Back to the Sunshine State- Part 2

Warning- for those of you who struggle with my wordiness you should probably stop here.... It's a looooong one!

Back to July again where we returned to Florida after a year away. As previously mentioned in "Back to the Sunshine State- Part 1", we scheduled our trip to celebrate with Steve, Jenny & the kids & also to say farewell as they were departing for Poland only 3 weeks later. 

I would like to take a minute to set the stage with sharing a little background.  Steve & Jenny were married just two months before we pulled away in our big yellow moving truck. We were sad to leave them after spending countless hours together & having Jenny as a roomie at our home for six months before the big day. One year after we moved to Orlando they made the move too! Steve started seminary at Reformed Theological Seminary. We were thankful to have them just 10 minutes from our house & part of our Celebration Community Church family. They arrived just a week before Charlotte was born which was sooooo special! A year later they welcomed our niece Karis & then Jenny and I battled it out to see who could have babies the fastest ; ) Between us we had babies every nine-twelve months & ended up with seven between us in five years! We spent a lot of time together during the day letting the kids play & eating chicken nuggets with them. Lots of laughter, working through differences & caring for one another. 

On the professional side of things, Jenny & Steve both worked for a ministry in Orlando called Converge Worldwide. Jenny decided to stay home with Karis when she was about nine months old & Steve continued working to mobilize missionaries all over the world. Around the time Isaac was born which was early 2012 he began to feel pulled toward Poland & the discussions & prayer began.  They were able to meet with a couple that had served as missionaries there for 12 years in March 2013. As they continued to pray & ask the Lord for direction, moving to Poland was what they felt the Lord was calling them to.  They visited that Fall. In April of 2014 they were approved to serve as missionaries through Converge Worldwide. Poland is a special place for the Valentine family as Jeannine's side came to the US from Poland. By summer of 2014 we were praying for support to start rolling in & boy did God hear & answer that prayer. 

They reached 100% support in July & bought plane tickets for early August....it was beginning to feel very real! We were grateful that my parents could keep our bunch for a long weekend while we joined CCC in commissioning this family to move overseas to share the good news of Jesus with those who don't know him. 

Celebration Community Church was where we were led to partner with a small group of people back in 2008 to serve surrounding communities & by God's grace be a part of laying the foundation for a new church. It was a place where God challenged us to believe that His way was the best way, a place where we were loved & were able to love others & a place where we saw God's faithfulness as he brought people through the doors, both those who walked closely with the Lord & others who needed to know him. Replaying those years in my mind bring up all sorts of a emotions, most of which make me cry. Returning to a place that in hindsight was formative in our love for & trust in the Lord, our marriage & starting our family sent my emotions through the roof. 

On Sunday we could not have been more excited to spend the morning & a good portion of the afternoon at CCC. We walked through the doors & I immediately received a huge hug from Heidi who is married to Gregg, the head pastor.  I asked for another one with tears in my eyes. This woman plays an extremely important role in supporting a husband that leads & teaches with much humility She faithfully greets all who walk through the doors week after week, she encourages others, is FULL of laughter & honors the Lord in the way she responds to compliments about her three children that love & serve God in different capacities. Oh, and she gives great hugs ; ) Early on in Charlotte's life I remember sitting in her hallway upstairs (no idea why that was our location). I felt excited but somewhat clueless on where to begin to bring up a child in the discipline & instruction of the Lord. I expected a long & detailed plan but instead it was extremely simple. She said that most importantly at this point we should be letting our children know they are loved by those who care for them & beyond that, remind them that most of all Jesus loves them. She sang a song that she sang to her own children & it is one I still sing today from time to time...the same way she did. That will always stand out in my mind when I think of Heidi. 

So, that's how it began. We said our hellos then sat down in the front row. The music began with Jenny front & center playing her cello which has always been a beautiful addition to the worship team. Karis & Isaac immediately joined us & then Olivia was in my arms as we sang together. Jenny & I looked at each other & the tears started coming. What a precious moment to have these sweet nieces & nephews in our arms just weeks before they begin one of the greatest adventures of their lives & in that moment having very little understanding of what the Lord was doing. 

