Words Of A 3-Year Old

While Josh and I were preparing our kids for our departure I wanted to make sure that Areyna knew what we'd be doing.  I asked her,"Rainy, do you know what daddy and I will be doing in Hungary?"  She replied so matter-of-factly, "You are going to go sing about Jesus...and eat a lot."

FYI #1

Apparently in Paris (and some other countries for that matter) you are not supposed to put the used toilet paper in the toilet but throw it away in the trash can.  Hmmm.  I learned that lesson too late=)

We Made It!

Well, we're here.  It is 2:37pm Charlotte time and 8:37pm here.  The flights over here were quite eventful.  Let me just recap to save you all the details:

1-Got in the car to go from my parents house in Colorado Springs to Denver at 9:15am.

2-Got to the airport in Denver a little after 11am in plenty of time to get through the quickest security check we've EVER been through and catch our 1pm ride.

3-We flew from Denver to Dallas/Ft.Worth

4-We brought both of our instruments on the flight with us.  Josh couldn't find a single place for his guitar on the flight except in the VERY BACK OF THE PLAIN!!!

5-As we were landing our connection to Paris was boarding on the other side of the airport.  We just knew we were going to miss our flight.  The airplane was Packed and it took Josh forever to get BACK to get his guitar and meet me even after the flight attendants asked everyone to let us through.  That definitely did NOT happen!  They had a special shuttle that waited for me and Josh to take us directly to our next flight to Paris.  There is no way our luggage made it.

6-We made the flight to Paris!

7-Josh and I were in the middle section of the airplane.  As soon as we were in the air the flight attendants started handing out our drinks.  Sweet ol' Grandma, who was sitting right beside me in the side section, asked for straight up Vodka.  And after receiving it she asked if they'd be back for another round of drinks.  After the flight attendant told her the next thing on the agenda was dinner, Grandma went ahead and ordered another Vodka.  She didn't stop there.  She went back to the stewardesses to retrieve a couple more drinks before morning came.  Let's just say her volume increased as the flight went on=)

8- We land in Paris without tickets.  They said we were to pick up our last tickets from Paris to Budapest IN Paris.  Nobody seemed to know where we should go.  We ended up walking through a doorway that lead out to the main entrance of the airport.  Did they check our passports?  Nope.  We just kept walking and asking around.  It is the most confusing airport I've ever been.  

9-We finally found the check point we needed to get our tickets.  In Paris they have individual security checks for each gate so we stood in line AGAIN for security and waited for our plane.  

10-All of a sudden our gate changed so off we go to go backwards through the security we just waisted a half an hour in and we went to go stand in line at our next gate's security.

11-We board the plain and we looked out the window and sure enough, there was our luggage.  We couldn't believe it made it!!!

12-The luggage guys pick up one or our bags and loaded it on the plain.  They went to put the second bag on the plain and they looked very confused as they checked out the tags, then they take it off the belt and put it on the ground behind them before loading it back on the luggage truck.  I'm like..."hey, it's ours, and we're on the plane!!!!"  After going up front to tell the flight attendants and showing them everything we finally watched as they loaded our other bag on the flight.

13-We arrive in Budapest at around 3:30pm or so on Friday and then hop in the van for the 2 hour trip to ...Here, wherever here is.

It's beautiful!  I feel so honored to be here with these people who have uprooted their whole families to obey God's calling on their lives!

Airplanes Are Humbling

Josh, Rainy, Zeke and I flew into Colorado Springs around 3:30 Colorado time yesterday.  You can't help but relax as soon as you arrive.  The atmosphere around here is so laid back and WE LOVE IT.  Right now I'm sitting here in my parents living room with all the windows open.  Can you believe that their house doesn't even have air conditioning?  We haven't even been able to keep our curtains and mini-blinds open at our house in Charlotte because of the suffocating heat, and our air still works non-stop!=)  Anyway, the kids are content playing outside with all the fun toys here at Nonnie and G-daddy's house and running around on the deck waiting for the squirrels to come and eat the nuts they've laid out.  

Just because I think you'll love it, here are a few recaps from the airplane rides over here:

1-Neither of them slept on either of the flights

2-Rainy's favorite parts were the landings.   She squealed with delight during the last turbulent landing while everyone else held on to their armrests for dear life!

3-The person who thought of putting a playground inside of an airport is a genius.  

4-Josh and Zeke walked off the first plane looking like they just finished watching a show at Seaworld with Shamu.  Airplane pressure mixed with "soury drink" (sprite) in a sippy cup = a mess.  There was an explosion after every sip=)

5-Zeke decided that he wanted to be a big boy and went poopie and peepee in the potty on the airplane.  Therefore, I spent a huge chunk of the first plane ride back in the tiniest bathroom known to man between Rainy, Zeke and me=)

6-The kids were up for almost 15 hours without a nap and acted exceptionally well.

7-Rainy made instant friends with all the airline attendants

8-A 2-year-old is not meant to be restrained on a lap for more than 20 min.!!  Zeke just wanted to dance in the aisle.

Those are just a few highlights for you.

