Mission Update - 1

Dear Family and Friends,

After a two hour flight delay in Paris, we have arrived in Niger safe and sound, with all of our luggage and tubs intact. We were greeted at the airport by Rodrigo, our LINK™ Field Director, and several of our friends and co-workers here. We are now on our way to our accommodations at The LOC (LINK™ Outreach Center) where we will enjoy a late night dinner, unpack, have a brief team meeting, and then head to bed for a good night's rest. Please continue to pray for us on this mission. We look forward to sharing all the great things God has in store while we are here in Niger, Africa.

The 2013 LINK™ LiveTen24 Discovery Mission
 

Niger, Here He Comes!

We enjoyed a sweet morning at church this morning seeing the team prep, pack, prayed for and off to Dulles to catch their flight. It is a different feeling this go round because I've been there, and I know Geoff is returning to see friends and help one of his good friends here take the journey to Niger for the first time. I think we are both simply humbled that he has been able to go 3 times in 1 year. What a gift.

 

We are already missing him (especially me!), but we look forward to hearing about his adventures, which I'll be posting here as I receive them from the team. Please keep him and the team in your prayers!
 

 

Look at this difference in us from last year to this year. Our sweet babies grow up so fast!

 

 

 Saying goodbye.  

Meet Our New Kids

Our sweet mama goat, Star, gave birth to 3 little kids (baby goats are called Kkds) on Saturday! We thought she had twins, so were pleasantly surprised to discover three sweet babies. We missed the birth and everything, but all are doing well. I can't wait to post some more pictures of these cuties - they weigh about 2 lbs, and are so much tinier than I expected. They are so precious!

Back to Niger and Back to School

For the third time in 12 months Geoff is going to Niger on a mission trip. I can't even tell you how excited he is. He loves this place and the people there. I will be posting the updates I receive on the blog, so if you're interested in what he's doing on the ground you can keep up. And please PRAY! For safety, for miracles, for God to do what only He can do. And I must say that God has really shown up for these trips. We haven't paid for a single one because of generous donations and anonymous givers. WOW. 

And for the first time in 7 years I am returning to school! It's hard for me to write that because part of me can't believe it. Homework, class, midterms!! I feel a little old for that, but really, you're never too old to learn. And it's never too late to do something you feel God has put on your heart to do...over and over and over. If you've known me a while you may remember that back in 2006 I took prerequisite classes and applied to VCU's Accelerated Bachelor's Program. I declined my acceptance for a number of reasons - good job opportunity, the money and I just wasn't certain. Despite that, it is something that continues to come up in conversations, situations and in my heart and mind. And when we visited Niger in September, the day that had the most impact on me was our day with the medical mission team. Seeing healthcare from that perspective was eye opening and devastating. That was when I knew I had to try again. I felt God tugging at my heart saying "this is what you're supposed to do." So, within a few weeks of our return, I applied to the same program at VCU, signed up for the last prerequisite (Statistics; thankfully the classes I took in 2006 were acceptable despite the time lag), and this week I received my acceptance letter. Wahoo!

My sweet husband who is so supportive sent me this:

Sunshine,

I am so proud of you! I can't wait to see what God has in store for you and our family with nursing school. Times will be even busier than they are now, but with God FIRST we will smoothly glide through.

With all my love and support!
 

Yes, this will certainly be a hard season, and it's going to be tough to be away from the kids so much. That will probably be the hardest, but it is just a season, and I want them to go after their God-given dreams. I think the best way for them to do that is to see an example. So, I'm going to trust the peace I have about it, do what I can and pray like crazy because we will need God's help to juggle it all. Here we go!

One Step at a Time

Not just a few forced steps anymore, our little boy is ready to walk (though he appears to have had a few glasses of vino before doing so). We are his biggest cheering squad, so he has this sweetest smile on his face after he's done this just waiting for the clapping and cheers.

From Snow to Popsicles

Mary-Michael and I thoroughly enjoyed the snow we had though it was gone as quickly as it came. While Daddy slept because he plowed snow all night and Frazier took his morning nap, we enjoyed some snow digging and snow cream. 

And then we were off to Bavon in Mathews County! My Aunt Sharon has a home on the water that she let my cousin and family and our family use for the weekend. Blair and I are 4 months apart, were in each other's weddings and I think would agree we are very grateful our moms were intentional about us getting together often as we were growing up. We had a really nice and relaxing weekend with our families being together (even with 4 kids under 4!), plus the kids got a long well and one morning our 2 slept until 7:30am. Heaven!! 

