The Holidaze? Yeah I'm that guy...

Where to begin? Well I have no idea, so much has happened and I don't think that even I want to read a detailed telling of all of it... so here are some pictures that I hope tell a great story for you all :). 

Okay that might be a little lazy of me... the goal here is brevity right? I mean brevity and cleanliness are next to godliness :)... 

The first couple of pictures are from our amazing MK Christmas party... you see these wonderful ladies have decorated some great gingerbread men... that was a wonderful and busy night. During the party was also my boys Christmas play, so I rushed off after decorating the room to see them perform and then rushed back just after hearing Creed say his speaking solo :). It was a blessing to be able to be at both. This year we did an MK talent show and it was very fun! I'm already looking forward to next years!  

The next fun event we did with the MKs was ice skating. It was great getting to see them enjoying the ice rink and it was good visiting at the snack shop. They are so goofy! 

Another Fun thing we do with the MKs is go to Bethlehem Revisited... the pictures below are from that wonderful time... Creed and Asher had a blast and except for losing Asher at the end we did too. Glad we found him again :). 

It was wonderful having my sister and her husband over for some Christmas cheer this year. We had the joy of doing family photos and then the kids opened presents. It was nice to celebrate with them! And I like the way the pictures turned out! 

Now for some video!!! This is a clip from Marks concert! He is so gifted and it's fun being able to see him in action! 

And I guess to go along with that, here is a crazy picture from my kids performance at Church. 

Our Family likes to open gifts on Epiphany, do stockings on Christmas and reflect on our relationship with God on Christmas eve. We re-dedicate our lives to Christ as a family, we talk about the year and then we light our candle from the center (Christ) candle. It is a good tradition and the kids like playing with fire... so do I actually. It was really precious this year to explain in more detail what salvation means to Asher. He is asking great questions and is taking his faith more seriously! 

Okay now for some random cuteness... Kids off of school for so long... lots of fun time playing at home and being silly and fun and then finally Dad needed to get out of the house so we had an adventure or two out and about, didn't matter how cold it was. 

Okay so there is the cacophony of photos from our break! The good times kept on rolling. Christmas was relaxing and very fun. Jessica and Joel Satre joined us and it was great spending time with them. We did a Netflix Christmas movie marathon! It was really fun! Then New Years broke upon us in a cloud of damp drizzle, promising snow that never came. The weather ended up canceling my wife's plans to see her Grandmother for her 80th birthday, which while very sad and disappointing, did give us some extra time together with family, which was nice. Kelsey and Patrick were going to drive to Albuquerque with Diane and David and ended up staying with us instead for a few days.

The picture below cracks me up. We had just gotten back from an outing and Charlie climbed up on the sunroof of Diane's car and just... well... you can see. 

 

This final picture captures what we are all feeling now after the Holidays, a little tired, but refueled and ready for a new year and for the kids to get back to school... I mean for our schedules to get back to normal. 

Thankfully no health issues to report and things are looking good, if not overly busy, this next month or so. I am really enjoying the Cowboys playoff run so far and I'm hoping it continues (random sentence but it needed to be in here somewhere). This weekend I'm off to Austin to visit with my friends the Sieks. I'm already thinking about Thailand this summer but have two more mission trips before that one. Cameroon is right around the corner and I would appreciate your prayers as I wrap up all my loose ends before I leave. I also start class next week and I'm looking forward to it. It's a week long course called Learning that Lasts. 

Our lives are busy but we are enjoying them! 

Blessings to you and yours and thanks for being a part of the wonder and joy in my life! 

Caleb

p.s. I have a wonderful mission trip to Cameroon coming up which will cost $1800. Thanks for your prayers and financial support! It is wonderful to have peace buying the tickets knowing that God will use you to get me there and back again :).

If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis (for a mission trip to Cameroon perhaps :) or on a recurring basis, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page. Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my precious children Creed 7, Asher 5, Liam 3, Echo already in heaven and Bella, getting bigger all the time.  

Thanksgiving to Christmas the great race has begun!

So I'm older... it happened again this year... I got older... birthdays are the best, and below is the picture taken closest to that great shift from 31 to 32. Braided beard in a Denny's with my good friend Micah. We were somewhere between Dallas and Granada Colorado on the way to my friend Justice's wedding. Left Thursday at 6:30 pm got there in the wee hours of my birthday morning and then left during the reception around 7 pm the next day... so I was a little tired on Saturday when I got home. Micah was in the wedding and it was nice to be able to drive out there with him! 

Below is a very bad picture of Mark singing at church during offering. So proud of that guy, sharing his talents with the world. He has a great voice! He deserves a better picture... but it's all I got.

So Thanksgiving is a great time for celebrating gratitude and our endless supply of reasons to be grateful. God is so good! It also seems to be the time where kids get to dress up in construction paper outfits and eat at school. Diane made Asher a pilgrim hat for his class (it took so long, it was so funny to jokingly tell her I had crushed it... no really it was funny :), I guess Liam was a Native American... I'm glad my family could represent all the people groups at the first Thanksgiving. 

