Kindergarten, Africa and Fall

Well, hey there friends!  It's been a whirlwind since we stepped back into routine from Patrick's study break.  A sweet time to prepare us for a packed fall!  

John Ryman started Kindergarten and loves his class... as long as he gets 12 hours of sleep. ;)  Vera is now in the 2-day preschool JR was in last year and thinks she is big stuff!  It's all about the backpack and outfit she chooses each week.  Thanks to a Mom's Morning Out program for Bauer, I now have my quiet, uninterrupted 3 hours a week that I sure missed over the summer!  

This fall season is bringing anticipation and excitement for all God is going to do through His church with the launch of our new West campus.  There were over 500 people yesterday on our first Sunday! 

In addition to all of the above, I just retuned home from Nairobi last night!  Once the jet lag wears off and my suitcase is unpacked, I'll share some stories about the beautiful people of Kenya and a church that is on the move in powerful ways.  And maybe a few lion photos ;) 

Hope you all are well and settling in for a rich fall season.  

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall."

F. Scott Fitzgerald

(Thinking of Fitzgerald and my favorite literature classes in HS... I can't believe it has been 10 years since I graduated High School!  I missed our reunion while in Africa, but I have been reminiscing on so many sweet & hilarious memories from our CAL '07 Class.  I'm so grateful for the impact my classmates had on my life.  I feel like I had such a rare high school experience with friends who loved well & had way too much fun together!)  

I am not in control.

The following quote was shared in my bible study last week. (Children of the Day- Beth Moore)

It was one of those moments Jesus spoke right to me

with conviction, love and freedom.

I knew I needed to print & have it posted so I could be reminded every single day

and maybe this reminder can bring great freedom to you as well.

(feel free to email me everydaypitpat@gmail.com if you would like me to send you this image & quote)

October "Give" Family- The Blandfords

I'm so excited to share with you all the family behind this month's Give scarf. For the entire month of October, all of the profit from the black & white polka dot scarf will be sent straight to the Blandford family to help with their adoption funds.  I've asked Jennifer to share a little more of their adoption story with us...

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We've always known that we were going to adopt.  It was a call God gave me on a mission trip when I was 15 and at the time people thought I was crazy!  As most God-given dreams go, our journey hasn't gone the way we initially imagined.  We were blessed with 2 biological kids before we started our adoption journey.  Currently, we are in our home study and hope to have that completed by January.

The beauty in God writing our story is that he has totally changed our hearts in the process.  We were actually in the beginning stages of an international adoption, when we found out that I was pregnant with our daughter.  We wanted an international adoption because it would be a closed adoption.  Over the last 5 years God has radically changed our hearts and we are now working toward a domestic open adoption.  While we know that this isn't the choice for everyone, we are thankful for this call for us.  

The hardest part of our journey at this point is all the unknowns that await us.  When I was pregnant, we knew that in 9 months we would have a baby in our arms.  There is so much uncertainty about the road ahead.  It can feel overwhelming!

The greatest joy has been how loved and supported we have felt on our journey.  There has been such an outpouring of support by our friends and family.  We are overwhelmed by the way that God is using so many people to bless our family!

God is teaching us so much on this journey!  Patience has been and will continue to be huge for us.  God's timing doesn't always align with our timing and we aren't usually ok with waiting.  We've also learned that it's good to ask for help.  We have reached out to so many people for fundraising opportunities and we have been blown away by peoples' response!  We have continually been met with grace and provision.  We have been repeatedly reminded that God is a faithful provider. 

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If you would like to hear more from Jennifer and her family, you can read updates on their blog {BEBmakesThree}

100% of the profit from the give scarf will go directly to help fund the Blandford's adoption journey.  

Click {here} to purchase a give scarf from my Etsy shop and share with your friends!  

Thrive Moms- Fall Retreat

I shared a few months ago {here} about Thrive Moms- "a ministry for moms to encourage and inspire you to do more than just survive motherhood... walking confidently in who He calls us to be as mothers."  They are doing some amazing things and definitely encourage me with their posts and weekly emails.  I have never been good at scripture memorization, but I've enjoyed using their lock screen wallpapers that coordinate with the week's email as a way to learn scripture and even teach John Ryman.  I might change a word here or there so it makes more sense in his mind-- but it's been precious to learn verses together.  He is way smarter than me too!

