Cheesy Mother / Faithful Father

Okay so we just got back from dropping off the boys and as I prayed the whole way there....I asked for the Lords confirmation that they would be OK and that He would confirm in me that this trip is about time away with my Lord. Time that I have been asking for but can't seem to find (poor excuse). Well He is giving me the time I need to reconnect, refocus and to invest in our relationship. That I may begin and learn to cultivate a genuinely intimate relationship with my Lord, My Abba Father!
AS we dropped off the boys and drove away not 2 miles into the trip the Lord displayed His Glory.
We were able to witness not one but two rainbows. Im not one to be presumptuous and take every little thing as a sign from the Lord but it was a Good reminder of Gods promise and as cheesy and cliche as it may sound I felt the confirmation that God had my two boys in His Hands. That they would be safe with HIM.
I'm not worried about leaving my boys with my mother. She is the greatest and even more cautious then I am ....but I needed that. I needed to know that God heard my prayer and I needed to be reminded that I don't have their life in my hands but He does!

OUR GIFT TO THE BOYS

We wanted to give the boys something they could look at and know where mommy and daddy were while we were in Uganda!
So we sat down and wrote a little book. Illustrated by daddy!
We will be sending this with them when they go to my moms tomorrow:)
MOMMY AND DADDY GO TO AFRICA

Risk

"Don't let mental lions keep you from experiencing everything God has to offer. The greatest breakthroughs in your life will happen when you push through the fear. The defining moments will double as the scariest decisions."

When John came back from Uganda last year he was so in love with the people, so at home in Uganda, so passionate for the ministry that he asked me to go on the next trip. Flippantly I said "yes" . Wanting to come alongside and understand this ministry and be his helper in what God was calling him to do. Also thinking it was such a long ways away that I had time to prepare myself and work through my fears. Well God has prepared me this year! Every book I have read, every study I have gone through, every conversation I have seemed to have had has in some way prepared me for this trip!
This trip is a HUGE RISK for me and I am not a risk taker usually. I am a cautious, over thinking cub scout (alway prepared). I like to prepare myself for every possible disaster so that Im not caught off guard. I tend to assume the worst and fear things like flying, illness, my kids being injured and I am too far to be there. I make excuses as to why I can't or shouldn't take a risk! But by Gods grace He has revealed some pretty amazing things this last year. He has reminded me time and time again that a life that TRULY LIVES for CHRIST is RISKY!! Every character in Gods Word took a risk...stepped outside their comfort zone and did something truly outrageous! Fought a Giant, confronted the King, gave birth to the son of God, denied the Queen, battled a lion and won, refused to worship an idol, stoned, beaten, thrown into prison!

I dont take enough Risks for Christ. I don't display my absolute, unconditional, unending Faith and devotion to my True King like I should. I don't tell Him "It's you and nothing else!" "All else aside Im in this for YOU! For your Glory, Your Honor, Your Kingdom!" " No more Excuses God...Im willing to risk it all!"

So here I am boys.....taking the biggest risk I have taken in my 27 years (i know seems lame but true)...packing up my bags, saying goodbye to my beautiful babies (scared), flying way too long (scared), taking pills to prevent illness (risk), speaking Gods Word in a dangerous part of the world(risk), ALL FOR CHRIST AND CHRIST ALONE (WORTH IT)!
I do not write this to say "hey, Look at me, Look at me! Look what I am doing!" But to confess that I have been too safe, too cautious, too unfaithful.

and it may seem strange to some cause this isn't risky enough for them....I mean lets be honest so many have gone before me...so many do not fear trips like this but see it as a fun filled adventure full of uncertainties and excitement!

I write this so that I , my boys and others may know that this trip is my Lion, it feels dangerous, uncertain, uncomfortable and risky to me. To be honest not a trip I have been looking forward to. But for no other reason than to proclaim....."You alone are Worthy! I risk all my silly fears, my anxious thoughts, my life for the sake of Christ! Be GLORIFIED!"


In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy day
by: Mark Batterson
"You have to face your fears or they will hold you back forever"

"Courage is doing what is right regardless of circumstance or consequence"

"I think our greatest regrets will be the God-ordained risks we didn't take"

"Our ultimate destiny is determined by whether or not we seize the God-ordained opportunities presented to us, if we seize those opportunities, the dominos continue to fall and create a chain reaction."

"I want to seize the opportunity the first time it is presented"

"Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning"

Preparing.....

Daddy and I are headed off to Uganda next week and as we have been preparing for our time away I am doing my best to stop and enjoy every moment with the boys. Oh how I will miss them but comforted knowing that they will be having such a sweet time with my mother and my sister. They are so excited about staying there and I could not be more grateful!
This week has been all about them for me....
walks to downtown, stopping at the candy store, parks, painting, trips to the mall (they love the mall), holding hands, singing songs, praying, mud pies, snuggling, reading, wrestling....everything I have been doing I am trying as best to do in slow motion.
Capturing it all, "soaking it all in":) , I will miss them so dearly but my prayer has been for me to be so overwhelmed with what God is doing in Uganda that I will not be dwelling on them, counting down the days, or wishing I could be near them....I want to be so focused on God's will and purpose in Uganda and not to miss out on any opportunity while I am there.
They are my greatest joy and I cannot wait for our reunion when we get back!!
I miss them already....is that possible?

