Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Whirlwind Weekend

So this last weekend we made a quick trip to Alabama for our CPC's missions conference and my brother's wedding.  We are pooped from the busyness, but had so much fun.  We left for the airport at 4:45 a.m. and landed in B'ham around lunchtime.  We got to spend time with family and with our church family.  It is hard to believe the next time we are in AL we will be moving back.  SO much to happen before then...
I won't go into my whining now about all that has to happen in the next few weeks.  I will say though that Michael will take his last final next Friday, so in 9 days (assuming he passes ;)) he will be done with seminary!!!!!  Crazy.

I will leave you with pictures for now....









Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Yard Sale for Missions by SK

So today was a crazy busy day.  SK decided last week that she wanted to do something to raise money for some missionaries in India who have a children's home there.  Our church here in STL had encouraged the kids to do chores or find ways to make money to be collected next week at the missions conference.  SK decided she would find things to sell around her room and such and set up a little yard sale in front of our apt. building.  She helped price everything (with my guidance) and helped make lemonade too for the sale.  She was so so so excited about it and was telling everyone about what the $ was going towards.  Blessed my heart to see her excited to raise money for such a needed ministry.  After 3 hours, the $ was counted and she made almost $50!  That is just from selling lemonade and toys and books and such.  She even ran out of cups for the lemonade!  It was a busy afternoon helping her with that, but so much fun too.  I pray she always has a heart to do for others.  She has been praying nightly the last 2-3 weeks for the Tombings and their children's home in India and also nightly for the Smart family.  Love seeing her heart...it is precious.



We are flying out bright and early (meaning our flight is at 6:20, so will be leaving our house before 5 a.m.) to head to Alabama for the weekend.  So excited to see everyone down there for a little visit!  I haven't packed 1 thing yet...not even thought about it yet, which is not like me at all.  Guess that is what I will be doing first thing in the morning.  For tonight though...I plan to get to bed early :)

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Kiddo Update

I think it's been a while since I have updated on the kiddos, so I thought I would do a little of that today.

Evie is getting so big these days and doing so much!  She climbs up on everything.  She will get up on the couch, on the chairs, then onto the table...She is a mess.  She loves loves loves to color.  Everyday she will go color at the little table we have for the girls.  She doesn't mind if she doesn't have paper either...the table works for her just as well :)  ha.
She loves movies and has learned lots of signs from watching Signing time DVD's we get at the library.  She is also starting to say more and more words.  She can say mama, dada, sissy, NO, yeah, and tries to say other words that just don't come out too clear yet.  She has a cute way of saying banana, where she just sticks out her tongue and makes this funny sound.  And the girl loves her some bananas.  Every time I take her to the store, I know if I go in the produce section (which I do every time) she will scream for a banana till she gets one.  She would eat 2 a day or more if I let her.  She still loves dip.  She will dip just about anything in any kind of dip I give her.
She loves her paci still, but today she went down for nap without it, so maybe we are on our way to being done with it. I don't think we're done with it though...since I just had to go give it to her after she woke too early from her nap...
She loves her sister.  She loves to play with her and cuddle with her.  It is precious to watch.  She will go first thing in the morning into SK's room and say "Sissy!"  SK likes it too :)
She is starting to pitch more fits these days.  She will yell "NO" at us and cross her arms and make this face.  How did she learn this so early???  Then she will also hide something behind her back if she got something she wasn't supposed to and you call her out on it, like cell phones.  Little booger ;)
She has started watching me put on makeup (on a day that I actually do that...) and wants my makeup brush and will brush it on her face copying me.  And she loves to get her sister's toothbrush too.  I think that helps with her teething.  She has now got 5 teeth in the front and 2 molars that aren't all the way in yet.
She can answer "yeah" and "no" to any question you ask.  I ask her if she is ready to go get in her bed for nap or bedtime and she runs from me and says, "No!"
She loves hair bows.  She will find one and ask for it to be put in her hair.  And if it falls out, she will scream for you to put it back in.
She still loves shoes.  She will put them on all day long and loves to get her sister's shoes or mine to walk around in too.
At the doctor a couple weeks ago, she weighed in at 21.5 lbs., which put her in the 35%, which is the highest either of our girls have ever been in the weight category.

