0 Operation Christmas Child

This year, one of my closest friends is heading up Operation Christmas Child at our church. The mission of Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is to demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Read below about how you can help a child during the Christmas season.

1. Tell us about OCC

Operation Christmas Child is one of the ministries of Samaritan's Purse. This ministry is all about sending a simple gift around the world to a child in need. Last year the United States collected 5.2 million shoe boxes filled with small toys, candies and hygiene items. These boxes are sent to over a hundred different countries where they are given to children along with a comic book about the gospel in their language. 

2. What stories have you heard about children that have received boxes?

I have heard so many stories that have shown me how present God is in this ministry. I know that when you decide to pack a box that God has already picked out who will receive it. Start praying for that sweet little child and as you walk through the store God will let you know what he or she needs. 

There are two stories that stick out the most to me. One is about someone who put a five pack of toothbrushes into a box.  People kept asking "Why are there five in here?" but they didn't take them out they just sent them along. When the box was given out, it turns out that there where five people in the child's family that received the box. God knew the need and put in on the persons heart who packed the box.

There was a little girl who told her mom she did not want to go to school, the reason was that her shoes were embarrassing. They were beat up, messy and put back together with wire. Her feet would get wet on the way to school and then be cold as she wore them all day. She tried to convince her mom to let her stay home that day. After her long walk to school she sees that the kids all have these boxes. She goes to get one herself and when she opens the box there is a brand new pair of shoes. Immediately, she asked who had given her this box and the gospel was shared with her. Today she lives in the US and packs boxes for Operation Christmas Child every year.

3. Why did you decide to get involved?

Our church is a Collection Center, which is where all the boxes from the Montgomery area come to be sent to the processing center.  There was an announcement in church at the end of July that there was a need for a coordinator. I immediately felt like it was something that God was telling me to look further into. 

4. Why is this organization so important to you?  Tell me how it has impacted your life.

 

Operation Christmas Child has become very important to me over the past few months. When I began working with this great ministry I knew it was amazing ministry for kids. I have now had the opportunity to hear and see some of the kids that it touches. Getting more people involved has really became a passion of mine when I heard these numbers: in the US we collected 5.2 million shoe boxes, Mexico City alone as 6.6 kids who would benefit from one of these shoe boxes. Even if every box from the US went to Mexico City we would still be short. That simple stat fires me up to get everyone I know to make a box. We are told in Matthew 28:19 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."  I know it is not always easy to take off and go on a mission trip across the world. There are issues like taking off work, getting the money raised but here is a simple and easy way to directly impact one child a world away.

5. How can others get involved?

There are so many different ways to get involved! You can pack your own box and take it to a drop off location near you. Pack any standard size shoe box full of small toys, hygiene items and school supplies. For about $20 you can fill a box completely!! Check out http://www.samaritanspurse.org/OCC/ to find a drop-off location, ideas of what to pack, downloadable labels, and ways to track your box to see where it goes! National Collection Week is November 15-22 so get packing!!

You can also contact your locate Collection Center Coordinator to help with the packing and loading of the boxes from your area. This is a major need because each Collection Center pack thousands of shoe boxes to be shipped to the processing centers. 

Year round volunteers are needed to help with preparing and promoting National Collection Week. There are needs for people to help with Church Relations, Community Relations, Prayer, Promotion and Area Coordinators. These positions are a great way to take the next step in getting involved on the next level. No matter what your spiritual gift there is a way for you to become more involved with OCC. 

Your simple gift will change a child's life. That child will have a present to open at Christmas and because of that gift they will hear about the love of Jesus.

To donate a box to a child in need this Christmas, click here to get started.

Till next time, let your light shine!


Blessings, christen

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0 Meet the Godwins

JW and KC Godwin are your typical little Southern family.  They got married, moved to a new city, bought a house, and have an adorable baby girl named Olivia.  When first meeting this couple, one will crack up at JW's love for Reba and will get helpful parenting tips from KC.  This family looks complete on the outside, but on the inside they have a deep desire to follow God's will for their lives.  Recently, JW and KC made a life-changing decision for their family.  They have answered God's calling on their hearts to adopt a child.  Read below about why they decided to do this and how their journey is going.  For more information about the Godwin family and their adoption process, visit their blog at ourzoegrace.blogspot.com.

