Some of Samuel's Favorite Things

I just love little video clips of the kids.  Tonight's videos are a few of Samuel's favorite things: giggling, Benjamin's tent, and Praise Baby.  I need to record and post some videos soon of Benjamin and Eloisa playing. (It's difficult to do because every time I point the camera at them they stop talking.)  Their conversations with each other are just hilarious.  Isa's vocabulary continues to explode and the more words she learns the cuter they are playing together.  (Listen for them talking in the tent video.  Ben: Isa, please may I play with your box?  Isa: No Ben: Okay, maybe my just play with my box.)

Password to all three is MoserKids.

Samuel's first four teeth came through this month. Drew was trying to look at them which is why he was holding Samuel like this and Samuel thought it was funny.

Giggles from drewandbekah on Vimeo.

Seriously, how precious is our little praiser?  Sam has always just loved these videos and now that he is mobile he always plants himself right in front of the tv screen.

Praise Baby from drewandbekah on Vimeo.

Samuel crawls in and out of this tent 100 times a day. I need to get a video of him hyperventilating with excitement when we get it out in the morning. It's really quite funny.

Tent from drewandbekah on Vimeo.

February Update (A few days early...)

Friends and Family--

Hello from Canada! This email/blog post can’t show it, but I’m smiling as I type this. Why you ask? Because the sun does exist! We’ve actually seen the evidence! We were blessed with a few sunny days last week; a rare occasion for a wet and cold Vancouver winter. 

We trust you all are fully recovered from the holiday season, sticking to your New Year’s Resolutions, and anxiously awaiting the Super Bowl. Well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad, right? 

Things here in Vancouver are as busy as ever. We’re roughly 2 months away from finishing our apprenticeship. It’s hard to believe we’re coming to the end of our training. To help us end well, the staff here is walking with us through a major project called our “Life Compass”. It’s been a fascinating exercise so far, as we look back to our past experiences and relationships, glean from personality assessments and spiritual gift inventories, reflect on our God given gifts, skills, and formulate a vision for our future. It’s an enlightening, inspiring, yet spiritually demanding process. 

We’re halfway through our Life Compass project, and Friday we begin to look forward. This is a crucial step for our family, as we’re still waiting on God’s call for our next step. 

This is what we know: our apprenticeship ends on April 3. We plan on spending April back in the midwest (possibly longer), reconnecting with our friends and family there. Hopefully we can squeeze a Cubs game in there somewhere! Beyond that, our future is still up in the air. 

Which brings us to you. You all have been so incredibly faithful in supporting our ministry through prayer and finances, and we’re asking you to continue in the good work you’ve started. We need your prayers, specifically over the next 10 days as we seek clarity for our future. Will you pray with/for us? Pray for wisdom, discernment, provision, peace, and clarity regarding our future. Also, please pray for unity as Bekah and I go before God and seek His will for our family. We have inklings; tiny glimmers of what’s next. But we’re anxious to get a fuller picture. 

Our hope is to share with you all a vision for our future which we are passionate about, excited about, and ready to implement very soon! 

As always, we are incredibly grateful for your prayers, encouragement, and financial support. We are blessed beyond measure by your generosity. We continue to thank you for it and need it. If you’re interested in donating to our family’s mission, click on the link below to give online, or contact us about donating through the mail. We’re always looking for more people to invest in our work in carrying out God’s mission in Vancouver. 

Know that we miss you all and would LOVE to hear from you. 

The Mosers [Drew, Bekah, Ben, Isa, and Sam]

[Donate to the Moser family's mission in Vancouver! Click HERE to give online.]

The SUN!!!

Isa and her boyfriend, Tim. They are waiting for Faith Dog to return with the ball.We love the swings. So fun. So contained.

It's not very often that we get to be at the park and actually see those gorgeous mountains.

[Donate to the Moser family's mission in Vancouver! Click HERE to give online.]

More Mohawk Pictures

I put two drops of Burt's Bees Baby Oil in Samuel's hair last night and brushed it backwards once.  These are the adorable results:

[Donate to the Moser family's mission in Vancouver! Click HERE to give online.]

Community

The most beautiful definition of community Drew and I have is the 2-3 days every year that we spend with a group of friends from college. We graduated almost 7 years ago but 3 years ago began a tradition that we trust and pray will continue until we're old. We meet for a weekend to share our pain and joy of the past year, pray for each other, and laugh until we cry as we share stories and memories. It is such a sweet time. Until next year, friends. We love you. Your prayers for us and our children ministered and brought healing to our souls. (Don't worry, we didn't forget Sam somewhere in the house. He didn't make the photo because he was napping.)

The obligatory fake laugh photo.

Noodle Art

Drew took Eloisa to the doctor on Tuesday morning and Samuel was sleeping so Benjamin and I had some quality craft time together.  I can't remember where I saw or read about noodle art but we had so much fun.  Here is Benjamin giving it two thumbs up. 

Here is his first piece.  A tree and a spaceship.
And the second masterpiece is of a sun and balloons and sidewalks according to Benjamin.
This is the picture I made for Benjamin of Liesl and him.
Isa came home as we were finishing up so she got in on the action.  I realized that this is the perfect craft for my 2 yr old who loves to eat glue and smear marker all over her lips.  She would put one noodle on her paper, eat a noodle, and then put another one on her paper.  It was hilarious to watch her.  'Yay' for edible crafts. 

