First up, Kenya update-Our yard sale was a huge success! We made $1,000 which was a lot more than we expected! A lot of people from our Bible Fellowship class at church were up at 5 a.m. and gave up most of their Saturday to help us. Paul and I were so humbled and grateful. We have had a lot of people give generous donations (one of which was very large and also given anonymously) so between that and the yard sale money, we actually have more than we need for our trip! I'm not surprised, but am amazed at God's provision and His confirmation to us that we are supposed to be going to Kenya. We will be able to take the extra money there and help provide a need or needs, which is always so awesome to see (like the last time I went and we were able to pay for Thomas' surgery). Paul got all of his shots a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately he had a terrible reaction and was out of commission for three days. He said if that's what the vaccines made him feel like, he is super thankful for the protection against those crazy sicknesses and diseases that so many people suffer with in Africa. Our plane tickets have been bought so there's no turning back now! Our flight leaves from Charlotte at 7:00 in the morning the day after Christmas. Which means we will have to leave by 3:00, which means we will be getting up around 2:00 A.M.!!! I was not expecting that but since we aren't going to actually be in Kenya all that long, it's best to maximize our time. We've always left in the late afternoon and I had it in my head I'd be able to see Gray all morning. Now I'll be telling him goodbye as I put him to bed on Christmas night. I've had a hard time with that and as it gets closer, I know I'm going to be a mess! Paul and I have quite a bit of preparing to do for the trip and I want to get it done before all the Christmas craziness begins so we can just soak up time with our sweet boy before we leave.
Soccer season ended about two and a half weeks ago. Paul's team came in second place for their conference and made it to the second round of the play offs. He was very pleased with how to season turned out. It has been SO exciting having him home more. I've picked up more tutoring now that he can watch Gray but we still usually have at least two afternoons together and it is soooooo nice being able to spend time together as a family during the week. And also nice for this mama to have some help with our busy boy. Time apart truly does make you even more thankful for the time you have together! You may need to remind me of that come next July when soccer starts again ;)
Gray is in full toddler swing. He is so strong willed but is also really sweet and so much fun (usually). I've had some challenging days with him off and on the past few weeks and although I wouldn't trade my job for anything in the world, some days I am desperate for Daddy to walk through the door. I continue to (try) to pick battles wisely and pray for help in raising him everyday. We want so bad to discipline him effectively, though we know we will fail at times. He has been even more into books than usual lately. Some days he barely even plays with toys and just reads book after book after book. His favorite place to be is in our lap reading a book and I am so thrilled about that! His speech is starting to be more intelligible and he often repeats words and phrases that we ask him to. He loves pretending to talk on the phone and even has conversations with Siri on my iPhone, which I always hilarious! He has pretty much busted through his 18 month pajamas and has moved up to 24 months. It's usually hard for Paul or I to tell since we see him every day but we both feel like he has grown a lot over the past month. I can't wait to find out next month at his 18 month check up.
Not much to report on my pregnancy since I just posted yesterday. I am working out 4-5 times a week and feeling pretty good now. The nausea is gone unless I let myself get hungry or smell something bad and my energy level is so much better! We go to the doctor a week from tomorrow and cannot wait to hear that sweet heart beat!
Have a good Tuesday, y'all!
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Sunday, November 17, 2013
There's a good reason for my blog hiatus
The 'ol blog has been neglected lately. But I've been tired. Like really, really tired. And feeling a bit sick for several weeks. Because this Mama is cooking baby number two! Yep, the Hicksters will become a family of FOUR right around Gray's second birthday. I was 11 weeks on Thursday. We found out right at 4 weeks and told our family and several friends but wanted to hear that heart beat before any public announcements were made. Our desire was for this baby and Gray to be about two years apart and my due date is June 5th and Gray will be two on June 10th! We feel just as blessed and humbled this time around, if not more. Though it seems to happen to people all the time, conceiving a child is a MIRACLE from God! We know of several friends who are desperate for their first child or adding to their family and although we know they wouldn't want our joy to be stolen, it is with humility that we make this announcement.