So, you're adopting....why did you decide to adopt?

            Adoption is something that has been placed on our hearts for a long time. Ever since we started dating we both mentioned how we had a passion for helping children and how we planned on adopting one day. After Olivia was born we thought that the urge and pull we were feeling towards adoption would, not go away completely, but at least settle down some. Well it did the exact opposite. God started moving in our lives SO MUCH stronger. We both felt moved and called by God to do this. So we finally decided one day that we just had to let go and do it. So we did. And we are SO glad we did. It has been the most amazing journey of our lives.

What made you choose Ethiopia?

            We have been asked that question so many times we have to laugh now every time it's asked. We always get put in the situation where we are talking about the adoption, how much God has moved in our lives and then when that question gets asked - all of the excitement leaves. "Why did we choose Ethiopia?" We have no idea. That's it. That's the answer that everyone seems to lose the interest over. I know it may seem a little weird but really we don't know. We both felt called first to doing an international adoption, then to Africa. Then I guess Ethiopia chose us.

Tell us about the adoption process...tips, things you have learned, steps/time frame that it takes.

            God always tests us and gives us things that we think we can't handle and puts us in situations to help us learn. Man oh man did he do that when he put us on the path of adoption. Neither of us have the longest patience in the world and when it comes to adoptions - nothing moves quickly. It is a slow process with a ton of paperwork. But looking back over these past few months I think it has been a good thing that it has taken and is taking so long. It has given us time to evaluate ourselves and really focus on what God has in store for us. What his plans are for us. What this adoption will do for him.

            You start off by applying with an agency. They then do a few reference checks and as long as everyone says good things about you, and you pay the application fee and you meet the requirements (ie age, years of marriage, age of youngest child, etc.) you are accepted into the program. Yep. That's it. It's that simple.

            After that step then it becomes more detailed and tedious. You have to go through a "home study" and if your agency, like ours, is out of the state you live in then you have to find someone in state to do it and coordinate with your agency. During the home study you are asked a number of questions about your lifestyle, your marriage, your parenting skills, your childhood, your parents, etc. They spend about two months getting to know everything that they can about you. You and your spouse will do interviews together and separate.

            You will fill out a ton of paperwork, get your fingers prints done and sent off to the FBI and the ABI, in Alabama, or where ever you may live. In that same time you are working on your financial statement. Most agencies like for there to be an excess of $100.00 per individual in the household, including the new addition, by the time all expenses are paid. So it can be a very stressful time if you are trying to make it all work. When you start canceling gym memberships, cutting back on satellite packages and other "extra's" that everyone enjoys, you realize about that thing called sacrifice. But then you realize what you are gaining out of this and how it would be worth living in the dark for 10 years if that would help you get your baby home.

            After all of that is complete and you have been working and waiting for about three or four months you start your dossier paperwork. Now this is where it becomes country specific. Friends of our that are adopting from Uganda didn't have to do a "dossier" it was called something else and required different things. But as far as Ethiopia goes, you have to have everything as an original and notarized. You need three copies total, two can be photo copies - one is for the courts in Ethiopia and that is all of the originals, then one goes to your agency, which can be a copy and then you keep one.

            You turn that in once it's done and then you wait. I honestly can't say what happens next because we are stuck at that point right now. We are waiting for our referral. It could happen as soon as three weeks or as long as nine months, we just don't know. This is another one of those trying times when you just have to hand it over to God and let him take control.

What advice do you have for other couples that are interested in adopting?

            Pray about it and if you THINK you can do it - DO IT! Don't let worldly things slow you down from doing it. While it is an expensive adventure it is an amazing one and God will bless you for it. Trust me. Turn it all over to God. He may have gotten you to pick out a car, but you need to let him drive it. Trust in him and stay focused. It can be very discouraging and you may think things aren't moving fast enough or that you wouldn't make a difference, but that just isn't true. There is one baby out there tonight who is destined to be your baby - he or she may not be born yet, or may already be in an orphanage somewhere, but God knows who they are and all they are waiting on is for you to take the steps to bring them home. Take the leap of faith - it is well worth it!

