Vacation Pictures

hello again friends! We have been home a week now, after our vacation. Chris, Brittany, Braxton, Mama, Papaw, Mimi, Jacinda & I all had a great time. We enjoyed our time in Galveston. The kids loved the Rain Forest Cafe and Moody Gardens. They also spent alot of time in the resorts pool!

On the cruise we went to Montego Bay, Jamaica

The ocean was absolutely georgeous! We spent our day at Sunset Beach Resort.

I booked the excursion through island marketing.

We got to see 2 rainbows while there! Rainbows are such blessings

from God. They are just so beautiful!

Grand Cayman

In Grand Cayman Brittany, Braxton, Mama & I went to the sea turtle farm. The kids

even got to hold some hatchlings. We got to snorkel in the lagoon there and

we saw lots of fish & sea turtles.

In Cozumel, Mexico we went to the Nachi Cocom beach club.

We love this that place. It was a great day.

The kids spent the whole day in the ocean. We snorkeld

and seen some really neat fish, built sand castles and ate

some yummy Mexican food! Then back at the cruise terminal we

did some shopping.

The Sunday after we got back home was Chris' 38th Birthday.

Our church had a special birthday  benefit for Chris.

Alot of people came and ate BBQ & visited. We are so thankful

for our church family. I could not imagine going through what we

have with out their love & support!

Things have gotten alot harder in the last two months. Chris is using a wheelchair at all times now. He has to have assistance with most everything . Luckily he is a small guy and I am able to lift him to his feet to help him in & out of bed & his chair. Brittany is also a huge help. I don't know what I would do with out my girl. She has more responsibilities than any 11 year old should have to have.  We really need to have our bathroom modified. It is not handicap accessible and it makes bath time really difficult. The handicap bathroom we had on the cruise ship was wonderful.  Eating is also a challenge. Lots of foods cause him to cough and he is not able to eat them.

Things that we use to give no thought to are now challenges to us. Like going out to eat. That is 2 times getting in the car and 2 times getting out. It takes about 5 minutes each time. Brittany has to hold the chair & I have to help Chris in and out. Then ordering food, we have to be very selective. Drinks, cups have to be small & stay full or he can't drink. Going anywhere takes planning. Do they have accesible family bathrooms? Are there wheel chair ramps? We took the kids to see Cars 2 today. First time we have been to the movies since January. Chris starting coughing some and people got up and moved. I don't know how to handle things like that. Should we have left? And then people who will talk to me with Chris right beside me & talk about him. Talk to him! He is still the same Chris & his mind is fine!! The security guy in the Houston airport was the worst we have ever experienced. I told him twice there is nothing wrong with his mind! I had to work really hard not to get angry at that guy! Praise Jesus He kept my temper at bay! 

Our faith in Gods Word has not changed. We are praying every day for Chris' total healing. Our Lord has done it before and He will do it again! I know so many of you pray for us everyday, and we are so very thankful! Please keep those prayers going up! We love you all so very much! I read a great book the other day that I highly reccomend, Heaven is for Real. I read it all in one evening.  God bless you all!!

