As I sifted through all of my neglected blog material I dreaded this update the most. Somehow ignoring this next post delayed the reality of admitting that our lives are truly out of our control. Of course, I am very well aware of this fact, but my humanity tells me to tuck tail and run away! So, to tie up some loose ends...
Papa passed away in January, shortly after my last update. His departure was not terribly peaceful, but rather crowded and physically uncomfortable. Our consolation was that he would have been happy to have all of his children and grandchildren surrounding him.
The day that Papa passed was the same day that we brought Maggie into our home for the first time. Though we unexpectedly disrupted her nap time and spent most of the day at Hospice, she remained an angel through the whole ordeal. She was with us when Papa died. In God's infinite wisdom she brought a peacefulness to the day. As our family arrived to say their goodbyes, they met Maggie and fell in love with her.
In the following weeks we pursued Maggie's adoption with vigor. We were in contact with her case worker, became approved by the state, and participated in the necessary classes to move the process along. All the while we were growing to love Maggie more as we spent a great deal of time with her. Then, with little warning, another family stepped forward and expressed interest in her. In essence, due to many factors that would be too complicated to explain in a blog post, this ended our adoption pursuit. We had little to say about the matter. Our last day with Maggie was spent praying over her before she went to her new family. Her new name is Isla.
Needless to say, we felt blindsided by this change in interest and were heartbroken. In all of our years of pursuing adoptions, we felt that this was the closest we have come to following the process through to completion. Looking back on the whole situation, I can only praise God. For every heartache, there was a moment of joy that made the rest well worth the pain. Maggie was healing for us and she carried us through a difficult transition after Papa's death. She caused us to restructure our home and reevaluate our approach to family worship as we considered rearing another child. She brought us closer together. The fact that she is not with us now doesn't make me love her any less or value her any more. She was a blessing during our time with her, and I pray that her new family will break their spiritual silence and bring her up to know her Savior. If having her with us for a short time served only one purpose, it would be to saturate her in God's Word and in prayer during the first months of her life. I pray that she will someday learn about her time with us and be encouraged to turn to a life of holiness as she grows older.
After we recovered from the ordeal, Collier came back home and made our family complete! It is fantastic to have him back at home. The real challenge has been to keep him from idleness! In August, Collier enrolled at FSCJ and began with 12 credits including Chemistry and Pre Calculus.
In August we learned that Dad would be retiring from the Navy after 24 years of service. The next few months were spent preparing for his retirement ceremony, which took place on his 43rd birthday, November 5th (pictures to come) and looking for a job. We have not yet hammered down the job, but are confident that God is in control of this detail!
When I learned of Dad's retirement we assumed that another move is looming on the horizon. Because of this, I elected to discontinue my studies at the Florida School of Traditional Midwifery. I withdrew from the program and enrolled at FSCJ with Collier. I am currently fulfilling the nursing prerequisites. I have changed tracks from Direct Entry to Nurse Midwifery. This track will take longer and require more schooling, however I am confident that God is directing me down this path.
I was blessed immeasurably by the ability to remain as a student midwife at Fruitful Vine Midwifery Service here in Jacksonville. Since beginning there in January 2010 I have attended 34 births and many, many more labors. I am in the clinic daily assisting with prenatal and postpartum visits and learning how to provide routine prenatal care from a natural perspective. I value every day that I have with my three midwife-mentors, and look forward to gaining new responsibilities as I spend more time there. This is consuming the majority of my time between being in the clinic and maintaining a call schedule. There is never a dull moment and off-time is precious (though only in small quantities. I tend to itch for it again after a weekend off!)
As time goes by I would like to bring more messages to this blog of a theological nature. Specifically, I would like to recap our family worship, as we have been delving into some rather thought provoking topics and discovering new teachers like Paul Tripp. Our nightly studies may consist of a sermon from Sermon Audio, a CD from a favorite teacher, a plop, a curious prompting, a topic study, a study through a particular book, or other specific interests. Family worship is a pivotal part of our lives. I praise God for motivating my father to lead us to take this time and encouraging our family to view family worship as a welcome necessity rather than a check-in-the-block each day.
As time permits, I will attempt to update more, however I have finally eliminated my guilty feelings for lack of updating. Blogging has its place and is a good thing, but not if it takes away from more pertinent tasks. I have finally conceded to the idea of simply getting to it if I can get to it! Hopefully I can keep our few friendly readers engaged enough to check up on us from time to time.
Blessings to all, Servus,
Chelsey for the McGehee Family
November 21, 2010
January 18, 2010
The McVentures Never End...
Our family has embarked on another major McVenture. It seems that the last few weeks following the holiday season have been so amazing and busy that only God could have orchestrated them!
On Christmas day our family packed up the van and left for Colorado. We just barely beat the blizzards (they came a day behind us) and arrived at Reformation Church on Sunday morning after driving for 30 hours straight! We checked on our house and had a wonderful visit with our Colorado family. On our way back across the country we dropped Collier off at ALERT for his final 20 weeks of training. Each time we part it becomes harder for all of us. And yet we are so glad to know that he has almost accomplished a year of training in the program! We are so proud of Collier's growth and accomplishments and look forward to his graduation in late May.
Shortly after we rolled back into town we brought Papa home from respite care. We quickly realized that he was not in good condition. After consulting with our wonderful Hospice nurse and social worker, we brought Papa to the Hospice Hadlow care center. After a chest x-ray revealed that Papa had pneumonia we were reassured that this was the right decision. Over the last two weeks Papa has battled to overcome this sickness and has taken a significantly downward mental turn. He is now completely bedridden and mostly incontinent. With his pneumonia mostly cleared and regular doses of morphine to relax his respiratory system, we anticipate bringing him home tomorrow.