I was 9 weeks and 1 day at our first doctor's appointment which was on Friday, November 1st (which happened to be the same exact date we went with Gray for the first time). With Gray I was only 7 weeks and we were so amazed at what a difference two weeks can make. At 7 weeks although we could see the heart beat fluttering, nothing resembled a baby and it was so tiny. With this baby we were able to see a head and little arms and legs! We even saw sweet baby moving around quite a bit at one point. The heart beat was 176; Gray stayed around 135-150 the entire time. Of course some of our family thinks that has to mean it's a girl, but I don't think I have a feeling one way or the other yet. With them being so close in age, I'd love for Gray to have a brother but we would no doubt be thrilled to welcome a little girl into our family. We just can't go wrong either way! :)
Everything checked out great with the ultrasound and exam and we will go back again the day before Thanksgiving. Oh and in case anybody is wondering-yes we are still going to Kenya! I had met with my doctor before I got pregnant to tell her we were thinking about this trip but were also ready to try for baby number two. Assuming no concerns arose with this pregnancy, my doctor was completely comfortable with us going. Since I've been to Kenya three times before and have been pregnant once already, it helps me to be comfortable with it too. We went to Cancun when I was 27 weeks and had no issues. Granted this is quite a bit different, but I'll be 17 weeks and feeling great (I assume) and we know God will protect us.
So far this pregnancy has been very similar to mine with Gray. I think I am already done with the first trimester nausea and crazy tiredness, which is right about the time I started feeling better with Gray too (around 10 weeks). I had some bad nausea for a few weeks but never threw up (never did with Gray either). It kicked in a little later this time and when I felt sick, it seemed worse but I didn't feel sick quite as often, if that makes any sense. I was soooooo tired, sleepy and overall very fatigued. I took more naps the past few weeks than I have since Gray was born. I am NOT a napper but for a few weeks I just felt like I couldn't make it through the day if I didn't take one. I haven't been napping the past week or two but can barely hold my eyes open past 8:00 most nights. Soccer season is over now but it was really hard not having Paul home much with me being so tired and feeling sick. There were days I lived for Gray's nap and early bedtime because I just felt like I had NOTHING left in me. I have had a lot of food aversions and have seemed to have more cravings this time. I've mostly wanted carbs and have probably eaten more bread in the past 5 weeks than I have in the past 5 months. I switched to decaf coffee as soon as I found out I was pregnant but stopped wanting it altogether a couple of weeks ago (same timing with Gray). I have still been working out a lot, though I missed a couple of days early on because I felt too sick or tired to go. I wasn't working out at all with Gray and I am hoping it makes this pregnancy better and healthier. I am about 10 pounds lighter than when I got pregnant the first time and I hoping not to gain as much this time around. I certainly have not eaten very healthy so far but I'm hoping since I'm not feeling sick anymore I'll be able to make better eating choices (with a few indulgences, of course!). As of my first doctor's visit, I'd managed to not gain any weight yet, but you wouldn't believe that if you saw my bare belly. They weren't kidding when they said the second one pops out sooner. I was showing at 12 weeks with Gray so I should have known I didn't stand a chance in hiding this one for long. I finally busted out some maternity pants a week or two ago and I'm not gonna lie, they felt soooo good! I wish I'd taken a picture before I got pregnant so I could remember how quick I popped out. Here is a picture of me at 11 weeks with baby number two...
And here was me with Gray at 13 weeks...
And the comments have already started. "You're only HOW many weeks?!" That's ok, I'll just embrace it and enjoy telling people there are three in there ;) I definitely won't be posting about this pregnancy every week like I did with Gray but I do want to remember and cherish this one too. I'll post after our next doctor's visit for sure.