love, Autumn

By Faith not by Sight

Greetings all! It has been a while since I have blogged, and I have been meaning to post a new one for awhile. It is hard to find a couple free hours to put a blog & pictures together, especially the pictures, they take forever to upload. I will try and do better though!
I get asked everyday “how is Chris?” And I give the answer he is doing good. Jesus Christ is carrying us every single day. We are keeping our eyes and our faith on Him! No matter what his body is showing us, we choose to believe Gods word! Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. Psalm 34:19 KJV.
ALS is a terrible disease and we hate it. It is hard for Chris to communicate because his speech is often slurred. I am getting better every day at reading his lips. It is so hard not to just get to have a normal conversation with my best friend and not have to really work at understanding. And I know it is hard for him to not be understood. I miss his quick witty little comments, hey he’s a funny guy! Sometimes he will surprise me with a text or a note with one and I just melt!
He uses a walker in the house and if we go out to do anything we use a wheel chair. He walks really slow and gets worn out if he has to go very far. The wheel chair has really helped motivate us to get out of the house more. We are going to go to Braxton’s T-ball practice after while. Having the handicap parking sticker is also a big help.
Chris gets choked up a lot because of his swallowing. He does not have a lot of control over it so he has to drink with a straw to try and slow it down. I hate it when he gets choked, it sounds really bad. It scares people when they hear it happen, it is a normal occurrence though and it will pass.
As I sit and type this the speed of the symptoms of this aggressive disease is shocking. It has only been 10 months ago that we started noticing symptoms and 8 months since diagnosis. Chris’ body has changed so much in that time. I help him with most everything, he can brush his teeth, its just easier and quicker if I do it. Buttons make jeans a problem so we have invested in stretchable waistbands. I “remodeled” our small bathroom last week. I took down the shower doors, put up a shower curtain and got a bath seat so that has helped a lot.
ALS is a disease that I hope and pray that you or someone you know never has to experience first hand. It is a thief. The kids handle it pretty well most the time. One day when Brittany was looking at pictures she saw one of her and Braxton on Chris back and she hold it up to me and says “this makes me sad.” My heart broke. I try and stay strong every single day. When I am approached by someone and they want to talk about how bad off Chris is, I will not hear it. I am in not in denial I see him everyday, I know what he has been robbed of. Plus, how is that helping me? I have to fight back tears enough without being reminded while I am going to the post office. When you want to talk about how bad Chris’ condition is, I am going to tell you what the Bible says. Fair warning J
We are still believing God that Chris will be completely healed! And thanking Him for it every single day! Our God is the great healer, He has done it before and He will do it again! Thank you Jesus!
Some of our church members at Amity FBC have got together and really blessed us! Our yard is getting mowed all summer long and some of the ladies are providing dinner for us once or twice a week! I am so thankful for them!! I had mowed the yard once this year, but I am more than willing to hand it off! And the dinners that is going to be so nice. Three ladies came yesterday and helped me clean bathrooms & bedrooms and we did some rearranging. Such a huge help! We appreicate them so much! It seems like some days I go from 7 am till 11 pm. I have changed Gifts Galores hours to where I am open 4 days a week. Wed-Friday 12 till 5 and Saturday 10 till 1. Chris usually goes to the shop with me so we get to visit while I work. This time of year is big for Tuxedos. I had a great Valentines day, the best ever. Its alot of work, glad it only comes once a year, but I love doing it.
Both of the kids have had Birthdays this year! Brittany turned 11 on January 1st and Braxton turned 6 on March 21st.

They had alot of fun in the winter snows also

Durning the 1st week of March we got to go to Branson for

a week. A friend gave us her timeshare for the week and we had

a blast! The kids loved the indoor pool!

We also got to stay in Steve & Crystal's lake house again during spring break! The kids had sooo much fun. Thanks so much for letting us stay you guys!!!

I hope you all have a blessed week and I will try and update again soon!

Thank you all for your continued prayers for all family!

Let me know if you have any prayer request! We would love to pray for you!

autumn_fagan@yahoo.com or 138 Pine Street Amity, AR 71921

In Christ,

Chris, Autumn, Brittany & Braxton Fagan

Carbon Monoxide

     We had been notching a “gas” smell every once in a while in our house for the last few months. It always seemed to not last long and go away. We should have been more observant, but if we had it would not be the testimony that it is for the Lord, Our God!
This morning Chris and the kids were already up and I was still in bed. I could not seem to wake up. Chris said that Braxton all of a sudden got up and ran into my room. He started telling me its 10:15 you have to get up, you have to get up. He would not take no for an answer and then he turned the lights on.
    I awoke from a dream where I had a splitting head ache. In the dream I had slipped on concrete and busted my head. I could not get up because of the terrible pain in my head. As I started waking up I was laying in bed trying to gather my thoughts. I knew and said to the Lord, You saved me from something big, You saved my life! What did I have a brain aneurysm or something. I did not understand what was going on, but I knew the Lord had intervened.
    I got up and walked into the living room. Chris and I started watching a DVR’D episode of Joyce Myers and I smelled the gas. I told him pause it, I have to call the gas people right now. I did, and they told me to turn off our gas appliances until their repair man got here. I turned off the furnace and fanned the door to get out the gas smell.
   The repair guy arrived 45 minutes after I called. He came in with his meter and it immediately started going off. He said you need to open some windows now. We opened all the outside doors and let in fresh air. He went out and tested our meter outside while the air inside the home was clearing. When he came back in he started testing our furnace and hot water heater. The problem was found to be our furnace. He totally disconnected it from our natural gas supply line, we can still use our hot water heater and inferred heater.
  Once he was done, Chris and I began asking questions. When he came in our initial reading of carbon monoxide on the house was 195 parts per million. (this was with the furnace being off for 45 minutes and the door being fanned) at 200 parts per million, people start dying. He asked how we smelled the gas. Carbon monoxide is essentially  odorless. He said you must have went outside and came back in and your eyes started burning or something? No we had been in the house the entire time. We could tell he was pretty stunned. I told him about the dream, the headache, etc. He said most people never feel the symptoms, they go to sleep and never wake up. We give all the glory to GOD! He not only saved me this morning, but our entire family! Praise the LORD! He has our family in the palm of His hand is taking care of us! I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us! People have been asking what we are going to do for heat. We have an inferred heater in the living room and the kids have electric heaters in their rooms. We might be a little cooler than usuall, but I would much  rather be a little cold than dead! :) Lol! Chris is doing great, getting better every day! Thanks for all the prayers! We love you all! We read Braxton his Psalm 91 book almost every night. How fitting it is!

