Thankful Thursday!

I am thankful for:
113) being able to sleep in my own bed.
114) a telephone to call family and friends.
115) brushing Sarah’s hair.
116) rubbing noses with the kids.
117) birthday cake.
118) a new home. (see picture above)
119) a hubby who spends time with our children.

Uncle David and Aunt Sandra

 While we were between homes (homeless) we stayed with a couple that became very dear to us! Uncle David and Aunt Sandra are so special and we are very thankful that they opened up their home to us.

 The kids really enjoyed getting to "live" there. Uncle David and Aunt Sandra have two dogs, lots of fruit trees and vines, a garden, and some cows.

 The kids loved exploring and experiencing new things. Uncle David has some baby calves that he is bottle feeding. The kids were able to learn how to mix up the milk and then give the calves their bottles. They LOVED it! Isaac was even up early to go with Uncle David to that early morning feeding.

 Here is Joanna showing off a grape that she picked. Of coarse it is not even ready for picking but she thought she had done something good. :) They have lots of blackberries and Aunt Sandra made a yummy blackberry cobbler and blackberry jam!!

 Aunt Sandra's mother lives with them and we fell in love with her too! She is so sweet. Elijah said, "She reminds me of Nanny".

 They have a nice back porch and a great yard for the kids to run and play! Here are pictures of Elijah and Sarah on the back porch. Elijah liked seeing how high he could swing.

 Sarah pretending she is asleep. I am amazed that we felt at home with someone that isn't really family. They were so good to us and made us feel like we were part of their family.

Now that we are in our new home we don't get to see them as much, but how sweet it is when we do see them! These are memories I pray that in years to come our family can talk about and remember all that God has done for us!

*These were pictures I took while we were at their home. I meant to get a picture of them and never did. That is on my to do list! :)

VBS Family Fun Night

June 17-21 was our Vacation Bible School. The kids had a great time and it was a great opportunity for us to get to know some of the people at our new church. Isaac and Sarah were able to meet new friends. Elijah and Timothy were able to learn new faces. Joanna and I were able to meet new people and have some time together. :)

On Wednesday there was a family fun night for everyone that was attending VBS. I took a few pictures of the kids and thought I would share.

Isaac has met a couple of boys his age that he has been getting to know.

The first Sunday we were at OK Sarah met a girl that had glasses too. The girl was quiet, but during VBS her and Sarah quickly became friends.

Joanna eating a cheese puff for snack time.

Elijah really enjoyed the bouncy slides. You can see FUN all over his face! :)

Timothy was being silly as he slid down the bouncy slide.

VBS is always a busy and long week but a good one. So thankful that our kids seem to be adjusting really well to our transition.

Having FUN and Fellowshipping!

I do have internet service but it is extremely SLOW!! :) I thought I would be able to catch up on blogging but that will not be as easy as I thought. LOL!

We have officially gotten moved in our new home and are enjoying time with each other and our new church family! I wish I had taken pictures of all of our adventures and fun with others but I didn't always remember to bring my camera. :) The following pictures are of a cookout we were invited to and we had lots of fun! The kids went 4-wheeler riding, we grilled hotdogs, roasted marshmallows and had s'mores (my favorite), and got to fellowship.

Roasting marshmallows. The kids liked this...some were a little too burnt. I think Joanna fed more to the dogs than she roasted. :)

These two have so much fun and enjoy posing for a picture.

Here are the three little ones finishing up their chips and hotdogs. We enjoyed getting to know Miss Hannah better. She is a sweet young lady!

Mr. Joey took the kids riding. They could have rode all night!

Isaac got stung by a bee while riding the 4-wheeler so he is taking a break.

Isaac took this picture of Bryan and I. I love the ray of sun shining between us! Neat!!

We have been at OK Baptist Church for 2 months now and the people have welcomed us greatly! Each Sunday someone has either invited us out to eat or to their home to eat. It has been great to get to know these people and we are looking forward to serving Jesus with them!!

Still Here!

I have had NO interenet service for two weeks!! We are at my parents today and I thought I would give a update on our family.

The people we have been staying with are AMAZING!! We feel at home more than I thought we ever could at someone's home that is not family. :) The kids have had so much fun hanging out with and getting to know Uncle David and Aunt Sandra.

We are moving into our new home this Monday!! So excited!! Orginally we thought it would take longer for the man to move out but we has been busy and will officially be moved out this weekend!

