A Haircut & A Birthday Celebration

Last time I wrote, I mentioned that we were in Canada and said that I will post some pics. Well these are not it. I just wanted to share a few pics of James first haircut and Abbie's 3rd b-day. James was overdue for his first haircut and since Dad was going to cut his hair and Micah's, he decided to chop James' curls (sad day for mom). Dad was also tired of people mistaking his little boy for a girl. As for as Abbie's b-day, her only request was for a princess cake. With limited kitchen access and her food allergies, I opted to bake her a box cake omitting the eggs and substituting them with applesauce (don't make that mistake). It did not turn out how I imagined it, but with the help of my hubby in fixing it, my girl was ecstatic. She loved her cake and ate 2 1/2 slices (it was her first cake ever). She also surprised mom & dad and chose a strawberry shortcake doll for a gift (if you know Abbie, she loves what Micah loves...trains and cars). We chose to celebrate her b-day on Friday the 14th instead of the Sunday the 16th (actual b-day). We knew that Sunday would be a busy day for us and wanted to set a special day aside to make it special for her. All in all she had a wonderful weekend celebration, we did not do much but my girl enjoyed her birthday...praise the LORD! Thank you all for the birthday wishes. Enjoy these pics.

Unknown to what is about to happen...

Not going to well...tears, tears, tears.

Almost done..

Finally...my big boy baby!

Starting Abbie's day with a brunch at Dennys.

Dinner at McDonalds

Her birthday gift from mom & dad...strawberry shortcake.

Coloring a special princess pic (gift from a church member).

Blowing out candle from her special cake.

Strawberry Shortcake had to be a part of the celebration.

Enjoying her cake.

Ending the night with storytime + strawberry shortcake.

Abbie on her birthday (that Sunday)!

 

 

 

Please keep us in your prayers as we are almost done with deputation. In a couple of weeks, we will be back in Virginia and then the big move to New Orleans. Please pray for traveling safety and for housing in NOLA. Ttyl.

God's Beauty & Blessings

My, oh my! It has surely been an interesting few weeks for us. We were in the state of Oregon & in Washington and had the opportunity to see some of God's beautiful work. But first, I must tell you about a couple of God's blessings. I do not want it to seem like I am bragging...but I am just amazed at how God can be so good to us (sinners saved by His grace). So, if it seems like I am bragging...I'm just bragging on how good God is and giving Him the glory.

Well, one of the ways God blessed us in Oregon is that we had a Wednesday open (meaning no meeting scheduled). Generally through a meeting, we are able to present our call to New Orleans, give churches opportunity to partner up with us and receive a love offering that helps with travel (gas, food, etc.) and pay bills. With no meeting scheduled that day, we did not have opportunity for any of the three mentioned. Well, God blessed in spite of that once again. He allowed Brent to have lunch with a local pastor in the town we were staying in who handed him a love offering (generous one) at the end of their lunch meeting...that was clearly God! Secondly, we were at a church planters missions conference in Washington. The pastor and moderator gave Brent generous amount of time to present our call to a large audience of pastors & showed our video. Through that, we scheduled 3 more meetings, receive another generous love offering and had more than 3 pastors decide take us on for support on the spot without us visiting their church. If you have ever been on deputation, you will know that that is BIG! Once again....it was clearly God!

We also had the opportunity to do a little sightseeing as a family (we do not get to do much of that at all). We visited Multnomah Falls in Oregon. In driving on this scenic road, Multnomah Fall is the longest & biggest attraction but there are several other falls to see along the way. The kids had so much fun and the falls were more beautiful than I could ever imagine. Our little James also made a little friend during our stay in Washington...they shared everything from toys, tears and food. Lastly, Abbie also made a few friends as well. They decided to dress like princesses...they were so cute! Here are a few pics...hope you enjoy them.

The Givens Clan

How beautiful...

Still in love....

If you take a close look at the top of the fall, you will see my hubby who climbed all the way to the top of the fall in his dress shoes (he almost gave me a heart attack).

My babies - at the bottom of one fall.

is it not just beautiful...

Mommy & her rugrats.

This one is the biggest (longest) fall - taken in 2 shots. Shot 1

Shot 2

Jimmy saying "cheese"

Kiddos playing in the water.

Jimmy & his bud, Isaac.

The Princesses

That is it for now. We are in Canada right now. So the next time, I will share with you about our trip. Ttyl.