Hello

I've been away from my my blog world for a while. I have managed to write a few notes to Bean and Zaya and that is always fun. I really enjoy getting to tell them how I feel about them because now they don't care/understand but i know one day they will.

Anyway, things are chaotically calm here, if that makes any sense. JM lost his job a month ago or so ago and we're finding it hard to get a new one. its crazy how when things seem like they would be the worst God's hand points us to beauty and treasures surrounding us that we never noticed before. I'm so content to go along in this life busily doing what is before me and staying focused on the ground where my next step will rest but in moments like this when there is NO WHERE else to step I stop, look up and look around and how great this place is that I am. Why haven't I been enjoying this place more? Why have been so focused on where I put my feet along this path? So right now I am enjoying my life and my family, our beautiful home and most of all the presence of my faithful God. Sometimes I think that maybe I shouldn't be relaxed because everything seems to say that when things are hard or you don't have money that the first thing you do is stress and get worried. I'm just not. I have my moments where I'm like, 'what are we going to do?' but God has never let us down and I don't think he plans to start now:) So all things considered, life is good here in Marietta and I am blessed.

Here is a kid update:



J. Bean is awesome and wonderful and I could just snuggle with him all day long. He weighs like a million pounds, ok, only 21.5, but after toting him around all day, it feels like a million! He is amazingly resilient and can get hit, scratched, knocked over, whatever, and he won't cry he will just get right back up and keep moving toward his goal. I'm going to learn a lot from this little man. Basically he is a precious ball of love!



Oh my princess. She is definitely a two year old and reminds me of it everyday, but despite the sass, she is sweet and fun and is going to show this world a thing or two when we let her out into it:) She is beautiful through and through and she loves to pray and sing and I am blessed every time I look at her.

Letters to my babies

So I have been inspired by Katie's letters to Catherine. I realize how amazing these moments of her heart will be to her little girl as she gets older and I wanted to be able to bless my sweet ones with a similar gift. So we now have 2 more blogs... one specifically for Zaya and one specifically for Bean. It was fun writing to them and I think it will be good for all of us! Here are a few cute pics:

August Updates

Its been a while since either Bekah or I have posted on here, so Im gonna give you a few updates, of what is going on w/ the crazy Nysewander Clan.

First off we are moving again. This time next week we should be settling into our new home in Marietta, near the square! Its kinda the other side of town, and we are very excited to step into our new place. Just for those not counting....we have been married for five years (Aug 2nd) and this my friends is our 11th move. Our record cant be beat, but I am counting on slowing down for the next few years. For those of you with nothing on your schedule next weekend, come help a brotha move..

Tomorrow I turn 30. Crazy. I feel like I have lived a very full life so far, and just another chapter to be opened tomorrow.

Today was an amazing day in the southland. I pretty much loved being outside, as the feeling of fall is soon approaching. I love it, cool breeze, leaves falling, outside grillin, midnight fires in the fire pit, and lots and lots of football....which leads me to my next point....


Thats right, the dawgs are number one, and I have some bold predictions for football this fall. I think the Dawgs will be number one when the season is over as well. I think they go all the way through this schedule, and I even see a shutout coming to someone, w/ the defense that they have. It could be next week against GA Southern, but here is to hoping its against Mr Heisman Tebow. I see the Gators possessing one loss coming into the game Nov. 1, and the dawgs being undefeated. The game that scares me the most is against Auburn. Hopefully its the first game we play if we trip up and not when we face them in the SEC Championship game, although I even see Mississippi State making a good run for the SEC West.

For those not too interested in talking football, here is something else to mark your calenders for. He is coming to the ATL on October 17th, No excuses, the man is the most entertaining undiscovered talent out there. Get tickets... you wont be disappointed....

The Ultimate Crib Sheet

Never in my life have I wished I had more of those lovely inventions! They're these great sheet/mattress pad-in-one that snaps on to the crib slats over a typical crib sheet. 'Why are they so amazing?', you may ask. Well because they prevent a mother from working herself into a FULL sweat after changing the sheets on 2 cribs. I mean fighting with the bumper-pad to take off the sheet and mattress pad then having to suspend your body on the railing of the crib to get the far corners covered with a new mattress pad (and this with the railing already down!) AND THEN do it again with a sheet while trying to pull the bumper-pad back into place and push the mattress back down with out bunching the sheet on the sides. So, I slid the railing back up into place with a sore back and beads of sweat on my fore-head, very satisfied with my accomplishment only to look across the hall and realize that I had to do it all again:( I need to get more ultimate crib sheets! Oh how I love snaps!

