Wrapping up 2007

Here's an update on our family the past few weeks:

The kids and I flew to Texas. Nate accomodated and slept the first twenty minutes but then woke up and threw up on me. Thankfully, the woman next to us said "Don't worry, I'm a grandma" so it was tolerable. She also is a store owner and was interested in my business so maybe this will kick start dream maker in missouri!

The day after we left it snowed 6+ inches. We were so sad to have missed that but there's sure to be more in weeks to come.

Mark drove down a few days later and we had a fabulous time with our families. Nate enjoyed his first Christmas and turned 7 months old. Lucy was sick Christmas Day but still had lots of fun with cousins.


We drove back yesterday. Lucy threw up about twenty minutes into the trip. After cleaning her up at a gas station, the next 11 hours went more smoothly but a little smelly. Here is a picture of Mark & Lucy playing his new old school video game in the car.

Tomorrow my wonderful husband turns 30. I feel so blessed to have him in my life and can't wait to celebrate this milestone birthday with him. He is the kindest husband and most attentive father. I thank God for him every single day.

We hope you have had a blessed holiday and have a happy new year!

Merry Christmas?

I finally hit the 'unsubscribe' button on the email the other day. I had been in the habit of just deleting each one but this last one frustrated me so much I had to end it.

I was receiving letters from a popular "pro-family" organization which would keep us updated on issues around the country regarding family's rights or Christian's rights. But lately, the emails were just getting ridiculous.

Why do we (Christians) expect lost people and companies to honor Christianity? The gospel, God's wisdom, is foolishness in their eyes (1 Cor 1:18) and I am thinking we are not making it appear lovely by standing up and boycotting or getting angry if they don't say what we want them to say at certain times of the year.

"All men will hate you because of Me..." Jesus said in Matthew 10:22, "but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." Stand firm. Not attack, not boycott, not protest. Stand. Firm.

Our pastor has been teaching us about this very thing in reference to the armor of God passage in Ephesians 6. When we are attacked, we are not to flee as in the case of temptation, nor attack in return. Paul tells us here to stand firm. To be equipped with the word of God, the righteousness of His Spirit and to stand firm.

So what if Kohl's or Lowe's doesn't want to say Merry Christmas? I haven't checked but I'm doubting their CEO's are born again believers. So why should they want to honor the Lord with their slogans?

I'm not the theology scholar in this family but I know the conviction of the Holy Spirit. We should be focusing on spreading the gospel not hindering it with our stubborness over miniscule rights and issues.

I'm sure there are many who disagree but just had to put my point out there. Don't worry, I'll go back to posting about our funny kids and stuff like the weather. :)

Return

We are back online. Our modem has been out for a week and a half and left us wondering, "What did we do before the internet?"

Well, I stayed busy finishing Nate's Christmas stocking. I'm a little disappointed in the outcome - it is not the same size as the rest of ours and seems a little dull in comparison.

I also did not remember Lucy's being so stressful but realized I made hers while I was pregnant, not while I had two kiddos underfoot.


In other news, we had our first snow last week. Just beautiful but not enough to last or to build a snowman, etc. Now we are experiencing Texas winter - freezing rain and icy roads. But people here know how to deal with those so life carries on as usual.

We also attended the Christmas party for Mark's office and left our kids at home with their first non-related babysitter. It worked out great though I missed them and worried about my little Natey. He did fine, of course!

Now we are looking forward to Christmas and FAMILY!!

Finished

Nate's room is finally done! Here are some pictures of it and some of Lucy's too.

Laughs

We are always laughing around here with Lucy (and are looking forward to Nate's contributions some day as well). Here are a few recent events that had us giggling.

1)We sat down to eat dinner and Lucy offered to say the prayer she learned at school. She closed her eyes, hands folded and said,

"Lori, thank you for our food..."

After, I said, "I think it's supposed to be 'Lord, we thank you for our food.'"

"No, it's Lori."


2)Lucy came upstairs the other day saying, "Do not go downstairs. My dolls are sleeping."

"Ok, Lucy, sure."

Later I went down and saw this in our bed & clothes hamper:




3) Janet & I were preparing to paint Nate's room and Lucy expressed that she wanted to help. I had told her she couldn't paint in the clothes she was wearing so she left and came back naked! "I'm ready to paint!", she told Janet.

Turkey Time

We had a great Thanksgiving (although my version of the feast was not anywhere near what we are used to eating at our parents' houses).

Mark's parents were here and we had such a good time hanging out at home, watching the best movie ever (A&E's Pride & Prejudice), seeing St. Louis and painting Nate's room! Well, maybe that last one wasn't a good time but I am grateful it's done!


And the highlight was watching A&M beat t.u.! Whoop!

Fall

FOUR!!

Four years ago today was truly one of the greatest days of our lives! Not the majority of the day which was spent in labor and then a c-section but the end of it... when Lucy Grace was born and healthy and finally here with us!

Nov. 18, 2003



Nov. 18, 2007 She woke up to pink balloons all over her room!




Earlier this week we made cupcakes to take to school.



