Like Potter's Clay

For the Birds (our Arizona snow birds that is ...and anyone else interested!) ;o)

2012-01-08T15:25:00.001-06:00

Christmas and New Years went by in a flurry of activities, travel, and preparations for church services, but we did enjoy taking time to do a number of fun little things with the kids. :)

We made star-shaped French toast...

and hanging glitter stars for above the dining room table, to name a couple.

We took in two foster kitties a few months ago. A home was found rather quickly for Aurora, but the kids love Willow so much, we don't know if we will make them part with her. Here is "Mary" and her "baby Jesus" - aka Willow. ;o)

We studied fossils and then...

made our own!

Here are Seth and Haddie at Ignite's Christmas Eve Eve service - it was a wonderful night. The kids enjoyed helping "lead worship" during Angels We Have Heard on High.

During most of December we had a break from small groups, music class, Awana, and school, so I found myself with extra energy to do some much needed organizing around the house. Still a long way to go, but getting there...

Ahhhhh. Much better.

There has been a lot of "horsing around" since Christmas!

A couple days ago we took Seth skiing for the first time. Steve and Seth skied while Haddie and I played in the snow, read books and shared some snacks inside. It was a beautiful day for Seth's first time on the slopes!

He was so excited!

(I find myself with few pictures of Seth and I, so Steve took our picture during lunch break.) :o)

Here he goes! :o)

Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T22:53:00.051-06:00

Merry Christmas family and friends! Here is a collection of pictures for those who are interested. A little glimpse into our year.

JANUARY

Deliveries of big boxes were a frequent occurrence in January. Lots of equipment for our upcoming church launch in February! (The kids loved the boxes!)

A little time with Grandpa and Grandma. And the cousins. :)

FEBRUARY

The biggest highlight in February was (of course) the launch of Ignite Church!

After many months (well, years, actually) of preparation, we were so excited to see this happen :) (Fun fact: Ignite's launch date was also Steve's 30th birthday!)

MARCH

After browsing for over a year, we finally got serious about house hunting. Eventually we bought this one! A great fit for our family (and minutes from the church).

The kids learned so much in school. We had a lot of fun too. Here they are counting one hundred "things on strings".

APRIL

After the snow melted, Haddie finally became confidant enough to ride her little bike without anyone holding on. ;) This made bike rides a more frequent occurrence!

On April 10th Seth turned 6 years old! It's amazing how the time has flown. We love his enthusiasm, creativity, and zest for life. He is so special to us!

Easter morning. :)

This is just a picture to show you how frazzled my brain was at about this time. Long days, short nights, trying to figure out how to grow a church, and packing to move again. ...Yep. Poured orange juice on Haddie's cereal.
(Don't worry, she got a new bowl.) ;)

MAY

Seth (orange shirt) finished up his first year at Children's Music Academy!

JUNE

June 8th our little Haddie turned 4 years old! She is such a sweetie, so joyful, and always a big helper. We can't imagine life without her!

Spending time with cousin Scarlet!

JULY

Though the year was very challenging and stressful, we found plenty of times to laugh and be silly. ;)

Enjoyed a visit with Aunt Marian from Alaska!

Summer isn't complete without a little fun at the farm. Here's Seth and Hidalgo.

Haddie twirling. :)

Exploring the bean field.

Steve spoke at a Bible camp this summer, and they were kind enough to take us tubing during free time!

AUGUST

Seth earned his first stripe in his belt for Tae Kwon Do in August. He's the little one in the second/third row. ;)

SEPTEMBER

First day of school, action shot.

Ignite hosted a fall kick-off at a local park. We were excited to serve a meal to about 300 people (and 112 of them returned for church the next day!)

OCTOBER

Straw bale maze at a nearby pumpkin patch!

We thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful fall weather this year. Here are the kids on a day we took a hike. Cooling off in the river - in October!

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER

Special time with Great-Grandpa Dufour

Welcoming cousin Owen!

Early Christmas celebration at Grandpa and Grandma's house.

As we look back at the year, we have so much to be thankful for. We are humbled by the blessings of good health, a home, our marriage of 8 and 1/2 years, two very special children, great family and friends, the amazing people at Ignite church, and especially God's presence and guidance with us through a challenging year of new things. He is so faithful! To him be the glory for all that transpired in 2011 and may he be glorified in all we do in 2012.

2011-10-08T23:03:00.001-05:00

Hi friends! It's been a busy fall for us! We've been working hard... but we've also managed to squeeze in some fun.

Our friends Sid and Peggy invited us out to their country home to learn how to press apples into cider!

Turning the press

Washing apples

First field trip of the year to a children's science
museum

Lots of picnic lunches

A business trip becomes more fun with a detour to Hutchinson to visit friends and then Underwater World at the Mall of America (here they are on our hotel balcony).

Haddie being a lady bug

Running through a straw bale maze with cousin Tony

Those pumpkins are heavy!

Haddie expressed much desire and was able to communicate what Communion at church means, so she took part for the first time this month. She was very excited. Here she is that morning.

Hiking on a beautiful Fall day, enjoying the colors

We ventured off the path because it was so warm. ;)

Checking out animal tracks in the mud

Making an Irish recipe from great-great Grandma

Praising God for health, guidance, protection and provision! We are very blessed indeed.

Here we are in September again!

2011-09-14T22:14:00.000-05:00

Fairs, visits, farm and camp!

2011-07-23T15:54:00.000-05:00

As we began our second July here we remembered the fun we had at the local fair last year. So we went again and enjoyed four hours of sunshine, petting zoo, lemonade, cotton candy, rides and SNAKES! :) Yes, that is Seth in the orange shirt helping hold this gigantic reptile.

He was delighted to have a ball python around his neck too.

I loved this sweet little calf. SO cute! (We could fit one in our yard, right honey?!)

Someone gave us a handful of tickets for rides as they were leaving - how fun!

The last month has been filled with visits with sweet friends and family. Here are the kids with Grandma Aggie.

Steve was able to see many of his cousins at his Grandpa Boyd's birthday party in Wisconsin!

Steve with his folks and sisters at the birthday party.

Seth and Haddie with baby Norah!

Haddie and Kimber!
We also enjoyed brief but lovely visits with Barb Smith, Shannon and her girls, Heather and Aveyn and Megan's family while we were at Oak Hills camp in Bemidji this past week. Wish I had pictures of all of them!

While Steve settled into Camp Oak Hills as speaker of the week, we took a couple days at the farm to escape the crazy heat and humidity. Here's Haddie with some of mom's flowers.

Getting a tractor ride!

Watching Grandpa Dewey do some leveling.

Feeding Hidalgo. :)

Seth and "Ash".

Ahhhhh! Breeze from a barn fan on a hot day!

Grandma Sheila giving a mower ride.

They loved feeding "Avatar" and the rest of the peacocks!

Following our time at the farm we spent four days and three nights at Camp Oak Hills with Steve. Scott was gracious enough to take us tubing and fishing while we were there! Here's Seth and Steve tubing.

Having fun on the boat!

Biking to the beach!

Seth spent most of his time at the beach under water looking for shells. :)

We loved the quiet sandy swimming area.

The kids loved our gift of matching t-shirts from Camp. What a wonderful week!

looking back...

2011-07-05T21:58:00.004-05:00

As my brain fog is beginning to lift after our crazy year of moving/planting a church/moving again, I've spent some time looking back and thinking about God's goodness... even when it didn't feel so good in the moment.

I've thought about how hard it was to say goodbye to a truly wonderful church family. A group who encouraged us, cared for us, befriended us and entrusted ministry to us. In the early months here it was easy to feel lonely and wonder what purposes God had for us in this place.
...And then we started to see people come. People not even connected to us in any way, but    orchestrated by God to enter into our lives and Ignite Church. We've become friends, heard           their amazing stories and have quickly come to love this new church body deeply - just as we
still love the first church we served in.

I've thought about how, many years ago, God put an excitement in my heart to adopt children some day. When our Haddie turned one year, I was determined that it must be time to start the process to adopt. After several days of prayer Steve and I both agreed God's response was "Not now". I felt so devastated. How could something so good have a right time and a wrong time?
Two more times since then we have sought the Lord and both times heard a clear, "Wait." Sadness and tears abounded as I often wondered when we would be able to bring our other children home.
...Yet now as I look back at the challenges of this past year and the countless times I
          felt as if I was barely keeping my head above water, I can see God's wisdom in having us wait.
          The year was good but a hard transition for the two children we have right now. Every ounce
          of my physical and emotional energy was used up between assisting Steve with church "stuff"
          moving twice, and trying to help our kiddos feel loved and adjusted in our new life here. I
          can't wait to see our family grow (and we think the right time might be on the horizon!) but
          I'm thankful God was gracious in showing us his will - even though I didn't like it at the time.

There are so many more situations I could write about - like how Steve wrestled through some tough, tough situations in ministry before we moved (yet sheltered all the while under the wings of some amazing and godly mentors)...and how those things of the past have absolutely helped prepare him for handling issues here with grace and wisdom now that he's "on his own". Then there's how I didn't even want to plant a church. I kept thinking about how there are so many great churches in this country, and most of them not even full. It seemed ridiculous to me to leave everything comfortable and go with my husband to start a new one. ...My heart has obviously been changed and I've been blown away by the stories of how God is using Ignite Church. It is so humbling and such an amazing gift to see it all unfold.

As we seek God's will for our lives, sometimes it's easy to understand why he directs us the way he does. And of course there are some instances we won't fully understand while we're on this earth. ...But then there are the situations we come to understand after some time. After we grow. And after we learn to trust him a little bit more...   :)

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.   ""As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." ~Isaiah 55:8-9

Photo Update

2011-06-30T22:42:00.003-05:00

Aunt Marian visited from Alaska!

Goin' for a ride on the lawnmower!

Evidence that we are starting to feel settled in our new home - we're making goodies again!

Chocolate dipped strawberries - yum!

Spending some time with newest baby cousin, Scarlet.

Seth loves babies!

Nat's fam

Haddie and her friend Gracie both just turned 4 - they had fun decorating brownies!

Grandpa Dewey showing Seth the ducklings - which were hatched out by a little black HEN!

Cousin Cory's wedding.

Seth and Haddie started new activities this summer which they love!

At the end of the school year we added a bird to our small animal collection. We now have a dog, a fish, and a parakeet... probably the closest to having a farm I'll ever get, haha!

Mondays - Steve's day off - are precious to our family during this very busy season. Here we are spending a Monday hiking at a nearby State Park.

Feeling so thankful to have a home again. If you find yourself heading our way give us a call - we'd love to have you over!

Having Fun with the Monkeys

2011-06-30T19:39:00.000-05:00

Did you know?

2011-04-03T15:43:00.000-05:00

We're taking Lisa's fun suggestion and are going to share ten tidbits about us that you may (or may not) know! ;)

Here we go...

Hehe, here's us thirteen years ago!

1. The first time we laid eyes on each other was the summer of 1995. Some girlfriends and I were working on our tennis skills at the courts in town when Steve and a buddy of his showed up. I had only just finished sixth grade (gasp!) and Steve was going into ninth. We noticed each other that day but we didn't talk. Steve, though normally not one to be at a loss for words, has shared that it took him two years to work up the courage to speak to me. ;)

2. Two years later we started getting to know each other - although it wasn't until I was 16 that we had our first official "date". We drove 45 miles to the nearest movie theater to watch The Mask of Zoro.

3. When I was a freshman in college Steve asked me to marry him (and I said yes!) It was a tradition at the small Bible college I attended to throw newly-engaged men into the lake just outside our chapel. (Steve was sure to remain unseen around there until weather warmed up a bit. When he visited a chapel service that spring my classmates were more than happy to include him in the tradition!)

4. We were married on June 21 '03 - a wonderful, yet hot and windy day, complete with thunderstorm and power outage that night! Our honeymoon was a road trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and we had a great time. Thanks to groomsmen who were eager to fill Steve's car with everything from sardines to cereal, we had lots of Rice Crispies blow out of the vents of his car on that trip. (In fact it took a good year or more for us to see the end of the Rice Crispies!)

