Thankfulness, Sickness, and Decorating Oh My!

We have certainly been busy this past month! As Thanksgiving was approaching I really started to feel homesick. For me the holidays are the hardest being away from family. It is hard to get excited about the planning and all knowing that it will not be the same without our families. That is usually why I try to invite others to spend the holiday with us. Estonians don't traditionally celebrate thanksgiving so we invited another family that is also serving here as missionaries and it just so happens they are also from Texas! They are dear friends of ours and I was hoping that getting together would be a blessing to them. Turns out it was an even bigger blessing for me. I am very happy to say we had a great time and the kids played well together too. We were able to Skype with each of our families later that evening as well, which was priceless. It was great getting to have a little piece of home by speaking to our families and seeing them.

After thanksgiving we all were sick for about a week on and off. Just the crud I think but some of us had it worse than the others. I am thankful to say we are all better now! We also had our first snow around Thanksgiving. Not much and it didn't stay long, but the kids still enjoyed it!

The day after Thanksgiving we always decorate the tree. It is a tradition that I remember from being a kid that we have carried into our family now. Most of my ornaments came from my memaw. She bought us each an ornament as we grew up and gave them to us when we turned 18. They bring back so many memories. We also buy a family ornament each year so we have fourteen of those now! We buy the kids an ornament each year too so that we can given them to them when they turn 18. We watch a Christmas movie after decorating and just enjoy time together. I hope that my kids cherish this time and remember it when they have families of their own like I do.

We are still going to language school and it is getting better. We could not have asked for a better teacher. She teaches towards Justin's level, which is way higher than mine, but then helps me along the way. I am learning to speak more and understanding more. We also have been building on relationships we had last time we lived here. It has been great to get to know them and their child better.

Home school is in full swing. Teaching a child to read to me is by far the hardest thing I have ever done! It was difficult with Kayla and Braeden, but not as hard as it has been this time with Ellie. I was really down about it and trying to figure out what to do. I would pray for patience on my end and hers and to find something that worked for her. When it came down to it I realized the curriculum we use now was not the same one we used for Kayla or Braeden when learning how to read. The curriculum we used for them had a lot of repetition which was lacking in our current curriculum and I think something Ellie really needs. So we decided to buy that curriculum for Ellie and give it a try. We started the new curriculum this week and so far so good! Please continue to pray for this as it is very important that we find something that works for her.

We thank you for all of your prayers and support! We hope each of you have a very Merry Christmas!

Even big kids like snow!

 Enough for Ellie to make a small snow ball

Our church sent letters to the kids. They enjoyed them very much!

 Our tree

The lights we put outside on the house

Where did October go?

It has been a fast a furious month here. Our shipment arrived and we finally have it unpacked. We are feeling more settled in the house now. It is such a relief to be able to cook and use more than the one pan and one pot we had until our stuff got here. The kids feel more at home with their toys as well.

We started language school. Well Justin and I did. We go two days a week for an hour and a half each time. The first few lessons were very hard for me but then it started to get easier. Our teacher is very nice and patient. She even recognized after our third lesson that I was able to respond better. I can understand a lot I am just so afraid of making a mistake when talking I let it paralyze me. I have been praying a lot that God would help me with this and it is coming, slowly but coming.

We finished our first week of school here. Ellie is now in first grade, Braeden fifth grade, and Kayla is in eight grade. Justin and I both teach them to help get school done smoothly and timely. They did wonderful this week and I pray they will have a great year!

Our beautiful Kayla turned 13!! I cannot believe she is growing up so fast! She is a huge help to us and we love her very much. She plans to go to college to be a vet assistant, vet, or nurse. She has not decided yet. She is definitely bright enough to do anything I can tell you that. I am very proud to be her mom and so unworthy.

We are enjoying going to church here and I go to Sunday school with the kids to translate for them. This has been a source of anxiety for me but each time the people are gracious and kind and help me if I do not understand. The kids have been enjoying getting to learn and play with other kids and I have enjoyed watching them.

The weather has turned colder and most of the leaves have fallen from the trees. The kids did get a chance to jump in  pile of leaves and have enjoyed fall so far. Thank you for the prayers and support!

 Lorelei and Ellie enjoying yogurt after first day of school

 Lorelei and Ellie riding a merry go round at the mall

 Our beautiful birthday girl!!

