Friday, December 21, 2007

Alyssa's Ballet Recital

On November 10th, Alyssa danced in her first ballet recital. She was so cute! Her class danced at a festival at a nursing home in Winter Garden. We didn't know if she would dance or not because it was on an outdoor stage with a lot of people watching. So we told her she was dancing for the old people that were sick and that it would make them smile if she danced for them. She danced her heart out. Afterwards, we went out for ice cream to celebrate!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

We are alive!

I didn't realize I had such a following in the blog world! I am so excited! So for all of you who do follow the Traugott family here is a family update!!!

Well, since my last post a lot of things have been going on in our family. Well, first there was Thanksgiving, then a big birthday party for the newest 1 year olds (Brooklyn and McKenzie), then I got a year old as well, spent the day at the spa and dinner with friends and family, a few christmas parties, David and I went away for 2 nights and while away realized our family starts our Christmas celebrations this Sunday. Oh my!!!! We have 2 more christmas parties, all of our presents to wrap and 2 more gifts to purchase.

So there isn't much of an update, except we are super busy! I'm sure just like all of you are as well.

We had some pictures taken in Novemeber of our family, so I'll post those for your viewing pleasure. After christmas, I'll post pictures of the holidays, and birthday parties.



Alyssa - 4 1/2

Meredith - 3
Brooklyn - 1!!!!


The Traugott girls!!!

(I'll post more photos of our session at a later time)

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Playground Friends

Girls will be girls, right?

We got a playground when we moved into this house, but the girls won't play on it much. They used to do just fine until we had some friends over. Our friends little boy caught a lizard and made it bite his finger - you know he did what boys do. Well, i can not convince my girls that the lizards are not going to bite them. They are terrified. I thought you might like to meet the scary lizards that call our playground home.

Oh and in case you are wondering, the slide is not connected because David is working on treating the wood so he had to disconnect it.

Maybe if I named the lizards they would think they were their friends?

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Here is a long update on our family and some of the fun things we've gotten to do recently.

First off - a month or so ago we took the girls bowling for the first time. We went with some friends from church - it was so cute. The girls each picked out their own bowling ball! We got a ramp and the bummer sides to help out. They had a blast. They have kept asking when we can go bowling again. The night we went, they had Cosmic Bowling. Thats where they turn out the lights and turn on black lights so that everything glows in the dark. I thought the girls may be scared, but when they noticed the carpet glowing and their socks and the stripes on their shirts they loved it. Even Brooklyn had a great time watching. We have a video of her dancing to the really loud music. It was a lot of fun!




The next fun thing that we did was a family movie day. One Sunday afternoon David and I were really tired. So we created Family Movie Day. We blew up the air mattress, borrowed a ton of movies from a friend of our and I think we watched 6 hours of movies. Now they were mostly kid movies, but the girls loved it. We ordered pizza and ate while we watched a movie. David took a break to wrestle with the girls which helped get out some energy before the last movie of the night. It was a memorable day!





Yesterday afternoon during our outside time I decided to see what Brooklyn would do if I put her down in the grass. I figured she's almost 1, she needs a new experience right? So I put her down and she crawled around on the porch for a few minutes not going near the grass. So I had to coax her didn't I. Being the nice mommy that I am, I threw a toy just beyond her reach to see if she would crawl out in the grass. She was so cute! I love this age when everything they do is a new experience.




Our last update was the fun we had last night! We allowed the girls to dress up and went to a local church that was hosting a fall festival. They had free food, bounce houses, a hay ride, fun games. A lot of our friends went with us too. My camera battery died, so my pictures of Meredith are on a friends camera. I'll upate the slideshow once I get those.

Friday, September 21, 2007

New Family Addition

Some of you may not of heard but...


Did you panic for me? No I am not pregnant and no we didn't get a dog. But next April or May our family will have a new addition to our family.

We found out about 2 weeks ago that Crystal and Aaron, (David's sister) were having a baby. They have one little boy, Joshua who just turned 1. They told us they were pregnant at his one year birthday party.