5. On our honeymoon we began praying that God would show us a ministry we could do together. His answer was definitely not what we expected at that time! (# 7 tells of His response to those prayers.)

6. That fall Steve continued a job he had as a middle school counselor and I attended cosmetology school. The plan was for Steve to work one more year while I went to school and then I would work as a cosmetologist while he went to seminary. Hehe, sometimes things don't turn out as we plan!

7. Around September of that year we received a phone call - a pastor hoping we would prayerfully consider helping out with their youth group. We prayed and felt excited right away - this was the ministry we were supposed to do together! That volunteer position turned into a full-time youth pastor job for Steve and the beginning of 7 years of ministry in that church!

8. My maternal instincts kicked in soon after we were married, and so our first "kids" joined our home - a cockatiel named Pippin and later a collie named Meshach.

9. Before we got married Steve said he wanted 10 kids. ;) We have two right now - and most likely won't make it to ten, but we love our kiddos and can't wait to add more by adoption (hopefully starting soon!)

10. Although we've taken numerous personality and strengths finder tests for various ministry things, we've found it only takes painting a room together to discover how we work. You'll find me with a little brush working in the corners and Steve will have the roller making big strokes across the middle of the room. Yep - I'm a details person all the way and Steve is the big-idea futurist who keeps life exciting for me!!

Taken on 4 consecutive days...

2011-03-27T17:41:00.002-05:00

The snow on our patio is going...

(Random side note: I really really wanted to bag up all the used cigarettes we found as the snow melted - compliments of our neighbor two floors up - and deliver them back to her. I restrained myself. But believe me, I thought about it!)

going...

gone! (hmmm... so is our door mat - I wonder where it is...)

Not so fast! One snowy day and it's back. And we were getting so excited about how much was melting.

Well, I guess if you can't beat it, might as well... spray water and food coloring on it, haha!

And just for fun, here's a couple of Steve and Haddie "going to work" together. ;o)

Blessings

2011-03-22T19:29:00.000-05:00

...Blessed in so many ways...

...We had fun visit recently with Great-Grandpa Richard and Grandma Aggie.... Not so long ago they were hospitalized at the same time; Grandma with a broken leg and Grandpa in a very grave, life-threatening condition. Both are doing well now. (To see Grandpa feeling good enough to be playing ball with Seth and Haddie was so wonderful!)

... Thankful for well-fed, tuckered out little munchkins...

....And the chance to be home with them each day...

The winter has been long, and the adjustment to our new setting hasn't always been easy, but I'm thankful we can be together! :o)

For the 'rents - and anyone else! ;o) (a picture update)

2011-03-07T23:42:00.001-06:00

The night before our church launch we were able to spend some time with extended family - including great-grandpa Boyd!

We made volcanoes in school.

Seth LOVED it!

In honor of Dr. Suess's birthday we had green eggs and ham! (And the kids really enjoyed it, haha!)

And we've read lots of Suess and Suess-inspired books. Seth read much of "Go Dog Go" by himself! :o)

Haddie being "Little Red Riding Hood"!


"Snake-Eyes" ;o)

2011-03-01T22:37:00.001-06:00

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances...

(Paul's words, not my own... Although it is my prayer and an ongoing lesson of mine. Haha, this year I'm getting lots of practice!)

the things they say

2011-02-09T22:24:00.000-06:00

Sometimes they say things that are flattering...
Like the time Haddie was holding a ruler, measuring parts of her body. She held it across her waist and then reached out to measure mine. "About the same!" she told me.
Hahahaha, oh Haddie, you're so funny!

Another time I was talking to her about how nobody is perfect except Jesus. "You're not??" she asked wide-eyed. (Teehee Haddie girl, you have no idea!)

And then sometimes the things they say... well... not so flattering.

Not too long ago I was playing with Seth and he looked closely at my eyes. "Mom!" he exclaimed, "Your eyes are purple" Thinking he meant it looked like the iris had flecks of purple or something cool like that, I said, "Oh, that's neat. I didn't know they had purple in them".

"No mom," Seth replied patiently. "You have purple skin under your eyes."

Yep. Thanks Seth. Come to think of it I have been pretty tired for the last 6 months. ;o)

...eggs...

2011-02-09T22:01:00.000-06:00

We visited the farm a few days ago. A common thing we do when we're there is take a walk around the yard, stopping to look at all the animals along the way. The chickens are always particularly interesting. We love watching them run eagerly when we toss out grain. We love their happy little clucks. We love how the good little black hen adopted an abandoned egg, and when it hatched, she raised it as her own. We love listening to cock-a-doodle-do's from "My Boy".

And we love farm fresh eggs. ;o) They are so good! So unique and colorful. So much better than the store bought ones we usually buy!

Aren't they pretty?

January!

2011-01-24T23:57:00.000-06:00

Well, the Christmas update has been up long enough so we're moving on here! :o)

This one's just a quick post to show you what we've been up to this month. The weeks have sped by as we've been working hard on preparations for the church launch!

We've had a lot of awesome volunteers. The picture above shows some guys from church building rolling storage boxes (which will make hauling equipment in and out of the theater each Sunday so much easier!).

The kids have enjoyed all the church boxes shipped to our apartment lately! Here they are having snacks on their "star wars ships".

During this busy and sometimes stressful season in our lives, it is a wonderful blessing that Seth and Haddie have been having so much fun playing together. They still have their moments (of course!) but they play together so well and so much compared to even a year ago.

Enjoying time with Grandpa, Grandma and cousins!

Playing dress up - another way we've passed the hours when it's been too cold to play outside! I found this pink skirt in my mom's pile of give-away clothes. I knew Haddie would love it!

Leave it to Seth to pretend candle-lighters are guns! (Don't worry, I took them away after this picture!)

Seth loves to take pictures...

... so we played along for this one...

...ah, my girl!

.... Haha, and my boy! Seth is jumping off the couch here and wanted me to catch it on camera. :o)

We've done some baking too. Seth made his first cookie by himself (well, he has helped many many times before, but this time he used his own original recipe. ...It was a little too runny to separate on the cookie sheet, so we just made one big cookie!)

A little air guitar before bed. Check out the blue hair! It was "Crazy Hair Night" for Awana. ;o)

Haddie joined in on the fun. This pose made me laugh. :o)

More to come soon! Thanks for stopping!

Christmas Update 2010

2010-12-18T00:20:00.005-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone! Thank you for stopping by to see our Christmas update! We hope your year has been filled with joy. Ours certainly has... as well as excitement, anticipation, challenges, waiting, hurrying, packing, unpacking, growth, peace (yes, some anxiety too), love, and so much more. Continue to scroll down to see a quick recap of the year in photos!

January found us beginning to sort, discard, organize and pack items in our home. We were getting ready for a move! Boxes abounded and many became objects of great entertainment for Seth and Haddie. We fervently worked on some home projects so we could put the house on the market.

In February we took a short but sweet trip to Arizona. The kids loved the cacti and we all enjoyed the time in the sun!

March was filled with youth ministry fun and busyness, some thrills from finding long-lost items as we continued to sort (see picture with hats above) and a little "ridiculously nice" weather, as you can tell by Seth and Haddie outside in their jammies!

In April Seth turned 5. We love our big boy so much. He is so full of life and enthusiasm. Some of his favorite things are insects, sea creatures, tornadoes, and "gadgets". ;o) He has a drawer full of them!

As the end of May drew near, our days in youth ministry began to as well. It was such a bittersweet time for us. We looked forward to beginning the new thing God had called us to, but is was a very hard thing to know we would soon be done with a job we loved so much. We spent a total of seven years there and are so thankful for every one of them!

In June our little Haddie turned 3! Here she is showing off her new cowboy hat and boots. (No surprise, Haddie loves horses, as well as babies, cooking, helping in general, and PINK!) Hadassah Joy is such a delight to us. We can't imagine life without her sweetness in it!

July 1st was moving day! We down-sized just a tad from a 2,500 sq. ft house to an apartment. ;o) It was an adjustment, yes. And it took a while for our place to feel like home, but after some time we have found joy in (and come to appreciate) this season of apartment living.

August marked the beginning of Bible studies held in our home. We were thankful to quickly outgrow that space!

In September Seth started Kindergarten! It has been so fun to see him learn and grow this year. Each week he also loves attending a group music class and Awana at a nearby church.

(Not to be forgotten, Haddie thinks preschool is great and often asks to "do school"!)

October was a month of pumpkin patches, hiking through crunchy leaves, and enjoyment in a larger ministry space.

At the end of November we said goodbye to our lovely home. How fitting that the month of thankfulness was the month we accepted an offer and signed papers. We are happy that a really nice family with four children bought it.

So, that brings us to December. We will celebrate the birth of our Savior in a new setting this year. The place may be different, but the Reason is the same. We are so thankful for what God has done in our lives. We pray for his work to continue in ours and yours too.

Thanks for taking the time to see what we've been up to this past year! Leave a comment if you wish, and feel free to stop by again. We plan to post a little something every week or so!

Merry Christmas and Happy New year!

It's that time of year again. Check out how much they've changed!

2010-09-05T22:57:00.001-05:00

For this season in our lives...

2010-03-01T22:04:00.003-06:00

Hello all,

I've realized that it's time to close down our blog for a while. During this season in our lives, as we are going through lots of changes,  I am finding that my plate is too full. I need to unload a little before something falls off!  ;o)

Someone once said that the tricky thing about keeping a blog is that it's easy to run out of things to say.  ...Well, that definitely isn't the case here! I still have tons of things I want to say... I just don't have time to say them right now.

I'll still occasionally check in on the blogs I know, and if you'd like to send any thoughts or conversation, we'd love to have you email us at snkrier at live dot com .

As I leave, I'd like to challenge you, as well as myself, with the question that has been the theme of my learning for the last 7 years...
I have this on a little piece of paper stuck to my fridge.
This is the question...

"Is God your source of
       security,
       significance and
       satisfaction?"

Every time I feel overwhelmed, burned-out, frustrated, full of anxiety, envious, angry (you get the picture), I look at my little piece of paper with that question... and within a moment or two I can see that I've gotten my priorities skewed - in one or more of these areas.  Those three "S - words" remind me that God really is everything I need. He wants me to know that and live it. He has shown me time and time again that when I confess my wanderings and look to him for my security or my significance or my satisfaction, he is right there, ready be much more than what the world can offer.
A full, abundant life.   And it's only found in him... although I so easily turn away and look to other things.

For me, right now, it's remembering that my sense of security should not be found in selling our house for a good price and finding the perfect home in the perfect part of town when we move.

It's remembering that my real significance is not found in making sure I have the right clothes or in being popular or affirmed by lots of people (even in the blog world!)

It's even about remembering that I can be perfectly satisfied in my life without chocolate (gasp!) ;o) (How come the simple ones are so hard to embrace sometimes?!) Hehe.

My prayer for all of us is that we will not look to find our security, significance or satisfaction in things that will pass away. Something much greater is waiting for us...

So, thank you all for the time you've spent here. We've been honored by your presence.
Blessings to each of you!
At some point, we hope to be "back"! :o)
~S. and Company

Without Love... my reminder for the night

2010-02-21T01:03:00.001-06:00

(For the curious... the answer to where we were is on the post below this one!) :o)

I had just settled happily onto the couch for the evening, after a late night getting the kids tucked into bed and many trips back upstairs to tend to their various "needs". After only a few minutes rest, Seth called out, yet again, from his upstairs bedroom. "Mo-om, I want to tell you something. Can you come here please?"

I have to admit, I'm thankful he wasn't close enough to hear my pitiful sigh as I paused wearily at the bottom of the staircase before ascending to his room. I had been really looking forward to some time to myself. Ahh, there was that great parenting resource book I've been reading... or I was thinking about writing a family update post on our blog... and I was eager to do a little more adoption reasearch too... so many things I had my heart set on doing in my precious free time tonight. And now my time was getting cut even shorter.

