Leaving for Ecuador!

We are currently on the bus and headed to Jacksonville, then to Miami and onto Ecuador!!

Pray for us, specifically for health and Gods will to be done and safe travels!

Missing in {summertime} action...

Summer is in full swing! We have been so busy, ya know, having fun, going to the beach, swimming and traveling! It's funny how we are much busier than I expected to be, I am loving being home with the kids though!

But I am back, now that I have Ecuador to report...it's coming up!!

mommy and k

Love this baby SO much!

Race #10

This picture says so much.

 It has a very emotional meaning to me. This was last Saturday April 14, this was my 10th 5K Race. It was for the Ronald McDonald House Charity. This was my very first 5K ever- last year and my time was 34:23, I was 88 of 165. This year my time was 28.39, I was 44 of 174. I was elated to see that I had come so far in a year! I am proud of all my hard work! And I owe it all to My good Lord for giving me the strength, ability for physical activity, and the drive to succeed at these races! During the race I always find myself asking God for 'more' to get to the end and finish strong and He always shows me I am stronger than I think! Thank you to my wonderful Scott for always encouraging me and letting me find the time to run, even after he has had a long day or week at work.

I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13

Date Night

 

I decided to surprise Scott with a "date night" in this week! He had been wanting to see this movie, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, so I rented it and got all the movie goodies to go along with it! We enjoyed the time together and it was special to see how excited he was when he got home from work!

The note reads: looking forward to our "date night"at home! Thank you for loving me so much!

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Humidity Hair!

On Sunday I had a function to attend so the kids had the afternoon with daddy in the back yard! Which means they learn something or build something or mow the lawn or just get dirty! In this case they learned how to drop kick a ball! It was really warm on Sunday and the humidity was really high and I happen to catch a few pics of Kendall's hair and they are so funny to me because I know how it feels to have hair like this in the summer!

right before bath time!

drop kick in action!

a halo of hair!

sweet moment

Sweet Cuddle between our babies! They slept like this for about an hour! She wrapped her arms around him and he went right to sleep {and so did she}!

Rose Bush

 

We have the most beautiful rose bush that blooms right in front of our house and right now there are hundreds of little buds! It's a gorgeous redish-hot pinkish color! and Kendall loves looking for new flowers everyday! A sure sign that spring is here and lots of color to brighten our walkway!

 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Col. 1:16-17

ONE STEP CLOSER!

We can now leave the country! Woop!

Easter 2012

1 Corinthians 12:27
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (NIV)

What a great Easter weekend!  Kendall was out of school on Good Friday and she couldn't quite understand why until I had an opportunity to tell her about the story of Easter, I read four different children's Bible versions to her and Cole. It was a great way I could teach our kids about Easter and what it means to us! I am so thankful for a church that helps with that teaching also!

Saturday, we had a fun birthday party to go to in Richmond Hill and then we had a few hours between that and church and had some down time! Off to church we went in our Easter best! We had a family portrait done complimentary at church that they always do on Easter! (we will get it next weekend) And then home to have a pizza party picnic in the living room floor and off to bed to wait for the Easter Bunny!

Sunday, up and at em' early to see the goodies! New bathing suits, bouncy balls and bubbles were the biggest hits! Then, off to The Fournier's to have Easter dinner!

Loot!

The Fam!

Love her so much!

Happy Easter!

beach days are here!

We have had two awesome days at the beach!! The kids are asking everyday if we can go to the beach so I think we will be spending a lot of our summer there! 

The water is still cold, so we played in the sand and took some walks!

Beach Babies!

Favorite pic of him!

Cole loved being in all that sand!

Kendall loved being all the way buried!

The Bomb Meatloaf!

My kids ate this like CRAZY! Scott also loves meatloaf but I think he likes traditional better...But I wanted to pair it with onions somehow, so, I googled onion gravy {because everything is better with gravy, right?}? To my surprise there were several returns on my search and this is the one i chose to base my own recipe off of.

 I changed it a little and mine definitely was more translucent than recipe. I did not have any bouillon in the house so I just added some extra herbs, like dill and herbs de province and added mushrooms. It was delish, AND both kids ate at least two helpings and leftovers. word.

I also used ground sirloin instead of whatever they called for in the recipe! The reason for the grease :)

Birchbox Arrived!

I was SOOOOOOOOOO excited when my opened my mailbox and saw this little Birchbox beauty in there!

It's a pretty pink box and small enough to fit in the mailbox!

Then, it's a simple cardboard box that is filled with awesome goodies!

