Perfect Day date with the hubs

Perfect day date with my love. My mom watched the kiddos for a couple days so we could get some uninterrupted work done at home. She kept them longer and told us to enjoy a Saturday together. It was a much needed adventure. We rode his motorcycle about 14 miles on the hwy and down country roads to one of our favorite places, Coopers Rock State Park. it's a nice ride uphill in the mountains. We then parked and walked/hiked around a bit, taking fun pictures at random abandoned lodges, jumping over cliff rocks, and keeping an eye out for rattlesnakes. We rode down and then grabbed dinner and sat by Cheat Lake to eat with the sunset skies looking down on us. It was perfect. So grateful to be soon celebrating 12 years of marriage with this hunk. It's now always easy, but the word and watering of our marriage garden, is always worth it. Also, huge shoutout to my mama! I think the kids also had more fun at grandma's house, than we did. Win win for all! 😍❤️ My mom 

Wellness Wednesday - Adventures in Fairmont, WV

Every Wednesday at the Kid's School, is Wellness Wednesday. During this time of quarantine where they have home-based school, their teachers have been emailing and posting assignments on a daily basis. Every Wednesday however, they lighten the school work load a bit and encourage the kids to do a wellness activity, whether that be get outside, do some yoga, or whatever makes them feel "well". To follow suit, even though we play and get outdoors often, I try to oblige and so some extra wellness fun with the kids on Wednesdays - weather permitting. This week, we had some fun in the sun and headed to Fairmont. We picked up our favorite pizza from Mountain State Brewing Co. and drove down to Prickett's Fort State Park, only to be told that the road was being re-paved and so it was closed. Since we were already in Fairmont, we changed plans and headed to a Civil war trail and park that is parallel to the water. We love Palatine park for many reasons including their splash pad, riverfront views, awesome family friendly move nights and cultural programs in their pavilion, playground, and trail that has lots of civil war history. Since we were also in Fairmont, we took the liberty to head to our favorite ice cream spot, Dairy Creme corner, which is a local favorite. They have the only WV blackberry soft serve ice cream that I know of made with WV blackberries. We picked up the ice cream and took it to the park where we walked around. We then headed home for the younger girls to take a nap, then headed out for a bike ride. All in all, it was a fun and wellness wednesday indeed.  

Quarantine Chronicles 2020

Day 57 of Quarantine/Social Distancing and my five children, husband and I are still alive. David has been working from home for 7 weeks, i've been also working from home and seeing clients via telehealth.. We've been supervising "homeschooling" for 4 kiddos (5th, 3rd, 1st, and Pre-K) while keeping a energetic 1-year old occupied. It's been interesting to say the least. Despite some struggles with trying to keep the kids quiet with David is in a conference meeting, or when mama has to talk to to a client, despite lots of indoor time with spring rain showers and even May snow, Despite lots of parenting and disciplining happening in our home in what many would call a stressful, unprecented time, we are all alive and well. Some days the goal was to survive, but some days, thank God we thrived. Some fun things we've been able to do:

1) Said "Yes" more. So often it's easier to say No when the kids ask to do something because it's either a hassle, adds work for me, isn't convenient, don't have time, etc. etc. During this time of being home, I made a better effort to say "Yes" a whole lot more. Mom, can I help you crack the eggs? (my thoughts: Ugh, it's easier if I just do it), my response, "Sure you can Faith! Let me see you do it!"  "Mom, can I help you pressure wash the house?" (My thoughts: This is actually really fun for me, I want to do it, plus I'll have to teach me how), my response "Alright, let me know you how and then you can give it a try ok?!"  Saying yes isn't easy, in fact, it often does come with a little extra work, maybe a little more clean-up on my part, but watching the kids as they learn to do something new, the pride in their eyes, the feelings in their hearts knowing they just "did it", it's worth it every time.

2) Lots of outdoor time. 1-2x a week the kids and I get out to a local trail or state park for some hiking and good outdoor time in the sunshine. It's been good for my soul, their little legs, our Vitamin D levels, and it has given us a sense of calm, peace, and wander.  I love the quote "Not all who wander, are lost" and getting outdoors definitely settles our spirits.