As I picked my tired feet up the flight of old stairs, I could feel a little twinge in my heart. It wasn't too strong or too loud... it was that still, small voice I knew well. And it was quietly calling for an attitude change.
"Mmm hmm", I inwardly noded, understanding God's reminder to me. It was my love for my children that drove me to invest in those other things in the first place. ... Still, I entered Seth's room with an agenda of getting things taken care of, and then getting back downstairs as quickly as I could...

Forty-five minutes later I stood in Seth's doorway, telling him that I loved him and wishing him sweet dreams. My expression was softer, and so was my heart. Oh, yes, it had taken time, quite a bit of time. And now I wouldn't be able to do all those "super important" things tonight.... But that was ok. I had spent forty-five minutes with a little boy who just needed some reassuring. When I entered, his sweet, tender heart was concerned about something, and he was sad to the point of tears. He was happy now, smiling and laying peacefully close to sleep. How thankful I was that I hadn't simply yelled up the stairs for him to quiet down and go to bed, as I had selfishly wanted to, without even checking to see if he had a legitimate issue or if he was mearly stalling for more awake time.

After all, what good are my great parenting books, and blogging about the four of us, and the desire to expand our family through adoption if I'm reacting selfishly and without putting my love for them into action right now?

Hmmm. Not much good, I guess.

I'm glad for the reminder.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

~ 1 Corinthians 13:1-7

Yes, it was...

2010-02-20T23:44:00.000-06:00

Arizona! ;o)

We had debated going because of the craziness of packing and support raising, plus the usual church and family things going on... but we did go, and in the end it turned out to be just what we needed. :o)

We had a great time doing some hiking. Here's Seth on the rock marking the "Heiroglyphics Trail". Seth and Haddie and I only made it about half way, but it was pretty cool.

We went to a lake one night (Haddie kept calling it "The Grand Canyon" - hehe!). Here's the four of us near the lake as the sun was setting, making things look even more beautiful.

"Kids, don't stick your hands by those holes or under any bushes."

The four of us went on an easy hike just outside the city we were staying in.

The day and scenery were wonderful.

Seth at a park we all enjoyed.

"That's sharp. You don't want to touch cactuses." ;o)

Steve and Haddie.

We did a little celebrating while we were out there, as it was Steve's birthday the day we came home.

Haddie and me. Neat iron statues were everywhere in Fountain Hills, where we stayed.

The girls. Myself, Tammy (you wouldn't guess she's seven months pregnant!), Jess, my mom, and Steph.

This was actually taken before we flew out (but I was having trouble with the order of pictures downloaded!). Seth and Haddie thought the escelator at the air port was just amazing. :o) Hehe.

Thanks Mom and Dad. We had a wonderful time!

2010-02-10T09:29:00.001-06:00

We are thankful to have been given a little vacation!

Can you guess where we are? :o)

Some family pics to share with you

2010-01-25T19:53:00.000-06:00

This past fall we had fun taking some family pictures. I had planned to share these with you way back before we started having computer problems... but here they are now! :o)

Steve saves the day!

2010-01-22T22:55:00.001-06:00

After quite an absence from the blog world, I'm very happy to say we're back - and with a handful of pictures to help you catch up! We've had problem after problem with computer issues, starting with the crash of our former pc.... but tonight, thanks to Steve's help and his work computer, I'm happy to join you again!

This first one is just for fun, taken yesterday.

This is what happens when boys play with dolls...

Cinderella borrowed Ariel's shells

"so she could have goggles and go scuba diving". ;o)

Here's Haddie a couple months ago, celebrating the success of our high school football team.

We were delighted to have friends from our sister church in Ukrain here for a visit.

Seth and Haddie had fun learning to count to ten in Ukrainian!

My dad's side had a big gathering for Thanksgiving.

We had much to be thankful for - especially the presence of my grandparents.

(Last spring my grandma broke her leg and my grandpa

spent many months in hospitals and nursing homes due

to a severe rare blood disease. Both have recovered remarkebly well!)

The cousins on Steve's side...

Antonio, Haddie, Seth and Hayden.

This is how most of the group photos turn out! ;o)

Christmas Eve at our church.

The cousins on my side...

Daniel, Caleb, Haddie and Seth

Seth and Haddie being explorers. :o)

So, as you can see, we're still alive and things have been going well! We've been working on support raising, packing, and house projects, along with all of the usual family happening. Thanks so much to those faithful followers who continued to regularly check in during our previous absence! Barring another computer turning to toast, I'll be back again soon! :o)

This and That

2009-12-15T21:06:00.003-06:00

Hey there! How has December been going for all of you? ..... Great, we hope! :o) I'm guessing it's been speeding along just as it has for us!

We were hoping our home computer would be done by now.... but it's not. (sigh)
I'm thankful I can check things occasionally on Steve's work computer, although it is really difficult to make new blog posts on this computer for various reasons.

I've been thinking that it would be good to at least get a little update out there about what we've been doing lately. ;o) So here it is - brief though it may be and lacking of pictures as I cannot insert images right now!

Let's see...

*Haddie and Seth just had their Sunday School Christmas program a couple days ago. (Haddie's first program!) It was quite a hoot. ;o)

*Recently we welcomed Steve's sister, her husband, and their son Antonio to the area. It is really fun to have them live three hours closer to us!

*Steve and I have been enjoying meeting with other couples to share the vision God has given us about church planting.

*I've been gathering up lots of storage containers - some to make the house more organized for when we put it on the market, some for packing away things for the move!

*Despite the business of the season, we've been making efforts to slow down, make memories, and reflect on what we are really celebrating this time of year.

In closing, I'll share with you a few recent words from Haddie....

(With concern) "Mom, is daddy drinking apple spider?"

Hehe. ;o)

Catch ya'll again soon!

We're still here! ;o)

2009-12-03T22:30:00.002-06:00

Hello there to all our quiet, faithful followers! I just wanted to let you know that I haven't given up on our blog! Our home computer has been out of commission for a couple weeks now - hopefully to be remedied soon!
Thanks to all who have continued to check in!

Haddie and Seth are doing well. No major illnesses yet this Fall -woo hoo! They greatly delighted in decorating our home for Christmas this year. We are also doing a really fun daily Advent devotional I found on my friend Lindsey's blog. You can find out how to make your own Jesse Tree here. :o)

I am beginning to start the crazy process of sorting through each item in our house in effort to pack what we need to keep and cull what we don't.
Eeek! ;o)
(Any advice??)

Steve and I are off tomorrow to travel across the state to do some support raising for our church plant!

Blessings to each of you!
Thanks for stopping by!

2009-11-25T19:37:00.002-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!

We hope you and your families are enjoying the day together, and that this finds you with much to be thankful for!

With love,

S. and Company

what do we do all day?

2009-11-17T11:17:00.003-06:00

(First, I have to let you know that some "deeper thoughts" will be coming soon. I know the recent posts have been pretty child-focused lately!) ;o)

That said....

The other day I was thinking about how I am regularly asked what the kids and I do all day. :o)

Well, many mornings we have a loose schedule consisting of things like breakfast, clean-up, play time upstairs, a little laundry, play time outside/a play date with friends/story time at library, etc., lunch.

Then again... there are some mornings where we stay in our pajamas, make a fun, late breakfast, let the dishes remain... and we dance. ;o)

I thought I'd share a little clip with you. Here's Seth dancing to "Mighty Good Leader" by Audio Adrenaline. (Make sure your volume is turned up - hehe!)

Have a great day everyone! (The dishes can wait, right?) ;o)

Oops! I forgot a couple...

2009-11-10T19:30:00.004-06:00

Today I remembered a couple funny things I forgot to add to the previous post. ;o) Here they are...

*Upon entering a pitch black bedroom with me one night recently, Haddie remarked, "Oh! It's so dark, I can't see my eyeballs!"

*Seth asked me the other day, "Does God wear pants?"
I paused for a moment. "Maybe, Seth."
"Hee hee!" He exclaimed, "Then I can ride around in his pocket!"

(Both of these made me smile.) :o)

Out of their mouths...

2009-11-06T09:55:00.001-06:00

Our kids are always cracking us up. :o) Here's a little bit of what we've heard in recent months...

*(This one reflects how different the two of them are.) On our summer vacation this year, Seth was playing with some jumbo plastic lawn darts, saying things like, "Blast off!", "Pow!" "Zoom, Boom!" and "Full Speed Ahead!".
Haddie found them later, gathered all of them in her arms and said, "Ahhh, group hugs." :o)

*The place we were staying at was a town called Park Rapids - except in Haddie's mind it was "Park Rabbits". Hehe.

*Speaking of towns, we were on a trip a while ago and went through a town called Hitterdal. On that trip Seth was asking us what each town's name was. Later that week we had to travel again. We were going through one small town and Seth asked us if we were in "Hit-er-baby". We were confused for a minute, and then realized he was remembering Hitterdal as "Hit-er-doll", and thus, "Hit-er-baby" came to mind! We got a good chuckle out of that one.

*Recently we decided to go out to eat Chinese with some extended family members. We were excited because we don't too often go to restaurants any more. Seth picked up on our enthusiasm and exclaimed, "Wooo hooo! Yes! Hee hee, Chinese! .... do they have cheeseburgers?!"

*Then, the other day, we were eating whole sugar snap peas in a stir fry at home. Seth was very curious why there were "Peas inside the beans."

Seth and Haddie were having an interesting conversation at the supper table recently. Steve and I were amused at their early interpretation of gender roles at the beginning of this conversation....

*It started with me mentioning that Daddy is "Pastor Steve." Then I asked Seth if one day he wanted to be "Pastor Seth."

Haddie: "I want to be Pastor Haddie."

Seth: "Girls aren't pastors."

To which, Haddie said: "I'll get married". ;o) And then, "I'll marry Seth."

At that, Steve told her: "You can't marry your brother, honey."

So Haddie thought for a moment and said: "I'll marry Jason." (Jason is her uncle.)

"Sorry Haddie," I said. "You can't marry uncle Jason either. You could marry a friend. Like... Jude (just to throw out a name of a one of her friends so she would get the idea).

Haddie: "I marry Jude."

Me: "Well, I guess honey, you should marry whoever God wants you to marry. We'll have to pray about it."

Haddie: "I'll pray about it. Dear God, pray for Jude, amen."

Funny kids. ;o)

Candle in the Corner Giveaway

2009-11-05T12:19:00.000-06:00

Hello All! Just wanted to fill you in on a neat opportunity! If you're looking for a special gift to give someone for Christmas, you might want to consider entering to win one of these great gifts from around the world. Five dollars gives you one entry, and all the money raised goes for supporting the missionaries who provided these cool items!

(Hurry though, the drawing will be held Nov. 11th!)

These are just a few of the gifts you could win...

To enter, or to find out more, go to www.momsministryandmore.blogspot.com and click as directed in her upper right hand corner!

I have an amazing wife!

2009-11-04T16:37:00.002-06:00

Guest Blogger: Steve Krier

I am sitting at my office at church and was checking up on all the blogs that I read...one of which is "Like Potter's Clay"...my wife's blog. I was looking at all of things that she does on the blog which then got me to thinking about all the other amazing things my wife does. So I thought I would hijack her blog and write a post about how wonderful she is.

Thank you, Nat, for being a great mother to our two children, for your heart of adoption, for your tireless efforts at home and in church, for planting a church with me, for your listening ear, for being a great leader of women, for your example of faith to me, for all the late night talks, and for being my wife.

You're the best and I love you
Steve

More Fall Fun

2009-11-01T07:57:00.002-06:00

Here's some more pics of our Fall Fun. ;o)
(In random order ... I'm having a problem with my ability to paste!)

Granny visited our house this past week and we had a great time with her. It was a nice mild and dry fall day, so the kids (... and the adults!) had fun goofing off in the leaves.

Yesterday we had a party at Steve's parent's house, complete with great decorations which the kiddos loved (thanks Megan!). Here are all the little munchkins - and grandma Barb!

