Because Yesterday was Dad's Birthday and I wanted You to Know

(Picture taken 2010)

As a child I wrote an essay. Not as an assignment for school or as a punishment but rather because I wanted to remember. I wanted to remember the people in my life who made a difference for me, those who impacted my life in a significant way, and those whom I watched even when they didn’t know I was watching. I saw character - true character come out. My findings were that those people who profoundly influenced my life were human. At times, though not often, I saw them react wrongly to situations. But again I grew to love and admire them all the more because I saw them correct their wrongs in right ways. What an encouragement to a young impressionable teenage girl! God was first in each of their lives. It was evident and I longed to mirror their example.

The first paragraph of this paper was about Greg and Kim Werner. At first I was only going to write it about Greg but then as I thought on the matter I knew Kim was such a huge part and success of who Greg was. And let’s face the facts, as great of a guy as Greg was/is it takes a special someone to be his wife. God knew what he was doing there for sure and Kim does the job very well! I’m sure dad agrees. J

Why did I write about them? How did they “make the cut” for this not required paper? Was it because we were great friends with their family and their oldest son had a crush on me? No, remember this paper was written out of my own initiative and was meant for nobodies eyes but my own.

Most people who read this blog know who Greg Werner is. As I grew up he was THE get-things-done guy. And he could infact get almost anything done. Even if it was a “womens” task like cleaning a house to serve a family he could get it done faster than any woman could because he would recruit 10 women to clean the house and he was only there to delegate, encourage, keep things moving, and of course, but our lunch afterwards. :) Things just always got done. But that was what most people saw in Greg Werner. I saw something more; something that’s still is so engraved into my memory that I couldn’t let it go if I tried.

Prayer. I loved to hear Greg pray. Not from the pulpit or in some other large public setting. I loved to hear his prayers at his house. Mostly during home church when it was just a quaint gathering of friends. I wish I could describe it to you. This get-it-done macho man melted in the presence of a Holy God. When there were not words he simply had tears or groanings and I have no doubt the interceding still took place.

He was quick to prayer. Even over the “small” things he would pray. If I had a headache it was common for him to pray for me right there wherever we were and ask the Great Physician for healing. As needs arose no matter how small, we stopped and went to the Great Provider. It was natural for him, second nature. It wasn't just show. He led his family to do the same with or without company there.

I loved that he always pointed me to Christ; not only through his council but also through his actions.

I saw that he was a man of purpose; advancing the Kingdom of Christ. It was his sole purpose and it was evident. It fueled a fire in me to do the same. I am confident that he could not and would not repent of that call. He witnessed to many of his co-workers on many occasions. I watched him work many, many hours serving the church before he was even on staff. In fact he had a full time job. In case you can’t do the math that equals lots of extra work with only eternal reward. (Again where Kim comes into the picture as an amazing person of Godly character.)

I also admired the way he led his family. Yes, there was an attraction between his older son and I. But that has nothing to do with what I am talking about here. Time and time again I saw Greg stop the family to point out a way that God had done an amazing thing. How he had provided, healed, or moved in some other way. It was often that he pointed out to those around him “The blessing of the Lord is a person’s greatest asset.” A quote that remains one of my favorites to this day.

And yes, I watched his oldest son. Growing in the ways of the Lord that I saw no other young man doing. I knew he had long, long, talks with his dad about subjects both practical and spiritual that helped him grow into a man. I saw Greg trying to impart Christ into Brandon, not Greg. If it were God’s will for Brandon and me to marry I wanted to know God would be first in training our children as well as our bases for each decision. Obviously this came to pass and I am more grateful than ever for the spiritual values Brandon embraced through that training time in his life and continues to impart to others.

I could continue on about the character and service I saw from Greg Werner but the list is too great. The incidences will be forever memories I hold in my heart as a person changed by the actions and life of Greg Werner.

But I would consider it a loss to you if I didn’t also point out that Greg can cook a seriously good omelet, pull a water skier like a machine, can be fun and crazy, sing like a real man, and makes a pretty darn good Papa too!

I guess what it boils down to is this. Even though when I wrote that paper as a teenager I didn’t know what the future held. I am grateful to call Greg Werner my father-in-love. I’m glad that writing Greg in all the above places felt weird because I get to call him Dad. And if my last name had never changed to Werner, this I know, I would still be a forever changed person because of who Greg is. And I would still be grateful.

