Oh YES they did

So I published that post on Saturday, walked into the other room and Justin said that they visas had been completed and picked up!!! And only 4 days later...they arrived in the mail.

YEP, they are in hand and we are ready to go! Well, aside from final packing and having to say good-bye (gulp). We are looking at tickets for 2 weeks from today. Please pray for a calm and peaceful packing completion.

Pray also for luggage fees. It looks like we might get charged twice on different airlines. Thank you for everything. Don't forget to switch your support account over if you haven't yet! Love you all!

Into April

Our "quick hop" over to the new mission board has proven slower than anticipated. While we had hoped to be settling into our new home this week, we remain here in Florida waiting on visas...and for our necessary support to be transferred over (hint, hint).

But get this: we had planned on flying out last week, but on Thursday Braelyn came down with her FIFTH raging double ear infection! Thank you Lord we weren't somewhere over the Atlantic! The elderly Jewish doc said, amidst smothering her with kisses and exclamations over her sweetness (where is he at bedtime?) she definitely needed tubes.

So this morning I woke her sleeping self up at 5:45, stuck her in a bath with antibacterial soap (that went as well as you think) and headed off to my old stomping grounds, the Children's Hospital. The 5 minute procedure takes a ton of waiting (so much for that antibacterial bath when she played on the floor for 2 hours) and quite a doozy of a wake up, but she made it through just fine.

She's just woken up from a nap in the swing outside and is snuggling her daddy now. Funny swing moment, she's sound asleep, a P-3 plane has just thundered over head and she doesn't twitch. A yippy dog 2 houses away barks quite softly, and her head pops up. She says, "woo-woo", her eyes roll around and she goes back to sleep. That's my girl.

This whole week I have found myself thanking God for good, clean healthcare and for His perfect timing. Please join with me in praising and thanking Him for these things.

Please also join with me in praying for our visa and passport return THIS WEEK and for our support to be back up to 100% by then (hint, hint). Thank you all! Let's get this gospel taken to the outermost parts!!!!

Colorado Fun



Yes, this is Gramma Beccy sledding down the mountain in the Rockies with Hunter!  What a blast!



Justin and the little girls soon had their fill of the blowing snow and ice, but it was sure beautiful.




Cousin time has been great...until the Browns succumbed to Strep.  Pray for us...we want to play!




We've loved this time so much.  Yet we are anxious to get back to the task at hand too.  Please pray also that our passports and visas will come back within a week so we can purchase our return tickets.  Thanks!



Snow Days

Monday we got to return to the mountain school where Justin and I met...such sweet memories. We walked through the woods where Justin first told me he loved me, only now with our 3 girls.
We slipped and slid through the ice and snow while the girls delighted in the novelty of it all. (yes, we had gloves, they just took them off so they could REALLY feel it)
We marveled at the beauty in front of us (living and otherwise) that God has designed to reflect HIS majesty.
And we got to spend time with past teachers while encouraging the current students not to settle for the American spin on Christianity, but to chase hard after the God who made this universe and gave His life so that we might LIVE FOR HIM, not for ourselves. What a challenge for us all! What an amazing day it was.

Phoenix

Last week we got the chance to go over to Phoenix to visit dear family we hadn't seen in years...some many, many years. We had such a great time! Reconnecting with loved ones and meeting new ones is so fun.
The girls had an absolute blast with cousins and cousins kids. We sure do thank the Lord for Family!
And thanks to Family for being wonderful hosts.

Brrrrr

Well, it's a sunny 37 degrees up here in Colorado and we are COLD! But lovin' our family time. Shannon's parents and sister and brother along with their families are all here as well as dear friends not seen nearly enough. So we are soakin' it up!

We just sent out a letter to everyone who signed up last weekend at the Conference last weekend. Unfortunately, several got kicked back and a couple were hard to dicipher. So if you did NOT get an e-mail from us around 4pm on Tuesday (check your spam) let us know so we can try again.

That's it for now, I'll post snow pics soon!

Lost Moments

I've loved our time home. The one downside has been no internet at home, so no blogging after bed-time. Every day things happen that I know you would love to hear about, but alas. Here's the first in a LOOOOOONG while:

Today we had our first pet burial. Mimi Melanie bought a fish, Skittles, when Hunter was maybe 2. Today she no longer moved her gills...the only thing that had moved in a while. So, out we went with a post-hole digger, a cardboard jewelry box, and a floppy fish. We put her 6 feet, I mean inches under and covered her up. I paraphrased the "dust to dust" passage and asked Hunter if she wanted to pray and thank God for Skittles.

"Dear Lord. Thank you for Skittles (voice breaking, sniffles starting). We know you've brought these two dogs to heaven (the Brown's previous 2 black labs buried there), so please, Lord, (tears falling now), please bring Skittles to heaven too! Amen"

At this point I am trying to hide my chuckles but still peek at her and I see her catch her tears on her finger, lower her hand and shake the tears off onto the fresh grave. Several times. Ah, my darling. How I adore you.