Along with a new business, I decided to finish my bachelor's degree. I started right out of high school at Mississippi State, but didn't finish and now the time seems right to finally finish. I started back in October at Union University in Germantown and will finish up in March 2011. Wow just 11 months away! Sounds like a long time but it is really not long at all.
This is something that I have wanted to do for a long time but I just didn't know how I would do it. When we returned from Brazil, Keri and I talked about it and felt like this was as good a time as any to finish and get my college diploma which is needed in today' economy. It has really been a blessing to go to Union. The classes have been relevant with a constant emphasis on the work place.
After Union I really don't know what God has in store next. We are open to what God has for us. We are praying about several things and one of them is possibly getting my masters from Mid America. A lot will have to happen in order for that to take place but we are open and praying for God's guidance in our life.
Here are some things you can pray for:
Our finances
Our new business (Honey-Dew Lawn Care) We need yards to cut!!!
Our children
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6 & 7
When we returned to the US after our time in Brazil, we had no job, no home, nothing to come back to. We weren't sure what we would do or where we would end up. In looking for a job, we wanted to keep ourselves "liquid" in an effort to be ready to go wherever God wants us to go. So, as of October 1st, we bought a lawn care company. As you know the end of the year isn't the best time to think that you will have work to do when lawn care is your job, but springtime is and it is definitely picking up!
Right now my crew is mainly myself, and occasionally Keri, Kati, or Preston. I have a few others that I can call on, but haven't really had the freedom to hire anyone since we haven't had enough work, but things are looking up. My hope is that I can get busy enough to pick up a young college student or even high school student for the summer but I am not there yet.
This has so far been a real learning experience just as any new business venture. God is teaching me many things through all of this and the biggest thing is that He is in control of my life and this business. I have to tell myself this every night before I go to bed!
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
This is my favorite time of year.....SPRING! Life is all around us! God's creation is in full bloom! I love the colors, smells, and temperatures of spring. We have taken full advantage of being outdoors and enjoying this time of year. We have been on a small hike in the woods, we have been walking everyday it isn't raining, and as for me (Keri) I have starting running 3 days a week and am up to 3 miles. It has been a great time for all of us to be able to get outside and run and play, but for me, my time alone running or walking has been a time of quiet reflection. Some days, it is the only time that I have complete quiet and it has been nice. I have tried to fall in love with running before and it just never worked, but right now I need quiet more than ever and I think it is helping me really like running. I can't say love it because I don't love it...yet. Last night was a waking night and my sweet little Preston decided to join me. I didn't think he would make it very far before he was saying he was ready to go back, but surprisingly he made it a mile and a half. I was pleasantly surprised and did enjoy some one on one time with him. He didn't understand why I wouldn't put my arm around him though. He is so skinny that he just doesn't understand the concept of exercise or the need for it! Wish I had his problem! He pretended the entire time that we were cars in a race. I was a Corvette and he was a Lamborghini. He was also the commentator, so he kept me laughing with his constant reporting on how well the old Corvette was keeping up. He even mentioned that she might be able to pick up some speed if her trunk wasn't so weighted down! In the end though, the old Corvette won maybe she was allowed to win, but either way, she won!
Monday morning we woke up with about 4 or so inches covering everything. It was the most beautiful surprise that God could have given us that morning. It was beautiful. We had a great time playing in the snow and building my biggest snowman ever and the kids first real one. It was wonderful to see everyone out and playing in the snow: sledding, building snowmen, building igloos, and competing to make the largest snowball. It was just a great day that brought out the joy in people. Preston and Kati even got a snow day with the schools and Preston said he was glad he saved his snow day for the "good" snow!