At her new school for a Thanksgiving feast:



Playing basketball men with Daddy (Mark taught her extensively about each player and then showed her this cheesy 80's NBA highlight video):



Birthday gifts:



Princess bike from Mama & Daddy (she had to follow clues around the house to end up in the garage where it was waiting for her):



I could not begin to list all the ways we are blessed by this child. For those of you that know her well I'm sure you would agree she is truly a unique and joyful blessing. I am sad that four years have already passed so quickly but am eager to see how the Lord will grow this little girl into a godly woman of grace and compassion. I thank God each day for getting to be part of her life.

Great Visit

We just enjoyed a wonderful visit with my parents this past week. We were so glad to have them come so soon after we moved because we were in withdrawal(we were used to seeing them at least two times a week)!

Thank you, Nan & Pops, for making the drive and helping out so much!

First Day of School

Eatin' time

Here is a video I made for Nan since she wanted to see how much Natey was enjoying his yummies. I couldn't get it to send over email so you can all watch if you want! He is lunging for the spoon and saying "mmmm" the whole time!

I guess he will be like Lucy who has always loved her food. (Although lately when I tell her what's for dinner she says "I don't think I like that food" but then of course eats it all gone!) When she was about a year old, she would do this evil laugh in her high chair in anticipation for her food. I know lots of moms have struggles with their kids over eating and I thank God so much that He has spared me this battle, at least.

October

I think October was the longest month ever for us but now I can't believe it's November and Christmas is around the corner! Here are pictures from all our happenings this past month. God has blessed us yet again!

What are we doing here?

Many of you have asked us "Why St. Louis?"

Well first, Mark got a new job as a Senior Property Accountant working for another real estate firm, McEagle. His former job was shaky as the company was sold and even though he didn't get laid off, there were so many changes occuring that it seemed like a good time to move on.

Although he graduated from Southwesteren Seminary almost a year ago, he is still going through certification for Biblical Counseling and is hoping to use all he has learned as a lay minister in a local church we find here. Whether or not the Lord has full time ministry in His plans for us, we don't know. But we plan to use what we have and serve the kingdom using our current circumstances.

Second, St. Louis is not a very evangelized city and there is not a Bible believing church on every corner like back home. We are hoping that with our willingness to serve, the Lord will use us here to reach others for His glory.

In the mean time, we miss our family and friends dearly but are trusting God to meet our needs here and hoping that He will allow us many visits back to Texas to stay in touch with everyone!

Thank you all for your support and encouragement. We love hearing from each of you!

Singing Praise

At the church we visited Sunday, Lucy & other kids her age join us in "big" church for worship before going to Sunday School. This video is of her singing "Blessed be Your Name", a song we sang together in church. It's really a neat experience to worship the Lord with your child especially when you consider her innocence and raw desire to know about Jesus.
Be sure and notice the fancy toothpaste microphone. :)

"Jolly Jump Up"

Natey jumping and Lucy with her Mr. Potato Head dolls.

Nate & Lucy

Nate had his first bowl of rice cereal today! Should have happened sooner but with the packing & moving, it got put off until now. He liked it but kept getting distracted by Lucy who was soooo excited to see him in the highchair and eating "real" food.

"This looks good, Mom!"


"Tasty!"


All Lucy wants to do is swing in the backyard. Such a new thing for us to have our own swingset (the previous owners left it behind). I remember when she was so afraid to swing high but not anymore!

We made it!

After hours and hours and rain and rain, we made it to our new home today. Amy & I got up REAL early so we could miss the D/FW traffic and have the kids sleep in the car longer (Nate did, Lucy did not) but only made it to McKinney before we had to pull over and wait for the rain to stop. I have never driven in so much rain before. The power went out so there were no street lights and of course the sun wasn't up yet so it was impossible to see. When we finally stopped in Oklahoma for breakfast, the power went out at McDonald's right when we got there so they stopped serving food! The second half of our trip was less eventful but very long after all the delays in the early morning. But we made it - Lucy & Nate did great in the car and are happy to be in their new home!

Lucy having apples & watching DVDs



Nate sleeping



Tucker in his tiny space on the floor



Kobe sleeping in his litter box (which is now busted because Tucker stepped on it)



Lucy opening her car prize from Nan & Pops - thanks!

Plan your next vacation....

to St. Louis!!!

Come and stay with us while you visit a really cool city! There's lots to do for families.

We want lots of visitors!!!

Transition

Philippians 4:6-7 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

This is a pretty familiar passage, quoted often and simplistic in nature. But if you truly believe the Word of God is alive and active, then you know that sometimes something that seems repetitive and ordinary can, at another time, appear brand new and revolutionary. (For those of you that are familiar with Harry Potter... you know how the wizards' newspapers and books have moving images? I think of this now when I consider the Bible - it is alive!!)

So this happened to me. I struggle with fear when it comes to my family and my family is apart now. Last week we left Lucy behind to house hunt and now Mark is in St. Louis working at his new job. I get nervous when I'm here alone and miss him terribly so this verse has truly sustained me. I can honestly testify that surrendering to Christ by trusting His word is giving me peace through this time of transition.

My favorite picture

Lucy is 3 1/2 and Nate is 2 months

Trying this out...

We are new to the blog world... takes us a little time to catch up with everyone else, I guess. We're setting this up so hopefully we can keep in touch with lots of friends. Especially because we just found out we are moving!! After 5 years together in D/FW, we are venturing out of Texas to... the midwest! St. Louis, here we come!

More to come later...