Pray for Carrie

Hi Friends,

Most of you know about my love for Austria and our desire to go back to serve there. I don't think any of you know that this dream was birthed in the backyard of two of our dearest friends, Lance and Carrie Borden in Austria. It was there that seeds were planted for mission work. Lance and Carrie have been serving in Austria for over 10 years now. Carrie is one of those people who I've always looked up to in the Lord. She has taught me so many things about marriage, God, and children (although I had not yet had children when I lived close to her). She even influenced my decision to go part time at work last year during our week long trip to Austria. She also handed off her trusty spank stick and encouraged me to put it to use :-).

I just got news that she has cancer on her tongue and she is in for a hard long road over the next 3 months. Including taking a portion of her tongue, chemotherapy and radiation. Our hearts are broken for this family. I've posted some pictures from our times shared with them. If you would take a second and pray for Carrie. Pray for God to heal her completely and to be with their family (they have 2 children).

Thanks so much.

25 Things About Me

I posted these on facebook but thought I'd put them on here too. Maybe you'll learn something new about me :-). Have a great day.

1. Words cannot express how grateful I am for Christ's sacrifice on my behalf. As each year passes the reality of this seems to really sink in more and more.
2. My family is very multicultural. My sister is married to a Native American, My brother is married to a Colombian and my hubby is the hottest white man...man....I've ever known. When all of our kids are together they can all pass for siblings. Pretty cool I think.
3. We name our children for meanings. Ellison comes from Elijah and means The Lord is God. Jude's name means Praise. When he was born he developed spinal meningitis and stayed in the hospital for 3 weeks so he really is our praise.
4. One of the hardest things I've ever done is walk away from the hospital without my baby. It feels so unnatural and makes me count my blessings when I see his little face.
5. Ian and I lived in Europe for our first 2 years of marriage. It was a gift. We were together for 21 out of 24 hours per day...Literally.
6. Because of number 5 I am drawn to Europeans. I love their accents, their way of life and I just love being around them in general. I think that's why I love IKEA so much. Europeans flock there.
7. We dream of returning to Austria to live as missionaries. We are hopeful that 2010 will be our year.
8. We are in the process of becoming foster parents in order to adopt our next child through DFACS here in Georgia.
9. I ran my first 1/2 marathon last November. It was very exciting and I'd like to do another one. Ian and I did it together and it was cool to cross the finish line together.
10. I love my church. It has revolutionized the way I think about God, faith and life in general. I am so grateful for that place.
11. I love my job. I work part time at my church in children's ministry. Would never have imagined myself here, but I'm so blessed to do what I do.
12. I'm really bad at keeping in touch with people...really bad but the internet is making it easier.
13. I have visited 7 European countries and lived in 2 (Austria and Croatia).
14. I have been to Colombia, South America to visit my brother and his family. I wasn't afraid and it was beautiful! I hope to go again soon.
15. This goes without saying but I love to travel. When I go near the airport I have a moment of depression because I'm not getting on a plane to go somewhere new.
16. Although this falls far down my list it shouldn't be. I'm in love with my husband. I thought I knew what that meant after only 2 weeks of knowing him, but I really understand love in a new way. He has taught me so much and he truly is my best friend.
17. I'm bad at taking care of cell phones. I have lost or broken so many of them. It makes me scared to get a cool smart phone b/c I'll just lose it or something.
18. Having children has been a great joy for me. They have taught me how to be silly, they have shown me that they love me just because I'm their mom (I know that won't last forever) and they have taught me how to trust God in a new way.
19. I have regrets in my life. I'm thankful that God has used them to bring me closer to Him and to gain glory for Himself. My regrets make me think hard and long about every decision I make (not always a good thing.)
20. I love being non-traditional. We seem to always do things a little differently than everyone around us and I'm ok with that.
21. I want to teach my daughter how to read. She is in preschool but she has a real interest in it and I would love to have that honor of teaching her. It will open up a whole new world to her.
22. I am hoping to read the entire Bible this year. We are going through the chronological Bible which makes it very manageable. So far I'm staying on track :-).
23. I love taking care of and managing my home. I want to make our home a place where we all want to be.
24. I want to live a more healthy life. I can see the person I want to be but just can't seem to stick with a good plan to make it a reality.
25. I am not where I thought I'd be at this point in my life but I'm so grateful for the journey and the things I've learned.

Mommy's Little Helper

Check this out. Love my boy!!