EASTER 2010

We have had such a great weekend together as a family. It started with Friday where I was able to take the boys to our friend Kailee's house for an easter egg hunt and egg decorating!! Such a sweet time with our little friends:)








Easter Sunday was crazy but fun. Daddy got up at 4am for a sunrise service in ventura...boys and I made breakfast and headed off to church for a giant eater egg hunt! The church service was SSSOOO FUN! I just don't think I have had so much fun in a church service before...we had baptisms, baby dedications, children's choir, quartet performance and amazing worship time praising our Savior for His victory over death and the gift of Eternal Life!
After church was lunch at a friends house! They had gifts for the kids, eater egg hunts and a lunch that was absolutely beautiful!


Couldnt seem to get one good shot of those two:)








It was such a sweet time of fellowship! I am so grateful for my boys and thankful that God allows me to witness everything they are experiencing. Praying that days like these are the kind of days they remember....
Caleb's quote of the weekend has been " Mommy, has God Risen yet?" He has really been looking forward to this day...maybe not for all the right reasons but we'll get there:)

sunday night fun

So daddy has been away for the last four Sunday nights practicing with his band!
So the boys and I have had some fun at home together:) It has turned into movie night at our place, the boys haven't been watching TV during the week so weekends have become a lil sweeter for them....popping popcorn, putting on Pjs and watching a "zoovie"
Last Sunday we decided to bake cookies and decorate them then curl up and watch Robin Hood!
They had so much fun!

Slackin!

So our blog has been rather neglected and Im feelin a lil guilty about that....but this is really for the boys to look back on and will they really notice I have skipped some days / weeks here and there?

As of March 19th 2010 I am feeling officially settled into our place! I LOVE IT! And I am so grateful that God has richly blessed us with walls, a roof, a garage, a front and backyard, sidewalks, and ice cream man, washer/ dryer hook ups, neighbors to minister to, the list can go on!
He has been faithful to teach me things along the way as I have come to fall in love with our home. " Be grateful for you have been RICHLY blessed!" Oh I can be so selfish and vain! Throwing a fit over the ugly carpet, or not being able to paint our walls, or angry at the stupid rodent that is eating my newly planted flowers!
Oh to have so much and be so ungrateful!

God has done some Mighty things these last fews months and I want to Praise Him for His Goodness to His Children.

Friday night was a time of celebration for the new beginnings in our life! We had a new church body in our home for an open house and it was a blessed time!!
(no pictures of course , slacker)
We spent some amazing time getting to know so many people that we never would've had the chance to on a sunday morning. So blessed that they cared enough for us to come and spend an evening in our home. We had 2 to eighty year olds laughing and sharing together. Around 8pm we had a very sweet time in prayer as over 40 or so crammed into our living room and prayed over our home, our trip to uganda, oUr ministry on Lark Ellen, and our family!

And we look forward to this weekend as we have our dear friends and family over for a another time of fellowship!!

We have been given so much and to whom much is given much is expected!! We are blessed so that we may bless others! We cannot wait for more parties, small groups, prayer nights, play dates, backyard movie nights, sleepovers, worship around our future fire pit. Thank you Lord for a home, a place to rest our head, a place of comfort and peace, a place of family and friends, laughter and tears, music and prayer:)
AND OF COURSE THE BOYS FAVORITE THING "NAKED TIME"


GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS!

UGANDA!

God willing, John and I will be going to Uganda in about a month! We are continually praying for the funds to make it happen and for the Lords will to be done. This has been such a crazy couple of months that I have yet to really let this trip sink in and feel truly prepared spiritually, mentally and physically for it! My prayer is that God would begin to do a work in my heart and take captive my thoughts. As of right now all I can think about is how hard it will be to leave the boys!!
I know they will be well taken care of but I will miss them way too much. But I am so looking forward for an opportunity to Go, Serve, Be used (oh what a privilege), Love on other women, be challenged, stretched, humbled, pour myself out in hopes that he will fill me completely! Come back CHANGED!

Pray for us! Pray for our team! Pray for God to begin equipping us and preparing us for the next few weeks. Pray for the funds to flow quickly and for His hand to be upon every step of this trip!
We will be having a fundraiser this next week and our hope is for our group to raise some much needed funds!!
We are so grateful for Dominic's willingness to serve us in this way!
If there are any readers out there we would love nothing more than for you to come to this event:)

Meet Shark Bait

Our new pet in our new Home! We pray he enjoys living with us for many many weeks:)

ooops...Calebs trip to Disneyland

So I never did write this down...
Our family had a swell time at disneyland a few weeks ago. We took Caleb for his birthday again but decided to make a bigger trip out of it. We went to Disneyland thursday, spent the night down there and went to California adventure Friday.
We were so blessed that there was no rain, the lines were never long, and that our friends and family were able to join us!!
Caleb is a somewhat cautious kid and, I think, he has a high sensitivity to sound. He was not ok with rides that took us into dark rooms or that were too loud!!
He plugged his ears and closed his eyes through peter pan, plugged his ears on pirates, the parade & jungle cruise. Screamed bloody murder on Thunder Mountain (what was daddy thinking), refused to go on the buzz lightyear ride, monsters inc. & toy story. He would scream if a disney character started walking in our general direction!
But he LOVED.....NEMO, Its a Small World, Dumbo, the Rockets, train, Autopia, any of the Bugs Life rides, the Jelly Fish ride. He could've rode those rides all day and been a happy camper!
We just had such a sweet time as a family, a chance to get away, enjoy being together and laugh! It was so sweet to have their grandma with us too.
We were so thankful that we were able to take this trip together and collect some super fun memories!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIL MISTER! We love you more than you know:)

Photo Booth Fun