And We're off!

In the morning we will be leaving to head up to High Springs for the closing of our house on Tuesday!  Yay!  To say we are excited is quite an understatement.  Brenna and I will help Patrick and Beth with cleaning and fixing for a couple of days, then will head back to Fort Myers until the house is ready.  If you have a moment, it would be a blessing if you could pray about a few things

~The closing will go smoothly with the house.

~We won't find too many surprise with the house.  We're especially praying that the A/C, Septic and Well will be functioning

~For safety for us as we are travelling back and forth and for our little ones staying behind with Grandparents.

What an adventure we are on!  It sure is fun!

Thanksgiving Part Three

One of the highlights of our day was being able to Skype Josh.  It was sad being away from him for the first time on Thanksgiving.  But, I am thankful for all the great things happening at Golden State.  He had a great Thanksgiving!

 It was fun gathering around the computer to talk to my boy!  He showed us his room and introduced us to his roommate.  Great touch to top off a wonderful day!

 Then, while Micah and I took a little snooze, the rest of the crew went to the tree lot to help Grammy pick out her Christmas tree.

 It has always been our family tradition to put up our tree on Thanksgiving night.  Since that just isn't possible with our family moving in a few days, it worked out perfect to be able to help Denise.  The kids only broke a few ornaments ;o)  Sorry Grammy!

 Patrick watched his Eagles game and tried to recruit Marc to be a fan.  I think his Mom was a little shocked at how vocal and loud Patrick is during the game. It was fun!

 And the finished tree turned out beautiful!  Now it just needs presents underneath!

It was a full day spent with family, food and fun.  Great memory!!

Thanksgiving Part Two ~ The Meal

When we told Denise (Patrick's Mom) that we would be spending Thanksgiving with her this year, she was pretty excited!  I think Marc was, too!  

 When we arrived, she had set the table beautifully with her china.  It looked so good!

 And the turkey looked good too!

 Grammy was quite protective of her turkey and didn't want any other "turkeys" to be touching it :o)

 Marc has been working on the floor plans for the church in High Springs.  He is doing a fabulous job!  We are so excited!!

 The meal was wonderful and spending it with precious family was great!

Thanksgiving Part One

I have complete picture overload from Thanksgiving, so I'm going to have to do a few posts.  Our first stop on Thanksgiving was to run by my parents house to say, "Happy Thanksgiving!"

 So thankful for my sweet parents that are also amazing grandparents!

 Grandma just happened to be using her cup with Callie's picture on it.  Callie was pretty impressed!

 We were quite excited for this day and had so much fun together!!

 It was a beautiful day!  The temps were around the low 70s and very sunny.  Perfect day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Gimenez Family!

Oh, the smell of coffee!

Not too long ago we got a call from Patrick's Aunt in St. Barths.  She was coming for a visit and wanted to know if she could bring us anything.  Patrick and I knew without a doubt what we would ask her to bring us....Coffee!  While we lived in St. Barths we found a coffee that we love!  It's a brand that we've only seen there, L'Or.   It's very bold, very aromatic, very yummy!  When she brought us the package, Patrick and I couldn't wait to brew the first pot.  I stood by the coffee pot and smelled that strong aroma.  Then, I prepared all my cream and sugar in my favorite cup.  (that's the only way to have coffee, right?)   And the taste was exactly how we remembered it, amazing!  Patrick and I savoured every last drop of coffee that Mariane brought to us!

In my devotions a couple of days ago, I came across a passage that made me think of my L'Or coffee and how I savoured every last sip.  Jesus was telling His disciples of his coming death on the cross.  Peter began to rebuke the Lord and tell Him this won't happen.  Jesus response was firm and precise.

"Get thee behind me, Satan:  thou art an offence unto me:  for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."  