We are in Alabama for a 20 year Anniversary at the church Bryan and I were married at. The church moved to its current location in 1993 and Bryan was the first Youth Pastor. It is the church that I came to know the Lord in (Jesus changed my heart in 1995). Bryan and I were married in 1996 and Bryan was ordained in 1997 at the church. Bryan was asked to come and preach at the 20 year Anniversary and we are looking forward to being there.

Once we get moved in and a little settled in I plan on blogging again with pictures and all!! :)

Wordless Wednesday!

Transition Update!

Wanted to take a moment and update on our "Transition" (or move).

Our New Ministry: We are so glad to be at OK Baptist Church and look forward to serving with the people there. We have gotten to know some really sweet and Godly people there. There are still many more families to get to know and we pray that in time we will be able to do just that.

We Miss: We all have missed our church family at SMBC! I miss my Ladies Sunday School class! The kids miss their friends!! Bryan misses the youth group that he had gotten close to. We are so thankful for the families we met and were friends with at SMBC.

Our New Home: We closed on our home in Unionville May 31 and have to be out of here by June 15th!! We have been packing up and moving for three weeks now. Prayerfully we will close on our new home this coming Friday! It will still be some time before we can move in, we are giving the man time to move out. So for about 3 weeks we will be on an adventure of visiting family and friends! :) We will be in Alabama for about two weeks!

If it is a long time before I get to blog again, I have not gotten lost in this sea of boxes, we are in transition. :)

A New Ministry

A little over three years ago God called us to move to Tennessee. We know that this is exactly where He wanted us and we have been so blessed by being here! Our church family is wonderful and it has been nice to step out of the "Pastor's Wife" role and focus on other areas. It has been great for us to be under our Pastor's leadership and Bryan and I both have gleaned so much wisdom from his counsel and the preaching of the Word.

About 20 years ago God called Bryan to pastor and has continued to burden him for this call. Bryan has been the senior pastor for 12 years before we came here. God has not taken away that call it has just been in a different aspect the past 3 years. :)

Over a year ago Bryan was feeling that God was calling him back into the senior pastor ministry but we didn't know how or when that would take place. Back in September a church called our pastor and explained that they were looking for a pastor and wanted to know if he knew of anyone he would recommend. He gave them Bryan's name. Over the past months that church has been in contact with Bryan. They and us have been in much prayer over this and only want God's will to be done!!

On April 14th they officially called Bryan as their pastor. Which means that today is our last Sunday at SMBC. It is a bittersweet time...we are excited about following God's plans but sad to leave our church family. We will only be an hour and half away so we can stay in touch and visit...which is exactly what I pray happens!! :)

This new ministry means we will have to move and sell our home, but God knew that before hand and has already been preparing the way!! He is so good! Our home already has a contract on it (we never put it on the market, it sold by word of mouth) and there is a possibility of us a new home already (by word of mouth, never on the market). I knew that God would take care of every detail but He has done it abundantly above anything I could ask or think. :)

I will try and keep you informed as each step unfolds. Our first Sunday with our new church family is Mother's Day!!

A Look Back!

The end of March we will have been in Tennessee for 3 years! It has gone by supper fast!

 Anyway... Shortly after we came I attended a Women's conference with the ladies from SMBC. Such a wonderful time!! While I was there my wonderful hubby took care held the fort down. He took pictures of the children and sent them to me. I loved everyone that he sent and wanted to share them with you.

The reason I have not shared them with you already is that I never knew how to get them off my phone and on to the computer (I really don't know much about electronics). Recently we got me a new phone and the gentleman that was helping us could put the pictures from my old phone onto my new phone!! I was so excited! So the only thing I figured out to do was to email them to myself....so here they are....

This is Isaac hanging out in our bed. Isn't that such a sweet smile?

Right after we moved one of the ladies from our church brought us some goodies. Two of those goodies was pecan pies....Chocoate chip pecan pies. We love pecan pies but wasn't sure about chocolate chip pecan pies. OH MY is all I can say!! We could warm up a piece and it would just melt in your mouth!!

Bryan sent me the above picture of him eating the last piece of the pie. Isn't he so thoughtful! LOL!!

Timothy was having mommy withdrawals! :) He didn't cry the whole time I was gone...he was done and ready to get down.

