Changes- January

Now for the month of January! Let's see....unpacking boxes, some boxes and more boxes! We all settled in quite quickly and smoothly. I believe the 2 years of prayer really laid a foundation and totally prepared the kids. There was a very nice transition for all of us here. John had it the hardest as he really began the traveling back and forth to Tyler.

We celebrated Rebekah's 3 rd birthday and as always she had a blast! Her birthday is a little difficult to get people together because it so closely follows Christmas. She never gets a really big party...it is usually just the fam! But to Rebekah, everyday is a party!! She is my fun-loves-life-kind-of-girl. SO on a day where we sing to her (even if it is just the 6 of us) and give her presents and cake...she is giddy! This year is was just our family including Katie and Anna! If you look at the twinkle in Rebekah's eyes you see the pure joy in her! Her nickname is "Happy Heart!"

All three girls also started taking dance classes. Melissa told us of a Christian dance studio called Studio One. Mrs. Jennifer is the owner and teacher and she is amazing! She loves Jesus with all her heart and is so great with our girls. We are blessed to be a part of what God is doing through her and the studio! She is teaching quality dance instruction, godly character and modest (BUT COOL) dance and dress! Taking the arts back for Jesus is what I say! :)

Getting ballet shoes and leos for the girls!

First day of classes at Studio One

One of my very dear friends, Jen, and her crew came to visit in January! With 9 kids under the age of 9, it was a definite party! Jen and I go WAY back to before Jesus days. We met at UT Tyler and even though we desperately needed Jesus to step in, we always had a blast! It is so amazing to get to walk through the different stages of life together...and NOW we are doing it with Him! Radical transformation, marriage, kids (VERY shortly after we got married for both of us), and now raising and educating them! Our old friends would fall out laughing if they heard we were sold out for Jesus, homeschool moms! :) Jen is so dear to my heart and I am blessed to have her as a friend! Here are some pictures of the "preschool class!"

I love the way we are looking at each other..."Who's kids are these anyway??"
Elijah and John enjoying spaghetti!

Our month ended rather sadly- the whole family got the flu except Dad! I have never felt so horrible in my life! Then to watch all the little ones get it was just so sad. Sarah had a trip to the ER for breathing issues and Joseph to the doc for a sinus infection. It felt like the NEVER ending flu season for us because we had a few relapses after the initial onset. We were thanking Jesus when everyone was finally well!

We also had a fun trip to the zoo and the new park right around the corner. Here are some more pictures :

Trying to take down Dad!

Daddy w/ his happy stick in the back pocket for any rowdy zoo animals!

Sarah and her nifty binoculars checking out the animals!

I dont know what we are laughing about, but this pic cracks me up!

Park time!

All 5 tumbling down the slide.

Saying goodbye to the faithful baby mattress all 5 kids slept on.

Changes

So much has changed since my last entry! Here is the beginning of a quick overview of the last 5 months of our life! Don't worry...I will only do a month at a time! :)

In December we moved from our home of 10 years to a new home in the DFW area. We felt like God began to plant seeds about Dallas in our hearts several years ago. This was unusual because since we had first gotten married, we loved our home and had NO desire for the big city. We lived on a lake with an amazing view and a gorgeous yard. Our home was great and also very sentimental to us! So much happened there - John proposed to me in our prayer room (our room over the water), we spent our honeymoon night there (yes…we wanted to!), we brought all 5 kids home from the hospital and John even baptized a ton of people there-my two little brothers included. Our memories there are precious! I say all of this to make the point- we were NOT looking to move! Yet God continued to speak about Dallas. The first thing we asked Him was to show us our church. We knew this decision was vital to the health of our family. He faithfully showed us both that Gateway would be our new church home - He even did it in a really special way for me but that is a whole other entry in itself!!

We then began looking at houses. We found one that seemed just perfect but it sold after a few months….and I was heartbroken. This was the house I wanted!! We were VERY ready to start our new season in Dallas and get involved in church. But His timing is perfect and so are His ways. He gave us a home that was less expensive, bigger and on more land. It by far surpassed the first house WE had wanted and it was one that I would have never dared to even ask for. He even made it to where our backyard looks onto open land with trees and horses!! YES…right here in Dallas! I know He did that especially for John!

*First night in, doing a jig the night in our new home the night we got in and our backyard!

At last... we moved!

*Sun breaking through as I turn on I-20, our awesome moving crew, John ready to go!

