Day 1: 31 Days of Blogging Challenge

A few of my buddies are embarking on blogging the next 31 days and I am accepting the challenge. I've been meaning to blog again... With the last three months of transition after transition I think I'm finally getting into somewhat of a rhythm of life again.

I feel like Addysen hasn't gotten enough blogging and that means I am not doing a good job keeping track of her milestones. I m sure she will forgive me cause I think there is still enough photos of her floating around that she isn't completely left with the second child syndrome of neglect. Haha! Alright... Here's to blogging every day in the month of December and hopefully it will continue into the new year!

As I sit here staring at my Christmas tree I'm reminded that blogging helps me to be thankful for the little things in life. Hope reading my blog and following along in our journey helps you to remember the little things too.

Funny four year old!

Kaden is a funny kid. He's been super into the olympics lately like the rest of the world. But more than anything he's into soccer. We took him to a Portland Timbers MLS game and he loved it! He has been chanting around the house the Timbers cheers. But what he hears & chants doesn't always match up.

Kaden: "ain't no piggies in the rose city!"
Supposed to be "ain't no pity in the rose city!"

Other funny things he has been saying is:
"uncle Zach liked to eat frosted flies for breakfast."
"I'll be the Portland Timbers, you be seabass." (he means Chivas)

Love this kid!

A Blessing the Size of a House

One of the teaching pastors at Mosaic often said, "God is always present, but not always evident". This one of those times in our lives that God is VERY EVIDENT and we are very humbled to be on the receiving end of this blessing. This may be a longer post... so, bare with me...it's a good one. 


The first blessing is our house that we have lived in for the last eight years has been sold. The bank approved the sale, the papers are signed and the boxes are being slowly packed. We are very sad to leave this house that God dropped in our laps. We bought before the housing boom and we weren't actively looking to buy a house. It has served the kingdom with having many life group meetings in it's living room, many birthday parties, going away parties, and baby showers in our basement. It has been a house of many impromptu BBQs and family gatherings. It is also been a hotel for many out of town guests. We are thankful for all the memories that we have had in this house with our two kids and handful of housemates. The papers were signed and sent on Monday, July 16. With these doors closing we began to actively search for apartments online. 


Wednesday, July 18 we posted on our Facebook that we were going apartment hunting in SW Portland and ventured out to look at a few places. Joel and I spent a few hours touring a few developments and a few hours just driving around calling different places and checking online. It was kind of disappointing what was out there or should we say not out there. The places that had vacancies didn't have washers and dryers. How do we continue with cloth diapers or have kids with all the laundry they produce without paying an extra arm and leg to wash our clothes? But as we drove home... I had this peace in my heart and we were talking about how God has had perfect timing and plans for us. He gave us the current house we are living in, he had people put an offer on the house the day Addysen was born so we didn't have to show the house any more. And we finally signed the papers after my sister's wedding, which was another big event we were trying to get through. We also thought it would be cool if we could stay in this house for when Zach and Amanda returned from China so they can come "home" to a place of familiarity. This verse in the Bible popped into my head: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 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?" (Matthew 6:25-34) With that conversation we drove home after a full day of apartment hunting.


We got home to some Facebook comments, but the one that changed our world was from one of Joel's friends from Seminary telling him to give her a call. I left to go to a kid's stuff exchange when Joel called his friend. He called me while I was driving and told me the news! His friend has a house in SW Portland and wanted to see if we wanted to rent it. We knew we couldn't afford to rent a house, especially with the utilities being more expensive than in an apartment. But God had other plans for us. 


Thursday, July 19 we agreed to go take a look at the house and talk about if this arrangement was feasible. We looked up the address on google maps and were really excited about the little red house at the end of the street. When we pulled up to the house we were overcome with emotions when the house was repainted since the google maps picture to the EXACT colors we were dreaming of painting our current house if we ever had the money.  Joel didn't want to get our hopes up, but I knew we were embarking on a God moment. I started to tear up the second we set foot inside the house. The house is on it's final phase of being completely remodeled. We got the tour and each room is perfectly designed for our little family as if God was telling this couple, "this is the cuppboards that Joel and Lisa always eye when they walk through Ikea... or this is the colors that they would choose or this is the way Lisa would love to organize things." I couldn't help but give Joel's friend a hug and we both began to cry tears of joy! 


We sat down to discuss the details of the living arrangements and they started to share their story of the house and how they have been praying for us and wanted this house to be used for ministry. That they were thinking of housing missionaries in the house or something of the like. So, when they saw our Facebook post about apartment hunting they knew that this was the arrangement! They shared that they have been blessed much and wanted to bless others. That their heart for Jesus aligns with our heart for Jesus for this neighborhood. They want to work with whatever budget we can afford and basically is saying that the house is ours to live in. 


I am still in awe of how God orchestrated the timing of this all. That their remodel on their new house will be complete about the same time as we need to be out of this house. That Joel's friend checked her Facebook when she did (and she said she never really checks Facebook) to post on Joel's wall. We are in awe that we will be close to the school that Missio partners with so we can be more of a presence in that school. That it's near church and has room for our family and friends in the ways we entertain and love on people with the space we have.  It couldn't be more perfect. I am in awe of such a wonderful gift God has given us.  It's a confirmation for us that Missio is where he is calling us to be at this time.   


Please pray for us in this transition time that Kaden adjusts well to a new space, that we are wise with our finances and budget enough to pay off school loans and have enough for start up costs and some furniture we will need and that we raise some more support for Joel's position at Missio to cover our insurance (since I am no longer working). But most importantly pray that we will be missional in this area of SW Portland that many will experience the hands and feet of Jesus in a positive, loving way.  We are really excited to move into this neighborhood and be obedient to where God is calling us to.     

