New Blog Address!

Please join me at my new blog:

http://www.consideritalljoy.com

The Thrill of Accomplishment!

Hello to anyone who is still reading my blogs. It seems I have been quite neglectful of blogging but if you took a look at my office you would know that I have been quite neglectful about everything lately.

Having spent the past two weeks 'under the weather', well, not much got done. Besides the fact that it is summer in Phoenix and the swimming pool is much more inviting than the desk in my office.

This weekend, since I am feeling some better, still have a beautiful sounding cough, I made it my goal to take care of every piece of paper on my desk. I didn't realy think I could get it done, however, making a goal and attemping it is better than just ignoring it for another week or month or year.

So, how did I do? Well, there is not one piece of paper on my desk!!!

I made on huge pile on the floor and for the past two days I have just plowed through it. I have accomplished things that have been sitting for months. I was shocked at how behind I had gotten. There may be singing in some places when they receive correspondence back from me. Don't worry there were NO unpaid bills. That I take care of daily.

Anyway, I feel great about the accomplishments and now I can enjoy some of the Olympics without feeling guilty about my desk. I sure don't want it to get like that again.

Hope you have a great week. I know I will.
Blessings,
Cindy

Her First Dance Lesson!

I just had to share a picture of our precious little Kori's first dance lesson. She had so much fun. Her daddy registered her for lessons as her 4th birthday gift. What wonderful memories she will have.

Have a great day!

Just Catching Up!

Hi Family,

Well, not much to report in the Cain family this week. I was really sick with some sort of respiratory infection and didn't do much of anything.

Tomorrow is day 81 to 50. I have to admit I haven't been able to do as many things as I had hoped because I have been sick almost since day 90 to 50. So I hope to share some wonderful things this next week. (I have managed to lose 7 pounds this week-yipee).

Next week Matthew will begin horse riding lessons and Kori will have her first dance lesson.

I will definately share picture next weekend!!!
Have a great week.
Cindy

90 days to 50!

Where in the world does the time go?

I've heard it said that the older you get the faster the time goes.

Well, here I am 90 days from my 50th birthday and I have to admit that time is going by too fast.

So, instead of dreading the upcoming '0' in my age, I have chosen to embrace it.

For the next 90 days I am going to:

Challenge myself to step out and do things I have always wanted to do but was afraid to try.

Focus on my relationships with God and my husband.

Eat healthy.

Exercise regularly.

Complete my list of 90 things in 90 days.

I am so excited about the journey ahead.

I'll keep you updated as to my progress.

Prayer Request Update!

This is a quick update on my friend's daughter-in-love.

It seems that the tumor on the umbilical cord has disappeared!

She went to a specialist and they did another ultra sound and could not find the tumor.

She will go back in a few weeks to be checked

again, but we all KNOW that GOD did a MIRACLE!!!!!

Thank you for praying!

Happy Birthday Kori!

Four years ago today we welcomed our beautiful granddaughter into this world.

For a mom who never experienced the joys of a delivery room it was my honor to be able to witness the birth of this precious little girl. Standing on one side of the bed while my son stood on the other and coaching Melissa through labor was simply wonderful.

Watching my son witness his daughters birth and cutting the cord, well, words cannot express my feelings. As tears rolled down his face, I watched my son become a man. I still remember it as if it were yesterday.

Here we are four years later. She is growing up so fast. She is still as precious as she was the day of her birth. Yet she is so much more. Watching her laugh and play I see her personality blooming. She is becoming the little lady God intended her to be. I listen to her talk and know she has such a heart of caring.

I know we are blessed to have her in our home two days a week when so many families don't have that opportunity. I treasure every precious moment with her. I could go on and on but I will end with this:

Kori, Happy Birthday my little 'Angel Bug'! You are a joy and I am so grateful to God for bringing you into our lives. You came at a time, after Papa's transplant, when we could really see that God was blessing us with your life. I treasure every moment I have been able to watch your grow and thank God everyday for you. My prayer is that you grow to be a Godly young lady who loves the Lord and lives out all the plans He has for you. Have a great birthday! I love you so much, Nana

The Afters!

Well, aren't you lucky, it's only the 9th and we have completed both projects. It is truly amazing how the Lord teaches me lessons in the everyday stuff. I tend to be a perfectionist which is not a quality that is becoming of one of God's girls. It makes me judgemental, bossy and pouty when things don't turn out the way "I" think they should be.

So, when our second project got really messed up on the last step of the process - my face was really ugly. I pouted for about 15 minutes when the Lord spoke clearly to my heart about my attitude. OUCH!!!!!

