Well, Praise the Lord! last night we stayed in our house for the first time. I am praising God this morning but yestereday I was one big grump! Say a prayer for Cliff to have patience with me. I had been at my desk all day and I did not want to move the remaining things at our apartment much less clean the place up. We finished around 9:15 or so. Cliff set up the bed and made it for us while I made a run to Wal-Mart for a shower curtain and some essentials. That put me in a little better mood. Cliff is checking out of the apartment and storage today. We are done with those places!!! Woohoo!
Tonight I'll be staying after work to be here for the trunk or treat at the church. (trying to have a good attitude about this too...ugh...what's my problem!) That'll last until 7:30 or 8 and I'll finally get to go home probably just in time for Mom, Leigh and the girls to show up. I cannot wait to see them!!! I am soooo thankful for their help. I'll post pics next week sometime of the house...if I can find the camera. :)
Ok, gotta get back to work.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Working on the Layout
I'm working on the layout of this blog. I just figured out how to change the background. The words don't really pop but I'll get it figured out.
In other news...the house is relatively clean, the U-Haul truck will be rented at noon and things will start moving in this afternoon. :) We are so thankful for this house!
In other news...the house is relatively clean, the U-Haul truck will be rented at noon and things will start moving in this afternoon. :) We are so thankful for this house!
Monday, October 27, 2008
DONE
Papers have been signed, large amounts of money have exchanged hands and we've got possession. Praise the Lord! Today at 1pm Cliff and I signed papers on our house after a short walk through of the house. The house is empty and quite clean. The previous owners were so nice to leave it in such great condition. Tonight I have class but will leave an hour early to head over to the house and take care of a few things before Cliff moves stuff in tomorrow.
We are so blessed to be around such great people here. We have been overwhelmed with offers of help and food. I am thankful today. We've got a busy week ahead! Carpets are being cleaned Wednesday morning, then hopefully sleeping at the house Wednesday night or Thursday night. Then the troops arrive on Friday! Mom, Leigh, Lerin and Robbyn are coming to help. Cliff and I are so excited!
We are so blessed to be around such great people here. We have been overwhelmed with offers of help and food. I am thankful today. We've got a busy week ahead! Carpets are being cleaned Wednesday morning, then hopefully sleeping at the house Wednesday night or Thursday night. Then the troops arrive on Friday! Mom, Leigh, Lerin and Robbyn are coming to help. Cliff and I are so excited!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Packing and missing Lerin's 3rd BDay party
Today we are packing. We are having fun...Cliff is keeping me laughing all day. Right now we are taking a break. I'm hanging out online and Cliff is watching football. Below you can see Cliff taking his break in front of the TV. Also, you can see the state of the apartment. ONE BIG MESS! But I think we should be done packing everything today. All but the essentials to get us through the week. Fun times.
We are a little sad though because we are missing Lerin's third birthday party! Bummer!! Leigh and my parents have told me how stinkin' excited she is about her birthday. She's having a Barney party with all of her friends and family. :) Lerin was born October 28, 2005. We love her so much and will be thinking about her all day. Cliff and I can remember the day she was born so vividly...me especially because I got to be there with Leigh and Bubba through the whole thing! What a miracle! Here is a pic of Lerin from this summer. Such a cutie!!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Light the Night and One Adorable Neice
Last weekend we went to New Braunfels to see the familiy and then spent Saturday in Austin for Light the Night. It is a fundraising walk for leukemia and lymphoma. We flew in to San Antonio Wednesday night then stayed in New Braunfels Thursday. We went to lunch with Debbie and Cliff did homework the rest of the day. It was sooo relaxing. That night we all had dinner as a family which was great...a rare occassion! Friday Cliff, Debbie, Kimberly and I went to Fredericksburg where we shopped and enjoyed the beautiful day. We had lunch outside and enjoyed yummy pastries before we went home.
Friday afternoon Nana and Grandpa showed up and we had dinner together again and just visited and talked. Then Saturday Cliff Sr. took Grandpa and Cliff to Llano for a store opening. They left at 5:30AM!! The girls took it easy that morning then went shopping and had a nice lunch at Fork and Spoon. Then we all met up in Austin at the hotel. Aunt Cecile and Aunt Cynthia showed up too. We all headed out to Light the Night where we had pizza and visited until the walk started. Cliff Sr. kicked it off with a speech and then we were off for the 5K. Below are pictures.
