Melt this momma's heart

So....I just have to share what happened at bedtime tonight-too precious to forget as time charges on.  Every night for bed time, I read a book and Bible story to Evan.  Right now, we are working our way through The Story for Pre-schoolers.  It is a Biblical narrative that covers all major sections of Scripture always weaving in how it all relates to what Jesus is coming to do on the cross.  We had just finished our story, which was the famous David and Goliath battle.  A favorite of my son's of course!  But as always, I previewed what would be coming up tomorrow.  The next story was to be about how David is going to choose to sin...which if you don't know, David decides to fall in love with someone else's wife and he even goes as far as to secretly have the husband killed in battle just so he can have her.  Pretty scandalous, huh?  I was explaining part of this to Ev, about how it is wrong for David to love someone else's wife.  I pointed to my wedding rings and told him about how when I put these on and when Daddy put his on, we promised to only love each other for the rest of our lives.  Here comes the truly sweet part, a moment I will treasure forever.  I told him that someday he would ask a girl to marry him and that he would need to only love her the rest of his life.  He says, "Mommy?"  "Yes?" I say.  And in the softest, most sincere voice, "Can I still love you though?"  (Pause while I choke up again) "Yes, buddy, you can still love your mommy, that is a different kind of love."

Here are some pictures of my little boy who melts my heart with his sweet words.

Goodbye 20's, Hello 30's!

Wowza...30 certainly snuck up on me.  I've been walking around all 29-like, and now today I enter a new decade.  Some sure signs this is really happening?  I had my first gray hair.  What???  You better believe I plucked that thing out no matter what they say about how you aren't supposed to do that.  I also have noticed some tiny fine lines forming around my eyes that I had never noticed before.  And my body seriously hurts all the time and it's not like I am doing killer workouts like I used to do in college ball.
Oh well...as much as it is a little strange to feel and watch yourself getting older, I am seriously A-Ok with it.  There was good and bad about my 20's and there will be good and bad about my 30's, but I serve a great God who loves me UNCONDITIONALLY!

Here is a quick look back at some happenings in my 20's and a look ahead to what I see in my 30's!
-played college basketball at D2 Winona State
-Somehow completed my last semester of college taking 22 credit hours while still in basketball season part of the semester and planning a wedding
-Got married
-Student taught in Rochester, MN
-Graduated Summa Cum Laude with a double major in Early Childhood and Elementary Education
-Moved to Ankeny and bought a town home
-Worked at Tournament Club of Iowa and substitute taught for 1/2 a year
-Started attending Ankeny Free Church
-Got hired to teach 5th grade at Terrace Elementary in Ankeny
-Got hired to coach freshman girls basketball in Ankeny
-Mickey's grandfather passed away
-Traveled to Paris, London, Italy, Dominican Republic
-Sold our townhome and bought a house
-Was blessed to welcome Evan into our family as our first child
-Attended and graduated Viterbo University with my Masters in Elementary Education
-Traveled to Arizona, Colorado, Mexico, Seattle, and Ireland
-Was (surprisingly) blessed with another pregnancy and the birth of our little girl Alea
-My gramps passed away
-Decided to become a stay at home mom/wife and leave my beloved teaching job at Terrace
-Tried my hand at coaching high school girls basketball for Kingdom Hoops then decided it was too much to do with young children at home
-Traveled to Puerto Rico
-Got involved with MOPS
-Started home-schooling my son for pre-school with the Raising Rock Stars curriculum
-Started helping out at a our homeschool co-op teaching the preschoolers art and P.E.
-Started co-leading a community group
-Started co-leading our amazing Titus Bible Study
-Felt God tugging at my heart to adopt and I actually listened and obeyed Him!
-Made the decision with my husband to leave our home in Ankeny for a year and go to the mission field in Zambia, Africa to adopt, minister to the poor, help in the schools, and just do whatever God wants me to do while I am there.
-Traveled to Hawaii and Disneyland for the first time

I am probably missing some major things but these are definitely the things that stick out to me-quite a bit huh?  And these were just the big items!  This doesn't account for a million little amazing moments, new friendships made, weddings, holidays, and so much more...And it certainly doesn't even begin to tell the story of how God has completely changed me from when I turned 20 until now...so glad God never gave up on me and continues to pry open my heart so that He can live through me.

