Enjoying the season

We have enjoyed a little snow, some ice, and a lot of cloudy days, but are thankful for Winter, none the less. The girls (all of us actually) are really hoping for a bigger snow that is "play-worthy" to enjoy together. We went ahead and took some pictures in front of the tree to share with you.... the picture as the header is one of my favorite... the girls look so cute!

Brenna and Taylor under the tree

our two goof balls

Brenna and kara (always trying to pose for the camera)

Kara Claus

Thanksgiving Week

This Thanksgiving week was FULL of actvities. We celebrated my mother's birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas with our famalies. Due to hectic schedules and such, we decided to celebrate Christmas with our famalies while we were there for Thanksgiving. It was different, but a lot of fun. We spent most of the week in Alvin with my family, and headed to Tim's mom's after Thanksgiving dinner to spend the night and Friday with her. We hit the road back to West Plains EARLY Saturday morning. (Man, I think the drive gets longer each time we do it)

my mom and the girls at her birthday party/ dinner

The girls in the family wearing the Christmas hats B&T made with Aunt Holly

Brenna's favorite gift, make-up

Kara and her favorite toy - she loves to be pushed around the house on this!

Taylor opening their new travel DVD players! The old one finally died after about 5 years.

Hey, Mom! I did it!

Ok, for those of you wondering what the heck is in that pot, it is my girls, (and mine) favorite dish, Chicken and Dumplings. I have watched my grandmother and mother over the years make this "simple" concauction, but have never, as of yet, made it with sucess. Well, tonight, I did it! I got it to taste like mom's! The dumplings turned out well, and the pot was FULL! (Thanks, Mom, for talking me through the dumpling mixture, yet again)

Since the weather outside is nasty, Tim is out of town, the girls and I are going to enjoy a big bowl of comfort tonight, all the while thinking of "Me-Maw" and "Maw-Maw" while we eat!

Catching up

These past couple of weeks have been full of activity.

We have had fun in the leaves...

I thought our tree in Houston dropped a lot of leaves! We are surrounded by maple trees that turned a beautiful yellow and red and dropped a billion leaves. Brenna and Taylor had fun raking, playing, and even helped burn leaves. Celebrated Tim's birthday...

Tim Turned 37 years old this year. God has done, and is doing some amazing things in his life, and in ours. We are learning so much individually and together! I love my husband. He loves me and the girls so much. I am thankful for his love, hard work, and fun loving spirit!And Kara's 9 month mark...

Kara is busy crawling, pulling up, cruising along furniture, saying "da-da" and "ba-ba" quite well. She has stood some on her own, but tends to be more cautious than the other girls ever were. She weighs 16lbs, is 26 1/2 inches long, and loves to eat.

We are now preparing for our trip to Houston to celebrate Mom's birthday and Thanksgiving. We will be there for just a week, and know that it will be full lots of activity, hugs and kisses. We will have some great pictures to post after that I am sure.

So, to all of you, we extend our love and thanks for each of you! God has truly blessed us with family and friends who love Him and love us too! Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!!!

Chicago, Branson, and home again...

This past week was a great, but very tiring week. The girls and I packed up and went with Tim to Chicago. Tim had a show Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We spent the day together Monday in the city and journeyed around the Navy Pier. That was a lot of fun. It was cold and cloudy that day. Tuesday and Wednesday we hung out in the burbs where we were staying. We got in sight seeing and shopping!! Thursday, the girls and I went back into the city to the Adler Planetarium. It was amazing! The girls are spending the year in Astronomy for Science, so this was a perfect place for us to go. It was such a great museum. It had tons of information, but kept everything interactive for kids. I highly reccomend this place if you ever make it to Chicago. The weather on Thursday was perfect. The museum was right on Lake Michigan.

Tim and the girls in front of Wrigley Field

The Navy Pier

B & T in front of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline

NASA's future?

Friday we headed to Branson for Tim's company retreat. The accomodations were more than wonderful! It was a relaxing end to a busy week. Brenna and Taylor got to hang out with some of their buddies that they see only once a year.

Needless to say, we are all still a little tired and working to get back into the swing of things. We are thankful for the opportunity to travel with Tim and spend all that time together! It was a lot of fun.

