Month of Birthdays...

I love this time of year...the weather is cooling off (albeit a little too cold today..), it's football season (especially fun this year - War Eagle!), and the leaves change to the most gorgeous colors! This just might be my favorite season each year.

October is Graham and Abby's birthday month, so it was a busy, but very fun month for us! We celebrated Graham's 29th birthday and Abby's 1st birthday. Can you guess who got the most attention? :)

Here are some pictures to recap this month...

{Happy Birthday! The big 2-9!!}

{Melanie and Mom at our family birthday dinner for Graham and Abby!}

{My handsome hubby showing off some new clothes}

{Abby tearing in to her presents - she was way more interested in the boxes and paper than what was inside!}

{Melanie spent hours upon hours making this scrapbook of Abby's first year}

{All of the ladies checking out the scrapbook}

{The love of my life}

{Love these two!}

{We are best friends :)}

{Poor thing had to be tired of her aunt making her take pictures with everyone in the room!}

{One more...definitely over the picture thing at this point...}

{So thankful for this man. It is a JOY to celebrate his birthday!}

{One of my most favorite people in the world - Marco Vallejo! This man and his family have been so important to me and my family for 10 years now. So glad he was able to spend a few days in Birmingham before heading to Cuba with Brook Hills.}

{Dad and his girls}

{Happy Birthday Precious!}

Abby's Birthday Party!

{My beautiful parents}

{Mom and I painted these pumpkins for Abby's birthday...and Melanie helped :) Mom came up with the idea that turned out so cute!}


{Andersons celebrating their baby girl}

{Me and mom...love her so much!}

{Abby's first experience with cake...I think she liked it...don't you?!}

Okay, so this is probably the most pictures in one blog post I have ever done - but I love pictures and think they can capture moments in such a stronger way than me just trying to explain them!

Other than the birthday celebrations, things have been pretty quiet around our house. We are still seeking what is next for us and trusting that God will reveal that in His perfect timing. I am learning more and more each day just how impatient I am, but even more just how faithful God is. He has shown that to my family this month in a powerful way and I am beyond thankful to Him for that.

"My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken."
Psalm 62:1-2

The Mercy House...

If you read my blog, then you have definitely read about my precious Kenyan friend, Maurine Owino.
I had the joy of talking with Maurine this afternoon and all that God is doing in her life since she returned to Kenya in August. Her heart for the hurting children of God is more than inspiring...I always walk away from my conversations with her feeling so encouraged by her life.

We always joked this summer about how she had more friends in the States than anyone else on our team...seriously, she had so many people wanting to visit her! But one very special friend of hers was able to come see us in Oklahoma and spend some quality time with Maurine...time that I think changed both of their lives. God was working heavily in both of their lives and has led them both to start an amazing "God-sized dream" called The Mercy House. The Mercy House, which is set to open in 2011, will be a maternity home in Kenya for women who are pregnant and needing a place to live. Proper care, education, and Biblical counsel will be provided for these ladies in a loving, nurturing and safe environment.

I encourage each of you to take some time to read about this special place. There are many ways to get involved...many of which I am currently praying through myself...but all of which will support the work of The Mercy House.


The story of how this began is beautiful...please take some time to journey through the following links and read about how God has created a beautiful friendship between Kristen and Maurine, and ultimately how He is using their friendship, gifts, abilities, and callings to reach out to His daughters in Kenya...

The Mercy House

The Mercy House Shop

Kristen Welch- Kristen and Maurine first met in Kenya when Kristen was sent by Compassion International to blog about the amazing work they are doing in the name of Jesus Christ!

You can also follow them on twitter: http://twitter.com/mercyhousekenya

Hilarious...

So I just found this blog today thanks to a friend at work and it is hilarious! I love looking at home catalogs just about as much as anyone I know and have therefore noticed just how non-practical so many of the pictures are. Apparently this lady thinks the same...but just adds a caption to each picture. If you're bored at work today...or just have some free time...take a look at this blog. I promise you will laugh!

catalogliving.net

Abby...

I just realized how long it has been since I have posted some pictures of my precious niece, Abby! I love this girl so much - she brings so much joy to her Aunt Beth Ann and Uncle Graham!

Here are some pictures I have taken of her this summer...

BATH TIME...

POOL TIME...

Sterling...

This little guy right here is the strongest kid I know...


In fact, I would say one of the strongest people I know...not just kids! I wrote about Sterling last year here, here, and here but my precious 5 year old little buddy is now in the process of recovering from two more brain surgeries that were done on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Roger and Becca have again amazed me with their faith, courage, hope, and strength throughout the past few days. Their love for the Lord and trust in Him is an incredible testimony to me and I thank the Lord for blessing me and Graham with their friendship. The way they love their son is beautiful.

Please join Graham and I in praying for this incredible family. The picture below is what Roger and Becca put together for people to know how to best pray for Sterling and his surgery/recovery. All prayers are appreciated!

Update...finally...

I really did have great intentions of blogging every week this summer - doing a recap of all that had happened so that my family could keep up with us from back home. Clearly, this did not happen! This summer has been absolutely incredible, but definitely busy and filled with some pretty important life decisions for Graham and myself. More on that later...

Blue Team 2010...BT10...Blue Magic...whatever you would like to call them...I could not have asked for a better group of people to spend the past 2 1/2 months with. I am so thankful for all of the HARD work they have done to make each of the 11 events we have had a success. We have traveled all over the country...when we counted it up I think we have been in 16 states in 10 weeks (AL, TN, GA, FL, MO, AR, OK, IN, IL, OH, NJ, WV, NY, PA, MD, VA)...whew! We have made some incredible memories...some funny, some sad...but all of which will last a lifetime.

We were all incredibly BLESSED to get to know one of my new very best friends...Maureen Owino. If you have read any of my earlier posts you have heard about Maureen. Words cannot express how amazing this lady is. There were many tears shed on Tuesday when Maureen had to leave, but we are excited for her to return to Kenya to minister to, love on, and care for the people of Kenya who have her heart. This gorgeous face will most definitely be missed...

Below are some more pictures and memories from the summer - these are the faces of some of the people who have made a lasting impact on my life!

We also spent the night in NYC this past weekend...which was SO much fun! Our great friends Brad and Brittany, and Jeff and Jourdan were in NYC at the same time so we were able to spend time with them...which we always love! We watched the movie, "Friends with Benefits" being filmed in Grand Central Station with Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis (from Modern Family) which was pretty cool to see! I have not uploaded my pictures from NYC yet, but here a couple from Brad's phone...

[Excuse this last picture...we had been driving for 10 hours that day... :)]

Today is our last full day of camp...ever. Yes, I said ever! That will deserve a whole other blog post, but for now I will just leave you with that.

We will be headed to TN tomorrow, then to AL on Sunday...it is always a bittersweet time when you get home and have to say goodbye, but I know that many of the friendships I have made this summer will last past August 8...and for that I am thankful!