Life in the Great White North!

greetings from Valparaiso, IN!! we made it! (barely...) in a nut shell, numerous vehicle problems nearly drove us crazy but we remained confident that God had some big plans for us and satan was doing his best to discourage us from them! we closed on the house on dec. 6th and started moving in on the 9th - we were so thankful for the moving company (the head guy was Bob, about 5'5", 85 lbs. who closely resembled willie nelson, but that sucker could pack a box like no one's business) however i am still up to my neck in boxes and paper!! argh! the house is beginning to feel more like home every day... the girls started school on dec. 11th and absolutely LOVE IT! it's about 1/4 the size of their school in katy (thank GOD!) and the teachers are wonderful - the kids were so excited about the new girls - i told makenna and delaney that in a smaller town it's a much bigger deal to have new kids in your class, not like their old school where kids came and went on a daily basis! they were welcomed with open arms! they've already made a few friends on our street, too, and played outside with them in the snow until their cheeks were bright pink with cold! :) and they have LOVED the snow!!! such an adventure! we have a little creek that runs by our house so they love to go out back and dig around near the creek, in the snow, for hidden treasures :) we had a few warmer days over the past week (upper 50s - balmy!!) and some rain which washed away the majority of our snow but, just this morning, woke up to a gorgeous, steady snowfall which seems to be piling up as we speak! beautiful, fluffy snow - our neighbors probably think i'm a peeping tom cause i stand at the windows and watch it constantly :) oh well. :) i've discovered that i CAN drive in the snow, it's the ICE that poses a problem! as long as we go slow and follow the tracks of the other cars i can get to the grocery store and back without incident :) so far...

we found a new church, too! it's a nazarene church that has amazing worship and the pastor is dynamic and a real people person... we still have questions about the core beliefs of the nazarene church but everything we have read and seen so far totally match up with scripture and we love the message, the people and the kids programs, too! here's the church website if you're interested... http://www.valponaz.org/ i already signed up for a beth moore bible study in january (can't go wrong with beth!!) and the girls are getting involved with their kids program on wednesday nights while mom does choir! the music pastor (worship in arts pastor, as he is called!) is a young guy and super-duper talented!! totally blown away by his enthusiasm and talent and humility in worship! and his wife is precious!! they have two little boys, she works with the childrens worship, and they live near us too - so i think i have made my first official friend! :)

wow, now i really sound like a nerd. it's been tough to be away from friends and family, especially during the Christmas season but we are so blessed by our little family and have thoroughly enjoyed spending time together over the past few weeks! i made my first turkey on Christmas Day and it turned out great! i was sooo proud of myself!! :) some yummy sides rounded out the meal perfectly - good times, good eats! the girls finally got a Wii and we have all been suffering from "Wii shoulder" for the past few days :) it's a tough game! of course, david says that i don't have to get quite so into it for it to work but i'm all or nothing, you know? swinging that tennis racket, swinging the bat, it's serious stuff! ;)

well, it's the last day of 2008 which always causes us (well, me at least!) to look back and reminisce over the past year... our last summer in maine (so sad!), delaney starting kindergarten and being promptly promoted to 1st grade, makenna having a great fall in school becoming her class student council representative (she was so excited!) and, last but certainly not least, the big move to indiana! we are so excited to see what God has in store for this next year and i will do my best to keep you updated :) which reminds me, here's our new address...

890 Dickens Lane, Valparaiso, IN 46383

we love all of you and look forward to sharing the next year with you! hugs!!!

MOVING DAY!!!

