100 Days and Counting Down

Woohoo! Looking at our little "Hirsch Baby" ticker to the right, you will see that today is the mark of 100 days! If you're reading this after today, it's UNDER 100 days! AHHHHHH!!!!!

Baby Girl #4 will arrive soon. It will go by quickly, no doubt, with all the things going on around us. It's funny how God works- just when we think things will start to simmer down, He's got something else He's working into our lives. So much fun! Life in Christ is NEVER boring, that's for sure. Sometimes, I'm looking forward to a "boring" day.  :)

Pray for us as we prepare for our next little blessing, and God works out a bunch of other things on our behalf for His name. 

A Funny 6 Year Old

So, today was a nice Sabbath day. We went to fellowship, then came home and while the two little ones napped, Gary, Bekah and I watched a movie til the girls woke up. We were able to rest and get some things done around the house. The girls all played outside while I trimmed the hedges and Gary mowed, then we just did yard work and odds and ends around the house. After the babies went to bed, we played Hullabaloo and then had dessert while playing Yahtzee together.

Bekah asked for sprinkles on her ice cream, so she got them out and put some in the lid of the jar to sprinkle on her ice cream, but accidentally spilled them all over the floor. We were like, whoops...now they have to be picked up. She proceeded to get down and pick them up one by one and then said..."You know, I could use some help here. And God really likes when people help each other." Gary and I just busted out laughing...while helping her clean them up, of course. Stinking funny.

That was a nice way to end the day. Especially after having some rough inner battles with things. I was an emotional mess this morning...nothing bad going on, just very pregnant and overwhelmed. Well, I don't even know if I can explain it. Except that mix hormones with a very already passionate personality and I just cry sometimes. Really, there are some very important things that I'm burdened about that I shared with Gary last night til the wee hours of the morning that I had on my heart on the way to fellowship this morning. We talked more about them on the way there, then of course, people ask how you are, and...yeah. Then you hear about 6 week old babies diagnosed with cancer and people struggling with different things during prayer requests that just sends you over the edge to a big sobbing mess. Sometimes, like this morning, I just really wanted Jesus to come take us home. Or at least me. But it's okay. He's sovereign. So I'll be okay. As long as I run to Him. Thankfully, a friend sat and just listened to me and my concerns and my attempt to explain the tears and she committed to praying this week. It's so good of God to give us the Church. 

There's much going on within my heart and mind that I don't have the time or energy to type out right now...but maybe in snippets. I'll share them as words come. In the meantime, pray with me. And watch God do His thing. He is so good!

Happy 4th of July!

Ffffrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeedddoommmmmm!!!!!!!  (said in the most Braveheart way possible)  That's what we celebrated on the 4th, at our home, with close to 60 of our family and friends. It was bittersweet for me, and I got kinda emotional during the afternoon preparing for the party, as I realized that this may be the final big party we host in this home. (more to come on that later)  It's not that the house itself is what I treasure, but the house represents a LOT of God's work within our lives this past 4 1/2 years. I really need to post on this...there is so much I've been wanting to say, but cannot think how to condense it all into words. I promise, I will post on this next week.

So back to the party...We had a good time of fellowship, yummy food, reflecting on true freedom, and of course, fireworks. Gary prepared a little sharing time on what freedom really means, why we celebrate as christians- freedom in Christ, being set free from the bondage of slavery, and free to serve Him. As well as the appreciation of those who sacrifice and serve our country to preserve the freedom we have in the US to worship freely. 

We have a friend who re-enlisted in the National Guard to go into officer training. He has a wife and three children. He's currently in the States receiving training that is apparently pretty tough. He's gone for like 9-10 weeks for the first phase, and has two more phases after this to complete his training. He's not overseas, but to see the sacrifice of the whole family in just this amount of time has made us much more aware of what those who serve in the military go through. It is tough. Everyone brought snacks for a care package to send to him- we hope it will lift his spirits to know that we're praying for him. 

So, this 4th of July, Gary and I are grateful for the freedom we have in Christ. There's a renewed sense of gratefulness and joy in the God who has enabled us this freedom. We are humbled to know that there are those who serve our family with great sacrifice to preserve the freedoms we enjoy, and often take for granted, in this country. We are made aware of our other brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who do not have the same freedoms. And we are made to pray. To not be so self centered, consumed with just our "little world", but again, to seek the Lord and allow His Spirit to move us to acts of love in His name. Freedom!

Adam's care package:

The girls in their red, white, and blue:

Belle enjoyed the watermelon:

Gary sharing on true freedom:

Some of the kids making red, white, and blue prayer bracelets:

The annual picture with the flag cake (I left it in the oven too long and it got dried out. I may have to make another one for us to try again!):

Friends, old and new

This past weekend, we had a nice, though short, visit from some of our friends from Houston. They were coming in for their daughter-in-laws family reunion in Arkansas, so since they were so close, they came for an extra day to visit. It was nice to get to see them, even if only for a little while. We enjoyed dinner all together with my parents and the Igos on Saturday night. Of course, afterward, the men were piddling around, and Fred, having been in a vehicle for so long, just HAD to do some work. So, they cleaned out our gutters and took the antenna off of the roof, which was on our list of things to do. Fred and Karen were a part of the youth ministry at Spring Woods while we ministered there, and their son Shaun was in the youth group. Shaun wasn't able to come, but Chris and his wife Tori, who is pregnant and due only 1 day after me with their 1st baby, came and it was neat to get to know them. Karen's mom Ruby, is a sweet lady, so funny and has a lot of wisdom. We're so grateful for them, and for the reminder of what God did in our life through that time at Spring Woods. Every time we look back at what God has done, it encourages us for what is next, whatever that may be!

Karen, Fred, Ruby, Chris, Tori and baby  :)

The pregnant women, only 1 day apart in due date