No One higher, No One greater...

...no One like our God. There is none more able, Christ our Savior, great and glorious.
Those are the lyrics to a song that is constantly playing in my head these days. There is no One higher than God, and oh how I often stand amazed in His presence.  The past month has been has been filled with so much planning in preparation for the big ESL celebration at our church (Humble Area First Baptist Church). We had such a great turn out last year and the Lord really went before us so we were excited to do it again this year. Alan Hernandez was returning from Monterrey, Mexico to do our event and preach the Word as well as share his music with us.  We were very excited that he was on board to come back this year. Everyone loved him last year!  
Because we saw the hand of God so clearly lay out all the details of this event last year we were confident that this year would be no different.  Matt and I wanted to be extra prepared this year and it was easy to decide what to change to make the planning process run a little smoother.  I felt calm and excited about everything and how it was all falling into place. Until...Monday. Our event was to take place Wednesday. That was the day the enemy was working to discourage me. It seemed as if all of my kids were ganging up on me all day! Having three kids under 4 isn't ever uneventful but for some reason Monday was even crazier than normal! I had a screaming baby that all of the sudden didn't want to be put down or take naps. Two boys who were fighting like crazy. Carson got his finger slammed in the door and cried for nearly an hour. I think that would've been a tough day anyway, but given the last minute preparations I had to do for the event my stress level & anxiety raised! Finally, at 5:30 I threw out an S.O.S to all of my prayer warriors on Facebook! I was feeling overwhelmed & like a horrible mother. When I went to bed that night I was thankful that God's mercies are new every morning and that Tuesday was a new day! God answered all those sweet prayers because I woke up feeling refreshed and free of the anxiety I was feeling the night before. God is good!
Tuesday and Wednesday were filled with last minute preparations. Come Wednesday night I was finally ready to see what the Lord had in store. The night went great! We had a catered dinner from Italianos and guests got to hear Alan's music and a message.  We served about 120 people! Alan shared the gospel message and many people raised their hands to accept the gift of salvation.  But can I say that even if only one person had raised their hand, the whole night is still worth it. It's not about numbers, it's about lives. We prayed specifically for the precious people who were going to fill those chairs. God was there!
Matt and I are truly humbled that the Lord has called us to work with these precious people. Humbled that we have the opportunity to work with the Hispanic community. Blessed that we are a part of a church that trusts and supports and encourages our vision for the ESL program and those who attend. The Lord has put a passion in both of our hearts for missions. No, we are not in the jungles of Peru or in a large city of Nicaragua. We are missionaries in Houston, Texas.  This is where the Lord has placed us. I would love to do full-time missions abroad some day, but for right now I am thrilled with where we are. We are just two "gringos" with Spanish blood running through our veins, ready for whatever comes next!
Thank you so much to all of you who did so much to help us! All of our ESL teachers were awesome! Thank you also to a few of my sweet Bible study sisters who were quick to step up to help! Tammie, Miss Catherine and Miss Millie, thank you for your help decorating tables! Thank you Sheri for EVERYTHING!!! I have to write a separate blog post just to thank you for all you did for us! Thank you to Jo-Ann for watching my boys all day on Wednesday! I owe you! Thanks to Pastors Barry and Rick for your constant encouragement and support to the ESL ministry. It is so much appreciated! And thank you to everyone who prayed continuously for the event and for Matt and I.

Miss Millie is the resident church decorator!! She helped with tables.

Sheri keeping Kinley entertained! This woman did SO much for us. We love her!!!

I picked 3 verses for the tables & my brother-in-law jazzed them up! 

Five of fourteen of our amazing teachers! 

Pastor Barry and Gay Jeffries and Pastor Rick and Cathy Whitaker attended the event!
Their support means the world to us!

My sweet friend from Bible study, Terri and her husband Michael did
a fabulous job on drinks! 

Doing an ice breaker at the beginning of the event!

Our Asian students even came!!! We provided headsets & English translation
for those who did not speak Spanish. 

Armando traveled with Alan to help out with music and ice breakers

So great to see all of these people!

Alan Hernandez

Matt, Armando, Alan & Luis. Luis was on the team that established
the ESL ministry! He's a great help!

Armando, Me, Matt and Alan. Another great event! Already looking forward to next year's! 

 

Kinley's room is finally done!

I am super excited about this post! Kinley's room is FINALLY finished. Project K's Room started back in August when my bestie Abby came to visit. You see, when Abby comes to visit Matt gets a little nervous because we just have to do a project.  This usually means that it's more expensive for me than for for Abby when she comes to visit!!  Her trip this year was perfect timing! We found out we were having a girl so I could finally make room arrangements and have her help me out with it.  We got right to it, going to pick paint colors and have it all painted within a day. I do have to say that it was Matt's final decision to do the pink wall. Abby and I were back and forth on the idea so we left it up to him.  I think he made the right decision! 

Abby and I do not waste time when we're doing a project together. As the room was being painted, we went to Ikea to pick up the dresser and a couple other odds and ends. We were going to get as much of this room done as possible while she was here! (Matt's observation of the two of us: We have a glow the whole time we're together! We LOVE organizing, cleaning and labeling!ha) Now, if any of you have ever put anything together from Ikea you know that it is time consuming. It took Abby and I 6 hours to put that stupid dresser together! Matt was in and out and "watching" kids. He tried to stay away!
At 9:30 the night before she left, we went to meet someone in the Walmart parking lot to pick up the crib I found on craigslist. Like I said, we're pretty determined and we were thrilled when we finally received a call back on 1 of the 3 cribs I called on. We were up late putting the crib together and doing last minute things.  It was a very successful 6 days together! Already planning my next project when she comes in August! :)
The room has been a work in progress over the last several months. It has been a pretty big collaboration of ideas and help! I hope you love it as much as Kinley and I do!

Princess Kinley's Room!

My favorite pieces! I had the monogram idea as soon
as I found out we were having a girl. It was my friend Stacy's idea to frame it. 

The frame is from Hobby Lobby and was a pain in the butt! It was
spray painted & sanded & painted & sanded so many times to get it just right!
My neighbor, Shelley had it decorated but things kept falling off and I
was just not happy with the inconsistencies in the paint. Thank you, Shelly,
for putting up with me! Love you!

Monogram is from Etsy. (League of Letters) I added some rhinestones
and a pretty flower .

Small rhinestone art for the corners. Just a little bling!

The shelving is from Ikea and the canvas is from Hobby Lobby.

Sweet verse for Miss K.

Be strong in the Lord, sweet girl. The other one says
Princess, Daughter of a King. 

Ikea Dresser. The lamp and mirror are from Home Goods. 

I still love looking at her sonogram picture. A sweet reminder
of how God was forming her in my womb. 

All those headbands! I also had to frame the sweetest
picture of Carter & Carson meeting their sister for the first time!

A good picture of the chandelier, also purchased at Ikea.   

I LOVE this! Not only great for Kinley, but something
I should remember too.  The poster was purchased on Etsy. (IScreen YouScreen)

I made this bow holder a few months before she was born.
There was a different letter on there,however, because I was certain
she would have an M name! Later replaced it with a K!

She has been blessed by so many of my friends who have given
her clothes. Those two bins on the right are full of shoes! Her dresser
is also packed with lots of clothes! 

Every little girl needs a feather wreath, right?! I added the K & silver flower

Big shout out goes to my mother-in-love, Judy! She recovered the cushions to that chair. When they
were here in November I put her to work! She worked hard to make sure it was perfect for Kinley! Matt and his dad also painted the chair white.  I am so happy with how it turned out. It looks great in her room!

I think Miss Kinley loves her room as much as mommy!