I was 9 weeks and 1 day at our first doctor's appointment which was on Friday, November 1st (which happened to be the same exact date we went with Gray for the first time). With Gray I was only 7 weeks and we were so amazed at what a difference two weeks can make. At 7 weeks although we could see the heart beat fluttering, nothing resembled a baby and it was so tiny. With this baby we were able to see a head and little arms and legs! We even saw sweet baby moving around quite a bit at one point. The heart beat was 176; Gray stayed around 135-150 the entire time. Of course some of our family thinks that has to mean it's a girl, but I don't think I have a feeling one way or the other yet. With them being so close in age, I'd love for Gray to have a brother but we would no doubt be thrilled to welcome a little girl into our family. We just can't go wrong either way! :)
 |
| Baby Hicks #2 at 9 weeks, 1 day |
Everything checked out great with the ultrasound and exam and we will go back again the day before Thanksgiving. Oh and in case anybody is wondering-yes we are still going to Kenya! I had met with my doctor before I got pregnant to tell her we were thinking about this trip but were also ready to try for baby number two. Assuming no concerns arose with this pregnancy, my doctor was completely comfortable with us going. Since I've been to Kenya three times before and have been pregnant once already, it helps me to be comfortable with it too. We went to Cancun when I was 27 weeks and had no issues. Granted this is quite a bit different, but I'll be 17 weeks and feeling great (I assume) and we know God will protect us.
So far this pregnancy has been very similar to mine with Gray. I think I am already done with the first trimester nausea and crazy tiredness, which is right about the time I started feeling better with Gray too (around 10 weeks). I had some bad nausea for a few weeks but never threw up (never did with Gray either). It kicked in a little later this time and when I felt sick, it seemed worse but I didn't feel sick quite as often, if that makes any sense. I was soooooo tired, sleepy and overall very fatigued. I took more naps the past few weeks than I have since Gray was born. I am NOT a napper but for a few weeks I just felt like I couldn't make it through the day if I didn't take one. I haven't been napping the past week or two but can barely hold my eyes open past 8:00 most nights. Soccer season is over now but it was really hard not having Paul home much with me being so tired and feeling sick. There were days I lived for Gray's nap and early bedtime because I just felt like I had NOTHING left in me. I have had a lot of food aversions and have seemed to have more cravings this time. I've mostly wanted carbs and have probably eaten more bread in the past 5 weeks than I have in the past 5 months. I switched to decaf coffee as soon as I found out I was pregnant but stopped wanting it altogether a couple of weeks ago (same timing with Gray). I have still been working out a lot, though I missed a couple of days early on because I felt too sick or tired to go. I wasn't working out at all with Gray and I am hoping it makes this pregnancy better and healthier. I am about 10 pounds lighter than when I got pregnant the first time and I hoping not to gain as much this time around. I certainly have not eaten very healthy so far but I'm hoping since I'm not feeling sick anymore I'll be able to make better eating choices (with a few indulgences, of course!). As of my first doctor's visit, I'd managed to not gain any weight yet, but you wouldn't believe that if you saw my bare belly. They weren't kidding when they said the second one pops out sooner. I was showing at 12 weeks with Gray so I should have known I didn't stand a chance in hiding this one for long. I finally busted out some maternity pants a week or two ago and I'm not gonna lie, they felt soooo good! I wish I'd taken a picture before I got pregnant so I could remember how quick I popped out. Here is a picture of me at 11 weeks with baby number two...
And the comments have already started. "You're only HOW many weeks?!" That's ok, I'll just embrace it and enjoy telling people there are three in there ;) I definitely won't be posting about this pregnancy every week like I did with Gray but I do want to remember and cherish this one too. I'll post after our next doctor's visit for sure.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Gray's first hair cut
We finally did it. It was nothing short of a mullet and it had to be done at some point. But I cried my eyes out that night. I loved his sweet curls and playing with his hair while I sang to him at night. I wasn't prepared for how big he would look. But I'm over it now and I think our big boy's new do looks handsome. Gray definitely doesn't have the kind of curly hair that will give him locks all over but I do hope those tiny curls come back a little as his hair grows.