What struggles have you had along the process?

            The main struggle we have had was us trying to figure out a way that we were going to tell everyone about the adoption. We felt that when we told someone what we were doing, we needed to follow it up with an explanation. It took us a few weeks to realize that we didn't owe an explanation to anyone and that everyone was more open, encouraging and excited about it than we thought they may have been.

            The second struggle has been one of the biggest ones that almost every adopting family faces - money. It is an expensive thing to do and not many people have an extra 20 or 30 thousand dollars they can use, but God opens doors during the process. If you let go and have faith in God, everything will work out like he has planned.

Are you concerned how accepting your community will be of you having a black child?

            We were at first. It is only a natural thing. We are the blonde haired, blue eyed family in deep south Alabama. Anyone who has been born and raised here realizes, even though many don't talk about it, people aren't always accepting of those circumstances and families. So naturally we thought about how people were going to react about us having a black child - but we then stopped and focused again and realized that it didn't care what others thought. We realize that it is going to be at times difficult to explain things to our girls and others, but we know that God will let us know what to say and when.

How has God used this experience to grow your faith?

            We have grown in our marriage and our faith together since this has started. We have grown so much closer and have learned how to not only rely on each other for things, but instead how to work together and stay focused on the main goal - bringing Zoe Grace home.

            It has also been an excellent way for us both to be able to open up and talk about our relationship and walk with God.

Do you have any fears about raising an adopted child?

            The fear of not knowing much, if any, family history is a fear that naturally runs through your mind, but it isn't something that would ever make us stop the process.

            We also wonder what our biological children will say and one day when they are old enough to realize how our family is made up, what they might think of that it and how they feel about it.

How can others help you during this adoption process?

            Well, the time to fundraise has come and the biggest challenge for us is not opening our hearts and home to another child, but it is in finding the finances to make this happen. We estimate our total costs for adoption fees, document preparation, home study, airfare, travel, attorney fees, etc. to be close to $27,000 - and that's certainly money we don't have just lying around, but we know God is faithful and is leading us to trust Him. By God's grace we've been able to pay the initial fees by practically draining most of our savings and by some private donations.

            Honestly, it's a little difficult, mainly because of our pride, to make our needs known to everyone around us, but we also know it's very Biblical to do so. We appreciate your friendship very much and would like you to pray and consider helping us in our adoption. There are three ways you can help:

1.) Prayer - Please pray God will tenderly care for Zoe Grace in Ethiopia until we are able to bring her home, that God would prepare Olivia for the upcoming changes to our family, and that God will give us wisdom, discernment, and insight as we raise Olivia and Zoe to know Jesus Christ.

2.) Financial Support - Will you please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us pay the remaining $10,000 in adoption expenses, to bring Zoe home?

Lifesong has graciously set up a fundraising account for us to raise funds to help pay the "ransom" to bring Zoe home. If you would like to be a part of God bringing Zoe to Himself through our family, you can send your tax-deductible gift starting today October 1st! Lifesong is a trusted organization administering the funds on Zoe's behalf, and will pay the adoption expenses out of fund received. They truly are amazing people and a God send!

Steps to do this:

-Please make checks payable to: "Lifesong"

-You should write "Godwin/#1549" in the memo section.

-You can then mail your check to:

       Lifesong for Orphans

       Att: Godwin/#1549

       Post Office Box 40

       Gridley, Illinois 61744

3.) BUY A T-SHIRT – 

We have been selected as the family of the quarter by a wonderful website called Dolka Pots. It was started to help families raise money for adoptions. There are two families chosen each quarter and whatever is bought on the website, you have an option to decide which family you would like to receive the credit and then that family gets a certain percentage of the proceeds from the sales during their quarter. They are also selling and making our t-shirts and we get 50% of all proceeds from our t-shirt sales and that will go 100% directly to travel expenses. So I hope you will take a moment and at least look at our shirt and around on their website. If there is anything that you would like to buy, make sure you chose “Godwin family” when you go to check out. We would really appreciate it.  

http://www.dolkapots.com/ – our shirts are on the page we are the “Godwin’s.”

