37 weeks

Just a few catch up pics. Friends at the womens retreat with Grace Bible, a trip to the prescott zoo with Heidi and Noah where Charlize hit it off with a badger. And our pastors wife recovering from a broken foot. Charlize always hitches a ride when she can.

I'm over 37 weeks now. Up 19 lbs. thought my iron was low because of fatigue and ice craving but turns out it's at a 12 so no problems there. New symptoms are right hand going numb at night, pain around incision and fatigue. Doc says these are all normal and will pass. I have one last apt. and then am scheduled for the 27th. Please be praying for Mike. He got his yearly head stuff which always includes a nasty caugh that lingers. I don't know what the rules are for going into the OR if you are sick. Praying that he will be all better by then. I have a lot going on next week and am thankful for that.

Whoa Nelly!

This is actually our other truck "Midge" but Mike and Charlize have been spending many an hour in the garage working on "Nelly", Mike's truck from highschool. Charlize loves working with Daddy. She hands him tools wether he needs them or not and he gives her stickers. (squares of duct tape)

Last week I came out side and found Mike on his back on the red dolly you can see here under the truck. Charlize had crawled underneath the lifted pick up and was sitting on his stomach playing with a wrench. Ha! She was so at home.

After getting the truck finished and getting a go ahead from Little Caesars, Mike took off for Montana yesterday. It took him 25 1/2 hours which he of course did straight through. He had some bad weather around southern Montana. Snow storm with little visibility but God was good and he made it safely. We were glad to find everything in order in our rental house and no flooding as there have been water issues in the past. We're gonna miss him again but thankful that we are able to get things going. He will be there for 3 weeks.

He will be flying home on the 25th, we celebrate Charlize's b-day on the 26th and then Vernadine is scheduled for the 27th. It's gonna be a busy week! =) We can't wait.

But He Gives a Greater Grace

In catching up with friends lately I've been burdened that I not just update details but that I pass on the bigger picture of God's hand working in and through us to glorify His name. Since December of last year we've lived in 5 temporary places not counting hotels. All the while living out of a suitcase with no permanent employment going on 8 months now. We've had a pregnancy that we couldn't find health insurance for until I was 4 months along. We've had unexpected bills, 3 months of living in different states than each other which meant loneliness for Mike and the struggles of single parenting for me. And yet in everything God's grace has abounded. We've never missed a meal, always had a roof over our heads, been able to pay every bill as it came and more importantly our hearts and souls have been blessed by a God who knows and cares not only for us but for His own glory and using our lives to bring it about.

Most of this is regurgitation from recent sermons God has placed us in front of.
What is God's grace? The children of Israel have just been saved out of Egypt and have nothing to eat in the wilderness. Exodus 16: 4,5 "Then the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. It will come about on the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily." God commanded the Israelites to only gather what they needed for THAT day except for the Sabbath. Following this showed faith on the people's part. Faith that they believed the next day the manna would again appear to provide for their needs. On the 6th day a double portion was to be taken as there would be none provided on the Sabbath. Now vs 29, "See, the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day." So the people rested on the seventh day. Although the restrictions of the Sabbath are not the same today for the church the concept remains. God is the giver of all things in our lives. He gives the grace that we need for that day and that day only. If He gives us a situation where we need more; then more will be given. God gave the sabbath with it's restrictions; He provided two days of food.

This went on for 40 years. That's a long time! Why? Deut 8:2,3 "You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord."

The Israelites were not left in the wilderness because God dropped the ball or didn't have a plan. Part was punishment, part was to test their hearts and then to teach them that their sustenance does not come from bread (Ex 16:3 what the people were accustomed to in Egypt and complained that they no longer had) but from God's mouth. He speaks and their needs are met. ie: I was accustomed to a paycheck every other week. That was what provided for my needs. I'm learning that God is not bound by direct deposit in providing for us.

I also think it's interesting that God took them into the wilderness to teach this lesson. Wilderness: associated with drought, no distractions, no comfort zones. Hosea talks of this too in the redemption of the harlot wife. Hosea 2:14,15. "Therefore (because she followed her lovers and forgot God) behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness and speak kindly to her. Then I will give her her vineyards from there . . . " God takes this "woman" out of the land flowing with milk and honey and from the wilderness gives her vineyards. Why? Because only God could provide a vineyard in those conditions. A vineyard in the Promised Land doesn't scream His glory.

II Cor 12:9,10, "And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly therefore, I will rather boast about my weakness, so that the power of Christ may richly dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weakness, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, the I am strong."

God's grace is sufficient, not over abundant; sufficient. He provides what we need just for the moment or the day. That's why we are commanded not to borrow tomorrow's worries because that grace has not been given yet. That's tomorrow's manna. See Piper for more on that one. We had a job this year that we thought would provide 3 to 4 months of savings. I think the words actually came out of our mouths, "This will be a good buffer in case we don't get more manna, I mean work." After some unexpected bills it ended up that we broke even with no savings. But God provided every penny for every bill. How arrogant our feeble hearts to trust only in the security of a savings account rather than for God to take care of tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, those aren't bad. Our problem was where the trust was placed. "For Christ's sake". This is the benefit in these times. Sulking and worrying doesn't change the circumstance it simply robs us of a chance to be well content and God from receiving glory that is due Him.

James 4:1-10 The idea that we can be adulteresses toward God when we lust after the world and it's friendship rather than submitting to Him. vs 6 He gives grace to the humble. vs 8 He draws near to those to draw near to Him. What a comfort.

I Tim 6:6-12 how much more is gained in our walks when it is accompanied by contentment. (which by the way is a choice, not a feeling). vs 10 notice, having money not an issue. Loving it; longing for it is the issue. Where is your hope lying? In chariots or in the Lord our God.

Can I encourage you today? How is God revealing His glory in your life? Are you sharing it with others so they see His name displayed? Or is it stopping with you?

In case you need a laugh . . .

By an anonymous 2nd Grade school teacher:

I've been teaching now for about 15 years. I have two kids of my own but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show and tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually show and tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater. She holds up a snapshot of an infant. "This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday. First Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord." She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement!

"Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, oh, oh, oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. "She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)

"My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this." (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.) "And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew! (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)

"Then the middle wife starts saying, 'push, push' and 'breathe, breathe'. They started counting but never got past ten. Then, all of the sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said was from Mom's play center, so there must be a lot of toys inside there. When he got out, the middle wife spanked him for crawling up in there."

Ever since then I always bring my camcorder to show and tell in case another 'middle wife' appears.

One more from Nebraska

I had to get this one added in here. Charlize is a little girl who loves to dance. We went to an out door concert at Southpoint and Charlize loved dancing and waving to every person in sight.

At 22 months now she has just now started to like tv. Bob the Builder is her favorite along with Yogi Bear and The Pink Panther. This month she has started lots of repeating and has started putting two words together. Usually MY juice! As if I'm wanting to steal her goobery sippy cup. We also started very casual potty training. She's shown a lot of interest and tells me everytime afterward. So we got a chair and we'll see how things go. I'm not determined for her to get it down now but willing to let her try while I have extra time to focus with her. She has also done so well adjusting between different houses but is really starting to show when Daddy is away for weeks at a time. We're so happy he's coming to see us in AZ tomorrow for a couple of weeks. Then we'll have one more month apart before "Vernadine" comes and then we should be done, Lord willing.

