Favorite Things--Photo Bomb

Yeah, I know. It has been forever since I wrote an actual blog that doesn't involve family.  Well, people, family, these little people, this is what I do.  Day in. Day out.  Sure, there are lots of people in and out for coffee. There are lots of ministry things happening. LOTS! And one day, I will write a blog about those things. One day when I can organize my thoughts and gather some composure over all that God is doing in our midst and all that He is orchestrating around us, I will write it all down in an organized fashion.  But for now, here is a little glimpse into some of our favorite things and our little family that is living in the middle of it all...

Making cookies with these two and that beautiful piece of machinery in the background.  That, my friends, was an amazing gift from my MIL. Isn't it gorgeous?!  It makes cookie-making-chaos with the wee ones a little less chaotic.  And every time we make cookies we talk about that wonderful Grandma and how she blessed us with such a tremendous gift.

Here is Kate enjoying one of our favorite drinks, Salep.  It is actually Turkish (so many things here are--500 year occupation doesn't die out over night). It's milky, cinnamony and kind of like drinking a yummy pot of oatmeal.  Sound weird?  It's amazing!

That boy--teething, coughing and still happy as a horse. 

Making pancakes with Batman. My dream come true.

Rollerblading and...

 biking with this view.  

Climbing trees...

Kate excelling in school!!! She is blowing my mind reading and writing fluently in two languages. (There is a whole blog coming on this girl and school!)

This boy and his flair for the dramatic.

Daddy-daughter love.

Happy baby who sprouted 5 teeth practically overnight.  You never would have known he was teething. 

Belly laughs and brothers.

 

This man and those babies. He is the most amazing dad who has the adoration of these three little ones. He is also one year older and feeling it. :)

Girl time-showing off our newly painted nails.

Mommy date with this kiddo on a gorgeous day.  He is enjoying another one of our favorite drinks.  Hot chocolate Macedonian style (maybe Balkan style).  It is so thick (think pudding) that you have to eat it with a spoon. YUM!!!

This city!  We have so much love for this city and the people that live in all those homes on that beautiful hill!

10 Years

Brian and I made it!!! 10 years. 10 amazing years! 10 fun years!

10 years of excitement

1o years of travel and adventure

10 years of chasing that man up mountain trails and up mountain faces and down rivers and around golf-courses

10 years of walking hand and hand around fun European towns 

1o years of late nights and long talks

10 years of groggy mornings and big cups of coffee

10 years of packing and unpacking and packing again! 

10 years of living out our passion for Jesus together as one! 

10 years of sharpening one another as iron sharpens iron! 

10 years of growing in love with each other more and more every single day

10 years of the occasional fight and tears (shocking, I know.)

10 years of lots of grace!!!

10 years of SO MUCH HAPPY!!!!

(I could go on, but I don't want to be annoying.):)

In 10 years we have grown up a lot.  Let's face it, we were babies when we got married. But that's not so bad. It just means I got to spend more time living my life with the man of my dreams, the man who DAILY challenges me to follow harder after Jesus, the man who is ambitious and self-less and faithful and loyal and kind and who makes me laugh at enginNERD jokes, not because I understand in any way what he is talking about, but because he is just so darn cute. I am so honored that ten years (and a few weeks) ago, he said "I do." to me. He daily lives out that covenant he made, and I am more in love with him today that I ever imagined I could be.

10 years and 3 little ones later, we are still going strong.  Here's to another 10 and another 10 and another and another and another.... only by the grace of God!

Photo Bomb

 

A couple of weeks ago we were able to get away for a little ski vacation. We met some friends in Bansko, Bulgaria and had a blast! Brian was able to snowboard, we took the kids sledding and were able to spend a little time teaching them to ski. 

They both did so good skiing. I was shocked. Kids just have no fear.  I think they only fell one or two times.  Kate did take out the park bench at the bottom of the slopes cause she couldn't get stopped, but other than that, it was all fun!!!

Their athletic daddy's children.

Kate and I (with Isaiah in tow) had a fun girl's day while the guys golfed.

We found a golf course really close to where we were staying.  Golf courses are non-existent in Macedonia and my boys LOVE golf. So we were super excited to find this place!

3 little monkeys

This is a common sight around the Balkans.  Shepherds are still alive and active in this part of the world. I love it.  

And horses pulling wagons is also pretty common to see.  There are days when I would rather not have to dodge the sheep, wagons, and cows out on the main roads, and then, there are days when I absolutely love it. We live in the middle of the old way of doing things and the new modern way of doing things.  

