Pizza Making & Family Visits

I'm beginning to believe I will never catch up on posting and I just need to deal with it and get to the posts that I'm capable of when I find the time or even stop to do so. Trying to remind myself that it doesn't mean I cannot give a quick tidbit about life with the McGoos.

Mr. McGoo's mom and step dad came in town from Arizona this weekend. We've been blessed enough to have them staying with us Saturday evening until tomorrow morning! To surprise them, and our niece, we invited Grace over to spend the night Saturday and go with us to church Sunday morning.

Boy was she excited to see Nana and Grandpa Al walk into the door later that evening!

Before they arrived, however, we had some fun of our own. First Grace helped her uncle, Mr. McGoo bathe the furbabies outside, and then came inside, cleaned up, and went to homemade pizza making!

Meet Chef Pizza Maker Grace:

I'm pretty sure I had as much fun as she did watching her and instructing her how to make the pizza. She's such a ham, I love it. After we put the pizza in the oven (she's just posing there with the pizza, I actually put it into the oven to keep her from getting burned), we jumped on the couch, each with a book and read "together" until the pizza was ready for consumption.

A good evening indeed.

To Be Used by God

Although they have not yet become intimate friends, I imagine that it will happen as we continue to pray for them regularly and advocate for the ministry God is using them to accomplish in Uruguay. It seems to happen that way - when you partner with someone you cannot help but begin to learn more about them and the way God uses them and respect, honor, and love them through that process!

Our friends, Matt and Toni Daniels (and their children) are living in Uruguay as full time missionaries. They have been there a long time and the Lord is blessing their ministry but also growing their faith about His provision and His timing.

Today Matt posted a BEAUTIFUL blog post about that topic and I wanted to share it with you. Please take a moment to read it. If you've ever had a moment when you had to choose between faith that God is going to come through and provide for you or be consumed by fear and bout, you will be spoken to through this post...

The rain is already there…
by Matt on May 20, 2011

I am not prone to wild charismatic experiences, but this one blows my mind, and I think it will put a smile on your face.

I went out to the San Geronimo house last week to pay the last of my operating fund to a local guy that helps out with the property.  A pang went through my heart when I signed the paystub and said, “I’ll call you when there is more funding.”

I loaded up the broken lawn tractor in the back of my station wagon (picture half a lawn tractor hanging out the back, going down the highway), and wept my fear and trepidation all the way to the next town where the shop was.  I dropped off the tractor for repairs, and wept and cried out my fear and trepidation all the way home, variously yelling and whispering, “Help, Papa.  Help, Papa.”

I am open to be used by God to see miracles happen, but this earthsuit I walk around in has a hard time living in the gap between “no you don’t see Him” and “now you do.”  I’m like a 12 month old.  If God walks out of my sight for just a second, part of me fails to believe He exists.

I get home with tear tracks still on my face, [. . .]

Click on the title or the [. . .] link to finish the post - it's definitely WORTH IT!

Mr. McGoo and I joined the Daniels in their ministry this week by signing up to be a part of their "100 Holding and Helping". I wasn't aware of the need or the idea until I came upon their website by direction of our church's Facebook page and Twitter account. Matt had written an incredible blog post about how God is using their ministry (you can find that post here). After reading the post and being encouraged by their ministry and what God is doing through them, I was led me to their "100 Holding and Helping" campaign as I continued to look around their website.

I'm inviting you to do the same - to join the team of 100 folks that God is going to use to encourage, equip, and love the Daniels and their ministry! 

Here's the deal, but you can find more on their website - they are looking for 100 people that will commit to giving $10 a month to them for 2 years. Seriously $10 - a MONTH - piece of cake... but 100 people joining together can begin to make a significant difference.

Will YOU be one of those 100?

Check out their website here: http://www.mattandtoni.org/?page_id=127 and find out how to join the team today.

Not all of us are called to serve in another country. Not everyone is spurred by God to travel to Uruguay, Ethiopia, or even the next state to spread the Gospel... but EVERYONE is called to serve and advance the Kingdom of God where they are. Even from home, wherever that may be, we have opportunities daily to be used by God. He's another invitation to do just that!

More info about one of their specific projects - the vision, the goal, the need:

Reach. Innovate. Multiply.  Geronimo! from Matthew Daniels on Vimeo.

Uncle & Aunt

Attempt to catch the blog up on some things 1.

Here are some photos of Mr. McGoo and me, and our niece, Grace. She spent the night the Saturday before Mother's Day and we went to church together.

I always try to catch a mini photo shoot with her when we're out and about together to share with her grandparents (Mr. McGoo's mom and dad) that live in AZ and RI.

Enjoy. She's our little Sassafrass (sorry Mr. McGoo, know I butchered the spelling!) and we love her.