So, what will happen in my 30's?  Well, only God knows for sure, but here are some of my hopes and dreams.
-We will add to our family by way of adoption.
-We will add to our family with another biological child.
-God will use my teaching knowledge and experience to help the teachers in Zambia.
-God will break us and change us to love like Him as we experience life in Zambia.
-My marriage will continue to improve and be strengthened and God will grow us closer and to a better understanding and deeper love for each other.
-Continue co-leading Titus and helping women develop a personal relationship with Jesus and help them actively be a light for Him.
-My 2 current children (and possible other children) will accept Jesus as their Savior and choose to follow Him in all they do.
-I will write a book.
-Become more active in Ankeny as far as reaching the lost and helping the poor.
-I will do what God wants as far as schooling my children...my prayer is that He will make it clear to us what is best for our family.
-Take many missions trips as a family, helping others and seeing the world.
-Relationships that need healing will be healed.
-Be an encouragement and source of strength and joy to family, friends, and beyond.
-I will become involved in Kingdom Hoops again-really loved it and what it is all about-just had to put my family first right now.
-God will give my husband clarity on what to about his career.
-We will sell our current house and build a house together (my hubby's dream since he was little!).
-Finally, I hope I will learn to love...that is what Jesus gives to me everyday and I certainly don't deserve it.  I know I am doing nothing for His kingdom if I don't love others.  Because like the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:1, "If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but do not have love, I am a nosy gong or a clanging cymbal."  All of the hopes, dreams, accomplishments, successes, and failures mentioned above mean nothing if I do not love.

So, here is to "love" in the next decade!  And two pictures below of the people I love most in this world! :)

My whole family at my house to celebrate all the March birthdays

The Original 5!

Our Zambia Support Letter and Form

Hi all!  As promised, I am posting our letter about Zambia as well as our support form.  We hope you enjoy reading-it was a true labor of love.  And if you have any desire to support us, it is pretty self-explanatory, but if you have any questions, please let us know.  We are under the missions organization Gospelink and any giving is tax-deductible.  Every little bit counts and we are so appreciative of any support that comes in and makes this possible.  We can't do it without your help.  Thanks and God Bless!

Click here to view our letter!


Zambia Support Letter


Click here to view our support form!

Zambia Financial and Prayer Support Form

The links worked for me but this was my first time linking to Word documents!  :)  Let me know if they don't work for you!

Just love this picture of Victoria Falls!  Can't wait to see it for real soon!

All that Goes into Moving Across the World

Wheeeewwwwwww....is all I can say.  The last few months have been a whirlwind, to say the least.  I don't remember the last day or night we had some down time.  If there isn't any normal activities going on (Titus, church, Awana, MOPS, Pre-school Co-Op, pre-school at home, Community Group, Mickey busy at the fire station and at second job-Wells Fargo Events Center, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, raising and shepherding our 2 dear children ages 4 and 2, other family activities, holidays, birthdays, exercise, doctor's appointments, sickness, what am I forgetting?  Oh yeah, sleep.  Love me some sleep! All though, none of us are getting enough of it these days. Besides all that, we are preparing to move to a 3rd world country several thousands miles away.  This is not a small thing!  Let me just share with you a glimpse of the process.  I say a glimpse because I don't think anyone can fully understand unless they are in it.  I thought I knew what missionaries went through but I quickly found out I had not a clue.

1-We have to raise support. I shared in an earlier post (click here- Zambia Info and Support Letter) about why we need to raise funds to make this year happen.  How do you go about raising support?  Well, you start with an informative letter.  This was quite the task!  We explained why God is calling us to do this, what we will be doing, and asked people to support us with money and/or prayer.  THIS WAS DIFFICULT! It is hard to ask your friends and family for money!  We know how hard people work and how tight money is for many.  But we also know we can't do it without the generosity and sacrifice of others.  We are the ones actually going to the mission field but by supporting a missionary, you are essentially a missionary!  You are a sender and God needs those too.  We can promise to anyone who chooses to support us, that your money will be used for so much good.  You will be part of something that will be life-changing for potentially thousands of Zambians (and definitely life-changing for the little boy we adopt!).  And I mean truly life-changing!  We are going there to help Zambians learn to support themselves and their families (through farming methods and education), not just give them charity.  If you would like to  support us, I will be posting our letter and our support form in the next blog!  And if you already have our letter/support form, would you consider partnering with us? We need you!

