Is it May ALREADY?

Let me try to recap a little of the first few months of 2011 for you (if you're still reading... tap,tap,tap... you in there?)

January:

Exciting news! We may have been expecting a child of our own, but there's another birth that's happening...

For some time, Scott has been sensing a call to be a senior pastor. Over time, we've prayed and the Lord has confirmed a calling to start a church. A new church. A Church "Plant", as in planting the seed and growing a new church body.

We prayed through where we were supposed to do this, and we began to realize that all the roads we'd traveled with their interesting experiences and trials, along with many ministry opportunities that never panned out, had been part of God's plan to get us to our current town. We might or might not have chosen our location were it left to ourselves, but it became evident that God wanted to plant a church using us, right here where we already live.  We began meeting with a small "core" group in January, and a very generous couple who owns a small local restaurant let us meet there on Sundays (restaurant closed) for free!  Very exciting times, to be sure!  You can check us out here or on Facebook here.

February:

Our little church is growing, and we've been blessed with several large families with young kids.  That means we're out of space for our church meetings!  We are very grateful, as a local public school has allowed us to meet there on the weekends.  It's a super location.  Be praying for us as we determine how long the Lord would have us there, as well as that we would be a blessing to the teachers and staff there.

Our family is about to officially grow, because my pregnant belly is almost at it's growth limit!!!  For whatever reason, I tend to carry babies large.  By 36 wks, I was measuring full term  (as the tape lies... w/ the doctor's measuring tape, a belly-height, top to bottom, in inches should equal the number of weeks near the end)  Baby S would be arriving soon!  Nesting was in full swing, but with the church things happening, nesting couldn't accomplish enough quickly!

At the same time, Spring Soccer began.  Both C & A1 were playing again, with Scott coaching C's team.  It may have been crazy, but that's such a good thing for the kids and a great way for us to get to know families in our town.

C got some dental work done.  Check him out!

March:

Aaaah!  The weeks are short, and baby S is coming soon! Planting on the farm is in full-swing, and planting as in the church is going well.  We're so grateful for the families who are a part of CC Community Church.

My wonderful doctor (I love her!  I'd recommend her highly!) has measured my belly again, and at 40 wks gestation, I measure 46 weeks... like I would if I was 6 weeks past the due date.  Good grief! We are a little concerned that S will be huge, and since I want to avoid a c-section if possible, we set an appointment to be induced in case I don't go into labor early.

Seth Josiah is born on a Wednesday evening after we start the induction that morning.  He's precious, and we feel so blessed.  Check the next post for pics and info.

The end of March brought challenges and blessings... challenges as we tried to balance Scott's work on the farm with work for the church plant, balancing life as we know it with a new little one and an 18 month old, and many others.

April:

April started with a bang!  We all took turns battling a nasty cold.  Me first, then a mild version for A1, a yucky version for A2 and Scott, and it appears that C and S2 avoided it altogether (Praise the Lord!). 

The rest of the month was consumed by farm, church, soccer, and planning for Easter.  We had a great group at church on Easter Sunday to celebrate the risen Lord!  New faces and familiar faces were all celebrating together!

The month would end with Scott, S2, and I taking a few days to go on a pastor's retreat made possible by Central Baptist Church in Bryan/College Station, where we went when we were at A&M.  (was that just 6 "w" words in a row?  wow!)


So, for the most part, you're caught up!  Be watching for more posts focusing on S2 and a couple of other things I wanted to highlight on their own.  Thanks for your patience, knowing that I WANT to post, but will post-pone :) it if we're just super busy. 

New [school] Year!

Can it be that time is accelerating faster than it should?


How is it that we have

a second grader

and a Pre-Kindergartener?

Children of the ...errr... Grain Sorghum

These are not the droids you're looking for...

Caleb decided a week before his 7th birthday that having our normal family party would not be sufficient. :)  So, I organized a quick Star Wars party with the help of some ideas from my friend Tonya and the willing participation of a handful of Caleb's school friends.  


I'm thrilled at how the party turned out, and I think Caleb had a blast as well!


The kids built Lego droids/robots as they arrived.  Then, we went outside with their lightsabers and played some games.


First was the Help R2D2 beanbag toss.  (washers board and an awesome R2 courtesy of my brother)

Then, the boys practiced their pilot skills and tried to successfully make the Kessel Run with some Millenium Falcon frisbees I whipped up (thanks to Google Images and a trusty Sharpie)

We followed that game with a timed relay that mixed Star Wars and Star Wars: Clone Wars elements to make them all-around Jedi Masters.


