Yep, We're Moving!

This is a very bittersweet time in our lives right now. We are so sad to be leaving our precious family and friends but we are so excited about being a part of God's great plan for this world. We know that God is calling us to Waco and we believe He is going to do something BIG there and here in Meridian. Matt preached in Meridian two weeks ago and in Waco last week about "Broken Steeples" and he used the passage 2 Corinthians 4:5. He refers to this as his "life verse" and I have started thinking and wondering what my life verse is. First of all there is no way I could limit it to one verse. I have different verses that have meant something to me during seasons of my life. I will try and share just a few of them!

Salvation Experience - Vacation Bible School - 5 years old

But God so loved the world, that He gave his only son, that whoever believes in him would not perish, but have everlasting LIFE. John 3:16

GA Camp - Theme Verse - 4th Grade

He answered: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your sould and with all your strength and with all your mind"; and, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:27

Northlake Christian School Theme Verse - High School

He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Psalm 1:3

My favorite Passage of Repentence and Renewal

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steafast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. Psalm 51:10-12

Student Life Camp '97 - Baylor - Theme Verse

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21

Favorite Passage College Days

But now, this what the Lord says - He who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by my name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior..." Isaiah 43:1-3

This last passage is one that I relied heavily on during the early years of my marriage. We had friends with serious needs and we ourselves struggled with wanting a child in the worst way. After 5 years of struggle God blessed us with Molly Katherine, and then 6 months after she was born we found out we were pregnant with Wes. Our 2 miracles! This passage got me through all of that and continues to sustain me.

Be joyful ALWAYS; pray CONTINUALLY; give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:16-18

I hope reading this blog will encourage you to think about verses that have influenced and shaped your Christian faith. There are so many more that I love and could this but this blog would go on forever. Please pray for us as we continue on our journey...

Trip to Birmingham

Every year it has become a tradition for us to go on a short trip the weekend of Matt's birthday. We started this our first year of marriage and are still doing it 8 years later. This year was no different. We decided to go to Birmingham to eat, shop, go to the zoo, and the movies. The kids were especially excited about going to the zoo at night to see the lights. There were over 1/2 a million lights and even fake snow. We ate supper at Macaroni Grill and the kids LOVED it. They were so good and even ate their supper. Molly Katherine had vanilla ice cream with fudge sauce for desert and Matt and I shared Wes'. He was more interested in his macaroni and cheese. After supper we went to the zoo and had a blast. Molly Kat said her favorite part was going to the barn and petting the animals. Wes loved the train ride and the carousel. He rode it 3 times! Saturday morning we had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel and then went to the Summit for shopping. We ate lunch at Johnny Rockets and then went to the movies to see "Bolt" in 3D. It was a little scary but MK sat through the entire thing. Wes and Matt ended up hanging out in the lobby of the theater eating popcorn and drinking coke. Wes only watched about 30 minutes of the movie before he got restless. After that we headed back to Meridian. The kids slept the entire car ride. They were worn out from their weekend of fun.

Happy Birthday Matt!

Today is Matt's 32nd birthday. Molly and I decided to make him cupcakes. I found a recipe that is very similar to our wedding cake and improvised a little. We made french vanilla cupcakes with french vanilla icing and then topped them white chocolate ganache and white chocolate chips. They turned out so good and brought back a lot of special memories of our wedding day. Molly Katherine loved helping mix the cake batter and Wes looked on unhappily. He really wanted a turn but MK was not in the mood to share. The apron that she is wearing was a Christmas present from her Aunt Natalie. I think it is one her favorite presents. She loves it. We had a quiet supper at Matt's parent's (Mimi and Pop) with Squealers barbeque sandwiches, potato salad, and baked beans. The kids had a great time singing "Happy Birthday" to their daddy. On another note, the card Molly picked out for her daddy played the song "Funky Town" and she insisted on getting it for him and has been singing the song all day.

First Blog

Hey Everyone! This is my first attempt at blogging. Matt has had a blog for years and now I have decided to try it. As you can read in the "about me" section we have a very fullfilling life. God has blessed us so richly and I hope to share a little bit of what he has done for us and continues to do for us. This picture was taken right before Thanksgving by Matt and it captures just a little bit of the essence that is me, Bird (Molly Katherine), Groovy (Wes), and Sandy.