I Am....

Am I just a bad dancer?

2009-07-19T21:48:00.006+02:00

It is festival season here in the Basque Country!! That means lots and lots of parties, and concerts and fun things going on. Last week was the Festival del Carmen in the city next to ours and I went to two different concerts. Tuesday night my friend from school, Rebecca, went with me to see Carlos Baute. Now, Carlos is quite famous throughout the spanish speaking world. He is super cute and has some really fun songs- so even though we didn't understand a lot of what was going on, it was still a great time.

During his first song some dancers came out. There were two couples and they were doing some Latin ballroom type dances. I thought to myself, this is going to be so much fun. I was enjoying the music and the dancing was a nice addition. The second song was just Carlos and then he moved on into his third song. This is where it got really interesting. The two male dancers came out on stage wearing silver bomber jackets, no shirt and white pants/jeans. They began this dance routine that defies description. It was horrible. They were attempting a hip-hop, break dancing routine. There were a several problems with this routine: #1- the two men were never, you hear me- never, in sync. Hello- count of 8? #2-The looked ridiculous in those outfits. #3-they were trying so hard and I think that just made it worse. At first I thought they were just bad dancers, but then I started noticing that they had great technique so I then decided they were just really outside of their giftedness and training. That got me to thinking.....

Am I a bad dancer? Is this what I look like to the Lord when I am outside of my giftedness. Even when I am trying really hard to do it right. Do I just look like a moron in a silver jacket? I think that the answer is yes. Why do we try to do things that we are either not trained for or not gifted in. For me it was an opportunity in the middle of all of those people to stop and evaluate myself and my role here. Am I operating in my giftedness and strengths? Am I doing the job that God has called ME to do in way he has called ME to do it? There may be many of us called to do the same types of things and even to technically hold the same "job". That doesn't mean that we will all be asked to do it in the same way and in the same time frame. I was just challenged to think about that and was reminded that I want to look like I am doing something I have been gifted to do and to be completely in sync with my partner and leader

( the Lord). Not looking like some awkward dancer wearing a flashy silver jacket.

Jon and Kate VS. The Duggars

2009-06-23T16:10:00.004+02:00

I have to admit, I have not been a loyal follower of Jon and Kate +8, but I am still saddened by the end of their marriage. Another christian family bit the dust and that just stinks! I have been a little bit annoyed by all of the blogging, tweeting, and facebook activity concerning this family. I think everyone is so quick to judge and place blame and I haven't heard anyone put the blame where it belongs- on Jon and Kate, and maybe not for the reasons you think. I don't think we can say that it is the fault of the show, or the production crew, the media, or even on J&K's decision to continue to renew their contract every year. I believe that their biggest mistake was in choosing not to serve and obey the Lord. Some how they just lost their way. As I have been thinking about this today I was thinking about how that family is really any different than any other family I know, other than the obvious. Two parents, some kids, a house, work, church, friends, bills, etc.... BUT, we all make choices everyday whom we will serve- and I think it is clear that they chose to serve themselves and ultimately the whole viewing world and they took their eyes off of the Lord and one another. The well being of the children is only a product of their choices as the leaders of the family. Many of the comments have been about the children and the "how could they do that to the children" Well... they did it the same way WE do it everyday when we choose whom we will serve. We all pat ourselves on our Christian backs and say well of course we serve the Lord, but do we? Are we serving the Lord while we run our children all of the world for their important activities, when we put our kids and their needs ahead of our husbands and their needs? Are we serving the Lord when we stay in our "holy huddles" and only allow our children christian friends and never minister to the neighbors who don't know the Lord we claim to serve? I don't think we are, so how are we any different than J&K? They lost their way- they started to serve themselves and the public and forgot about the Lord and each other.

Now, lets contrast this situation with The Duggers. Hear me out on this one....do I think Michelle needs a haircut and a dress from this decade? YES! Do I think she needs to learn about how babies are made? YES! Do I think that naming 20 children (or however many it is now) names all staring with the the letter J is a little strange? Of course. BUT do I also believe that she loves the Lord? Absolutely. Do I think she and her husband serve one another and have mutual respect? You better believe it. Two families- two different outcomes. When you look at Michelle Dugger in all of her 19?? ( I don't even know what decade she is in) what do you see- calm, loving, organized, joyful, patient, peaceful. When you look at Kate what do you see? Right. She is super organized....

I am only on the outside, I know, I haven't walked in their shoes, I know-BUT I also know that from the info I have I would rather been seen as a woman living in the fashion past with terrible hair and clothes than a woman on the edge of loosing my family. Same goes for the men- Jim Duggar is a DORK and I think little Jon Gosselin is a cutie, but who cares when your family is falling apart. I would love if a combo of these two families could be out there representing the "Christian" family to the rest of the world. The sweetness of the Duggars with some of the "coolness" of the Gosselin's.