Hallelujah for Mixed Chicks

I was thinking that my first post of the new year would be something reflective, but I've had a breakthrough in the department of Ellison's hair and I had to share. There is this unspoken rule among black women...your hair has got to look good! Once you have a child it seems like you will neglect your own hair to be sure that every piece of your child's hair is in place. God has blessed us with a beautiful little girl with tons of hair to manage. I mean tons! When she had lice a few months ago, it took hours to get through each strand! 

Well, many of you know about the countless number of products I've tried for my little Ellison's hair. No matter what I do, it just seems like I can never quite figure out how to manage it well. She has a great head of hair but I began to worry a little as people called it wild, crazy etc. Nobody meant any harm in saying those things, but I was just thinking that a little girl wouldn't necesarrily want her hair to be called wild or crazy. Especically not Ellison who is in love with everything girlee. Over the past 2 years I would guess that I've spent a few hundred (YIKES) dollars on different prodcuts. Frizz Ease, Infusium Frizz Control, Carol's Daughter...and the list goes on and on. The issue is that her hair is a blend of mine and Ian's. Products for my hair weighed her hair down and products for Ian's type of hair dryed her hair out (which probably led to the lice outbreak mentioned earlier).

Well one night I was doing yet another web search and came across an ad for mixed chicks hair products. (http://www.mixedchicks.net). So I looked at the ads and thought "ok right" this is really going to work. Last week I ordered the trial versions thinking "why not." They arrived on New Year's Eve and yesterday morning we tried them out. Ellison sat patiently wondering what all the fuss was about (she could care less for the most part about her hair..which I love!!) Well I am please to announce that the products worked!!! I am emailing this picture in to the website to share our success story. The picture of her in the red dress is pre-mixed chicks and the pink shirt is after. 

So if you know of anyone with curly hair that is a little hard to manage tell them about mixed chicks. It's GREAT!!!

OK. There will be something more reflective next time. Happy New Year!

A pre christmas gift....

Yesterday I entered the world of breadmaking. Here is a my early gift from Santa brought to me courtesy of craigslist :-). 

Christmas Update

I'm really enjoying this season of Christmas. I always love this time of year but this year especially has been so much fun. We went to a Christmas tree farm and cut our tree down for the first time, we've been celebrating Advent and we've already watched quite a few Christmas movies. We went for our annual trip to visit Santa which turned out to be great as well. I've also finished up a large part of my shopping which brings gives me a big relief. Today I finally decided on a dress for Ellison's Christmas program. It's this Thursday night. She and I went out shopping last night for one and we had a great time together. She sang Christmas songs and loved having all of my attention. Although we went to 3 stores I couldn't find one that I loved. After I picked her up from school the 3 of us (Me, Jude and Ellison) went to Belk to get a dress that I'd spotted this weekend during our Santa visit. I can't wait to see her on the stage doing her little songs.  I am sad, however, that my parents won't be able to be in the audience. That is the one thing that stinks about this time of year. My brother lives in Colombia and my parents and sister are in SC and they are just far enough away that we don't see each other as often as we'd like. Thanks to the digital age, however, we can keep them in the loop on things. Well here are some pictures from December fun so far. Enjoy.  

Grateful

It really seems like there has been so much sadness all around lately. Don't get me wrong, I'm not living with an unawareness of all the sadness in the world at large, but there is something about sadness experienced by people who you know. In the past 2 weeks we've seen a lady who I was in small group with contract a flesh eating bacteria which required amputating her leg and she still continues to fight for her life, 2 friends have lost their fathers, one co-worker lost her mother and yet more sad news as one of our neighbors, a father of 3 children took his life on Saturday evening. In some of the cases mentioned above the families will have the hope of our God as they walk through these tragedies. In others they are not in relationship with the Lord and will not have the peace that can come from knowing him. 

This is the season of Advent. Advent comes from the latin word meaning "coming." It is a preparation for the coming of the Lord. The devotion from yesterday lead us to Isaiah 40:1-11. It's a consolation from the prophet and a reassurance that the the time of darkness will come to an end. "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Is. 40:3-5

I do love Advent and the way that it draws Christians back to the beauty of this season. As I think of these families and their sorrows, my heart breaks for them. I am reminded of the eternal hope that I -that we- have in Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the gift of Jesus and am praying for all those who will start this day without that hope. 

BTW I have been getting the Goshen devotions for Advent each day and they have been really good. If you would like to see what they are like here is a link. www.goshen.edu/devotions/Home