Seth was Iron Man, Haddie was a Fairy, Antonio was a Renaissance Boy, and Hayden was a Cow. :o)

"Cheese!"

Haddie and Seth taking a break in the leaves the other day.

I love this one.

We started out the day on Saturday by having orange Jack-O-Lantern pancakes.

Grandma Sheila stopped by the party to see the kids.

It looks like we had some fall fun just in time - as I look outside this morning the ground is covered in inches of crunchy, icy snow! Eeeek, I don't think I'm ready for that! ;o)

Have a great day everyone!

finding some good in it :o)

2009-10-30T22:00:00.007-05:00

When Seth was a toddler, we found ourselves wondering what we, as a family, should make of Halloween. ;o)

On one hand, Steve and I both had lots of fun celebrating Halloween when we were young.

... On the other hand, we aren't the hugest fans of some of the aspects of this holiday (especially when it involves our impressionable and easily frightened youngsters!).

Recently I read about one mom's point of view concerning Halloween. I think it summed our feelings about our kiddos and this issue pretty well. She talked about how, whether you celebrate Halloween or not, your children are going to be exposed to it. (Well, unless you never let them out of the house!) So, she said, why not be the ones who give them their first impressions about the holiday? Maybe create some wholesome traditions they can look forward to and enjoy doing as a family each year when the time for Halloween roles around.

So, we thought we'd share a few pictures of some of our "Halloween" traditions we've enjoyed doing with Seth and Haddie each year. :o)

We have fun traveling to the local pumpkin patch.

This year the pumpkin crop wasn't stellar, so we just chose our pumpkins from a couple trailers piled with orange goodies (instead of wandering around a huge field or yard full of them).
It was a chilly day, but we had fun.

Haddie took her job seriously, and carefully checked out many a pumpkin.

Seth was "king of the pumpkin pile".

Haddie lost a shoe (it was retrieved).

Hooray, they found the perfect ones!

(And then we picked one big one to carve.)

They looked forward to this part for weeks!

After successfully cleaning out and carving the pumpkin, next on their list is always toasting the pumpkin seeds.

This year we made one batch of "salties" and one batch of honey/cinnamon seeds. Yum!

They wanted to try out their snack right after bath time tonight.

(They are dressed a little goofy here - wearing huge matching t-shirts they received one afternoon playing at the gym with their cousins. That was Seth's choice of pajamas for the night, so, naturally, Haddie followed suit.)

Haddie and the finished jack-o-lantern designed by our boy. It has "Batman eyes", he says. ;o)

They were delighted by how our pumpkin face looked when we put the candle in and turned out the lights!

Well, there you have it for now. We hope all of you have a lovely day tomorrow whether you are hard core trick-or-treaters, you choose to stay home with the lights off and the shades pulled, or you fall somewhere in between like us. ;o)

Thanks for stopping by!

my hands

2009-10-26T15:20:00.006-05:00

These words ring true in my soul...

I have held many things in my hands,

and have lost them all;

but whatever I have placed in God's hands,

that I still posess.

~Martin Luther

A Taste of the Season

2009-10-17T00:15:00.004-05:00

Try this one out! We think you'll love it!

SPICED PUMPKIN BREAD

*3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

*3 cups sugar

*2 teaspoons baking soda

*2 teaspoons salt

*2 teaspoons ground allspice

*1 teaspoon baking powder

*1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

*1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

*1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

*4 eggs

*1 can (15 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin

*3/4 cup vegetable oil

*2/3 cup water

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin, oil, and water, mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour into three greased 8 in. x 4 in. x 2 in. loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before transferring from pans to wire racks to cool completely before slicing. (Makes 3 loaves.)

Have fun eating!! :o)

He's a keeper ;o)

2009-10-13T09:30:00.006-05:00

Sunday night we arrived home from visiting The Farm. It had been a sad afternoon for me. We had decided that unless he showed some sudden and dramatic improvement, my sweet old gelding needed to be put to sleep some time this week. He has just been suffering too much with severe leg pain. So, we had made the trip down to see him so I could spend some time with him and say good-bye. (The sadness of putting down my horse cannot be compared with the tragedy of human suffering of course. Still, I felt weary and the lump in my throat lingered as we came home. It was a hard thing to say good-bye to my boy.)

As I was putting away our jackets, I heard the tub running. I was surprised that Steve would have decided to give the kids a bath, as they were very sleepy and ready for bed. I walked toward the bathroom and was met by Steve, who, much to my delight, said that he would put both kids to bed while I took a hot bath. Oh, what a perfect gift on such a night.

Then, yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending the day visiting with two dear friends I don't get to see very often. My handsome hubby stayed home with our kiddos so I could be out of the house for a while and enjoy some adult conversation. While visiting with Heather, I received a curious phone call from Steve, asking me to "not come home until about six that evening". A very unusual request, but I was happy to take a little extra time shopping by myself before heading home.

Once home, after parking the little Saturn, I walked through our gate to see this...

My thoughtful guy had brought Seth and Haddie down to his folks, bought groceries for supper, cleaned the house, dressed up, and was grilling (not burgers, but orange glazed salmon on cedar planks! Yum, it was so delicious!!)

Later that night, I asked why all the fuss. Steve replied that things have been so busy lately and we hadn't been able to spend a whole lot of time together, just enjoying each other's company without working on church things or whatever. "I just don't want you to feel like you are only getting my leftovers," he said. Aawwww. :o)

I'm so thankful for this man!

I'd say he's a keeper! ;o)

a thought for the day

2009-10-05T14:05:00.003-05:00

"If you act like you've only got fifteen minutes, it'll take all day. Act like you've got all day and it'll take fifteen minutes."

~Monty Roberts

I read this quote today and immediately thought about my typical Sunday mornings. Steve often leaves the house before the rest of us are up, in order to get to church early, set out his music, pray, get prepared for the service etc. This is all understandable and necessary. However, it leaves me to get the kids and myself prepared for church all on my own. Again, this is just the way it is, and that's ok. Many, many moms do this every day. ..... It's just that I don't always do it, um.... gracefully. ;o)

I'm getting so much better at stocking my purse, writing out the offering check, and setting out our clothes the night before. We even are getting pretty good at being home on Saturday evenings with plenty of time to bathe the kids so I don't have to do it Sunday mornings (that one took a lot of effort for us, as we so easily succumb to the "go go go" mentality, and we are often not home 'til late on the weekends!)....

Alas, when the sky is still dark and I faintly feel Steve slip out of bed on Sunday mornings, my typical response is to roll on to my stomach and flatten my face against the mattress, intent on capturing twenty more delicious minutes of sleep before I hit the day running.
(Um, yeah... I think it would serve me well to drag my sleepy body out of bed simultaneously with Steve... I'm pretty sure it would help me avoid even needing to write this post in the first place... I'll be working on that one!!)

...Anyway, now that you've got the background to my simple story, here's the point I was getting at....

...It rarely fails that I find myself sitting on the living room floor on those mornings, trying to wrangle a squirmy, sleepy kid (yes, they can be both of those things at once, can't they?!) with peanut butter on their face, wash cloth in one of my hands, toothbrush in the other. Much whining and pleading take place. And the kids do the same. Haha. ;o)

"Please hurry!" I often exclaim, "We are going to be late," as I forcibly struggle to tidy up Seth and Haddie against their wills. Maybe it's some law of physics (or at least of parenting) that the more I try to hurry us, and the more intensely I communicate how the minutes until we need to be seated in church are dwindling, the more the kids balk at getting ready....

Hmmmm... what was that one again?....

"If you act like you've only got fifteen minutes, it'll take all day. Act like you've got all day and it'll take fifteen minutes."

Yep. I see the truth in that one and I believe I'll be trying to put it into practice at our place!

(I found it a bit humorous that I found this quote in my mom's horse club newsletter! :o) I guess some truths are universal, whether they be regarding interactions between humans and horses or parents and children!!)

Living Up To Her Name

2009-09-29T21:00:00.005-05:00

Cinderella has been living up to her name around here lately... ;o)

This little lady was playing in the "paddle boat" (a jar with a candle in the bottom of it) and got a little sooty today. (In her wedding dress - can you imagine that!?)

So she had to take a bath.

Cinderella is happy to be "all fresh and clean" again. (And another little girl in this house is happy about that too!) ;o)

Mmmmm

2009-09-22T21:59:00.008-05:00

I can't remember if it was Nancy or Jen who first introduced this great little salad to our family gatherings some years ago. It was a hit right away - fresh and tasty, easy to fix ahead of time and then toss together right before serving, and full of color so it looks pretty in the food line-up too! ;o) I have since acquired the recipe and enjoy sharing it at pot-lucks from time to time! Maybe you'll enjoy it too! Here's the recipe...

Ramen/Cabbage Salad

*2 pkgs Oriental Noodles (save seasoning packets)
*Half cup butter
*Half cup slivered almonds
*Half cup sunflower seeds

*Half cup dry cranberries
*1 bag chopped cabbage
*6 green onions, chopped

*1 cup vegetable oil
*Half cup white vinegar
*1 cup sugar
*2 teaspoons soy sauce

Layout of ingredients (plus soy sauce and vegetable oil, which aren't pictured.)

Instructions
*First, crush the noodles (do not cook them according to directions on package!) and mix in the seasoning.

*Next, melt the butter in a pan.

*Add noodle mixture, sunflower seeds and almonds.

*Saute until toasted.

*Drain on paper towel and set aside to cool.

*Now, in a separate container that can be covered and shaken, mix the dressing (the dressing ingredients are italicized).

*Next, combine the shredded cabbage, cranberries, and green onions with the toasted noodle mixture.

*Finally, right before you are ready to serve, shake up the dressing container.

*Pour over salad and toss. (You probably won't need to use quite all of the dressing - I don't when I make this salad. Pour slowly so you can see where you want to stop.)

*Serve.

Hope you enjoy!

A New Thing...

2009-09-13T08:29:00.000-05:00

God has been working out a new thing in our lives...

Hello friends,

Today we want to share with you the story about something the Lord has been creating in our lives for the past five years. If you want to skip over the details of our journey, just scroll down until the words are black again. If not, put your feet up, maybe grab a cup of coffee or some chocolate ;o) and keep reading as we tell you about how we came to this point...

(Steve will give his perspective in blue and mine will be in red.)

Around daybreak on a brisk October morning almost five years ago, we, along with our senior pastor and his wife, piled into a van (Steve had joined the church as a full time youth pastor the previous spring). We were headed to our conference's annual "family gathering" weekend. We chatted about small things and big things and enjoyed our ride together. We were looking forward to this weekend, as it was the first time we had attended the family gathering...

I never imagined something would ignite a spark and an interest inside me that weekend which would change the course of our future.

While we were at the family gathering we all had the opportunity to learn more about ministry initiatives our conference had been working on. One evening featured a progressive dinner, where we were encouraged to eat different courses of our meal in specified rooms. Each room focused on a different ministry. In the rooms we learned about ministry work in the Philippines and Ukraine, as well as an outreach for inner-city children, and our conference's church planting (starting new churches) focus. They were all great ministries, but the room featuring church planting attracted my attention.

In between programs that weekend we had the chance to visit with other people from all over the state. I had been encouraged to start making connections with other people in ministry and I was eager to do so. One of my many conversations that weekend stands out in my memory. I was talking with Mark, a man who I later discovered is the "coach" for church planters in the northern and central part of the state for our conference. During that conversation, Mark apparently saw something in me and encouraged me to think about church planting in the future. The idea of church planting was exciting and intriguing to me, but since we had just started at our church, the idea was filed away for some later time.

We had a wonderful weekend. When we got home, Steve casually brought up the idea of planting a church some time in the future. I was not only uninterested in the idea, I was very opposed. We had just purchased a home, I was expecting our first child, and I knew we both agreed that serving our present ministries was God's will for our life at that time. I didn't even want to think about (or talk about) what other things God might have in store for us in years to come!