We just got a call this morning that during their ultrasound they saw 2 heartbeats!!!!! TWINS are the newest upcoming family additions.

Pray for Crystal if you think about her, she has not been feeling well. And pray that she will not worry about what things may be like once they arrive.

Monday, September 17, 2007

A little Invitation

My dear friend Jennifer is whining for not being invited to my new house. Now i think good friends don't have to be invited, but to make her feel extra special....
Jennifer,
You are invited to my new house.
How about this weekend? You can come for dinner if you want!

Please RSVP to my blog!!!

I love you Jennifer, and can't wait for you to come over!

To all my other friends, you are all invited too - just call me for directions when you are on your way!

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Our Chicken Coop

We know a family who has a plaque in their home that in Italian or something like that says "Chicken Coop". They used it to remind themselves that altought we might have a nice home now it is just a chicken coop compared to what we will recieve in our eternal home.

Without further delay...here are pictures of our chicken coop!


This is our Dining Room, right as you walk in from the front door.


Next comes the Kitchen with a walk-in pantry!

Our eat in kitchen

Master Bedroom

(and all my furniture fits nicely)


Master Bath -

has double vanity, soaking tub, nice big shower,

seperate toilet room and walk in closet (are not pictured)


I couldn't take pictures of the girls rooms or the front of the house because the girls are in bed and its dark outside. You'll just have to come visit some time to see the rest of the tour.


Thursday, September 13, 2007

No Excuse...

I think I forgot I have a blog.

I realized I still haven't uploaded pictures of my new house or mentioned any of the activities that we've been doing lately.

So sorry! I'll try to be more diligent for all of you faithful blog readers.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Stuff, stuff and more stuff...

I never realized how much stuff I had. I think it may be a little out of hand. Anyway, we are in the house, our garage is still packed with boxes and other stuff that was already marked for a garage sale which is scheduled for two weekends from now.

Obviously, our list of projects grows by the moment. Tomorrows project is painting the entertainment center. This project is one we have wanted to do since the entertainment center was given to us 2 years ago, but we never did it because then we would have had to take out all the entertainment equipment (we have a lot of that too). So David is going early in the morning to get the paint so that we can paint it and it will dry and hopefully get all set up by tomorrow night.

We are loving this house, the girls are so excited too. Alyssa and Meredith are sharing a room, Brooklyn has her own room and we have a guest bedroom/office too.

I'll post pictures later this week! Thanks for all your prayers.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Moving Fun

TODAY IS MOVING DAY!!!!!

We're having our closing at 10am and then the fun begins!! We get the moving truck around 3 and the guys that are helping will all meet at our Clermont house at 5pm. So if you think about us, please pray for us! We are tired and everyone but me is still sick and there is a lot to do ahead of us this weekend.

We are so grateful to the Lord for blessing us with another home! We can't wait for you all to come and visit us!

Love,
Kelly

Our new address is...

727 Shadowmoss Drive
Winter Garden, FL 34787

Phone numbers will all stay the same, but here they are again just in case...

H - 407.378.4081
D cell - 352.223.3621
K cell - 352.989.2722

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Packing and Sickness

Well, the Traugott household is never boring! Saturday Brooklyn got sick, so the girls and I stayed home from church on Sunday. I ended up taking her to a walk in clinic and she has an upper respiratory infection. Also on Saturday, Meredith started this weird drainage from her eyes. Of course I thought, oh no - pink eye. So i've been watching her very closely. Then this morning, Alyssa and Meredith both woke up with coughs and congestion. So I called the doctor right away. So Alyssa is at the beginning stages of an ear infection in both ears and tonsilitis (sp). I am so glad I decided to take them this morning. And Meredith doesn't have pink eye, just congestion coming out of her eyes, i've never heard of that before. But the doctor gave me some drops and said to give her benadryl! So I'm secretly hoping that the benadryl will make them really tired, so that i can get some more packing done. But of course, I know the packing will get done and I am praying that the girls will get better very quickly as a result of their medicine. Please pray with us!

