A Fork in the Road

Life right now is as if I'm sitting in my idyllic village along the path, never having ventured beyond the fork in the road. I know that there are two towns down the two different lanes, but I know not much else. One town is poor and dirty, but the blessings come in other ways. The other town is sleak and shiny, with worldy blessings and little need.

Life right now looks great from the outside- a nice home, four beautiful children, a husband with a secure job, involvement with a fantastic church and a phenomenal homeschooling community. Life is good on the inside, too- we are happy and well-loved. But for several years now, we have been ready for a change. Chris has been seeking a career move for, well forever it feels like. He is beyond sick of a cubicle and working for the government...I doubt I need to say more about that. But he has had no strong calling to do anything different. I quite frankly, could think of a million different careers for myself. I would like to be a journalist, or work in public relations, or be a doctor, lawyer, own a home decor boutique, author, politics, need I go on? So why can't my husband think of what he wants to be when he grows up?! 

This has been a source of frustration for us both, but now I know very strongly that God was saying, "Wait." He was allowing us to stay in our hometown, mature in wisdom and in spirit, have our four precious babies, and establish a firm foundation. If we were happy and content with Chris' career, we may never have been open to the possibility of this:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." -Matthew 28:19

Is God calling us to full-time missions? I'm not quite sure. Chris and I both feel like the answer to that is maybe yes, but we are still not positive. We both have short term mission trips planned this year that we hope will give us some confirmation either way.

At the end of May, I will be heading to Swaziland, Africa with a group from Warren Baptist Church. I have been trying to go on this trip for four years! My husband and I both were registered to go when I found out I was expecting our third child, so we had to back out. 

Swaziland is a teeny, tiny country surrounded mostly by South Africa. With the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the world, many Swazi children are left orphans or basically living like orphans because their parents are too sick to take care of them. The organization Children's HopeChest has CarePoints throughout the country and a child sponsorship program. Our church, Warren, sponsors children from two of these CarePoints and makes annual visits to work with the children there. Children are my heart, and I am so excited to work with these precious little ones. I have heard from many people that Swaziland and its people will wreck your heart, and I know that is going to be true. I can't wait.

In late October, Chris will take a small team to the country of South Sudan to visit our missionary friends, Selvin and Laurel and their two young daughters.  The team will come alongside them and get a feel for the work they are doing there. This is the first time that Selvin and Laurel have had a group come to them, so there is a lot of prep work on all ends to get this going, not to mention that they are very much located in the bush. Their home is about as rural as it gets.

South Sudan is a nation at civil war. Reading over the safety precaution materials Selvin sent us is quite frankly, overwhelming. However, they are taking as many precautions as possible, such as avoiding the capital city where much of the fighting is. The tribal culture is very different than what we are used to, and learning how to relate to the people has a steep learning curve. The work that God is doing there is huge, though. People are coming to know Him. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are so very few. We are excited to be a part of it.

Due to some of the safety precautions traveling to South Sudan involves, the trip is more pricey than the average. Combined with the cost of my trip to Swaziland, it is more than this stay-at-home-mom-of-four and her government-employee-husband can handle on our own. I have always assumed people were reluctant to give to missionaries- short or long term, because they were critical of what they were doing (i.e. why go over there when there are plenty of people over here that don't know God?! You know what I'm saying?). However, now I am realizing there are so many people who HAVE NO DESIRE WHATSOEVER to go to another country on assignment. Or many people that aren't called to right now. And many of these people are more than willing to help financially send those like me that are screaming, 

"Here am I.  Send me!" -Isaiah 6:8

Maybe this is all part of God's plan. Of course, he sometimes calls us to uncomfortable things, but often I think he gives us a passion for it. He is planting in my husband and mine own hearts the desire to go and serve Him on foreign soil. We feel strongly that He is using these short term trips as confirmation or refutation of this. And if the answer is no, then there is the other path- a change of career or master's degree, possibly. 

But one thing we know, we are not intended to stay at the comfortable spot before the fork in the road.

***Some footnotes, this post is to tell people what is going on in our lives, but we do have a fantastic fundraiser going on right now, and this is the easiest way for me to give the most details. Chris has built this beautiful farmhouse table. It is 8ft long X 37 inches wide and the top is made from reclaimed wood. We are selling raffle tickets, and I can't wait to give this beautiful table to someone special! The winner will be announced on Mother's Day, and you do not have to be present to win.