Daddy and Samuel just watched and looked cute.

Noodle Art Tips: Boil the noodles for half the time recommended with a little bit of oil.  Drain and then go crazy.  Ben and Isa had a blast cutting the noodles with their little plastic knives.  After you are finished with your picture, place wax paper over it and set a heavy book on top for a little while.  Uncover and then hang.  Put a magnet or tacks on each corner otherwise the picture will curl.

Prayer for Abby

Just wanted to ask anyone that reads this blog to pray for sweet Abby as tomorrow she begins the worst phase of her chemo. "Hell" is the word Abby's doctors used to describe the next 60 days of treatment. If she survives them, she may have to do it again because of the aggressive form of Leukemia that she has. This family has stolen my heart and you can read one of my favorite posts on the reason for prayer Abby's dad wrote HERE.

Recent Photos

I haven't downloaded these pictures to our computer yet so I haven't been able to crop, fix red-eye, etc. But for those going through Benjamin, Eloisa and Samuel withdrawal, I didn't think you would mind. Below: Who doesn't love a baby in just boots and a diaper? I told Isa to give me a 'mad face'. Pretty good.

Benjamin hanging out in a Costco box. I asked him to smile for me and this is him telling me to be quiet because he was busy.

Beautiful Isa.

This little one is changing too fast.

Samuel is constantly entertained by Benjamin's dancing.

Sweet smile.

I love Samuel's fat feet and so does he.

Without a computer

We have been without a computer for a week and a half and won't get our Mac back until Friday so that explains the lack of posting recently. This afternoon I am enjoying catching up on some emails and blogs because our dear friends downstairs are letting us use their computer. We have borrowed T and K's computer multiple times this week but today was the first time I have had enough down time to sit down and get anything done.

My two favorite Benjamin prayers from the past week:

1. "Thank you God for our great life and thank you for our great day and please take Liesl (my brother's dog who became my parent's dog when Josh and Janelle went into missions who became Drew and I's dog when we got married and who now resides again at my mom's house) to the jungle. Amen." I said, "Benjamin, why do you want God to put Liesl in the jungle?" He replied, "That why she a bad dog. She bark too much and eat our food so much." (At Christmas, Liesl ate an entire bag of chocolate chip cookies my Grandma Ruth had made for the kids to enjoy. And the barking, hmmmm, maybe my disdain for her barking was a little too obvious over the holidays.) Better watch yourself Liesl! You may wake up and find yourself in the jungle one of these days.

2. The kids were praying at breakfast and Isa really wanted Sam to have a turn. Benjamin said, "I'll help you, Sam!" He jumped up, folded Sam's hands and said, "Thank you God for the pacifier. Amen." Ha! Yes indeed, thank you Lord for the pacifier.

A Big Thanks...

We're back safe and sound here in Vancouver. The kids survived the flight and did really well, all things considered.

It was so good to see so many of you. We miss our good dear friends from the Midwest, and wished we had more time with all of you. It was encouraging to hear of how many of you actually take the time to log on, come to this blog, and keep up on our lives. Your prayers, your vested interest, and your care for us are such a blessing. We continue to covet your prayers, specifically regarding our future. We have a few open doors, and need some wisdom and guidance as to which one to step through.

We love you all and miss you already!

The Mosers

[Donate to the Moser family's mission in Vancouver! Click HERE to give online.]

Heading home...

We're still waiting on Matt's infection/blockage to heal, but he's feeling a ton better. Thanks for your prayers.

We're just about to head out the door to the airport. The hospital is on the way, so we'll stop by and say goodbye to Matt and Julie and then head up to Detroit. We fly to Seattle, and then drive up across the border to Canada.

We would love your prayers for the flight. Pray for calm kids (and parents), a smooth flight, and safe travel.

Thanks!

[Donate to the Moser family's mission in Vancouver! Click HERE to give online.]

Update on Matt

Matt is doing better today. The awful hiccups are gone and he is receiving antibiotics to fight the infection so he said his pain was better today. They were waiting on some blood work to know the exact antibiotics he needs to be receiving to get rid of this infection pocket caused by his chemo. Please continue to pray for healing and strength. Benjamin asked us on the way home from the hospital, "Mama, why Uncle Matt is sick? Why Jesus not heal him?" My 3 year old is challenging my faith daily with his questions. Drives me to my knees so that's not a bad thing.

Please Pray

Updated 7:00pm: They are transferring Matt to The Toledo Hospital right now because it is a bigger hospital and there are more specialists. Now they think that the obstruction is actually chemo related and he will have to be in a sterile environment (we assume no visitors) and be treated with antibiotics. Please pray for a quick recovery and pray against hiccups. He has had these violent hiccups all day that are just adding to the pain and discomfort and nothing is helping. Pray for my brother's wife, Julie, as she heads into her second sleepless night.

My brother, Matt, was admitted to the hospital last night. He is having severe pain and there is some sort of obstruction in his intestines. It may be scar tissue from his surgery in August. Please pray the obstruction would clear on its own and that they don't have to do another surgery. They will do more x-rays tomorrow and then determine what will have to happen.

[Donate to the Moser family's mission in Vancouver! Click HERE to give online.]