The Byers Family

Well, along with our new family site, we wanted to have our own blogs. I thought my title “Crazy life of a Missionary wife” was a catchy one, and Kevin wanted one of his own. Unfortunately we can’t figure out how to have two separate blogs. So until we can figure that out, we will have one blog page. However, if you notice on the right under “categories” you will find my posts and Kevin’s post categorized. So you can click on either one of our links to read our posts separately. HA! I hope that makes sense. Hopefully we can get this little bug figured out soon I hope you will enjoy reading our thoughts and our experiences here in Germany!

All was quiet during this Weihnachetn (Christmas) season. We didn’t do much other than hang out around the house, eat LOTS of cookies, watch Little House episodes, and play with the kids new gadgets they got from family. Our neighbors gave us fresh, smoked fish for dinner a few days before Christmas, and on Christmas Eve I cooked a goose. It wasn’t a fancy dinner, but we really enjoyed our time together. Here is a picture of our goose dinner. Caleb is missing because he wanted to sleep instead

Here is my crazy “stick family” My mom thinks I should have my own reality show since I have so many kids. I don’t think we are that bad! Things do get pretty crazy around here though. It isn’t easy trying to start a new ministry, home schooling 3 kids, chasing after two toddlers and caring for a newborn baby; but I wouldn’t change a thing about any of it! We are truly blessed. I have had SO many people ask me “do you plan on having any more children?” I’ve heard all the comments…”surely you aren’t planning more, you must be done, how many more will you have?” Although those comments really irritate me, I have come to expect it when someone looks at our large family. It is rather amusing to see people count the children as we go by. You can see the look on their faces and almost hear them audibly count haha! It is very unusual here in Germany. We get some strange looks. But, our answer to all those comments usually is “we haven’t had a kid we didn’t like yet!” Kevin and I wanted a large family from the beginning of our marriage in 1997 and we have grown happier with each new addition to our family. Yes, it does get rather crazy around here…but we like crazy, it keeps life interesting . We praise the Lord for His goodness to us.

On November 26, 2009 (Black Friday), little Elijah Joseph blessed us with his presence. He is our third German born baby. Gabriel and Bella were both born in Germany while we were in the Air Force. They were both born in the military hospital which is not unlike the hospitals there in the States. Elijah however was born in the German hospital. I can’t really say that I enjoyed the experience in the German hospital, but I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as the hospital conditions that some Missionary wives experience in different countries. Elijah was born via C-section (he was my 5th C-section). I only spent one night in the German hospital, and I requested to go home the following morning. The Dr’s were very uneasy about we going home since the normal hospital stay is up to 5 days with a C-section, but after I signed the release papers they allowed me to go home. I was able to rest and recuperate much more quickly at home, even with 5 other kids running around. Kevin and the older kids did a splendid job taking care of me and allowing me to rest!

We had a scare with Elijah shortly after he was born. His newborn screening came back abnormal and he had high levels of tyrosine in his blood. We didn’t know what that meant at first, but after doing some research we discovered that tyrosinemia is a very serious genetic condition that causes life long problems, possible kidney transplant, or even death! Needless to say we were very worried and prayed that he did not have this medical condition. We had to wait a few more days for more blood work to come back. But after much prayer from our family, friends, and supporters, his second batch of blood work came back normal. His tyrosine levels went down and the German Dr said he was very healthy and told us to have a Merry Christmas. We were overjoyed! The Lord is good. We are excited to have little Elijah as part of our family.

I was always fond of the name Elijah, but Kevin wasn’t really keen on the name. He said that it reminded him of the Hank Williams song “Kaw Lijah”. He would then break out in song whenever I mentioned the name. One day, Kevin came home and told me how he was praying and thinking about the “Lord God of Elijah”. He told me that for over a year, he had been praying for the Lord to show Himself with the power He did for Elijah. Remember Elisha said “where is the Lord God of Elijah” before parting the waters (2 Kings 2:14). Kevin said that he knew I had been mentioning the name Elijah for some time, so he finally decided that was the name for our new son. We had decided on the name Joseph on the way to the hospital at 6 am Not only do we love the story of what God did for Joseph in the Bible, but Kevin’s Grandfather was named Joseph. So it was the perfect fit.

Elijah is 4 weeks old today, and nearly everyday Kevin still breaks out singing “Kaw Lijah was a wooden Indian standin’ by the door…..” Poor Elijah