Five months of CUTENESS!

December 14, 2012

January 11, 2013

February 11, 2013

March 11, 2013

April 11, 2013

May 11, 2013

The words do not really need detailed captions. They are priceless to E's daddy and I. This little guy is such a beautiful reminder of God's power, majesty and beauty. EVEN when your child goes through a growth spurt where they forget what it means to sleep! (RIGHT NOW!) Ezra has grown and changed so much over the past few months. But, looking back at those first few days, D and I can see the personality in his face. Our kid is one fun ball of laughs. He's also one sigh away from pulling their hair out of our heads! (YESTERDAY - when he refused to take a nap!) But, we've managed to form a routine around here to deal with the rough patches and savor the sweet ones. I have so many pictures I want to share, but our computer is on the outs and has a hard time uploading. More to come soonish.

Putting the old away

I can't believe that Ezra is almost 5 months old! I can't believe that just yesterday I packed away ALL of his three month old clothes. Is this really happening? Why does he have to grow so fast?? I blink and there he goes, growing, growing. Slow down sweet boy. Mommy and Daddy aren't ready yet!

Yesterday at church Ezra was the BIG KID! Three babies were present in the congregation. One younger by 8 days, the other only 3 weeks old. EZRA was the BIG KID! And the loud one, apparently. While the others sweetly napped, Ezra could be heard throughout the church cooing, moaning and making other cute, but loud, noises. I LOVE THIS! There is nothing that warms my heart greater than hearing a baby in church, crying or not! As my husband prayerfully considers what planting a church will look like, I beg him to always allow WHOLE-HEARTEDLY babies in the service with their parents. Mark Driscoll loves to have children in the service as a sign of life and blessing! I couldn't agree more! What better statement to those mommies and daddies lovingly sheparding their children than a welcome - for all - into the church, where ALL can be fed! Now, if we can only free the mommies up to nurse while in their church. I'm blessed to have a church that provides a cry room with the service being mic'ed in. My wish for all mommies!!!

Life Update

Isaiah 55:8-9

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

This verse is fitting for where we, as a family, are at right now. We are adjusting to a major shift in calling. I italicize this word because it is hard to define, hard to understand and hard to accept.  Being called -

There is a difference between a called individual and someone who fills a hole," says Pastor Chris.  (Click quote for more info)

Jesus called the 12 disciples. They were purposed for very finite reasons to come alongside Christ, be trained by him and then sent out.

Derek and I know without doubt that we were called to this church, this ministry, this city, to come alongside, be in community, be trained and now, we believe, to be sent out.

Over the past year, Derek has felt a change in his heart, brought about by God. This change has renovated his passions in ministry. Where he once felt on fire to serve in worship and youth, that fire has dimmed. We firmly believe that Derek's giftedness in music has been from God and meant to serve his church and his people. That type of gift should always be used to bring glory to God and will not end. God has over the past year built in Derek a desire to teach and preach. Part of his calling to ministry here at our church, I believe, was to train Derek up, expose him to the pulpit, and give him opportunity to learn about leadership in a church. After being giving many opportunities by our Pastor to teach Sunday school and preach Sunday mornings, Derek has felt this stirring in his heart became a thundering beat that can't be tuned out.

For months we have prayed about whether or not we should even entertain this change going on inside of Derek. We asked questions - is this something YOU want or GOD wants, has our calling changed, what does this M.E.A.N? The answers haven't always been very clear so we took time away completely from thinking about this. AND we had a baby - great distraction.

Derek returned to his hometown back in January for a week for a RE:train class. While there he was able to articulate better this calling in his heart.

Derek feels called to minister, teach and preach

to his hometown community of Stanwood, Washington

by way of planting a church.