My pretty girl. She looks so big in this picture but now she is even older..she is growing so fast.

Can you believe that this little boy will be 6 in May? He wasn't even 3 years old yet in this picture.

Here is all the kids right before bed. I love this picture and forever it was the background on my old phone.

I love that we have made memories and the joy those memories bring us!

Our first night at our new home.

I should have already posted this but better late than never!! We had gathered all that we could and tried to have all that we needed for a couple of days into a few boxes. Some men from the church had come to help Bryan move some big things so we decided to move as many big things as we could while we had the help. After a long day of packing and moving we all were exhausted! I think each one of us said that we were wanting something refreshing. With my sweet hubby around that was all he needed to hear and off he went to the closest store (I think it was the Piggly Wiggly) and bought a huge thing of ice cream and we all enjoyed every bite!! No, we didn't eat the whole thing of ice cream but the scoop or two we did have was so nice. It was like a fun ending to a crazy day. As you can see all we had was plastic cups and spoons, have you ever tried scooping ice cream with a plastic spoon? Not easy! I think we washed and used those plastic cups that whole first week. If you have ever moved you know what I mean when I say you "ruff it" for a week or two til you get all those boxes to the new house and then eventually find which box has what in it when you need it. It has been crazy for us the past few weeks and I look forward to getting settled and using our home for times of fellowship with friends. I have to share something....God's word tells us that when we commit our ways to Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts. I remember when we moved to our home in Alabama and were painting. I had thought I would love for something to be brown. Never expressed that because really just thought that would be alot of trouble. Here we are in our new home....every wall is brown except for the kitchen!! Is that not hilarious!! Thought that was too funny and wanted to share with you some of my crazy world. :)

Please pray for our family as we do get settled into our new home and as we feel that God has called us to this neighborhood. I see this as a great opportunity to share with our new neighbors all that God has done in my life and be a living testimony to them of a Great and Awesome God!! This is like our mission field.

Our New Home

Man, have things been busy here! I can't remember the last time I was able to get on the computer. Anyway we are in full swing at moving in our New Home! We absolutely love it!! We have been sleeping there since last Friday night! The kids are excited and very happy! We have enjoyed being there and look forward to being fully moved in. That may take some time. :) I just wanted to post a quick one to give you all an update and let you know that I haven't drowned in the sea of boxes!!! Hope to post again over the weekend, I go to the Dr. on Thursday and would love to give an update about that! Hope you all have a great week and weekend!

The Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday the kids and I went to a pumpkin patch with some other homeschool families in our church. It was a great field trip for us to do. When we got there they let the kids feed the calves a bottle. Sarah and Elijah loved that. Then we got to see a rabbit, goats and a turkey. Then we headed over to the hay maze. The boys loved jumping over the bales of hay. I took Timothy and Elijah to play in the corn. That was fun because it was this huge feeding trough full of corn and the kids could play in that with shovels and buckets, just right for Elijah and Timothy!! Next we took a Hay Ride that was 2 miles long and had a ton of scarecrows all along the path. Those were some of the cutest scarecrows. There was even some that were "real". Next we got to pick out a pumpkin to take home and then it was time for lunch. After we ate lunch one of the "real" scarecrows came over to the picnic area and he was on stilts, it was neat. When lunch was done my two little ones were hot and tired, so we headed for home. We all had such a great time being with our friends and enjoying the day that God had provided for us. I was so thankful for the Mom's who helped me with Timothy and the stroller, they were a BIG help!! Although Elijah had a couple of melt downs the kids and I had a great day! We all were exhausted when we got home so after so much fun we all crashed for a nap. Thank you Lord for naps!! :)

New House update: Yesterday we moved some of the attic stuff, like boxes of clothes and Christmas stuff. The greatest thing was that a Lady from the church offered to clean the house for me!! I get so emotional thinking about it. I feel so humbled and grateful that she offered to do this. She went yesterday and worked ALL day to clean our new home for us and now it is ready for us to move in! I pray blessing on this dear lady, she has truly blessed me beyond anything I could have ever asked for. I had really wondered how was I going to be able to get the house cleaned with being pregnant and 4 children, it would have taken me a while. Today Bryan's parents are coming to help us do a few things, that will be great! Hopefully next weekend we can get the majority of our stuff moved and be closer to being fully there. Oh, we are so excited and can't wait to use our home to glorify God!!