We had a wonderful holiday this summer! We spent time at the beach with some great friends, we visited an Estate home called the Blikling Hall, we went to Sherringham and saw a really cool steam engine, had a few BBQ's at our house with church family and laughed alot! What a blessing to have had this time as a family.

We had some crazy times just being silly...just look at Maddie's face! Thank you Lord for a good time!

A Peek Into our Romantic Trip to Venice

We took a Gondala ride!

The next pix is a shot from our room!

Venice is famous for its Masks

Joey and I eating Gelato in front of the Rialto Bridge
Another shot from our room balcony

I love living in a place where I can hop on a plane and be in Venice within a 2 hour ride!

Joey and I skipped out of town for 5 days without the kids and had a wonderful time!

It was an early 10 year ann. gift. Our real ann. is in March but my parents are here now so we booked our flight and left on Sept. 7th. So here are some highlights of our trip. I hope you all enjoy!

the Grande Canal

our first hotel
A bridge along our ride

To school or not to school...

What a wonderful time to be living in! I know that things look grim on the outside, but on the inside God is doing awesome things in believers around the world. The groaning can be heard if we just open our ears to hear what the Spirit has to say!

Here in Cambridge, people are excited. Excited to see what the Lord has for us today! I look forward to fellowshipping with the people in our fellowship. They are coming expectant that the Lord is gonna move and do great and marvelous things!

We are seeing people get saved and people reaching out to each other. We have had 5 people get baptized 3 months in a row!

The kids are growing as well. Learning memory verses, being challenged by memory play, and enjoying the music time together.

In the midst of all the wonderful news there are moments of struggle and hardship, but it is worth it when you see the fruit of much prayer and commitment to the body.

I am personally blessed and ready to see what the Lord has in store for this next season. My kids are growing up and getting out more. I am finding myself busy with good things, but keeping my perspective with ministry and the family. I have been home schooling Madelyn while Josiah has been in school since Jan. It was a good move for us, but hard for our family time. I have struggled since day one with schooling the kids at home. It has never been a desire of mine and I have fluctuated back and forth between sending them to school or keeping them home.

I have found for myself that a part of letting go has been me now having control over that part of their lives. We are praying about putting Maddie in for the Autumn and are leaning more towards yes than no. There isn't the support out here like we had in America and are seeing some negative traits beginning to manifest in our eldest. She is very social and looooves to be around people. Thankfully she has had more time to play with the neighborhood children, which has helped so much.

I also know that I need a break in the day from being with them all the time. With my responsibilities of doing children's church, I am finding myself with kids most of the time and finding little time to myself to regroup. Soooo with saying all of this I am looking forward to what lies around the corner for next year.

I am looking forward to more time with Joey uninterrupted and time to meet with some of the other ladies one on one for some fellowship time. In a culture that is not pushing for family units to be nutured, we have to guard every minute that we have together as a family. I always want my kids to be able to feel free to talk with me about stuff that is going on in their lives.

So please pray that we can find the balance in this crazy world we live in to keep our family tight.

Till next time...heres a few shots...

The first shot is Junior, Joey and Jeremy

at our first baptism!

So awesome! New believers and

amazing testimonies!

The second pic. is from our first women's retreat in Shipley,Yorkshire!

The last one is of the new meeting place and our first Sunday there!

The Little Carpenter Man!

Did you know that Josiah has plans to be a carpenter?

He is such a little stud!

If you need a hand just give us a call!

It has been too long and I know it. Everytime I sit down to the computer

to punch out my thoughts, a little person follows me and thinks its funny to try

and type just like mommy...Well this is the only time of the day (10:02 pm) that

I have a moment to do this without those fingers that I love so much.

Lately, I have been dwelling on the first 8 verses of James chapter 1.

It has been so good for my heart to meditate on and I have memorized

so much of it just by going over these 8 verses! It has been a while

since I have felt the Holy Spirit directing me to camp out in one book

or chapter for a time and it is such a wonderful feeling to be directed again!

So far, this chapter

has been been like balm to my weary heart and very timely.

I pray that my heart blesses yours, and that you find

yourself searching for what God wants to mature you in.

I spent most of the Fall floundering in my faith and consumed by my circumstances that I failed in the trial God had placed me in. My heart was weary while doing good and I just wanted to flee. I don't know where, but I just wanted out of life. Nothing was fixing the problem, but I knew the answer was time with the Lord. My works were not working

and my "supposed" time with Him in the morning was not working either.

Both were superficial due to my heart developing a callous. So, through much whining and complaining, and complete transparency with God and my husband, I ran to the Lord in true repentance over missing all that He wanted to teach me and mature me in.