The next morning we attended Gateway for our first-we-are-finally-here-for-real-service! Our whole family literally cheered when we drove into the parking lot! Before we moved and while we waited on His timing (which seemed like forever!!), we watched Gateway live for several months (http://www.gatewaypeople.tv/) and then would drive up when we could. We joined the church in August and were ecstatic to finally be with our new church family 4 months later. It is an amazing church and I am so thankful to be a part! On the 31st, we were able to dedicate John Alexander in our new church home!

*John with his new Bible, dedicating our little man, the fam with Pastor Ed and his wife!

Our Christmas was extra special because we had specifically prayed that we would be in our new home for Christmas. While the tree and lights got up, ornaments did not!! But no one seemed to care. We were all just thankful to be in our new home and to finally be where He had called us!

Here are some more pictures from December…..

*Christmas PJ's, John on his rocking horse, Nutcracker with girls, me and my muffins on Christmas Eve.

Sarah- My Beautiful...Deer Hunter?

“Sarah, what do you want for Christmas?”

“You don’t know what I want? I’ll give you a hint. How you gonna see a deer far away on a deer hunt?”

“Binoculars??”

A sweet smile and nod were my answer.

Yes, this is my Sarah Katherine(4)! Her full name means Princess and pure. My “pure princess” wants binoculars for deer hunting. Go figure…

Back Again

Where oh where have I been this last …goodness…almost a month? Well, it is a long story but I will give the highlights. First of all, I have been single parenting it quite a bit. John has continued to work out of town a lot so that leaves me and the kiddos to do life without our great dad! As I said before, when he is gone he is greatly missed!

Next, we had a case of the stomach bug whip through the entire family. I had just finished reading a Living Proof Ministries blog about Amanda’s family (Beth Moore’s daughter) getting a stomach bug and I thought to myself, “Thank God we have never had THAT!” On Thursday it began!! WHAMO…just like that. Then to make it really fun, John and Joseph had signed up for a father/son retreat back in July. They got to throw up there while we were going at it back at home. Thankfully it was pretty much a 24 hour thing but man it was NOT fun.

Then we have made a few trips to Dallas- one for a check up on Hannah at Scottish Rite (uh, wasn’t I just there for Sarah’s pinky?) and also to visit Gateway church. WOW…the service about knocked my socks off. It was amazing- intimate worship(of which I pretty much cried through the whole thing) and then a powerful teaching! We really needed that and felt so refreshed afterwards!
Finally, throw in out of town guests, a fun lunch with some dear friends that I haven't seen in years, more doctor appointments, some birthday shopping and planning, voting, tae kwon do, ballet and did I even mention SCHOOL?

So…waa, waa! I know we all lead such busy lives and when mine gets busy I have to let something go. Blogging was my something! Yet in all of this busyness, God is so faithful to give me the grace needed for the moment. He is so sweet to me and I just don’t know what I would do without Him!

This last Thursday, we celebrated John’s birthday. We had a special dinner for him and lots of fun presents! His favorite was our recording of Proverbs. He loves the Word and has been asking me to record us reading it. Last Christmas we read a couple of New Testament books, for our anniversary I read Song of Songs and for this birthday we read Proverbs. I really wanted to do it in Amplified because he already has the other translations. WOW…that was fun having my 7 yr and 9 yr old read that! But hey…they learned some new vocabulary words and so did I!! I then whisked him away for an overnight stay at a hotel for some much needed alone time. It was so fun! I am so blessed to get to do life with this man! Here are a few pictures from his birthday:

A birthday sunset for John delivered by our

Creator!

A quick and frantic attempt to get a few family pics

Dad opening our recording of Proverbs and them listening to it at the hotel!

Perks of Being a Mommy

This morning as I groggily wiped a little hiney, I remembered why I love being a mom. :) Rebekah (2.5) was leaning over, with here chubby little arms wrapped around my legs and said,

" I like you mom. I love you too."

I told her that I loved her too. My heart felt warm. It is times like this and the little whispers, the thank you's, the tight hugs that make this VERY demanding job so worth it. Jesus, thank your for my children and for showing me your love through them.

Sarah is 4!!

We celebrated Sarah's 4th birthday last Saturday! It is so amazing to me that she is already 4. She is so funny...me and John often look at each other and just laugh! Right now she runs around doing Tae Kwon Do like her big brother and gives a "HYAHHH" to anyone who upsets her. She loves Jesus, loves to read and calls me "pretty, precious, beautiful" and her daddy is " handsome, cool, awesome!" For her party she wanted a Chronicles of Narnia theme. Of course we found nothing! We then settled on cowboys after debating that Darth Vader is really not what we want for a little girl's birthday party. It was a small family party (with 5 kids it works out great) but we all had fun blessing Sarah! Here are a few pictures:

The Good, The Great and the Cuties

Happy to be rid of the tricycle!