Ok, so that was a very trivial part of my day amidst a fussy, sleep-less boy and a typically sweet girl competing for attention in whatever means possible with her bro. I for some reason woke up EXHAUSTED. I know that most moms know that feeling of the painful, devastating, I-feel-like-crying-because-I'm-so-tired-in-the-core-of-my-being-and-there-is-no-end-in-sight kind of tired and this morning was my time to feel it (and I already had 2 cups of coffee). I'm too tired to eat, too tired to think and definitely too tired to sit and listen and my kiddos vie for the little attention I had to give. So why am I sitting here writing at nap time? Because I put JE in his crib with a passie and I went to collect IG, her 3 blankies and a passie and placed her in her crib and said our customary nap-time prayer and she went straight to bed. I slipped across the hall to see if JE needed anything and he was already OUT (it had only been 1.5 minutes since I put him in there!). So I write because I have a moment to breathe and in that moment I am assured by the One who sustains me that I'm going to make it and I'm not going to DIE (it takes some convincing) and that I have 2 beautiful healthy babies who are full of life, hope and promise.

My life is good... even when I'm tired.

So this is what I know...

JE has now been with us for almost 4 months and we are just now getting to know him... isn't that crazy!!! I mean in the past 3-5 weeks he has really come into his own and has this amazing personality! He amazes me everyday how different he is from his sis (I shouldn't be surprised, right?!). Everyone always SAYS that kids are really different but I wasn't going to believe it until I saw it for myself:) At first I thought that this little guy was high maintenance because I couldn't get him on a schedule but once I let him make up his own I realized how easy he is too. When he is happy, he is VERY happy but when he is sad, oh, everyone in a 10 mile radius knows it. I say he is passionate and just knows what he wants:) He falls asleep in my arms and I LOVE that and his smile is literally breath taking. It is so big and bright that when he does it you just have to stop and smile back no matter what is going on. JE loves to sleep. I'm told that babies at this age should sleep 14 hours a day and I work real hard to keep him from sleeping more than 17...


JE is also VERY long and fat. I have to remind myself and others how young he is because I find myself expecting him to do things that a 6 or 7 month old would do because thats what he looks like, but he's still just an itty bitty guy:)


I love him more everyday with every moment that I get to just look at him and enjoy life with him. He loves IG and she can make him go from tears to giggles in 1.5 seconds... its amazing! I feel blessed beyond anything I deserve and I can't wait to learn more about him tomorrow!

IGN update!
The girl is a rock star and is my favorite comic. She loves to laugh and dance and pretend to talk on the phone... its so cute!!! I will do an IGN post soon!

Hello again

I've been away from blogland for a while but I wanted to post some new pics of my rapidly growing kiddos. As the mom of 2 now my life feels crazy but I LOVE it! JM makes it easy (when he's home!)and my kids are precious:)

Jacob's first bath.


Daddy and his mini-me!


Daddy's little helper


Feeding bro a cookie.


My pretty princess


Dang! I love his smile!


Little ones in the bed

Computer issues

I will admit that my family is very ghetto in certain areas. We kinda just takes what comes to us, and use whatever is given to us, or we end up with. In other words its not often that we go out of our way to get something new, except diapers, that would be wierd if used diapers were sold. Even used cloth ones...gross. Anyway, we had three computers that were all given to us at one time or another, and since we have been here have come across problems with all three of them, and are unable to access the outside world. It is good to announce that two out of the three have been rigged to be working now. Awesome. I love when things like that happen, cause its easy on the wallet and we didn't have to hire the geek squad to come fix our problems.

We are settling in here in Marietta well now. Things are finally where they should be, in our little home, and aside from a few boxes where we don't have a place to put them, we are home. Its pretty sweet to have both sets of grandparents like w/in 5 miles, for our kids to run into their homes, unannounced. Something we missed pretty badly up in Minnesota. Since the above computer story applies we have no pictures on this one to show of our amazing kids, but I do have some stories.

