...: Christmas Happenings :...

It's that most wonderful time of the year! A perfect time to update our blog with Glab Happenings for our friends and family near and far. The year has been full of laughter, memories, and growing in trusting our Savior and relying on His perfect timing in all of our lives. It's been a year of moving forward...Corinne's last year of high school was filled with wonderful memories, a lot of hard work, and a joyful celebration. Graduation was a special day with many family and friends here to celebrate with us. (See our June post for graduation photos.) Corinne's new adventure into college as part of the MC Scholars has been an exciting challenge. Endless hours of studying, reading, and writing papers - college life. Aside from her academic workload, Corinne has really enjoyed serving on the Admin team for the 10:31 youth ministry at church. Even though her studies take up a lot of time, she still makes room in her schedule for family time -we're glad she's still rooming here with us!

Kendall is a junior this year! The Fall cross country season was a lot of fun and she worked hard to improve her personal times this season! Kendall is taking a load of classes and serving the fifth graders at her school as their art teacher this year. It's a great opportunity to use her gift of creativity! Kendall is playing varsity basketball this winter, although she's been side-lined with three broken fingers for a few weeks, she's looking forward to playing again in January. Kendall also landed a role in this year's Spring musical production "Esther" at our church, which we all know will be an awesome experience! All four of the girls enjoyed summer swim team again this year. This was our tenth summer swimming for the Hadley Farms Sharks! Toward the end of the season, Kimberly noticed her leg was bothering her, after starting to run for the x-country tryouts, and after bruising her knee, we took her in for a check up with the orthopaedic. By God's grace, the x-ray technician happened to take a whole leg x-ray and not just her knee - revealing a rare benign tumor that cracked her tibia bone. (You can read the whole story in our September post.) It's been a trial for her, but Kimberly is making her way through physical therapy and trusting God for the healing of her cracked bone. She is very grateful for her friends who have really encouraged her through the begining of the school year. A freshman this year, Kimberly is working hard and enjoying her high school classes and working on the yearbook.Volleyball - Christiana's new interest has kept her busy this year! (See our May post for her amazing experience at Penn State!) This fall and winter she has continued to play volleyball for the Covenant Life Cougars and for MVSA. And a family milestone - this was our final year in elementary school ... with Christiana starting sixth grade this year! She is doing an excellent job in her middle school classes and is excited to be on the student council this year.

That's a brief update on the Glab Happenings. If you're new to our blog, you can scroll down or hit a link on the side bar to read our past postings!

If you recall, we started our year off with our New Years miracle (January post) a close call with a speeding train. That experience has brought us face to face with the reality that every day is an opportunity to trust God for what He has in store for us. Whether it's the missions trip to a violent area of Mexico, uncertain change at work and in our economy, finishing the race of academics well, trusting in broken bones and endless doctors appointments, we have seen God's protecting, caring hand over our family this year.

And this season ... Christmastime ... is a time to reflect, remember and rejoice in our Savior, who stood with us and carried us through this year. He is the reason we celebrate!

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”- Luke 2:11-14

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas to you and your family!
The Glabs

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh we have so very much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! We are grateful for ...
God's provision and amazing grace available to us every day
Covenant Life Church and the way they spur us on
Our family and friends who support us and walk down this road of life with us
Covenant Life School and the Cross centered education our girls are receiving
The Scholars Program and the amazing education Corinne is receiving
Our girls' friends who are a great example of love and kindness
And our pup -- who brings us love and joy every minute of our day ...

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

photo credit: Kendall ~ from her 2008 AP Art portfolio

..:: Happy Birthday Don! ::..

We love this man! 11-05-09

Someone once said that a good man is hard to find, but I know that's not always true ...
I found a man who is warm, gentle, an caring, who's there when I need him, and who makes me feel needed, too. I found a man who can be proud of who he is, who is loved and respected more than he realizes. I found a man who is everything a good man ought to be, and the best part is - after I found him, he married me!
(From his Hallmark birthday card)

He is an amazing gift from God!
He is an awesome husband ... a caring and devoted father ... a faithful friend.

Happy Birthday Don! We love you!

... Snicker's Day...

Well ... it's "Snicker's Day" in Maryland, the day named after my dad's favorite candy bar ~ the day we remember when dad went home to be with His Savior... today marks 10 years. And so I thought it would be a great opportunity to honor him ... Karl K. Wilhelm

Dad was one of those dad's you always wanted around... the kind that made most everything an adventure...the one who showed up for all of your games and concerts and cheered and clapped the loudest. The one who had a quick wink and nod for a job well done, and a knowing look when you needed reassurance, and, he was my biggest encourager.