 

Inside was a tinted moisturizer, Stila card with new colors, nail polish, hair serum, perfume and some hot Tea bags for skin! 

It is awesome to get this little jewel in the mail, knowing that I rarely get out to try new beauty products!

Special Date

Dinner before the show!

We went on a special date. Just the two of us!! We had Mexican for dinner and the we were off to see the ballet! A full length showing of Snow White at Savannah Arts Academy! It was amazing! Our dear friend Christina Powell was the Artistic Director and what a fantastic job she did! I have to give a shout out to Trellis Payne and her art students and their artistic ability to help create props, sets and make-up! We love our girl time together and especially a ballet!

She was loving the pics in the program!

 {photo credit: Christina Powell/Savannah Arts Academy Dance Department Facebook Photo}

melt.your.heart.

Love this man and love how tender he is with our children.

past few weeks....

A few days (weeks) have passed since the last entry... SORRY!

We have had some awesome family time in NC the past few weeks. 

Unfortunately, we had to initially go there for a funeral, for a man Scott and I loved dearly, Papa. We will miss him greatly...but we know he is with Jesus and that is a celebration!

We got to go to the park and on a picnic and enjoy the perfect weather! Hendersonville has such nice seasons and it truly was spring... It was gorgeous!

I then headed back to Savannah for our first Missions Meeting! I was so excited to meet all the other people going to Ecuador on our team! {Side note: Scott had to miss the meeting due to his grandfather being really ill in Michigan, he went to visit him, so I represented us both at the meeting!} This team is strong and there are a lot of veterans and I am thankful for that! We talked about our fears and our expectations and it was awesome to hear so many perspectives of what  the trip will bring.



I then hit downtown with my bestie, Corrie, for St.Patrick's Day! It was a blast to hang with my girlfriends!!

Me and Corrie! {disregard Todd in the background!}

 
This video is the music of the town on St. Patrick's Day! Gorgeous Bagpipes!




I then headed back to Hendersonville to pick up the children where we stayed a few more days!

The Flowers were so pretty at Grandma's house!!

My girl and her baby! 

 

Pear Tree blooms were everywhere and gorgeous!

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. Psalm 9:1




{photo credit: http://county-radon.info/NC/Henderson.html}

devotional

I love sitting down to read The Women of Faith Devotional Bible. It has really clear devotions on faith, hope, joy, and grace that are encouragement for everyday! It has helped me tremendously when studying scripture and learning HOW to read the Bible, because let's be honest, the Bible can be intimidating. I also find that reading or looking up scripture is so much easier with the NLVersions of The Bible. It's amazing how much I have grown in Faith just by reading the Bible! :)

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.

 1 Corinthians 16:13,14

ipad

i want it.

Good Read

A really good read Scott sent to me in the Huffington Post," Apologies to the Parents I Judged..." I am guilty of this, too! Follow this link.

wow...

I came home from church on Wednesday night and apparently Kendall had negotiated her way and got to fall asleep on the couch "waiting" for mommy! When I walked in the door, all I could see was her eyeshadow!! She REALLY did it up this time!

SO EXCITED

BIRCHBOX IS COMING!!! FINALLY!!!   Check it out!

Kendall's Running Debut

Her first Kids Fun Run at a Race! We did the "Get your rear in gear" race at Candler Hospital this past weekend and Kendall ROCKED IT OUT, we are so proud of her.

 

She insisted on tucking her shirt in ALL the way :) And there she is coming across the finish line! That's my girl, I hope she loves running as much as her momma!

2012 runs

 2012
Hesse Bear Stomp 5K: #81 of 230 {ran alone} 30.46
Get Your Rear in Gear 5k #172 of 719 {pushing Cole} 33.19



Runs coming up:
Shamrock Run
Red Shoe Run {Ronald McDonald House}
Komen Savannah
Skidaway Island 10K

current series

check it out.

Moved to tears

We received our first missions support check in the mail today. It was from my grandmother. I, of course, burst into tears about the note she wrote us about going to Ecuador.

 My favorite part of the letter was: "May God work in your hearts as you see these people coming to Christ, which is the real meaning of life on earth-to love other people and help supply their needs." I was so moved by those words and she is so right about helping and loving people is the message of God and TRUE Christianity.

I am so thankful to God for her and her contribution to our trip!
 

For we walk by Faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 

Special Sunday!

