Fwd: My view from here

> Our travel to the middle east was easy peezy lemon squeezy (to borrow one of catie's cute phrases!). Catie traveled like a champ, and we all got some sleep on the overnight flight. When we left Dallas, our amazing friends/pastoral oversight peeps were there to see us off. (They were actually there to fly out for a spring break trip, but the timing couldn't have been more perfect to hug their necks and pray together.)
>
> Yesterday was a great first day of our trip. We had a restful and refreshing day. We got to connect with each other, with Catie-girl, and with God all morning. I got to sit on a balcony and have time with Jesus and look at this view...

the zoo!

There are lots of things to love about Waco, TX.  One of them is the Cameron Park Zoo.  A precious friend of mine is a zookeeper there.  (Which always makes me think of the book Goodnight Gorilla and makes me wonder if animals ever follow her home!)  ANYWAY...she got us behind the scenes tour with some of the animals.  We got to pet rhinos and feed giraffes.  It was a BLAST!! 

Hello, Mrs. Rhino!

John scratching behind her ear...

Zach was so brave!

I love Jacob's face in this one!

Hello, Fellowship Bible Church!

Welcome to everyone joining us from the FBC Serve Conference.  For those of you who don't know, John is at our Atlanta church today!  I've gone to church there from the time I was four years old until we moved to TX two years ago.  I'm hoping that lots of you got to see John today or meet him for the first time.  He is such a blast and lives his life with so much integrity, so I'm glad you got to know him.  If this is your first time visiting our blog, then...

WELCOME!!! 

And if you're already a regular around here, thanks for coming back!  We're so glad you're here and would love to invite you to jump into this amazing journey God has called us to...to move to the middle east to build relationships, share Jesus, disciple people, and be a part of a Regional Headquarters for Antioch Ministries International.  Wow, that's a mouthful...but it means we'll just invest in people in our country and city, and we'll get to invest in missionaries throughout the middle east and Africa.  I can't really imagine anything more exciting!  We feel so blessed that we GET to do this!

So, how can you be a part of it with us?
1.  Pray!!! 
2.  Contact us to get our updates. jmcm97@gmail (dot) com  That will help you know how to pray and ways to be involved!
3.  Follow our blog...just hit follow to be notified when we put up a new post.  It's another way to get to know our family and to know how to pray. 
4.  Come visit in the Middle East.  You probably should go ahead and get on our calendar.  We're expecting LOTS of visits!  :-)
5.  Set up an appointment with us this summer.  We need a team of financial supporters who will invest in this ministry.  Just email us, and we'll connect with you to find a time!  It'll be low pressure but fun to be together and to get to share what God has called us to do.
6.  Call, email, leave a comment on the blog...just loving us and encouraging us in the journey would mean so much.  And thank you to all of you who already do that so well!

Well, thanks for stopping by to talk to John today.  Thanks for clicking the link to our website, and thanks for being part of this amazing adventure!

Sincerely,
John and Cristie

my favorite place in Waco

My mom was here last weekend!  It was so much fun and so refreshing.  We went to a place called Homestead Heritage, and I think it's my favorite place in Waco.  Here's some pictures of our fun!

At the gristmill...

tree climbing...

checkin' out the cactuses with mimi...

walking...

My mom has a wooden biscuit cutter, and I have wanted one since I've been married.  I found one at Homestead and treated myself! 

Such a fun day!

Catie is 5!!

Catie turned 5, and we had a little at home family dinner for her. 

I can't believe how this girl is growing up. 

She is so much fun...loves art, hello kitty, princess stuff, playing outside, decorating her part of the room, keeping every treasure in the table next to her bed, playing with friends, painting her fingernails and toenails.  She is ALL GIRL...but she also has 2 brothers, so she can hold her own.  She is a joy and a delight, and I'm so blessed to be her mommy!!!

Everyday Fun

Sometimes being a mom is HARD!  The last couple weeks have been one of those times.  The kids have been pushing the limits, I've been tired, and that's just not a great mix.  In those times, it just helps so much to look for the everyday smiles.  And even at the hardest, I wouldn't trade this season of life for anything!  And I don't want to forget these moments that make me smile.  Here are some of them!

The outfits Catie puts together...

Jacob loving the John Deere tractor...the third kiddo to love it!

Warm enough weather for the kids to play outside!

(Here's one of Zach's best friends and his little sister is one of Catie's best friends!)

This fun paint-your-own castle.  Catie and I have had fun painting together.

Zach--our scientist--doing experiments in the kitchen.

Just plain ol' silliness!

Valentine's Fun

I LOVE Valentine's Day!

It just makes me smile!

I think it's because I love to celebrate

and do fun things with my kiddos,

and this day gives me the perfect excuse.

Last year I told you about one of my favorite family traditions...

our Valentine's pouches!

Here they are for this year!

We make each other little notes or buy little surprises and tuck them in the pouches.

We also include any cards we get in the mail, and we open our pouches at dinner on Valentine's Day.

Here's Catie making hers...

I saw a really cute necklace idea on pinterest and made a similar one for Catie...

I LOVE ball jars.  This year my favorite little Valentine's decoration idea came from pinterest, too.

Check these out!!

This batch was for the kids' teachers!

Happy Valentine's Day, friends! 

Thanks for reading and sharing in the big and little things in our lives!