Saturday, June 23, 2012

We're Moving...

When we moved to Birmingham a year and a half ago we knew it wasn't a permenant move and that within a year or two we'd be making another move, so the move part isn't surprising to us but the job opportunity, God's timing and the location is quite a thrilling surprise!

For the past several months Adam has known a change was in store, what we struggled with was continuing to move around the country following a job or finding something that would allow us to get more "settled" somewhere (preferably closer to family). As we pursued any and every connection and lead in Little Rock only for the job to not be a good fit for him, or just no current opportunity in Arkansas, we were beginning to realize that we might have to move with his current company several more times before something might pop up closer to home. We had pretty much resigned ourselves to that reality and had released our hopes and desires to the Lord, knowing full well that He had a perfect plan, that would bring us a future and a hope...so in that, we felt total peace.

It's funny how when you completely release something over to the Lord, giving over all control and you stop trying out of your human ability, He takes over and works things together for good...why do we ever doubt Him? Well, after we'd pursued all options/leads we were thinking "ok Lord you're gonna have to open a door..." Well, He certainly did. About 4 weeks ago a businessman from Little Rock randomly contacted Adam about a position in Russelleville, AR. We weren't thrilled with that location but it would get us an hour or so away from home and we could be nearer to family and friends back there. So last week we packed up the car and headed to LR for an interview. We were completely shocked and awed when the man presented Adam with a different plan. He didn't want Adam in Russelleville, he wanted him in Little Rock, and he didn't want him to just oversee his medical billing company, he wanted Adam to help him organize, run and make more efficient all of his companies. It sounded like it would be a great fit for Adam with his leadership ability and his skills at seeing a system and making it run more efficiently...so when they called on Monday with an offer we were over the moon and pretty much stunned at how it had all come together (and so quickly too!)

This past week has held lots of things: accepting this job as COO of Medical Assets Holding Company, telling his boss and resigning at his current hospital, talking with moving companies, beginning the house search, setting up my OB appointments in Little Rock, etc...there are so many details that must come together in the next 30 days but I'm slowly but surely knocking out my very lengthy list!

To say we are excited is quite the understatement! We feel truly blessed and stand amazed at how God has heard our prayers and has granted them beyond our wildest dreams, all that has happened in the past week truly has been God orchestrated which has given us such peace as we're now are in the throws of lots of sticky details that at times seem quite overwhelming! He is a good God, He definitely does things in His own time (and His timing often takes you through questioning times, like "Lord, what are you doing right now?" "Why is nothing falling into place?") But once on the other side, we can see some of the why's and see ways that His unanswered prayers in the past have in fact been His mercies in disguise, and really is His gracious protection over us...though its hard to understand when you're walking through the rough patches! Those "rough patches" have in fact led us into a deeper faith and trust in Him and that has been so sweet for both Adam and I. We are amazed at all that God has done and we are truly grateful!

It will definitely be hard to say goodbye to all the wonderful friends we've made here in Birmingham, the Lord has been so faithful to bless us with such a great church home and wonderful friends during our time here. It will be bitter sweet leaving Alabama but we will take many treasured memories with us! So get ready Arkansas friends and family, we're headed back to HOG country and we couldn't be more excited!
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Friday, June 22, 2012

Time In Little Rock

Last weekend we were in Little Rock for Adam's 31st birthday. We got to enjoy a family celebration, a day at the lake and of course Father's Day. It was fast and furious, but we had a great time being back home!

Blowing out his candles on his favorite banana cake with cream cheese frosting....yummmy it was so tastey!
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Happy Birthday Dad! Emerson enjoyed his banana cake too!
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Then we spent the day at Lake Ouachita and had a great time!
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Uncle Johnny jumping off the top of the party barge...he was showing off his acrobatic skills!
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Tubing with Daddy...
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G-Dad and Poppy acting crazy too...
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Emerson LOVED the watermelon, I think he had 9 or 10 slices!
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Daddy got in on the action too..."Can Opener"....
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Then went Grace...
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Rob got in on it too...
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Peyton tried to ski on the board...What a cutie!
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Adam wake boarding...
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And Mama (at 26 weeks pregnant) still has it!
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We really did have such a great time in Little Rock and it won't be long til we have more great times...more to come on tomorrow's post!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Summer Olympics