it's hard to believe that we have reached the actual date - after much deliberation, schedule shifting, tears and prayer it is here! this is, officially, my last night in this house. our very first house. how proud we were to have built it from the ground up. it was OURS, no one else's. the house where makenna first slept in her big girl bed (and only fell out a few times). the house in which i emerged from our master bathroom, fighting back tears and laughter, trying to decide the best way to tell david he was going to be a daddy again. the house we brought that same, aforementioned bundle of joy home to and made her first bedroom our walk-in closet (not because we didn't have enough room but because mommy didn't want to walk upstairs 10 times a night). lots of birthday parties, 6 christmases, a few tears, even more giggles, nights missing my husband, nights wishing he would go on a trip already, 2 knee surgeries, family gatherings, medical mysteries and missed diagnoses, lots of prayer and LOVE. sweet, sweet memories... all a distinct reminder that as beautiful as our past has been, it is nothing compared to what God has in store for us. i think of all the changes that have taken place over the past 6 1/2 years - some effortless, some painful, all life-altering. the changes in the girls, in me, in US. pretty amazing. to think that 6 years from now i will be 40, my girls 14 and 11 - it seems like an alternate universe :) but i am confident that God is going before us, paving the way, weaving each experience into the other... i am blessed and honored to have had the time here that we've been given - we truly have more than we deserve - thank you for being a part of it. i am excited and anxious to start our newest chapter and already looking forward to coming back to visit :) jeremiah 29:11-13 - my favorite passage from high school, growing even more relevant with each passing day... "'for I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me, and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'" so often we remember the first part of the verses - focusing more on the outcome than the process - while He wants us to focus on the end result the only way to get there is by calling on Him and seeking Him with all our hearts. fervently, relentlessly, achingly. i pray God gives us that unquenchable thirst for Him, His word, His goodness... may we never be satisfied with mediocrity. never fall into complacency. God bless you my sweet mommy friends - you are a blessing to me!

Further Developments

hey friends, just a quick update :) david and i head up to chicago this weekend for our househunting trip - we have been scouring the real estate sites online and have found quite a few homes which look good. i have been battling mixed emotions the past few weeks - knowing that once we head up there and pick out a house this will all be REAL. right now it's just an idea, a topic of conversation amongst friends and family - but once we head up there, it's reality! i am excited - confident that this move coincides with God's will for our lives but that doesn't mean it's without sadness or sentimentalism... definitely looking forward but, with great nostalgia, reflecting on all the memories and growth that have taken place over the past 18 years i've been in texas... hard to believe - i still feel like that goofy 16 yr. old kid from time to time :) and yet, with a strength and confidence i never had in my early years, excited to step into the great unknown, assured that God has already blazed the trail ahead of us... how awesome is that?

so i will let you know how the hunt is going - pray for david and i to be united in our decision making process - neither of us are too high-maintenance so we're pretty much on the same page so far :) we're excited about the school district up there (brief side note - david will be working in downtown chicago but we will reside in NW indiana...) the elementary schools are fantastic so we are really excited about the girls experiencing schools which are not overcrowded and limited in their capabilities - they've known no different :(

thanks for your friendship and support - you are a blessing to me!!!

First day of first grade!

sheesh! i knew this day was coming but the reality of it happening so soon has me all emotional and stuff :) last week my little one, Delaney, took a test to promote to the 1st grade. we had gotten a call from her principal (a good friend of mine and awesome Godly woman) who said that they don't offer the testing a whole lot but wanted us to pray about it for delaney... so we called david's dad, who has his doctorate in education and has been both a principal and superintendent in the texas school system for 30 years, and he, knowing delaney and her ability and temperament, suggested that we have her tested. i also called and spoke with an assistant superintendent in the school district to which we will be transferring in indiana - they would honor the transfer and enroll her as a 1st grader. he also explained that currently they do not offer full-day kindergarten (you can sign up for it but due to funding issues and availability you must pay extra fees and it is not guaranteed that there would be a spot mid-year...) so we knew that we couldn't keep her in full day kinder and then, when we move, take her down to a half day - she would be bored out of her mind! so, after much prayer and petition, we agreed to have her tested, confident that were she to pass the test she would be able to thrive in 1st grade. i got the call from the school counselor yesterday and she said that laney would be promoted the next day! eek!

