Misc. Christmas

It's been a loooong time since I've posted, so I threw in a bunch of different things we've done in December Brenna got a glove and baseball for Christmas. Baseball is her favorite sport, she says

Friday is our due date. We go to the midwife for our appt. today. I've been dialated to a three for 10 days now.....it should be time!!

Mom and Dad bought Josh a gigaball for Christmas. It's so great and he loves it. You blow it up, then get inside of it and roll around. We met MOm and Dad at the park the other night and of course my Dad had to try it out too.

This is Christmas night. Beth got a pedicure kit so she gave me a WONDERFUL pedicure. It looks so cute. Brenna gave her Daddy a pedicure too, with his "special" polish.

Christmas Day with Grandma June

The girls showing off all of their American girl clothes to their Daddy. My Mom has been sewing for MOnths!!! to give the girls lots of doll clothes.

Aunt Keela treated all of the girls to a manicure at the mall of Christmas Eve. They loved being pampered!

Christmas eve shopping!

Ty was so excited to see Josh at the mall and ran up and gave him a huge hug!

My "little" nephews- Jonathan and Isaiah.

William dropped by to show us his new Harley. Patrick might be a little jealous now. He loves motorcyles!

I was able to sing in our Christmas Cantata at church and had so much fun!

Our December so Far

Patrick and the children arrived in Fort Myers December 5th (A day early!!). I was so excited to have them home! Since they've arrived we've been incredibly busy moving into our duplex that we're renting while we have the baby (a family from our church has some wonderful rental units available that we're renting!), emptying and cleaning the motorhome to prepare to sell, putting up our Christmas tree, and decorating for the holidays. We've gone through so many boxes that we've had in storage for the past 2 1/2 years that it feels like Christmas! The baby is due in 16 days and the kids lay their clothes out every night in case I go into labor while they're sleeping. Since I have been home for over a month I was able to join our church choir again and practice for the Christmas Cantata. Sunday night was the night for the Cantata. I had such a good time singing in the alto section.

When my Mom took this picture, Taylin (my sister) said this may be the last picture of our family of 5. Exciting, but a little sad too. It's been this way for so long. But, we are so eagerly anticipating the arrival of our precious bundle. Tomorrow night is my shower that my sisters are throwing for me. Beth and Brenna have had a great time helping their Aunts plan for the shower. We're so thankful to be with our family and our home church during the holidays and the birth of our new baby. Our meetings start back up in mid-January and go through the end of March. We're still praying we can begin language school at the beginning of April. So much to look forward to! The Lord is so good!

Patrick, Josh, Beth and Brenna

I thought I would give a little update on how my family is doing. PJEB are in San Antonio, Texas this morning. So far they are doing very well. I told Patrick that everytime I call the children are laughing in the background, so last night when he called he had the children to pretend to be crying in the background. I think I'm glad they're having a good time :)

On Monday they will head back to Alexandria, then to Center, Texas for a Missions Conference, then on to Fort Myers! I miss them so much, but I'm so glad they're doing well. Patrick really is a "Super Dad". He can cook, clean, and have a lot of fun with them. He also watches them very well, which is a great comfort to me! Thanks, Babe, for all you do for our family! Hurry home!

My three Sisters

It's been good to be here and visit with my 3 sisters. So far I've had some quality time with each of them. I enjoyed sharing a table with Keela at Sonny's and William didn't realize we could talk so much! Tabitha and I did some mall shopping together and then worked on some sewing projects too! Today, Tay and I went to lunch and did some shopping. I'm so glad I have 3 great sisters. I'm glad, also, that we have such a good time together. I love you three!

