Blown Away!

Have you ever prayed for a really long time about something and it just feels like God is not answering? And then, out of the blue, He gives you an answer that just blows you away! This is what we've been experiencing this week and we are so thankful to God for answered prayers! When I say we, I mean our family and our church family. Lynwood has been searching for a pastor for awhile now and just when it seemed we would never get one, God comes through and is sending Bro. Mark Anderson back to us! Yes, back to us! He is the pastor we had several years ago that we never wanted to leave. Never in a million years did we dream God would give him back to us. Just proof that we will never have the mind of God and His ways are not our ways and never will be. We are all super excited and can't wait for mid-July when his family comes! Lynwood's miracle is just beginning!

16 Years!

I just wanted to wish a Happy Anniversary to my sweet husband of 16 years today! And we are celebrating by driving in the car for 6 hours with 3 fighting kids on our way to Kansas City! Woohoo! Sounds romantic, huh? We'll probably even get to stop at Burger King for our anniversary dinner!

Seriously, we have had an amazing life together and I wouldn't trade a moment of it! Mark has taken such good care of me and is a really fun dad. He's a hard worker, good provider and loves his Lord. What more could I ask for? Maybe an island trip or diamonds? Just kidding--I love you, honey!

Announcing...!

Caleb, Levi and Lydia are proud to announce their new baby cousin! Macie Claire Brown was born on May 14 at 3:17 p.m. to Kip, Gina and big sister Ellie! She weighed 8 lbs, 2 oz and is 18.5 inches long. Too bad she lives in Kansas City and we can't see her very much! Here's a picture when baby Macie was only a few hours old! Isn't she precious?

Life is Normal Again

Hallelujah! I woke up this morning singing this song--did anyone hear me? I'm singing because the boys went back to school today after 6 1/2 snow days in the last 10 days of school! Poor little Lydia is still trying to have her Valentine's Party at preschool! It has been crazy here with all the ice/snow/power outages etc. Don't get me wrong--I love my children dearly and love spending time with them but honestly, we all do better when life is somewhat normal and we are on our regular schedule! On the snow break we actually accomplished alot--Caleb got 4 permanent teeth pulled and the rest of his braces on, Mark and I got away alone together for 2 full days in Paducah over Valentine's Day, Levi got strep throat again for about the zillionth time this year (someone please buy the boy a new toothbrush!), and Caleb's soccer team won 2nd place in a St. Louis tournament! Wow! We probably shoud've used the time to clean closets or organize something around the house. But that's not near as much fun! All that said, I'm finding myself looking at the clock all afternoon wondering is it time to pick up the boys yet? Maybe the house is a little too quiet with them gone after all!

On a final note, snow days are great days to curl up with a good book and I found myself with a little extra time to read. I am not much of a reader, thinking it's such a waste of my precious time. But last year I stumbled onto an awesome Christian author named Karen Kingsbury and I cannot stop reading her books. They are absolutely life-changing and I challenge anyone reading to check her books out. The best ones are the series that starts with the book Redemption and continues with several books about the Baxter family. Over the snow break, I read Oceans Apart which taught me about learning to love those who hurt or disappoint you by forgiving them. Just a warning tho--always have a kleenex close by when you read--she will have you tearing up on page one!

It's a Snow Day--FINALLY!!!

Lydia's in green with her neighbor OliviaCaleb trying to snowboard!

Levi ramping it!
The 2008 neighborhood snowboarding team!

Trophies, Tears, and Tissues!

Wow! The new year has already been crazy busy! The kids are back in school and the tree is down, but I'm still looking at a few presents and decorations that haven't been put away! I'll never be 100% caught up! This weekend was very bittersweet for our family. Caleb played in Cape's indoor soccer tournament and ended up with a first place trophy after beating a very tough team from St. Louis. And sadly, on Saturday we buried Mark's sweet Grandpa Kinsey of Marion, IL who just died of cancer at age 82. We'd been talking to the kids about Grandpa being in heaven with Jesus now, so when we walked into the funeral home Saturday, Lydia looks around then says to me, "Mommy is this heaven?" It was so sweet and comforting to know that she knows Great-Grandpa is with Jesus now. We all take comfort in that fact. Today I am battling a terrible sinus infection that keeps coming back and has just about gotten me down this time around. I'm supposed to be packing my sweet husband's suitcase for his mission trip to Mexico tomorrow. Instead, I'm on the couch with a box of tissue! It's just about like that old Satan to get me down while my husband's away! Any extra prayers for protection the next few days would be greatly appreciated! My mom just called and is bringing over chicken noodle soup, so looks like God is already providing!

Checking In!

Just a quick post to see if I still remember how to do this. August was the last time I tried it! As soon as Mark teaches me how to post pictures we are in business with this blog! After the new year and the kids return to school, my new project will be figuring out the world of blogging! Stay tuned. I'm so excited!