Sarah wiped out right after the party!

We love you Sarah Katherine.. you are God's Pure Princess!

Husbands and Prayers

John truly is an incredible husband, but I do know that Jesus is the only perfect husband a girl can have!! I believe Jesus wants to reiterate the very fact that He is my husband FIRST and that He is my very present help in times of trouble. I always think that I have this down until….John leaves!!

My "earthly"husband is an amazing guy. Not only is he a wonderful, totally-takes-care-of-me, romantic husband but he is also one of the best daddy’s that I have ever seen. He always puts us first and when he is here, he is all the way here. Not a checked-out-watching-TV kind of dad but totally involved in ALL aspects of our kids lives. He changes poop diapers, bathes kids, plays with them, trains them and does WHOLE nighttime process for me!! I mean it when I say, “What would I do without him??” He even keeps my gas tank full all the time!! I don’t even know when he does it!!

SO….when he is gone, I feel it in a big way!! Things always seem to go amiss.
For example, the only two times I have ever been in the ER (Sarah's first two asthma attacks) was when John was out of town. I know that is the extreme example, but it seems like we are always a little off when daddy’s gone.
This week was no different. He was sent unexpectedly to Wyoming on Tuesday through Friday. Well, a few weeks ago Sarah (almost 4) hurt her pinky while she was climbing on our wood pile. We had an ER nurse friend look at it and she said to tape it and watch it. We did and yesterday we found out that it healed…BROKEN! I am taking Sarah to Scottish Rite hospital in downtown Dallas for an appt and possible surgery. First, I HATE driving in downtown Dallas! Second, hello….I hate doing this kind of stuff without my man!

So I am asking for prayers! Please pray that:
I have a sound mind and am safe as I drive downtown-and through construction to top it off
The docs have wisdom for what is best for Sarah’s pinky
IF we have surgery please pray for safety, peace over little Sarah, and proper healing for her finger.
Pray over the anesthesia- I am trying to be ok with them putting her under.
John makes it home safely...he is planning on arriving at midnight Thursday.

I know Jesus is my ultimate help-that HE has this all under control. I am forever thankful for Him and love Him so much!! I just hate that it takes things like this to remind me sometimes.
Lord, help me to live in such an intimate place with you that I don’t feel alone and needy when my earthly husband is gone.

Isaiah 54:5 For your Maker is your Husband — the Lord of hosts is His name — and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; the God of the whole earth He is called.


PS This was the icing on the cake this morning. I will just leave a picture and say after much scrubbing it came out!!

School Days

It has been a while since I last posted so here goes a little update!! We are busy, busy, busy with school right now. Hannah is in the 4th grade and Joseph is in the 2nd. They are at such a great age and we are learning some really fun things this year...American History happens to be my personal favorite!! Sarah (4 on Saturday) has been begging me to teach her to read for the past year and so we have started. She is so very excited and when she reads a word she claps and smiles so big! I love watching her little face light up and I love getting to be the one that is right there with her as she learns. Rebekah (2 1/2)does some coloring, reading and most of the time tries to do everything the older ones are doing. John (16 mo) eats crayons, climbs on everything and begs to go outside. This semester we have Katie living with us as our total God-send-nanny!! She is wonderful and helps me so much!! When the little ones get too busy, she takes them outside or plays with them so I can have great one on one time with the big kids. Not only is she wonderful with the kids but....she LOVES to cook!! I am so thankful to John for allowing me to have her and for Katie for being a great friend and helper!
I so enjoy getting to be with the kids all during the day and can't imagine not having all 5 at home. Don't get me wrong....there are times when -WOW- I really need a break and take great pleasure in a trip alone to Wal Mart!! However, I do feel honored and extremely blessed to get to stay at home and be a mommy, teacher and friend! Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks:

Guess What I Found...

The other night while Hannah and I were doing dishes, John walks in with a silly grin.
Our conversation went something like this:

John: “If you can guess what I found in John Alexander’s diaper I will give you twenty bucks. I have NEVER seen this before in 9 years of changing diapers.”

Nicole: “A penny?”

Hannah: “A grape?”

Nicole: “A bean,…a quarter?”

Hannah “A crayon!”