Elsie the cow was there for people to pet. Elsie was NOT a happy camper. She kept trying to charge and swing her head around to get the kids to stop petting her.
Friday afternoon Nana and Grandpa showed up and we had dinner together again and just visited and talked. Then Saturday Cliff Sr. took Grandpa and Cliff to Llano for a store opening. They left at 5:30AM!! The girls took it easy that morning then went shopping and had a nice lunch at Fork and Spoon. Then we all met up in Austin at the hotel. Aunt Cecile and Aunt Cynthia showed up too. We all headed out to Light the Night where we had pizza and visited until the walk started. Cliff Sr. kicked it off with a speech and then we were off for the 5K. Below are pictures.
Elsie the cow was there for people to pet. Elsie was NOT a happy camper. She kept trying to charge and swing her head around to get the kids to stop petting her. 
This is a pic of Grandpa and Nana and their kids: Cliff on the right, Cecile to the far left in the blue pants and Cynthis next to Nana.
And below is the most adorable picture of Dakota!!! You can see more at Aaron and Trish's web site: donaldsonfamily-lifewithdakota.blogspot.com. Check it out! I can't wait to get my hands on her at Thanksgiving! Trish says she is trying to crawl and sit up and she has teeth coming in!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Reality
I read this off of http://www.xanga.com/haitinurse4life. Please join in prayer as these people suffer in the midst of spiritual warfare in Orissa. Their reality is terrifying today.
This is a request for prayer for YWAM (Youth With A Mission) missionaries and their churches in Orissa, India. Please read and make this a matter of urgent prayer.
Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News India,
We have never seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work. But none of our staff imagined that they would see this kind of carnage.... And it seems to be totally under the radar of the Western Media .... Let me explain.... A militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and 'reconverting' people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend. Immediately the Christians were blamed.. The cry rose up...'Kill the Christians!' And the horror began.... In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bear the name of Christ . Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa... they are right in the middle of all this chaos. In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and 'finish the job.' Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past 3 days. It has been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer. More police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belonging. As they fled, the blood thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace. In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left.. We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore. All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police outside. The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in house and burned them to death. Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road.... even women and children. At another orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind. Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said: 'We stay with our kids.... we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.' More than 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen. This will continue for another 10 days.... supposedly the 14 day mourning period for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down. The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the Hand of God can calm this storm. None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means. So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and are unable to come and get them during these trying times. Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children. Orissa will be saved... that is our heart's cry. If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus , they will transform an entire region. It is a long term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great Commission.
What can you do? First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second, pass this e-mail on to as many friends as you can. We must get the word out and increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom. The next 10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help us to get as many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort to fulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all nations....
Blessings,
Chip & Sandy Wanner
Col 2:2 MBI (Team Facilitators to YWAM frontlines)
This is a request for prayer for YWAM (Youth With A Mission) missionaries and their churches in Orissa, India. Please read and make this a matter of urgent prayer.
Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News India,
We have never seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work. But none of our staff imagined that they would see this kind of carnage.... And it seems to be totally under the radar of the Western Media .... Let me explain.... A militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and 'reconverting' people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend. Immediately the Christians were blamed.. The cry rose up...'Kill the Christians!' And the horror began.... In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bear the name of Christ . Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa... they are right in the middle of all this chaos. In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and 'finish the job.' Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past 3 days. It has been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer. More police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belonging. As they fled, the blood thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace. In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left.. We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore. All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police outside. The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in house and burned them to death. Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road.... even women and children. At another orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind. Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said: 'We stay with our kids.... we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.' More than 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen. This will continue for another 10 days.... supposedly the 14 day mourning period for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down. The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the Hand of God can calm this storm. None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means. So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and are unable to come and get them during these trying times. Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children. Orissa will be saved... that is our heart's cry. If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus , they will transform an entire region. It is a long term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great Commission.
What can you do? First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second, pass this e-mail on to as many friends as you can. We must get the word out and increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom. The next 10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help us to get as many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort to fulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all nations....
