At Home in Pennsylvania!

Most of you are already aware that we have moved back home to Pennsylvania...but we just wanted to give a quick update and let you know that we're settling in and doing well--although most of us have been pretty sick the last couple of weeks and we don't have internet access. ;)

We have pictures and lots more to say, but it'll have to wait! We're so grateful for your help and prayers during the last few weeks. God has blessed us with the most incredible friends!

At the moment we're tapping maple trees for syrup and anticipating the arrival of Heagy baby #4 any day now (Philip or Sara Kate, which will it be?)...

More to come later! The Lord bless you all.

We're still here and doing well, in case you all were wondering or anything! Twenty-ten has just flown by for us so far...we're barely keeping up. ;D In family news, we celebrated Stefanie's 20th birthday on the 14th, and little Becca turned three years old last Friday! One of Becca's birthday gifts was a new puppy, affectionately named Abby. =D Becca's not so sure about her yet though!

Becca and her new puppy.


More like, Anna's new puppy for Becca's birthday! ;D

Last week we hosted our dear friend Hannah from Oklahoma for a couple of days. She was with us on her birthday, so we were able to celebrate that with her too! It was so nice to have her be a part of our family for a short time.

And this week promises to be especially busy for us as we prepare for the IBLP Dad's Conference beginning on Thursday! A number of people are coming to help us with the conference, and we're especially looking forward to having the dear Ferraro family from Illinois join us this week to help--hopefully we'll get to have some extra time to spend with them! There will be over 350 people here for four days, so it's definitely going to be an exciting week for us!

Right now we're in Pennsylvania enjoying the company of our entire family! We're so grateful for the goodness of the Lord, the hope that we have in HIM, and the incredible peace that has filled this season. This past year has been a year of adjustment for our family--adjusting to a new home in Indy, new work with the IBLP ministry, and a new "ITC" schedule particularly. And although we anticipate more change in the coming year, one thing we've learned: the Lord is here. With us. He's unfailing, unchanging, trustworthy, and FAITHFUL. And that gives us tremendous hope for the future, wherever we are, whatever we're doing!

May the Lord bless each of you with the unfathomable riches of His grace this year. With continued hope, and peace that is truly above our understanding. Happy New Year!

Christmas Conference!

Each year the ITC spends countless days (weeks?) planning, cleaning, decorating, practicing, and preparing for the IBLP staff Christmas Conference—a retreat much looked forward to by so many people from all across the States! This year’s Conference was amazing (even if I didn’t happen to attend a single session, help with any of the usual chores, go ice-skating, or well, do pretty much anything other than work the entire weekend!). Being able to see, spend time with, and enjoy the fellowship of much-loved friends for an entire weekend was pretty much close to perfect. =)

Every Christmas Conference tends to be different, but for our family, this Christmas Conference was especially unique. Not only were we privileged to have Josh and Suzi stay with us for the weekend (!!) and be able to enjoy their company, but the responsibilities of some in our family have changed rather dramatically since last year’s Conference, lending to different areas of work and not so much flexibility as an entire family. But even if we never happened to be all together even for one moment this weekend, some (if not all) of us were able to participate in all of the traditional Christmas Conference festivities!

Altogether, this year’s Conference was said by many to be the very best one yet! Andy Andrews happened to be the key-note speaker for the weekend--you can imagine my family’s excitement when we found out that he was coming! Months ago we had purchased a few of Mr. Andrew’s books, The Noticer, The Traveler’s Gift, and Mastering The Seven Decisions, and simply devoured them! So to hear him speak first-hand so enthusiastically to the staff here was an awesome and memorable experience. And I’m hoping I’ll not live too long in renown in Mr. Andrew’s memory as the Sara “who spells her name the proper way and let me borrow her bright red hairdryer for the weekend.” ;)

The blessing of the Lord was very evident at the Conference. Our family was so grateful to be a small part of it, and we're especially thankful for all of the extra help the ITC received in preparation and clean-up before and after the weekend—we couldn’t have done it without the faithfulness and willing service of so many others!

And now…our family is back in the swing of work here, attempting to recover from the weekend, and finishing preparations for Christmas as a family! Then, Lord willing, we’ll be traveling to Pennsylvania for a few days of respite with family and friends. We’re looking forward to seeing many of you again soon!

Yes, I "stole" this from my sister's Facebook, but it's SO cute, I couldn't resist sharing it with all of you! Aren't those kiddos just about the cutest you've ever seen? Thanks for sharing, Suzi...we LOVE your family's pictures. ;)

Skyler, Micah, Eddie, Patrick, and Hans...

Saying goodbye isn't very easy for us to do, but God certainly gives us an abundance of opportunities to learn how. Earlier this week we had to say goodbye to our friend Patrick. We've spent quite a bit of time with him these past couple of months, and will so miss him--especially the little boys, who've decided that wrestling with Patrick is the greatest thing in the world!

Beginning to look a li'l bit like Christmas...

Christmas decorating at the ITC is nearly finished! We can hardly believe it, but after too many hours to count, the end is in sight! We're continually amazed how the Lord faithfully provides for ALL of our needs, even down to the little details of giving us extra energy to endure sleepless nights when we had all-night decorating to do. And it looks so lovely. These pictures obviously don't do it justice, but for those of you coming to the Christmas Conference, you'll be able to see it then. =)

Growing Up...