First Snow of the Season

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the village! Last night it started snowing about midnight. I am not a fan of the cold or old snow. I grew up in Michigan so I've seen a LOT of snow...that stays for days. The kind that turns black & slushy. Despite that, I love new snow. I especially love it when it's falling & covers everything with a blanket of fresh snow. I got up at midnight to watch it & caught another glimpse early in the morning before everyone woke up. 

Today was the last day of school. The start of Christmas break! Instead of attempting to drive my kids to school this morning, I let them be kids. I let them play outside in the first snow of the season.

Then they drank hot cocoa with marshmallows & candy canes.

Then...I took them to school...late ;) . They got there in time to attend the Christmas sing-along and party with their friends.

All in all, it was a great day!

Happy snow day & many blessings,

Tracey

Clubhouse Guatemala

Aaron and I traveled to Guatemala 2yrs ago with Clubhouse Guatemala and a group from our chuch back in Knoxville TN. It was my first mission trip and was so amazing! We went there as a group to start the building process for a church in the small village of San Mateo. The people in this village were so welcoming! The children in the feeding program are given a warm meal a couple days a week after school, then they get to hear how much God loves them through stories, Bible games and music. They also get to act like kids by playing together in a safe area with people that love them! Their families are loved on as well. It's such an amazing ministry and we love being a part of it!


We sponsor a teenager in another village. Our sponsorship enables her to be a part of the feeding program and to attend secondary school. Most older children's families can't afford to send them, but Clubhouse Guatemala helps meet that need!

I am currently helping Clubhouse Guatemala raise money to purchase a large mission house in Guatemala City to start a girls home in Zone 6 that will help end child trafficking, to expand their feeding programs to 2000 children, build a new school in Pacaya and to plant 6 new churches in the next 5 years. 

Please help me reach my personal goal of $500 or more by clicking on the link or pasting it into your browser
 http://www.fundingthefuturenow.com/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1118907&lis=1&kntae1118907=2216F91031AB46B0A05DFB3C275DA079&supId=412322878&team=0&nmv=true

Any help you can gift will be greatly appreciated & will allow CG to dramatically improve these children's lives and families!

Here are some pictures from our trip!

Our sponsor child

Children during Bible study

Children eating a warm meal

These boys loved hanging out with us and helping at the church building site.

We got to share the Good News with the mothers of the children in the feeding program! At the end, Barbie & I got a hug and a thank you from everyone of them!

Thank you and blessings,

Tracey

Faith

I'm sitting here in our new house (rental...new to us). It is a nice 60 degrees outside, I have on my boots & am enjoying a PSL (Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte for you non addicted readers)...fall is approaching!! 

All of you know by now that we have moved from beautiful Tennessee to Kansas City, KS. We are settling in slowly. We moved into a Pleasantville like area outside of downtown. The streets are tree lined, everyone is friendly & always out enjoying the weather. We are within walking distance to great parks & shops. IKEA just moved in VERY close to us. There is never a shortage of squirrels & bunnies.

We found a church that is basically the doppelgänger of our old church...right down to the stage background & name tags. The only thing missing is our church family :(  we are extremely close to our small group back in TN & that has been one of the hardest things about leaving. We had been through some times of celebration & through some of the most difficult times ever. We met pretty much very Sun evening for the past 4yrs. We even met on holidays that fell on Sundays.

We are still doing FaceTime with them so we don't have to stop seeing their faces, enjoying their discussions & praying alongside them. These families are part of our family, part of our hearts & that will never change! 

We know as Christians that we need a local small group to grow with here in KC, but thinking about connecting with new people will take some time to get used to. I have been a Christian for 14yrs & it wasn't until I joined the Prov small group that I really felt connected, loved despite my past & that I was the norm (I use that term loosely) among them. They are REAL Christians! I have grown in my faith because of them. God placed us there for a time & I understand that He has plans for us here in KS now & we, like Abraham, must have Faith despite the unknown.

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to settle in & continue to grow in our faith!

Blessings,

Tracey

Goodbye Facebook...

For June anyway! 

I have been feeling a little overwhelmed by Facebook lately and felt I needed a break. I found myself out of habit, opening it a lot. If you've ever watched the movie Bruce Almighty, then you have seen the part where Bruce gets God's ability to hear EVERYONE'S prayers. It is overwhelming, hurts his head & makes him a little crazy. Well Facebook is like that. The news feed contains everyone's status, pictures, likes, shared links and opinions. It gets to be too much sometimes & requires a break for your brain. 

First & foremost, I  going to get my quiet time with God back. I'm going to focus on my family this month, along with moving & selling our house. I'm going to spend time each week sharing our week here on our blog that has been so neglected. I'm going to spend time with my awesome friends that we will miss when we move.

I hope you all are having a wonderful & relaxed summer with your loved ones! 

Blessings,

Tracey

Happy Valentine's Day

If you are anything like my valentine, you could care less about this "invented" holiday. Thankfully he loves me enough to play along ;)

He spent the week at a work thing & still remembered to send me flowers!

He came home today & took me and our 3 youngest out to dinner (anytime we eat at a restaurant with our boys is a headache enducing time). He is now passed out on the couch. I love him & am thankful for the past 15 Valentine's Days spent with him!

Blessings & Happy Valentine's Day,

Tracey

Snow Day

Today ended up being our 7th snow day of the school year, but our most snowfall to date! We ended up with 7 inches!! The boys ( and me) were so excited this morning. After some breakfast for them & coffee/energy for me, we layered on the clothes & headed out. It was the most fun I have had in the snow since I was a kid! I built a snowman, we had a snowball fight, made snow angels & the boys shoveled tons of snow with their new kid-sized shovels! Here are pics from our day! Hope you had an amazing day wherever you are!

Blessings,

Tracey