Friend Raising 2

Thank you to those who have decided to partner with us on this journey.  We are always in need of prayer as we raise our budget.  But, should you feel the Lord direct you, we are also in need of monetary funds. We have added a link for your convenience.  Just click on the Monthly Support link.  Since we are Missionary Associates, we can only contact churches we have a connection with, so please consider contacting your Pastor about us coming to your church and sharing the vision God has given us for France.  Thank you and be blessed!! 

Friend Raising

So the friend raising has begun!!

We have ordered our prayer cards and when they arrive we will be in full swing.  We have had two churches that have decided to partner with us in supporting us as we take this amazing journey towards Paris. Praise the Lord! Every person and church that plants a seed into our ministry, gets us that much closer to fulfilling the call Christ has placed into our lives.  It is an amazing experience, as we are watching in the midst of economic uncertainty, people and churches investing in God's heart for the people of Paris.

Lets go friends!!!
Matt

Pregnancy...9 weeks.

Matthew and I went to the doctor today to have our first ultrasound done on our newest addition to our family. We took Judah along with us. He couldn't quite make out the images. I said, "See, Judah, that's the baby." He said, "No, that's not a baby. That's an alligator!"







This is the picture from the ultrasound. For those of you who have a hard time making US images out, the head is on the right side and the baby is facing up. The little bump sticking up in the middle is the arm and the curve on the left side is the leg.

Our due date is September 16, 2011. Just one day after the memorial of our precious unborn we lost 4 1/2 years ago. But that will have to be another blog post.

Although this is my sixth pregnancy, I never tire of hearing the amazing whooshing sound of the unborn's heartbeat. It amazes me how there is so much going on inside of me in so little time. I know you will be reading some conflicting messages about how this pregnancy feels like it's taking FOREVER, but when everything is put into perspective, it's really not that long-considering a precious life has been formed.

Celebrating...Life!

Yesterday was my son, Nathan's, birthday. I still cannot believe he is now eight! I keep telling myself that I just brought him home from the hospital yesterday.

I sent him to school yesterday with some ice cream cone cup cakes to share with his class and his teacher. I asked him how many kids were in his class. Nate said, "18, 19 counting Mrs. Jarrett." I guess it was so funny to me because he included his teacher in with the "kid" count.

*If you want to make these, Make regular size cupcakes and mini-cupcakes.

Fill the ice cream cones half way with candy.

Ice the top of a reg. cupcake-turn upside down on cone.

Ice the top of a mini-cupcake-turn upside down on reg. cupcake.

Ice the "tower" and take a spreader or knife and make the swirls to look like soft serve.

Shake sprinkles all over and top with a "cherry". I used Pretzle M&M's.

Nathan received a birthday card in the mail from his great-grandma and great-papops. He said, "Look, Mom, I got ten dollars locked!" (He saw the lock on the check under the amount). He proceeded to say, "That means that I can't get to it until you cash the check." It's so funny how kids can be so smart and so clueless at the same time.


He wanted a "pool cake" for his birthday. As most of you know, I try and do a special cake for my kids. I let them pick whatever they want and google ideas from there. This one was done in my Pampered Chef torte pans. Vanilla ice cream between the layers and blue jello in the middle. Cool Whip for the icing and gummie candies to decorate with.

Not only do I let them pick their special cake, I also let them pick what they want for dinner. It can be take-out, home cooked, or in a resteraunt. Nate chose home cooked. -kinda makes me feel good :-)

He said," I want steak, and ribs, and chicken..." I had to stop him. I told him to choose one meat and sides to go with it. That sweet thing never had a problem with it. "Okay, I want ribs with mashed potatoes, asparagus, and corn on the cob." So that's what he got. Last year the only side he asked for was...cucumbers!

He asked for a skateboard and the Raving Rabbids game for Wii. He was so excited to get them. {I think he was expecting them, since he didn't ask for much.}

Nate was thrilled with his new skateboard. He was riding it and said,"This skateboard is better than X Box!" I never thought I would hear those words come out of his mouth!

As sad as I am to see my boys grow up, it's also exciting to see them become such unique individuals with different likes and dislikes, personalities, and yes, even their own opinions.

Tonight we will celebrate my wonderful husband's birthday. He is 31 and even more handsome than the day I married him. Yes, he gets his dinner birthday request. Adobo with rice. And he's getting a cookie cake, just like every other year! Happy birthday to my best friend!

Our Life: Busy, but exciting!

We are in constant amazement when we think about Gods plans. They never seem to quite match up to our expectaions...they exceed them.

Christ has called us to the mission field. Our first stop, Paris. We are taking His heart to Europe along with an amazing team that has already started His work there. We are going to help plant a church, which is already in its begining stages. You can check out the church on www.thebridgeparis.com and see all the wonderful things Christ has in store.

We received the wonderful news of "officially" being a missionary family on January 12, 2011! Everything is set for us to start raising our funds and setting out into unfamiliar territory. I say unfamilliar, but when I think about Paris, the church, and the people there, I feel homesick. Like I HAVE been there before and so desperately need to go back. Very hard to explain, but these are my feelings none the less.

As if the excitement of our national approval from the Assembly of God Mission's Board isn't enough...WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!!!

This came as quite a shock to us all, but we are exstatic! We thought we were done...exactly what I was saying about God exceeding our expectations. We cannot wait to meet this new little creation. This masterpiece. We know this baby has an amazing destiny planned out by our loving Father. We will keep you updated on the progress of this little one.

As for the boys...Joel is 9, Nate is 7, Chris is 5, and Judah is 3. They are doing great. We will keep you updated on them as well.

I hope everyone is having an amazing day. May Christ richly bless you all!