Celebrating the Season....

We had a wonderful time together as a family celebrating this Christmas season.  It was a very relaxing time together filled with our family traditions.  Christmas Eve morning we started with making our traditional Christmas cookies for santa... The kids had fun decorating and eating them!  We went to the 4:00pm Christmas Eve service at Port City together and then came home and had our traditional Cheese Fondue and Chocolate Fountain along with other appetizers.  The kids were all sugared up and ready for bed..ha!  The kids got into their Christmas pajamas and opened up one present before bed.  

On Christmas morning the kids awoke EARLY!!!  Chris read the Christmas story before the opening of gifts.  Talking to the kids throughout the day that today is Jesus' birthday and celebrating that with them. Reminding them of the TRUE meaning of the season.

We had a great time watching the kids open their gifts one by one so we could all enjoy the moment.  After the opening of gifts we had our Christmas breakfast of monkey bread and breakfast casserole.  This is always a favorite!  The kids loved playing with their gifts while I started preparing for Christmas dinner...turkey, dressing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, collard greens......We then enjoyed an evening of watching movies with the kids and just relaxing!  It was GREAT!  

After the hustle and bustle of the two days and as I sit and reflect on the season, I am reminded of the many blessings in our life and how thankful I am for what God has done and is doing in our lives.  We have SO much to be thankful for!  It is taking each day and realizing it is a true gift and one that is not to be taken for granted.  God is stretching me and molding me and teaching me HOW to be the woman of God he intends for me to be.  Teaching me what that looks like and how I am to be His hands and feet to those I encounter every day.  Even to my own family...which I tend to forget often.....

We hope that each of you have had a truly blessed Christmas season with your families and that you remember what this season is all about...JESUS!!  

Here are a few pics of our Christmas for you to enjoy.....

  

Merry Christmas!

We would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The kids are excited that their last day of school is tomorrow and then off for a few weeks for Christmas! We are looking forward to my mom coming into town two days after Christmas to spend a few weeks with us.

It is so hard to believe that one year ago from now we were processing this whole idea of moving here to Wilmington. And here we are HERE! Time sure has flown by. To think we have now been here for 6 months is so surreal at times. This journey has been one FULL of ups and downs..moments of doubts, fear, insecurities,etc etc....I could go on and on....but one thing that has remained constant is our trust in the Lord that HE IS GOOD and that He HAS definitely called us here to do His will. We truly feel this is such an insurmountable task at times and we fall on our knees DAILY asking Him for His wisdom and guidance. We are just SO inadequate to plant this church.....
This Christmas we have SO much to be thankful for and we are truly blessed and humbled to be at this place in our lives. I am focusing on what is important and keeping my eyes on Him and praising Him for who He is in my life.

We hope each and every one of you have a truly blessed Christmas and a wonderfully blessed 2009! Our prayer is that we strive daily to keep Christ first in our lives and that we live each day growing closer to Him and fulfilling His calling on our lives.



MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Ashley for Chris, Ally, Caleb, and Anna Kate

Prayers Answered....

Prayers are being answered...thank you to all of you who have called,emailed and facebooked us to tell us you are praying for Caleb. We have been so taken back by all of the people who have told us you were praying for him....we are truly humbled and forever grateful to each of you. God is answering prayers! Today is the first day in 12 days that Caleb has not run ANY fever...PTL! His fever was actually BELOW normal all day today... :) He is still very tired and coughing, but we saw glimpses of his normal self today and for that we are encouraged. We are keeping him home from school tomorrow to let him rest up. He complained today of his "side hurting" when he was up for a long period of time and he pointed to his right lower area where the pneumonia was. I am sure he will be sore for awhile and we really want him to rest to get his strength back. We also don't want to send him with his immune system not 100% and risk him picking something else up at school. He will try going back to school on Tuesday but no PE or recess until after Thanksgiving break. His lungs need to heal 100% before he can start doing lots of vigorous activities.
He is ready to get back to a normal routine. He is tired of being in the house for the past 2 weeks.
We have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season. God has had his hand of protection over his little body and we are praising Him for that! Thanks again to all of you, our faithful prayer partners....we love you all....
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving this week and may we all remember to thank Him for His goodness in all of our lives......
Forever Grateful,
Ashley for Chris, Ally, Caleb and Anna Kate

Second Update on Caleb

Thank you for all your prayers for Caleb. When he went yesterday for the injections it went much better for him. "They didn't hurt as bad"..he said. I KNOW that is because all of you were praying for him....Today his fever hasn't gotten over 100 so that is great. He isn't sleeping at all at night because of all the coughing which has increased since it is all breaking up and he is having to cough it out. He is one exhausted little boy. He goes back today for the last 2 injections at 4pm. He has now been out of school for 6 days. He has LOTS to make up and we have been working on a little everyday but he is just so tired. I am praying he makes a huge turn around after today's shots. He just isn't his active self... :)
Thanks again for lifting him up in prayer....we will keep you posted........