Savouring means to set affection on, regard, interest oneself in, think on.  It made me think about who Jesus was talking to, Peter!  Peter was someone who  gave up everything to follow Christ.  If anyone should be thinking on the things of God, it was him!  Yet he was not savouring the things of the Lord.  Peter had his mind on how he thought things should go.  He believed Jesus was going to rule and reign right now, not suffer and die!  Peter thought he knew how things would be, yet the Lord had His plans, and knew best!  He took his eyes off of what the Lord would have him think on and set his affection on, and put them on what he wanted.  Aren't we all like that sometimes?  Even working in the ministry, you can get your eyes off of the Lord and what He would have you think on and do.

Just like I  anticipated my St. Barths coffee, I thought about Mariane arriving with that package in hand :o)  I looked forward to it brewing in the pot and I savoured every last drop of my coffee, I want to be the same with the Lord.  I want to savour the things of God.  Think on Him.  Set my affection on Him.  That is my goal.

Working towards a new home

 The beginning of last week we were in full moving mode and ready to close on our house when we discovered a few problems with closing on our new home.  Looking back we see the Lord's hand guiding and directing and doing what is best for us.  At the time, though, we were quite confused as to where we were going to live!  When we knew it was time to cancel our contract we began our search again for a new home to either buy or rent.  We quickly discovered that renting just isn't an option for us.  We found a home in the High Springs area that is bank owned and would need some work, but decided to take a look and see.  When we drove up to the property on Rock Way, it was breath takingly beautiful!  The trees were gorgeous and full grown (I love trees, it makes me want to go take a picnic under them!)

 As we drove up to the house, our suspicions were confirmed.   The mobile home has sat for quite a while and is in need of some TLC.  But, as we went inside, we looked past the plywood floors, ceiling issues and lack of appliances (or as a friend said, "Lack of any utilities!) we saw the beautiful layout of the home and what it could be.  We prayed and knew the Lord would have us make an offer on this home.  Since it is bank owned and quite cheaper, we are able to take a loan that would let us buy the home and do a few of the desperately needed repairs, like a water heater!

After we made the offer to the bank, they made a counter, and we accepted!  So, we are on our way to having a home! (again!)  We see the beautiful potential in this home that might be ours and we are so excited!  We feel such an urgency to get in and get settled and begin starting a church in High Springs.  As we left the area at dusk, we saw the lines of traffic coming from Gainesville into High Springs.  We saw the people that God has called us to reach and the burden to begin became even stronger.  It's so exciting serving God!

Off Script

It was about 8 months ago that we had just finished our last appointment at the Mayo clinic.  We didn't have a diagnosis for my pain.  We were unsure of what to do next and felt that discouragement was just around the corner.  It was at this time that someone came to our church from Striving Forth Publications.  They had many books for sale, but when they told about Off Script by Cary Schmidt,  I knew I needed this book!

We had read Hook, Line and Sinker by Bro. Schmidt and it has become one of our favorites, so I knew I would learn much from this book.  But, when I heard the topic of the book, I knew it was the encouragement that God had sent my way.

Cary Schmidt wrote this book during his cancer treatments.  He was in the midst of serving in a busy, thriving ministry when the unexpected happened....cancer.  He gives so much wisdom of what to do when God rewrites your life.  And that's where I was when this book came across my path!  I was completely caught by surprise when I became sick.  Bro. Schmidt said, "A trial is like a precious treasure that God places in our hands and loans to us.  It's a trust - a sacred trust.  It's an opportunity to show His grace and goodness to others, and to be used by God in a very special way.  God doesn't give trials to someone unless He has a special plan to use it."  And that's what I want.  I want God to use this crazy, unexpected Lyme disease and use it for His glory!

Another great quote from the book, "Daily you will face the same decision in your trial.  The hardship and emotions will remind you to be discouraged.  But, the Holy Spirit will remind you to  'be of good cheer'  And you must choose your response."  It's my choice!

In the midst of so much encouragement and wisdom from God's Word, Bro. Schmidt relates stories from his "Off Script" time.  There were times I would be reading the book in the waiting room at the doctor's office and just start laughing out loud.  I love how his family  is real and have the joy of the Lord!  This book was such a blessing and encouragement to me!

Momma, I want a cup like that one!

