heart ---
7 lbs. 13 oz. 20 inches long ---------------------in Arkansas! ----

Proud parents: Josh & Liz Roggasch

We're ALL a bunch of DWEEBS!!

2008-07-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

Yes, there is some 'craziness' in each one of us!!

Parenting

2008-07-17T10:25:00.000-07:00

Parenting is hard work. I don’t know if anything truly prepares you for all the challenges you are faced with along the way. We all try to not repeat the mistakes our parent’s made, but still end up making mistakes of our own and then we hear our kids make the vow that they won’t do the same thing when they become parents!
Every parent has hopes and dreams for their kids. Some parents try to cram the undeveloped dreams that they had for themselves – down their child’s throat and expect them to become what THEY wanted to become, when the child has no desire to follow that path. That so often ends up in disaster. The parent is angry with the child, and the child is frustrated beyond frustration because they haven’t met their parent’s approval on something they didn’t want to do in the first place!
There are parents who spend hours on their knees praying that God will allow their child to grow and mature amidst the mistakes they make along the way, hoping their child will be able to see beyond their mistakes and will instead, see the heart of the parent.
The love of a parent can be so strong that they themselves are incapable of describing the depth of their love for their child/children. There is a fine line between being supportive and caring, to being overpowering and suffocating. We all need wisdom in this role of parenting. It’s so easy to want to smother our kids with the knowledge we have gained through the years (by the mistakes we have made), and not allow them to bump and fall and lay flat on their back for a while, and then get up and press on towards maturity. We want to erase that step of hardship for them and take away the opportunity of gigantic growth because of the experiences they are encountering at the time.
I disappointed my parents greatly by unwise choices I made, and I felt that their love for me changed as I changed. I pray wholeheartedly that my love for my kids will always stay as strong for them now, as it was while I was carrying them through pregnancy and when they were born and throughout the years; regardless of choices they make along the way. I pray that my kids will NEVER doubt the depth of my love for each one of them. I am so grateful to the Lord for blessing me with these wonderful gifts that I have the opportunity and privilege of calling my beloved children!

2008-07-14T18:22:00.000-07:00

"... Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come..." 1 Timothy 4:7-8

Zoo Entertainment

2008-07-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

A Day of Hiking

2008-07-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

BABY on the way!!

2008-07-05T06:48:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about becoming a Grandma! Liz's baby is due August 22nd, and she is having a little girl! Our family is just disappointed that she and Josh live in Arkansas and we won't be able to see them and their little one very often. :(

FAMILY!!

2008-07-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

My companion and my husband of 28 years: Roland

Our children: the loves of my life!

Our oldest daughter: Elizabeth ( Liz), and her husband, Josh.

Our second daughter: Rachel.

Our son: Jonathan

Paper Kids!

2008-07-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

I had lots of fun with these little guys! I bought the cut-outs and used different kinds of wrapping paper for their outfits, raffia for their hair, and ribbon for hair and shoestrings! Thanks to my wonderful artist neighbor, Dawn, for drawing their faces and shoes for me! These 3 dimensional charachters have added "life" to the environment for our Children's Chuch Worship area at church!

I like to call this little guy "Zoro!" He helps welcome the kids each Sunday!!

Cakes

2008-07-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

I like being creative, and one of the things I enjoy doing whenever I have the opportunity is decorating cakes! Here is a sample of some cakes I have made!