Taylor's new look

Little Taylor had to get braces this week. Unfortunately, she inherited her mommy's teeth. Her x-ray shows a lot of teeth trying to come in and a little bitty space for them to come in to. We went for a consult on Monday, and ended up getting the braces put on Tuesday. She has been such a trooper. If you have never had braces, it is impossible to comprehend the discomfort you have at first. The sore teeth, the torn up cheeks from the brackets, the chapped lips from trying to manuver your mouth in an entirely new way since there is constantly something in there. AHHHHH... it made me ache for her. Anyway... she has been very brave, and if I do say so myself, is stinking cute with braces!

Pumpkin anyone?

our three pumpkins!
kara picking a pumpkin
sporting th UT gear in MIZZOU territory just befor the horns WON!

This weekend we had our 3rd annual trip to the local pumpkin patch. The girls really enjoy going. I think their favorite thing is the animal maze. The owner takes huge round bales or hay and lines them up to make a maze. Inside the maze are different cages with different critters. (peacoks, ducks, pigs, goats, chickens)Smelly... but they enjoy it. Kara was in awe of the little goat and stood on her own for about 15 seconds without realizing she wasn't holding on to anything! It was exciting. Of course, we picked a pumpkin to bring home.

I love the fall!

This has to be just about my favorite time of year. The weather is turning colder, the leaves are changing, and I just love a pot of hot soup or stew for dinner. Especially if I get couragious enough to make some homeade bread too! So... I had this idea... A soup recipe exchange.. I am going to post one of my most favorite soups every week. I challenge all of you to do the same. Between all of us blog readers, I am sure we could have a great number of yummy reicpes from this.

So... here is my first one... It is Rachel Ray's Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe... SO YUMMY!!!


Vegetable or corn oil, for drizzling, plus 2 tablespoons -- 2 turns of the pot in a slow stream
3 ears corn on the cob or 2 ears fresh-frozen cobs, defrosted
1 red bell pepper, split and seeded
1 pound chicken breast tenders
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1/3 palm full
1 teaspoon cumin, 1/3 palm full
Salt and pepper
1 small to medium zucchini, small dice
1 medium yellow skinned onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 to 2 chipotle in adobo peppers (medium to hot heat level), chopped -- available in small cans in Mexican and Spanish food section of market
1 can stewed tomatoes, 28 ounces
1 can tomato sauce, 8 ounces
3 cups chicken stock, available in re-sealable paper containers on soup aisle
4 cups blue corn tortilla chips, broken up into large pieces
1 cup shredded cheddar or pepper Jack cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
Optional garnishes:
1/4 red raw onion, chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley leaves
1 ripe avocado, diced and dressed with the juice of 1/2 lemon
Directions
Heat a grill pan to high and a soup pot to medium high. Drizzle oil on corn and place on grill. Add red pepper to grill with corn. Char vegetables 10 minutes, total, turning occasionally. Remove to cool, 5 minutes. Remove charred skin from the pepper.
While vegetables cook, dice chicken. Add 2 tablespoons oil to hot soup pot. Add chicken to pot. Season with poultry seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper. Lightly brown chicken on each side. Add zucchini, onions and garlic and chipotle peppers. Cook vegetables with chicken 5 to 7 minutes to soften. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and stock. Bring soup to a bubble, reduce heat to medium low.
Scrape corn off cob and add to soup. Chop grilled red pepper and stir into soup. Add chips to soup in handfuls and fold in. Serve soup immediately with scatter of shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Top with any or all of the suggested garnishes.

ENJOY!!

Wild Turkey (not the whiskey)

It rained pretty much all night last night, and still is drizzling a bit this morning. It is Fall.... Well, I look out my kitchen window this morning, and what do I see???? Wild turkeys taking a stroll through the yard.... You don't see this in the city.

This is literally right outside my back door

This is by our back fence

A breath of fresh air...

My time with God lately has been SO refreshing. God has been reminding me, and revealing to me so many great things. At some point I really need to sit down and write in detail about them, but for now, I will give a glimpse of what I am learning and being reminded of.