We enjoyed a small Thanksgiving at home with Joel and Jessica Satre. There were only ten of us :). It was good to have David back from college for half a week. We relaxed enjoyed good food and bad football (poor Cowboys got creamed). The whole weekend was very relaxing and a great break from routine. 

The day after Thanksgiving we enjoyed getting the house ready for Christmas! We all enjoyed wearing Christmas hats and watching Christmas movies (Muppet Christmas Carol is a winner!) and making our house very cozy. We have a huge tree and again contemplated just decorating one of our plants that is also quite big... the kids won out and Diane lost out and again this year we have a beautiful tree. Good stuff! Diane does such a great job on the tree!

That video makes me so happy! Just an example of the fun times to be had during a relaxed weekend. It's great to have time to just hang out and be silly... which is I guess, almost every day for me :). 

Last night we made our gifts to deliver to the retirement home here on the Wycliffe Center. It is filled with the great cloud of witnesses who have left us a legacy to be proud of and to rejoice in being a part of. I love going to the Cowan Apartments and singing carols and hearing their stories! This year our gifts are much better due to Michal joining the team... last year we had a ziploc bag with some stuff in it and this year we have a wonderfully decorated mug with goodies in it. 

After the decorating was over I shared a Christmas story from my youth. The story of the armed robbery, where God showed up and protected our family in an incredible way. This time of year is so great but I've lived through 31 Christmases and it's hard to always get in the Christmas spirit. This year I'm focusing on the wonder of redemption, and the incredible gift of relationship with Jesus, there is so much to be grateful for and my heart is full! 

Thanks so much for being  a part of my adventure! I am a blessed man to have you in my life! 

God is working and it is a privilege to be a part of what he is doing! 

Blessings, 

Caleb

p.s. I have a wonderful mission trip to Cameroon coming up which will cost $1800. Thanks for your prayers and financial support! It is wonderful to have peace buying the tickets knowing that God will use you to get me there and back again :).

If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis (for a mission trip to Cameroon perhaps :) or on a recurring basis, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page. Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my precious children Creed 7, Asher 5, Liam 3, Echo already in heaven and Bella, getting bigger all the time.  

Fall? It's winter here!

Wow! a cold front has come through Dallas and it is wreaking havoc... but creating great reasons to burn that terrible tree that fell on my house... die tree!!!

As with any significant weather change my kids are coughing and sneezing and some to the point where we get to enjoy having them with us all day... instead of the school getting to enjoy them.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself... first let's look at some pictures from when it was not so cold outside.

So I think that I am in the running for cutest family ever... We decided to spend Halloween in as a family and enjoy some time just eating candy and watching a movie and not feeling like another fall festival had to be in our lives. But, we got dressed up anyway, because it is so fun! Diane carved pumpkins with the kids and then took them out to trick or treat in our neighborhood (not the pumpkins our kids), but our neighborhood is not a great one to get candy in... our house served about forty lucky kids though!  

The night before, I enjoyed taking my friend Joel Satre out for his birthday and had him do the Blazing Challenge at Buffalo wild wings... nothing says happy birthday like flames coming out of your body :). Here is the video if you are interested. 

I asked you all to be praying about our car situation, well, I'm happy to report that we have a new car! God in his mercy and grace provided the right opportunity for us and we are proud owners of a white Nissan Sentra. We love it, but our kids are skeptical. Creed really misses the old car... the car of his childhood, lol, and he cried when we drove it off. Here is a picture if him and Asher by the car. I tell you, they care more about the car than the cat :). 

So what other random stuff? well our kids had Monday off last week, I guess it was 'November we need a day off' day and so we took them to a museum. It was a really fun time out and about with them. It's a pretty cool museum. 

Liam wasn't interested in photos... he was much more interested in just wandering around... and we let him :). 

This week the kids have been sick and so we have had them with us at work. My in-laws got me a cool basketball hoop and I am already putting it to great use with my kids needing something to entertain themselves with :). 

Liam needs more to do than Bella :). 

Another wonderful random thing was getting to have breakfast with Diane last Friday. She is so creative with her food. Does anyone else think Pacman here? 

Life is cold... which for Diane means life is cranky... but life is so good and we are so blessed... I'm so very thankful for all that God is doing in our lives right now! 

Please be praying for 

Our kids to get completely well, so we don't have the pleasure of their company all the time :) I mean so that they can be happy and healthy and feel more joy. 

Our indoor team plays its last game this Sunday, unfortunately one of our players ruptured his Achilles in the last game. Please pray for him as he needs surgery and also pray that there are no more injuries. 

Thank you for being a part of my life! I'm deeply grateful for you and your role in making my dreams come true. I love this incredible job that I get to do because of you! I'm so thankful for you all and pray for you often! Please feel free to let me know if you have any specific prayer requests. 