Hello Everyone From SW Florida

Well, I made it to Florida on Thursday. It was very hard to say goodbye to Patrick, Josh, Beth and Brenna. There were a few tears on my part in the airport. Then, my plane left an hour late, so that made me miss my flight in Atlanta. They put me on standby for 5:00 flight (That meant I missed my Dad's birthday party :( ) I wasn #16 for standby and they only called up to #7. So, they put me on standby for the 9 o'clock flight, but said they didn't think I would make that one either. I called Delta (they have black phones set up, instead of real people!) I cried to the lady on the phone....to make a long story short I was on FIRST CLASS!!! for the 9 o'clock flight! It was so cool. There are so many perks in first class I didn't realize! For one, they give you real glass cups! But, after sitting down I realized why the Lord had my day go the way it did. I was able to witness to Mr. Greg from Muskeegon, Michigan! He didn't get saved, but he really listened and took a tract. We had a good time talking. He was a very nice man.

Now, I'm enjoying being with my family. We were able to celebrate my Grandma's 88th birthday last night. I'm so glad I was able to be here for it. Tomorrow I have my midwife appt. I'm having fun so far, but missing my family. 3 weeks will be here soon.

I'll update soon.

My last post for a bit

This will be my last post for a while, since I don't think I'll have wireless signal for the next week. Please pray for us as we're leaving North Carolina in the morning to head to Mississippi to pick up our motorhome. Then, we're on our way to New Llano, Louisiana, then to Alexandria, Louisiana. I will be leaving from Alexandria Thursday morning (Nov. 13th) and will arrive in Fort Myers around 4:30. I'm excited about going, but missing Patrick, Joshua, Elisabeth and Brenna already. Josh took this picture of me on Sunday. 31 1/2 weeks, and 8 1/2 weeks to go!

Loving the Colors in North Carolina

I think I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Fall is my favorite time of year!!! I'm so glad we were able to enjoy some of the fall colors during our visit to Statesville, North Carolina. Here's a few from our visit to the park today.

My Latest Quilt

I've had some free time while we've stayed in a hotel this week. I'm so glad we made room for my sewing machine! I completely finished this quilt from start to finish. It's a cuddle quilt that I made for Mrs. Grace Selby, the secretary at our church. She's the one who led me to the Lord when I was five. I haven't made the label yet, but I'm going to name this quilt "Far Above Rubies" taken from the passage in Proverbs 31 about a virtuous woman. I hope she likes it!

The Election

Just wanted to post a few thoughts.

It's 10:53pm and it looks like Obama is most likely our next president.
Unfortunately, he's not who I voted for, but I have to remember this:
God is still on the throne and the Bible says that God holds the king's heart in His hand. As a child of God, it's a comforting thought that the Lord knows what is going to happen and I'm trusting in Him.

When it's time for Obama to be our president, we as Christians, will need to respect him and treat him as the President of the greatest nation on earth. We may not have voted for him, but as the leader of our nation he deserves our respect.

Just as a side note, he's just as much white as he is black....just a pet peeve of mine that no one in the media seems to remember that.

My Latest Creation

I just wanted to show pictures of my latest thing to sew. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out! I won't tell you who the special lady is that I made them for(she might be reading!!), but this is what they are: Here's your dilemna~~It's time for a trip....Where do you put your shoes? Do you just throw them in with all your pretty clothes? Stick them in a Walmart bag? I made these drawstring bags to hold a pair of shoes for while you travel. The lady I made them for is a neat, put together, organized and very special person. I hope she enjoys them!

We're ready and Watching!

The kids filled out their maps with the number of votes for each state. We'll fill them in tonight!

Our day at the laundromat

While we were at the laundromat the kids spotted one of those claw machines to get stuffed animals from. They all had brought a little bit of money and they wanted to play. Me and Patrick explained that those machines are a waste of money and you never win anything. After our speech, they said they would really still like to play, so we reluctantly let them. On Josh's first try he won this raccoon. We were all so excited! Then, Beth played and won this frog!

Then, Brenna played and won this blue teddy bear.

We were shocked! So, Patrick played and won....nothing :( We decided we just need to stick to laundry!