He wasn't very good for the hair cut. He loves chairs so I thought he'd think he was something else sitting up there. But he wanted to be running around checking out the salon more than anything so Meredith had to cut quick.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
He wasn't very good for the hair cut. He loves chairs so I thought he'd think he was something else sitting up there. But he wanted to be running around checking out the salon more than anything so Meredith had to cut quick.
 |
| All done! I am kicking myself for not taking a before picture. |
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Friday, October 18, 2013
Pumpkin Patch 2013
Last weekend we met the Sowers out at Hawk's Pumpkin Patch like we've been doing every year since before Gray was even a thought. I love making traditions like this with good friends and family.
I couldn't help but look back and compare this year's pictures to Gray's first trip to the pumpkin patch. It is so amazing how much he has grown and changed in a year.
This year Gray wasn't in the best mood and was not about to be still for a second, so it's a near miracle that Lindsey even got one good shot. I'm posting these here for my family who does not have Facebook. And once again I couldn't pick favorites so there are a lot. Enjoy the cuteness!
I couldn't help but look back and compare this year's pictures to Gray's first trip to the pumpkin patch. It is so amazing how much he has grown and changed in a year.
This year Gray wasn't in the best mood and was not about to be still for a second, so it's a near miracle that Lindsey even got one good shot. I'm posting these here for my family who does not have Facebook. And once again I couldn't pick favorites so there are a lot. Enjoy the cuteness!
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| This costume was Landon's two years ago and we were super excited about it being handed down for Gray. It comes with leggings to match the tie but I was last minute trying them on and realized they'd need to be pinned to the costume. But it was still cute with jeans! |
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| This boy loves him some Mason and Landon and the feeling is mutual. I think this picture is so sweet! |
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Lately
The 'ol blog has been neglected lately. Where do the days go y'all?
Paul's grandfather went to be with Jesus this week. It was not expected but not a surprise either. He's had dementia since I met him and has been on a slow decline the past five years. He was 90 years old and lived a long, happy life. His wife died many years ago of MS and I've heard so many stories about how bad he wanted to see her again. It makes me cry just thinking about it. We got to spend all weekend in Boone with family and even got some closure by his bed side before he died. From the first time I met him, he didn't know who anyone was but what I always found so amazing was how he responded to children. He had 13 great-grand children and the way he'd light up and interact when they were around was so sweet. Our last visit with him was in May and he and Gray just doted on each other the whole time. It was so precious and sweet. Paul and I left that day saying that if that was the last time we saw him, it sure was the perfect visit. And though he will be missed, all of Paul's family were truly rejoicing at the fact that he is in heaven with Jesus. Knowing that sure makes death a completely different experience. God is so good.
Paul has several more weeks left of soccer season and they have won the last couple games. As it always is, it will be bittersweet when it's over. It's really hard for him not to see Gray during the week and we miss him a lot too. So maybe there will be a little more sweet than bitter ;)
In less than 3 months Paul and I will be on African soil. We are starting to really get into the planning and fundraising. Several friends have been so generous to take the lead on helping us raise money. My good friend Abbie has a side business making cakes and has generously decided to run a promotion and give us all of the profit to go towards the cost of our trip. As if that weren't awesome enough, her husband who owns a local nursery, is putting 25% of his sales that he makes this weekend at a pumpkin patch event toward our trip too. My other dear friend Alex is organizing a big yard sale for October 26th. Some friends in our class at church have offered to let us have it in their neighborhood. Another friend is donating a portion of her jewelry sale to our trip as well. I am just so humbled by the hearts of our friends!