Oh, todays countdown...3 days!

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Countdowns

Does everyone else use countdowns? I find I do it for all shorts of things. Like how many days to your due date, to your wedding, to a vacation. Normally its is something you are excited for and have lots of things to do until the 'day'.

With so much to do and only a certain number of days to get it all completed, it sure is helpful to reminder ourselves that only God gets everything done. I certainly have had to push tasks to the next day that I've not been able to complete.

We are just so excited to be moving! God has certainly blessed us! We have renters for our house in Clermont already and we close on our new house in Winter Garden on Friday morning! This week we are down to packing all the last minute things like the kitchen, the entertainment center, our clothes (later in the week of course), and all the electronic equipment that we just can't live without for a few days.

It is all coming together well! I am already ready to be settled, since the house has been in disorder since we started packing 2 weeks ago.

So today's countdown...5 days!!!!

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Meredith turned 3!

On Monday, Meredith turned 3! We had a wonderful day together. We woke up and went out for donuts, then the girls played outside in the sand and water (from where our above ground pool used to be), then a short nap time for the girls and David took Meredith and Alyssa to My Kids Gym (which is a warehouse full of bounce houses). I met them there about an hour later where we played some more and then went to Chick-fil-a for dinner and then Twistee Treat for ice cream! What a fun yet busy day!

When we were putting Meredith to sleep we took time to thank God for her life and for putting her in our family! We are so grateful for her and are looking forward to seeing how she grows to be a godly woman.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

12 days till our move!

Today marks only 12 days left until we move into our new house. The house in in disarray amidst boxes and a mess of wrapping, bubble wrap and things waiting for the right sized box. The house is looking bare now so we are anxious to settle in to our new home.

We will be signing a lease to rent this house tomorrow, so things have been coming together here in the Traugott house. We are super busy, as normal. I'm trying not to use that as an excuse for things. You know, I found myself saying, "When life slows down I'll ..." And then realized the ... never happens because as much as I can tell life doesn't slow down much. I'm sure a lot of you can relate to that!

Monday, July 23, 2007

Anniversary Update

So we had a wonderful time together celebrating our 6 years together. It was our first anniversary that fell on the actual day of our wedding (Saturday). David took me to dinner at the restaurant where we had our wedding reception. After dinner we walked around the hotel. Walked in the ballroom and by the room where we stayed the first night. The hotel didn't have that room available so we went out for ice cream instead! Today would have been our full day of travel to Acapulco, Mexico. We were recounting God's faithfulnes through these past 6 years and seeing God's grace at work in us in how much we have both changed since then. We had a great time together!

Oh and thanks for all the ideas. I ended up finding the card that I gave him the morning of our wedding so I gave it to him again to recount that day!

Friday, July 20, 2007

6 Years Ago

Well, 6 years ago tonight. David and I were at our Rehearsal Dinner, spending our last nights as singles and so thrilled for our marriage to begin the next day. Little did we know how much we would really enjoy it.

I'm trying to think of something to do for David at the last minute. We had planned to go away just the two of us, but with the purchase of a new home we decided a new house was a present for both of us. So now we are down to the wire and I don't have a clue what to do. I have an idea or two but that is it. Any tips?

I've been thinking about all that we've done together in these past 6 years. Here are some of the highlights.
+ We've had three beautiful little girls during the last four 4 years.
+ We've lived in 3 different cities, next month will be the fourth.
+ We've lived in 5 different houses/apartments, next month will be the sixth.
and
+ We've purchased 2 new cars.

So, I am more in love with David then I ever thought possible. And I have such anticipation for the years to come.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Our New House, not our furnishings :)

Here are photos of our new home. Our closing got moved forward to August 17th. We are so excited! We can't wait to have you in our new home!

Friday, July 13, 2007

Brooklyn's on the MOVE too!

