35 weeks and pics!!

Here we are at 35 weeks and some pics from this past week:


Nataleigh with her friend, Evie having a playdate. Evie and Nataleigh are just a few weeks apart in age and our families are helping to start up Forest City Church:

Some things to pray for...

I would like to share some praise with you about what has been going on in our recent church plant.
1. God has been providing like crazy for us financially!!! Praising Him for those who are supporting us in every way! Prayer and finances are the two biggest ways to get involved in our ministry. Cleveland is a lost place and we rejoice that others are seeing the importance of our ministry here.
2. We have had many opportunities to share with people about our new church (especially those who are actually from the exact area the church is going to be) and they are so curious and excited!

Our new church plant will be starting services on September 11, 2011. We are in the process of making some big decisions right now and I'm asking you to pray for 2 things:
1. Our first core group meeting (those who are interested in being a part of the start up process) is on Sat., April 2. Please pray that those who are coming would have open hearts to hear our vision and be excited to take part! Please pray that we will continue to make the most of every opportunity to invite people to this!
2. We have a wonderful possibility for a meeting place and they have accepted our offer. Now we just need prayer about the financial agreement on this facility...that all would be settled at a reasonable price on both ends.

If you would like to know how to get involved in what we are doing please contact me! We are always needing Mission Groups to come for a few days or a week. We have a few lined up already for this summer and I look forward to those of you coming and seeing what is going on here!

Recent discoveries on my journey with Christ

I've done a horrible job blogging this week and I'm extremely sorry! I just wanted to share some things on my heart!
Ever since Sept/Oct I finally listened to God and began a Bible Study here at our house with other women. I was yearning for this and really felt the tug from Him to get something started! We began with Beth Moore's study on Esther and that was an incredible journey. We were able to borrow the DVD's from a local church and we each purchased our own study books where we would be in the Word at least 5 days a week with this particular study. I had never done a Beth Moore study before and boy was it challenging and a wonderful study! It's one of her newer ones and I highly recommend it! The group wanted to do another one and I wasn't so sure what to do since our family is getting ready to embark on becoming a family of four. I wasn't so sure about continuing to both host and lead. After much prayer God led us to study the Psalms of Ascent (Psalm 120-134) (Stepping UP) It's a 6-week study so the timing has worked out great (so far) with the arrival of our newest addition.
I realized I needed to be in the Word more on a deeper level and needed other women to share this and life with. We weren't meant to be on this journey alone!
So one day our study was on Psalm 128 and in this section in verse 3 it says "Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house, your sons like young olive trees around your table." In Psalm 128 the fruitful vine is the wife and in John 15 the Vine is Christ Himself. "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my word remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." -John 15:1-8 (NIV)
Later, followers of Christ are called His Bride and comprise the branches. The point of Christ's teachings are the branches and the Bride of Christ is still the one commanded to increase and bear much fruit.
Beth then had us look at Luke 19:21-27 to see what the point was for this parable.
Beth closes with this in our study: "When Christ called His Bride (the church) to be fruitful, and through its fruitfulness, to multiply, He wasn't just issuing a great idea or even and invitation. He was issuing a command. God not only enables increase but He also expects it. What we read of Christ's final face-to-face words to His disciples in Matt. 28:19 is not called The Great Permission. It's called The Great Commission. Christ chose and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last. He placed His Spirit within you the moment you received Him as Savior."

Fruitful, yes Lord I will be fruitful. And the timing of this particular study with an opportunity that came today was nothing but His perfect timing and ways! Thank you, Lord for teaching me this!

Weekend To Remember

This weekend Chris and I attended Family Life's, Weekend To Remember. It was our first marriage conference we have attended and let me tell you...all of our married family and friends... YOU NEED TO GO!!! To my family and friends who are not married please tell your friends and family about this conference. I believe in this ministry and believe that we all can benefit in some way from it. Our marriages and families need this!
It was incredible, transforming and encouraging! They have them all over the country (over 130 of them) so I'm sure you would be able to find one close to you. Just go to their website-familylife.com
or
click here: http://www.familylife.com/site/c.dnJHKLNnFoG/b.5846045/k.8C0A/Weekend_to_Remember__Marriage_Getaway.htm?fromhp=WTRstatic

My inlaws are incredible and thanks to them we were able to leave Nataleigh with them (the longest time I've ever been away from her!) She enjoyed her time with Nonna and Grandpa as did they!

My Birthday Weekend

This is a couple weeks overdue but I didn't have internet access for about a week. On Friday, we celebrated my Birthday with Chris painting the nursery and him making homemade manicotti! He was busy! He made the noodles, sauce, meatballs from scratch! He sure knows how to win this girls heart :) hahaha On my actual Birthday my inlaws took us out for Breakfast before church and then afterwards they brought over Dairy Queen! ;) yum! It was a wonderful weekend! My mom and niece, Ella came in the night of my Birthday to spend the week with me while Chris went to school. She brought yummy homemade strawberry shortcake.

33 weeks 2 days

Here we are at 33 weeks 2 days. Hard to believe...this pregnancy has flown by! Everything is still great! Praise Him for it all! He has blessed us so much! We do our hospital tour tomorrow...we are excited to be at a different one this time and look forward to seeing a new place!
My belly is def. a lot bigger this time! I feel like I felt at the very end of my pregnancy with Nataleigh so hopefully I'm not too miserable by the end! ;)

33 weeks with Nataleigh:

Noah's Birthday

We celebrated our friends, Shawn and Angela's son's (Noah) Birthday at the beginning of March. Nataleigh had a blast playing with Noah and Kellen. They are all three very close in age. Noah and Kellen only a few weeks apart and Nataleigh 3 months later. I love watching them play together! Pure Joy! ;)

I'm sorry I have no pics this week! :(

Hi! So, no pics this week...Chris has the computer with him at school. :( I can still post though! :)
Had my 32 week apt. yesterday with the midwife. All continues to be great! Praise God for a healthy baby!!! Baby's head was still down!
Hope you are all doing well! Had a great Birthday on Sunday! Chris made me homemade manicotti (pics to come) and we made homemade ice cream sundaes on Fri because Sun he left for class. On Sunday my wonderful in-laws took us out for breakfast, we went to church and then came home and my in-laws brought over some ice cream! Chris was off then to the airport and my mom and niece, Ella were on their way to come stay with us!
Here we are and having a great week!

Love to all!
Jessica

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Jessica! Hope it is a great one! God bless you! Hugs Anna

Stinky Footprints

So one morning last week Chris woke me up at 4am asking me if I smelled skunk. I wasn't smelling it as strong as he was at first until my nostrils starting opening up. We both thought the smell was so bad that there just had to be a skunk in the house. Chris went out to check and thankfully there was no skunk! So as time has gone on we have seen evidence of this skunk with its little footprints in the snow. We are thinking it is living underneath our sun porch. The other morning when Chris went to take the trash out there were 2 skunks that walked right past our side door. So, thankfully we called the city and they will set traps on Monday! You would think we lived in the country with all of our wildlife! So far we have had deer, WAY too many squirrels, groundhogs, skunk, rabbits, mice...what could be possibly be next? At least in the city they come take care of it...;)