And then there is Kate and Thomas' way of doing things.  What is the best way to transport their little brother?  The dump truck.  Isaiah loves it. 

Upside down Isaiah. He is hanging onto my legs which is what is does most of his waking hours.  

Here are the kids with a package we received from one of the small groups from our church.  

Mac and Cheese!!! She is so happy!

Thomas is holding up goldfish and screaming with glee. Y'all, this kid was SO excited that he got goldfish!!!  

American goodies!!! YAY!  Thank you to those of you who sent us this box of love.

That's all for now.  Hope you enjoyed another glimpse into our life.

Merry Christmas!!!

As I write this, we are only 2 sleeps until Christmas Day. Kate is coloring in her Christmas coloring book. Thomas is passed out on the couch--still recovering from the big Christmas party with our team yesterday. There is a Christmas movie on the tv and the lights are twinkling on the tree.  Our kids are so excited. They love standing at our tree watching the lights twinkle. Thomas loves diving into the mound of presents sitting at the bottom of the tree (the presents from both sets of grandparents arrived!!!! Thank you, Mr. Postman! (and thank you, grandparents!)). 

Decking the halls

Isus = Jesus in Macedonia. 

I've been reading this Advent devotion by John Piper, and it has been so good. Even though we are nearing the end of the season, I would highly recommend downloading it (it's free!) and going through it. We've been reading through the Jesus Storybook Bible with the kids along with reading the some scripture every night that tells the story of Christmas.  It is so fun to tell the story over and over again to the kids.  One of the great things about raising them outside of the states is that most of the materialized version of Christmas is weeded out. They still get uber-excited about the gifts under the tree, but it is so much easier to turn their focus to the coming King, to Jesus who came to be our savior, to the manger and those who came to worship the baby sleeping in it.  I love that about living here!

Gingerbread houses! 

Brian can't do anything small. ;)

Christmas pjs in front of the tree.  

I LOVE Christmas pjs!

This season has been hard this year. I have been aching for our families in the states. I have asked myself several times if it is worth it. I have mourned the loss of my kids seeing their grandparents and playing with their cousins.  I have longed to worship with our church in RDU (maybe the greatest church ever ;)). I have wanted to sit down with my best friend who recently became a mommy, hold her beautiful baby boy, and hear all about her new life.  I have been… homesick.  I wasn't prepared for it.  We've been here for almost 8 years.  This feeling should be long gone by now, and yet, it lingers still. The Lord used one key paragraph from a note from the president of our organization to remind me that it is ALL worth it! He said, 

"But a look at the nativity scene serves to remind us that EVERYONE in it, (including the out-of-time-and-place trio from the East) has a good reason to be homesick. Not one of them was "at home." But neither is anyone among them depicted as being sad! I think that is because each of them was serving a larger purpose in the Father's great plan...and so are you!

It is all about King Jesus who came as a lowly baby, born to a peasant girl, to become "the servant and the lamb, both priest and sacrifice. He is the Prophet, King and Coming Son of Man. He is the Christ." His birth brought good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. He brought peace on earth.  But there is no joy and no peace for the people who haven't heard. So for me, there is great joy in getting to tell the greatest love story in history to the nations. There is joy in abiding in Him wherever He has me. There is peace resting in Him, waiting on Him to move, just knowing Him.  He is Emmanuel, God with me, and He is enough!  

Thank you so much for praying for us this year and through this season. We are so grateful for you, and we hope and pray that each of you will have a very Merry Christmas. Wherever you are, whomever you are with, Jesus is there, God with you.  His life brings new life, joy, peace, hope and so. much. more!!!  Give Him all your worship and adoration this season and this year. 

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving 2013

For Thanksgiving this year, we decided to invite some new friends to celebrate with us.  We invited some families that we have met from Kate's school. We had a wonderful time! It is always fun introducing the nationals to one very American holiday full of very American food.  I prepared for 4 days in advance and tried to include all of the traditional Thanksgiving foods minus the cranberry sauce (no cranberries here).  The stars of the menu were the turkey (which we found last minute), green bean casserole and walnut tarts (my MIL's recipe--AMAZING!)

Look at that little turkey (the one on the table). It was basically a large chicken, but thankfully, it was enough to feed everyone.

