Birthdays Galore, FCA, and Ryan Seacrest

So here's the deal. My consistency in blogging is just... well pitiful. But enough moaning and groaning about my failures. Let's catch up.

Molli is 1, Paysli is 3... and Tim is 28. And y'all, all three of these birthdays took place within 3 weeks of each other. Don't get me wrong, I love me some birthdays, but whoa! Just too much for this mama. How do you celebrate 3 back-to-back birthdays really well? I don't know but we did it, and everybody was happy. However, I am going to have to have some major planning/organizational skills around the June/July months to get ready for... August 12th, August 17th, and September 2nd. Below are a few of the girls 1 and 3 year old photos (taken by the talented Sevyn Ezra Photography) as well as highlights from some of our birthday celebrations.

Hillsong Concert for Tim's Birthday!

Six Flags for Paysli's Birthday!

Okay, what else? Oh yes, our transition into full time ministry. It's awesome! We are seeing that God has specifically molded Tim for this position. He LOVES it and is doing a phenomenal job. Tim is constantly meeting new people, sharing the gospel, and bringing coaches and students closer to Christ. So proud of him, and we are blessed to serve so many communities in this area.

We have been blown away by so many who are faithfully and financially supporting this ministry! Because of these North Collin County FCA supporters, FCA Coaches and Huddles now have someone encouraging them, equipping them, and empowering them to impact lives for Jesus Christ. We are so thankful for the role our supporters and team plays in making this possible. God has truly answered many prayers!

See You at the Pole 2014

Tim teaching at a high school FCA huddle

See You at the Pole 2014

See You at the Pole 2014

See You at the Pole 2014

See You at the Pole 2014

FCA Huddle

... another FCA Huddle...

...and another

Tim with  FCA students he coached and taught before going into full time ministry with FCA

Tim's nickname around our house this week is Ryan Seacrest. Why? Because he is the MC for a big event coming up this Sunday at Prosper High School's practice football field. It's called Fields of Faith, and schools all over North Collin County and surrounding areas are going to be there. No pressure, right? We are so excited to to bring so many students together in one place and share the gospel. We can't wait for an awesome time of praise, worship, and revival! What an awesome night it is going to be. Thank you to Prosper HS FCA, Prosper FCA Adult Chapter, and Frisco FCA Adult Chapter for putting together this amazing event that is going to further His kingdom! We couldn't do it without you! This should be fun!!

... as the Father has sent me, I am sending you. -John 20:21

Three weeks ago, Tim resigned from his coaching and teaching job in Frisco ISD after being called into full time ministry with Fellowship of Christian Athletes as an Area Representative for Frisco, McKinney, Prosper, and Celina.

Are we crazy? Slightly... I would like to think of it as being obedient to God's call and plan for our family. 

If you told me 11 years ago when I met Tim that he would one day be leading his family into full time ministry I would've said your cray-cray! When I met Tim he was, well, let's just say my first run-in with Tim outside of school hours, he was wearing an Afro wig, driving someone else's car recklessly, and playing no telling what kind of music WAY to loud. He was THAT high school kid. He thrived on attention from others, good or bad. Tim had actually just moved to my high school due to his distasteful behavior getting him kicked off of the baseball team at his previous school. Therefore, he moved to my high school in attempt at a second high school baseball team and a new start. My second run-in with Tim outside of school hours, he pinned me down in attempt to write not-so-nice phrases on my forehead with a Sharpie. This kid was a looney.

I later found out that this looney, had a crush on me. He wanted me, but he needed Jesus! I started inviting Tim to church with me, and I slowly watched Jesus Christ intervening in Tim's heart and eventually his life. Tim finally found the Savior who, thank goodness, paid the price for Tim's and the rest of this crazy world's sins. The attention and love Tim needed and craved, was found in Jesus Christ. He fell in love with the Lord, and the desires of his heart changed dramatically.

For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthews 7:8

I too was blessed in watching a new believer fall in love with Jesus Christ. I grew up in a Christian home, but during some of my high school years my faith was weak when it came to a true relationship with the Lord. I had wrongfully focused my faith on what was moral and what was not. I went to church on Sundays... if I felt like it or had no other plans and that was about it. I knew who Jesus was, had accepted Him, but a daily relationship with him was lacking.

While I had been a believer for 10 years already, this boy who was only months in on truly accepting Jesus as his Lord and Savior was more on fire for Christ than I had been... maybe ever. And it was contagious. I wanted what he had. And that looney started leading us in a closer walk and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Tim and I started attending FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) at our high school with a handful of other athletes. We were also apart of FCA in college and thankfully our growth in Jesus Christ helped grow our relationship as a couple. Tim was blessed with a God given ability to throw a baseball crazy hard, which has given him a platform to share the Gospel. I am so thankful for Tim's athletic ability and love for baseball. When he didn't have a love for Jesus Christ, his love for baseball woke him up, got him to school, and motivated him to make decent grades. Hours he could have spent in trouble, he was at a game or practice. God was with Tim all along the way, whether Tim demonstrated his love for Christ or not. What a loving God!

Fast forward 11 years later, and here we are married with two beautiful children and still on fire for Christ. Tim has taught and coached for 6 years now, which has prepared him so well for the journey God has called him and our family to. Tim has been blessed to start, organize, and/or lead FCA at each of the three middle schools he has worked at. I have been blown away by the impact Tim has had on many of his athletes for Christ. In August we began faithfully praying for God's plan for our family, Tim's profession, and how we could impact others for Jesus Christ. We were oblivious in understanding why God had placed Tim in Frisco as a coach and teacher, our family at a church in Prosper with many Celina residents for a few years, and now our home church in McKinney, Texas. The relationships that we have created in each city have been such a blessing.

