The Beach!

This week we were finally able to take the boys to the beach for the first time since we've been home. It was a cool day but still very nice. Noah had been before but this was Micah's very first time at the beach! After being gone for most of the last 4 years we appreciate the blessing of living only 20 minutes from the beach a lot more than before!

Nana and Noah are checking out all the little critters that are hanging out in the tide pool. There were lots of little tiny crabs of some sort, anemones, and many other little critters.

 
Mommy and Micah got to "hang" out together :-)  Micah was quite enthralled with all there was to look at.

Look at all that water!

It took Micah a while to even get to this point. He is still skeptical and not really liking this whole sand thing.

Daddy is giving some reassurance but it doesn't seem to help much.

Baby feet and sand make a very picturesque scene.

Finally he decides to dig in a little and see what this is all about.

We found a starfish. Noah thought it felt funny.

We found a cave... or a crevice is more like it... but to Noah it was a cave!

It is amazing what kind of cool and beautiful things we find in God's creation! 

How He Likes to Crawl...

Micah is crawling all over the house now and so quickly that he really keeps us on our toes! It is fun to see how every baby has their own personality and even their own way they like to crawl. Noah did this funny half crawl-half dragging one leg thing. It was odd. :) Micah on the other hand, likes to stuff his mouth with a toy and crawl around the house. He is very adamant about this and will stop repeatedly to stuff the toy back in his mouth if it falls out. Here are a few pictures to show you what we mean.......

I am so glad that God made each of us unique! He sure has a sense of humor. :) 

Wouldn't life be boring if we all crawled the same way?!

A Trip to Disneyland!

Last weekend we were given the chance to go to Disneyland! It was a late celebration of Tim and Noah's birthdays. Some family friends, the Swensons joined us as well. It rained that morning, but it was only a light sprinkle and soon the sun came out to make it a beautiful day. The plus was that the rain was enough to keep people away and the park was not crowded at all. We were able to walk right on to many of the major rides that usually require a long wait. Here are some pictures from our day.....

Noah walking into Disneyland with my friend Carrie.

 At this point he looks like a little bee in his yellow rain jacket.

Our group in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. 

(Usually this kind of picture is impossible because of the crowds!)

My dad with Micah is his little plastic covered stroller to keep out the rain. We were so thankful that he actually took naps while we were there! 

Micah and Papa getting ready for a ride to see Nemo in a submarine.

Noah in an A. :)

Getting ready for a ride on Dumbo! 

This was probably one of Noah's favorite rides.

Noah's other favorite ride....Autopia! He even got to help daddy drive.

This was probably the highlight of Noah's day. He got to meet Minnie and Mickey!

Enjoying ToonTown.

It's Been Awhile...

Well, it has been awhile since we have posted on here....mostly because there hasn't been a whole lot to say! We have enjoyed the down time being with our families and trying to get settled in. Although, it looks like we are up for ANOTHER move! It is wonderful to see how God once again provided for our needs. Some good friends of ours, Doug and Evie Swenson are allowing us to stay in their home for the next several months. They are staying in a small addition/apartment that belongs to another couple in our church and allowing us to use their house! We are overwhelmed by their generosity. Staying in their home will allow us to spread out and figure out what of our things we need to keep for the field and what to get rid of. We were also in need of a place that we can entertain people for meals as a way to reconnect with those in our home churches. Their home will answer these needs and much more. 

We are feeling overwhelmed by all that needs to be done in this time of preparation to go overseas and in raising support, but it is wonderful knowing that we can rest in God and his timing and provision! We are also looking for opportunities to share what God has laid on our hearts and about the ministry we hope to take part in. If you know of any small groups, Sunday schools, or churches, etc. please let us know! 