So what does all of this word vomit mean? It means I want to: first- serve the Lord, second- serve my husband, thirdly- know that in the process my kids will be happy, feel loved, know the Lord, and feel peaceful about their family life. I will be the first to raise my hand and say that I often miss the mark and get selfish and forget those priorities. A few months ago Ian and I decided to adopt a family motto to help keep us in check and to give us a filter by which we can sift our choices. I pray that as we do our best to do what is says God will be honored and those who meet us will be blessed by the spirit of the Living God that dwells in us. Well, here it is: Micah 6:8

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
       And what does the LORD require of you?
       To act justly and to love mercy
       and to walk humbly with your God.

Mayonnaise

2009-06-09T19:21:00.003+02:00

For those who know me well, you know that just typing the title of this post was painful. I detest Mayonnaise! I don't like to look at, touch the jar, smell, or put it on anything or in anything. I don't car how good something is, if I am aware there is mayo inside you can forget it. Well, as a result my children have never had any. We now live in a culture where mayo is loved as much as coffee and chocolate. They put it on everything...and LOTS of it. Last week when I was at the store I decided that I would not force my weird mayo hatred on my kids- so I bought some...and then I held my breath and used it! There wasn't any squirt mayo at the store so I was forced to stick a spoon in the jar...that was a little gross, but I did it. So what did I make? I made tuna salad. I know I went straight for the hard stuff, I think maybe I was secretly hoping they would say yuk, but no- they all ate it. Then two days later I gave them ham and cheese with mayo and they ate that too. Then another day or so later we did tuna again and they ate it again. Ian was home to eat that last tuna day and he said it was so good he wanted another sandwich. Now I am from the cooking school of "onion makes everything better", so my tuna salad had onion, salt, pepper, a bit of mustard, and just enough mayo to make it stick together. I made chicken salad on Saturday and while they didn't eat that as well, Ian loved and so did the nanny.

All of that mayo talk to say- I may not ever eat any of that white stuff, by my kids will. And I consider it a small victory that I was able to purchase, smell, touch, and fix something with the dreaded MAYONNAISE!

They also ate little dill pickles with those nice tuna sandwiches:)

Giada says...

2009-06-09T19:16:00.003+02:00

G: Mommy do you know how to count in spanish?

M: Yes, do you know how to count in spanish?

G: Yes- ARRIBA!

runs away

comes back a few minutes later....

G:Mommy what is pig in spanish?

M: Do you know pig in spanish, Giada?

G: Yes- ARRIBA!

-------------------------------------------------

G: Mommy we don't live in the Helltell anymore!

M: no baby, where do we live now?

G: in the pamartment!

Bianca's new haircut!

2009-06-06T21:19:00.002+02:00

Is this kid cute or what?

culture shock....already???

2009-05-13T13:29:00.002+02:00

We have been told that culture shock comes in waves and that the first wave usually hits around month 6. Well, we have been here for about 6 weeks and I feel like I am in the middle of it. I was sitting here last night thinking about why it has effected me so early in my time here and then it all made sense to me. I have been feeling so sad about my dog and my house. When the screen saver on my computer comes on I just about cannot stand to look at the pictures when they pass across the screen... they are ALL of my dog and my kids at the house. We have been away from home since the end of September, so that is like 8 months. I forget that we have been on this adventure for over 6 months. I am hitting the cycle right were I should be, maybe even a little late. Part of culture shock is that you begin to see your new surrounding in a more "real" way. Not in the dreamy way that tourists or visitors may see it. When you look at things as they really are, sometimes they just don't make sense. I know that things in he US are not perfect, but it is the only way I know-so sometimes when I look at things they just don't look right, or the process doesn't seem like it should work the way it does.

Right now the big thing is that the language just seems CRAZY to me. Whoever said Spanish was the easiest language to learn was crazy. Those words are obviously spoken by people who haven't had to learn the language to survive. It is much different when you learn something for fun or for a school credit than when you need it to LIVE. So many words and forms and just so much of everything! I feel so old everyday, I just can't seem to make the info stick in my brain. Over the years I have had many people comment to me about how they could never learn to sew or how the sewing I was trying to show them just didn't make sense. When I am sewing if something doesn't make sense then I usually just change it, or do it another way that DOES make sense in my little pea brain. You can't just change a language to make it easier for you to command or understand. Really it isn't even so much that I don't understand, I just think that sometimes it is weird. Again, English is not perfect-it is just what I have known for 31 years.

