Happy Easter!

Easter Sunday was a sweet one for our family. Taking the day to remember and think on the death of Christ, His resurrection, and His love for us was overwhelming.


Before church Addie posed in her new blue dress.


Doak, who was not happy about his assigned outfit, would only give me a glimpse of a smile, with a watering can in his hands.


Brock wouldn't stand still or be without his pacifier before church so his picture came after a long nap Sunday afternoon.

I wish I had a picture of all three kids together, but it just wasn't happening. Good thing Easter isn't about bunnies, eggs, and posed photos.

Sunday was our first time to visit a church here and it was a bittersweet morning. The church we chose to visit was full of friendly people and the kids all were excited to go to their respective classes, what a relief! The worship and sermon were fantastic, but the size of the church was a bit overwhelming. It made me miss our church back in our small town. I'm thankful that the emotions I felt didn't hinder God from working on me during the service. We're trusting in the Lord to lead us to the right place where we can serve, grow, and be at home.

BIG NEWS!

There's no need to beat around the bush, so I'll just say it.

We are moving to Houston!

Keri's boss and head coach resigned shortly after football season last fall. Keri quickly took on more responsibilities and acted as the leader in the absence of the head coach. When it came time for interviews for this position, we prayed that if it was God's will that He would allow Keri to get the job. We have loved our time here in our small town and have been fully committed to the students and athletes, as well as serving in many capacities in our church. We would have loved to continue to minister here, but Keri didn't get the job.

When a school hires a new head coach, the new guy brings in his coaches to be his Offensive Coordinator (that was Keri's job) and Defensive Coordinator. Keri probably would have been able to stay on as a freshman coach but that would be quite a backwards step career wise as well as a hard one since he had been running the program in the absence of a head coach for 2 months.

So Keri made contacts and began to look for another job. He got a call from the head coach at a Houston area school. This coach is a friend of Keri's and has worked the FCA camp with us each summer for the past 5 years. The school's football program is very successful, going a 2-3 rounds deep in the playoffs most years. The head coach is a quality coach and a great man. Keri went down and interviewed last week and was offered the job on the spot. After much prayer and reflecting back on the past 2 months Keri decided to accept the job. Moving to Houston was never in our plans.

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

I have only been to Houston 2 times in my life-one of which was last week, which is crazy. Moving will mean starting over but we know God has a plan for us there. Keri will start teaching and coaching there on March 26. We will drive down at the end of this week, which is our spring break, to find a home. The kids and I will join Keri in Houston as soon as we can get into a house there. The kids are actually so excited, and we have only had a few moments where Addie shed some tears over leaving sweet friends behind. Again, this must have been a God thing for them to be so excited!

We are excited for this new chapter of our lives, and appreciate your prayers and support!

Addie's Baptism

February 12, 2012 will be a date that our family will always remember! Our sweet Addie was baptized on this date! It is one of the most wonderful feelings to know that our daughter has grown up learning about God and made the decision to follow Christ! One week prior to the baptism is when Addie accepted Christ. It was a Sunday morning and she wasn't feeling great, but I had to sing at church and Keri and I didn't want to miss the morning of worship and learning. So instead of going to Kid's Church, Addie came to the service with us. As she sat with Keri waiting for church to start she pulled out a guest card from under her seat.



Addie filled out the card and then showed it to Keri. He asked her why she colored the box marked "how to become a Christian". Addie told him that she wanted to become a Christian and that she loved Jesus! What an amazing conversation to have with your daughter! After worship time was over I came to sit with them, and Keri showed me the card and told me Addie wanted to talk to our pastor after church. After church our pastor Zach and his wife Ashley talked with Addie and prayed with her. One of the biggest blessings of being in this small town has been our church. To know that the pastor prayed with Addie and he actually knows her means so much to us.



The morning of Addie's baptism Keri and I gave her a James Avery cross. She loved it! I hope she will continue to wear it and love it for many years and that it may remind her of the simple faith of her childhood.



