So...thought I'd share the news!

Yes!!! It's true :) We are proud to announce that we are expecting! Considering the craziness and the sickness I've been dealing with the past few months, I decided it was time to tell you, my dear readers. 

Part of my seeming inability to write on the poor neglected blog has been because I've been sick and because I've not had internet access at my house (and still do not). I'm splurging on my phone data and thought I would take the risk in doing so in order to inform you of our excitement!

Please pray for the health of baby "H" and keep us in your prayers as many changes are right up ahead.

Love,

Rachel

**Update**

I have decided that I am officially THE WORST blogger EVER. Yeah. I totally cant keep up with the days that are flying by! So much has happened in the last few months. Here, let me tell...

1.) Prince and I have moved out of his parents house and are about 40 minutes away.
2.) We have a PUPPY! (Not exactly a puppy, she is ten months old and bigger than a horse...)
3.) I am teaching art at a learning center in town (Wooohooo!)
4.) My brother is getting married! What? Did I just say that? Yes. Here comes a winter dream wedding!
5.) Prince and I recently celebrated our 2nd anniversary. When did that happen?! Not sure where those two years went...I feel old.

So...I'm sure there are other things that have happened that I am not remembering at the moment. But, yeah....there is the quick update.

As always, I plan to be writing more in the days and weeks to come. I cant afford to promise you anything however. My summer is going to be crazy!

Love you all and pray that you keep your eyes fixed on Christ.

Blessings,
R

Knowing Him More In Loss

Wow. You never really know what you have until the Lord has decided to take it away. It is hard, but it is so good of Him to take the things that we idolize away from us.

 It is hard.

 It's is painful. 

It is raw.

It is a blessing in disguise.

May we ever praise Him for what He gives and for what He takes away.

Beloved, do not lose heart. Take courage, for the Lord is with you wherever you go. He is with you in the depth of sorrow. He stands in the midst of the storm holding you. He knows your pain. He knows your Loss. He sees your tears. Don't turn from Him, for He cares dearly for you.

In the loss of possession, health, or loved one, He knows it all. He has walked through the fire before you and you have nothing to fear.

So often I ask to know God's heart, but I am less than ready to bear the weight of this request. I have asked to know Him. I have pleaded that I might gain a glimps into the heart of my God and He has been gracious enough to grant this request. I can sympathize with the love of the Father as He bore the loss of His son. 

I feel it every day. I can feel the piece in my heart that has been ripped away with loss, but over that is a tender merciful patch of Christ's healing love. Though the wound is painful, the sting seems to point me ever more to the One who writes my story. It speaks to my weakness and my flesh. It whispers in the darkness telling me that the Lord is the one who holds me. It shows me that I need to hold tightly the One Thing that will never change and not to the things that shift like the sands of the sea. Even in the bitterness  of pain, I can see the blessings of the Lord disguised in sorrow.

Look for the blessings in your loss. If you choose to only see loss, what have you gained for your soul? Have you suffered well? 

Lord I pray that as your people we would suffer well and recognize that in loss we have even greater gain...the promise and hope of salvation.

With love,

Rachel

Snowing!

The snow is coming down out there! The center where I work is closed for the day because of the wintery weather. I feel so fortunate to have been able to stay snuggled in bed past the time I usually have to be at work. 

I'm sure that all the kids in the area are watching in wonder and just hoping that it never stops piling up! It is always fun to hear children talk about snow in Tennessee. They say things like, "when I was a baby there was this huge blizzard that brought like...like I don't know six inches of snow!" And everyone else in the room gasps, except for me.

I'm from upstate New York. I HAVE SEEN SNOW. I've seen enough to last me a few more snowless years here in Tennessee...yet I am glad for the occasional snow day! 

I am curious to know how much we will end up with seeing as it is 9am and it hasn't stopped.

Getting snow anywhere else y'all? 

Moved Home With Goats

You wouldn't believe it, but we are back in the middle of the state! We moved in mid August. I am really missing Memphis, but it is really good to be home where our families are. We are taking up house with Prince's parent's for now. We aren't sure when or if we will move out in the near future.

 We actually tied ourselves down...(Oops!) by buying a few goats (as mentioned in the post before)! It's been fun so far. We got them on Labor day and have been having fun ever since.

My in-laws are excited to have goats out on the land again, as they missed having livestock out there.

Here are our five lovely Nubian/Boer cross goats.

This is Lady Jane:

Hesther and Elmira:

Winter and Clementine: 

I had been looking into getting full blood Boer, but decided better of it. People say that they find reasons to die. I believe it. They have terrible parasite load ability. They get overrun easily. So I decided to go with crosses instead.

Belated Holiday Greetings!!! (and update)

Well...I am ashamed. I let Thanksgiving, Christmas AND New Years pass without sending a cheerful greeting to my readers -- if I still have any, that is.

