Good friends make a happy heart.

I saw this picture today and it made me very happy. Andrea, I miss you so much! I wish i could visit you in Equador.

Thanksgiving in San Francisco

At the last minute we decided to go to San Fran the week of Thanksgiving to visit Tony's grandparents. What a trip! We got to see the Bakers - what a blast - I heart the Bakers. We also got some quality time with some of Tony's extended family. First of all I love Tony's family so much. I must have the best in-laws in the whole world because I just don't know how it could get any better. Additionally, his extended family is so awesome. I met some family members for the first time and got to know some that I've only connected with a few times. Family is so important, what a blessing. It only makes me a little sad that we will leave the country in a bit and be so far away. But oh the joy that fills our hearts knowing they love and support us.

Monroeville & Prophetic Prayer

So far in our travels one of the highlights has been the missions convention at Monroeville Assembly. It was a 5 day celebration of missions and a true blessing for us. Lori (pastor Lance's wife) planned everything with her team and it was simply amazing. It brought the term "Missions Convention" to a whole new level for me. The best part was that we felt like we really connected with people. We saw them 4 days in a row and had deep conversations. I really feel like they know who we are and it is such a comfort to know they will be praying for us. Tony and I joked that there were 2 things they made sure of, 1. we weren't under feed (very important in the A/G) and 2. we weren't under prayed for - we were prayed over so much I feel like we could go right now and we'd have such an amazing prayer covering we'd do great things. However something happened in one of the final prayer sessions that took me off guard, prophetic prayer. It was so amazing how this group of a dozen or so people prayed with such knowledge. They call their group FireStarters and boy did they start a fire. It was very sobering and humbling that God would speak to us the words he did, and also inspiring - I want to be a firestarter. The amazing thing was there were 3 other missionaries with us who they prayed for and each had a prophetic message that was right on - oh to be that close to Jesus. There is no greater gift then a word from the Lord. Additionally at the close of the convention we debriefed a little with the pastor and his wife and he also had a word for us the just resounded with our spirits - Fear Not. God is good. -- all the time.

Hotel Bliss

So we are on a long stretch of hotel days and nights which is very interesting with 2 young boys. The first 3 nights we were in different places but now we are in the same hotel for a few nights, in Meadville, PA (aka home of the zipper). Today was an eventful day, Brady and I spent 3 full hours in the pool, ate at the Cracker Barrel, and had DQ for desert after an in room dinner. There are surly some challenges to this type of a life - we happen to have one pack-n-play set up in the bathroom which makes it a bit challenging to use the potty after 8.30 - there is the constant planning and thinking ahead to possible problems, the car naps, and the driving driving driving -- but honestly we are having a lot of fun. There are so many light little things that happen every day that keep us laughing and we are so happy to be together. Here are some funny things: I got Brady the Little People Noah's Arc toy - since we are in a hotel, I like to have one new thing to help entertain them and he loves animals. I've been saving them for Meadville since we're going to be here a while. He saw the box the first night and just stared at it, no fit or anything just staring at it. The next night he saw it and named all of the animals, then he kept asking Big Dad for them - "Big Dad" I want one of those zebras".... it was so cute and he was so patient. When we gave it to him tonight he was so happy. The other day when we were leaving McDonalds he saw a half sucked lollipop in the ashtray and tried to grab it. Today when we were leaving the pool it was so cold and Brady was running down the halls screaming in his Mr. Incredible swim suit. McKinley is starting to bite which shouldn't be funny but he laughs every time and it is so funny. Brady talks himself to sleep every night and says the funniest thing, usually he ends up putting himself in time out and apologizing to everyone he can think of. I don't know if these make you laugh but they fill my heart with happiness.

Trick or Treat

What a fun night. Brady, Mac and I went to my parents neighborhood for Trick or Treat.
This year was the best because Brady was actually old enough to care. In
fact, I had bought him a monkey costume like Mac's but while we were at
the Kjos' in Michigan he found a ,Mickey Mouse costume that fit
almost perfect and so I took the monkey back and he got to be his
favorite character. He couldn't have been happier. He really loves candy
now too so it was a double bonus. Since his hands were covered with
Mickey hands he had some trouble reaching into the baskets full of
candy but when he figured it out, he just kept grabbing and noone was
stopping him. It was so cute and funny. He was a little scared of kids
in masks and those with face paint but he was a good sport. He kept
saying, "Brady was scared, Pa was scared, Mommy was scared" - and he
was money with "Trick or Treat" - Mac and Kaiden were twin monkeys
riding around behind Brady. They kind of got ripped off since they
couldn't talk but some people managed to fill up their little basket. I
wonder who will eat that candy?