1. IGN has successfully gone tt in the potty, just like Elmo. (its the little victories)

2. Jacob laughed for the first time...at his sister...who else?

3. IGN has a big fascination with her passy which she calls a MINA. We have no idea why, but we just went with it. We decided that we were going to break her of it during the day, and only give it to her in the crip. So on the dreadful morning I didn't know what the reaction was going to be, or how we would even break the news. Bekah came through w/ her motherly skills (kinda like Napoleon and Nun-Chucks) while we were changing her diaper and said, "okay now Mina has worked so hard, he needs to rest, cause he worked through the night for you." IGN thought hard about it, and then threw it in the crib and said "night night mina". Amazing. Now she wants to nap a bit more to spend time w/ her mina, but it has worked so far.

Thats all I got for now. Pictures to follow. Maybe we will get some pics on this computer soon to show off our kiddos.

An open letter to my family...

I felt the need to write this, after thinking about the last few months and years, so here goes.

Hey Family,

I just wanted to write and tell all three of you that how much I appreciate you. B, I will start with you. Amazing. You put up with so much, crying, screaming, pouting, and not to mention the kids! You are a brave woman, willing to go to the ends of the earth with me, to pursue what God has called us to do. I know the things that you desire things for our family, here, and I intend to provide that for you. Thank you for loving me so deeply, and overlooking my faults/stupid mistakes/selfish motives. Sometimes I think the kids are easier to handle than I am, but you endure a lot, and I want to thank you for your unwavering love.

IGN. You are a champion. You have been through plenty of challenges in your short 19 months. You have been acclimated to FIVE nursuries, and have done so extreemley well. I don't know if a kid can throw in the towel, but I know it isn't an option for you. You have shown a great rescilince and a determined will to be content where ever you are. Thank you for being patient me as your Father. I screw up a lot, and probably don't understand why you do things the way that you do. You have not only had to adjust to my uncertainty, at times but also your new bro. We always tell people that you are such an easy girl, and an amazing big sister. Its true. You capture the attention of those around you, and make people laugh. Its not uncommon for strangers to come up to us in a restraunt and tell us how good you are and they appreciate the way we have raised you. I think its more your personality, than our " "amazing parenting skills". I have seen a bunch of cute little girls, but Im proud to say that you take the cake. Your brother has an outstanding example to follow.

Jacob, Im so glad your here. These five weeks have been a wild ride, that you have endured with unbelievable excellence. I didn't think babies were as easy as your sister, but you have proved me wrong. I love how you smile in the morning, and when the sun shines on you when your outside. You even smile when you hear your sister running towards you, taking out her passy and diving in on you to give you a kiss. We are glad you are apart of our crazy clan, and are excited about watching you grow up. You are already showing your personality, and I love it. I am excited about doing "manly" things with you, as father and son. We may be even to fit in some trips, like taking you to Sanford Stadium to watch the dawgs play each year.

You have all been so patient with me, in my learning to fill the role of husband/father. I am glad that we have found our home in Georgia now. The Lord has blessed us abundantly. We hardly have to speak our requests, to ask God for different things, and he provides it. He has set us up close to our families again, with an amazing home, and amazing friends. We have arrived. We are making our home. We are settling in. We are putting down roots. Thank you for being who you are. I am proud of you all, and proud to march through this adventure called life with each of you.

I love you all.

John Mark

A few more pics!

Our beautiful babies:





Here is our IGN, the wonderful, beautiful treasure that she is:







He is one beautiful boy! I can't imagine my life with out him.

A good Friday not easily forgotten....

This is the sight that we woke up to this morning. Have I told you that I love snow? Absolutely beautiful. Call me crazy but I would take this over a sunny beach day. ...then after lunch we went to check our mail... and yeah this was in there. An unmarked envelope with cold hard cash. The Lord has blessed us, and he deserves praise. Just wanted to share what God has done today, and how good he is.

HE IS HERE!!! 9lbs 6oz, 21.5in long, and perfect!

Changes is Lattitude, Changes in Attitude...

Don't yall love some Buffett? I do, and were were all singing Margaretaville on the way to Target yesterday, and Im pretty sure his songs have been in my head ever since. It has been awesome having Bekahs parents here the last 9 days, and the time for them to leave has come, as they will head out tomorrow. This is also the same day we will be going to the hospital to have Bekah get induced, so we can see Jacob. Thats right we should have a St. Pattys day baby here, sometime tomorrow. I am excited to see him, and I am hoping that the grandparents can see him too. (You see they came up last week because the lovely Minnesota doctor-who should be fired- said that Bekah would probably have the baby w/in 24 hours! Who would say that?) Anyway, they came for all they could come (10 days) and it looks like they will just miss him, I mean literally by hours. But we are praying that things will happen quickly so that they can at least see Jacob before they head to the hospital.