I know that the day will come when I will go to the playground and I will be able to engage another mother in conversation about her child (b/c generally they only have 1!) or about her dog. I know that one day I will walk into a store and not be absolutely terrified that someone will speak to me and I will have to admit " no entiendo" or "repite, por favor". I know that I would not have been asked to come here if it were outside of my ability to do it. I know that the Lord IS going to open my brain and give me the ability to do it. I guess I just wish it didn't have to be this hard. Maybe, for me, I need the challenge to fully rely on God and not on myself and to really give Him the opportunity to show himself to me daily. On my first day of language class I was so excited- I got up early to do my QT first thing and I have been reading through Genesis so I opened up to where I was supposed to read next and what do you think it was? That's right "the tower of Babel"! Yeah, for real. That day I thought it was funny, but today as I look back on that I am thinking that the Lord was just reminding me that He did this whole language thing and that HE knows it is going to be hard for me, but that HE has got this! He can and will do this. I will not only learn but master this language with His help and encouragement. Our purpose here depends on it.

"D" is for daisy

2009-04-30T13:34:00.004+02:00

In our morning activities I have been doing the alphabet with the girls. The little ones are doing coloring sheets and working on sounds and Bianca is doing handwriting. We also try to do some type of craft that reflects the letter of the day. Today we did "D is for Daisy" and we made daisy crowns. Adorable! I also wanted to share some of my favorite sites for any of my at home mom friends who may be looking for rainy day activites or for just some fun learning/reinforcement type things.

My two favorites are: dltk and first school

Giada is saying "Daisy Princess!!!"

Such easy supplies- colored paper for printing, scissors (I did the cutting on this one) tape and glue sticks.

Good food

2009-04-30T13:16:00.002+02:00

I know I talk about food alot, BUT it is my love language:) I have said many times since being here that it is a good thing I know how to cook- otherwise, I would be in trouble! Not much in the way of prepared foods or canned goods. Don't get me wrong they have them, but maybe just a few veggies in a can and that is about it. The frozen food section in the largest grocery store here is only small rows of the chest type freezers. No huge freezers with doors. There is more yogurt than frozen foods! Everything is fresh and I love it! It makes me fell so good to feed my family all fresh, unprocessed food. I feel better, and I think my body is responding well to the changes. I haven't had the opportunity to weigh myself but I know I have lost some weight. Now- I know we have an entire aisle devoted to chocolate but you can do that when you aren't eating crap all day long. I am missing the occasional Raisin Canes and some good Mexican, but I know I will live.

I have attached some pics of my fridge and pantry so you can SEE what I am talking about. It is just amazing to me to think about what my last few pantries have looked like :(

Bread and pastry shelf

Pantry - that big green and white rectangle a the bottom is a flat of milk (6x1Litre)

Fridge! the feezer is only 3 drawers and it has only ice cream:) and meat/seafood.

We eat a bowl of fruit this big about every 4-5 days. Some may not think that is a big deal, but for my girls it is.

What is wrong with this picture?

2009-04-20T21:43:00.002+02:00

She was so proud of herself!

2009-04-12T20:12:00.002+02:00

Hi all! I know I haven't posted as much personal stuff here lately, but there as just been so much! It is sensory overload at all times. I think I am really going to love life here once I can get around and talk to people. Things still seem really confusing to me right now. Life moves at a much slower pace here, but is super predictable. You may have heard how things "shut down" for siesta- it is totally true! Trying to find something to eat for dinner before 730 is nearly impossible. You can get some little tapas like things are some of the bars, but mostly nothing. Kids get out of school between 12 and 2 to go home for lunch. My favorite part is that most extracurricular activities for kids take place during those in between hours. So while your kids go to school from 9-5 they get a nice lunch break AND when they get home at 5 they are truly done. I love that! Grocery shopping has been interesting....they have a store here called Eroski that is kind of like Target. They have everything there and the quality is pretty good. I just don't know what anything is. Milk is NOT sold in the refrigerator section, but on a regular aisle. The way the milk is pasteurized is different here so it doesn't have to stay cold until is has been opened. It is also sold only by the Litre and it comes in this plastic box ( like you buy chicken broth). Juice is sold this way also- all to be recycled, of course.

Did you know that chocolate was good for you?? And I am not talking about dark chocolate that is full of antioxidants. I mean good ole milk chocolate. Well, they believe that it is good for you and so they eat it on anything and everything possible. There is no peanut butter, but they have almost a whole aisle dedicated to chocolate spread. Yeah- Yummo!

Driving is crazy- I am grateful for mass transit. I will have to take a video of what has to take place just to get our car out of the garage...pictures will not tell the whole story. Be prepared to be amazed and amused.

Well, that is all for now...I will try to do better keeping everyone posted on how I am settling in and new cultural experiences.

Our Beautiful new country

2009-04-04T22:45:00.000+02:00

Hi everyone! We are here in Spain doing fine. The girls did great in the flight over and have done pretty well getting over the jet lag. This is a very late culture, so they go to bed late, like 9 or so and then sleep late. Not too bad. We are still in our one room hotel and that is kind of a bummer. We thought we had found an apartment, but that fell through so instead of moving in this week we are going to start the process over again. We really need to get in a place in the next 10 days. School starts for us on the 20th and I really wanted to find a nanny for the girls instead of them going to school. There are only about 7 weeks left and that is just hard for them to transition to school and then to a nanny for the summer. I am really praying I can find someone to come to the house. We just need to find a place first. We are moving to a Basque farm house on Monday and that should give us more room and a kitchen, but we are still having a laundry problem. We went to San Sebastian today and did 2 loads at a co-workers place, but every load takes about 3 hours start to finish and the loads are small, so that is hard. BUT- things will be better soon...the Lord is taking care of it all-just in His time and not mine.
Well, here are a few pictures...try not to get jealous:)

Still alive!

