My Mission Field

I received this little e-devotional from a friend this week. I just finally got to read through it and loved the great reminder it brings me. There are so many times I struggle with the balance between where my service to God needs to be within our church and community and my 3 (almost 4) very small children who take my time and attention (as they should) and whom I want to instill God's values. This is a great reminder to me as to where my first priority mission field needs to be. I hope this speaks to you as well.

MY MISSION FIELD
Matthew 9:37-38, "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest."

Do you sometimes hanker to be doing some great work for God? You feel as though you are wasting your life in your home. You would love to serve the Lord in some harvest field. Yes, it is true, the harvest is great and the laborers are few. But why are they few? Because mothers have not understood God's purpose.

Are you looking for an easy path in life or do you have a heart to serve God as a missionary? Dear mother, you are already a missionary. God has chosen your specific mission field for you. It is your home and family. You are employed by God to train laborers for His harvest field. You don't raise children and then send them to Bible College to prepare for service. You train them for God's service from the time they are little. They should be ready to labor in the harvest field when they come forth from your home.

Is a missionary's work easy? No, it takes sacrifice. Is motherhood easy? No, but it will be worthwhile. It takes everything you've got--all your resources of time, energy and strength--but you will influence nations. It takes sacrifice--many mothering days are exhausting and overwhelming--but you will receive the fruit of your labors and an eternal reward. It will take committed prayer and intercession, but your prayers will be answered. Remember, you are not on vacation; you are on the mission field!

Maybe God has only given you one laborer to prepare for Him--that is His plan for you. Maybe he has given you six, or even twelve! Wow, would twelve be too many? Jesus trained twelve disciples who impacted the world. How would you like to train laborers who "turn the world upside down"? (Acts 17:6)

What kind of laborers does God want us to faithfully prepare for His service? The following is my vision for our children, grandchildren and future generations. I believe He wants us to prepare children who are...

Baby lovers
Blessing imparters
Bible believers
Bible obeyers
Committed laborers in God's harvest
Courageous overcomers
Demon destroyers
Diligent workers
Evil haters
Faithful servers
Fearless soldiers
Freedom fighters
Fruit bearers
God fearers
God lovers
God pleasers
God worshippers
Gospel preachers
Holy Spirit empowered witnesses
Home lovers
Israel supporters
Jesus fanatics
Justice keepers
Life choosers
Light shiners
Liberal threateners
Obedient listeners
Parent honorers
Responsible citizens
Sharp arrows
Tomorrow's leaders
Truth bearers
Truth keepers
Truth lovers
Truth preservers
Truth seekers
Truth speakers
Persecution endurers
Prayer warriors
Righteousness lovers
Uncompromising disciples
Valiant conquerors
Wisdom getters and
Zealous servants of the Living God!

Wow! Can you imagine anything more exciting and fulfilling that raising laborers such as these? You couldn't have a greater mission field or a greater vision.

A Mischievous Little Man

Ok...so all I did was go upstairs to switch the laundry. I came back down and this is what I found! I think these pictures speak for themselves...more and more lately we have been seeing more mischievous & ornery behavior out of this little man! Oh the fun!

Time To Clean Out...

So, now that we know we are having a boy, & according to my husband "4 and no more"....I am cleaning out all my girl stuff. I have girl clothes from 0-3 months up to 3T plus girl blankets, bibs, towels, toys, shoes, socks....everything! I'm just trying to find the best way to get rid of it. I'd love to make a little money on everything as I have a lot. I was planning to go to a local consignment store, but they aren't taking any appointments until January for Spring/Summer things. Hmmm...so what to do...eBay, Craig's List? Does anyone have any great ideas? If so, let me know!

Baby #4....is on the way.....& is a BOY!

Yes, we are expecting our 4th child! We are excited that God has chosen to bless us with 4 children...2 girls & 2 boys. Yes, that's right, we are having a BOY! I am due March 14th...and although it has taken us some time to get used to having another baby so soon, we are getting excited. I had my ultrasound on Thursday & have found we have another VERY active little man as he changed positions many times throughout the ultrasound. Baby #4 weighs approximately 1 lb. 1 oz. & his heartrate was about 143 BPM. He is developing great & is healthy. Praise God! This is one thing I have been very nervous about this pregnancy. We have had so many friends and people we know either have trouble getting pregnant, have problems with miscarriages, or have problems with their children developmentally that it has made me feel that it just wouldn't be fair for us to have 4 healthy children. I praise God we do, but my heart goes out to those friends who have or are struggling with these things.

We do have one prayer request for Baby #4. At our ultrasound, the technician saw that the baby has renal pyelectasis. This is a dilation of the kidney(s) and a blockage between the kidney(s) & ureter. Although, the doctor did say this is a characteristic of down syndrome, 9 times out of 10 this will resolve itself throughout pregnancy. This is the only characteristic of down syndrome that was seen, so that is great! I will continue to have ultrasounds at my appointments until the doctor sees that this resolves itself. If it does not resolve itself before birth, the baby will have an ultrasound within the first week after birth and we'll go from there. So, please pray with us that this issue will be resolved during pregnancy!

Here are some ultrasound pictures...I don't think they are the best pictures I've seen, but that's ok!

Picture of Baby #4's Face with his mouth open...singing to us already!




