Our first house

and so begins a new chapter in our lives. we closed on our first house yesterday! we are filled with excitement, thankfulness and are completely humbled at what God is doing in our lives. you see we started praying for what God what us to do about 2 1/2 years ago. Marley had just been born, we were renting my grandparents house. a house that had never been treated for termites or anything else. and was completely infested with post beetles and termites. our floor was literally falling in at the back two bedrooms and bathroom. there was and is no hope to repair, we were told it would need to be completely gutted and pretty much rebuilt from scratch. which ended our dream of finishing any remodeling and eventually buying the house and the land, that my family had farmed and lived off of. I knew in my heart there was more, I get caught up in the sentimental things like my families land and house. Yet one day we will all be gone, and it will all be dust. So I decided to have an open mind and began to pray.  Pray that as I searched day in and day out on the computer for houses in our price range that God would place something right in front of us. Time after time it would not be the right one. I'm thankful we had a good real estate agent, I often told Chris " I bet he thinks we are never going to buy a house" in early spring of 2012 we were shown a home. liked the location, the neighborhood, it had a big yard, enough bedrooms, more bathrooms, a basement and a pool. the house was a foreclosure, needed minimum amount of work to move in, and was an awesome price. i told Chris i liked it but lets see what else is out there. That was a bad idea, within a month or so i wanted to see it again and it was under contract. The final sale took a long time, so long that i would drive by and call our agent, tell him that the sign was still in the yard and could he check, yet every time was still under contract and finally was settled. On November 2nd our agent called to tell us the home had been relisted, the new sellers were flipping the house. We agreed to see the home again, and said that we would pray over the weekend and make a decision on Monday morning. the catch was that one other family had seen the home the night before, and three more were viewing it the same day as us. On Monday we made an offer at 8:30 by 10:00 the seller had accepted and we were under contract. Yesterday we were handed the keys!

Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child has got to be one of my favorite times of the year! This time last year our family packed 4 boxes, 1 box from each child and our boxes went to Bolivia. But this year I had a much LARGER plan. We have scraped and saved items all year long. 2 of my 4 children actually received some of the  items (for the boxes) in place of birthday gifts (totally my idea) you can read about that  here, but the kids really enjoy giving to others and do we really need more junk toys that are made in China? I think not :) This year my goal was 3 boxes per child = 12 boxes. And guess what we made it happen. I carefully planned, saved, bought, helped my kids pack and prayed over 12 boxes.

12 boxes for 12 children that may never get to hear the gift of Jesus along with a box full of treats and the gift of Jesus. You see with each box Samaritans Purse provides each child with a bible in their native language, and show a video about Jesus love for them. Here is  what it looked like when we began our boxes.

I try so very hard to be thoughtful and intentional when collecting items for the boxes. You see most people don't realize that a box for a 10/12-14 year old boy would like coloring items, games, and toys. I would not even know this if I hadn't traveled to the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Children in America are not like children in other countries.  My 13 yr. old would care nothing for a coloring book and a pack of colored pencils but in Haiti a 13yr. old boy would be delighted!
Some items we send are toothpaste, tooth brushes, wash cloths & soap (in a freezer size bag for them to keep it in) crayons, colored pencils, sharpeners, small games, hard candy, suckers, play jewelry for the girls, socks, small stuffed animals, pencils, sunglasses, coloring books, notepads, hair bows, combs, flip flops -I am secretly hoping our boxes go to Haiti :) pencil pouches that zip and this year I packed it all in plastic shoe box size containers. After all the plastic boxes will hold up better than a cardboard one, it gives them a way to keep it all together, clean, and dry. Here  are a few looks into packed boxes.



This box was for a boy age 2-4

Girl age 2-4

Girl age 12-14

Packed and ready to go. My kids always ask why I cry as I pray over the boxes with them. I tell them I'm so thankful and blessed that we are able to give children this gift. That we are so fortunate in what we have, and that we  give out of our love for Jesus. And my heart swells with the love He has shown me. I'm so thrilled that Chris was able to be with us this year as we dropped of the boxes.

If you are interested in Operation Christmas child check out http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/occ

It is already too late to fill a box for this year, as today is the deadline. You can always be ready for next year :) Toys for Tots is another great way to give to children, check out drop locations in your area for guidelines. Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving, be blessed and bless those around you!

Ideas for Operation Christmas child items welcome, if you used something different tell us about it.

