The Giallourakis Family Blog

The Girl I Used to Be

2009-10-07T10:46:00.000-04:00

“She came tonight as I sat alone, the girl I used to be…
And she gazed at me with her earnest eye and questioned reproachfully;

Have you forgotten the many plans and hopes that I had for you?
The career, the splendid fame, and all the wonderful things to do?
Where is the mansion of stately height with all of its gardens rare?
The silken robes that I dreamed for you and the jewels in your hair?

And as she spoke, I was very sad for I wanted her please with me…
This slender girl from the shadowy past the girl that I used to be
So gently rising, I took her hand, and guided her up the stair
Where peacefully sleeping, my babies lay innocent, sweet, and fair.

And I told her that these are my only gems, and precious they are to me;
That silken robe is my motherhood of costly simplicity.
And my mansion of stately height is love, and the only career I know
Is serving each day in these sheltered walls for the dear ones who come and go.

And as I spoke to my shadowy guest, she smiled through her tears at me.
And I saw that the woman that I am now, pleased the girl I used to be."

- Author Unknown

Thought this was cute...

2009-10-06T09:33:00.000-04:00

A woman was asked by a coworker,

'What is it like to be a Christian?'

The coworker replied, 'It is like being a pumpkin.'

God picks you from the patch, brings you in,

and washes all the dirt off of you.

Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff.

He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed.

Then He carves you a new smiling face and

puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.

Happy October!

Summer Reading Reviews

2009-09-25T08:41:00.003-04:00

I just finished a couple of books, and I thought I'd share my thoughts with you...

"Sensei-The Lifestory of Irene Webster-Smith" By Russell T Hitt
This dear woman was a Quaker missionary to Japan. Her life was full of faith and spunk. After reading about her, I wanted to have greater faith.

"On Becoming Babywise Book 2 for a Pretoddler" by Gary Ezzo and Dr Robert Bucknam
This is a specific book geared for Pretoddlers...includes eating habits, high chair manners, sleep habits, starting sign language etc...great book for a first time mom especially.

"Inkheart" Trilogy by Cornelia Funke
Modern Fiction about a young girl and her dad who is able to "read" characters out of books into real life. Interesting storyline, but they are long (sometimes drawn out/slow) books and near the end of the series it is a little gruesome. One character says some curse words. I wouldn't recommend it for kids; although, I think that is the target audience. If you like fantasy novels, you may enjoy it.

"A Bride Most Begrudging" by Deeanne Gist
Christian Historical Fiction about a young British woman who is forced into a marriage in the American colonies. It is about her struggles adjusting to life there and adjusting to marriage. I really liked this book, and I would recommend it to married women/engaged women as it encourages Christian relationships.

Next on my list is a few Jane Austen books (The classics, Emma, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice) that Bill got me for my birthday. If you have a good book you've read recently, please post it in the comments!! :-)

7 Months Old!

2009-09-14T11:01:00.005-04:00

Just like everyone says, Time Flies when you're having fun! Ryan turned 7 months old yesterday, and we're having fun! Here are some pictures from the past couple months...

He's sitting up and playing with Clover. She doesn't exactly know what to think of it all since she has ears and a tail that can be pulled. :-) She just lets him pull, and waits for me to tell him no. What a good girl!!

So Big!!

This was taken at the end of August

Dad, Mom and Sammy came for "Shannon's Birthday"
(Code for "We need an excuse to come see Ryan again")

Bath time!!

Sisters!

First grocery cart ride

My favorite of those two crazies!

Hope you enjoy the pictures!!

Some Truth for Thought

2009-07-31T16:05:00.005-04:00

A friend of mine recently challenged me to do more scripture memory. She suggested we memorize II Timothy together. My first reaction was, "Ya right...We'll set a goal, and I'll be disappointed in myself when the time is up and I've only memorized 2 verses..." The Lord convicted me about my lack of faith in Him to help me memorize. Sooo today I finished memorizing chapter 2! We're doing a chapter per month...so ask me at the end of September how it went. I post this to encourage others to trust Him in every area of your life.

