The Arizona Experience {2015}

Thanks to everyone who prayed for us while were in Arizona this summer.  It was an amazing trip for our group and for the Navajos we visited.  Below is what our family shared with our church about our time there.  You can listen to the entire Arizona Experience here {07/12/15}:

Bill - 00:00, 08:47, 21:14, 47:43, 1:01:52

Espy - 08:02

Gianna - 20:14

Grace - 52:17

Otis - 58:32

ESPY

Good morning.

My name is Espy Manning, and I’m 11 years old. 

I have been on this trip for 3 years. 

I first would like to thank you for your love and support. 

My favorite part of Arizona had to be the VBS.
Even when I had to switch to K5-1st, it was still amazing.

Now I think that if I didn’t switch, I wouldn’t have met those wonderful kids in that class.

What I did not like was when I saw the kids being rude, and that brings me to what I learned.

I learned a lot about patience. 

I had to be patient with my sister.

I had to be patient with the kids.

But more importantly, I had to patient with God.

Now that I’m home, I think God wants me to do exactly what I did there:

Love Everyone.

GIANNA

My name is Gianna Manning, and I’m 9 years old.

This is my first year going to Arizona. 

I learned that Navajo kids and adults don’t have everyting that we have
so it’s nice to treat them with respect and kindness.

My favorite part of the trip was VBS and playing with the kids.

Thank you for all your help and prayers.

GRACE

Good morning, church - my name is Grace, but I'm actually going to be sharing some thoughts from Regan Mosely.  We're so thankful that she was able to go on this trip with us even after her recent move to Louisiana.  So, from Regan:

"I've been going on this trip since I was 12 years old, and this was by far the hardest year. I had no idea what I was expecting to learn this time. I feel like God really showed me how selfish I am, and how amazing he can be. Dropping kids off at a different house every night bc they couldn't go home to their parents was heartbreaking and eye opening. I have been so focused on myself lately, and feeling like my world has fallen apart when really I have it so good. I think I have such a hard life, and then I see children going through things so much worse. I have an amazing family and wonderful friends, and I have a God who is always there for me. I want the Navajos to know this God too, and every year that I go I feel like they are a little more open. Thank you so much for your prayers & support. I could not have gone on this trip without your help."

Good morning, church.  My name is Grace Manning, and this is my 4th year going to Arizona.  I was fortunate enough to go on the short Christmas trip this past December, and the last summer trip I was a part of was in 2004.  I firmly believe that God wanted me to go on this trip.  He answered lots of prayers.  The finances were generously given for the four of us to go.  Someone graciously assumed my work responsibilities.  Loving friends & family took care of our Isabella & Evangeline while we were away.  He provided a way for me to attend my cousin Joel’s memorial service in Atlanta & Otis’s sister Belinda kindly picked me up in Phoenix late Friday night and drove me three hours to the Reservation that same evening.  He also gave me the physical & emotional stamina to be “almost normal” for the duration of the trip.  He is good.

Currently, we are going through a rough patch in life.  Our close friends have had to deal with some major life changes, broken relationships, and unexpected loss.  Our family has been processing the deaths of two special people whom we love very much.  Bill has shared with you how he has been dealing with depression.  In light of these things, my heart has been broken and my faith has been worn.

However, being on the Reservation reminded me of the Truths that I have known in my mind but have had a hard time believing fully with my heart…

*God made us.  God knows us.  God loves us.  God forgives us, and God is with us. 

*He made each one of us here.  He made each one of our Navajo friends.  He made us exactly how he wanted us to be: no mistakes, no accidents.

*God knows everything about us: the good, the bad, and the ugly…

*and, He loves us.  He loves me.  He loves Bill.  He loves our girls.  He loves our family & our friends.  He loves the beautiful Navajos that we love so very much.  He loves them much more than we ever could.  He’s loved us all from before the beginning & His love is indestructible.

*God forgives us over and over and over again.

*And, He is always with us.  When life is good, He is with us.  Where there is loss - where there is darkness - where there is heartache, He is with us.  On the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, He is with us all. 

So despite my selfishness & self-focus, He is still God.  Still true.  Still my rock & the only thing I can count on.

Now I ask all of you to continue to pray for our Navajo friends: that they would know God & know these truths, that relationships would continue to deepen & that friendships would continue to grow.  Please pray for our group – that we would remember what it’s like to love fully & freely, to not be selfish & distracted, to continue despite our mistakes & our failures, to keep God’s love & purpose as our focus.

Thanks again to God & to you, church, for allowing me to be a part of this experience.  Your children are amazing.  They are capable young people who stepped up when necessary and were willing to help out whenever we asked (or asked again).  They are hilarious & ridiculously fun to be around.  I’m thankful for the example your children are for me & the example they set for mine.  We’ve known some of them for many, many years, and it’s really been a privilege to watch them grow.  They truly personified Jesus’s love during this trip: through piggyback rides, Gatorade sips, shared meals, water balloon fights, endless hugs, and on & on.