I'm really excited about the impact this ministry is having on so many women.  Coming up on Nov. 8th, Thrive is offering a FREE online retreat!  Yoga pants & coffee on your couch... a group of friends & snacks... or sign up to host it a group at your local church.  I love that it caters to our mama lives- no travel time or outrageous fees!  You can read more and register for the retreat on Thrive Mom's website.  Check out the retreat devotionals, cute mugs, and more {here}

I would love to hear from you if you are interested in getting a group together for the Retreat.  If you're in the Evansville, IN or Louisville, KY area and would be interested, leave a comment or email me! I haven't decided what I'm going to do, but y'all may sway my decision :) 
  

The Davidson Fam!

Okay- I took these pictures a long time ago and here they are finally!

Our last few weeks in Dallas were spent with dear friends!  I wish I had taken more pictures of all the sweet families, but that was the last thing on my mind.  The Davidsons were one of those families.  Our best friends that have mainly been long distance although we lived near them in Cincinnati for a little bit and now Texas (for a week and a half!)  When Luke and Kathleen were considering a position at Compass, we knew that things were progressing with Crossroads and that we may not be at Compass when they arrived.  It was so hard to imagine having Kathleen close & getting to spend time with her precious twins all the while knowing it would be for such a short time.  At least we could prepare ourselves :)  We had such a special week with them and we are so grateful to have had even that little time with them.  Kathleen has been blogging about their move as well and did a recent post {here} with some precious pictures.  Wish we had gone out for a real photo shoot with our cameras, but I'm so glad we were able to get a few in before dinner!  These next few are too funny- about as good as you can get with these 3 rascals. 

(I think I was almost 29 weeks pregnant here... I'm to 33 weeks now!  Guess I should do at least one pregnancy post before baby girl arrives :)  Poor 2nd child, maybe tomorrow!)

Hey Friends!

 
Well, friends, we are alive and well.  Sorry for the lack of posts!  As many of you know, we moved across country and are settling in to our new home and life in Evansville, Indiana... more specifically the town of Newburgh.  

 I have lots of posts to do, but needless to say, we have been a little exhausted (more emotionally than physically) around here.  It is quite a transition and we are missing so many dear friends.  While my pregnancy hormones haven't helped my tissue supply, the nesting symptoms are in full swing!  Most of our boxes are unpacked and I have reached the fun part of moving- organizing and decorating.  Hopefully I can update soon with pictures of our new home, nursery plans!??!, diy projects, the cute town of Newburgh and maybe even try to put words on paper about our last few days in Texas and our first home.  I really want to try to keep things up to date on here, so when the fog clears I can have some memory of this time in our lives.  Until then, here are some photos I took of John Ryman this morning by the river.  I am treasuring these special days, just me and my little buddy.  As excited as we are for Vera to join us in less than 2 months, JR and I sure are enjoying our days together exploring a new town and meeting new friends. 

Easter 2013

Did you know that the Easter Bunny sometimes comes early to a preacher's home? Well, we just didn't want to wake up as early as daddy Sunday morning & I knew JR would want some of his goodies for the park after church on Easter.  So... the Easter bunny stopped by Saturday night after a special Easter meal with dear friends :)

He found the package of lizards first and didn't really notice anything else haha!  John Ryman loves to play outside, so he got some spoons and containers for dirt & pebbles, lizards & bubbles!  He also got a "woof woof" book and some peeps (to share with mommy!). 

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday celebrating the Resurrection & the hope we have in Christ!  Patrick preached at our Roanoke campus and it is always so powerful to worship and be reminded of how our lives are forever changed because He is ALIVE! 

After church we had a delicious brunch {FnG Eats} on their patio in Keller.  And of course we had to take advantage of the gorgeous 80 degree weather with a trip to the Keller park!  The furs were extra happy to tag along!

 And this little man sure loves anywhere he can run FREE!

 (Thanks to Mimi for his cute Easter outfit... and his little Robeez were a consignment find on Saturday- perfect!)

 Too bad we didn't get a family pic!  Patrick was eager to change out of his suit and get ready for the CARDS!

 Sweet boy with his first skinned knee... many more to come!  It didn't stop him, just hopped back up and kept running... and he is a FAST runner!

Happy Easter!

few pictures from our Louisville trip

Hello there... sorry it's been awhile!  We have been busy busy & doing a little traveling, maybe one day I'll get caught up on here.  We spent some time in Louisville 2 weeks ago and I only brought my camera with me to visit my dad at church.  It was a wonderful (& cold!) trip- wish I had taken more pictures of JR and the cousins because he sure had fun with them.  Anyways, here are the few I took:

 Some happy CARDS fans :)

My mom thought it was so funny that John Ryman went for the Coca-Cola over Pepsi- one proud Nana B.

 JR's first time visiting Papa D. at work.  I think he found every ball and fragile item in the entire office!