He always provides

 Matthew 6:26-30 

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

 

The story I am about to write is one I have heard over and over again. Something I have lived out on a daily basis, something I strive to teach my children but on a continually basis I am beginning taught the same song and dance over and over again.

God ALWAYS provides 

The story really begins the day I was born. . . the story continues through adolescence and on into adulthood. 

He always provides. 

But the story became real to me in 2010 when we put our home of 6 years on the market to be sold. We moved into our home in 2005 as a newlywed couple and brought home 2 children to that home and I hoped, at that time, we would be able to bring home number 3 before moving out.
Our house was listed in March 2010 with a well known realtor in the Anchorage area, nothing happened and after 6 months we decided to go with our gut and leave the realtor and list with a close friend of ours who is also a realtor. September to November our house was being shown almost once a week. My due date for baby Abel #3 came and went, we had an offer on our home and we went into contract. But God had perfect timing and the man buying our home gave us until the end of December to move out. Plenty of time to have a baby, pack a house, celebrate Christmas and move. In literally that order. Number 3 was born on Dec 8th and I started packing Dec 10th. We had my ENTIRE family to our, almost, packed home for Christmas Day and on Dec 28th we locked the door and walked out of of our home for the last time. I was able to bring home baby #3 to that house, just like I had hoped for.
God Provided.

Back up just a little. . . 

We had no where to go. . . we were planning on moving to Yakima, but we still had 3 months before we drove out of Alaska. Finding a short term rental, month to month lease with a dog was proving to be difficult. 

I picked up the phone and called a dear friend of mine, crying, I told her our situation and we prayed on the phone for God to work a miracle. This phone call was on Dec 20th. We had to be out of the house Dec 28th. 

Our friend called one of her friends who happened to have a rental property in Anchorage. Dave talked with the landlord and it was set we had a place to move for the next 3 months. The best part was that this landlord and his wife became one of our closest friends and we are still really great friends to this day.
God Provided!

After we left Anchorage in March we headed out for a Summer long road trip not having a place to call home at the end of the summer in Yakima where Dave would be attending school. About May we found a house that would work for us, but we did not plan to be in Yakima until July. The landlords were willing to hold the rental on Morning side drive for 3 months with a small security deposit.
God provided!  

While living his Yakima we met wonderful friends through Dave's school, church and Young Life. One of these friends had a rental property that had a fenced in backyard and with Caleb starting to get around I knew this would be a wonderful thing. After being in Morning Side for a year we decided to pack up our family and move up the street to a smaller house with a large fenced in yard for less rent.
It was beautiful to see God provide the fenced yard in his perfect timing.  

Well, now our two years in Yakima are up and we received official news that we would be returning home to Alaska in May 2013. We are very excited about this move,  but this move came with a lot of reservations. We know that the rent in Alaska is double what we pay here for less of a house. After a lot of prayer we knew that our only need was to have a fenced in yard and a garage. Everything else beyond that was going to be a bonus. We began our search in January and it was hard to see what was being offered. We kept our hearts and minds focused on God and what he had for us. We continued to pray for a fenced yard and maybe a garage. 

On a side note a friend of mine called and told me the house next to her was vacant. (We will call this house Yellow) I loved the idea. But I knew that it would be out of our price rang and I continued to look on craigslist.  My friend decided to write to the owner of the home but still I knew it was a far fetched idea and continued to look.  

Then it happened. I found a home that would work for us (I will call this house Green) and it was in our budget. I put in an application and hoped for the best. 

Lots of prayer. . . lots of wonder. . . lots of tears. . . but most of all prayer.
I had to trust God to provide exactly what we needed.
Remember all we NEED is a roof over our heads and that can be provided in so many different ways. I know deep in my heart that our friends would never leave us homeless, I knew that God would provide a roof, even if it was under someone elses roof.

The owner of that Yellow House called Dave!! He wanted to rent us his home!!

That same night the owner of the Green house called us and told us we had been approved to rent her home!!

Both of these homes landed in our budget!
GOD ALWAYS PROVIDES!! 

For many reasons, we chose the Yellow House. The perfect house for us. It has a fenced in backyard and a garage. 

Everything else in this house is a bonus. . . a bonus only God could provide. The timing of how everything happened was something only an all knowing God can do. The generosity of the gentleman renting his house to us is only because God softened his heart to bless us in an awesome way. 

