For those of you who still try to keep up with us through our blog - this is for you.

 

Every once in a while there are things that happen in our lives that cause us to take a step back and look at things a little differently.  This story is about one such event.  The other day I was getting ready for church and Elijah had just gotten up out of bed.  He was still in his pajamas, but he was ready to take on the day.  As I began to converse with him about his night, at one point I told him "I love you" - not an unusual statement for me to make to my children - and he responded "I love you daddy" back.  This too is not an unusual response, but for some reason when he said it this time it made my heart skip a beat.  I was awestruck at how something so simple could be so profound. 

 

With God, our Heavenly Father, he tells us every day "I love you" and we go about our business without taking time to acknowledge that statement.  Often we wonder "why does God need me to pray, or to vocalize my needs" when He already knows everything.  But the reality of it is, while He might know what we need, or that we love Him, sometimes He just wants us to say "I love you" back.   I tell my children I love them every day, but when they say it back, it melts my heart into a giant puddle of goo.  When they express their love with those simple words it builds deeper connections and stronger bonds with me and my children.  I feel compelled to love them even more, if that is even possible :)   

 

It makes me wonder - what does God think when we say "I love you" to Him?  Does it strengthen our relationship with Him?  Does it develop stronger bonds or deeper connections?  I believe that expressing ourselves to God is crucial to our relationship with Him.  So - have you told God "I love you" lately? 

YEAH!  We FINALY have a good, no AMAZINGLY BLAZING FAST internet connection!  You guys kept bugging us about it, so here they are new pictures - with more to come!

Well, we're all moved in.  Trying to figure out where everything goes in the house.  Figuring out our new roles in life.  Figuring out how to balance a third child in our lives...  It's been a crazy week for us, but we're all adjusting.  Chris is really enjoying his new position at the church.  He is learning a lot about how the church works and his role in it all. 

 

The kids are starting to settle in.  Elijah starts school on Thursday and we're all excited about that!  Isaiah is trying to figure out his role as the middle child.  Rachel is being a good newborn - eating, sleeping, filling her diaper and every now and then we get some "play time" in.

 

I'm still in recovery from having a baby and moving all in 2 weeks!  Overall I'm doing well.  I keep shocking people when I tell them I have a 3 week old and we just moved.  They think I'm nuts, but that's okay!

 

I'll post pictures when we have a better internet connection.  We're hoping to have our high speed internet installed by next Monday.

It's so hard to believe that Rachel is already 1 week old.  Where has the time gone!  Rachel is adjusting well to life on the outside.  Her brothers love her very much and are always wanting to hold or look at her.  We are all adjusting to having a newborn in the house again.  Though she's now sleeping at night (at least more so at night than during the day )  and is an awesome eater!  I'm adjusting to having my sleep broken up again - though it'll be harder once Memaw and Papa leave and then when we move to Scottsdale.

 

Oh, yeah... We haven't said much about that.  Chris accepted a position as an assistant pastor at Open Arms Church in Scottsdale, AZ.  We are moving up there on August 4th (yup just a bit over a week from now!).  We're really excited about this great opportunity!  God has been showing us how He's providing for us in every step of this transition!  We will be renting a house from a lady that is really looking for a good renter over anything else.  We don't know much about her, but she lowered the rent for us and is providing extra's (landscaping, new washer/dryer, microwave, and some other things) in our rent to help us out!  We are really looking forward to getting to know her better.

 

I know we'll post more about our move, but right now there's so much going on!  I do promise to get the pictures up, it's still a matter of getting pictures from everyone and sorting through them and posting them.

 

Thank you all for your prayers!  We love you all.

 

 

She's finally here!  Rachel Joy was born on Friday at 3:11pm, weighing in at 7 lbs 3 oz and 20.5 inches long, and is quite a cutie.  The doctor broke Joyce's water at 11:30(ish) and after that, Joyce's body took over for a very natural birth. Woo Hoo!  Joyce is tired, but both baby and her are doing well.  I'm told that Rachel looks an awful lot like her mother when she was born - so she must come by her cuteness honestly.  :)  Thanks to all for your prayers and support, they are greatly appreciated.