2009-03-23T16:21:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone,
I am still here! We have just been super busy with our training schedule and life. The Lord has also been teaching me so much I have just been spending time processing it all. We are only 5 days away from leaving this country and my feelings have been all over the place. I am mostly excited and nervous with undertones of sadness and WHAT!!! It is just so wild- all of our prayers and tears over the last year have all culminated into this one huge event- finally leaving the US to make a new home in Europe. I have learned that in many ways I will never be the same. Chances are, that in 3 years when we come back on our stateside assignment I will be a completely different person. That is just so strange to me and awesome at the same time. We have learned what it truly means to live a "spirit led life", been challenged to live a life completely dependent on the Lord, and new ways to make the Christian live relevant in a culture where anything goes. I have been challenged to live a truly authentic life, one that always reflects Christ, even when his name is not known to those around me. I am so curious about this life the Lord has called us to. He has blazed an amazing trail for us all along this process, I can only image what He has for us ahead.
The girls are doing awesome- we cannot wait to get there and get them settled. It seems that we may be in a bed and breakfast for the first week or so we are there. That is fine with us- then I may get to have some choice in our apartment. As soon as we get settled we are taking the girls to Toys R us to fill their new rooms. They have been so long without toys of their own, I don't think they will know what to do with themselves. Bianca has decided that she wants her own room and doesn't want to share with her sisters. I think she has had enough of that! Too bad the little girls will prob. never get that choice...
I will post new pics of our place as soon as we get settled. We are in need of a new camera, so join us as we pray for what to get and that we get a good price!

Mermaids

2009-02-13T03:01:00.000+01:00

The girls love to play "mermaids" in the tub. This is so cute!

Good-byes

2009-02-02T01:24:00.001+01:00

Hooks and Ana
Bianca and her BFF and cousin Piper
me with Abby and Piper- I love those girls
I am realizing that I haven't posted about my family goodbyes. I am happy to report that it was not that bad. I think the hardest one was my sweet Abby. I guess I never thought about how hard it would be for her. I am hoping that she will turn her sadness into prayers for us. She is only 7 and a new believer, but I am hoping that this will be an early lesson in the blessing of obedience. I cannot wait for her and her sister, Piper, to come and visit us summer of 2010. My sisters both handled things alright. There was, of course, crying-but I know that it is only b/c they love and will miss us. They were both awesome while we were visiting and the girls have asked about them nearly everyday. My parents were amazing. I know that my mom wanted to throw herself in front of the plane, but she was great. She hugged and kissed us all and waved good-bye. I am sure she cried all the way home and even some when she got home, but I KNOW that she turned her tears into prayers and for that I am grateful. My dad, well, he had to go to work from the airport so we got hugs and kisses and he was off. You never quite know with him, but I do KNOW that he loves us and will pray for us. We are so grateful for technology. We have had the opportunity to talk to my family and to the Brous on skype and that is just so fun:) What we would do with out the internet- I don't even want to think about it.

In other news....

I have had some great times with the Lord this week. It has been a struggle to get up at 5 am, but I need to, I have to, or else this just isn't going to work. I need to hear from the Lord everyday and I cannot hear or concentrate if there is complete crazy going on at all times. I feel like I am just growing deeper everyday and I think it shows in my attitude. I have to say that I have been a good bit more patient than I have been in a long time, and that I am just feeling better all around. It is so good to be in the living in obedience to the Lord- if you haven't tried it....you should!

New life

2009-01-27T22:46:00.001+01:00

I just wanted to say, officially, that I LOVE my life. We are here at training and it is going to be amazing. Hard work and frustrations are for sure in my future, but the Lord has been so very good to me that I know we are going to be great. Please check out our Basque blog to keep track of what is going on. I am sure I will be using this site to post any and all funny stories and strange occurrences. Knowing me, there will be plenty:)

Too many thoughts

2009-01-23T07:09:00.000+01:00

I have so many things running around in my head that I can't get them all into coherent thoughts. So here are some key words and maybe you can put some things together and figure out what is in my head...good luck!

anxious, training, packing, thankful, friends, disappointments, excitement, loving kindness, gracious, merciful, forgiving, packing, sewing, sorting, giving, throwing, leaving, sad, happy, planes, girls, family, sleepy

Bows, bows everywhere

2009-01-20T05:24:00.000+01:00

Just thought I would confess my obsession with bows and my girls hair. I knew that I liked fixing hair, but seriously... I am ridiculous. I bought more bows today and would have ordered more than I did but Ian was in the car waiting and it kept me under control. Now that the little girls have hair long enough for piggies and real pony tails, oh boy, I am in trouble:(

Two amazing weekends!