We are a few weeks in to this amazing journey with FCA, and God has blown us away in so many ways. Tim's area has over 30 middle and high school campuses, which is growing substantially each year. The population of the 4 cities he will be representing is 291,496 residents (as of 2012). We know we have a large task ahead since we are starting from the ground up, but we have already seen some BIG things happening in just the few weeks we've been blessed to be a part of FCA. Please pray for these communities and campuses to be impacted for Jesus Christ!

Show me your ways, Lord,

teach me your paths.

Guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all day long.

Psalm 25:4-5

6 Month Photos!

So I kind of fell off the map in January...and February... and most of March. We are alive and well. We have been busy, busy, busy!

Molli is 7 months and Paysli is 2 1/2 now. We just had photos taken by Sevyn Ezra Photography (she's kind of amazing!). Tim's grandmother has made it a tradition to have our kiddos get pictures made when they were 6 months since Tim did when he was a baby. So in honor of such a sweet tradition, here you go (and my picture is the closest picture to 6 months of me that I could find... I think I am almost 1 in this picture)...

I can't decide who the girls look like. But I do know, they are pretty adorable. Here are more pictures from our Sevyn Ezra Photography teepee mini session:

2013 Recap

So it's December 31st. Really? I can't believe it.

2013 was so full. Full of craziness, a few tears, lots of laughter, and overall a complete blessing. So how does one re-cap 365 days? Well here goes nothing...

January: Many didn't know, but I was preggers with Molli. I was super sick and anxiously waiting to hit that 12 week mark to hopefully be in the clear of a miscarriage. And when 12 weeks came, we were in shock that Molli was a healthy baby due to the miscarriages I had before getting sweet Paysli. At the end of January we finally announced I was pregnant with Miss Molli!

February:  I was super sick. But in all that yuckiness, we found out I was having a girl!... and then I was sick some more. And I am sad to say I failed at my motherly "take 5 million photos" duties because I felt like poo. Yep, no pics for February. Whoops!

March: I started feeling really good, but unfortunately Paysli spent most of the beginning of 2013 sick with ear infections and yucky sinus infections. Paysli had tubes put in her ears in 2012, but having her adenoids removed was next on the list. For Spring Break, we stayed a night  in Fort Worth, went to the zoo, and went shopping a bit! Also, Easter fell on the last day in March this year (weird), and it was a great one!

April: I was 6 months pregnant and Molli really started to grow (which means I did too!...whoa!). We participated in Walk for Africa through our church. We also celebrated Audrey Kate's 1st Birthday (sweet friends' Matt & Courtney's little girl).

May: In May I celebrated my second Mother's Day with my sweet family. Kynli, my sister's daughter, turned 2, and Tim graduated with a Master's in Educational Administration (He's kind of amazing... I'm biased).

June: The Texas heat arrived just as I started to get uncomfortable in my pregnant body. I was blessed that it was a cooler summer than most though! Summer break arrived and we were ready to have fun... or as much fun as a really pregnant lady could have. We also decorated Paysli's new "big girl room" and she did so well with that transition... it was too easy... but we will take it! We also had lots of fun with Luke and Kynli (Paysli's cousins).

July: I was ready for Molli to be here! I was pretty much glued to our couch this month. The fatigue and aches got me... I was down for the count! I was able to celebrate July 4th with the family, and we had a blast (I spent the last 3 weeks of the month exhausted from celebrating July 4th. Ha!).

August: I was "REALLY pregnant". Like the "REALLY pregnant" when people stare and make funny comments like... "whoa!", "you look like you're about to pop!", "are you over due?", "the swelling is pretty bad in this Texas heat, huh?". Haha!... I'm pretty sure I wasn't laughing then, but it's funny now. And then on August 12th, Molli Grace decided she wanted to see her mommy and daddy a little over a week early. I will never forget Tim that day when my water started to break as he giggled like a little kid and said "this is so exciting!" All I could think at the time was, "Well I'm glad I'm providing you a little bit of entertainment today as I go into labor." We grew into a family of 4 that day, and Molli is a true gift from God. We later celebrated Tim's birthday on the 17th (The whole family's birthday's are close together).

September: September up to now is a bit of a blur... but I've got pictures to prove we lived through them! We celebrated Paysli's 2nd birthday, and we went to church as a family of 4 for the first time. Football season for Tim was underway, and I was soaking up all my time with the girls during maternity leave. We also potty trained Paysli successfully!

October: I turned 28, and we continued to adjust to being a family of 4. Molli was now 2 months and we had a blast with Paysli at Prestonwood's Fall Festival!

November: Molli turned 3 months and this was the month that she started becoming easier. She started interacting a bit more with us too! Paysli began really catching on to gymnastics (that we started in May). She loved getting new leotards too for gymnastics. Tim and I were blessed to be a host home for Disciple Now at our church. We met and hosted several 6th grade girls and what a blessing it was to serve!

December: We enjoyed a few snow days, did many crafts and baking, and loved on our girls. Molli even starting sleeping through the night! HALLELUJAH! We also received shocking news that I was diagnosed with Melanoma, but after a procedure, the cancer was successfully removed from my body. Praise God! Paysli got her first haircut from her awesome aunt Chelsea after watching the whole family get their hair done. AND THIS JUST IN... just a few hours ago Miss Molli rolled over for the first time! What a neat way to celebrate New Years Eve! Way to go Mollers!

 What an awesome year! I had many lovey-dovey, cheesy, sweet things I wanted to say about this year... But after putting this blog post together... I'm pooped. Both girls are tucked in, and I think I'll grab a cup of coffee and curl up on the couch with my man to ring in the new year. (I think that last sentence just summed up what a great year it's been and how much our Lord and Savior has blessed the Matthews crew!) Happy New Year Everyone!