Justin turned four in January, and Noah turned two today! We are blessed to have amazing friends and family to celebrate with... here are a few of the highlights (many more pictures on facebook)...
Justin loves Curious George, so that was the theme of his birthday this year. We started the celebration with monkey cupcakes with his class at preschool.
Then we had a party at home with friends from church...
Justin and his friends had fun reading books, coloring pictures of George, throwing banana bean bags in the monkey's mouth, and even playing a little animal charades game!
And since monkeys love bananas, we had banana splits and fruit juice at the party. :)
We celebrated Noah's birthday a few weeks early because his grandparent's were here!!! It was so special having Papa Dwayne and Grandma Jill with us for a birthday party... the first time since Justin was born 4 1/2 years ago. :) (And as I write this, I realize we have no pictures of them with Noah at the party... but we have lots of other pictures from their time with us.) We invited a few of Noah's friends over for some snacks, cupcakes, and lots of playtime with bubbles, balloons, and balls... needless to say, the boys (and their Dads) had tons of fun!
Of course, Justin was eager to help Noah open his presents. :)
Well, now that it's summer vacation, and we have more permanent help in the church office (praise God - huge answer to prayer!), it's time for me to catch up on life... and that means catching up on our blog. :) We love the new memories we get to make with the boys all the time, but especially on holidays and special days, so here are a few pics from Easter a couple months ago...
Justin and I made resurrection rolls for the first time! If you haven't heard of these, it's basically a crescent roll wrapped around a marshmallow. The marshmallow represents Jesus, and the roll is the tomb. After you bake the rolls the marshmallow is gone - He is risen! :) We had so much fun making them together... in fact just a couple weeks ago, Justin asked if we could make them again. ;)
We don't have access to already-prepared crescent roll dough, so we had to make it from scratch... and it turned out okay!
We decided to make our rolls two different ways... First we dipped the marshmallow in butter, cinnamon and sugar, and then wrapped the roll around it.
With the other half, we put the marshmallow in the roll and dipped the roll in butter, cinnamon, and sugar... I think we liked the 2nd version better.
the finished results!
Easter Sunday morning started out with a little reading time...
and then attempted pictures on the front porch... with lots of sun in the eyes!
Easter Sunday is always a special service at church, but this year was extra special when 10 people got baptized! And, I don't have any pictures of that, but I have pictures of the super fun Easter picnic and egg hunt that afternoon...
our wonderful neighbors joined us for the 3rd year in a row!
So, even though it's a little late, Happy Easter! He is risen indeed!
Sometimes you are so overwhelmed by God's goodness and grace, that there are just no words... Today is Noah's birthday - our baby is now officially two! We had a party a few weeks ago (post and pictures coming soon), so today was just a pretty normal day. The last couple months and even the last few days have been pretty rough, things we can't really talk about, and it's easy to get discouraged and let your focus stray. And today was one of those days... but then our neighbors came over this afternoon with a present for Noah and a beautiful home-made birthday cake... and I am simply overwhelmed by the blessings of our amazing God. Nami-san remembered it was Noah's birthday, and she spent her entire morning making him an amazing cake (the kind I would never even try;) ). It's like God is reminding us, "I've got this... I've got everything. Things might be rough, but remember how I led you here to Okinawa and to this specific apartment... " God has surrounded us by people who love and support us, and today is a day when I feel overwhelmed by his beauty in our lives. I pray that we can be reminders of his beauty and grace to the people he brings into our lives, just like Nami-san was to us today.