Dad was an avid outdoorsman, a skilled bow, rifle, and black powder hunter and bass master. He brought many "delicacies" home for mom to try out her culinary skills --- venison, turkey, pheasant, goose, perch, bass ... He loved the great outdoors. I'm glad his Lake Trout is hanging on our wall. :) And because of his love for the outdoors, we camped every summer that I can remember ... all summer long. Those are some amazing memories.

An added bonus for me, was dad's occupation -- my high school assistant principal. A guaranteed ride to school everyday, even in the snow and ice ... and more importantly a friendly face just a few doors away at all times. He instilled in us a love for learning, perseverance, hard work, and a love for school and education. Thus -- I have two sisters who have followed in his footsteps... and maybe a few of our girls in the future? I believe high school was a tad bit less of a challenge because he walked through it with me.

We loved dad for his quick wit and funny sense of humor. He loved practical jokes and he almost always had a chuckle and a smile on his face. Dad came up with some of the funniest things to say - okay, who has heard of a "davenport" ?? Dad was a punter for his high school and college football teams and because of this he could kick the top of a door frame in one quick swoop -- always impressive. :) Dad couldn't always carry a tune, but he sang the loudest at church every Sunday... that always made us giggle! And his morning school alarm clock technique still works today -- stir the coffee and clang the mug loudly and they will wake up!

U.S.S. Charles J. Badger DD657 - U.S. Navy, Korean Conflict

Boy do we miss him ... 10 years ago in July, dad had a heart attack. He hadn't been feeling quite himself for a few weeks but didn't want to take the time out of summer fun on the Lake to really get it checked out. Turns out he had a blocked artery that they were able to put a stint in. After more tests, they confirmed that his mitral valve need replaced. Unfortunately open heart surgery didn't work for him, complication occurred during the surgery. Without a properly working mitral valve, your blood doesn't move along as it should and we lost dad just 16weeks later. We weren't expecting it ... he was gone.

I'm so grateful the Lord had him stay with us long enough to meet all of his grandchildren. If you ask me, 10 years is way too long to live without ya dad. But, the Lord knew the plans He had for you, and I am confident that because of Dad's trust in His Savior, he is rejoicing around His throne today.

He saw you getting tired and the cure was not to be,
so He put His arms around you and whispered come to me.
With tearful eyes we watched you , we saw you pass away.
Although we loved you dearly, we could not make you stay.
A golden heart stopped beating. Hard working hands at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us, He only takes the best.

Anonymous

Karl K. Wilhelm
April 11, 1931 - October 20, 1999

So ... I'm off to eat some mini Snicker's and I think I'll chalk up the turkey caller while I'm at it! I love and miss you dearly dad ... to town to town (TTTT) and to heaven and back.

~ Update! ~

Can you imagine coming out of surgery, lying in the PACU and saying, "I don't want to be a burden to anyone" ??? Well, that's our Kimberly. :)

The surgery went very well yesterday. The surgeon had a very busy morning and he was delayed a bit, but she was off to the OR and into recovery very quickly. Unfortunately she has a little bit of the Wilhelm gene in her -- the one that doesn't do so good with anesthesia and pain meds and antibiotics all mixed together. And, her incision was made through some muscle and well as the surgeon told us, when you cut a hole in the bone there is going to be some pain. So we had a "slumber party" at Inova so we could get everything adjusted and make her comfortable. Let me tell you, the nurses and staff there are amazing. We were so well attended to and she received the best of care. After a number of adjustment throughout the night, Kimberly was finally able to get some relief and rest about 4am this morning. She did so well this morning that we were discharge and home by 5pm! She's resting and recooperating, and trying out those crutches.

Thank you everyone for your well wishes and especially for your prayers. God was with us every step of the way, directing and leading, preparing and giving her rest.

He is a mighty God ... and we are once again so very grateful!
And ... off to get some sleep ;)

~ Kimberly ~

... When you have news and a prayer request to share, blogs are a great thing... We recently found out that Kimberly has two benign tumors in her right tibia.
This fall Kimberly started running on the x-country team at school. Well, trying to run, but it was a challenge because of the pain she was experiencing from shin splints. But, after a fall on her knee, we took her to the orthopedic and found that she didn't have shin splints, instead they found the tumors. God in His kindness worked out every detail and we were able to quickly get an MRI scheduled and then we were referred to a specialist who studies bone and tissue. After a CT scan the doctor was able to diagnose a rare benign bone tumor called a 'solid variant aneurysmal bone cyst.' Basically it's a tumor that is in the cortex of her tibia bone and it has caused her bone to crack, which is why she is having so much pain with it. We are so grateful the tumor can be removed and her bone can be repaired.We are also very grateful for how quickly everything has moved along. A diagnosis in less than a week and surgery is scheduled for Tuesday. We're sorry we haven't been able to get in touch with friends to let them know yet. Thus -- we're grateful for the blog :)

Could you please pray for Kimberly and for our family? We would so appreciate your prayers! Thank you! Throughout this week we are all learning how to wait patiently and lean on the Lord. We'll keep you updated on how her recovery is going. Hopefully she'll be up and moving slowly along by next weekend.