I added our latest family picture just so you could see how the kids are growing. I would like to say just Peyton and Pierce are growing, but it is all of them! Kati is now two inches taller than me and Preston is fast approaching my height. If you notice the blue cast on the arm of one of the little guys, that is Peyton. The Saturday before Christmas we were in Aberdeen at Paul's parent's house and Peyton fell off of a bar stool. When he started to fall he reached up to try and catch himself and grabbed a casserole dish that came down with him and broke. It cut his pinky finger severely and severed the two tendons on the back of the hand that work that finger. That night they just sewed him up but we had an appointment at Campbell Clinic on Monday morning. Tuesday morning we had outpatient surgery to reattach at least one of the two tendons. Everything went off without a hitch, but mom was a little nervous about her little guy being put to sleep. Lots of prayer got me through that two hours! He had to wear the cast for three weeks and it never seemed to bother him. We never even had to give him any pain medication. He was a real trooper. The doctor says that he will do his own physical therapy so for us not to worry. He is using it some, but not as much as he should. I guess time will tell. We go back to the doctor on February 10 so hopefully by then, he will have fully recovered and nothing else will need to be done. We thought it was going to leave a nasty scar, but even that is not too bad. We now have a fail proof way to tell them apart!
Well, we have been "home" for 7 months now and FINALLY it is feeling "normal". We have all felt like fish out of water for so long now, that to finally be into somewhat of a normal routing we are starting to settle into life here. It has been the strangest feeling to not be able to do the simplest tasks when I had no problems doing them in my pre-Brazil days. Even ordering pizza on the phone, I just don't want to do and that has only been since we have gotten back. I don't know what the problem is but I do remember having to speak in Portuguese over the phone and it was hard not being able to read the body language and motions that go along with speaking it. So, I guess that was so traumatic for me that it has carried over.
We are all different since our time in Brazil that is for sure. We view the world differently. We view people differently. We view ourselves differently. We miss it! I wish I could have a do over and go back now with two almost three year olds instead of two almost one year olds. Having two babies held me back, well held all of us back, from doing things that we would normally just do. Anyway, my prayer is that the Lord will use the change in my family for His Kingdom and that we will not waste the opportunity that was given to us.
We have been "home" or at least this side of the equator for the past few months and things are finally starting to feel ok. I can only say ok, not normal, but one of our prayers is that we will not go back to normal. It has taken time to get used to life here, and that seems very weird to say since this is basically where we grew up. We were not completely prepared for the readjustment that would be required to fit in. We were completely prepared for the fact that people can't always relate to us. For most people, there is no real point of reference for them to be able to understand where we are coming from when we say that we aren't sure that we are glad to be back. Also, most people don't won't to hear all the stories that we have to tell. So, these things were no surprise to us. The things that did surprise us was the simple things being so overwhelming. What I mean by this is having so many choices when going to the grocery store for example. We got used to the fact that we only had about 5 different choices of potato chips and certainly didn't have two flavors in one bag. Seems like a not big deal, just pick one, but it wasn't. It was overwhelming! There are too many choices in almost every category in the grocery store from diapers and wipes to lunch meat and everything in between. It was 9 weeks before I was able to go to the grocery store without crying! Sounds ridiculous to even admit that.
Last week, we had the opportunity to go to Virginia for a debriefing conference and it really helped us understand the readjustment issues that we are going through. Also, we had the chance to talk to many others going through the same exact thing. We came home yesterday with refreshed spirits and a more clear understanding of what to expect. We still don't know exactly what our future holds, but for now....Paul is finishing his degree and has recently bought a lawn care company. We are praying that the Lord will open doors and once he has finished his schooling that the Lord will show where we are to go. We do not feel that we will be staying in the Memphis area, but don't know where we will be going either. Paul purchased the lawn care business in hopes that wherever we go, that can go with us and he will have the ability to earn some quick money even if he doesn't have a traditional job.
The Lord has been gracious to us and more merciful than we will ever deserve. He has proven himself trustworthy over and over again in our lives, so moving forward we have decided that we are going to begin this journey and new chapter of life just trusting Him. We may not know much else, but we know that our God is a good God and all things work together for good for those who love Him. So, we are going to keep on loving and trusting the One who is worthy. Please be in prayer for us as we continue to seek His direction and guidance for our lives. We are asking for wisdom and need as much as we can get.