Well, Rachel is taking after her brothers and is waiting to come.  As of Tuesday I was already dialated to 5cm (half way there!) but not in active labor.  So, we ended up setting up an induction date for Friday (7/18) at 7:30am.  I know I'll be just shy of 41 weeks, but I am having a hard time dealing with the heat, pain in my lower back, and lack of sleep.  At least I know that the end is in sight!  Most likely I'll go into labor tonight or tomorrow morning on my own, but knowing that it'll be done tomorrow just makes me feel better.

 

So, pray for us as we get ready for Rachel to arrive.  It'll be very soon.  We'll post pictures when we have them.

 

Joyce

Yup, my due date has come and gone and I'm still pregnant.  Not that this should surprise me, but with everything that has gone on in the last couple of weeks I thought I'd have my baby by now.  Oh well.  We will wait until she's good and ready to be here even though I'm tired of being pregnant. 

 

I'd have to say the hardest part of being this pregnant is having everyone ask me "when's the baby coming."  If I knew, then I would tell you and I'd be happy too, but guess what everyone, I don't know, and I'm just going to have to be patient and wait - just like everyone else!  Sorry if I sound grumpy, but that's how it is when a gal goes past her ESTIMATED due date.

 

I'll post more when we know what's going on.  I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and my parents will be arriving in Tucson tonight (driving from WI).

 

 

Joyce was having contraction at about 6 minutes apart when we went to the hospital last night - as soon as they strapped her to a bed to monitor her in Triage, her contractions became irregular and stopped all together.  So they sent her home - after being there for about 5 hours.   Ah well - we'll just keep waiting.

We are very likely going to end up at the hospital today - on Independance Day - horray!  We will keep you posted as we can - and who knows - maybe you will see baby pictures here very soon.  :)

The other night we installed Rachel's carseat into our Jeep.  When we went out with the boys today, Elijah got all excited about Rachel's carseat being in the Jeep.  He told us all about it and then said matter of factly, "We're going to the store to get Baby Rachel now."  Chris and I chuckled and told him that Baby Rachel was still in mommy's tummy and wasn't ready to come out just yet.

 

 

If things continue the way they are, Rachel will probably be here this weekend.  Though I'm not counting on it... The doctors would be surprised if I go much longer without going into active labor.  So, soon Elijah will get to see Rachel in her carseat instead of thinking that we have to get her from the store. :)

I know I haven't posted much about this pregnancy, but there's been so much going on that I sometimes forget that not everyone knows what's going on with me and Rachel.

 

Right now, I'm 37 1/2 weeks along and already starting pre-labor.  Rachel has dropped significantly (causing all kinds of problems with walking!) and I'm already dilating.  I have very irregular contractions and have really started the "nesting" phase.  I'm going nuts with how disorgagnized I am this time around.  Though the good news is that the clothes are sorted, the carseat arrived yesterday, and my "basics" are ready to go.  Now I just need to get my room orgagnized/re-arranged, bags packed, and clean and set up the co-sleeper.  Those are the hard things!

 

Over all the boys are doing well.  Growing big learning new things.  Isaiah is talking like crazy.  He's puting setences together.  Elijah went through a rough spot, but is now back on track.

 

Chris is still enjoying his job and all that he's learning through it.  He's still volunteering at the church.  Recently he preached again while our pastor was away.  I'm always amazed how God uses chris through those situations!  Chris is also leading a study group on Sunday nights.  He's leading discussion through the book The Celebration of Discipline by Robert Foster.  It's a good book and a great group to be a part of.

 

We'll keep everyone posted about the arrival of Rachel.

 

I promise also that I'll get a bunch of pictures up soon.  They're on my desktop now, so it's just a matter of getting them posted!