Gregg called these five up to the stage & shared with the congregation what was ahead for this family. He asked them various questions confirming their trust in the Lord & intent of moving overseas & asked the congregation serving as their sending church to commit to pray & encourage.  I honestly don't remember everything that was said because my mind was racing & tears were flowing just watching them. Many came to the front to pray for them once they stepped down from the stage. 

I cried through every second of the music, parts of the sermon & an absurd amount during communion. The reason was two-fold. First it was saying goodbye to the Polish Valentines. Secondly it was seeing God's faithfulness in growing a community of around 50 people when we moved there in 2008 to a thriving community that comes together on Sundays filling the chapel on average 300+ people each service. As people walked past us to take communion, I was sobbing as one person after another walked by that we did not know or recognize. I thought about how we prayed & wrote on the concrete before the carpet was laid in 2011. What a story we want our children to understand as part of our family history! Now we could not even count how many feet have passed over our "spot."

On the subject of God's faithfulness, I sat & felt Arlo moving around & thought back to the agony leading up to becoming pregnant with Charlotte. We joined in worship there Sunday after Sunday through each pregnancy, felt every baby wiggle as we sang & were encouraged through the teaching of scripture. I even laughed for a second thinking about the last 10 weeks of my pregnancy with the boys where Rob hauled my camping chair with a footrest & set it up in the back by the sound board since I could not sit in the regular chairs for more than 5 seconds without being in pain due to the massive size of my belly. What a gift to be back in that place with baby #5 in the womb! More crying ensued. Bob was so concerned with the amount of tears I was shedding haha! Once I made it through that service I was good to go..... minus mascara & a good amount of the rest of my make up ; ) 

Here we are as the party was starting. After the 2nd service we enjoyed lunch with many friends & heard from some very special people via microphone. It was a lovely time & I know they felt honored. 

What a wonderful idea to send this family with a map filled with special notes to encourage them along the way. 

One fun little game..

1. Poland is red & right next to Germany

2. Warsaw

3. roughly 40 million

4. red and white

5. Futbol

6. Hot!

7. 0.2% would be considered evangelical Christians meaning they have a relationship with Christ and claim him as Savior& Lord.

Back to the beautiful backdrop Amanda made for the celebration lunch, she had the idea to include all the cousins + the aunts & uncles up north that could not make it down that weekend. Amanda asked if I could get pictures of the kids holding signs that had scripture that Steve & Jenny had recently taught Karis & Isaac. I was not in the mood for Photoshop so I pulled out some trusty old cardstock & a Sharpie. It was so fun to have a little crafty thing to do & the kids were excited to be included.  I was going to use just four pieces of paper but decided that Arlo should be included since he is in fact part of our family : ) Charlotte took that picture & I thought she did a great job!

We enjoyed visiting & laughing with old friends & spending any extra moment we could with the Lent family. Chris & Rob...

Their little ladies, Audrey & Vivian are just over 2 years apart which means Charlotte & Eloise's matchy matchy outfits fit them just right! I let Amanda borrow a couple of the sets my mom made for our girls & they looked lovely in them Sunday morning.

One special family we got to visit with were the Woods. We LOVE them. If you kept up with the blog in early 2013, Freddi & I were pregnant with identical twins at the same time. Each set shared nearly the same growth issues & were born a month apart. Here we are...I was looking similar, just not as gigantic & she has settled back into not being pregnant ; ) 

Just a blast from the past of how we looked in January 2013... and we were 6 & 10 weeks out from our delivery dates! Ha!

Here are their sweet & spunky little ladies Gabbi & Lexi. I would have loved to bring the boys to play with these two although between two sets of two year old twins, I imagine they could cause some trouble!

We stayed until pretty much the last minute we could before heading to our car. Again my mind was spinning as I contemplated the feeling that Florida & CCC felt more like home than Dallas...that shocked me.  I kept thinking, "why did we leave?" & "if we just moved back we could jump right into life as it was. " and "where we are now just isn't the same." There were more than a couple people who reminded me that it's not the same there either which is not a bad thing on either end. God caused paths to be crossed at a very specific time in the growth of CCC. We made friendships that will last a lifetime because we were partnered in ministry together & walked through some challenging times. Orlando is a transient place.  We said goodbye to more people that came & went over the course of six years than we had said goodbye to our entire lives. This can seem so sad but looking at a map we can see how the Lord has led many to serve in other parts of the United States & all over the world. This reassures us that His provision is perfect in every way & through worship in song & teaching of the word at CCC for whatever time we overlapped, He shaped us & sent us out. That is exciting & although we are now away from Orlando, we see it happening yet again but for the first time, in Poland. Here we are in a place we loooove.