I also wanted to post this because at the end of chapter 2, there is a great nugget of truth that I have never heard anyone preach about, but you preacher boys out there should look into it! :-)
" And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle to all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."

The words he used were "gentle", "teach", "patient", and "meekness". Please be patient as you seek to win souls! We need to pray for unsaved to acknowledge the truth so God can give them repentance. They will only acknowledge the truth when WE as Christians are gentle, apt to teach, patient and in meekness instructing.

Very simple truth, and I just thought I'd share with you guys! :-) Thanks for reading.

Highlights of May

2009-06-09T20:35:00.006-04:00

I just now realized I haven't posted anything since April! Here are some cute pictures from May, and by the way...Ryan learned to roll over last week! :-) He's so big!

Ryan and I took a trip to Cleveland. It was hard to leave Bill at home, but we were still excited to see family...

Uncle Ted with Ryan

Jennie, me and Amy with Cassidy, Ryan and Ella

Gramma Prince kissing the new "Prince"

Little peanut

Uncle Steve and Ryan

Ryan meeting Uncle Erik for the first time

He's all smiles!

Meeting Thea Beck for the first time

Great Grampa Prince took him on his first boat ride

Great Gramma Prince with Ryan

In the beginning of May, Bill graduated from Crown Seminary with his Master in Divinity degree. Congratulations, hunny! I love you, and I'm so proud of you!!

(I don't like this picture of me, but it's the only one we got of us as a family)

In May, Ryan really started grasping things.

Thanks for checking in on us! We're just having a wonderful time. The Lord is so good to us, and He is really working on our hearts. I'm so thankful to be in Knoxville at this time. Our church is emphasizing following Christ's example in Truth, Friendship and World Evangelism. I hope to have these lived out in my life. :)

Papou and Frogs

2009-04-24T13:02:00.006-04:00

Papou making Koulourakia (Greek Easter Cookies) with Ryan (and me!) These didn't last long in our house!

Our little Prince Charming in his froggy outfits...he's half "Prince" anyway!

Smile!

2009-04-07T21:05:00.002-04:00

Ryan has started smiling! :-) Isn't he cute?

Highlights from March

2009-03-21T16:33:00.011-04:00

Well, Ryan is over 5 weeks old now! Time sure does fly by when you're having fun! I'm pretty much back to my "old self", Bill is over whatever flu he had, and Ryan is adjusting to life on the outside world!

Stephen Troell from 'Stephen Troell Photography' came by and took some great pictures of us and Ryan! It took me forever to decide which ones I wanted, but these are a couple that I decided on. (Here is a link to Stephen's site: http://www.stephentroell.com/)

We also had a going away picnic for the Tyler family. They're moving to Brazil to reach the world through San Palo for Christ. Visit their website to find out more http://www.conhecendodeus.com.br/.

Chris and Bill

The Master Planner and The Master Griller

This is Amanda, Judson, Jonathan and Josiah (Jeremy was in the food line)

Radanks, Missionaries to Germany

Conlan girls

Getting the hang of this...

2009-03-06T08:57:00.005-05:00

Well, my first week of being at home with Ryan was a success! After an early visit to the Dr this week, we corrected the allergy problem in my medicine, so I was quickly back to normal! Praise the Lord!

On Tuesday night the ladies at Temple threw a great "Welcome Party" for Ryan, where he got lots of really cute clothes and accessories! Thank you to everyone who planned and came! Mrs. Reese gave a sweet devotional about mothers and how they are to love their children. It was very hard to not keep a dry eye thinking about our own mothers! I had to call mine as soon as I got home!

Ryan is settling into a good 2-3 hour schedule, and he's sleeping well at night (for a newborn!) he gets up about 2 times once around 12:30-1:30 then once between 4:30 and 5:30.

