Dinner with Friends

Monday night we had a couple of friends drive down to meet us for dinner.  We met the Brown's and the Sojourner's at Mitchell's, a local restaurant here in Brookhaven.  The meal was delicious!  We had jumbo fried shrimp, crab claws, coconut shrimp, fried green tomatos, and stuffed mushrooms (my favorite!)  Needless to say, I did not have to eat a snack before going to bed last night.  It was great visiting with them and laughing about old times.

David, Regina, Reagan, Malinda, Mrs. Ann, Amy, and Mr. Johnny   

Weekend Update

We started the weekend off with a visit from two of our former students, Tyler and Candice, on Friday night.  They were married back in June.  Tyler is a student at New Orleans Seminary and they stopped by to visit us on their way home for the weekend.  We went out to eat at the local Mexican restaurant and then went back to our house and talked for hours.  It was great catching up with them and hearing how God is working in their lives.

Saturday David's sister and mother came to visit as well as Larsen and Lilli Grace.  We went to eat lunch together and made a trip to Wal-Mart. 

Later that afternoon we had a visit from my former step-sister, Janet.  It's been many years since I have seen her so I enjoyed visiting and catching up with her too.  We had a great visit and plan to get together again soon.

Sunday we attended services at our home church, Harmony Baptist in Crystal Springs.  It was great getting to see many that we have not had a chance to see since returning home. 

We had a great weekend full of visits with family and friends.  Hope yours was good too.

Fun With Family

Thursday night we had a family dinner at my mom's house.  Not only did we have some delicious food but we had a great time visiting with some family member's we've not seen in a while.  It was great getting together, laughing, and talking about old times. 

After dinner we all watched a marathon of America's Funniest Home Videos (one of my all time favorite shows).  We laughed so much and had a wonderful time together doing it!!!

Love Is In The Air

Tuesday night we attended a wedding shower for Jackie and Nickey, two of our former youth ministry students.  They are getting married in December.  David will be doing the service and I will be a bridesmaid.  I ordered my dress back in the summer, long before I found out I was pregnant.  My prayer now is that I'll still be able to fit in it in another 6 weeks, ha.  We are excited for them and the future they will have together!

Week 10

I am 10 weeks today!  This is a photo of a frame my mother-in-law gave us.  We LOVE it!  The picture is our 8 week ultrasound photo.

We've been asked tons of questions so far so I thought I would answer a few of the most common ones here for everyone.  1)  This is my first pregnancy.  I am 37 years old and have never been pregnant before.  2)  I got pregnant the old fashioned way- no meds, no precedures, lots of patience.  3)  We do plan to return to Guatemala.  If  you have questions, send them our way.  We'll answer them either privately or in a future post.

HOW'S THE BABY?
By week 10, all of the baby's vital organs have been formed and are starting to work together.

As external changes such as the separation of fingers and toes and the disappearance of the tail takes place, internal developments are taking place too. Tooth buds form inside the mouth, and if we're having a boy, his testes will begin producing the male hormone testosterone.

Congenital abnormalities are unlikely to develop after week 10. This also marks the end of the embryonic period — in general, the embryo now has a distinctly human appearance and starting next week the baby will officially be considered a fetus.

HOW AM I?
Much better than  previous weeks.  I am still tired most all of the time but have not had much sickness at all!  I rest when I can, nap when I can, and go when I can.  This past week I have been able to eat much more foods than I had been eating.  As long as I eat something about every 2 hours, I'm good.  My foods of choice this week have been fried bologna sandwiches and chocolate (although not at the same time, ha).  We are looking forward to my next check-up which will be next Monday the 9th.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers!!!

Weekend Update

Our first weekend back home was a great one. We had planned to attend a high school football game on Friday night but it was too cold and rainy to sit outdoors. Instead we went to a local Mexican restaurant and had a yummy meal. We also enjoyed a lot of sitting around and relaxing over the weekend! On Saturday, my mom, aunt, and cousin came down to see us. We went out to lunch together and then made a trip to the local Super Wal-Mart. I had forgotten just how busy Wal-Mart can be on a Saturday and made a mental note not to return during such a busy time. We had a great visit with them.
That night we were invited to a block party by our neighbors. Before we left, we had our first trick or treaters. This is Maggie & Annie. They are our neighbors two precious girls. We are blessed to be living by such a great couple and we look forward to spending a lot of time with them while we are here!

The party was a lot of fun with lots of people, food, and kids. This is a photo of most of the children before they went trick or treating.

They had two trailers that they all loaded up on and went around town getting candy. We opted to return home and not go with them. It was pretty chilly Saturday night!

Instead we came home to pass out candy at the door.

Sunday we attended church at Fair River Baptist Church in Brookhaven with our neighbors. Bro. David Fortenberry is the pastor there. He used to speak at our home church's annual Men's Pig Roast/ Wild Game Supper. After church we ate lunch next door at the neighbor's and spent the afternoon visiting with them. I need to post a photo of them because I have mentioned them several times. I'll try to do that soon. We had a great weekend and hope you did as well!