We spent the rest of the day & evening with the crew, parents included which made it so special. I couldn't get enough with the kids & neither could Robby. There were lots of thumb wars, coloring, playing with Karis' new Ice Cream store Lego set & watching Livi- Lou toddling around with her beloved blankie. After the kids were down for the night we sat on the couches downstairs with Jenny's parents, Steve & Jenny.  Jenny was born in Africa where her parents were missionaries. They shared some of the things they saw & experienced as they took the gospel to people in faraway villages. Some sounded horrendous yet they spoke so confidently about the Lord's perfect care for them while they served. We kept thinking what an encouragement that must be for Steve & Jenny as they move forward prepared for a life that is different from what they have lived but having parents that have been in a similar situation that can understand a bit of what they are going through. 

We laughed some more because we always do, especially when Jenny starts laughing. No one can hold it together. I am thinking it will be simple for her to make friends if she lets loose with the giggles ; ) We were bummed that Steve had class on Monday but as God's plan was revealed over their time in Florida, seminary was extended when baby after baby were added & he officially finished just a couple weeks before they left. We were SO proud of him for working hard to finish & for his supportive wife who helped him along the way. 

As sad as we were that Steve was gone, we were still smiling when we got our hands on these three...

I just love holding babies when I'm pregnant, they fit so nicely on the bump!

My Jenny girl.  After each of us growing up with only brothers, meeting each other & marrying brothers was really special. She asked me to be her matron of honor which was truly an honor. We have been at various births of each others children. We have laughed more than anything else in our time together. She is honest & wise, faithful to the Lord & with Steve faithful to teach their children about the saving work of Christ. We miss them dearly already & haven't even hit the 2 month mark. Our last picture together before our last hug but the start of a different connection we are now sharing through FaceTime over hours a part & lots of messages back & forth, still making each other laugh.

I felt that twinge of pain as we headed to the car but it was quickly gone when we watched Isaac sneak into Hannah Banana, the yellow Corvette...

The engine was off as he was pretending to drive. Rob decided to utilize the remote start. We were all watching thinking he would be surprised & maybe a bit nervous but we burst into laughter when his face lit up & he got this mischievous yet adorable little grin on his face. I think he inherited that gene from his Daddy. That will be my last memory of Isaac at three before a good snuggle-hug and saying goodbye. It's a good one! Uncle Rob scooped him up & swung him around before returning him to his mother. 

It has been a challenging transition for this sweet family jumping into a new culture with an extremely difficult language to learn. Karis started Kindergarten almost immediately along with Isaac who started in a pre-school class where for both everything is taught in Polish. There is much learn for all five, much to grieve the loss of back in the states but most importantly, much joy to experience as they have been obedient to what the Lord has called them to.  That excites me! It excites Owen & Anson too. The favorite imaginary play this week has been packing & flying on a plane to Poland. They are restless on their "plane" after 5 minutes...I would love to see them for hours upon hours on a real plane! Actually that's a lie ; ) 

My heart needed that trip to be reminded of the seasons in life that differ & are all for our good even when it doesn't feel like it. The difference between life in Orlando or Dallas is not the problem, I am the problem. My discontent is something I struggled with there & something I have struggled with here in the past year & a half. It is something I know the Lord is using to refine me & I continue to pray ultimately I will find my contentment in Him since He is the ONLY one that doesn't change. 

Please join us in praying for our Polish Valentines & if you so desire to give financially I would love to put you in touch with them.  Thanks for reading this novel...those of you who made it to the end ; ) 

Saying goodbye at CCC

Saying goodbye at Celebration Community Church to our Florida "family" was difficult & sweet at the same time. Here we are on the last Sunday we shared in worship as a family...