Round Two

Josh and I were at Weddington Community again this morning.  It went really well and Pastor Blake had a GREAT message about some small changes we can make in our lives that could have HUGE impacts.  Then, we rushed home to grab a bite of lunch before round 2 at Ridge Church tonight.  Rainy loves Ridge so after she changed into her Cinderella dress she headed out with her daddy for the evening.  Thankfully I've got the night off because we are flying out tomorrow morning to drop the kids off at my parents in Colorado and then leaving for Budapest, Hungary.  Josh and I will be leading worship for the regional missionary conference that will be gathering there.  Right now I'm taking a break to recoup and then I'll get back to the packing.  We should have internet access so we'll keep you posted on our journey=)

To Love And To Cherish - Feminine Appeal

Several months ago I read THIS POST on my friend Lindsey's blog about a book she was reading called "Feminine Appeal" by Carolyn Mahaney.  I decided that I HAD to get it.  I always love a good toe-stepping word from God.  I am trying to slowly go through it even though I'd love to just sit down and read the whole thing at once.  This past week I've been reading about delighting in our husbands.  Not just "serving" them but actually STOP cleaning the house, making dinner or fixing the baby bottle, to look at our husbands for an uninterrupted minute and delight in them.  The word that Paul used in Titus 2 to describe the way our love should be toward our husbands isn't the Agape, self-sacrificing kind of love that comes most naturally to women, it is the word, Phileo, meaning affectionate.  We get so caught up in doing things for and serving our husbands that we could even begin to resent them for ALL that we are doing.  In fact she added this quote in her book by Jonathan Edwards:  "Resolved, whenever my feelings begin to appear in the least out of order, when I am conscious of the least uneasiness within, or the least irregularity without, I will then subject myself to the strictest examination."  Meaning, if I am being resentful toward my husbands it is a "heart" problem within myself.  I need to love him regardless of his response.  This chapter has really made me stop and appreciate, love and adore my husband.  I've been trying to think of some things that I can do to show this kind of love toward him like writing him notes or bringing coffee back from Starbuck's after I've had a meeting there.  What are some ways that you show YOUR husband that you love him affectionately?  I'd love to get some new ideas=)

How Can I Say Thank You?

Today was a big day.  I signed Areyna up for KidsPlay at Southbrook church in their 2-day preschool class for 3-year-olds.  Josh and I prayed and thought about it a lot and we've decided that this is the right thing to do for several reasons:

1-Areyna would get stability in some friendships which I feel like she would cherish

2-She will def. learn a lot

3-It will teach her some good classroom structure that will be helpful when we homeschool.  We're still praying about the homeschool step but will not really have a choice if we continue to travel the way we do=)

4-It will be a great bonding time and some quality 1 on 1 time with Zeke and me that we've never had before

5-It will give Zeke some forced independence from Rainy

6-Why not!!

(There are plenty of other reasons but these are some of the first ones we thought about)

So, after I filled out the paperwork I pulled out my checkbook to write the deposit and my friend at the front desk just told me that she'd have Raina, the director (actually a good friend of mine) give me a call.  I really didn't think anything of it until Raina called me later this afternoon to inform me that she had 2 anonymous family's who were going to sponsor Areyna for the school year and we don't owe a penny.  Praise The Lord!!  I cannot put into words how thankful and how blessed we are.

The Attack

Note to self: Running 5 miles off-and-on during my whole first pregnancy isn't such a good idea. I've always been pretty active. My parents told me that when I was a little girl I used to "run" everywhere. I ran track in middle school. I was fast, but kind of bored, so I decided to chase a ball while running instead to spice it up a little bit and took up soccer. I played through High School and College and continued playing on an adult co-ed team until I got pregnant with Areyna. Josh and I fell in love while jogging the mountains in Tigerville, SC so that has always been a big part of our relationship too. Well, I read up on exercising while pregnant and EVERY source said that it was okay to do what I normally do. So, I ran...a lot. I also read that exercising can induce labor and by the time Areyna's due date had come and gone I was desperate, so I kept on running. Well, sometime between Areyna and Zeke I began getting bad knee pain and I can't get more than a mile or so before I have to stop and walk. My theory is that all this happened when my ligaments started to loosen up during pregnancy and this is just the effect it had on my body. I used to make fun of those "power" walkers, I mean, how could they possibly be getting ANY exercise. Just kidding, I am one of those people now and I know that it does a body good. Well, last night I was out for my daily, or tri-weekly, or whenever I can fit it in-weekly, walks and I was using my "free" time to catch up on some phone calls. I was talking to my mom as I turned the corner 1-mile into my walk. In the middle of my path stood a dog. (I know you are going to laugh when you see what kind of dog it was, but to me, at the time, he seemed 10 times bigger!) Some people see a dog and think, "oh, he is just so cute" while I'm thinking, "look at that monster with HUGE teeth". Now, this is no ordinary dog, it is our neighbor's dog, Coda, who never had a problem with me until last week when he bit my foot for no apparent reason. I've never had a dog and I don't know how to relate to them or tell when they are mad or playing, but when Coda started growling at me and going for my legs with his ferocious teeth I started screaming and running. My poor mom didn't have a clue what was going on. I decided to do another lap around my neighborhood to try to lose Coda. As I turned into another cul-de-sac I looked to see if I'd lost Coda. Thankfully he was gone. I shakily turned around to watch where I was going because it was dark by this time and as I looked down at the ground I realized that I was about to step on a snake!! Yes, another one of those creatures that I could probably go without coming into contact with again in my lifetime. By that time my mom had to talk me back to my senses and tell me to hang up and call Josh to come rescue me. Man, that was not the relaxing walk that I had in mind=)

It's HERE!

Josh and I were sitting in the living room this morning and lo and behold,the UPS truck.  It slowly made its way up our driveway.  Could it be?  Yes, Josh's book came today!  It has been a long process and it is finally complete.  I am so proud of my hubby.  What a great accomplishment.  You can see a picture of the cover on Josh's blog HERE.  Soon, you'll be able to purchase a copy on Amazon, but if you simply cannot wait, you can click THIS LINK to order it directly from Xulon.  Thank you for all your prayers and support through this whole process=)