2-We have to be authorized to adopt by the U.S.  What does this entail?  First, we had to find a certified adoption investigator.  Yes, that is a real job.  Zambia doesn't work with any U.S. agencies so we needed to find someone independent of an agency.  Thankfully, there was one listed on a website and she was right in West Des Moines.  I met with her to discuss details and she was fabulous, so we hired her!  Next up was our homework...physicals for Mickey and I, get copies of latest well checks for kids as well as immunizations records, copies of all our documentation, get fingerprinted, and fill out a ton of background information and explain why we want to adopt.  We also scheduled our 1st of 2 home study visits.  This means our investigator came to our home and we needed to share with her about our lives growing up and what our life is like now.  That went great and our final home study is on March 28th.  By that study, we need to give her 4 letters of recommendation, which some of our wonderful friends and family are writing.  She will also need to tour our home and she plans to discuss with us how we plan to help our new child feel at home here in America.  After that, she will type up our recommendation!  Then, the only thing left is to send in the approved home study to the U.S. (along with $720, yes, and it is 3 pieces of paper, how our government is broke, I have no idea) and then we will have official clearance from the U.S. government.  This has been a lot of work, so we are excited to have this about ready to go so we can focus on some other aspects of our year over there.

3-We have to prepare our house for either renters or to put for sale.  I have never de-cluttered, organized, and cleaned so much in my life. Enough said.  This has been exhausting, especially when you have two children who immediately destroy whatever you cleaned 2 minutes prior or when your 4 year old sees the toy you are about to get rid of and has a complete meltdown even though he hasn't played with it in two years.  :)  Gotta love it!

4-We had to buy and pack items to be put on a container that was thankfully already planned to be shipped to Zambia because of 2 other missionary families from our church who are going there for full-time ministry.  I say thankfully because this was huge!  You might think things are cheaper in Zambia because it is such a poor country but IT IS NOT!  Everything (except fruits and vegetables) is more expensive or not possible to get.  So, because of this container, we were able to put beds, bedding, cookware, other kitchen items, curtain rods/curtains, rugs, and other housing essentials as well as some clothes, food, and toys for the kids.  This will be such a blessing to already have this stuff when we get there instead of having to go find it and pay triple for it!  While it is wonderful, this has been a ton of work.  Trying to think and plan ahead of what we might need in a country that I have never been to?  HA!  It actually got sent today and I am so glad that I can stop thinking about what we should/shouldn't put on that container.  What is on it, is on it now!

5-We have been formulating a vision and plan for what to do while we are there.  We are trying to make sure we do what God has for us, not what we think we should do.  This takes a lot of prayer and quiet time to hear God.  And if you just read all of the above, you can just about imagine how much quiet time we are getting around here.  At the same time, we are also wanting to not get ahead of God or demand that we know exactly what He wants to do with us while we are there.  Part of this coming year in Zambia will be putting all of our trust in Him and walking with Him day by day, step by step, in blind faith.

6-We have to emotionally prepare ourselves, our children, our extended families, and friends.  Mickey has been there 3 times.  I have never been there.  If I am being honest, I am struggling with knowing I won't be able to call my mom at any hour or go to my weekly Titus Bible study or have playdates with friends (among many other worries).  Mickey has never missed some events at the farm he grew up on-like harvest and deer season-this is tough to think about.  Our kids know we are moving to Africa for a year and they are excited.  But let's be honest, they have no idea what they are signing up for!  We are trying to slowly warn them of the differences between here and there, but it is still going to be a complete shock for them.  And our dear families and friends, we will miss them so much and we are sorry we will be gone.  I know there is some deep sadness on both sides of our families and all we can do is pray that God will provide them with peace and comfort during this year.

As you can see, we have been busy bees!  To put all of this stuff on top of the regular demands of daily living has been trying...but God is so good and He has already shown us time and time again that going to Zambia is exactly what He is calling us to do.  We are resting in that blessed assurance from Him.

Young girl walking, notice no shoes!  

Mickey trying to figure out how to play the national sport-soccer!

At a school 

Love this sweet little face!  Wonder what he is up to now! Mickey took this 4 years ago!