On April 10^th 2010 life changed for dad and our family in many ways. But you know what hasn’t changed? Dad’s legacy. No, his legacy will continue on. His Godly heritage only grows. His mission continues.  I love that this Greg Werner still loves God and is willing to follow Him even in the hardships. (Again, may I point out Mom’s example here!)I love that God still hears the prayers of this Greg Werner. I love that this Greg Werner is still doing what he can to invest in others, even if at times that looks differently than it did. Trust me, it still makes a difference. Just ask my kids!

I love you Dad! Thank you for loving the Lord! Happy Birthday!

Rachael   

A friend is someone who always stands beside you!

Something I have never had to deal with is people in my life moving away. Almost all, and I mean ALL my family is here is the great state of Oklahoma. And I have a HUGE family. Some of Brandon’s family lives out of town but the majority of them is here too.

There is this girl; not related by blood but a kindred spirit. She kind of means a lot to me. We met at church and have been “best friends” since her tenth birthday. 

We told each other secrets. Had a billion sleepovers. Laughed about stupid things until we cried. Cried about stupid things until we laughed. Got each other into and out of trouble. She was there when I got my drivers permit, I was there when she got hers. Went to Africa together more than once. We walked the graduation isle together. Worked at the same job. We were bridesmaids in each other’s wedding.  (She tripped in my wedding and I was glad because that is who she is.) We both married men in the ministry.  She witnessed the birth of my first born and was there just seconds after my second born. I witnessed the birth of her first born. The list could go one for miles.

We just get each other.

Yes, this is Brandon, Alisha, Lauren, and myself. :) Oh, the good old days! I have many more old pictures but they are not on my computer. Maybe I will dig them out and post them on Alisha's birthday. :)

 

After I got married we didn’t get to hang out as often as we had in the past. The phone calls stopped coming like they did when we were kids. But regardless of how often we talked we made an effort to get together every now and then to catch up. It was never awkward when we got together. We simply picked up right where we left off.

Do you understand the kind of friend I am talking about here? A rare treasure.  

My friend is leaving; her family it moving out of state. It’s not that I saw her even once a week while they were here. But it is merely the fact that I can’t see her even if I wanted to that makes it so difficult.

We spent some time together at the zoo this past week before she left.

It was weird to say good-bye. How do you bid someone farewell who is actually moving for good?

Because I feel in my heart this is a rather dramatic matter I shall quote Anne of Green Gables as she speaks to Diana after she has been forbidden to see her dear friend.

“Farewell, my beloved friend. Henceforth, we must be strangers living side by side... but my heart will be ever faithful to thee.”  

This card pretty much sums up our friendship in the most perfect way.

I have nothing more to add to the beauty of our friendship.

Someone get me a tissue.

 Love you Alisha!

Rachael

Twenty-One Weeks

There are many things pregnancy does to a person. First, there is the obvious belly bump.Which while on the outside may seem cute underneath lurks an unsightly....sight. Fortunately, most of you only see the cute part. :)

Then come the cravings. There has only been one thing I would say I have actually CRAVED. I will tell you about that in another post. However before this craving hit I would say I craved these things.

Something about the tang of the mustard. Yum! I never felt as though I HAD to have this to eat right now but a yummy sandwich almost always appealed to me.

And while this post has been somewhat random and rather short in nature I will end by completely changing the subject and post a picture of the girls I took the other morning at church because I was early and had time.

Pause. Enjoy the rare moment. I was early and I had time. :) I even like that this picture is somewhat blurry. To me it captures the moment. I can hear the giggles and see the twirling. Sweet moments.

Isn't He Cute!

When I found out Brandon and I were expecting for the first time I was sure it would be a boy. One day while my mother-in-love and I were out garage selling we hit a jackpot for boys’ things. This sale had really, really cheap prices but cute gently used items. Some things could be used for a boy or girl but all the clothes were boys. Of course much to our surprise it wasn’t a little boy growing in there but instead a girl. I found a storage place and decided to limit myself to that specific space. Growing out of that space was unacceptable. If it began to get full and I found something I must have for my little boy then something else had to go. Thus the collection began. I didn’t spend much money on anything. A few quarters here and there at a garage sale, most of the things were given to me. Regardless of how I acquired them my space has been full for some time now. Not all of the things are for newborns either. Oh, no. I have some things that are 24 months. I have been preparing for this “it’s a boy!” moment for quite some time. But it’s never too early to be prepared…right?

I had things in a variety of seasons. It was such fun to go through and look at the things that could actually be used on my little man. Wow. This is real people! I'm having a boy! Yay!
Yes, even blankets made their way into my collection.

