...and Baby makes 4

We are thrilled to announce that we will be adding a new member to our family in March of next year! When we found out earlier this month, we had to quickly find a new doctor (referred to us from a couple at church). Today was our first ultrasound and the baby looks great. We also got to hear the heartbeat, which was a strong 135 beats per minute. No matter how many kids you have, there is something so incredible about hearing that sound for the first time.

Lauren is quite excited to be a big sister and keeps asking me when the baby can come out and play. They will be just a little over 4 years apart, so I know I’ll have a great helper in her. She insists, however, that it is going to be a girl and won’t have it any other way. So, she may have some adjusting to do if we find out otherwise. Thankfully, this house already has an extra room, perfect for a nursery, right on the other side of Lauren’s room (with a bathroom in between). So, we won’t have nearly as much preparing to do for this one as we did the first time around.

We feel so blessed by this incredible gift from God. After my surgery last summer, we weren’t sure if I’d be able to get pregnant again, so that makes it all the more precious and amazing. We ask for your prayers for a healthy and safe pregnancy and a smooth adjustment as we grow our family.

Welcome To Our Porch

Without a doubt, one of the most peaceful and relaxing places in our new house is our screened-in porch. You have the view of the backyard, complete with the bird and squirrel feeders, the rolling greens of the golf course…and even the occasional wild jack rabbits. With the weather here being nice most of the time, it is a great place to sit in the morning and eat breakfast while having your devotions. Although I think he is crazy, Ryan enjoys sitting out there to watch the thunderstorms.

While she was here, my mom made it her “special project” to buy outdoor lights and string them up along the top inside of the porch. So, sitting out there at night, amidst the glow of the lights and our table lantern, is cozy and intimate. Several nights, Ryan and I can be found playing cards on the porch and watching the fireflies. It is so nice to be able to relax and enjoy the outdoors in the evenings without the concern of mosquitoes, which are pretty thick here this time of year.











Lauren and Casey (our cat) love it out there too. Since filling the bird feeder with new seed, we have seen morning doves, cardinals and finches. And the squirrels will climb up and hang upside down on the bird feeder to try and get to the seed (even though they have their own corn-cob feeder on a tree nearby).

And, because we face the 13th tee box of a golf course, it is also humorous to watch the golfers, especially the ones with awkward-looking swings.












So, for all you people back home in the Northwest, you have to come visit and enjoy the quiet beauty of our NC nature from the view of our screened-in porch. You are welcome anytime! :)

Locks of Love

Before picture

Today was the big day - Lauren went in to get 10 inches cut off her hair to donate to Locks of Love. We thought it would be a great way to teach her about giving to those who don't have as much as we do. So, a couple of months ago, I took her onto their website to show her the pictures of little girls who had no hair. After seeing the pictures, she was determined to do it. And, even though she was scared of going to the hairdresser's, she was excited about sharing her hair with a little girl who had none.

So, at 10:30am today, we took her in to a salon near us that was having a Locks of Love donating event. Lauren did so well - she sat very still and was smiling the whole time.

At the salon

She had more than enough hair to give and everyone kept commenting on how beautiful it was.

Holding her 10 inches

We promised her that if she didn't cry or scream, she could get an ice cream afterwards. She definitely earned it and she loves her new haircut...it will be so much better in this heat. Needless to say, we were very proud of her and we know that she will make someone very happy with all that hair! :)

At the ice cream shop, sporting her new 'do

Billy Graham Library

On July 7th, we had the privilege of taking my family to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte. I don’t think any of us really knew what to expect, but we had heard from some friends at church that we had to go visit. So, on one of the hottest days we had suffered thus far, we packed in our cars and caravanned out to see it. It was not just a visit; so much as it was an experience. They had transported the home that Billy grew up in to this piece of property where the library was built. So, we got to walk through his childhood home (the building on the left in the picture below) and see many of their family pictures and heirlooms.










From there, we walked through the prayer garden (where Ruth Bell Graham was recently laid to rest).










My mom made a comment to Lauren about this being a wonderful place to pray and talk to Jesus. As you can see, she really took that to heart…










After our time in the garden, we proceeded onto the “barn”.










Once inside the barn, we were given tickets and told to go stand in front of Bessie, the cow. So, we walked over to what looked like a real cow – she was moving her head, swishing her tail and blinking her eyes. After a few minutes, she began to talk and tell the story of living on the Graham Family Farm and all about a little boy named “Billy Frank” and his heart for Jesus.