We were blessed to have so much family come into town for the baptism. Aunt Amy, Uncle Bryan, Camryn and Makynna came. So did Nanna, Pop Pop, Cookie, Papa, and Chad, Christi, and Cooper.



After church we had everyone come back to our house for lunch.



It was great to have so many loved ones under the same roof!



Addie's grandparents have played a big role in teacher her about God's love!



We're so thankful to have family that supports us and shares our faith!



After some good quality playtime,



and a few stories, it was time for everyone to head home.

But 2/12/12 will be a date that we remember forever!

overwhelmed

Today I am overwhelmed. Not in the way I would normally feel overwhelmed with busyness, stress, to do lists, and worry. Today I am overwhelmed with God's presence and His peace. Yesterday at church we talked about prayer, about living in constant communication with God. Praying for your neighbors each time you pass their house, praying for the teachers and students as you pass a school, etc. Then our pastor reminded us of the part of prayer that I all too often overlook. The listening, the waiting, the still in His presence, soaking Him in part of prayer. And that's what I want, need. So today while I played, washed, cleaned, and ate I asked God to keep me still. And I am overwhelmed by His love, His goodness, his mercy, and how He blesses my family. And I just want to sit and be quiet and soak Him in. To sit at His feet and seek, and be full of Him.



The peace I feel today comes from surrounding myself with Him. I am memorizing Colossians 3 and I love how my mind is constantly going through these words.



My Mom got me a wonderful devotional book called Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. I keep it and my Bible on the kitchen table and I find myself sitting down at the table throughout the day to remind myself of His promises.



My heart leaps for joy when I think of the work that God has done. Our sweet Addie accepted Christ yesterday. There are no words to express my feelings. I am in awe of Him. The past few weeks have been full of struggles and distractions. But with with my heart and mind set on the things above, I will rejoice and know that God is good.

respite

respite
-noun, a short period of relief from something difficult or unpleasant

DFW has had 47 days with temperatures over 100 so far this year and 41 consecutive days over 100 this summer. (The record for the most consecutive days over 100 is 42 and was set in 1980.) Multiple days temperatures have reached over 110 degrees. Life here had become one miserably hot day after another, no end in sight. It seemed the whole metroplex area awoke on Friday August 12 expecting to break that record.

And then, God sent a respite.

Instead of stepping outside to 90+ temps, when I got out of bed the temperature was in the 70's! It stayed in the 80's for the majority of the day. Then something even more amazing happened on Saturday. IT RAINED! The clouds, cool breeze, and rain were an answered prayer and the kids and I soaked up the opportunity to be outside for most of the day.

















Looking back at the past few days, I can't help but relate my life to the weather as of late. How many times have I felt miserable, hopeless, stuck in some pattern that had me almost reaching a breaking point? Yet, God is faithful and reaches down and gives me a respite. He may take away my problem all together. Or maybe He gives me just a small break, a glimpse of hope, a cool breeze in the midst of the heat of life.

During football season I typically have a few (okay, maybe more than a few) meltdowns. I find myself overwhelmed with stress and lose my focus. Today I am praising God for the reminder that He knows what I need, when I need it. And He is always faithful to provide.

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
-Philipians 4:9

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Keri's testimony

I mentioned a while back that our church is without a pastor. On Sunday mornings for the past two months we have either had a guest speaker or our Life Stage pastor had preached. Sundays have really been great and our church is thriving despite the loss of the pastor. A few months ago our Life Stage pastor asked Keri to share his testimony on a Sunday morning. Keri was more than willing, so last Sunday he shared and was 'preacher for a day'. God has gifted Keri to be an amazing teacher, leader, and communicator and he did an awesome job! I'm proud of his willingness to share his story and step up and fill a need for the church last week.







