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.

Family pictures

Growing, Growing, Growing

He often has some great expression that remind me of cousin Ella :)



He has really started to smile this week. It's beautiful





"O bed, O bed, O delicious bed, that heaven upon earth to the weary head." -someone

The old Window

I've been hauling around this old window for about three years. I knew it would look cool is so many different places and I could never settle on anything. A couple of days before Ian was born my sister and I decided it should be used in his room. We got an idea and ran with it.

Finally Here

Nine months of waiting for you to come and you are finally here. Our own little son, Ian Michael Stamper. After months of wondering what color your hair would be, how much you would weigh, if you would have a dimple in your chin like your dad, or if you would look like one of your cousins, you have a look all your own. April 22, 2010 @ 3:42 a.m. 8lbs. 6 oz., 21 1/2 in. with long dark hair - just about as far from what I thought as you can get. I was thinking from what the doctor's and everyone else that you wouldn't be more that 7 lbs and that you would be bald or have really light hair. I'm glad to be wrong. I love your hair.

Ian -11 days old

spending time with dad
My mom got to come from Tennessee to help out-boy am I thankful!
Coming home from the hospital

My mom trying to get a good picture of his hair

In Minnesota- Our New Home

Mark and I arrived in Minnesota on March 3rd. We have been busy working on getting our downstairs apartment in order. It has been fun. Mark is learning how to install light fixtures and put up sheet rock. These are firsts for him, but he loves learning new things and he is doing an excellent job. Hopefully, we will post some pictures soon of the progress.

I have had three doctors appointments since we've arrived. They started scheduling me for one appointment a week. Baby Ian will be here soon! We have about 26 days to get everything in order before he comes. Thankfully, my mom will be able to come and help me get adjusted to this new life with a child of our very own. I am extremely thankful for being here with Beth, my sister, and having her expertise as a mother of four. I was horrible with taking pictures, so Beth has taken it upon herself to take a few. :)

This is a picture of the craving that all four of us have decided that we have during the last weeks of my pregnancy. We love mint Oreos. Mark has been able to help Jason, his twin brother and my brother-in-law, by speaking for him a couple of times. Jason is still struggling with kidney stones. He has had to make changes in his routine at a moment's notice the last couple of weeks and is grateful that he can call on Mark to fill in for him. There is a youth activity coming up on Friday which we will be able to help.

Also, we are job hunting. Fun, What fun!!! Mark has had one interview so far with the school district here in Min. and has applied for several other positions within the district. We are beginning to broaden the search. I know God will provide a job, but we do need patience and wisdom in this process.

Our New Journey

After months of prayer, planning, and preparation, Mark and I are heading out to Minneapolis, Minnesota to begin a new phase in our lives. We will be leaving Bend, Oregon after having the privilege of helping with Central Oregon Baptist Church plant. It has been amazing to see what God has done here to build His church. It is such a beautiful thing to see His Word at work in lives.

As Mark's wife, I've known that two of his desires have been to help disciple people in a church setting and also to be able to train and teach pastors to go out and do the same with their own flocks. Many months ago, I could see God working on Mark's heart concerning this second desire and the direction of our future. Mark's brother, Jason who is a youth pastor presently in MN, has had the burden to teach on the mission field for a very long time, and through much prayer, Mark and I feel that God would have us labor with Jason when that time comes. There will be a few years of preparation needed to begin such a work, and Mark would like to help as much as possible with the many details that go into this planning.

Late November, we decided to put our house on the market and were trying to determine the exact timing of our move to MN. We never anticipated how quickly our house would sell. Our house was only on the market for about 50 days. Praise be to God for his timing and guidance during the last few months. My last day of work was this last Friday, and Mark will be finished this Friday working for the school district here in Bend. We will head out early on Saturday morning Feb. 27th for Minneapolis.

There are a lot of unknowns for the future concerning timing and other issues, but we do know that up to this point God has been clearly leading us this direction. It will be exciting to see how God will unfold the future. Please pray for us as we start this new journey that we will continue to be faithful to the Lord and usable for His service and for His glory.