This week has been long already! And it's only Thursday. Sunday night we went to Miranda's church, Lakeview Baptist Church in Peoria, AZ, and had a really great time. We went to the Pastor's house (Bro. Crichton) for pizza and fellowship and had a good time laughing about funny and crazy things we used to do. The Pastor and his wife are so sweet and you can tell they love Miranda as much as we do. I am so thankful for them that they took my request for them to take care of Miranda seriously. It would've been easier to forget about it and not worry about picking her up, letting her fall by the wayside. But they continued to pick her up and keep track of her for the last 1 1/2 years.
Monday morning we picked Miranda up and went to the mall. We only had the morning since she had track practice at one, so we couldn't really do anything fun like the zoo or a museum. By the time we got there and got in we would've only had 2 hours to do anything before we had to head back. So we just walked around the mall and goofed around. I got texting on my phone (YAY!!!) so we drove Caleb crazy by texting each other while walking next to each other. It was sad when we had to take her home, but I'm glad we got to spend a little bit of time with her!
Monday night was the first night of the Global Independent Baptist Fellowship. We aren't a part of the fellowship, but Bro. Randolph (the Pastor of the church that was hosting it) said we could put up our display anyway. We figured, hey, free advertising, right?! Plus a lot of our friends were going to be there including my Pastor I had growing up and my Youth Pastor. It was really, really, incredibly good to see them! They both had such an influence on my life and I'm so thankful for them. My Pastor always had a heart for kids and youth and making sure we had a youth leader that would take us to camp and things. I know that he took teens to camp when there was nobody else and I know that not many Pastors would do that! My youth Pastor, Doug Taylor, was also very special to me. He gave his heart to us teens and gave us his all. He was always quick to correct us in a loving way, but he was never overbearing, from what I remember. He married Caleb and me and he was the one that was always pushing us together! When we were working with the youth I found myself thinking "What would Doug do" very often! I know he gave his all to us and I'm thankful for that, I always will be. I love you, Doug!! (Mr. Taylor, sorry)
The meeting lasted through Wednesday night and although it was exhausted, it was fun. The preaching was all excellent, the church was very good to us with meals and coupons, and I always love seeing my friends from college! It is such a blessing to see people you went to school with serving the Lord just like you are. It's an encouragement and also a reminder that you need to be faithful, so you can be an encouragement to them. We had good fellowship, good food, and good preaching. What more can a Baptist ask for?
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Family Emergency
Before we left for Arizona we had a little family emergency. A member of our family was dropped and broke her arm. She's okay now, Caleb was able to tape her arm back together even though the plastic band that is supposed to hold it on broke.
Okay, I'll be serious. Kayla's favorite doll, Jean, was dropped and her arm broke. Kayla cried for no less than 40 minutes and wouldn't let anyone touch Jean! She was holding the broken off arm in one hand and cradling Jean in the arm while laying face-down on her bed wailing and lamenting. I called my mom because I had no idea what to do. Let her cry it out? Try to console her? Make her stop screaming and crying? All I could think about was a time when I was 12 and I got in really big trouble for doing something really stupid. I cried for hours I think, because I was disappointed in myself. So I called my mom to see what to do and we talked about it. Eventually Kayla came out of her room and talked to Grandma. I don't know what Grandma said, but it worked!
Kayla let Caleb (our in-house doctor) tape up the arm and put it in a cast. We have to get a different kind of tape to make it a permanent fix, but she has a good temporary cast. Kayla was feeling much better afterward but decided to leave Jean at home to recover and brought a different doll with her to Arizona. We're hoping Jean will be stable enough to travel again when we get home in April. Kayla would appreciate your prayers on this matter!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
I have been so remiss in updating this. We don't have internet very often and when we do, it's only for an hour or so and I hate writing in a rush!! Last time I left off we were headed for Arkansas so I'll start there!