After her speech, we were directed over to a mini-theater and sat down to watch a video. It was a presentation of different testimonies of people that had a difficult time in their lives and hadn’t yet experienced Christ’s love and forgiveness. Once the video ended, the doors to our left opened and we were ushered into another room with a video screen. This screen showed the story of Billy Graham, how he was raised up and called by God to become an evangelist, and how many lives he was able to touch and win for Christ because he obeyed the Lord. As this video wrapped up, the doors to our right opened and then began our self-guided tour through different “rooms”, each designed to walk you through the many phases of Billy Graham’s life and ministry.

The first room was a re-creation of Billy Graham’s first tent “revival” meeting in Los Angeles. It was complete with street signs, brick walkway and the huge tent where it all began…so it really felt like you were there. They explained how he had planned to have it for 3 weeks, but it was so successful that they extended it for an unprecedented 2 months. There was also black-and-white video playing of a very young-looking Billy speaking at that first crusade.

The next room was decorated like the inside of a living room in a cozy home…and introduced Ruth Bell. There was a TV on one side of the room that was telling her story of growing up in China and her desire to have a ministry there someday. Then, Billy talked about seeing Ruth for the first time at Wheaton College in Illinois and how he knew that he would marry her. Although, it took some convincing for her to reach the same conclusion. They were married and settled in Illinois, where Billy took his first job as pastor of a small church. The video continued to talk about the progression of his ministry and the expanding of their family. As Billy began traveling more because of his evangelism, Ruth stayed home and was a full-time parent to their eventual 5 children.

The third room we entered was a typical 1950's sidewalk storefront. In the glass display windows of the stores were old televisions. This room explained how Billy used TV to reach a wider audience for Christ. He realized what a powerful tool this kind of media was and wanted to do whatever he could to tell the American public about the Good News.










We then walked into the first of many exhibit rooms with cases full of memorabilia documenting The Graham’s life and ministry. The first of the exhibit rooms housed a large cross at the back. There was a spotlight shining on it, making it the focal point. Lauren immediately saw the cross and solemnly walked over to gaze up at it. Ryan and I stood back and watched to see what she would do. She stared up at it for a while and then knelt down in front of it, bowed her head and folded her hands like she was praying. After a couple minutes, Ryan bent down to ask her what she was praying about. She said, “I was just telling Jesus that I was sad he had to die.” Needless to say, my mom and I started crying and it was one of those incredible “parent moments” when you are so thankful that the message is reaching and touching your child’s heart in a powerful and meaningful way.













We proceeded through more exhibit rooms and took our time looking through the memorabilia displayed. There were items such as Ruth’s engagement ring, Billy’s briefcase he carried with him for over 30+ years of crusade trips all over the world, gifts from various heads of state, decades of presidents, etc. One of the items that stood out to us as particularly impressive was a certificate and Presidential Medal of Freedom given to him by Ronald Reagan.










We completed our tour by entering the last theater room and watching a final video with the same people that began to share their testimonies at the beginning. They completed their stories by explaining that although they had faced trials and hardships, felt empty and unlovable, Jesus had loved them just as they were, forgiven them and changed their hearts. What an incredible message of hope and what a blessing to have our daughter with us and to know that she is hearing the gospel, along with countless other people who have walked through this library and been witnessed to. The overall message was not one of praise for Billy Graham and his accomplishments…but rather one of the incredible love of our Savior and how He can use anyone to impact the world if we are willing to say yes when He calls.

Fireworks & Fireflies

Once we got more settled into our home, we were able to better enjoy my family's visit. Of course, with it being mostly girls, we did do a lot of shopping! :) But, we also did some sightseeing and made plans for the Fourth of July. Lauren had never seen an actual firework show before and with her being so scared of loud noises, we weren't quite sure how it was going to go. But, we talked it up to her all day and by the time she woke up from her nap, she decided that she was excited to do it...that, and the fact that Ryan promised to bring the earplugs for her.

So, we left the house around 6:00 to have dinner at The Cracker Barrel and afterwards planned to go to Davidson, a small town nearby, for their fireworks show. We didn’t really know where we were going, but it was a beautiful drive and there were the neatest old houses lining the streets of this old-fashioned town. We parked by Davidson College and followed the crowds through downtown to find a spot for the show. On the way, we got to see (Lauren and I for the first time) fireflies. It was so cool! Lauren kept reminding us not to eat them (from the Curious George movie) because they taste bitter. As we kept walking through the campus of Davidson College, we were basically attacked by cockroaches. There was this one part on the brick walkway where there was a ton of them and you could hardly walk without stepping on one. We screamed and ran as fast as we could to get away. Ryan, of course, was laughing at us.