Somtime around last August we found out that we were going to have another baby. I remember calling my folks and asking if they wanted the good news or the bad news first. I told them about Jacob on the way, and then told them that we had felt the Lord confirm that we are to be in Minnesota for a season. We have loved it up here, and have learned tons of things good and bad about who we are, who we want to be, and who the Lord says we are, and who he wants us to be. We wouldn't trade this time/ this season for anything and we needed to be here for a season. It looks like that season is coming to a close, as we just haven't been able to raise the financial support, and feel that the Lord is setting things up for us down south. So again I have good news and bad news...we are gonna have a baby, and we are moving again. We have the blessing of the leadership here to do what we need to. God has given us a car down there (which we would have needed to get another one, w/ me working) and we have a deal on an apartment to rent as well. Its funny how the Lord has shown us that this is right, and we are excited about the prospect of being back down there. Its bittersweet actually. We have made some good friends here, that we are excited about keeping, to connect with for years down the road. Please pray for us in this transition with Jacob, and with the upcoming move in April back to the southland. Thanks for stoppin' by.

Bekah Update

Hey yall, not much has changed since the last blog, except a lot more pain for Bekah, yet still no baby Jacob!!! We are excited to see him, but he is prolonging his debut a bit longer than we thought he would. Bekah is sure that he is protesting being born in Minnesota, and wants to have Atlanta on his passport, like his big sis. The doctor told us last Thursday that we should have the baby w/in 24 hours, but apparently Jacob had different plans. Bekah's folks flew out, because of the doctors confidence in the labor, but instead of helping us with baby #2, they have just been cookin' up a storm, and hanging with IGN. Even pops got his toenails painted by IGN, and we have pics to prove it. Priceless. She attempted to get daddy to do his, but I convinced her that its not normal for daddys to do that. Grandparents is a different story. Maybe Jacob will come before they have to leave on Monday. Thanks for stoppin by, and we will post pics as soon as we have a baby. Keep prayin for Bekah and her stomach, as she is very nauseous.

My turn!

ok, so most things that people don't know about me are pre-1996, when I got saved (and you don't want to know the silliness I was involved in), so this will be 10 things-you-may-not-know-about-me post 1996.

1- Since becoming a mom I realize that I don't really like music just for the sake of music. silence speaks to my soul.

2- most of my life I wished I was a boy... men just always seemed more important and I was convinced that I was pretty important.

3- When I spend time with the Lord, I get excited about what God is doing in the world, in the lives of others, in my own life, etc., and it always makes me wish I were a preacher. I just feel this deep burning to get up somewhere and tell everyone what an amazing God we serve and of His deep love for us. I want to inspire.

4- I kissed John Mark first.

5- I am much more nervous about being a mother of 2 than I was about being a first time mom.

6- Once when I lived in Hawaii, i jumped off of an 80 ft cliff into the ocean. Apparently the whole 'free-falling' thing was very relaxing for me because upon hitting the water I got a massive water enema and I couldn't move my legs for about 3 minutes. It was awesome, I recommend it.

7- At the end of everyday I seriously have no idea what tomorrow will bring... I carry my passport to the grocery store.

8- i will never diet. I will exercise until it kills me, but I will eat what I want- I love food.

9- I love looking at house plans. I have no idea where this came from but I LOVE it!

10- For my birthday, my favorite thing to do is to go to a particular cemetery in Marietta with JM, watch the sun set, eat calazones we picked up from an italian place and smoke a cigarette. It is probably the only cigarette I have all year long and I never finish it, but its something we do together and a memory we share- its my favorite memory. I didn't get to do it this year because we were here in MN and I'm pregnant... I would have enjoyed the calazone and the time w/ JM but not the cigarette!

Well, thats it... it took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to think of 10 things!Lame.

Now I'm tagging Ruth Allen and Tammy H!

Blog Tag.

Alright so I was tagged by my Gator-lovin friend Bill to list ten things about me, that maybe you wouldn't know. So here goes.