We were supposed to leave Monday afternoon I think the 26th of January? Not sure of the exact date. But, a huge ice storm moved into Oklahoma on its way to Arkansas, so we would have been following a huge ice storm the whole way there. We decided not to go, and delayed it for that weekend. We left on Saturday and when we got there found out we were staying in a nice Missions Apartment about an hour away. I am so sorry, I can't remember any town names. This is why I hate writing in a rush!! The church where Caleb was working needed toilets and vanities put in, hot water heater put in, and a water fountain. They were also working on getting the painting done and carpet in. The Pastor was really nice and we all had a good time. They didn't get all the work done by Tuesday morning like they wanted, but I believe they were able to meet in their new building that Sunday which was a huge blessing. They had been meeting in a train depot and they had to set up and take down for each service.
We left there Tuesday afternoon and got back to Oklahoma late Tuesday night. Wednesday we did laundry, packed and cleaned up. We had to get ready to be gone for two months! Thursday we left a lot later than we wanted, we didn't leave Mustang until almost noon and we had a ten hour drive ahead of us. But the drive went well and we ended up in Albuquerque, NM late that night. We stayed in a Missions Apartment there at Rio Grande Baptist Church. It was a nice facility and it was free, so that made it better! We are so incredibly thankful for Missions Apartments, words can't describe what a huge blessing they are to Missionaries! They save us so much money and enable us to do so much more than we normally would be able to do. I think every church should try to have one in their church, even if it's one room with a bed and microwave!
Friday we traveled to Prescott, AZ and we're staying in a Missions Apartment there at Valley Baptist Church. The church bought an actual house that they turned into an apartment in the Master Bedroom area, and the rest is classrooms and a fellowship hall. They then turned the shop outside into the sanctuary. It's at a great location and it's so beautiful here! I never knew that Arizona had mountains and it's unbelievable pretty here. It started snowing Sunday and snowed all through Tuesday morning and so the kids had a great time building snowmen, snowforts and having a snowball fight! The weather is warm, in the 30s-40s, but the snow isn't melting. It's perfect play outside in the snow weather!
Saturday we met Bro. Ikenberry at his church, Faith Baptist Church in Prescott Valley, to do visitation. It was fun to do that again, a surprisingly large amount of churches don't do visitation anymore, or just the Pastor does it. It was good to see a church that was concerned for its neighbors and those around them! That afternoon we went to a birthday party (I promise we were invited!) where Caleb thoroghly insulted the hostess by suggesting she turn her goats into summer sausage and jerky. She firmly said "We don't eat family members" and glared. They were both joking about it and had a good time, but what made it even funnier was that the Pastor suggested to Caleb that he tell her that goats make good jerky! He was totally set up by the Pastor. We played a game where you kind of needed to know people, and Caleb ended up winning, how strange is that? He's good at reading people I guess.
That Sunday we were with that church in Prescott Valley and had a great time. The church is very sweet and loving, and we felt like we fit right in. Caleb taught the teen class for Sunday School, I played an offetory and he sang a special for morning church, and then he preached for night service. I think things went well and the Spirit moved. It was a refreshingly relaxed and loving church, not something you find often out on the road.
On Wednesday we were with Tim Larkly in Cottonwood, AZ. Caleb knew him in college and hasn't seem him since, so it was good to see him. He's married now and his wife is so sweet and fun, we had a good time. They have two adorable kids and our kids had a good time being rascals together.
This Sunday we're going to be in the church with the Missions Apartment (Valley Baptist) in the morning and then in the evening we're going to Peoria, AZ (in Phoenix) and we're going to see MIRANDA!!! She's a girl that was in our youth group a couple years ago. She was saved at a youth rally she went to because her friend made her, and she was such a blessing to us. She was over at our house almost every weekend and she was my best friend, even though we were ten years apart. It was really hard for both of us when her Dad got a job in Arizona two years ago, but I am so excited to see her again. She was faithful enough to find a good church in her area that would come pick her up (her mom wouldn't take her to church) and her Pastor says she's a faithful person in the church. It will be so good to see her again, I always call her my mini-me.
