Michigan Trip!

OK, this will be the last post for awhile...we are heading out to Michigan on Friday morning about 4:00am. So I will be very, very busy tomorrow getting us ready to leave, plus I have to work!

We are looking forward to seeing all our friends at camp and celebrating Pastor Cheri's ordination with her. I will post when I get back.

God bless!

Celebrating my Kids!

Schools out for the summer and I am just as happy as the kids are! No more time schedules and rushing to get everyone out the door on time. I just got these pictures back (remember my digital camera is being fixed still)! and I was thinking how blessed I am to have 3 beautiful children. So why not brag about them alittle.... Matt is my official "ring bearer" in the weddings. He has the cutest smile ever...I love you Matt!

My Peter...my firstborn....need I say more. He has the personality of his father. Always making us laugh, never a dull moment when they are around. I am so proud of you Peter. You are an awesome son. Keep up the hard work. I love you...

And Brianna our "Princess". She has grown up so much this past year. We are so proud of the young lady you have become Bri. You are going to break alot of boys hearts one day with your beautiful personality. Keep on pressing on for the call that God has for you. I love you Bri!

Bri and her buddy Emily hanging out at Sarah & Tom's wedding.

Peter celebrating his 16th birthday in style! Cool glasses Pete!

INTERN!

We welcome Gary Woods our Intern from Bethany Bible College! Monday will be a week he is here at FCW. He is originally from Michigan!!!! YEAH! He will be with us until December. Gary will be helping Ed out with the youth, kids and whatever else needs to be done that Ed needs help with.

We are so blessed to have Gary join us and see what God has and will do in not only his life but the lives of others who he comes in contact with while he is in NJ.

PS: I hope to have my digital camera back this week before we leave for Michigan on Friday! Please pray that my camera will come by Thursday......!

love you all!

Our 1 Year Anniversary!

Yesterday, not only did we celebrate Father's day, but also our 1 year anniversary living in NJ. It was a year ago that Ed preached his first sermon and was installed by Dr. Wood here at FCW! I cannot believe how fast this year has gone. There has been many changes for us in this transition. Some good and some maybe not so good, or should I say "challenging". As I sit and reflect on this year I am happy to say that I have survived coming back to NJ! Although I miss all of my dear friends in Michigan, I know that God has us here for a reason for such a time as this.

The kids have adjusted well in school and in their youth group. Peter & Bri miss their old friends from Michigan and are looking forward to visiting them the end of the month. Peter just started "football" workouts everyday, and is working practically full time for the summer anyway. He is trying to save for a car. Bri will be in 8th grade next year and is looking forward to it. Matt will be in 3rd grade and says "he doesn't want to get old"! (Don't we all say that)?

Many changes have happened in the church which are very positive and moving forward for the kingdom. We saw over 200 people accept Christ this past year, we had about 4 baby dedications, 2 baptisms so far and more coming. We also had about 6 families become members this year. The most they have ever had in 1 year! We have had close to 10 new families call Faith Chapel their home. The church has been re-decorated and painted. The music has changed from mostly hymns to Contemporary Worship. I could go on and on.....

We have been so blessed this past year and are looking forward to what God is going to do as we move forward! It is nice not having to worry about moving this summer....we are all looking forward to enjoying this years summer and doing things as a family. Last year I really couldn't enjoy it because of all the things that needed to be done before the kids started their new schools.

So as I reflect....I see God's hand in all of this. I know that without HIS direction & strength I could have never gotten to where I am today. I am so thankful to God for giving us the opportunity to do HIS WORK here in NJ!

A Heat Wave!

Well, my garden is finally done. With the help of Ed we managed to get the veggies in yesterday and the fence around it so the deer won't destroy what (hopefully) will grow. I have beefsteak tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, lettuce, zucchini and red peppers. Plus basil growing out on my deck. These are small now, but won't be for long. I am so excited and can't wait to get my first tomatoe. It was hard work getting it started, but now the tough part is over. A shout out to my wonderful husband for helping me out with this. Love ya!

My poor Bri-Bri. She broke her arm last week and just got it casted on Friday. Of course it has to be the hottest weekend this year and she couldn't swim much. The doctors office did not have waterproof casts and we are still trying to hunt down a pharmacy who carries the cover to go over the cast. She did go into the pool for awhile with a plastic bag over it, but then the water started to seep through. Thank God she will only have to wear it for 3 weeks. She will get it off right before we leave for Michigan!

We were so blessed by the Hudak family. They invited us over to go swimming. We miss our pool so much, but God had put a wonderful family in our lives who love to share their swimming pool with us. It was so hot yesterday and we all went over to hang out for the day and of course, had some delicious food to go along with it. Thanks again Bill & Lynne for having us. We love you guys!

Mr. GQ.....Gotta love em!

Tom & Sarah's wedding!

Well, these pictures are alittle late, but better late than never. Matthew was the "ring bearer" again in a wedding last week. He is really starting to like this role.

Peter was an usher and you can't see it but during the service he was texing friends on his phone. He thinks I didn't see him, but remember mom's have eyes behind their heads!!

The happy couple.....Tom & Sarah Leach!

Peter ushering the people out of the church.

The Garden

I finally started my garden. With the help of Eleanor, we dug 25 holes in the ground last week. I plan on planting Jersey tomatoes (the best), cucumbers, red peppers, lettuce and eggplant. Also Basil on my deck. We get lots of deer in our backyard so we need to get the fence up before I can put the veggie plants in the ground. I hope to have it all done this weekend with the help of Ed. I will keep you posted as to how well the garden is doing. I am excited!

Well, here is my Bri Bri with her splint cast on. She will be getting her hard cast on tomorrow at 9:00am. She hasn't decided what color she wants yet. I don't really care, as long as it's waterproof!

Sorry for the horrible color in the pictures. I told you my digital is not working right. Took it back to Target but because it is passed the 90 days they cannot do anything. So I need to contact Kodak to see what they will do. It is still under warranty, so hopefully they will give me a new camera. For now, I have been using my regular one, and getting them on discs, but once you have a digital, you don't like those anymore....we are so spoiled by all this modern technology. How did we ever survive before?

A first for Brianna!

After service today we came home to a nice meal of bbq ribs. Peter & I went out to Target and on the way back received a phone call from Brianna saying she thinks she broke her arm! We thought she was joking until we pulled into the driveway and saw her crying the crocodile tears. Ed and I rushed her to the ER where we waited forever to be seen. The xray proved that it was indeed a break. It is her left forearm (but thankfully a clean break). She is in a splint for now and has to follow up with an orthopedic in 4-5 days to switch to a hard cast. Thank God for waterproof cast these days! She will have it on from 4-6 weeks. Please pray for a quick recovery. It is her left arm and she writes with her left hand. This will be very interesting for the next few weeks of school.

Thank you for keeping her in your thoughts and prayers. She doesn't do well with pain.

See you all (my Michigan friends) soon!

The wedding!

Bri & Emily posing outside the church of Sarah & Tom's wedding. They are best buds and go to school together. Matthew was the ring bearer. We all had an awesome time. Sorry for the craziness of these pictures. They were taken with my girlfriends camera. My digital is broken and I am still trying to get it fixed. It is driving me crazy not being able to use it. I will have more pictures posted as soon as I get the disc developed from my regular camera.