We love you Kimberly. We are so grateful for friends like Susan who prompted us to have your knee checked. We are grateful for orthopedic doctors who order x-rays and technicians who scan the whole leg, not just the knee, so we could see the tumor. We are grateful for your surgeon who took two extra years just to study bone and tissue so that he could tell you what was going on with your leg. And we are grateful for a mighty God who continues to "strengthen you and help you and uphold you with His righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

When I asked Kimberly how she'd like me to close this post she said with the bridge from a song she sang at the Worthy09 youth retreat in August. Here it is ...

"Take my life and let it be, all for you and for your glory. Take my life and let it be yours.
Glory to God ... Glory to God ... Glory to God forever."
Steve Fee

... 11 :: 18 :: 14 ...

Sounds like a locker combination, 11-18-14! But alas school has not started yet for us ... instead we're still celebrating summer birthday's around here ...

... the 11th began as they all do - with breakfast in our bed! This year Vanessa was visiting from Belgium, so we had two for breakfast :) Christiana decided on a "Princess Pampering" day for her birthday. She only gets away with stuff like this because she has three older sisters who love to spoil her :) ...

... the 'pampering princess' treatments begin ...

... bubbles ...

... spa treatments for 11 year olds! ...

... nails! ...
... Princesses ready for a yummy dinner ...

... Vanessa - we loved having you here for her special day! We miss you! ...

Next up was Christiana's very special 11th birthday tradition that Aunt Janie has blessed all of the girls with as they turn 11 ... a special birthday hotel sleepover with two buddies...
... pool time, snacks, crafts, dinner, a movie, and more snacks ...

... thank you Aunt Janie for an awesome time and fun memories! ...

... next up -- the 18 gathering ... ...So Corinne decided on a crab feast with the girlies for her 18th ...

... some silly crab eating faces ...

... too cute ...

... very fun and amazing friends ...
...hmmm... 18 already - could you tell me how that happened? my has time gone by...
.... and then our last birthday gathering ...
... the 14's ...
... wonderful and silly time with friends who came to celebrate with shrimp scampi and games! ...

... we consider ourselves blessed to have such great girlies in our daughter's lives...

It was a lot of fun celebrating God's goodness in your lives this year. We are blessed indeed.

On your day we wish for you
Favorite people to embrace,
Loving smiles and caring looks
That earthly gifts cannot replace.

We wish you fine and simple pleasures.
We wish you many years of laughter.
We wish you all of life’s best treasures.
We wish you happily ever after!

Happy Birthday Girlies!
(Poem by Joanna Fuchs :edited:

-- Catching Up on Summer Happenings! --

Okay ... it's Summertime! And the blog took a back seat to life happening at the Glabs. But now we have some fun photos to share - here's our update ...Swim team dominates summertime ... up early for practices and meets ...

... Kendall rocked the league in breast stroke this year ... ... Kimberly had a fun season swimming tons of events in two age groups... ... Christiana joined her sisters this year for the end of the season GGSL Invitationals! ... Way to go girlies!
... Corinne had an awesome season as assistant coach and swimming her final year as a senior ...... we loved hanging out with all of the HFS families ...
...... the coaches ...... and the Great White Sharks!
... Kendall held an art camp for two weeks this summer - it was a great experience ...
... We also enjoyed a special friend's visit from Belgium ... ... We love you Nessy! ...
... Took a day trip to Bethany Beach ...
...Christiana saved up for a new camera ...
... and is taking some amazing photos! ... ... and .... drum roll please ...


... Kendall got her permit! ...

Along with all of the above, we've been running around to volleyball camp, having friends over, going for ice cream at Jimmy Cone and Brusters and getting all that summer reading in! There's been the amazing Worthy09 youth retreat and Christiana and Corinne both celebrated birthdays! (Those posts deserve their own slots -- coming up next!) Now we're running to fall sports tryouts and getting everything in line for school ... Amazing grace!

It's been an event-filled summer! And now it's time to enjoy the few short sunsets we have left before a new season meets us!

Happy Summertime Everyone!