When I began putting the desk back in it's place and taking pictures, Mark asked if I was going to 'fix' the mess up later and I said NO - I love it! How did that happen? God!!!! He showed me how we are imperfect, sinful, flawed individuals but He loves us just the way we are. Satan came in and attempted to removed God's love from us BUT - "Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord". Romans 8:39

Isn't that awesome! I love how the desk turned out - flaws and all - because God has spoken to me through the 'process'!!

Here is just one set of the kitchen cabinets. We sanded and sanded to get all of the 28 years of 'junk' off the cabinets and then put a fresh coat of polyurethane on everything. We even have handles now. This house didn't have handles on anything. Someday we will put in new countertops but for today I really enjoy walking into my kitchen and seeing those nice freshly refinished cabinets.

Thank you Mark for all of your work!!!!

When that was done it was off to the desk. Sand, prime, 2 coats of red paint, prime, 2 coats of white paint, stain, sand, stain (oops! that's where the flaws came in), buff and put handles back on. It has just the right amount of red coming through the sanded spots and we spray painted the (real brass) handles brushed nickle and put the black fronts back on. (Mark was not real keen on the idea of painting the brass handles but I only have brushed nickle in my house and they just didn't match - perfectionism again!) I just love it!!

By the way, we did take lots of time to swim and enjoy each others company AND we did not have one argument the whole 4 days!!! God is good! We even rented a couple of movies.

Have a great day and remember to allow God to speak through the everyday things in life!

Cindy

Project Update!

This is just a quick update on the progress we have made on our goals for this weekend.


By noon the cabinet door and four drawers were sanded and had the first coats of polyurethane on them. We took a break for lunch and then a nice hour in the pool. (Yeah - it's 112 today).


After lunch Mark put the final coat of urethane on the pieces and I prepared the kitchen and house for indoor sanding. What a mess!

We spent the next 3 hours sanding the lower cabinet faces. They are ready for urethane - but we have to buy more.

The worst has been the 'clean up' after sanding inside!!!

Everything has been taken out of the cabinets, washed, dried, and put away after cleaning out all of the cabinets. The great thing about this is that many things got tossed and everything is CLEAN!!!!

So, now we take a break for dinner and watch some of the Nationwide Race and then another dip in the pool. By then, I think we'll be done for today.

Tomorrow, it's off to buy some supplies, apply urethane to the cabinet faces and then begin the next project!

I'll keep you updated!

Happy 4th of July everyone~!!!

The Befores!

Hi everybody, so I have had a few projects that I have been wanting to complete for some time now. I suppose I procrastinate on some things until I put myself in a position to fulfill a promise.

So, here are two projects that I need to accomplish:

1 - We have an old desk that is in desparate need of paint. I would love to refinish it but it is veneer and has just been trashed by years of loving use. It belonged to Mark's dad and we have used it for over 27 years. So, paint it needs.

2 - Our home was built in 1981 (the year we were married) and has oak kitchen cabinets. We have been slowly refinishing them (for about 1 1/2 years). It is time to complete the project. We only have one cabinet door and 4 drawers to finish along with the face of the bottom area.

Matthew will be away from home July 3-13 so Mark and I will have the house to ourselves. My goal: have fun, enjoy each other's company AND finish the two projects.

Now I have posted a challenge to myself - be sure to watch for the AFTER photos sometime after July 13th!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Matthew!

"Not flesh of my flesh, Nor bone of my bone, but still miraculously my own.

Never forget for a single minute, You didn't grow under my heart,

But In It".

One of the greatest joys as a mother has been to watch my children grow, mature, and become young men. That is especially true for my youngest son, Matthew. When Matthew joined our family as a foster child at 4 months of age we were daily reminded not to expect too much.

Doctors, counselors, and case workers told us that he would not live a year, so don't get too close. I would just respond with: "You don't know what God can do!" We loved Matthew from the moment they first placed in him my arms and were committed to provide whatever was needed to see him live the most happy, productive life possible. On his 2 1/2 year birthday, we signed the final adoption papers. What a miracle, what a blessing.

Today, we celebrate again with Matthew on his 23rd birthday.

This past week Matthew had a few friends over for a weekend party of video games, swimming, and lots of food. It was so great to see him just hangin' out with friends. Yes, it was a long weekend. Six 20+ year old boys, all with autism or some other developmental challenge, but it was one of the greatest weekends of our lives.

Matthew is the little guy in the middle. They put up tents and 'slept' outside! Most of them really didn't sleep - in fact at 4:45 AM we asked if they could quiet down just a little so we could sleep for an hour. Needless to say, we didn't sleep!