1.  Safely disable the thermal detonators.

2.  Use your lightsaber to take out all of the training orbs.

3.  Rescue the baby Hutt (aka Stinky), avoid the obstacles, and safely deposit him on a pedestal without letting him fall.  (personal sized watermelon covered in shaving cream)

We retreated into the air conditioning for some Pin the Ammo Belt on Chewbacca.  (kudos to Uncle Bryan again!)

All that activity made for hungry Jedis, so they refueled with hotdogs and some dee-lish cookie cake.  

(what a ham!)

Gifts and more fun followed, as Pawpaw led training runs on the 4-wheeler Republic Attack Shuttle, and the Jedis climbed trees.  Even our two little Padawan Learners had a blast.

(Thanks to C, B, and D's Dad, Jeff, for helping me with photography.  I think with two cameras ready, we got some great shots!)





We're so proud of our big Seven Year Old!

• He has a clever sense of humor.
• We love to watch his tender heart around Abby (Anna, too, but she's close enough in age for him to really pick on... hee hee)
• Caleb has learned all of 1 Corinthians 13 this year, as well as Ephesians 6:10-18.  Caleb, keep hiding God's Word in your heart!
• He loved playing soccer in the fall and learning Upward Basketball in the spring!
• He has learned to have a love of reading and was one of the high point earners for first grade in their school's Accelerated Reader program.
• Caleb will gladly tell you anything you ever never wanted to know about Star Wars, Super Mario Brothers, or Penguins of Madagascar. 
• We crack up when Caleb watches one of Anna's favorite tv shows and comments, "Can't they stop singing and solve the mystery already?"
• His self-proclaimed favorites this year were:  Food = Salmon, Color = Red, and Subject at school = Computers.

Tickling the Ivories in the Spring

I love Mrs. Karen, Caleb's teacher! I also love that while she encourages her students to participate in semiannual recitals, she holds them in a local nursing home/retirement village so that it's also an encouraging ministry to the residents. Caleb did well again this year, and he's learning to function well under pressure. Though he initially balked, Caleb decided to surprise Aunt Licia and Uncle Travis (who were visiting) by introducing himself and his songs all by himself for the first time!

When you're ready, you're just ready.

Given that we haven't had much chance for Caleb to learn to ride his bike without training wheels, we didn't expect the learning process to be anything but arduous. Caleb finally expressed interest about 3 wks ago, and Scott removed the training wheels. Caleb was so tentative that Scott had to grip the bike seat tightly the entire time.

About a week and a half later, Caleb wanted to try again, but the timing wasn't great for Scott to be able (or willing) to help. Yet, Scott decided to set him up on his bike across the street and let him give it a go. His plan (funny enough) was to avoid walking alongside by just giving him one good push, let him fall into the grass and get frustrated, and Scott would call it a day.

So he did. And I was ready with my camera.

Buttercups and Bluebonnets, aka Hooray for Spring!

Gitcher Boots! It's Time!

Something in me gets excited during the beginning of January.  No, it's not the dawn of the new year, and it's definitely not the dreary, cold, and rainy weather that inevitably comes during the second week of January. 

It's the thought of pulling on some cowboy boots with a destination in mind, and in a weird sort of way, it's also the memories of a specific smell.  Etched in my mind's nose (?) is a combination bovine, porcine, ovine, galline, caprine, equine aroma complete with their feed and other (generally unpleasant yet strangely comforting) smells.

It's time for the Junior Livestock Show!!!

Having raised lambs for show and sale in middle school, I can't help but get excited about taking my own kiddos to experience the sights, sounds, and smells up close.  While there's part of me that loves the city, I don't ever want to lose my country roots! 

Lots and lots of dribble

(betcha thought I'd be talking about the incessant drool from our sweet baby girl)

Our strapping young boy didn't opt to play spring soccer this year, although he still talks about playing again sometime. No, this time he decided to branch out.

The best opportunity for that in our town is to participate in a local Upward basketball program. It's an instructional league and also seeks to provide spiritual enrichment and instruction as well.

Caleb got to learn the basics of Mama's sport, basketball, and also got to hear weekly devotionals and learn some Bible verses. We were pleased with how it turned out!  Caleb is a good shooter, but this season played more of the role (by choice) of point guard.  He had more steals than I can count on one hand, and got much better at staying with his "man" defensively.  (The matching colored wristbands sure helped!)  We're proud of you, Caleb!

be warned, there will be some blurred shots from my point-and-shoot camera and due to the lighting