I agreed that God wanted us to be where we were. I put the idea to rest and we continued to pour ourselves into youth ministry. Interestingly enough, and un-initiated by me, the topic of church planting continued to pop up in conversations I had with people at various events and locations. It seemed like everywhere I turned, people were approaching me about considering church planting in my future. From the things other people were saying, it seemed like God may have wired me to be involved in planting a church. However, the idea of church planting was still something I considered to be for "down the road".

The next time church planting came up was three years ago, when we were approached by some people about taking the lead pastor position in a new church plant in our state.

I had been very closed to the notion of church planting up until the summer Steve was approached about this particular possibility. Earlier that same summer I had a miscarriage. Through the pain of that event, God did a work in me and softened my heart toward many things. I saw clearly for the first time how my priorities were off. I had been clinging so tightly to the things of the world (like our home and living in such a nice little town) that I hadn't even been open to the possibility that God might bring us elsewhere at some point. I was comfortable and the things around me were familiar. And I was scared to be disrupted from that comfort and familiarity.

Ultimately, I came to the point of surrendering my own will and confessing honestly to the Lord and to Steve that I would go wherever God lead us. I wanted to go where He lead, and I knew I could be content and satisfied as long as I had Him. I wanted to serve with Steve and to be used mightily by the Lord to do great things for His glory. Wherever that might be.

This offer three years ago was the first time we considered the idea of church planting to be a real possibility in our lives. It was now more than just a neat idea... and we had a decision to make. It was something Nat and I prayed earnestly about for about the span of a month. At the end of that time, we were able to confidently say that taking this new position would have meant disobedience to God. The right thing for us to do was to stay where we were. God wasn't done with us there yet...

Following that decision, we were blessed to see God reward our obedience. We have experienced much joy and we've been humbled to see how the Lord graciously allowed our ministry to be fruitful. We have deeply enjoyed our time here and have grown in our affections toward the people in our church and community. We also believe our ministry has been maturing under godly leadership, guidance, and opportunities during our time here. We have often commented about how thankful we are to the Lord for allowing us to begin in ministry here, where we have felt so cared for by the church body.

Church planting didn't become a consideration again until last summer. At that time we were encouraged to attend a national assessment center for church planting hopefuls. The center is a four day, highly intensive, observation period where multiple assessors scrutinize personality traits, giftings, as well as the spiritual, emotional, and relational health of the assessees. Natalie and I prayerfully considered going to the assessment center and came to the conclusion that we should indeed go. In late March we went to Orlando, Florida for our assessment.

Often since Steve's introduction to the idea of church planting, we have commented that we believe God would work in our hearts individually so we would know his plans for our life and ultimately be on the same page about it. Interestingly, last summer we began to have hearts and minds aligned in regards to our desire to plant a church some day. That alignment and confidence in His plan has continued to increase as we attended the assessment center (and also since we've returned home).

The assessment center gives each candidate one of four recommendations including"Not Recommended", "Recommended with Strong Conditions", "Recommend with Some Conditions" and "Fully Recommended". We anxiously awaited the final day when we would find out if we were recommended to start a church.

I had been very sick off and on during this time, beginning about an hour before Steve and I were supposed to begin our flight to Florida. The nausea was so extreme by our last morning at assessment that I couldn't make it to the final meeting to discover our outcome. Steve left the hotel room that morning as I was curled up in a ball on the bed, clutching the garbage can beside me. Weary from the intensity of the week and the nausea that plagued me, I quietly prayed that God would affirm our desire to plant a church or else lead us clearly in another direction.

A few hours later Steve returned. As Steve knelt beside the bed where I laid, his expression was hard to discern. My eyes silently asked the question we had both been wondering all week.

"We were fully recommended," he said with a smile. Relief and happiness washed over me.

I still had many concerns about how this would all work out. We have so much yet to learn about how to start a new church, and so much would be out of my comfort zone. Yet, I was glad.

"I told you, my child, this is right. You don't have to be afraid. I am with you in this" another voice gently spoke to me. Although the voice wasn't audible, I knew it and trusted it...

...We were going to plant a church!

So, that was in March. In between then and now we have prayed and traveled, waited, prayed, and traveled some more, seeking to find the town where God would have us start a new ministry. After logging many miles and seeking wisdom from many godly friends, as well as listening to God's spirit in our own hearts, we have come to a decision we feel peace about. Lord willing, we will stay here through the school year and then at the end of May embark on this new adventure to plant a church. The town we have chosen is within a couple hours from here. We're still a little uncertain whether we will disclose the location on our blog or not, but if you happen to be interested right now, you can leave a note in the comment section or email us (snkrier@live.com) and we will let you know personally where we will be moving to!

Thanks for sticking with us through this story! Isn't it interesting how God works in our lives, preparing us for His purposes? And how sometimes He changes our hearts so that the very thing we were against or scared of becomes the thing we long to do?

We think so. ;o)

Accomplishing our purpose? One year blogging...

2009-09-05T13:35:00.005-05:00

Earlier this week I happened to be looking at our first blog post and was a bit surprised to realize that we have been part of the blog world for one year already. It has been really fun to read about the journeys of many other bloggers, as well as to share ours. Seeing that first post of ours made me pause for a few moments to ponder if I have been accomplishing the purpose I set out to achieve here. I do hope to offer a little bit for everyone who stops by... updates on our family, pictures showing what Seth and Haddie are up to, as well as an occasional recipe or little family living tip we've learned along the way...

The biggest reason I wanted to create a blog, however, was to have another way to tell the world (or whoever is interested!) a little bit about our deepest passion and the cry of our hearts. We want to share about how Jesus Christ has changed our lives and has given us a new purpose for living. We long to praise His Name... and maybe, hopefully, point others a little closer to Him as we share our journey with you.

So, in the upcoming weeks and months we hope to continue our "40 Days of Faith" (see links on the left hand side of this bog if you missed our first 13 stories). Also, be sure to check us out a week from tomorrow as we share publicly for the first time some BIG NEWS about what God is doing in our family... something that has been in the works for FIVE YEARS! Hehe - we're excited!! ;o)

I'm going to leave you with the first picture I put on our blog. It's Seth and Haddie eating freshly picked apples outside of our house a year ago. Following that is a picture I took this morning of the two of them eating apple slices in our yard. They've changed a bit! ;o)

So, thank you for stopping by. We hope you have enjoyed this past year of "Like Potter's Clay", and we hope you stay with us to see what happens in the coming year!
Blessings to you all!

Sept. '08

Sept. '09

A few little things that help keep my sanity...

2009-08-30T09:58:00.005-05:00

Recently I enjoyed my friend Lindsey's blog post about staying organized. It reminded me that I've been gathering some pics to show you a few little changes I've done around here to help keep my sanity... ;o)

My favorite little organization tool I've implemented this year is this plastic drawer stand. It sits on a small cabinet in between our washer and dryer, and it holds everyone's socks. I LOVE not having to carry socks upstairs and put them in dresser drawers. Not that they were heavy ;o) it's just that we don't seem to come up with as many loner socks if they don't leave the laundry room until they're worn! The top two drawers also hold Seth and Haddie's underwear.

Don't worry. This spaghetti jar in particular isn't still in our fridge! I did start putting the date on opened jars in the fridge this year. It is effective especially for pickle jars, which we don't seem to use up very quickly. Now I don't find myself wondering how old the pickles are anymore! Hehe! It's easy to know if I need to throw something out!

Maybe this is something lots of people do and I just didn't find out about it until a couple years ago... I'm not sure. Anyway, I used to save my plastic grocery bags for other uses, but they were always such an eyesore... overflowing from a corner of the pantry or falling out of a cabinet. A couple years ago I noticed my friend Marcy kept her plastic bags in an ice cream pail with a slot cut in the lid. I tried it and it works great! (I just realized that you can't put the bags inside each other or they don't come out.... you have to lay them on top of each other like Kleenex in a tissue box.

When I was 7 months pregnant with Haddie we decided it was time to move Seth from his crib to a toddler bed. Considering his extremely determined personality, along with the fact that I was too exhausted by the end of the day to make a dozen trips back up the stairs to put an escapee child back in his room, this half-door was a huge blessing!! A man from church made it for us. Seth was comforted by the fact that he could see out, and we were comforted to know that he wouldn't be wondering around the house at night. If he needed us during the night, he simply called and one of us would go to him. Once we put this little door in, Seth transitioned quite quickly.

View from inside Seth's room. We always left the big door open at night and shut the little door.

My final item on this post is a table cloth I purchased at the local dollar store. When Haddie was just starting to wear underwear, I was really determined to not have any accidents on the couches, as we were fortunate to get new furniture for the first time in our married life this past winter! First I tried having her sit on a garbage bag, but that was way too slippery. Then I found this table cloth. One side is some kind of wipeable, water-proof plastic (but it's not slippery like a gabage bag), and the other side is soft, kind of like flannel, so it stays in place. Although Haddie ended up being trained really quickly and didn't need the cloth on the couch for long, I thought it was perfect and I will definitely use it again if we have any more children!

Of Lakes and Corn Bins, Weddings and Little Friends ...

2009-08-24T08:24:00.012-05:00

Hi all! We've been away a lot lately squeezing in some special time with friends and family before summer is over. Here's a picture gallery to give you a glimpse of where we've been and who we've seen! :o)

We spent a week at a lake with Steve's parents, his sisters, and their families!

Here are the cousins on their way to go swimming! (They loved the kick boards!) Haddie and Seth are in back, but in front you can see Antonio and Hayden.

Grandma and Grandpa with the grandkids.

Out of many attempts to line up cousins on the couch, this is the best one I got. ;o)

Seth having fun with his new hat and fishing pole.

Haddie and Seth.

We had a fun time even though there were a lot of cool days. We were thankful to have a great cabin with a big living room. Here is Aunt Buzzy (Samantha) coloring with the kids.

Steve on the paddleboat with Haddie and Seth.

One of the highlights was feeding the ducks bread.

Dad and Haddie watching the ducks.

The previous weekend Seth and Haddie stayed at The Farm while Steve and I went to a wedding. Here they are with Grandpa Dewey, Grandma Sheila, as well as some boys who were visiting for a week to have a chance experiencing life outside of "the city".

Here I am with Anna, sister of the bride. ;o)

My friend Naomi and me the morning of her wedding. She married a great guy named Gabe. Steve and I were honored to be involved in their wedding. I did Naomi's hair, as well as her sister's, and Steve did the welcome at the beginning of the ceremony. It was so fun to see how happy they both were to get married!

Here's Haddie looking out at the horse pasture the week before we headed off on our adventures.

Seth on the tire swing. :o)

This rooster in front is fondly called "My Boy" by Seth.

Haddie enjoying one of the kittens.

These next few pics aren't in the right order. Here Seth is getting hosed of with air by my dad after he and Haddie spent time playing in a nearly empty corn bin.

Haddie peeking out of the corn bin. (My mom said, "Make sure if you put up pictures of this that everyone knows the kids were carefully supervised while they were in the bin!!" No problem mom.) :o)

Seth having a blast on a little corn mound in the bin.

Steve was an usher at the wedding of his friend, Richie, recently. Here we are at the reception. We had lots of fun seeing Rich and Rebecca get married, visiting with old friends, and making new ones.

Here's Steve with his friends. First Steve, then Erik, then the groom, Richie, and then his friend Buzz.

Lastly, here's a couple pics of my dear friend Kelly's little girl, Anika, along with Haddie.
They live a ways away, so it is always a treat when we get to spend time together.

Seth, Anika, and Haddie at Kelly's parents' house. :o)

Well, that's a wrap! Hope you are all well! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to view this post!

You Might Be a Redneck...

2009-08-14T00:28:00.005-05:00

... If, to escape the heat of your non-air conditioned home, you grab leftover pizza from the fridge and sit in lawn chairs in your front yard (because you don't actually have an adult-sized picnic table) and eat your supper while the neighbors drive by and look at you and your kids alternate between eating their food and jumping in the near-by kiddie pool to cool off.

