Let me introduce you to: Our New House....hopefully!

The shutters are actually closed on the house, so you cannot see the windows. The house is formerly a double shot gun home that was renovated many years ago into a single. It was recently (as in the last few months) renovated again to look like a brand new home on the inside and out.

I wanted y'all to see the new house we are in the process of purchasing. We were suppose to close tomorrow (Nov. 15), but the Orleans Parish computers crashed last week. This crash made it impossible for the titles of over 30 homes in the parish to be cleared for closing. They are in the process of getting things cleared up and we have been given a tentative date of Nov. 19th (this coming Friday) for the closing. We are praying that this date is a keeper. I would really like to go to my family's for Thanksgiving. If the house does not close until next week, I might not get to go Tifton.

This house has been such a blessing from the start. It is completely renovated. It is in a wonderful section of mid-city. We are within walking distance of some fabulous restaurants and the street car. We are street car ride away from city park and even the aquarium if it is a pretty day.

The aspect of this house that excites us the most is that it is right in the heart of the area we feel God has led us to plant a church. This mid-city area has about 40,000 residents and no evangelical church. This community, or faubourg (pronounced foe berge) if you are from New Orleans, has residents who have lived there all their lives or most of their adult lives. They accept you as one of them only if you live in their community. This fact is true for most of the fough bourges. The population is culturally diverse. There are African Americans, Hispanics, White Americans, and other ethnicities living in the area. Economically, the people are either lower middle class or higher upper class. There are very few in between. As in most of New Orleans, most of the community comes from a Catholic heritage.

We are so very excited about the number of diversities in this area. We have felt very strongly that God is leading us to plant a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-econimic church. If you are not familiar with church planting, these churches are the hardest to plant because of the number of differences. However, Page and I feel very strongly that these types of churches are the most Biblical. We want to see God's will here on earth as it is in Heaven. In Heaven we are going to be worshiping with every nation, tribe, and tongue. We would love to see a little of that here in New Orleans.

We are praying specifically that God would use this little house on Telemachus (pronounced Tell u makus) to be a light in this community. We are praying that God would show us how we can minister to our neighbors and open up our home as a place of hope, comfort, and healing. Please pray with us that God would go before us into this community and that the hearts of our neighbors would be prepared to hear the gospel. I would also appreciate your prayers as we plan to move before Page gets home. My goal is to be in the house the week after Thanksgiving. Of course, this is the second time I have laid out plans and I do realize that God's plans are much better than mine. I will try to wait patiently.

We are definitely in the last few days of this very long year. I think we are down to 32 days (this is if the Army does not change anything) and counting. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!! God has been and is so faithful. Thank you for your continued thoughts, support, and prayers.

Welcome To the Family Emma Claire!!!!

Emma Claire Nalls

6lbs 9oz and 19 inches tall

We are so excited that the Lord saw fit to add this little bundle of joy to the family. Although we haven't met her yet (and probably won't for a long time) we are glad she is here. ISN'T SHE SO CUTE!!!

I am a very proud Aunt and Page has expressed his excitement over being an Uncle again. Karis and Thia have been talking about the "Five Girl Cousins" and all the adventures they are going to have the summer that the Nalls' family has on furlough. They are SO GLAD Emma Claire is a girl. :-)

Katie is doing well. She is still recovering in the hospital in Jo-burg, South Africa. Her mother, Carol, was able to be there to help take care of Abigail while Chris takes care of Katie and Emma Claire at the hospital. I wanted to end this post with a letter to my new niece.

Dear Emma Claire,

The Brooks' Family is so excited you are here. We are praying for you and your Mommy, Daddy, and sister Abigail. God chose your Mommy and Daddy especially for you and chose you especially for them. We are praying that they will have wisdom to know how to parent you in a way that will mold you into the young lady God created you to be. God has such a special plan for your life. We can't wait to see how God chooses to use you.

He also chose Abigail to be your big sister. You may get mad at her some times, and she may get mad at you too. However, she will always be your sister. Having your sister (or other siblings) as good friends is such a blessing, Sweet Heart. We pray that you and Abigail will be the best of friends.

We love you so much and we haven't even met you. I (Aunt Ashley) can't wait to hold you and kiss on you and tell you funny stories about your Daddy. I don't have any on your Momma, but your Uncle Russ can tell you those. Your cousins, Karis and Alethia, cannot wait to meet you either. Karis has already told me about the many adventures y'all are going to take around PopPop and Nana's Eight Acres. She wants y'all to find the foxes, deer, squirrels, and owls that hang out around there. She and Thia also like to watch and feed the horses and cows too.