Treasure These Day's

I never imagined that I would be a stay at home mother. And defiantly never thought I would be good at it. But in actuality I am, I love that I can plan out every meal. I start every Monday with my coupon book and the sales adds. I plan breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner all the way through Sunday evening. And it saves our family a ton of money! In fact I spend $100 or less every week for our family of 6, this includes detergent, cleaning supplies, and pet needs.  My house is never spotless but I am able to take and pick up all of my children from school, feed them a healthy afternoon snack, help them with homework, and have dinner at least on the stove when Chris comes home. I love that when school is out, I am home with them. I love that we can stay in our pj's all day, or go to the park, play in our yard, make crafts, watch movies or talk about Jesus. Don't you just love the innocence of a child, and how a 5 year old explains his interpretation of the story you just read to him from the bible, well I do and it warms my heart to hear my children watch and do as we do. To hear them not say (God is Great) but their own heartfelt prayer. To hear them tell me ways they think we can help others and people they may know who need our prayers and our help. I love that Marley has really began to pretend play. She wants me to swaddle her dolls, so she can play feed them with bottles.  I love that she makes me snacks in her play kitchen. My favorite is the pretend cupcakes she makes me and then tries to make me eat them :)

I love that she is not in daycare, and I can capture silly moments on camera. Like the one where she fell asleep sitting straight up on the couch with her blanky over her head.

So today I am reminding myself to treasure each and every moment!

Wrapping up SUMMER & rushing into FALL

As a stay at home mother and wife I will tell you that every day is different from the next. I try very hard to keep a schedule but when summer comes that usually goes out the window! I can't seem to wrap my head around summer coming to an end. School was just ending yesterday right?!? I feel like we totally wasted our summer break, and then I look back on all of our summer memories.

There were not 1, 2, or 3 - but 4 out of our 6 birthdays that fall during summer!

                          Our anniversary, and one of my closest friends wedding.

                         There was hiking, swinging, and cupcakes in the yard.

                                              
                                 A lot of splashing at the pool, river and ocean!

                       Naps in Mommy and Daddy's bed, and tons of movie time.

Visit to the museum, aquarium, and fun at the zoo with friends!

We enjoyed play time on the bunk beds with daddy's old halloween mask, a nerf gun, and a noodle spoon.

Sometimes our pets got a little too much love, and sometimes they had stories read to them.

We got a little dirty playing outside in the dirt, and pulled each other around in the wagon.

                                                     
                                                           Water sprinklers were a blast!

 And then came the first day of school
for 3 out of 4 of my children
August 16th, 2012

         But the fun didn't end there. Nick had his first flag football game this past Saturday.


That is Nick in the orange about to get a flag!

Hey guys are you watching me or not?



Too tired to finish watching the game

And then on Monday August 20th my sweet girl started her first day of pre-k in the 2yr. old class. She is going half days on Monday's and Wednesday's at a private church based pre-school. But her going to pre-k was a huge deal for me, even if it is only half days! She has been at home with me everyday since her birth. The first day I had to sneak out of her class so that she would not cry.  She went most of the day without her paci and blanket- which that in it's self is a huge deal if you know my child! She did fall and bump her head on the playground, but all around had a wonderful first day. 

Treat for her teachers on the first day.

 Today was her second day, and I almost cried. She wouldn't even tell me bye when I dropped her at her class. She marched right in with her cute little backpack and started playing with her new friends.  Mom is sad for now :(



1 Year

One year ago today I boarded my first airplane, and landed in a country that would change my life forever.....Haiti! A year later Chris and I are still talking about it and  praying for the country and the amazing people there. It really doesn't seem like a year. It was also a year ago today that I met WaNelson, now named Nelson. I love that sweet baby and pray for him and his new family as they wait for him to be home with them. Nelson changed my heart, I am forever thankful for God placing him in my path of life. 

I miss so many things about Haiti. I'm sure it seems strange to most, but I miss the heat, the mosquito's, the cold showers, the different foods, the smells of trash and diesel. The people that we encountered every single day and their strength, each and every child that we got to feed, hug and show love to. Haiti taught us Compassion, Love, Strength and Hope. I am thankful that for the time we spent in Haiti, not teaching them. But learning so much from the people of a country not so far from us.

I often find myself thinking of Haiti... cloud watching on the trampoline with my kids and wondering what the sky and weather is like in Haiti on that day. What some of the people I remember so clearly are doing on that particular day.

Pray with me for Haiti, the people there... the widowed, the orphaned, the sick, and the lost. Pray for each missionary and their families who have given their comfortable life elsewhere to serve and work alongside  the people of Haiti.

We hope and pray to be back in Haiti January of 2013. Please pray with us, that God guides us once again as we began to save and prepare not only supplies but our hearts for this next trip. Pray for those who are considering taking this trip and that doors are opened for this new group that goes. Pray that doors are opened and closed for myself and Chris. As I mentioned in previous posts, Haiti has been heavy on our hearts, for quite some time now. Pray that we hear and understand  God's calling for us. Whether it be giving up our lives here and going there, leading groups from here to there every few months, adoption, supporting a group already there or whatever it may be. Pray for us to follow what He wants, not what we want.