I’m proud to call this group our family.

Thanks again for your love & support - we certainly could not have done it without your encouragement & your prayers.

Follow Me

When I was a little girl, I never dreamed that I'd be a mom of four girls myself.  Life at most times is crazy and sometimes chaotic.  I lose it more often than I'd like even though I'm extremely happy and thankful for my husband and our children.

I kind of have this warped perception of time in that it moves in supersonic speed.  For example, even though it is only June 1st - I feel like summer is already over.  What a weirdo.  This also works in reverse.  Our oldest daughter is ten years old, and I sincerely feel like it was just last week that I was pregnant with her.  It certainly feels like she was born just the other day.  What in the world?

Because of this strange thing I've got going on, I try to live in the moment - not in the moment of the crazy sense of time that exists only in my head.

Our greatest hope for our girls is that they love Jesus and love others.  Over the past two weeks - Bill, Espy, and I have been talking about what it means to be baptized & what an awesome, amazing, important, life-changing, heart-giving decision it is.  After lots of talks and prayers -

Bill baptized Espy this morning.

It was beautiful.

We know that following Him won't make our girls the norm, but it will make them powerful.

We know that loving Him doesn't make life easier, but it will make their lives fuller.

We know that living for Him won't make sin unavoidable,

but it will help them experience relentless Love & Grace -

that they can in turn extend to others.

I'm so excited to walk along this journey with our Esperanza Charisse -

the highs, the lows, and all the in-betweens.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,

who loved me and gave himself for me.

{Galatians 2:20}

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

{John 10:10}

Espy's Baptism // 06.01.14

Not My Most Favorite Day Of The Year

real life

Yesterday marked the big day - when summer officially made its exit.  Three of our girls are in elementary school now, and my heart aches even typing that sentence.  I'm a soft, emotional pile of gushiness when it comes to these tiny (some not so tiny) beings.  I don't think I'll ever be able to shake that quality - even though they continue to grow & change by the minute.

Isabella woke up first (thankfully after I was dressed & had my first cup of coffee in hand).  I would say she was the most excited of the three.  First of all - she's a big girl now (apparently you get big girl status when you turn five years old).  Secondly, she's in Kindergarten (only big girls allowed in there).  And most importantly, she's going to school with her sister Gianna

(I'm so excited about riding the bus, Mom!).

Gianna and Espy followed suit - having breakfast and getting ready for the day.  All of them tolerated the photo shoot(s?) I put them through which I'm always thankful for.  As mom, I'm official memory keeper of the family so we will be taking pictures every first day of school

(sorry in advance, girls).

A good friend asked if I cry every year.  That I do, at some point of the process - even if I will myself not to.  Yesterday it was during breakfast.  Evangeline was still asleep, but her sisters were eating breakfast & chit chatting about their new teachers, classes, and friends - no bottles, no diapers, no random crying - just three girls having breakfast together.  I had to go into the kitchen and have a moment -

a moment to enjoy their sweetness with each other

a moment to be thankful for their unique selves

a moment to forever remember them just as they were:

hair tousled, pajamas wrinkled, and eyes brightened with thoughts of a new day

not a fan of the first day of school

To My Girls

May 2013

So a friend and I were having a conversation on Facebook.  You will probably have one of these one day - that along with a whole array of social media at your fingertips.  That makes my head spin slightly, but we'll come to that road when we get to it.

You need to know how I feel about you - all the time, but that might get lost in the hustle and bustle of our everyday.  I hope that you do know how I feel, though - how much your dad and I love you - more importantly, how much God loves you.

That is what is so amazing about the Gospel. Amazing! That is what I want my focus to be - that is what I want our girls to learn from us. It seems more often than not, that the church places a huge amount of emphasis on purity in the sexual area. I want the girls to know that God calls us to be pure in all aspects of our lives - physically, mentally, spiritually. Those who know me know how much I enjoy my husband. I want our girls to recognize that. I don't want them to idolize sex (our culture does a great job of that on its own). At the same time, I don't want them to be terrified of it. I want them to love their husband(s) as much if not more than their mom loves their dad (and vice versa). As a mother of these sweet, precious girls - I'm fighting fiercely for their self-confidence & their self-esteem. I want them to celebrate how God made them inside and out - how amazing and wonderful that there is no one else that is like them. There never has been, and there never will be. They don't have to measure up to that which our culture demands. God thinks they're fantastic just the way they are. I want them to know that nothing they ever do (or don't do) will change how much their God loves them - the same goes with me and their dad. We will fail them in that area because we are imperfect, but God never will. I want them to embrace that their self-worth is not wrapped up in a list of dos and don'ts. As a lover of lists myself, I can so easily get caught up in what I'm "supposed" to be doing and not doing. However, I want our focus to be the amazing love of Jesus Christ and showing that love to others. (...Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’... -Matthew 22:37-39)

I love you so very much - really, it's a ridiculous amount.  You might not think that when I'm mad or upset or when I start cleaning like crazy because the house is a mess, but I do.