Friends in Hattiesburg

One of our favorite things to do while we're in Hattiesburg is to go to our friends the Hartmans. They used to be our neighbors when we lived there. We used to go to their house all the time for dinner, me and Mrs. Hartman would go for walks in the morning after I dropped Beth and Josh at school, and their dog Honey came to visit us all the time at our house! We love to plan a night with them and she always cooks us dinner. Our favorite is fried catfish! She makes the best. Then, we always play a game of Oh-Shaw with the whole family, then end up with a Rook tournament. We had a great time as usual! (As a side note....this is the third time in a row the women have won the Rook tournament! We are so good! Patrick and Bro. Hartman are VERY competitive, so they can't stand this.) We're looking forward to staying with them for a couple of days in February when we'll be at a Missions Conference. This is Beth's friend Rachel Padgett. They were in K-4 together. I can't believe they're now in 5th grade! They like to write to each other and call each other from time to time. I'm so glad they've kept in touch. We had a great time while in Hattiesburg, but as usual, it went way too fast.

Our Old House

We were in Ocean Springs, Mississippi last week and decided to run by our old house in Biloxi. We moved to this house when Josh was 4 months old. We lived here for about 9 months. We loved living here and loved our neighborhood. We went by it about 2 years ago and the place was nearly destroyed by Katrina. We really thought they were going to tear it down. The house at that time was completely deserted and there were a lot of walls with water marks 4 feet high! A lot of water came through that area. We were one block from the ocean. We were excited to drive by and see they've completely renovated it. It looks fantastic! Dad, this was the house you came to visit us on 4th of July and it was soooo hot!

Josh's Squirrel Hunting Trip

We arrived in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and we just love coming here. It's like coming home to us. We saw several people gathering in the parking lot, so we stopped to say "hello". Little did I realize, it was the annual boys squirrel hunt. When they saw Josh they invited him to go. My first reaction was "No way, not my boy away from me on a camping trip all night!" Then, I had to take a step back and realize my boy is 12 and really growing up and these were people that we trust. So.....we said "yes". Josh was so excited! We ran home and packed his stuff. I sent him with my camera, cell phone, water and snacks. And, then they left, and I prayed. We all spend so much time together, that when we're apart it can be hard.

Josh was able to see so many of his friends. I'm so glad I packed him some snacks. He was the only one with snacks and water. He was very proud to pass them out to everyone. Even though he didn't get a squirrel he had a great time. They started with a hunter safety course. I'm so thankful they're so safe and careful. Then, they had a cookout dinner and a devotion. The devotion was on how to be a man for the Lord. From what Josh told me, it sounded really good. Then, they went target shooting. Every boy was assigned a "Mama". (Basically every boy had an adult hunter assigned to him. One hunter for every boy) That night it turned cold. Josh said a lot of the boys snored in his tent and he shivered all night. Then, they got up at 4, had breakfast, and went in the woods with their "Mama". I wish he would have gotten a squirrel, but I'm so thankful he was able to see so many of his friends and have some "boy time".

I've been Tagged by Tab

It looks like I have been tagged by Tabitha (my sister) at . . So Here goes:

10 Years ago I ...
1. was in the process of making Brenna :) It actually was right around this time!
2. was incredibly busy chasing after a 7 month old and a 28 month old
3. was in the middle of our Fall Program at church. That's when we had 90 on our bus!
4. lived in a 5th wheel travel trailer. (sounds awfully familiar!)
5. could see my toes when I looked down.

5 things on todays to do list ...(Patrick has declared today a "no school day".)
1. average 1st quarter grades and make the kids their report cards.
2. Go to Laundrymat
3. Get motorhome ready to move for tommorrow (basically that means clean my sewing stuff off the dash!)
4. Help Patrick stuff our prayer cards in envelopes and take to the post office, along with our Absentee ballots.
5. High School Chapel at 11:30, and Missions Conference services tonight at 7pm. (Chattanooga, TN)

5 snacks I enjoy...
1. ICE!!!!! Can't get enough here lately!
2. American Cheese with crackers.
3. Skittles
4. Brownies and milk
5. Snickerdoodles.