Gray is 16 months old today. He's has had a great couple of weeks with minimal tantrums and extra sweetness. I think he is going through another growth spurt too because he is back to long naps and has gone to sleep in a matter of seconds, rather than playing in his crib for an hour before calling it a night. I hate I haven't been good about documenting Gray stories lately because there sure have been plenty. I'll try to catch up on some of what I can remember.
He has been obsessed with Sophie's dog food for a long time now. So a month or so ago I decided to give him a chore of feeding her. He walks the cup of dog food over to her bowl and pours it in, then takes the cup back to the bag and closes the pantry. Most of the time more dog food ends up on the floor than in her bowl but he sure is proud of himself. Now the only problem is that he thinks Sophie needs more food about nineteen times a day ;)
He has a tractor toy that has three large screws and it comes with a toy drill that actually takes the screws on and off. He loves taking it apart and putting it back together. One day last week I went to get him up from his nap and homeboy had unscrewed three screws on his crib! And no the drill did not make it into his crib for nap, he did that all with his little bare hands. He hadn't gotten them completely out of the crib yet but they were very loose and close to coming out. I was impressed and terrified at the same time. This boy sure keeps my hands full. But my heart is even fuller!
He loves to come and take me by the hand and walk me in the other room to play or read him a book. This usually happens when I'm trying to cook his lunch or dinner but I just go with it because how in the world could I turn that down?! I can't help but hope he'll always want to hold my hand.
He is already tall enough to climb on his rocking horse by himself and this happens at least 20 times every day now. It's so cute.
His most favorite things in life are animals and trucks/tractors/golf carts/school buses, and anything else of the sort. He even squeals at just a little pick up truck when he sees it going down the road.
He loves, loves, loves to read books and begs for one more and one more every night.
He isn't saying a lot of new words lately but continues to use his own language and will surprise us with two and three word phrases out of nowhere. He also said his own name for the first time and has a few times since. PRESH!!
We had the hook up of free parking and admission to the fair thanks to my BF Lindsey so we joined her and Mason and Landon on Tuesday. Gray stayed in his stroller for most of the time but a sweet carnival worker let him sneak on a ride-for free, three times in a row.
We are taking him back Saturday and will have more time to focus on the animals, tractors and the largest pumpkin. My mom is going to go with us so when Gray decides he's over it, she can take him home and Paul and I can have a date night and grub down on some fair food.
We've got a busy weekend scheduled of family, friends, the fair, the pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving party and hopefully a little rest in between. Happy almost Friday, y'all!
Paul's grandfather went to be with Jesus this week. It was not expected but not a surprise either. He's had dementia since I met him and has been on a slow decline the past five years. He was 90 years old and lived a long, happy life. His wife died many years ago of MS and I've heard so many stories about how bad he wanted to see her again. It makes me cry just thinking about it. We got to spend all weekend in Boone with family and even got some closure by his bed side before he died. From the first time I met him, he didn't know who anyone was but what I always found so amazing was how he responded to children. He had 13 great-grand children and the way he'd light up and interact when they were around was so sweet. Our last visit with him was in May and he and Gray just doted on each other the whole time. It was so precious and sweet. Paul and I left that day saying that if that was the last time we saw him, it sure was the perfect visit. And though he will be missed, all of Paul's family were truly rejoicing at the fact that he is in heaven with Jesus. Knowing that sure makes death a completely different experience. God is so good.
Paul has several more weeks left of soccer season and they have won the last couple games. As it always is, it will be bittersweet when it's over. It's really hard for him not to see Gray during the week and we miss him a lot too. So maybe there will be a little more sweet than bitter ;)
In less than 3 months Paul and I will be on African soil. We are starting to really get into the planning and fundraising. Several friends have been so generous to take the lead on helping us raise money. My good friend Abbie has a side business making cakes and has generously decided to run a promotion and give us all of the profit to go towards the cost of our trip. As if that weren't awesome enough, her husband who owns a local nursery, is putting 25% of his sales that he makes this weekend at a pumpkin patch event toward our trip too. My other dear friend Alex is organizing a big yard sale for October 26th. Some friends in our class at church have offered to let us have it in their neighborhood. Another friend is donating a portion of her jewelry sale to our trip as well. I am just so humbled by the hearts of our friends!