I don’t think we could ever say thank you enough to everyone and how supportive you have all been. Thank you for investing in the Kingdom through prayer and finances - it will be an investment with an eternal return! (Matt 6:20). We'll give you an update with a picture of Zoe as soon as we receive it and any other details as we receive them. Please pray this entire process will glorify God and fulfill His purposes! Check out and follow our blog at - http://ourzoegrace.blogspot.com

JW, KC and Olivia

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Hannah's Prayer

First Samuel tells the story of a woman named Hannah that desperately wanted to bear a child.  The Lord had closed her womb and she became very bitter and wept much while praying to the Lord.  She made a vow, saying, "O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head" (1 Samuel 1:11).  Soon, Hannah bore a child and named him Samuel, "because she asked the Lord for him" (1 Samuel 1:20).   After she had weaned Samuel, she took him to Eli the priest saying, "I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him" (1 Samuel 1:27).

Many women that we are surrounded by pray Hannah's prayer.  Most of the time, when a husband and wife make the decision to start adding on to their family, they want it to happen immediately.  The couple starts to pay attention to friends that have babies and ask other friends when they are going to start trying to conceive.  While shopping, the wife drifts to the baby aisle and gently tugs at little booties as she walks by.  Everywhere the couple turns they see babies and they long to have their own little bundle of joy.  As months close, feelings of anxiousness and uncertainty surface while waiting to see the results from their home pregnancy test.  When the results are negative, the anxiousness is replaced with a sad lump that can't be fixed by the husband. Like Hannah in the beginning of the story, it is easy to become bitter when we don't get what we so desperately want. *According to scripture, prayers can remain unanswered because:
1. Sin in the life of the person praying
2. Lack of faith
3. Praying from impure motives
4. Not praying according to God's will

We are all sinners.  Ministers, football coaches, non-profit CEO's; we come in all shapes and sizes but we all share a common identity as sinners.  But, some enjoy sin more than others and make decisions based on their own selfish desires.  We live for ourselves and not for others.  We choose to ignore that nagging voice in our head that says we shouldn't do what we are doing.  Psalm 66:18 says, "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened."  God wants us to repent our sins and ask for forgiveness.  He wants us to seek Him first in all the things that we do.  The more intimate our relationship becomes with Christ, the better choices we make as to how we live our lives.

But, what if we believe in Jesus and still no answer?  Well, we might want to ask ourselves how much we truly have faith in Jesus.  Do we make our own decisions in life or do we trust in Him?  Do we pray just for the big stuff but handle our day-to-day activities all on our own?  God wants us to completely give over our reign of control and have faith in His direction for our lives. "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord" (James 1:6-7).  God desires for us to be faithful in our beliefs and not doubt His ways.

After examining our first two reasons for unanswered prayer, we might need to think about our motives for the prayer that we are seeking.  Do you want to have a baby because your heart longs to raise up a child of faith or do you want to have a baby because your husband is getting bored with you and you think this is a way to make him stay instead of stray?  Friends, our motives matter to God.  There is no getting around it.  James 4:3 tells us that when we ask and don't receive it is because we are asking with wrong motives.  We want our prayer to be answered for our own pleasures, not for God's glory.

Finally, we need to be praying according to God's will. "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (1 John 5:14).  Some might ask, "Well, how do I know if this is God's will for my life?"  Prayer is a two way street.  It shouldn't just be us doing the talking; we also have to learn to listen.  When we shut out everything around us and sit still in the presence of God, we become changed.  Our hearts feel peace.  Our worries are swept away.  Our shoulders no longer feel so heavy and tired.  The Holy Spirit comes inside us and washes us clean.  When praying from a standpoint of God's will, you realize that He is in control and everything will happen according to His plan.  You let go of your own desires and trust Him with your life.  You realize that even if your prayer isn't answered, God still loves you and you still love God. 

