It's Raining, It's Pouring...

Oklahoma is in desperate need of some moisture! The last precip we got was the two blizzards in February. But those snows were so dry...only an inch of actual precipitation for sixteen inches of snow! Crazy stuff. So, things were getting...crunchy and dusty. Our beloved Oklahoma was looking a little bit like the Sahara. All week, they have been telling us we should expect rain. On Friday, we saw the storms, but the were south and never came. Yesterday, it sprinkled while we were running, but the rain never game. But today, the skies opened and it poured. It made driving difficult, but I was not about to complain. Many prayers were answered today with this downpour. Praise the Lord for perfect timing for a perfect downpour!

Santa Fe

Finally, I'm getting to pictures of our day in Santa Fe! We stayed at a really cute B&B that was right next to the plaza, so we spent some time walking around the plaza and seeing Santa Fe, and then we decided to get in the car and take the "High Mountain Road" to Taos. It was beautiful. And, the low road we took back was nice, too! It followed the Rio Grande and with the mountains in the distance, we had a feast for the eyes.

Time Wanted/Blessings

I'm quitting my job on June 17th! I'm so excited to have more time to spend with people and not working. God has blessed me with this opportunity. Hopefully I will be able blog more too! I have more pictures from our trip, but I wanted to share this song that has been speaking to me lately. We are approaching a year of trying to have children with no results. It's been a mark that I've been fearful of, but God has given me peace (and for the most part I receive it!). But frankly, sometimes I feel very sad and frustrated. I know He gave us the desire to start a family and the longer I wait, the more I'm ready. It's hard to trust that the God who gave us this desire has the perfect family planned for us. Hebrews 12 reminds me that as my Father, He wants the best and maybe what I want the most is not His plan. I feel confident that He will provide in His time and I look forward to that day. Until then, I just ask for continued prayers for us. First, for my heart. Please pray that I won't doubt God's goodness and love. I've been growing so much but I still face so many doubts and fears. Sometimes I give into the lies that I don't deserve children or even worse, that God is not as good towards me as He is towards others. I know these are lies, and I don't want to succumb to them. I also ask you to pray for wisdom for us. We know that God could provide through adoption and we are willing and hopeful to pursue it. But, please just pray that we will be patient and pursue His timing for us. I don't want you all to think that I'm sad all of the time or dealing with this constantly. It's a battle I've been fighting and through the Lord's strength, I have joy and peace most of the time. I've come to see that He is always offering peace to me, I just need to learn to accept it. Thank you for your prayers. I cannot wait until the day that we all rejoice when we see how God has provided for our family!

Albuquerque - Evans Central

We had the immense joy of spending three days with some of our favorite people...Paul, Natalie, & Brooklynn Evans! Paul and Nat went through training with us and were some of best friends over in Africa. They lived about 4 hours from us and we tried to visit them often to get away from where we were and be refreshed by spending time with them. Last time we saw them was the day we left and none of us (including them) knew that Nat was pregant with Brooklynn. So, we wanted to visit them and catch up and meet her.

We didn't do a whole lot while we there. We mostly hung out at their home because Brooke is so little, but Blake and I went to Old Town one morning. It's an ancient part of the city with lots of shops and a very pretty church.

We had an amazing time with our friends and I hope it's not another 10 months before we see them again! Brooke will be one and that's alot of cute stages to miss! We love you, Evans!

Vacation

Well, our boring lives have been more interesting this week! We are on vacation. It's been a fun week so far. I'll post pictures when we get home, but here's the itenirary:

Saturday-Sunday (last weekend): Off to Plano to stay with our friends Beau and Stacey and Harper and see Rickey and Megan and Isaiah (for the first time!).

Sunday: Gainesville for some quality time with my parents.

Monday-Wednesday: Albuquerque...staying with Paul and Natalie and meeting Brooklynn for the first time!

Thursday: Santa Fe...just the two of us.

Friday-Sunday: Guymon, OK. Not my dream vacation destination, but that's where my aunt & uncle and cousins live and we've never visited them without laughing at least a little bit!

Pictures to come next week!

Signs of Life

Tomorrow it will be 9 months since we came back from Morocco. I cannot believe it's been so long. Sometimes it seems like yesterday and sometimes it seems like forever. This Sunday, our pastor gave his "State of the Church" message, but this time he requested that we share with him ways we have grown over the past year. Blake and I laughed afterwards that it would be virtually impossible to list it because it has been one of the most difficult yet wonderful years of our lives. Here are some of the things I've learned:

**God is in control. Sometimes this past year we felt completely out of control. We had a few days to pack up our lives in Morocco and move back to Oklahoma. We had no idea how to cope with this. Blake was dealing with anxiety; I was trying to figure things out. But God completely took care of us. He has very clearly guided us to where we are. I'm still learning this lesson. We've been trying to have a baby for the past nine months and we've seen friend after friend announce their pregnancies and have their babies. This is the ultimate out-of-control thing I've faced. There is absolutely nothing I can do to make this happen on my own. But God is so faithful and I'm learning how to wait for Him. I know I will be a mom some day. It's up to Him to choose the time.

**We still want to be a part of what's going on overseas. God has clearly shown us that this is what we should pursue. While this is not the time for us to go, He has graciously given us opportunities at our church here in Norman to serve in this area.

**My priorities in life are completely different than before I went to Morocco. Career, cars, owning a home, being stable...those were all things that God completely removed from my desires. It took quite a fire, but He's leading us to live in an apartment and live on a bare budget so we can give as much as we can away. I don't say this out of arrogance, but out of gratefulness that He has given me new desires.

**My years-long interest in pro-life will soon be put to use. For many years, I've wanted to be involved in this issue, but have never had a viable chance. Especially since I want to be overseas again, I've never considered that the two could come together. But through the past month, He has given me a peace about getting invovled in the local pro-life ministries with the intention of learning as much as I can so I can be used by God overseas. Did you know in Russia there are 4.3 abortions for every life birth? Crazy. Those are broken, hurting women over there and maybe some day God can use me there or somewhere else to share the gospel through pro-life work.

I don't want to sound arrogant, but I want to testify to God's goodness in my life. The extreme difficulties of the past year (and the current ones with trying to get pregnant) all serve a purpose, His. Lord, help me to embrace the trials and praise you regardless of my circumstances!

Snowmageddon

It snowed all day Tuesday and then has been freezing ever since! Today, it snowed off and on all day and we are expecting more later. Thankfully, the roads are passable, so we've been crawling to work for the past couple of days. It's so easy for me to fall into the trap of wishing for something different. It's frustrating to take forever to get to work and to have to bundle up every time I go outside. But, the truth is that I would complain if it was hot outside. I always look for something better than I have now instead of enjoying what God has given me. I mean, how beautiful is snow? It can make a pile of trash look pretty. Even when it gets all brown, snow can be such a testimony to God's grace. I mean, think about that nasty, brown snow on the side of the road. That's how our hearts are, sinful and ugly. But God can make them white as snow. No one can do that, but Him! Father, help me to look around and see the beauty in things that I can overlook so easily!