Thanks to everyone who's been praying through our last few days of trusting God. After a last minute curveball from Little Caesars over finances we were able to get Larry and Linda off to their training class in Detroit this next week. Mike has demo'd and cleaned the store and set up bids for the remodel. Our coming soon sign is up. Mike will start the remodel as soon as our financing is cleared and we are able to order the appliances. We are praying this will be about two weeks from now but thankful that we get to see Mike in between! Honestly this last change has been one of the hardest to trust and be joyful I think because we all felt like we had crossed the tough hurdels already. Just a reminder to us that we are in need of God's blessing everyday and in every step. More on that in the next post. =)

Great Falls

After a great month of July with my parents it was time to see our new home. We took off for Great Falls, MT and made it in 16 hours. Not sure I'll be able to do that on my own with 2 little ones but thankfully I have 3 sets of family between here and there. We arrived Tuesday at noon. Charlize squeeled with delight, "hi" when she saw her Mimi so we left her in great hands and Mike and I went to sleep after being up driving all night. The town is cute. Downtown actually reminds me a lot of Lincoln's just not as tall. There is a beautiful city park, residential areas are nice and the main strip (Hwy89) runs right through town and this is where most of the commercial business is located. Missouri River also runs through town and we saw three deer drinking at the edge of someone's yard right by the bridge. We met some of Larry and Linda's new friends for a picknick. Wed. we had non-stop apointments, banks, realtors, etc. In the afternoon we got to see a rental house that was available. Rentals are very sparse right now. One company owns 300 units and only 10 are available right now. This goes for apt and houses. We really liked the house and the price was doable so we filled out our application, today we were approved and we move in next week! Yay! I get to unpack! I'm no longer homeless!! =) If there were a fireworks symbol on here I'd be using it! =) Thursday we left our hotel at 9am and toured some more towns. After lunch we said goodbye and hit the road for AZ. charlize did great considering but it was still a long trip. We had smoke from a fire all across ID and NV. Got confused with consturction in Vegas and drove an extra hour there. Bummer. Drove over the Hooer Dam. Have you seen the new bridge? It's huge!!! Mike thinks as big as the dam itself. I felt really tiny driving by it at night. We pulled in our driveway at 6:30 this morning. Mike and I both got naps at different times but not much else accomplished today. I did get to the doctor and praise God things are still going well.

So what's next: The plan is that Larry and Linda come down from Montana and get their stuff from storage. They also found a condo to rent. All of us will pack up and move our things. I'll be there for about a week to unpack and then Charlize and I will come back to AZ until the baby comes. Mike will be staying in MT to get the store remodeled and ready for opening. Then he'll come to AZ in time for baby and we're hoping to have all of us up North 2 weeks after she is born. This is of course all with God's blessing and contingent on His will. It's been a very good process to go through as we trust God in every turn, change, twist, rewrite and blind corner. I know that He will continue to provide for us because He promises so in His word and this last year year has had no lack of evidence to prove it. Just the fact that we were only in MT for 48 hours and in that time found a house so that I can move in before the baby comes is just amazing to me. I'm humbled by God's good hand and His grace toward us. It's a busy week as we have to figure out what to keep here for the next two months as it has to fit into one pickup in Nov. By the way, last night I slept in my own bed for the first time since Dec. Ahhhhh! I love my bed, I love my bed, I love my bed! Oh the little things that make pregnant life easier. =)

Nebraska Trip

The 3rd one this year that is. What a great time we had getting to see all of Charlize's cousins and many of mine as well. My cousin Sheila got married and what a joy to see her at the wedding and meet her new husband, an Italian! It was a beautiful ceremony in both languages with much culture. The Flower beds are at the Sunken Gardens in Lincoln. Monica and I used to run through these planning our weddings as little girls. This year was the most beautiful I remember seeing it. We also got to go watch Papa cut down a tall tree. Charlize loved it. Everytime he brought down a big section she would yell, mo, mo! This was also the day she said her first phrase. "Mama go"!

From the mind of a 9yr old. . . . .

This week I've had the blessing of serving in VBS at the church where I grew up. It was amazing looking at a T-shirt display from years gone by how many I could remember specific lessons, verses or themes. I worked with 4th grade this year and had 4 very energetic boys in my small group. You might enjoy some of the following conversations.