Okay, so when you know your last baby is doing "baby" things for the first or last time you get excited but kind of sad as well. Brooklyn has officially started the army crawl and even sat up all by herself yesterday! She is getting up on her knees and doing that really cute rocking back and forth. I'll try to get it on video. She is growing and changing so fast. I continue to pray that I will enjoy every minute of this season!

The Traugott's are on the MOVE...

Well, this past weekend David and I put a contract on a new home in Winter Garden!!!!! Grace Church has offices in Winter Garden and has just gotten a piece of property in Winter Garden as well! The plan right now is to keep our house in Clermont as an investment and rent it out. But the best part is that our new house is in the same neighborhood as my mom and dad. Just around the corner, and you technically only pass 8 houses! It is right down the street from the play ground and a short walk to the lake. If everything continues as planned we will close on August 22nd! I'll post pictures next week, after the home inspection. Pray for us that everything will work out smoothly and for packing up and for securing tenants. If you know of anyone who needs a house to rent, let us know!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Girls will be girls

Well, I suppose some girly things start early, but I would have never anticipated my girls enjoying going to a salon to get their hair cut. They had so much fun! Got their hair washed, cut, and blown dry. They sat still for the whole thing!





Friday, June 29, 2007

Meredith coming down the slide

Meredith is our adventurous child. She did the slide by herself over and over and over again! And loved every minute of it.

David and Alyssa coming down the slide

White Girls Really Can't Dance



This video was taken yesterday at Kristen's house. They all took turns dancing and well, Hallye is the only one with any sort of dance moves. The rest of the girls just made us laugh out loud! Enjoy laughing at my girls!

Boys will be boys

Family Vacation Pictures

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Home

Don't you love the feeling of sleeping in your own bed? As much as I loved our family vacation, I was so looking forward to sleeping in my own bed!

Anyway, we got home late monday night. I'm trying to find time to upload pictures and video, just haven't been able to fit that in yet. I'll post them when I can. Cheryl took some really precious photos of the girls.

We had a fun, relaxing time!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Family Vacation...part 3

So today was another fun filled day! We all took it easy this morning, had a big breakfast and just sat around and played. It was kind of overcast all morning so we were afraid of packing up to go to the pool. We finally did, we were able to use the indoor pool until the storm past and then out to the wonderful pool. I think we made about a million laps around the lazy river, went down the slide a dozen or so times and played until we were so hungry we had to come home. I made dinner while the girls and everyone else watched Cars. And after dinner it was bath time and bed time for Alyssa and Meredith - the joys of vacation and kids going to bed early (7 pm). It made for a fun filled, relaxing adult night! We played games, had ice cream (I had oreo's and milk), and laughed.

I'll post pictures as soon as I can find time to get them off my computer.

We are even enjoying helping the girls choose their "favorite" thing of the day. Meredith's was the water slide and Alyssa's was the lazy river. Very fitting of both of them. Oh and they both loved that they got to play with Katy and Hallye today. They are staying at the same resort, so they found us at the pool this afternoon.

The guys are leaving early in the morning to go golfing, who knows what us girls will do. Poor Joshua will be way out-numbered!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Family Vacation...part 2

What a fun day today was. The morning started off with pancakes and then we hit the bike trails, well we started off on bike trails then ended up on the sidewalk because it was too hard for Alyssa to petal. She did so good. I think it was our first family bike ride. And yes, my face does get really red, but there were no hills, so it was enjoyable unlike the time David took me on a bike ride while we were at Pastor's College. Then we hit the pool!

Tonight we ran out to Walmart to get a few things, had dinner with Aaron and Crystal and then watched Planet Earth. Sandy, Cheryl and Dustin got here around 10pm. So the fun continues!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Family Vacation

It's nap time on family vacation!!!! We spent all morning at the pool, it has a lazy river, water slides and zero entry part of the kids pool. But now its nice and quiet! Our window over looks a canal and doesn't have any curtains on it - people can't see in, but the sun sure does get bright early! I'll try to upload a video of the girls of the water slide later.