3) Appreciated our home. I've never appreciated our backyard as much as I do now. This is a hard time for many and every time the kids have played in our yard, I find myself thanking God for our little home with a yard as I know many don't have an outdoor area to play in during this time. Our home is not very big, 1400 square feet for a family of 7, but it's cozy and the layout works for us. While i'm always on the search for a larger home, I've come to appreciate our home. We send the kids to play in their rooms every day so we can have quiet time in the family room to work. We have a boys room, girls room, and our bedroom. Our family room serves as a playroom, tv room, and it's where our desktop computer is. We utilize our covered back porch and I often see clients there or in our dining room. At the end of the day, I've found myself feeling so grateful for our home.

4) Home Projects. We planted a garden, pressure washed our house, pressure washed our deck, stained our deck, re-arranged furniture, cleaned out closets, de-cluttered some areas, cleaned the gutters, pulled weeds, cleaned the garage, got rid of old toys, and made a huge donation of goods/clothes to a local foster care closet.

5)

cute things my kids say...

When your 2-year old prays for her food saying "tank you Jesus for my yummy sanwish, n for my juice, n for Mami, n Papi, n Fay (Faith) n my boys (her brothers)" 💕💕🙏🏼😘😛 ‪#‎mygirl‬ ‪#‎herboys‬ ‪#‎littlemama‬

Letters to friends (03/17/2009 Pregnancy photos and update)

Hey Friends and Family,

 

Wanted to share a few pregnancy photos along with an update.  I'm very happy to say that everything is going great out here, I have but few complaints.  The weather is warming up which means no more shoveling snow or scraping ice off my car for 20 min. in the freezing cold (at least until next winter) - no accidents this winter either (which is difficult when roads are wet and icy). 

 

I've been working my new job now for over a month and loving my clients and all the other perks that come along with it like making my own schedule.  School is also coming along great although these next five weeks will be a challenge since i'm trying to finish up this semester at least 2 weeks earlier (before finals week which is when baby is due), but I'm ready for the challenge and grateful that my professors have been so understanding and willing to work with my situation.

 

and aww - The joys of pregnancy - our baby "Josiah" (tho the name might change at birth) is growing big and kicking harder and harder every day.  Its so amazing to feel his body inside of my womb and to watch my belly move as he wiggles, kicks and does all kinds of crazy moves.  David bought a stethescope so that we can hear his heartbeat and for only $20. we've been able to listen to his precious life as it continues to move and grow.

 

As time draws nearer and closer to the due date, my excitement is also increasing - 7 weeks to go now and boy, am I nervous but I also know that God is in control of everything and so my confidence is in Him who gives me strength. 

 

thank you all for your love and support and please Continue to keep us and the baby in your prayers as we believe for a healthy and supernatural delivery.

 

p.s. These pictures are of 4 1/2 months, 6 and 7 1/4.  I havn't got the rest of the professional prints yet so here are some mixed prints.

 

Love,

Carmen & David Abreu

Letter to friends...(07/13/11 Abreu family prayer request)

Family & Friends, As most of you know, my husband David lost his brother in a horrific tragedy a few weeks ago. As a private person, his desire was to cope only with his close family and fellow believers who would pray for peace, strength and forgiveness within his family. He just released me to share more information with you all as the upcoming trial for his brother's killer unravels. Below is a link to one of the media report made. Warning: the report is rather graphic. http://bangordailynews.com/2011/06/16/news/bangor/bangor-man-charged-with-murder-in-fourth-street-death/ A lil background: David has had a peace about his brother for a several years and always prayed and believed his brother was in God's hands even though his life was plagued by alcoholism and drug addiction. Over 2 years ago however, his brother began to turn his life around, began working, got his own apartment and began attending the University of Maine and even served on student government this past year. According to those that knew and worked with him, he had been drug-free for the past 2 years and would meet with a local outreach pastor weekly, always reading, studying, carrying his bible, playing guitar, making people laugh and smile, and just full of dreams.  I do not want to share much more because the articles (rather graphic) discuss the events that occurred however I just wanted to ask, on behalf of my husband and his family for prayers for Mr. Hall, his family, David and our family. There will be a trial in the upcoming months, possibly even next year for Mr. Hall who faces 25 years to life on the murder charge. My prayer is for David who in all of this, although having peace, is feeling anxiety as he has been carrying the burden on behalf of his family of being the only contact/representative on behalf of his brother (as has been the case these last weeks with the investigation, funeral arrangements, retrieving of his brother's belongings, etc.) .  Furthermore, David has expressed forgiveness to Mr. Hall, but we also pray that our family will all seek to forgive as we also we pray for Mr. Hall's soul believing that surely God's name will be glorified in all this. We believe that this incidence also has/had deep spiritual connection as the argument was regarding whether God existed or not (David's brother arguing that God exists). Due to the wide publicity this case has already gathered, our prayer is that more lives will be changed as justice is served and his brothers story of redemption and forgiveness is shared. Thank you for prayers, love and support! Sincerely, Carmen Abreu