Update on Caleb

As of yesterday Caleb wasn't responding to the antibiotics that they had put him on orally for the pneumonia. Yesterday marked day 7 of high fevers up to 104. We took him in to the doctor yesterday at 4pm and they gave him two injections of Rocephin. He has to go back today for 3 injections and tomorrow for 2 more. PLEASE pray for him. He is a scared little boy. The injections are very painful and he is dreading today and tomorrow. He isn't sleeping well because of the coughing and fever. He is a very sick little boy and as a mom, my heart is breaking watching him have to struggle like this. If it could only be me instead of him.....Thank you for keeping him in your prayers.....it is SO much appreciated....

Thank you for your prayers....

I wanted to write to say thank you to all of you who have been praying for our son Caleb. I do believe he is better and God's protection has been over him and your prayers played a big part in that. Caleb was diagnosed with pneumonia yesterday after running high fevers of 103-104.7 for 6 days. I had taken him into the doctor on Friday and they said it was viral. He started with the cough into day 3 of the fevers. I was listening to his lungs all weekend but never heard anything. He did not display the classic signs of pneumonia. The doctor saw him again on Monday, yesterday, and she didn't hear anything either, but I had asked her when I called that morning to please send him for bloodwork and a chest x-ray. They did...the chest x-ray picked up on the pneumonia. His white count was teetering on the edge of him needing to be hospitalized for treatment. We have him at home on oral antibiotics and lots of fluids and rest. He is to be out of school the rest of the week with hopes to go back on Friday. I am SO thankful that he is on the mend. He is a sick little boy, but he realizes the power of prayer and is SO appreciative of all the prayers going up on his behalf. Last night Mark Pratt came to pray with us and over him, and that spoke volumes into that little boy's life. He said to me after Mark was finished that that was "so nice" of him to do and for me to tell him thank you for him. (caleb had been asleep when Mark walked in, but woke up during the praying so he realized what was going on). Caleb said to me, "mom, am I really really sick? Am I going to die from this pneumonia?" I told him that God was protecting him and allowed us to get him the help he needed before it got too bad. It has been a life's lesson in teaching him about the power of prayer and healing in his life. God is SO good!

We SO appreciate all of you who have called and emailed us with your prayers, love and concern. We are SO very grateful for each one of you.

We are pressing on in this journey...through the many ups and downs and trials that come our way....praising the Lord in the midst of every one....For HE IS GOOD ALL the time!!!

Season of Brokenness in the making of Something Beautiful

A season of brokenness can feel like our undoing. One thing leads to another and soon, like a worn blanket, we start to unravel one thread at at time. God has reminded me during this season in Deuteronomy 7:9 that He IS merciful. He IS "the faithful God who keeps His gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commands." He has been with me through trials and victories through defeats and resolutions. He has made a way for me through the difficulties. When I felt like I had to figure things out on my own, He quickly reminded me that I did not have to do that on my own. When I worried about everything, He QUICKLY reminded me not to worry and to give Him my burden. God's grace has sustained me as I have walked through this season of brokenness...this adjustment to our new life in Wilmington. A season of God breaking me and molding me into the person He desires me to be. A season of continually having to die to self and surrender to Him......I pray for peace and comfort daily as I face my brokenness and lean on Him for wisdom. Realizing that He makes ALL things beautiful and NEW in HIS TIME..... I am beginning to come out of this season and realize that God can use it to make something beautiful from it...as ugly as it was....God is SO good to me and I am truly humbled at what He is doing and will do. I believe that I had allowed satan to rob me of my JOY during this transition. God has restored my JOY and I feel like I am beginning to live with JOY again. Realizing the importance of His calling on our lives and coming back to why we are here in the first place....to reach this community for Christ. Less of me and MORE OF HIM.....