now i know that there are varying views on promotion and i appreciate that you must make the decision based on each individual student - what is right for one may not be right for the next. and, as a mom, i have been going back and forth over the pros and cons for the past 24 hours... but based on the wise counsel we received, the desire & ability to learn that delaney has exhibited over the past 5 years, and, ultimately, the test scores, we are confident we've made the right choice for her and for our family. just as there are different parenting views from day one (bottle or breast, back or tummy, schedule or not, spank or time out) this is the choice that we made and if you do not agree with it i'd rather not know :)

another "hurdle" was explaining this to big sister :) i do not ever want there to be a hint of competition, jealousy or comparison between them... we explained to both of them (we told them together) that God has gifted everyone differently! and that's how it is for the girls - we see makenna excelling athletically and socially, whereas delaney tends to be quieter and more academic. and that's not to say that we are labeling them and they will always be that way! makenna LOVES science and math - delaney has a passion for reading - but we will continue to expose them to everything and give them opportunities to pursue anything they want! sometimes i feel, throughout my childhood, i was "labeled" as "the singer" and told that was what i "had" to do - it was my "gift" - that was my future... but looking back, there were several things i could have done well (i was somewhat of an athlete - ok, stop giggling...) but it was stressed that music was my "thing". i want my girls to know that whatever and whoever they want to be is fine by me and their daddy - my goal for them is to grow into loving, generous, compassionate, faithful Godly women. career path is totally secondary.

so pray for my sweet little peanut - she looked so small today with her big backpack and bow :) pray for her teacher, ms. volkmer (who, i've been told, is an awesome Godly woman herself!) and that she will integrate and transition smoothly into her class...

and MY prayer is, for all of us moms, that we would never cease in praying for our precious children... that we would, even now, begin to "release" them to the will of God - their futures as well as the present. pray that we would continue to mold them into His image - the days are so short! today i feel i lost a whole year. little laney is one step closer to being out of my reach... i pray for each of us to be the Godly examples for our little ones, even in the midst of the drudgery of daily life, to love fully and wholeheartedly the little ones with whom God has ENTRUSTED us. we are so blessed!!

a personal mission

i have been so fired up over the past few days... i am on a personal mission to see to it that sarah palin becomes our next vice president!!! i have become more and more disgusted with the media in this country (news sources, magazines, websites, etc.) and their portrayal of her. and it's made me so defensive of her! i think it's because SHE is ME in so many ways... a loving mother despite her childrens imperfections & challenges, a faithful wife who loves her husband, so very passionate about the things that truly matter in this country... i am impressed and inspired by her - for the first time, someone in politics who reflects my beliefs and is not ashamed to admit it!

i also found a fabulous blog by another awesome mom who is just as excited (if not more!) :) please check it out! www.moms4sarahpalin.blogspot.com - she's got all kinds of info and links and great commentary on the election and the coverage of it all... the liberal establishment in this country would like to think that we, as Godly women, do not have a voice or are afraid to make it known. i believe that it is well within our rights to speak out against injustice and this treatment of sarah palin is an absolute travesty! i don't know if they hate her more because she is a republican or because she has been outspoken about her christian faith... for the sake of our nation, please join me in doing everything we can to help mccain/palin get to the white house!! we cannot have barack obama as our next commander in chief!