John just sat there shaking his head at every random answer we threw his way! He finally smiled and showed us this:

A SOCK?! Now soaked and a little discolored. Apparently when I asked one of the kids to change the baby’s diaper…this wound up inside! Oh the adventures of parenting!

A Missionary In My Own Home

God is so faithful to speak when we are willing to listen. Last Tuesday was an incredibly hard day…everything seemed to go wrong! I literally sat on the couch at the end of the night and felt like I could not move or speak! My husband asked me if I needed some counseling! Yes...it was that bad. Although he was joking with me, I really did need someone to talk to!! I lay in bed that night and cried. I felt like such a loser mom! I had been so fleshy…so easily frustrated, not walking in peace, not being gentle in my tone of voice, etc. The next morning I woke up early (totally God because I am NOT a morning person) and pulled out my Bible. I told God I had to hear from Him, that I could not make it without some direction from Him.

First I read some Psalms and then turned to 1Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were as gentle among your as a mother feeding and caring for her own children. 8 We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God's Good News but our own lives, too.

Ouch!! God showed me that as a mother I could be demanding but I should be gentle and caring. I should not only share His Word with them but also my LIFE. How many times had I been demanding and not gentle with them? How many times was I frustrated if they interrupted what I wanted to do...or in other words MY life? God has called me to lay down my life for my children. Surely if Paul did this for people that weren’t his flesh and blood, how much more should this be true for my own children that God blessed me with? I then remembered reading a few verses before when Paul said:

1 Thessalonians 1:5-6 5 For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance* that what we said was true. And you know that the way we lived among you was further proof of the truth in our message.

Sometimes we Christians can get so caught up in “our ministry” or in “saving the lost” and yet we don’t live in a way that is proof of God’s goodness & love in our own home. I am guilty! If I am grumpy, frustrated, or tired-- if things aren’t easy and going my way it seems that I give myself the right to be fleshy. What kind of gospel am I showing to my own children? It is not attractive I know that. I would never let my flesh rear its ugly head if I was trying to witness to someone that was lost. I surely would never talk to my friends like that! Yet with the most important people in my life, I can sometimes live in a way that does not draw them to the Good News.

Now please let me clarify!! I am not saying ministry and reaching out to the lost is wrong. I believe in both. I am also not saying to be fake and put on a front for our children. I desire to be genuine but I also desire to give them my best.

God was so kind to give me this correction. I desperately want to present my Savior as one who is loving, merciful, powerful, and gentle. I definitely don’t want my children (or anyone for that matter) to be turned off by the “way I live.” Later I shared with my kids what God had shown me and asked their forgiveness. They were all shocked and reassured me that I was a great mom. God is so kind to cover our mistakes! But I still want them to know that I mess up and God can not only forgive me but also change me. I want them to know that His word is powerful and alive and can speak to us today. They all laid their sweet little hands on me and prayed the most amazing things. God ministered to me through their heartfelt prayers.

I thank you Lord that you do lead and guide us. Thank you that I know I am your child when you discipline me. Lord God, help me to be gentle and lay my life down for my children’s sake. Help me to live in a way so that my children can taste and see that you are good…because you are that and so much more!

Onde e a Barbearia?

This means, "Where is the barber shop?" in Portugese. You see, this blog is dedicated to my dear friend Michawn at Michawn's Meanderings - a missionary in Brazil! She has been a part of the "family" for almost 9 years now. She and I were in an accountability group together and then she lived with us for a while. Now she is all married and grown up with a little family of her own! Michawn and Joel recently moved to Brazil to be missionaries. They have 3 little ones under 4 and... a bun in the oven! She is THE woman. When she was single working as a nurse, she sold EVERYTHING because she wanted to go on the mission field. God wanted her to marry a wonderful man of God FIRST, have 3 kids and wait several years before He brought her desire to pass!! :)

We have had some really great memories (it scares me that so many revolve around food...bowls of brownie mix, lemon pepper chicken, SWEEEEt tea). But there are many other awesome ones as well like praying for the fullness of God in my kitchen, talking about her future man, watching God bring them together, her wedding.....the list goes on! As I was driving home last night I saw something that brought another memory to mind! Before they left for Brazil, we got to hang out a bit...that is go eat!!! On our way home we passed this barber shop:

We got hysterical! Only in East Texas!! Can't you just hear the barber saying, "Who next?" Maybe you had to be there : ) Michawn and I definitely bring out a certain chemistry in each other when we are together! But for you, Michawn...a little bit of East Texas and hopefully a good laugh! Know that I cherish your friendship and love and MISSSS you dearly! Ate mais tarde...