Ah, yep. That would be us. :o)

Joyful Ride

2009-08-11T17:04:00.011-05:00

The fresh August wind was blowing through our open windows, swirling my hair around my face as we drove down the county road. I didn't mind though. It was such a beautiful day, we couldn't help but drive with the windows open.
The music from Seth's current favorite song poured out our speakers and we all grinned as he sang along. (To get a better taste of what our drive was like, click here and press the "play" button to listen to the song Seth loves when you finish reading this post!) :o)

The sun warmed our arms as they rested on the open windows, and we looked out at the lush green fields with keen awareness of God's majesty reflected in his creation.

Pausing from his singing, Seth belted out, "Hey mom, I love God!"

As soon as the sentence had left Seth's mouth, Haddie piped up joyfully, "I love God TOO!"

Steve and I immediately looked at each other with smiles on our faces and joy in our hearts.

It was a beautiful day.

And this was a joyful ride.

Hooray! He's Home!

2009-08-03T08:32:00.007-05:00

Last night we were THRILLED to welcome Steve home after being gone for 11 days! He had been leading a group of youth on a mission trip to Galveston, TX to do hurricane clean up. We missed him so very much! We're so thankful for a successful trip for them, and also that the Lord brought the crew home safely. There were many difficult moments here on the home front (and I definitely applaud single parents who manage to do the work by themselves!) but God was also gracious to us. Overall the time went by fairly quickly, nobody broke into the house while we were sleeping (my biggest fear when I'm alone!) ;o) and we tried to stay busy so we wouldn't think about missing Dad so much! ... It was priceless to see the looks of joy on Seth and Haddie's faces when their daddy stepped off the bus! (Grandpa Dewey was also on the trip and they were excited to see him too!)

The work crew did a lot of demolition and new construction for the people of Galveston whose homes had been damaged by hurricane Ike. Here's a little video to give you a glimpse. (Steve is in the blue shirt and wearing a baseball cap. The others are boys from youth group.)

Sometimes....

2009-08-03T08:15:00.005-05:00

Sometimes...

When Steve is gone...

And I'm home alone..

And I'm up late...

I do something crazy...

;o)

The Intruder

2009-07-27T22:34:00.013-05:00

It was Meshach's "Something is Wrong" bark that led me to peer out the back door. Seeing nothing unusual, except our collie barking and looking worriedly at me, I stepped outside. Then I saw him. An intruder in our yard. The fence and the dog had not deterred him. Camouflaged in black, green, orange, and yellow, he had been sneaking his way up to the house....

We caught the intruder and took a mug shot of him.

Then we proceeded to detain him in a small cell for observation.

Due to his good behavior, he was allowed a larger area to roam while we continued observation.

We concluded that no foul play was intended, and seeing that he was eager to return home, we obliged.

We walked him down to the location of his residence, said our good-byes, and released him.

It was a bit hard to see him go. He was a nice fellow, actually.

But he'll be happier back home. :o)

Equine Enthusiasts

2009-07-20T17:21:00.015-05:00

I came inside today with the intention of writing something deep, but after kneeling on hard ground for almost two hours as I pulled stubborn weeds from the flower beds, my body is tired and I think I will stick to something that will be a little quicker!

I took a couple pictures this weekend which inspired me to dig up some old photos and create this post.... I thought it would be kind of fun to show you some pics of many years worth of equine enthusiasm in our family! ;o) So, here they are, from oldest to most recent...

Okay, okay, no horses in this photo, but we were dressed for a ride no doubt!

(Here I am with my younger brother Shaun.)

Here I am with my younger sister, Jessica, on our old Quarter Horse mare, "Gin". She was the only Quarter Horse my parents owned while we were growing up (they raised Arabians), but she was wonderful. Many, many children (and a few adults) gained confidence in their riding skills while sitting on her back.

Here is Shaun, Jessica, my youngest sister Stephanie sitting on our pony, "Lady",
and me.

Growing up I rode lots of horses, but when I was 13 my parents bought a horse I could call my own. Kick-a-Poo, my gray Arabian gelding came to us in February from California (He must have been shocked by the cold!) My parents still have him on their farm. "Pooh" is an easy-going, lover of treats, funny man who gets bored easily and loves to stick out his tongue. We've had a lot of fun times together. ;o)

Kick-a-Poo and me.

No Hands!

Here we are at the Fair in our "Western Pleasure" garb.

My sister Stephanie riding her sweet Arabian mare, Enchantress, with Kick-a-Poo and me.

We were riding with a small drill team in a parade that day.

Third generation equine enthusiast!

Here's our Haddie girl atop Kick-a-Poo, with me beside her - taken this past weekend. She was completely delighted!

Seth having a fun time riding "Pooh" while my dad leads.

Thanks for the ride grandpa, and thanks for taking care of our "Pooh" so we can still enjoy him even though we live in town!!

And thanks to YOU for stopping by! ;o)

chewing the cud

2009-07-11T19:45:00.004-05:00

"God always gives his best

to those who leave

the choice with him."

~Jim Elliot

I was looking online for a certain Jim Elliot quote when I stumbled across this one.

It made me stop and think.

...hmmm, gotta chew on that one a little bit...

So often I want, want, want (specific things too, mind you).

And I often let God know what I'm wanting (like he doesn't know already).

And then I remind him again. And again.

...chewing, chewing...

Yep, that one's a good reminder.

When I trust God with my wants/needs he's faithful, and he probably even has a better plan in mind than I had!

Someone might need to remind me to chew on that one again next week! ;o)

Nurturing our Family, Closing the Zoo

2009-07-03T14:35:00.007-05:00

Five years ago Steve accepted a new position and we joined a fast-paced race called Youth Ministry. ;o) From the very beginning we felt called to this life and, although it has sometimes been wearing or stressful, we have always agreed that we couldn't imagine life outside of full time ministry.

When Seth was born a year later, we didn't hesitate to include him in the youth events we led. Some looked at us strangely or thought we were off our rockers when we brought him with on his first missions trip to inner-city Denver at the ripe old age of four months (he was great).

Two summers ago Haddie was born, and, although things had to be rearranged a bit more (sometimes I didn't have enough arms for an adventurous toddler and a very attached baby!), I was still proud of the flexibility of our children and the ability of our family to take in stride the demands of the job.

Now Seth is four and Haddie is two, and we are still pleased to be in this life God has called us to. We are part of a wonderful and generous church that takes great care of us. We love the flexibility of Steve's job and especially the chance to see firsthand the way many lives are radically changed by God's grace. As our children get a bit older, however, we also see the need to make deliberate efforts to slow down our life every once in a while. We once heard it described as "closing the zoo", and we think that's an appropriate term.

Last week I was standing in the kitchen and realized that I hadn't prepared more than a handful of meals for us to eat at home in several weeks... we had just been gone that much. We could see it in the interactions between Seth and Haddie too. Everyone was feeling tired and cranky. We knew that we needed to reign in the horses and take a break, for everyone's sake. So, we closed down the zoo and took several days to nurture our family (well, we always want to do that, but we decided to dedicate four days to completely focus on that task.)

It was a wonderful four days. Steve had Sunday afternoon and Monday off as he always does, and then he took Tuesday and Wednesday off as well. Steve didn't go in to the office and I didn't do more than the necessary meal preparing and dish washing - we just focused on spending time with each other.

We also realized that Seth and Haddie could use some time apart, so one day Steve took Seth to a near by state park. They had a great time hiking, picnicking, and climbing a huge fire tower. That day Haddie and I had some "girl time". I took her to The Farm where she was delighted to spend time looking at the baby kittens and brushing my horse Kick-A-Poo. She even happily agreed to sit on him with me while my mom led us around for a little while (a big deal because she used to be very timid around the horses.) The following day Steve took Haddie on a date to Perkins and Seth and I had a dinner date as well. It was so fun to spend one on one time with them during our little vacation! Another goal of our mini-vacation was to encourage our children and nurture them spiritually. We decided that on each of our dates, when we were with one of the children alone we would tell them the story about how, when Jesus was baptized in the river, his Father, God, spoke from heaven and said,"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We had been noticing that in our busyness and travels we were tending to react to our kids in frustration and with shorter patience, so we wanted to take time to work on that, as well as remind our kiddos that we are pleased with them, and that we love them very much.

One other goal we had for our mini-vacation was to nurture our physical bodies. We consciously cut down/eliminated junky and sugary food that we so easily turn to when we are on the road a lot. Steve and I set our alarm early each morning so we would have time to read our Bibles down stairs before the kids awoke. We also asked the neighbor girl to come over each morning for a half an hour so we could go running. I have to admit I was quite intimidated to start that again - I honestly don't think I have set off to exercise by running since I was in college! It ended up going far better than I could have imagined though, and by the fourth morning we both actually woke before our alarm with anticipation of running! Hehe! (Those are some disciplines we hope to continue!)

So, I think I will wrap it up for now. I see that I have rambled a bit, but I did want to fill in our friends out there who might have been wondering where we were this past week.... we were just taking some time out to nurture our family and close down the zoo. ;o)

More of the Celebration

2009-06-25T09:28:00.009-05:00

Just thought I'd throw in a few more pics of before and after the wedding...

Here's my sister Jess, the beautiful bride, at the church before the wedding.

(I was disappointed this morning to find out that I didn't have any pictures of just Jess and her new husband Jason! I'll have to get copies from someone.)

The girls.

My sister Stephanie, me, my mom in the blue dress,

sister-in-law Tammy, and Jess!

Despite protests by Jess, the men picked her up for the photographers. :o)

Chillin' with my cousin Dustin and brother Shaun.

The little kids had a blast at the dance.

Dancing with the bride.

Haddie is in a white flower girl dress right next to Jess (almost hidden),

and Seth had changed by then and was dancing in the

blue and green striped shirt with khaki's.

We had a great time celebrating with Jess and Jason and we're so happy for them!

Go Carts are Funny

2009-06-23T13:08:00.004-05:00

Right before Haddie's nap today we decided to watch the video of Jess and some friends Go-Carting at her bachelorette party on our blog. The kids thought it was so funny, I just had to record their laughter. (Sorry it's dark - it looks like we're trying to hide Haddie's idenity! Hehe.) ;o)

6/21/03

2009-06-21T21:33:00.013-05:00

Six years ago today we became "Mr. and Mrs."!

(Here's us at my sister's wedding yesterday.)

It's been a great six years!

You're the best, babe. I love our life together. Thank you for being my husband!

(more pics of the wedding coming soon!)

Got Spinach?

2009-06-17T10:42:00.012-05:00

Yep, that's right. Spinach. Or kale will work too! :o)

Recently our family has been enjoying green smoothies! I have heard of the "hiding veggies" trick and we have tried it successfully for many types of meals... but I admit I was a bit surprised to find recipes that used spinach or kale as the main ingredient for smoothies!

I think these pictures will give you a good idea how we liked them!

Here's Seth showing off his green smoothie mustache (it was such a nice day we decided to bring the smoothies outside.)

The first time we made green smoothies, I actually put more blueberries in than necessary because I wasn't sure if my kids would balk at the idea of seeing green.
You can see here, however, that they have no problem with the color! ;o) (I guess the fact that my kids are quite young and still have very formitable minds works in my favor!)

Seth loves a good smoothie!

Haddie does too!

We're experimenting with lots of fruits, but we often use this recipe...

Beginner Blueberry Kale/Spinach Smoothie

1 large ripe banana, peeled
2-4 kale leaves (or sometimes we use a couple cups of baby spinach instead)
1 cup blueberries, frozen
1 cup pure water
Pour the water and toss the banana and kale into the blender. Blend. Then add the blueberries. Blend again until smooth. Enjoy! 1-2 servings

We found all of this and more on a great website of a neat gal we know. Do check it out here!!

"Here and There and Everywhere"

2009-06-11T22:57:00.013-05:00

Whew! Our family has been on the road a LOT lately! I thought I'd bring you up to speed by sharing some pictures - which works out nicely because my mind is mush and I can tell that narration of scenes is about all I can come up with tonight! ;o)

"Here"

Steve, Seth, and Haddie at home in between trips.

Haddie turned two! Here she is with Grandma Sheila at the farm.

