A Michigan Thanksgiving

An attempt at a Family Picture...

Both the girls LOVED playing with all their Michigan cousins, little & big.
We stayed at Aunt Cindy's house, the girls loved the dogs!
Jeremy & Nana
On Friday we had a birthday party for Nana, Faith helps blow out her candle.
Grace having fun with daddy's cousins & second cousins.
We tried to get a picture of Jeremy's "girls" for him, but they weren't so cooperative. The big question are there three or four girls in this picture??
Faith "helping" daddy play pool.
Nana was the photographer for the trip, so we don't have many pictures of her...
Grace with Daddy's Nana

This year for Thanksgiving we traveled to Michigan to visit family. It was a great chance to see our family. The last time we went was two years ago when Faith was itty bitty. So even Grace didn't remember meeting her extended family. The girls loved meeting lots of new "friends." (Grace's word for people she meets she likes- family or otherwise) Here are some snapshot memories from the trip.

- The thing you think will be difficult never turns out to be the challenge when traveling with kids. We were so concerned about the long drive, but the girls did amazing!! However, sleeping was a nightmare. We are stayed in one room and Faith discovered how to climb out of her pack n' play with big sister's help. They refused to go to bed or take naps, making them overly tired and cranky.

- The girls enjoyed playing with all the younger cousins. Grace especially liked to tag along with whatever the group of older kids was doing.

-I volunteered to make homemade rolls for Thanksgiving. I wanted to make something the girls could help with and feel a part of the celebration. Well, Aunt Colleen's message affirming that would be great got lost in Facebook land. I didn't find out until the day after she had to send her husband to buy rolls last minute on Thanksgiving. (Opps!) But, I am looking forward to doing this the next time we go.

-Faith would sit in her chair at mealtime and tell the dog to "sit" over and over again. Both the girls loved the dogs at Aunt Cindy's.

-I got to see a picture of Jeremy's Papa and Nana when they were younger. I couldn't believe how much Jeremy looked like his Papa, you couldn't miss that this is who he looks like!!

-I LOVE hearing Nana tell stories about their family life when the kids were little. (Everyone knows I love big families)

Precious Moments

Above: Grace & Mommy in their matching outfits. Below: Grace sleeping with Daddy.
Parenting Grace can be challenging. She is most definitely a strong-willed child who longs to control her world. She is a very determined little girl, who I believe will change the world someday for Jesus if she sets her mind to it. She has the potential to be a strong leader for the kingdom, and I'm praying God will help her dad and I to shape her into a sold out disciple. Lately there have been several precious moments with her. I try and treasure these moments and save them up for the moments when I think I am going to pull my hair out!! Here are just a few I don't want to forget.

-Getting dressed has been a challenge FOREVER. Once our neighbor actually asked us why they always heard her screaming and crying in the morning. My answer, "Yep, she does that every day-she hates getting dressed." I have tried letting her choose, letting her help, setting a timer and letting her do it herself and every parenting trick in the book but most days it was still a challenge. However somewhere in the last couple of months we have transitioned and its no longer such a battle. The other day she went in and got dressed all by herself. She came out to show me. She had chosen jeans and a red shirt because she wanted to match mommy. A precious moment.

-Many of you know nap time has been another battle I have refused to give in on. We have transitioned Grace to "rest time." But, she is still required to play quietly in her room during the afternoon and if she happens to fall asleep it is a bonus. She really fights sleep, even when she is tired. The other day she crawled up in Jeremy's lap while he was watching tv before dinner. She fell fast asleep before he even knew it. He loved the cuddle time with his little girl. So precious!

-We were doing a devotion before bed tonight. The subject was loneliness. It asked if your ever feel lonely. Grace's reply, "Mom, I'm never lonely. I have my Faith-er." VERY precious, wish all the sister moments were like that!

-Whenever anyone gets hurt Grace has become quite the little nurse. She will run to the freezer to grab a cold pack or run to get Faith's "pink." for her. She shows a concern for others that I hope continues to grow into a precious gift.

-While we were traveling Jeremy and I came into our room one night to find Grace's pop up bed scooted as close to her sister's crib as possible. They were both sleeping with their heads towards each other. I really wish I captured this precious moment with my camera!

-Grace gives hugs and kisses to the baby every night. Precious.

Grace,

Mommy loves you SO much. You have such a sweet spirit. I pray God will continue to grow your compassion for others. I feel so blessed to be your mommy!

The National Missionary Convention

We had the opportunity to attend the National Missionary Convention as a family. I was a little nervous about how this would go, but overall it was a great experience. On Thursday night we drove to Washington to stay with Jamie & Kara (my family) and their two girls. They were amazing hosts and the girls loved playing with Lilly. At the convention we saw lots of people we knew. One of my favorite things was eating lunch with the Davenports. Nathan & Lindsay are such dear friends, and we don't get to see them very often. We talked about eating in the hotel restaurant, but after checking out the long line we opted for eating our packed lunches together instead. It was such a joy to watch Grace & Addy play together. It was a reminder of what a blessing the bonds we share in Christ are. Even though we were eating simple food it was great to visit in person!

We also attended a PBT dinner with the Downings & Gorschs. It was a little crazy with all the kiddos, but I enjoyed the pieces of the inspirational message from PBT's president I heard (Grace had a melt down from being overtired). I am really sad we didn't get a picture of all the girls together. I feel so blessed that I get to be a part of the extended PBT family by helping with the Davenport's monthly newsletter. Only an awesome God can take a stay at home mom in the midwest and use her gifts to somehow bless bibleless people across the world.

One of the girls' favorite things was the big floor puzzle of the world that was at the Team Expansion booth. They did it more than once. We stopped by there a lot trying to connect with our friends Matt & Elsa (missionaries in Venezuela). But, Matt wasn't feeling the best and we weren't able to spend time with them.

While we were able to only attend one main session the conference was a good balance of family time, reconnecting with friends, and catching up with different ministries we have been involved with over the years.