Thankful for....Sherrie

In continuing my little series leading up to Thanksgiving, I cannot think about what I am thankful for without thinking of Sherrie Ramsey. 

Sherrie and her husband James live here, but we've actually known them longer than the year we've lived here. They both went to A&M and, during their college days, they attended Central and were small group leaders under Kyle's leadership in the college ministry. I barely knew Sherrie in those days and, as she says, she was "afraid of me."

Sherrie and James got married, graduated from A&M, and moved to Austin. In the spring of 2008 when we started publicly talking about our call to move to Charlottesville and church plant, one of our students told Kyle that she had just talked to Sherrie and that the Ramseys, because of James' job, were actually moving to Charlottesville too! When Kyle told me, I couldn't believe it. I felt like God had confirmed our call with a great big exclamation point. Sherrie and James later told us that they had been unclear about why God was moving them to Virginia, but it became suddenly clear when Kyle called and told them about our plans.

Sherrie and James were among the 10 in our living room on the first day of CCC. They have committed just as much as we have to the work God is doing here. They lead a community group. They lead our First Impressions team. They serve and give of their time and energy whenever they have the opportunity. They are a HUGE part of CCC and I CANNOT imagine life without them here.

Like I said before, I hardly knew Sherrie when she was a college student.  I surely missed out! Through this past year, Sherrie has become a dear friend. She encourages me. She talks with me about her heart and listens to mine. I know the Lord brought the Ramseys here for many reasons and is using them mightily here, but I like to think that He brought Sherrie as a gift just for me :)

Recently, Sherrie became a personal trainer and started a fitness class business

and I signed up. I got my bootie kicked so I guess she did her job. I actually enjoyed it despite having to get up at 5:40 in the morning. The best part was seeing Sherrie fulfill her dream and getting to support her after all the support she and James have given to Kyle and me and CCC.

So now you know some of the reasons I am thankful for Sherrie and I probably embarrassed her in the process. Thankful for you, Sherrie!

Thankful For...Will

I've been thinking alot about things in my life that I am thankful to God for. I've decided to share them with you, my friends and family, in a little mini series leading up to Thanksgiving in hopes that it will spark you to think about the specific ways God has blessed you.

Having just had our parent/teacher conference with Will's teacher, I have been dwelling on how far Will has come in the past three years since he was diagnosed with autism. I also got to share our journey so far in MOPS on Thursday. It was the first time I have spoken publicly about Will's autism and it gave me reason to sit down and lay out the many ways God has been faithful to Will and to our family as we have responded to him. He really is a different child than the 3 year old Will who could barely express his needs or thoughts. That was one of the hardest things for me as a mother. I remember sitting in silence as we drove along in the car and telling myself that I would never take it for granted if I was able to have a conversation with my child.

That time is here and I definitely don't take it for granted! Will is an enthusiastic little boy who loves to learn, tell us about his favorite things, and be with people. During kindergarten he struggled alot with writing, especially knowing what to write about and what to say about the things he was supposed to write about. At our recent teacher conference, she shared his writing with us and I nearly teared up reading his thoughts and seeing his drawings. 

I'm so thankful for the growth and progress I've seen in Will in the past 3 years. I'm thankful that he is experiencing success at school and he is able to express himself as a member of our family. The Lord has provided for him in many ways, especially through our move to Virginia. 

Please enjoy his latest writings.

On Tuesday I playd the airhocy game. It was fun. I scrd a pont. in Dad scrd a pont.

(On Tuesday I played the air hockey game. It was fun. I scored a point and Dad scored a point.)

I like to Garden my flowrs. It was fun. Because I got those flowrs at Lowse. I love Giting those flowrs in gardening those flowers at home.

(I like to garden my flowers. It was fun. Because I got those flowers at Lowe's. I love getting those flowers and gardening those flowers at home.)

On Sunday I go to Commity Chrch. because It was fun going to commity chrch.

(On Sunday I go to Community Church because it was fun going to Community Church.)

I play the coucomeer You push the green bun It aaways makes music when the music starts you can run in my house because I love my coucomeer.

(I play the cucumber. You push the green button. It always makes music. When the music starts you can run in my house because I love my cucumber.)

Reese Turns 4

Happy Birthday to our sweet Reese! We've had a super fun day celebrating. He got to play with a few friends this morning and this afternoon we went to Build a Bear and Chil-Fil-a to celebrate before coming home for cake.

We marvel everyday at our little boy and how he's growing and changing. These are the things I want to remember about Reese at 4:

• He has little conversations with himself and then will come up to me holding out a paintbrush like he's interviewing me before he runs off.
• If he's going to take off running, he always lifts one leg up high before taking off.
• When he is going to grab something, he makes a "scow" sound when he's picking it up.
• He is very concerned that his little brother Luke is happy and content and has everything he needs. Every morning before breakfast, he brings Luke a toy that Reese thinks he would like.
• He loves to dance and sing.
• He likes to carry toys around with him, especially cars and animals.
• He loves "church day". 
• He loves to wrestle with Will, Daddy, or anyone who is in a prone position for that matter. He's a very touchy-feely guy and gives the best hugs.
• He's great at remembering to say "Thanks, Mom!"
• When he gets excited, he jumps up and down and throws his hands in the air.
• He's the middle child, but with his personality, he'll never be forgotten!

Halloween!

We had tons of fun at Halloween on the Lawn and lots of candy to prove it. My parents were in town (more pictures to follow) for the weekend so that made it extra special!

The Foyer

In a previous post this past summer, I asked for suggestions concerning my very narrow, high-ceilinged, very boring foyer. The winning suggestion was from my sister, who just recently did a similar thing in her new house. A guy from our church did the board and batten look and then we painted it white. It's hard to tell from pictures, but we also painted above the wood paneling...it's a light khaki color. I love the results! Now I have to save up my money to actually put something on the walls!!

These are the before pictures (the hallway is no narrow that it's hard to get a good shot of it):

And the after shots:

CCC!

I love our church! I love the people and I'm thankful that our relationships within the church are growing deeper. I hardly ever post about church and in our latest update I messed up the pictures so I thought I'd give our friends and families a glimpse into what we're doing around here.

The first pictures are of our community group. Our group has all the families in it so we had a family fall party yesterday where we carved pumpkins, decorated cookies, and hung out while the kids wore themselves out on the bouncehouse.

These pictures are from church in our newest (and hopefully more permanent) location.

What We've Been Up To

Fall is moving fast! We're enjoying the cooler weather, the changing leaves, a growing church, and the kids' many activities. Here are some pictures of what we've been doing:

Will had a playdate this week with a friend from school. They obviously enjoyed getting their picture made together.

I got this jacket a few months before we moved to Virginia for $4. I think Luke looks adorable in it! Luke's favorite thing right now is brushing his teeth. If he could brush his teeth or carry around his toothbrush all day long, he would. A future dentist, perhaps?

Reese is excited about his upcoming birthday. Everyday he says, "It's my birthday!" He is enjoying preschool and going to church (everyday he also says "tomorrow is church day!") His favorite toys are the little people animals he is holding in this picture.

Will is playing soccer again this fall. At his first game, he scored the first two goals of the game!

Recently, a couple from our church moved to Texas and, instead of moving their air hockey table, they sold it to us at an extreme markdown. The boys have loved having it!