God's Beauty - Be Still

Doesn't the beauty God gives us on a daily basis, 

all around, just make you go "WOW"?

Things have been crazy busy with the start of a new school trimester and everything else going on these days. A new class means a new schedule, a new routine, new coursework, and with this being my first true nursing class this is a new ball game all together. A lot is happening these days and whenever I get a moment of time for myself or time to just be, I'm having difficulty desiring to write or be on the computer all, even though there is much to tell about!

I was driving to class after a full day at work on Thursday, a long day at that, and began to feel the pressure of my schedule start to weigh me down... it was getting heavy and I began to feel overwhelmed until something (the Holy Spirit) sparked me to look up past the path I was driving... telling me to look further than the long road ahead of me and the cars in my way (not too far so I would hit them, but you know what I mean), and when I looked up THIS is what I saw. Wow.

At that moment it all came back into perspective. He is on the throne! He is in control. One day a time and He'll pull me through! Focus on what matters and BE STILL & KNOW (Ps. 46:10) HE IS GOD!

I'm so thankful for little reminders like that.

St. Louis Getaway

So the hubs and I went to St. Louis for a few days the week before Easter. It was a mini vacation getaway together, as well as our Anniversary vacation, which was a month prior. With our current schedules, finding time to get away together is difficult. When I'm in school, he's out and vis versa, so it was nice to just BE together, sit around, talk, watch cable, and simply getaway from the normal routine.

We planned to enjoy a day at Six Flags, but I got the dates wrong and it was only open on the tornado weather day... so we plan to come back for a quick visit to use our Six Flags Tickets this summer! Can't wait.

We drove up on Wednesday and left Friday morning for Kansas City, KS. Here is our trip in photos:

On the road - showing off my new hairdo (cut the day before)

Cannot drive through Sikeston without a stop at Lambert's!

My hubs got us the hook up! Priceline: Hyatt downtown for $65 per night, upgraded to a Arch View King Room. NICE!

The Arch: cannot help but get mesmerized by it!

Just a hop, skip, and a jump from our hotel!

We did the Budweiser Busch Brewery Tour - FREE and very cool. Gorgeous buildings!

The Budweiser clydesdale horses are beautiful and massive!

The clydesdale stables are immaculate - I know this is a shot of horses' backsides, but took it for my niece's son, Clayton who loves Thomas the train - see the name of the horse on the right.

Mr. McGoo also scored us 5th row up tickets by 1st base for the Cardinals - $32 total!

Beautiful ballpark!

This is the photo I was taking when I missed the guy on the RIGHT ticket, who is amazing, hitting a HOMERUN! oops. At least I saw the replay on the big screen.

Self-portrait at the Cardinals game! BEAUTIFUL WEATHER!

As always, I enjoyed being with the hubs and seeing some sites. We had a great time and were so thankful we had a chance to step away from our routine and see St. Louis. We'll be back for more!

one thousand gifts - my husband

My hubby outdid himself today. I guess he's seen the "overwhelmed" feeling that has been coming over me this week (I've tried to hide it), or the emotional exhaustion from lack of sleep (I've tried to drink my coffee or tea and keep truckin), or the Mrs. McGoo can be crazy at times (ugh, it happens)... but whatever he saw - Mr. McGoo went out of his way today to surprise me with love, affirmation, and encouragement.

In addition to the beautiful flowers he surprised me with at work (apparently he ordered purple tulips, but they came to me orangey and red - beautiful nonetheless), he met me for lunch with my youngest sis (surprise) AND had a happy waiting for me once I got off work (see below).

Yeah, this guy is a keeper. He knew exactly what I needed to hear today and went beyond to share those words, encouragement, and love with me in some not so regular, everyday ways! I'm so thankful for him and glad to be on his team!

I've been talking about this book for awhile. Lots of my blogger friends and friends in general have recently purchased this book or read it themselves. It has been on my "to get" list, and now I get to put it on my "to read now that I own" list. I'm looking forward to diving into the pages (at some point).

But for now, I'm heading to bed early to get some of that much needed sleep. goodnight

We're a Team

I was surprised by these this afternoon being delivered to my work from Mr. McGoo...

Gorgeous.

Perfect Timing.

Perfect Note.

I'm a blessed woman!

Photo taken without the "cloudy" setting on my phone

Being a Wife Is All About Jesus

"Being a godly wife flows from being a committed daughter."

I came upon this great article about being a Godly wife. We spoke in Sunday School /our Connecting Point class at church this Sunday about the role of man and wife in a marriage. We split up into guys and girls and began studying God's word about the matter and discussing what it means, how we go about accomplishing what it calls us to be, and beyond.