God brought us to Florida in 2008 to help with a church plant called Celebration Community Church. Six years later we can look back & marvel at all He has done through this little plant that has grown to a healthy & vibrant church. We celebrate what He has done in our own lives & the lives of others. We are thankful for Chris, the one who trusted the Lord's leading & decided to call & ask if we would move to a place far away from home. 

That last Sunday we were able to attend as a family Chris took the opportunity to pray for us during both services. Paul, a friend & fellow elder with Rob took some video for us during the second service. Our plan was to have footage from his camera & mine to clip together but mine ran out of space....grrr! So, we are left with raw, slightly bumpy at times but in my opinion, perfect capturing of those moments.  Eloise was being a little "challenging" if you will so she remained seated with my mom. O & A thought that blowing raspberries would make for good sound effects during the prayer which made me smile. Chris's kind words in sharing the story of the Valentine's in Florida helped us remember all that Lord has done & rest in knowing He will continue to work in us & though us wherever we are. 

If you are interested in watching.....

We did hug & say goodbye to some but knew that Rob & I would have one more Sunday to say our last farewell so I stayed tear free.  That evening, Amanda & Chris hosted a couples dinner in our honor. Amanda has the gift of making people feel so very special & we once again were blessed with her care for us.

She surprised us with the words to the hymn that were included in the post where we announced we were Texas bound.  Again, I love these words & find them just right to consider when feeling sad about friends we have said goodbye to along the way, or heading back to Dallas.

Dinner was served in the backyard with lights strung overhead. It was delightful!  We enjoyed some tasty burgers, potato salad, assorted chips & a green salad followed by more than one delicious pie! We were definitely full : )

I didn't take too many pictures but managed to get one of me with Annie & baby Lilah....such a pretty little girl!

Creative party planner Amanda passed out a Valentine Family Trivia game for discussion during dinner. After all had full tummies she asked the questions out loud, guests offered their answers & we shared the official ones.  She had sent the questions to us ahead of time which allowed for some reflection & laughter as we wrote down our answers.

The reward was a bag of Dr. Pepper flavored Jelly Bellys. They ended up being left & long story short provided my Dad with all the nourishment he needed while en route from Orlando to Dallas!

I will love this picture forever....

Each of these couples have played such a special role in our life will be dearly missed. One or both of us have been in some sort of small group with each individual over the course of our time there. These people have challenged us, cried with us, celebrated with us, prayed for us, served us, laughed with us, been patient with us & have joined their lives with ours as brothers & sisters in Christ during our six years in Orlando.

During the evening various people shared memories of meeting us or doing life together leaving us feeling humbled & thankful for God's provision in blessing us with more than we could have asked for in the way of friends to live life with.  Amanda also surprised us with a beautiful book full of letter from not only our friends that currently live in Orlando but also the friends who have come & gone during our time there. There is a beautiful black & white picture of each family along with their letter. Cathy & Don each wrote us a letter that they read to us in front of everyone. They were so honest & beautifully written. I have to share Cathy's because of the way it spoke to my heart. She is an incredible writer & her children are blessed to have her teaching them at home.

Lauren, 

I will always feel so blessed that our lives have overlapped at the most life-changing of all seasons. 

You and Robby, still kids really, rolled into Orlando to follow a dream. Or more of a call. And you unrolled your window and called out, " I love it here!" to the sun and the palms and the God who brought you.

At times you have loved being here, I know...and at times it has been really hard. 

Wasn't it yesterday that you sat on my little couch  and told me of the month-after-month, year-after-year dream unmet? We shared stories of waiting on the Lord's timing and of trusting even in dry times.

And the the expectation turned into expecting. Three times! And four tiny lives joined yours. It's like the floodgates of heaven burst open and a tidal wave of babies spilled out!

Wasn't it yesterday that you stood in my kitchen with your lovely homemade baby sling on your shoulder, a pudgy too-big baby Alex as a demo-baby to test your sewing? Tummy round & Charlotte growing big...your smile even bigger...

You said you loved it here to the warm air, years ago, and the warmth of God's blessing is the air you have breathed. 

It's not been easy, and waiting can be infertility and it can also be long, hard, scary pregnancies, or exhausting trips to the NICU day after day, or waiting for some one of the four to be old enough to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, by themselves!