 

It's hard to believe that Elijah has been in school for 3 weeks!  This week will be his last week at school, then we're off for the summer.  It's been interesting watching Elijah grow as he's going to school.  He's willing to ride the bus (though he gets scared when he's waiting for it).  He brings home some really cute projects and has been learning a lot about things that grow.  We've noticed that he is improving with some of his social skills since he's been going.

 

I need to go find the pictures from Pam's camera of Elijah's first day.  He looked so cute getting his Cars backpack on and saying goodbye to everyone.

Win a Free Ergo Baby Carrier from Along for the Ride

 

Go ahead and enter, you might just get an awesome baby carrier!

Well, Elijah's screening results are in and he will be starting school next week!  The teachers noted that he does have some delays in his social-personal skills and non-verbal communications (making eye contact, touching others to get their attention).  He will be going 3 days a week for 2 hours each day.  His IEP (individualized educational plan) is in place, he's got a spot in the class, and all we've got to do is get his paperwork in.

 

It's a relief for us to know that other's are seeing what we've seen in him.  The teachers have told us he is at or above average with his motor skills and cognative skills, but needs that extra help to interact with other children and adults.  Now we have a better understanding with what is going on with him and how we can better help him interact with others, though it's gonna take some time and work!

 

Continue to pray for us as we continue figuring out what is going on with Elijah and how we can best help him.

There are a few faithful out there in the land who come to visit our blog, not because we have anything terribly exciting to say, but because our kids are cute and we post lots of fun pictures of them.  Ok, so you read the little tidbits too :)  But I do know that there are a great many of you who would like to know what the next stage in our lives is going to entail.  No, I don't have all the answers or know what's going on just yet, but I can give you a few details, and hope that you will join us as we pray for discernment and wisdom for the road ahead. 

 

Most of you know that I am currently working for a software/web development company doing software/web development.  Ok, so they hired me to do design work, and let me tell you, I do a whole lot more than just design.  I'm doing things that I never imagined doing before, partially because I walked away from that path in 1995, failing out of College and not purusing my degree in Management Information Sytems.  Right now, I love my job.  It is challenging me and causing me to learn things in so many different ways, its absolutley fantastic.  I've also been volunteering at the church as I can, and leading a Sunday School class, which has been a lot of fun as I continue to grow and learn along side those who I am teaching.  I love it.  On top of that, I have been priviledged to information about other things that are coming up, new opportunties that I would really enjoy doing, being able to do more ministry.  I had the opportunity to preach in Janurary, and was also allowed to give a devotional for our Easter Sunrise service.  I have enjoyed being able to serve and to minister to people here - making the most of the time I have here, while continuing to look at various ministry opportunities.

 

A few weeks back I wrote to our district superintendant regarding my resume, giving him an update on our lives, and probing his mind for ministry opportunities.  I knew of some churches in our district that were looking, and I wanted to get a feel for what was going on.  It turned out that there were 2 larger churches in California who were looking at pastors, one of which was one that Dr Babby had wanted to put our name in last year.  Through prayer and discernment Joyce and I felt that God did not want us to go forward with that process, and so we thanked him politely and told him that we did not want to be considered for that position.  (here's a guy right out of college, being offered a great opportunity for a first church, and we turned it down).  Well, that church found a pastor, who wasn't there a week when it was discovered that he had an online relationship with another woman (other than his wife) - suddenly the church went from being a great healthy church, to a church dealing with a moral failure.  Let me tell you, we wondered if we had discerned God's will correctly, and whether or not this was some sort of "consequence" for our disobedience.  Well, it turns out that after all that had happend, a major internal problem was discovered at that church, and we were told that "it was probably a good thing we didn't go there because of that problem."  My heart aches for that church and for the struggles they are undergoing, but I was greatly encouraged in knowing that our "Spiritual Baramoter" was working, and God had definitely not wanted us to go to that church.  So what other opportunties were available?

