Last Post Before the Move!

Hello All,

We had a great weekend! We spent the weekend with family and had plenty of time to relax before we move. We had lunch on Saturday with Memaw and Glen, thanks ya'll!! We also stayed with Grannie and Angie. Shaun got to eat his favorite pizza: Ken's pizza. Jackson and Sebastian are staying with Grannie while we work the last two days. Stella and Dennis are watching Preston.. we pray that he is good!

We also got to spend some time at the Lake with the Crouch clan. It was awesome! As usual, I got injured, but the bruise is on my arm and not my face {unlike last time:-)}.

The pod was picked up on Friday and should arrive to MS on June the 2nd. Right now Shaun and I are staying with the Moores while we work our last two days.

We will head back to Wichita Falls on Thursday to pick up the pups and to help my Jidi and Siti move into their new apartment at Rolling Meadows. Then we head to MS on Saturday.

I took a few pictures of our house as we emptied it. Check out the size of the pod. Now you can see why all of our stuff didn't fit! So... we will be pulling a covered trailer to MS. I can hear the banjos now....
Next post will be from Mississippi!!!!

Love,
Jessica

House Sold!!

Hello All;

So, Shaun and I closed on the house today at 9 AM. It has really hit us that we are moving! We spent the past 2 nights packing the pod, which wasn't big enough for all of our stuff.....

So, we are storing the rest of our belongings with the Moores until we drive back through DFW next week to leave for MS. The Moores have also been gracious enough to house us as we transition. They are good friends and we are excited to spend the last of our time here with them.

Many thanks to our realtors, Linda Jean and Roger Paschal. They are like family to us and we are so grateful for all of their kindness, honesty, and generosity... Oh yeah, and patience!!! God Bless Them!

The next week is going to be even MORE crazy.. We are both working until the 28th and then we go back to WF to pick up the pups before heading back down here to pick up our other car and our stuff from the Moores.. Did you catch all that? Me neither!! Did I fail to mention that we are both in summer school and have papers due? It is all good though! God grants strength in our weakness and boy are we going to need it!

We are very excited about the opportunity that is in front of us. Although there are moments of sadness and frustration. After we closed on the house, we were both pretty sad. We started remembering all the things we did to fix it up, all the good times through the Home Group, and the great friendships we have with our neighbors.

Everyday, we receive a devotional from David Jeremiah's Turning Point Ministry. His Ministry has blessed us so much in the past, I encourage you to check it out: www.turningpointonline.org.

Anyway, below is today's. Just as we were feeling so down, it came at the perfect time, amazing how God does that!

I Don't Like the Dirt!
I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you . . .Jeremiah 29:11 The Message


A little girl walking in a garden saw a particularly beautiful flower and promptly picked it because she felt it was too pretty to be in the dirt. She then took the flower home and rinsed the dirt off with water. Shortly thereafter, the flower wilted and died. When the owner of that garden saw what the little girl had done, he exclaimed, "You have destroyed my finest plant!" "I'm sorry, but I didn't like it in all that dirt," said the girl. The gardener responded by saying, "I chose that spot and mixed the soil because I knew that only there could it grow to be a beautiful flower."
Sometimes we become like that little girl, fixated on the dirt of our life instead of seeing the beauty and growth that will emerge in time. But once we have experienced seeing the hand of God in our life, we have assurance that we can trust Him in His sovereignty. So, if it feels like nothing good will ever come out of what you are going through, be patient and steadfast, knowing that God "plans to give you a hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).

God has chosen each of us for His purpose and His plan... May we all take courage and not focus on the dirt!

Many Blessings!
Jessica

Lebanese food

I forgot to add that I fixed Lebanese food for Shaun...

I sure hope they have an ethnic food store in Mississippi! Otherwise we will be having the family ship it to us. We can't survive without our comfort food. :-)

Last Weekend in DFW

This weekend was our last weekend here in DFW. I can not believe how quickly the time has come!

Shaun and I decided that since it was our last weekend here, we should do something 'tourist-like". There were so many things that we have not done because we always put them off.

So, we went to the Dallas Aquarium. That is such a neat place! The monkeys and the sharks were amazing to watch. They have penguins and flamingos too. But, my opinion of penguins is forever changed! Those things SMELL! Seriously, they smell so bad that I thought that I was going to throw up! The Flamingo area was just as bad and the birds were spraying people!

Also,I DO NOT recommend going on a Saturday, unless you want to get pushed out of the way by a crazed mom and her infant stroller! Also, note to self: not a good place to visit if you are slightly claustrophobic!

I have attached a picture of me and behind me is the manatee that they have there at the aquarium. He or she was my favorite. We also got to have dinner with two very special friends, Rachele and Patrick. They cooked an amazing steak dinner for us! We really enjoyed just relaxing and talking with our friends. I haven't laughed that hard in quite a while! Rachele and Patrick, we love you guys!

Sunday was also our anniversary! We were too busy to really do much, but can you believe we have been married 6 years! WOW! So much has changed in such a short time. God is so good to have allowed us to be married and to have the opportunity to work together at Mosaic Church. We are so blessed!

