Busy as a Bee

I am still working on the list that was posted a couple back so I am busy as a bee! We presented yesterday at SEBC and God truly blessed our time...We give Him the glory.

I must say i am super excited about Ryan and Sam's wedding this weekend! I just picked up Daniel's tux and it is so adorable! I will put up pictures as soon as possible from their wedding for all who want to see or can't make it!

This is a picture of the soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Smith in the Virgin Islands where they got engaged! They are so cute! (in case you don't know how we know them let me explain...Ryan and Daniel (my hubby) have been best friends for 7+ years. In High School, Ryan's first touchdown catch was thrown by my own adorable Quarterback, Daniel! Sam is a friend from school who has become a dear friend to me!) the end

magen

Today...

Here are a few pictures of my day.

I came home for lunch today and spent some time with Madie.  She really likes it when I come home and let her go to the bathroom and eat.

                                                                    Madie and Me

                                                    She is wondering what I am doing

Daniel and I went to the gym after work today.  We could not wake up this morning...I hit the snooze button at least 6 times.  Daniel would say about 20.  I truly enjoy having a partner who likes to work out as much as I do!

                                                          Madie looks super excited!

Tis the Season...

I forgot to add number 10 to the last post, but that would have been put up the Christmas tree and decorate. As of right now we have completed #10 and #1....two down and only 8 to go! Woohoo!!

Pictures of our night:

  The beginning...Madie was a bit hungry

                                                             Still working on the tree

                                                               The finished product!!

                                                                 My sweet baby girl

                                                               She's getting a little sleepy

 Are you taking my picture?

My To Do List....this week!!

Here is what I need to do before Sunday, December 2nd (except for #8)

1. Complete missions presentation that Daniel and I will present on Wednesday.
2. Present presentation to student body at SEBC
3. Start and Finish November Newsletter....and send them out to all our supporters
4. Attend Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner for one of my favorite couples (and Daniel's best friend). Also, attend their WEDDING ON SATURDAY--YEAH!
5. Make reservations for a Church Planting Conference Daniel and I will be attending in Orlando in a couple of months...also find a hotel to stay at and ask off for work.
6. Make our Christmas card picture (consisting of Daniel, Madie, and Me--it can take a while to get a photo where Madie is looking). Also, start working on our Christmas cards and send them out
7. Tell my Grandmother HAPPY BIRTHDAY on Saturday
8. Clean the house and both cars
9. AND DO MY CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

You can pray for us in so many ways....it is going to be a crazy week but at the same time a very exciting one that I have looked forward to for a while. I hope to be updating more so keep checking this site for more postings!

France so far

We are here!!  We arrived in France on Saturday, November 3rd at 7:00am.  We spent our first few hours touring Paris which I might add is amazing to say the least.  After exploring the sites in Paris and eating lunch, we boarded a high speed train to Lyon.

We arrived in Lyon and stayed there from Nov. 3rd to the 5th.  WOW are my words that describe Lyon. I know that is not very descriptive, but that is all I can say.  It is absolutely beautiful.  We attended a French service (we stayed with a missionary couple in Lyon while we were there), and this is the church the husband pastors.  It is about 30 to 40 people.  When Daniel and I heard the people praise the One True God in French, it brought tears to both our eyes.  We were blown away.

We are now in Annecy....google this place and this is probably the picture you will see. 

 

We love it here.  This morning, after dragging Daniel out of bed, we went running.  Although it was cold, it was worth it!  We are leaving on a train this afternoon to Grenoble where we will be till sat.  Then we catch another high speed train to Paris and will stay there a week.  We will keep you posted but I will leave you with a link to see our pictures so far...ENJOY!!

click here

We are leaving for France!!

We have been up this morning since 5:00am.  I went to the gym while Daniel stayed at home and took care of Madie (ie gave her a bath).  We are both getting ready to leave for our flight at 11:40.  I have this feeling that I am forgetting something, but I can't figure out what it is.  Well I am off to take a shower and then to the airport!   I'll put pictures up while we are in France!

magen

France...here we come

I can't believe it is time to leave...I can remember planning this trip thinking that it was a long way away. BUT Its HERE!! We leave tomorrow for our 15 day trip to France. You might be asking questions like :

1. Are you packed?

Well somewhat...let me explain. Daniel and I began packing Tuesday night. We or should I say "I" packed 14 different outfits (i will wear one over there to make 15) and daniel packed maybe 10. Then after getting the clothes neatly folded, the suitcase zipped up, daniel began lifting the bag off the bed and realize it weighed about 80 to 90 lbs (per bag). If you dont know the limit is 50 and anything over you have to pay 100.00 per bag. So, we began thinking about putting it in 4 bags, but then we began thinking even harder and decided that we did not want to tote 4 bags and 2 carry-ons all around France or on the trains. So after contacting the missionaries over there, we decided to pack a week worth of clothes and wash while we are over there. So, we repacked and all i have left are my shoes and toiletries. Long explanation..sorry!

