The Wallin Family

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-27T13:33:00.008-06:00

Last weekend Mom and Bobby accompanied us to the pumpkin patch down the road from their house. They had lots to do (playground, food, pumpkin launching, pumpkin picking, etc.).

Ben and Faith loved watching the pumpkins launch from the trebuchet. They flew about 400 ft. before smashing in the field.
Heh, heh...
B and Faith with the pumpkins they picked...
Bobby helped Ben to collect dry corn kernels. Ben carried them around in a plastic bag for a few days...
Since the pumpkins were "too heaby" for Faith to carry, Mike helped out :)
Me and my buddy. Rae is definitely in the "Mama's Girl" phase. I remember B did this around the same age. If I'm in the room, she wants me to hold her. Takes a long time to do anything, but I love holding her.

1st snow day of the season!

2011-10-26T20:03:00.003-06:00

2 days ago it was in the 70's and today we got about 8" of snow! Ben has been looking forward to winter for weeks now and has just been so excited today to play in the snow with Faith. Since Mike's been extra busy at work lately, that left me in charge of helping them build a snowman this afternoon... notice there are no pictures of the snowman :) After continual snowfall for about 18 hours, it looks like we're done for this time. The temps are supposed to fall tonight, though, which I'm sure will add lots more falling tree limbs around here.Rae got her 1st tub bath last night. She doesn't sit up by herself too well yet, but she splashes around in her baby tub too much to use that anymore. Here's what she thinks about the "real" tub...
Saturday we took the kids to the pumpkin patch, so I'll post those pictures soon. The kids painted some of the pumpkins and tomorrow we're going to make a pumpkin pie from one of the pumpkins (Ben's idea).

Besides that, we're looking forward to the upcoming holidays and Mike's trip to PA for his grandfather's 80th birthday. Mike and I had fun last weekend refinishing a bookcase together. Well, that's all that's new with us. Have a great night, all!

Happy Birthday Dear Faith

2011-10-08T17:31:00.010-06:00

Today we celebrated Faith's 3rd birthday!

She is really turning into such a wonderful girl. She is sweet, caring, and compassionate. She loves babies, her siblings, and all of her family so much. God tremendously blessed us when He added her to our family 3 years ago.

I have got to find a close up of the Hello Kitty cake pops our good family friend made and sent for Faith's birthday. They were pretty and VERY yummy. She is so talented.
Our happy little family...
The kids have played all day with Faith's new kitchen.
Sweet Rae must have thought it was her birthday with all of the things on the floor to chew on!

We had F's party at "brunch" with lots of yummy food and coffee drinks (Mike's specialty!).
The birthday girl requested a picture of herself sitting featuring her boots :)
Today was our coldest day so far this fall w/ temps in the 40's and rain all day. It was a perfect day for a fall birthday party inside with lots of good food and fun! Tonight: family movie night!

Again, we are SO blessed to have this sweet little girl in our family! We love you Faith!

Sweet love

2011-10-06T19:28:00.006-06:00

It's hard to believe TOMORROW Rachel will be 7 months old! Don't you just love that chunky thigh?

The kiddos...

2011-10-05T14:13:00.006-06:00

The kids have been enjoying their preschool curriculum so far. I intended for them to start in Sept., but realized I needed to do a little more planning and order a couple extra items online. Therefore, we just started this week :)

Ben said, "This is going to be GREAT!" referring to his preschool activities. They are really so cute and have been excited each day.

Day One:

Mostly their preschool curriculum focuses on character development with some scholastic elements. It's looking like we'll do 30 minutes - 1 hour each day with some extra, fun activities some days.

Mom invited the kids over yesterday to make some fall treats... owls made of moon pies, oreos, candy corn, and m&m's. It was a cute idea from Southern Living.

Notice B was sporting his Phillies shirt for the big game last night (which they won!)...

Sweet Baby Rae

2011-09-18T21:05:00.002-06:00

Sweet baby Rae. Rae Rae. Rachel Rae. "Wachel."

Sweet Rae didn't get much face time in yesterday's post, so when Haley sent me this picture she took today when we were playing horseshoes I just had to share...

We love her SO much! She is my little buddy.

Orchard Trip

2011-09-17T23:13:00.007-06:00

The preschool curriculum we're doing this year has a suggested field trip for each month. September's field trip was a visit to an apple orchard. There is an orchard about 30 minutes from us so we headed there this a.m. The place we went was really a farm and an orchard. The kids had a lot of fun feeding the donkeys and horses as well as watching all of the chickens.
Here Faith is holding a basket of carrots, ready to feed the animals. Faith called the place an "ouch-ard"... so precious!

Everyone enjoyed an apple cider donut. I hadn't had one in about 5 years and boy was it good!

Hayride time! The tractor-pulled hayride took us all around the newly planted area of the orchard.

For the last part of the trip, we made apple sauce at home. I have a really easy crock pot applesauce recipe, so as I type I'm smelling the wonderful aroma of apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. We put all of the ingredients in the crock pot right before the kids' bedtime and it will be ready in the morning. The kids had so much fun today and are tucked in their beds worn out! We all had a great day!

Coach Ben

2011-09-17T13:33:00.002-06:00

Bumming Around

2011-07-11T21:19:00.004-06:00

Wow! It's already July 11! Summer is in full swing around here.

To celebrate Independence Day, we brought a little bit of the south out west and had a Crawfish Boil with crawfish flown in from New Orleans for the occasion. It was our 3rd (I think!) boil to have out here in Colorado, but this year the guest list was expanded to include more friends! Everyone's already talking about "next year!" Rumors are we may eventually need a venue change to accommodate everyone who may want to attend. Many thanks to all who put it on - especially my sister's husband Tyler who is the resident crawfish expert and Mark and Margie who hosted!

July 3 we visited my cousin Becky who summers in Estes Park. It was GREAT to see her! We just wish ALL of our family could have been there.

Here are a few shots just taken with my phone on the ride up the canyon that day...

We truly feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful place! We prayed long and hard about where God wanted us, and are grateful to be able to see the mountains every day!

I just had to share this picture:

"What happens when your 2 year old dresses herself..."

Performing Arts

2011-06-22T12:44:00.002-06:00

The Fam

2011-05-14T13:40:00.009-06:00

My dad came in town this past week/weekend. We all had so much fun together. While he was here, he took some photos of our families. Here are a few of my favorites...

Rachel playing on the floor. She's now 10 weeks old (tomorrow) and 10 lbs., 6 oz., 24"
My dad w/ the grandkids Ben (3), Bethany (Haley & Tyler's daughter, 7 weeks), Dad, Rachel (9 weeks), Faith (2) We love this one.

Faith getting her feet tickled...

Our family and my sister Haley's family...and we're all looking at the camera!

Our sweet B. Hard to believe he's turning 4 this month!

Our brood (and their new toys)...

Our Resident Mother Hen

2011-03-30T21:26:00.003-06:00

2011-03-09T08:15:00.004-07:00

We have a full name now... Rachel Evelyn!
Welcome to the world, sweet little one!

Introducing Rachel!

2011-03-08T13:17:00.003-07:00

Hey family and friends,
God blessed us with the birth of our 3rd child last night!

Meet Rachel!

She was born March 7
at 10:49 p.m.
7lbs., 4 oz.
21" long

We'll keep you posted as to her middle name. We just haven't decided yet :) Everything went really well (and fast!) for her delivery. So many of our family and friends were praying for a safe and easy delivery. Thank you! Thanks also to those who were praying that I wouldn't have to have my labor induced (which I was wanting to avoid). I was scheduled for an induction at the end of the week since I'd be 2 weeks over due, so I was really grateful when I went into labor last night instead... although I had come to a point of surrendering that all to God.

Anyways, if you love birthing stories like I do, you can read on... I always love to hear how every little person came into the world. Every experience is so special.

Last night our family was eating dinner and I had a couple of painful contractions that made me get up and go lay down on our bed. I decided not to jump the gun, so I called my grandmother and chatted with her...and had a couple of painful ones while I was on the phone. Right after that, labor really sped up! Around 7:30 I had 4 or 5 contractions 8-13 minutes apart followed immediately by 3-5 minutes apart. By 9 we called my midwife and by 9:50 I was in a labor/delivery room at the hospital. At 3:30 p.m. I was dilated 3 cm but by the time we arrived at the hospital I was 8 cm. Just short of an hour after arriving at the hospital, Rachel had excused herself from my womb in order to meet us all face to face!

So, she's here! And of course, we love her and just think she is too precious for words! My mom and sister brought the kiddos up to meet her/see us this morning. I know they were glad to meet their "Fwiend Wachel" as they've been calling her. Faith was hovering like a Mama Hen and B had fun pushing the bassinet around the room :)

Thanks again for all of your prayers for us. They are greatly appreciated and we're thrilled with our new little Rachel!

The Wife of Leisure

2011-02-25T22:48:00.003-07:00

Hey Friends,

Check out our friends' new blog... The Wife of Leisure. Beth and Tet are the 2 blog authors (they're sisters). Beth and Tet's mom emailed us earlier this week to share their new venture. Beth's posted for the last couple of weeks about different things and I think Tet will post mainly about adoptions. She and her hubby have adopted 2 little ones so far and I believe are adopting another some time this year? We love their families! If you think about it, you should ask Mike sometime how he was "introduced" to Tet and her parents. It's a funny story but I feel that I shouldn't post anything defamatory against my own husband :)

Also, if you're looking for a good, entertaining, quick read I recommend Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. It's a novel (an innocent love story) based in the 1940's in Seattle after Pearl Harbor when the Japanese internment camps were put in place.

Well, I hope each of you enjoys the weekend! We're planning on a peaceful and relaxing one ourselves...that is unless I go into labor! My due date was today!

In our nightly devotions, Mike and I are going through Psalms. So I'll leave you with some of our favorite verses from tonight:
"Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings." -Ps. 17:8
"As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness." -Ps. 17:15

Thanks for bearing with a really random post...but this is how my mind works after 8p.m.!!

Guess who's back?

