Zoo

I finally found my camera! I feel inspired to post again! :) I looked at all of the pictures that I haven't posted and it's been a while!

We went to the zoo (I think last month) with Ashlee and her son Gabe to see the new baby elephant. We left in the morning and beat most of the crowd, had a picnic on the lawn by the elephants, and took some fun pictures. The baby elephant was still very young and needed to be indoors with it's mother. I wasn't able to get a very clear shot of them.

Ryan, Tyler, and Gabe playing on the statues of animals.

Anna on a frog? I'm not really sure. :)

Anna pretending to be a goat. :)

Nicaragua

In exactly one month from today I will be flying to Managua, Nicaragua for a one week trip with Agros. Agros has already established a small village of fourteen families in Norwich, about an hour north west of Managua. We will be re-visiting the village and the people, planting trees, playing with the children, learning and living with the villagers and witnessing the miracle of life in another part of the world. I will be traveling with my friend Nicole from Portland to Texas where we will meet up with the other seven people on our team. From Texas we will travel together to Managua, Nicaragua. A group of locals employed by Agros will pick us up at the airport and will be our guides for the trip. Nicole and I will be gathering school supplies to bring with us, and will be working with the children of the village. We have been coming up with fun games and crafts to show them while we are there, although I am sure that we will be doing most of the learning during our trip. I will be leading our times of team worship...(I will be needing prayer for that alone. :)

I am so excited for this trip and the opportunity to visit another country, to see how other's live, to be a part of a community thousands of miles away, and to pass down this experience to my children.

I will post more details as they come!

"One Seed. One Life. One Village at a time. "

To find out more about Agros visit:
http://agros.org/

To be a brownie

Sweet Ryan woke up with a stomach bug this morning so we spent the day at home resting and snuggling in jammies and blankets on the couch. I made homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner and it filled our house with the smell of fall.

After naps today, Tyler came down the stairs covered in (permanent) black marker. (Unfortunately I didn't get a picture before bath time. )

Mama: Tyler, why did you color on your body?

Tyler: I wanted to be a chocolate brownie.

Ryan: Yeah, and I was going to eat him.

(pregnant) Mama: Mmmm, brownies sound good. :)

And baby makes six...

We are overjoyed to announce that we are expecting our fourth child! We were surprised to find out we were pregnant so soon after last month, I have gone in to my doctor for blood work to confirm that the baby and I are healthy. The Dr. called back today with the great news that we have a healthy pregnancy. :) My due date is June 7th (our aniversary!)

Praise the Lord for the miracle of new life!

Call + Response

This is a video trailer for the documentary Call + Response, exposing the sex trade. This trailer is hard to watch, but this brings an important awareness to a crime so prevalent in our world today.


Check out the website: http://callandresponse.com/
Here are websites with more information on what you can do to help:
http://www.stopdemand.org/
http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/globalissues-stp
http://stopchildslavery.com/

Too long...

Hi Friends~

I know this blog has been dull lately. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. (xo) It has been a time of healing for me that could only be provided by time and God's tender heart. Thank you for hanging in there with me.

It has been a busy few weeks! We have had concerts, birthdays, out of state trips, hospital visits, the start of school and new pets and I've taken lots of pictures all along the way. I have the energy back to start posting again, so tomorrow will be the first! Talk to you soon...

Little Angel

I miss you even though we never met. In the short time we were together, I felt close to you and thought about what your smile would look like and what your laugh sounded like. It doesn't feel right to say goodbye before even a little hello. You are in a beautiful place now, and will always be safe. Until the day we meet again, you will be in my heart. I love you sweet Angel. Love, Mama xo

“Why, My child—do you ask ‘why’? Well, I will tell you why.

You see, the child lives. Instead of the wind he hears the sound of angels singing before My throne. Instead of the beauty that passes he sees everlasting Beauty—he sees My face. He was created and lived a short time so the image of his parents imprinted on his face may stand before Me as their personal intercessor. He knows secrets of heaven unknown to men on earth. He laughs with a special joy that only the innocent possess. My ways are not the ways of man. I create for My Kingdom and each creature fills a place in that Kingdom that could not be filled by another. He was created for My joy and his parents’ merits. He has never seen pain or sin. He has never felt hunger or pain. I breathed a soul into a seed, made it grow and called it forth.” -Mother M. Angelica