Sleep and eat well for your Mommy and Daddy. We love you!

Aunt Ashley

Choosing to SEE by Mary Beth Chapman

I was surfing Amazon about 2 weeks ago when I ran across this book, Choosing to SEE by Mary Beth Chapman. Steven Curtis Chapman is one of my all time favorite artists and I remembered the tragic accident involving their youngest daughter, Maria, and I was intrigued to find out what she would say. I was expecting for the book to be strictly about their struggle with the loss of their daughter. While much of it was about that loss, Mary Beth opened up about much more than just aspect of her life.

I was so blessed by reading this book. Mary Beth was very real and open about her struggle over allowing God to orchestrate her life. She talks candidly about how she had a plan for her life that did not include much of the aspects her life entails today. She talked about her struggle with anger, depression, stubbornness, and fear. She also speaks honestly about questioning God about His choices for her life.

I was impressed over several aspects of this couples life. I am drawn to the adoration, affection, and love that this couple outwardly displays for each other. I am inspired by the passion they have for orphan ministry. I am challenged as a parent when I see the type of parents they are and the children they have raised. I told Page that if I could choose any mentors in the world for us as a couple, it would be Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman.

If you haven't read this book, I would encourage you to read it. You will cry and laugh through the entire book, but in the end you will not have just read the story of an incredible woman, you will be challenged to become one yourself.

Our Ballerina and Baby Giraffe

I wanted to give you a quick look at the girls costumes for Halloween. I am hoping to get a few more pics up here of our trip to Trunk or Treat, but I don't have them uploaded to the computer yet. This picture was taken at church on Sunday by Mrs. Meredith. Meredith's pic was the only one I have of Thia's entire outfit while she is standing still. Neither one of them have the idea of standing still for pictures quite yet. I guess I just need to get a high speed camera so that it doesn't matter whether they move or not. Maybe I'll just teach them to stand still and save myself a little cash. Hope you enjoy!

The Miracle of Time

Do you think it is possible for time to move slowly or stop in your life but continue to move normally in the world around you? I think I would have laughed at this question a few weeks ago, but after the 2 weeks I just had I am inclined to answer yes to this question.

Page was given his 2 week leave or R & R time at the beginning of August. We had a wonderful reunion at the airport where, once I told the workers at the airport what we were there for, we were treated like royalty. Karis, Thia, and I were given bogus boarding passes and the little girls were given stickers and told to hug their daddy real tight because he was a hero. We were allowed to go all the way to the gate to meat him. We waited patiently, or rather, I waited as patiently as I could and the girls ran around the gate area with signs saying "We love you, Daddy!" and "Welcome Home!". They also had their sweet shirts Nana gave them that said, "My Daddy is my Hero!" Everyone in that 4 gate area knew why we were there. As soon as they saw Page, Karis took off running towards him pushing people out of the way as she ran. Thia couldn't get her little feet to move fast enough, so she ran in place a few times before she took off after Karis into her Daddy's arms. After Page was able to get up and out of the way of everyone, I was able to get a quick hug and kiss as well. Mine wasn't as memorable as the girls because they were louder and a bit more demanding. Thia would not allow him to put her down, bursting into tears the moment he mentioned that he needed to pass her to me so that he could get his bag.

We made it home a little while later and it seemed that from the time we walked through the door time slowed way down. We weren't concerned about what was going on outside our home. We weren't concerned about what day it was. We got up with the girls, had wonderful dinners including Thanksgiving dinner a little early. We had date nights. We went to the beach, the park, and the zoo. We did not stay shut up in our home the entire time completely to ourselves. We saw friends and family, but somehow the entire time the focus was on family and making each moment count.

From the time Page got home, I forgot about the 7 months he had been gone. I was also able (for the most part) to forget about the 4 1/2 months left. We were just living in the moment. The girls immediately had their Dad. I had my best friend and husband. The world was right again and we didn't care about anything else. There were no transition problems. We had one or two "serious discussions" but nothing that was due to his having been gone. They were normal married discussions. It was as if he had never been gone and he wasn't leaving again.

All of that ended last night. We decided to have one last "date night." We put the girls to bed and popped in a movie that neither one of us had seen. We sat snuggled up on the couch through the entire movie and then the credits began to roll. As soon as the credits started it was if the bells were chiming on that "kill-joy clock" on the Disney movie Cinderella. You know....the one that continually wakes her up from her beautiful dreams and chimed the night of the ball breaking the spell...turning everything back to reality. It was over. The 2 beautiful weeks that had seemed timeless actually had a definite beginning and a very definite end.

Page was taken away to the airport this morning at 7:30 am. We have all had our moments of tears today. I don't really want to focus on the sadness of his leaving again, because we knew that was coming and would be something we would have to process through. I want to focus on the surprise and the blessings of the 2 weeks that far exceeded either one of our expectations. I want to focus on the laughs and screams of delight from two little girls that were thrilled beyond measure to play with their Daddy. I want to focus on the hours of uninterrupted conversation I was able to have with my best friend. I want to focus on the time spent with family and friends. Most of all, I want to focus on the feeling of "perfection" - not the perfection of being without a mistake because we are all human and know that is an impossibility. No, I want to focus on the feeling of "perfection" as God sees it.... a completeness that could only come from an Heavenly Father that loves me far beyond what I could ever understand. A Father that saw fit to not only give us wonderful memories, but went a step further to prove to me once again that He knows me so well that he met my love language in the 2 weeks of R & R. He gave me Time....Quality Time. I don't know how He did it, but He worked a miracle over the past 2 weeks when He made.....time slow down.

Barnes & Noble Outing

We went to Barnes and Noble this morning. I wanted to get the girls out of the house, so we left about snack time. We grabbed a small snack and I got some coffee in the Starbucks attached to the store. Then we went to the kids section and read some books. Thia pulled books off the shelf of course, but we read about 4 or 5 books. Then they played with the train set. Karis then needed to go to the bathroom. So we got over to the restrooms as quickly as you can with an 18 month old that has her own direction that she wants to go and a 3 year old that is enticed by all the toys they have at her level right in front of the bathrooms. I don't think it should be the mom's fault if they have a child that has an accident on the way to their bathroom. They do it to themselves by putting all those distractions at eye level. We finally got in there and tried to cram into a little bitty stall. The area was not really even big enough for me to turn around good with a purse let a lone cram 3 people into. I had to keep Thia behind my back so that she would not put her hands into the toilet. I was finally able to get the toilet seat covered and Karis on the toilet. By the time I turned around to check on Thia she had crawled out underneath the door and was looking under the door of the stall next to us. Luckily the lady that was in the stall thought she was cute and the situation was funny. I got Karis dressed again and out of the stall. I put Thia up on the counter so that we could all wash our hands. Thia thought she should wash the mirror too. When I set her down to leave she immediately went back to the stalls to look underneath. She thought it was a hide and seek game. Meanwhile, Karis is trying to dry her hands. They have the automatic towel dispensers in this bathroom. When you tear off the paper another sheet is immediately spit out. Karis does not like that it keeps spitting out towels so she is yelling at the dispenser, "Stop, I don't need another towel!"

We finally made it out of the bathroom. I drag the girls back through the toys and games section where they want to touch everything and hear the sound that it makes. We walked up the register to buy the book I had intended to get:

Hey! At least we got out of the house today and remained cool. My parents thought this story was hilarious, so I hope everyone else enjoys it too!

Service Project: What a blessing!!!

I am VERY blessed to be a part of a women's Bible study on Thursday mornings at a Presbyterian church plant in the Garden District of New Orleans. These women have supported me, loved on me, and been such sources of encouragement. I am so grateful that the Lord has allowed me to be be a part of this group.

This past Thursday we took a break from our normal Bible study time and did a service project. Because the church is a church plant, they do not own their own building. Their church offices are not in the building where they meet for worship. The church offices are on Magazine street in Uptown which is not even 3 miles from the building where they meet for worship. The church offices are in an older home which has been changed into office space. The back yard of this home was our assigned project. We had been told that we would be planting some flowers and cleaning up some beds. When we got there, this is what we found.

We could not see that there were actually 2 built up garden spots and one circular flower bed under this over grown mess. To be honest I felt a little overwhelmed and was not sure how much we were going to be able to do to help. But we got started pulling weeds. It was a beautiful day. It was not hot at all, but the sun was shining and we talked and laughed through several hours of work.

After 3 hours, weeds had been cleared; flowers, herbs, and a few veggies had been bought and planted; bricks had been laid around the circular flower bed; and a compost pile had been sectioned off and started. This was the end result.

We had that wonderful feeling of actually accomplishing something on this day. I was exhausted, but it was a good exhausted. Working outside in the beauty that God created for us to enjoy and maintain was such a blessing for me. I have to say that 3 hours away from being a mommy was a nice break too. :-)