2011-02-21T19:30:00.008-07:00

Hey friends,
I'm still here! After a months-long blogging hiatus, I am back! I have barely blogged myself or read others' blogs for the past few months, but I'm glad to be back!

We've been up to lots here in our household...

1. Growing a baby.
Baby #3 is just about here! My official due date for our little girl is February 25, although the ultrasound estimated the due date at March 5 (which is probably more accurate?). I REALLY thought I was going into labor on Fri. since I was having contractions 3-8 minutes apart for 12 hours. But, apparently I guess it must have been the stomach virus I had making me contract so much. Yep, 3rd time this pregnancy I have had the stomach virus. Anywyas, as the stomach virus died down, so did my contractions.

2. Reading.
I am definitely going to start posting more book reviews on my blog. I LOVE to read during down times around here. I'll have a book review on a book about Proverbs posted soon. Just have one more book before I can do that one!
My current favorite read:
My one year Bible! I just can't say enough good things about this. When I wake up in the morning, there's no thinking about what to read for my quiet time AND I get the "full counsel of God" throughout the year.

My current least favorite read:
Cleopatra. I really wanted to like this book. Cleopatra's life seems so intriguing as well as the culture and time where/when she lived. I could NOT connect with Stacy Schiff's writing style, though. It seemed like she was writing more to the world of academia than the average reader. Out of my 8ish other friends who have this book, to my knowledge, none of them have finished it either.

3. Parenting.

Parenting is one of the reasons for my blogging hiatus for the past few months. I felt like I was spending too much time on the internet. Time I could have spent training our 2 little ones! God is so gracious and continues to teach us how to parent the children He has entrusted to us to be more like Him. I realize more and more each day how refining parenting is! I have 4 (soon to be 6) eyes watching everything I do throughout the day. Where am I giving them mixed signals? Where are the areas where my life doesn't line up with what I'm teaching them from God's Word? That's humbling and refining... all in a good way...to make me more genuinely Christ-like and loving.

4. FlyLady.
A friend in PA told me about FlyLady a few years ago, but I just started using her in December. Have you heard of her? Who is she? Well, being a neat freak or organized person really haven't been strong suits of mine (I'll pause while my friends who really know me have a chance to say "Amen!")... .... .... OK. Well, if you sign up for FlyLady emails at flylady.net, she will send you daily emails to let you know what your daily/weekly/monthly cleaning routines are. SO, you never have to spring clean, just do a few things every day and your place will stay clean and organized...always ready to have people over :) Honestly I've gone a little overboard with the organizing but I think it's because I'm "nesting" as they say most pregnant women do before their babies arrive.

Other than these things, we've been enjoying reconnecting with Fort Collins friends, our church, and of course our local family who we spend a lot of time with! Mike's really enjoying his job (occupational medical sales) and the kids are enjoying just being kids and playing with each other and their friends/family. Hope each of you are doing well, too!

Fable of the Porcupine

2010-11-30T14:18:00.004-07:00

My aunt sent this to me today and I thought I'd share...

Fable of the Porcupine
It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions even though they gave off heat to each other. After awhile, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. This way they learned to live with the little wounds that were caused by the close relationship with their companion, but the most important part of it, was the heat that came from the others. This way they were able to survive.

Moral of the story: The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but the best is when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person's good qualities.

"The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression."

-Proverbs 19:11

New Holiday Favorites

2010-11-27T13:02:00.003-07:00

Mike and I have 2 new favorite holiday dishes. I found these recipes and made them last year during the holidays and they've already made a reprise this year at Thanksgiving. I got them from the freebie magazine Delicious Living that I get at some of the health food stores where I shop. They are both so yummy!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Pomegranate Seeds
Serves 10

Tart, jewel-like pomegranate seeds balance the natural sweetness of the roasted potatoes.

1/2 cup agave nectar
3 tablespoons safflower oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 375°. In a small bowl, combine agave, oil, and salt. Arrange sweet potatoes in a 3-quart oven-to-table baking dish; pour agave mixture over potatoes. Cover with foil and bake for about 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Uncover and stir to coat. Bake uncovered for another 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds evenly over top. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

PER SERVING: 248 cal, 15% fat cal, 4g fat, 0g sat fat, 0mg chol, 3g protein, 51g carb, 6g fiber, 216mg sodium

Coconut-Pecan Haystacks

Makes about 20 / These tasty clusters bound with dark chocolate are guaranteed to spread joy during the holidays.

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut, divided

3/4 cup finely chopped toasted pecan pieces (about 5 ounces), divided

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Melt chocolate in a large bowl over a pan of hot water. Stir occasionally just until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in 3/4 cup coconut, 1/2 cup pecans, and cranberries. Spoon tablespoon-sized mounds onto waxed paper. Mix remaining coconut and pecans in a small bowl and sprinkle over tops. Chill until firm, about 1 hour. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

PER SERVING (1): 108 cal, 67% fat cal, 9g fat, 4g sat fat, 0mg chol, 1g protein, 9g carb, 2g fiber, 1mg sodium

*Personally I leave out the dried cranberries b/c I like my chocolate unadulterated by the fruit taste :)

These recipes are both so yummy and easy, too! Let me know if you make them and how you like them!

Devil's Backbone

2010-11-26T19:20:00.006-07:00

Mike and I took the kiddos on a hike up at Devil's Backbone this morning. We had a blast. It was only a short one (30 minutes in, 30 minutes back), since both kids were walking and I have a lot of pelvic pain during my 2nd and 3rd trimesters when I'm pregnant. We all had a lot of fun; there were lots of people and pets on the trail today.

You can see the "Devil's Backbone" in this pic behind Mike...
I just have to mention that one of B's favorite things to do on the trail was to look for "evidence" that dogs and horses had been on the trail before us. Having a little boy around never ceases to surprise me or make me chuckle :)

Family in Town

2010-11-09T08:30:00.005-07:00

Last week we were thrilled to have my grandmother (from TN) and my cousin (Emily, from VA) come visit us all here in Colorado! It was great to see them - their visit flew by.

Here are a few pictures from the night we went to one of our favorite local restaurants, Austin's:

Mike and me
Faith and Ben
Gran Mary, Lee (my uncle who lives here), and Emily
Our whole group
We were so glad they were here and wish we could all see each other more often!

A Momentous Occassion :)

2010-09-26T08:45:00.003-06:00

Last night Haley, Mom and I were ~~painting~~ polishing our nails and decided to do Faith's nails for the first time.

Faith drying her freshly polished "Coney Island Cotton Candy" nails...
She is such a girly girl...she loved it. Loving shoes and clothes is coming naturally for this girl. I promise I don't spend a lot of time talking about either but out of nowhere she has started talking about how much she loves her shoes and other people's clothes and shoes. Currently her favorite is a pair of red cowboy boots she likes to stomp around in. Oh brother... our wallets are going to be in for it :)

2010-09-23T20:58:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow my mom, sister, and I are taking the kids to the Denver Zoo! It's been about 2 years since Ben and I were there last, so I thought it was a great idea when Mom suggested it.

Ben's been talking about it all day today, so tonight I put leopard print sheets on his bed so he'd feel like he was with the jungle animals and Mike read the kids one of our library books (above) to set the mood.

No other huge news here with us. Mike's really liking his new job and we're still looking for a house. We've been looking a lot but haven't found "the one" yet. We know if we're patient, God'll provide the right one.

While we were bathing the kids tonight...

BEN: Jesus died on the cross, Mommy.

ME: Yes, He did, Ben.

BEN: He died for our sins.

ME: That's right, B.

BEN: Jesus lives in our hearts.

ME: He sure does!

BEN: Look, Mommy! I have water in my belly button!

2010-09-14T07:32:00.001-06:00

If you are a teen, hop on over to my friend's Teen Talk Tuesday! If you know a teen, send them over! Godly encouragement for teens in today's world!

Personalized Doll Give-Away!

2010-09-13T14:53:00.003-06:00

You may remember I posted a long time ago that Faith got a personalized doll from Baby Be Blessed.

WELL... they are doing a personalized doll give-away on their blog site. If you win, you'll get a personalized doll for your little one by Christmas!

Good Luck! I think today's the last day to enter. It was supposed to be Fri. but they couldn't get blogger to work so you have extra time!

2010-09-09T08:35:00.004-06:00

"I'm pretty sure that Dad and Mom have NO idea we're peaking during prayer time!"

Never Quit!

2010-08-14T06:05:00.001-06:00

My fabulous Bible study leader posted this video on her blog. So touching...

Gone to Colorado in my mind...

2010-08-11T19:38:00.005-06:00

for now.

and for real in less than 2 weeks now!

God provided us (read, Mike) with a great job! When we realized God was closing the door for us to get the work visa we needed for Italy, we knew Mike needed to apply for jobs in the States. He looked around Philly and in Fort Collins. Quite a few times over the last few months we were so tempted to take job offers that were close to what we wanted to not exactly what we'd been praying for.

In faith, we turned down a few job offers that were close but not exactly what we were looking for. God definitely tested us with time to see if we were going to take things in our own hands or wait for His plan, His way. The wait was worth it and He provided beyond what we were praying for. Mike's going to be doing occupational medical sales.

We're not sure what all God has in store for us in Fort Collins, but all of our surrounding circumstances have proven to us that we're heading in His direction. Personally, I'm looking forward to weekends with my family this fall making meals together and watching SEC football!

God has done so much in our lives over this past year, and taught us more and more about Himself. After I've had time to process more of it, I'll post!

We're going to miss all of our friends and family we've been able to spend time with over these past months in PA but are looking forward to what God has for us in Fort Collins as well as seeing our family and friends there on a regular basis!

Over the past few days, on top of the morning sickness I've had, I had a nasty virus. Yuck. Glad to be back to feeling "normal" and now able to start packing our stuff to head out! Faith and I are flying to Denver Aug. 24 (Tues.). Mike and Ben are driving our car out and stopping to see some friends and family on the way out. They'll leave the same day but obviously get there days later!

Ben at the Poudre River in Fort Collins in 2007-

CO Trip

2010-08-01T19:24:00.006-06:00

As I posted yesterday, Mike and Faith are in CO for a week.
Haley and Mom are loving having her there...
I miss my family :)...
Faith has pulls on her hair while she sucks her thumb which resulted in some of her hair being uneven. Thankfully, Haley is a professional and took some action...
End result. Thanks Haley...