1. I was held back in 3rd Grade because I had been going to school in Monterrey, Mexico, but my parents came off the mission field, and the Mexican school system wasn't quite up to par with Georgia's.

2. I have only broken one bone in my life and it was my left big toe. I am also missing a toenail on the same toe. Yeah it was that brutal. Slamming a 1970 VW Bug, car door on your barefoot, does your toe no favors. My cousin told me later on in life I would never marry because of how ugly it was/is. Bekah proved him wrong.

3. I was engaged in Canada.

4. Bekah and I have moved 10 times in our married life. August will be our 5th year anniversary.

5. I will never be able to get enough snow. When a fresh snow comes I get really excited.

6. I snuck a video camera into the Sistine chapel, and held it by my hip, pointed up to capture the artwork on the ceiling. The beauty amazes me every time I watch it.

7. I LOVE to scare people and play pranks. I have been known to wait for extended periods of time in people's closet, waiting for the moment to jump out on them. Even when I was young we used to drive my mother crazy with pranks. I used to call for her through the house, in an emergency voice, and when she came running, not knowing what to expect, I would be laughing with my brother saying "What? I didn't say Momma! I was just shouting Omma!" She put up with a lot.

8. Growing up I was very much a saver, and a cleaner. I remember several times where I used to lend money to my parents. I always thought that was odd. Lately it has been me giving them the IOU slip. I used to clean the home religiously growing up. I don't know why. I do know that my siblings would make fun of me religiously for it. Therefore I stopped. Sorry Bekah.

9. I never really cared about sports until I married into the Crisp family. Now I can't imagine not caring about the Dawgs football program. Since then I have never been to a Georgia football game where they have lost.

10. I have applied and been accepted to Asbury College 4 times, and never attended a class.

Alright there are my 10 random facts. I am going to tag four people, since I want to hear from my wife, and we share this blog. Greg, Bekah, Cari, and Michelle.

Show me the money

We are still here in Minnesota, and I am cold. Inside and out I am cold. I am cold on the outside, cause well sub zero temperatures are just not right. On the inside I feel I am getting cold as well. It is so hard for me to trust the Lord these days. We have just sent out a new batch of newsletters, to lots of people and it felt good to get them out. Then I realized as I was sending them that even if I were to send them to everyone in the nation, it wouldn't matter. It is up to the Lord to provide, not the connections that I have. We haven't really much of a response since the letter went out, and I guess I just figured that when we came up here, since we knew that God called us, it would be a breeze to get full support. It has been far from a breeze, and the more time that goes by the more I find it hard to put my TRUST in the Lord, to Lean not on my own ways...etc, etc. Please know that I in no way intend to give anyone a guilt trip that is reading this, and maybe got our letter. If the Lord hasn't moved you to give, I honestly don't want you to. I am just struggling in this season, because I don't know why the provision hasn't broken free for us in this time. I know the Lord is wanting me to learn to TRUST, and to LEAN completely on him, but MAN thats hard when the bank is empty and rent is due.


The really odd thing is I know we are called here (for now). I even had a customer at my last job prophesy it over me one day, out of the blue. I told Bekah that night, and we both wrote her off as nuts. The Lord confirmed it in many ways for both of us. So we did it. We packed everything we owned up in a u-haul, and I gave up my well paying job, moved my one year old, and my pregnant wife up to Minnesota to commit to volunteer and not have any salary. My instinct as the family provider is fighting with the Lord having called us up here. Its an internal struggle that I don't know which is going to win, honestly. Often times I just want to throw in the towel, and go back to 9-5, er 7-7 in my last jobs case. No I don't want to go back to that, but you get the point. I just felt like I had to write this tonight. Maybe more for me than you. Maybe so you would know how to pray for us. I just want the Lord to find us faithful to do what he asks us to. No matter what the cost.

Someone please tell me who I am!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Growing up I HATED personality/gifts/strenth/weakness tests, I hated anything that tried to tell me who I am. I didn't want anyone to put me in a box or in a category. I felt very sure of who i was and each time I took one of those little tests I felt like trivial little questions should not be able to discover the core of who I am.

Well, things have changed. The lovely Katie Bedingfield was in town for a visit this past weekend which was a glorious time spent with a dear friend. Anyway, she brought JM and I a book called StrengthsFinder 2.0 and it is a book that involves a test. I was so pumped to take the test because I needed to hear that who I am now means something. As a soon-to-be mom of two I forget that I have a personality and that who I am is ok. I don't need to be constantly conforming into something adventurous and awe-inspiring, who I am is fine.

