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.

We're coming home!

It is 10:30 on Wed. morning, my girl is sleeping away, packing for now is finished, my house is still a mess but I don't care because this time tomorrow... I'LL BE HOME!!!! I can't believe its already here! When my parents left here in November I thought it would be forever until Christmas break would get here but it is here and I am so excited to see all of my wonderful friends and my sweet family:)

IGN had an early Christmas this morning. Last night after she was in bed some friends stopped by and dropped off a gift for our girl, and let me just say, she'll never be the same, literally. When she woke up this morning JM pushed out IGN's very own baby doll stroller! (attachable car seat included!) So this morning she spent the day pushing her baby around the house and rocking her in her car seat... it was precious! My little girl was taking care of a baby instead of being a baby and I was kind of sad. Its weird how as she enters a new stage in life i am always excited for her development and ability to learn new things but at the same time I'm sad that she's growing up. Every mothers plight. I guess that is our job though, its to RAISE her, to help her develop into an independent, intelligent, compassionate, lover of God, not to try to keep her as a baby for all eternity (thats just weird). She is beautiful though and her personality become more defined each day and I think she definitely has my stubbornness and temper. Those traits though are greatly over shadowed by her love of other people and her desire to interact with everyone. She flashes her big, 4 tooth grin and waves at any one who will glance her way. She loves kissing on the lips, being tickled, being chased around the house by her daddy, 'helping' me with chores and of course meal times:) My girl is an eater!! I am just amazed by my girl and my love for this family that God has given me.

Ok, this blog was supposed to be short and sweet about our trip home... oops! Well, I'm Georgia bound!

I'm getting excited!!!

This evening I was thinking about our little boy and thinking about the goodies he will get to use of IGN's when he arrives. We have all the 'baby necessities' thanks to big sister and those who hooked her up when she was on the way:) Here at Bethany a family has offered us a double stroller and I am PUMPED! It will make life much easier being able to roll them both around instead of carrying one in a sling or something and strolling the other. (Although I'm sure that will happen a few times.) I am realizing what an amazing privilege it is having TWO little ones in our house and I'm getting so excited. At first I was all nerves wondering what it would be like and knowing that it would be a challenge but the nervousness is becoming excitement as I realize that he's 14 weeks away from being here with us! I know it will be hard and I'm trying (if that is possible!) to prepare for it but more than anything God is confirming in my heart over and over again what a blessing my family is. I mean I can say that they are a blessing all day long but the Lord is stirring my heart for my family like He does a person for a people group or a nation. I think many mothers and women feel this way especially if the longing of their hearts was always to be a mom. It was never a 'passion' of mine to have a family and to be a stay at home mom so it has taken me longer than the average girl to get to this place. Don't get me wrong I have adored JM and my little angel but I never felt like this was my 'life's calling' and that what I was doing was bring glory to God and inviting the Kingdom of Heaven. (I hope I'm making sense.) But God is doing a new thing in my heart and showing me that where I am is where I have been called and serving and inspiring my family is the desire of my heart. Sometimes its easy to go through the days looking forward to nap times and feeling guilty because my house is lacking in cleanliness and beauty but all I have to say is that "its all gonna burn anyway" (quote from Caroline-thanks!) so why not put my time and energy into what is eternal and that is the spiritual climate of my house and the lives that are in it. No, I'm not going to let my house go to pot but if my girl (and soon my boy) need extra time with me, I'm going to let the dishes pile up for the day or let the kitchen floor have some extra crumbs on it. I LOVE my family and I am passionate about them and their spiritual well-being. I long to be the wife and mom that God is calling me to be. There are no pressures of this world that can tell me what we NEED to be a happy, healthy family, there is only the TRUTH of God and the revelation of the Spirit that will sustain us and give us what we need. I always wanted to be a worship leader somewhere in my heart and now I realize more than ever that I am, I have the honor of joining with John Mark and leading our family before the throne of God every day. I am blessed and humbled that God saw me fit to place these lives in my hands.

I didn't plan on getting off on this little tangent, but whatever, it was obviously wanting to get out:) I think I'm just excited about this new precious life under our roof and tonight I even filled out a baby registry just for fun to get more excited about him. He is a miracle and just as God used IGN to open my eyes to so much, He is already using this little guy to make me more and more aware of His goodness. I am thankful.

Oh Christmas Tree...

This weekend we began a Nysewander Christmas tradition of putting up our tree after Thanksgiving. Normally I would probably wait until Dec. to put up a tree but its cold here and we're leaving on Dec. 20th, so I wanted to get the most out of our tree. We went to homedepot for our tree and there were three tree types:cheap, not so cheap and unjustifiable for a tree. We opted for the cheap type. We found out why it was cheap once we touched it, it was like razor blades! Haha, no jk but it hurts to put ornaments on it. We did however manage to get our ornaments on it without much harm. It's a cute tree and we love having our apartment Christmas-ified. I LOVE this time of year!!!!