We are staying at Hammock Beach in Palm Coast, FL. It is beautiful here and a great place for kids. We got here Monday afternoon and will come home next Monday. On Thursday Sandy, Cheryl, Dustin and Crytal, Aaron and Joshua will join us. This is the first Traugott family vacation and our first vacation just the five of us. We are having a blast. Planning on going on a bike ride later this afternoon if it doesn't rain.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Morning and Evening by Spurgeon

Here is this mornings entry in CH Spurgeon's Morning and Evening. May it encourage us all to run to the cross to be FREE!

“Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

Revelation 22:17
Jesus says, “take freely.” He wants no payment or preparation. He seeks no recommendation from our virtuous emotions. If you have no good feelings, if you be but willing, you are invited; therefore come! You have no belief and no repentance,—come to him, and he will give them to you. Come just as you are, and take “Freely,” without money and without price. He gives himself to needy ones. The drinking fountains at the corners of our streets are valuable institutions; and we can hardly imagine any one so foolish as to feel for his purse, when he stands before one of them, and to cry, “I cannot drink because I have not five pounds in my pocket.” However poor the man is, there is the fountain, and just as he is he may drink of it. Thirsty passengers, as they go by, whether they are dressed in fustian or in broadcloth, do not look for any warrant for drinking; its being there is their warrant for taking its water freely. The liberality of some good friends has put the refreshing crystal there and we take it, and ask no questions. Perhaps the only persons who need go thirsty through the street where there is a drinking fountain, are the fine ladies and gentlemen who are in their carriages. They are very thirsty, but cannot think of being so vulgar as to get out to drink. It would demean them, they think, to drink at a common drinking fountain: so they ride by with parched lips. Oh, how many there are who are rich in their own good works and cannot therefore come to Christ! “I will not be saved,” they say, “in the same way as the harlot or the swearer.” What! go to heaven in the same way as a chimney sweep. Is there no pathway to glory but the path which led the thief there? I will not be saved that way. Such proud boasters must remain without the living water; but, “Whosoever will, let him TAKE THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY.”

Monday, June 11, 2007

Haiti...Day Eight

Today's traveling day!!!! David and the team in Haiti left for a long 4 hour drive to Port au Prince at 6:30am. I just checked and there flight leaving Haiti has been delayed, only about 20 minutes at this point. I am surprising David and taking him to a hotel tonight. I think he knows though, all this week I've been telling him that the girls and I were picking him up from the airport and yesterday he asked me, "so will you be picking me up alone or are the girls still coming with you?". I'm realizing he is the hardest person ever to surprise. Oh well, we will still have a good time even if he does know.

Thanks for praying for us while he has been gone! We have all felt God's grace upon us each and every day!

Less than 7 hours till David/daddy is home...

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Haiti...Day Six

The girls and I were able to talk to David today for about 10 minutes. He said he had to wait in line for the phone and when we started talking the phone battery started to beep - whats with us and dying phones, ours at home do it all the time. Anyway, we didn't really talk about what they were doing today, but I got an email tonight saying that he and Chris Dunlop just found out they were preaching tomorrow. So its like 9pm and they don't have computers or anything other than their bibles. They are excited! I can't wait to hear how it goes.

The girls and I went back to the house for a little while today, really just to get a jump start on getting the house back in order so there wouldn't be so much to do on Monday. Then after nap time, we went swimming - thank God for Mimi and her pool, they have been having so much fun. Meredith even swam to me from the steps all by herself. I was so excited. She is beginning to love the water!!! Her daddy is going to be so proud. As for Alyssa, she just stays on the steps and pretends she is swimming. I guess she can't stay afraid of the water forever, right?

2 days left till David/daddy gets home...

Friday, June 8, 2007

Haiti...Day Five

No real update tonight.