One thing I learned from my top 5 strengths (relator, activator, belief, responsibility- don't laugh, achiever) is that I am a relator. I laughed inside when that showed up as my #1 because these days I relate w/ VERY few adults on an adult level. I find being with adults is difficult because I don't have much to offer in conversation. After reading the description of a relator I was AMAZED because I felt so understood! Tom Rath (author) knows who I am! :-) As a 'relator' it said that I love to relate but not with everyone or new acquaintances, but with deep, established friendships. A 'relator' gets drained and can struggle through connecting with people on the surface (which is new for me because I used to be SO out there with anyone and every one) but put me with an old friend who I can be vulnerable with and I thrive. The book also said that once a new friendship has crossed the thresh-hold of vulnerability then a 'relator' can begin relating but exposing the deeper things is hard.

I've struggled here in MN because I don't have close friends. Don't get me wrong!!! I have great friends here who are supportive and encouraging and wonderful, but because of who I am, I only get so close. Instead of trying to overcome who I am and be different, this book is teaching me to learn how to use it all for the positive and learn how to function within my strengths. Its a good book, I recommend it.

Ok, as promised, more videos from our fun weekend! We are all missing KTB and IGN is still wondering where she is and that is sad.


IGN and KTB duet:


yummy lemon:


more of meal time, this time with rice on her head:


Oh yeah, and I'm pregnant:

There is more to come!!

Dang we had a fun weekend of laying around, laughing and just being silly. Here is one video from KTB's visit... this is just one of MANY, so GET READY!!!!

PS- please ignore the mounds of laundry

Jacob Elijah Nysewander

As most of you know, we will add to our clan a little boy next month! We are so excited and can't wait to meet this little guy. We have been praying for MONTHS about what to name him and for some reason nothing seemed quite right for him. So a couple weeks ago I was lying in bed praying for him and I just decided that he NEEDS a name. I mean there was this fire in the core of my being and so I pulled my self from my warm comfy bed and went to the living room and basically begged the Lord for a name for our precious boy. It wasn't long before I felt the Lord telling me that our son was chosen for this time, in this generation, for a purpose and that he needed to be named for who the Lord made him to be. So I looked up the name that means 'chosen' and there wasn't one so I was like, "what do I do now God? Do i name him Chosen? Thats stranger than naming a girl Isaiah." And then I opened my bible to Isaiah 41 and read verses 8-10, here you go:

"But you, O Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,

I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, 'You are my servant';
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

So, we are naming him Jacob, Jacob Elijah.


When I was praying for him I wanted to celebrate his birth and entry into this world in some way. I was looking through Isaiah's baby book a while back and I was SO blessed by all the cards and words of blessing that were spoken and prayed over her during the months before her arrival. I seriously saved EVERY card that we received from her showers and gifts and its awesome to read through them.


So this is where I need some help. Being that Jacob is our second baby and we won't be having showers for him, thus no cards, I was hoping that if y'all could mail us a card with scripture(s) for him and/or a blessing that would mean the world to me and one day, to Jacob too.

After reading through Isaiah's cards I was so thankful for all the people that surrounded us and loved us and celebrated with us over her birth and I just want Jacob's life to begin with the same blanket of prayer and blessing.

Blessings to you all and I really appreciate y'all doing this for me!

If you need our address, please email me: nysewanders@yahoo.com and I'll send it your way!

whats up

I haven't blogged in SO long!!!! I miss it. I'm going to attempt to be more diligent in my blogging:)