That's right... a surprise has been planned for many months now, and it finally happened! Brian's parents have been serving as the District Superintendent for Northwest Indiana for almost 17 years and are now retiring (for all the non-Nazarene folks who may read this - he's like a pastor to pastors, handles administrative things, training, traveling, speaking, stuff like that). Last year, the district advisory board contacted Brian and his brother, Justin, to see if they could come to Indiana as a gift for their parents. Of course they both agreed, and plane tickets were purchased. I still can't believe that Lee and Alice never found out what was going on... in fact, I'm so impressed with how few people actually knew what was happening. So Monday afternoon this week, Lee gave his final report as D.S., and then they started presenting him with various gifts. The above video is the short version.. it includes fake congratulatory 'phone calls' from Brian and Justin (they were actually just backstage with a mic), and the big surprise. The video below is the whole presentation... if you have a few minutes, I recommend watching it. I love the reactions of everyone afterwards and how they just don't know what to do next because it was such a special moment, or as Dr. Warrick said, "a sacred moment". :)
We're so blessed that the NW Indiana district gave this opportunity to Brian. Of course it's been kind of a difficult week since we weren't all able to go; I'm used to Brian being gone for work, but it's a little different when he's with family for a week and we're not. I will really miss not always going to Valparaiso when we visit the states... I will always think of it as Lee and Alice's home, and we have so many wonderful memories there... it's where I first met them, first spent holidays with the Woolery side of the family, first met our awesome friends at Valpo First Church, went shopping with Brian for engagement rings, Justin's only snow experience so far, the place we told the grandparents we were pregnant with Noah, the memories go on and on. I will echo what Lee and Alice said at the assembly - Thank you NW Indiana for befriending me as Brian's girlfriend and wife, and thank you for the amazing support you have given us as missionaries for the last 9 years! We can't thank you enough for your prayers, and we will continue to pray for you as you transition to a new D.S. Thank God we have the internet to stay in touch and our Nazarene family around the world... you never know where or when we'll see you next, but we will see you! :)
I can't believe it's been three years since the last NYI convention... and Justin's "Up All Night" t-shirt finally fits him! So all day I've been remembering so many wonderful friends and the fun, crazy, and meaningful times we had staying "up all night"!
a time to be born, and a time to die...a time to weep, a time to laugh; a time to mourn, a time to dance (taken from Ecclesiastes 3:1-4). So, it's been a little while since we've posted a blog about what's happening in our lives these days... and sometimes I think I put off posting certain things because even though they've already happened, there's something about writing it down that makes it seem more real. Anyways, if you've felt led to pray for us over the last couple months, know that we really needed it, and that God has been with us, leading us, and teaching us in so many ways.
On February 15, our dear friend, Belinda Allder, ended a 2 year battle with cancer and went home to be with our Savior. We first met Belinda at the 2007 3rd wave conference in South Africa. She was a missionary in Thailand, and over the last 5 years our friendship grew as we saw each other at various youth conferences and meetings in different locations all over Asia. Belinda was an amazing person to be around - she put everyone at ease and loved to laugh, learn about different cultures, and share about the awesome things God was doing. I'm so thankful for the time we had together and the incredible memories shared. I learned so many things from her life, and it is such a privilege that we got to know her while working together with youth in Asia-pacific. It's always hard to lose a friend, but I'm so thankful that our friends at WMC-AP made the following tribute to remember who Belinda was as a follower of Christ:
That same evening, we received a phone call from our church secretary and friend that her 6 year old son, Daniel, was involved in a household accident and being rushed to the hospital. Brian met Vanessa at the hospital, and shortly after found that Daniel also met Jesus that night. Vanessa is pregnant with twins, and her husband, Jeremy, was deployed at the time. It's hard to find words to describe the emotions of those next few days... extreme shock at what happened and the precious, fragile nature of life... complete awe of Vanessa's strong faith in God and the many miracles we witnessed the next week before they returned to the states to be with family...and the soul-wrenching dependence on God's peace, strength, and control in the midst of confusing and troubling times.
Daniel was an amazing boy, full of life and a genuine love for God and His creation. He was a great friend of Justin's, and Justin still enjoys talking about the fun times they had and how he will see Daniel again in heaven some day. Vanessa and Jeremy have returned to Okinawa and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their twin boys this summer. Please keep them in your prayers. Pray that our church family will continue to be their "family" during their time here in Okinawa.
Unfortunately real life doesn't stop when we lose friends and need time to grieve and heal. The last two months have had more than the usual share of tough times in relationships, work, and ministry, but our God is so great. He continues to teach us, stretch us, and show His faithfulness in new ways every day. This past season of Lent has truly been a time of clinging to Jesus and understanding his "peace that surpasses understanding" in new ways. So pray for us as we continue to wait, learn, and trust. We're in awe of the ways God works in our lives and the amazing friendships he blesses us with, even if just for a short time.
Here's a song from one of my new favorite artists that has been especially meaningful to me recently... it's based on Psalm 46:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.
Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Both our boys have always been big eaters, and as Noah was chowing down
on some spaghetti at lunch today, it reminded me so much of Justin when
he was a baby... so here are a few pics from today and a few years ago...
