July Highlight: A Sweet Month but A Sad Day

My hubby went back to work today after taking a month off since Baby Caleb’s birth.  Yes, we had the blessed privilege of having him home for 30 days!!!  He wanted to take this time to have undivided time loving & serving our family.  Our pastor asked him to preach in the current series but Kempton declined so that he could focus on serving us.  For those of you who know my hubby you know that this was a HUGE sacrifice because he has been given a great preaching gift & loves to use that gift for the advancement of the Kingdom.  So, his decision really blessed my heart.

10 things I’ll miss the most from this past month

1) K. making our delicious breakfast

2) Reading the Word together after breakfast

3) K. sharing the kids' morning routine with me

4) Our fun family field trips 2-3 times a week

5) Having lunch together everyday

6) K. watching all 4 of the kids so I could get a daily nap or get out for a mommy break

7) Eating dinner early every night (not having to wait after rush hour traffic)

8) Our family Dairy Queen dessert runs

9) Daddy's quality time with each of the kids even when the baby wanted to have his time in the middle of the night J

10) How Kempton's wonderful leadership & presence has given us a great start as we transitioned into a family of 6!

Babe, we’ll never know fully all the sweet fruit that reaped from your time with us.  But by God’s grace, your wife will always be grateful for your joyful sacrifice.  Through you, I’ve seen God’s goodness, faithfulness, & provision towards our family.  We are so sad that you have to return to workL. However, I hope that I will remember that the same God who kept us these past 30 days will continue to show Himself strong & cover us with His favor & grace as we watch the clock until you get home go through our daily routine without you.  You’ll be missed but we are so thankful that you have a jobJ!  

Wrestling with Christian

Playing a game with Carysse & eating their favorite snack - chips & dip

Carrying Kalia often as she adjusted to not being the "Baby" anymore

Talking to your baby boy

And wearing him

Playing outside with your girls

You're such a goofy fun daddy! 

June Highlight: I Grew Another Heart!

When I was pregnant with my 2nd child, I was concerned about how I was going to equally love both of my children.  My precious 1st born was so dear to me that I couldn't imagine loving another child as much as him.  At that time, a dear friend told me that each child you have you just grow another heart. She was so right!  At the moment of each of my children's births, I love them so completely.  I am now an abundantly blessed mama with 4 hearts!♥♥♥♥

My sweet Baby Caleb is a "part-time" easy,calm baby.  He likes to sleep through the day & be up through the night just like he did in the womb.  So, I'm going to do some serious schedule adjusting once he gets a little older.  In spite of that, it's been a good 1st week. We are so blessed to be a family of 6!  Here are some snapshots of our week.

Sweet kisses from daddy as we leave the hospital

The girls are so excited to have little brother home

Christian's probably thinking, "I can't believe I finally have a brother!"J

One sleep-deprived mama & one simply-precious baby

A very happy big sister who prayed for a baby brother during my entire pregnancy

Our bright-eyed, chubby-cheeked baby boy chillin' on daddy's lap

Hanging out with Grandma & the girls

Grandpa Curtis adores his name sake - Baby Caleb Curtis

Introducing Baby Turner #4........

IT'S A BOY!!!!

At 7:20am, on this first day of summer, June 20th, our gracious Father in heaven brought Caleb Curtis Turner into the world weighing in at 8 lbs 4oz and 21" long!

Join us in praising God from whom all blessings flow!!

But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

Numbers 14:24

May Caleb Curtis (middle name in honor of Grandpa Curtis Gilbert) 

follow the Lord Jesus Christ fully all of his days!!

Happy 13th Anniversary Sweetie!

The Lord has definitely been our keeper over these 13 years!  Here are just 13 of those ways that He's kept us.

1.  He's kept us both healthy with no major sicknesses.
2.  He kept us those 135 days while Christian was in NICU.
3.  He kept us during those heartbreaking days & nights of our son's continuous seizures.
4.  He kept us financially through all the medical bills.
5.  He kept us during the process of buying our 1st home..& 2nd.
6.  He kept us as we grew to a family of 3 then 4 then 5 & now 6. (8 more days!!!) J
7.  He kept us during the transitions of 3 different churches as He's been equipping us for more impact for His Kingdom.
8.  He's kept us through the many ups & downs of full-time ministry.
9.  He kept us during the process of our major move from Texas to Minnesota.
10.  He kept us safe on the many trips that we've taken together.
11.  He's keeping us unified & on one accord.
12.  He's keeping us faithful to Himself and to one another.
13.  He's keeping me more in love with you each day!  

I truly thank God for you, our friendship, and our marriage.  I long for us to finish strong.  I know that is possible as...

"The Lord is our keeper.  The Lord will keep us from all evil;

 he will keep our life.  The Lord will keep our going out and our coming in from this time forth and forevermore."

Psalm 121: 5a, 7-8

May it be so as we continue to trust in the Lord!  

I Love You Sweetie!

~Caryn
♥♥♥

4:12 Conference - The Christian Man

Young men & their fathers won't want to miss this conference!
Visit the website for more info.

May Highlights

December is typically most people's busiest month, but May is definitely ours.  With Mother's Day, 2 birthdays, many grad parties, and other spring time fun, our calendar stays quite full.  Here are some memories from our month of May.

Can't believe my big girl is already 5!  She is such a sweet gift from the Lord!

 

Kempton & I were so excited about surprising her with a new bike!

Carysse had a fun time at her friend, Luisa's, birthday party.

Being 9 months pregnant, I definitely wasn't planning to do gardening this year.  So our sweet friend, Jan, asked if she could serve us in this way.  What a beautiful blessing!  

Carysse often engages Christian while playing.  That always warms my heart. 

Our friend, Joyce, blessed Kempton (Happy Birthday Babe!) & Carysse with a birthday meal & cake. This month, she celebrates 10 years of service as the Children's Ministry Director at our church. What a gift she is to the Body of Christ!

Ever see a 22-month old peek out of a backpack?  Always a first for everything! J

April Highlights

Now that we're half way through the month of May, I should finally take the time to share our April highlights.  Well, it was an interesting month that started here and ended here. As I mentioned in our March Highlights, Kempton & I had a sweet time away in Canada.  Sadly, the month ended with my big boy having a serious case of pneumonia.  Praise Jesus that after 3 days in the hospital, he was able to come home.  He has totally recovered from that sickness - Thank you Lord!!!  Here are some other highlights from the month.  

One evening, Christian was so tired that he fell asleep on the floor.  His sisters thought it would be a fun idea to pretend to fall asleep beside him.  Too cute!  

My baby girl often enjoys wearing my shoes around the house.  

Grandma was so kind to come care for the kids so that K & I could attend the Pastors & Wives Retreat.  What a sweet gift!
 Thank you Mom!

Carysse's day to introduce her family to her Sunday School class happened to be the same Sunday that Grandma was visiting.  She also shared that her daddy & brother were on the cover of this book and talked to her class about disabilities.    

Our church's Women's Conference was absolutely wonderful!  It was one of the best that I've ever attended.  Our pastor, John Piper, & Kay Arthur were  the speakers.  Here's a pic of the Women's Leadership Team with Kay (6th from the left).