Jennifer Garner - my new BFF

Okay so perhaps I am a bit of a freak - but I love Jennifer Garner. For my birthday Liz gave me Alias season 1 - When Tony and I started watching it - we were totally addicted until we finished out season 5. For those who have not seen the entire series it is addictively awesome! We watched at least 2 episodes a day for a couple of months and were extremely sad when it ended. At one point I felt like I knew Sydney Bristow and her dad Jack. I wondered what was happening in the lives of Sydney and Michael Vaghun and at times I caught myself thinking of them. There is a slight obsession that comes from watching a show everyday. So when I saw Jennifer Garner on TV in MI - talking about her play on Broadway I wanted to go. Tony made it happen for me. The play was good - Cyrano - it was one of the cleaner shows we've seen. And the actors were just amazing. After it was all over during the standing ovation we made for the doors to get close enough for a pic. When she came out the door my heart was beating so fast. She was so nice and so pretty - and I said "Can I get a picture with you, you are so my favorite" and she said "awe, you are my favorite" -- ha ha -- isn't that so funny. So Jen, is my new BFF.... and I am a little bit of a stalker.

A day in The Big Apple

Tony and I love New York and we rarely get to go by ourselves, but when we do, oh the good times we have. We did so much yesterday and we had so much fun. We toured Radio City Music Hall and NBC studios and we went to the Top of the Rock... so fun. We met a Rockett and saw a show. It was a great Grown Up day. Jules was so great to watch the boys and Kay spent the night since we were home late. I am so thankful for the opportunities to do fun things like this. Tony is the best at making adventures happen.

A PA Fall

After Reading Ellie Chase's Ode to Fall I feel inspired to write one of my own. I do love the fall, the crisp air, the cool mornings the colorful leaves, the ending of another great summer. However the fall here as felt a little like fall and a little more like an unending summer. On Monday we had a Mops day at Ashcombe Farms - it was a sunny hot day. I think it was like 90 degrees. I wanted some cute pics of the boys next to pumpkins but it just looks funny with them in shorts and red hot faces. A few days later it was more like fall and I got some cute pics of them in the leaves in our front yard. That is the one thing that stinks about the fall. We literally have a million leaves to rake. Here is the start of a lot of work... Luckily it is a lot of fun for Brady.

A Great Sunday

This is the start of a series of blogs I've been meaning to write, so if you've gotten this far you are all caught up. Sorry for so much at once but you know how it is with kids and what not. This was such a great Sunday for several reasons. We got to go to church with my cousin Kari who attends Central Christian in Baltimore, MD. This is a significant church to my family because when we first decided to follow Jesus we attended here. Now they are in a beautiful bulding but at the time they met in a school. It was a really neat service. One surprise was that there was a guest speaker, a missionary nonetheless, Butch Frey from Mexico City. I was so excited! When I was at CBC I had the opportunity to go to dinner at the Frey house several times. We talked about life and missions and it was so awesome to hear him again. Afterward we got to chat with him in Pastor Terry's office while Tony and Pastor Joel talked about Montana. (so much conversation is generated because of MT). After that awesome moment we went to visit my cousin Shawn and his wife Steph who just had a baby girl named Miranda. She was so precious. After that we had lunch at my favorite restaurant The Macaroni Grill -- mmm ---My goal when I go is to drink as much Mango Tea and eat as much bread as possible. Then I eat a few bites of my meal and save the rest for lunch. It makes me happy just thinking about it!

Original Sin

Brady's little life has been filled with firsts - first steps, first words, first ice cream cone. Last night was his first lie. It is unreal how kids don't have to be taught to do wrong. No one had to show Brady how to hurt Mac. No one had to teach him how to be disobedient... and now lies. Here is the story. We are working on potty training which is a very long and tedious process. (side note: there is nothing funnier then hearing potty training stories of adults that you know - P.Tom shared a good one today about Andrea and I laughed out loud). Every time Brady uses the potty he gets a treat (positive reinforcment) - which is 2 M&Ms. Well he is a sugar freak. The kid loves all things sugar. So he was begging me for another treat and he had just used the potty 2 times within 10 minutes so I knew he was working the system. So I said "you only get M&Ms when you use the potty" - so he said "okay" and went upstairs, rustled some things in the bathroom and came out saying "I did it, I went potty" -- Well the boy does not yet know how to pull down his own pants but he knows how to lie. Thanks Adam.

Travel Travel Travel

What a great trip - we've had so much fun and connected with so many old friends. It's been so great hanging out with PJ and Kim and we got to see some friends in Chicago - From old youth group friends like Don Champion to college floor friends like Ischee and one of my girlz like Jenni - it really has been great. It is a little stressful taking care of everyone and everything too - we'll be back to PA on Thursday -- or Friday!

Ah Vacation

So we went on vacation last week and we are in MI this week with a few of my favorite people in the whole world. Vacations are a funny thing. I really felt like we needed to make some fun family memories at the start of all this crazy travel, so to OC we went. We stayed on the boardwalk which was fun and they had an indoor pool which Brady loved. He has become quite the swimmer. He owned the pool. Since school was in session and it was mid week there weren't many people which made it seem so weird. Brady is at an awkward stage. He loves to have fun but he hates for the fun to end. Every time we transition activities it like Whine Fest 2007. When we were at the zoo he never wanted to leave any of the animals. It was like I had to drag him along whining. Then in OC we went in the Kite Loft and everything he saw he wanted to play with all day even though there were much cooler things to see and do. I know he just doesn't understand but it gets so old. Brad thinks that perhaps that is the way we are with God sometimes and he has to drag us along to the bigger and better things. Who knows, I just think the terrible twos are really tough. ug.

