Texas sheet cake

I'm sitting here at my desk thinking of my mom because I'm eating a Texas sheet cake, her absolute favorite dessert! :) I'll eat a piece for you Mom! :) :) It's YUMMY! :)

It's been a whirlwind of a last few days for David and I. Thursday night I was only a block from work when a man ran a stop sign, and I plowed right into him. Talk about frightening! When I opened my eyes I was facing the opposite direction and realized my airbags had deployed and were now smoking and filling the car with white powder. I opened the door and swung my legs out so I could get fresh air, and all I could think about was the baby. I was praying fervently that she was OK and alive and not at all harmed. Police, EMTs and a fire truck quickly arrived. I was asked by a policeman if I would like to sit in his warm car, sure, so I did. David arrived and we both just clung to each other and cried. We were relieved that I was alive and didn't appear to be hurt, but both very much afraid that the baby was not alive and so unsure as to what our night would hold--sorrow or happiness? I was taken to the hospital via ambulance, hooked up to an IV, blood drawn, etc. They took my vitals again at the hospital while David checked me in. He came back to be with me as they were getting ready to find the baby's heartbeat. Thump, thump, thump, thump!!!!!!!!!!!! What a beautiful sound!!!!!! We were both estatic and couldn't speak we were so thankful she was alright! Our evening was going to be filled with joy! I was admitted to the hospital for the night just to keep a watch on the baby, and after a terrible night's sleep I was released the next day with a clean bill of health for me and the baby. Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow. I cannot express to you the relief we both feel knowing that I'm not only OK but so is the baby.

Friday was a very frustrating day as we dealt with car insurance. And, due to a mix-up of our understanding/their lack of explanation we were told we will not be getting anything in return for our totaled car. Ah, the joys of a "no fault" state. Funny how the law protects the one who IS at fault. We have calmed down a bit from that shocking news and are now trying to figure out what to do about a second vehicle. We are not without options right now, but want to be sure to choose the right option. This has turned into an expensive lesson, one we hope to never have to repeat!!! We will be sure to ask LOTS of questions and be ABUNDANTLY clear as to what we're protected for, etc. And we will no longer be using State Farm Insurance. Some neighbor, as my husband said!!!

I'm posting a photo of the car so you can see it. It's terrible, my poor, little car, but it is MOST important that I and the baby are fine.

The wonders of shag carpet

We have settled in quite nicely to our new, temporary home. We continue to be blessed by the church who owns this little parsonage. It's not as nice as the other one we had been living in for 3 years, but who cares?!? It's full of love and the people are generous and wanting to just be of help. It's a much better situation! We have a wonderful greenish/yellow shag carpet in our bedroom. It's been interesting living with that! :) There are many quirks to the house, but it all pales in comparison to the feeling of NO stress that we feel. God's blessings never end.

A man from our previous church (incidentally, his father was a preacher at Bankers too, long ago and was forced to resign as well) called David and said he had shot us a deer and as soon as it was processed would be bringing us ALL of the meat!!!!!! WOW!!!! We feel so blessed by that! We'll have a ton of meat and probably won't have to buy any for a long time. We have received many such blessings from the Lord and continue to marvel at the healing He is providing us through his children.

David has been in PA this week meeting with 4 different churches. He met with 2 last night and will meet the other 2 today. So far, the meetings have been good and encouraging. It's great to hear my husband encouraged. We're thankful for the area minister in NW PA who is taking all this time to help us along.

We hope to know Friday what day David will have gall bladder surgery. No one wants surgery, but I think David will be quick to get in line for this one! He's been so miserable that right now surgery is a good thing. We're both hoping surgery happens early next week to give him time to recuperate before Christmas. Hopefully, he'll be able to enjoy eating Christmas dinner now!

We continue to strive forward and hold fiercely to the hand of our Lord. He is guiding us and directing us and his love and mercies are new every morning. I would encourage you to take time today to think of the ways God has blessed you today, this week, this month. It's amazing when you start looking. God is good.

Phew! It's done!

We are OUT of our old house and into the new one now. Thanks to my wonderful husband and mom-in-law we have had a speedy move out of the old place. Though we now have to unpack some of our things so we can live (and make Christmas cookies! :) ) we're done and out and it's a wonderful feeling. Yesterday I left what had been our home for almost 3 years, and I cried. Not because I was sad that it was my last time leaving for work from that house but sad because of what it all means. Sad to be closing a chapter on our life that didn't end the way we would have liked for it to have ended.

God is so good, though. Our "new" home is just what we need. We're now in the little area of Osseo, in another parsonage that actually sits even CLOSER to the church then what we've been living, but it's no big deal! There are a lot of quirky things in the house (like, it appears light switches were an after-thought as they are not at all in logical places, and the only way to get upstairs is to go through the downstairs bedroom) but we're so thankful to be there, so thankful for the generous folks at the Osseo church to offer it to us and are only ask that we pay for utilities and whatever (little) we can afford for "rent." They have been so helpful to us--the house was clean, warm and the fridge was turned on. They have said to us through this whole process they're just glad they can help. Wow. When you're not used to Christian behavior it's even sweeter when you do experience it. They have been a true God-send to us, and we are so very thankful for them. If you think about it, pray for these kind folks and ask the Lord's blessings on them today.

I think we have most of the things done that need to be done when moving locations. The TV guy is coming out today to hook us up! :) We were "forced" into conversation last night! :) :) I had to chuckle...

I'm so thankful for my husband and mom-in-law. They're slaving away with packing, unpacking and cleaning the old house while I sit at my cushy office job. My husband has done little things to help me transition better. He made sure to get out our Advent candle holder and put the candles in it so we can use it despite the chaos going on around us. He put our bed together and my mom-in-law put all the sheets and bedspread on it so it was done and ready when I got home last night. Though the downstairs bedroom is awkwardly placed, my husband thought about his pregnant wife who gets up a lot during the night to potty and knew it wouldn't be good for me to climb up/down the stairs. These are just a couple things that are sticking out for me right now. They are dear and wonderful people.

