this is my college dance...!

My father-in-law and I were talking about how God's plans are always so much better than our own, and how I was perhaps "tied up" in relationship for a long time so that I was "off the market" so I could meet Marcus, fall in love, and marry him--all part of God's perfect plan. I agreed, thinking that must be it.

Fast forward a few days: I was doing a little car dancing... really busting a move. Marcus turns to me and says, "I just realized why you were still around for me to marry you." I turn down the blasting music and ask, "Why?" He says, "It's your dance moves." Hmph.

The fabulous news is that I FINALLY have enough energy to do some excellent car dancing in addition to my normal daily activities. Oh, and I think I'm developing a metabolism. Not only am I digesting food, but I actually got hot the other day. (I'm famous for putting a sweatshirt on when it's 80.)

Marcus and I went to a healing prayer service this past week at a friend's church. We heard a couple speak who'd been married for 25 years, and they shared their powerful testimony. Their story was such an encouragement to both of us. After being married for just a year and one month, the husband had a massive stroke, leaving him paralyzed and mute. The doctors told him that he had no chance of ever recovering. Over the past 6 months though, God has began to heal him slowly. There are movements in his body, and their faith story was tremendous. After they shared, the wife said a prayer asking that "the power of the Holy Spirit fall down on this place." I felt something come down over me and it was amazing. Later in the evening, two women prayed for me. One of them I know well, she used to be on staff with me at Sammamish Hills. They prayed for Marcus and I, and we walked away with such peace. We're so thankful for this time, so filled with joy and gratitude for the restoration of health and life that is taking place in my body even now. I can feel myself getting stronger with each new day. It is such a blessing that can only be from above.

Please pray for continued health. Thank God for this tremendous blessing, and praise Him for the work that's going on. Celebrate with us, and join us in our joyful shouts and our exuberant car-dancing to our favorite late 90's rap hits! :)

Hugs & Love, b

still no vomiting!

It's been sixteen days! I'm convinced it's a miracle.

I'll be sure to fill you in on the details tomorrow. :)

still puke-free.

For those of you who are counting, it is 9 days now.

And I'm not sure if you want to celebrate with me the foods that I'm eating, but here's a short list of the things that I've digested so far:

1. Raspberries-picked fresh off the vines with my super cute nieces, Maya & Sophie, after a fun girls-only sleepover. During this sleepover, I discovered just how much fun 5 and 7 can be! We drove home with the top down on the Jeep and the music blasting. We giggled, we swam, we colored, we watched the movie "Enchanted", we painted our toenails, we read stories, we kicked a soccer ball, we looked at a huge moth, we tried to scare the huge moth with our stuffed owl beanie baby, we played with a puppy, we picked mini-sunflowers, we went to a farm and picked raspberries, and we ate a LOT of snacks including fruit snacks, brownies, granola bars, popcorn, & cookies--and none of us got tummy aches. :) The only bad part of the sleepover was when Maya punched Auntie Brelin in the eye in the middle of the night... twice.

2. Birthday Cake- celebrating Jim & Tammy's birthdays! This was really fun because we got to have a birthday party! Who loves parties?! I do!! I'm really fun at parties, especially when I don't have to take a bazillion drugs! I have tons of energy for playing and laughing and running and jumping!

2.5. The most delicious brownie of my life...which I just finished eating in the car. It was an Oreo Brownie with Vanilla Frosting. Note: Whoever made this, feel free to make more and deliver some to my home at any time. :)

3. Corn on the Cob-served piping hot with butter and salt. Yum!

4. BBQ Chicken- eaten on the back porch on a sunny summer day with family. Splendid.

5. Bagel with Cream Cheese- toasted, delightful, and served with love.

6. Watermelon, Carrots, Snap Peas, Cantelope- all raw. For those of you who know me well, that alone is a miracle. :)

Honestly, I am living it up. I'm bursting with energy, I'm full of optimism, and I'm praying that my future's so bright I've got to wear shades. :)Cue rockin' 80's track.