Where do they learn these things?

Today Brady impressed me with 2 new things. CLA has a new ministry Kiosk thing with a touch screen video. I was intriged and wanted to look at it. There was a world map up and the first thing Brady said was "see Greece" and he pointed to the general area in which we would live. I was so impressed, he picks up on things so quick. Also recently he has been uber into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. So we downloaded some of the songs off of Utube so he could watch online when it wasn't on TV since it only comes on at 8.30am and we don't have DVDs yet. So there are only so many times you can listen to Hot Dog Hot Dog Hot Diggidy Dog when you fell like you are about to go insane. We have to keep asking him "How old are you Brady?" and he reminds us, "TWO!!!!!" Anyways, I was trying to do something really quick on the computer and of course he wanted to watch Mickey Mouse and I was trying to ignore him so I could just check on this bill real quick - so he grabbed my chin and turned my face toward him real close and said "Mommy, Listen to me, watch Mickey Mouse" it was so funny I just about feel over. I must have done that to him before but I don't remember and he is just picking up on everything - unfortunatley.

My first Pentecostal handshake

When we were at Lancaster First on Wednesday I received my first Pentecostal handshake. It was an awkward moment for some reason. We had a great service with such a great group of people who were really receptive and inspired by what we shared. It was a great night. Following the service there were serveral people who talked to us and commited to pray for us and then it came. During this iteneration time I have been truly blessed by the generoucity of God's people. We want them to believe in us and the call God has placed on our heart. However my family history makes it so contrary to everything I have grown up with. Every time you give my parents something, or do something for them the say "you don't have to do that" or "you shouldn't have done that". They are doers and givers and not takers --- but the thing about that is it is a blessing to be the giver. So when everything in me wants to say to that sweet generous lady "no you don't need to give me that $50 bill we're fine" -- the reality is that - yes we are missionaries and need every penny and why take from someone the joy of giving. It's just like we never out grow fighting over things, whether it is a toy or the remote control, the biggest piece of pizza or the check after dinner. Perhaps it is just human nature.

A Monumental Day

No picture will be added to this post for obvious reasons but I just have to write about it. I end this day on a most joyful note. In fact I do not remember the last time I was this joyful. It was a monumental day in the life of young Brady and a day of rejoicing for the hope of tomorrow. If you are wondering what could bring these feelings upon a young mother well there are many but this one takes the cake. Tonight Brady pee peed on the potty for the very first time. applause! He was so proud, I was so proud, it was a beautiful moment. I pray there will be many more such moments in the days and weeks to come, but for now I rejoice in this great accomplishment. Perhaps when he graduates high school or college, or gets recruited to play QB for some high ranking college team I will be more proud but for now I can't even imagine it.

Kiss it and make it better

Here is another thought provoked by the wonderful life of Brady Sebastian (corresponding picture to be added tomorrow). The other day Brady was doing some wild jumps in the tub, splashing water everywhere. One jump was especially out of control and he crashed his nose against the bottom which sent the tears flowing. This was a clear sign that bath time was over so I got him from the tub and wrapped him in his towel and tried to console him. "Hurt nose" he said "Kiss it". Oh it was so cute, so as the tears flowed, I kissed his little nose and some how it was majic and all the pain was gone. He stopped crying and we proceeded with the evening. It is so amazing what one little comforting kiss does for that little boy. Afterward you can ask him "all better?" and he'll say "better" -- and it is totally over.
In some ways it makes me think why does it take me so long to get over stuff? When I hurt myself I want to whine about it for hours... Like the other day when I burned my neck with the curling iron - there is nothing quite like burning your own flesh that ruins your day. What is it about getting old that takes the power of a kiss away?

The boys first baseball game

The Obsession of Fear

We took the boys to the Orioles game on Tuesday night. It was completly spontanous which makes it so much fun. I think some people looked at us like we were crazy, but oh what a memory. Brady loves baseball and was very excited, until he saw the Oriole mascot - then he was thrilled. He kept saying "see bird, see bird". The bird went away during the beginning of the game but returned around the 2nd inning. Brady went nuts, so Tony (or Big Dad as Brady calls him) - took him over to see him and get a picture. When Tony got close it was only seconds before Brady's fears overtook him and he bagan to cry. He was slightly tramatized but by the time he got back to me he wanted to see the bird again. At the 7th inning stretch the bird was about 300 ft. away from us and Brady's "see bird" plee turned into a scared whimper. It's so funny how kids can become obsessed with things that scare them. Like they are trying to overcome their fear and then change their mind. Sometimes I am so that way. I want to do the things I am afraid of until it comes time to actually do them. This Greece thing is going to be one of those times, but there is no turning back now - we will see the bird.

What a cute boy!

My Favorite Boys

Sharing is caring - right Dave?

I love my life and I love my family -

Entering the blogging world.

Here I am late Monday night entering into the wonderful world of blogging. I guess partly because I need the disipline to write stuff down and partly because I love to look back and see how I've grown. But I guess mostly because I just want to be cool. :) just joking.