Long time, no blog....

It has been quite a while since I have posted anything on here. And per mom's request, I am doing so now. To say it has been crazy in our lives would be an understatement. Between Tim's work, home school, church activites, tumbling, traveling, and raising 4 kids, it has been something almost non stop. The holidays have been good. Mom came back with us after Thanksgiving since Tim had a somewhat last minute trip to China the first two weeks of December. She has stayed through Christmas, and will return home to Houston on Jan. 2. I don't know what I am going to do... I have gotten very spoiled to having her here. Tim and I even had a chance to get away to St. Louis to see the Texans play the St. Louis Rams. We spent the night in downtown St. Louis. I found myself sitting, staring into space, in awe of the lack of someone to take care of or something that had to get done. It was wonderful. Thought I would include a few pictures from the holidays...





Praying that each of you has a blessed New Year and a year of seeing and savoring God like never before!

TJ is three months... where does the time go? (and other ramblings)

I can't believe TJ is already 3 months old. It just seems like yesterday. Heck, it just seems like yesterday that Kara was born... I guess that is what we get for having two in 15 1/2 months... Anyway. TJ is a joy. He has been such an easy baby. He is never really fussy, and when he is, he is easily consoled. He LOVES to "talk" he just coos all the time. His simle is the most contagious thing ever. He loves his sisters so. He watches them play around the room, and loves it when they want to snuggle with him. Kara just loves to hug and kiss on him. She also thinks the needs to have a pacifier and burp rag at ALL times. Brenna is the typical "little mommy" she has been with Kara, and Taylor has really taken a liking to him too. She will actually change diapers now. (But not if it is poopy) She has a special touch with TJ. She can always make him happy. What a blessing.
Actually, God's timing is perfect. We kicked up home school to include all subjects this week, and it has been very tiring. It is His timing that I sat down to post this blog so that I could remember how blessed we are to have these children, when just a little while ago I was ready to ship a couple of them off.... :) In the grand scheme of things, God uses these kids daily to teach me more about myself, and more importantly, Him. His mercies are new everyday! Praise God. And He is mercifully teaching me patience and steadfastness in parenting.I hold fast to the verse "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it." He isn't done yet.(thankfully)

A lot of catching up to do...

Well we finally have internet back!!!! It has been a month without it. It has been good and bad. Good, because I have not spent a lot of time on the computer, and more time reading and studying (not to mention taking care of 4 kiddos), and bad because I have felt so disconnected from so many of my friends and the world news.

Let's see... what has happened in this past month.... Well, we are settled in our new home, and I love it. We feel so blessed. We have broken the house in with small group meetings, visits from Uncle Micah and Aunt Heather, dinner with the Hirsch family, a Birthday Party for Brenna, and last night a slumber party. Whew..... I don't think I would have had time for the internet, even if we did have it before now.

I have a ton of pictures to post, and will get that done as soon as I can.

The little man is here!

On Sunday monring, May 31, at 1:26 am. God blessed us with Timothy James Igo, Jr. "T.J." He weighed 6lbs.12 oz, and was 19 in. long. He is a joy. His personality, so far, is very laid back. Brenna, Taylor, and Kara are all adjusting well and love to hold and kiss on him. Maw Maw is still here and is quickly turning TJ into a MawMaw's boy.

Tim and I are just in awe of God's blessings in our lives, and honored and challenged at the same time of the task that he has given us to raise His children for His glory. More pictures will be posted later.

update

Ok, I know it has been a while since I have posted anything....Things have been a bit busy these past few weeks.

I celebrated my 34th birthday. (I got a wii and wiifit, and I love it!) We celebrated one of my BFF's 30th birthday's with a sup rise party in Branson, I went and had a mani/pedi (sat next to a very weird individual, male, in his 60's that talked without ceasing), celebrated Mother's day, had a baby shower last night. During all of this we have been moving out furniture for a garage sale and packing up things that we don't really need out until we move into the new house.

The house is coming along great. They are putting in the wood floor as I type, and then the trim, doors, cabinets and counter tops will be going in next. It is really going well, and I think it looks great. Every time we go over there, I am thankful to God for his provision for this house and how He is working everything.

Tim has been working so very hard at making sure EVERYTHING is taken care of. He has really taken on even more since I am some what limited in my energy and ability. I know he is really going to need a good rest when we get settled into the new house. He has also been very busy with work and church as well. He is currently serving on the Budget and Finance team, and is in the process of being accepted as a deacon at our church. His business is doing well in spite of the economy, and he is making sure everyone has everything they need to sell the products he is in charge of.

Brenna and Taylor have finished school. PRAISE THE LORD! We are finishing up some math before we REALLY take a break, so that they will not start next fall in the last 2/3 of something from this year. They have worked so very hard this year, and I am very pleased with their progress and achievement this year. It has been a blessing to home school them.

Kara is growing like a weed! She is talking more every day, and we have so much fun with her. Her independent personality is really coming out now, along with some very funny OCD tendencies. She loves to dance and sing and play with her big sisters. It will be interesting to see how she does when her brother arrives, as I am sure she will not really understand that she is the only one that gets held anymore. I guess it is an early opportunity to teach that love is not making much of someone, but doing what is BEST for someone.

Baby TJ is set to arrive here in the next couple of weeks. The doctor said yesterday he was pretty certain I would not make it to my original due date. I told Tim this morning that I wasn't sure it would even be two more weeks. All of it is in the Lord's timing. I guess I should pack a bag for the hospital. (even though it is about 4 blocks from our house)

I have rambled on long enough - You can see God is busy in our world, as I am sure He is in yours. Just make sure you take the time to see where He is working and thank Him for it, even if your circumstances are not that "comfortable" right now. I know I have to remind myself of that all the time. God is God all the time, and He is GOOD all the time.

The past week....in a collage

Picasa is a really neat program! I have come to like it A LOT. It is easy to create and share collages, movies, and pictures. THis only took a couple of minutes to do. Believe it or not.

 

Holy Week - and a little bit of my ramblings

I think that Easter has become my favorite holiday. It is such a joy to celebrate the Risen King! More than that, I can call Him MY KING! It is really a whirlwind of emotion week too. Thinking about the Passover and the immense honor it is to remember God's faithfulness to His people is so humbling. Remembering the pain and anguish Jesus endured on the cross as he paid the price for all men's sin is painful. Celebrating the empty tomb is an overwhelming joy. Not just these events, but their meaning and how they point to God and His character is what is really hitting me this year. God is more than good. He is more than amazing. He is more than any adjective anyone could come up with to describe His worth. It really makes me long for heaven when we will bow before our King and praise Him in all of his glory. You know, I have had some pretty amazing worship experiences in my life, and I count them as amazing blessings. But they are just a mere shadow to what is to come. I can't even fathom it! WOW!

God has been teaching Tim and I some amazing things lately, and we are so thankful for how he is revealing Himself.He has led us to cast out some idols in our house (satellite TV) and he has blessed us tremendously from that. Our family time has been so sweet lately. I feel like we are more focused on the things that really matter, eternal things, rather than just being together watching a movie. I have discovered that for us, that is not really "together time". I am so thankful to have a husband who I can see growing in the Lord and desiring that for me and the girls, and trusting in God to lead him to lead us. I am thankful that God is teaching me how to be a better "helpmate" to Tim and what being a godly woman truly is. I am thankful that I can see God working in Brenna and Taylor's lives as they learn and grow into young women, and how God is always reminding me that they are His daughters, and ours is the job to show Him to them.

We are entering into a CRAZY busy time for us. Having a baby, building a home, moving into said home, and adjusting to a family of 6! WOW... It can seem overwhelming, and I must admit, I have felt that way at times. But, God is good. He is leading and we are following Him. We are constantly reminded of our need to rest in Him, His Grace and Mercy, and His provision.

We have SO much to praise Him for!

Louisiana Vacation

Last week we had the great opportunity to spend the entire week with Aunt Heather, Uncle Micah, and baby Lora in LaPlace, Louisiana while Tim had to travel to Texas on business. We had a great time! It was good to be with Heather and watch her with her first baby. We went to the French Quarter one day, to a plantation on another, and did some shopping while we were there too. We didn't go and do stuff all day every day because that is hard to do with a toddler, a newborn, and a pregnant woman, so it gave us good opportunity to just sit and talk. Taylor found a new passion while she was there too. Golf. She spent hours in the back yard hitting golf balls onto the course behind their house and into the pond. She loved it. Brenna, poor thing, fought allergies/cold symptoms while there, so she didn't go outside as much as Taylor. Our last night there, Micah and Heather treated us to a crawfish boil (YUM) where we sat and ate 20lbs of crawfish. Come to find out on Saturday morning, the mosquitoes enjoyed munching on us while we munched on crawfish. I am the only one who seems to have a ton of bites, thankfully the girls were spared. Kara even enjoyed the mudbugs with us. She and Taylor were eating them as fast as we could get them pealed. Taylor helped out as best she could with her one good hand, and discovered that she could pull the tails off and make a pile for me to finish pealing for her. It was nice to get to wear shorts and such for a bit, since we came home to chilly weather we had to put those away again for a few more days.