Nevertheless, I shall say, "Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and...well, I hope you had a lovely New Year!!!" Again, forgive the belated greeting.

So...my Christmas was lovely and crazy! Now that we (Prince [not my husband's real name] and I) have moved back to middle TN from Memphis, we are able to spend a lot of time with family...especially his family -- we are living with them for the time being while Prince is getting his masters degree. Anyways, now that I've thoroughly confused you, I might as well tell you why Christmas was so lovely and crazy.

We traveled to east TN to visit Prince's extended family for three days. It was a lot of fun, but I was ready to get home. You see, I'm used to a small at-home family Christmases where only close family gathers round to celebrate the birth of the King. We have never traveled for Christmas and I had never spent extended time with Prince's grandparents or aunts and uncles, so it was a good experience to go. I am looking forward to possible plans for next year, and now I know what to expect [wink].

Since we have been back -- yes 5 months already! -- a lot has changed. Did I tell you we have six goats and two dogs?! Yes, we are attempting to farm while we have the generous use of Prince's parents pasture. Our five lady goats; Winter, Hesther, Clementine, Elmira, and Lady Jane should hopefully all be ready to have babies this spring. Might you ask the name of the handsome sire of these little ones to come? Yes, of course. We can't forget the big red goat named Roan. What of their guardians, the dogs who keep them safe from coyotes and other predators? Yes, these are the brave dogs imported from Turkey many years ago. They are called Anatolian Shepherds. They are large (female-100lbs male-150lbs) and have long fur. Our shepherds consist of two excitable, fluffy, loving, loyal pups named Beamer and Nala. Nala is my darling. She is sweet and watchful and gets her attention and then does her job. She is five months old. Beamer...he is a sweetheart (pet him and he'll melt all over your shoes and ask you to rub his belly for hours), loving, VERY friendly and always ready to sound the alarm if any predator (or chicken) comes within sight or bounds of the pasture. He is six months old. I am super fond of the dogs and am very happy to have them out here on the property. It would be hard not having them because I miss Phoebe so much.

Anyways, I think I've given you a fairly thorough update, and I will try to write soon! I'm sorry it has been so long!

Blessings!
Rachel

Laying Them Down

I have recently been thinking about what it really means to lay down my desires. I have so many dreams and ambitions and most of the time (as many of you should know), many of those dreams and ambitions never really come to pass. I'm not complaining. I'm merely expressing my observations thus far in life. You may be wondering what got me thinking about this. Well.... The last few weeks have been filled with crazy things that just have to get done and everything seems to be on a time schedule. Ummmm...like taxes, and deciding about our lease and whether we want to stay here for another year or move. Like the decision on whether I should go on a month long business trip with my hubby. Doesn't it seem like our lives are full of important decisions? Isn't it hard when it seems like a thousand of those decisions descend upon your shoulders at the same time? Not only do you have to make a choice, you have to deal with the nagging thought of, "what if I had chosen the other option? Would things be better if I had?" We've had to make decisions and stick with them and sometimes it is hard. I really wanted to move from our apartment so that we could rent a house with a back yard for gardening and for my dog to be able to get out and run around. I wanted to be able to go with my hubby on this trip, but hasn't been able to work out that way. I wanted to have our taxes done and taken care of way before now, but it looks like we may end up needing to file for an extension. Well...things aren't really going my way are they? Nope. But how much does that really matter in the light of eternity? Last night I had to ask myself that question. I was crying. I was tired, and I knew that things were not going my way. I was upset about everything and how 'all' my plans were being shattered. The Lord spoke to my heart and I was able to examine my attitude. I knew I had two options: Keep crying and feeling bad for myself and maybe obtain a small amount of "feel-good-poor-me", a headache and swollen eyes, or I could stop and think about things and lay everything at the feet of Jesus. By His grace, I chose the later. God continued to speak to me as I shed tears of repentance and gratefulness. I thought about all my hearts desires and took each of them and laid them down saying, "Lord, You know the desires of my heart and you know what Your plans are. You alone can make me content. I want to lay these things down and make them something beautiful at your feet. If I don't let go and lay them down they will never sprout into something beautiful and living. Lord, do whatever you will with these dreams. Refine my heart and make my plans Your plans." It felt really good to let go. It was freeing, a lot more freeing that having a tearful pity party! I pray that the Lord would continue to allow me to lay down my wants and desires, to be able to sacrifice them at His feet. He is so good y'all, and He cares so much. Don't ever think that He isn't watching or caring about what you are going through. He loves you enough to give His Son for you! Blessings, Rachel H. P.S. Excuse the crummy format! I've tried to fix it, and it will not work....Well...remember what I said about plans?