Oh, I thought of another "new thing" that I'm doing, I started taking a probiotic supplement called "Align" 14 days ago. Today is my 15th day taking it. Again, I'm chalking my healing up as a miracle, but I'm going to continue doing the things that I'm doing just to be on the safe side. God can certainly use probiotics. I believe I've tried probiotics before, but this seems to be working so we'll celebrate now. :)

Thank you for your continued prayers, for your excitement, and for the joy that you share with us as we celebrate digesting!!

Yay!

brelin

a miracle? oh, and don't drink the water.

I wanted to start off by saying that I absolutely believe in miracles. I think that one might have happened last week. :)

Marcus and I went on a fabulous backpacking/biking/hiking adventure that was a little strenuous and ridiculously exhausting. I threw up all the way there, all 4 miles on my mountain bike, and then the rest of the 3 mile hike into the camping area. Once we got there, we arrived to signage that said, "don't drink the water here. due to mining, the water contains heavy metals, and is unsafe to drink, even after boiling." Well, we were camping there for two nights and could not go without drinking water for 3 days, so we drank the boiled water anyway. We arrived back home on Sunday night. (Marcus is fine just for the record, and I didn't throw up any more than normal.)

Then, miraculously on Tuesday, I suddenly stopped vomiting. Why, you ask? A miracle. God healed me. There is nothing else that I have done differently. I have not been eating anything abnormal, nor have I changed any medications, I have simply stopped vomiting. So, either God healed me miraculously overnight, or perhaps He used the "heavy metal" water to do the trick. Regardless, I have been 7 days now without vomiting! Let me repeat myself.... SEVEN DAYS WITHOUT VOMITING SO FAR!! It is a miracle. I am feeling so good, that I have been able to stop taking my nausea medications completely except one pill in the morning, so I am not sleepy or experiencing the yucky side effects from the meds at the moment.

At the moment, I'm eating regular foods.... even some meat, dairy, grains, fruits, and veggies. I've got all kinds of energy because I'm actually digesting! :) My pain is substantially less than it has been in a couple of years, and I am honestly feeling terrific!! Please pray that this continues indefinitely!!

Thank you God for all of the healing that has taken place in the past week... and I humbly ask that it continue forever. Please Lord, let the vomiting be done forever!! Help me to trust you implicitly, and not to take even one moment of health for granted. Thank you for the joy of this day, and for the healing that has already taken place.

In Your Awesome Name,
Brelin

baseball games with big daddy

There is something special about baseball with Steve-o. I was reflecting on my childhood baseball experiences, and I can remember way back to the Tri-Cities Triplets baseball games when I was pretty little, when they used to fling gummy worms into the crowd during the 7th inning stretch. Perhaps that was the start of my digestive problems. :) While I was in the Tri-Cities this past week, I got to have another baseball "experience" with big daddy. It's not so much about who is winning--rather, it is about what kind of junk food can be consumed, who is there doing the chicken dance, and who can lament about the poor pitching the loudest. I love this good ol' American pasttime.

I had a wonderful time in the Tri-Cities, including lots of fun with my mom. We tackled a sprinkler project (nice work, mom), I pruned some bushes (sorry mom), we did some quality scrapbooking, hung out with my aunt, and we saw a really depressing but good movie (My Sister's Keeper--everyone in the theater was sniffling and crying so we didn't feel too bad).

I got to hang out with my brother and his girlfriend a few different times...which was super fun! I hadn't really gotten to see them much before, so it was nice to spend time with them. We had yummy tacos one night that I even digested!! (yay!) It was fun getting to know Alyssa better, and it's always great to see Andy.

I also got to see Grandma Sanders while I was there. We giggled on the way to the Spudnut shop in the back seat. Steve-o was lamenting about crazy drivers in the front seat when Grandma suddenly realized that she was not wearing her seatbelt. She made a hilarious face, and looked over to me like, help!! So, quickly we tried to get her seatbelt on, while mom and dad continued to discuss the drivers, while we were laughing hysterically.

Overall, I would say that the past couple of weeks my health has improved slightly. I seem to be vomiting slightly less often, but I also think I have been a little less than normal also. We're thinking of going on an overnight backpacking trip at the end of the week for fun if my health continues to hold. Thanks for your prayers!