It has always been so cute, to me, those little boys that seriously look like little men. I don't know really how to describe it and while I'm sure my little guy won't always look like a little man, just like my girls didn't always wear a hair bow, I hope to accomplish this look some for my little man. I thought these onsies where so cute. I must admit....I bought these the day of my ultrasound at a garage sale. What? I had a feeling it was a boy. :) Aren't the adorable!

And of course since winter will be upon us hats to keep my little man warm were pulled from my collection.

And I ooood and awwwd at how cute my little man was going to be, imagined myself holding him in my arms, and the world was quiet. Until I had to go discipline one of my other children who was screaming. Then reality sat in...I AM A MOTHER OF THREE!!!!

Trying to keep it together,

Rachael

P.S. I promise I will eventually post about something other that having a boy. :)

It's A BOY!

Wow. I have sat down to blog many times but the words just haven’t come. A boy. A. Boy. B-O-Y! I am having a BOY!!!! It does seem real but the emotions of it are just…wow. We are all really excited.

As soon as I found out we were expecting again I knew I wanted to have a gender reveal party. After all, this is baby number three and we all know he (I can actually say he!) won’t have the same amount of pictures as baby’s number one or even two. I felt the need to do something different and fun and special. I imagined it to be just a fun evening of fellowship and fun with the “icing on the cake” being the reveal of baby Werner’s gender. The evening turned out exactly as I hoped. We had a great turn out, beautiful weather, fun fellowship, and the gender was revealed.  

None of my ideas are original. Any time I am planning any kind of party the web surfing starts. There were two ideas that had come up for how to reveal and I tried to merge the two. My amazing Aunt Tammi was so sweet and made all the cupcakes for the guests. Each cupcake had blue filling inside so all the guests could have one. A fabulously creative friend decorated a big box that I had in blue and pink and then my Aunt picked up some helium balloons to put in the box.

The party started at 6:00 but the reveal didn’t happen until 7:00. Waiting an hour may seem ridiculous to you but you have to understand I had my ultrasound done a whole week before the party! Waiting one more hour wasn’t going to kill me. Why did I do it a whole week before? Because that is just the way it worked out. The results were sealed in an envelope in my purse and then given to my Aunt a couple days prior to the party. She was the ONLY one who knew the results and did such an amazing job of honoring me by keeping the secret a secret until reveal time.

So at 7:00 everyone gathered together outside. Cupcakes were handed out and then the countdown begun. 5,4,3,2,1. It’s a…..the balloons began to float toward the sky. A yellow balloon is what I saw first. What is that supposed to mean!? I was a bit confused when a white balloon is what came into sight next. Really? White and Yellow!!! What in the world is that supposed to mean. The ultrasound tech said the gender was very clear. White and yellow do not say clearly to me boy or girl! I was hoping someone had bit into their cupcake and could tell me the gender of my baby! But then they began to show blue, blue, blue. A boy. It was really a little boy in there! Are you KIDDING ME!?!?!?! A Tuter sister is actually capable of having a boy! This is uncharted waters in my family you know. MOMMY, HELP ME! Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, not even my own mother knows how to mother boys. WHAAAAAH! I CAN’T DO THIS!!!!! What do boys wear to church anyways? The thoughts began to run through my little mother-of-girls head. A few hours later an even more daunting awful thought entered into my head as the word slipped from my lips forever to be a part of my vocabulary…circumcision. I shook my head in defeat. Really? Lord, you really think I need a boy?

I have decided I will learn how to raise a son rather it is easy or hard. We’ll make it. I do know one thing I can give my little man. Love. Something every child needs and something I can give.

I love you little man! Mommy can hardly wait to see your sweet handsome face! (See, I’m getting the hang of this already!)

Rachael- Mommy to two girls AND a boy!

Before we found out the gender Uncle Justin said he was going to jump into the pond if it was a boy.

Update on Dad: First Knee Surgery

Dad's surgery went well yesterday. This is the update I received via text message from my mom yesterday:

"Greg is out of surgery and in recovery. He will be in a lot of pain. There is a lot of damage to his cartilage. They did a lot of clean up to his knee. They also took off extra bone. He will need a knee replacement at some point. As soon as six months, or it could be years. It will depend on him. Recovery and pain will be a factor in that decision. He might come home tomorrow. Thanks for your prayers."

Since that time I learned that dad said that he "was in the most pain he could ever remember." They have him on a lot of pain meds but the pain is still extreme.

Today Dad text messaged me and said he was on his way home. I asked him how the pain was and he replied "Ouch! Tolerable."

Thank you for your continued prayers. We greatly appreciate your support. God is doing great things. We will trust in Him.