Letter to friends...(09/29/09...2 years later, with love)

Family and Friends,

 

So, mommy-hood has definitely been keeping me busier than I had imagined.  Here's just a brief update on what has been going on lately.  Josiah is now 4-months old and is a very healthy boy.  He has doubled his birth weight and is nearly 18lb. strong and 26inches tall :)

David and I couldn't be more blessed as parents to such a joyful, peaceful, and happy baby who loves the company of others, is always smiling and who seems to always make our days even brighter.  His hair has also gotten a whole lot longer and there's not a place we don't go in which a stranger does not compliment his crazy cute locks…

 

Apart from loving on our family's new addition, David and I both study full-time.  After 5 years of being out of school, God opened up the doors for David to return to WVU to finish up his Aerospace Engineering degree as well as to finish taking flight lessons toward his private pilot license.  It's been very exciting for us and especially for David since he's desired to complete his education and earn his pilot wings for years.  Please keep him in your prayers as returning to school with a family is not an easy thing.  As for me, returning to school0Aafter 3-months of being a home-and-milk-maker has definitely come with many challenges.  God willingly, all of the hard work and sacrifices will pay off this May when I graduate with an MSW (Masters in Social Work) degree!! 

 

My advanced placement internship (large part of my graduate program) has also been a tremendous blessing, working with my hectic schedule and being more than gracious allowing me take nursing breaks and to top it off, paying for my school tuition and giving me a living stipend (very, very, rare opportunity)!! Truly, when God brings you to it, He'll take you through it!! I say this only as a testimony and to brag about how good God is when we choose to put our faith in Him, and even when we don't.  To think that I was on the verge of dropping out of my program after finding out we were pregnant due to financial reasons as well as physical ones- David and I had decided to allow God to give us gifts (children) in His timing (which apparently is a crazy thing to do) - to be honest, I had many doubts about it as well but after God delivered, provided, and exceeded all of our expectations from the pregnancy, to the amazing labor and delivery and still to this day - I tell you, I have no doubt that putting all our trust in God is well worth it-even w hen we don't understand it all at the moment.  Oh, and not to my surprise, West Virginia University had their Children’s Learning Center, state of the art facilities grand-opening in August (after years of preparation), just in time for baby boy Josiah to enroll in - so while David and I are in class, studying or at my internship, we feel assured that Josiah is being well taken care of and developing his own sensory, motor and social skills.

 

Wooh-I can't help but get excited just thinking about the provision our Father has for His children.  So, what started as a 1-year commitment serving at Praise Chapel Terra Alta, WV with my parents has turned into an engagement, marriage, son, and returning to graduate school not to mention an amazing experience of new fellowship with awesome friends and the birthing of new ministry - (tomorrow marks 2 years of my arrival to WV).  Being the loving Father that He is, He has also granted me several new friendships with other girls and women (something that I’ve prayed for since moving here).  Close friends and mentors of ours also recently adopted a newborn girl 2 months after Josiah’s birth so now we even have friends to lean on as we go through all of this new parent stuff together :) 

 

Okay, again, this turned out to be not-so-brief afterall but you probably expect that from me already :)

Feel free to let me know how you all are doing, and know that I am truly blessed to have you in my life.  Blessings to you and yours!  Here’s some recent photos of Josiah and our family.

 

Miss you guys!

Carmen Abreu