Canada Goodbyes, Answered Prayers, oh my heart!

Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God!"

Oh Y'all we are just in the thick of things here in Canada! The girls are off school for a few days and they both had friends sleepover last night. The sound of their laughter makes me smile and the screaming and door slamming makes me want to pull my hair out...oh the joys of growing girls!!

Jer 29:11: 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 hope and a future.

The packers arrive 1 week from Monday...1 WEEK! The same day they arrive I am going with some fabulous girlfriends to a paint night. Let me tell y'all...these ladies have been joy to my soul while I have been here! Of course the only reason I came to Canada was to be with my man...I would truly follow my love anywhere he wanted me to go! But while he is working the friends I make in fellow mamas...oh it fill my cup!! So excited to share laughter and make memories with these ladies one last time!

Phil 4:6: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

We have been having a pretty pleasant winter...weather wise! But y'all know we have been getting in some ice skating and sledding!! The kids are really starting to get the hang of the ice skating! Whit isn't really on board...which is cool and not that shocking...with the whole dancing to her own beat thing...she usually is totally into the sledding but this past weekend she decided to have a bit of an attitude...Scotty took care of that! ;) Ha!

Hmm....Scotty and I feel that it is totally possible our little Bro is pointing a certain finger at us underneath that mitten...

Prov 3:5: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

So an update on prayer requests...I would just like to take a moment for a PRAISE REPORT! All of those that garthered around us and lifted our prayers to Our Almighty Father, thank you! Thank you for joining us in prayer and I am praising those prayers we have seen answered!

Eph 2:8: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

We have found a perfect home for our family in the Frontier Trail boundaries!! It goes to a fabulous elementary that Whit will be attending and Mal was granted a transfer home to Blackbob!!! I cried when I read the approval letter...her face! Oh her face! I am so thankful it was among The Lords plans for her to send her back home to those precious friends she has missed so much!

 I just had to include a picture of my most favorite feature...I can't wait to sip coffee or a glass a wine with y'all on this screened in porch!! 

Gal 5:22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Scott's project here is going well and hopefully he will be done in time to have a bit of time back at the office at home with us before he starts traveling again. I must say the thought of putting him back on a plan to Calgary after we arrive home just makes me want to weep. I do not like being away from my man. At all. Thank you Jesus for Facetime!! 

This picture just makes me smile...Whit took it the other day...it pretty much sums up Canada...Scotty and I are totally beach people...this winter wear is not our scene...but we bundle up, snuggle up and make it fun anyway!! 

Phil 4:7: And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

So, things will be a bit crazy busy the next 2 weeks before we arrive home! I would love to ask y'all to join us in prayers of Travel Mercies for our journey home and for Scott's journey back. For smooth transitions into the girls new schools and for my parents sanity as they loving welcome us into their home for the 4 weeks before we close on our new home. And I ask for prayers for my heart as I miss Scotty!! Ugh!! I will be counting those days something feirce!!

Matt 28:20: and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We love each one of you and thank you so much for following our wild and crazy journey through this beautifully messy life! See ya in Kansas y'all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Happy Birthday Whitney Grace!!!

So, this post is delayed...this little blog is our real life and in real life we have been hit hard by a stomach bug! Ugh! I am so thankful we were able to celebrate Whitney's birthday party Saturday and have a nice family day Sunday before Brody and I went down Sunday night. Back to Whitney...

Little darling you are my smart, funny, spunky, silly, loving, charasmatic, at times a bit dramatic, accessorizing, doll dancing, friend loving, cart-wheel spinning...queen of my heart!! You lit up our world from the moment you were placed in our arms. You are one of a kind and you always do things your way...I love watching you bloom and grow. I love how you choose your loves and interests and don't let anyone influence you. You are just the cutest with your excitement for dance and gymnastics...little cutie the cart-wheels never end! :)

You LOVE Elsa right now...we are Frozen everything around here...you turn Let it Go on and we immediately hear Mal saying "not again" but of course you dance on! :) I have to be sure to mention your LOVE for a tv series called The Next Step...you absolutely love it. It is a "reality" dance comptetion show but it's not actually reality more like a soap opera...you totally love it! Your bestie got you a Next Step bag for your birthday and you are carrying it to dance class today. Daddy and I got you 2 Next Step outfits (oh how it pained me...they are wal-mart tee shirts and coordinating pants...your mama has a serious dislike for those glittery iron-on tee shirts) But you LOVE them!! The sadness for your little heart is it is a Family channel Canadian series...you actually cried when you found out. Oh Whit...my little diva! You make me smile!! Dance on always my little one! Dance on!

 You have such a sweetheart...we are just working on showing it on the outside especially with your siblings. You always jump in to love on them when it matters!! That makes my mama heart happy!! I know one day you will be the best of friends!! You have such a love for picking your own look...last week you had me sponge roll your hair to sleep in because you thought a curly ponytail would be just the thing...of course you were also pretty sure your Auntie Amy would be more fabulous than me at it but I was an okay substitute ;)

You are such a good friend and everyone at school loves you. You had the best time at your party. You have been blessed with such wonderful friends here in Canada. I am praying over you every day that precious kind little friends will be placed in your life in your new school as well. I am so proud of the little girl you are and can't wait to see what is to come. I love you my sweet Whitney Grace!! Always be who you are!!  Keep shining my little star!! With Christ your light will never be dimmed! Love you forever, Like you for always, as long as I am living my baby you will be!!
xoxox
Mommy

And a special shout out to Whit's Godmama Auntie Steph for her ultra cool Justice sunglasses that arrived in the mail on her birthday! :)

Reflection and Change

(the pictures throughout this post are from recent happenings…rather than giving descriptions I just plugged them in…we are blessed. When I look at each picture all I see is JOY pure joy.)