November 2009 Newsletter

Greetings from Mississippi! As most of you know we returned to the States last Sunday to begin our Stateside Assignment. We had a great day of travel and were welcomed home with lots of well wishes and love. We are getting readjusted well and fast. So far we are really enjoying our time back at home. Please pray that this will be a time of renewing and refreshment in our lives.

We are sure that most of you have heard by now, but in case you have not we had some wonderful news to share with our family and friends upon our arrival back in the States. We are having a baby!!! We are due June 2o10. Please pray for this pregnancy, my health, and the health of the baby. My next doctors appointment will be Monday, Nov. 9. We are praying for another great report on that day.

We are starting to get some speaking engagements booked and we hope to be able to see many of you while we are home. We still covet your prayers even though we are back in the States. We pray that we will be used here just as much as we were used there to make a difference in other people's lives.

We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We look forward to spending ours with our families! Until next time....

Sending our love,

David & Regina

Your Missionaries to Guatemala

PRAYER PRAISES:

1) a safe return trip to the States

2) a house to live in and a vehicle to drive while we are here

3) many family and friends who love and support us

4) our little one that is one the way! God is good!!!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1) our safety of travel as we visit around and share about our work

2) my pregnancy and next doctors appointment- Nov. 9

3) to be able to effectively relay to the churches all that we have experienced while being on the mission field

4) that God would use us to encourage others to get involved in missions

The Comforts of Home

We are definitely getting spoiled while being back in the States. There has just been an overwhelming amount of love and support being shown to us. We truly feel blessed and loved!

We are living in the City of Brookhaven. So far we love it! We are a five minutes drive from not only Super Wal-Mart but also several options of places to eat. We are staying in a house owned by the Lincoln County Baptist Association. We are grateful to them for opening their home to us. It is very nice and very roomy! We feel lost in such a large living space, ha.

The dining room/ kitchen alone is as big as our apartment in Guatemala.

The house is completely furnished!!! We didn't need a thing but our clothes and some groceries. What a blessing that has been to us!We love this full size refrigerator! It's frost free so no more manual defrosting. Yippeee!! We have 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, with a BATHTUB!
The two guest rooms have twin beds And our room has a queen bed. We love it! The living room
We live in a nice, quiet residential area with very little traffic. It is almost too quiet after living in Guatemala. David joked that the only cars he saw pass yesterday were the garbage truck and the mail man. ha It's very peaceful.

We are also grateful to the Macedonia Call Foundation of Mississippi for providing us with a vehicle to drive while we are home. They take donated vehicles and then let missionaries use them while in the States. It's a great organization, be sure to check out their website. We only pay for insurance and maintenance. Just another thing we consider a blessing!!

Our First Ultrasound & A Little Update

Due to some early complications, we were very anxious to have our first ultrasound. We had it done last Wednesday, Oct. 21. I was 8 weeks. Words can't describe our thoughts and feelings when we saw our baby on the screen and heard it's heartbeat!!! What a relief and thrilling day that was!

The clinic has two doctors and mine is on the left. Both doctors were present for the ultrasound and both thought everything looked and sounded great! I have photos but have not been anywhere to scan them so I can post them but will try to do that soon.

I am 9 weeks today. Please continue to keep this pregnancy in your prayers as well as my health and the babies health. We would really appreciate it!

How am I feeling?

Sick & tired! ha I don't seem to be quite as sick as I was but the fatigue is as strong as ever. I think all the traveling and moving this week has worn me out. I am finally getting a little of my appetite back, but no weird cravings yet. I have not been able to eat much of anything so far. But, I think I have eaten more since returning to the States than I did in the last few weeks combined. I did wake up Tuesday morning wanting a hot dog for breakfast though. That was weird. I sneeze all the time and am constantly blowing my nose. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!!!

The Day We Found Out

These next few pictures were taken on September 29, 2009. This is the day we found out we were pregnant. It was definitely a day we will always remember.
It literally took my breath when we saw it! You can see the tissue in my hand and the tear in my eye. After 13 1/2 years of marriage, we were about to wonder if it would ever happen.

We are quite excited!!!

We're Home!

We had a great trip home on Sunday. We had a warm welcome from our families!! We brought them some news that none of them were expecting.......

This is how we greeted them at the airport!! It was quite a surprise!!

We spent the rest of the day and night at David's grandmothers visiting with his family and eating dinner. Today we will be moving a little further south to the town of Brookhaven where we will be living in a mission house. I am looking forward to going to the grocery store (Super Wal-Mart) and doing some shopping. I'll post some more photos once we get settled in.

Wrapping It Up

Our week has not been near as sad as we expected it to be. Instead it's been full of fun, food, and fellowship with many of our friends here. We are now on our last day here and we are looking forward to our flight home tomorrow.

David, Regina, Delrae, James David, Glynis, Regina, Jane, Carol W., David, Wendall, Ann, Jim Regina, Margie, Ron, Glenna, David, Keith