2009-01-19T05:43:00.000+01:00

I have had two outstanding weekends. The weekend of the 11th our good friends the Thibideaux's came to spend the weekend with us and we had a fabulous time. We had a fun jump all day Saturdays the kids had a great time jumping all day. Well, except for Zachary, who ended up with a broken collar bone because he tried to push a shopping cart down the stairs. Whoops...

Anyway, it was just the encouragement we needed. Thanks Thib's!

This past weekend Ian and I were able to have a little get away. Ian and I have never gone anywhere alone that was not for work purposes. Never, just time away for our sanity. Let's just say we were way overdue! We needed to go finish our Visa applications in NOLA so we just made a trip of it and it was wonderful. We stayed at LePavillon on Poydras. This hotel is so beautiful and the service was amazing. When my mom and dad used to take us to NOLA when we were kids this is the hotel I would look at and just think it was the most beautiful place and that I must stay there. We had a great time just walking around and eating at some great places and just being together for a few days. We had an opportunity to listen to some great sermons and talk about them and just enjoy one anothers company.

Many thanks to my parents and sisters for helping with the girls. I know that they are SO much work, your willingness to help makes all the difference.

Four Little Lambes

2009-01-10T05:23:00.000+01:00

I just wanted to tell everyone about my friend, Kami. She and her husband Nick are expecting quads!! Identical triplet boys and one little princess. They are such amazing believers and have such a great story about the Lords faithfulness I just thought I would share their blog with you. Enjoy reading about them and pray for continuing good news from their doctors.

our girls

2009-01-05T05:27:00.000+01:00

Silly Giada

Eliana usually doesn't let you take pictures of her, so this is rare:)

Sweet Bianca

reading The Southern Night Before Christmas with my mom.

It occurred to me that I didn't have any pictures on here of my girls...bad mommy! Even worse because they are the most beautiful girls ever. They are doing awesome with all of this crazy travel. They have been so great about giving all of their toys away and letting things go. I cannot wait to get to Spain and take them on a huge trip to Toys r us (yes, they have that there). If I have my way they will get WHATEVER they want, we may have to go without Daddy:-)

Family

2008-12-29T06:51:00.000+01:00

I don't really have too much to say on the topic of family. Only that family can be so heavy and burdensome, but that it is a load I am willing to carry. I would encourage you all to be honest about who you are and who your family is and pray for one another. Fast when necessary and always keep them close. There is never a reason to let your loved ones slip away. Keep you relationships current and love above all else.

Christmas

2008-12-22T22:25:00.000+01:00

I am so excited about Christmas this year. I haven't spent Christmas day with my parents in almost 8 years and I am so glad to be here this year. We are having a great time planning our meals and doing our shopping (thanks to the sale of one of our cars-PTL!), and the girls are doing great not trying to open all of the presents under the tree. We are , as are most parents, really trying to balance the real (Christ) with the imaginary (santa). The only way I could do that in my head was to make the one, Santa, just imaginary. I am sure I am some kind of terrible parent for not "doing Santa", but I just couldn't. We have absolutely gone to see Santa and we love watching all of the movies and things, but I guess I just had trouble mixing a true story with a made up one. I know, weird....but somewhere it just bothered me. The good thing is that we are able to speak openly about shopping and gifts and not work overtime hiding all of the gifts until the 25th. We wrap and we put out! I hope that as the girls get older we can really focus, starting on Christmas eve, getting ready for the celebration of Christ's birth and maybe even open our gifts after we do our dinner and a cake. Like a real party for Him, but we give the gifts as an expression of our love for one another and in light of what Christ has done for us. I love gifts, I love getting gifts and I love buying for my girls, so I am not against the gifts, per se, only that we don't focus so much on them. I think I would be okay with Santa if he weren't infringing on a Holy day for us as believers. Just my opinion-and you know what they say about opinions......

