Lake Reunion | A Time of Fellowship with Friends

Thursday morning we loaded up the car and made way for the lake.  The Lake!  The place I spent my high school years and retreated to throughout my time in college, as well.  The place where my summers were spent skiing, kneeboarding, tubing and trying my hardest to get up on the wakeboard (to no success).  The place where friends would come together for a great time away from the rest of the world.  This place is my little refuge and this weekend it served as the meeting point for a fantastic reunion with our Webb family. 

On Thursday afternoon, Micah, Amber, and Benjamin Webb pulled into the gravel lot just outside our family lake place. We quickly unpacked and snuggled in for a great weekend.  What a joy it was to see Micah home from his job overseas and the Webb's together and as a family! 

Ben & Cade

Friday was blur of babies, splashing, and fun.  Cade and Benjamin enjoyed a fun afternoon splashing around in a little pool on the dock and we all had a blast in one another's company.  We celebrated Micah's (belated) birthday and my dad's birthday during this amazing weekend away.

On Saturday, the adults played.  I can honestly say that I spent many hours doing something I haven't really done since highschool - TUBING.  My entire body still aches from the waves, turns, flips, and numerous failed attempts to throw me off the tube.  What a workout! 

This morning we said goodbye to our dear friends as they hurried home for some "normalcy" before Micah returns to work.  It was a bittersweet goodbye - such fun times had by all, but not knowing when we will see one another again. 

Tonight I find myself thanking God for the blessing of friendship and the ways He has chosen to bless us with people who draw us to Him, who seek after Him, and who show us more of who He is.  I am grateful for a Father who loves His children and for a Savior who makes that relationship possible.  Tonight, I am reminded as I type, that I am His and His heart is for me.  Tonight, my heart is overwhelmed by His love and mercy.

My friend, I think of you daily, because I care and it's true, that though we've shared a lot together, it's very rare that I see you.  And I want you to know that God loves you, and that I love you too and that even if we're hardly ever near, I'm talking to Him about you... 

I don't know when I'll see you again - a month, a year, or maybe more - but if your heart belongs to the Savior, I'll see you in the sky if not before.  And I want you to know that God loves you, and that I love you too.  And that even if we're hardly ever near, I'm talking to him about you...  

And I'll be praying for you every morning, as I start of the day with the Lord.  And I'll be praying that you're walking with Jesus, and abiding in His word. 

[Camp Glisson Farewell Song]

Last Day in Idaho - Cade's 1st Time on a Tour Bus

I realize that this is many days late, but with all of the flight mishaps I just needed a day or two to unwind and get back into the swing of things in Georgia.  Don't worry - more on the actual travel day will be posted later in the week.

Our last day in Idaho proved to hold an abundance of emotions. 
Overwhelming lack of confidence - a friend put it as the first day of college and you know you'll do fine, but just don't know what to do "next"...
Sadness - to be leaving this great support group and family we call MAF.
Excitement - to start a new adventure in raising support and connecting with friends and family.
Joy - that the Lord has called us to this place and is preparing us for His call.
Fear - of the unknown.

On our last day we completed the last of our tasks, ate a great lunch together, enjoyed fellowship with one another and started saying our goodbyes...or, as I have come to call them, our "see you soons". 

One thing we were not expecting on our last day in Idaho was to run into an old friend and catch up on life.  After dinner with the Harrell's and the Spann's (both families from the southeast!), we heard that a friend from our college days was in town - he happened to be in town on tour with his band.  We immediately got in touch with Derek and found out he was just a mile up the road from our MAF apartment!  In no time, we were sitting on a tour bus, sharing stories of our college days, and catching up on life.  Of course, Cade was a hit with Derek and the other guys on the bus -  my little rockstar.  It was a great way to end our time in Idaho!

Derek and Cade

Sweet memories!

Presentation Day

Ministry Partnership Class - Presentation Day

In the past two weeks, Pete and I have been writing, practicing, and presenting on MAF and our role within the organization/ministry.  It has been amazing to see God work and how He brought each couple to this point.  There is no doubt in my mind that we are exactly where God has led and that He is in control of the process.  Pete and I look forward to reconnecting with family and friends in Georgia and around the States over the next year and are thrilled to share God's call on our lives to overseas missions and how He is moving and working overseas through MAF pilots, mechanics, teachers, and so many others!
Thank you for your support and prayers as we prepared to get to this point in the journey.  We are excited about the next steps and look forward to sharing those with you in the near future!

In the Life of Cade:
We are pretty sure another tooth is trying to pop through, so Cade has been extra cuddly and fun!  He also began moving up onto his hands and knees and started rocking back and forth tonight - is crawling coming already?!  YIKES!  Everyday he is just getting more animated and becomes more and more fun to spend time with.  What an amazing little man!