Kara playing in the chalk on Aunt Heather's back porch

The four girls outside Cafe Du Monde

We love beignets

Kara enjoying the warm weather!

Kara's Kazoo

Kara learned to play the kazoo today. I just had to share this... it is too funny.

Firsts... the good and the bad

We had a weekend of firsts in our house. On Saturday, it was SOO beautiful outside. The big girls were rollerblading on our neighbor's driveway since they are out of town and their driveway is really big. Everything was just great, then, all of the sudden... it happened. Taylor took a spill and fell on her left side. In spite of her protective gear everywhere except her wrist, she managed to get "road rash" pretty good on her left hand. Everything seemed ok, and she didn't seem to be in a lot of pain. Sacred, yes, pain, not so much. We didn't notice any abnormality in her hand, and no swelling happened that day so we thought, maybe just sprained and the scrapes. Sunday evening, the top of her little hand started swelling and she started complaining about her thumb and pointer finger hurting. We wrapped her up, gave her some Tylenol, and we went to bed. Monday morning when she woke up, it was still swollen and still painful, so Tim and I decided to have it checked out. God was so good through it all. We went to the walk-in clinic just up the road from us since our Doctor's office was slammed for the day. (They really miss RT). I prayed as we got close to the clinic, "Please God, don't let this place be packed." He is good. We literally sat in the lobby for maybe 3 minutes. They took the pictures they needed and they had the doctor on call at the main clinic (who happened to be another friend of ours) take a look. He referred us to the bone specialist, and he said he needed to see her. To make a long story shorter, by 1:00 yesterday afternoon, we had seen two docs, had x-rays, a hot pink cast, and a sucker (Taylor's favorite part of the event). We even got to come home for lunch and get a bit of school done in that time too. There are some great benefits to living in a small town.


The other fist is a short story... Kara had her first PB&J sandwich on Sunday evening. SHE LOVED IT! It may not come through on the picture so well, but she was wearing a good bit of the sandwich since she wanted to put the pieces in her mouth herself and dropped some on her shirt as well. She is talking SO much. She has her first sentence, "hold me", which she loves to say, along with a miriad of other words. She also loves to do the chicken dance! She folds her arms like wings and says "bock bock". It is really cute.

Preparing for the little guy...

We have not done too much to prepare for the arrival of our little man yet, we have about 14 weeks still. We did, however, find the perfect bedding set for him while on a trip in Springfield while mom was here. I thought I would share it with all of you since it is so cute, and we are excited to be actually buying little boy stuff

Pray for the Jeter family

Last night, a couple whose husband works for the Master's Craft (Tim's employer), gave birth, and lost their baby all in the same night. The baby had complications that the family knew about ahead of time, but in their belief in God and trust in Him, they continued with the pregnancy rather than terminating. Please be in prayer for the Jeter family as they deal with the loss of their child and continue to raise their two little girls. I can't even imagine the emotions they are going through, but we have witnessed them profess their trust in Christ through this, and know that His plan is greater than ours.

Happy 10th Birthday, Taylor!

Saturday we celebrated Taylor's 10th birthday party with a 10 pen celebration at the local bowling alley. She invited 10 friends, but only 9 could make it. We had a good time bowling, eating, and playing games. Other than not having a voice from my allergies, it was easy too! Taylor even got 4 inches of snow on her birthday!

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Birthday pictures

Kara and her favorite pig, "Hamlet"Her new pig, "Homer"The little rascals from the partyShe wasn't quite sure what was happening here...
But then she figured out that cake is GOOOOOOD!!

Turning one and having fun!