ok, i will try to muddle through this as quickly as possible because i have a limited number of appendages at the moment :) long story short... i just spent four days in the hospital battling a staph infection in my left hand - SO MUCH FUN! as many of you know i have had a digital ulcer (such a fun name) on my middle left hand since may (mother's day weekend to be exact) and have been waiting for it to heal - the prognosis was that it would take 3-6 mos. to heal so we were prepared for the long haul... well, just last week i had been remarking on how much better it was feeling, how much better it looked, etc. and sure enough, it took a turn for the worse. last thursday it was feeling crummy (painful, red, oozing, all those lovely visual adjectives...) so i made an app't to see my rheumatologist in portland, me on friday - he prescribed some antibiotics and said if it looks worse this weekend to call him. so saturday morning i wake up to a tremendous amount of pain in my left hand and told david i really think i should page the doctor. here's the kicker, david was scheduled to leave for china the next day!! a trip for which he had been preparing for months as the lead agent for the former president. well, he called his boss saturday morning and said "i told them i couldn't go" (that's the condensed version) and i freaked out! "NO!! you HAVE to go!! you HAVE to!!" but he was steadfast... so we went to see the dr. that day and he said "we're admitting you right now" awesome!! :) so we trucked the girls to the hospital and got me settled in to a painfully small twin bed with some rock hard pillows and there i sat, being skewered like a shish kabob by the nurses who apparently did not have enough i.v. training prior to our meeting :) i look like a frappin' heroin addict...such lovely colors on the forearms :) by the 3rd day we found out it was staph and were sooo thankful that david didn't listen to me (when was the last time i said that??) and that he was able to stay home to take care of the girls and me... he earned major brownie points for washing my hair for me in the hospital. love him!! we also had some friends of ours in our s.s. family come to the hospital, bearing gifts of magazines and flowers and taking the girls home for us so they didn't have to stay up at the hospital for too long. somebody asked me if they were scared and i'm sure they may have had their moments but for the most part they loved being up there, sitting on mommy's cool bed that moves, taking over the visitors lounge and the nurses kitchen with a stockpile of sprite :) so by tuesday the doctor said i had recovered enough to go home with oral antibiotics and a goodie bag full of gauze and tape :) i am feeling much better now, just praying that God heals my finger totally & completely once and for all... it has been a battle but we are encouraged by the progress i've made the past couple days. and that i've become pretty proficient at typing with 9 fingers :) our sweet friends up here have supplied us with more food than we could ever eat in a week and have taken care of the girls without a second thought... so awesome. oh yeah, and it was my birthday yesterday, the day after getting "tagged & released" :) they brought me a b-day cake, hot lasagna, bread & cheese plate, salad, on & on... i was so overwhelmed by the generosity... it made it a very memorable birthday to say the least!!

i have more info and updates on the chicago move but am running out of steam here :) we are getting set to leave houston mid-november now so david can start up there the beginning of december... start praying now for the transition, not so much for me, i'll be fine, but for my sweet girls - pray for the friends they will meet, the neighborhood we'll live in, the school they'll attend, that we'll find an active growing bible-preaching church up there and that we become closer as a family through the process... i know you girls are prayer warriors and i am excited just to know you will be interceding on our behalf!!

i'll try to post more pics soon... can't wait to read through your blogs and catch up - love you all.

jjc

Check out my Slide Show!

ridiculously behind...

seriously, how cute are my kids?? :)

okay, i have so much to catch up on it's not even funny... we took a trip to disneyworld in april - way fun but those pics are on my computer at home :( we left for maine the end of may and have been up here all summer - and i can't believe it's already july!! we just returned from a trip with poppy & shea shea (david's dad & stepmom) to new hampshire - we stayed in the white mountains and it was GORGEOUS!! i'll try to do a slide show of that (if i can remember how...) another fun fact for ya, david will be getting his T-number soon (fancy government-speak for transfer...) and he will be starting his new position in CHICAGO (as in home of the cubs, really good pizza & oprah) on dec. 8th!! so we will probably be taking off some time before thanksgiving - all dependent, of course, on the sale of the house, school schedules, movers, etc.... now everyone's 1st question is "will he be with obama?" and the answer is HEEEEEECK NO :) he will be in the chicago field office where he will be dealing primarily with counterfeiters and criminals again (what he really likes!) apparently protection (being on a specific detail) is pretty boring despite all the excitement portrayed in the movies :) (think more "guarding tess" than "in the line of fire") :) we are getting really excited for our new adventure - yay snow!!! david and i will head up for a house hunting trip in the fall so we'll have a better idea of where we will be exactly when we get back from that... of course, we will miss family and friends in houston and surrounding areas... but we'll get to that later... :(

take care, friends - love you guys...

jen

soooo behind!

