Things that make you go Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh....

This post is dedicated to ALL the things that make me happy:

It makes me happy...

...to be married to Nathan and that our relationship is one of those you read about and wonder if they really exist.

...to have been given the blessing and the reward for obedience in my life by becoming a Mama, five times over :o)

...hearing my kids playing make believe when they don't know I am listening.

...hearing my 2 yr old old pray, "God. Food. Love You. Ahhhmeeee-in."

...having my "chores" done, so that I can sit with my feet up and a hot cup of tea.

...waking up to a clean kitchen.

...going to the gym and working out hard. Then coming home, showering & shaving, and getting into clean sheets on my bed to go nighty-night.

...hearing Nathan reading his nightly few paragraphs of Pilgrim's Progress to the kids (right now, LOVE hearing this.)

...that nobody can snatch away the love I feel from the Lord. No evil thing, whether person or principality, can ever take THAT from me.

...that when my heart is low from struggle, the Lord puts a worship song that I haven't sung in a longtime in my mouth and compells me to SING.

...knowing that Graycen's name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life and she will never know death.

...knowing that MaryEvelyn is her own person and not just a follower, that she is seeking the Lord and desires to know more about Him.

...seeing Annagail twirl her hair around her finger when she is sleepy.

...hearing Ella begin singing in her bed in the morning before she even opens her eyes.

...seeing Cooper play with all of his (and all his Daddy's old) hot wheels.

...watching Annagail perk up with concern over hearing a baby crying somewhere and then watching her begin to pat her chest and make a "sh,sh,sh" sound out of familiarity.

...having authentic friends that say what is on their mind or heart in love. Man, if you don't have this one you gotta get you some of THESE kind of friends. There is no guessing, no muss, no fuss, just real fellowship between sisters-in-Christ.


...to have chocolate in the house.

I feel like I should in with,

"theese are a fewwwwww of my FAV-orite things!" in my strongest Nunn-turned-nanny voice. Heehee.

My new favorite cooking music:

Nathan got a wonderful CD for Christmas from my Mom. It is one that has found an almost permanent home in my kitchen CD player for the last several weeks.

Brandon Heath, Don't Get Comfortable

A particular favorite is You Decide



In the end, we can all only be responsible for our own actions. You decide. Will your legacy be of love or spite? You decide. Will your Father in Heaven find you blameless or will that one issue keep creeping into your testimony before Him? You decide. Will you always wear two (or more) faces that change depending on who you are looking at or will you own who you are and be authentic and honest to everyone? You decide.

Not everybody gets it right.

Sink or swim?

You decide.

****Update on my Aunt: She suffered a stroke on Thursday night and they didn't expect her to live through the night. The Dr expected her brain activity to decline as the night went on. It didn't. Sometime during the night, she sat up and tried to talk. She couldn't and that frustrated her, which was a very good sign. Since then, she has been eating, talking, even getting up (with the help of a wheelchair). The Drs have decided that she had a hemorrhagic stroke. She is ALIVE and we are praising the Lord for that. She has lost most her short term memory function and it isn't expected to return. She remembers my Uncle, but she is struggling with others. She is froma large Korean family and, according to my Mother, she can't speak Korean any more. The mind is a complex thing and she has suffered what is thought to be permanent damage. The bleed hasn't grown and they are trying to force the blood pool to reabsorbed into her body. We are rejoicing over the great news of her life and continuing to pray for them as they adjust to this path in their life. She is 54 and my Uncle is 77. She has always taken very good care of him and I just pray that the Lord will ease them into their new life on such different terms.


This is a song that the kids and I dance to often in my kitchen. I love Superchick and I love the lyrics to this song. ENJOY!!!

UPDATE on US and and URGENT Prayer Need!

****Most Importantly, please pray for my great Aunt Okhi. She suffered a brain hemorrhage and is in ICU back in GA. I am waiting for update from my Mom, but it really doesn't sound very good at all. My Uncle Junior (her husband) is in his mid-70's and is keeping vigil in the ICU waiting room, only about to see her 10 minute every hour. Please remember both of them in your prayers.****


Aaaaahhh, it is good to be back. Life has been busy here, so I haven't had time to post. Do you find that life is busier when you have your husband home for an extended period of time? I do. We get A LOT done, so it seems busier anyway. I have several posts that have been brewing in my mind. I will post those over the next week. For now, I thought I would update you on how things are going.

Nathan has been out of work for over a month now. You would think that I would be fretting, but I am not. We have had so much to do that I haven't had time to fret. Money is tight, but that isn't news to anyone right? We have learned to live on 60% of what Nathan was making. Honestly, I consider that an accomplishment instead of a burden. The less we can get by on, the less we need to bring home when God sends us out. That is a blessing. I have learned (very quickly) to buy groceries on less than $75 a week. Before your jaw drops because that seems like a lot, remember that we have seven people eating here. All but one of my babes are up to normal portions, so it is really like 6 adults and 1 child eating. We aren't doing a lot of fancy meals, but we are eating good, nutritional, home-cooked meals. We have cut our utility bills down by using less or opting for basic. I am not spending my days driving all over town and we are being more purposeful in our gas usage for the car. It is amazing the ways you can cut back when you apply your mind to you tasks.

I realized a little while ago that we hadn't bought clothes for our children in over a YEAR! Don't worry. They are clothed. We have just been blessed with hand-me-downs that have met ALL of our needs. The week after Nathan lost his job, I noticed that MaryEvelyn's tennis shoes were wearing thin. We were going to go and buy her some, but guess what showed up in a bag from one of Nathan's former co-workers that afternoon? Yep, the perfect size and perfect style for my little free-bird, MaryEvelyn. Can I just share with you how grateful I am for all of this. This isn't the first time this has happened. Seriously, we have had this type of thing happen EVERY TIME we have noticed need come up in the way of shoes or clothing for a solid YEAR or MORE. I am constantly reminded of Matthew 6:26:

"Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (ESV)

God has called us here. He has laid this path for us. He is providing even the clothes for my little ones as they need them.

Some may (I know that some DO) look at our life and think that our children suffer, because our wealth and our possessions are so few. However, if you talk to my children, they wouldn't have a CLUE what you would be speaking about. They are completely clueless to the world of material trappings. Even Graycen, at eight years old, has no idea what name brands are and I honestly believe they are better for it. There aren't hang-ups there. They don't have worry about finances. They know they are loved. They SEE love displayed. They feel love for others. For that, I honestly think they believe themselves to be among the "RICH". My prayer is that we can continue to nurture that in them and that, as they grow older, we will be able to continue to deflect any pressure to "keep up" with anyone. That is a futile effort that brings hollow reward and hefty debt. The land of DEBT is a place that I am BLESSED have been free of for a LONG time now and there are no fancy duds out there that are worth going back!

(Nathan with the kids in February after they presented him with the used bike they earned for his birthday. They hung "moving sale" signs all over for some missionary friends that were headed over seas.)

In other news, Nathan has continued to send out resumes. We know this process is long. We are eager to hear where the Lord is leading us, but we are enjoying the wait and praying for ALL of these places that we have sent resumes to. God will provide. Until then, we are loving our time together and spending a lot of time getting back to the simple fact of us. Our love has grown in these last ten years and it is MUCH stronger than ever. It is nice to have this time together to work side by side on projects, to laugh at each other's stupid jokes, and to just grow closer as we lean on the Lord together.

As always, we appreciate your prayers and can't wait to share the NEXT step of our journey with you!