Haddie and Aunt Tammy

"There"

We made a trip to attend a graduation party for Steve's cousin. There we enjoyed visiting with many of Steve's relatives we don't get to see often! (Here we are with his Grandpa, Boyd)

Steve and his cousin Jordan.

To celebrate Jordan's birthday, Steve and I, as well as Jordan and his girlfriend Ashley, went to Outback Steakhouse. Mmmmm. That was good.

.... I think I'm hungry.... ;o)

The middle boy is Steve's cousin.

Seth took a liking to him - and a fascination with his game!

Celebrating Haddie's birthday with Steve's side.

Steve's sisters had their boys at the hotel. Two of his cousins, an aunt, and also an uncle brought their children as well! That was ten kids for this picture!

Here's another angle to help you see the gang.

Just wanted to throw this one in because we drove to "The Farm" several times in the past few weeks, and we love how these flowering crab trees look in full blossom as they line the horse pasture.

Steve and Haddie planted beans with Uncle Shaun for a while one morning.

Seth planted with Grandpa Dewey.

"And Everywhere"
Seth, Haddie, cousin Daniel and cousin Caleb, posing at a National Park we visited together.

Seth and I at the same park (he's doing "the wink" for you).

Taking a walk down to the river to throw "plunkers" - one of our kiddos' favorite pastimes.

The kids around the table at the Bunkhouse. This was our first experience with a separate "kid's table". The kids thought it was awesome! (And it went surprisingly well!)

Steve and Seth throwing plunkers (sorry, the pics got out of order...)

The Angus Ranch we were guests at.

The last night we were at the Bunkhouse someone special was hung in the Room of Death. ;o) It was an enormous buffalo. The picture doesn't do his size justice.

I love the expressions and movement caught in this photo.

Some crazies we found at the park. ;o)

(No, just kidding. Some of our favorite people to hang out with.)

Caleb

Daniel

He he... here's my first try at putting a video on the blog.... ;o)

(It was supposed to be higher up in this slide show... but I'm tired so I'm going to leave it where it is!) Anyway, I drove a couple hours to go to my lovely sister's bachelorette party recently - where we went go carting. :o)

OK. That's a wrap!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Aahhhh.

2009-06-03T13:49:00.003-05:00

My heart is happy.

For so long I've been praying that Seth and Haddie would start to play together more, and also just enjoy being around each other. When Haddie was only a couple months old Seth figured out that he could easily push her buttons to the point of tears, and from that moment on, it has been one of his most common pastimes. A dainty, sensitive girly-girl and a strong-willed, active, rambunctious older brother have been a difficult combination for quite some time (OK, difficult is an understatement!) Anyway, in the past month a change has taken place and it makes me feel like a 50 pound weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Maybe it is being out in the sun more, maybe it is our efforts to try to parent better, maybe it is Seth and Haddie both maturing a little more... I'm thinking probably some of all of these, plus a huge dose of God's grace and answered prayer.

At any rate, when I looked outside the window this morning and saw Seth and Haddie playing happily together in the sand box with Meshach laying nearby, my heart swelled and I thanked God. It's finally happening! Not just once in a great while. It is becoming the norm. I know there will still be lots of squabbling ahead, for many years to come, but I do believe we have turned a corner! Ahhhhh. :o)

The Crocodile

2009-05-26T15:11:00.009-05:00

The fierce reptile lies silently beneath the surface, waiting for just the right moment to strike. Then, lunging forward with massive jaws open wide, the crocodile attacks! Animals and people alike are startled and flee for their lives!

This is a situation for the "Crazy Crocodile Hunters"!

Armed and ready, two heroes fearlessly pursue this tenacious creature.

After a grueling morning, the ferocious crocodile is finally defeated, and the townsfolk breath a sigh of relief.

It's all in a day's work for the "Crazy Crocodile Hunters".

(For those who may be curious, this scenario was completely fabricated in the minds of Seth and Hadassah. I did not put the idea into their heads, but simply recorded it for your amusement.) ;o) Hehe!

Good Question...

2009-05-18T22:02:00.006-05:00

Sometimes I come across a thought or idea that spurs me on to do something big....
Recently Steve told me about some neat things he was reading on the blog of Pastor Perry Noble, so I decided to check it out. I was really challenged and motivated, and I think that a lot of you would be too, if you read it. ... So, I wrote to Mr. Noble and asked permission to share his thoughts. (He said yes.)

Please read the following. He asks a really good question... it might even change your life.

We all have them…life changing moments, you know, the ones where the world seems to stand still and you come face to face with something that just about engulfs you…
It happened to me in August of 1999. I was having lunch with a friend/mentor of mine at Red Lobster (LOVE their garlic cheese biscuits!) I had been restless for about six months and I knew God was pushing me towards something…but I wasn’t sure what. AND…I didn’t want my restlessness to turn into rebellion by me trying to force something…so I began processing with him out loud…
And he asked me THIS question…

“What would you be willing to attempt for God if you knew you could not fail?”

I knew the answer…I didn’t even have to think about it…it literally just flew out of my mouth, “I would plant a church.”
He looked at me dead in the eye and said, “then you are a coward if you don’t!”
SO…literally…at that moment I said “yes” to the call I knew God had placed on my life. I didn’t know the answers (still don’t), I didn’t know anything about strategy or structure, didn’t know how technology would play a part of the church, didn’t know how we were going to establish leadership…I didn’t know a LOT…
BUT…what I did know is that God had placed a DREAM inside of me to plant a church…and when Dale asked me the question I mentioned earlier it SHOOK me…and DROVE me to take a DIVE of faith.
SO…what about you…what would YOU be willing to attempt for God if you KNEW you could not fail?
If the answer isn’t, “what I am doing right now” then I would say you need to do some serious praying and rearranging.
You see…life is SHORT…our days are numbered…and God didn’t put us on this planet to screw around…but rather to MAKE A DIFFERENCE by USING what HE has given us to advance HIS Kingdom and MAKE HIM FAMOUS!
Too many of us are held captive by fear…but remember He is THE MOST HIGH GOD!!! Never let fear trump the potential God has placed in you!
Too many of us are held captive by the unknown…but remember HE KNOWS! Besides…if we have EVERY answer to every question then what He is comanding us to do would not require faith on our part…and where would the fun be in that?!?!?!
Too many of us are held captive by people who say “it” can’t be done…but if you will look at who is saying that “it” you will discover that they aren’t actually doing anything except for trying to hold back the people God is letting loose to do ministry.
Too many of us are held captive by critics…but if you will notice Jesus was criticized…and, if you are not experiencing some opposition then that means the enemy is pleased with you…not exactly the calling our lives should fulfill!!!
What would you be willing to attempt for God if you KNEW you could not fail?
You’ve GOT to beg Him for revelation on this…and when He gives you the Word…you’ve GOT to act. God doesn’t reveal Himself to us so that we can CONSIDER IT…but rather so that we will be CONSUMED by it and OBEY HIS VOICE!
BTW…if the thing that you would attempt scares you to death…if you have had sleepless nights thinking about it…if you KNOW that failure is a sure thing unless HE gets involved…then you should probably make a move…SOON! (Like…maybe even RIGHT NOW!!!)
When Dale asked me that question I told myself, “I’ve got nothing to lose…I am going to give this a shot…I don’t want to waste my life and then look back 20 years from now and begin asking ‘what if’ questions!” (AND…you don’t want that for yourself either!!!)
SO…what would you be willing to attempt for God if you knew you could not fail? You’re not waiting on Him…He’s waiting on you…do you need to make a move, share Christ with someone, plant a church, change careers…WHAT IS IT that BURNS YOUR HEART and DRAWS YOU to DESPERATE DEPENDENCE ON HIM?
What would you be willing to attempt for God if you knew you could not fail? Can you imagine what the world would be like if all of us allowed that question to drive the vision for our lives?
What about it?

"ING"

2009-05-11T22:20:00.009-05:00

A random summary of what I'm doING today...

Anticipating: Getting some flowers planted in the ground pretty soon! (Maybe a veggie garden too??)
Missing: Steve. (I know, mush, mush) I do though. He's away for a couple days.
Debating: Should I clean the house, throw in a chick flick, or go to bed?
Cooking: (cooked) Pasta for supper
Cleaning: leaves off our floor (the dog keeps dragging them in)
Eating: Chocolate Moose Tracks ice cream. Polished it off, actually. Sorry Steve. ;o)
Reading: "Joseph" by Chuck Swindoll (Steve reads and I listen) for inspiration and entertainment, the book of "Job" for spiritual nourishment, and "Green Eggs and Ham" for the kids
Listening: To a CD of piano music playing in the hall outside the kiddos rooms as they sleep
Watching: A video of a little girl who was adopted from China about a year ago
Finishing: My spring cleaning of the clothes closets and storage bins - Yay!
Enjoying: A day that was warm enough and kids who were healthy enough to spend three hours outside this afternoon! That was an amazing and long-awaited blessing!
Feeling: physically - sleepy. Emotionally - excited for the next thing God has in store for us
Trying: To focus when I do devotions lately, instead of letting my mind wander to the dozens of chores I could/should do sometime soon.
Learning: (and re-learning) to try to do all things out of love, including disciplining our children (instead of out of anger or frustration)
Thinking: About some loved ones with failing health
Planning: The details about what needs to be done on our end before Jessica's wedding in 6 weeks!
Traveling: To the doctor's office and back, then (biking) to the park and back!
Recalling: That I need to get to sleep soon if I hope to be engaging with the kids tomorrow!

(A neat lady I know gave me this idea from her blog this winter. If you want to check out some exciting things in the life of a Teacher to Missionary Kids in Japan, see Lori's blog here http://www.tckteacher.blogspot.com/)

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T09:33:00.004-05:00

I just wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there! Thank you for all you do!!! I hope you have a wonderful day!

love,

Natalie

(I'll have a little something about our moms coming soon... I have a wiggly girl on my lap so I can't write any more now!)

My Littlest Sis

2009-05-06T10:18:00.006-05:00

We're really proud and thankful for all of our family members. I thought today would be a great day to brag up my littlest sister as it is her 20th birthday. Last year at the State Horse Expo an agent from "Farm Boy" Clothing (http://www.farmboybrand.com/) saw Stephanie and asked her to do some modeling for them! Here's some of her pics...

(Steph's the one in the red shirt)

We love you Stephanie. You are a beautiful young lady on the outside and even more beautiful on the inside. It's a blessing to have you in our lives. We hope you have a great day and we pray for God's guidance for your future.

No baby should experience this

2009-05-05T09:33:00.009-05:00

Last night I had a dream about babies. It was a happy dream filled with chubby, cooing, content little ones. My mind must have created these pictures in my dreams because we have several friends who are either expecting or just had babies. I'm pretty sure I woke up smiling at the thought of these little darlings.
A short while later the smile faded as I read a blog post from the author, Tom Davis. He wrote about the urgent need for formula for malnourished babies in Ethiopia. My heart is wrenched by the thought of children and babies who starve to death as their mothers hold their tiny bodies and wish they had some bit of food or milk to give them.
No child (or parent, for that matter) should experience this atrocity. It might seem kind of sick, but I am including a picture of a baby on Tom's blog, followed by a photo of my chubby little Haddie to compare it to.
Babies like Haddie are so common in our country. For the most part, nourishment and health care are availiable. The same cannot be said of many countries around the world.

I don't write this to make anyone feel guilty or miserable. I do hope that others might have a desire to take action. Thinking about the dire needs of people around the world isn't comfortable... but then again, is comfort the supreme goal we should aspire to? For too many years I cared about situations like the babies in Ethiopia, but I always thought it was someone else's responsibility to act. God has changed my heart and has turned my focus away from myself. I realized that if I am aware, I am responsible to do something.
If the top photo or this information pulls at your heart strings, please go to Tom's Blog. Just click here http://tomdavis.typepad.com/tom_daviss_blog/ You may need to scroll down to the "May 4" posting. He has more information there and a way to make donations. If there is nothing you can do financially (or even if you can!) would you please stop what you are doing and pray for these children? Many lives are facing certain death today.
Thank you.

