Tuesday Highlights

It's Tuesday. I am off a half day today and I should be getting the house cleaned. Instead it took me an hour to compose 2 facebook messages. One to the youth girls about their Bible study and one to their mothers. Then I was tired of looking at the sidewalk on this blog, so I decided I need to make a few new posts. I guess the house can wait.

Since it's been a month, I'll spare the details and just tell you the highlights.

**Jewelry shows seemed have gone into cease and desist mode. But that is okay. We have been so incredibly busy that I don't think I could have made it to the shows!

**Work is fabulous, we have 2 new gals, but it has been overwhelming. We have a new system to learn. It's been interesting. Yesterday was the first normal day in weeks!

**Brent started a 6 week dodgeball league for the youth. They are having a great time!

**Our adoption has taken a surprising twist! It's so exciting! We have a new decision to make, but we don't know what to do! But it's okay that we don't yet. We are learning to wait and listen. Be patient, go slow.

Habakkuk 2:3 says:
For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come
and will not delay.

So here we are waiting. I keep remembering this verse, praying and trying hard to listen. I have a study by Pricilla Shirer that I am doing about discerning the voice of God. It's been a great help during this time to help me to remember to go slow and be patient.
Our agency recently put us in contact with two families that have adopted from Peru. We had great conversations with both families.
Maybe by Christmas, we can give all the details! But it may not even happen.
So be on the look out!

What's going on.....

What a month! There has been a lot going on. In our families and with us! It hasn't worked out for me to blog any of this since so many things have been happening.

One of the things below was Sonya's birthday - very fun times. Also April is engaged! Hooray! She and Tobi will be getting married in March. Aunt Barbara and I are going to give a family shower for her. I'm very excited about it. We received so many showers when we were married that it is nice to give back and be apart of someone else's new life - especially when it is your sister-in-law! :)

Destin finally says my name. My mom and Brittany started calling me "Auntie M". So when Destin says it is sounds like "Ann-y, Mmmm". He can't say "M" yet, but the "mmmm" is too cute! :) He also has a hard time saying Granma for my mom, so it comes out as "Double"!!! - Hilarious! The other day in the car, we were saying the ABC's and he will repeat each letter as you say it and towards the end of the alphabet he started saying "LM-mommy, N, OP-mommy, Q, RS-mommy, T, UV-mommy......" he's so funny.

The adoption has been really frustrating the past month or two, but things are finally picking up!

Brent and I have been doing some adoption training online this weekend. There is a lot - and when I say a lot - I mean A LOT of reading to do!! There were plenty of videos to watch also. I really enjoyed the videos. They contained very good information on medical issues, traveling issues, post-adoption information with the agencies and government(s). The interviews with the families were my favorite part of the training. It was really interesting to hear their experiences with different parts of the adoption and traveling. Some of the information seemed to go over my head, but I like knowing what to expect and I'm sure I will need a refresh course! But the agency will be giving us exactly what we need to know at the right time.

Speaking of agencies, we are currently hoping to transfer to a different agency! We are very excited about this new agency! We are hoping that everything transfers smoothly and quickly!But a few things are slower than I would like!
We are partly to blame for the slow down in this process. For a few weeks, we really weren't

sure what we were going to do. I started to second guess everything. Then one night my friend, April, stopped by for a visit and during our conversation, she started me on the thought maybe that God had a different idea for our adoption than I originally thought. April's friendship is a true blessing. She is one of the few people I know (or at least who I have talked to) who understands about not knowing what God is doing. Even though they were very different circumstances, we had a lot of the same feelings and thoughts about what was going on our lives. We know God has this process, but the pathway is very foggy, if not at what seemed to be dead-end!

So I've been reading this book called "Disappointment with God" by Phillip Yancy. It's very good so far. You should check it out. Although I did wonder what the people at the bookstore thought about me as I was buying it! :)

Earlier this month......

Ryder turned 2. He received ducks for his birthday from Brent and April. Seriously. Brent even made a duck house!

We had our 5 year anniversary. Now about that. When I was younger - I mean as in a teenager, I thought that when you had been married for 5 years that that was a very long time - in today's world it actually is a long time, but I apparently thought that you had a job or jobs that paid a lot of money and you could take a "second honeymoon" or travel to a very fancy place such as Hawaii, Europe if you were really lucky. I have no idea from who or where I got that idea, but it is so not true in our life. So our very fancy place turned out to be Nashville. We returned to the scene of the crime - the Parthanon on Vanderbilts' campus - this where Brent proposed to me. It was a bit crazy in Nashville. There was a came at Vandy later that day and the Celebration of Cultures festival was going on. It was pretty interesting. We had good time walking around the park and seeing the different cultures. We ate lunch at place Brent discovered when he and Tim went to Nashville for a youth minister's conference.

We will finish our homestudy on Tuesday! WHAT?!?! That's exciting! But there are probably going to be some changes in our adoption. The Lord has been doing somethings and I've been thinking and Brent and I have been talking. So we will see on Tuesday. Just pray. I am not the best deciphering what to do. I am as James describes as "a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." But I'm pretty confident in these changes. So updates will come!