Here are pictures from this week:

Training time... :-)

Clover tries to train him... "Okay, Ryan, this is how you throw my ball!"

Up close of the wrinkly forehead for Great Gramma Prince and Gramma Prince who love it!

Sarah Cho and Laura Joy at the shower with Ryan

Beautiful (and very yummy) cake

Mrs. Reese's devotional

Cute puppy outfit that Aunt Sammy sent

Ryan and Clover

2009-02-22T22:00:00.005-05:00

Lots of people have been asking me..."How does Clover do with Ryan??" She's still trying to figure him out, although you can tell she really thinks he's "her baby". :-)

Here are some cute pictures that say a thousand words:

Worn out guardian--"why does this "thing" keep me up all night??"

"Can I lick him--plleeaasseee?"

Life is so new!

2009-02-19T20:48:00.005-05:00

It seems the last week has held some of the most precious moments of my life. Life with Ryan is so fun! He is so tiny, and he makes the simple things of life really stand out. God is so good to us. Little Ryan--aka Baby G--is truly a gift. It is amazing how his little body works together so perfectly, and to think God formed him in me! Anyway, those of you who are parents probably understand exactly how I'm feeling! :-)

Here are some pictures of his first week of life...

Giallourakis Family

Gramma Prince, Mama and Ryan

Big Yawn!!! :-)

Ry-Pie loves to be swaddled

Coming home from the Hospital

His hands are always on his cheeks

Aunt Sammy with Ryan

Nana and Papu with Ryan

Great Grampa Prince with Ryan

Gramma and Grampa Prince with Ryan

Uncle Steve with Ryan

Grampa Prince with Ryan

It's a Boy!

2009-02-14T07:21:00.002-05:00

Welcome Ryan William Giallourakis! He was born yesterday, Feb 13th at 8:48 pm. He was born at 6 lbs, 5 oz and he is 19.25 inches long. Praise the Lord for safety during the surgery, Ryan had his cord wrapped around his neck twice, and his arm once, so we ended up with a C-section in the end. Mom and baby are doing very well! Thank you for your prayers!

Coming Soon...

2009-02-13T09:05:00.002-05:00

Just an update that we're at the hospital awaiting the arrival of our little one! Please pray for us, the doctors, and the nurses.

50/50??

2009-02-09T10:31:00.001-05:00

With 4 days until the due date, the poll is 50/50. I guess we won't really know until the big day comes! :-)

Classic Pooh

2009-02-02T19:15:00.004-05:00

This is a big thank you to our families and friends in Cleveland who have given so much for this little one! The nursery is just about complete, and I wanted to share the pictures with you!

Play Area

Little socks, bibs and hats

These will go on the wall

Also for the wall

They're so tiny!

Beautiful glider from my parents. My grandma made the blanket on it.

The crib is from Bill's grandparents, and the dressers from his parents

Only days to go!

Clover and the Mouse....

2009-01-22T20:34:00.003-05:00

This is too cute. By the way, our Dr. Appt went very well today! We're 37 weeks along, so baby G is coming soon!

Enjoy the video!

Baby G-so cute!

2009-01-06T12:49:00.007-05:00

Baby G is doing great, and we got some new pictures today!

Personally, I think this is the cutest baby in the world! :-D

Vote to the left if you think these pictures are of a boy or girl. (See below to compare)

Bill as a Baby

Shannon as a Baby (with mom)

Cute Clover

2009-01-05T20:56:00.004-05:00

This is Clover "in" her bed she got for Christmas.

She didn't realize she was supposed to be on the top! :-)

She was napping with Bill on the couch when her head found the little hole the blanket!!

Christmas

2008-12-30T21:15:00.003-05:00

We had such a wonderful time visiting family last week. I love spending time with family and friends and making sweet memories with them.

