December is a Busy Month

Tis the season to fellowship with friends and family. This week we'll be attending three Christmas parties at church. We have one today at lunch, one on Friday night and one on Saturday night. I love Christmas! I am busy this week baking, stamping Christmas cards, other Christmas projects and stamping Christmas gifts. I finished decorating our house this morning at 2am. I'll try to get some pictures up soon. It is really pretty. I am doing an Old World, vintage kind of tree and it would be done, EXCEPT all the lights went out yesterday and I can't find the kind of fuses I need for the speciality lights I have. Soooo . . . taking the lights off today and replacing them with new ones.

I am sitting here at my desk being distracted by the falling snow. Yes I said snow. After our 54 degree day yesterday, we are getting snow today. I don't think it is supposed to snow much, and hopefully it won't stick around too long.

We had a great service at church on Sunday night. Our Sanctuary is beautifully decorated for Christmas and everyone seems to be in festive mood with all the parties this week. We are really feeling like this is home. Dwight talked in his message on Sunday morning about inviting friends and family to our Christmas events. We provided cards that people could turn in with names of those they would like to receive an invitation to our special events. We ran out of the cards! What a great problem! We also provided a small business card size invite to pass out to friends and they all disappeard too! We can't wait to see how God is going to move in December! We have our Adult Musical, Family Night, Christmas Message and Christmas Eve service this month to reach out to our family and friends.

I am off to the first of three fellowships this week. I'm excited!

Give Thanks

This is my second favorite time of the year. I love watching the leaves change color, the brisk air demanding warm fuzzy sweatshirts and fall decorations. As I look back through 2008, we are reminded of how much we have to be thankful for. Here are the Top 10 things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for:

1) my relationship with God and the strength to endure all that has crossed my path this year.

2) my incredible husband, who has loved and cared for his family in an awesome way this year.

3) my spunky Rachel and my laid back Aaron. Thank you God that you sent them to my house to live.

4) a future son-in-law that adores my spunky Rachel.

5) our awesome church family that God has blessed us with. Each week it feels more like home!

6) our family and friends spread out all over the country.

7) provisions for our family.

8) that I will be a bit more warmer this winter than last.

9) a business that God continues to bless.

10) computers! How else could I stay in touch with everyone?

Take time today to list what you are thankful for this year. It can sure put things in perspective for you. When all is said and done, relationships are what counts. Make a commitment to strengthen your relationship with God, family, friends and all who cross your path. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tis The Season To Be Thankful For . . . Plumbing

Well, the last couple of days has been interesting. Late Wednesday the kitchen sink clogged up. I headed to church and Kenny & Renee came over afterwards so Kenny could take a look at it. He worked so hard, but just could not reach the clog. So today Warren came over and replaced some pipe and other things, and came to the same conclusion as Kenny. The clog was further than could be reached. So we called in the big guns and they took care of it. In the meantime, I didn't have to cook for a few meals. So, during this season of thanks, count you blessings if you have working plumbing, because it is a pain when you don't. :o)

Today ended with a good thing. My hubby and I went on a date. We went out to eat at Steak and Shake and explored a little bit with our Garmin. Good times, indeed.

Have a Great Day!

It's All About Love

Tonight I attended the Ladies' Bible Study at church. It is a video series by Beth Moore. I really enjoyed the study about love and rejection. At times we need to be reminded of how much God loves us and that He "chose" to love us. We have all experienced rejection in some form or another. The reason rejection hurts so much is because we love so much. We don't really experience rejection unless we love. Regardless of the chance of rejection, we must love with our whole heart. What a tremendous study. I'll be pondering these thoughts the next few days.

Rachel & Mike are coming home tomorrow. Mike will be filling in for Youth Service tomorrow night. He's excited about the opportunity. Rachel asked for vegetable soup so I'll be making that tomorrow. I may even make them a treat or two. I get excited to see them, even if they have been here almost every weekend since we moved here. It's always nice for Momma bear to have all the cubs home.