A couple of weeks ago I read this great article from a Pastor in the Discipleship Journal. The Pastor spoke about coming to grips with his brokenness. He talked about "having it all together" and then everything crumbling around him, starting with himself. It made me think a lot about brokenness and how I need to embrace my brokenness rather than try to cover or patch up my brokenness. We all are broken, whether we like to admit it or not (that is me). It is in my brokenness that I can clearly see the strength of God. So, hear me say... "I am broken." I have hurts that sometimes are too much for me to bear. Some outside things like, missing my Father, and wanting healing for my mother. I am saddened by my own sin and the sin of the body of Christ. But I have a God who is Sovereign and bears this for me and brings me peace and comfort as He walks me through these things. Praise God for his goodness!

Often times, when I listen to other people's stories or testimonies, I find myself thinking...."man, what a dramatic testimony." This thought is due to the speaker telling of the terrible things God drew them out of (drugs, abuse, sexual immorality, etc) I compare that to my testimony of growing up in Church and not ever remembering a time in my life when I didn't know there was a God. God has reminded me this week that my testimony IS just as "dramatic" as a person who was set free from drugs and alcohol... God set me free from myself. He set me free from the tyranny of my sinful desires of self. I was, and still am, in just as much of a need of a Savior as the drug addict on the corner, or the girl who is abused.

This past Sunday, we had a GREAT sermon Dr. Stan Norman spoke on Philippians 3:8-16. He spoke about our lives and how we have so many "chairs" in them. We try to arrange them in different ways to try and deal with all of them, but it always ends in failure. Her focused on verses 12-13. "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own., because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But ONE THING I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." That is what it is about - our continual, singular, passionate pursuit of knowing and experiencing our God!!!

Ok... so this is longer than I expected. More of a preview than a glimpse of my thought process as of late....

Pray with me and think with me on these things....Tell me what God teaches and reminds you of through these things.

A little laughter...

Yesterday afternoon, Kara started this new laugh.

The tooth fairy lives here...

I never thought in a million years that I would have a 7 month old getting two teeth

,

and at the same time have a 11 year old losing them

,

and a 9 year old about to lose one.

I truly believe that if she, or he, were real, they would have to take up residence in our house for a while now. I just have to sit back and laugh. Only God, in His infinate wisdom would see fit to plan our family in this way. Much like the way my mother and father had theirs. My siblings are between 9 and 18 years older than I am.

I guess this is yet another one of those things that only you can understand mom!

Springfield suprise

This past weekend we surprised Brenna and Taylor with a little getaway to Springfield, Missouri. We had a great time. We went to dinner, took the girls ice skating, and then as an extra bonus, went to the Springfield Cardinal's baseball game that was just down the street from the ice rink. We did all that on Friday... Saturday, we hit the mall and a few other stores to catch the big Labor Day sales. It was really nice to get away, and even more fun to surprise the girls.

Earlier in the day on Friday while we were doing school, and it was raining, Brenna commented that they had not been ice skating in so long and that they would really like to go. I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying anything. I had packed their bag and hid it in our room without them even knowing, so they truly had no idea what was coming. Their faces lit up when their daddy came in and said,"Come on, lets go!"

Brenna and Taylor at the ice rink



The girls at the baseball game


Kara's new trick

God is AMAZING.

I don't know if any of you have been reading the blog that I have a link to on Baby Elijah Fowler. His daddy works for the Masters Craft in Oklahoma. Elijah was born in May and at 6 1/2 weeks old, was diagnosed with cancer. His family has trusted God, prayed without ceasing, and believed that God heals, and indeed he has. Elijah no longer has to do chemo treatments, and the tumor has shrunk 64%. This is great! They will continue to have to watch closely, but God has already done a miracle in healing Elijah to this point. Join with us as we Praise God with the Fowler family for the great and mighty works of our King!!!

Too cute to pass up.

Ok, this was just to adorable to leave unrecorded.

I love how she finally realizes she is being watched.

Six months and all smiles

Kara turned 6 months old this past week. I can't believe it. The time has flown so quickly. So much has happened since her birth. She is truly another blessing from God.