Everything here is going really great and the Lord has been doing something in John Mark and me lately and it has made life here so much more enjoyable. JM and I have always seen our time here as a temporary 'visit' until we are called to the next thing but recently we have been asking God to change our hearts so that we can learn how to just BE and enjoy what He is doing in the here and now. So its happening and its a huge and very immediate answer to prayer. I love that the Lord began changing our hearts together, at the same time. There are many times that JM will share with me things that the Lord spoke to him in his time alone and it will be similar to an impression that was on my heart while I was folding laundry or laying on the floor playing dolls. We serve a faithful God who speaks. I am amazed that this life is not my own and I'm not in it alone; not only do I have the presence of the Lord ministering to my spirit but I have been partnered with a great man who hears from the Lord and encourages our family in the things of God. Its easy to be thankful for where we are in this life when we can see the hand of God moving, I just pray that I can learn to be a person of thanks even when I feel alone and can't see my God any where. I have a lot of growing to do and SO much to learn. Yesterday I was emailed a great song from my pal Caroline and it spoke so much to me of who I/we are to the Lord and even now my heart is stirred to 'dive-in'. i don't want to hold back, not in any area: not in my heart, mind, giftings, nothing. I just want to give of all that I am to know this One that loves me so much He has to catch His breath when I simply come before Him. I want to sing. I want to stand before God and His people and declare who He is. I think thats why i have always loved being on worship teams and singing, because it is my own way of saying 'this is who I love, this is what life is all about!' He is passionate and jealous for us and my mind can't wrap around this truth so I have to give it over to my heart. I just know that I am one in need. Thankfully I know the One who can meet all needs.

I want to sing and play my own songs... just thought i'd put that out there. I've never said it before.

Bye for now:)

Levi is here.

Um, so my sister called us yesterday at about 9 am, and told us that she had her baby boy earlier that morning. We didn't believe her. She isn't due for 2 weeks, and we were expecting more drama, as she was doing a homebirth again. Everything happened smoothly, and she only pushed for 5 minutes,(as opposed to 7hrs last time). Congrats Jen and Brian. Welcome to the world Levi. We can't wait to see you. Dang, I want to be in Georgia!

Great day overall...

As my good friend Greg already did so well, I would like to wish you all a proper Martin Luther King Jr day.

Today was good for our family. We got out of the home, since the temperature finally rose above 0 degrees, and made a day of it. We visited the most rockin place in Bloomington MN, besides here of course. We had lunch at the closest thing to southern BBQ that we could find up in the frozen northland. We found this store with this horse that IGN thought was real. I don't know that she has seen a real one up close, so to her this was it. She went running to it yelling "Neigh, Neigh, Neigh", and after taking this pic, she didn't want to get down.

We also went to the apple store to have our IPOD looked at, since we made the mistake of leaving it in our car a few nights, all night, and the "negative temperatures and those lithium ion batteries of the IPODs just don't mix well together." At least thats what the gentleman at the "Genius Bar" inside the Apple store told me. Hmm, wouldn't have guessed that. Thank you Mr. Genius... Anyway he sort of jump started the IPOD, and it works great now. That is a huge relief, as I was carrying the guilt of the damage, since I was the last one to leave it in the car overnight. So tonight, after Bekahs scrumptious dinner, I was able to play some worship music that I haven't been able to hear since like late November, when the damage was done. Good stuff. I literally felt like I had won the Ipod from Michael, in the Yankee Swap episode of The Office. (Even though technically it is Bekah's Ipod that she got for Christmas...today I felt that I had been given one all over again.)




I was also able to get some stuff fixed in our family ride, which is always a fulfilling thing for a husband/father/guy. Like for example the battery that has been frozen since we got back from Georgia, and from the temp staying where it has, I have had to jump the car pretty much every time we needed to use it. That will get old quickly. Anyway, we got a new battery, so the days of jumping off my car in MN are done...hopefully.

Bekah and I are shopping for a ride like this, as we need something a bit more reliable for the baby coming soon. Which by the way he has a name now. He is Jacob Elijah. We are excited about him though, and are preparing in every way we know how for his arrival. Even ordered some Ale-8 ones to be shipped up for the celebration. (We have pics of us drinking ales in every major event. Engagement, Wedding, IGNs birth, and now Jacobs Birth. Which by the way if you haven't had a chance to stop by here. I couldn't resist posting these pics from their models on their site. Wow.




I have to go prepare for a devotion for the BHOP team tomorrow morning, so I will leave it at that. Thanks for stoppin by, and again happy MLK day.

Sweet Girl

Tonight we are home and IGN went to bed at a normal time! When I was Ig's age I commenced a pretty serious battle with asthma and pneumonia that lasted quite a few years. So when our girl was waking up at night and fighting to breathe I was terrified that I had passed on something unfortunate to someone so sweet. Monday night we spent the night on the phone with an emergency line nurse who did very little to give me comfort or help in general. I'm not saying that they don't serve their purpose, but this guy was a little difficult to deal with when you have a sick baby. That night IGN slept with me and JM slept on the couch so that I could listen hear her if things got too bad. Around 3am she threw up a bunch of loveliness which thankfully cleared up her air-way and she slept nice and quiet until the morning. She was pretty pitiful all day Tuesday just flopping around the house but seemed to have improved since the night before so we thought she was over the worst of if...