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and so it begins

Today marks the start of another football season-2 a days begin! As much as I love football season, being a coach's wife, and supporting our team, let me be honest and say that fall is HARD for me. After a few months of summer, I'm used to Keri being around. And after football starts I'm basically a single mom. Keri works so hard at teaching and coaching and taking care of his players and students so I do my best to not add to his stress. I take over household duties that I usually don't do and I try to make sure and take care of him in every way I can think of. Oh yeah, and take care of the kids too!

About a week ago I subconsciously started getting a little stressed. I have three kids to care for this year, school for Addie, preschool for Doak, household stuff, bills, grocery shopping, helping out at church, doing all I can to support the football team.......it can overwhelm me pretty easily if I let it.

Yesterday I had a few minutes of quiet before church where I sat and listened and attempted to be still. God reminded me what is important. So this year here's what I'm praying God will help me to do.

My family is first. I will take care of Keri and our children before I try to do anything extra. I will not stress about keeping my house perfectly clean. When I have the choice to clean or play with the kids or listen to my first grader read, I will leave the vacuum behind. I will not plan anything for our weekends except things that will be restful and uplifting. I will not beg Keri to rush home on Saturdays so we can drive 30 minutes to meet people for dinner. I will take my babies up to the field house and let them run on the field to hug their Daddy during practice. I will drop by Keri's school with a Sonic drink just because. I will stay in my pajamas at least once a week. I will cook for my family, but I won't make myself feel guilty about chicken nuggets or pizza every once in a while. I will be on time to games and school but will try to be relaxed every other time we leave the house. In moments of high stress, I will stop what I'm doing, sit down on the couch with my three precious kids and read a book or watch a movie. I will breathe deeply and ask for God to sustain me. With God's help, I'm praying that our family will not only survive football season, but that we will thrive!

LET'S GO COYOTES!

Brock's baby dedication

Our prayer has always been that this verse will be true for our children when it's time for them to leave home:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do you not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. -Proverbs 3:5-6

We were so blessed to dedicate Brock at our church on Father's Day this year. We go to a small church in our little town, but you wouldn't know it that morning. There were 11 babies dedicated!



Nanna and Pop Pop drove up to be there with us. (Cookie and Papa had planned to come, but at the last minute we had to change those plans)



It was my week to sing at church, so Nanna held Brock during the service and he slept the whole time!



What a blessing these three children are. We pray daily that God would give us the wisdom, patience, and grace to parent them in a way that honors Him.

one year changes everything

About a year ago I posted this on our blog. We had just moved to our new small town and were starting over again. I believed with all my heart that God had a purpose for us here. At the same time I looked back at on our previous 2 years as Hawks and was really sad to leave that life behind. But still I knew God had a plan. So for the record, one year later I can now recount more blessings than I ever imagined. Here's a few:

AMAZING CHURCH Never, ever did I think we would find a church in this small town. Looking back now, how snobby of me to think that a small town church wouldn't be 'good' enough for us. Thankfully God is much bigger than me and He had the perfect plan! We are more involved here than we ever have been in a church. Keri and I are both teaching and are in men's and women's bible studies. I'm on the worship team, and the kids love going to the childrens activities. Addie and Doak are learning so much truth that we are reinforcing at home - it's been wonderful to watch them learn and grow. Our pastor preaches straight from the Word and challenges us each week.

TRUE FRIENDS In each season of our life we have had great friends. We are blessed to have friends all over Texas and we love that we know someone in almost every town around north Texas. The friendships made here in our small town are genuine. Something about the people we meet here is different. I feel no pressure to "keep up with the Joneses". Most of our friends are single income families and it is a relief to have people over and not feel like weird about our 9 year old couch or garage sale kitchen table. It's good to be accepted and loved for being just who you are. Another cool thing has been friendships made with people in later stages of life. Our small group at church is formed of all ages and stages and we've learned so much from a wise 80-something lady and some couples our parents' age too!

SCHOOLS Obviously we moved here for Keri's job at the high school. And we were hopeful that all the schools we were a part of would be excellent. We were right! Addie's elementary is wonderful! I've never worried about her at school because I know she is safe and loved and being taught by a great teacher! Doak's preschool is beyond spectacular. His teachers are so patient and loving and they come up with such fun activities to promote learning.