She already causes us to praise God in so many ways. She is happy, healthy, and thriving. We praise God in the times when things aren't so happy as well. When she has a fussy time (which I have to say is not very often) we are reminded to die to self, and all of us need Jesus, including Kara.



So, at six months she is crawling, pulling up on things to a standing position, eating baby food fruit and vegetables. (She loves to eat) We even let her try a real peach. She went to town on that.

"Things that make you go hmmmm..."

So the song title goes.... I am currently reading through 1 Corinthians and also doing a Precepts study on covenant. Both of which have caused my mind to spin with thoughts and questions this week. I commented to my husband about how God's word makes you think sometimes, and his response to me was " I hope it makes you think all the time." So true, dear husband... So true. And as I thought about that, it made me wonder and tremble. Sometimes as I "sit at the feet of the Lord" and study his word, do I really study to think and grow, or do I do it only out of a sense of duty. I fear that too often, and once in a lifetime is too often, I find myself in the latter situation. Don't get me wrong, the duty of studying God's word is not bad in itself, but when it is the only reason the opening of His word happens, I am sure we miss out on the blessings God has in store for us. So that has led me to pray " Lord, may I love your Word, not out of a sense of duty only, but as I study, may the "duty" be surpassed by an even greater desire to know and fear the Lord." That is just where I am this day.....


On a different note... we begin our homeschooling next week. We are all very excited about the opportunity, and anxious to see how it all works when the rubber hits the road. Pray for all of us as we begin this new chapter.

Our (quick) trip to Houston

We left here from West Plains on Sunday morning, arrived in Houston, Texas just before dark.

Monday, we let Kara get a good morning nap and then headed off for some shopping. We were able to find some cute clothes for the girls, but my main mission of finding a new swim suit in all the clearance sales was a huge bust. That evening, my mom, my dear friend Leslie, my siblings and a few cousins all joined us on the Kemah boardwalk for dinner and a some rides. We ate at Salt Grass and watched the big wooden roller coaster outside the window. Needless to say, after watching the wood shift for about 2 hours, we decided to skip that one. We all enjoyed cheesecake (thanks to Holly)for Brenna's birthday dessert and then headed off to the rides. The girls two favorites are the ferris wheel and the carousel, so that is what we did.

Tuesday, we went to the beach, just us girls, joined by then Hurricane Dolly. The beach in Galveston was not too bad, but you could see the storm off the gulf and it was picking up the waves pretty good. This was the first beach trip for our girls, and they liked it a lot, except for the wind.

Wednesday, we hit the road early to come home. It was a long drive. Everyone did really well, it is just a LONG drive. We had a great time with our family and friends!

Turning 11

Today, our oldest daughter, Brenna, turns 11 years old. I really can't believe that we have a child that is 11. God has blessed us with this beautiful little girl, (Little being the key word there) who has taught, and continues to teach us more of who God is through parenting. She is creative, energetic, emotional, loving, nurturing, and loves to serve. We are especially blessed because we have watched her on her journey with God by being justified and continually being sanctified, and some day, will be glorified with Him for all eternity. We love our Brenna. Today is a special day and we are treating it as such. We started out the day with chocolate chip pancakes! A day can't get much better than that according to Brenna. We will end this evening with a small birthday party for Brenna and a few of her friends. Tomorrow we will have our "family" birthday in Missouri with the Hirsch's and Reavis family. Then, on Sunday, we will head our way to Houston, Texas for a VERY quick trip to take our dogs to my sister, and we will celebrate there with my siblings and a trip to the beach. We will turn around and come home on Wednesday. I think I am tired just thinking about it all.... Happy Birthday, Brenna. We love you!

WOW! These past few days have been a blur!

We moved this weekend. We are now in a lovely 3 bedroom 2 bath house with a BIG yard and wonderful shade trees. Here are some pictures...

Several of Tim's co-workers came with a 40 foot flatbed trailor attached to a big truck and got everything in one load. (minus the things we had been bringing over all week long) They started at 8: 30 ish and were done by 10 am. We spent the rest of Saturday unpacking and organizing th ings. Tim and I didn't stop until about 10 that night. Thank the Lord my mother was here to help out with entertaining the girls.