Beautiful Victoria Falls-this will be about 6 hours north of us!

Random Winter Pics!

Sooooo....I haven't posted pics in a while so I thought I would throw a few on here so you can catch a glimpse of how we are faring this never ending winter!  Spring is officially slated to start next week and we are ready.  Bring on fresh air, running outside, parks, green, and no more coats/hats/mittens!
Hope you enjoy the mash up of what's been going on around our humble abode.

A little visit to Nana/Pops while daddy was working extra! 

We hadn't seen them since Ev's 4th bday so he got a few presents, even his own trumpet!

Alea and her Nana, if you notice her red cheek, well she convinced Nana to put some blush on her!
She is such a girlie-girl!

Evan happy as a clam outside in the snow, Alea-not so much...

Always being a goofball and making funny faces

More outside fun-can you see their little bodies down there?

She gets really excited about the littlest of things.

Evan specifically ordered me to get the camera here and take his picture. ha!

They do fight, but mostly there is a ton of love between them and Ev likes to make sure she is ok and happy.

Love these 2 faces

He was supposed to be following me into the house and he didn't....came out in the garage and he was in full play mode pretending to chase people on the 4-wheeler!  (not ours, we borrow from his parents to deal with snow in the winter!)

Oh, the simple pleasures of bubble wrap!

Reason for bubble wrap-new dishwasher!

They just kept going and going...

My hard-working hubby after he got the dishwasher, microwave, and oven installed all in one day by himself (no, I wasn't much help)

I took the Dr. Oz challenge!!!

Oh my goodness, I am so glad it is Saturday and I can eat some food.  Like crunch down, chew, and savor some tasty morsels...:)  The reason why I am so excited is I spent the last 3 days literally choking down some not so delicious but oh so good for you smoothies for the Dr. Oz 3 day cleanse.
Why did I do this you ask?  I know, I know...I exercise and eat pretty healthy already.  But for the last month or so, I just felt yucky.  My stomach was always hurting, I was tired, and my body felt old. (guess that could be because I am turning 30 in a few weeks, ouch!)  So this was the number one reason I thought I would try a cleanse-to get rid of all the nastys in my body.  Number 2 was because I like a challenge.  Being a former athlete, I miss competition and trying to do something really tough.  This definitely hit the mark as I typically don't deprive myself.  I am an "everything is ok in moderation" type girl.  So, there you have it, my reasoning behind the madness.  Now here is my quick review and synopsis of how it went down:
This is the website where I got my shopping list and menu.  I like that I could print out one sheet and it was all right there and most of the items I was easily able to find at Hyvee.
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-ozs-3-day-detox-cleanse-one-sheet

I will say that if you know of someone with coconut oil or almond butter, or cayenne pepper, just ask if you can borrow a little bit, because you don't need that much and it is EXPENSIVE!  I had a wonderful friend who gave me some coconut oil and I just bought a little sampler of almond butter for $1.25 and it was enough so I saved some moola there. :)  I also bought mostly frozen fruit as it is winter in Iowa right now and there aren't too many deals to be had on fresh fruit.  It worked just as well!  Actually easier, since you don't have to wash and chop!
Smoothie reviews: None were very good if I am being honest, but maybe that is just my sweet tooth talking. haha...  The lunch one is a green monster and it would take me about 3 hours to get it down.  The dinner one calls for cayenne pepper and let me just say, I did it the 1st night and I had to literally chase every sip with a drink of ice cold water.  It just burned going down my throat.  Not fun.  So, I took it out the next two nights...I just knew I wouldn't be able to do it!  So, if you try it, put the tiniest amount in and see if you can handle it...maybe you are braver than me!  I will say about all of them though, that there was something really cool about putting all fresh, whole foods into my body.  Even though they tasted bad, my body definitely like them.
On to how I felt during the 3 days...the 1st day I was very optimistic and didn't have too many problems.  Except for having to prepare foods for my kids still.  That.Just.Wasn't.Fair.  Oh and the lack of getting to have my 2-3 cups of coffee was the worst.  Bring on the no-caffeine headache.  Pretty brutal and made me realize how addicted I am to that! The second day was miserable...I was exhausted, stomach was growling, and I didn't want to endure the same 3 gross smoothies again.  So, in my husband's words, I was a CRAB!  But after a good night's sleep, I slept like a baby all 3 nights, I was upon my last day.  It was easy to get excited knowing I could eat the next day, so I felt like a whole new person.  I felt lighter, skin felt smoother, hair was shinier, no bloating tummy, etc.  It was a good day (minus the morning at MOPS where I couldn't eat any of the wonderful goodies-bummer).  Couldn't wait to wake up in the morning and eat...was planning my breakfast all night long!
What will I take away from this?  A few things...we really can do anything we set our minds to. I was determined to accomplish this and I am a perfectionist so there was no cheating.  It felt really good to set a goal, stick to it, and finish it to the end.  Second, I got so bored eating the same things for 3 days...but what do most people around the world do?  Eat the same thing everyday and it isn't as healthy or tasty as what I was drinking for 3 days.  It made me think about how good I have it.  I am so blessed even though I am no better than the Zambian woman sitting there eating nshima for every meal.  I am glad God used this to help me identify even just a little with what they go through.  (I know it isn't the same, just a little taste!)  Last, I am excited to change my eating habits to be even better than what they are now...I am usually pretty good, but I am going to focus on really making sure I (and my family) are eating WHOLE FOODS most of the time.  Real, honest to goodness food, not food with all the added junk.  And I am going to focus on eating less.  I learned that I really don't need that much to be full and content.
All in all, it was a tough 3 days-glad it was only 3- and I am glad I did it.  My kids are glad that it's over since mommy gets to have her coffee in the morning. :-) Should you do it?  Well, that's up to you!  There are some positives and negatives to everything-just think about if it is right for you!