Philadelphia Museum of Art

2010-08-01T18:59:00.005-06:00

Ben and I went with our friend Lynda to the Art Museum today. The first Sunday of every month is "pay as you wish" day, which, in my opinion, is great day to go :) We only stayed 2 hours, which we thought was plenty to ask of a 3 year old boy. We did a drive-by of everything. B's favorites were the armour display and the big fountain out front...
We also watched a few guys pretend to be Rocky running up the steps of the museum :)
Dipping his feet in the fountain ("Oooh! Feels good Mommy!")...
Our family's great friend Lynda! We met Lynda while fellow staffers with Campus Crusade and I am really honored to be a part of her upcoming wedding this coming New Year's Eve...
Me and our precious 1st born...
We all had such a great time together! Randomly, I've been craving clam chowder a lot so far this pregnancy, so we stopped at Outback on the way home and each had a bowl. Ben pretended to be a waiter during our meal and took our order with his crayon and coaster and "served" us our food :)

Summer Fun

2010-08-01T18:50:00.004-06:00

He he...
Performing her gymnastics routine...
B loves him some baseball. He also likes to golf which is random since neither Mike nor I golf...

2010-08-01T18:33:00.007-06:00

It's a long story, but on July 3, Mike and I ended up taking 2 girls from Mexico City (whom we had never met before) around Philadelphia. They were in the USA for one day en route to study in Spain, although one of them had lived in NYC while getting her Master's at NYU. We had a great time taking in the sites.
Mike in Chinatown during a parade...
The girls and me...
We wanted a record of the 1st Ammendment :)...
Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed...
Liberty Bell...
The girls had fun on their short trip to the States. What better place to see than where our country was founded?! And of course, they also enjoyed the cheesesteaks!

Jordan's Graduation

2010-08-01T18:30:00.002-06:00

Mike's youngest brother graduated from high school in June and is off to Grove City College this month. He's a great guy and we're so proud of him!this picture is of Mike with 3 out of his 4 brothers (Jason, Mike, Jordan, and Matt).

Ben's birthday

2010-08-01T18:20:00.006-06:00

YES... Ben turned 3 in MAY but I haven't posted any pictures lately so here goes...
Thomas the Tank Engine cake LouLou made for him...
Sweet boy...
While opening each gift he would "ooh" and "ahh" then ask, "What is it?!"...
Honey couldn't resist sending Faith something too...

too beat to blog

2010-07-31T17:21:00.008-06:00

and NO! i'm not kidding!

it's been over a month since my last post. must be the longest i've gone since starting the blog over 3 years ago!

i'm sure you're thinking, "do tell why you're too exhausted to blog!"

well, i'll give you 3 hints.

it has to do with the fact i've been spending a lot of time here:

here:

and here:

yep! all of that adds up to morning (read: all-day) sickness for this gal!

we are expecting baby #3 to arrive in februrary!

my many apologies to all of my wonderful friends who i have not called to tell about our exciting news! i haven't called anyone except family because a 3 year old, 1.5 year old, and morning sickness add up to one tired gal who doesn't have enough energy to talk on the phone much... or to put away the stacks of clean laundry in our bedroom either for that matter :)

i've never been one to keep up with monthly cycle dates so i think my due date is feb. 25 but am not sure.

i have had a different friend dream that i was pregnant before i told them w/ each pregnancy. this time my friend jill told me she had a dream that i was pregnant a couple of weeks before i found out. in her dream, i had a girl. also, ben has requested another sister whom he would like us to name grits. see? for all of my many, dear southern friends, this should comfort you to know that even though i don't live in the south anymore, i am raising my children right! side note: b tried to order grits at a restaurant last week and the gal had no idea what they were! shame! anyways, for these 2 reasons, i'm predicting a girl as well. we haven't decided yet if we're going to find out baby's gender pre-birthday or not. we did with ben, did not with faith. personally, i think it was good incentive during labor because i was even more motivated to be able to find out what our surprise was!

i've already gained 9.5 lbs.! yikes! but eating constantly is one of only 2 things that seems to help keep me from being sick, so i'll just worry about that later.

we have listed names that we like but will probably think more seriously about that when i'm feeling better!

the one thing i really don't like about morning sickness is that it messes up my morning routine. i don't know about you, but if i don't read my bible and pray 1st thing in the morning, it really throws my day off.

in other news, many of you know that we had been living in fort collins, co about 2 years but have been here in pa for months working with the consulate in philadelphia to try to get visas so we could do mission work in italy. we haven't been able to get the type of visa we wanted to get into italy long-term, so we're going to be staying in the states! it looks like God has closed the italy door for now so we're happy to stay in the usa.

mike's started looking for jobs in the philadelphia area (where we are now) and also in fort collins (where we'd been living). so far, the prospects in fort collins seem more appealing. mike's currently in the fort for job interviews which are going well (praise God!). thus far, every aspect about his trip to fc has seemed God-ordained but we'll see what He has in store for us and what doors He opens. he took faith with him to give me a break since i've been sick but i miss them SO much! i'm ready for us to all be back together and starting this new chapter of our lives!

Sweet Summer

2010-06-19T10:36:00.001-06:00

I didn't, but I could have.

2010-06-16T19:51:00.005-06:00

Although I didn't write this book (by Stormie Omartian), I feel like I could have! I am currently reading Just Enough Light for the Step I'm On (Trusting God in the Tough Times) and am finding it to be the most meaningful book I've read over the past year or so (typical disclaimer: not including the Bible!). If you're going through any type of wilderness or tough time, I definitely recommend it.

Below is the prayer from the chapter called, "Knowing How to Pack for the Wilderness":

Lord, I am at home wherever You are. If you call me into the wilderness, I will embrace it because You are there with me. Help me not to walk in fear or doubt, but in faith. Shine Your light on the path You have for me to travel, for I know that all my days are in Your hands. Forgive me when I grumble or have less than a grateful heart about where I am right now. I realize that my attitude will have a direct bearing on whether I wander around in circles, coming back to the same place over and over, or whether I get through to the Promised Land You have for me. Help me to trust You for every step. Enable me to see all the blessings that are right here in this moment. I trust that Your grace is sufficient for this day, and each day that follows.

Also, you may already know about this song, but it's a goodie that goes along with the theme of the book:

Have a good one... no matter what situation you currently find yourself in!

Oh Brother

2010-06-09T20:26:00.004-06:00

Ben isn't allowed to go outside without an adult knowing about it. Yesterday I was folding laundry and noticed it was "too quiet." Ben was outside playing baseball. The following photo is a re-enactment of what he did when he saw me see him...

Oh brother! Yep, that's right! He started praying... he, he! I'm not sure if he was praying not to get into trouble for being outside without me or if he just thought that if he looked spiritual I wouldn't care that he disobeyed :)

Queen of the Wild Frontier...

Going crazy after today's rain...

Weekend Pictures...

2010-06-06T16:14:00.019-06:00

It's a Dirty Job

2010-05-22T19:48:00.011-06:00

I'll mention it over and over again...

I LOVE having 2 toddlers. They are hilarious!

Today was one of those days where I felt like Mike Rowe, the host of Dirty Jobs. I wish he could have been here with us. I think he would have been proud.

Never did I think that at 9 on a Saturday morning I would be out in the back yard pitching to a little slugger... as well as digging in the grass and dirt for worms and slugs. No, I did not pick them up, just helped find them for another!

Toddler boys are so funny. After baseball and the bug hunt, we went into Philly with some friends for cheesesteaks. Ben, in normal boy-fashion used his camo shorts as a napkin, setting his sandwich on the window behind him as a plate to free up his hands (yuck!).

But the finale of my dirty-day was when we were still in Philly and B jumped into a puddle of rain/sewer water with the shoes we'd bought him 5 hours before... thank goodness they were Crocs!

Sweet Faith! She makes me laugh ALL DAY. She's more independent than I expected. She prefers to read to herself and is no shrinking violet as you can tell from the picture above!

I almost forgot that Faif (as Ben calls her) also contributed to my dirty day! Loading the washer this morning, I didn't notice Faith getting into the linen closet, taking the toilet bowl brush and heading into the bathroom. I found her cleaning the toilet... but she was so excited to see me and proud of herself for helping, that she accidentally waved the toilet brush around in the air, spraying toilet water all over her pj's, the toilet seat, the wall, and the floors. Again... yuck!

Well, off to have a late night snack with my love, then bed! Good night friends and family!

A Tribute to Mike on Mother's Day :)

2010-05-09T18:12:00.002-06:00

Well, it's Mother's Day but it's also... Mike's 27th birthday!
I actually think the double-celebration has confused Ben who went around telling me, my MIL and my mom, "Happy Birthday Mothers!"

Today our pastor's wife wrote an note inserted in the bulletins at church entitled, "Note to the Dads: What She Really Wants for Mother's Day."

As I read through the note and then noticed Mike picking it up to read it, I was so proud to be able to tell him that he did not need to read it for instruction. He already does everything in it.

Below is the part of the insert that is pertinent to Dads with young children...
"More than a nice card, flowers, and...ok...even chocolate, your wife wants to know she is loved and appreciated 365 days a year.

"To daddies whose wives are in the midst of children (especially young ones): more than anything you could do or give, she needs your help. Bathing the little ones, putting them to bed, helping with the wash or dishes, preparing a meal, reading to the children at night, or feeding them breakfast so she can shower...all these things seem little, but they are oh, so significant. There's no greater way to show her that you love her. The dividends for these small acts of service pay greatly as you give her the gift of time. In this, she can remember that she's not only a mom, but a wife as well. You, daddies, are the ones that will receive the reward. After all, to quote my husband, 'A happy wife if a happy wife...any questions?' And if your job, schedule, or other commitments do not lend you that extra time, just verbally letting her know, on a daily basis, how much you appreciate her hard work and that you understand that her job is not an easy one will go a long way. Sleepless nights, long days, loneliness, routine...all these are good, but they aren't always easy. It's the encouragement she needs to get up tomorrow with a smile on her face and do it all again! :)

"More than finding the 'perfect gift' or the 'perfect place' for your dinner, your wife longs for you to draw close to the Savior and lead your home well. Ask her. What she really wants doesn't cost a penny! After all, it's not about making Hallmark's pockets deeper, but making your marriage richer. For in this, He is glorified!"