 

One of the other ministry positions was as a youth pastor for a church, and after talking with the pastor of that church, they felt that they really needed someone who had a passion and desire for youth, something that I am willing to do for a while, but it doesn't drive me, it isn't my primary calling.  The other opportunity is as a solo pastor of a small church in a small town in a small state.  Ok, so the state is rather large, but the town is small: Chester, CA.  After praying about it and talking with Joyce, we decided to take a leap of faith and jump in, pursuing being a candidate for this postion.  So I sent a note to Dr. Babby requesting that he forward my resume to Chester Wesleyan Church.  A week later I get an e-mail from the head of their search committee, they are excited and would love to learn more about me and my family.  The courting has begun.  They are going to send me a packet of information this week, and I'm going to send them some video samples of my preaching, and depending on how things go, we may end up visiting Chester, CA in the near future.  Chester is a lumber town in the high Sierra-Nevada Mountains, and is also a resort, vacation hotspot in the summer.  Can you say Skiing, Snowboarding, Boating, Fishing, Hiking, Biking, Golfing, etc - yeah - it's a vacation hotspot alright.  They gt a little bit of snow (on average around 125" a year according to my research - that's about 12' 5" a year - remember, skiing, snowboarding).  Oh - did I mention snowmobiling?  They do that too.  It really is an interesting town, and quite an interesting opportunity. 

 

So - there you have it - more information than you wanted (I'm good at that), and an update on where things are for us.  Please pray for us as we seek God's will in all this.  We are excited and nervous about it all.  It's a big step for us and we are jumping in right now, not sure where we will land, but trusting that God will direct our paths.

Well, we're still alive and having fun out here. Both boys have had haircuts to help them stay cool in the heat.  Last week we were in the mid to upper 80's which is actually 10 degrees warmer than normal for here at this time of year.

 

We took the boys out mini golfing for the first time and they had a blast!  They thought it was fun to chase the balls around with their clubs (though Isaiah wouldn't use the club, he just pushed the ball around with his hands).  We had a blast too playing and watching the boys.

 

Elijah went through his first screening last week to see if he will qualify for a special needs preschool through our school district.  He goes 2 more times.  One for the 2nd half of the screening and the other for our meeting with their reccomendations.  Our Pediatritian is getting us refferals to see a Pediatric Ears Nose Throat Doctor and a Developmental and Behavioral Pediatritain as well so we can see what is going on with Elijah.  We don't think it's his ears, but the school was unable to get him to leave the headphones on so they asked for us to have him tested by a specialist. 

Sorry folks that I've been so far behind on our blog.  It's been hard to get to the computer regulary due to how our house is laid out and that I'm away from the boys when I need to check something.  Those couple of minutes I do break away is usually when one of the boys decideds that he wants to be naughty!  So I'm going to try and catch you up on everyone...

 

Chris -

Chris was hired, in early January, to be a web designer by his old boss from here in Tucson.  Chris worked for Jason at another company doing the same thing many years ago.  Chris enjoys working for Jason at Vision 7 Software but absolutely hates the commute (45-60 minutes on a bad day!).  Chris has been volunteering at our church as a lay minister and has had the privalige to preach once in January and will also be preaching for our sunrise service on Easter!  Chris is also leading an adult sunday school class.  He also has redesigned and improved our church website (www.foothillscc.com).  He is serving on the "Maximum Impact Advance" (John Maxwell video conference) commitee to reach out to our local buisness men and women.  We are waiting patiently for Ministry positions to open and apply to them.  We are praying about what our next step will be.

 

Joyce -

I have been very busy with the boys and being pregnant.  It's been a rougher pregnancy than the boys, but still worth it!  Our baby girl is growing bigger each day.  I'm over half way there! Most days consist of playing with boys.  We have really enjoyed being able to go outside regularly to play. Besides taking care of the boys and the house, I am involved in a women's bible study, MOPS, worship team, and in the choir.