Kara had her first bowl of rice cereal last night. Needless to say, she loved it and didn't have any trouble with the spoon, as you can tell from the picture.

She also had a tea party with B and T last night. She was a little disappointed when she discovered that the tea cup didn't have anything in it.

Good thing I didn't get rid of the boxes!

So, here is a testament to God's provision. Tim and I have been talking and praying about our housing situation. We know that we need to wait to buy/build a home for at least another year, but space is in short supply here where we are in our current townhome. So, as we were driving down the road after church on Sunday, we pass a house with a "for rent" sign in the front yard. A cute little white home on a nice street with lots of shade trees. So, we call the number. The landlord tells us about the house and it sounds like a great deal. We ask to see the house and schedule a time for Monday mid day. The landlord put the sign in the yard just days before we called. We look at the house, and it is just perfect for us. 3 bedrooms two bathrooms, bigger kitchen and dining room, bigger living room, and the biggest plus, a nice big yard for the kids to play in. It has hardwood floors throughout the house, too. We tell the landlord we would like to think and pray about it and would be back to him within the next day. We had to make a quick decision because he is going out of town and really wanted a tenant in by the middle of the month. Yes, we will be moved by July 15th. My mom is coming on the 9th to visit us for a bit, Brenna's birthday party it the 18th as well. Needless to say, I am using the boxes that I unpacked just about 2 months ago and we have started taking loads over to the new house. I am really getting a lot of experience packing and unpacking. Maybe I should start a business??? Anyway, we are thankful to God for His provision of a bigger place that fits our needs and even costs just a bit less!

Prayer Request

We have several friends and some of Tim's co-workers and boss on a mission trip to the Balkans for the next two weeks. Please pray for them as they travel. If you want to read about it, their blog site is: http://balkansenglishcamp.blogspot.com/ and http://balkansenglishcamp.googlepages.com/

Fun Family Weekend

This past weekend our Igo family weekend road trips continued. We drove to Dora, Missouri to a blueberry farm. We picked and picked, and picked some more, and ended up with 2 gallons of berries. It was a great lesson on work ethic, patience, and endurance. As our arms got tired and the day grew warmer we talked about what it must be like to farm for survival rather than for "entertainment". I think the girls grew a deeper respect for that lifestyle. After picking blueberries until our hands were blue, literally, we headed out. Tim spotted a sign for a mill down another side road, so , off we went. It was a really cute little mill. Kara slept in the car nearby while Brenna and Taylor dipped their feet in the natrual spring. The water was extremely cold, but refreshing after being so hot out in the blueberry field.

Kara went to the doctor on Friday for her 4 month checkup. She now weighs 12 lbs. She is a little ball of fire rolling, grabbing, and starting to scoot a little bit. She had a little harder time with the shots this time as she ran fever on and off for a couple of days. I can't believe how big she is getting and how fast time is flying by. We are thankful to God for her continued growth and health.

Taylor's new glasses

Taylor has grown so much over the past year. It was time for a new set of specs. We had her eyes checked, and she asked us if she could pick out a different style of frame. Tim wanted her to have something bigger that would be more "fitting" for her. This is what she picked.

Doesn't she look older? I think they make her look like a teenager. They are really cute. It is amazing how fast kids grow up.

13 years... and counting

Thirteen years ago yesterday I married Timothy James Igo. My dream guy and my best friend. It is amazing to look back and see what God has done over the past 13 years of our lives. We have had some really hard times, and some amazingly wonderful times. I must say I love my husband. Neither one of us is perfect, because no one is, but but as we love God we are continually growing and changing into the couple God desires us to be. We greatly desire to display the Glory of God in the union he created. Praise God for marriage!!!

Summer fun

It is offically summer, the pool is open. I told the girls that this summer we wouldn't be able to spend all day at the pool like we did so many days last summer since Kara is so young and the heat would be too much. They are fine with that. They love their little sister! It has not yet hit 90 degrees here yet, so needless to say, the water in the kiddy pool here in town is still on the frigid side. (Forget that, it is stinkin' cold) Kids being as they are will sacrifice any bodliy discomfort just to have fun. As the days grow longer (and hotter) the water gets a little more comforting.