Anyone who knows Mike knows that every word in this note is true of him. He does all of these things every day without complaint, with a good attitude, and without expecting anything in return.

He is a great man. I am a lucky lady.

Mother's day. Your birthday. Every day... I love you, Mike! Happy Birthday!

Faith's lovin' spring...

2010-04-07T18:58:00.007-06:00

Fun with Friends...

2010-04-07T12:42:00.007-06:00

My friend Jill and her family let Faith come to their house on Good Friday so that Ben and I could go watch the Resurrection Play that Mike was in at church. Apparently she had a blast with all of their kids. Jill took a few pictures of me and Faith as well as one of her daughter Abigail reading to Faith and her youngest daughter Naomi playing ball with Faith:

"Bucks"

2010-04-07T12:34:00.004-06:00

Ben spends about 1/3 of his day looking for and catching "bucks" (bugs). His favorites include "ladybucks", "stinkbucks", and "rants" (ants). Least faves are bees after getting stung twice last spring. Here, the little fella has caught the tiniest ant I've ever seen. He likes to talk to them and wants us to be just as excited about each bug he finds as he is:

Finger Painting

2010-04-07T12:16:00.006-06:00

New Blog Header

2010-04-07T11:14:00.005-06:00

So how do you like my new blog header? The last day or so I've been thinking of the spiritual growth God's given us over the last few years and of some of the areas I know He'll continue to grow us in.

It reminded me of the passage in Jeremiah 18:3,4 where God's speaking through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Israel and says:

So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Anyways, all of this thought inspired me to take some pictures of pottery around the house this morning and make a new header.

Voila!

Egg Hunt and Resurrection Play

2010-04-03T09:11:00.012-06:00

Yesterday a family across the street hosted a neighborhood egg hunt. Tons of kids were there along with lots of good food! Everyone that came chipped in something. It took the kids a few minutes to figure out the deal of hunting for eggs and putting them in their baskets.

When Ben realized what was going on, he would see an egg and yell, "O! I see it! Run!"
Foof was too cute. She was the youngest egg hunter there and was oblivious about the goodies inside the eggs but just enjoyed playing with the emptied-out eggs.

Our sweet girl. I can't believe our kids are both toddlers already - but I guess that DOES happen!
B loved running around with all of the other kids and playing on the slide...
I could forsee a load of laundry in my future at this point....

Last night our church had a Resurrection Play. Mike was one of the two Roman soldiers. He had a lot of fun at the practices over the last few weeks. The kids and I went up with him a few times and had fun, too. When B saw Mike come on stage last night he was excited...

"You're so prilly" and other kid-isms

2010-03-30T11:30:00.002-06:00

The kids do so many funny and cute things I wish we could remember them all...

::Last night Ben did not know Mike and I were watching him and this is what we saw...
B went and got a hair barrette and took it over to Faith who was sitting on the floor playing. He stood behind her, "fixed" her hair, put the barrette in and pushed hard on it to make it close. Then he walked around to look at it from the front and said, "You're so prilly (pretty) Foof!" What a sweet big brother!

::Every morning when B wakes up, he asks us, "Mommy, Daddy, sleep good?" Then responds with, "O, I so glad!"

::Have you heard the Hillsong song "One way Jesus"? It's one of Ben's current favorites. He sings, "One Way!" Faith responds, "Jejus" (Jesus). Don't you just HAVE to think that God thinks children are so precious singing songs about Him?

Anyway, there are more things I could share but can't think of them right now... so you should just come see us to see them for yourself :) Have a good day!

An Encouragement to Praise God in Difficult Times

2010-03-25T07:10:00.002-06:00

I got an e-mail this morning from Vision Beyond Borders. It was such an encouragement to me and I thought it might be to you, too. As I've been studying in-depth through Exodus, one of the lessons for life I've been learning is that we must approach God in the way He commands, and not respond to life in ways that come naturally (complaining, despair, etc.). I love the story of the children below because I love to hear testimony of how God is working in our day...

We received the following email last Friday, from our contact in Thailand:

"Dear friends,

Just got off the phone (2.20 PM Thai time), a huge forest fire is moving towards our orphanage! Kids are evacuated and are sitting on top of a hill near the road side praying. Please, pray for rain and that the fire will not come closer, we just finished building dorms, kitchen, canteen, church, bathrooms etc."

Then today we received the following update to their situation:

"Dear friends,

God is faithful! I sent you all an urgent prayer request last Friday. We had a forest fire going towards our new buildings at the Children's Home. At 2:20 PM all the children were up on a hill brought to safety. I told them to start worshipping Jesus. They all did. By 2:50 PM the fire was only less than 500 meters away! But the children kept on worshipping Jesus. By 3:15 PM we could hear thunder; Jesus was about to do a miracle! By 3:30 PM our Children's Home was surrounded by 3 huge fires! The children did not give up and kept on worshipping Jesus. By 3:45 it started to sprinkle. Then a little bit after 4:00 PM, rain was pouring down and put out all the 3 fires!

This was a total miracle as it is the dry and hot season here in Thailand. Rainy season doesn't start till later May! Needless to say that these precious children have seen God's hand upon their lives, time after time. After (another attack) they have seen and experience God's protection and love. May we all trust and have faith in God like these children have experienced in their young Christian life. To God be the Glory!"

Once again it seems to be the children who are teaching, leading and guiding; demonstrating a pure and sincere walk with their Savior. It is incredible to see how they are able to stand, without wavering in their faith, continuing to pray and to praise. And they have seen miracles. They have seen and know the Living God, who answers prayers. It is difficult to even have words to say, as their story says it all. Again I find myself being taught by the orphans. Taught to not look to my circumstances and what is "seen" just as these children are undeterred by the fact there are three large fires and it is the dry season. They look only to their God, they praise His name and cry out to Him, and look to Him alond for their hope. There is no room for discouragement or fear, because their hope is in the Lord alone. I can imagine that even if their home had been burned, they would have continued to praise. Their eyes were fixed on heaven.

I am reminded of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, as they responded to Nebuchadnezzar. Their response in Daniel 3:16-18 was, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Obviously the situation is different, but similar in that these children, just like the Hebrew children, seemed intent on glorifying God no matter what the circumstances. They had that firm assurance that God could rescue them and their home, yet they will continue to praise no matter what the outcome. They accept all from God's hand.

I pray God will use their testimony in your life as he has in mine. That it will encourage each of us to continue to look to the one who saves, and to continue to praise him despite our circumstances, and despite the outcome, but all the while professing He is all powerful and He can save. Whether he chooses to save or not, we will not worship the false gods of doubt or fear; we will continue to serve the Living God in spirit and in truth.

Blogging=A Good Excuse to Sit Down

2010-03-23T11:51:00.011-06:00

I needed a good excuse to kick my feet up for a few minutes, so I thought I'd post some more pictures I took of Faith on Sunday afternoon...

I never realized how many things Faith would pick up from Ben. Words he says she copies, mannerisms she copeis... also climbing...
Watching a motorcycle go by...
Sweet little thing always has bangs in her face, but she takes out the clips I put in...
Faith's hair keeps changing colors. She was born with dark hair, which was replaced with blonde, and now a new top layer of strawberry blonde is growing in. So we'll have to wait and see how it ends up. I was born with red hair, so it's probably not going to be the same color as mine...
Isn't she so sweet and tiny? Faith isn't consistently interested in eating. My mom said I was like that too when I was her age. I was more interested in socializing...
Loving on her baby doll...
Sweet, happy girl... (but also hard not to laugh when she protests not getting her way)...
And I'll leave you with this one. I admit after having such an energetic boy first, I thought I'd get a mild, calm girl. But this photo really captures Faith as Faith. She is hilarious and somewhat quirky. Where Ben does things to make people laugh, Faith does funny things just to entertain herself but they happen to make us laugh too! I've said it before but will say it again, toddlers are entertaining!

Baby Be Blessed

2010-03-22T07:54:00.006-06:00

Faithy just got this doll recently from Baby Be Blessed. If you have a little girl, it's such a sweet, special gift. You can choose the different features to look like your little girl. The doll also comes with your child's name and a Bible verse you choose. My grandmother got this one for Faith for the occasion of her 1st birthday. Just thought I'd share... I know I'm always looking for unique, memorable gifts for our kids. Thanks also to my friend who clued me into Baby Be Blessed!

By the way, the company is a group of stay-at-home moms who do this work in their spare time. So, you may have to wait a little while for the doll you want to become available, but the wait is worth it! BBB also has little lambs you can add scripture to as well as crowns.

Spring's here!

2010-03-16T12:47:00.003-06:00

This is how happy we are that SPRING is here!
I bathed the kids this afternoon and took them outside to play before their naps so their hair could dry. It was SO NICE outside! Look at Faith sunbathing...
I have to prepare for a Bible study I attend tonight, so not much time to blog, but I will leave you with this photo of Ben imitating the camera flash...I'd been thinking lately, "To blog, or not to blog?" For now, though, it's "to blog" so I promise to update more frequently! Have a great SPRING day!

Vision Beyond Borders

2010-03-10T17:46:00.004-07:00

My new favorite group.

Check out the "about" / "history of vbb" on their website.

A visit from Dad

2010-02-17T07:01:00.012-07:00

It's a long, crazy story, of how my dad ended up making an impromptu visit to us here in PA. It must have been meant to be, though, and we've had a great time with him here the last 2 days!

A quick trip through D.C. on his way up I-95...

Look at what grandparents let the kids do :) They were amazed that they were allowed to play with a real laptop and cell phone...

Faith must think a pizza sauce mask does for the face what a clay or avocado mask does...

Daddy's girl...

We had plans to take Dad into the city during the day but it snowed again so we opted to hang out at the house instead and I did some baking...

Dad loved playing with the kids...

