Summer Time in Wisconsin

Greetings Friends and Family,

Ellie doing some painting

        It is a lovely day here in Appleton, WI!  The sun is shining and a light breeze plays over our freshly planted flowers.  Most people seem to have a small spring in their step…everyone…but me.  You will see me waddling around with feet the size of boulders and wearing a “if looks could kill” expression on my face…that would be me, folks! Sigh – we will be at 35 weeks pregnant this Saturday and I have officially entered the “get this kid out of me” red zone.  I hope I don’t appear to scary to others….I am trying to keep it under control.  My sweet husband has been picking his battles very cautiously these days.  I get to have the air conditioner on at night already due to the massive amounts of heat pouring off me and he hasn’t said one negative comment about my cooking!!!  In fact I get a, “This is great!” and “Mom, you are the best cook ever!”  Aww, my sweet family is so good to me!  Ellie and Morgan even said in the car yesterday, (Ellie) “Mom, your feet aren’t that big!”  (Morgan) “No Mom, they are big, but I like big feet!” Ellie has been extra supportive and sweet.  My very perceptive daughter has pinpointed one of my biggest struggles in life.  She noticed me poking at my double chin the other day and said in a slight scolding tone, “Mom, are you feeling bad about yourself again?” (me), “Yes”, (Ellie) “Mom, you are beautiful!”  Out of the mouths of babes, my friends.  So, as you can see, and for those of you who know me,  pregnancy is tough on my already fragile self image.  This is a battle I have struggled with for as long as I can remember.  God has used these four pregnancies to painfully remind me that my value doesn’t come in the size of my jeans or how many chins I have, but in Him.  I would love to say I have grasped this truth and can be joyful at any size, but alas I’m not where I want to be.  We all have our demons and this is one of my biggest.

Caroline Doing the Dishes

                Daniel and I continue to LOVE our new home and relish in the joy of having people in it.  As Daniel said in his update our little house might not be up to par in size for all the wonderful people flooding into it, but I don’t care a bit!  We can all just get cozy!  It seems we have crossed from “Church Planning” to “Church Planting” this month.  We have had two bible studies in our home and they went very well.  I am overwhelmed by the tangible fact that this is happening.  It is very exciting!  I just love the way the Lord has paved the way for us and the specific ways we do ministry.  For example, I was telling Daniel on Sunday night, as we put away chairs and picked up soda cans around the house after the Bible Study, that God knew that we needed to ease into this, or maybe that I needed that.  When we came to Appleton there was already a Community Group going out from Jacob’s Well Presbyterian Church that we became a part of.  The key phrase here is "a part of."  We didn’t jump right into a leadership role, but were able to get to know the Appleton Community Group of Jacob’s Well.  I felt at home there and established friends.  Now these wonderful people know us (or know us better than anyone else here) and while we are now climbing into a leadership role I feel we aren’t alone in this pursuit.  We have a group of people here who are truly “for us” in this and support this great desire to start a church.
            I have also been blessed by a strong and amazing group of women in this group.  While we met with the Community Group this past winter and spring we had a wonderful time at the end of each study where the women and men broke off into two groups and had a time of discussion and prayer.  I was able to get to know these incredible women and see their hearts and them see mine.  I found that it really cemented our group together.  Most of these women are now a part of our church plant, so when a situation arose a few weeks ago I was able to call on them.  There was a woman who started coming to our group who was homeless and her 30^th birthday was coming up and she had mentioned she wouldn’t be celebrating it. Daniel was going out of town and he wanted me to have her over for ice-cream and cake.  It was very last minute, but I sent word out and we were able to enjoy a girl’s night and celebrate our friend as she turned 30.  I was very touched to see such a response by my friends. (Thanks, Ladies!)

                I switch gears now to give you an update on the little ladies in my life.  Ellie just finished 2nd grade.  My baby is growing up so fast!  During the last few months she has been learning some new study skills at school and she had a geography test this past Tuesday.  I had a blast studying with her…I was able to brush up on some of my geography skills myself!  See, why can’t we go to school NOW when we actually care about learning!!  Ellie continues to be a wonderful role model to her little sisters.  She plays “doggie” with Morgan even though she would rather not and totes Care-Bear around on her hip like a little pro.  Caroline has learned to say “Ellie” (comes out more like “Eeie” with just a hint of a “L” in there somewhere) Ellie’s face just lights up when Caroline reaches her little cubby arms out to her to be picked up.  My heart melts!  Ellie continues to love crafts and yesterday put together an abstract "something" with all the recycling.  We have decided to sell it on Ebay and will start the bidding at one thousand dollars!

                Morgan has been hanging in there at home with her pregnant mother and her little sister.  She was counting down the days until Ellie was free d from her 2^nd grade obligations.  Now she has her companion back for more important things like make forts and mud pies.  She did have a fun opportunity to go to New York with Daddy and the rest of the Breed family for 5 days to celebrate Great-Grandma Virginia’s 100^th birthday.  I wish you could have seen her, my friends.  She was so excited, and when I dropped Daddy and Morgan off at the airport I was bummed I didn’t have my camera with me (grated it was 4:30 in the morning).  She was so cute walking into the airport pulling her little Hello Kitty pink roller suitcase!  Ahh, it kills me! She had a great time with Daddy and the family.  Morgan continues to amaze me with her insightful questions.  She asked me the other day if people would remember her when she died.  This is a five year old....  She is really excited to be starting Kindergarten and likes to tell Caroline that she won’t be around at home for much longer. Love it!

Caroline and our new friend Samantha

                Caroline….wow, what a kid!  It’s a darn good thing she is so cute!  She is at the testing stage and she even has a look she gets when she is about to test us. “No, Caroline don’t do it!!” (sigh).  We found a little Winnie the Pooh riding car in someone’s out going trash pile a few months ago.  The little car was in perfect condition though the little song it sings is really annoying.  She has mastered that little car and now Morgan, Caroline and mommy ride and waddle around the block almost every morning.  I have to say while my kids make me want to bang my head against a wall a couple times a day there is never a lack of entertainment around this house!  I put on some good dancing music the other night after dinner when the whining had reached a scary level and when Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson came on the “rhythm” or something like it grabbed all three girls!  Ellie starts walking around the kitchen bopping her head like a chicken, Morgan got a very serious look on her face and started whipping around, arms extended and throwing a leg out here and there almost hitting the bopping chicken dancer a few times.  Then there was Caroline who had a side to side waggle thing going on and as Michael got more into his song Caroline tucked her right arm into her side and started jerking it back and forth!  It’s her special move. I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe! 
               Well, that concludes my May update.  Thank you for your prayers and messages.  May the Lord bless you and keep you safe during this summer months.  You will hear from us again soon, but probably not before this family of five becomes a family of six!

Love to all!

Erin