There are not words to express our gratitude to God for how He has blessed us with such a treasure in Matthew. Matthew has helped US grow and mature as Christians and children of our Great King.

Father, today I honor You. I am humbled before You. I bless Your Holy Name. I thank you Lord for the blessing you brought to our family the day you brought us Matthew. We are changed because of him. You have used him in our lives to help us see You more clearly. Your love and compassion are characteristics you have developed within us. Our faith is stronger, we have learned to trust. Each day is new with so much to look forward to. I am honored to have been chosen to raise such an incredible young man. I pray You are pleased. Today, I bow before You and worship. You are to be glorified. May others see us display Your glory

through our lives. Amen

Please feel free to leave a birthday greeting for Matthew

and I will be happy to share them with him.

Make is a great day.

Cindy

Urgent Prayer Request!

One of my dearest friends called me to let me know that her daughter-in-love is pregnant.

They had tried to conceive for a very long time and really gave up when all of a sudden,

well, here comes baby.

Just 8 short weeks into the pregnancy, during a routine ultrasound,

the doctors found a tumor growing on the baby's umbilical cord.

The tumor is about 1/2 the size of the baby.

If it is a fluid filled tumor it should go away and the baby will be fine.

If it is another form of tumor (?I don't know the name?)

it will impair the baby's development and the baby will not be compatible with life.

Please pray for this very special, young couple.

'Hoop' Di Doo!

So, here is some random information.

This is my new exercise pleasure :

AcuHoop (click on the hightlighted word to see website).

I bought this AcuHoop a couple of weeks ago and love it. What a fun form of exercise. I even took it to work last week and we had a blast with it at lunch.

I am hoping that it will help 'narrow' the waistline. I have lost some weight this year but my midsection didn't get the memo!!

I bought the one that weighs 3 pounds but they are also made weighing 4 and 5 lbs. The instructions do tell you to take it easy the first week or two so you don't get to sore. I didn't listen and I did end up with some bruises the first week. But I have adjusted and I am really enjoying it.

I still walk at least 5 days a week and do some weights but this is a nice deviation from the routine.

Hope you are enjoying your week.

Until the next post - God Bless!

Cindy

Ok, It's My Turn!

It's always difficult to write about yourself. I have been attempting to write a little about each of our immediate family members. I've avoided doing my own until now.

I am not quite '50' but this IS the year!!

I have always loved Jesus thanks to my mom who told us so much about Him while we were growing up (Thanks Mom!). I didn't get to go to church much but did attend Christian school for a few years. I really gave my life to Jesus at 16 but, as many of us, have drifted in and out of real commitment. I have attended church since before my marriage to Mark and have served the Lord faithfully since 1981. Mark and I were baptized together in 1986 after his transformation into this blessed Christian life.


I love family, being a wife, mom, daughter, sister, aunt, and being a Nana!


I work as an administrator for a medical practice which has been a challenge to learn new skills. Most of my administrative work has been in the area of church ministry. I do feel it is good to keep learning new things, it helps keep the mind sharp.

I love scrapbooking, reading, and hiking (not real hard stuff - just getting out and enjoying all that God created). I am an organization freak, however you couldn't tell that today by looking at my desk!

As far as church ministry, well I have done most everything from teaching to cleaning toilets. I enjoy short term mission trips. From 1999 through the first part of 2007 I was not only the church administrator but also the women's ministries director (this is my real passion). After taking a year long sabbatical I am again feeling the pull back into ministry. God's timing is perfect and He is opening great doors.

I am enjoying this new blogspot. I am looking forward to sharing moments in our lives as well as random information or ideas. I will LOVE to read you comments - so please feel free to send them. If you don't know how, just click the 'comment' at the end of this blog and follow the directions. I had to learn too!

This is enough info about me. Now, I can enjoy sharing all the fun things that happen in our little family.

Have a very blessed day,
Cindy

Kori, our Blessing!

Kori is our nearly 4 year old granddaughter. What a blessing of God's timing. Kori came into our world in July 2004, just after Mark's transplant, a time when we really needed something to redirect our focus. The previous year had been spent trying to survive Mark's diagnoses and treatment for total kidney failure.

I was honored to be in the room when Kori was born. What a beautiful moment, especially for someone who was never able to conceive children. There is just something about watching your grandchild be born! She captured my heart and, of course, she is the most beautiful little girl in the world.

Kori is a happy, healthy little girl filled with energy. She is so much like her daddy! She in the most precious spirited little girl. I have always called her nana's little 'angel bug'. (I found a pair of Christian Dior earrings when she was born. They are pearl and diamond in the shape of a little bug with diamond wings, too cute!).