After walking for what seemed like forever, we made it with about 5 minutes to spare before the show started. The place where everyone was setting up their blankets and chairs was actually a cemetery. So, we decided to sit on Jerry & Marie Caldwell…they seemed like a nice couple. :) When the first firework went off, Lauren was not so sure about it. She kept saying she wanted to go home, she wanted the earplugs and she was afraid the fireworks were going to get her. But, soon, she saw other little kids around her enjoying them and she finally warmed up to it. By the end, she was picking out her favorite colors and clapping. We made the long walk back to the car and headed home very late – around 11:00. It was definitely a memorable 4th of July!!

Moving In

Sorry we are so late posting this...as you can imagine, things have been a bit hectic around our household lately! We have so much to share with you, so we will begin posting every other day for the remainder of this week in order to get caught up. But, now we finally have a moment to update you all on the move.

My mom, sister and neice (Emily) arrived last Monday evening, July 2nd, to help us. We were so excited to see them - Lauren ran and jumped into Grandma's arms as soon as she saw her come through the gate. They stayed with us in the hotel that night and the movers were scheduled to come the next morning between 9:00 and 10:00am. So, we got to sleep in a little bit before we had to get to work.

Right on time, the movers showed up and began the unpacking process. I think you don't realize how much stuff you have until you move (9800 lbs. of household goods)! Still, they were able to get it all done in one day...but it was a LONG day! Everyone worked so hard. My mom and sister were in the kitchen unpacking dishes and silverware and washing everything as they put it away. They completely organized my cabinets and pantry for me, which was wonderful! I worked getting Lauren's room put together first because she needed to take a nap that afternoon. Emily kept Lauren happy and occupied, helping her open boxes of toys and books and put things away in her playroom. Meanwhile, Ryan directed the movers outside and was in charge of the "clipboard"...every box or item that was packed had a colored sticker with a number on it. It was his task to make sure and mark down each box's number/color as they brought them in the house and direct them to the room where it belonged. That way, at the end of the day, it would be easy to tell if anything was missing.

Luckily, there was only a little damage done to a few pieces of furniture. Other than that, everything remained in tact and arrived safely. At the end of the day, we were so exhausted, but were thrilled to be able to spend our first night in our new home! The next few days were spent continuing to unpack and organize, making countless trips to Target for things we needed, and decorating our new space. I cannot begin to say what a TREMENDOUS help my mom, sister and Emily were during this time!! I can't imagine having to do it without them and I'm so thankful that they were here.

Another Great Sunday

This is Ryan writing for this post, my first appearance in the author's seat. Hasn't Kimberly been doing an awesome job sharing on here? I certainly think so. She encouraged me to contribute today in response to a very special 4th of July church service we attended at Lake Norman Baptist, where we have been visiting for the last 2 weeks.

I've been to a lot of services in the Church held around Memorial Day and Veteran's Day, but nothing has compared to the service we attended today.

It began with the worship time. After singing How Great Is Our God and How Great Thou Art, we sang as a congregation: The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Our Country Tis of Thee, America, the Beautiful and God Bless America. The congregation paused and the pastor had current and former members of each service branch of the military stand when called. As should be, the Army led the way and we were invited to stand first. I stood to represent my own service (12 years in the Oregon Army National Guard) along with a handful of other men. To my surprise, the whole sanctuary erupted in applause. It was humbling to be singled out. I never really thought of my service as being all that noteworty, certainly not deserving of recognition. I probably would have preferred to sit and applaud the others. After the Army, the other services were called in order and applause followed for each of them.

After this, a choir assembled on stage and they sang a medley of the service branch songs (The Army Goes Rolling Along, Anchor's Aweigh, The Halls of Montazuma, etc.) while a multi-media presentation of photos and military videos played on the screen.

It was really special to see a church body celebrate patriotism and national pride in such a public way, and to tie that in with appreciation given to the military as the defenders of our freedom. It certainly left me feeling honored.

We also attended the young adult Sunday School class with a room full of young parents. It was a great way to meet some of the other couples in the church. Afterwards we picked up Lauren from her class and hung out at the playground in the back of the church while she played with her new friends. Some of the couples we had met in Sunday School invited us to the local after-church hang out, Jason's Deli. It is a modern day cafeteria style restaurant. Every Sunday families from the Sunday School meet for lunch after second service. Guys at one end of a big table, ladies at the other, and all the munchkins at a kid's table laughing and eating together. It felt really good, after making a solid connection with one family last week, to be invited in by a larger group on just our second visit. I overheard Kimberly and the other gals planning playdates and some initial discussions about a Lia Sophia jewelry party (how much is this "fellowship" going to cost me?).

Smiles from the Girls!