New home in Houston

2008-12-16T04:59:00.001+01:00

We are finally here in Houston and I am so glad to get some time with my family. I have been enjoying time Christmas shopping with my mom and playing at my sisters house. I miss our church in MS, but I think we will have fun here too. My moms job allows me some oppotunities to volunteer with some things she has going at the church so I am happy about that. I also love that anything her friends do they always invite me. I am going to a luncheon tomorrow at her friends house and I am so happy to be invited somewhere...it has been a long time!
I keep reading on blogs and on facebook about how busy people are with Christmas parties and shopping and some of it is rather complainy (forgive the made up word). I never knew how important those things were to me until I wasn't invited to any. I think it is easy for us to get caught up in how much we have going on and forget about those who really have nothing going on. When you want to complain about how much shopping you have to do remember a few things: #1- you have chosen how much to buy #2-it's not about the gifts #3-at least you have money to shop
No guilt trip here- I guess with all we have been through the last 3-4 months things have been put into perspective for me and I have really had to think about what I want this Christmas to be about. Lack of money means it can't be all about the gifts, no house means it can't be about decorating and having people over, no friends near by means it can't be about parties. So this year, probably for the first time, it is really about the beautiful birth of our Savior. So while it is sad that we don't have much money for gifts, and we don't have friends nearby, I do have my sweet family and my Lord. What more does a girl need?
I know that this phase in my life is only for a season, and believe me when I say that the Lord is working on me through this time. I think I just long for a familiar face, a hug from someone who knows me, and for my kids to have fellowhips with other children who know them. I have been alright with giving away/selling all of my things, and just walking away from my "old" life, the lack of day to day relationships has beent the hardest. We are looking forward to our training and being able to get this journey going. We have been talking about it for about a year now and I cannot believe that we are finally-almost there!

First few goodbyes

2008-12-03T16:53:00.000+01:00

I always say that I don't say "goodbye" only "see ya later". Well, I have had to say goodbye over the last week and let me say it is gut wrenching! I said goodbye to some very good friends over the last few days. Brandie, Heather, Brandon, and Ammie- you guys have been incredible friends to me and will be missed tremendously. Heather is my challenger-she makes me think and always is a reminder to check my focus. Brandie is a great servant-without her I would have most definitely died over the last 2 years. She became "nanny Brandie" to my girls and I am forever grateful for her amazing friendship and love-especially when I am sometimes unlovable. Brandon and Ammie are the great encouragers. They have just been "Jesus with flesh on" always reminding us that HE is mindful of us. As a couple, they have just been amazing to us!!

Yesterday, I said goodbye to my house. I love that house!! I would have stayed there forever-it was so hard to walk out of my girls rooms and know that they would never be there again. My girls grew up sooo much in that house and we just had so much fun as a family there. We also had some very difficult times there and the Lord really worked on us while we spent time with Him there. Just lots of memories in that house and I don't think I was ready to walk away from it.

The hardest to date has been my Popa. He has rectal and stomach cancer and is no longer able to take the treatments so he just IS. This is the man that took care of us when my mom was going through a divorce and no one was there to look after us. He made sure we ate, had a place to live, took us on vacation, made sure we had Christmas presents and that we knew we were loved. I cannot even begin to tell you all that he has meant over the years. Our moving has been very difficult for him. He is a believer, but has a hard time with us being called away. I can't help but think it is because he is afraid he will never see me again, this side of heaven. I love you Popa!!!!

There are many more tears to be shed over the next weeks and I am sure it will never get easier, but it is a necessary part of this process. The Spirit will be our great comforter.

Please pray for the Smith family- Don Smith has been Ian's mentor over the last 3-4 years and he died on Sunday. We are so sad to have lost him, but know that his was a GLORIOUS homecoming.

Also, please pray for the R family also. They are dear friends going through a terrible time with their son.

New e-mail

2008-11-14T04:54:00.000+01:00

My new e-mail

krbrou@gmail.com

Thanks for asking

2008-11-14T04:35:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone-thanks to all of you who have been asking about us. I am not always the best at keeping in contact with people and I seem to be worse at it when things are going on in my life that seem overwhelming to me. So here is an update on what has been going on...

We moved to Hattiesburg Oct. 1st and we are staying with Ian's parents. They have been so great to feed us and give us a great place to stay! The girls are loving it here- the property is beautiful and they are just loving playing outside and enjoying time with Daddy. Ian is "Mr. Mom" these days as I am staying busy sewing. It has been really nice for us to get perspective on how the other half has been living. We are definitely more appreciative of the roles that we each fill.

Our house sold after being listed only three days with an agent. Our agent was even surprised! We received some excellent news a few weeks ago- our social security paper work finally went through and we were able to be reinstated WITHOUT penalty! That just simply doesn't happen- we were looking at a $25,000 fine and the government forgave out debt. We are still in amazement at how the Lord worked that out on our behalf. The Lord has worked one miracle after another in our lives over the last few weeks. Our house is in need of a new roof and the buyers have agreed to take it AS IS if we just leave the refrigerator, washer, and dryer. We couldn't take those items anyway and we didn't buy then to begin with. They were all three gifts to us. We are just continually amazed.

We were appointed as IMB missionaries on Tuesday night. It was an awesome service and we are more anxious than ever to get to the next part of this journey. We start out stateside training in January (in Richmond, VA) and then will be deployed sometime in late March.

We will be moving to my parents house in Houston the first week in December and spending the rest of our time off there with them.

Thank you all so much for caring about my family and being patient with me as a friend. The Lord is continually showing me my short-comings and I thank you all for being patient as He works on me.