This little boy loves to be held, especially so he can see any cooking going on up on the counter...

Since the snow stopped in the afternoon, we just took a drive through Philly last night and looked at whatever we could see from the car (Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Art Museum) but made a quick stop at Love Park...

City Hall in Philadelphia...

Dad's leaving today. We had a great time - sad to see him go!

2010-02-13T19:09:00.002-07:00

Currently, I am reading a book on Amy Carmichael, missionary to India in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

Although Amy never married, she had 100's of children. God used her to begin a place where unwanted girls were given a home, love, an education, and most importantly, God's Word. She first became tender-hearted to rescuing girls who were being taken to the local temple to be dedicated to the gods and eventually, prostitution, although other unwanted children were taken in as well.

Inside the cover of Amy's Bible was pasted the following encouragement. It really touched my heart, and I thought it might touch yours as well...

"These children are dear to Me. Be a mother to them, and more than a mother. Watch over them tenderly, be just and kind. If thy heart is not large enough to embrace them, I will enlarge it after a pattern of My own. If these young children are docile and obedient, bless Me for it; if they are froward, call upon Me for help; if they weary thee, I will be thy consolation; if thou sink under thy burden, I will be thy Reward."

I really just wanted to post the above encouraging words for all of my mama-friends out there, but here's one other thing...

The girls that Amy Carmichael rescued from being dedicated to temples reminded me of an upcoming documentary that I heard about from a friend on human trafficking. You can go to this site to find out more about the documentary and to watch the promo video. A caution, though, the gals in the video are immodestly dressed at parts and I certainly wouldn't want any little eyes to see this. Lately I've heard things here and there about women and children being exploited in this way and it's really been on my heart.

Out of Place Southern Girl

2010-02-10T15:10:00.002-07:00

2010-02-05T19:29:00.012-07:00

I'll give you one guess where I found Faith tonight...

Yep! In the shower with her clothes on!

B was taking a shower tonight instead of a bath. "You turn your head for one second" and Faithy's in there too, clothes and all!

"What is Faify doing?!"

I love to eat.

2010-02-02T21:38:00.002-07:00

Tonight was the first night of a new Bible study I'm going to at church. I've been in multiple studies with our teacher before and just love her!

Since tonight was the intro., she talked a little about why we should read our Bibles every day. She asked how many of us would remain strong (or alive?) if we only ate a meal 1x per week. She told us how going to church 1x a week is the same principle spiritually.

Just like we need to eat every day to remain strong, we also need to read our Bibles daily to remain spiritually strong. Here are the verses of encouragement she gave and I thought I'd pass along...

WHY STUDY THE BIBLE?

Psalm 119:11- Reading the Bible keeps us from sin
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119:50- Reading the Bible revives us in affliction
My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

1 Peter 1:25-2:2- Reading the Bible is an eternal investment
But the word of the Lord stands forever. And this is the word that was preached to you. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.

Psalm 119:162- Reading the Bible has great value
I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil.

Hebrews 4:12- Reading the Bible speaks right to us
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Matthew 4:4- Reading the Bible is a weapon against the enemy
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Acts 17:11- Reading the Bible will let you discern if you're being told truth
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

Thorns and such.

2010-01-28T12:09:00.003-07:00

"Hellooo?"

I cry out in prayer and hear my call echoing off everything around me.

Again and again, "Hello?"

Nada.

Silence.

For awhile now, Mike and I have been in a trial. I'll admit that I don't like it. Over and over (and over) again, I've asked God to deliver us from our trial.

Starting sometime in elementary school, though, I felt God impressing on my heart that I was to be a missionary. Years later, plus one husband and 2 kids, here I am praying together with my husband about full time mission work.

It seems that God has some work to do first before this will come to fruition. He's not going to let us head off to the mission field until we're emptied of ourselves and all we do is just flowing from Him and His strength.

"God works through the man who has been wiped clean and turned inside out, his life emptied before the Lord until he is hopelessly weak, that no flesh might glory in His presence." -Redpath

Mike and I have been talking a lot today about Paul's account of the thorn in his flesh from 2 Corinthians 12. We began noticing some similaritites to our situation and wanted to delve further.

The similarities we noticed:
*Paul was in some sort of painful situation (either spiritually, emotionally or physically)
*Paul asked God 3 times to take his affliction away (I think we're at 500 by now, but who's counting?!)
*God chose not to take this affliction away on purpose. God deemed it better (a.k.a. a blessing) for Paul to have the thorn in his flesh rather than to not have it.

Hmmm. In my ignorance, I did not like what I saw at first. Sometimes God thinks it's better for people to remain in a tough situation and to strengthen them there, than for Him to remove the tough circumstances. Honestly, not what I was hoping to find out.

But the more I've contemplated it, the more that God is revealing to me that my wishes contradict each other.

To hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" from God at the end of our lives is our goal. When we speak with God in heaven, we want to hear that we walked in the plan He had for our lives, that we were used for all that He created us for.

But without this trial in our lives that humbles us, and brings us low, what would creep in? Pride! So what has God used to bring us to the place where nothing can come from us and it all has to be Him? A "thorn in the flesh" in the form of some trial.

One other thing I've learned. Just because I have a thorn in the flesh does not mean I have spiritual maturity. My response to the trial is the determining factor of victory or defeat.

"Yet, we should never think that in our lives, the mere presence of a thorn means the glory and strength of Jesus will shine in us and through us. You can resist God's grace, and refuse to set your mind on Jesus, and find your thorn cursing you instead of blessing you." -Dave Guzik

"Without the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, thorns are productive of evil rather than good. In many people, their thorn in the flesh does not appear to have fulfilled any admirable design at all; it has created another vice, instead of removing a temptation." -Spurgeon

My right response to this trial must be...
"Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities...For When I am weak, then am I strong." -2 Corinthians 12:9, 10

My response must be to use the grace that God has given me. I need to allow the Holy Spirit to do the work only He can do in my life until I truly am grateful for our trial because, despite the pain, it is bringing us to a place where we are more like Christ and more available for His use. No longer doing anything out of our own strength, but all out of God's strength. He gets the glory.

2010-01-24T17:00:00.002-07:00

Getting to that place where I allow God to move in my life instead of taking things into my own hands has been quite the process. God has taken Mike and I on a 2-3 year journey of learning how to listen to Him and act accordingly. It's obvious that we are not supposed to do something when God says "no." That's pretty simple. 1+1=2 if you will.

But learning how to just sit still when God hasn't said "yes" but has been silent and said nothing is another.

So much ministry is done in the flesh. We see a need or hear God speak to us about a direction He wants us to go in and we run with it full blast. Part of that, I think, is because we want to please God. But I think another part of that comes with being anxious to make things happen.

God has been testing us a lot this past week and a half. Are we going to wait on Him or are we going to take things into our own hands? The past 3 days or so have been the hardest for me. Moment by moment I can feel myself wanting to take things over instead of waiting on His way. In my human eyes, it's taking so long for things to happen.

In church right now, our pastor is teaching through Genesis. When I remembered we were going to be talking about Noah and the flood today, I have to admit that I was skeptical that there would be anything for me and our particular situation in the teaching.

We were in chapter 8 but went back to Genesis 6 a little and talked about Noah. God was speaking directly to me. Our pastor talked about how in Ch. 6, Noah was given a vision by God.

This vision included:
~To build an ark about 450' long x 75' wide x 45' high
~That God was going to destroy all humans and land animals with a flood, yet it had never rained on the earth before
~That 2 of every kind of animal would come to the ark and stay on it with him and his family during the flood

There were 120 years between where God gave this vision to Noah before it came to pass. During that 120 year time period, Noah was building the ark. I am sure his neighbors were all wondering what in the world he was doing. I am sure that when his neighbors found out what he was doing, they probably thought he was a nut. Can you imagine how much of a crazy person Noah must have seemed like? Building an ark? For a flood? When it had never rained? And nothing happening for 120 years to validate what God had told him. But the Word tells me that "Noah did everything just as God commanded him." -Genesis 6:22.

Honestly, I feel like how I imagine Noah must have felt. God has given Mike and I a vision for ministry and reaching others for His kingdom. But it's taking so long for it to come to fruition, so long for Him to refine us before we are vessels useful for noble purposes (2 Timothy 2:20,21). Waiting on His timing, His way.

I'm assuming it's not going to be 120 years until we're on the mission field ~ although it feels like it sometimes ;) God has used this time to grow us in our faith, to take us way beyond what we thought we could bear, and taught us to depend on Him alone ~ our all in all.

The Oprah Show

2010-01-18T10:50:00.002-07:00

You may remember back when I requested prayer for our friends Shelley, Daren, and their middle daughter Erica. Erica was hit by a car in our neighborhood right before Thanksgiving '08. Shelley and Daren are going to be on The Oprah Show today talking about how they lost Erica due to a driver who was distracted by her cell phone. To watch a short preview of today's show click here.

From 4 college friends...

2010-01-07T19:23:00.006-07:00

Today we got together with Mike's 3 best guy friends from college. Look how much has changed in just a few years. They're now + 4 wives and +5 kids!

They are such a blessing to be around! Such an encouraging group of fellow Christians to spend time with. We really had a great time - and as always, our time together was too short. Wish we all lived closer together!

The kiddos...

By Popular Demand

2010-01-07T18:27:00.015-07:00

Well, not really.

Just for my mom and sister who have been asking for Christmas pictures of the kids :)

We spent Christmas this year with Mike's family in PA. It's been SO much fun getting to be in the northeast for awhile connecting with friends and family here.

Christmas morning, we began the day by reading the Christmas Story from Luke 2 with the family. Here, we are singing "Deep and Wide" as a group, requested by Benjamin...

Faith opening gifts with Uncle Jason (her Belle doll)...

I think Faith likes Belle...

Grandaddy (Mike's Dad) gets Ben the Hess cars every year. They are always a favorite as they have fun lights/sounds/etc.

Faith spends LOTS of time playing with her Beauty and the Beast tea cart/set...

"I LOVE Christmas!!"...

Christmas sugar is extra sweet...

In search of mistletoe...

B's new Thomas boots...

Busy playing...