I sit in awe of the story I just told. I left out many details but the message of my story is one of an awesome and all knowing God. A God who knows our hearts desire, but provides in His time and in His plan rather than ours. He molded and shaped my heart to fit into his perfect plan; it is good.

  I am in love with a powerful God who knows better then I do.
Learning this is something I work through each day and I am not sure if I will ever learn it fully. But maybe this keeps me on my toes, begging him to intervene asking him to provide, raising my hands, palms up, offering up nothing in hope that He is going to, once again, be my everything.
He knows our desires. . . he knows our heart. He is Good all the time. 

 

 

One more bonus! This house happens to be right next door to this beautiful family!! 

We are EXCITED!!!  

  

 

 

 

 

A quick update for 2013

BENN: Benn is 7 now and growing like a weed. At 4 foot 2inches my little boy is not so little anymore. He is a big help around the house and is always eager to lend a hand. Since I have been sick with this pregnancy he has stepped up and helped me make sure daily chores get done. He is quick to get his school work done and knows that if all is done quick and well he gets to play outside for the rest of the day. He is so wonderful to have around for great conversation, questions and of course his little snuggles. He may be big, but he still needs to snuggle his mommy. He is missing Josiah a little has he can not do as much with his broken leg. But Benn makes the best of it and loves to build lots of lego creations with his brother or read to him.

  Bike riding is a big deal in the summer. The kids race around and try not to hit one another. Benn and JJ love to build jumps and they look forward to hard core mountain biking with daddy in the future.

 JOSIAH: In the current pictures our little man is moving and grooving with two workings legs. His story of the broken leg is down a few inches. But Josiah is a beaming, growing, glowing and animated 4 year old, soon to be 5 this May. 5!!! Oh my where does the time go?? He is eager to learn and does not have a hard time keeping up with his brother's school work. He is learning quickly to read and loves to add in his head. He favorite past time (with a healed leg) is to bike ride. He would much rather be outside rain or shine biking, running, kicking, jumping or hiding. He makes us laugh and knows how to love others around him. He is also a big help with chores and enjoys helping out around the house.

Caleb on his new wheels

 We attempted to make un-popable bubbles the other day. While they did pop, they were still a lot of fun to play with. I think Caleb had the most fun with them. 

 CALEB: I am not sure where to start with this 2 year old boy. His first year he was so laid back and easy going. But this past year has proven that he is busy and not going to let anyone slow him down. He keeps up in all areas, running, jumping and talking. If Benn and JJ does it, he does too. Maybe modified but he does it. I am continually baffled by his knowledge of the world around him. He tells me if I have turned the wrong way while driving if we are not going to the place he desires. He keeps me on my toes. He has to be doing something productive each moment he is awake. Often he draws a picture and then loves to cut it up. He glues things to other things and he can play with play dough like he is making a sculpture. He is also getting quit good at building legos. Motorcycles are his most favorite thing as of now and get a kick out of seeing them each day.

Caleb's first dentist appointment

 Josiah deiced that we needed a little more adventure in our life and decided to break both his tibia and fibula. It was a complete fracture and had to be set and then a cast all the way up to his thigh. He is a trooper and can get himself around very well. He can do most things by himself in a modified way. He is proud to sport that cast.

Cannon Beach Retreat

The Christian Medical and Dental Association has retreats all over the United States often and we had the privilege of getting to go to the one hosted by the Cannon Beach Christian Retreat Center in February 2013. The speaker, John Patrick, was full of wisdom and advice, not only for Doctors-to-be, but for new Doctors, seasoned Doctors, retired Doctors and spouses. He is a great man who values God, family and life.
We enjoyed the retreat and so did our boys. There were programs set up just for them and their specific age groups. They had activities, arts and crafts and bible story time. They loved our children well while Dave and I were able to be refreshed by the speaker. It was a great time and I hope we will be able to return again someday.

 Caleb was NOT a fan of the sand in between his toes.

 They loved digging!

 The famous Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach Oregon.

Going home

It is official! We bought our tickets for home!!!

128 days from Jan 9, 2013 

until

May 17, 2013

 Courtney, Benn, JJ and Caleb will land May 17th (Super late) with Dave's mom Ann. Dave and his Father will drive from Yakima to Alaska starting May 18th. 

