Coming Soon: Julius the Goldendoodle!

I want to share my excitement! Julius, our goldendoodle will be here on Sunday, April 13th! We are so excited!

L.A. Dream Center Prayer Points

Ross & I will be leaving on our mission's trip to L.A. Dream Center in less than a week! My mom is flying down here to stay with Ezra for a week! What a blessing for us! Please keep her safety in prayer and her time with Ezra.

Please partner with our mission's team as we prepare to leave. Below are some prayer points that need prayer!

• A few students and leaders are still getting the last of the money together for the trip. Pray that the Lord will bless them with the finances.
  
• Be praying for the people that we will be ministering to and serving at the Dream Center. Pray that the Lord is preparing their hearts to see the love of Christ.
  
• Pray that we will have a seal of protection around us. Pray for safety in getting to the church early Monday morning, travel to the airport, flight, safety around L.A. at the Dream Center, safety at the theme parks, and travel back. ( Pray Psalm 91)
  
• Unity for our team. Be praying that we will be able to all work together for one purpose….to bring glory to God.
  
• Pray for boldness. We will be required to be stretched in many new ways. Many of us will interact with people that seem much different than us and asked to do things in ministry that we have never done. Pray that we will have BOLDNESS to serve them and to show that they are loved. Pray that we will have BOLDNESS to step out of our comfort zone.
  
• Pray that we will have compassion. Pray that our hearts will break for what break’s the Lords.
  
• Pray that the leaders will have wisdom in leading this trip.
  
• Pray that when the mission trip ends, we will be changed. Pray that we will have a deeper understanding of what it means to love and serve others. Pray that our desire to be God’s hands and feet will increase.

I am excited to blog after our trip to let you know that all of you prayers were heard & answered!

Blessings to you all,

Ross & Angel

Easter Picture

I didn't get any pictures of us all dressed up Easter Sunday. Ross was very handsome in his suit, but left before Ezra and I were out of bed. (He played music for 2 of the services at church.) I did childcare, so I was rushing out and forgot the camera. After the services, we went to a friends house and Ezra had a Easter Egg hunt at their house. He had a great time. We BBQ ed. We got home close to 7pm, so by then we were not as dolled up and were not in the mood to have a family Easter picture taken....

So all the to say, this one picture of Ezra Saturday morning with his basket will do.

He either really likes his basket, or was glad that I was done giving him the 5 minute spiel about what Easter is really about and it is okay to have fun w/ eggs and bunnies, but the true meaning of Easter is about how Jesus died on the cross for our sins and 3 days later was resurrected!

The Bible in a Year

I have felt a strong desire lately to spend more time in the Bible every day. I am involved in an in depth bible study at my church. Which gives me 5 days a week of 45 minutes in each session at home. Then of course we are at church Sundays and Wednesdays as well as my Women's bible study on Tuesdays. To some this may seem like a lot of church, getting the Word in me, etc. However, lately I have been feeling like it isn't enough to satisfy my craving for God's Word. Which, I am very thankful that I have not become satisfied. I want to immerse my whole world in God's Word.

The past couple of weeks I have heard people talking about reading the bible through in a year. Some ladies in my bible study have done it for 11 years straight and some lots more! I was really encouraged to take this on and apply it to my daily life....just like taking a shower or brushing my teeth. My goal is to not be able to sleep if I haven't done my daily reading of God's Word. This is in addition to my regular bible study that I do with the church.

So, I am only on day three of my conquest to read the bible through in a year....each year.

I am writing this out to you all, so that I can vocalize my mission and commitment. That way in the beginning when it is a struggle to keep it going I will have you all to answer to when you ask me how it is going!

*In NO way am I laying this out there to condemn or make me look really holy!*

It would be awesome if any of you would like to join me in this effort of saturating ourselves with God's Word. Let me know if you would like to do this too or if you already do this everyday!

There are great bibles out there that are designed to read through in a year.
Check this site out http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/ There are also sites that will e-mail you your reading daily, if that works for you better.

Meet Our Puppy

We picked a puppy! Meet the newest member of the Ross Jackson household....Julius. Yes, named after Julius Caesar. The name was Ross' idea....it grew on me. Ezra says it really cute and surprisingly well. Julius will be flown to us around April 13th! We are getting excited to meet him!

These are the updated pictures of our puppy's siblings.

female
female
male

Ezra's Room

Ezra miraculously took a nap 2 days ago, so it was my chance to paint his room. I knew I loved this paint color, but didn't know what theme I would go with. Well, once it was on the walls, it reminded me of the ocean. So, that his how the theme has come.....Nautical. I want it to have vintage nautical stuff. It will take me awhile to locate the right decorations for the room, but garage sale season is coming! I did find a few things at Ross Dress for Less yesterday. They still need to be hung on the walls.

The tape on the ceilings needs to come off.=) I am going to get fishing net and put in the corner where his bed is.

I want this boat to go on a shelf

Just a little thing I found for cheap yesterday....fit the theme for the right price.=)

I'm on the lookout for vintage life preserver rings and oars to hang on the wall!

Serve Olympia

The Mission Team that is going to L.A. in April got together to do community service in Olympia! We shoveled a HUGE pile of mulch and wheelbarreled it to trees in a park and spread the mulch out for a nice looking touch to the park, and I guess it protects the trees.

Anyway, we had so much fun working together! No matter the task, if you have great company it makes the load light and FUN! The pictures are all out of order....

Big Boy Ezra

Ezra is losing his baby face. I am noticing it more when he sleeps. He no longer looks like a baby. He now looks like a little boy. *Sigh*. It does go by way to fast, huh? Ezra is talking sooo much now too! He is talking in complete sentences and knows more words than we can count. He surprises us daily by the words he knows. I love being a mom and seeing my child grow. I am trying to cherish every moment.