Love is in the air!

This post was from back in September but when I wrote it, I couldn't post it because our friends' engagement wasn't common knowledge yet =) And I forgot about it! So here it is...from September =)

Weddings and engagements are fun times! And we have had a number of them around here over the last months! Amongst our staff, 4 couples have gotten married since May and another just got engaged this week! It is the year of weddings!

We had the pleasure of celebrating closely with Andy and Una, as we had the honor of doing 3 weeks of pre-marital counseling together at our kitchen table the last few weeks. A great way to break in our new kitchen in our new apartment! They got married last night and it was super special! Congrats to Una and Andy!

We also had the pleasure of celebrating with Dany and Mariya as they got engaged this week! Noah and I got to be at the surprise little celebration after the big question was asked =) Sooo fun! Dany and Mariya were part of our Real Marriage small group this spring/summer and they are the first fruits! So fun! Here is our group reuniting last night at the wedding =)

A Friendly Hallway!

The last week has been fun with the friendliness in our hallway! I've been enjoying it!

Noah absolutely loves the neighbors! He wants them to come to his birthday =) Tonight at supper he was singing "I love you Islanders. I care about you." =) So precious!

Last Saturday, we were cooking some brunch and randomly asked some of the neighbors across the hall to join us. That was a hit and suddenly there were a whole bunch of people in our apartment! The neighbors across the hallway are part of Island Breeze and most come from an island in the Pacific. They are a big family, always eating together and hanging out and there are usually a lot of people next door. They are so friendly and welcoming!

The neat thing about our son growing up in this environment is that he has experience with so many different cultures! I like that! There are some funny conversations we have about whose skin is what color (Noah likes to say his is black), the places people come from and other things. Not every Caucasian Canadian 2 year old knows what the haka is =) It is just some of the benefits of living amongst so many different cultures in YWAM!

It is awesome to get just a small taste of the diversity of the cultures and people groups the Lord has created in His image. All the many peoples and groups reflect His image and who He is. We don't see the fullness of Him and His incredible creation without looking at the amazing diversity and creativity He shows in creating humans! The word of His hands is incredible!

Another Milestone Hit!

There was one milestone in the toddler/preschool years that I was nervous about. Potty training. I have never potty trained a child before and the task looked daunting to me.

But, like I mentioned a few posts ago, we kinda stumbled onto it a few weekends ago. With a TON of success! What seems scarey to me, was actually totally great and I'm so proud of Noah! I was concerned about a fight and lots of unhappy moments for both the toddler and the mother. Neither! He was totally ready and has done soooo well!

Another moments where I see the Lord's fingerprints all over the details of my life, especially over the area of parenting and training. I'm sooooo thankful!

What an honor...

This week, our campus had the honor of having Darlene Cunningham with us for 3 days. Darlene and her husband Loren founded Youth With A Mission over 50 years ago and are incredible, wise, faith-filled, energetic and vibrant leaders who love the Lord, love people and love missions!

Darlene spoke with our staff for the 3 days and the Lord totally made a way for me to attend almost all the sessions, which was such an incredible blessing that I wasn't expecting! It was refreshing, encouraging and provoking and left me with some questions to take to the Lord, journal about and think about. I am provoked in my desire to hear the voice of the Lord more and more in all my decisions and to evaluate my dreams, vision and gifts the Lord has given me to use in a fresh way.

The history and foundational values of YWAM are so incredible and it really is amazing to be a part of a mission like this one. I'm thankful that the Lord has brought us to this place on the journey of our lives and faith and grateful for the adventure!

Random Thoughts...

I've been meaning to blog. Life is full. Computer time is very limited. And I don't have much to say these days.

The few things in my mind....
- We have blinds! Yay....sooo happy for some privacy in the evenings now =) Shane worked hard to put them up tonight! I'm thankful =)
- I'm 12 weeks tomorrow and looking forward to my first prenatal appointment on Monday =) Can't wait to hear a little heartbeat! I have a small bump growing =)
- We stumbled onto a weekend of potty training when I casually asked Noah Friday morning what he wanted to wear and gave him the option of undies. So, here we go! We'll see what happens but so far, he's doing really great!
- Rockets have been a really yummy snack this weekend. Probably not so great for the sugar rush it is giving the little one inside me. And weird thing....they are labelled Smarties here. Those are definitely not smarties!
- It is November already! My baby is turning 3 in a month and I'm excited for the birthday celebrations and the prep for Christmas. I'm feeling a little Christmas-y =)
- My little sis hurt her foot last weekend. Please pray for healing and that everything would be covered through her insurance through school. We've enjoyed a week of sleep dates so that she wouldn't have to climb her stairs and we could wait on her =) It has been nice to have her =)
- I really need to take more pictures of life....I don't do that enough. I sure would love a nice camera and am praying for one =)

That's all for now, folks!