... and thats what we get for thinking! That night was horrible and I wasn't ready to deal with with the tele-male-nurse so we bundled her up and headed to the ER. They treated her with steroids (you should see the definition in her arms!) and breathing treatments which helped for an hour or so, so we headed home around 2am (ugh). By the time we were home her breathing got a little worse but she was sleeping pretty good, so again we were glad she was on the up-and-up.

The next morning I got her out of bed and immediately called our doctor because she was not sounding good. They couldn't take her until after 11:30am but by 10am she was struggling so bad we took her anyway and I was prepared to physically fight people to get her in to see the doc. When we got there they immediately made time for her and the doctor we saw was SO nice and reassuring. He admitted her to the hospital straight away and so, that is where we spent our next couple of days. The hospital staff was amazing and IGN won hearts in every department. When she would have spells of not being able to breathe, she would get up-set and cry which would make it worse, so we would walk her around our floor to calm her down, so she made lots of friends. IGN was such a big hit at the hospital that nurses from departments other than pediatrics were coming to see her to say 'bye' once we got released. It was adorable. It turns out she had croup but her lungs just couldn't handle it. So now we have to be SUPER cautious with her being around kids with colds, runny noses, coughs, etc because of how susceptible she is to developing croup. That stinks because we live on a CAMPUS with CHILDREN and we eat with OTHER PEOPLE EVERY MEAL! This will be interesting. I mean if there is kid with a runny nose in the nursery, I have to get the nursery worker to 'flash' my number so that I can get her out. Again, interesting.
Any way, so now we are home and happy and we are SO thankful for your prayers during this crazy time.

Daddy and his sick sleepy girl (check out her cute hospital outfit!):

Dang its been 10 years!!!

I never would have thought that Bekah and I would have been in Minneapolis this year, but as life would play out, we are here, with our second child about to make his debut. I got a message from a longtime friend on facebook today from my DTS that I took after high school. She mentioned all the changes since our DTS, 10 years ago. TEN YEARS!! I was thinking back on my journey of the last 10 years, and realized that I have covered a lot of ground. A lot of water under the bridge. A lot of dumb decisions. Plenty of good ones, many surprises, many joys, many times of doubting the Lord, and looking back and seeing how he really did come through in the right timing. Its amazing really. This God that we serve. He gives us everything we need. What amazes me is that he really does know what we need better than we do. He even knows our own hearts better than we do. It makes me wonder what suprises we will have in 08. We are going to have our second child. We are both going to turn the big 3-0. We are going to make a decision about our next move as a family....who knows what else. It is a big year for us though.

This time in Minnesota has been a searching time for both Bekah and I. Deciding if we are going to take two babies under 2 to the mission field. Deciding where we are to be, after this adventure. So far we have gotten no answer. I am tired of wandering. I know the Lord has shown up in our lives in different areas no matter where we are, but I just want consistency. As the head of the house there are many things about this that are frustrating.

#1 I want to provide for the family. When money is tight as it has been up here, I want to just quit what I am doing and go work overtime somewhere until my family can be living comfortably. The Lord has different plans. He wants us to wait. To trust. To believe. So far he has proved himself to be true. We have never been without since we took this step. (or anytime really) I doubt it will happen now.

#2 It seems like everyone around me is getting the blessing. Do yall ever feel that? Like you look at someone else's life and say, Man I wish the Lord would do that for us! Thats not a heart that the Lord wants us to have. Again he is calling us to Trust him.

#3. I don't know what my "calling" is in life. I am not sure how to find it either. It seems like most people that I know have known since the beginning of time. I have just always done the next thing that presents itself in front of me. But what if we could really do something that rejuvinates us, and is what we were created to do? That is exciting. I want to know what mine is. So the next step from here, as of now is not clear. I just want the Lord to say I want you to be a --------, or do ------. Whatever it is. We need direction. We want to be obedient. We want to be a people that trust. Our God is trustworthy. He has yet to fail us.

I just wanted to write what is on my heart. I know many of you weren't expecting a JM heart overflow, but take it or leave it thats what you get.