After that we'll be staying in a Missions Apartment in the Phoenix area and I am praying with all my heart that they have internet!! I know that's so vain and carnal of me, but it's a desire of my heart! My pregnancy is going really well now. I'm about 6 months along and I'm in that final stage where I'm always uncomfortable and feeling huge. But at least I'm not sick anymore and the baby kicking reminds me that he's still there and still healthy! It's such a relief to not have to wonder if the baby's okay, to just be able to feel it moving and know it's okay. God is so good to give us worrying moms that peace of mind! We still don't know what it is yet, boy or girl. We might find out in April, if I can get an ultrasound. We're trying to get our insurance things worked out and see if anyone will cover it. I'm almost to the point where I don't care! We've waited this long, what's the point in finding out now?! But then I see cute baby stuff in the store and I feel the need to HAVE TO KNOW because I want to buy stuff!!!! Whether that be cute little pink fluffly socks or little suits. But, God will provide when I need it!
We were supposed to leave Monday afternoon I think the 26th of January? Not sure of the exact date. But, a huge ice storm moved into Oklahoma on its way to Arkansas, so we would have been following a huge ice storm the whole way there. We decided not to go, and delayed it for that weekend. We left on Saturday and when we got there found out we were staying in a nice Missions Apartment about an hour away. I am so sorry, I can't remember any town names. This is why I hate writing in a rush!! The church where Caleb was working needed toilets and vanities put in, hot water heater put in, and a water fountain. They were also working on getting the painting done and carpet in. The Pastor was really nice and we all had a good time. They didn't get all the work done by Tuesday morning like they wanted, but I believe they were able to meet in their new building that Sunday which was a huge blessing. They had been meeting in a train depot and they had to set up and take down for each service.
We left there Tuesday afternoon and got back to Oklahoma late Tuesday night. Wednesday we did laundry, packed and cleaned up. We had to get ready to be gone for two months! Thursday we left a lot later than we wanted, we didn't leave Mustang until almost noon and we had a ten hour drive ahead of us. But the drive went well and we ended up in Albuquerque, NM late that night. We stayed in a Missions Apartment there at Rio Grande Baptist Church. It was a nice facility and it was free, so that made it better! We are so incredibly thankful for Missions Apartments, words can't describe what a huge blessing they are to Missionaries! They save us so much money and enable us to do so much more than we normally would be able to do. I think every church should try to have one in their church, even if it's one room with a bed and microwave!
Friday we traveled to Prescott, AZ and we're staying in a Missions Apartment there at Valley Baptist Church. The church bought an actual house that they turned into an apartment in the Master Bedroom area, and the rest is classrooms and a fellowship hall. They then turned the shop outside into the sanctuary. It's at a great location and it's so beautiful here! I never knew that Arizona had mountains and it's unbelievable pretty here. It started snowing Sunday and snowed all through Tuesday morning and so the kids had a great time building snowmen, snowforts and having a snowball fight! The weather is warm, in the 30s-40s, but the snow isn't melting. It's perfect play outside in the snow weather!
Saturday we met Bro. Ikenberry at his church, Faith Baptist Church in Prescott Valley, to do visitation. It was fun to do that again, a surprisingly large amount of churches don't do visitation anymore, or just the Pastor does it. It was good to see a church that was concerned for its neighbors and those around them! That afternoon we went to a birthday party (I promise we were invited!) where Caleb thoroghly insulted the hostess by suggesting she turn her goats into summer sausage and jerky. She firmly said "We don't eat family members" and glared. They were both joking about it and had a good time, but what made it even funnier was that the Pastor suggested to Caleb that he tell her that goats make good jerky! He was totally set up by the Pastor. We played a game where you kind of needed to know people, and Caleb ended up winning, how strange is that? He's good at reading people I guess.
That Sunday we were with that church in Prescott Valley and had a great time. The church is very sweet and loving, and we felt like we fit right in. Caleb taught the teen class for Sunday School, I played an offetory and he sang a special for morning church, and then he preached for night service. I think things went well and the Spirit moved. It was a refreshingly relaxed and loving church, not something you find often out on the road.