Wasn't it yesterday you called me desperate, asking about Tylenol for a screaming little one  - who remembers which one? The Lord has brought you through that and a thousand minor crises.

But crises or not, like the character of you both, you have followed the Lord's call into Orlando, into parenthood, into trials & into what he has next. 

It is clear to those who love you that this next step to Texas is right and from the Lord. In Christ we are never going "back," are we. At times you are likely to feel lonely in the Lone Star State. But you are going forward, in faith- and as you obey you will feel  his presence and experience his joy wherever you are. 

All those days we have spent together- that seem like just yesterday- have turned into years.  I have loved every day of knowing you and your precious family Lauren.  Your family has intersected with ours in a way that makes my children see yours as cousins. Which makes us sisters- and that is exactly how I feel about you. 

Lauren, as you drive out of town and leave our sunny state for the last time, I trust you can call out of the window to the sun and the palms and the God who brought you, "I have loved it here!" Not because it has been easy, but because it has been a gift. You certainly have been a gift to me.

I love you, dear sister, 
Cathy 

Tear jerker today again as I read it for the tenth (plus) time! I love how she ties in the calling out of the window upon arriving in sunny Florida & recommendations on my departure. (Just for the record, I did unroll my window & called out "I have loved it here!") I have read & re- read many of those letters in our special book, will continue to do so & will eventually read them to our children to help them grasp what it is that God did with our family in Orlando through intersecting our lives with so many.

Once everyone shared with us, we were able to share something we prepared for each of the couples there. Robby & I played a little game where we would write down the first word that came to mind when we said the name of a couple. Sometimes we used that word, sometimes we picked another as we talked about what we loved about the two up for discussion. It was a wonderful exercise for us as we reflected on how God had used each of these couples to reveal more about himself to us & help us become more like Christ.

Our evening could not have been more special.  I will not soon forget the feeling I had as I looked around at the faces of these precious people & felt a deep ache in my heart as I further processed us actually leaving. As Chris closed us in prayer he said that most likely the next time that that exact group of people would be together again would be for an eternity in heaven. Wow, what a thing to think about!  It again reminded me of the words Amanda wrote on the chalkboard leaned against the fence that night, the words that had been playing over & over in my head as I said farewell to dear friends & family.

Our last Sunday in Florida, Robby, my Dad & I made it to CCC just as the first service was ending & stayed till almost everyone left.  There were LOTS of hugs exchanged, many that lasted for a long time....so that feeling would last for even longer : )

We had a lovely farewell with this family that has been a gift to ours.  Rob & Freddi with (left to right) Lexi, Sammi, Trinity, Gabbi & RJ. LOVE this family, their commitment to God & others, their twins that may one day wed ours in a double ceremony ; ) their laughter & the life we have shared with them.

I got to hug my precious friend Amanda one last time....that hurt a little bit : (

We hugged Gregg, thanked him for his faithful teaching of the word & commitment to the people of CCC.

One last picture in a place God provided for CCC, a place where we worshiped, were challenged, we celebrated with others, we taught, we watched bellies grow & children be dedicated to the Lord, we witnessed people coming to faith in Christ & be baptized & experienced the love of a faithful God in more ways than we could list.

We held hands & walked out the front the door one last time. Robby looked at me & asked if I was okay. I smiled with tears in my eyes & heard the verse replaying in my head once again....

We meet to part but part to meet 

when earthly labors are complete,

to join in yet more blessed employ

in an eternal world of joy

Celebrating Resurrection Sunday

Warning....feeling overly wordy this morning as I sit alone on a bed in Dallas at my friend Halie's house....with no kids in sight. That coupled with the emotional basket case I am right now might make for an extremely long post ; ) 

We LOVE celebrating Resurrection Sunday & each year has become more special as the girls are asking questions & are understanding the reason we are celebrating.  Leading up to Resurrection Sunday this year, we made our way through our Resurrection Eggs. This was our second go round with them & my favorite by far. I struggle with consistency so some days we did two eggs & we did skip a couple.....it has been a wild few weeks at the Nest ; ) I put together our set & rewrote the material to go along with The Jesus Storybook Bible in 2012 since that is what we read to the girlies most of the time. Instead of picking items that only go along with the week leading up to the crucifixion, I went with stories about Jesus that by the end of the week sync up with what actually happened on the last few days.  