We are getting all of our information together for our prayer cards so if you would like one please e-mail me your address so we can get one out to you. We look forward to hearing from you.

I will write again soon

Love, Katie

My so-called life

2008-08-13T01:44:00.001+02:00

Well, things continue to be in limbo around here. We are still waiting on information from the IRS concerning our Social Security status. We cannot be appointed by the IMB until it is all cleared up, so we need this to be taken care of. Also, as of Sunday, Ian is no longer employed by East Bayou. They are going to keep us on the payroll for another 6 weeks (PTL) but after that we are on our own until we get picked up by the IMB in December, that's IF everything goes well with the IRS. So, we are trying to sell our house, get rid of at least one car and try to keep things as "normal" as possible for the children. What we do know-1) The Lord has called us away 2)His ways are higher and everything will come together in His timing-not ours, and 3)we have parents who won't let us starve or be homeless. In the mean time we are planning trips to ATL (yeah!!!) and New Orleans and a few places in between.

I am just feeling weird- you know, like I don't really belong anywhere. It would not be good for us to continue going to East Bayou when Ian isn't on staff anymore and they are trying to transition in some new staff. BUT we still live here. So my emotions are all over the place. It's like I am here, but emotionally I am already gone. Make sense? Prob. not. I am sure my few friends think I am being weird to them, but I just have feelings all over the place and I am trying to work them out. Anyway -just keep praying that we can sell our sweet house. We love it and hate to leave it but you know this what what God is doing in our lives, so we obey.

Here is our house....

ATL friends don't be shocked by the size of this house. Most people here live in houses this size-they would think that your houses are MANSIONS!

The fight of my life

2008-08-07T18:50:00.000+02:00

Anybody else feel like FOOD is the enemy. Well, I do. I have struggled with food my entire adult life and I am determined, with God's help, to win this time. It is hard for me to even put this in writing because then everyone knows... I can't hide anymore! Like most girls, I was at a really good weight and size when I got married. Then I got "settled in" and stopped thinking about what was going in to my mouth. And let me tell you EVERYTHING was going in my mouth! So I put on some weight. Lost weight again around graduation time and I was very satisfied with where I was on the scale. We moved to ATL and then I put on weight again...Got pregnant with Bianca-SURPRISE! I gained more weight. I weighed 234 the day I delivered Bianca- I had gained almost 50 lbs. YIKES. I never really lost more than about 25 lbs. after I had her and then I got pregnant with the twins. I gained the 25 back and only 5 more with this pregnancy. So that put me at about 240 when had the twins. Even at almost 6 feet tall, 240 lbs. is a lot for me to carry. So since I have had the babies things have just been up and down. I can am back in a size 16 and I hate it. I feel like crap. I know a lot of girls where a size 16 and that is fine if you are ok with it. I am just not! I used to try to fool myself into thinking that I was ok with myself but that is just a lie. A size 16 is not my best. Really a size 14 isn't my best, a good starting point, but not my best. I don't know what size is my best- I don't think I've been there in a long time. I just know that I need to be respectful of the body that the Lord has given me and take care of it. I know just to be healthier and to be able to play outside with my kids without getting winded I need to drop at least 30 lbs. So, I am back on Weight Watchers (it has worked for me before) and I am just praying my way through the day at this point. This is a stressful time in our lives and may not be the best time to try to loose weight but is there ever really a good time? I have also been told that I may have a hard time finding clothes in Spain, not many 6 feet tall women in Spain -so let's not complicate it with any extra weight. Ok, so there it is...I am fighting I will be victorious. The Lord will bless my efforts to be healthy and confident.

7 years and counting

2008-07-29T05:17:00.000+02:00

Today is our 7th wedding anniversary. My how time flies! Even though it feels like I have always known him this 7 years married to Ian has just flown by. The Lord has brought us on some amazing journeys and we have met some wonderful people along the way. I thought I would do a little time line to show where we've been and what we've been up to...

2001:

Married at Florida Blvd. Baptist Church

Lived in student housing New Orleans while we finished school

Both of us working at Dillards

2002:

Still at school and working at Dillards we begin commuting to Baton Rouge to start working with the college group at Florida Blvd. Ian soon became the College Ministry Intern.

2003:

Graduated from

moved to Atlanta to work at Peachtree Corners BC.

made some great friends that I love and miss!!

bought our first house

2004:

still working at PCBC

found out we were having a baby!

2005:

had Bianca in May

got pregnant again in late December

2006:

found out we were having TWINS in Feb.

had Eliana and Giada in Sept.