On Wednesday we were with Tim Larkly in Cottonwood, AZ. Caleb knew him in college and hasn't seem him since, so it was good to see him. He's married now and his wife is so sweet and fun, we had a good time. They have two adorable kids and our kids had a good time being rascals together.
This Sunday we're going to be in the church with the Missions Apartment (Valley Baptist) in the morning and then in the evening we're going to Peoria, AZ (in Phoenix) and we're going to see MIRANDA!!! She's a girl that was in our youth group a couple years ago. She was saved at a youth rally she went to because her friend made her, and she was such a blessing to us. She was over at our house almost every weekend and she was my best friend, even though we were ten years apart. It was really hard for both of us when her Dad got a job in Arizona two years ago, but I am so excited to see her again. She was faithful enough to find a good church in her area that would come pick her up (her mom wouldn't take her to church) and her Pastor says she's a faithful person in the church. It will be so good to see her again, I always call her my mini-me.
After that we'll be staying in a Missions Apartment in the Phoenix area and I am praying with all my heart that they have internet!! I know that's so vain and carnal of me, but it's a desire of my heart! My pregnancy is going really well now. I'm about 6 months along and I'm in that final stage where I'm always uncomfortable and feeling huge. But at least I'm not sick anymore and the baby kicking reminds me that he's still there and still healthy! It's such a relief to not have to wonder if the baby's okay, to just be able to feel it moving and know it's okay. God is so good to give us worrying moms that peace of mind! We still don't know what it is yet, boy or girl. We might find out in April, if I can get an ultrasound. We're trying to get our insurance things worked out and see if anyone will cover it. I'm almost to the point where I don't care! We've waited this long, what's the point in finding out now?! But then I see cute baby stuff in the store and I feel the need to HAVE TO KNOW because I want to buy stuff!!!! Whether that be cute little pink fluffly socks or little suits. But, God will provide when I need it!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Our "Relaxing" Weeks at Home
Well, we finally made it back home to Oklahoma. We had been told that there would be a mobile home on a church member's property where we could stay, but it wasn't ready for us when we got there. We stayed with Caleb's parents for a week before the trailer was ready for us. But once we got there, we were so thankful! Ron and Vicki LeHew bought the trailer and property next to them and were planning on moving into it this Summer, but they decided to let us stay in it until we found a place of our own. It's a really nice trailer with 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a HUGE kitchen, dining room, and a massive living room. Our puny little possessions looked like they belonged in a doll house instead of this house. The church really got behind us and people donated a couch, chairs, side tables, dressers, curtains, table and chairs, and a LOT of food! We now have a lifetime supply of mac & cheese and hotdogs, which the kids are excited about. They want to eat it everyday, I guess they missed it on the road.
Although we've been home, we haven't really been "home". The first week we were there our church had a Family Life Conference with Bro. Mike Hays. He's a Biblical Counselor and probably the wisest, smartest man I've ever met. He did our pre-marital counseling and I love listening to him every chance I get. We had a really good conference, but we were ready for a few days off. That next week was the Heartland Home Missions Conference, so we were barely home that week! We had a good time even though Caleb didn't get to present our ministry. He was able to set up our display table and he made some meetings, so that was a plus. I didn't get to see many friends since most of my friends are pregnant and had to stay home! But I saw a lot of husbands. I always love going to these meetings because so much money is raised for Home Missions projects and one Pastor was even given a brand new minivan. Pastors come with all kinds of things just ready to give away and it's exciting to see God work.
That Saturday we were cleaning and recovering from the week. Caleb cleaned the oven, since I couldn't, and since every time we used the oven it smelled like burning mouse poop in the whole house! It's quite nasty. After it sat all day he rinsed it out and I made dinner. I made cornbread in the oven, but the smell was still there. Since my stomach is so sensitive I couldn't eat anything but everyone else ate the food. In the middle of the night Kayla woke up sick as a dog, so I got her in new pajamas and put her on the couch where I could hear her if she was sick again. Caleb and I decided that I wouldn't be oging to church so I didn't wake up to take a shower. Caleb woke up but after his shower, he started to get sick too. We were trying to figure out what to do when Noah and Lela both woke up sick! So we all stayed home from church Sunday morning. I was the only one not sick so we figured it had something to do with the oven cleaner/dinner. By Sunday afternoon Caleb and the girls were feeling better but Noah was still sick, so I stayed home with him. But I soon got sick myself and felt awful! I was sick all night and all day Monday so it must have been some kind of stomach bug going around, not my dinner. That makes me feel a little bit better anyway.