 

Elijah -

Elijah is growing up fast!  Since we've gotten down here he's really enjoyed reading and letters.  He can point out every letter and numbers up to 14!  He even tries to sound out words and read!  We've realized that he has a near photographic memory which is good and bad at the same time!  He can remember stories after 2-3 readings.  He can tell you what comes next in a new video after seeing it once or twice!  It's amazing what he remembers and learns!  Elijah has really enjoyed being in the AWANA program at our church.  He's in the Puggles class (2-3 year olds that didn't make the Cubbies cutoff).  He can tell you what he learned each night and repeat the concepts that he is to be learning.  He's almost got the Pledge of Alegience down and the AWANA pledge as well.  One thing that we ask you to pray about is that we are having Elijah tested for Autisum.  He's got enough quarks that are part of the Autistic spectrum that we want to know for certian if he is or isn't.  If he is, he is in the catagory of mild autisum.  His first screening will be Friday, March 28th.  Chris and I both feel that this testing is necessary so we can better help Elijah with his personality and help others to understand him.

 

Isaiah -

Isaiah is getting big, litteraly!  Isaiah is already wearing 24mo/2T clothes!  He's been learning so much since we've moved here.  We figure he has a 75-100 word vocabulary already and understands WAY more!  Isaiah loves following Elijah around and doing anything that Elijah does.  This can cause some fights between the boys.  Isaiah is mimicing what Elijah does, so when Elijah is learning letter sounds Isaiah repeats what Elijah says!  Isaiah loves sitting and "reading" books.  He has more patience than Elijah did at this age for looking through books and letting us read them.  Isaiah can also recognize colors and shapes.  He loves to climb and run through the house!  Lately, Isaiah has decided that he wants to feed himself at meal times.  While it can be a great big mess, he is a lot more satisfied with himself at the end of a meal.  Another big boy thing is that he has weaned in the last week or so.  While I'm sad that this stage of his life is over, I'm so glad that he is done because now I'm getting more sleep and have a "bit" more energy!

 

Baby Girl -

As I said before she's growing well.  She keeps moving and kicking and reminding me that she's there.  We're trying hard to think of a name for her and hope to have one picked out by Mother's Day.  We're slowly building up a wardrobe for her and getting items together that we didn't have when we moved.  We're looking forward to the day we get to meet her!

 

Well, I hope that catches everyone up for now.  I hope to blog more regularly from here out.

 

Joyce

It's been quite interesting trying to figure out names for our baby girl.  We're still working on what we'd like to call her.  We've had this delima since we were pregnant with Elijah, what girl names do we like.  It's been so much easier for us to name the boys than our girl.  We're going with a Biblical name, that's as far as we've got really.  Any suggestions?

Well, in true Elijah fasion this yucky stomach virus got worse!  Elijah got so dehydrated on Tuesday, we ended up taking him to the Emergency Room and getting him re-hydrated.  The wait at the emergency room wasn't too bad (about 1 1/2 hours), but the entire process of getting his blood drawn and IV started was AWEFUL!  Then after being in the ER for a couple of hours we were transported to another hospital because Elijah had to stay overnight and the hospital we were at does not have a pedatrics ward!  Joyce stayed with Elijah until Thursday Morning (Happy Valentine's Day)!  Both came home tired.  Unfortunately for Joyce she couldn't take a nap because she had her Doctor's appointment and Ultrasound scheduled for that afternoon! 

 

Oh, yeah, the baby wasn't shy, but you'll have to wait for the ultrasound pictures to be posted to find out what we're having!  And if you know what Elijah's prediction about what the baby is, he's correct! 

It's been a couple of rough days around here.  Isaiah started throwing up on Friday and went to the doctor's office to see what was going on.  He has been up and down with this nasty stomach virus.  He didn't get sick at all on Sunday but Elijah started to show the same signs Sunday night that Isaiah had had.  We set everything up just in case he started to throw up. At 1:30 am he came into our room saying "I'm not sick anymore".  It took me a moment to figure out that he had thrown up.  We were up several times with Elijah as he was throwing up.  Then around 5:30 am Isaiah threw up again!  Needless to say, Chris stayed home this morning to help me out with the boys.  Thankfully, they've just wanted to snuggle for the most part.  Chris had to go in this afternoon for a meeting at work, so pray for us that the boys will get better QUICKLY!