Beginning a New Phase

Not a lot has happened since we've been home, but it has been wonderful to spend unhurried time with family. Tim has begun working construction with a guy in our church, but since it is not full time he will hopefully be able to devote a lot of time to preparing for our time of partnership development that we have just begun. Speaking of partnership development, (also known as deputation) the time has come that we are looking for individuals and churches to partner with us in prayer, encouragement, and financial support as we look towards ministering to tribal people in Papua New Guinea. I can't stress enough how important you, our friends and supporters are to us. We need your prayers, encouragement, and friendship. We know that as we set out in this work there is NO way that we can do it on our own. It is ONLY by the grace of God that we can have an effective part in this amazing task. 

Please pray for us that we will continually seek the Lord first and pursue a close walk with Him. We also appreciate your encouragement--dropping us a note to say hi or that you are praying for us means a great deal. It can be lonely at times so far from home and knowing you are thinking of us make the distance a little less. Finally, we are looking for monthly financial supporters that will be a part of our team. Papua New Guinea is one of the most expensive fields to go to within New Tribes. The country is very underdeveloped and so many things have to be imported from Australia. Not to mention that once we are in the tribe our expenses will include things like paying for a plane to fly in our supplies and groceries. At this point, we are receiving about 25% of what the mission recommends for our monthly financial support. If you know of any church, Sunday school, or small group/Bible study that would be willing to have us come share what God is doing around the world, please let us know. We are so excited to share what God has been teaching us and of the exciting work of tribal church planting. 

On a different note, some have mentioned that they would enjoy seeing some more pictures of the boys so here are just a few.....

Noah loves to "work hard!" and here he is with his new

 and real tool set from his Aunt Kim.

Micah has such a personality and it is fun to see that develop.

Micah has been working very hard on crawling. Here he is on 

Christmas Eve as he was just figuring things out. Now

we have to keep a close eye on him as he can scoot very

quickly across the floor after anything that interests him. 

What we've been up to...

So, Christmas has come and gone and we have begun a New Year. We were so busy with packing and moving that we hardly had time to think about Christmas so we weren't much in the "Christmas spirit," but we enjoyed the time being with family and remembering the wonderful reason that we celebrate. We then went to my (Tiffany's) cousin's wedding down in the LA area and so we had more traveling, but again we had a wonderful time. I was able to reconnect with family I hadn't seen in awhile and since I had already missed two other cousin's weddings I was glad to be able to finally go to one!

Noah and his stocking on Christmas morning

Santa Baby

My cousin and his beautiful bride

There was dancing at the wedding and Noah had a blast. Here he is asking the flower girl to dance. She was quite shy and would only dance if her aunt joined them. Noah loves telling the story of how she just put her hands on her cheeks and "wouldn't talk."

My sister Kim and her friend Carl dancing at the wedding. 

Here is a video of Noah dancing with Kim. He was very anxious to dance and so they were the first ones on the dance floor. Oh my, and he is only two!

Traveling Once Again!

Well, we all made it safe and sound to California! What a wild week of packing, cleaning, and saying good-byes! My (Tiffany's) parents arrived Tuesday night from two 15 hour driving days from California to Roach, MO. My grandparents from south Missouri arrived the next morning for a quick visit before we left Missouri as they had not met Micah yet. We had a great time visiting, but unfortunately we couldn't stop too long from the work of packing. Tim, my dad, and grandpa all worked tirelessly packing and organizing the trailor, while I packed and my mom and grandma helped with cleaning. I don't know how we could have done it without them! Amazingly, we were able to finish by Thursday evening. We said our last tearful good-byes and then took off for Tulsa where we would spend the night. The next morning Tim and my dad started their very long drive home and my mom, I, and the little ones got the easy way out and flew home. Saturday night we were able to to see Tim and my dad pull up in front of my parent's house. They made it with no car troubles and only one snow storm!

It has been a quite a switch coming home. Last Sunday we almost didn't make it to church because of the snow and ice, but this Sunday we were wearing short-sleeved shirts and felt warm outside! It has been great to be home and see family. The boys are having a great time. Noah is finally able to get some of that two-year old energy out running around outside and riding his bike. Micah is getting so big so fast! He has been working on crawling today! I can't believe how fast they grow up! We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas!