Saturday, August 7, 2010

Patience is a virtue...

...and I'm striving to be a virtuous woman, but I must confess, I'm totally lacking in this area of patience.

When the Preacher surrendered to the ministry, I wanted to know WHAT ministry, WHERE were we going to live, WHEN we were going to be sent out, and HOW it was going to all come about.

When he knew that he would be a church planting missionary, I wanted to know WHERE! As we traveled around to other churches in the mid-west (at least we had that pin-pointed...?) I was ready to settle in every town that needed a church. Every church, it seemed, that we visited, wanted us to go the "So-and-so" town (the need is great) and I earnestly prayed for that town. "YES!" I was thinking..."Let's go there." Next church: "YUP! That's the place."

HOW in the world was God going to let us know where we were going to minister??? Good, solid, Bible believing churches were needed all over the USA. Was the sun going to burst through the clouds in the distance, and a bright beam point the way (while the symphony music played in the background...lol).

I WANT TO KNOW NOW!!! YESTERDAY!!!

Have you ever just had a feeling that something (or someone) was right, and it JUST WASN'T HAPPENING??? O KAAAAAAY already! WHEN is it going to happen?!?!????

**sigh**

Oh, how VERY thankful I am for God's Word!!! (And for my awesome, STEADY, patient man...oh how I love that man!)

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He hath made everything beautiful IN HIS TIME...

**sigh**

Friday, August 6, 2010

The New Teen in the House

Melanie turned 13 in June. Actually, she turned 13 (you'd think) about 5 years ago...lol. She was my smallest baby weighing in at a whopping 7lb. 13oz. (compared to my 11 and 12 pounders). I remember crying to Darren because her eyes were soooo big...I thought for a while that she had Down's Syndrome. It's so funny now that I think of it...I even had Darren worried. She was a joy from the get go!
I don't have too many infant pictures of her. When she was born, we had a lot of stress in the family because Darren had just gotten out of the military, and we moved out into the civilian world. I have some floating around somewhere, but I can't find them at the moment. Kelsi was so thrilled to finally have a little sister. She dressed her when it was time to leave the hospital. You'd never know today that she was so excited about a sister. Those two fight like cats and dogs... :(
Melanie was so prissy from the very beginning. We'd say, "Mel, Prissy Prissy!" and she'd pick up her shoulders and do a little dance. It was sooo cute. She played with her baby dolls, stopping only long enough to take a fishing trip with her Dad and brothers. She'd soon tire of it, and head back to the baby dolls. She did change her clothes a whole bunch. We used to call her "Mrs. Bagget" (after an older lady at the nursing home who could be found by following a trail of stolen clothes) Her song: Here comes Mel Mel, hopping down the Mel Mel Trail...Lookin' to the left, lookin' to the right...makin' sure aint nobody in sight!" (Sung somewhat to the tune of Peter Cotton Tail)
A couple of years after she was born, she got a real live baby doll when Timothy was born. I've a picture of her somewhere holding him in the hospital. She has always been the little momma.

Here she is again a few years later with little Abby. This picture tells so much about her personality: The little prissy momma! :)

She was too young to be embarrassed by her snaggle tooth appearance. Mel has always been so joyful. It's rare when she's not captured with a smile on her face. If the pictures could talk, you'd hear her laughter.

This photo shoot began her interest in photography. She's began playing around with computer photography programs and seems to have a real talent. (I'll post a couple of her photos in a future blog) Melanie is a "get-r-done" type of gal. Just yesterday we were putting contact paper down in the church cabinets. She worked circles around me, but I had to stop her and tell her that details were important in this job. She'll do her school work so diligently, and will actually do it correctly, but it will not be the neatest work. Another amazing quality about her, is that she remembers where just about everything is. When we are missing something, we ask her and are absolutely amazed when she leads us to it. Cell phones, keys, MP-3 players, glasses, wallets...she remembers where she saw them! She's going to be a blessing to some guy some day....an awesome help meet.

She adds such an element of joy into the house with her "blonde ways", her light hearted mood, and her giggle. "They" say that 13 is a rebellious age. I've not experienced it with her (nor any other of my kiddos). Quite the contrary: they are becoming more and more of a joy.
Happy Birthday, Melanie Aubyn. I love you with amazing love, and am so thankful to know that God loves you MORE THAN THAT!