Aaron is gearing up for black Friday at work. He has to be at work at 5 am. This is a stretch for him, he is preparing mentally for it really early. :o) He is helping out in Youth Service too. He'll be opening the service and praying. He's excited about that too.

We had the Youth over last Sunday night after church. I made nachos, brownies and lemon bars for them to eat. They played Wii and had a blast! Several parents came too. We are so enjoying getting to know "our people."

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving next week. Time to start getting the menu planned.

Normal Routines

So we are almost on a normal schedule. Dwight is working at the church most days and a couple of nights a week, I am making lunch and dinner at home everyday, Aaron is working most days and we've been living here long enough now that I actually took time out from the unpacking to clean house this week. It's been fun for a change. I'm sure I'll tire of that soon, but for now I am so happy to be settled in our new home and back to a normal routine, whatever that is for us.

Our service last Sunday was so good. We are getting to know more and more people. We are loving being a part of First Assembly and the city of Independence.

I'm really looking forward to the holidays. When we began to transition in our job, one of the things I asked of the Lord was that we would be settled in our new place of ministry to enjoy the holiday season. God is faithful! I'm looking forward to decorating our home with Christmas things. I LOVE the outdoor inflatables. So if you're out driving around after Thanksgiving, be sure to swing by the house to see the MANY inflatables I have. I love Christmas and decorating for Christmas.

Have a great weekend!

Shopping Day

Today I had a shopping day. I have been unpacking boxes constantly and I decided I needed a break. I hadn't done this kind of shopping in a while and I must say it was quite fun. Except for the grocery shopping, I don't enjoy that at all. But after lunch at Fazoli's with my hubby, I ventured out on my own to buy groceries. I ended up at Price Chopper on Hwy 291. When I am shopping at a new grocery store I like to go up and down most of the aisles, just to familiarize myself with the layout of the store. At first it was a little confusing, but by the time I got to the end, I had everything I needed. I only had to go and search for 2 items. I moved TONS of food from Iowa, but I needed to restock on fresh produce, veggies and refrigerator stuff. I'm anxious to begin making meals at home again. It's been a very long time since we were in a routine. I can't tell you how excited Aaron was to see all the groceries. He even hung around a bit to see where they were all put away.

After delivering the groceries home and sitting down for a bit, I headed off to Walmart. I needed curtain rods, curtains, ironing board, baskets, candles, something to put potatoes and onions in, candy for the Fall party at church on Wednesday night, welcome mat, etc., etc., etc. Ok so you get the message, I was all over that store!

That should take care of the shopping for a least a week! :o) Back to unpacking tomorrow.

We're officially residents of Indpendence!

Well, this week has been exhausting! We started out last Monday packing for the 2nd truck to leave Iowa on Tuesday morning. Several friends from Des Moines showed up to help us load on Monday afternoon. When they were finished, I still had to pack up my Stampin' Up! room. Dwight and I worked until 12:15 am packing and loading the truck. We got up on Tuesday, took care of a few details at the house and headed to Independence. We arrived about 5 pm to a front yard full of help! What a blessing! They unloaded the fully loaded truck very quickly. After everyone left we decided to check out the DirecTV and AT & T services that were supposed to be hooked up while we were gone. Neither worked properly, so we decided to just call it a day.

On Wednesday I got up and started the monumental task of unloading many, many boxes. With Rachel's help I got the kitchen almost done and most of the living area and our bedroom is done. Aaron worked at his job at the mall everyday last week and found time to get his room done also. Now I just have around 50 boxes left to decide what to do with. My stamp room is next and I'm excited to get that set up. I have lots of wedding things to get started on! Plus there are several ladies here in the church that are excited to "see what I have" for scrapbooking. I think they'll be impressed. Those of you who have seen my stamp room know what I'm saying.

I think my stamp stuff and my Christmas stuff took up half of one truck. Love that stuff though.

Rachel and Mike were here again this weekend. Mike completed the shelves I wanted in the garage. That guy is sure handy to have in our family. He did an awesome job and I can now finish putting some kitchen stuff away.