I will love you forever - no matter what.

Valentine's This and That

Isabella partied Valentine's-style with her class yesterday since she doesn't have school on Thursdays.  A sweet momma snapped the shot above since Bill and I couldn't be there, and she made these fantastic personalized bins for the class (Thanks, Robyn!).  Isabella and her teachers made the box behind the bin to hold all of their goodies:
 
Yesterday afternoon, I found these on our porch (in a box) with the sweetest message ever inside:

 Bill set these out before everyone woke up.  My favorite is the homemade card and the special message for each of the girls inside:

Mom came by this morning to bring flowers (from her and Dad) and a special treat

for the little ones:

Last year, I made these adorable valentines for the girls to give to their classmates.  This year, I thought we were still in January - and then all of a sudden we weren't.  I bought a box of Angry Birds, Brave, and Lalaloopsy cards for them to pass out to their friends.  They came with cool pencils so I'm hoping that makes up for my lack of creativity.

I still had time to make a little something special that the girls could give to a few people.  Since the program I used for our other valentines is no more, I found an editing tool online (befunky.com) and made these to share with our family and the girls' teachers:

 

We stuck these valentines on big Reese's Hearts for our amazing teachers:

We were allowed to bring treats to Espy's class today (Gianna's class has too many allergies and a no-candy rule at her school, and Isabella already had plenty of goodies at her party) so I tried my hand at some "homemade" goodness.  I'm a big fan of chocolate-covered pretzels.  I've never made them so I was pleasantly surprised at how simple they were to put together.  It probably would have been easier if I wasn't talking on the phone at the same time, but catching up with a friend (love you, Abbey!) was definitely worth the stiff neck I got while dipping, spreading, and sprinkling.

I'm thankful that only a handful of these are left in the house - as is my waistline.

A Picky Girl's Favorite

Our oldest doesn't tend to eat a huge variety of food, but she certainly loves this meal - which isn't your typical tacos, spaghetti, or pizza kind of dinner.  My friend Amanda first introduced me to this recipe years ago.  She literally came over to our house one afternoon with all the ingredients, and I watched her cook - and then we ate.  It was lovely.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 chicken breasts, cut into thin, 2-inch-long strips
2 tablespoons grill seasoning, recommended brand Montreal Seasoning by McCormick
1 green pepper, cut into thin, 2-inch-long strips
1 onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, chopped (adjust to your taste)
3/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 head iceberg lettuce

  

 Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat with the vegetable oil.

Season the chicken with the grill seasoning.

Add the chicken pieces to your pan and stir while it cooks through.
Add the bell pepper, onion, garlic and continue to cook until the veggies are tender.

While that's cooking, combine the hoisin sauce and the chicken stock in a small bowl.
Add the liquid to your skillet and stir to fully coat the chicken and veggies.
Combine and transfer to a serving bowl (or you can leave it in the pan like we do).

To assemble the wraps, peel a leaf off of your lettuce and place a spoonful (or two or three) of the deliciousness in the center.
Wrap the leaf around the mixture and enjoy!

This recipe is adapted from Rachael Ray's Chicken Lettuce Wraps because

-I'm not a huge fan of water chestnuts.

-I use whatever kind of peppers we have on hand.  Last night we had green.

-who knows what drama would unfold if we had bean sprouts on the table.

-I sometimes have sesame seeds on hand, and when I do - do I want or have time to toast them?  Usually not.

Easy, delicious, and all our girls (and our boy) enjoy it - I should probably make it more often!

Thankful (19)

Just thinking about writing about our oldest gets me all weepy and sentimental.  I'm pretty sure everyone knows my MO.  I often try to apologize for how easily I cry, but what can I say - it's how God made me - really.  If I could choose otherwise, I would - but who am I to say that I know better than Him?  Certainly not me.  All that to say, whenever I think about Espy and the person that she's growing into - my heart gets all sorts of full.

When she was born, we were over the moon.  When she started crying and wouldn't stop,

I wonder what we had done to ourselves.

Are you kidding me?

When am I supposed to sleep?

Why won't she stop crying?

Why does everything still hurt?

Why can't I fit into my jeans?

Who's going to make me dinner?

How can Bill sleep through this?