Psalm 91:9-16 (NIV)
⁹ If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
   and you make the Most High your dwelling,
¹⁰ no harm will overtake you,
   no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
   to guard you in all your ways;
¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
   so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
   you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
 ¹⁴ “Because he  loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
   I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
   I will be with him in trouble,
   I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
   and show him my salvation.”

Our 2010 CHRISTmas Card Newsletter

　
　

　
CHRISTmas Greetings!

We hope that your 2010 Holiday season is off to a great start! This time of year is so busy for us! We have lots of holiday events to attend with church, the kids school and fellowship & outings with family and friends.
2010 has been the most memorable year of our lives. We took a wonderful family vacation in April, a Caribbean cruise. The kids had the time of their lives, and so did we!!
In May, Chris started noticing some problems with his extremities and this lead us to seek some Dr’s opinions. After seeing Dr’s here in Arkansas, he was sent to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. The diagnosis came back as ALS or Lou Gherihs Disease. A terminal illness was not what we wanted to hear. We could not handle that. But Our God and Our Savior, Jesus Christ can!! We know that Chris has already been healed! He is getting better, we see it. For one example, when we were in Minnesota he could not hop on one foot but he can now! ALS is a disease that Dr’s say does not regress, but Chris’ is! Praise the Lord! It will sound crazy, but the ALS diagnosis has been a blessing. We are living the life Christ wants us to live, total service to and dependence on Him! The blessings He has poured out on our family is just amazing! We are working on becoming true disciples for Christ! We are walking in faith and keeping our eyes set on Him! We have changed a lot in the last 6 months but only for the better! Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23 We would like to thank you all for your love, support & prayers you have shown us during all this! You are all True Blessings!! 
Brittany and Braxton both attend Glenwood Christian School. They love their small school! Brittany is in 5^th grade and has 9 classmates. Braxton is in Kindergarten and he as 12 classmates. We feel a Christian education is the way to go! I am a subistute teacher at their school pretty often. Brittany is in to music, singing & reading. Braxton has taken after his Daddy and is a Mario Brothers nut! He loves to play the wii & the only thing he has asked for for Christmas is a Nintendo DS. (I have on good authority that he’s getting 1 ;)

I (Autumn) work at my gift shop in Amity Wed-Friday. I really enjoy it and it gives me a lot of time for Bible study. I also still sell Avon. Chris is no longer working. He has been awarded disability benefits, but he will not draw until April, after the standard 5 month waiting period is over. We get to spend a lot of time together and he works at the shop for me when I have to subistute. It is such a blessing to get to spend so much time with him, he worked so many hours the last 3 years for the USPS. We hope you all have a very merry CHRISTmas and a happy new year! And remember to keep Christ in CHRISTmas, because with out him it’s just a mess! J
Love, Chris, Autumn, Brittany & Braxton Fagan 138 Pine Street Amity, AR 71921

Branson

 Chris, Brittany, Braxton & I got to take a trip to Branson, November 19th-22nd. Chris parents & my parents also came along. Oh and our Shih tzu, Blaze. We stayed in a three bedroom condo and really enjoyed it. It was Chris, the kids & my first Branson at CHRISTmas time experience. All the lights were sooo pretty. Espically the ones at Silver Dollar City. I have never seen so many lights! The kids absolutely loved Silver Dollar City. We got 2 days for the price of 1 from the Branson Tourism Center. They rode every big ride they could! The giant swing & powder keg were great rides! Braxton even got to ride powder keg and loved it!
     The first night we were in Branson we got to watch The Miracle of Christmas at the Sight and Sound Theater. It was WONDERFUL!!! So highly reccomend it! The Holy Spirit was in that theater!! Brittany was buying some almonds at the theater and we all had on our Fagan Friends in Faith Tshirts and the lady at the concession stand asked her about her shirt and she told her about her Daddy. The lady took Britts hand and prayed for our family!

Huge CHRISTmas tree at the Sight & Sound Theater.

Christmas shop at SDC

Big tree at SDC during the day

Braxton & Poppa in line for the train ride.

The train ride stops midway and an old man tells THE CHRISTMAS STORY

during the ride. So nice to see a theme park spread the gospel

of Jesus Christ!!

On the train ride, the back 2 benches

Day 2 at SDC

The weather was so nice, not to cold, not to hot!

Nativity Play at SDC

Braxton & Autumn on the pulley swing (a workout)

Train during the nightly prade at SDC

The big tree at SDC at night. Interactive with lights

and music! Beautiful!!

On our last full day in Branson we went to several places in Branson.

We started with the fish hatchery, neat place & free.