Babies, babies, babies!

We get to be around a lot of babies and part of a community that loves and celebrates life! I am among 5 other ladies on base right now who are expecting babies between November and May! In those 6 months, we will welcome 7 new babies here! If you are doing the math....yes, someone is having twins on base here! And it isn't me to my knowledge =)

Something neat that they do here in the YWAM and IHOP circles to honor and celebrate babies and life, is have a baby shower for each new baby (not just the first one). That is different than what I'm used to back home. Back home, you seem to only do baby showers for the first baby. I like the idea that I'll get a little party to celebrate this next baby too! Makes sense to celebrate each new life!

In baby updates, I'm 10 weeks today, feeling quite good for the most part (though a little tired and occasionally emotional) and think I'm starting to have a little growing bump starting to show =) So fun! It is fascinating to learn about fetal development each week! 10 weeks down and 30 to go! 1/4 of the way there!

Have a great week!

Introduction to Essential Oils

In the last 2 years, I've been introduced to Essential Oils and almost a year ago, got my first Young Living starter kit. I've really enjoyed using essential oils as my go-to "medicine cabinet" over the past year and use it for a variety of things! To be honest, my husband uses them more than I do!

It has been a nice, natural option to have for relieving different issues being far away from the familiar medical system we have in Canada. Down here, options other than heading to a hospital, are really nice to have! Besides, it is just nice to use a more natural approach and replace different over-the-counter meds with oils =)

That being said, I'm hosting an Introduction to Essential Oils class on October 28th at 6:30pm at my place. If you are local and read my blog, please feel invited and come join us for the evening! I think it would be super fun to do one someday on a trip back to Canada too! If any of my Canadian friends or family are interested, let me know too and I'll start thinking up a plan to make that happen on our next visit =)

Here is a link to an article that gives an overview of Young Livings essential oils and the ones that come in the premium starter kit that I got last year. Enjoy! http://issuu.com/lorimillsgordon/docs/oily_families_essential_oil_starter/0

And for a personal, recent testimony, I was making supper the other week and clearly told Noah the element was on and hot and not to touch. He came near as I removed the pot from the element and proceeded to quickly touch it, immediately burning his little hand. My tough little cookie was very sad and didn't like running his hand under cold water at all. I grabbed the lavender as he cried really loudly and put a dab on his hand. No joke....IMMEDIATELY he stopped crying and said he was ready for supper, got in his chair and supper time it was! The speed at which that lavender helps shocked me! And the burned healed really nicely with no other issues! So cool!

Grandma and Grandpa's Visit in September!

A few weeks ago, my in-laws came for a visit and we had a wonderful time with them! I always love when we get to spend time together and there is so much more quality time with family and friends when they come down here =)

We did lots of fun things and had lots of good food together. We had our first visit to the Aquarium, which was super cool, 2 visits to the zoo and even a double date to the stock car races for my father-in-law's birthday which we got to celebrate while they were here!

My in-laws are so incredible. Generous, loving, supportive and so very kind. I love them so much!

It was incredibly fun to announce our pregnancy to them in person! When they pulled up, we sent Noah running to greet them wearing his "Big Brother" shirt. It was so fun to watch them notice what the shirt said =)

They also brought our furniture which was an awesome bonus! We now have couches and a bedroom set for the first time in the last 2.5 years! I am loving having our bed back and love having a bed to get up into! It is great to have so much seating in the living room again too =)

Thanks mom and dad for visiting! We love you! Come anytime!

Lots of blessings!!!

There are so many things I could blog about.....pics from Grandma and Grandpa Farrows visit, a blurb about the women's conference, but I realize that I didn't include a very important announcement yet =)

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!

We are super pumped as a family and Noah already has the "big brudder" title down pat and daily talks to the baby in my belly at random times on his own initiative. That is so super cute!

We are due in May and are 8 weeks pregnant now! We also have the joy of being pregnant with a number of other couples on base right now which makes it really fun! One of my good friends on base even has the exact same due date =) We all had ultrasounds on Friday and it was WONDERFUL to see the little beating heart =)

Please pray for protection and life for our little one in these early developmental weeks. For week 8 specifically, you can pray for the little hands, fingers, toes and feet that are beginning to develop and that they would be fearfully and wonderfully made according to God's perfect design. Also, we need wisdom from the Lord who to see for prenatal care and feel like we are in a foreign land...which we are compared to my knowledge of the system in Winnipeg!

Thanks for celebrating this life with us!

Just an hour after we found out we are pregnant!

Way Too Late....

I am up way too late.

But I needed a snack and have an incredibly irritating cough and don't want to keep waking my tired husband from my coughing =(

My brain is pretty awake too with all the prep needing to be done for the women's conference in 2 days! I'm working hard at getting my notes together for the workshop I'm doing and getting all the details together for the personal prayer ministry part of the conference.

