Keeping You in the Loop

I was looking through a memory card and this picture was on there.  I am thinking one of the girls took it but it is so SWEET to me!  WE SURE MISS THIS MAN when he is gone!!!  I try to never take for granted how good he is to us but I realize when he is gone that I do take it for granted a little bit.  In the midst of missing him like crazy I realize just how fortunate we are to have him.  Thank you God for allowing us to call him husband and daddy!

The team made it to Namibia yesterday.  They are traveling today by vehicle to Outapi which is their final destination.  It is a long drive but they are 8 hrs ahead so as I type they should be close to the city.  I know they are all exhausted but I also remember the stamina that can only come from God and I know how anxious the team is to get to work.  Now please pray for their work there! 

We are surviving!  So many of you are already praying for us and specifically for Sallie because you are aware of the difficult time she is having.  She has cried some every day at school and yesterday was not good to say the least.  I had to drag her into the school after a long battle outside with her. Talk about a scene!  I looked like a HOT MESS and am standing in the school squalling while she is laying in the floor refusing to move!  Then she cried for 3 hours.  She had lots of prayers for her last night and this morning and Praise God she was better today.  She was resistant with me at home and cried but I did not have to fight her to go in.  She did cry after she got inside but I have talked to her teacher and she has stopped crying for now.  Yesterday she signed Daddy to me as soon as she woke up and then she signed it to her teachers while she was crying.  PLEASE pray for peace for her little mind until her Daddy returns.  This is very unlike her.  She usually just goes with the flow but I think she just doesn’t feel comfortable being away from me while he is gone. 

Millie and Lizzie both have bad colds and are complaining with their ears off and on.  I am attempting to treat them at home for now so we’ll see. 

Things could be much worse!  I feel so burdened for so many people we know and for many we don’t know who are in trying times right now.  There is just so much going on in this world… 

I have shared my message board before.  It is on the wall between our dining area and kitchen and I walk by it a million times a day and read it every time.  I had “Happy New Year” written on it and Tuesday I thought I have to change this to something to encourage us while A is away and I thought this verse was most appropriate.  It really does help to walk by this over and over and be reminded!

We have so much to be thankful for:

I am so thankful for sweet caring teachers who have loved on Sallie this week and held her and cried with her (and me!) and been wonderful to keep me updated during the day.  We are blessed with a great school!

I am thankful for the many calls and messages I have had checking on us.

I am thankful for a church family who has taken extra good care of us while he has been gone.

I am thankful for fresh baked cinnamon rolls and a hug delivered to my door yesterday that came just at the right time.

I am thankful for the delicious meal we had for dinner last night delivered to our door by a lady in our church.

As much as we miss him I am thankful for a husband who has such a passion for people who are lost and for discipling those who do know Him. 

Most of all I am thankful for my Savior who knows our every need and is always there for us! 

Planting, Prayers, and Perspective

A spent Saturday planting our very first garden!  He tilled the ground a couple of months ago and now he is going to have to till some more because our garden is full and we still have to plant onions.  We will see how it turns out.  We have man in our church who is very knowledgable about what to plant when and what grows best here.  He had too many seed for his garden so he gave us his leftover seeds and gave A a little tutorial.  So we have all kinds of greens planted and some english peas and carrots and our onions have been ordered.  In a few months when it is time we will do more peas and beans and potatoes, squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs.  We will see how it goes!  Hopefully I will be posting our bountiful crops!!!  Never thought I would see this picture!  EVER!  I love it!!!The little girls had so much fun helping in the garden!Love this!Love them!!!  They get closer every day!  Makes me sad to think of next year when they are separated…Now for the Prayers:  A left yesterday headed to Africa.  However, he is still in Dallas.  LONG story but after a day in the airport and several cancelled flights they are still in Dallas.  They are supposed to be back at the airport early tomorrow morning to fly to ATL and then on to Africa.  Of course this changes all their travel agendas for Africa which is not an easy task.  SO please pray for them as they travel and for rest.  This is not a good way to start a very tiring trip but we know God is in control!  The team of 6 is going with the mission of discipling the current believers in the new church in Outapi.  Also, they are hoping to do a baptismal service as well as ordination.  Very exciting!

Please pray for these sweet girls also.  The little girls are so clingy since he left and Sallie cried at school today and I feel like that is part of it.  Millie has cried a lot and does not want me out of her site.  Elleigh is of course old enough to understand but she still misses her Daddy. 

Please pray for me as well!  I DO NOT LIKE FOR A TO BE GONE!  It is not that I am scared but our whole dynamic changes and we all miss him a lot!  I keep telling myself it is only 2 weeks and we will survive.  I know he is where he needs to be.  However, I could use prayers for patience and endurance! 

Saturday when I found out they were going to have to leave a day early I had a pity party!  I did not want to do all this for an extra day!  Get to SS yesterday and our lesson is on humility.  OK God, I get it!  This is not about ME!!!  So, I had a change of perspective.  Until today that is…  When A told me they could not get out until possibly tomorrow he also told me they would be coming back later.  Yep, pity party for ME again!  Then I quickly realized how badly the team wants to get to Africa and I was reminded of the precious people in Namibia who are waiting with much excitement for them to get there and all that God has for them to do and my perspective changed again.  I would much rather endure a few days of extra work than for the team to not be able to go.  It is not about ME! 