5 places I have lived...
1. Fort Myers, FL
2. Plattsburgh, NY
3. Biloxi, MS
4. Carthage, MO
5. Hattiesburg, MS

5 jobs I have had..
1.Pizza Hut Delivery
2.Burger King (where I met Patrick)
3. Steinmart
4.Christian Bookstore
5. Wife/Mother

5 people I tag...
1. Patrick (you can post in my comments section)
2.Mom (you can post there too!)
3.Keela
4. Taylin
5.Christy

Getting ready for Christmas

The girls and I have been working on Christmas gifts. We want to give a little homemade something to each of our supporting churches Pastor's wives. At this time that's a little over 60 gifts. So far, we've made 38 potholders. Each potholder has a verse on it. The one with the house has-As for me and my house we will serve the Lord, the flip-flop-beautiful are the feet of them that share good tidings , and the one with yo-yos-Whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Beth and Brenna wanted to act like they were so tired in this picture from making potholders! They have done so good sewing and cutting. They are getting so good at the sewing machine! I think for the rest of the gifts we'll make tissue holders for your purse...a little easier. It's been so fun working on gifts and getting in the holiday spirit!!

Mr. Ashworth

I know I said this before, but I love Abeka! One of the things I love is that there is someone else, besides me and Patrick, reinforcing and backing up what we believe. Mr. Ashworth is Josh's Bible teacher and Josh really likes him. (His favorite is Mr. Dooby, his History teacher). Josh loves to tell us new stuff he's learning in Bible, and funny stories he tells. (Brenna has his wife for Bible, English, Spelling and Reading) Yesterday Josh was very impressed with what Mr. Ashworth said, so he wrote it on a piece of paper, gave it some color to make it look extra nice and taped it to the fridge. Here's what it said:

In order to find God's Will for you, do the best you can at everything you can do.
-Mr. Ashworth

Midwife Appt in Chattanooga

We had an appointment with a midwife here in Chattanooga on Wednesday. Everything went very well, Praise the Lord. We're actually measuring 27 weeks, instead of the 28 weeks 5 days that we are. The baby is now head down. It was head up on my right side. She checked my hemoglobin and my iron levels look fine. Maybe that extra cream of wheat is helping! I had my glucose screening done yesterday and it went fine. The drink wasn't too terribly bad and I got it down! Yippee! The next midwife I see will be mine! I'm so glad for that!

3rd and 4th Sunday School

At our meeting in Clinton, Illinois we were blessed to be able to teach the 3rd and 4th grade Sunday School. They were packed! They fit 39 in that small room! It was great. Patrick taught the lesson, then me and the kids each taught something about the field we're going to...St. Barths! Each of them did so well! Brenna taught on snails, and described how they're cooked.
I taught 3 french words to the kids. Bonjour, Dieu, and Merci'
Josh taught on the tradition to have bread every morning in St. Barths. He showed them what a French baguette is and a croissant. He told them the different flavors of croissants and the french way to pronounce it.

The students paid attention so well!
Here is Patrick showing where the West Indies is on a map.
Beth told them about the fish eaten and fish soup. She explained that they even like to eat the eyeballs!

Another 45 Stars!

The Children have earned another 45 stars as a result of their schoolwork. They were working toward a hamburger/smore cookout. They earned it about a week ago and were looking forward to a time where we could have a bonfire. We had hamburgers with all the toppings, tater tots, and smores. MMM!

Pumpkin Patch

One of the blessings of being on depuation is going to neat new places and meeting other missionary families. We went with two other families (from our missions conference in Clinton, Illinois) to a pumpkin patch. We went through the corn maze, which is something that I've been looking forward to doing this fall. We got lost, it was great! (Look how tall my kiddos are getting)

They had beautiful scenery set up everywhere! So fallish.

Since we came as a group they even let us pick out our own pumpkins. Brenna is dying to make a pumpkin pie, but I don't think you can do that with the little ones. Happy Autumn! This is my favorite time of the year!