On Saturday night we went to Ronnie & Suzy's house for a young adult bonfire and hayride. What fun. I wish we could have stayed longer. We stayed long enough for Dwight to roast a hot dog (on his back I might add, because the fire was really hot). Their place is beautiful. We are invited back when we get all settled in. I can't wait to see the inside of their house. Thanks guys for hosting a fabulous activity.

Church today was awesome! Every service feels a little bit more like home. We are so excited about what God has in store for us here at First Assembly!

Please continue to pray with us that the house in Iowa will sell quickly! Thanks Bud, Bill & Donna for keeping an eye on things and for cleaning after we moved out. We appreciate it much!

Tomorrow is a new week. AT & T is coming tomorrow, chimney sweep on Tuesday, more new furniture on Thursday and my goal is to buy groceries and restock my kitchen on Friday. We'll be in touch!

On The Road Again

We are on the road again. We actually moved this week to Independence. We have one more trip to make on Monday with the 2nd truck and we'll be permanent residents of Independence, MO. We couldn't be more excited. Dwight and Aaron took the first load of stuff down on Thursday. I stayed back at the house in Iowa to clean and keep packing. Dwight called me last night when he got to our house in Independence. There were ladies there cleaning, men working and a beautiful Fall arrangement on the front door to welcome us. We are so grateful for such a wonderful church family. We are blessed.

Here's another example of how good God is. Aaron's last day of work in Iowa was October 10. He went to Independence with us for that weekend. On Monday, October 13 he decided to apply for a job at a few convenient places from where we live. The first application was at a Moments in Sports store in the Mall, which is about 5-7 minutes from our house. He applied there around 2pm. The manager called him about 5 pm and asked him to come to work on October 21. Aaron loves the Lord, prays and reads his Bible everyday and I know the Lord gave him favor. He is always so upfront with people about his availability because he does not want to miss church on Sunday or youth group on Wednesday nights. So Aaron is giving up the Staples uniform and gets to wear his favorite jerseys to work. What a God we serve!

Rachel is surviving her mid-terms this week. She is doing quite well on them and we are so proud of her. We will have some down time in a couple of weeks to get planning on this wedding. They are getting engagement pictures taken in a couple of weeks. They want to use those on the Save the Date cards. So we are waiting a bit to get those out. Rachel and Mike are coming up from Springfield to help us with the unpacking and such. Mike is going to build me a closet in my garage for all my "kitchen stuff" and do a few other things. Mike is such a blessing to our family! He is so willing to help when needed.

Dwight and I are so happy that we are not making 2 trips a week to Independence anymore. At the beginning of this process, staying in the hotel was fun. Now I am excited about staying at home for one week straight. I am even excited about cooking! I can hear the gasps from certain people in Iowa. But I am excited about cooking. All it takes is eating out most of the time for several months to put you in that mood. We'll see how long it lasts.

It was fun to see "the Iowans" last Sunday. It was Pastor Appreciation Day at First Assembly and we had a fabulous day with our church family. They honored us with a gift from the church, other gifts, many cards with kind-hearted messages and a potluck after church on Sunday night. What is a celebration without a potluck! What fun. It was a special day. We enjoyed lunch with the Nail's, Mooney's, Krisinger's, Collings's from Iowa. We had fun catching up at dinner on Saturday night with the Kono's and Nail's. We are grateful for the friends and "family" God has blessed us with along our path of ministry. I have been able to re-c0nnect with families from our church in Illinois on Facebook. I love technology. It rocks. Speaking of technology, here I sit on this computer and I am supposed to be cleaning the house in Iowa. I better get busy.

Till next time . . .

Busy Busy Days

Well, time has flown by the last few weeks. Dwight and I have been super busy lately. We are still traveling back and forth to First Assembly in Independence two times per week. In between we are packing the house in Iowa, interviewing for the pastoral positions at church and trying to take care of all the many details of moving.