While visiting family in Hendersonville, I had the chance to go to church with my dad. It was just me and dad and even though we didn't say much during the church service, it was so special to be by his side while listening to the music and the sermon. They sang one of my favorite Savannah Christian Songs, Holy Holy Holy by Hillsong and the sermon was on prayer and I really needed to hear that, with some really effective tools on how to pray and growing in prayer. I am so appreciative of the Faith that was instilled in me from a young age and now I hope to do the same with my kids!

{love this pic of dad and cheryl! taken at forsyth park}

nervous nellie

already, I AM SO NERVOUS about the food in Ecuador. freaking out.


i am a paranoid mess about food.

"Ecuadorian cuisine is diverse, varying with altitude and associated agricultural conditions. Pork, chicken, beef, and cuy (guinea pig) are popular in the mountain regions and are served with a variety of carbohydrate-rich foods, especially rice, corn and potatoes."  (ref. Wikipedia; search Ecuadorian food)


um, also, let me just put this out there...i WILL NOT be eating guinea pig. i will stick with bananas and rice. And Praise the GOOD Lord we are going to be in the beach region!



{pray for me} seriously.

GiGi's House

During our trip to NC, we had a special day at my grandmother's house in Spruce Pine! We loved going to her house, taking in the view and breathing that crisp mountain air! The kids loved it because they rode on her chair all day long! We saw some family we don't always get to see and that was really special!

North Carolina, February 2012

The kids and I went to visit my parents in NC for a whole week! It was wonderful because we got to spend a a lot of time with all of our family while there BUT we sure missed Scott while we were gone! The weather was gorgeous, unseasonably warm, which led us outside and I got some cute pics at the park!

 The tire swing was a huge hit!

 MeMe and the kids! (Kendall striking a pose and Cole not wanting to participate)

 Such a sweet pic of my baby boy!

It was windy and she was laughing about it so hard!

Support Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

We are so excited about the work have been called to do by our God! We feel that God as opened a door for us to travel TOGETHER to do the mighty works of Him. What a great opportunity to show the love of God  to others!

 We are going to be going to Curia, Ecuador this summer, June 23-July 1. We are part of a Global Outreach Team from Savannah Christian Church in Savannah, Georgia. Currently, there is no Holy Spirit led church in the towns of Curia and San Jose, Ecuador. Through our partner, Helping Hands Across Ecuador, we strive to serve and witness to the local people with the goal of mobilizing the gathering of a local church body in this area. We will be participating primarily in spiritual outreach and building facilities for local families.

Our financial goal is $2800. This includes travel expenses, food, transportation, and supplies needed for our work there. We ask that you will prayerfully consider the opportunity to participate financially in this mission trip. Our deadline for financial contributions is April 30, 2012. Your contribution to our trip will be greatly appreciated and knowing that you are supporting people around the world who want to worship and hear the message of Christ throughout the world is a priceless gift to His kingdom.

If you feel led to give, please make your check payable to Savannah Christian Church and designate your check to Ecuador 3/Fournier .Or you can always contact us personally.

However, we feel that prayer is just as important as monetary contributions and we need prayer support:

•  for ourselves and our families as we travel to Ecuador
• that God will prepare the hearts of those in Ecuador
• that God will USE our mission trip team in ALL ways while there

Thank you so much for considering our requests and please feel free to contact us with any questions about our trip! christinefournier24@yahoo.com or scott@jdrcnd.com

Love,

Scott and Christine Fournier

Wednesday Already?

Holy Moly, I can't believe it's Wednesday already and it's mid-February...
 

We have an exciting new addition to our family, Baby Arielle, our new niece, proud parents are Adam (scott's little brother) and Amanda! Amanda is a trooper, she was in labor for a LONG time but it was worth the wait! She was 8.4lbs and we love her so much already! In this photo she is trying to eat both hands at one time, she was about 2 hours old!


Valentine's Day was yesterday and I kind of have a new view on Valentine's Day. I used to think that Valentine's Day was very silly and hokie and why on earth would people waste sooooo much money on the day? But this year, I am thankful for all of the love in my life. I spent $5 total for Scott and the kids, I bought 3 boxes of candy conversation hearts and a dark chocolate/sea salt bar for Scott. They all got homemade cards from me that I made at MOPS last week and I made a really nice dinner and we all got to spend the day together! My dad was here also which made Valentine's extra special this year, he was here helping me with everything because of Scott's surgery! So, Valentine's day isn't that bad after all... :)

On Tuesday, while Scott was recovering from surgery, I went looking for him...in the bedroom, bathroom, kid's rooms and finally found him in the kitchen...he says "I finally found a comfortable position..." Not sure how long he had been standing like that! He's not to happy with me that I got a photo of him this way but I thought it was funny! :)