Tomorrow is going to be a big and busy day of set up and briefing and such.

Prayers for healing from this cough and post-nasal drip GREATLY appreciated!

Hopefully, soon.....good night.

One of Our Favorites!!!

Just a little blurb about one of our favorite restaurants to go to as a family with a toddler! Chick-fil-A! We love it! Great atmosphere, awesome service, unique generosity and great values!

Twice in the last year, we have managed to find out about Receipt Day at Chick-fil-A! You purchase your meal, save your receipt and redeem it for the same order for free a few weeks later! How awesome is that?!

We don't eat out very often but when we do, we usually go somewhere with yummy food and a play place these days =) Thankfully, they have one!

They also host birthdays! So, we've taken Noah there the last 2 years for his birthday. Totally fun and uncomplicated!

So, today we are going to go there for supper as our family fun event of the weekend! And it will be free, since we have a receipt to redeem! Thank you Chick-fil-A!

Grandparents Coming! Yay!

My wonderful in-laws are coming for a visit next week and kindly bringing down our living room and bedroom furniture! We are excited for our week with them and hope to do some fun things together! I'm going to have to start thinking of things, which isn't hard to do in KC because there are a ton of fun things to do! And we even have a babysitter worked out for Friday night so we can get away just the adults =)

It will be fun to have a bedroom set again! We have slept on a mattress on the floor for the past 2.5 years and it will be awesome to get up INTO bed instead of down ONTO bed again =) I look forward to that change!

Strangely, I have mixed feelings about bringing our stuff down. On one hand, it is totally the cheaper route to get a trailer and some gas than buy again. And it will be nice to see our familiar stuff again. But on the other hand, it makes being here feel so permanent (even though it doesn't actually change anything) and the idea of moving it all back one day is a bit daunting. Also, it might kinda feel like a life from years ago colliding with the last season. Hmmmm....maybe it will be totally fine but I feel a little mixed about it for some reason.

I'm excited to see my in-laws and spend some good quality time with them! It is so much easier to get that quality time fix when people come this way and we only have them to connect with =) Yay for quality time with the ones we love!

Family Fun Mornings!

As part of our weekly routine (and I love routine if you didn't know), we try to incorporate Family Fun mornings on Saturdays. We had the idea months ago and haven't stuck to it all that well, but now that we're home from summer trips, we are back at it and enjoying fun times together!

Last week, we enjoyed the splash park together! Noah enjoyed the play structure even more than the splash park but whatever! We all enjoyed a family outing, a picnic of snacks to graze on and some wetness in the midst of this crazy heat these days! It's been in the 40s with the humidity and I'm so thankful for our awesome air conditioning =)

Yesterday, we took advantage of our zoo pass and enjoyed walking through Africa, riding the tram and train and having lunch as we looked at the animals. The KC zoo is AWESOME and we are soooo grateful for our zoo pass which we get a ton of use out of!

Sometimes I don't want to put all the effort into finding something to do and packing up and getting there on a Saturday morning. But, we know that it is so good to do it! It is soooo good for our family to get off base weekly and do something just the 3 of us. And it really helps fill up the quality time love tank in my heart =)

Yay for Family Fun Mornings and making memories together!

Ladies! Come and Join Us!

The women of YWAM Kansas City are putting together our second annual Missional Womens Conference with the theme of Worth/Beauty this year! Please come and join us as we gather together, worship, enjoy great teaching from awesome women and receive revelation on our worth and beauty!

If you are a details person, here are a few to satisfy you! We are having awesome speakers like Karen Anderson, Diane Bickel and Renee Loux for our main sessions and great workshops such as Barb Livingston (Women Leading on Purpose), Morgan Perry (Sex Trafficking), Debbie Perry (Women and Birth) and myself (Freedom in Identity)! The weekend is September 26-28th and it is free!

Just sign up on the link to eventbrite from our website www.ywamkansascity.com/events!

I really believe the Lord wants to deposit another level of our identity as women and the worth and beauty He has placed in us so that we can walk confidently in who we are. We want the fullness of what God has for us as women as we influence our families, friends and the communities around us!

Come and join us! I'd love to see you there!

A Long-Awaited Answer to Prayer...

Our new place is awesome!

I am sooooo thankful for this new home! I have been praying and contending for this peaceful space for the last 2.5 years and I'm so grateful for this answer to prayer!

I love the space. The quiet. The privacy. The feeling like we are living off base yet the convenience of still being here. The laundry a few steps away. The work out room down the hall. The consistent temperatures and quiet ac. The view from our windows. The light. The unending warm water when you run a bath. The vanity, toilet and bath all in the same room. The huge, bright kitchen. The full-sized oven and fridge. The counter and cupboard space. The little computer desk which has removed this computer from the dining table. The peaceful atmosphere. The BBQ sitting on our deck. The stairs coming down to our place so I can I watch for Shane's return at the end of the day. The yard for Noah to play. And of course, the 2 bedroom factor so we get our own again.