Sounds crazy, right? That's what I thought, too. But after much prayer - and frankly - questioning both God and my husband, I'm on board. I believe this is what God is calling us to. Is it comfortable? N.O. Is it certain -  not nearly. So, what is it? It IS a huge step in faith to go, to leave our comfortable, loving, community-rich, God-loving church here in Texas, to become members of a church we hope to plant someday. Will God bring about his good and perfect will this way - unknown. Do we believe God wants us to be in Washington? Yes. Is this a hard decision for us? Yes. Why? The reasons are many and I'm sure will be a part of a blog post at some point. We know that for one side of our family, there will be joy and smiles and for another there will be sadness and tears at the growing distance. For some friends, we are moving closer, for some we are moving a country a part. For friends here that have become family, we are leaving unsure how often we will see each other again. The many faces that have been familiar to our son will no longer be seen. But as God promised Moses, He has already gone before us and made a way.

I'm sure a lot of this is confusing for those of you reading it. This is a blog for family and friends to stay connected to what's going on in our life. So, feel free to call us and ask questions.  Here is a final bit of information that might explain where we are a bit better. 

Derek has received the blessing by our Pastor and Elders to seek out opportunities to live out this calling in Standwood. That means they have given Derek permission to look for employment opportunities or ministry openings that would enable us to start the process of assessing whether or not we will plant a church. It also means that Derek is now the interim worship leader at our church and his job has been posted online. In less than a week, more than 10 applicants have applied and one is scheduled to come out and "audition" for Derek's job. This is moving WAY.TOO.FAST for my comfort, but it is moving. We have no idea about the timing of this transition. We ask that you guys pray for us, for discernment, wisdom, unity, peace, provision and thankful hearts!  Also, please pray for our church here, that the new worship leader will be the perfect fit for the congregation and God's desire for their worship. 

The Major Events that I haven't Blogged about:

Dear Pregnancy Brain,

Could you please allow me the ability to think, put my clothes on the right way, find my car keys, remember if I fed the dogs, remember to tell my boss about a scheduled staff photo and lastly to remember why I walked into Target in the first place!

Thank you,
Anlee

Okay, so, it really is that bad. I'm told that hormones are the culprit. Right at birth, a mom's body has more than 200 hormones rapidly rushing through her body. Yep, 200! So, husbands around the world, rejoice that it is only during delivery! They peak at birth and over the next few weeks slowly go back down to normal hormonal wife status.

We've had some pretty major events in our life here in Midland, and I'm too tired to really blog about all of them so here are the bullet points:

Not my photo - can't find camera!

• We celebrated TWO YEARS of blissful marriage! Our gift of choice is a trip somewhere far from home, so this year we spent our second anniversary in Seattle, inbetween Derek's seminary classes, eating at our favorite Seafood bar and walking through Pike's Place. We always finish our Seattle dates with a trip to Gasworks for dessert (overlooks the bay and Seattle skyline).
• Derek began his RETRAIN coursework. He is loving the group that he was placed in. I just finished editing his 25 page Discipliship paper! Since Derek and I met after college, it is nice getting to know his studious side! 
• We officially bought a CRIB for Ezra! AND painted the nursery!! Seriously, the color was the easiest choice! I'll post pictures soonish. We bought a stroller, carseat and base! Our kid now has wheels and a bed, one bottle, about 35 outfits (generously donated) and his first glow "sea horse." 
• THE DATE IS SET! I'm coming home to Georgia the weekend of October 20th! That is an away game for Georgia and a home game for Tech! 
• COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS BACK! And possibly the reason that I will go into premature labor! Gooooo Dawgs! Now, I need a UGA maternity shirt! Seriously! 
• We are officially 26 weeks pregnant and about to enter the THIRD trimester! I can't believe it is upon us. We started our birth preparation classes last weekend. Do I feel more prepared to give birth? NO! But, I feel more prepared to order Derek around during the active phase of labor and he is now prepared to massage all parts of me that ache! 
• Registered! Oh man, now I  KNOW how lucky we were to not have to register for our wedding. Registering for Ezra has been an emotionally tiring experience. But, we have started a pretty basic registry at Baby-r-us and Target. You guys seriously do not KNOW how many reviews of products we have read, how much advice we have received and sought out and how much CRAP we are told to buy! So, our registry is a compiled list from lots of first-time moms of what they REALLY needed versus what they could seriously live without! NO WIPE WARMER FOR US! 
• I JOINED MOPS! Yay!!!! I start my first MOPS group this Friday! Everyone in my group is a first-time mom, too! (Mothers Of PreschoolerS). 

Random Photos from my iPhone

Okay, so I had some random photos that I just now uploaded onto the computer. I have no idea if I've posted any of these before, but I still think they are pretty entertaining. 

Baby Knox - Ashleigh and Whit's son.

Mom and Keith at the childhood home of George W. Bush in Midland. 

Caleb months ago hanging out. 

Baby Knox sleeping in his carseat

Derek and I visited Texas Tech University. See my reaction below...

Big negative Texas Tech! Goooo Dawgs!

Ornaments I made for children's message.

Both of my nephews together! Now baby Fekkes needs to be in the next picture.

My gift to Derek. I stitched our route from GA to WA to TX on the map.

Derek huntin' wild bore! Baha

The ranch back in December before the snow and rain. 

Derek is amazed that one car can be spotted in the midst of trucks. 

Derek is lovin' the BBQ

A view of Midland from an oil company's top floor office downtown.

Taking the rents on an oil field tour.

This was taken in October. 

Next Oil CEO - Derek Fekkes

...more random photos to come...

The Year in Review

Last year, we started our New Year's Celebration with a double date in Seoul, South Korea. Last year, we lived half way around the world. Last year, we were far away from home...

This year, we celebrated New Year's Eve with a friend from South Korea...tradition maybe? This year, we celebrated in our first American home together. This year, we were still far away from family, but we are MID-land between the two.

What a year it has been. We visited Thailand and Cambodia. We celebrated our first year of marriage. We saw God's favor in providing jobs for BOTH of us that we love. We moved into our first home together. We welcomed the arrival of TWO new nephews. We've taken a cross-country roadtrip visiting friends and family along the way. And, we learned invaluable things about God, his love for us and about how he is working in our marriage to make us stronger.

I'll send out a more substantial update later in the week. While we've been in our apartment for almost a month now, it has been a slow process of moving in. I'll write about the holiday's, my amazing Christmas dinner and our new home. His love and ours, D&A

Reunions

 September 2011' - Georgia
The month of September was spent reuniting with friends and family all over the state of Georgia. First and foremost, sweet little Scottie Boo. My sweet pup. The picture of Scottie Boo above just warms my heart and cracks a smile on my face each time I see it. I'm the person who grabs there phone, runs through iphoto to find a picture of my dog when others show off their kids. The sweet guy remembers me and has adopted Derek as his papa.  Good times were had with sweet Scottie, like taking him to an arts-n-crafts festival where he was doted on and petted by every child and woman!

Sweet, sleeping boo

Saturday - Atlanta 
 We ventured out to North Atlanta to start a whirl-wind weekend visiting friends. Unfortunately, I didn't take a lot of pictures at the beginning, so Adam and Brooks Witter are absent from this as are Derek's friends from college, BUT, the amazing dessert we had is pictured above. Don't you love it when your friends live 5 minutes from a Kroger so you can feast on all the ice cream selections! And, don't you love it when you are so jet-lagged that you wake up every morning at 4...so you creep downstairs in your friends house and go through their DVDs. Anyway, we had lunch with Derek's friend and wife from college in downtown Atlanta then moseyed our way up to the Mall of Georgia for some retail therapy and a hang-out session with our newlywed friends, The Witters.