David called, but the hotel phone was beeping because its battery was dying. Then he called on his cell, which cost $1.50 per minute, to say I love you, but I have to go. Needless to say I was pretty bummed, I carry around my cell phone like its an oxygen tank just in case he calls. Apparently the team leaders and the pastor from Haiti were supposed to have a meeting earlier this evening and he had just arrived several hours after the agreed upon time. No big deal, though. I was nice just to hear his voice. The girls and I miss him terribly, but we are glad we are in the home stretch.

We swam all day today. The girls are getting more and more brave each time we swim. Alyssa is the most cautious and although Meredith is more daring I think she picks up some of Alyssa's fear and carries it as her own. But she did great today, she would even jump in from the side of the pool in her little inner tube and was just fine. That's a really big accomplishment for us! Kristen's girls are like fish and my girls are scaredy cats when it comes to the water. Oh well, we all got worn out, but had a fun day.

3 days till David/daddy comes home...

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Haiti...Day Four

Just got an update from David. The government is still holding all the medications so the medical team is basically only able to help with minor things. They are staying over night in the mountains and doing the modified clinic tomorrow. The rest of the team is at the orphanage. I only had about 15 minutes to talk to David because they only have a limited number of calling cards and won't be getting more in until sometime tomorrow. Today was his first opportunity to call while the girls were awake, so they enjoyed talking to their daddy. Alyssa asked if she could talk to the girls there because leading up to the trip we took them with us shopping to buy his supplies but everything fun we bought we kept telling them was for the kids and we found the names of the girls their ages and tried to explain to a 4 and 2 1/2 year old that the kids there didn't have parents or toys and all that, so Alyssa wanted to talk to the girls that we had been talking to her about.

The girls and I are holding up. We are at my mom's house now until Monday(when David gets home). We had a play date today with friends from church and tomorrow is an all day swim-a-thon. They begged from the moment they woke up from their naps to go swimming, but is was raining. I am tired, but I really feel God's grace. He is my strength and my only true source of help. I was encouraged by this verse today, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.”

The trip is half way over, so the count down begins... only 4 days left!

Monday, June 4, 2007

Haiti...Day One...Prayer Request

I got a very brief call from David tonight about a minute and 22 seconds. Jeremy was able to call Kristen and gave her the following update. They have all arrived safely, but all of their medical supplies were confiscated at the customs department in Port-au-Prince. Two of the guys stayed behind today to try and get them but as far as we know they were not able to. They plan on returning tomorrow to try again. Please pray for the workers in the customs department that they would allow the team there to have the medical supplies. If not, they will not be able to set up the medical clinic at all. Other than that they said they were tired. And other than the hotel being warm it is nice with a beautiful view of the ocean.

Haiti...Day One

So far so good!!!

David left the house this morning at 3am to head to the airport for a 6am flight to Miami. They had a short lay over and then flew from Miami to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Once they get to Haiti they had a four hour bus ride to Jacmel (I think that's how you spell it). Tomorrow morning the busy days start.

As far as us girls, we all came over to spend time with Kristen and her girls! The girls are doing fairly well. Much better than I expected! They played outside all morning; riding bikes,watering the plants,and watering each other, they even watered their popsicles. We had lunch together and they watch a cartoon then it was off to bed for "naps", although they varied in length and the babies didn't go down until the others started to get up we are having a fun filled day!

I'm off to start dinner and maybe we will be brave enough to take the girls for ice cream, but I wonder if that might make us scream?

Thanks for all your prayers!

Friday, June 1, 2007

Stepping...

Book recommendation...

A few months back, I read a quote from the book Stepping Heavenward. I was so encouraged by the quote that I bought the book and started reading it. I read it as a single but now as a wife and a mother the topics are so encouraging. I was telling David last night how neat it is that altought the book was written a long time ago some of "Katy's" temptations are much the same as mine. I found myself encouraged that even when life was very different the temptations to sin were the same and I find encouragement in how she worked through those issues. If you haven't read it in a while, bring it back out. I keep in it my bathroom for little snippits here and there - just one more attempt to read more this year.