well, so much has been happening but not anything that really deserves documentation & certainly no pictures to accompany all of it :) david left for china 10 days ago and, of course, that's when the germs came to find us :) when all was said and done, delaney and i both got a round of antibiotics and seem to be on the mend - of course it took me 2 hours and 5 different pharmacies to hunt down the correct antibiotic for delaney one night... thankfully my sister had come down to visit and got to babysit the whole time! i finally found it at 9 pm at the walgreen's on grand parkway & fry (about 30 mins. from our house) and could only get it partially filled! argh :( my sickness put a slight damper on my fitness efforts but i've managed to squeeze in 2 sessions with my trainer so far! in the last month i've only lost about 5 lbs. (slow & steady wins the race!) but feel much better in my clothes! :) the aforementioned "contest" has been cancelled - when the scale didn't budge for a good 2 1/2 weeks & our frustrations were growing we decided that it was best not to focus on the numbers anyway - so i forked over the money for a trainer because i decided that i'm not getting any younger (34 this summer - hard to believe!) and the girls are both going to be in school next year which officially denies me the "i had just a baby" excuse :) and it's finally something i want to do for ME. as mom's we lose ourselves so often - not that it's a totally bad thing because i know that God has called us, as mothers, to a life of sacrifice and servanthood, but every once in a while it's good to remember that we are also women, wives, girlfriends... not just housekeepers! maybe if i get brave i'll post a picture or two - my goal is to actually be comfortable with having my picture taken... something that has eluded me since my 1st pregnancy! over 8 years ago! (again, hard to believe!)

so, not a real deep, meaningful post :) just enough to let you know we are alive (daddy gets home sunday night - phew!) and, for the most part, doing well! :) big hugs to each of my sweet friends who happen to check in on us - love you!

holy cow! i did it!

after much trial and error it appears that i have successfully changed the template on my blog!

i'm not totally in love with the brown but i'm too scared to screw around with it now :) you guys have such snazzy blogs & i wanted to be cool like you all - i'm just starting to research the whole digital scrapbooking thing but whenever there is talk about widgets, etc. my brain starts to short out - seriously, there's smoke and stuff :)

so i am going to bask in the glory here of my fancy new blog - it's the little things, you know... :)

i'm just a girl who can't say no...

i keep hearing that song from "oklahoma" echoing in my head lately :)

we decided to get makenna registered for softball recently - some friends of ours from church have a daughter in makenna's grade who plays and we thought it would be fun for them to be on the same team! then we found out that scott (her dad) would be coaching the team! so fun! so he asked if david would be interested in helping out as an ass't coach. well, not wanting to commit my sweet husband to anything without his consent (after learning the hard way!) i said i would ask him about it... well, david couldn't make that much of a commitment to the team due to scheduling conflicts, etc. so i had to tell scott, sorry but he can't do it. and i was very proud of myself for having the strength and fortitude to decline politely :) so then, needing to have a valid explanation FOR my saying "no", i say "really, david never played baseball - he was more of a football & basketball guy. in fact, i have more experience playing than he does! i played softball for years growing up!" now, how is it that my mouth is constantly moving faster than my brain? because as soon as i said that i knew the question was coming... "oh really? well do you want to help coach then?" and what did i say to that? (all together now...) "SURE!" :)

so here i am - coach jen - the ass't coach to the west houston girls softball team "the static".

we had our first practice today and it went pretty well! although there is already one girl who has pushed every one of my buttons... so stinkin' obnoxious - and, no, it wasn't makenna! :)
this is the first softball team makenna has been on and she is going to be great! she is so naturally athletic and competitive and smart (which she gets from her daddy - for sure!) i'll be posting pics and updates from our season as it progresses - it should be worth a few laughs :)

pray that God blesses my inability to decline gracefully :) and that it will be an awesome time of bonding and memory-making for me and my sweet girl. our first game is feb. 23rd - go static!!!

it ain't rocket science, folks!

i hesitate even blogging about this because i find it petty and insignificant in light of the tests and challenges our dear friends in Christ have been facing lately... but starting today, my sister and my sweet friend, traci, are going to be "competing" in a "biggest loser" contest between the three of us :) this whole weight loss thing has been looming over me for, oh, about 8 years now :) and to be quite honest with you, i've only recently become less obsessed with it. i am praying it's a mark of maturity, not complacency! :) i realize that my life is rich and full of blessings despite the number on the tag in my jeans :) but also, in an effort to become truly healthy, i need to pay better attention to my food intake and calorie expenditure.

