Sad But Not Defeated!

*** I found this tucked away in my "draft" folder from December.
I felt it was time to publish it. ***

Before I begin, I want to say 2 things:

1.) Some choose not to share their "valleys" but only their "mountaintops". That is their choice. And I must admit that I don't share every one of my valleys on this blog, however, I am definitely sharing them with my close friends around me. There is something special about our "valley" times. For me, God draws me close there. Control is relinquished. Chains are loosed. Freedom is found. Relationships are reconciled. Marriages are healed. Passions are discovered. Faith is built. Refinement is welcomed, dross is scooped away and character is stretched. My prayer is that in our valleys, our eyes remain fixed on the only One that matters. And that leads me to #2...

2.) I fully recognize that my current path has been walked by a huge percentage of women...more than likely most of you have walked it yourselves or know someone who has. Although the situation may look similar on the outside, I believe we all walk it a little differently. God has specific things to show each one of us. God has purpose in ALL things. It is up to us to dig in deep and find it...and Him.

Two weeks after returning from a life-changing trip to Cambodia, we learned of another adventure coming our way...I was pregnant with Baby #3! We were all excited...and nervous...but mostly excited! :) Even though Shaefer is only 3, she understood that she would become a big sister. Because Trey is 8, he REALLY understood. I had him read the 3rd pregnancy test. He read it and said, "I don't know what pregnant means!" I smiled at him and said, "Remember what you told me you had been praying for?" Instantly a light went off, his eyes got HUGE and said," THERE IS A BABY IN YOUR BELLY! Mom, I am SO excited I might cry!" He cried and giggled. I cried and giggled. We all cried and giggled. With in a day or so, all the family was called, best friends were notified and the news began to creep around our network of friends. Everyone was thrilled!

Alf and I began to feel a freedom that we hadn't felt before. We always thought we were a 2-kid family. That was our plan. That is what we felt comfortable with. That is what made sense. We began to dream...and giggle some more! What did God have in store? What would this 3rd child be like? Would they be more like Alf? Or me? Or a really good mix? What would they do for the sake of Christ? How would they make His name great?

The Sunday after Thanksgiving I began to spot. Knowing that this can be normal in early pregnancy, I casually asked some friends to pray for me and for the baby. By Monday I had begun to bleed pretty heavily. We still prayed and hoped. By Wednesday we made the call to head to the ER to get me checked out. Within 5 hours it was confirmed that I was miscarrying our 3rd child. Having been down this road in 2005, this valley had been walked before.

If you could see my journal over the past few weeks, it would probably seem pretty bi-polar. I struggled with, and continue to struggle with, the tension of wanting to trust and honor God in ALL things and the desire to hold this child in my arms in July. I believe we all experience this tension. It may not be about children, but we all feel it.

I do not want fear to dictate what my family looks like.

I am sad but not defeated.

Our Thankful Tree

Thankfulness is a big deal to me. I definitely want it to be a big deal to my kids as well. I heard about the "Thankful Tree" several years ago. I finally got my bootie in gear this year and made it happen. I want thankfulness to be a habit around the Evans Home, not just around Thanksgiving. As parents, it is OUR job to teach it, encourage it and model it. It doesn't hurt if there is paint involved too! :)

I know what you're thinking: "WOW! I've never seen purple & blue leaves before!" You guessed it! Shaefer's favorite color is purple so she INSISTED on purple leaves for all of her "thankfuls". And you know Trey, if Shaefer gets purple leaves, then he HAS to have blue ones! I love it!

We had a great time with this craft! I look forward to keeping the leaves each year to see how their "thankfuls" evolve as they grow up.

Most importantly, we are thankful for Jesus! He is our everything!

We are nothing without Him!

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

Thanks Amanda for another AWESOME idea!

Fall is Finally Here!

Okay. I know that it's been Fall for a while now. It just took me longer that usual to "fall" out the house. Every year, like clockwork, my BFF Amanda and I decorate our homes NO LATER than October 1st. She usually beats me to it in September, but I'm NEVER far behind! Fall is one of our favorite holidays! We even have some of the same decorations. I know...it's crazy...but it's a GOOD KIND OF CRAZY! :)

This year threw me for a loop. The loop was good, but a loop nonetheless.

Alf and I returned from Cambodia on October 26th. I don't think I woke up until October 28th. Seriously. Trey's 8th birthday party was scheduled for October 30th. And my house was still NOT decorated for Fall. What the What?!?! That has never happened! My dear friend and soul sista, Brandi, came to my rescue. She showed up on the 29th and helped me clean and decorate my house in a matter of hours. We had a blast!

Here is what we came up with. I definitely went simpler than most years. I also brought in nature items from my front yard. It warmed up the room and...it was FREE!!!

After years of having a cute scarecrow hanging on the front door to greet everyone as they enter our home, I was ready for something new...dare I say more mature looking? :) I found this tutorial and headed to Dollar Tree. I loved the look of the square wreath!