Happy May Day!

2009-05-01T13:44:00.008-05:00

Hello All! We hope you are having a wonderful first day of May!
In the spirit of a spring-y month, I thought I'd share the results of the day I decided to take "Spring Pictures" of Seth and Haddie.
It was.... an adventure....

Ohhh, Kisses!

Seth, already wondering when we were going to be done.

I tried tickling Haddie to get a smile. ;o)

Break time.

"Cheese"

L.O.L. Haddie looks confused. ;o)

"Mom, can you take a picture of my McQueen tattoo?"

"I wonder if my mom is ever going to be done with this?"

"Oh, wait, wait!"

I lowered myself to bribing with Peeps.

Maybe we can try looking the same direction next time. ;o)

Ahh, almost had it!

Big smiles during a computer break. Of course.

Moral of the story: It's not lookin' like we're going to get many pics of the two of them smiling and looking the same way for the time being.... Oh, well. We had some fun!

I'll take a louder house, please!

2009-04-29T22:28:00.008-05:00

I wrapped my dripping hair in a towel. Grabbing my slippers, I turned off the bathroom light and descended the stairs to join Steve in the living room.
Looking up from his book as I entered the room, Steve smiled. I could tell he wanted to ask me something.
"Not that it matters," he said, "but why don't you ever turn the fan on when you take a shower?"
I laughed, curious what he would think of my answer.
"It's just kind of loud..." I replied, "and after taking care of a two year old and a baby all day, I just really want to take a shower in as much peace and quiet as I can."
Chuckling, Steve responded, "Aahh. That makes sense."

It was true. Two years ago, when I was beginning to experience what life was like as a stay-at-home mother of a strong-willed toddler and a very sensitive baby, my days were filled with lots of noise. I showered with the vent turned off and I unplugged the phone when Haddie slept. I took advantage of any reduction in sound that I could. I even kept the radio turned off pretty much all day long.

Things have changed. Seth is now four and Haddie is almost two. I think our home is filled with just as much noise, if not, even more.... but I let the radio play. I have had a revelation. I don't turn off the music in attempt to keep my sanity on tough days anymore. Now I crank it up. I have realized how much music can be comforting and healing to my soul. Not just any music of course. I choose only albums or radio stations with lyrics that will inspire me, as well as Seth and Haddie.

One album that has gotten lots of play time in our home is our "Glory Revealed" CD. It is a collection of songs taken straight out of the Word of God, sung by popular contemporary artists. No matter how frazzled or overwhelmed I may be feeling, the music and lyrics from this CD always renew my mind with peace and joy. When I can't sit down to read my Bible but desire the comfort and clarity it brings, this often my next choice!

Another one we enjoy (this includes Seth and Haddie!) is the Hillsong United, "Look to You" CD. When I am inclined to have a pity party about a messy house, too much laundry, a tired morning, or fussy kids, turning up the volume on this album always creates a change of heart within me. I love the way this group belts out their priority of telling the world about Jesus. I can't help but turn my focus from inward to outward as I listen to their music and words. You should see Seth and Haddie jam out to it too! They think it's great! (Seth plays a mean air-guitar, by the way!)

So, there it is. Peace and quiet I still value. There is still a time and place for it, pretty much every day, I whole-heartedly agree. But I have learned the value in a home blastin' with Christ-centered music. It is inspiring, encouraging and fun. Most of all, I love it because it reminds me about what is really important in life.

I'll take a louder house, please!

40 Days of Faith, #13

2009-04-23T16:38:00.010-05:00

The June sun felt hot upon my head as I mowed laps around my parents yard. I rolled my t-shirt sleeves up to my shoulders, hoping to avoid a farmer's tan. I was 14 and had just finished my eighth grade year. My mind was moving much faster than the John Deere lawn mower I rode upon. As I carefully steered around the clothesline I wondered for the hundredth time why he hadn't called yet. He had told me on the last day of school that he would be calling soon. That was about two weeks ago. Sweat glistened on my forehead. From the sun or my lament about the lack of phone call, I wasn't sure.

I prayed.

Lord, I know that I can't officially date until I am 16 anyway. Please turn my thoughts away from this young man if your plan doesn't include us being together. I do like him very much, but help me to be content with waiting if that is what you want me to do. I want your will.

I sighed. The words were painful but true. I had very high hopes that we could start getting to know each other better this summer, but I understood that this might not be God's plan. I knew that as hard as it would be to switch gears, I would have to let go of my desire and pursue the other things God had in store for me this summer. As I looked at the freshly cut grass, peace flooded my heart. It was a feeling that was starting to become familiar. I knew that I was going to be ok as long as I was continued to walk with God.

After supper that night I headed up to my room to look for a book to read. I heard the phone ring as I sat on my bed, pondering which novel to choose. Momentarily my mom carried the phone upstairs and handed it to me.

It was Steve.

We hope you are enjoying our 40 Days of Faith. Check our Archive list if you want to catch up on anything you missed, and please continue to stop by as we recount what happens next!

One of our Fav's

2009-04-21T21:50:00.009-05:00

The other day we had one of our favorites for supper,
so I thought I'd share...
"Pepper Chicken"

You'll need...
*Chicken breasts (For our family of 4, I usually use 2 or 3 of the large frozen breasts)
*1 Tbs. vegetable oil
*1 each red, yellow, and orange peppers, sliced with seeds removed (although I often use the "Birds-Eye" brand bag of frozen peppers and onions. I use one full bag because we love the peppers!)
*2 cloves garlic, minced, or the equivalent in dried minced garlic
*1/4 cup vinegar (the recipe calls for Apple Cider Vinegar, but the day I took the pic I happened to only have White Vinegar - it worked fine!)
*2 Tbs. brown sugar
*14 oz. chicken broth (I usually make it from chicken bouillon cubes or powder)
*rice (enough for your family)

1)Bake chicken breasts till done and then slice or cube them - set aside
2)In a separate pan, saute peppers in the oil for about 2 minutes
3)Add garlic and cook one more minute
4)Stir in vinegar and sugar; bring to boil and cook about 2 minutes.
5)Stir in broth, then add cooked chicken. (If you want the liquid a little thicker, you can add a few tablespoons of flour to the broth - and mix well- before you pour the broth into the pan with the peppers and chicken)
6)Pour into a 9x13 in pan or other large bake ware
7)Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour
8)Serve over rice

We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Congratulations, Birthday Boy, Cousins, & New Life

2009-04-15T23:26:00.020-05:00

Hello! We hope all of you had a wonderful Easter!

We wanted to send out a big Congratulations to some good friends of ours who received a very special Easter surprise... On Saturday Steve, Kelly, and little Anika welcomed Jacob into their family! Hooray! We're so happy for you guys! We love you!

In other news, our Seth turned 4 on Good Friday! Wow, it's hard to believe four years have gone by already!

Seth brings lots of joy into our life. He is a very lively, passionate, bright, and enthusiastic little guy. His strong will can be challenging, but we also see that his determined spirit helps him to learn so many things. Seth loves cars and playing sports of all kinds. He is also recently fascinated with outer space, astronauts, and planets!

A huge "Thank You" to all who helped make Seth's birthday special.

We so appreciate the cards, gifts, and phone calls!

Seth received a bicycle for his birthday and had a blast going on his first bike ride with dad!

We love you so much Seth, and we're so thankful for your presence in our lives!

Saturday and Sunday we had lots of fun celebrating Easter with family. Below here is a picture of Seth and Haddie's cousin Daniel. Uncle Rob and Jen have a huge swing set in their backyard - what fun!

Here's Seth, Haddie, and cousin Caleb, enjoying the swings and the beautiful weather!

Here is Haddie, cousin Hayden, Seth, and cousin Antonio! What a treat to get to play together!
Here's Easter kisses to you!!!

NEW LIFE
It was great to find some tiny perennials beginning to push through the dirt recently. Every spring we look forward to this time of year when the hard, cold winter melts and gives way to new life.

Speaking of new life....

You know, there were things I wanted to write on Easter Sunday.

...Things about how we were celebrating because a perfect Jesus died on a rugged cross as atonement for our sinful lives...
...That three days later his grave was empty and we rejoice because he conquered death.

I wanted to find a great picture of an empty tomb and write all about it.

In the midst of preparing two church services (that was Steve), getting birthday party details squared away (both of us), helping with three family meals (that was me), and serving one Easter breakfast (both of us), the post was never written....

However, as I looked at this picture of new plant life, it made me think about our own lives. Maybe you're not one who believes in the Bible, in the story of Jesus' death and resurrection... We can't make you believe this miraculous story... though we may want to.

Perhaps that's all it is to you. An old, dry story that you've heard a hundred times.

To us, it is something so different.

It is real and it means LIFE. A NEW LIFE, and LIFE ETERNAL, to be specific.

The belief that Jesus died, rose again, and forgave our sins has changed us.

Our hearts, full of sin, looked dead and brown like that Iris plant did last fall.

As Jesus has become our love, our passion, our purpose,

he has been changing us from the inside out.

Our lives are different. Gone are the things of old that weighed us down.

We are not perfect, but we are no longer slaves to our sin.

We have been given LIFE.

ABUNDANT and NEW.

We believe in the Easter story. Not because of tradition, but because it has transformed us.

If you want, you can join us for the remainder of our 40 Days blog project and read for yourself about how the salvation we received through Jesus has made a difference in our life.

We hope you are experiencing new life too.

It is so good.

Our baby turns 4 tomorrow!

2009-04-09T23:01:00.007-05:00

I just came across some pics of our big boy when he was about 18 months old or so (the ones from his infancy aren't on the computer yet). It's hard to believe he'll be four tomorrow!

Here's our family when it was just the three of us. It feels so long ago!

Seth, pretending to be dad with his sunglasses.

Seth has always had a thing for drums (ask anyone who has lingered in our church sanctuary after the service!) ;o)

Oh, Sethy boy, we love you so much!

Birthday pics to come - stay tuned!

Missing Grandpa

2009-04-08T14:17:00.007-05:00

A week ago Seth and Haddie's great-grandpa Albert passed away suddenly....

It's still hard to believe he's gone sometimes.

I remember the first thing that came to mind when my sister told me was,

"Why didn't I get that picture Seth and Haddie had colored for him sent out three weeks ago instead of letting it sit in a pile of papers for so long..."

and then,

"Can't he just be alive a little longer so we could talk to him one more time?"

Ugh. I hate regrets...

One thing I'm thankful for is that we were able to see him twice in the last six months, which was more than usual as he lived several states away. At Shaun and Tammy's wedding in October we were graced by his presence, and then again around Christmas time. The following pictures were taken of Haddie and Grandpa Albert meeting for the first time at the wedding...

We have lots of fond memories of Albert. He was a wonderful storyteller (many of which were true events that happened to him as he worked around the country and the world). He had so much knowledge about so many things. He had a good sense of humor, and he was a very hard worker. He had served in the army and was a police officer, as well as a truck driver in later years. Albert enjoyed flying planes and loved to read. Although our personalities probably differed quite a bit, I did inherit the bump on the bridge of my nose from him! (My mom got it too!)

One memory Steve often tells of my grandpa Albert was of a time we were visiting him in the summer. He was living in a nice place in the country with lots of trees and lots of chipmunks. The chipmunks were particularly pesty, getting into garbages, eating from the bird feeders, and digging in the flower beds. Steve and my grandpa were outside having a conversation near the house. This was one of the first times Steve had met Albert, so Steve was surprised when my grandpa looked over at him and said, "Son, go get my pistol out of the drawer in the kitchen." Steve, unsure what was about to follow, went into the house to get the gun. Upon returning he handed it to my grandpa, who took the small gun and glanced into the open garage in front of them. Locating one of the problematic rodents, my grandpa shot from the hip, fired into the garage, and killed the chipmunk!

He he, I guess another thing we will remember about him was that he was a good shot! ;o)

....We won't forget the time we had with Albert, and we're thankful Seth and Haddie were able to meet their great-grandpa.