Blessings,
Chip & Sandy Wanner
Col 2:2 MBI (Team Facilitators to YWAM frontlines)
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
TRIP TOMORROW NIGHT!
Cliff and I cannot wait! We get to fly out tomorrow night and head to New Braunfels for a very long weekend. We even get to stay through Sunday. We've been planning this trip for months and it is finally here. We'll get to see all of the family, Kimberly is even coming in on Thursday some time. :) It will be so nice to be there and be with family! It feels like forever since we've gotten to spend time with Cliff's side...too long. The holidays are upon us though and the move in between so we'll be seeing them alot more in the next few months.
In other news...it has rained here for more than 3 days now! So dreary and cold, but kind of nice for a change. This morning Cliff and I really just wanted to stay in bed all day!! No fun stuff for our anniversary today, we said good morning, got ready for work, Cliff is in Lubbock all day for a meeting, and at 6 I have Apples of Gold (Bible Study). So we won't be seeing eachother too much today. But...the trip is tomorrow and we'll get to spend the whole weekend together. :)
Love and Miss you all!
In other news...it has rained here for more than 3 days now! So dreary and cold, but kind of nice for a change. This morning Cliff and I really just wanted to stay in bed all day!! No fun stuff for our anniversary today, we said good morning, got ready for work, Cliff is in Lubbock all day for a meeting, and at 6 I have Apples of Gold (Bible Study). So we won't be seeing eachother too much today. But...the trip is tomorrow and we'll get to spend the whole weekend together. :)
Love and Miss you all!
Monday, October 13, 2008
2 Year Mark
No big news for this past week. Cliff and I have been in work/school mode. Cliff is taking 3 classes and seems swamped all of the time with school let alone work on top of that. I'm not so much swamped by school work, although I feel it coming on in the next few weeks. I am in HATE SCHOOL mode. Really, I cannot wait for it to be over. Very soon. Only one year in December. I have started my search for an internship. I'll have to complete 500 hours of an internship between January and August. My boss is going to work with me on getting the hours done. I'll probably end up taking off a day or two a week. I am looking in to child placing agencies for my internship. I'd like to gain some experience in this area for the future. I have been interested in it for a long time. I'd like to get some experience through my internship before I decide to commit to taking a position at such an agency. We'll see what happens. I have been really anxiuos about the whole thing, but have come to realize that even if I get stuck in an internship that I do not like, it is only 500 hours and will be over with eventually. God knows what he's doing with my life even though I am not sure most of the time.
Cliff and I will be celebrating our 2 year anniversary tomorrow. Wow it has flown by. He reminded me last night that we are about to move for the third time in two years. I reminded him that he married a girl who had never moved, not even bedrooms, in her entire life until college and that didn't even really count because I still had my bedroom at home! Crazy how life changes. I am so thankful to be married to my best friend. We have so much fun together. He can make me laugh like no one else...and that's good because I can be pretty serious sometimes when I really just need to lighten up.
God knew what he was doing when he paired us up. Truly, I cannot image living life with anyone else. Cliff spoils me and loves me even when I am unloveable. He is a wonderful leader and the best friend. He takes life as it comes and seems to worry less than most. Cliff truly is a man of integrity who trusts the Lord with his life. Thank you Cliff for two crazy fun years! I love you!
Cliff and I will be celebrating our 2 year anniversary tomorrow. Wow it has flown by. He reminded me last night that we are about to move for the third time in two years. I reminded him that he married a girl who had never moved, not even bedrooms, in her entire life until college and that didn't even really count because I still had my bedroom at home! Crazy how life changes. I am so thankful to be married to my best friend. We have so much fun together. He can make me laugh like no one else...and that's good because I can be pretty serious sometimes when I really just need to lighten up.
God knew what he was doing when he paired us up. Truly, I cannot image living life with anyone else. Cliff spoils me and loves me even when I am unloveable. He is a wonderful leader and the best friend. He takes life as it comes and seems to worry less than most. Cliff truly is a man of integrity who trusts the Lord with his life. Thank you Cliff for two crazy fun years! I love you!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
It's a Go!
The inspection went wonderfully. Moving date is October 27.
New address will be 4408 Kingston Amarillo, TX 79109.
New address will be 4408 Kingston Amarillo, TX 79109.
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