That week we just kind of relaxed and focused on school and laundry. Caleb went to Wellington, KS to install a new hot water heater for the Jacobs and then roofed a house of a church member for two days. He recommitted his vow to never roof a house again. He has a huge blister on his hand now that's quite nasty.
This weekend we are in Luther, Oklahoma at a Missions Conference with the Dedmonds. We know another couple in the conference, Hector and Erica Garcia, so it's good to see them again. The church is really nice and very sweet and Noah is loving it! The Pastor has two boys around his age and another Missionary family, the Rooneys to England, have some more boys his age (eight in total) so he has a lot of boys to play with!! And then Kayla tries to keep up and be apart of their club, but they won't let her.
Next week we're going to Arkansas so Caleb can work on a church there. We're only going to be there until Friday, and then we'll be back in Oklahoma for a week to prepare to leave for Arizona for a month! Wheew!! It's kind of exciting to start our third leg of deputation, especially since I'm feeling a lot better and actually look pregnant! My morning sickness has almost completely disappeared so thank you to everyone that has prayed for me. I'm starting to feel like a normal human being again and I can eat food again, which is nice for lots of reasons.
Well I'm going to bed. Thanks for reading the blog, please leave a comment or email me! I like to hear responses to what we're doing. It's nice to know people still care.
Although we've been home, we haven't really been "home". The first week we were there our church had a Family Life Conference with Bro. Mike Hays. He's a Biblical Counselor and probably the wisest, smartest man I've ever met. He did our pre-marital counseling and I love listening to him every chance I get. We had a really good conference, but we were ready for a few days off. That next week was the Heartland Home Missions Conference, so we were barely home that week! We had a good time even though Caleb didn't get to present our ministry. He was able to set up our display table and he made some meetings, so that was a plus. I didn't get to see many friends since most of my friends are pregnant and had to stay home! But I saw a lot of husbands. I always love going to these meetings because so much money is raised for Home Missions projects and one Pastor was even given a brand new minivan. Pastors come with all kinds of things just ready to give away and it's exciting to see God work.
That Saturday we were cleaning and recovering from the week. Caleb cleaned the oven, since I couldn't, and since every time we used the oven it smelled like burning mouse poop in the whole house! It's quite nasty. After it sat all day he rinsed it out and I made dinner. I made cornbread in the oven, but the smell was still there. Since my stomach is so sensitive I couldn't eat anything but everyone else ate the food. In the middle of the night Kayla woke up sick as a dog, so I got her in new pajamas and put her on the couch where I could hear her if she was sick again. Caleb and I decided that I wouldn't be oging to church so I didn't wake up to take a shower. Caleb woke up but after his shower, he started to get sick too. We were trying to figure out what to do when Noah and Lela both woke up sick! So we all stayed home from church Sunday morning. I was the only one not sick so we figured it had something to do with the oven cleaner/dinner. By Sunday afternoon Caleb and the girls were feeling better but Noah was still sick, so I stayed home with him. But I soon got sick myself and felt awful! I was sick all night and all day Monday so it must have been some kind of stomach bug going around, not my dinner. That makes me feel a little bit better anyway.
That week we just kind of relaxed and focused on school and laundry. Caleb went to Wellington, KS to install a new hot water heater for the Jacobs and then roofed a house of a church member for two days. He recommitted his vow to never roof a house again. He has a huge blister on his hand now that's quite nasty.