Gray is 16 months old today. He's has had a great couple of weeks with minimal tantrums and extra sweetness. I think he is going through another growth spurt too because he is back to long naps and has gone to sleep in a matter of seconds, rather than playing in his crib for an hour before calling it a night. I hate I haven't been good about documenting Gray stories lately because there sure have been plenty. I'll try to catch up on some of what I can remember.
He has been obsessed with Sophie's dog food for a long time now. So a month or so ago I decided to give him a chore of feeding her. He walks the cup of dog food over to her bowl and pours it in, then takes the cup back to the bag and closes the pantry. Most of the time more dog food ends up on the floor than in her bowl but he sure is proud of himself. Now the only problem is that he thinks Sophie needs more food about nineteen times a day ;)
He has a tractor toy that has three large screws and it comes with a toy drill that actually takes the screws on and off. He loves taking it apart and putting it back together. One day last week I went to get him up from his nap and homeboy had unscrewed three screws on his crib! And no the drill did not make it into his crib for nap, he did that all with his little bare hands. He hadn't gotten them completely out of the crib yet but they were very loose and close to coming out. I was impressed and terrified at the same time. This boy sure keeps my hands full. But my heart is even fuller!
He loves to come and take me by the hand and walk me in the other room to play or read him a book. This usually happens when I'm trying to cook his lunch or dinner but I just go with it because how in the world could I turn that down?! I can't help but hope he'll always want to hold my hand.
He is already tall enough to climb on his rocking horse by himself and this happens at least 20 times every day now. It's so cute.
His most favorite things in life are animals and trucks/tractors/golf carts/school buses, and anything else of the sort. He even squeals at just a little pick up truck when he sees it going down the road.
He loves, loves, loves to read books and begs for one more and one more every night.
He isn't saying a lot of new words lately but continues to use his own language and will surprise us with two and three word phrases out of nowhere. He also said his own name for the first time and has a few times since. PRESH!!
We had the hook up of free parking and admission to the fair thanks to my BF Lindsey so we joined her and Mason and Landon on Tuesday. Gray stayed in his stroller for most of the time but a sweet carnival worker let him sneak on a ride-for free, three times in a row.
We are taking him back Saturday and will have more time to focus on the animals, tractors and the largest pumpkin. My mom is going to go with us so when Gray decides he's over it, she can take him home and Paul and I can have a date night and grub down on some fair food.
We've got a busy weekend scheduled of family, friends, the fair, the pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving party and hopefully a little rest in between. Happy almost Friday, y'all!
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
A dream to soon come true
I have some very exciting news to share. Paul and I are going to Kenya!!! This is something we've dreamed of doing together since we were dating. I've been three times and the love I have for the country and the beautiful people is something I could never describe. Paul has listened to every Kenya story and seen every picture (more than once) but it's one of those things that you can't fully "get" unless you have been. Not that Africa is the only thing or place that does this to you, but it's like once you've been it gets in your blood and your life will never be the same.