I am SO thankful for this man! I could not have done any of this without him. He helped me clean, helped keep the kids occupied while I cooked, prayed for me and over me while I prepared, and carried the conversation at the table.  He shared all about the history of the holiday and made Jesus and His love for us the center of it all.  He proclaimed the truth of our Heavenly Father being the giver of every good and perfect gift. I love his passion for the Lord, his headship of our home, and his love for his "neighbor."

The kids were all about the mashed potatoes. Familiarity. I am also thankful for all of these kids and their friendship to my Kate.  

Y'all, I was exhausted!  I don't know why I was thinking I could host 9 adults and 9 children for lunch plus 9 more people for dinner on one day…by myself… with three little ones underfoot. 

We had a small break between our lunch and dinner crowd, and we were able to call our family in America, which was really hard for me this year.  I missed them SO much. Normally, I am so busy and occupied with the nationals in our home, that I don't have time to feel nostalgic, but this year I just had to have a good cry over not being with our family. After 7 years, it is still hard.  We still have to die daily to our flesh, our will. The cross is still heavy. Some days it is heavier than others. On this particular day, it was painfully heavy.  I am thankful that my Jesus bore the full burden, that He died so that in Him the burden is light, that, through Him, I can cast all my cares on my Father, who loves me with an everlasting love, who walks with me, who carries me and who sets my feet on the solid rock. I am thankful that His Spirit indwells me and is my comforter.  I am thankful that He gave me a holy calling to proclaim the good news to the nations. I am thankful that He is doing things in the hearts of the people around us, and He lets me be a part of it. I am so thankful that He is always and forever full of love and mercy, that He is forever faithful.

One of the ways the Lord has provided for our family and comforted me was giving us an awesome team with whom we can celebrate. Friday afternoon, we headed to Prilep for Thanksgiving with our team that is scattered around the country.  It is always so fun.  We enjoyed another amazingly delicious meal that we all helped prepare. Our kids played with their 'mk cousins' and got loved on by their "aunts and uncles." 

There was football, yummy food, great conversation, and a beautiful snowfall. It was magical. :)

 

I am SO thankful for these precious people. I love them like family and am so blessed to get to share the holidays with them.

Put Us to Work...

A group of three very energetic and enthusiastic Americans came to see us about a month ago.  They sent an email just a couple of months ago and asked if they could come spend some time loving on us and the people. Our answer was easy, "How soon can you get here?!" :) They booked flights, rounded up prayer support, bought and MADE gifts to give out while they were here, and spent lots of time preparing for Bible studies they would lead. They came with the hearts of a servant, hearts of love, ready to give of their time, their talents and their lives.  The blessing that they were to us and to the people of Ohrid can never be fully expressed.  

A bunch of really sweet and thoughtful ladies from their church sent things to bless us and the people of Ohrid.  One lady even made a beautiful blanket for Isaiah.  Isn't that gorgeous?! And SO very sweet. 

Not only did they come bearing gifts for our kids, but they loved on them with BIG giant hugs and time to sit and play with them.  They kept the kiddos a couple of nights so Brian and I could go out on much needed dates!  I cannot even tell you how good it was, cause y'all if Brian and I aren't working right, then none of this is working. It was so good to just sit and talk with no distractions. To reconnect. To laugh together and walk hand in hand by the lake… not pushing a stroller and not trying to keep Thomas from falling into the lake.  (Volunteers, when you go to serve with people who have kids, give the couple a date night. This is HUGE!)

Sweet Bob and Larry!!! They got on the floor and played with my babies even though Bob wasn't real sure he was going to be able to get back up. :)  It did this momma's heart good.  

They were so willing to do anything and everything for the sake of the gospel.  They didn't come to rest or be lazy. They came to work.  

They visited old friends.

Marilyn helped make doughnuts for the men. 

And the men devoured them.

More old friends and good Bible-centered conversations.

Marilyn was also able to lead in a women's Bible study with some of the believers here, and she also shared a craft with them. The ladies loved it! It was a great time of fellowship and fun.

Bob and Larry pulled out the Bible at every turn. They made every minute with nationals count, and it was such blessing to see their hearts and hear them share of God's great love!

They reinforced a lot of what we have been saying to our friends here, which is huge!!! It gives us and our words credibility. It starts to solidify things for those who are doubting.  It is so very beneficial.

We are so very thankful that they gave of their time, money and whole selves to come and love on us and the people here.  We can't wait to see what God will do with the relationships they made and the words they shared.  After all, His word does not return void.