This weekend we are in Luther, Oklahoma at a Missions Conference with the Dedmonds. We know another couple in the conference, Hector and Erica Garcia, so it's good to see them again. The church is really nice and very sweet and Noah is loving it! The Pastor has two boys around his age and another Missionary family, the Rooneys to England, have some more boys his age (eight in total) so he has a lot of boys to play with!! And then Kayla tries to keep up and be apart of their club, but they won't let her.
Next week we're going to Arkansas so Caleb can work on a church there. We're only going to be there until Friday, and then we'll be back in Oklahoma for a week to prepare to leave for Arizona for a month! Wheew!! It's kind of exciting to start our third leg of deputation, especially since I'm feeling a lot better and actually look pregnant! My morning sickness has almost completely disappeared so thank you to everyone that has prayed for me. I'm starting to feel like a normal human being again and I can eat food again, which is nice for lots of reasons.
Well I'm going to bed. Thanks for reading the blog, please leave a comment or email me! I like to hear responses to what we're doing. It's nice to know people still care.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
A New Year
Happy New Year everyone! We had an exciting New Years week. We left that Monday from Grandview, WA with the destination of Klamath Falls, OR. Josh's church in Grandview voted to buy us new tires, so Monday morning we packed up and headed to Yakima to get our new tires. After that we left and almost didn't make it to Oregon. We got stuck on Hwy. 97 and Caleb had to put our chains on. It took him almost 30 minutes to get them on, and then when we got over the hill we didn't need them anymore! But at least we made it over the hill. Once we hit the bottom of Oregon we started seeing snow again and for some reason everyone wanted to go 35 mph on the highway. It was very frustrating because the roads were dry with no ice whatsoever and there were still vehicles stuck in the snowbanks. We were trying to figure out how in the world they went off the road, but I still don't understand it. We finally made it to Klamath Falls, and met my old friend Bekah Donaldson (Frain) at a restaurant with the rest of her family. We haven't seen each other since I was a Junior in HS so it was really nice. Her mom and brother are living with her, so it was good to see them again too! We had a nice meal, and then we crashed at our hotel!
The second day, Tuesday, our destination was Bakersfield, CA. The GPS said it would take 10 1/2 hrs and it was pretty close. It was a loooooooooong day, but we made it. Caleb's Granny (great-grandma) lives there and her church let us use their Missions Apartment. We went to see her the next day, Wednesday, and had a great time. Most of you will know that our oldest child, Noah, is not a hugging person. He doesn't like to hug or be touched, but he gave Granny a big hug (for Noah) right away. It was so sweet and I almost cried! The kids were really good and we had a great time with Granny. She is so sweet and I felt like I've always known her even though I had never met her before. I started to do the lunch dishes until she told me that was the only thing she could do and she was going to be completely bored the rest of the day if I took that job away from her! haha, she makes me laugh.
That night we went to Granny's church, McKee Road Baptist Church, for their services. I was having really bad indigestion and could barely sit up straight, so I took Lela back to the apartment. We cuddled and rested until Noah and Kayla came running back in all excited and exclaiming "We're going to stay up until midnight and play games and eat food and make popcorn and watch movies!!!" I was about to call them crazy nuts until I remembered it was New Years Eve! The apartment is attached to the Fellowship Hall and the church really did stay up until Midnight doing all those things! So we didn't get much sleep Wednesday night.
Thursday we drove from Bakersfield, CA to Flagstaff, AZ. This was probably our worst and longest day. I don't know why this drive was so hard, but it seemed like we were never going to get there! We finally arrived at Bro. Feaster's house at about 7:30pm and they showed us the apartment where we would be staying. It wasn't anything more than a few mattresses on the nursery floor, but we were so exhausted we were just thankful for a warm place to lay down! I probably would've slept on a pew. We did drag ourselves out to eat since we hadn't eated since 11:30am and we were thankful we still had some Chili's gift cards left!!