We don't do the Santa thing, but someone had given Mike's dad this outfit, so he decided to dress up, come in the room and say "ho, ho, ho" to see what the kids would do. Ben's reaction was hilarious. As soon as Mike's dad walked in the room and said "ho, ho, ho," Ben doesn't have any facial reaction and just says, "Hey, Grandaddy." He wasn't fooled :) Everybody just died laughing.

Buzz got 4 thumbs up--2 each from Ben and Faith...

Davey Crockett (from Mike's bro Jon and his wife Sam)...

All in all, Christmas was fantastic. Lots of fun was had by all. I know there are lots of pics in this post, but TRUST ME, I narrowed them WAY down!

Every Kid's Favorite Game with Dad...

2009-12-27T11:48:00.014-07:00

Mike asked me if I could take some pictures of him throwing the kiddos in the air. Every kid's favorite game that makes every mama cringe...

Free as a Bird...

2009-12-27T11:26:00.013-07:00

Since going through all of the Christmas pictures we took (about 200) seems like such a daunting task, I'm putting that off until another day!

BUT, today was such a nice day out, we all had fun getting some fresh air following all of the snow, cold temperatures, and rain we've had for the past week.

Here are some photos from our impromptu session...

Merry Christmas Eve!

2009-12-24T13:13:00.003-07:00

"But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round -- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that -- as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!'"

-Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Carol"

I LOVE "A Christmas Carol" (with George C. Scott) and am looking forward to watching it tonight as I have every Christmas Eve since I can remember. I am fully convinced that if I missed a Christmas Eve watching this movie, that my next year would be off to a bad start!

Right now, we're waiting on the kids to wake up, so we can make one last minute Christmas shopping stop and then head on to church. The Chrismas Eve service is definitley our favorite of the year. Who doesn't love singing Christmas carols together with the body of believers?! I'm sure as our kids get older, I'll embarass them since I always tear up while singing some of my favorites!

Mike and his brothers go caroling sometimes on Christmas Eve, and may do that this year although no decisions have been made yet. And of course, the most special time of the holiday to me is on Christmas Eve or Christmas night when I get by myself and read the Christmas story and just meditate on its meaning and how God is working in my life through the past year and into the next...2010!

Merry Christmas!

What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?!

Record December Snowfall in Philly

2009-12-20T17:41:00.013-07:00

When I posted the other day that I was glad we went into the city before the Saturday snowfall, I had NO idea that this was coming...

23.2" of snow in 24 hours!

Talk about a Winter Wonderland! We stayed home all day yesterday watching the snowfall, baking Christmas cookies, drinking hot chocolate, and listening to Christmas Carols.

Today our church services were cancelled, so we stayed home in the morning, then ventured out to the mall in the afternoon after the streets were plowed, and played in the snow this evening.

This is the most I've ever seen Ben enjoy the snow. Last year he was still so short that he was ok in the snow until he did a face-plant in it. This time he had more balance and had fun walking through it, playing in it, and helping Mike build an igloo...

Today was Faith's 1st time to actually get down in the snow. Mike shoveled a path for her to play in...

Helping Dad move snow for the igloo...

Moving and packing snow...

The Wallin Ladies...

OK. You might think this is a random picture in the middle of a post on our snow play. It is. Kind of. We just sat down to watch a movie and I'd started this post when we heard Ben cry out. Didn't sound like a big deal, but Mike went up to check on him and came running down stairs holding Ben who had blood gushing off his face. Apparently, he was climbing out of his bed and fell, hence a new gash on his brow bone. Any worse and I wouldn't be finishing this post... we'd be headed to the ER for stitches. Thank God he's ok! Butterfly bandages + gauze + a popcicle from Uncle Jordan, and he's back in bed.

Back to the snow...

B proud of the igloo...

Here I'm thinking I should invest in a pair of snow pants!

Our little fam :)

Have a wonderful Christmas week!

Italy Update

2009-12-19T13:38:00.003-07:00

For those of you keeping up with our journey to Italy, you may remember that we're waiting to hear back from our contact who lives in Florence. We think he may be able to help us out by providing the remaining document we need in order to turn in our visa applications.

If you're on our newsletter mailing list you received a newsletter from us this week. Well, the morning after we sent our newsletter to the printer, we heard from our contact!

Although we don't have the document yet, he is very friendly and would like to help us out if at all possible. The ministry he is working with is currently restructuring its legal foundations for doing ministry in Italy. Therefore, he will be seeking legal council to see if he can provide the document.

Thanks for all of your prayers. Please continue to pray that if it's God's will, a door will be opened for us!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2009-12-19T13:29:00.001-07:00

It's been snowing here in the Philadelphia area

since 1:30 a.m. and is still coming down!

Macy's Christmas Light Show & A Christmas Carol

2009-12-18T14:43:00.001-07:00

Today, the kids and I went with Mike's mom, brother Matt, and Matt's girlfriend Steph into Philly to see Christmas decorations.

It was C.O.L.D. but we were glad to get our trip into the city in before the snow that's coming Saturday.

Ben in the car on the way... it's so funny seeing the kids in their winter gear...

William Penn...
The old Wanamaker Building where Macy's is now...
the kiddos were lovin' the Christmas light show at Macy's...
"Ooh!"
The light show was all kinds of Christmas stories put to light and narrated by Julie Andrews...
Upstairs in Macy's was "The Christmas Carol" display. It was awesome. You walked around the story scenes.
Ben thought the characters were real because they moved and "talked" and he would wave to them...
A visit from Christmas Present...
Me and the kids outside Macy's...
Scenery around town...
At The Reading Terminal Market for lunch and a double mint hot chocolate (MMM!)...
Kinda far away, but it's the gate to Chinatown...
We patronized 2 spots that were featured on Man vs. Food

DINICS in the Reading Terminal Market, a place that serves great sandwiches

and

FRANKLIN FOUNTAIN near Penn's Landing that makes wonderful icecream (including soy options). Bad picture but you get the idea. It was a really cool, old-timey place with wonderful treats and candy...

Redeeming Orphans

2009-12-05T10:04:00.004-07:00

Two of my sweet friends, Rocky and Suzanne, have started an adoption site called "Redeeming Orphans" where they share about their experience adopting from Ethiopia.
They are very honest about their doubts and fears throughout the process and how God took what looked to them like an impossibility and made His will for their lives happen. It is such a testimony of God's working and provison.
Thought I'd pass it along in case you were interested in reading about adoption or are friends of Rocky and Suzanne's too!

Thanksgiving Pics

2009-11-26T19:59:00.007-07:00

We had such a great day today with our family - watching the Macy's day parade on tv, Mike playing football with his brothers, cooking lots of good food, eating, and playing games.

Faith's thing tonight was giving out Thanksgiving fist pumps...
A lovely day with my little fella...
Sibling love...
I think Faith LOVES Thanksgiving...
Notice the egg nog mustache above and below his lips...

Faith's getting some teeth...

2009-11-23T21:29:00.009-07:00

"What's Daddy doing?!"

"I love anything I can put in my mouth."

"Good oral health takes lots of concentration."

Showing off her pearly whites...

The Wallin Men...

Mr. Mom

2009-11-23T20:53:00.008-07:00

B really likes to help around the house, and fed Faith a pineapple snack last weekend. Notice he's in his pj's. It's only evening, but this kid loves him some feety pajamas and asks at all times of day if he can put them on.

I know this picture is blurry, but the scene was really cute. B was saying "Foof Poof? Bite? Please?!" as she turned her head to resist eating anymore.

Sending kisses...

Never say never.

2009-11-19T12:44:00.008-07:00

Adding to the list of things I am now doing that I had previously said I would never do is sewing.

Amy asked if I had made the outfit that Faith is wearing here.

The answer is yes - it's one of my first sewing projects! I got the easy-to-follow instructions from a demo on a blog that I can no longer find to give credit to (Bummer! I'll keep looking.), made these 2 pillowcase dresses, and have material to make one more that I haven't gotten around to yet.

I then added the appliques that I made...and, tada....outfits for Faith!

Definitely recommend for a beginner sewing project.

Thankful

2009-11-19T07:44:00.003-07:00

As many of you know, we are in a holding pattern waiting for documentation we need in order to apply for Italian visas so we can head to Rome as missionaries.

I may have mentioned this before, but don't tell God anything you don't mean because I'm pretty sure he's going to take you up on your promise either way. Mike and I have prayed over the almost 5 years of our marriage for God to mold us into vessels that are used for noble purposes (2 Timothy 2:20, 21). We don't want to be in front of God in heaven and hear that He had an awesome plan for our lives, but we missed it because we were somewhere in left field. Anyways, I was sort of hoping that God would just mature us over night, sans growing pains. But that's not what He has chosen.

God is using this time of waiting to totally transform our lives (our characters, specifically) right now.

We're learning to obey all of the commands of God. It shows that we love Him and are His children. He tells us that he who is faithful in little will be faithful in much. We're learning to be faithful to God in every moment of every day. Doing this through the power we get through yielding to the Holy Spirit.

This means...
When I have negative circumstances:
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." -Romans 12:12

When someone has done something wrong to me:
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" -Philippians 4:4
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." -Luke 6:37

When I am with someone who is difficult to love, checking all my attitudes and actions with:
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." -1 Corinthians 13:4-6

These are just a few examples, but you get the point. I'm sure it's the same for you as it is for me. None of these actions come naturally to me. Usually the opposite is what is natural for me. But I am learning that through the power of the Holy Spirit I can choose to obey God and in time train myself to react in a godly way. I admit that for me, it means constantly going to the Source (prayer, reading the Word) for strength throughout the day. Reading my Bible before the kids get up, when they nap, and after they go to bed. Praying all throughout the day as I do housework and play with the kids. I've found that listening to Christian radio/music is also a good encouragement for me.

I want to be found faithful before God in things only He would know about, that no one would ever see. All of this heart transformation that I'm undergoing makes me ever so thankful that God has us waiting to go to Italy right now. The wait will be worth it!

Day trip to the City

2009-11-15T18:46:00.009-07:00

I can now say that I have driven a car in Manhattan and lived to tell about it.

Whew!

