An Amazing Start To Our Week

Sunday was the beginning of the West Florida District Council. We were so excited to be a part of it. We met some amazing people and caught up with some old friends. Because the boys had school, we only brought Gabriel with us. He sure did love putting on a show for everyone!

 I want to thank all of you for takinig the time to hear our hearts.  Paris is a very dark place and we are so passionate about reavealing Christ's love for them. We want to show them how amazing a relationship with Jesus is. We have a substantial budget due to a large family and the location we will be going. We only have 10% of our budget raised, which means we need to raise 90% by Christmas...that's only 7 months away!

Thank you all for the prayers that have gone out for  us and for those of you who have sacrificed with your giving. Our spring newsletter is underway. Stay tuned!

*Please pray with us that we will raise our funds quickly, so we can go and be of help to this hurting nation of France!

EXHAUSTED!!!

The title of the post this morning is all that I could muster. As I am sitting here typing this post, I am constantly interrupted by the sound of my 4-year-old, Judah, throwing up. Poor thing. He has been at it all night. I woke up to him getting sick in my bed, and a little on Matt. Ewww!!! I was cleaning it up while Matt took care of Judah. Judah came in and said, "Mom, don't forget to clean Chris' bed." Apparently he was playing musical beds last night. So, Matt cleaned one bed while I cleaned the other. I just pray that he doesn't "share" this with the rest of us. I remember when I was younger; we had a large family, too. Never failed, when one got sick it made its way around to almost everyone...not just once!

On a different note...we celebrated yet another birthday. Yesterday was Christopher's 7th birthday. I say this every birthday with every child. I seriously have no idea where the time is going. I met him for the first time 7 years ago and my life has never been the same since. He, like my other children, have made my life better in so many ways. Christopher is very animated. He cannot hide his emotions; they are written all over his face. He is one of those that when he feels...he feels deeply. He's not just mad, he's VERY mad.

He's not just excited, he is EXTREMELY excited.

His cake of choice...spy cake. Wasn't quite sure what he was thinking, but this was my interpretation.

He seems to have had a great birthday. We do something as a family, have the dinner of their choice, and later, cake, ice cream, and presents. Chris decided to go see The Lorax in the theaters. They loved it, although Judah said, "I love the movie feeter, but I didn't love the movie." They all had a great time. Afterwards, we came home for his birthday dinner and for cake and presents.

 LEGOs were the toys of choice this year. As you can tell, He was quite excited about them. Happy Birthday, Christopher. Mommy loves you so much. ( Even if you do wipe off kisses!)

How Our Lives Have Changed

HAPPY MARCH!!!

Well, obviously I'm not the greatest at updating this page, but I'm going to try to do better from now on.

I want to give everyone an update on how our lives have changed in the past year...
Since my last post, we traveled to Missouri this summer to attend Pre-Field Orientation for our venture to Paris. It was so much fun. We learned so much, not only about how to deal with other cultures, but how to connect more as a family. This is very important for every day life, but especially for being missionaries. When we embark on our journey, the only constant we have (other than Christ) is each other.

We welcomed Gabriel Zion into the world on September 9, 2011. Just 3 days before Judah's 4th birthday. He is an amazing suprise additon to our family. I tell him, just like I tell my others, "You were such a good idea." God does have amazing ideas, doesn't He? I can't recall a time where my plans were the same as His, and yet I can't imagine my life any other way once He puts His hand into it.

I have a new nephew Samuel Isaac (sister, Michele's baby on right) born just 7 weeks before Gabe (on the left, who made grandson # 9 for my parents, # 8 for Matt's). Also, my baby sis, Kim, is having a girl (granddaughter # 4 for my parents) this spring. I'm so excited for all of these blessings we are receiving. One right after the other!

Nathan just had his 9th birthday and Matt just had his 32nd birthday. And the kids are doing great in school. More updates to come!

*Pray for our funds for Paris. They are very slow in coming. Pray that God will put us on the hearts of churches and pastors, as well as our friends and family, to support us in our journey of obedience.

*Pray for my grandmother who is very ill. She is in the hospital having tests and procedures done. She has scleroderma, so pray that she will be healed in Jesus name! Lord, guide the doctors in treating her condition.