Suprise!

I sent Brother Nowling and Levi to the store to pick up rice for dinner Sunday and my husband actually came back with flowers for me. Yes flowers, yellow tulips. It was a great surprise. I can't hardly remember the last time he got me flower. I don't encourage him to get the expensive ones on the holidays because they just cost way too much to die in a week or so. These were from the floral department in the grocery store. I cut them down and put them in my yellow tea pot along with the leaves. The girls, him (and even Levi) were trying to get me to use a regular vase and I wouldn't. It turns out they look pretty good in my tea pot. You see I collect tea pots I have 15 or so of them (different seasons too) and I like to use them as centerpieces on my table.




In other news, I'm trying to tie things up for ladies retreat. Sister Deborah Perkins is our guest speaker. Her and Brother Danny are coming up. Sister Deborah has never flown and she trusting the Lord regarding her great fear. They're flying standby so please remember them in your prayers both for her to feel His calm and everything goes smoothly as they fly. Of course remember the retreat. We really want the Lord to bless. Alaska's state flower is Forget Me Nots and I felt inspired to use that as our theme. Think about it there's so much NOT TO FORGET when it comes to our Lord. I talked to Sister Deborah today and one of the things I'm really excited about is that I've asked if we could have a music class where she would teach us some new songs. I love learning new songs and who better to teach us.

To top of pulling everything together for ladies retreat we are planning a fundraiser to boost our building expense fund. We have 3 great photographers at our local church so why not use their talent. We are doing 30 minute studio photo shoots. Jenna, Micah and Megan will be alternating shooting the photos and editing and then will burn them to a CD and the people can print their own. Cost just $20. You can't beat that. We're going have some bake goods to sale also as to raise funds for mission. I'm really praying this will be successful financially but also allowing us to meat people.

Along with the retreat and fundraiser, I have to finish with my camp planning as camp is less a month after the retreat. Ugh! Lord help me. I'm having a hard time focusing on any one of them.

Then on top of those church things we have a baby shower for Jessa. I want it to be so special for her.

Between the fundraiser and ladies retreat I'm going to take a break and fly over Friday night, May 9Th to Seattle to spend the day with one of the ladies I work with. She's going there for a few days by herself to celebrate her birthday. I'm going to stay with her Friday night and then we're going to the space needle and then do some shopping and then I'll head back Saturday night. It's been so long since I've done anything without my family, so I'm so looking forward to it.

Then I'm going to take 3 days of vacation to spend with the Perkins going sight seeing. So a busy time but a great time.

I Know, I Know....

It's been a long time since I've been here but I really do have a good excuse. Every time I'd try to post the computer would freeze up. And uploading pictures was impossible. Our internet was un-secured and it was getting next to impossible to do anything because it was sooooooo slow. Any way Matthew Peter came over last night to do something on Jenna's computer and got a taste of the slowness (is that a word?). So he called our internet provider to set up a password and secure it and WOW what a difference. Funny thing is it took him a while to get all our computers set up at first as he kept putting the password in and it wouldn't take it. So he went back to the computer he set it up on and found he had a typo. Our password was...ugh...I can't share it because I'll be back to square one with it not being secure. One letter off changed a spiritual phrase dramatically. Sadly so too, but it was way too much work to change it.

Any way, life's been moving by quickly. It makes so much difference when you have a baby around. Every day Savannah changes and I don't want to miss a moment of it. I stand in awe at God. The only negative for ME about having a baby in our home again is though she's not even walking, some how she manages to have her clothes and belonging strewn throughout the house. Oh wait a minute, I think she's taken OVER our house. But we are blessed to have her.

Life in our little church is changing as we settle in with the tiny new lives God has brought into our midst.

I am love watching Jessa blossom as she carries little Noah until time to enter the world. Jenna announced the other day that Jessa is the ark for their Noah. Though it may not seem "nice" it was meant and is a cute thought. Oh the anticipation of holding our grandson and seeing Jessa's dream fulfilled of becoming a mother. Now that it's becoming a reality, the fears of inadequacies surface, but I know my first born will make an awesome mother and Levi will make a great dad.

Since my last post babies have taken over my life. Of course the joys of Savannah is present everyday. But one Tuesday evening I asked Megan to come over and I captured cute little Caleb in my arms most of the evening. It was a pleasant night with Megan and her son, just watching tv and visiting.

Then last weekend Brother Nowling and I went to Bethel for youth convention with Brother Bagoni (which the Lord really broke open His Word through this man). There was great preaching, good fellowship in the Spirit and with the Bethel saints. One again I got to enjoy another precious baby, my future grand-son-in-law, Braden Sutton. Sister Annette and I have told Joleesa and Dallas that their daughter has her marriage all arranged and her name will some day be Mrs. Savannah Lynn Sutton. Ok that's a little much. Not even two months old and calling her Mrs. Any way I enjoyed spending time with our cute little man. So though I was away from Savannah, my arms weren't empty.

We've been dumped on with over a foot of snow last night and today. A foot of snow in April is soooo wrong, even if it is Alaska. Hopefully though it will melt by Saturday as we are holding our youth activity here at the house roasting hot dogs and marshmellows in our fire pit.