Turkey Day w/ the Nysewanders

I am thankful for good food, my wonderful family, friends, life and the One that gave it all to me. Today was a culinary success and I had tons-o-fun doing it. I made a broccoli rice casserole, sweet potato casserole, dressing, pumpkin pie and... My very first TURKEY!!!!



I was so proud of myself and JM and I have leftovers to last for years! (ok, that an exaggeration.) We do have a lot though and it will be fun enjoying it for the weekend. We had a meal with JM's good friend Jerome and his parents and aunt, who is over the house of prayer here. It was good times and good fellowship, we didn't 'disband' until after 7pm and we got together around 11am. Thats a long day! IGN was exceptionally cute and was the center of attention which is to be expected. She was sweet and cute despite her pitiful little cold that kept us on tissue alert all day.





Janna and Dwight (my bro and sis in-law) stopped by this evening with Schmale so IGN could get her puppy-dog fix and we could pet our little pup, who isn't our pup anymore. They also brought over a car seat that we had left at Janna's peep's house when the Nysewanders were here. Well IGN accepted the seat w/ pleasure and thought it was her throne... she was very proud to have a chair of her own to sit in like the big people. Just cuteness all over!








I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving and although we had a great day we still missed our family and friends from GA. We'll see y'all in 28 days!

Happy Birthday MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Many of you may know a woman named Virginia Louise Mulinix Crisp, I happen to know her very well! She's my mom and in my opinion the best out there:) I haven't been one for 'lists' in past blogs but today feels like a good time to start:

10 reasons Gini Crisp is amazing:

1. Any room is brighter with her in it. (I don't know how this works but it is a freakish phenomenon!)

2. She is always taking care of others.

3. She loves the Lord and is a great example of how to do that in a world that tries to pull you the other direction.

4. She focuses on the good in people. Most people these days are all about judging those around them (myself included) instead of seeing and enjoying the positive qualities in others. I don't know how she does this.

5. She is a D*** good cook! Holy Moly what I would give for some Gini cooking right about now... oh wait, I'll get it this weekend!!!!! Yipeeeee!

6. She doesn't take life too seriously. She has the gift of handling life with grace and assurance in Christ without worrying so much about what tomorrow may bring.

7. She is positive. When I feel like I'm staring down a dark tunnel she can show me where there is light.

8. She is a listener and encourager. I don't know one person can leave a conversation with her and not feel like they have been heard and cared for.

9. She is generous. My mom would give anyone the shirt off her back if they needed it. She is always looking out for opportunities to be a blessing for someone even in the moments where others would just want to relax and stay at home. She's so sweet!

10. She taught 3 crazy kids that there is nothing (outside of our relationship with the Lord) more important than family. I am so thankful that our family is close and that my mom taught my bro and sis and I that we need each other. I love this time of year too because I get to enjoy them all and all of the traditions we had growing up that makes the holidays so great!

So those are just a few of MANY things about my mom that amaze me.

I love you, mom and I hope you have a happy day!!!!

PS- on a serious note, I had results from little fella's ultra sound come back and he has some choroid plexus cysts in his brain tissue. The Dr. said that it is a fairly common thing and that they are usually gone by week 32 of pregnancy. So no BIG deal but I would still like to ask for a special prayer for our little guy that everything develops properly and that he is healthy in every way. I have to go have another ultrasound done with a perinatologist to make sure there is no reason for concern and she will be able to explain things better. The perinatologist appointment makes me worry more than the info about the cysts because I've always thought of perinatologists as doctors for very sick (in utero)babies so hopefully this is just a precaution. I don't know, please pray for him/us. Thank you all!

I don't know what to write about...

I don't have any inspiration for today's post, I don't even know what to write. It was a good day, don't get me wrong, it was just another day in this life of ours. We got up as usual and JM didn't have to leave for work until 10:30!!! It was nice having a surprise morning together just the three of us. This afternoon was really pretty outside so after lunch I took the cute girl for a walk and to spend sometime at the playground. Right now JM is at worship, i think he plays bass tonight, and won't be home until about 10:30 so I am blogging away! I just talked to my mom on the phone and she and my dad arrive here in MN on Thurs. night and there are no words for how excited I am to see them and for them to see IGN. Its hard having her here away from family but I know its just for a time. There are many things that I miss about Marietta, such as, meals and craziness with the fam, La Parilla, Riverstone, drop-ins at the sac, bumping into friends at the grocery store or anywhere else, watching football games with fellow fans, knowing where things are around the city, Publix (I don't like the stores here), laughing with silly friends, and SO many more things. Our life here is wonderful but as Dorothy said, 'There is no place like home.' :)

really?

My current feelings about life are changing... all of my expectations and thoughts 'are being slightly adjusted to view life a little differently. I don't know what we're doing and how we have managed to take life so seriously but I think we're done with all of that (for the time being). I think JM and I have always felt that call to do missions but never had a clear picture of what it meant for us. I mean we've seen others do it and we've participated here and there and although we have loved our experiences, we never had any clear vision. I have always felt that if you are 'called' to missions that you are being disobedient for not going immediately (or working towards going) even if you have no clue what you're doing and no direction. So for the past few years I have carried around an unending feeling of guilt that I'm not who I am supposed to be and I'm disappointing God in the process. Thats not the best of feelings and I'm glad that God in all of His gentleness can show me where I have made-up my own views of Him.
I have heard a statement recently and its not 'gospel truth', its just one person's take on what we are doing here on earth. They called this life an internship for the up-coming life with the Lord and all that we are doing and growing in here is what will determine what we DO in heaven. I know sounds crazy to some, normal to others. This theory goes along with the whole we will 'rule and reign' with Christ, and gong along with that, we will be DOING SOMETHING while with Him . So anyway, his view is that what we pursue now will give direction to what we DO when we are with the Lord. Take it for what its worth.
OK.... ALL OF THIS TO SAY, that it makes me realize that what I pursue here on this planet better be something that I love (whether or not this little theory is remotely true) because its what I may be doing for eternity. Even if this theory is WAY off and heretical, I believe that God has given each of us such beautiful and distinct gifts and if we don't pursue them and grow in them then we are denying who we were made to be. I think so many of us go through life feeling like who we are at the core of our beings isn't good enough so we work so hard to become some thing greater and more appealing to this world that all the while we are rejecting the ONE who created us.
So, from now on, my life's purpose is to know the One that created me and to give myself over to being HIS CREATION and not making myself into what I feel like this world needs. God knows what this world needs and if He wants to meet the needs of the world in some way through me He is going to have put the desire and the vision and the ability in me. Someone once said that we need to BEHOLD to BECOME, meaning that we don't make ourselves into greatness but only in the presence of God can we be transformed. Duh, but for me its huge.
So now with no pressures but to know God, JM, IGN, Sweet Pea and I can move through this life focused on the Lord and pursuing the passions He has placed in our hearts, and if we look foolish to everyone else and no one gets us, its ok because we belong to the King of Kings and in the end HIS pleasure in us is all we need.
Love to all and I pray that this post blesses you all in some way:)

Ok, on a lighter note: here are IGN pics... she likes to wear her pumpkin hat from halloween all the time now... its comedy!

3:30 Saturday on CBS (part two)

Bekah and I have decided that Tuesdays will be no media day (internet and TV). Today was the first day we actually implemented it, and of course we had to make sure that there was a post in today for NABLOPOMO, so I got the nod for the hall pass to sign on today, I guess Bekah will get it next week. Remember the feeling you had when you held the hall pass in your hand, or in your pocket? Knowing that your classmates were struggling to stay awake in class, and just wanted to be where you were at least if not off the school grounds completely. Well thats how I feel now. Of course Bekah probably couldn't care less about refraining from the net for a day, but let me say its easier said than done, and I even got a pass.

Now moving on, I know ya'll want to talk about football. Lets see what ya got. I wanted to hear predictions were for this weekends game with the Dawgs and the Tigers. This is a huge game for the Nysewander family because my sister married into an Auburn family just as much as I married into a Georgia one. We always talk trash through the year, and have lately tried to get my parents in on the fun, even though they literally couldn't care less. (This year I put a Georgia plate on the front of dads car.) Of course we have dressed our daughters dress up in the respective teams gear and do the cheer through the year too. Their colleges have already been decided. To mention the other school in either in laws home is a borderline heresy. We had planned to take mom and dad to this game had we been in the south, but obviously plans have changed, since moving up north. We will just have to settle for TV again.

Last year the Dawgs put a whoppin on the Tigers, in their home stadium after dropping the previous 4 out of 5, and coming out of nowhere to take out the front runner in the SEC west. This year Georgia looks to be setting up nicely for the SEC East Championship and I know the Tigers would like nothing more than to return the favor and spoil our party. Lately in "The Souths oldest Rivalry" between the two teams the away team has had a better go at it in the opponents stadium. This year its in Athens, and I think its not going to be a gimme for either team, but I think Georgia will pull it out in the end. Here is a great shot from an interception dive for a TD. GO DAWGS!!!