She's Walking!!!

******News Flash******

Abby Is Walking!

About two weeks ago we were helping some friends pack up as they were moving. I was in one room helping and Sarah (the oldest daughter of the friends we were helping) came rushing in all excited that Abby had taken a few steps. I was excited and put Abby down to try again. She took 2 steps that I saw and that was it for about 5 days. She then took a couple more steps in creche (nursery) on Wednesday night. That was it again for almost a week. Last Tuesday I was out for the afternoon and my husband was watching Abby. I called to ask him a question and while we were on the phone she started walking (this was the first time he had seen her). When I got home later she was still taking a few steps. Each day she has been walking more and more. She looks like she's concentrating so hard when she's walking. It's so cute. Here she is today taking a few steps. She gets so excited with herself (and so do Daddy and Mummy)!

Five Years Ago

Five years. That's how long we've been serving in New Zealand. It's hard to believe that we've been here that long. Here we are 5 years ago . . . .

And here we are today . . .

So much has happened in these 5 years. When we originally got to New Zealand our plan was to work in Grace Baptist Church with Pastor Mark Bosje for a few years and then go start a church in a town a couple of hours from here. Well, God had other plans! After we had been here for about a year Pastor Bosje was asked to go to Thailand to start a church there. My husband was then called as the Pastor of Grace Baptist Church. We've been here ever since.

Yes, the road has been rough at times, but God has been faithful and provided for all of our needs and even some of our wants. Just a few months ago our church had a major need of finances. God was faithful then and provided over and above what we needed to meet that need.

The biggest lesson we have learned (and are still learning) is to trust God. He has been so good to us and it's been a pleasure to serve Him.

Hannah and Conviction

"For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:" -I Samuel 1:27

Yesterday I read this verse in my Bible reading. Hannah must have been some prayer warrior. Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that her son, Samuel, was raised by Eli - a father whose sons were wicked, wicked men. What made Samuel so different? Why did he turn out right? The influences around him were horrible, yet he became a man of God. I believe that Hannah never stopped praying for her little boy. For years she prayed for God to give her a son and when she finally had that son she gave him back to the Lord. How her heart must have ached at times for her little boy. She had to have known what Eli's sons were like. Yet, Samuel turned out right. Why? She prayed. How many hours do you think she spent in prayer for her son?

After thinking about this yesterday I got convicted. How often do I pray for my little one? Yes, I prayed for years for God to give me a child. Now I have a child. How much time do I spend on my knees begging for God to help her turn out right? I must admit, not as much as a should. So what am I going to do about that? Spend more time in prayer for my little one.


Speaking of my little one. She is 14 months old today. She is so much fun! She loves purses. She has a couple of her own purses that she loves to carry around with her and fill with her treasures. Last night Nana gave her this little bag. She carried it around for hours.
She also loves shoes. One of her favourite games is to find her shoes and bring them to me to put on her. Then she promptly takes them off her feet and finds another pair of shoes to put on.

Well, I'm off! Have a great day.

A photo shoot with Abby

When Abby was born, my Mom brought over some old patterns she had used to make clothes for my siblings and I when we were little. There was one pattern that caught my eye and I've been waiting for Abby to be big enough to use the pattern. Well, here it is! I used some left-over scraps from skirts I'd made for myself. I tried to have a photo shoot with Abby, but for some reason she doesn't like to smile when the camera is around.

What's that? (Abby loves to say this!)

We had matching outfits for Sunday. Can you tell Abby woke up early? We offered to make Daddy a rosette to match, but he didn't think he wanted one! Can you imagine that?!

And from last Sunday . . .
The gifts for all the Mothers in church . . .

And from February . . . .

In January my brother got married, so we got to go to the States for a visit. This photo is from a reception they had a couple of weeks after the wedding. It was the first time we had all been together in 3 years. I love my family!

Sorry for the randomness of this post, but that's how my mind seems to be working lately! Every week I say I'm going to do better with this blogging thing and at the end of the week I realize I haven't put anything on here. It's not that nothing happens around here, it's just that usually I'm too tired after it's all over to blog about it. Maybe this week will be different (he he). We'll see. :)

Mothers' Appreciation Evening

Last night we held a Mothers' Appreciation Evening at the church. The teen girls and another lady from the church helped me with it. I only have pictures of the tables. I wanted to get photos during the evening, but I misplaced my camera and found it after everything was over. Ooops! Three of the teen girls helped Miss Crystal with the table decorations. I think they did a great job!

We didn't have a meal, just finger foods. The other three girls helped me prepare the following:

Cucumber Sandwiches

Ham Salad on French Bread

Apples and Caramel Dip

Zucchini Muffins

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Punch

I think the Mother's really enjoyed themselves. Two of the girls' mothers who don't attend our church came for the evening and commented that they had a great time! Thanks for all your help, Miss Crystal, Dani, Sarah, Joanna, Crystal, Ihimaera, and Petra!

On to a completely different subject - My husband sang for the special music in church! For those of you who don't know my husband - singing in public is not his thing. He thinks he can't sing, but I think his voice is good. In the morning service he sang with two of the men from church. They were all nervous, but they did great!

There are some teen girls that have been bugging him to sing in church for a long time. Two of the girls are moving away tomorrow, so Sunday was their last service with us. Pastor finally gave in, and sang with them on Sunday night. They all had so much fun!

And now, because no post would be complete without them (and my Mom wouldn't be very happy) some photos of Abby!

This little girl loves to play outside. One of her favourite things to do outside is to find the rocks under the porch and play with them. She will spend an hour or more outside by herself just playing with the stones she finds. Here she is showing off one of her prized possessions. If you look closely, her socks have John Deere tractors on them - thank you, Uncle James.

This is how Abby usually spends Sunday afternoon. So peaceful! Ever since she was born she has slept with her arms up like that. In hospital the midwives were always trying to wrap her arms up, but she always managed to get them out like this. Some things never change!

Have a great day!