The first part of May is going to be busy for us. May 1st we will be having a fund raiser for our building fund. Jenna, Micah and Megan will be doing photo shoots at the church. We'll set up one of the Sunday School rooms for the shoot, the other room for the editing room and the sanctuary for the reception area. Jenna will do one shoot of 50 pictures and while she is editing her pictures, Micah and Megan will do their shoot and then swap spots with Jenna. We'll be charging $20 for a dvd of 50pictures. We'll be putting fliers up and distributing them to friends and family. We know there's great talent here and this is truly a way for them to use it for the Lord.

May 7th I will be taking the evening flight to Seattle to celebrate one of my co-workder's birthday. We plan on going to the space needle and then just shopping. It has been forever since I've spent time with a girlfriend just bumming. I really hope to find some "baby" shops.

The following weekend Danny and Deborah Perkins will be here as Sister Deborah is our guest speaker for ladies retreat. I'm so looking forward to retreat and spending time with Sister Deborah. I don't really know Brother Danny but I'm looking forward to it.

Well now that I've updated everyone, I'll leave you with a picture of my favorite grand-daughter done by my favorite photographer.

A Blessed Easter

I truly had a blessed Easter weekend. It was VERY busy, which I knew it would be. I woke up Saturday and put laundry away and then headed out shopping for Easter breakfast at church and dinner at home. I got home and Brother Nowling and I headed over to the church to meet up with Tim and Becky to decorate for the Easter Breakfast. I had planned on using some of the decorations from Jessa wedding but when I couldn't find table cloths to match, I started over with my ideas. I wound up going with one lemon yellow table cloth and two white ones (there was only the one yellow left; all the other colors were way to bright and ugly). I found one green and two yellow tulip candle holders and these cute birds (green dove like) that said "love" on them. So they became our center pieces. Yellow napkins on the white tables, white napkins on the yellow table, yellow, green and white plates, and white cups. It was simple but pretty (I think Jenna took pictures so I'll try to get my hands on them and put some up if blogger will let me). From there I went to make copies of our lesson for our youth Bible Study Saturday night. Then I went home and had a 45 minute power nap as I was totally exhausted. I headed over to Tim and Becky's for Bible study. It was a great study. I don't know what the young people thought but it was on the Lord's Prayer from "Disciplined Disciples" and it had many powerful thoughts it. Everyone really participated. I love teaching the youth. I miss teaching their SS class. I was really proud to see Joleesa and Micah and Megan come out with their little ones. We have such a great group of youth. It was great as one would need a diaper change and then the other would need a diaper changed ~ smile. We are so blessed.

I then went home and with my hubby's helped me make the breakfast casseroles for the church's Easter Breakfast. I made two, sausage and egg, and ham and egg. Becky made a bacon and egg one and Jessa made fruit bread and a blueberry coffee cake like. It was a great breakfast. We had 20 out. I also boiled eggs and bought egg dye and set it up in the kids class room. I asked those that would to go dye the eggs and by after church they were dry so we could hide them for Lillian to find. Levi hid them in the halls and then he really got into helping Lillian, along with Heather and Micah.

I need to add our 3 little ones looked great in their Easter out fits. Lillian was so cute in her floor length dress with little cardigan and Easter hat. Then there was our handsome little Caleb with his black slacks, tie and vest. Then of course our adorable Savannah with her fancy little white dress with pink flowers and ribbon, pink headband and little satin shoes. Just the cutest sight to behold.

Our services both morning and evening were full of worship and praise and searching. The Holy Ghost took over Sunday evening and brought us to the altar twice. Johnna Wilson sang beautifully "The Lamb of God" and then Levi preached on the Lamb of God that was slain. I felt for him as He tried to find the will of God for his message after such a move of God.

In between services we came home and Jenna took family pictures (one more thing I'll post once I can get them from her). I put on a ham dinner for our family, helped Jenna clean up and did book work while everyone else napped. I finished just 10 minutes before we had to leave for church. So it was an exhausting but blessed weekend.

It's been so long....

since I've blogged. I'm sorry. I've tried several times and either I had computer problems or couldn't put in to words the many thoughts, feelings, emotions and changes I've been experiencing.

Life is truly different around here these days. We are finding our family growing closer together than ever before. Many time in my life I have felt like my family took the back seat to church work. I have felt a tremendous need to have the girls, Levi, Savannah and Dallas around me. I've been enjoying them more now than ever. I have want to have "family" time. It hasn't matter what we were doing, just that we were together. It's been very special.

I have found myself taking a step back from church work...you know feeling like it HAS to be done so if no one else will do it, then I've GOT to do it. No if no one else is going to do it, I guess it's just not going to get done. It's not that I don't care about the church people or the church work...but it's ok if it doesn't get done. If we don't have it.... I promise I'm just trying find my place these days. Not in a bad way...just a new way. I know God will bring me to that place He wants me in but I'm just walking slowing in the way to that place. It may be a little bit because, things are going to be changing even more when little Noah comes. I need and want to be there for Jessa, Levi and Noah... I've got a peace in all the changes because these are good changes, but they are still changes. God is my rock through the changes and He continues to give wisdom and guidance along the way.

I know, you were all probably better off before I blogged, but this is just tad bit of my thoughts these days.