I'll have to post some pictures soon, because I know you all want to see our house here. Kenny, Renee, Dwight and I spent a few hours in Lowe's today picking out lighting, toilets, paint, ceiling fans, etc. Then we went over to the house to see the brand new CEDAR DECK. It is absolutely gorgeous! A while back Sheila, Renee and I picked out the carpet and wood flooring. People are working so hard to get the house done by the 15th of this month. They are very anxious to get us moved down here. We hope to move on the 18th.

When we drove down on Saturday, Dwight gave me my budget for furniture and we stopped at Nebraska Furniture Mart in Kansas City. He thought we could be done in a couple of hours. Oh my goodness, that store is HUGE! We arrived about 1 pm and left a little before 5 pm. I found everything I "needed". :o) I can't wait to see it in our house.

We have had so much fun getting to know the wonderful people at First Assembly! Thanks to all the people who have taken us out for meals, sent kind emails, and for all your support and kind words these last few weeks.

Aaron was able to attend the youth group here last week and he loved it. His last day at Staples in Altoona is October 10 and he'll be with us all the time. We're excited to get him down here with us. Rachel and Mike are getting engagement pictures taken next Wednesday in Springfield. We'll be busy making all the wedding plans once we get moved. We're excited.

Well, I need to go to bed, I'm exhausted! Till we meet again . . . .

Happy Birthday RACHEL!

Rachel is 22 today. She is an incredible young woman and we are so proud of her! She loves God with all of her heart and she has a desire to lead children to a life changing experience with Jesus Christ. She is a junior at Central Bible College in Springfield MO, majoring in Children's Ministry. This is the last birthday we'll celebrate with her as a single girl. She'll be getting married next May to her sweetheart, Michael.

From birth Rachel has been so independent. There were times I just wanted to sit and cuddle or rock her. She was not interested in that at all. She did not want to sit still at all. When she started kindergarten, she didn't need any help from me. When she left for college, it was a bit sad for her, but within weeks she was in her element and had her routine down.

The things I admire most about her is her organization and her ability to make good use of small chunks of time. She usually always carried a book to read as we drove across town. No use to sit in the car for 20 minutes doing nothing. There were times in elementary school that she would do her homework on the way home from school. There were very few times in her life that I had to insist that she clean her room. There was a place for everything and most of the time everything was in its place. (The exceptions are the summers that she has been home since going to college. It was temporary, I just shut the door :o)

She is definitely her father's child. She may look a bit like me, but she has Lackey blood running through her veins! She has his personality 100%. She is driven like him, always moving, thinking. She has always been a leader among her peers.

Here's how I would describe her:

R - rambunctious

A - active

C - cares for children

H - happy

E - excitable

L - loves . . . to talk, the Iowa State Fair, chocolate, & shopping!

We are in Springfield to spend her special day with her. We can't enjoy the Fair today, but we can shop, listen to you talk and share some chocolate! We love you Rachel, we're proud of you and thanks to that shopping trip that Dad promised we know you will have a fabulous birthday!

Our First Sunday!

We had an incredible first Sunday here in Independence. God is so faithful. The people here have been so welcoming and we feel so loved already. They are anxious for us to get moved down here and so are we! We aren't necessarily going to wait for the house in Des Moines to sell before we move, but we would sure like to get that chapter closed as well. Please continue to pray with us that the house sells quickly.

Dwight is in the office today and then we'll take off to Springfield to stay with Aunt Shirley and Uncle Jim for a couple of nights and spend the day with Rachel on her birthday. Then we'll head back to Independence on Wednesday to do Bible Study, be in the office on Thursday, go to Des Moines on Thursday night, come back to Independence on Saturday, etc etc etc.

I really don't like leaving Aaron in Des Moines so much. He is so anxious to be with us in Independence and we are ready to be settled in.

You may have heard that Rachel and Mike have set a wedding date! May 8, 2009 is the big day and we are thrilled! I'm called around today to locate some florist, caterers, photographers, etc. Let the planning begin! We are going to make her Save the Date cards, invitations, thank yous, programs and some of the reception decorations. I really need to get my stamp room moved and settled soon. That is where I'll be spending a lot of time in the next few months.