David's going to Haiti

This coming Monday, really early in the morning, David will be heading to Haiti on missions trip. He is helping to lead a team that will be doing some work at an orphanage. So he is counting down the days till he leaves and the girls and I are counting down the days till he gets home :) He will be gone 8 days, so its not that long. Two years ago he went to Cuba for 12 days and that seemed like forever. I am looking forward to getting some projects done that I've been putting off for a few weeks and then when he gets home we will leave the next week for a family vacation! While he is gone the girls and I are going to go to the library with Mimi, play with Kristen, Katelyn, Hallye and McKenzie and maybe even some of our other friends. If we have time we may go to get some pictures taken of the girls and maybe even venture into some craft projects together. Pray for him and for us while he is away!

Monday, May 21, 2007

David's Ordinaton

Yesterday, May 20th, David got ordained within Sovereign Grace Ministries. I had to opportunity to honor him during the meeting. It was a joy for me to be able to encourage him on this special day for him. Here is what I was able to say.

I have had the privilege of being “pastored” by David for almost 6 years now. He has not only been a loving husband, he has led me and “pastored” me every day of our marriage.

In Ephesians 5:25-26 it says~ “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,”. David finds much joy in washing me with the water of the word. And he daily demonstrates Christ’s love for the church in how he interacts with me.

He is diligent to help me set my heart on the things of the Lord, to make sure I’m having consistent devotional times and he is regularly showing me the way to the cross when it seems I’ve gotten off course. He never lords over me or harshly “lays down the law”.

In our current season there are many opportunities for him to help me have a new perspective on things, when I am weary he encourages me to run to the savior for my strength. You see, he lives what he preaches. There has not been a single time where he has said something in a message where I thought to myself “if only he did that at home”. David has a hatred for hypocrisy in his life or in the life of our family. What you see on a Sunday is what David is at home.

I would willingly and with joy follow David wherever he is called. He is an able leader, a gifted preacher, humble Christian and loving husband and father. I realize and some day the girls will too that the life that David and we as his family are called to is a life of serving the church and we do it with joy. Because of your love for us as a family, we can willingly and joyfully do that. You live like your ministry outside the home is not more important than your ministry in the home.

So on your ordination day, I want you to know (as the one who knows you best) that I see up close and personal what the church is saying today.

Love,
Your Bride


I wish you all could have been there. It was a holy moment!

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Guess who's Four!!!

Tomorrow the 9th is Alyssa's 4th birthday! It is so amazing to see how she has grown in the past four years. Our life has certainly changed since this day four years ago - I can still remember vividly the day she joined our family. The past four years has flown by, I am excited for the next years of her life as she grows, becomes more obedient, and starts school. I'm not sure what she would be most excited about, probably starting school. We still have a little ways to go before that starts, but with as quickly as the past four years has gone by, I know the next will go just as quick.

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Real Life

Well, this is our 5th day home from Hawaii and although the jet lag wasn't as bad as we expected it is still awefully hard to wake up in the morning and to go to sleep at night.

I am always surprised, although it doesn't make much sense, at how quickly you dive right back into real life. We got home friday night, so we picked the girls up on saturday. Saturday night the girls are asking for things (many things) as they are currently asking now too. "Mommy, can you get me a drink". Its funny how quickly you forget. I had 6 days of no sippy cups, taking anyone to the bathroom, or disciplines. On saturday night, in that moment, as shocked as I was that I wasn't in Maui anymore. I reminded my self that this is what the Lord has called me to. To get drinks, change diapers, change clothes, feed, and bathe (on top of all the wifely priviledges) for my three little girls. No number of days on Maui could take that desire away.

More Maui pictures to come!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

On our way home...