I'm thankful for the rest of our family, who have upheld us in prayers, called us regularly to check up on us. We couldn't be getting through this w/out all of them (you!). The same is true of our friends. God is embracing us through the arms and words of those who love us. Thank you for allowing yourself to be used in this manner. We are also not completely forgotten by folks at our "old" church. Those who loved us (and have also left the church) have been checking up on us and praying for us and offering help with moving, etc. God is so good to us all the time.

I hope to take some photos of our new digs this weekend and will hopefully get them posted on here! :) Until then, have a happy day!!

Boxes, boxes and more boxes

Life has changed drastically for David and I the last few weeks. Two weeks ago David (and I) made the decision to resign from the church he' been serving for the past almost 3 years. It was a decision we did not come to quickly, or happily, or anything like that. It was an agonizing decision, one made through lots of prayer, many sleepless nights, lots of talking. It was a decision that affected many in the church--some have stayed, many have left. The exact reasons and "what went down" does not matter. What matters is it's not always easy to be obedient. It hasn't been an easy 3 years here at this church, making it hard to be obedient in staying sometimes. However, we always knew this is where God wanted us. And as hard as it was to stay at times, it was even harder to leave. Why would this be hard? Well, because, by leaving we know we're leaving these people to deal with their dysfunction. I suppose that's not entirely true. Over the past 3 years David and the deacons have been diligently preaching the Word to the people in the church, opening their eyes to the extreme dysfunction here. But, due to a small faction of troublemakers, the church as a whole choose to listen the screaming minority (as they have for 40 years) rather than what God was clearly telling them through Scripture and his servants. It's sad. What will come of those who have chosen to stay? What will come to those who chose to leave? 

We have gone through anger, joy at being released, uncertainty for the future, grief of leaving a life we've known for 3 years, hurt, trust in the Father who lead us to this church, lead us through the valley and has now lead us out of it. How do you help a grieving husband, who put his whole heart, life and soul into a group of people, only to find out they told horrible lies and are now reverting back to their old ways? How do you stop caring for a group of people you've cared for entirely for 3 years? How do you move on from here? How do you heal from these things? So many questions, and not many answers right now. But, we keep on trusting because it's God who is always faithful to us, and He hasn't failed us yet so why would he start now? We know our decision to move on was the right one, was one in which God guided us to make. We're learning that integrity and courage are HARD and not very popular all the time. However, God is good and takes care of his children. 

So, what now? Where do we go from here? Well, in the immediate future we're packing and moving (with the help of David's mom--YEAH!) to another church's empty parsonage. Since I still have my job, we'll stay here in Hillsdale until David is able to find something else. He had an interview over Thanksgiving, has another one coming up in December and there are several other areas that we have yet to make contact. We know he'll find something and are trusting the Lord to guide and direct us to the next place He would have us serve. We're excited at the prospect of going to a HEALTHY church. Wow!!  What will we do with ourselves? Do we expect perfection? Of course not!! We know better than that, after all, we're all imperfect people, aren't we? :) But, we HAVE come to realize that being imperfect and being unhealthy are 2 different things. 

I will keep you updated as we know more. Right now, we're so looking forward to having a stress "free" Christmas, a time we'll be able to celebrate with our families without having to fight with the piano player as to what day the Christmas Eve service should be...No, I'm not kidding.  I hope you're able to find some rest and solitude in this Christmas season. 

Do YOU read my blog?

Ok, I have been debating about whether or not to keep doing a blog. I mean, how many people actually read it? I know my mom, sister, my aunt Cathy and Sue for sure, but other than that, who else? And, if it's just these 4 people then what's the point? You already know everything I post anyway! :) With email and facebook it's kinda hard to find OTHER things to write about on here. So, if you read this blog, please let me know. I'm not creative like my sister and won't be offering any gift box, this is for purely selfish reasons and curiosity! :)

Thanks for letting me know! :)

1/2 way done!

It's hard to believe but I'm 1/2 way through my pregnancy! Where has the time gone? There have been moments I didn't think it would EVER come to pass, but as I look back I see that time has flown on by. I'm attaching a photo taken yesterday so you can see the belly growing progress! :) We find out this week if we're having a boy or girl. We don't care either way, though I've thought the whole time it's a boy. We shall see! :) The baby is currently about 3/4 of a lb and 10 1/2 inches long--I'm told as long as a carrot! :) The kicking is supposed to start getting stronger now, which should be fun--I'm hoping this month David will be able to feel the baby move. 

I'll let you know Wednesday if we're having a boy of girl!

Growing over night????

Well, I feel like every morning when I wake up I'm BIGGER! This morning David even mentioned that I am really looking pregnant now. :) It's fun. I love to strut my stuff and for once in my life, not worry about sucking it all in (not that I could anyway!). I'm proud of the belly of mine--also for the first time in my life. :) God has been so good throughout this pregnancy. From my weeks of death (1st 14-15 weeks) to now just dealing with hip pain and indigestion (I'll take this any day to the nausea!!). Last night as I was eating supper I realized that I have eaten a large amount of French toast in the last several weeks. Must be another craving! :) I have always like French toast, but have never eaten it as often as I do now (about 2-3 times a week). Funny! :) Anyway, I don't know if it's possible to actually be growing larger over night, but I sure do feel like I am! I am in week 19 this week and very exctied to see if we'll be having a boy or girl. My ultrasound is scheduled for teh 19th...1 1/2 more weeks I guess. Ah well! :) We can wait, we have no other choice, huh?