Tickets are 1 for $10 or 3 for $20

2nd and 3rd prize winners will receive wood wall art that I am making

If you would like to purchase tickets, either contact me to make arrangements, or if you'd like to donate through PayPal using the link in the sidebar,  I can mail the tickets to you.  

Thank you for your generosity, and of course, we'll take all the prayer we can get!

2014 Book List

I love a good book. I particularly love Christian Fiction and Historical FIction, but this year I wanted to diversify myself a little. Since beginning Classical Conversations (method of homeschooling/homeschool co-op) I have become acutely aware of how little I know, and how little I have done to continue learning! In all fairness, these past few years have sort of been taken over by birthing and caring for little ones, but, I feel like things are starting to settle down now, and I can focus on a little self-education.

Most of my reading list for this year is still fun, but I have added a "few" deeper things as well. Please note, this list is not exhaustive- I will add more as my interest peaks. Also, some of my absolute favorite books I have read have been read-alouds that my oldest son and I have read together! We read many of the books off of the Sonlight reading list, but there have been other great ones that we have stumbled upon as well. I'll post that list soon!

FICTION:

Game of Thrones series by George R. R. Martin

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

1776 by David McCullough

Fault Wtih our Stars by John Green

Divergent series by Veronica Roth

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

Legend of the Celtic Stone by Michael Philips

The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt

NON-FICTION:

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

The Core by Leigh Bortins

The Question by Leigh Bortins

Treasuring God in our Traditions by Noel Piper

The Shaping of a Christian Family: How My Parents Nurtured my Faith by Elisabeth Elliot

Balancing it All: My Story of Juggling Priorities and Purpose by Candace Cameron Bure and Dana Wilkerson

Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine

Choose More, Lose More for Life by Chris Powell

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

A Love that Multiples: An Up-Close View of How They Make it Work by Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar

No-Eating-Out-January

As most of my family and friends know, January is no eating out month around here. For some of you, this is no big deal. For others, this is INSANE. We are pretty much in the "this is insane" camp. We typically eat out A LOT. And really this doesn't mean fine dining or even sit down restaurants with a real waitress. I'm talking nasty, greasy food establishments where we can take three small, rowdy children without attracting stares and dirty looks.
I'm not sure of the actual statistics, but its pretty safe to say most New Year's resolutions fail. My resolution last year? Do some more freelance writing. Another Resolution fail! I don't think I even so much as wrote a blog post in 2012. Sad!
So my New Year's Resolution approach in 2013 is going to be a little different. Semi-inspired by Jen Hatmaker's book, 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, I am creating monthly goals or challenges (although I must insert here that I fully acknowledge that her goals were waaaay more radical than mine, hence why she wrote a book about it).
My first goal of this new year is to not eat out for an entire month, and so far, so good! January 1st started out with a pretty big test of will for us. We took the kids to Edventure, the children's museum in Columbia, and had to pack a picnic lunch which we ate in the car since it was raining. After that, it has been pretty easy actually. I also must add that I am not missing restaurant food AT ALL. We are eating pretty good around here!
In the words of Dave Ramsey, the only time you should see me in a restaurant this month is if I'm working there!

Angry Birds Party



Invitation by Flandy's Fancy Creations

 
Tucker is OBSESSED with the Angry Birds game on my iPhone. He steals my phone at every possible moment to play. I saw some cute party ideas on Pinterest, my new OBSESSION like so many of you, so we decided on a cute Angry Birds 5th Birthday Party at home. Here are some pics from the big day!




Yummy and Gorgeous Angry Bird Cake Pops by Firehouse Sweets
displayed in a "Birds Nest" I made with a grapevine wreath, foam and vase fillers





Cupcake Toppers by Flandy's Fancy Creations

 



Little Brother had to get in on the action, too.






Special Guest Appearance by the Yellow Angry Bird aka Nanny!
She didn't stay long...scared all the little kids! ha!



We rented an inflatable for the party

Why do men love corn hole so much?



Made a real-life Angry Birds game set up with a water balloon slingshot, cardboard brick blocks and colored balls after seeing some ideas on Pinterest. It was a huge hit!

 

Thanks to everyone who helped celebrate with us!












Dining Room Before & After

The dining room is the first room you see when you walk in my house because it's open to the foyer. When we bought the house, we didn't own a dining table. I had dreams of a big, rustic farmhouse table, so I searched Craigslist every day hoping that I would find the perfect bargain.

