Blub, blub, blub

Ok, so I'm a pastor's wife again! :) Woohoo!!!!! I have been thinking back over our time at Bankers and the things that happened to me as pastor's wife. Though there were many hard, hurtful things there were also just as many things that were funny, or simply made one scratch her head. I have talked enough about the sadness and hurt we had there so I thought I would share some of the funny things in this post! For those that may not know, my husband and I lived in the church's parsonage--this is only helpful information! :) These are in no order as to when they happened, just in the order in which I remember them!

1. When we moved in I was told where to make my junk drawer in the kitchen.

2. Our first spring I was excited to see some sweet pea growing in the flower beds and then was

told by a woman she had rid me of it (very proudly) as it'll just take over!

3. I was given a bag of clothes from a woman who is about 5'2" (I'm 5' 4") and about 100 lbs.

soaking wet (I'm more than that DRY!). I took them and promptly took them to Salvation

Army. :)

4. My husband and I set out all the Easter lilies our first Easter. When we went to church the

next morning they had been redone and I was handed a photo so I knew how to do it the

next year!

5. During one spring we had a cleaning day at the church including the grounds. I had

threatened my husband not to come in the house with dirty shoes as I had just mopped.

After the cleaning was done, I went in to find clumps of mud all through the house! I was so

mad at David, who had not done it (I found out...) and we were then kinda creeped out to

think someone else had come in the house and walked around being nosey.

6. This is my absolute favorite thing. Probably the most funny, and gross and well...EVERY

Sunday one of the elderly women in the church would ask when we were going to have a

baby, why haven't I gotten pregnant yet, etc. It was very hard for me as we were having

issues getting pregnant, but I tried really hard to not let it bother me as I knew she wasn't

being mean spirited about it. Well, one Sunday as David and I were standing at the door

telling everyone good bye after the service, the woman, after going through her usual speal

and me telling her we're having issues she says this: "You know what worked for me?" And

I'm thinking, no... she won't, will she? OH YES SHE DID!!!!!! She proceeds to tell me what

she did "both times" she got pregnant. AAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

I look at David and he's beet red, I'm sure I'M beet red and well, we just wanted the floor to

open up and swallow us. The funniest part about all of this is when I DID get pregnant and

we announced it this dear woman came up to me and says, "I told you it would work!" Sigh...

Such is life in a fishbowl!

I Just can't Help Myself

I just had to share a few cute pictures of Cora! I just can't help myself! :)

Trust, trust, trust, trust, trust, trust...

It seems we never have to stop trusting doesn't it? It's not a bad thing, but just when we think we have that lesson learned and can check it off the list we find we haven't fully learned that lesson and must continue learning. This is OK, really. I mean if we figure we don't have to trust we find we don't have a need for God any longer.

When David resigned from Bankers we didn't know the economy would tank and it would be a good 22 months before we found ourselves serving in another church. We have had to trust the Lord for so much from emotional needs to financial needs. And, guess what? The Lord provided for all of them. Well, he provided MIGHTILY.

When we had to leave our temporary home in Osseo and had no idea where to go we had to trust God knew where we were going to go and that he had just the right place for us. He did--we moved into my MIL's house and have had a great time here! We've been able to become part of a wonderful church which has aided us in healing from the hurts we had.

And now, David has been offered the pastorate at First Baptist Church in Bedford, OH we can't stop trusting! We have to pray and trust the Lord to let us gain favor of the congregation so they vote YES for David. We can't stop trusting and praying. We have a lot of details to work through for this move too. We don't know yet where we'll live, we don't yet have health insurance and we don't know yet, well, a lot of things. There are many times during the day when I start to fret and worry and then remember that God has brought us this far he's surely not going to stop providing. I just have to trust.

I hope I never get to the point in my life where I think I no longer need to trust. That would be a very sad day. It would mean, to me, that I no longer need the Lord and think I can do it on my own. I hope that day never comes. What are you trusting the Lord for today?

Girls Only...kind of...

A couple weeks ago we had invited my sister, BIL and their 3 kids for the afternoon and supper. It turned out that only the girls could come, so we had a good time all of us 6 girls (hey, Molly's a girl too!) and... my husband! :) He had to fend for himself and keep all of us women under control (truth be told, I think he had a great time). We played outside, went to a small playground, got VERY hot (Cora and Sophia were RED in the face and so sweaty!!!!), watched TV, ate snacks, ate supper and finished the evening eating ice cream at Graeters! It was a great time and I think Cora really LOVED being with her girl cousins, although, I'm sure she missed Riley and her Uncle Jamie! :) My sister and I look forward to introducing the girls to such fun movies as "Anne of Green Gables" and having movie marathons! :)

Cousins! Cousins! Cousins!

