Memory Lane

I was looking through some old pictures, and ran across these. They were just SO cute that I had to put them on here! These were taken while we were on deputation...I think in 2008. We were in Missouri at  a church where the pastor was also a policeman. The boys just loved him, and after the morning service he took them to see his police motorcycle. Then they really loved him!!  I can't believe how little they look in these pictures! They grow up so fast! (sniff, sniff)

Officer Jonathan

Officer Josiah

Deputation was a good experience, and I'm thankful for the great friends and memories we made along the way!

"Cold" Weather

Recently we had a cold snap. (It got down to the low 60's at night!) We used to laugh at people who thought that was cold here, but after it being in the 90's for a good while, it really did feel cold, especially inside the house. Josiah said, "I just can't stand this cold anymore!" He went and found a sweatshirt, and the others followed suit. I have to admit that I even pulled out a sweatshirt on a couple of those mornings.

A few weeks ago, while it was still very hot we went into a grocery store that was air-conditioned...and I mean cold like an American Wal-mart air-conditioned! I thoroughly enjoyed it, but Josiah and Jonathan were walking around shivering and rubbing their arms.

I guess we are becoming true Brazilians!

"...and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!"  Proverbs 15:23

Recently we have had some difficult things and situations to deal with. It seemed like "everything" was just going wrong. Obviously not everything was going wrong, but when one frustrating experience keeps piling on top of another and another, it gets discouraging. And that's exactly what I was...discouraged. Once you start feeling discouraged, it's easy to only look at the negative, especially when you are a pessimist like myself!
 
But in the midst of all this, I received several notes from friends and family letting me know that they were thinking of us and praying for us. Coincidence?  I think not! The Lord knew what I needed, and when.  I experienced first hand how good a word spoken in due season can be.

You never know what someone is going through or dealing with. If God ever lays someone on your heart, pray for them, and then let them know. It's good to be reminded that you are not forgotten and not alone. Your encouraging word might be what keeps someone from giving up.

A Long Awaited Project Completed

Before we left the US, we were contemplating what furniture to buy and bring with us to Brazil. We knew the boys needed a different bed situation. We had a double bed for the older two and Judson was still sleeping in the crib. However, we knew that Judson would soon be too big for the crib, so what should we do?

We looked around at our options, and I really liked the bunk beds and loft beds that combined a twin bed over a double bed. That way, we would still have a double bed to use for guests. We shopped around, but never found exactly what we wanted...for the price we wanted to pay.

So we came without the crib and Judson slept in the pack-n-play for several months. Then we put all three of the boys laying across the double bed. This worked fine, but the boys just keep growing, and their feet were beginning to hang off the bed. That, and the fact that every night we were hearing..."He's touching me"...."You're in my space."  Too many boys and not enough room!

So Jeremy and his dad drew up plans and decided to build a loft bed to go over the current double bed. It was a great plan, but as you know, sometimes things don't always go exactly as planned, and the project became more difficult, complicated, time-consuming and expensive than we first expected.

However, it has finally been completed! It turned out great! Jeremy did a great job with it, and I'm thankful for his work on it.

I wish I would have taken more "in progress" pictures, but the last few days of varnishing and assembling I captured a few.

The finished product!

The double bed on the bottom is separate from the loft bed. It was designed so that it can be used like this, it can just stand alone with space underneath, it can have a twin bunk added to the bottom, or it can be two separate twin beds! It turned out beautiful, and it's much better to have just two boys in a bed!

The boys love it, and all had a chance to sleep on top before Josiah took his permanent place there.