We are excited to see home again. . . Alaska and it's beauty!

 We are REALLY excited to eat Mooses Tooth again

 We are really SUPER excited to see our wonderful friends again

and we are also excited to see our church family and Courtney's family

Merry Christmas

We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and also give a quick update on what is going on with us. 

We spent the first part of the year getting Dave through his 2nd semester of his first year of med school. 

Benn and I moved us to a new house with a fenced in backyard and, with the help of Grandparents, we purchased a big trampoline and I never saw my children again! They finished off the spring jumping their hearts out.

 We were excited for school to end because #1 we would have Daddy all to ourselves and #2 in May we were headed for Alaska.

(There are many posts about our Alaska trip)

When we returned home at the end of July we recovered for a couple days and then packed up and headed out for a week long camping adventure. We found a few great camping spots but really enjoyed our time in Chinook Pass. The weather was warm, the bugs were minimal and the time was memorable! (There is a post about that too)

 In August a sweet couple from Dave's school received a special gift. This little guy below is Harvey and that is his beautiful mother Marie. He is a special little guy and holds a special place in my heart. We prayed and prayed for this little man and God provided, protected, healed and saved him along with many hearts. I love you sweet little Harvey, and I love your mommy too!!

 A few other highlights of the fall are as follows

 Caleb learned to paint. . . with colors and his food.

 We picked a lot of fresh produce. Blueberries, pears, apples, peaches, cherries, nectarines and raspberries. We attempted to freeze and can most of wonderful finds, but ended up just eating it!!

 We took the kids to a small circus that came to town. We did not leave them there as they requested.

 Benn and JJ learned to shoot their Red Rider BB gun handed down from their Daddy.

 We smiled a lot and played tons!

 We traveled to Spokane to see our friends the Philips and my dear friend Terry, who moved there from Alaska.

 Dave went Mountain biking with his buddy Bryan a few times. . . . many times. . . A LOT!!!

 We went blueberry picking a lot!!

my canned pears

 My mom, her husband and my sister came to visit. We drove them all around and showed them the joys of Yakima and then we took my mom to a local winery to taste local wines, of course, and also to see a real vineyard up close.

 The State Fair came to town. JJ and Benn milked a cow for their first time.

 Caleb enjoyed feeding the goats, pigs, donkeys and more. A greedy goat tried to steal all of JJ's feed. JJ was not very happy.

 Benn participated in his first ever tractor pull competition and loved it. JJ competed too but was not that thrilled.

 Caleb rode his first pony and was not very happy when it stopped walking. He said "Go, GO"

 He also milked a cow

 We really enjoyed the fair and all the fun things to learn about. We saw a horse show, a horse trainer, tigers, lions, many farm animals, Lego structures, clowns and so much more. While we had a lot fun and really enjoyed ourselves we are looking forward to the Alaska state fair next year!!!!

 I scored two scooters at a garage sale and we took them out on the Greenway to try them out.

 Caleb got to go trick-or-treating this year for his very first time. Notice the green grass in the background? We will be trick-or-treating in the snow next year!!!

I would like these for my school room

 The boys and I made a day of it getting a few pumpkins to carve. Benn helped while JJ and Caleb refused to touch the insides.

 Dave decided that having a table at home to practice his OPP was necessary. The kids thought the same thing and enjoyed taking turns having a massage.

 Benn and JJ started piano lessons again and Benn has enjoyed learning how to play with two hands. We really enjoy our piano teacher and are really sad to be leaving Mrs. Renee.

 Fall brought down all the leaves from our maple tree in the backyard. We raked them into piles and the boys all enjoyed jumping in.

 Caleb learned that piggy back rides on big brother are fun

 Dave built the kids a pirate ship and they sailed away on some amazing adventures!

  JJ became Captain America!!

And then on a very special Sunday, it finally SNOWED IN YAKIMA!!! We built a fun snowman that only lasted a couple hours as it warmed up and began to ran. Good-bye frosty. We will miss you. 

Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to check out our current happenings. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New year!!

Oh yes!! 
We are having another baby in June 2013!! 

We are very excited and blessed to be having another baby. We look forward to the new adventure of having 4 children.