 Sunday - 
We left The Witter's bright and early and drove the nostalgic 316 route from Atlanta to Athens to visit my university town and the lovely newlyweds, The Dashers. Our plan was to go to Athens Church, my church home in college, but we made a detour to the Cracker Barrel for an early morning breakfast before church. My church has changed a lot. I have to say I was visually overloaded and not as spiritually stimulated, but it's still an amazing church that is pouring into the Athens community. Andy Stanely didn't preach as I was hoping.  After, we began our Athens food tour of showing Derek the amazing food I've been talking about for two years. First up, Five Star Day. Um, yum! 

Five Star Day - Picnic Chicken Salad

Five Star Day - Mac-n-cheese

Five Star Day - Derek's meatloaf

The Dashers! (Sorry Pickle)

The Historic Georgia Theatre after being rebuilt following a major fire my last year in Athens.

My HUSBAND, the Dashers and THE ARCH!

 This needs some explaining. The ARCH is the symbol of the University of Georgia. The ARCH reminds us of what we are working towards, for and all the greats that have traveled before us. YOU DO NOT WALK THROUGH THE ARCH until you have graduated (if you are like me), but tradition states FRESHMEN are NOT ALLOWED to walk through the ARCH and must walk around. If you are a guest, feel free to walk under the hallowed gateway to the beautiful North Campus.

Ringing the Victory Bell

 If UGA wins a game, you can hear the bell ringing for the next 24 hours as people line up to ring the sacred bell signaling Victory once again!

Behind these cuties is my school, SPIA. (School of Public and International Affairs)

North Campus Fountain. I have danced in this fountain many a time!

Prom photo in front of the fountain and plus a few pounds!

View from the 7th floor of the Library. You can see our Stadium dead center

 So funny story, not everyone knows about this beautiful view. Most of us try to avoid the Library at all costs. I made it until my senior year, (last week) before I walked in the doors. Lindsey and Anson had never been up to see the view, either. But, it is amazing, hidden behind the history of music books.

Goooooooooooooo Dawgs, sic em' woof woof woof woof! Standing on the bridge that overlooks the field.

 September 9-13, 11' - Midland
Soooo, Derek and I had prayed for a church job leading worship starting around March of this year. We asked the Lord for favor in finding a job and to provide a job BEFORE we left Korea. With 55 job applications in, 0 interviews and 5 days left in Korea, Derek applied to Our Saviors Lutheran in Midland, Texas. Hours later, the pastor emailed Derek asking if they could talk. Derek called over skype. Spoke with the pastor, really connected theologically and was offered an interview the following morning. We prayed. He interviewed. They chose Derek to pursue. We were flown out to Midland to meet the church and have the church get to know us. Derek led worship on Sunday morning. We spent time with the elders of the church and their wives and we fell in LOVE! We were blown away by the Holy Spirit's presence in the church body, the mighty prayer of the people and the generous love they rained over us. 

The church

We also fell for the local grocery story, H.E.B., and the selection of cheeses and samples!

 Back to Georgia for a Newlywed Couples Weekend
The Witters, The Dashers and The Fekkes' spent the weekend up at the Witters mountain lake house cabin catching up and EATING! North Georgia is an interesting place, for sure. Here is an interesting mercantile story known as "Goats on the Roof." Look closely and you will spot one.

Brooks smelling a "fart" candle. You can see how she feels about it.

Adam demonstrating how they capture the smell.

Never leave home without it!

a goat on the Roof!

The rest of our time in Georgia was spent packing - everyday - my stuff. Thank God I married a professional packer. Derek moved furniture as a part time summer job in college, so I made piles and he packed. We also enjoyed many delicious dinners with the family. Dad made us steak, crab and shrimp for dinner one night helping us add 5 of the 10 lbs we were working on. Mom made us Thanksgiving dinner (as requested). It was sooooooooo good! My first year in Korea mom shipped boxed Thanksgiving dinner to me...this was way better because it had her personal touch. We spent time with my grandparents, great-grandfather and went to a Georgia Tech game. Good times! Next up, our east-coast-to-west-coast road-trip!