It was not nearly as bad as I thought it'd be, but I definitely couldn't carry on a conversation and drive there. Thankfully my travel partner (Faith) can't talk!

I only got lost briefly one time - and not in Brooklyn like last time Katey!

Once I got out of the Holland Tunnel and was dumped into Manhattan I really did not have to go too far - but plenty far for my first driving experience in NY!

I think I'd drive into the city again because it was nice to be able to park right where I was going. It was the first time my feet haven't been killing me after being in NY. It was probably good I was by myself, though, so I didn't have someone else in the car with me to make me more nervous driving there than I already was!

Anyways...

Faith and I drove to SOHO today to see some of my family that was in town. We had such a good time!! We visited with family, went out to eat at the same bistro where my grandmother and I celebrated my 18th birthday (10 years ago!), and then visited with family some more.

I didn't take too many pictures - and didn't even take my camera to the bistro - my grandmother's got those photos covered - but here's what I have...

We're here!

Loungin' after a long car ride...

Our sweet girl...

My grandmother and Faith

Bistro where we had lunch (pic from their site):

Rain, rain go away...

2009-11-13T09:09:00.008-07:00

Day 3 of cold/rain/wind = one boy who REALLY wants to play outside

Crocs: check
Waterproof pants and jacket: check

We headed outside while Faith napped all warm and cozy in her crib.

Some of what we found exploring in the back yard

Played ball and chase.

Even fell a few times in the mud.

Finally ready to head back inside minus all of the pent up energy.

Can't believe leaves are going and fall is almost over.

Headed upstairs for a warm bath to clean off.

Bath for Ben: check
Hot cup of coffee for me: check
Watching Elmo snuggled on the sofa w/ my favorite little fella: check

Up for a good read?

2009-11-12T08:37:00.004-07:00

I just signed up to be a book reviewer for Thomas Nelson. You can too if you're interested. Here's the deal: they'll mail you a book (for FREE!) that you choose from their list of books they'd like reviewed, you read the book, publish a book review on your blog, then request your next book!

This is the book I've chosen first and will get in the mail soon:

If you're interested, you can sign up here!

Sitting in the Waiting Room

2009-11-08T21:29:00.004-07:00

I haven't updated on here about our journey to Italy in a little while because there hasn't been anything really newsworthy. Basically, we are trying to figure out how we can most easily get the last piece of paper work we need in order to officially turn in our visa applications. Should be smooth (and swift) sailing after that. Right now we have a few irons in the fire, having contacted various people who may be able to help us with this. One person in particular seems like he may be able to help us out, so we're looking forward to hearing back from him soon. For now, we're in PA, enjoying time with family and friends here and our home church, and Mike is doing some work with a friend. We have some debt we'd like to pay off fully (or very close to it) before we go to Italy, so this time is a good opportunity to work on that.

Psalm 37:7
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Like I told some friends last week, we have stopped dropping suggestions in God's suggestion box, and now just ask "who, what, where, when, why, and how?"

We have seen this pattern in our lives: God is very clear about something He wants us to do but follows with a period of silence. So we just remember the last thing He has told us and go with that until He gives us the next clear step or thing to do. We've learned when God wants us to do something, He doesn't try to hide it from us, and when He's quiet, He doesn't want us to do anything different - even if we think He should have already delivered the next set of instructions for us. We should just go with what He's already given us but not try to run ahead and take things into our own hands/schemes.

So what ARE we doing right now?

We're getting jewels.

Not these jewels (although Blue Nile does have a lovely selection):

THESE jewels:
Proverbs 24:14
Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

We are not sad to be in the "waiting room" of going on the mission field. Don't get us wrong, it'd be awesome to be in Italy already. We also know it wouldn't be God's best for us - or we'd already be there.

I was reminded over and over again last week that to God the preparation of our hearts is just as important as the acutal mission itself. He is doing a major work in our lives right now - getting us ready and prepared to do the work He has for us. We're learning to live moment by moment depending on the Holy Spirit, listening to Him and being careful to obey all of God's commandments.

We feel REALLY grateful that God is preparing us now, behind the scences so to speak, instead of allowing us to be "baptized by fire" on the mission field. It's after midnight now, so I can't think clearly enough to fully express the depth of how God is growing us right now, but I hope that family and friends who know us well can tell a difference in us from even just a month ago, I feel like He's teaching us that much. I pray we're becoming more Christ-like.

We'll keep you posted on how details in our visa process pan out as we find out anything interesting!

2009-11-08T07:30:00.001-07:00

Isaiah 52
13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;
He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
14 Just as many were astonished at you,
So His visage was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men;
15 So shall He sprinkle[b] many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
For what had not been told them they shall see,
And what they had not heard they shall consider.

Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 And they[c] made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
11 He shall see the labor of His soul,[d]and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.

Fun Playing

2009-11-07T12:42:00.013-07:00

For me and for the kids!

Mike's mom and I took the kids back to Linvilla Orchards this morning so they could see all of the animals that we didn't get to see when we were there at dusk a few weeks ago. It's a beautiful, warm fall day here in PA - perfect to get out.

Ben had so much fun playing and feeding the animals - and I had fun playing with a camera :) Although I took a photography class in college I didn't learn very much. Should have taken it through the art dept., but I had a super busy semester and didn't. But I'm pulling from the recesses of my brain what I've learned from my dad & various classes I've taken and reading a camera manual in hopes to get up to speed with my picture taking :)

Happy to be outside-
"What is that smell?" at the chicken coop-
Sweet, happy boy-
Lovin' the goats, sheep, horses, etc.
"Look at the billy goat, Mom!"
I forgot the Ergo, so Miss Pretty stayed in the stroller but was mesmerized by the animals-
Getting more feed from Lou Lou for the ducks (his favorite)-
Ben would still be there watching the ducks if it were up to him-
Area where the water/birds were-
Don't kids make the funniest faces-
Sweet B right before he fell backwards off the bench-
Pickin' out pumpkins-

Harvest Party

2009-10-31T19:51:00.006-06:00

Tonight we went to the Harvest Party at our church. It was so much fun - food, games, friends! Here are a few pics of the kiddos...

Trying on her costume this morning

Generally Ben eats healthy food, so I don't mind when he has the occasional dessert. He definitely took advantage of that tonight. He skipped putting on his costume and headed straight for the dessert table...
Check out that chocolate kiss...

They took their precious pills today...

2009-10-30T20:09:00.010-06:00

Linvilla Orchard

2009-10-25T18:44:00.007-06:00

Our 1 year old sweetie
We went to Linvilla Orchard today w/ Mike's mom
A couple of the pumpkin carvings

Ben closing his eyes on purpose for our photo
Gettin' tired!
Little Farmers
The Happy Couple :)

2009-10-21T16:16:00.002-06:00

When we saw the packed waiting room at the Italian Consulate was full of people waiting to apply for visas, and that they had all been there multiple times, we should have realized that we weren't going to walk out having applied today.

We (and the kids!) waited for about 2 hours to see the consulate worker, feeling that we could turn in our paper work today. It seems like they won't accept it until they are sure you have everything.

But at the end of Mike's conversation with her, she mentioned in passing that we need that same document that we were told about at the Chicago consulate! The lady told him we should have looked at the requirements online (which we did A LOT of times) and that we would have seen it there. Of course we don't have this document, and it was not listed on the website or in the personal email they sent us when we emailed them to double check the requirements.

We've consistently heard from missionaries in Italy that it's a long process to get your visas, but we didn't realize they meant l-o-n-g! We're definitely sad that we couldn't turn in our paper work today (b/c we get the impression it would be a relatively fast process after that) but we are not out of options.

One suggestion from another missionary was to go under a different type of visa, but since the consulate worker knows why we're going over, she said she will not let us apply under another category. We still have some opportunities to go under the Religious Worker's visa, it's just going to take a little digging, and perhaps an invitation from someone in Italy. Mike's going to be contacting someone who know a lot more about this than we do tonight.

I'm sorry if this sounds confusing, but we're figuring things out as we go.

Right now, we feel like Maria Von Trapp...

"Whenever the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window."

We'll have to see where that window is!

2009-10-19T13:23:00.002-06:00

We all made it to Philly! Mike and B drove in at the same time mine and Faith's flight got in on Saturday evening. The road trip was uneventful and they had a good time stopping to see Mike's bro Jason and our sister-in-law Nike in the Pittsburgh area (Grove City). Faith and I had a great flight. She was really good - thank you for all of the prayers!
This morning Mike's mom watched the kids while we went to the Italian Consulate. The address we had for the consulate did not exist we realized when we were standing on the street where it was supposed to be. We were sent on a little bit of a goose chase around Independence Mall and ended up finding the consulate a few minutes after it closed. So we'll head back on Wed. morning since they only open Mon., Wed., and Fri. from 9-12.
We talked with the concierge who said, "I don't know what they do up there, but a lot of people come out of that office crying." NOT what we wanted to hear, but we'll see on Wednesday morning. Please pray for God's will to continue to show through His working when we go back to the consulate.
We made the best of the day though and had a lunch date at The Reading Terminal. I had never been there before... it is so cool! It's all indoors and is a market-type feel with a lot of different vendors including restaurants, vegetable stands, bakeries, butchers, coffee vendors, flower stands, etc.
This afternoon, we're heading out to get a 2nd set of passport photos we need for the kids' visa applications and triple checking our paper work for our visit on Wed. We'll let you know how it goes!

Foof Poof turns 1

2009-10-13T23:16:00.006-06:00

A little background into how our daughter's name has gone from "Faith Brooks" to (affectionately) Foof Poof... Ben can't say Faith, so he calls her Foof. And if you knew Faith a few months ago, her hair stuck up all around her head like a dandelion poof. Hence, Foof Poof. That's what Ben calls her, and now, so do we :)

Let me just say that we love this girl. She is so precious and a tremendous blessing in our family. We had a family get-together last night on her birthday and then friends over for cupcakes.

(Bobby, Ben, Mom, Faith)

(1st cupcake ever!)

(she really looks in to reading that card)

I know it's hard to see, but Faith has in the cutest hair clip. My friend makes them and sells them on Etsy. Really cute and well made :) You can see her site here.

