All By My Lonesome

Can you see my pouty lip and sad face? My hubby left today to go to England. Its gonna be a long 10 days!

The kiddos and I have had a very full day. I went with the Moody first grade to Old Baker Farm today, which was lots of fun! We petted animals, went on a hayride, got pumpkins and ate lunch in a barn loft. Good times. This afternoon I carved the pumpkins, which I've never done until today. They are cute and all lit up. I'd post pics, but Trace has the camera on another continent.

Then, I was at Hargis Retreat Center just long enough to be really bummed out about missing the retreat with all my lovelies.

Ansy and MiMi had a day of shopping together. And for dinner, we have NOTHING kid friendly to make. And after the day I had we were NOT going to the store. (I don't take my children grocery shopping on a good day) Off to Mickey D's for the 2nd time today (first time was for ice cream cones with Zac & Eric Nold- after school treat)to get $1.00 cheeseburgers and then Taco Bell for Mama a Bean Burrito. We all ate for exactly $3.29. Frugal is my middle name.

Indiana Jones playing in the background and I wish I had something to smock...

Froggy Fears

Last night, Laura was bringing me home after a fun night at the Morgans! As we approach the door, we saw a little frog on it. I froze. Then, it jumped up the door and I jumped away! About that time it jumped on my wreath and stayed there camouflaged and staring at us. Well, we were totally creeped out and afraid to go by it, thinking it would jump in the house. Well, we were trying to be quiet because it was late and my family was in bed, but we were laughing, jumping around and freaking out. Trace heard the commotion (guess we weren't that quiet afterall)and opened the door, to which we panicked and said "No, frog!" In the end, he thought we were a little silly and crazy, but the frog stayed on the wreath.

On this lovely rainy morning, I get Cully off to school, come back in and even answer the door without a thought of the frog. Then, as I was opening the door to listen to the rain, I remember. Where's the frog? Is it still on the wreath? No. Could it have gotten out in the middle of the night? Not likely. Did it come in the house? Aaaaahhhh! Now, I have a fear of going anywhere in the house and a squishy frog there beside me. What if I don't find it until after Trace is gone? How will I handle that, alive or dead? Ugh. Fears surround me.

These creepy feelings stem from a night when I woke up to something cold and slimy landing on my head when I was asleep. I felt my forehead and it was a frog. I spent the rest of the night looking for the frog and not going back to sleep. That was years ago...

Thought for the Day

There's nothing I can do to make God love me more

There's nothing I can do to make God love me less

Isn't that amazing to think about?

I Love Our New Home!

We are almost unpacked, somewhat organized and are getting used to our new place. I've been to the pool house ALOT, but never slept here until now. A place, even a familiar place, feels very different when you live there.

I love to open the windows first thing in the morning and feel the breezes. It makes everything so fresh.

I love to lay on my bed and read and smell the Sweet Olive tree outside my window. Those trees are wonderful and they have a couple around the house. You get a whiff of it every once and awhile when you're outside. I hope there are Sweet Olive trees in England.

I love that there is soooo many places to play outside! We bought the kids their first real bikes this week. There is a great place to ride here. We didn't play much outside at the old house since it was such a tiny lot, so they have really started loving the outdoors.

I love that it is so safe-feeling here. Not really meaning crime, it felt safe at our old neighborhood. But, that the Claytons are next door, the Boykins are beside them and the Johnsons are across the street. The kids can go far and they are safe and have PLENTY of kids to play with!

I love the house, how colorful it is. Those of you who have been to our old house knows it was all the same color- Latte. We didn't change much because we knew we wouldn't be there long and wanted it to remain neutral. I love the colors in these rooms, all different and cheerful.

Its been so nice and therapeutic to be here. I am so thankful for how the Lord has provided richly for us through His people.

Greatest House Sale Ever!

It has been awhile since I've blogged. You can always tell a busy blogger, and I've had way too much on my plate lately! But now, things should be chilling out. We're done with training for awhile, we're getting settled into our new abode and we sold our house! Yes, that's right! And let me just tell you about the goodness of the Lord is that situation...

We had built a good connection with the buyers and their agent. They know why we are selling our home. We had what seemed to be a road block in closing on Monday, it was settled fairly easy once I talked to the right person and we were back on track. Closing went very well and afterwards we were just giddy! I didn't want to seem too happy because then they might worry we sold them a lemon or something, but we had a few sighs of relief. When we were leaving the couple handed us a check for support toward our ministry! Isn't that amazing!!! Not only did God sell our home in this market, one of four identical homes on our street, at the perfect time for so many reasons, He also used them to fund our ministry!! That's just too cool! We prayed since the beginning that God would be glorified through this house sale and He really has!! Praise Him! He continues to confirm His will for us! Awesome!!

So Far This Week...

Just woke up from a long nap, so words may not make sense. I should've went hiking and exploring with Trace instead. Its been a fabulous week, with teaching from Dr. Kooistra 2 or 3 times per day, getting to know Tom May, no TV, commecting with friends who have so very much in common and can relate to our unusual struggles...

Wow! I have really been able to see alot of my sin and my idols this week, which is not fun, but God is so gracious.

This week is called Living in Grace, applying grace to our lives everyday and to the people around us. Some cool snippets from this week so far: Humility is the overall look of grace. Without humility, you can't have the fruit of the Spirit, holiness, ministry or greatness. Also, we must have a posture of repentence. Not just when we sin, but always knowing even our best is tainted (I'll get in more later). I've been like a sponge because Dr. Kooistra a great guy to listen to, very funny, loving and wise. And it helps to go into a small group and discuss immediately how to apply what we've learned, You can't really do that in real life, so much good stuff can be lost.

Now, I'm a little more awake, so I can go get ready for dinner. I really shouldn't take naps, I'm mush the rest of the day!

Living in Grace

Hey! We're in the mtns of North Carolina ("North Carolina, come on and raise up, take your shirt off, wave it 'round yo head like a helicopter" anybody remember that song?) Anyway, we are at the Living in Grace conference and its going very well. We're with some MTW friends from other training events and our small group leader is Tom May. Funny! We are having a great, somewhat relaxing week, especially after the insanity of last week! We are at a Ridge Haven, high in the mtns with no TV or cell phone service (Thank you very much TMOBILE!). But, we do have internet, yippee!

We can't really call and check on our babies, so please call my cell, talk to my mom and then email me and tell me the kids are happy. Thank you.

They are feeding us well and tonight we got to eat dinner with Paul Kooistra, MTW's main man, so that was a treat. Please pray for us as we are gone, travelling, learning, reconnecting and missing our babies. This is great stuff we are hearing and I am praying that I can really rest in the Lord this week.