Baby's Face & Arm/Hand



This one proves we are having another boy...even Abby was able to guess that!

Our Little Music Man...

Just a few minutes ago...I put new batteries in our little toy piano as Aidan was trying to play and sing. I don't think Aidan has ever played with the piano with working batteries, so he didn't even know what it would do! (Ooops! I think toys with batteries get changed a lot less the more kids I have!) Once, the batteries were changed, he went and grabbed a toy guitar and handed it to me to play and then he went back to the piano to play and sing. If I put the guitar down to take a picture, he would get up and put it back in my hands & start pushing buttons on it showing me what to do, then go back to the piano! He's got the idea at just 15 months! So, we had a little band practice, right then!


I Wonder Where He Gets This?

First Day of Kindergarten!!!

Wow! I still have trouble believing it, but Abby is now in Kindergarten! Where has the time gone? Is she really that old? Am I really old enough to have a Kindergartener?

Abby started Kindergarten last Wednesday & is absolutely loving school! I knew she would as she loves to learn & loves making new friends!

I do have to say, though, it was not easy letting her get on the bus that first morning! I kept my composure until she was up the steps of the bus and couldn't see my face close enough to know that I was about to lose it. She just looked so small climbing those HUGE steps on to that big bus! It took everything in me not to follow that bus all the way to school!


Waiting for the Bus
There She Goes...

More Wedding Pics

FINALLY....Wedding Pic's!

I know...I'm way behind....once again. I'm beginning to think this is the story of my life! Anyway, so many of you have asked to see pictures from my sister, Emily's wedding back in June. So, here are a few pictures from her special day!


Cousins

Sisters (& Messy Faces)

Em...Ready to Walk Down the Aisle

Mommy with My Girls!

Our Little Family...Minus Aidan

Daddy & His Girls

Flowergirls...Taking Their Job Very Seriously

Em & Dad





Almost Husband & Wife

First Dance as Husband & Wife

Aidan Carter @ 1 Year

Ally's 3 Year Pictures

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I'm in Denial....My Little Man is 1!

Yes, I think I'm still in denial. Aidan turned 1 on May 30th. He's growing up so fast. Aidan is such a happy boy & we all enjoy playing with him, and really wouldn't know what to do if he wasn't a part of our family. We had a birthday party and invited all of his little friends from church.

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Memorial Day

We spent Memorial Day with some special friends in New Jersey. All of our kids are very close in age & had so much fun together. Here is Clay & Abby enjoying the fun of water shooters.







Thank you, Jusin, Lee Anne, Clay, Hallee, & Caden for a great day! We can't wait to get together again!


After leaving the Dyer's home in New Jersey, we headed to a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game. We had such a great night as a family....here are some pictures of our fun evening!

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A Busy May

I didn't really realize until just last week, when I finally unloaded our camera's memory stick on to my laptop, that we had quite a busy month of May. We had some significant events happen in May & I thought I'd just do a quick catch-up for all of you.

Abby finished her year of Preschool, but before that Mommy, Ally & Aidan got to join her for a field trip to a local farm. I have to admit, my girls are definitely city girls! It's kind of funny to see how they act around animals and on a farm after I grew up on a farm with animals most of my life.

Abby & The Peacock....We Were Hoping It Would Open Its Feathers, but No Such Luck


The Kids Got to Touch a Peacock Egg....So Cool!


A Mommy Pig with Her New Babies...the kids got to pet a baby pig & thought that was great!



Then, on May 21st Abby graduated from Preschool. We started the day with a fun fair at school & then a program where the kids sang some songs for us & graduated.




























Aidan Singing As We Wait For the Program to Start


Abby & Her Teachers....Mrs. Z & Mrs. Rhoads

Early Mother's Day Surprise

David is at a Pastor's retreat right now in Western PA and told the girls that a package would be coming on Thursday and that Abby needed to make sure she got it. She thought she needed to hide it and not let me have it until Mother's Day, but Daddy called and talked to her yesterday and let her know that she needed to have Mommy open it right away.

So, last night the girls were very excited to help me open the box that said "ProFlowers" on the outside! :)

We opened up the most beautiful TWO dozen roses! The girls helped me get a vase ready and put the "flower food" in the water and then after I trimmed each stem, the girls took turns putting the flowers in the vase. They were thrilled....it made me enjoy the flowers even more, just by watching their excitement. Abby just kept saying, "This was Daddy's idea....This is a great surprise!....Daddy has great ideas!" It was so fun!

I also had the most precious note included with the flowers, and I'd love to share it with you!

To the best mom in the whole world! You serve so tiredlessly & unselfishly to help meet the daily demands of our family. You deserve flowers every day for all the wonderful ways you take such precious care of all of us. We can never tell you enough how much we love you! muhrffmm u 7u89.lAjaj8AZz (Aidan typed that) Love, David, Abby, Ally & Aidan

I LOVE YOU ALL MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY!

Sleepy Boy

Aidan was teething terribly this day and was having so much trouble getting a good nap so I ended up bringing him down to the couch and laid with him. He finally fell sound asleep....

Ally with Pigtails....isn't she cute?

Reading Phillies Game

A couple of weeks ago we went to a Reading Phillies baseball game. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed time with friends and as a family.
























Abby Meeting Quack the Duck






















Cool Dude!


Aidan Loves To Be Upside Down...