Tomorrow is Rachel's birthday, check back for a special post about her. Until then . . .

What a Welcome!

Dwight and I drove to Independence today for Bible Study tonight. I dropped Dwight off at the hotel so he could study. Meanwhile I went shopping at the huge Mall that is less than 5 minutes from the church. I may just go to work with him everyday! :)

Later on we went to supper at Chili's and then to church. We were welcomed with open arms by this wonderful group of people. Dwight did a fabulous job in Bible Study, as always in my humble opinion.

We brought some boxes from his office so he could get his office set up. As soon as we walked in, there was mail on his desk. That was a great feeling! Then, someone walked in with a pan of brownies! Oh my! THEN, after church he was given a GARMIN! We were shocked! He casually mentioned in his Sunday night sermon that he was going to purchase a Garmin so we could learn our way around Independence and find out where everyone lived. So now we have one and we can't wait to get moved and start to visit these wonderful people. THANKS SO MUCH!

Daily, we are reminded of how God takes care of His own. What a great privilege and responsibility He has entrused us with to pastor this great church! We are grateful! We're looking forward to our first Sunday!

Great Is Thy Faithfulness!

Welcome to our family blog. So many of our friends here in Iowa have asked for our contact information in Independence and we thought this would be a great way to kind of keep in touch. We will try to post two to three times per week to keep you updated on our family happenings.

Speaking of Independence, Dwight was elected as Senior Pastor at First Assembly of God in Independence MO on Sunday, September 7. We are thrilled with the opportunity that God has blessed us with. The church has beautiful facilities, including a GORGEOUS Sanctuary for a wedding, is located in an affluent area, just off of Hwy 291. It has incredible visibility to the community and with a Pastoral Staff of four, it will be poised to grow!!!

Following the election, the deacon board asked if he could do Bible Study on Wednesday night the 10th and start next Sunday. Of course, we gladly agreed. So, we are driving down on Wednesday, doing Bible Study, coming home on Thursday, going back down on Saturday and coming home on Monday. Please pray with us that our house will sell quickly and we can become permanent residents of Independence. We are excited to do so!

Rachel and I are very eager to begin "the wedding of the century" plans. :) A woman in the church just got married a couple of months ago and she graciously offered all her "stuff" for us to look at with regard to florists, caterers, etc. I am also going to ask to see her pictures to see how she decorated the Sanctuary. Watch for Save the Date cards to arrive soon. We hope to have them out in October. Rachel has to decide on the date first. :) We purchased her wedding dress back in June and it came in the day before she left to go back to Central Bible College in Springfield. She went in for her first fitting. It was a family event. We all went. It was an incredibly happy ending to a not so happy summer for her. God is good!

Aaron loves Independence! He has already purchased a KU hoodie and hat. (whatever that means) He is eager to get settled and continue with his Global University courses. He is continuing his job at Staples in Altoona until we officially move. He would like to take a break in between jobs and visit family in Southeast Missouri. So we will do that sometime soon. He reminded us that it has been over a year since he had seen his MaMa and Uncle Mike. I sort of forgot how busy we had been.

I will be involved in helping Dwight get his "system" set up at the office. I am very much looking forward to getting involved in Women's Ministries at the church any maybe teaching Sunday School. We met with the ladies group on Saturday, September 6 and they are very excited and anxious to get some things planned. We talked about so many ideas. I'll keep you posted on our events and maybe with the help of Aaron, we'll even post some pictures.

Thanks so much for your prayers, cards, calls and the many other ways you have supported us these last 10 weeks. God has been so incredibly faithful. I am so grateful for a husband who loves God more than anything else. He has been an fabulous example of how to lead his family out of the valley on to the mountain top. When the kids were younger and he would tuck them into bed and say their prayers, he would always thank God that He sent them to our house to live. I'm confident that through this summer, my kids will thank God that He gave them the Dad that He did.

We really do want to keep in touch and hope you will enjoy the updates that we'll post here. Stay tuned.