Day 2. Topic: Good thoughts vs. bad thoughts. We have a cowboy theme so I shared II Cor. 10:5 about taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. I told them it was like taking a lasso around a thought and taking control. Asking yourself, "Is this a good thought or a bad one". If it's a bad one, what do you do?
Boys: (yelling) (nothings quiet when you're 9) "Throw it away"!
Tonya: that's right. Then your mind is blank so what should you do?
Boys: ????
Tonya: The Bible tells us to put good thoughts in like Bible verses.
Andrew: But that's the opposite of what Star Wars teaches because Jedi are supposed to clear their minds.
Tonya: and that's exactly why we need to be careful to base what we believe on the Bible and not on movies or tv.
boys in unison: Oh!
Tonya: We need to listen to God because He is so wise.
Spencer: Yeah, probably even more than Yoda.

Day 3: Topic:Scripture is inspired by God.

Tonya: Why is it important to know that the Bible is inspired by God?
Boys: ??????
Tonya: It's important because we know what's in the Bible is true because it came from God.
Tonya: (writing) what did I write down on this paper?
Boys: (reading) Tonya is 96 years old.
Reid: Really?
Tonya: What do you think? I wrote this down. Am I telling the truth? Could I put this in the Bible just because I say it's true?
Andrew: No way, you're only in your 40's! No wait, 30's.
Tonya: Wait a minute, not till next year, I'm still 29....
Reid: (total shock on his face) You're only 29?!!? My mom's 43 and she looks way younger than you!!

What a blessing it's been to be around young hearts and minds this weeks. They are such eager sponges.

We're Employed!

What a process! During our trip earlier this year around the country we stopped in to see some good friends who live in Nashville. At the time we had considered not making that leg of the trip simply because of gas money but decided it was a good time to see the Howe's. Jon was just in the process of opening up his first Little Ceasar's restaurant and so we got to see and hear about his process of getting involved with this company. At this point Mike and I had been looking for construction jobs but were open to anything God brought our way. After leaving the Howe's house we talked a lot about their endeavor and after talking to Mike's parents it started to look like something we should at least look into. After much paperwork, study, thinking, planning and always prayer we applied to the company and Mike and his parents went to interview at headquarters in Detroit. Last week we were approved into the company and this week we were promised a reserved area in western Montana.

The plan: we will be looking to open several new stores in a three city area. (Great Falls, Helena and Butte). Mikes parents are headed up next week to scout out possible store locations. Then Mike and his parents will go to Detroit for 6 weeks to train at headquarters. This will take us up to the time that baby "Vernadine" (nickname--not real name) is born. Charlize and I will stay in Prescott so that I can make my baby apointments and all four of us will stay in Prescott until baby is here and I can travel. Probably Nov/Dec. The plan then would be to load up the storage unit and move to a rental in Montana. We're not sure yet which town our first store but we will try to rent near our first store. The hope would be that if God blesses with lots of business and good managers that we would open the rest of our stores one at a time over the next few years.

How do I feel about this?? Lets see: we need work; God provided a good job. I'm craving stability; this is definitely a long term adventure. I love new things; Montana is definitely new. I've been living out of suitcases since Dec 12th; I GET TO UNPACK MY STUFF!!!! I am so thankful for God's provision and He has definitely taken us down a path to help me see this as a good thing. I'm not a fan of driving in snowy weather but He has also commanded me not to fear so apparently I still need refining. (I know, a shocker to everyone =) ) I'm excited for a new adventure and excited to Mike tackle a new challenge.

How to Give Yourself a Hickey

So the other night Charlize and I were cleaning out the trailer. (I'm moving into the big kids house!!!) One item we found was her shade for the truck window that has suction cups. I showed her that I could make it stick to things. Namely my forehead. She thought this was hilarious so my addiction to her laughter only drove me to stick it to my head again and again while she squealed, "mo, mo, mo"! It wasn't till the next morning that I looked in the mirror and realized the results were not so temporary. And that is how I came to walk around Prescott as a 5 month pregnant woman whose husband is out of town with a hickey in the middle of my forehead. =) Oh my!