My New Mommymobile

I started to title this post "Until You are Smashed...I Will Love You". But then I started thinking about how bad that would be if Brandon or someone else I love died in a car accident in the near future. So instead we shall just call this post "True Love is Hard to Find". (Or feel free to make up something else in your mind as equally as cheezy.)

When my van got smashed back in September I was sad because, well, I liked my van. We had a connection and things just worked for us. After driving a rental car for over a month and then driving Dad’s truck for a few days we finally got our check from the insurance company.

We found a van that seemed to be a great deal on Craig’s List and bought it. I tried to love this van as I did my last.

 Not trying to replace the feelings for the old one. No, those would stay forever but rather making room for the new within my heart. But, the more I spent time with this new vehicle I saw its true character come out. It was ugly. I have hope for this vehicle in someone else’s life but our lives just did not mesh well. The relationship just could not be saved; especially after my new true love entered the picture. The van I am now driving brings out the best in me. We just get each other. I have hopes that we will have even stronger bonds that my first sweet van.

The blinker has a beautiful tone, the ride is smooth, the gadgets work, there is space for the back seat to be functional, I can haul stuff in the back, the mileage is low, and the heater is hot and the AC is cold. The gas is…well let’s just not go there. I don’t care what car you have, if it takes gas your budget is toast.

I hope to sport this mommymobile for quite some time. That is, of course, if I can avoid those other cars on the road that don’t play nice.

In other breaking news:

2002 KIA SADONA FOR SALE

BEAUTIFUL VAN

LOW MILEAGE

I'M SURE IT WILL BE GREAT FOR YOUR FAMILY! :)

P.S. I sincerly apologize to those of you who recieve this by email and are commanded to commit. Commit people! Commit to our blog! Obviously I didn't write that sentence and as soon as I can get the person who did to tell me how change it I will stop commanding you to commit and will kindly ask you to comment. But feel free to commit too, if you wanna. :)

My Experience with Toilet Repair

The toilet has been broken in Brandon and I’s bathroom for some time now. Not all the way broken, just broken enough to only flush occasionally. The problem was that it took hours to fill the tank so many times it didn’t have the necessary means to flush. Anyhow, after talking it over with my dad it was concluded that the float thingy part needed to be replaced. A job that was certainly simple enough for this housewife. Why wait for someone else to do the job that needs done when you can most likely figure it out? Well, I now have the answer to that.

It all started as a simple “I can do this attitude”. I made the purchase with confidence. Only $9.99 and my problems would be solved! Upon coming home I placed the new part on the back of the toilet and let it set for a few days. No one took the bait and fixed the toilet so I took a few deep breaths, gave myself a pep talk and proceeded to get the camera. (An important tool in toilet fixing.) I would photograph my time and give all other women out there with broken toilets easy to follow picture instructions on the simplicity of toilet repair. This in turn would give them the needed boost in confidence to fix the toilets in their own homes.

It didn’t take long for me to ditch the picture of each step idea. Have you ever tried to take pictures without a tripod of yourself doing repairs? It’s not easy especially when your hands are wet. I thought just a few pictures would suffice when showing my success. One of the first steps in toilet repair is to empty the tank. Of course flushing the toilet and turning off the water accomplishes most of this but then you have to sponge out the rest with a bucket and a rag. I know this is probably a plumbing impossibility but I just kept thinking backwash. What if some of the soiled toilet water had backwashed into the tank?! Blah! Anyways, after emptying the non-backwashed tank you remove this thingy-ma-jig, screw on that dilly whopper, and ta da the new part is in! It took me longer than it might have taken a professional for the above technical steps but keep in mind this was my first dance with toilet repair and I did accomplished the job. Well, that part of the job.  

Now, of course the toilet needs water in order to run. And that is where I found the answer to my question stated at the beginning of this post. “Why wait for someone else to do the job that needs done when you can most likely figure it out?” BECAUSE YOU MOST LIKELY CANNOT FIGURE IT OUT AND INSTEAD OF HAVING A TOILET THAT IS ONLY BROKEN PART OF THE WAY NOW YOU HAVE A TOILET THAT IS BROKEN THE WHOLE WAY!

So the apparent last step in toilet repair is to post a sign on the toilet stating “TOILET NOT FUNCTIONING AT ALL PLEASE HOLD IT UNITL A LATER DATE. Thanks, Mngt wanna-be.” Now call your daddy with all bargaining chips on the table. “Hey Dad, I will make you a yummy hot meal if you come fix my toilet.”

And that my friend is my official review and encouragement to all people in need of toilet repair. :)