Nice, simple shelves. Love the pine cones and acorns the kids and I collected! I made the hurricanes from vases and candle holders from the Dollar Tree. I LOVE me some thrifty crafts! Here is the tutorial.

Nice, simple sofa table. Oh look! More free pine cones! :)

I fell in love with the wood-grassy-picky things in the corner!

Another Dollar Tree find!

This frame in one of my all time favorites! Amanda has a matching one all the way in Austin! As you can see by how young my kids are in this picture, it's been a LONG time since we've been to the pumpkin patch. :(

More Dollar Tree vases! Grabbed these berry picks at Hobby Lobby this year. Simple & lovely!

And of course...the children!

They are by far my FAVORITE fall decoration!

Cute Gappy Trey

Sunday night ended up being a big night at the Evans House! We were sitting around the overstuffed table with family and friends eating spaghetti & meatballs...and Trey's favorite...garlic bread. The next thing I know I hear Trey say, "MOM!! My tooth is coming out!!" At first he was a little startled by the whole experience. It probably didn't help that he had at least 8 pairs of eyes staring at him, all waiting for the "big event"! Because being the center of attention makes Trey extremely nervous, he and I excused ourselves to the bathroom. By that time he thought all the blood was cool! :) I was getting my "tool" ready (my mom always used a washcloth to pull our teeth), when I heard Trey say, "Look mom!! It's out!!" All he had to do was push a little with his tongue and that cute little baby tooth came right out. I guess it was ready! I know Trey was WAY ready!

He made SURE I took some pictures and immediately asked if I was going to post them on Facebook. He told me, "This is a big deal! Everyone needs to know I lost my 1st tooth!"

HA! Kids these days! :)

Did I mention he was EXCITED and PROUD?!?!

Hope in the Darkness

Of all the things I saw while in Cambodia, the hope in the darkness shone the brightest.

The village of Svay Pak in this video is where we spent the majority of our time. These are the streets we walked. These are the buildings we entered. These are the kids we played with. These are the warriors we walked arm in arm with. Their story became my story. Our lives intertwined and I will never be the same.

Hope In The Darkness-Exclusive Trailer from J.E. Video on Vimeo.

In 2005, Don and Bridgette Brewster sold their house, belongings, and left their kids and grandchildren to aid in the fight against child sex trafficking. They moved to Phnom Penh, Cambodia "a pedophiles paradise", to started a center for girls who have been rescued from the trafficking industry.

The Agape Restoration Center specializes in not just restoring physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, but re-integrating the girls back into the society to make a positive impact on the culture. In the process of re-integration, a small village named Svay Pak (or "K-11") was found to be the epicenter of child sex slavery in Cambodia.

Without a sure hope of re-integration back into Svay Pak, it became clear that girls weren't the only ones who needed rescuing, but communities as well. The only way to make a dent in trafficking in Cambodia is to change communities as well as lives, and the transformation process is identical... from the inside out.

"Hope in the Darkness"

Coming 2011

On His Way...

My best friend, Amanda, is in labor!! In Austin!! It is KILLING me that I can't be there to cheer her on and love on her other 3 fabulous kiddos!! Come on, Baby Jude!! Aunt Kelly Ann can't wait to meet you!!

My Boy is 8!!

I CANNOT believe I am a mom to an 8 year old!! It feels like yesterday I was swaddling him and rocking him to sleep. Sometimes, on a rare day, Trey will curl up in my arms and ask me to tell him all about when he was born and what he was like as a baby. I LOVE those days! I cherish those days! Walk down memory lane with me:

We lived in St. Louis when we got pregnant with Trey. We were youth pastors (on a tight budget :)) so one of our youth girls offered to take some pregnancy pictures for us.

Here I am, 9 months pregnant! Later that afternoon, we met some friends at a local pumpkin patch. I have a picture of Alf pushing me around in a wheelbarrow. My belly fit right in! Trey was born 1 week later!

Alf was feeling left out, so he thought he needed a belly pic too! :)

The boys showed up with gifts!! We had Mountain Dew flowing like a river in our hospital room!! And of course, Trey received his first set of jumper cables from Uncle Matt.

Baby Trey, one day old.

He is being held by an old co-worker, Joni. I had two co-workers claim to be grandmothers so they could get past the nurses. It worked!

I was SO blessed by all the visitors!

Who can resist baby feet?

Our first family portrait!

We have LOTS of sleeping pictures!

Trey - my big 2 year old!

Trey - my big 2nd Grader!

Trey was born on Halloween night, so we always have a great time! Up until a few years ago, he thought all the festivals, costumes and trick-or-treating were all for him! We spent this weekend celebrating with family and close friends. Trey is such a blessing! My life is forever changed for the better. He makes me want to be better.