**God answers some prayers immediately, some eventually, and some only in eternity.  It is easy to become frustrated in our prayer life when we meet all of the requirements and still don't receive an answer to our prayer.  We must hold on to the truth of God being a sovereign God.  Have you ever noticed that in the word sovereign, the ending is reign?  That is exactly what sovereign means.  God is the King of Kings and He reigns over us. Submitting to God is allowing Him to have supreme authority over our lives.  For wives that continue to have Hannah's prayer unanswered, put your hope in the Lord's supreme power and path for your life. We must be content in knowing that if we have repented our sins, live our lives in faith, pray from pure motives, and ask according to God's will that He will show us His sovereign ways in due time.

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

*The Daily Walk Bible. 1 Samuel 1-3.**The Upper Room. May-June 2010, pg. 38.

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0 Reflections of Motherhood

Hey friends,

A sweet momma shared this video with me. After you watch it, scroll down to see my own reflections of motherhood. Enjoy!

My Reflections of Motherhood:

Let Go of Control

Take it One Day at a Time

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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2 Getting Closer

Hey everybody, I thought I would do quick post from my phone to keep everyone updated. Christen and I are currently pulling twelve hour days at the hospital because the doctors have decided to get the girls off of the feeding tubes. So that means Christen is nursing them full time during the twelve hours of the day and the nurses bottle feed them the twelve hours of the night. We don't want to get too excited but the doctor told us this morning that we could be rooming in as early as Monday night but likely Tuesday night which would put the Girls coming home on Christens birthday. I swear, God is so amazing. Again, this all depends on a lot of things but the girls are fighting hard as always. Adeline is up to 4 lbs 11 oz and Maralee is now 4 lbs 6 oz. They are starting to look the same again. I actually mixed up the two for the first time last night because Maralee's "patchy" side was face down and she had been laid in Adeline's crib for a moment to change her diaper. We're going to need to paint some toenails at home or something. Let us know all your ideas.

She looks like she is on a lazy river ride.

The Lord's timing, as always, is perfect. Only days after finding out I passed my last Architectural Registration Exam, we are finding out now that they may come home on Christen's Birthday, only three days before there original due date of July 24. We stress over individual moments in life and often forget God is constantly watching over the big picture.

Now, before I let you go, we need to talk about the poll. You may have noticed but it seems to be a little bit of a landslide in my favor. All the family members kept saying they looked like me but I didn't really believe it until they pulled out my baby picture and sure enough - they did. Now, I get to study every detail of them each day and I assure you that they have plenty of Christen in them. Their eye color, ears, and chin look just like Christen I believe. But it is hard to deny the resemblance of my baby picture. Now, the whole reason the internet was created was for self humiliation. I know you are asking yourself, "I wonder what Raleigh would look like as a girl?" So, in the spirit of ridicule, I'll answer that question for you....

Take it easy on me, we raised a lot of money for our High School athletics with a Womanless Beauty Pageant! It would just be wrong to leave you with that image though, so instead, I give you sweet Maralee sleeping.

Thank you all for your support and prayers as we are hopefully getting closer to bringing those sweet little girls home!

-Raleigh

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5 We must protect this house

Today has been an interesting day.  It seems that the Price house is a little on edge right now.  Yesterday, our neighbor's house was broken into.  Robberies can happen in any city but it really makes you aware of your surroundings when it happens in your neighborhood.  What makes it scary is I was home alone when it happened yet had no clue until Raleigh's mom came home and she saw our neighbor.  Today, Mrs. Price and I decided to go out to eat for lunch and Raleigh calls me minutes after we left saying that our house alarm was going off.  We race back home and start blaring our horn outside of our house.  I guess we thought we would be scaring off the bad guys but it ended up just being a false alarm.  I am glad because if I had seen a bad guy run out of our house I do believe I would have had a heart attack and the horn would not do us any good!!!!!

After that scare, we ate some lunch and then headed to the hospital to see the girls.  Our amazing pastors met us at the NICU so they could pray over Adeline and Maralee.  After scrubbing our hands up and down, we walked into their shared room with 17 other little ones and started to receive the updated report from the nurse and doctor.  Turns out, the little infection that Maralee might have is actually a real staff infection.  The doctor told  us it could be caused by the ventilator tube that is down her throat right now or it could have been passed on to her from any of the doctors, nurses, etc. that have been checking her in the hospital.  She has started on antibiotics but since she has this infection she is now on quarantine.  There is a big red box around her incubator and this is to show that anybody that touches her needs to wear gloves and a sterile hospital gown.  This also means that she will probably be in isolation until she gets to go home. 

