Hello Charleston!

A few weeks ago our family headed off for South Carolina. We went up to visit some family and relax. Our trip started off a little bumpy...

Our favorite breakfast place is the Lost Dog Cafe. 

         

Our favorite lunch place is Taco Boy! We were there almost everyday! ;)

If we stayed on the island we loved places like the Noisy Oyster (food pictured is from the Noisy Oyster) or Loggerheads.

Plus Kendall got to ride in Papa's golf cart!

We went to a new steakhouse called Burwell's. The food was really good! 

The steak with cheese grits... Mmmmmm!

We love the Charleston City Market!

 

  

The beach was beautiful! We spent a few days on it before the rain moved in!

We absolutely loved our time away. It was a great time with extended family! South Carolina is one of our favorite places to go. Not to mention all the delicious food!

Hope you all are having a great weekend! 

In His Love, 

Jennis

The Dilemma

This year is Kendall's first year of kindergarten. We had decided years ago that we would homeschool our daughter. I love teaching and we love having her with us. A few weeks ago we found out that one of our friends would have her own kindergarten classroom this year! We were so excited for her and contemplated sending Kendall to school. We decided we would just pray about it and see how God led us.

We weighed our options:

Sending her to school-

• Great teacher
• Shots 
• Physical
• Supplies
• New friends
• Pulling her out early to go to Africa.
• Joe would not get to see a lot of her.

Keeping her home-

• Great teacher ;)
• Ordering homeschool materials can be costly.
• We started homeschooling last year already and have some of her curriculum.
• Working with her one on one.
• Having a flexible schedule.
• Having a closet stocked with supplies she may need.
• We can homeschool in Africa.

In the end it wasn't about whether we thought one was better than the other. We wanted God to lead and have the best one that would work for our family. Obviously, Joe barely seeing her would not work, and we really didn't feel good about her not being able to finish the year there. So we're keeping her home! Yesterday was our first "official" day of school. Monday we took a field trip to Universal! One of the blessings of homeschooling!

“What is most important and valuable about the home as a base for children's growth into the world is not that it is a better school than the schools, but that it isn't a school at all.” - John Holt

Hope you are having a great week! 

In His Love, 

Jennis

Never Will I Ever

There are certain foods I DO NOT LIKE to eat. (Sorry about all the yelling!)

1) Onions

2) Yellow Rice

3) Peas

I do not eat them Sam-I-am.

Yesterday, I was searching for something good for dinner. We didn't have church and it was going to be a good time for family and relaxation. I came across this recipe on PW's website for Chicken Tikka Masala. It looked really good except it held those three ingredients. Blech.

The onions I decided I could chop up really fine and I would be okay. They smelled so good cooking with the butter which is a first for me...

Next was the yellow rice. I don't think I have eaten yellow rice since I was five. Literally. Just the smell of it can make me gag sick. All I had to do was put Basmati rice, butter, chicken stock, and tumeric in the rice maker and walk away. I was pretty sure I could do that. Then if I didn't like it I could always make my own rice.

The rice was actually really good. Maybe it's a particular spice they use to turn it yellow? I don't know.

Dinner was really good. I think what surprised me most was the verocity in which my five year old was eating the new meal. Kendall kept telling me, "Your a really talented cook, Mom!" So the onions and homemade yellow rice are good. I won't be saying never will I ever eat that again, because I might just like it. 

What? The peas you ask? Ummm... I decided I was being adventurous enough for one day. That we would go for chocolate chip cookies instead. ;)

Hope you're having a great week!!! 

In His Love, 

Jennis

Beauty for Ashes

Guess what? The Mercy House has new items in their shop!!! 

Check out a few of my favorites!     

              

I love this new line and the verse that inspired them! 

"To console those who mourn in Zion, 

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness, 

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

Isaiah 61:3

After we got the call for missions and Joe was back from Africa we were about to have a family quiet time. Joe told me to pray for God to bring me a verse that we could discuss. God gave me Luke 4:18. Which "funnily" enough is from Isaiah 61:1 about the year of the Lord's favor.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because He has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,"

Luke 4:18

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me 

to bring good news to the poor;

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, 

to proclaim liberty to the captives, 

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;"

Isaiah 61:1

God is so good. He continues to confirm our call to missions even with all the confirmations He's already given us. I just cried after reading it. I am so grateful for what He is doing. He is amazing! Obviously, these verses hold special meaning for our family!

If you have never heard of The Mercy House and would like to know more you can do that here. Or you can read the blog I posted about them here.  I just love what Mercy House is doing in Kenya and the way that God is moving there! This week they moved into their new house. While supplies last you can help with moving costs by buying this beautiful rose cuff bracelet from Everyday Icing! 100% of the proceeds goes to Mercy House! While you're on their site check out their new line and Love Mercy with me!  :)

In His Amazing Love,

Jennis