Let's see....now SK.

She is such a social butterfly.  I am wondering how she is going to do when we move.  She loves living in this community where everyday she can find friends in a matter of minutes to play with.  She literally plays with friends every day, some days for hours on end.  As I type this, she has a friend over and in a couple hours we will head outside where she will play with more friends till dinner time.  I am praying for her to quickly make friends after our move to AL, but also that the transition goes well as we also prepare to move to England and she can quickly make friends there.  It is going to be quite a transition for her, but I hear kids are pretty resilient :)
She has just about finished her phonics program I was using and can pretty much read anything now.  Not speed reading, but she can do pretty good!  And she finished her math workbook a couple weeks ago.
She loves ballet and is getting ready for her recital in a couple weeks.  She did tell me the other day that she missed gymnastics, so we will have to try to get her back in it maybe after we get over to England.
All the girls on campus are really into Loom bracelet making things.  SK will meet up with her friends outside (they actually named a hill on campus "Looming Hill") and they will loom for hours.


I can't think of what else to add.  We are gearing up for a busy last month here.  We fly out next week to go to B'ham for the weekend!  We will be at our home church's missions conference and also be able to go to my brother's wedding :)  Then when we get back, I am planning to crank out the packing and selling and preps for moving.  Graduation is less than a month away!  Crazy.  Sad, but exciting :)

ALright...I wish I could leave you with a couple pics, but I haven't taken any lately.  I need to take more pics, but such is the life right now :)  Maybe when we go outside later today I will make it a point to...we'll see.



Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Hope and Tears

It has been an incredibly hard week.  4 days ago, Elizabeth Joy, daughter of some dear friends of ours here at Covenant went to be with the Lord.  I am heartbroken for Nate and Leigh Ann.  My arms ache for her arms that long to have her baby back in them.  Yesterday, they had a funeral service in the chapel on campus, and today they will take sweet Ella and bury her body.  Death is wrong.  We aren't supposed to have to deal with this kind of grief.  We weren't created for this.  And while it feels unbearable at times, what an incredible hope we do have that Jesus has rescued us from the ultimate death.  We know that one day on Christ's return, we will see sweet Ella again and we will all be together praising our Savior and singing and dancing.  What an incredible day that will be.  At the service yesterday, I was so overwhelmed with so many emotions.  To see Leigh Ann and Nate raising their hands to Heaven praising their Savior was one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed.  To see how they are clinging to the cross and to the promises of the gospel was breathtaking.  To hear Nate and Leigh Ann proclaim Christ in such a horrific time was beautiful.  Would I be able to do that?  There was much sobbing, but not sobbing without hope.  I could see how Christ was so present with them and so real to them.  When Leigh Ann spoke, I could see such rawness of how her heart longs for her daughter, but also how her heart longs for her daughter's life to have a kingdom impact.  Her life was not wasted and will not be forgotten.  I pray with them that the Lord will use this for his Kingdom purposes.
To see Nate carry the casket with his baby girl inside was gut wrenching.  What a testimony to the Lord though that he was first of all able to do that.  The Lord is definitely holding them during this time.
I haven't grieved like this in a very long time.  I am feeling myself brought back to the pain of loosing our baby in miscarriage.  I am not trying to say I even understand the pain they are facing right now, but I do know the pain of loosing a baby.  It is a different situation and I couldn't really imagine fully, but my stomach gets the pain in it that I remember from when we had our miscarriage.  It hurts down in my chest.  I ache for them.
I do pray in excitement though of how the Lord will use this little girl in their ministry as they face the coming days and years.  Their story won't be what they thought it would be or would have wanted it to be, but the Lord is writing it and it is going to be beautiful, and already is.  Even looking at their faces and hearing them share yesterday, he is their Savior and they are clinging to him.
Continue to pray for this family.  Today is not going to be easy.  I couldn't imagine what they are really feeling.  Pray that the Lord will use this for his glory.  And as Nate said yesterday, Death is not the last word over Ella.  We serve the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, He's the God of the living, not the dead.