#wisserwedding

#wisserwedding was flying all around social media on July 14 and the weeks leading up to it. My sister, Lori, got married and it was a beautiful day and a fun reception and no major catastrophies (or any that people other than me and a handful of people would ever notice).

My sister was a stunning bride and Kyle was a stud-ly groom. Zach and Joel officiated the ceremony and there were tears of joy flooding the Bellewood Presbyterian church. Kaden and Chloe made it down the aisle... they were adorable. They might have walked at the speed of a turtle, but they made it. Kyle and Lori have some amazing friends that rocked at the setting up and tearing down.

I was a little nervous about the reception and getting all the centerpieces done in time... but we so many capable hands we were able to rock everything out and it looked great! The candy bar was a hit... candy was flying off the tables soooo fast we barely had time to restock it before the next wave of consumers. The cake by Grace of Cakes was adorable! And tasted delicious too! The cake for the bride and groom was coconut covered with fondant. And the cupcakes were red velvet, coconut and vanilla.

I loved their guest "book". It was a picture of a tree trunk and each guest put their thumb print and signed their print to make it look like leaves on the tree. It's now something that can be hung in their apartment to remember all the people in their lives that got them to their wedding day.

In the end all the details are just mere details...it's the coming together of two individuals that love each other and are there to mirror the love of Jesus for his bride, us.
Congrats Lori and Kyle!

A Fourth of a Year Old

Addysen turned three months old July 7... we have been busy with all the wedding festivities that we forgot to post an update. Addysen is growing like a weed. She is attempting to roll over but can't get her arm up and gets stuck. She rolled from her tummy to back but that was more gravity than her knowing what she was doing. Her laugh is adorable, she always gets the hick ups when you tickle her and make her laugh. She tends to wake up without crying, she just lays there and talks and shouts out a little "hey! I am over here! Come play with me!" in baby language. Everyone is mesmerized by her big eyes. She loves the water still. She has been doing longer stretches at night but still not super consistent with the amount of hours of sleep in a row. We are all still very smitten by her. It's fun to watch her personality come out more and more each day. I think she's going to be a pretty chill kid, but may talk our ears off. Hahha! In her second month of life we went strawberry picking, a few going away parties,  a graduation, a couple of water parks, bowling, a kid's tumble gym and on her three month birthday weekend we hit up every food cart pod in Portland with Auntie Gracie from California.

Happy three months birthday to you Addysen!

Perks of working

There are several perks at working at the museum. There are these passes called REAP cards that got us into other museums and attractions for free. I especially loved the zoo, children's museum and OMSI (our science museum). I have to give that card back.

The other major perk is I have an iPhone 4s paid monthly. So not only do we have to get a new plan to add me again but once you have a really smart phone it's hard to go back. I started my reasons why I will miss my iPhone 4s on Facebook but I will list them all here instead of taking over the newsfeed. Haha!

#10: not being able to entertain Kaden when we are waiting for something or in the wee hours of the morning when he's awake and I'm not quite ready.
#9: when waking up every three hours to nurse Addysen it helps me stay awake through her feeding.
#8: to easily sync all my contacts, calendars, email to my Mac and Joel's info.
#7: to FaceTime my niece Chloe! She is so funny over video.
#6: to quickly stay connected. I have a laptop but it's easier to pick up my phone where ever I am in the house and text or call or fb etc.
#5: to read. While I'm waiting in line or at a restaurant or in the car.
#4: for directions. I am constantly unsure of where I am or the best way to get from point a to point b.
#3: my new friend seri. She helps me look up stuff quickly and efficiently.
#2: a platform that I'm really comfortable using. I'm an apple product girl. I know how it works or where to look things up at, etc.
#1: to capture memories. I love the photo and video options. Easy to share and good clear pictures. Won't you miss adorable pictures of my kids like this???

Stay at home mom?

I never imagined myself as a stay at home mom. I always figured this day and age you HAVE to have dual income to do anything. But by faith Joel and I have decided that I quit my job at the Portland Art Museum. I have actually enjoyed the past 12 weeks of maternity leave. I can't believe how fast time flies by. The hours at the museum were crazy and not sustainable with two kids and Joel working. Some days I would not get home until 4am. The team was more than understandable when I turned in my two week notice.

I am thankful that when Kaden was a baby Joel was still finishing school so he was able to stay home with Kaden. We sent Kaden to daycare for a few weeks but it wasn't the right fit for us. Kaden was such a chill kid that Joel was able to take Kaden to meetings and he would just sit there and play or sleep.

So now with Addysen here it doesn't make sense to pay for child care for both kids. I would be just working to pay for child care. If we had grandparents around that could watch them would be one thing, but all our family down here have kids of their own to watch and take to sports events and stuff to add two more kids is silly. I am excited and scared all at the same time. Parenting is a huge responsibility.. And to have to be on my toes 24/7 is quite draining. I don't want to just plop them in front of a tv and call it good. (we don't have a tv to plop them in front of even if I wanted to... Lol). I will probably be working very minimally from home. But for now Joel is the primary bread winner. He is raising support to work at Missio and we now need to raise a bit more to cover our insurance for the family since that was a main reason why I was working. If you want to know more about how to support us financially especially so we can get our insurance covered you can email Joel.

For now I am trusting finances will pour in and am constantly reminded that God clothes the flowers in the fields and feed the birds so not to worry about our daily needs. I am looking forward to this next season of life and spending time shepherding these two little hearts toward their creator.