The girls love familiarity & could tell me some of the stories after having read them so many times.  One day we read about Jesus calming the storm & from that point forward the girls spent more than a couple mornings acting it out in a laundry basket....on their own volition....it made my heart happy.  I did get involved to make the "waves" a bit more rough & eventually became the narrator until it was time for Jesus to stand up & say "hush" to the wind & the waves. Charlotte's favorite line followed "hush" & said "What are you afraid of? Do you not know who I am?"  I am learning more & more about how "playing" through these stories really help them sink into little minds & hearts. 

We did have to laugh some evenings when we would sit down to read & open our egg & Charlotte would declare that what was found inside was extremely boring compared to other nights. Such as a heart shaped piece of felt to talk about how "God was going to pour into Jesus’ heart all the sadness and brokenness in people’s hearts."- Jesus Storybook Bible.  That was not nearly as much fun as play doh or sweedish fish to attempt breaking into pieces to feed the five thousand. 

On Friday evening before leaving for work, we read through the story of the crucifixion & opened our egg to find pieces of paper.  We asked the girls how they felt after reading that Jesus had died.  Charlotte said "I feel sad" so we spelled "sad" & she wrote it down in her precious little handwriting. We asked Eloise thinking she would do what she often does & parrot her sis but she surprised us with her sweet little grin & said "I feel good, I thankful for God." Tears in my eyes, what a delight it is to see God beginning to work in her heart. What happened next made me laugh so hard. I asked Eloise for her paper to put back in the egg so we could bury it in the front garden but she refused to hand it over & began scribbling the entire story we just read like a crazy illustrator. Mind you, she was bouncing all over the kitchen while we read, was one disruptive act away from being escorted to her room & we were positive she didn't hear more than one sentence BUT she "drew" each part of the story & told us along the way. "It's the dark clouds, the cross, Jesus, the BIG stone & the mean soldiers with a sword, they have mean eyes!" Wow, someone is capable of much more than we give her credit for ; ) Following that drawing, we buried our egg in the front garden & I went off to work contemplating the extreme sacrifice of Jesus....that is a good thing to have fresh on your mind. 

Saturday was our "waiting" day where we didn't get to open an egg but instead had to wait just like those who loved Jesus were waiting. We enjoyed swimming, a lovely dinner with our small group & in the meantime found out that renters had been secured for our Orlando home! Another reason to celebrate! We decided late that evening that Robby & Charlotte would go to the Sunrise Service at our church while the rest of us met them there for the pancake breakfast. We woke Charlotte up with her chlorine smelling hair, slipped her Easter dress on & sent her on her way with peanut butter cracker breakfast in hand. Yes, we took all our children to worship that morning even though they had not been bathed in three days...priorities people ; ) 

Those two were out the door by 6 & I sat down to read my bible in silence which is a trigger for the rest of the kids to wake up. Funny how that happens! Eloise tip toed out of her room & said "Mommy, Char is sleeping in her bed, let's go see her." I said "No sweetie, she went to church with Daddy." She said "No mommy, she is in her bed, come look!" I followed her in copying her adorable tip toe style. She climbed up the ladder & lifted the covers & shouted "Oh no!" with a terrified look on her face, "She's gone!" Now there is an object lesson to help a two year old understand what those who came to Jesus' tomb on Sunday morning must have felt! I was chuckling as we walked out & I told her about how Jesus was alive again. Long story short, I rounded up the rest of the brood, loaded the car & we rushed over to Celebration to catch the baptism of some great friends.

We made it just in time! I parked the boys in the stroller by our friend Ileana & went over to center aisle with my camera to capture those special moments for the Ziel family. I was feeling excited & smiling ear to ear until I saw this man & his son...

This is Bill & Luke Berghoefer. The Berghoefers were one of the first families we met when we visited Orlando nearly seven years ago when we were considering moving here. We shared a meal at their home & felt an immediate connection with fellow brothers & sisters in Christ. They were encouraging as we shared a bit of our struggle of infertility, they helped us think through what a big move to Orlando might be like & we left with full hearts.  They moved to Maryland just a couple weeks before Charlotte was born & we have missed them ever since. Our lives overlapped for such a short time but in the circumstances of that year, God extended much grace, encouragement & laughter through this family. I immediately started crying while watching this video along with the rest of our "family" & considering all that God has done in these peoples hearts, that He is alive & that He is going before us to Dallas where He will continue to work in us & through us. 