I love this time of year! Friends, family, celebrations, mall Santa’s, gingerbread houses, the birth celebration of our Savior…the list goes on and on. I also love this time of year because when you wake up from a late night on New Year’s Eve it is a new year. A New Year! Such a beautiful time to reflect on the year before and make goals and dream for the year ahead. It makes my heart so full each and every year. My babies are a year older, my husband and I have had another amazing year of marriage! So much to be thankful for in 2014 and so much to look forward to in 2015. 

. I love embracing the now and I love dreaming of the times to come. We are in a stage in this new year that brings a lot of unknowns, a lot of bittersweet, and a lot of joy. Such a beautiful stage of life to be in. We are preparing to say goodbye to Canada. In 8 short weeks packers will be at my door ready to pack up our home and deliver it all back to Kansas. Wow. That brings so many thoughts, feelings and emotions into my heart and mind.  

(Hilariously fun date nights! Twice in one month! Thank you Lauren and Mimi and Papi)

.  I can’t say I will be sad to say goodbye to Calgary. That wouldn’t be honest…I mean really my mom slipping and breaking her elbow on black ice was just like the final straw for my un-love of Calgary! Ha! But loving the actual city isn’t what it is about. It is so much bigger than the city you live in. We have been making moves with Scott’s company since Whitney was an infant…an infant! That precious baby is turning 8 next month…how is that possible!? We have been so blessed to see different parts of our beloved country and now even see another country. 

We have made the most beautiful friends that become your temporary family. When you don’t know a soul your friends become like family faster than you can imagine. Leaving those amazing people behind with each move is hard! It leaves a hole. I always fret about how that will effect the kids. This time around it is going to be so hard for Whit. She truly loves her friends here. Goodbye will not be easy. 

And on the other hand Mal is so ready to embrace home. She is missing her friends so much. She has been so happy and made so many friends here but it is just time to get here home.  Moving around is such an interesting thing…it makes our family unit so tight. We are so thankful for all these adventures. They have been amazing and I wouldn’t trade a minute of any of it. Our kids are best friends, our family laughs constantly, we know each other inside and out. We have the best game nights, movie nights, make over parties and of course amazing adventures in new places… the list goes on and on.

 (so this is blurry but I coudln't get him to slow down for a picture...I just love that his shirt says "Dear Santa, My brother did it!")

It is also really special to have all of our family come to visit us. We have made such special memories with all our visitors. It is really different having solid uninterrupted time just visiting and having fun. I will miss that part of being gone. 

We travel to be with Scotty and that has been the right choice all these years. The kids adore having all the time with their daddy and the times we have lived at home while he has traveled they have just missed him desperately. But we feel the time has now come for us to go home and find a house to raise the kids in until they head off to college. (that’s what we say now…what is it they say…make your plans and God laughs) ha! But Mallory is growing so fast right before our eyes and it is time for her to head back home and be with her precious friends that have been her constant since she started kindergarten. 

Scott will still be traveling and that will be hard. It makes me tear up just thinking about it. But like all our adventures we will make it fun… Our priority has always been each other and the kids with Jesus right in the center of all of it. We know his plan for us is good. We know he is already before us and we know he will be right behind us.

 . 

I am in the thick of worry, anxious, nervous feelings but I just keep wading through giving them all to The Lord. I am trusting in his perfect plan. I am trusting in his timing. He will be with us for each goodbye, he will be with us for each hello, each new beginning. He already has our perfect home and our kids perfect school…He has got this. I just need to hang on to that in the coming weeks. Would you please join me in that prayer…the prayer to just give it all to him. To trust that he is faithful.

Sadly after my mom's broken elbow we didn't get the camera back out!! But I am so glad I have this gem!! The kids LOVED their Christmas morning surpirse of Mimi and Papi at the door!! I do have it on video ;)

 (I just have to say this is seriously what Whit put on her plate for Christmas dinner....!!)

(y'all don't care about this picture...but it was after I took all the Christmas down...it ususally makes me feel so blue...but next time I open those boxes it will be in Kansas!!! So I am feeling alright about packing it up!) I will miss our little hearth room though!! One of my favorite spots in the house!!

Y’all I am so excited to get home! I can not wait to embrace each of you, to bump into you at the grocery store, to meet for play dates, to worship next to you at church, to meet for a cup of coffee, to celebrate holidays and birthdays to see your precious faces at the kids activities…I can not wait. I can not wait to see my parents, sister, and n’laws weekly…or sometimes daily! I can not wait. There is so much to be excited about it…times of waiting and unknowns are just hard. And that is okay.

 So in closing I just want to give y’all some specific prayer requests:

1. Weather and travel mercies both here over the next few weeks and for our travels home
2. House hunting…that I may remain calm. That we find the right house that goes to Frontier Trail…and preferably Blackbob Elementary…
3. In addition to the above that I continue to pray for, listen and hear God’s will and not just push for my own wants.
4. For the kids transitions.
5. Health and safety for all of us.
6. Scott’s job as he finishes this project and starts his new project. Transitions are always stressful…pray his project is in the country and preferably close to home! 

 Psalms 86:15 “But you, O Lord, are a God  merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God  who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

 Psalms 36:5  Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.

Psalms 89:8  O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O LORD,  with your faithfulness all around you?

Psalms 119:90  Your  faithfulness endures to all generations;  you have established the earth, and it  stands fast.

 I can't go without saying my mother n' law made theses dresses for the girls!!! What!? She is an amazing talent!! The girls were obsessed with them!! Thank you Terri!!

1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the  fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 But  the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against  the evil one.

Psalms 91:4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will  find refuge; his faithfulness is  a shield and buckler.

 (Carry your own "stuff" my favorite bowling grandparents will totally understand why I snapped that picture!)

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.