A Weekend to Remember

This has been a weekend to remember. 
Yesterday morning we arose to Cade crying and realizing that he had cut his very first tooth!  What a wonderful surprise for the weekend.  After a much needed nap, we headed to Boise with the Neal's and enjoyed going to the mall and grabbing some dinner in downtown Boise.  The waiter at the amazing little Italian flatbread joint was a Boise State student - so we had a little chat/banter over the upcoming Boise State v. Georgia game - come on Dawgs!

The men waiting while the women shopped

Cade and Anders sleeping soundly

Cade and Anders happy and awake

Neal's and Greenwald's at dinner in downtown Boise

Due to lack of naps and cutting teeth, both Cade and his fun friend Anders (7 months old) proceeded to cry the entire way back to Boise, of course the cryfest was over as soon as we got out of the van.
So dinner for the little monkey and off to bed for the night sounded like the perfect ending to such an amazing day.

For church this morning, we decided that our Candidacy/Pre-field class should get together for a time of prayer, reflection, and encouragement.  What a joyful time to celebrate as we begin our last week together in Idaho and anticipate His blessings during our next chapter!

This afternoon, we went over to see the Stoppe's - so wonderful to see friends from our time in Longview up here in potato land.  Aaron and Erica have a precious 5 month old named Zoe and Cade just loved watching her.  When it was time for the afternoon naps, we parted ways.

Starting to get hungry for dinner, Pete and I decided that we would like to complete this day with some good Mexican food!  We pulled into a cute little place on our way back to the MAF base and ordered exactly what we wanted... or, tried to at least.  Just after receiving our food, Cade decided it would be a great time to get a smidge fussy (isn't it always the moment you sit down to do something/eat?).  I picked him up and noticed that our boy had a reason to be fussy - his diaper was leaking everywhere (even on my arm).  YUCK! I took inventory of the situation and just as I realized I would be changing his diaper, his clothes, and cleaning his car seat, the little monkey grabbed my drink (luckily it was water) and it spilled ALL over my legs.  I was drenched from the waist down!  The bathroom didn't have a changing table and so we proceeded to change him, clean him, clean me, change his clothes, and clean out his car seat in the large open area by our table - don't worry friends, no one was sitting in our area but us.  What a MESS!  The rest of our dinner was me sitting soaking wet, Cade happily standing on my lap as I tried to eat just a few bites of food, and Pete and I laughing so hard my abs hurt right now. 
Some things we learned - communication is KEY!, always come prepared for the not-so-normal as well as the normal, and life is awesome if you can laugh at yourself and not take yourself too seriously!

All in all - I absolutely LOVE my son, my husband, and this crazy thing called life! What a weekend to remember.

Public Speaking is the #1 Fear of Americans

This week, Pete, myself, and the rest of our pre-field class have been working diligently on our presentation of our testimonies and MAF.  It has been a whirlwind of writing, presenting, writing, presenting, etc.  Tomorrow we film - YIKES.  Up until this point we have given our presentations to one another in a safe little room with others who are also new and working up the nerve and skill of effective public speaking.  While I do not like to hear myself speak, I am excited to see how our presentation will look to others.

We look forward to sharing all that we have learned here with you and others throughout the next year!

In the Life of Cade:
Cade has a new sitter this week, Lisa.  Lisa is fantastic and Cade just loves her.  It's amazing how much bigger his smile gets daily!  Here are some fun pictures of Cade in his "car".

Sweet 'Taters

Last night was another adventure in baby food making.  Thanks to a wonderful website called nurturebaby.com, I have recipes and tips on how to make great food for the monkey.  Tonight was Cade's first taste of sweet potatoes.  See how he liked them:

He liked sweet potatoes right from the start.

More please.

And more?

Love the nose scrunch on this one.

Sweet taters are so yummy.

Dad, look what I can eat.

But you can't have any.

And I mean business.

Thanks for my sweet taters, momma.

Weekends

Weekends are always such a great time of refreshing, re-energizing, and refocusing for us as a family.  It was great to have Friday through Sunday this weekend to do just that.  We begin Ministry Partnership tomorrow - in plain English that just means that we begin to learn how we will be inviting others to be a part of our team through prayer and support, how MAF will encourage us and hold us accountable during this time, and about some key tools we will use in doing this thing called "support raising".

Pete and I are excited to begin this week and look forward to sharing MAF and the vision/call that God has laid on our hearts with you in the near future.

In the Life of Cade:
Tonight I made pureed sweet potatoes for the little monkey.  He will begin this new food adventure tomorrow for dinner.  We'll be sure to post some pictures of his reaction!