The temperatures reached 60, so we all really enjoyed getting outside to run around. Blair and I enjoyed a 4+ mile walk with the 2 older kids, and we are already hoping this will be a repeat weekend next year...

Meet Star and Sophia

I'm not sure how I forgot to post about these little cuties. Here are the newest additions to the Lawrence Farm (aka Soul Farms). They are Nigerian Dwarf goats.

Star is pregnant (with twins, we think), and she is due at the end of January (conveniently when Geoff is in Niger!). Hopefully, it will be an easy birth that she can manage on her own. Once we wean the babies, we hope to continue to milk her and see how the kids do with goat milk. So exciting!

This is Sophia who is about 6 months old. We let Mary-Michael name her, and for a while she was calling her Christina (Zach's girlfriend's name), but we weren't sure how she'd feel about that, so we've slowly transitioned to Sophia (who if you don't know is a new Disney princess). Sophia is incredibly sweet and friendly. 

 
The first time we met the goats, I told Mary-Michael we had to go inside to fix dinner after about 20 minutes. She quickly told me I could go inside and fix dinner, but she would stay with the goats (that didn't happen, but it made me laugh). 

These little goats are just another reason to get us outside in the sunshine. Love it!

Love this song!

I've been the one to shake with fear
And wonder if You're even here
I've been the one to doubt Your love
I've told myself You're not enough
I've been the one to try and say
I'll overcome by my own strength
I've been the one to fall apart
And start to question who You are

You're the One who conquers giants
You're the One who calls out kings
You shut the mouths of lions
You tell the dead to breathe
You're the One who walks through fire
You take the orphan's hand
You are the One Messiah
You are I AM

I've been the one held down in chains
Beneath the weight of all my shame
I've been the one to believe
That where I am, You cannot reach

The veil is torn
And now I live
With the Spirit inside
With the same One
The very same One
Who brought the Son back to life!

Hallelujah, He lives in me!

-MercyMe

Taking a Stroll

I'm sure this is violating all sorts of toy safety rules and that there's a tag underneath that says "For babydolls only (not live ones, especially ones close to 25 lbs)." Oops. It was too cute to not snap a few pictures. She was racing him all over the place, and he couldn't stop smiling. Sibling love.

Praises for My Husband

It's the little things. While fancy trips to a tropical place might be nice, in our day-to-day lives it's really the small gestures, the "we're in this together" spirit and overall generosity that comes from Geoff that makes me so incredibly happy to be married to him. This week my secretly-loves-musicals husband took me to see Les Miserables at the movies, and it was fabulous. Fabulous to have alone time and fabulous to see such a beautiful story unfold. The next night when I was supposed to meet with a friend, I received a text that says "Frazier's car seat?" Ugh. I like being thrifty but this switching back and forth can get old, especially when I'm the one who always forgets our poor children need to ride safely! I drove over to my Mom's where he was picking up the kids and staying for dinner since I had taken so long. He wasn't mad or annoyed. He told me to go home, take a bath and that he would bring the kids home after dinner. Really?! When I started to think about it, "he said stop thinking about it and go." So, I did.

One Friday he had breakfast with the Director of Needle's Eye Ministries who invited Geoff to consider being on the Board of Directors. Wow. I worked at Needle's Eye several years ago, so I know how much of an honor this is. Later on that same day he received an invitation to join the Missions Committe at church. Mr. Popular! He can't do it all, so he is praying, but how awesome for him. While he feels ill-equipped, I know he could provide so much helpful and honest feedback, as well as many great ideas. I am so proud of him. Awesome job, babe.

Happy New Year!

We enjoyed a family friendly New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with friends at our house. Lots of unhealthy appetizers and good conversation to end 2012 and friends returned to start 2013 with a hearty breakfast at our house the next morning. Since other children's toys are always the best, our house looked like a tornado came through for a good 24 hours. But all had fun, and we were happy to spend time with people we enjoy. We are looking forward to 2013 and all it's surprises. We have a lot of exciting things ahead of us! 

Toys, toys and more toys!

Micah and his follower, Mary-Michael. She imitated just about everything he did! You should have seen the dance off they had.

Girlfriends - Addison, Sherry Lee and M&M. Thank goodness we had multiple baby dolls for these girls!