I love how this article points to the basis of it all... JESUS. Without Jesus I'm incapable of being a good wife, let along a Godly one. Lord help me.

Check out the article. It's a goodie - http://theresurgence.com/2011/05/10/being-a-wife-is-all-about-jesus

National Day of Prayer

Today is National Day of Prayer. Today marks the 60th annual event and this year's theme is "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" from Psalm 91:2, which states: "I will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust."

 

Remember today to take some time to pray for our family, friends, coworkers, country, leadership, other countries around the world, etc. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (pray without ceasing)!

 

Here is a great article from Ernie Frey (my church pastor) about why we need National Day of Prayer: http://faithinmemphis.com/2011/05/02/frey-would-the-real-church-please-kneel/ 

 

It really resonated with me.

 

 

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14 

Something New: White Chicken Chili

Rachael Ray White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

• 32 oz chicken broth
• 20 oz canned chicken
• 16 oz salsa
• 3 cans white beans, drained
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tps cumin
• sour cream to garnish
• 1 can water

Place all ingredients in crockpot (YAY!). Cook on low for 4hrs. Garnish with sour cream and serve. Yields 1 1/2 c per serving

* I was pressed for time so I did 2 hrs on high in the crockpot and the dish was more soupy for me than desired. I have not decided if that's because of the extra water (meaning I should reduce that amount) or if it's because I went high heat/short time instead of low heat/longer time. Either way it was tastey. Mr. McGoo added some shredded cheese too.

Nashville

The weekend before Easter I had the opportunity to travel to Nashville. It had been awhile since I found my way to this beautiful city last, and I was excited to see my sis and bro in law, catch a glimpse of the new house, and visit some of my Nashville friends while in town.

Although I had intended on coming for the weekend plus some, fundraising endeavors for the Ethiopia Short Term Mission Trip at Central Church kept me in Memphis until Saturday afternoon. I was glad I stayed for the events because the Ethiopia Yard Sale raised the team over $500 and the most creative fundraiser yet, Zumba for Ethiopia raised over $400.

Once the fundraisers were complete, I hit the road and made it to Nashville in time to eat dinner with sis, bro in law, and my folks who were also visiting for the weekend. We had a great time, talking and competing with one another on Words with Friends. At multiple times post dinner the five of us were sitting in the living room together, completely silent, playing against each other (4+ games happening on each of our phones at the same time). The only time the silence would be broken was the point in which someone was killed by a big point move by their opponent. Hilarious or sad, I'm not sure which, but I'm certain we all enjoyed it!

B.I.L. (Brent) and SIS (Robin) - the good looking couple after Sushi Dinner

Middle sis and Bro's new house did NOT disappoint. As expected, it's absolutely adorable and being pulled together decor wise with some made skills. Check out the process on my sister's blog: Kee Creative. They have done a ton of work already to the house, painting in EVERY ROOM to start. In my opinion the house could not be any cuter or more perfect for this favorite couple of mine. I enjoyed their living room the first night, sleeping on the couch while Mom and Pop were in town and then got to experience the dark blue, rich colored guest room the second night once Mom and Pop had headed back home. Both were great experience and I look forward to visiting with Mr. McGoo next.

My fur-niece and fur-nephew DEFINITELY love their new casa. Lots of room to roam and especially lots of windows to look outside. Here is shot of the fur-niece scoping out the neighborhood for me while I leisurely read on Monday when everyone else was at work. Nice!

In addition to spending time with my sis and bro, I made use of my Monday visit to see some Nashville friends. I met a girlfriend for lunch, whom I love and although the visit with short and sweet, it warmed my heart to hear what God is doing in her and her hubby's life and was great to share with her all that's happening in ours. Tabitha is such an encouragement to me, so even though it was during her lunch break and short, I'm so thankful she took the time to visit with me.

Likewise, I was able to have a coffee date with another Nashville friend of mine. Katie, who you may know from her blog that I follow (here) was able to meet with me at Starbucks. She brought her youngest son, Yohannes with her and I was able to meet him for the first time! It was GREAT visiting and catching up. And seeing Yohannes in person was wonderful, especially after so many times of prayer for him and about him. He's adorable just like Katie's other boys and has a personality of his own. I was so blessed to be able to hear all about the things God is doing in her and her family's lives and was encouraged by her constant support of the things Mr. McGoo and I are pursuing and doing with The Forsaken Children and ministry in Ethiopia. I'm looking forward to the next get together for sure!

Although the trip was short: Saturday evening in, Monday evening out - I was able to do some of my favorite things will people I love: talk, drink coffee, eat, laugh, worship Jesus, go to church, sing, dance, read, etc. A great visit and I'm ready to go back - next time I'll bring the spouse!

I'm so proud of my sister and all that God is doing in her life!