March Highlights

In our home, it was definitely March Madness Gladness!  My hubby spoke in 3 different countries - US, Dominican Republic, & Canada and he officiated his brothers' wedding in Texas!  The weekend he was home, he taught a 2-day baptism class at church.  Praise the Lord for His sustaining grace on K to preach the Gospel to so many people and for me and the kids while he was gone. Thank God for helpers!  The Lord was so kind to culminate this busy month by blessing me to join my sweetie on the trip to Canada...what a sweet treat!  Here's a glimpse of our month -

Christian's helper & the kids made this snowman before all the snow melted the 1^st week of March.  Even though the snowman is quite cute, I am soooo lovin' that we had a very short Minnesota winter this year.  Sixty & Seventy degree weather in March...unbelievable!  

Christian checking out his new toy that his daddy brought back from one of his trips.  

Sister Lovin'

Beautiful Poster that I got from Pinterest

Carysse had her 2nd Bible & Ballet Worship Concert.

This is her teacher - Ms. Karen. 

The snow-capped mountains seen from the Calgary, Canada airport.

K & C (& baby #4) striking a pose in Canada!

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12 Years on June 12th!

My sweet hubby took me on a surprise get-away to Duluth, MN. He loves to take me on surprise trips. We had a wonderfully refreshing 3 days! Most people go on vacations “To Do”. They have a whole list of the sights, tours, & explorations that they must do. However, our lives are so full with family & ministry that when we get away with just the 2 of us, we like to sit, be still & enjoy one another. Kempton truly spoiled me! We stayed at The A.G. Thomson House. What a beautiful Bed & Breakfast! The owners, Tim & Angie, are the most hospitable hosts that we've ever had on a vacation. They treated us like old friends. Our room was not in the main house. My hubby arranged for us to be in the grand Lake Superior Suite. Oh my! If you go to Duluth with your spouse, you MUST stay there! The pictures say it all. Below are more pics from our trip.

We chose to have our delicious 3 course breakfast delivered to us each morning.

Here's the comfy little room where I had my morning quiet time.

The 12 roses that Kempton gave me for our 12 beautiful years together.

Here's the yummy complimentary dessert after our superb dinner at the Black Woods Restaurant.

Of course we took a stroll along the largest lake in the U.S. - Lake Superior.

Thank you Sweetie for an absolutely PERFECT 12^th Anniversary!

I Love You!!!

A Surprise Trip

A few week ago, my sweet hubby took me on a Surprise Trip to San Diego!!! A couple of days before the trip, he told me to buy some (maternity) clothes for warm weather and to be ready on Tues. morning because we would be leaving for the airport right after he spoke at MOMS.

I was elated! He had already asked my parents to watch the kids for 4 days in order for us to enjoy a Pre-Anniversary Trip. The Lord has blessed us with a trip each year for our anniversary. Because I will be 8 months pregnant (Lord willing) on our 11th anniversary (June 12), he thought it was a good idea to plan it sooner. I actually didn't think we would be going any where this year because of the new baby coming and because we had such a big get-away to the Dominican Republic less than a year ago.

After 4 hours of traveling with a layover in Phoenix, we finally arrived in Sunny San Diego! What a great city to visit when you've had to look at snow for the last 5 months! When we arrived, it was dinner time. We really like pizza so we had a casual dinner at a cute little spot called Espresso Pizza. Kempton had the whole trip planned out. All I had to do was sit back, relax, and be spoiled.

We had reservations at Loews Coronado Bay Resort. However, they overbooked for the night so they gave us a FREE night in their sister hotel - Hotel del Coronado.
On top of that, because of our "inconvenience" for the night, they told us that when we returned to the Resort for the remainder of our trip, they would upgrade us into a Luxury Suite. WOW!!!

I praise God for this sweet, unexpected blessing from the Lord. He has given me a romantic husband who regularly shows me that he loves me more than I can imagine. Thank you sweetie for striving to love me as Christ loves the church.

Below are a few snapshots from our trip.

Fun day at the World Famous Zoo

Dinner at Truluck's where you pay $25 for 1/2 lb of crab and don't get any side entrees. Very good though! :-)

Taking a break from hanging out at the Seaport Village.

5 month pregnancy pic

We had a good ole down-home breakfast like grandmama used to make at a well known restaurant called The Big Kitchen. The mouth-watering pancakes are as big as the plate!!!

Dominican Republic Trip

Our Lord Jesus Christ wonderfully answered all of our prayers and the many prayers that were lifted up on our behalf. We were blessed far more abundantly than all that we asked for or imagined (Eph 3:20). God's hand of favor covered us on our trip to the Dominican Republic and He richly graced our children while we were away. To God be the glory! Thank you for partnering with us in prayer.

~Kempton & Caryn


FYI - If you would like to listen to Kempton's sermons from the DR, click on the links below.
Sermon #1 and Sermon #2.

10 days…10 messages…10 years!

Earlier this year, our hearts were burdened to not waste our upcoming wedding anniversary on ourselves, but to spend it on joyfully serving others for the sake of the gospel. Little did we know that the Lord would “open up a door” to travel to the Dominican Republic (DR) together to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9)! Lord willing, we will be serving the precious people of the DR, June 9th through June 18th (10 days).

Lord enabling, Kempton will be preaching 10 messages at a National Conference to hundreds of souls (young and old) gathered together from around this spiritually-ripe country. This includes preaching at all of the Sunday services at one of the host churches.

We are also excited about spending the last 3-4 days of the trip enjoying God together and His goodness to us as we celebrate 10 years of marriage!

Please pray that:
* God’s chosen would be saved through the gospel. (2 Thess. 2:13-14)
* God’s church would be built up in love. (Eph. 4:11-16)
* God’s hand of favor, protection and blessing would be upon Christian, Carysse and Caryn’s parents as they so graciously care for their grandchildren. (What a gift!) (Ps. 5:12)
* God would enable us to humbly & joyfully “outdo others in showing honor”. (Rom. 12:10)
* God would guard our hearts and minds from worldliness, pride, various lusts and the schemes of the devil. (I John 2:15-17, Eph. 6:10-20)
* God would enrich our marriage to more gloriously display His gospel design. (Eph. 5:22-33)
* God would cause Isaiah 6 (theme text) to happen as Kempton preaches through the chapter!

Thanks! ~Kempton and Caryn

“I will show My greatness and My holiness and make Myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord!” (Ezekiel 38.23)

(I will try to give updates on my blog depending on if we have internet access or not.)

OUR 9TH ANNIVERSARY!!!

Sorry I haven't blogged in so long. We just got back from celebrating our 9th Anniversary at the RiverWalk in San Antonio, TX. What a joyous celebration! Kempton was already in TX speaking at a Retreat and then I flew down to join him. My parents stayed with the kids...Praise Jesus for selfless & serving grandparents! We stayed in the Omni La Mansion del Rio Hotel. If you ever stay on the RiverWalk, stay there! It's beautiful and the service is top notch.

When I walked into our room, I was surprised by the dozen of long stem roses that my hubby had the hotel put in the room before our arrival. I thank God for a romantic husband.

We didn't have plans to do anything in particular. We just enjoyed spending much needed alone time together. This is a MUST for all you married couples out there. Plan at least one get away with your spouse each year. IT'S SO WORTH IT!!!