I.AM.SCARED.

Yes, I am going to admit it and tell you I am scared.  I am nervous.  I am overwhelmed. I am feeling guilt.  I am feeling loss. I am feeling like we have no idea what we are getting ourselves into or what we are doing...We move to Zambia, Africa in exactly 6 months.  Where there are mass amounts of mosquitos, frequent electrical outages, life-threatening snakes and lots of other creepy-crawlies, extreme heat, no consistent/constant source of clean, running water, and days where the rain doesn't end.  Where our families and most of our friends won't be.  Where there are no "fun" places like the library, zoo, or pool to take the kids.  Where there is no grocery store with anything we could possibly need right down the road.  I could go on and on.  As I was showing pictures online to my dad of where we are going to be, his comment was, "It's like looking back in time, to like the 1800's."  HA!  And it is so true-most of Africa is just so poor...they don't have running water, electricity, and they live in 1 room thatch roof huts.  In Zambia, the only food most can afford to eat is called nashima, a basic mixture of maize and corn.  I've seen it and it doesn't look too appetizing.
In all the excitement of adopting a child into our family and the adventure of moving half-way across the world, I didn't stop to think about how different our lives our going to look in 6 months.  I didn't stop to think about all that we are leaving behind.  
Why am I telling you all this you might ask?  A couple of reasons...first, I know that as I have watched missionaries go into the field or even having watched someone move away to a new place, I thought wow...they are so brave, or how exciting.  They must really have it all together and I envied their confidence. Now I know, that is SO NOT TRUE!  Just because we are doing this does NOT mean we are not afraid of it. We are terrified,  but thankfully, we serve an amazing God. He goes before us and follows behind us.
Deuteronomy 31:8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.

And 2nd, I am telling you this because I need prayers...prayers that I would not walk in the flesh, that I would not let my mind go to that place where I think I won't be able to do this, that we are crazy for taking our kids there, that we are mean for taking grandkids away from their grandparents, that I will miss my friends too much, that we won't be able to help anyone over there, and the list goes on.  The worries weigh me down like no other when I allow them.  I need prayers that I would walk in the Spirit of the true, living God.  This is the only way my family and I can set out to do what God has asked us to do.  We are so weak on our own, but in Him, we are strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9 But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Love this verse because my weaknesses are going to become more apparent when we are in Africa, like stare you in the face apparent, but this is God's forte, His power is made PERFECT in our weakness.

Now don't get me wrong, I am excited despite all the hardships I mentioned...it is going to be a life-changing year and I firmly believe God has us going there for several reasons.  I just wanted people to know just because we are going doesn't make us some kind of super Christians, we fall into worry and fear like anyone else.  Thank God for His unconditional love, amen???