Don't be confused, we've loved that child from the start - but I truly wondered if we were going to have any more children because it was a rough few weeks from the get-go.  Looking back, I was pretty uptight (OCD, anyone?  Anyone?).  If things were not just so in all aspects of our lives, I felt like a complete failure - my fault, not Espy's.  She was a cryer, but I think if I wasn't so nervous about making a mistake with her - maybe she wouldn't have been so stressed?

Regardless, God is amazing because that child is wonderful in spite of her mother.  She has her typical "8 going on 16" moments which I'm learning to react to in love instead of the look

(which I'm so good at) that says,

Come here so I can smash your mouth, please

method that is clearly not the way to approach matters.

Espy has the sweetest spirit.  She loves her friends and family with all of her heart.  She typically has a quiet personality, but she inherited her mom's laugh - and we all know when she thinks something's funny.  Espy loves to draw, write, and create - I wish I could draw half as well as she can.  I could be biased, but I think her work is amazing.

If Espy isn't telling me about her latest drawing, creation, or story - you can find her playing with her sister(s) or curled up on the couch reading a book.  She loves being in the water and doing cartwheels in random places.  As I was talking to a friend at church one morning, I saw Espy in the background doing cartwheels - in a dress.  I pulled out one of my looks with a quickness,

and she stopped immediately.

When I think about Espy turning nine in February, my mind can't help but jump to the fact that she'll be gone in nine years.  That means we're almost halfway through!

halfway through the bedtimes

halfway through birthday celebrating all together

halfway through "Can (one of my sisters) sleep with me?"

halfway through cuddling on the couch

Slightly dramatic?  Yes, but true.

Who knows what God has in store for her after high school.  All I know is that our job as her parents will be nearly over.  We'll always be there for our girls, but that shaping and guiding and directing will be coming to a close, and hopefully Espy will be ready to make those big/important/hard decisions on her own.  Until then, I'm going to treasure

the tight hugs around my waist

the big eyes with thoughtful questions

the huge laugh from the tiny body

the art and the stories found all over the house.

Extremely thankful for our Esperanza Charisse.

Happy Halloween!

Sisters Minus One

The girls were super excited about getting their costumes on this afternoon and making their rounds for treats.  Poor Espy has been sick the past two days so she helped pass out candy with my mom (thanks,

Monday Just Got Better

We had an amazing, crazy busy weekend, and everyone woke up this

morning like they hadn't slept in three days.

The girls are usually pretty good about getting ready for school, but

-Espy "got attacked" by our dogs while she was trying to feed them and came in

Parenthood Wrecks Me (The First Day of School)

Did you watch Parenthood the other night?  If you didn't, you should - because it's awe-some.  Bill and I don't watch much TV, but if we do - it's rare that we find something we both really enjoy.

Enter Parenthood.

I can't remember a time when I didn't shed at least one tear during the show.

While we're watching - Bill will ask,

Goodbye Summer

Happy Labor Day!

Memory Loss

 There are probably ten thousand things that our girls have said that I find hilarious - that I promise myself I'll remember, but of course - I don't.
Thus the random conversations below...

On singing together:
ISABELLA

We're great songers, Momma.

GIANNA

School Days

I was going through some of the girls' work from this past school year

(I realize it's already the end of July - I'm such a slacker!), and found these keepers:

I love my Mom.

My moma is sweet because she loves me.

Funky Monkeys

The Husband took Miss Espy and the big kids to King's Dominion today.

They're having a blast I'm sure.

The rest of us are having an off day of sorts.

The girls (except for Espy) woke up sassy, and I woke up - unsettled.

Because of our funkiness, I cleared the schedule for the day and tossed the ToDo list aside.  The girls

Why Does He Have To Go?

2006

 Why does he have to go?
This is what Gianna repeated over and over again in between tears.

Everybody was a little emotionally rough around the edges yesterday.

The Husband left for a Navajo Reservation in Arizona.  He is taking four leaders and twenty students onto this reservation for ten days to try and show what an amazing Love He has for the Navajo people - for all of us.  Bill has been on this trip since his sophomore year in high school (with a hiatus during college and during the summer of 2008).  It has been amazing to see relationships develop and lives changed over the years - with both the Navajos and our groups.

I know this trip has had a major part in shaping Bill's heart.

I know that it has grown my love for the hurting child the three years I was able to go.

Isabella and Evangeline are too young to want to understand why they go - year after year.  Espy and Gianna are slowly starting to comprehend.  I can see their thoughts rolling around -

contemplating their dad's love

for God

for themselves and their sisters

for the Navajos

 I see them thinking about His love

for me and Bill

for each of them

for the Navajo people

I'm praying they can piece it all together one day.

Until then, we play hard and love on each other until daddy gets back!

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

 Matthew 28:19 

Here I am. Send me. 

Isaiah 6:8

Daddy Daughter Date x Four

What's better than Mom getting to go out with some friends without any babies?

Going on a date with Daddy for pizza AND sno cones - without Mommy!