 Kayla the eighth grader

 Braeden the fifth grader

The kids playing in the leaves

Goodbyes and Hellos

I don't know about you but some of the hardest things that I have had to do in my life involve saying goodbye or hello. We arrived here in Estonia on September 21. The weeks leading up to our departure involved several hard moments of saying goodbye. Some of these moments were great moments that we will always remember with our loved ones. Some of the goodbyes were hard and strained due to the lack of understanding about why we are moving and going to do what we are doing. At the end of the day it was just hard. On one side I felt guilty for leaving and not knowing what may happen or what I may not be able to be there for. On the other I felt excited to be in the center of God's will doing what He called us to do and the new adventure ahead of us.

It just leaves me feeling the need to share why we are doing this to the best of my ability and answer some of the questions we get often.

Why are you going to be a missionary?

 

I get this often. I have tried to explain it I don't know how many times but it really is difficult to explain God's calling. About eleven years ago I remember that Justin and I were both working and happy but just felt unfulfilled. I began then to pray for God to show us what we should be doing with our lives. We were serving at our local church and raising Kayla. One night a missionary came to our church and shared their work. Something pulled at my heart that night. I was continuing to pray about God's will for our lives and He began to impress on me that no matter where I went He would be with me. I found this funny because I really had no intention on leaving. God continued to speak to me and show me that no matter where I went He would be with me. This went on for about a month. Then Justin and I went to dinner one night and he told me he had been praying since the missionary came to our church about missions and thought that maybe God was calling us to missions. That's when it clicked! Yes, I said God is calling us to missions because I too have been praying since the missionary came to our church and God has been preparing my heart for this moment.

So that answers how we knew what to do but not why we are doing it. The answer to that  is quite simple. We could either choose to not follow God's will for our lives and continue to live our lives the way we want or we could choose to trust and follow God and allow Him to use us as He wants. Now I said that the answer is simple but the actual choice and going through with it is very hard. I would be lying if I told you it was smooth sailing to get back here and that everything we did was greatly blessed. It was a long road to get back to here and God used each bump to help conform us to be more like Him so that we would be more moldable and useable here. It is just as painful for us if not more to not be able to be there for the birthdays, graduations, hugs and  kisses, family reunions, deaths, and just life in general of the ones that we love.

So Why? Why choose to follow God?

 

Well let me tell you something very personal to me that may explain this. When I was a teenager I was bullied a lot. I was not skinny, had curly hair, and braces. I felt like I was worthless and could not imagine that if there was a God why would he put me through this. I did not go to church regularly but did go from time to time with friends. I was feeling so down that I thought the only way out was to end my life. I was concerned about doing this though till I was certain I would not go to hell. I began to search for answers but would always get mixed results. some said if you killed yourself no matter what you went to hell. Some said there was never any way to ever know. Things escalated and one day I had had enough. I was in the hallway and some kids came down the hall barking at me like I was a dog in front of everyone. I had to end my pain and it had to be that night. I stood in my room about to slit my wrist and felt a tug to just go ask one more time how to know I would go to heaven. I went to my grandmothers room and she opened her Bible and showed me from the book of Romans how to be saved. It clicked. I went to my room and layed on my bed crying out to Jesus and asking Him to forgive me for wanting to end my life and asked Him to save it! He did! It was as if He was right there hugging me and comforting me. He told me then that He created me for a reason and He would get me through.

So how can I say no to God when He is calling me to share His love with others?

 

I cannot. He saved my life I owe Him everything! And that my friends is why we are moving to Estonia to serve God.

Since arriving here we have been getting settled and transitioning. God has provided for us a car and house to rent. We had friends who met us at the airport and welcomed us here. They are such a blessing to us! The kids are settling in and we have begun to do our workbooks until we get our curriculum on our shipment. Next we will be preparing for language study and work. We are very excited to see God work here in Estonia and are humbled that He chose us to be part of His plan. We are just regular people with normal faults who have chosen to follow God. Above anything else I want our lives to reflect that. This blog will be used to update about our life here and a place where I can share my heart. I hope that it is a blessing to others. Thank you for the prayers and support!

 

 

 Our kids playing at the park here in Estonia.