That was hard news for us to hear.  All in all, this is something that is common around the hospital but it is just an added thing for Maralee's body to fight.  It is taking a lot of willpower to not be angry at this situation.  This almost seems like something that someone else gave her; not something that was caused by her premature birth.  It is so easy to place blame on this unknown person that accidentally gave her this infection but I am starting to figure out that I can't go down this road of pointing fingers.  Through their lives, many people are going to accidentally cause harm to my children.  As their mom, I need to just go ahead and forgive this person and pray that healing will come.  As always, this is easier said than done :)

Friends, it pains me to see my little girl going through so much.  I do realize that God is taking any discomfort from her little body right now and whispering sweet things to her, but it kills me to see that red line around her "house."  I know that the red line is keeping the bad guys out but it is also keeping me out.  I want to protect her, to hold her and tell her everything is going to be alright, but even I, her mom, can't get close to her.  The little privilege that we had of touching her has been taken away and now we have to fully trust in Jesus' love for Maralee right now. 

I don't think I have told this story yet, but Maralee's name was the first name that Raleigh and I thought of for the girls.  We loved the idea of combining family names into one new name.  Maralee's name originated from my Paw Paw, Marion Jackson  and Raleigh's Nan Nan, Okalee.  My Paw Paw has always been someone that I have admired.  He has such faith in Christ and has the lines on his hands to show his labor in life has been for the Lord.  My Paw Paw has always been on the smaller side but boy could he run back in his day!  His nickname was Jack "Rabbit" and he ran track and played football for Auburn.  Raleigh's grandmother is also someone to admire because she has shown such strength for so many years.  Her husband died of a heart attack when Raleigh was young but she continues on with her life.  She cooks, goes to work, and has even learned how to use the computer. :)  She is truly a woman of noble character that knows how to keep her family together. 

Since we chose Maralee's name first, we decided to give it to Baby B.  It was our way of making things fair for Baby A.  Looking at both of my girls, I know that their names already fit their personalities.  The name Adeline reminds me of "Sweet Caroline" and I think she looks so sweet and peaceful laying in her incubator.  She doesn't move much yet she loves to hold our hands when we touch her.  Inside my womb, I always felt Baby B kicking and squirming around and Maralee is obviously that baby now.  She is a little fighter and she isn't going to let this yucky mess get the best of her. 

I look down at Maralee and she reminds me that I need to be a fighter too.  I need to be strong and show courage when I get these kind of reports.  It is so hard because I feel like the devil is using her to get to me.  He knows that we thought of her name first so he is attacking her harder than Adeline right now.  It is symbolic to me that the line around her incubator is red.  The color red can easily be associated with satan and I just pray that God's angels are inside of that red tape blocking out the arsenal that he is throwing at our baby girl.  This is truly a war that we are caught in right now. 

This afternoon, riding home in the car, Mrs. Price reminded me of the battle of the good and bad angels over Moses' body.  Deuteronomy 34:6 tells us that the Lord buried Moses and to this day no one knows where his grave is.  God buried him so the devil couldn't use Moses' remains against God's chosen people.   Hebrews 3: 1-14 tells us,

"Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.  He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house.  Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.  For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.  Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future.  But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house.  And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.  So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did.  That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.  So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'  See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.  We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first."

Friends, many of you have been so sweet and encouraging to me as I go through this situation.  I am no superwoman, I am just a girl that became a mom and is now trying her best to hold things together.  I have to be faithful...I am nowhere near Moses, but I have to be a faithful servant to God's house right now.  I can't have a hardened heart during this situation, I have to have courage and faith in Christ.  I thank you for your daily encouragement and am so thankful for Today because it is another day that I get to share with these beautiful little girls.

Below are two pictures that I wanted to share.  In the first picture, the tube that is going through Maralee's mouth is the ventilator.  Please pray that she will start to breathe on her own so she can go back on the CPAP that is going through her nose in the second picture.  This device allows her to breathe better.  We need to pray that both girls will get on the CPAP quickly so they can start to digest their food.  Praise God that all other reports are looking good right now. 