I am so, so, so thankful.

Hello....anybody there?....

I have been MIA for over a month! I do apologize!

We made our annual summer trip to Manitoba in early July and I logged in to blog up there and had trouble logging in with my switch in location.....hence my absence for the past few weeks.

We spent 3.5 weeks with family and friends and doing partnership development. It was great to see many of you!

My sweet, darling niece was born while we were there! Welcome Abigail Jane! It was such a blessing to meet her hours after her birth and be able to see her a few times =)

We arrived back in KC on July 28th and started moving by the 1st. We are now settled in to our new apartment in a different building on the base and have been here a week. We LOVE it!!!! Love, love, love it! I am sooooooo thankful!

After sharing a room with Noah for almost his entire life, we finally have our own room again!!! And it is awesome =) Noah loves having his own room too and he's really proud and wants to show everyone his room =)

Life on base is bustling like usual with our February International DTS just graduating 2 days ago, Shane being in the City Impact Intensive for 3 weeks every morning and trying to get the rest of his work accomplished in the afternoons and for myself as we prepare for our upcoming Missional Womens Conference in September! Ladies...check it out! You are all invited!! www.ywamkansascity.com/events!

Hope to write more often now that we're home!

A Glorious Homecoming

My Grandma has gone home to Jesus and is experiencing a glorious homecoming! I can imagine her fully alive, fully restored in every way, walking in joy, peace and awe as she sees clearly what God and His Kingdom are like! I can wait to meet Grandma again in eternity when we will truly be the fullness of who God created us to be! How much fun will that be :)

Grandma passes away early on Saturday morning, June 28th. Her funeral is on Wednesday.

Unfortunately, we are unable to leave base earlier than originally planned (on Friday morning) so we will not be able to be there in person. I am so thankful I got to be with her earlier this month and honor her and say good bye in person while she could still interact with me. That time was precious and meaningful!

Thank you for your prayers for our family during the last 6 weeks. Please continue to lift up my Grandpa. Life is going to be very different without his friend who has been by his side for over 65 years. Please remember him in prayer.

But we do not mourn as those who have no hope! Grandma is seeing and hearing incredible things that she has never experienced before! No more death, sorrow, crying or pain but God is making all things new! What a glorious hope and what a glorious homecoming.

Update on My Grandma

Hello friends!

My Grandma is still on this earth and each day the family thinks it could be the last, but my Grandma is so strong and her time to go hasn't come yet. I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with her earlier this month. God knew that I needed that in this process.

It is hard to be away from family at these moments. We were away on DTS when Shane's Grandpa died. That was super hard for us as we loved him dearly and were quite close with him.

It is hard to be away again. None of my grandparents have passed away since I have been alive so this is a first in this area for our family.

I really want to be at the funeral to honor her and be there with the family. God knows the timing. Only He knows the details and just as He has the hairs on Grandma's head numbered, He knows the number of her days too. God is good. All the time.

We leave for Canada in 9 days. I'm in a waiting state....waiting for news on babies being born soon and Grandma's glorious homecoming to Jesus.  Life and death....both so fragile. Thankfully in this case, both will be glorious. New life here on earth and new life eternal.

My Grandma

I've been MIA the last few weeks. Sorry peeps!

Things have been a little crazy. My dear grandma Reimer had a stroke a month ago and I went up to Canada to see her and the family 2 weeks ago. Noah and I made the long drive together and had a special time with family and without a packed schedule because it was an impromptu trip just for family. We will be returning in 2 weeks with Shane this time and look forward to seeing many friends and family at that time!

Please keep my grandma and my family in your prayers. She is on her last few days and going to go home to Jesus very soon. She knows Jesus and that makes this process SO MUCH easier! Soon she will be in glory and the phrase I've been getting in prayer is that she will have a "glorious homecoming"! It is going to be incredible.

My grandparents have been married 65 years and seeing my grandpa care for my grandma in the hospital was so precious. Pray for my grandpa who is losing his best friend who has been by his side most of his life by this age. Pray for my dad and family as they support grandma and pray that there would be no pain or suffering for my grandma.

Thanks for the prayers! God is good.

My Boys

These two made my Mother's Day a few weeks ago so very special! They treated me like a queen and I felt so loved all day long =) My hubby was the mastermind behind all the fun parts, letting me sleep in, wake up to a lovely brunch, have another nap in the afternoon, cooked a gourmet supper and sent me off to the prayer room for the evening with homework to ask Jesus how He feels about me in my role of mommy. My little buddy picked out a card and flowers for me and was sooo proud of his gift. Adorable! And we actually captured a very awesome mommy and son selfie!

I am so blessed! I love these two!