Kori loves to play dolls with Nana and watch 'tartoons' with daddy. She loves her Papa and just adores her Uncle Matthew. We are priviledged to have Kori in our home every Thursday and Saturday evenings which keeps us young and on our toes. With our own boys grown, we can get a little sedentary, so having Kori here is GOOD for our health.

It seems only yesterday when we first learned about Kori and now she'll be turning 4. Wow, where does the time go?


I love the song 'Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman and after hearing of the tragedy which hit their family I was so grateful to capture this moment of Andrew dancing with his daughter.



We are thankful to our Heavenly Father for allowing Kori to be in our lives. She is truly a gift from above.

Blessings to you until next time, Cindy

Healed!

We are celebrating tonight!

After nearly 11 months and weekly trips to the wound center,

we can officially announce that Mark's leg wounds are

HEALED!!!

We are praising God

and thanking the doctors and nurses at the center.

I won't post any pictures because they are really ugly -

but we rejoice anyway!

Thank you for all the months of prayers!!!!

Blessings,

Cindy

Matthew, our Miracle!

Matthew James Cain, born Jeremy Mellor June 23, 1985, came to join our family on November 1, 1985 as a foster child. His adoption was finalized on December 23, 1985.

I began praying for Matthew months before he was born. We knew his birth family and it was not a healthy situation for any child to be born into. We got the phone call in October asking us to take this little boy until they found a suitable institution for him to go to. Matthew, we were told, was deaf, blind, paralyzed on one side and would never walk, talk, or function in society. The social worker said she didn't even expect him to live a year but they just needed a temporary place for him to stay. Of course he came to our home a few days later and we have never looked back.

Matthew's therapy sessions began the second week we had him and included, physical, speech, occupational, and the like. We had people in our home nearly everyday until the school district started a pre-school program when Matthew was 3.

Needless to say, God did work a miracle and Matthew is not deaf, blind or paralyzed. He does have some mild developmental delays but he is a healthy, happy, and a smart young man.

Matthew graduated from high school 2 years ago and has since taken 2 college courses. He loves video games and computers. He works at Bashas, a local grocery store, and has been there for nearly 3 years. Prior to that he worked at Jason's Deli. He has several friends who all enjoy the same things, video games! (Here is a picture of him 'perfecting' his video game skills.)

Matthew was the co-president of Best Buddies and was afforded the opportunity to travel to Houston, TX where he met Anthony Kennedy Shriver, the founder of Best Buddies. What an honor to represent the state of Arizona. He has traveled to Washington DC and Mexico on mission trips as well as a wonderful trip with a teacher and two friends to New York City.

Matthew enjoys reading about presidents and things that happened in th 1800's. He also loves California as wishes we would move back there. (Probably not going to happen). Matthew is the kind of kid everybody just loves. He is pettit and sweet, has a great smile, and a cute shyness about him.

We are filled with gratefulness to our God that He chose Matthew for our family. Our lives are richer and our relationships deeper because of him. He has caused us to be more compassionate and loving toward things that are different and we have learned to accept all that God has chosen to put in our path. Our journey with Matthew has not been an easy one but it has been rewarding in ways we never would have imagined.

I hope you have the opportunity to meet this very special young man.

Until the next post ~ Be blessed ~ Cindy

Andrew, our Lifesaver!

Andrew Mark Cain, born Donald Jay Moore Jr. on November 24, 1981, came to join our family August 29, 1983 as a foster child. He was the cutest red headed, freckle faced little boy I'd ever seen. From the moment I laid eyes on his picture I knew he would fit perfectly into our family. And, as it turned out, he has. Andrew's adoption was finalized on December 18, 1984 and there was no turning back.

Andrew is the most giving, non-judgemental, personable young man I have ever met. From the time he really began speaking we just couldn't keep him quiet. He could talk to anybody about anything and he still does today. There is something about him that just attracts people.

Andrew is a rough and tumble kind of guy. He likes dirt, grease, and junk. Fishing, hunting, and outdoors are fine with him. He likes fast, fast, and fast. He couldn't live without a bicycle or motorcycle (Yikees!). When he played baseball they called him 'WildThing'. He loves a challenge!

Andrew does not love clean, tidy, or neat. Just ask his mom! (He probably likes them, just doesn't do them!)

In 1999 and 2000 Andrew was blessed to travel the United States with a youth ministry. They were able to minister to thousands of kids all across this great country of ours and see many lives changed for eternity. What an awesome opportunity he had. He went places and did things that most of us only hope to do. I know he will have many jewels in his heavenly crown because fo this trip.