 Those were the words I heard at the dinner table.  I asked Micah, "Which cup?"  He pointed across the table to Beth's tall cup.  I think my baby is growing up!

To Grandmother's House He Goes!

My kids love being together!  They love playing and having a playmate always at hand.  But, they love one on one time with their Grandparents,too!  They love the extra attention and they love being spoiled by them.  Patrick's Mom and my parents do a good job at the spoiling part!  My kids love to be with them!

Last week was Silas's turn at Grandpa and Grandma's house.  He was so excited!  He packed his backpack and was ready that morning!  (Mom was scheduled to arrive after dinner!) He was ready to go the second she pulled in the driveway.  He did let me snap this picture real quick first though!  He had many adventures and memories!  So thankful for great parents....they make the best Grandparents!

Another Symptom of Lyme

Yesterday Patrick and I headed to my foot doctor appointment to hear my results of the MRI.  What better thing to do than to check out the JoAnn's sale paper while waiting!

The doctor was happy to say that there are no tumors as expected in my foot!  Praise God!  But, he did find fluid and inflammation in between the joints in my forefoot.  He believes this is due to my crazy Lyme Disease.    So, I guess that's another symptom to add to the list!  For now, I am on another prescription to try and fight this inflammation.  I'm thankful it doesn't hurt!  We have too much moving to do for me to be off of my feet!

Some work while we are waiting

So, we packed up and were ready for our move to High Springs, until we heard the news that we have to put the brakes on for a bit.  What do we do now?  Of course, there is always plenty to do!  But, one thing we thought of is to accomplish a few of the projects that we were going to eventually do after we move in.  Now is the perfect time for those!!!

 We are so excited about decorating our master bedroom.  One of the things we would like to do is to have coordinating furniture.  Wow!  That would be a treat! Ha! ;o)  Many times our room is the room that sort of gets thrown together.  I never have liked that idea, I feel it should have more preference.  So, we decided we want to have some darker colored furniture.  The Baptist Thrift center gave us this headboard.  We love it!  The color?  Well, it just wouldn't coordinate.  Patrick has been working on restaining it.

 After a quick sanding, he was ready to stain.  We picked Espresso color for the stain.

 And Wa-Lah! It's done!  I LOVE it!  Love, Love, Love!!

 Silas thinks it's pretty cool, too!

It's been added back to our sea of boxes in it's beautified state.  The really neat thing is that a couple of weeks ago my Dad gave Patrick some furniture for his office.  For now, his office will be in our bedroom.  There is a large desk (can't see it in this picture) and nice file drawers.  Do you notice the color??  It perfectly matches our headboard!  Isn't God so good!  Can't wait to show after pictures of the whole room!

Poor Roo Roo

My little Micah Roo is active.  Very active.  He's always running, jumping, and....falling.  He always seems to have a bump for Momma to kiss.  

Well, this past week he was running and bouncing along when he fell and hit the door jam.  He fell right on his left eye.  Poor little man!  He cried for just a bit while we iced it.  It turned quite blue and a little swollen.  I guess that's price he pays for being so busy.  But, I don't think he'd have it any other way!  

All things working together for good

We were all set to move and had been packing furiously, until.....we received a call on Wednesday. 

Our closing has been delayed.

There are a few issues with the seller that will be resolved eventually, but it could take some time.  The closing agent wants to extend the closing for 30 days, but warned us it could take longer.  boo hoo.  We are ready to get settled in High Springs!!  We looked around seeing if there was another property that has come available, but we realized the place we picked is the one we want.  We just have to be patient.

Then, Thursday I had an appointment with my foot doctor.  About 6 months ago I had an issue with a lump on the bottom of my foot.  My doctor gave me an injection and hoped it wouldn't return.  Well, it has.  So, my doctor decided to have an MRI and find out what is going on.  That is scheduled for next week with a follow up the following week.  Can't you just see the Lord's hand in all of this?  We were going to be moving into our new home next week, but in God's foresight, He saw that I needed to get this foot matter taken care of first.  He's so good to us!

So, for now, we're living in a home full of boxes and craziness!  Oh boy!!