Friday morning we were a little more jazzed about traveling and we left pretty early in the morning. We drove all the way to Pampa, TX (a little NE of Amarillo) with a few stops at some trading posts along the way. Caleb has decided he hates New Mexico. Every time we stopped for a bathroom break, we had to drive around to five different places before we could find somewhere that was open AND had a bathroom! I guess if I were more willing to use a port-a-potty we could've gone earlier, but I'd rather wait, thank you! We finally drug ourselves (dragged, drugged?) into Pampa around 10:30pm and crashed in the lovely Missions apartment there. I don't even remember putting the kids in bed, I was out as soon as I laid down (lied down, layed down? my mind isn't working grammatically tonight).
Saturday morning we were more than happy to get on the road because our final stop was Mustang, OK!! Caleb was up and got the kids into the van before I had even moved from the position I landed in the night before. We left Pampa by 7:30am which was a good thing, because we didn't find a place to stop for breakfast until 9:30am. We all decided we just had to have biscuits and gravy and what better place to get it than Braums!! We knew we were close to home when we saw that Braums. The rest of the drive seemed to drag, but we were in Mustang by 11:15am. We went to the church and saw Miss Vicki who was watching the kids for visitation, and then we went to lunch with Caleb's parents.
We had a good week of traveling with no major setbacks. Noah got his school done while traveling, we didn't have any car problems, and we never left anyone at a gas station. We are so thankful to the churches that let us crash in their Missions apartments. Churches may never how much of a blessing it is to be able to stay in one, but I feel it is a necessity in a church! Even if it's a few mattresses on the nursery floor! =)
The second day, Tuesday, our destination was Bakersfield, CA. The GPS said it would take 10 1/2 hrs and it was pretty close. It was a loooooooooong day, but we made it. Caleb's Granny (great-grandma) lives there and her church let us use their Missions Apartment. We went to see her the next day, Wednesday, and had a great time. Most of you will know that our oldest child, Noah, is not a hugging person. He doesn't like to hug or be touched, but he gave Granny a big hug (for Noah) right away. It was so sweet and I almost cried! The kids were really good and we had a great time with Granny. She is so sweet and I felt like I've always known her even though I had never met her before. I started to do the lunch dishes until she told me that was the only thing she could do and she was going to be completely bored the rest of the day if I took that job away from her! haha, she makes me laugh.
That night we went to Granny's church, McKee Road Baptist Church, for their services. I was having really bad indigestion and could barely sit up straight, so I took Lela back to the apartment. We cuddled and rested until Noah and Kayla came running back in all excited and exclaiming "We're going to stay up until midnight and play games and eat food and make popcorn and watch movies!!!" I was about to call them crazy nuts until I remembered it was New Years Eve! The apartment is attached to the Fellowship Hall and the church really did stay up until Midnight doing all those things! So we didn't get much sleep Wednesday night.
Thursday we drove from Bakersfield, CA to Flagstaff, AZ. This was probably our worst and longest day. I don't know why this drive was so hard, but it seemed like we were never going to get there! We finally arrived at Bro. Feaster's house at about 7:30pm and they showed us the apartment where we would be staying. It wasn't anything more than a few mattresses on the nursery floor, but we were so exhausted we were just thankful for a warm place to lay down! I probably would've slept on a pew. We did drag ourselves out to eat since we hadn't eated since 11:30am and we were thankful we still had some Chili's gift cards left!!
Friday morning we were a little more jazzed about traveling and we left pretty early in the morning. We drove all the way to Pampa, TX (a little NE of Amarillo) with a few stops at some trading posts along the way. Caleb has decided he hates New Mexico. Every time we stopped for a bathroom break, we had to drive around to five different places before we could find somewhere that was open AND had a bathroom! I guess if I were more willing to use a port-a-potty we could've gone earlier, but I'd rather wait, thank you! We finally drug ourselves (dragged, drugged?) into Pampa around 10:30pm and crashed in the lovely Missions apartment there. I don't even remember putting the kids in bed, I was out as soon as I laid down (lied down, layed down? my mind isn't working grammatically tonight).