We got in late Monday night (yes, traveling with my 8th month tummy turned an 8 hour trip into a 12 hour trip!), and spent the evening relaxing. Tuesday we spent time with our families and just RELAXED (yay!). Wednesday and Thursday we spend Christmas in Pittsburgh with Bill's Grandparents. We had a great time going to their church's Christmas Eve service, then to his Aunt Laurie's and chit-chatting about life! Christmas morning Bill and I read Philippians 2 together to remember why Christ came and humbled himself. After opening a "few" presents, Grammie made a wonderful Christmas dinner, and we headed back to Cleveland.

The ladies in our family have gone to "tea" the last few years on the Saturday between Christmas and New Years. This year my Aunt Barbie held it in her beautiful home! We had a great time! She is the best hostess, Thank you Barbie for the lovely time!

Bill's Parents

Shannon's Parents

Tea at Barbie's

Our First "Family" Photo!!

Update on Steve Giallourakis

2008-12-11T17:42:00.002-05:00

This was in an e-mail sent from Steve's mom.

"Hi there family and friends.
I hope you are all well.

First, thanks to all of you for your prayers and support. We feel the presence of God each and every day.

Also, thanks to those who were able to attend the prayer service and to those who sent your prayers our way. God Bless.

Steve had another appointment today. He received platelets and we learned a little more about his upcoming schedule.

Tuesday, Steven will have a spinal tap and have the spinal fluid examined. He will also recieve a dose of chemo in his spine.

Thursday evening, Steve will be admitted into the hospital. FRiday morning he will have his broviac port surgically implanted into his chest. This is a two pronged device so he can recieve two drugs at the same time.
He will probably start chemotherapy on Friday or Saturday. Not sure about that.

Steven's Chemotherapy;
Ara - C (Cytarabine Arabinoside)
VP16 (Etopside)
Myelotarg Gemtuzumab

These three drugs have been successfully used with AML.

Now for those of you wondering about vitamins etc. We have also seen a holistic doctor and will be using vitamin therapy to help his immune system withstand the treatments. So please don't worry, we have that area covered as well.

As far as the goal of treatment: To Get Steven's body ready for allogeneic stem cell transplant (from bone marrow). This is the best bet for Steven's survival.
We are confident in the medical teams decisions in this regard.

The chemo will destroy his immune system and rid the body of the bad cells, so the healthy cells can take over with the stem cell transplant.

So, we are praying for a full recovery! Amen!"

Bill and I thank you all for your prayers too!

The Kurdish Commission

2008-12-08T16:32:00.004-05:00

Bill, Stephen and Matt left this morning for Kurdistan. Please pray for their safety as they travel. We're so excited to see God work in this unreached part of the world. Click here to follow their blog as they're there. I heard from Bill before they left Chicago, and everything was going well so far! :-)

For Sale

2008-11-23T20:48:00.003-05:00

We're selling a few items to get ready for the baby. We're hoping to sell as a set: Leather loveseat, a coffee table and two end tables for $350. I have posted pictures on craigslist, please click here to see those, and contact me if you're interested.

New Babies!

2008-11-20T19:29:00.006-05:00

A while back I posted about a two lifelong friends who were going to have a babies, well Congrats to Brian and Bethany on their new little daughter, Anna Brook....and to Steve and Amy on the birth of their daughter, Ella Marjorie! We are so excited for you both!!!!

This is Anna...

And this is Ella....

Fleeting Fall and My Favorite Tree

2008-11-11T20:26:00.003-05:00

I love the fall time. I think I love Christmas time more, but Autumn is a close second. I love the memories of jumping in a big pile of leaves that my dad just raked, decorating in oranges and reds, and watching how beautiful all of the trees and plants get! I took some pictures of my favorite tree from around here...I know I'm weird! Every time I see it there is something romantic about it. Maybe I love it's symmetry, maybe I love it's location--at the top of a hill and I can see the bright blue sky behind it, or maybe it is how its leaves go from yellow to red during the autumn. I'm glad I caught some pictures of it because after the rain, the leaves have all fallen off. Anyway--hope you enjoy!