While some people will go to the Olympics in London this summer, we've been having our own Shades Mountain Olympic Games this week at VBS! We lit the torch and have been having all kinds of races and relays!
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A sea of red and little faces, 1200 faces to be exact!
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The kids were asked to "Accept the Challenge" to Prepare (just as Jesus had to prepare and learn about God as He grew), to have Self Discipline (even when Satan tempts us, we can put on the armor of God), to be Passionate (just as Jesus passionately loved people and showed His love through many miracles), to Sacrifice (out of our love for Jesus because of His love that was ultimately exhibited on the cross) and to be Accountable (to fulfill God's great commission). Here, they're looking at pictures through "God's Eye's" and determining which pictures please the Lord...they loved this activity!
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The kids have learned many things and have really absorbed all that they've been hearing and learning which is so fun to see!

We've played outside, had races and relays, sang lots of songs and done a lot of crafts....today we talked about the fact that when Jesus died on the cross it took away all our sins (our dirtiness) and that when we ask Him for forgiveness He wipes us all clean and makes us holy. So to give them a visual we "cleaned" dirty pennies with a vinegar and salt mixture that made the pennies all shiny and "new"...the kids enjoyed seeing this.
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Here's Lawson dancing during music...
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Here's "Moby" and "Mimi" reviewing the days Bible story with the kids...
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The memory verse for the week has been I Timothy 4:12 "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young but set an example for the believers, in speech, in life, in love in faith and in purity." They've loved singing the song from Seeds of Worship, it's truly made the verse easy to memorize!

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We've had a great week so far, its hard to believe tomorrow's the last day. The best part for me (as a parent and teacher) has been to see the kids passionately worshipping and singing to the Lord and to also hear them answer the review questions from the Bible story---knowing that they now have nuggets of truth stored in their minds and hearts! I praise the Lord that His truths are applicable to us no matter our age and pray that we would all actively pursue and "Accept the Challenge" to do ALL that God calls us to do!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Praying For My Boys...

If you're anything like me, you probably pray for your kids constantly, for them to know the Lord, for their hearts to be turned toward Him earlier rather then later, for different character qualities, for their protection physically, spiritually and emotionally, etc. But sometimes I find myself praying the same things over and over again, wishing that I could come up with different ways to pray more specifically for each boy, for their individual bents and unique character qualities.

I was given this book, "While They Are Sleeping-12 Character Traits to Pray For Your Child" by Anne Arkins and Gary Harrel and I LOVE it! They've laid it out in such a way that you spend a week (5 days) praying for a specific character quality including everything from kindness to teachability, from discernment to purity. It's wonderful because they have different definitions of what each character quality is (that you can share with your children) as well as verse references that speak to that particular topic. In addition, they have prayers for you to pray for your child. You can pray through the daily prayers all at once during your devotional time or you could use them throughout the day. There's also a Personal Prayer section that will help you consider a character trait as it uniquely applies to your child and his/her circumstances. At the end of each section there's a You and Me Time and suggestions on How To Live It Out that are wonderfully helpful! I highly recommend this book, you can follow this link to get a copy!
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Friday, June 1, 2012

Organization.....Or Nesting?!

I've not had a chance to blog this week because I've literally cleaned out most every nook and cranny in the house this week, and with no child care, these two jobs kept me crankin' all week long! I'm gonna try and tackle our cedar closet in the basement tomorrow, we'll see how that goes. But here's a little taste of what I've done...I'm feeling quite accomplished and I love opening every closet door...everything has a place!

What does it mean when you can fill the ENTIRE back end of your Suburban with things for the Salvation Army AND you can fill up a massive trash can too? Maybe we have too much stuff!
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It feels so good to purge our clutter of things I've been holding onto "just in case"...I'm gonna let someone else enjoy those things. The best part was letting Peyton help me clean out his and Lawson's room (during nap time) there were SO many toys that he started really getting into giving his things away to others, I think he began to realize how much he really has! It's a good lesson to learn.

Two shelves in my pantry house all our craft and school stuff, it was constantly cluttered and I was always having to dig for certain items...I found this clear shoe organizer at Walmart for a whopping $5.87 so I promptly bought it and filled it with all our craft materials. It makes me so happy each time I open the door, I can see and FIND everything!
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Here's one of my finished projects from the week!
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The little cubby that now houses all my stickers says it all...
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Spring Break: The Sweet Spot

I've been running mach 2 with my hair on fire and have not been posting as much as I'd like to on this here blog.  I'm a few wee...