Speaking of the ministry... we are enjoying going through Mere Christianity and hope to finish Book 2 early next year. This past weekend we went Bowling; it was so much fun! This Saturday we are serving at Mission Arlington. The week of Thanksgiving we are doing a worship and reflection night which is always a great time! But, what I'm really looking forward to is our talent show coming up soon. It will be a part of our Christmas party and is going to be epic! 

God gives us his best! He loves us so much! He is good and he is faithful! I hope that he warms our hearts (and Diane's whole body :) this Holiday season!  

Blessings, 

Caleb

p.s. I have a wonderful mission trip to Cameroon coming up which will cost $1800. Thanks for your prayers and financial support! It is wonderful to have peace buying the tickets knowing that God will use you to get me there and back again :).

If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis (for a mission trip to Cameroon perhaps :) or on a recurring basis, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page. Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my precious children Creed 7, Asher 5, Liam 3, Echo already in heaven and Bella, getting bigger all the time. 

Costumes are everywhere!

Liam is now 3 years old believe it or not! Liam you are such an amazing little boy... you have such a sweet spirit and joyful heart. I love your smiles and hugs and I'm so proud of you! I'm glad God gave us such a wonderful little boy like you! Happy Birthday my big 3 year old! 

Yes it's that time of year again when my kids dress up constantly and expect candy for their trouble :). Fall festivals abound and our lives seem to get even more hectic as we parade ninjas and what nots around the metroplex seeking out friendly people with trunks filled to brimming with candy. 

 

I just can't get over how amazingly cute Bella is! What a wonderful gift from God! She is beloved everywhere we go and sometimes we forget we have her with us because people will just come up and take her away and not come back for hours... Liam reprises his role as Batman again this year. Hey if it works it works! (That was deep and you can borrow it if you want :)

Last Saturday was another day filled with activity! The fall festival at our church (see pics above) and the MK service day (see pics below) kept us from being bored all day :). It was great getting out there with the MKs and getting stuff done! We were able to get a lot of storm clean up taken care of as well as odds and ends here and there for people. It is so nice getting to work along side the kids, that is often when I feel like I get to know them the best!

So two weekend ago my brother in law drove up to see us and low and behold this girl appeared on my couch in the morning. I later discovered that my good man David has a girlfriend that he has been hiding... er um... just not thinking about telling us about. Any way I immediately got photographic evidence of her existence so that we could all share in the joy of this new relationship. She seemed nice during the 20 minutes I got to see her. 

 

I have been working on my prayer life of late and have been inspired to create what I fondly call a prayer garden :). It has been really fun getting out there and spending time with God. I'm dreaming and learning and getting excited more and more about what I'm hearing. God gives us his best! How could he do otherwise?

This last week has been challenging in some respects...

Our beautiful red Corolla is going the way of our beloved cat Cinnamon... its dead (too soon?). Any way the repairs out weigh the value of the car as it stands so time to buy a new one. This is exciting but also a financial adventure, fortunately the car runs and should be okay to drive until something else can be found. Pray for wisdom! 

In other sad news the Cowboys lost last night... bummer... I guess it's all part of their journey to the Superbowl... but 15 and 1 would have been so cool... I guess 14 and 2 is okay. Also our indoor team suffered its first loss. We finally played a full team and they were pretty good... kinda shocked us after what we have experienced so far. After a slow first half we came out strong in the second and finished the game well. Stuff like this is such a good reminder of what is really important. During the game one of their players went down with an injury and I ran over and offered to pray, he got up before I could, but the opportunity was there. After the game we felt good about how we played, but more importantly we were all gracious losers. It's good to have tests no matter how small, things that humble you, but also test how you respond to small adversities. Sometimes everything seems to be going great and sometimes a lot of little disappointments pile up on themselves. That's kind of how it feels right now, but I have so much joy in the journey, I know God is with me and using all this stuff to give me what is best for me.

So in response... 

God thanks for your love and the joy of knowing you! 

God thanks for the people you have raised up to support me and make my dreams a reality! 

God thanks for losses, and tests, and adversity, that helps me see a bigger picture, one where you are completely in control and showing me how to cling to you through it all.

So, yes I do want to curl up and cry in my Cowboys snuggie to mourn their loss... but I won't! All I have to do is think about my wonderful kids and wife, and the amazing community that I get to live in and I couldn't be more grateful or any happier for all the things that God has given me! 

I pray that you see His best in your life this week! 

Blessings on you all!  

Caleb

p.s. I have a wonderful mission trip to Cameroon coming up which will cost $1800. Thanks for your prayers and financial support! It is wonderful to have peace buying the tickets knowing that God will use you to get me there and back again :).

If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis (for a mission trip to Cameroon perhaps :) or on a recurring basis, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page. Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my precious children Creed 7, Asher 5, Liam 3, Echo already in heaven and Bella, getting bigger all the time.