Saturday morning we were more than happy to get on the road because our final stop was Mustang, OK!! Caleb was up and got the kids into the van before I had even moved from the position I landed in the night before. We left Pampa by 7:30am which was a good thing, because we didn't find a place to stop for breakfast until 9:30am. We all decided we just had to have biscuits and gravy and what better place to get it than Braums!! We knew we were close to home when we saw that Braums. The rest of the drive seemed to drag, but we were in Mustang by 11:15am. We went to the church and saw Miss Vicki who was watching the kids for visitation, and then we went to lunch with Caleb's parents.
We had a good week of traveling with no major setbacks. Noah got his school done while traveling, we didn't have any car problems, and we never left anyone at a gas station. We are so thankful to the churches that let us crash in their Missions apartments. Churches may never how much of a blessing it is to be able to stay in one, but I feel it is a necessity in a church! Even if it's a few mattresses on the nursery floor! =)
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Last Blog For a While
Well, this will be the last blog for a while. Tomorrow we are going back to the land of no internet, Grandview, WA and then next Monday we're leaving for OKLAHOMA!!! We're so very excited! We'll be traveling the week of Dec. 29th-Jan. 4th so please keep us in your prayers. We will be stopping in Bakersfield, CA to see Caleb's Granny hopefully Tuesday night and spending Wednesday with her. Then Thursday we will start our trek to the homeland. We hope to be there by late Friday/early Saturday depending on how well the traveling goes. But since we'll have the time zones against us (losing an hour every day) we're not sure how that will go. Especially since we'll have to buy food and everything before we get to the place we're staying in Oklahoma. But, we will be in church in Mustang, OK on the 4th, and we can't wait!
Our friends, Ron and Vicki Lehew, who mean a lot to us, have allowed us to use the trailer Ron purchased last year while we're in Oklahoma. It's right next to their current trailer so we'll have neighbors. We're so thankful to the Lord for providing a place of our own to live, we weren't sure where we were going to stay for the 2 weeks we'll be home. But God is always faithful and provides for us. We will be in Oklahoma until the 16th of January when we'll be leaving for New Mexico. We'll be at the Heartland Home Missions Conference, if anyone else will be there! I'm not sure how many of the meetings the kids and I will be able to attend, but I'm sure Caleb will be there for most, if not all, of them. Hope to see you there, maybe!
Thanks for reading and leaving comments. It's humbling to know that people care about what we're doing and how we're doing on the road. We're having fun, but we're ready to be home, even if just for a little bit!
Our friends, Ron and Vicki Lehew, who mean a lot to us, have allowed us to use the trailer Ron purchased last year while we're in Oklahoma. It's right next to their current trailer so we'll have neighbors. We're so thankful to the Lord for providing a place of our own to live, we weren't sure where we were going to stay for the 2 weeks we'll be home. But God is always faithful and provides for us. We will be in Oklahoma until the 16th of January when we'll be leaving for New Mexico. We'll be at the Heartland Home Missions Conference, if anyone else will be there! I'm not sure how many of the meetings the kids and I will be able to attend, but I'm sure Caleb will be there for most, if not all, of them. Hope to see you there, maybe!
Thanks for reading and leaving comments. It's humbling to know that people care about what we're doing and how we're doing on the road. We're having fun, but we're ready to be home, even if just for a little bit!
Monday, December 15, 2008
SNOW!!!
Well, we've been in Washington for three months, and we've finally seen snow! We're in Auburn, WA which is just south of Seattle, and there's a light dusting of real snow here. Not tiny little ice balls, not white ice, but snow! I opened the window in our hotel Sunday morning and showed the kids and they absolutely freaked out! So we got dressed in our warmest church clothes and went to the van to go to church, and they were so excited to touch snow! I felt bad for my poor little Southern kids. Everytime we were outside and they saw snow, they HAD to walk in it and get it all over their feet. I thought about yelling at them to get out because their socks were going to get all wet, they would track snow into the van, etc. but I decided to let them have their fun. We're leaving Washington in 2 weeks (WHOO-HOO!!) and who knows when they'll see snow again! I'll try to take pictures today, if it doesn't melt by the time we go out.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)