We made a family road trip this past weekend to St. Louis to pick up Daddy from the airport. We stayed downtown in a hotel where we could see the St.Louis Arch from the hotel. We went to Union Station and ate dinner at Landry's, and then went to the zoo on Saturday. The zoo in St. Louis is amazing, and FREE! It was REALLY hot and humid, so we were only there for a few hours. On our way out of town we thought... why don't we go to Sprinfield? (CRAZY) So... we did. All of that and we still made it back to Thayer, MO in time for Belle Hirch's birthday party.

We are on a roll!!!

Kara started rolling over Tuesday. Ok, so this isn't the best video, but I had to get something up right away for my family to see. I can't believe she is already rolling over.

She turned 3 months old last week! Time flies!

Remembering the happy times

While we were in Houston, it was important to all of us that we try to tie in some happy things for the girls so that they didn't remember this time entirely as a sad time. So, we tried to do things that PaPa liked to do with the girls to remember the happy times with him.

We went swimming at the pool there at the apartment complex where my parents had recently moved. Kara took her first dip into the pool. (with her feet only because the water was so cold). Brenna and Taylor wanted to swim at every opportunity, no matter how cold. Papa loved to watch the girls swim and splash around. The girls even talked Mama into swimming once.

We also went to the park. Papa loved to take the girls to the park and watch them play. So, I think that as the girls look back on this time of loss for us all, they will also remember the "fun" things we did while we visited.

With a heavy but greatful heart

My daddy passed away May 6, around 2:00 pm. We were on the road, just entering Texarkana, Texas when it happened. Needless to say, the last 5 hours in the car were a bit rough, but a good time to cry, talk, think, and pray. I want to thank all of you for your prayers and support in this time, and for the past 6 months of Daddy's illness and hospital stays. It just amazes me the love of Christ shown to us through our brothers and sisters in Christ. Everytime I have ever gone through a rough time, I have always thanked God for being God (not always immediately because I may have reacted in the flesh), because I don't know how anyone can go through a tragedy or loss in their life without the stability of the True Rock.

So, thank you for blessing my family with your support, prayers, encouragement, hugs, tears, laughs, and love.

We love you all!

Well, we are getting ready to make a trip to Houston to see my dad. He is really declining in health, and we don't know how much longer we will have him here with us. This may sound really morbid, but we have already begun preparing our hearts, and talking with the girls about "when God takes PaPa home". The opportunity to talk to Brenna and Taylor about death has been good. We have had family and friends pass through the years, but the idea of their "Papa" going home is a bit harder to swallow. We have talked about our bodies being perfected and that Papa will no longer have to take any medicine, have any pain, and best of all, he will see God face to face. We have the wonderful memories of the fun things we have done together and such.

I think the thing for me is that my Daddy will no longer be in pain. I have watched him over the past 10 years decline and have ached in my heart as he has ached in his body. One time he told me on the phone that he was afraid to die. I asked him why, and he said that he didn't want to leave mom. That made my heart melt. My parents have been married for over 50 years. They haven't all been the happiest of times (but who has a marriage that doesn't have unhappy times) but they have stuck together through it all. They have lived out "in sickness and in health", they have lost children, grandchildren, and watched friends age and pass away. They have witnessed their children marry, they have 3 beautiful granddauters, and many friends that they may not talk to everyday, but have ALWAYS been there.

I will always remember my Dad on the sidelines for me at track meets that lasted forever, him driving to different states to see me run, and the encouragement he has always given me. I will never forget how nervous he was when he walked me down the aisle at my wedding, or how excited he was to hold his first grandchild, then the second, and now the third. He has loved me, even when I know I didn't deserve it, and has taken care of me in so many different ways. I love my dad.

It hit me the other day that this trip to Houston MAY be the last time I see my dad alive. That is hard to take in. But still, there is a peace. I know that he is going home. I think that is what has gotten me through to this point in realizing that my dad is at the end of his mortal life.

OK. so this post has been a bit depressing, or whatever you want to call it. But, it has been quite therapeutic for me.