Thank you for praying! 

Christmas 2010 Texas Edition

Welcome to our home!A’s mom got me these trees last year and I intended to put them on the front porch but A put them in our foyer and we really liked them.  I AM going to do a post of our house soon!  All the straw pieces on the table are from Africa.  I love them all and they remind me every day of the precious people of Namibia.  This picture does not do our tree justice!  Elleigh really wanted a live tree this year.  Because of our cathedral ceilings we were able to get a tall one and it was perfect!  We loved our tree!  It is hard to find a tall slender live tree but that is what I really wanted and we found it.  I loved just sitting and looking at it at night.  I LOVE ornaments.  Our big tree is full of all different ornaments.  Some I have had since childhood, some I have gotten along the way, many are handmade by the girls.  One of my favorite parts of Christmas is unpacking each ornament and remembering where or how it came from and the memories.  I just love them!  I think I shared these last year when the girls and I made them but I made these TX ornaments last yr with Lizzie and Millie and it was so much fun despite the mass chaos!  We made these at a Fort Worth friend’s home who has had a really tough year and they reminded me of her and of us making them.When Lizzie was at the Children’s Center at the Seminary one of her teachers made this ornament for us for Christmas with her picture and it is a favorite!  Sweet Sallie’s 1st Christmas Ornament!  WOW, what a year!  The first Christmas ornament A and I bought for our 1st tree!Elleigh’s 1st Christmas ornament!  Our lives were changed forever!  Now that little baby is quickly becoming a woman!The other picture ornament of Lizzie from the Children’s Center.  I found myself just staring at this pic this year.  Look at those chubby arms!!!  Oh how I miss that stage…

I really want to make stockings for all of us.  Maybe this year if I start early enough.  I think I say that every year!  Anyway, stocking are expensive and I do not want to spend much on ones I really do not want.  So, I found these this yr at Target for $2 each!  I was so excited.  They are still not what I want but I thought they were cute for now for that price.  Got to do something different for Lizzie and Millie’s stocking holders too or start over.  I love my other 4 that I got at Kirklands Sallie’s 1st Christmas.  I just picked the little girls up at Dollar Tree.  They are already torn up…

Christmas Eve we made cookies for Santa.  I found a great cut out sugar cookie recipe and they were really good.  I made buttercream icing but I was not really prepared with lots of colors to do icing and décor so we just used what we had.  We had fun!

The girls listening to A read the Christmas Story before bed on Christmas Eve!  My favorite part of the day!Ready for bed

Putting out cookies and milk for Santa

Christmas morning.  Think Sallie liked her DSI!?

Little girls playing with their Leapsters

After presents A made us Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate!  Starbucks “aint” got nothin’ on him!!!  SO GOOD!

I would love to say that the rest of our day was relaxing but well it wasn’t!  With it being on Saturday we were preparing for church on Sunday in combination with leaving after church for AL so it was quite hectic but we were excited to see our family!

Stay tuned for our AL Christmas!

WHY???

Our Christmas Pic this year was quiet misleading!  Everyone always ask me how I get such good pics of the girls.  The truth is every time I attempt photos of the girls I ask myself WHY I would put myself through such torture!  Really, it is a mess!!!  This year I waited until it was nearly too late to do them and send Christmas cards.  But, I do not like to not send them.  I absolutely LOVE going to the mailbox during the Christmas season and seeing the cards we get.  I love to see them displayed and to see the pics on the picture cards.  I just love getting them and I love sending them.  Plus, I really wanted a good one of the girls to frame for the Hall’s new home and our family pic at my parents house was 4 yrs old and Millie was obviously not in it.  SO, I just did it!  We had planned to do it one weekend and we were all sick with the stomach bug.  The next weekend was the last weekend we could do them in time for cards.  It was freezing cold and really windy!  I had great plans in my head and well it just wasn’t working!  The red barn (which is the one in the pic from the previous post) is one of our church members’ and I thought that would look good for the card with the black they were wearing.  The girls were screaming because they were cold so we got on the side that was blocking the wind and the shot I used was the ONLY good one from that location.  I wanted some dirt road shots but an open area just wouldn’t work.  The wind was blowing dirt everywhere.  On our way back to our house I thought of the barn next to our house and that maybe we could get on the side of it that was blocking the wind.  The girls were still cold but the wind was not quite as big of an issue.  I got a few good ones!

This one of one of my favorites

And this is A’s favorite.  I do love the coloring and would like to do more there at some point!  I am sure I will be asking myself WHY again!

I got A LOT of not so good ones!  But now that all is done it is funny to look at them!  As you can tell Lizzie and Millie were not so happy and Elleigh and Sallie were enjoying themselves a little too much!Best pic of all of them of Lizzie and Millie and Elleigh and Sallie are cuttin’ up!

I do treasure the outtakes!  So, I will remind myself of that when I ask WHY I am putting myself through this along with the fact that we do have 4 kids and if I ever want pics of them together I just have to suffer through!