Lastly this weekend, our neighbor Virginia was kind enough to host a going away/ welcome to the neighborhood party for us and for our friends the Plemons who are moving into the house. The theme was Tex-Mex meets MS. So, we had plenty of Mexican food, margaritas, and in honor of Mississippi: Mud slides! Our neighbors are so kind and really made us feel at home when we first moved here. I am glad that Brian and Jessica got to come and meet them before we left and they moved in. We close on the house this Friday! So, Shaun and I are busy packing everything up to have it loaded in the POD by Thursday night.

Shaun and I are both working our last full week with our employers this week. Please continue to pray for us as we attempt to wrap all these things up and still do well in school. Did I forget to mention that we are both in school right now? Crazy!

Thank you for all of your support and encouragement.
Many Blessings!
Jessica

More weekend fun!

In addition to the Sunday night event, we had quite the busy weekend.

Shaun and I got to play mom and dad for a few days. We had Katlynn and Natalie for a fews days. There were softball games to go to, soccer tournament, school, bathtime, dinner... it was good to spend some time with the girls. I wish that it had been a little less busy. We spent lots of time transporting and watching games, so we didn't have a lot of free time to just hang out and have fun. We are really going to miss seeing them and being right down the street!


Shaun's sister graduated college this weekend.. yeah Carla! And Shaun's parents had a fish fry Saturday night for everyone to get together. The food was delicious and it was great to spend some time there and spend some time with Dub and Melissa and Shaun's family. Dub has been Shaun's buddy since kindergarden. Dub and Melissa are expecting their first son, Colten, soon and it was funny to hear Shaun and Dub tell of all of their adventures and misadventures growing up.

We also got to hang out with Carter. Although, hanging out at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Wichita Falls is not a good idea... we learned that the hard way: sorry Carter! We are looking forward to Memorial Day weekend were we can spend some fun time chilling at the lake with Carter and the rest of the Crouch gang!

We also got to spend some time with Wayne and Cindy. It was good to catch back up with them and they really encouraged us. Thanks guys!

Lastly, but not least.. it was Jude's 2nd birthday! Happy Birthday Jude!!! We got to have blue slushes, cupcakes, and spend some time with our friends from Colonial where it all began for Shaun and I.

Oh yeah... and it was Mother's Day, so we got to spend some time with the ones who poured so much into us.

Our trips back home are always so busy! But, we wouldn't have it any other way! Of course we had to eat Taco Casa in WF as we left for back home.

We loved spending time with everyone and look forward to Memorial Day when we will back up there. It will be our last time before we leave for MS!

Heighland Heights Baptist Church

What an AMAZING weekend!

Shaun and I had the opportunity to go and share our story and the mission of Mosaic Church to the members of Heighland Heights Baptist Church in Wichita Falls. Thanks to Sandra and Frank for setting this up! And Pastor Stubblefield for having us!

My friend from Colonial, Jamey, was gracious enough to come and play guitar for me so that I could sing and Shaun could speak. It works best that way.. Shaun can't sing and I don't preach! :-) Anyways...

The church members were so kind and friendly. They layed hands on us and prayed for us, Mosaic, Dustin and Natalie, and the 180,000 people that need to know the power and grace of Jesus. They also took up a love offering to help us on our way. Shaun and I are moved beyond words and can not really express how grateful and overwhelmed we were by the entire experience. What a blessing! One of the members there was actually from Ocean Springs, MS; and was even saved there 11 years ago!

I saved the evening bulletin for our keepsake box!

New do for the Boys

Shaun took all three of the dogs to the groomers this weekend. They got their "summer" haircuts and their last haircut before the move to Mississippi. They are always so pouty after they come back from the groomers, especially Jackson! I couldn't resist sharing their pictures.

Sebastian always looks so sad after going to the groomers! His 4rth birthday is on Monday! He is a Cinco de Mayo pup!

Jackson pouted all day today, he wouldn't even sit with Shaun!

Preston was the least upset, but he was just excited to get a new toy. He is getting so big! He is up to 10 pounds now and FULL of energy. Our 12 hour drive to Mississippi should be quite the challenge with him!

Thank you Danielle!

My fabulous friend, Danielle, AKA: Preston's aunt, is an amazing artist. She paints, she sculpts, and now she welds! She has even welded a most fabulous lamp. She totally suprised me with a much appreciated gift today. She welded Shaun and I a Cross!! It is absolutely gorgeous!

I feel so blessed to have Danielle as a friend. Poor thing even burned her hand making this for me! Thank you Danielle! The cross is perfect!

What a Weekend!

Time is just FLYING by! First let me say, Happy Birthday Kathy!!

And now I'll fill you in on all the details of the weekend. Shaun and I spent Saturday boxing up the house. Of course, I cried! I started crying because it became more real to me that hey, we are moving! This house was our first home to own and we put so much work into making it ours and now we are are leaving. So, after my mini melt down, Shaun and I decided to celebrate the move with dinner at Joe T.'s. It was gorgeous weather and it was nice to have some down time.

Sunday was our last weekend at the Met. It was also my last weekend to sing. I held it together for the most part until I went to tell some people good bye and then a few tears slipped. The Met has been such a wonderful place for us and I will truly miss the friends that I have made there. I will also miss singing and serving the kids there. They are AWESOME! The kids actually led worship in the main service this weekend and I was so proud to see how so many of them have grown so much. What a blessing to have been a part of that!

I look forward to being a part of Mosaic and serving the children there.