it never ceases to amaze me how people will go on and on about how they CANNOT lose weight on their own, no diets EVER WORK, it must be genetic, yada yada yada... so they opt to have gastric bypass surgery. well, guess what genius :), all that surgery does is reduce the size of your stomach so you take in less food - that's why you lose weight. less food! it reminds me of one of my dad's sayings "farther, faster, a little less time at the table" :) that's all that weight loss boils down to! burning more calories than you put in your body... it ain't rocket science - and yet we as americans spend billions of dollars trying to find the quick fix. but nothing worth having is ever reached by a quick fix!

it makes me think of my spiritual life - how many times have i pleaded with God to change me... my thoughts, my words, my actions... but change, in and of itself, is a daily process of surrender and it is gradual, not immediate. He absolutely could change me over night - it is not beyond His power to do so - but what would i have learned in the process? what would that teach me about Him and His unfailing, unconditional love for me? i must perservere through the process, feel the relentless heat of the refiner's fire, to come through it all glowing and brilliant. i must learn to love God more than i love the food... to make Him my focus and my sustenance. i think that's why there is such a struggle with eating disorders, weight issues, etc. it's a literal metaphor of our spiritual hunger and our desire to be filled. but we have to fill our hearts and our bodies with things that will sustain us, cause us good and not harm.

so, all that being said, today marks the day for me to stop loving the food and start loving God more. to put God's holy temple (my body!) and the maintenance of it before my selfish, pleasure-seeking, traitorous flesh! to make this more than obsessing about numbers and measurements... to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road,when you lie down and when you get up." Deut. 6:5-7

and maybe, if we do these things, loving Him with everything that we have, there won't be much more room for dwelling on and obsessing over things that are of no eternal significance!

two amazing families

a quick post to encourage you to check out our friends' blog... dusty & kenzie stanfield are friends of ours from our sunday school class at second baptist - they have a son named deacon & kenzie gave birth to their 2nd son, maddox, yesterday... sadly, at 18 weeks in utero he was diagnosed with trisomy 18 & spina bifida - so they have known that his life would be brief , yet blessed. he lived only a minute or two but his story will touch your heart. you will be so encouraged to read kenzie's posts - the testimony that they have is amazing.

also, a sweet couple from our sunday school class at bear creek baptist, travis & jennifer black, discovered some earth-shattering news the night of dec. 15th... travis had a brain tumor the size of a fist at his brain stem. they successfully removed 100% of the tumor but his pathology report came back that it was malignant, grade 3. their journey of faith has inspired me and i know it will you, too...

please keep both of these sweet families in your prayers as their battles are ongoing. thanks friends. love you.

makenna's big trip!

my fearless 7 yr. old took her first trip on an airplane BY HERSELF! :) she has been talking about going to visit her aunt sisi (my sister, jessica) in dallas and we finally found the time to do it during our christmas (oh, sorry - WINTER) vacation :) she flew southwest and they did a wonderful job taking care of her and ensuring her safety. you have to fill out paperwork and show identification when taking them to the gate and picking them up. so i had no worries at all regarding her security... but when you see the plane take off, knowing that big piece of metal hurtling through the sky is holding your little baby... that's tough :( the flight is only 55 mins. long so she was landing in dallas before i even got home from dropping her off! pretty funny! she met new friends and had a wonderful time playing her nintendo DS and chatting away, i'm sure. :) it is just mind-boggling that my little baby is now so fiercely independent and self-assured. it seems like just yesterday i was obsessing about how many ounces she was eating and how many poopy diapers she was producing... i used to think that it would get "easier" once she was walking... "easier" once she was talking (wow, what was i thinking there...) and FOR SURE "easier" once she started school (HA!)... but it seems as though the things that were so significant and all-encompassing back then are barely even blips on the radar right now - replaced with bigger, deeper issues that involve character-building and spiritual growth! i just keep praying that God will continue to equip me, as He has over the past 8 years, to be the mom that both my girls need me to be... i continue to marvel at the fact that God has entrusted me with these two precious little girls - they are so awesome.

i pray for each of my sweet mommy friends out there - if you are having "one of those days", stop right now and give thanks for your precious babies - even if they are pulling on your pants leg and screaming right now :) - this time we have with them is sooo very short! i am becoming painfully more aware of that with every passing day... you know, sending kids off on airplanes and stuff like that :) love you guys!