Called to East Bayou in November

moved to Lafayette in late December

2007:

felt the Lord say now was the time to make the move towards missions

2008:

continued through the process to the mission field and were approved for service in June

Throughout the last 7 years we have made many wonderful friends, grown our family, learned a ton about who we are as a couple and as individuals. The most important lesson I have learned is how important it is to be obedient to the Lords leading. I have told people many times that I did not choose Ian. I didn't even really like him romantically, but I heard the Lord say to me VERY clearly that he was the man I was going to marry. I grew to love him and I am so happy that I listened to the Lord and was obedient. Ian was created for me! He is absolutely everything I need and want in a partner. I am so blessed to be on this journey with him and am so looking forward to where the Lord is leading us.

360 Camp

2008-07-12T06:10:00.000+02:00

Wow!! I just spent a week with 250 students and adults at Shepherd of the Ozarks in Harriet, Arkansas. It was great and awful all at the same time. Nothing quite like climbing 10,000 steps everyday, 3 times a day to eat holding at least one baby and sometimes two. The work load was awful but the time I was able to spend with 2 beautiful and Godly women was priceless. I spend most of my time at the camp with my friend Jessica Head. For all of my non-Lafayette friends, Jessica's husband is the middle school pastor at the church. She has two sweet girls and her oldest Janna is Bianca's best-friend. (so the girls say anyway!) Then our worship leaders wife, Heather, rode the 10 hours there and the 10 hours back in the car with me. What a servant she was to me as she took care of the children while I drove.

I loved spending time with these women, getting to know each of them better and for the first time since being here in LA, really being able to connect with other women in an intimate way. I loved it and despite all of the miserable work it was to be there everyday I wouldn't trade a moment of my time with these women.

I am so thankful to the Lord for friends who love, encourage and most of all challenge.

Thanks to Jessica and Heather for spending the week with me and still loving me!

Grateful

2008-07-02T07:40:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was a rough one. I got news that a good friend lost her first grandchild and some sad news about my grandfather, and an emotional e-mail from my mother. As a result of just thinking about all of those things, I have been thinking the last two days about things that I am grateful for. I know that sometimes we get into the ick of life and just forget about all of our blessings. Here are things that came to mind:

-healthy children

-loving/supportive husband

-that I don't have to please man, only God

-friends who laugh and cry with me

-unconditional love from my children

-parents who taught me to love and obey the Lord

-in-laws who taught Ian the same

-that the past can be just that-PAST

What do you have to be grateful for?

The rumors are true!

2008-06-30T05:36:00.000+02:00

I am here to set the record straight and to put an end to all of the rumors and questions. We are most definitely moving to Spain. Ian and I have been praying about missions for about 6 years now- the time just never seemed right. So late last year Ian and I both felt the call so strong we could no longer put it off. Now was the time. We began the application process with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in late August. After having been poked, prodded, questioned, and analyzed we were finally approved by the trustees last Tuesday. So, what does that mean? That means that we are almost finished with the process of being appointed. We have to attend an appointment week either in early September or late October, then we will go to an 8 week training in Richmond, VA in either October or January. About 10 days after we finish our training we will be deployed. We are a little iffy on the exact dates because of some challenges with our Social Security status. Ian opted out of SS several years ago and now we are having to get back in so that we are able to get the kind of travel visas we need. This may seem like an easy task, but we are dealing with the government, sllllooowwww, and it is very likely that we will have to pay a nice penalty. We are now just in the waiting process as soon as we get the appropriate paper work we will be all ready to go.

Where are we going? We are going to San Sebastian, Spain to work with the Basque people. Click here for more info on the region and to see some AMAZING pictures. So that is what we are doing in a nut shell.

I am absolutely terrified. As most of you already know, I have a family history of anxiety and it has reared it's ugly head in my life since moving here to LA. I have vowed that my fear and anxiety will not paralyze me and rob me of LIFE. For me, this experience represents how the Lord is going to use me and my gifts for His good and also for Him to be able to do a work in my life in terms of my anxiety. I am being forced to do scary things! I think it is fab! This is the legacy that I want to leave for my children-not the one where they are raised by a mother who is fearful of what "might" happen and therefore, misses out on life. Not only that, but a mother who doesn't encourage them to LIVE because of what "might" happen. I want to leave a legacy of absolute abandon and obedience-no matter how crazy or scary. My family is having a rough time with this (you can pray for them)- I am leaving the country with my children...I must have lost my mind. I DID in fact, loose my mind. I am trying to live with the mind of Christ. I could go on forever, but I will just say that I am so grateful for the journey that the Lord is taking us on and I cannot wait to see how things unfold. Please pray for us as we continue to wait on our paper work and work out all of the timing of selling our house, and transitioning ourselves and the children.

I am more...

2008-06-30T05:29:00.000+02:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about the legacy that I want to leave for my children. Will all they ever know about me be that I was their mother and their fathers wife. Will they know me as a person or just as their mother. I decided that I needed to start really expressing myself as a person and not just a mother. So here is my outlet, here is a place where I can begin to learn how to express myself and my thoughts. I can write or journal my opinions, my questions, my frustrations, my worries, my joys and my trials. I am looking forward to this journey into myself and what the Lord will show me about myself.