Thursday, May 29, 2008

Thursday






It's Thursday already, the week has flewn by! I (Kathy) woke up this morning and realized that Carson was still sleeping (this has never happened before). He usually gets up a couple hours before I do, but he is not feeling well today and he very rarely gets sick and we have 2 really big days ahead of us of packing and then several days of driving ahead of us as well. We need God's grace right now and health to be able to accomplish all we need to do in the next few days.


Last Sunday was our last Sunday @ Siloam and we were commissioned and officially 'sent off'. Siloam has been our church home for over 3 years and being away from there is going to be like being away from 'home'. In a sense though, when we go, we take Siloam with us. After a lunch w/ family on Sunday we had dinner w/ our dear friends Dallas and Fern on Sunday night and on Monday after a very productive day of packing w/ my friend Lynette we had a cookout at the Mast farm back in the woods with immediate family along with Hochstetler aunts, uncles, and cousins, which was a very nice time and very 'entertaining'. My brother brought his baby calf and lamb (they are best buds) back to the woods and Dakota just loved them! She stood and watched them and laughed at them. The cow was tied up and then she got loose and wandered over towards the pond, along with the lamb, and shortly after we heard a large splash and saw that the cow had fallen into the pond! This troubled the lamb and she started 'baaahing'. The cow managed to get out of the pond, I'm not sure if she was swimming or what you would call that, but when she got out she and the lamb took off running as fast as they could and didn't stop until they got up to the house. There is always an adventure at the Mast farm.


Tuesday we had pizza with our neighbors and it was a nice break after packing for 5 hours. Carson spent the day detailing and washing/waxing cars for his aunt and grandma for a little extra income and then he dropped our jeep off to get fixed by Gerald, a friend from our small group. Wednesday we had to go to the doctor to get our physicals which is a requirement for Ywam. Before we went there we had lunch at Grandma Emma's along w/ aunt Becky and then we had the treat of sitting and talking and praying with Grandma's pastor John and his family. He blessed us tremendously with the words that he spoke to us, and we had just met him.


Okay, Carson's up and he seems to be feeling better. When he first woke up and came out into the living room I said "you look aweful" and he replied "same to you"...ha. All in love of course.


So we have a big day ahead of us, and may God grant all of us just what we need for today. Is that a little girl I hear from the next room?

"I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me." (Philippians)

Friday, May 23, 2008

Letting go of material things...

Last night we packed up most of Dakota's things, like her crib, her first car seat, changing table, snuggli, boppy (if you have any idea what those last 2 things are), her stroller + clothes, and dropped them off to one of my good friends who is having a baby. At first it was hard to think about giving away all of her things b/c they are sentimental to me and also thinking 'what if we have another one', but God is giving me the strength to let these material things go and I am also reassured that just as he has provided for us the things that Dakota needs, he will also provide if we should have another little one.

Dakota is already acclamated to sleeping in her pack-n-play (portable crib) and actually really likes it! She begged to sleep in it when we pulled it out the other night, so I guess we don't need to worry about that. She'll be just fine in her portable crib which will be her bed for at least the next 6 months.

Today we also packed up our coffee table + 2 end tables that Carson made before we got married (we've decided that we want to keep them) and took them to Carsons parents to store. So now we will all share Dakota's little table (the only one left) for the next week, if she will share with us.

Tonight we had an 'international' dinner w/ some friends who I was in China with a few years ago and we ate really good food and had great conversations! I was encouraged tonight that we all need to 'keep our eyes on God alone b/c he is the author of our lives and our sole provider.' He has been, is, and will be faithful to each one of us. He can be no other. Obedience to Him is what is most important and if we are obedient, he will take care of everything else.

Dakota was outnumbered by boys 4-1, but she can hold her own pretty well. At one point in the night I heard a commotion and looked over and saw her holding a large orange bat and our friend's little boy next to her screaming. Either she took it from him (this is probably the case) or he wanted it for himself. She has lost so much weight this week from being sick that at one point in the night i looked over and her pants had completely fallen down around her ankles :) She is pretty much back to her normal self and we are so thankful. This was our last night that we plan on cooking so tomorrow we will finish packing up the kitchen (does anyone need chili powder or other spices?) Let us know and if we have it, it's yours!

"And may the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:7)

Thursday, May 22, 2008

One more week ...




We'll, we've just finished celebrating Dakota's 2nd birthday and one of Dakota's presents was a bad virus that she contracted from 'we don't know where'. It started out with vomit and after a short while turned into bad diarreah (ask Carson about this). We are so thankful that she is feeling better, it has been 5 days since the virus hit and she is almost fully recovered. She is still pretty weak, but she is getting her strength back quickly. We are getting ready to embark upon our last week before leaving for Salem, Oregon. As most of you know we are going out to a YWAM base and will be doing a 5-6 month Discipleship Training School, with the first 3 months being in Salem, Oregon and the last 2-3 months in a foreign country which is yet to be decided. We'll let you know how crazy this weekend and this next week end up being...there's so much to do! By the way, the pictures are of 1) Dakota was so weak the other night after having a bad bout of diarreah that she decided to lay down and sleep on the kitchen floor, so Carson laid down next to her 2) we have the baby backpack ready for this adventure ahead of us, we are leaving the stroller behind 3) Dakota eating her birthday cupcake, more like licking it, she never did get to the cake part.