Haddie, the littlest cousin... She doesn't do too much with the other cousins but she's taking it all in and storing up energy for next summer when she'll be the age Cora is now! Can't wait for the craziness when there are FOUR of them running around!

Cora, the next on in age... She appears to be the "princess" of the group. Never wanting her feet to touch the ground--grass, sand, etc--and not particularly adventurous! However, she is a cut-up and keeps us all laughing! Hopefully, next summer she'll gain some courage and jump right in!

Riley! He will be 2 in a couple weeks! He is only 7 months older than Cora and is the only boy in the group. He is quickly learning to hold his own and is also learning to be gentle with the girls. Hopefully, one day he won't be the only boy! So far, though, he doesn't seem to mind.

Sophia, the oldest of the bunch at 5 1/2. She is the little "mom" always letting us real moms know when Cora and Riley are doing something they shouldn't! I have loved watching her gentleness with her sister, brother and cousin as she shows them and teaches them about the world around them and gets just as excited as the rest of us when the "babies" do or say something new!

Molly, the protector of them all. She's always patient, always kind and always ready to run wild with the rest of them! :) She's a good dog coraling her pups!

How do YOU spell RELIEF?

Picture this with me: You're walking in a dry, arid, HOT desert with HOT wind blowing in your face and sand smacking you in the cheeks. Any part of you exposed to the sun is getting scorched, you can no longer sweat because you have no water in you. You walk around what seems to be aimlessly only to find more sand, shriveled up trees and bushes. There is nothing around to offer shade or protection, and you're just trying to survive. You're just trying to make it through the day, hoping to survive because maybe tomorrow will be better. And then it happens. First, you feel a drop, but you don't pay much attention because you're pretty sure you're hallucinating. But, you feel another and another and pretty soon you realize you're NOT imagining things--it's RAINING! You've been saved! You drink in the water; your skin is cooled off; you feel as though you can continue on. You know you can make it to tomorrow. The rain is so sweet, cool, refreshing. It's what you've needed for a long time and just when you couldn't go on any longer God opens up the skies and nourishes you.

This, my friends, is what the past 20 months have been like for me and David too. We have felt like we have been wandering around in a desert. When we moved to a larger city in May we were able to join a church, and it began to rain. We got a call from a church we hadn't really considered and it rained some more. With every interview, meeting and phone call David had with them it poured. And now, after all of this we are 1 step away from being placed into a church who seems to be healthy and excited to have David as their pastor. My friends, the rain has come. It has cooled us off, it has quenched our thirst, and it has given us hope for tomorrow. We are praising the Lord for his healing rain.

No Tree Hugger Here!

OK, so we all know Cora isn't much for grass. It has been a long summer trying to get her to walk in it with shoes on and now barefoot. Usually, she's pretty good. However, this summer, I have noticed she really doesn't like the out of doors much at all. It's clear she is not a risk-taker and would really prefer to be comfortably seated inside reading books. We were up at my parent's house 2 weekends ago and well, it was funny and interesting to see my little girl and her dislike of nature. Here are a few photos depicting what I'm talking about!

She HATES the swing. I can't say I blame her. I have never liked to swing. However, I'm trying not to pass my fears/dislikes on to Cora so I do my best to get her to experience things for herself. :) As you can see, the swing did not bring on a look of glee but rather a look of terror! Shortly after this was taken she was screaming.

My parents have a sandbox. I put her in the sandbox with her shoes on and after a few minutes of her playing gleefully I thought maybe she would enjoy not having her shoes on (and getting sand in her shoes), so I took them off. Well, to put it simply, sandbox time ended swiftly. Apparently, she doesn't like sand on her feet or between her toes...sigh...

My parents bought a slip-n-slide for the grand kids and my dad got it all set up. On the side of the slip-n-slide there are pin holes to create a fountain. My mom figured Cora would love the fountain due to her loving to play in one not too long ago. Um, not so much. In fact, we could barely get her to touch the water--something she loves to play in. She especially did not appreciate sitting in the "pool" at the end of the slide and having her 2 cousins slip and slide into her. As you can see...

Cora was able to work herself up onto a toy tractor but as you can see her feet are securely tucked out of harms' way--you know, from the evil grass...

And, to continue in the grass vein... She hates grass on her feet, but worse than that is WET grass. She was so hilarious standing on one leg, holding on to the bird feeder with her other foot dangling in the wind. She would NOT put it down until I removed the offending piece of clover from her foot.

Well, here's to next summer! :)