2009-10-13T22:47:00.002-06:00

Luke 14

26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

I feel like these verses are becoming so real to me in this journey into overseas missions. Thinking about leaving the known (our families, culture, etc.) for the unknown brings a roller coaster of emotions.

Reading these verses - which imply that we must put God (and His will for us) above even our families - is one thing... applying them is another. I like my family. I like Mike's family. I like our friends. But God has called us to another country.

I think anticipation is worse than the actual event sometimes. Mike and Ben are leaving CO tomorrow a.m., driving to Philly so we can work on our visas there. Faith and I are flying out on Saturday. Saying "see you later" to our family and friends here is so sad. And we know that another round of good-byes will come when we leave PA for Italy.

But we totally realize WHY we're going. God has called us. We have HUGE hearts for people to know God and to experience the freedom, joy, and peace that God has given us through His forgiveness and a relationship with Him. Eternal destinations are in the balance - and that makes our sacrifices of leaving family and friends, and our family's sacrifices of us leaving seem smaller in comparison to eternity.

Tonight we had one tearful round of saying goodbye to family here. Later, we had dessert and coffee with some friends from our church who we've gotten to know and love. They prayed for us, and peace just swept over me.

Thank you to our family and friends for being supportive of us. We love you and will miss you - we already do.

Please pray for Mike and Ben as they drive across the country and for my flight with Faith on Saturday. Please pray that our visa process goes smoothly. We CAN'T WAIT to be in Italy :)

Ciao!

Twirl Skirt

2009-10-09T19:17:00.004-06:00

I am new to sewing, but here's my latest creation... a Christmas twirl skirt for Faith. I got a free pattern online by googling "twirl skirt tutorial". It took me about 2 hours to do it because I am a novice but I'm sure it wouldn't take an experienced sewer so long.
I have more material and ideas, so I'll post if it turns into anything fun! By the way, maybe you've seen it before, but I found this great site that is new to me that has a lot of good ideas for all kinds of projects!

Waiting

2009-10-06T09:27:00.005-06:00

Sometimes I use our blog as kind of a journal to write my thoughts about how God is teaching and growing us - to have a record to look back on one day. Today is one of those days where I'm fleshing out my thoughts on what God's doing in our lives.

When Mike and I were talking about getting married, one thing we talked about and agreed upon was that we wanted to be used by God for our full potential. I don't think either of us would have married the other person if that weren't our agenda. We've prayed that over the years of our marriage. I have to say that I don't think either of us knew exactly what that entailed or how much breaking of ourselves and rebuilding we'd have to undergo. To say that would be an understatement. But I also can't say that if we'd known the pain of being broken to be useful to the Lord that we'd have chosen a different path. That wouldn't be true.

Like everyone else, I'm sure, we had an idea of how God would do things - how He wanted our lives, ministry, and relationship with Him. We were wrong. Like God says:

Isaiah 55:8 (NIV)
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD."

God is taking us through a journey of erasing from our minds the way we thought He worked (a way we were comfortable with) and deeply embedding the way He actually works in the lives of His children (according to the Bible). He's taking us from having a mapped plan of how things are going to go to a day-by-day waiting on Him for what He wants us to do that day.

God is also teaching us how to wait.

One thing we are trying to teach Ben is to sit still. Have you ever tried to teach a 2 year old to sit still? For our energetic 2 year old, this did not come naturally. We've spent a lot of time teaching him how to sit still when he's told. Sometimes he still has trouble with it.
The same goes for us and the Lord:

Lamentations 3:26 (NIV)
26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

As we are walking on this journey from the US to Italy, sometimes we get into situations like the Israelites in the desert. The Israelites had seen God inflict the plagues on the Egyptians and save the Israelites and their children, but as soon as they got into the next difficult situation, trapped in between the Red Sea and the raging Egyptian army, they doubt God, and say, "Why has He taken us this far to let us die in the desert?"

We are learning that as God grows our faith in Him, we see the mighty hand of God for a few steps, then He tests us with a period of silence.

He wants to know - or for us to know - what are we going to do with the silence?

Are we going to see a set of (to us) unreal circumstances and freak out emotionally? Or are we going to see that it is good to wait on the Lord in faith and allow Him to fight for us:

Exodus 14:14 (NIV)
14 The LORD will fight for you;
you need only to be still."

We're learning to listen to the Lord, and obey Him as far as we can... not less than He says, and not taking it upon ourselves to try to make things happen either, but to wait on Him to work, or to speak to us to tell us what to do next.

Check out this KitchenAid Mixer Giveaway!

2009-10-05T19:55:00.005-06:00

A cousin of mine just published a new cookbook /memoir. Check out this site to enter for a chance to win a Williams-Sonoma KitchenAid Mixer or 1 of 20 signed copies of Gesine's book!

Why Italy?

2009-09-30T12:45:00.003-06:00

Population of Italy: 58,145,320
Population of Rome: 2,693,383

"Why Italy?"

That is a question we are frequently asked when people hear we are going to be missionaries in Italy.

Here is our answer...

Most Italians are Catholic in culture, but deeply cynical about the Church. The Church has lost many to New Age thinking, cults, the occult and materialistic secularism, yet Catholic traditions continue to permeate every aspect of life. The infamous Sicilian Mafia and Neapolitan Camorra have infiltrated every level of society. (Info. borrowed from CCC's website)

Our journey to Italy began in March 2004. Alison was interning with Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC) and went with a group of CCC Staff members and students on a short trip to Salerno, Italy. Her first time to Italy, she was unsure why her campus had been assigned the task of starting a campus ministry at the University of Salerno.

While in Salerno, walking around campus talking to the universtiy students, she began to realize the H-U-G-E need for the gospel in Italy. Student after student had NO idea who Jesus is, especially that He wanted a personal relationship with each of them. If anything, they had misconceptions about Jesus.

Out of about 40,000 students, the CCC group knew of under 20 Christians. Each of these students, although sincere, needed building up in Christ, discipleship. They did not know they were supposed to share their faith, or even how to do that.

Later that year, we were engaged, and got married in January 2005. Since God had given us each a burdened heart for the people of Italy through Alison's initial trip, we continued to pray about ministering in Italy as God continued to lay it on our hearts over the years.

Together with Ben, we went to Italy in December 2007 to pray and seek the Lord's direction. We've been praying about it still - and sense the Lord's clear leading for us to go over to Italy now.

Right now, we are working on obtaining religious worker visas and, God-willing, will head over to Italy soon after we have our visas in hand.

We are excited about going to Italy at this time. We hear report after report from missionary contacts in various Italian cities that God is really moving in Italy right now. Long considered a missionary graveyard, God is stirring hearts and people are coming to Christ.

Our heart is to lead Bible studies as well as do evangelism and discipleship in Rome, Italy. God has been gracious enough to give us good training this summer through Shepherd's Staff in missions and church-planting and we now feel equipped to head out!

Thanks for being interested - if you have any questions for us, please e-mail us at mawallin05@yahoo.com or leave us a comment.

Techie? Me?

2009-09-29T22:23:00.007-06:00

Although my degree is in design, I am NOT computer proficient. I pretty much know how to use my e-mail account, AutoCAD, and PhotoShop (minimally - even though my Dad is teaching classes now).

But...

Viola!

Presenting my new signature (below) and button ----->

I found this great site that gives easy, free tutorials on sprucing up the old blog.

So with the help of Jenieshell and Scrapblog, I whipped up a few new things. More to come! I had planned to do a few more things tonight, like adding a grab-code w/ my button, but since I don't have PhotoShop on my computer anymore it took me a little longer than expected to do the signature and button. This has been a fun outlet for my design background.

2009-09-29T22:15:00.001-06:00

Tyra Banks Show

2009-09-26T19:44:00.004-06:00

Tune in to the Tyra Banks Show this Tuesday. Our friends Shelley and Daren have a small part in the episode on distracted driving. Their daughter, Erica, was killed almost a year ago when hit by a car riding her bike the 2 blocks home from school. If you go to Tyra's website and click on "Tuesday" you can see a preview.

Video of Faith

2009-09-24T09:14:00.002-06:00

I took this video of Faith praying at breakfast this morning. At the end, you can hear her saying her version of "amen." She's a cutie! She sees Ben pray and has picked up (kind of) on what he does...

Faith - 11 months old from Alison Wallin on Vimeo.

Preparing to Win

2009-09-17T22:13:00.004-06:00

Everybody has a will to win. What's far more important is having the will to prepare to win. - Bobby Knight

1 Corinthians 9:23-25

23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

This passage really speaks what my heart is feeling right now. Preparing to go on the mission field (or anywhere else for that matter) I am utterly aware that I can't do anything in my own strength or wisdom and have to be in prayer and His Word all throughout the day, preparing to win!

Apart from Me you can do nothing. -John 15:5b
For nothing is impossible with God. -Luke 1:37

Modern Day Toddler

2009-09-17T21:22:00.002-06:00

Little Mr. is talking on my grandmother's blackberry :)

So Sweet

2009-09-11T19:51:00.005-06:00

This afternoon Ben did not realize I was watching him and this is what I saw...

He was sitting on the end of the bed with his Bible opened and in his lap. "Pray," he said, with his eyes shut tight. And then he went through a list of people he was praying for. "Honey, Bobby, Foof (Faith), BJ (the dog)... Amen."

Then he "read" a Bible story out loud to himself and prayed again.

Too. Cute.

Below is a picture from earlier this week. Ben was reading his Bible in the den and Faith saw him, went and got her Bible, and pretended to read. When she would see Ben turning pages, she would, too. Aren't they sweet?!

Inside the Revolution

2009-09-11T13:09:00.002-06:00

Our church in PA is a church-plant from Calvary Chapel Philadelphia. CC Philly is hosting a National Town Hall tonight with Joel Rosenberg. It will be broadcast on the web, tv, and radio all across the country, so check it out if you're interested!

The Town Hall is about radical Islam and the Church's response. From what we hear, Joel Rosenberg is a sincere and godly Christian who would be worth watching. So tune in tonight. You can find your tv/radio/web place to watch or listen on this site.