A surprise for Ian's first Christmas

I started making this for Ian after he played on one like this for a really long time.  These are the colors in Ian's room and he needed something soft to sit on and play with in the room.

 unstuffed

 Stuffed!

Merry Christmas from the Stamper Family

Ready, Set, Go!

Not sleeping through the night...

Guess what that means?

Mark is in love with the final smile where Ian has the spoon caught in his mouth. Mark laughs every time this is played and he played it a lot while he was making the video. Without fail, when the end comes he laughs out loud. I love hearing him laugh. I love my guys.

Materialism

How do you know you are getting caught up with things? Is it easy to buy something that you could do without? Do you find yourself thinking second thoughts about an item you put in your grocery cart? Do you watch TV and find things getting your attention? Things that appeal to you because, "you will be a better person if you have them". Do you find doubles of things laying around your house? Are you frustrated with stacks in certain corners? How do you deal with things that don't make your life simplified? Do you hold too tightly to things that can be ruined by a spill? Where do your thoughts run at the end of the day? In the morning, is your thinking freed from unnecissary things? What things are you known for-are they just things?

Laughter is the best medicine

A Surprise for my Birthday! DAD

My dad was on a trip with a friend to the Boundary Waters. He stopped by on the way back to Tennessee and it just happened to be on my Birthday. It was a quick visit- less than 24 hours. He is such a great dad. I thank the Lord for all He has given me in my father. His kindness and generosity are always shown no matter how short the time is that we are together. It was fun for him to see the grandkids and nice that Beth and I are together for such a visit as this.

Weekend at Stillwater

Mark decided we should go to a bed and breakfast for our anniversary and birthday celebrations. He looked around and found an adorable one in Stillwater called Rivertown Inn.

On the way there, we thoroughly enjoyed seeing the fall colors and of course the "normal" sites that come along with the fall season. Fall is my favorite time of year!

We pulled up to the Inn and my mouth just dropped. It was gorgeous.

I'm so thankful to the Lord for His gift to me. Mark is such a wonderful man of God. He strives to live a Spirit-filled life and he is always a joy to be around. I'm not just saying this... It's the truth.

This is were we pulled in. Straight ahead is the coach house which had two rooms. Each of the rooms were named after different authors. 

This is inside the coach house. I believe this is "Agatha Christi"

 

This was mark's favorite room "Oscar Wilde".

 We were able to tour the rooms that were still open.

 He loved this bathroom. It had a skylight over the bath tub.

Very Elegant!

The Fountain

Around the Garden

I loved the curtains that were on the porch. Mark and I got to sit in these chairs while we waited to be served our 3 course French breakfast. 

This Inn was well run. The rooms were immaculate and the yard was just as great.

The dining room where we ate breakfast.

We arrived at 5:00 and they had social hour where they served meats and cheeses as well as some "other  things."

This is our room... "Lewis Carroll" author of Alice and Wonderland.

It was on the third floor. An attic room with slanted ceilings and cozy fireplace, it was the perfect little get away.

There was an Alice and Wonderland Chess set, which we enjoyed. On the mantle was the Rabbit and 

on the Mirror stand in between the windows is the mad hatter.

The Inn keeper gladly took our picture.

I highly recommend this stay!

Sunday- a treasure for the saints

   I can truly say that it was good to be in the house of the Lord today. To meet with with a group of people for the common purpose of worshiping the Lord, what a rich treasure!  In Sunday school this morning it was wonderful to see how the college kids were musing over how to be more deliberate and intentional for the sake of Christ as individuals as well as a class. 
       During church it was wonderful to hear about the wisdom of God that is so far above anything I can comprehend.  By the way, I'm so thankful to the nursery workers who are serving the Lord by keeping my son so I can listen and glean from the teaching of the Word.
     Tonight, Mark and I were able to visit a church nearby to hear Scott and Juli Fulks, friends from college, present their burden for Spain. I'm excited for God's leading in their lives and pray that during this time of preparation they will be blessed and mature into all God has for them. 
    It is such a treasure to be able to be called a child of God and to be known by Him. We have been given so much and often I forget to meditate on all that is mine in Christ. Thanks be to God, who saw fit to give his Son to die, allowing that separation so that I might know intimacy with Him.  

Hammer, Hammer, Pound, Pound. My O My, what's that Sound?

This is Ian's room. Mark has been working on it with his spare time. It is underneath the kitchen and off of our room. The wall directly behind the ladder is the one we will knock down.

Right where you see the diagonal piece of trim is where the crib will fit just perfectly. I'm not sure of the exact measurements - it's small, but adorable. This wall is opposite the wall with the ladder

Mark is calling both his dad and mine for expertise, but also watching tutorials on how to do each step. I have to say it's looking great. Good job, Mark!!! I love the lights.

So he has completely built himself into this little room except for this one spot for sheet rock. Right now he is bringing everything in through this hole until we (he has been doing it all) knock down the wall that will connect this room to ours. 

We are so thankful to Beth and Jason for allowing us to live in their home and make it our home as we are in this temporary transition before heading to the mission field. 

More pictures to follow

Spending time with Daddy

Mark Stamper is the best husband and dad ever. He is such an encouraging, hard working man.  He is extremely helpful all the time and fun to spend time with at any time of the day. Hopefully soon I'll be able to post some pictures of Ian's little room that Mark is building for him. It's great to see how Mark has taken this project and run with it. At times when Mark is working on the computer studying or  researching, he often spends good quality time with Ian.

Having fun with my little man

What has happened in four months?

He goes from this

To this

To This

where has the time gone?

I'm not sure where the time has gone, but I know I've enjoyed every minute of it with the precious little child God has given us.

His little smiles always make me giggle and his laugh just brightens my day.

Things my mom did as a mother of four

I just had my first child, little Ian, in April. Howerver, I live in a house with my sister and her four children. Needless to say, it gets pretty busy. I was reflecting on my home in Chattanooga thinking about all that my mom did to make things beautiful. She made everything so special, fun and exciting. One thing that stuck out in my head this afternoon was the energy she spent on the garden and flower beds surrounding our house. I miss it. Thank you, mom for all your hard work.

While Beth and Jason are in NY

Jason and Beth, our brother and sister, are in NY on a mission trip with some of the teens in their youth group. They are the youth leaders and have been busy this summer with different camps and trips. This week Mark and I have their oldest three children along with our little Ian. It has been fun. We've played with legos, Lincoln Logs, water slides and plenty of blankets that we turned into tents. Normal stuff for kids to do during the summer, but things I'm grateful to be able to do with my nieces and nephew. I'm thankful that God brought us here to live near family and thankful for this phase of life that God has chosen for us. I hope and pray that we are learning all that He wants.