We celebrated our third little princess' birthday on Satuday, February 14th. We had my mom, a few friends, and "extended family" over for burgers, dogs, cake and fun. Kara enjoyed everyone here and was constantly scanning the room. She didn't seem too interested in presents until she opened the one from Uncle Michael and Aunt Holly which was her 3rd stuffed pig. Her pig collection is now complete since we have the 3 little pigs. Sunday morning she woke up and I guess decided she was done with bottles. We offered them to her on Sunday and Monday, but no interest, so we are done with those. This has been the easiest transition yet. Mom said if she potty trains as easy as coming off the bottle, we have got it made. I guess God knows how much I can handle, and he is being gracious to me knowing that another little one is on the way. I will post more party pictures later. I had camera issues, but thankfully Lynette was there with her camera to take tons of pictures. I will get those from her to share with you all.

Birthday Palooza

We are gearing up for a fun filled two weeks here at our house. This week we celebrate Kara's 1st birthday on February 14th. We will have a party for her on the 13th so that we are not digging into any Valentine's Day plans for couples. We intentionally have made her birthday a separate event from Valentine's day, so there will be no heart cakes or decorations in our house for Kara's party. We want to celebrate the life God has given her, and the joy that He has given us in this first year of her life. I can't believe that it has been a year already!

Taylor's 10th birthday is at the end of this month, on the 28th. We are working on her plans for her party, and I really have to get on that. It is amazing to see what God has done in and through her in her short 10 years, and we are anxiously and hopeful for her future and His plans for her life.

The really cool thing is that mom is coming to be here for both of the girls birthday's. This is really special. We will get to have a nice long visit where we are not rushed to get all the fun and excitement in in just a few days. Pray for her as she makes the drive from Houston by herself. She will be stopping in Texarkana for the night on Wednesday, and will be here Thursday afternoon. I am sure her car will be loaded with gifts and goodies. (Who needs Santa when you have grandparents, right?)

The 2009 Ice Storm....so far

So, we still have power, and as I am typing, it is sleeting pretty hard. I am thankful for power as it has helped us keep a "normal" day in getting school done. The trees are so beautiful with the ice on them, but we know that it is not good for them to be coated in ice. It really makes me think about the world and how we often see it. There are so many things out there that appear "beautiful" and are appealing, but in fact, are terrible for us. It starts out ok, but in time, it wears on us, makes us weak, and breaks us. Just as the tree limbs are beginning to do outside. It makes me think of pride, vanity, materialism, and "keeping up appearances."

I have often struggled, as I know MANY people do, with going through junk, dealing with sin or hurts, and putting on a "pretty face" so that no one will know what I am going through. It is like the trees outside. They may look beautiful, but internally, they are aching, if you will, due to the stress of the ice and cold. It is a call for me to pray for myself and for others, that when we hurt, we need not put on a front, but share our hurts first with God, our spouses/family, and friends who will love us and pray with us through those hard times. I know that when I have done this for myself, it is a lighter burden to carry.

So, as you look at these pictures from this morning, do not only admire their beauty, but pray for the transparency in your life, and the life of fellow believers that we would all share our burdens with God and each other, and in response God, and our "family" will come along side of us all and walk with us through those times.

Ultrasound results

It's a boy. He looks great. Everything measures up well. He has the cutest profile.

We are a little shocked, and completely pleased.

Join us as we praise God for the gift of life!

Look who's walking!

Kara has been working on this for the past few weeks, but seems to finally be confident enough to go on her own. Thought you would like to see. It is amazing how fast they grow!

Mackenzie family

Yesterday, my cousin James who plays trumpet for the Washington Army Band, took part in the inauguration ceremony of our 44th president, Barak Obama. James is a WONDERFUL trumpet player, graduating from Rice University with a Master's Degree in trumpet performance. Since that time ( I was a young girl when he did that), he has played for dignitaries, officials, special ceremonies, Olympic openings, Super Bowls, and much more. I am writing this not only that you could see how proud we are of James, but even more, to pray for him and his beautiful family. In late November, his wife, Ofelia, gave birth to their second daughter Marielle who was VERY premature. She wasn't due until early February. She is getting excellent care at one of our nations best hospitals, Navy Med., in Bethesda, Maryland. Please continue to lift them up as Marielle continues to grow and strengthen. Pray for patience and perseverance for Ofelia, James, and the rest of the family as they wait patiently for Marielle to be well enough to come home.

James is the third guy from the left. The picture is better on Facebook.

James, Ofelia, "Aunt" Jennie, and Marielle

Baby, it's cold outside!

Just a quick picture... this is Kara, all bundled up to go outside when it is super cold up here. Tim thought this was too cute not to take a picture. She is such a trooper. She complained when we first started doing all this when it first got cold, but now, she seems to enjoy it.