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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8 Introducing....

"A good name is better than fine perfume" - Ecclesiastes 7:1

I can't hold my tongue any longer....we have officially decided on the names of our two little girls!  Raleigh and I went round and round trying to figure out their names.  Funny how things work...we have always had two boy names picked out that we like but never have agreed on girl names.  Girl names are just harder to choose in my opinion.  Typically, all the names that I have thought of over the years have been names that I have liked, but have not really had any meaning to me.  And then there were the names that I loved but my teacher friends told me that they would be one of five girls in their class with that same name.  So, Raleigh and I decided to go old school.  We pulled out the family books and started to look for names that had a meaning to us.

The first weekend of March we went to the beach for a wedding. Raleigh's granddad has this great place that he built years ago right on the beach.  It looks like a big loft and has a back deck that walks right down to the surf and sand.  We love that place and the trip was perfect timing because Raleigh and I seem to make every big decision at the beach.  We have decided to stay together, get engaged, celebrate anniversaries, and pick out baby names at the beach.  It is our tiny slice of heaven and we always feel so much better about our decisions after spending time at that place.  Drum roll please......below is a picture of the names we have chosen:

Adeline and Maralee Price

When our little girls make their debut, Baby A will be called by the name of Adeline Summers Price and Baby B will have the name Maralee Simms Price.  I thought it would be fun to share where the names originated from, so here goes:

We took one name from our four sets of grandparents.  From my side, we have the Ridley's and the Creel's.  Raleigh's family names are the Price's and the Gunter's.  Adeline is from the Price side of the house.  His grandmother, Kennette Dowling Price had an ancestor by the name of Adeline.  From what we can tell, Adeline was a pretty solid gal and didn't get into much trouble.  Adeline is pronounced like "Caroline."  We just loved how it rolled off the tongue.  So southern, don't you think?  Summers comes from the Ridley's and was my grandmother's maiden name.  We really liked the spelling of Summers and it paired really well with Simms as middle names.  It gives the twins that "sameness" but their first names give them their "uniqueness."

Now, Maralee is a combo name.  As my mom asked, "Is this name real?"  Well, it is now!  My Paw Paw's name is Jackson Marion Creel and Raleigh's grandmother is Okalee Gunter.  So, one night we were playing with combining different names and came up with Maralee.   It is one name and is pronounced like, "Merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream."  We thought it was pretty cute and clever so it stuck!  Simms is also a family name from the Gunters and we loved how both Simms and Summers had the double "m" in the middle of their names.

These names aren't something you hear every day but that is what we like about them so much.  They are different and unique names and we can't imagine calling them anything else.  I am going to go ahead and warn you.....if you don't have anything nice to say about these names, please don't say anything at all!  Pregnant girls cry easily and I really don't feel like crying over what someone else thinks today :)

Below are some pictures of our family tree.  Soon we will get to add the sweet picture of our two little girls!  Through this pregnancy, we have both agreed that even though our twins will be identical in their looks, they should each be unique in their personalities.  Of course, they will show us their personalities but we just want to focus on each of them as individuals, not the same person.  We pray that our girls will grow up to have hearts that love the Lord and love others.  I can't wait to meet them!

                                                                          

Jack and Patsy Creel

Bob and Penny Ridley

 

                                                              James and Okalee Gunter                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                               Martin and Kennette Price

                                                                   

Jim and Connie Ridley

 

John and Sondra Price 

 Me and Raleigh

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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2 Prayer Request

Friends, I have an urgent prayer request.

Our sweet friends here in Montgomery are expecting their first baby in early May. Last night, the mother's water broke and she is at the hospital. That is all I know at this time but I would like to ask you all to join with me in praying for this precious couple and their baby.

Pray that they rely on the Lord's strength. Pray that He is skillfully guiding the doctors as they decide what to do. Pray for the father to be a mighty rock for his wife. Pray for the mother to let go of all of her fears and anxieties and to completely trust in the Lord. Please pray for that tender child that God took time to form in his mother's womb.

Thank you friends...I will keep you updated.

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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