My first Mother's Day!

So odd to have had mother's day not only away from my mom but then to have a little one to be a mom to! It was a very low key day. All the students were gone on their free weekend and so we have a quiet morning on base.  Benjamin was such a happy boy and gave me loves all day. Here are some pics from our little family playing in the field.

Patience...

As I sit here, I feel blessed as I watch my gorgeous boy grab at his toes and make adorable cooing sounds. I am amazed at where God has brought and where we believe He is leading us! 


Earlier this week we finished and sent in our visa applications. That sentence sounds simple enough but for me it was weeks of working on paperwork during nap or after bedtime. I took a great huge sigh of relief as I mailed the almost one and half pounds of paperwork! We have confirmed that our package arrived at the LA New Zealand Consulate yesterday afternoon. So now we learn another difficult lesson... patience as we wait! They said on average it takes three weeks to hear back. 


With confidence we move forward as we begin to see our goal within arms reach. It is crazy to start to think of leaving my home with my little family. All that the move entails is sometimes overwhelming but that feeling of being overwhelmed is soon overtaken by pure excitement in anticipation for God will take our family! 


God is so good! We trust Him as our ultimate provider. We have some huge praises and some great prayer requests! 


REQUESTS
- We have not received much response from our letters and currently still have $6, 800 left of our initial expenses to raise. 
- We need monthly supporters! Financial and Prayer! We know it is a huge commitment, so we continue to pray for provision! 
*Please let us know if you have more questions about either support need! 
- Health- Rich and are are finding the sleeping patterns of parenthood are wearing on our bodies and would love prayer for strength and energy as we raise our little ball of energy! 


PRAISE
- We were able to go to The Good News Clinic on Stark Street for our medical forms! They are an incredible place that offers free healthcare! So we were able to get our physicals for NO COST! 
- Our lab work fees were also waived!! 
*God is truly helping us along the way! In the midst of a recession he is providing in unexpected and unconventional ways! 

ONE YEAR!!!

We celebrated our one year anniversary! I can't imagine not having my sweet man in my life. He is my best friend and I can say after one year we have grown and been stretched more than we thought we could. I have seen more and more the man of God that Rich has become! I can't wait to see what the next years hold! :)

He took me out to Benihana and my parents were so wonderful to watch Benjamin so we could actually go on a DATE! Here are some pics!

Bedrest and Birthday!

So I have officially been on bedrest for over two weeks! I will admit that I don't sit very well, but most of you already know that. I was so glad when my doctor gave me permission to leave the house for short amounts of time as long as I got dropped off at the door and sat.

For my birthday Rich cooked a wonderful dinner of chicken alfredo with broccoli and bell pepper. It was so sweet! Then he told me to get all dressed up and he took me to dessert at Papa Hyden. We went to Papa Hyden for our first date. We had a wonderful piece of chocolate cake and I got some much needed fresh air! :)

Then the next night,  we have family birthday dinner at my favorite Chinese restaurant, Mandrin Cove! Oh how I love the Sesame Beef... I had a great time with Mom, Dad, Nick, Andrea and Avery! I forgot to take pictures. We announced our little man's name! They loved it! Stay tuned in the coming days! :)

All dressed up! Finally have a bump. :) 

My sweet man making dinner! 

It was delicious!

Triple Chocolate Cake!! Mmmm! Our little man was kicking like crazy after this!

What a great night!

Our First Christmas!!

Last Christmas break reunited with Linda.

After much anticipation we finally got our Christmas together. Last year I spent the later half of Christmas in Seattle airport waiting for my plane to go to Alaska to reunite with Linda and this incredible man Richard. Little did I know what would come of that trip and the months that followed. Even then his sweet and loving heart shown through as he patiently talked on the phone with me while I waited three hours for my flight. He didn't want me to have to be alone on Christmas. So this Christmas was much celebrated. Our first ever Christmas together! And a joyous time it was! 


Christmas Eve day we hung out with some of our friends. Ian and Madde were a blast and being around kids reminds us to stay young and lighthearted! We made sugar cookies which ended up being quite the wonderful mess. We then headed home for a quiet evening of hot cocoa and reminiscing of Christmas growing up. By the light of the tree we remembered the past and dreamed together of what our little family will do. 


Christmas morning was so surreal. You really know you are married when you wake up with just the two of you on Christmas. It was so great! We opened stocking and our awesome handmade gifts for each other. I had found some Tim Tams ( a popular New Zealand cookie) for Rich and we together did the Tim Tam Slam. My first time- it is kinda of hard to explain. The cookie has a creme filling and you suck hot cocoa through the cookie like a straw and then plop the whole thing in your mouth where it instantly disintegrates into chocolatey goodness! We laughed so hard as I had chocolate all over my mouth. 

We then headed to my parents for family lunch. Nick and Andrea came with Avery and of course Mom and Dad were there. We had much laughter around a spread of food that was fantastic. After eating we got to skype with Rob, Corrie, Grace and Justice. It was so great to see there faces and get to share Christmas with them even with the distance. It made me realize just how much Rich and I will need to utilize Skype when we go to New Zealand! The rest of the day was low key with worship and naps and lots of laughter. 


Rich and I ended the night by watching Elf though I fell asleep part way through. I seriously couldn't have asked for a better Christmas! 

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

Last Sunday we had a splendid day. After a lazy morning we got a call that my parents would let us use their car to get our Christmas tree! We were so excited and bundled up for the adventure. It was only 31 degrees! Here are some pictures of the start of our first Christmas!!

We had a beautiful sunset as we loaded up our tree. It just barely fits in our apartment.

Notice it is all the way to the ceiling :)

Finished apartment. We moved our furniture around and put some garland on the bookcase.  We were up late into the night finishing! We love it.

The start of something new...

Here we go! Another wonderful adventure I find myself in... This time a bit different. I am not going alone this time and am feeling very grateful to have my best friend along with me. We have a growing excitement as we anticipate growth in a great community of people. Check out the link for the YWAM base we will be at! There is so much to be done before we go and each week holds its own set of goals and hopes.

This week is an exciting and full one!
-We have another doctor check up on Thursday. I am now ten weeks along and so we get to hear the heartbeat!  Please be praying all is healthy and good to go. In order to apply for the visa, I have to get an A+ from my doctor. Here is a picture of our little peanut from our ultrasound a couple weeks ago. Amazing how much I already love this baby! 

-Rich started a new job today serving at Old Spaghetti Factory. We are feeling so blessed that he has several shifts this upcoming week and he is excited to be working again. 
-Rich and I are so excited to get a Christmas tree this week! The excitement of our first married Christmas is wonderful. Decorating our own place and starting our own traditions while still keeping some of our favorites from growing up. I love it! I will definitely be putting up some pictures! :) 
-I also got to go to the eye doctor and get new glasses. Mine were a few years old and quite battered! What an incredible gift it is to be able to see more clearly than ever! 
-I get my new Flamm passport this week! Once it arrives we will be able to move on getting our visas! Please be praying for a smooth and quick approval for our visas!