Roughly 9 days ago, on Saturday (Jan 9th), Mom and Dad had a much needed visit with a wonderful woman who we know as "Aunt Margaret". Aunt Margaret helped to raise Mom from the age of about 6 months to 5 years old. During their visit Aunt Margaret told us about her granddaughter newest baby. As usual, we offered to adopt the baby before she could enter into the foster care system.
A few days later we received a phone call from Aunt Margaret. She spoke to the baby's grandmother, who is currently taking care of her, and they agreed that our family adopting this baby would be ideal for her and them. They could still be involved in her life and they could be sure that she is raised in a clean, drug-free, Christan home.
We met this beautiful 4 month old baby on Friday. Her name is currently Kalrissa Maria (pronounced Clarissa). We have decided to change her name to Margaret "Maggie" Grace.
Today we began making the appropriate phone calls to get this adoption process moving. We hope to bring Maggie home in a couple of months. We will keep everyone updated with information and pictures as we make progress. Most of all, please remember our family in your prayers. To pass a home-study we need to move. This comes as Papa is now taking a severe turn for the worse. In addition, Collier is feeling a huge sense of disconnection and worry over being away from us for the next few months. We are praying that the Lord will quiet his heart and bring him peace.
We are on the threshold of some amazing changes for our family. We thank God for each moment and treasure his blessings. Thank you for keeping up with us and please remember to keep on praying!!!
Love,
Chelsey for the McGehee Family
On Christmas day our family packed up the van and left for Colorado. We just barely beat the blizzards (they came a day behind us) and arrived at Reformation Church on Sunday morning after driving for 30 hours straight! We checked on our house and had a wonderful visit with our Colorado family. On our way back across the country we dropped Collier off at ALERT for his final 20 weeks of training. Each time we part it becomes harder for all of us. And yet we are so glad to know that he has almost accomplished a year of training in the program! We are so proud of Collier's growth and accomplishments and look forward to his graduation in late May.
Shortly after we rolled back into town we brought Papa home from respite care. We quickly realized that he was not in good condition. After consulting with our wonderful Hospice nurse and social worker, we brought Papa to the Hospice Hadlow care center. After a chest x-ray revealed that Papa had pneumonia we were reassured that this was the right decision. Over the last two weeks Papa has battled to overcome this sickness and has taken a significantly downward mental turn. He is now completely bedridden and mostly incontinent. With his pneumonia mostly cleared and regular doses of morphine to relax his respiratory system, we anticipate bringing him home tomorrow.
Roughly 9 days ago, on Saturday (Jan 9th), Mom and Dad had a much needed visit with a wonderful woman who we know as "Aunt Margaret". Aunt Margaret helped to raise Mom from the age of about 6 months to 5 years old. During their visit Aunt Margaret told us about her granddaughter newest baby. As usual, we offered to adopt the baby before she could enter into the foster care system.
A few days later we received a phone call from Aunt Margaret. She spoke to the baby's grandmother, who is currently taking care of her, and they agreed that our family adopting this baby would be ideal for her and them. They could still be involved in her life and they could be sure that she is raised in a clean, drug-free, Christan home.
We met this beautiful 4 month old baby on Friday. Her name is currently Kalrissa Maria (pronounced Clarissa). We have decided to change her name to Margaret "Maggie" Grace.
Today we began making the appropriate phone calls to get this adoption process moving. We hope to bring Maggie home in a couple of months. We will keep everyone updated with information and pictures as we make progress. Most of all, please remember our family in your prayers. To pass a home-study we need to move. This comes as Papa is now taking a severe turn for the worse. In addition, Collier is feeling a huge sense of disconnection and worry over being away from us for the next few months. We are praying that the Lord will quiet his heart and bring him peace.
We are on the threshold of some amazing changes for our family. We thank God for each moment and treasure his blessings. Thank you for keeping up with us and please remember to keep on praying!!!
Love,
Chelsey for the McGehee Family
January 5, 2010
Irena Sendler
I received a forward this morning that I almost deleted, but for whatever reason I looked at it first. I was truly touched by this story. God can use anyone, anytime, anywhere to do his work.
Forgive the grammar of the following story as I did copy and paste it out of an e-mail:
"Recently the world mourned the death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During
WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' .. She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out of the Ghetto in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried a burlap sack in the back of her truck for larger children. She also had a dog that she trained to bark when the Nazi
soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the children/infants noises. During this time she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 children and infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the children she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar
buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived and reunite the families. Most had been gassed. Those children she helped were placed into foster families or adopted.
In 2007 Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize ... She was not
selected.
Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.
Now, more than ever, with Iraq , Iran , and others, claiming the
Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it's imperative to make sure the world
never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again."
Forgive the grammar of the following story as I did copy and paste it out of an e-mail:
"Recently the world mourned the death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During
WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' .. She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out of the Ghetto in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried a burlap sack in the back of her truck for larger children. She also had a dog that she trained to bark when the Nazi
soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the children/infants noises. During this time she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 children and infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the children she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar
buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived and reunite the families. Most had been gassed. Those children she helped were placed into foster families or adopted.
In 2007 Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize ... She was not
selected.
Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.
Now, more than ever, with Iraq , Iran , and others, claiming the
Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it's imperative to make sure the world
never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again."
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