Welcome Charleigh!

Charleigh Reese Colee was born today, July 16. She weighed 7.5lbs.

She was taken to NICU for about 4 hours with a little bit of fluid around her lungs, but she is doing great now. Brittany is also doing fabulous!

Charleigh is so sweet to hold. But I'm sure she will be a little fighter, esp. with her two older brothers who love to wrestle!

Ryder - above - he is really unsure about the new baby.

Gray - below - decided to hold her.

Blog Changes

I know I keep changing our blog around - but just white was driving me nuts, i needed some color!!

"All Persons Acquired"

To Our Dear, Wonderful Texas Friends/Family,

"Something brought you to my mind today

I thought about the funny ways you made me laugh

and yet I feel like it's okay to cry with you.

There's something about just being with you,

when I leave I feel like I've been near God

and that's the way it ought to be.....yeah

You've been more than a friend to me

You fight off my enemies

You have spoken a truth over my life

and you'll never know what it means to me

just know you've been on your knees for me

O you have blessed my life, more than you'll ever know......

May the blessing return to you a hundred fold....."

(lyrics and music by Watermark)

"Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan." Genesis 12:5

When I first read this last Monday - August 11 - I was very excited. All persons they aquired? Should that apply to us? All our friend will be moving to Alabama with us!?! Could it be true?!But alas, times have changed and no one will be moving with us. We are not allowed to bring all the persons we aquired in Texas. But then yesterday, during our 14 hour ride in a UHaul - (which by the way I do not ever recommend, even thought we did have fun) - , I realized that in some ways we are taking all the persons we aquired with us. You are coming within our hearts and within our lives.

We have learned so much from each of you! You have changed us by helping us grow - spiritually, mentally, and some physically! You have taught us, encouraged us, invested your time in us, loved us, befriended us, become our family. I cannot possibly name all the ways you challenged us to grow (and grow up!) nor all the things we have learned from you. You have become a part of us, a part our lives! (ha, when I first typed part - it came out party - so maybe you are a party in us! haha!) We look forward to using these things that have become apart us in our new place of service. We are SO incredibly grateful that the Lord has allowed us to be friends with you!!

These past few weeks have been a gift from the Lord. First, two years ago, He orchestrated that our apartment lease would run out on July 31. This would allow/force us to move out early and pack all our stuff and put in storage for a few weeks. Next, He used Kent, Jane, their boys, and their house. We were able to live with them for about 2 1/2 weeks. They are an amazing family! This way Brent and I would be able to see all of you our last week in Fort Worth without the stress of packing up. This past week, He enabled us to visit and see all the friends that have impacted our lives, including those we only saw on occasion or were leaders in our church!

Praise to the Lord for His indescrible goodness!! As my friend Brandy said, "it's by God's grace that He allows any goodness at all."

Dear friends, you are a gift in our lives. We will continue our friendship. We can't wait to hear from you and see how God uses you.

Thank you!

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." Phillipians 1:2 - 11

Love to you all!

Brent and Marianne

Ready......Set.......GO!!!!

The madness begins!

We officially move in with Kent and Jane this week!

We started packing on Saturday.

In 100 and something degree weather!

WHAT A MESS!!

(update....the kitchen table is now in storage)

Changes

Well it's finally June! There are a few changes in our life direction, okay really just one. But we decided (well, really, Brent decided) not to go with Team Impact. They kept telling him different things about working with them this summer. Nothing could ever be nailed down for sure. It was getting pretty frustrating. After all, our lease is up in July and I turned in our notice to our apartment so we have to be out by July 31 and we weren't getting anywhere with Team Impact. So after one phone call, Brent decided it was time to head in a different direction.
Don't get me wrong, we still think Team Impact is a great ministry, but it was not for Brent. The Lord has put together a presentation for Brent to speak and use the strength feats on his own. He has allowed Brent to speak at some many churches and a few schools in the past several months!

About two weeks ago now, Brent with our friend David and the youth group from David's church to do Mission Lab at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. It was AMAZING! Brent's passion for youth was renewed. The youth had a choir tour presentation in which Brent spoke and used a few strenght feats. They did the presentation about 4 times, I think.
So since all this has happened, he has decided to see about different church position possibilities! All this to say that, we might be moving out of Texas!

In all honesty a few weeks ago, the idea of us moving was unthinkable. We have an incredible, incredible church! We have the most amazing friends that we didn't even want to think about leaving. We like Texas for the most part - besides the fact that Texans are confused and think they are part of the south - i think it is all the heat gone to their head! - the plan was to move a closer to our church and Brent's job. So we would be living about 30 -45 minutes away from where we live now. We could set up shop for real.

But now the idea of moving is not so infathomable. In fact it sounds exciting! :) New places, new friends, new ministries, a new start!Ironically a few of our friends might have some changes coming in their lives and so we all might be changing at the same time!

I don't know what will happen. Whatever happens, I hope it all takes place before July 31! I have learned that whenever God wants to do something, after all the players are in place, thing move rather swiftly! :) So I hope these players are in place!

Maybe we will move, maybe we will stay here. So when you think about us, please pray for us.
I'll keep you posted!