HOUSE Our house is great! We are leasing it and the owner wants us to make it our home. She doesn't mind if we paint or do anything with the house as long as we are taking care of it. We've had fun painting and decorating here.

NEIGHBORHOOD This neighborhood is such a friendly place. Kids and parents are all out in the front in the evenings-the kids ride bikes or play while the adults talk. We love our neighbors : ) We love to take family bike ride/walks in the evening and the streets are safe for our family.

GROWTH There have been many blessings-even more than those listed. This has also been a hard year in some ways. There have been challenges with Keri's job, changes in finances, and some difficult situations that can only be explained as spiritual attacks. But the growth from these things has brought about humility, helped us be better stewards of our money, and led us to fully depend on God to supply all our needs.

What a difference a year makes! I'm so glad we took a leap of faith one year ago!

Praying God's Word

A childhood friend of mine decided to start this year praying scripture over her family. It's something that I have always meant to do, but the task seemed overwhelming! So when this friend invited others to join her and chose a topic and verse for each week-I decided to join in! I write each verse on a notecard and hang it in the house where I will see it and be reminded to pray. Here's what the month of January looked like.

WEEK ONE - OUR FAMILY'S PLANS Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. -Proverbs 19:21
This is a verse seems especially applicable to our lives. After 6 big moves in 8 years of marriage I've learned that my plans don't always come to fruition. But praying this verse over our family helped reinforce that it's GOD'S plans that prevail, not my plans, not Keri's plans. I can have confidence that even when my plans seem better, God has the perfect plan for our family.


WEEK TWO - TO BE FULL OF JOY Be joyful always. -1 Thessalonians 5:16 God is my joy and my delight. -Psalm 43:4
The "assigned" topic was to pray for your children to be happy. But I changed the verses and decided to pray for them to have joy-even in the midst of unhappy circumstances. This has been something that I have prayed for myself for many years-that I would find joy in God no matter what the situation. As my Dad always says, he doesn't pray for our lives to be easy, but prays that we would look to God in good and bad times. So that's what I spent the week praying over Addie, Doak, and Brock.


WEEK THREE- MY HUSBAND'S JOB Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands. -Psalm 90:17
This was another area of our life that has been prayed over many, many times! My prayers this week centered around Keri's influence as a coach and teacher. I prayed that he would be successful (in God's eyes) at his work and that God would confirm to Keri that he is exactly where God wants him.

WEEK FOUR- ME AS A WIFE And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. -Hebrews 10:24
It's better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home. -Proverbs 21:9
This week I prayed A LOT! I know I can improve in this area of my life and I earnestly asked God to change me and make me a better wife. The thought of Keri living alone in the attic made me laugh, but I know there are some times when he probably would have been more comfortable there than with a nagging wife. This week I tried my best to keep my mouth closed in the name of peace, instead of stirring up trouble. I also asked God to show me how I can speak to Keri and what I can do for Keri that would help him be able to go and show others love and do good works for God. This week opened my eyes. And let's just say that these two verses are posted in a prominent place in the house (by the kitchen sink) so I am reminded often to pray these scriptures for our family.

week five-didn't get to it. Usually this would have really bothered me and I honestly would have stopped altogether. But I gave myself grace and picked up and moved on to the next week!


WEEKS SIX and SEVEN- MY CHILDREN . . . TO KNOW CHRIST I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4
This is a verse that I have prayed over my kids for some time now. And having it written out and up in the house again was a great reminder to pray for the salvation of my children. Addie especially is at a place where she is so curious and open to the gospel. She asks many questions about faith and Bible stories and actively listens to our responses. There are so many opportunities in the day to talk about faith and I'm praying this scripture over our family and asking God to remind me to take the time to answer each question, to read the Bible with our kids, and to pray over them daily.