We are leaving Maui in just a few short hours. Our flight leaves at 2:35 am eastern time on Friday morning and our flight lands in Orlando at 5:45 pm. Please pray for us for the day of travel and for the next few days after our return that we don't experience too much jet lag. I'll post more pictures once we are settled back into real life.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Maui Pictures

Maui update

Wow! We have been super busy since we've been here and for the first few days couldn't get an internet connection. We have been snorkeling, saw some whales off the shore, hiking in the mountains to see waterfalls, swam at a place called Blue Pool (it is right off the ocean in this secluded little waterfall that pools in a cute little place to swim. The water was freezing, but we all jumped in for the "chance of a lifetime"). I'll finish uploading the pictures later. It has been beautiful here, warm and sunny. Today it is windy and raining, but that won't stop us. The guys are going to golf at a course where a PGA tour is played and the girls are going shopping (surprise, surprise!). We are off to a breakfast buffet. The food is fantastic here, one night we went out for sushi, the ahi tuna was the best we've ever had and they even had a Korean restaurant where we ate the first night. The travel day was long, I think most of us had been up 24 hours before we went to bed that night. We have been going to bed by 9-10pm every night but waking up at like 6-7am. The wake up early is still because of the time adjustment. What a wonderful time we are having! More later...

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Airplane...Baby food - A couple of Brooklyn's Firsts

This past week we went to Maryland for a conference, so it was Brooklyn's first time on an airplane. She did great! Then today we gave her rice cereal for the first time. She has been a little fussy lately, so I am trying to figure out if she is teething or needing more food. She did great for her first time.


Sunday, April 15, 2007

Maui Here We Come!!!!

We cannot believe it, but we have been given the opportunity to go with some dear friends of ours to Maui for a week. We leave this coming Friday, April 20th and return the 27th. We are going to try to post pictures while we are there. Please pray for us and Brooklyn that we will adjust to the time change (we hear the jet lag will be really bad) and that we will have traveling mercies on each of our full travel days. Friday we leave at 7am and arrive in Hawaii at approximately midnight(eastern time), although it will be 5:45 Hawaii time. Any tips?

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Busy Busy Week

Wow! This past week was full of fun for me and the girls. Last Monday Brooklyn got her ears pierced, Wednesday we were at the park all morning, Friday we went Strawberry picking and Saturday we went swimming (Brooklyn's first time in the pool) at Mimi and Papa's house. Then on Sunday night we slept outside in the backyard in a tent. We had a wonderfully exhausting week.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Alyssa

Alyssa will turn 4 in May and she is already asking for a party! What have I gotten myself into? We only do "friend" parties every other year, so she remembers hers from last year. She told me the other day that she would like a pink CD player and a pink Bible, oh and a pink notebook too. She is super girly! She is learning to be a big helper around the house by unloading the dishwasher or dusting the furniture with baby wipes. She is anxious to start school but i think that is only because she knows her cousin does it. Here is a recent picture of her.









Mery Mery Quite Contrary...


Our little Meredith is full of energy. She never stops. She is 2 1/2 now. She loves her baby sister and her big sister,but sometimes in unusual ways. She makes us laugh because of how crazy she can be. She has no fear and obviously as a 2 year old, she doesn't have the ability to anticipate pain. She walks around the outside mat of the trampoline, you know the part on the outside part of the net that moms have to have to protect their jumping children. But she walks all the way around with no problem.

My Dear Husband

For those of you who haven't heard my husband preach in a long while -- I want to take this opportunity to brag. Grace Church is going through a series on Isaiah and this past Sunday David preached a wonderful message on trusting God, "Do you believe the promises?"! If you'd like to listen, you can download it here. Each week he preaches I am aware of how gifted he is to serve the body of Christ in this way.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Introducing *Brooklyn*

Brooklyn is now 3 1/2 months old. She is growing so fast. Many people say she looks just like Alyssa and Meredith. Which at different times she does look just like they did as babies. She is a good sleeper and a good eater (you'll be able to tell that by the pictures).

Just 1 day old!
Christmas
Our cousin McKenzie (only 3 days older)
1 month old