The room is fairly long, so I thought it needed a long table. Well, no one seems to sell cool long tables on Craigslist here, so when I found a 9 footer, I pounced on it (even though it isn't the rustic look I was going for, I still thought it was cool). I showed hubby the listing and he basically said it was ugly. Which made me mad. Really, it did.

"Can't you see the potential?" I exclaimed. "Have you ever looked for a 9 foot table in the stores? Do you know how much they cost?"

Apparently Husband did some researching of 9 foot tables on the internet, and he promptly called me from work telling me we could get it. I immediately responded to the ad...they said someone was coming to look at it that night.

I. was. so. sad.

I forgot to mention I was 9 months pregnant at this time. I went into labor that night and had the baby early in the morning. That afternoon, sitting in my hospital bed, the lady texted me back saying the people didn't buy the table and it was still available.

So my dear, sweet husband borrowed a trailer and left me in the hospital and went to pick up our dining room table that night!  The couple was also selling the matching china cabinet, which I didn't intend to purchase, but Hubby negotiated a SWEET deal and we got the whole set.

I refinished both pieces by priming them and giving them a couple of coats of black paint. Painting around the glass in the china cabinet turned out to be a BIG PAIN IN THE BUTT, so I ended up pulling it out and replacing with chicken wire. I changed out the hardware on the doors, but reused the drawer pulls after spraying them black.

I sprayed the chairs black and Husband recovered them (he rocks) with $20 worth of fabric. He also hung this super-cool wallpaper for me. I was out-of-town and came home and he had some of it done (he apparently watched You Tube to learn how. Ha!).  He also switched out the chandelier for me with the one in the kitchen. My final project is to find two cool chairs for the ends of the table. I found some awesome ones with cow print on the backs, and I didn't buy them. Now I'm kicking myself!

Before:

After:

Red Velvet Cookies

Without further ado...here is the much requested Red Velvet Cookie recipe. I have to confess, this is not my own. This is a yummy recipe by Karin Calloway, with my very slightly modified instructions, originally printed in The Augusta Chronicle. My aunt first introduced me to it, and since then, I have been hooked! It is my favorite go-to cookie recipe, and there is definitely a reason I only make them approximately 2 times a year (Christmas and Valentine's). It's because they are absolutely DELISH, and I want to eat every single one! So, what is your favorite go-to cookie recipe? Please share!

You will need:
1 Box Red Velvet Cake Mix
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Cream Cheese Frosting (homemade or store bought)
Red Sugar Sprinkles

Instructions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix cake mix, oil, eggs, cocoa powder and vanilla with stand or hand mixer until well combined. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on parchment-paper lined baking sheets (I prefer to use a stoneware cookie sheet). Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on racks.

When cookies are cool, ice each cookie with cream cheese frosting and sprinkle with the red sugar sprinkles. Regrigerate on baking sheets until icing is set, and then store in plastic containers with tight fitting lids.

NOTES:

*You can certainly make homemade cream cheese frosting, and I have done this many times, but in the end I'm partial to the ease and the taste of the store-bought kind.

*Make sure you remove the cookies when they still look slightly undone, or they will overcook.

*It is also very important to keep them in Tupperware containers with a lid on, because they dry out very quickly. 

*For Valentines, I like to make these by pressing into a pan that has heart-shaped spots designed for cookie pops.

Yeah, it's been a while...HELP!

Update to the Post Below: A Big, Fat, Huge, Special THANKS to an amazing pastor-friend, Nick Carnes, for getting this issue fixed for me!

So, it's been awhile since I've posted anything. Like, um...a year. That's because I completely screwed up my blog template and have no idea how to fix it. I downloaded a free custom template online, but when I tried to get rid of it, I basically couldn't. The HTML code is all messed up. Every time I try to fix it I just get frustrated and give up. And it makes me want to scream
I HATE COMPUTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But seriously, I do like technology, I am just not tech-savvy enough to fix something when it goes south.

So basically, I reverted to a "Classic Template" in Blogger which gets rid of the custom template, but doesn't allow me to have any cool pictures in the header or anything. However, when I try to then upgrade to a new one, the old custom template IS STILL THERE. But weird there- like in the middle of the page there.

HELP?! PLEASE!!!

I really do have a lot to write about. I am just frustrated. Anybody out there know how to fix this? Anybody want to do it for me?