Andrew is a life saver. He was secretly tested in 2003 as a possible kidney donor for his adopted dad and turned out to be a perfect match. With great hesitation, we agreed to him donating one of his kidney's to Mark. We worried about his future health, but Andrew would not take no for an answer. He literally did save his dad's life. For that we are eternally grateful.

But we are also grateful to our precious Heavenly Father who so creatively selected Andrew to join our little family. I could not imagine my life without him being a part of it. He has brought so much joy to our lives. He is funny and loves to laugh. He loves 'Dukes of Hazard' and cartoons. He has also kept us on our knees. No, he is not perfect. We spent many sleepless nights during his teens and early twenties praying, seeking God for his wisdom on how to help Andrew. Through much fasting and prayer we now see the fruits of God working in Andrew's life.

Today Andrew is serving the Lord at a local church, has a great job, the most beautiful little daughter and living a respectable, happy life.

I am sure I could fill up a book with Andrew stories but I'll save those for later posts. Today I'll just add that Andrew is a treasure and a joy. I hope someday you have a chance to meet this wild and crazy guy with a heart of gold.

Until next time, Cindy

It's all about Mark!

I have decided to get back to this blog and start using it to keep our family and friends updated on the events of the Cain clan. This week I will tell you more about Mark.

Mark is a wonderful sportsman. He loves to hunt, fish and hike. Since moving to Arizona in December 1994 he has not been able to do much of that but if he gets a chance he is out there and fast. He was raised in a small town of about 500 and lived there most of his life. Coming to Phoenix, Arizona (the 5th largest city in the country) was definately culture shock for him and I'm not so sure he has gotten over it.

He has also spent a great deal of time doing wood work, wrapping fishing poles, tying flies (fishing hooks), and working on his 1949 Chevy Pick-Up (still needs ALOT of work).

Mark also enjoys racing. Drags, Nascar, Midgets, Boats, anything that goes fast. We have been able to go to a few races but always look forward to being able to go again.
(This picture is of Mark getting Hillary Will's autograph).

Mark has been employed by a gas pipeline company where he works in the warehouse, stocking, sorting and distributing parts along with a myriad of other tasks. He has been with the company for 12 years.

The past 5 years have been difficult for Mark. He was diagnosed with complete kidney failure on March 29, 2003 and started dialysis on April 9 , 2003. He was told he needed a transplant and so began the long process. He spent the next several months at dialysis or doctor visits making sure his body would accept a transplant. In October 2003 he made it to the transplant list and the wait began.
Fortunately the wait was very short. We were quite surprised when we received a phone call a few weeks later saying they thought they had a perfect match. Little did we know that it was our oldest adopted son. With more tests and lots of prayer, Andrew, was a perfect match and on December 17, 2003 the transplant took place. What a miracle the doctors told us was happening. It is almost unheard of for the timeline to be so short and to have an adopted child be such a perfect match was very rare. Less that 9 months from diagnoses to transplant. Praise the Lord.

Andrew is doing very well, perfectly healthy. I'll share more about him in another post.

Mark's new kidney continues to function great. He has had a difficult year though. One of the side affects from all of the medications he needs to take is a weakened immune system. He is also anemic.

Last July 2007 he was injured and had a wound open up on his leg. Well, here we are in May 2008, 10 months later still making weekly trips to the wound center for treatment. However, we are so close to seeing the wound completely closed and healed that we have even talked about having a party in the next couple of weeks. He has not been able to go in the pool since last July. We cannot wait until we can jump in together!!!

Praise the Lord he has been able to continue to work and his company has been great about adjusting his job to meet his needs.

Mark became a Christian in 1986 and has volunteered many hours serving the Lord in various capacities. He always says 'behind the scenes' is best for him.

If you ever think about Mark, please lift up a prayer for him and his health. One great thing about him is he does not complain about his health and he always does exactly what the doctor orders. He is a great patient as long as he is NOT in the hospital. It is so hard to make him rest!!

Thank you for stopping by and getting to know Mark a little better.

A little about us!

Hi and welcome to our families blogspot.

We are new at this so please bare with us as we attempt to learn the ropes as we go.

Mark and Cindy have been married for 27 years.
We have two adopted sons.
Andrew is 26 and joined our family when he was 21 months old.
Matthew is 22 and joined our family when he was 4 1/2 months old.
Kori is our granddaughter. She is Andrew's daughter and is almost 4 years old.
Cindy (MP) is Andrew's older biological sister and lives in Sacramento with her husband Joe and our two other granddaughters, Adrianna and Emaly.
We are glad you have visited our blog and I hope we have many fun things to share with you.