More tears & a smile when I saw these two...I mean four ; ) 

Baptism is a favorite thing to observe for Robby & me. Even if we don't know the people I always cry. This time though was even more exciting because our precious friends, Don & Cathy & their daughters Anna & Clara were all going to be baptized.  I have mentioned them often throughout my blogging days as God has seen fit to use them time & time again to influence our parenting, our personal devotion to the Lord & like the Berghoefers, we have shared ample amount of laughter & joy through our friendship.  Watch the video on the link above to hear about why this family chose to be baptized. Here is Cathy, one of the most beautiful mamas I know.

and the whole family....it is crazy to think that when we met them Anna & Clara were the same ages as Charlotte & Eloise are right now & Alex was a big bump on Cathy's mid section!

Our friend Christa, who knows how sentimental I am stole my camera & snapped a few of our family as we sang together.  Worshiping together as a family has been extremely emotional for me since we made the decision to move back to Texas. I keep picturing coming there with empty arms pleading with the Lord to give us children & now leaving with not enough arms to wrangle our crazy bunch at any given moment.

The pancake breakfast was delish, as expected & provided for some time to catch up with friends old & new.  Anson was cracking us up with his adorable little grin...

Charlotte got to do what she enjoys most about Sunday's right now which is to chase Jackson & Alex. Cathy & I were watching & I asked her "what do you think about our kids behaving this way when all the other kids are sitting eating their breakfast?" She replied "I think they are okay as long as they aren't tackling" as Jackson & Alex hit the ground mid sentence...hahaha! Charlotte had her fair share of fun with these two. I am not sure what to do with a girl who can tackle another kid, not to mention a boy to the ground  & laugh about it.  We did put an end to the tackling fairly quickly but the chasing & laughing continued.

Another one of the Ziels back in their Sunday best...

This bunch LOVES to play together...

We took this one just in case...

We enjoyed the second service, more baptisms, singing & wrangling Charlotte, Eloise, Karis, Isaac & Olivia while Jenny blessed us with her beautiful cello playing. Thankfully we had Grammy & Papa with us so there were lots of helping hands. I thoroughly enjoyed a good snuggle with each child especially Isaac.  He is all boy & happened to be quite sweet with me for a good ten minutes. It made me excited for O&A to keep growing. After the service, we made it home, had a quick bite to eat & all settled down for a long spring nap....three hours to be exact. 

When we woke, we got our "fancy" clothes back on & attempted to take a picture of our four. HILARIOUS that we think we could even get one where everyone looks & smiles ; ) 

So, like the true Texans we are, we wrangled them.

Grammy & Papa had a harder time with the wranglin' but you know, they are from Michigan ; ) 

The rest of the Valentine's showed up to join in on the photo fun & were quite compliant!

Livi-Lou, goodness gracious...could she be any more adorable??

We all held our breath & applauded after we got a picture of these happy grandparents with their seven...

The two yittle guys were a delight to celebrate with as we thought about how teeny tiny they were one year ago as we spent Resurrection Sunday in the NICU. My what a difference a year makes!

Owen & Anson

We enjoyed our tradition of non traditional foods for holidays & had Churrasco Steak topped with Chimichurri sauce, black beans & rice. YUM! It was amazing!  Meals are always loud with our bunch but the noise is a constant reminder of God's goodness. 

They all gave me a hard time for forcing everyone to squeeze onto the front porch but I love this picture & will frame it once we are settled into our new nest...

What a special Resurrection Sunday it was to reflect on what God has done for us through his son. It is a truly a gift to help these seven children understand & embrace the love of God as we continue to do the same. This celebration could not have been more perfectly timed to coincide with our final weeks in Orlando. To see three services full of people worshiping, being obedient in baptism & hearing the word of God proclaimed brings great joy to our hearts as we consider the years spent here serving at CCC. All the glory to God for making much of himself in this place & for letting us play our teeny tiny part.