When Paul and I first started dating I had just gotten back from my first trip to Kenya. So it consumed a lot of our conversation from early on. Paul shared with me that he too had always dreamed of going. So the desire to go together has been there for years but the trip is always in late summer, right when Paul's official soccer season is starting which makes it not possible for him to go. To skip a lot of details that won't excite most of you, Chuck Peters (a 78 year old man who has been going to Kenya for over 20 years and is also like a grandfather to me) was willing to plan a trip for this December JUST for Paul and me!!! It's the only time logistically that Paul is able to go. We are planning on leaving the day after Christmas and coming back around January 5th or 6th. So it will be a much shorter trip than usual, but Paul has to go back to work and 10 days is more than plenty of time for us to be gone from Gray. Paul's parents are both teachers and will have time off over Christmas break. They plan on staying with Gray the first 5 nights or so and then my mom will finish out the rest of the time. This was a huge decision to make and though it was our desire, we didn't take it lightly! We've been praying and talking about it for a couple of months. It will be extremely hard to leave Gray for so long but we hope to grow our family sometime in the near future and the timing will only get harder. We are taking a huge step of faith as far as the financial aspect of this trip is concerned. I have raised a lot of the money for my trips in the past but what I didn't raise we were able to take out of savings. That savings isn't there anymore and with living on one income, we won't have much (if any) to contribute. We know that God is faithful and will provide and we are trying not to worry about it and leave it in God's hands. We were very encouraged by the response of our Bible Fellowship class when we told them on Sunday. A couple of people asked how they could donate and my very dear and generous friend Alex has offered to head up organizing a yard sale to raise money for our trip. Paul is also planning on doing a free soccer camp and asking for donations towards the cost of the trip.
I ask that you join us in praying about this. We leave in just three months and there is quite a bit of planning and fundraising that needs to happen. I will update here once I know for sure when the yard sale and soccer camp will be and other ways that we might be fundraising. In the meantime I'll be dreaming of sharing about Jesus with these sweet, beautiful people in one of the most amazing places on Earth.
When Paul and I first started dating I had just gotten back from my first trip to Kenya. So it consumed a lot of our conversation from early on. Paul shared with me that he too had always dreamed of going. So the desire to go together has been there for years but the trip is always in late summer, right when Paul's official soccer season is starting which makes it not possible for him to go. To skip a lot of details that won't excite most of you, Chuck Peters (a 78 year old man who has been going to Kenya for over 20 years and is also like a grandfather to me) was willing to plan a trip for this December JUST for Paul and me!!! It's the only time logistically that Paul is able to go. We are planning on leaving the day after Christmas and coming back around January 5th or 6th. So it will be a much shorter trip than usual, but Paul has to go back to work and 10 days is more than plenty of time for us to be gone from Gray. Paul's parents are both teachers and will have time off over Christmas break. They plan on staying with Gray the first 5 nights or so and then my mom will finish out the rest of the time. This was a huge decision to make and though it was our desire, we didn't take it lightly! We've been praying and talking about it for a couple of months. It will be extremely hard to leave Gray for so long but we hope to grow our family sometime in the near future and the timing will only get harder. We are taking a huge step of faith as far as the financial aspect of this trip is concerned. I have raised a lot of the money for my trips in the past but what I didn't raise we were able to take out of savings. That savings isn't there anymore and with living on one income, we won't have much (if any) to contribute. We know that God is faithful and will provide and we are trying not to worry about it and leave it in God's hands. We were very encouraged by the response of our Bible Fellowship class when we told them on Sunday. A couple of people asked how they could donate and my very dear and generous friend Alex has offered to head up organizing a yard sale to raise money for our trip. Paul is also planning on doing a free soccer camp and asking for donations towards the cost of the trip.
I ask that you join us in praying about this. We leave in just three months and there is quite a bit of planning and fundraising that needs to happen. I will update here once I know for sure when the yard sale and soccer camp will be and other ways that we might be fundraising. In the meantime I'll be dreaming of sharing about Jesus with these sweet, beautiful people in one of the most amazing places on Earth.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Just another manic Monday
Gray was up especially early on this Monday morning and this is how we found him...
I'm just sad I missed his first time undressing himself. Daddy and I couldn't tell if the look on his face said "proud" or "confused". I know one thing, this boy is napping in a onesie today!
Happy Monday, y'all!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I'm just sad I missed his first time undressing himself. Daddy and I couldn't tell if the look on his face said "proud" or "confused". I know one thing, this boy is napping in a onesie today!
Happy Monday, y'all!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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