When James speaks about being "perfect lacking nothing" he is referring to the mature believer not a "perfect person." I was more disappointed about not being a mature believer than the thought of not being perfect. I don't care about being perfect, I just want to be a God pleaser in every way. I know that perfection can only be achieved through God and by the time I spend with Him. But, without surrender and true brokenness I cannot be effective for the kingdom and grow into a mature believer.

I am leaning on the everlasting arms of my Savior in this walk of life. It is not always easy or physically restful at times, but He always gives me what I need and removes that which I don't or can't handle. My job is to rely on Him and to ask for wisdom, because He says, "[He] gives to all liberally and without reproach..."Jms 1:5

As I ask Him daily for His wisdom and throughout the day, I find that He is answering in every aspect of life! WOW! What a concept. Why didn't I do this more regularly before? {grin}

I love Him with complete resolve and I pray, abandonment. I do desire to be at that place where I do not love my life, but I aim to lose my life that I might gain Christ!

So please pray for me as I continue to pursue Him and pray for the Lord to give you

His heart for this life that we only have one chance to live! Let's live it for His glory!

Redeem the time! God bless!

Christmas 2008

The shot above is of us on the Christmas Train.
We have thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas together as a family. We made it to an estate near by where they run a train during the holidays for the kids. There is a Santa near the middle of the ride who hands out teddy bears to all the kids. It was fun and delightful for the kiddos!

Picture on right:Playing in the leaves after the train ride!
Picture on left: The kids and mom having a good time together at the
outreach.
The picture below: Jordan was sooo happy after his 4th cookie of the day! Thanks mom for not looking!!

We held a Christmas outreach in our

local community hosted

by Calvary Chapel Cambridge.

It was such a delight for all who came.

Everyone helped and contributed in some way.

Hearts were touchand all

enjoyed the food and fellowship.

God was glorified in every way.

The week before Christmas we took Maddie and Josiah into the city to see Beauty and the Beast as a surprise along with Georgina, the daughter of some good friends of ours. The kids were so surprised and excited. Jordan was just a bit too young and would've cried through the show so we left him with a friend of ours.

the picture above: We took Maddie and Josiah to see

Beauty and the Beast with their
friend Georgina.
The picture below right: The four of us
in front of the Cambridge Christmas tree.
Nothing like NYC! But it will have to do!

Christmas Eve was spent with friends from the fellowship and watching It's a Wonderful Life.

Being reminded of the gift we have in our Savior and in the life He gave us is so important. May we never forget this and live life for the glory of the Lord!

Our Christmas day was spent here at the house with just us! It was a first for us and we really enjoyed it! The kids played with their new toys and loved having all of our attention to themselves. We are truly enjoying family and the joy of the Lord!

*-

We are looking forward to all that the Lord has in store for us in the New Year. We have grown so much in the last two years here in England we can't imagine what else He has for us! WOW, what an adventure! Thank you Lord! We pray this finds you just as blessed and enjoying your family members, those in Christ and by birth. Love you all!

An afternoon tea.

I hosted a fellowship at my house in Oct. This is the

second of many I pray that will naturally develop

into a time of devotional and Bible study time.

This is the setup after the Devonshire cream and jam were consumed as

well as the finger sandwiches. I had made 16 scones; only

4 were left!

Our intimate group of ladies on a Thursday afternoon.

Tiff, Michelle, Kate, and Caroline.

Kate, Michelle and me on a walk after tea!

I had the privilege of being a part of and serving in healthy women's Bible studies for the past 10 years. I came here imagining that we would head in the direction of starting one here sooner than later. I knew it would start small, but it would be in His timing or not at all.

Of course with with the challenges of life being as they are, I have waited.

Well, being here for almost 2 years in Feb. of 09, I can tell you first hand that having a formal study has not been on the agenda. As Joey and I have sought the Lord, we see the need to draw the brethren together outside of a formal setting and create an opportunity for fellowship.

Joey is faithfully teaching the Word to the body, but we see the need for outside friendships to be made. Of course no one can force relationships, but we can create atmosphere that encourages it. So that is the heart behind these hang-out times.

It is such a joy to look around a room and see people engaging in conversation. There is always the nervous twitch in my stomach when I think about having people over and wondering if I will have to carry the conversation. Of course that is stupid and the Lord always takes care of it.

That day flowed so nicely and there was great joy shared by all.

I love these ladies and the ones who were not there as well. My heart

desires to be a blessing to all, but to encourage the

woman in their walks with God especially. What a wonderful

opportunity to serve the Lord this way! It truly is amazing.