2. Are you excited?

Yes and No....I am very excited about going to France, meeting those who we will be interacting with, seeing the schools we will attend for language school, and just SEEING FRANCE. The NO comes in when we have to fly on a plane. Like in an earlier post....I DO NOT LIKE TO FLY. It is one of my FEARS (although I have done it so much). God definitely has a sense of humor because not only is he calling ME of all people to be a missionary in France, but also that He is calling me to do something I am terrified of--FLYING. But I will get over it. A LOL (TEAM people will get this) that stands for little old lady--told me last night that when she flies, she tells herself that if I make the flight then I will get to do all that was planned at the destination being traveled to, but if she doesn't and the plane goes down, then she will go up! This is very comforting!!

3. How long are you staying?

15 days (finally a short answer!)

4. Who is going?

Daniel and I (Madie is staying with my parents--and Daniel's parents for the first few nights)

5. Where will you be?

We will visit Paris and the surronding towns, and the Rhone-Alps region

Ok I think that is it! I will DEFINITELY post pictures when we get back...Daniel (and I) will take plenty I am sure.

One last thing...we just sent out our first newsletter and would love for you to look at it! Just go to our website http://www.francemission.com/ and click on the tab that says Newsletter. Enjoy!!

magen

JOY!

                                                    Phase 2 and Phase 4-what a gang!

WE ARE IN PHASE THREE!!! You are probably asking yourself right about now what in the world is this crazy girl talking about?! Well before I loose you, let me explain. Phase one is the application process to TEAM and going through all the tests and interviews. Then phase 2 is what we just completed last week--a week of "candidate school" where you learn more about TEAM, what being a missionaries is like, how to raise support, insurance and such while on the mission field and much much more.


                                                       our wonderful staff at TEAM!!

We had an amazing time last week getting to know people that are in the same situation that we are...in other words they don't think we are weird for just leaving our comfortable lives here to pursue God's calling on our lives.

So...phase three is what is called DEPUTATION (which if you did not know, it is a ministry). This is the phase where you raise your support (we started technically a little earlier but don't worry we got it cleared!) Anyways please PRAY for God's guidance in all of this and that we would seek to educate people about the need for the Gospel in France while raising prayerful and financial support!

Let there be LIGHT!

After much movement at work, I am finally (5 months) settled into my new office. The only thing that was missing was a lamp that could add even more color to my office. So yesterday I made a trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond and purchased a very resonable and colorful floor lamp. It adds so much to my office!

In other news, we leave on saturday for our candidate school training with TEAM. Daniel and I opted to drive to Wheaton so that we would not have to spend money on renting a car. I honestly love the journey in the car with the man i love!

I look forward to spending a week away (sat. to sat.) with Daniel learning about what we are both so passionate about...MISSIONS! I also look forward to the cooler weather...it should be about 50 degress at night and around 70ish during the day. I get so excited about waking up early, sliping into our workout close, and taking a long (5 ish miles) run through the neighborhoods that are so peaceful. Oh how excited i am...I WANT TO LEAVE NOW!

Before I leave though, I will be getting my hair done (high and low lights to go a little darker for winter with a cute cut) and then off to the spa for a deep tissue massage, scalp massage, and a relaxing pedicure (complements of my wonderful mother-in-law who got me a gift certificate to the spa for my birthday in April). I could not decide when I wanted to go, but 6 months wondering I relized this is the perfect time(not to mention they only give you a certain amount of time to use it)!

And finally...we leave for FRANCE in 29 days! OH THE EXCITEMENT!!!

Now what...

I feel like everytime I write on here it consists of updates, so i did not want to title this post UPDATES like all the other one's.

Anyways, I know I have not written in a while due to LIFE but I do want to inform you about a few new things. We went to Wheaton, IL a couple weeks ago to be officially appointed as TEAM missionaries. This process consisted of taking a test and meeting/interviewing with about 8 to 10 different people. The other day we got an email confirming that we are officially appointed and there are absolutly no concerns. WE COULD NOT BE HAPPIER!! Our trip was extremely informing and affirming! We learned how much support we will need each month and even our one time gifts. While we were there, Daniel and I both felt that God was truly confirming to us that this is what He has called us to do! We will be back up there in about 3 weeks for our canadate school--I am SUPER excited!!! Then in November we will be in France for 2 weeks. All the plans have been set in place for that which it wonderful!!!

In other news, Madie (our baby) is growing so big! I just took her to the doctor and she weighs 40.2 lbs. I love her so much even though the other day she chewed up my favorite pair of shoes from Ann Taylor, yes I said MY FAVORITE PAIR.

I heard a quote from a child the other day that almost--ok it did bring tears to my eyes:
Dogs are wonderful because you can leave them in a cage all day, and as soon as you get home and let them out, all they want to do is give you kisses and show you love. I thought that is pretty sweet!!

I don't know how much time I will have to update this blog because we have been assigned a lot of reading and studying to do on church planting, roman catholicism, Islam, new age, secularism, spiritism and much more from our visit to TEAM. This is going to be wonderful and we have already begun!!

I will post pictures from all our adventures...please be in prayer for us!