Branson Landing

Big tree at Branson Landing, in the room underneath Braxton got to sit on

Santas lap. Brittany would have no part of Santa. Our girl is growing up.

We had a great Thanksgiving. First we went to Alpine to Chris' Grandma's family gathering. Got to see alot of family. Congratulations to Kevin & Shannon, we hear there is a new little blessing on the way!

Then we headed to Mimi & Poppas in Norman for lunch. My Mom fixes a great Thanksgiving meal!! We got to visit with alot of my  Mom's family. The kids got to play with their cousins and had a great time. 

Friday moring I hit the black Friday sales with my friend Leah. Got alot of good deals, and did not see any fights or crazy people. We got to walmart at 4:50 and I missed out on getting Braxton a DS (his 1 Christmas gift request.) I am looking for one on-line.

As I blog we are watching the Santa Clause. We watch all 3 Santa Clause movies every December, its a family tradition. :) 

As we celebrate this CHRISTmas season lets not forget the reason for the season, Jesus Christ!! 

A scripture has been layed on my heart often as Chris & I tell others about our love of Christ. Alot of people confess to believe in God, but it is so much more that that! 

 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. James 2:19 NIV

If you are walking with Christ the Bible says you should "bear fruit."

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

   ⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.  John 15:1-8 NIV
 It's not about religion its about a realonship with Jesus Christ!!
We hope you all have a wonderful CHRISTmas season.
Much Love from the Fagan Family!

Catch Up

  It feels like it has been forever since I blogged! My laptop hit the dust right before we left for Minnesota, so I have not been able to blog. Chris' parents have loaned us a laptop until we can get another one. I am hoping there will be some good deals on them after Thanksgiving! Hopefully I will never have to go this long without blogging again!
  We are doing great! Chris' healing has begun! For example, at the Mayo clinic he could not hop on 1 foot during the medical exams, but he can now!!! Praise the Lord!!  We know that God is going to heal Chris. We are not in denial in any way and as some have said, "well you have to have that kind of attitude." I'll tell you right now, it is not an attitude, it is FAITH in Holy GOD!!!! Just watch and see whats gonna happen!! I don't know if total healing will come in 3 minutes, 3 days or 3 years, but its coming!! When people of God come and tell us that The Lord has told them that the Lord is going to heal Chris completely it is just more affrimation for us!!  I have no fear of my husband dying young, where as before he got this diagonsis I feared every day that I would loose him or the kids. satan used that fear on me every day, but he can't anymore! God helped me smash that dirty serpant!
    This will sound so crazy, but we are blessed that Chris got ALS. It has brought us to the place we are suppose to be in our spirtual lives. Life is about serving God whole heartly (not straddling the fence)! We have gotten rid of so many of the sinful things in our life and home that the Lord has showed us so far, I know there is more and more he will reveal and we will continue to throw them out.So that we may become more like Christ! As Christians we were trying to live for God and for the world. It does not work!!! We took inventory and have made alot of changes.Some changes were harder to make than others, but where He leads we will follow! If we want all of God's blessings poured out on us we have to be willing to live totally for Him! We are not the Chris & Autumn we use to be.
⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. Romans 8:5 (NIV)

We were missing out before. Salvation is only the beginning with God!!
So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Revelation 3:16 (NIV) 

If you are seeking God's plan for your life, seek Him, spend time in His Word and prayer! He wants so much to be closer to all of us, but we have to reach out to Him!

So give yourselves completely to God. Stand against the devil, and the devil will run from you.⁸ Come near to God, and God will come near to you. You sinners, clean sin out of your lives. You who are trying to follow God and the world at the same time, make your thinking pure.⁹ Be sad, cry, and weep! Change your laughter into crying and your joy into sadness. ¹⁰ Humble yourself in the Lord's presence, and he will honor you. . James 4: 7-10 (NCV) 

We had a great weekend last week. The kids got to enjoy several fall activites! We went to 2 fall festivals. One at the Glenwood Country Club and one at the kids school, Glenwood Christian School. The kids had a blast!

Getting a pumpkin painted on his face

Ring Toss

Train Ride

Mario & Blue Fairy

On October 3rd our church, Amity FBC, put on a great benefit for us! So many people came out and were wearing their Fagan Friends in Faith t-shirts! Thank you so much to everyone who came out and to everyone who helped put on the fundraiser!!! We appreciate you all so very very much!!! It was such a wonderful day! Great food, music, fellowship and fun!!

The next day we flew out to Minnesota. They had the most beautiful

autumn foliage we have ever seen in person. We stayed at the

Kahler Grand Hotel right across the street from the Mayo Clinic.

Nice place, but so happy to be home! God Bless!!!

Chris in downtown Rochester, MN

Silver Lake in Rochester, MN

100's of Canadian Geese that live on Silver Lake year around

because of the nearby power plant that keeps the water warm.