Ordination Weekend

Date: 11/03/2009
Well, we FINALLY have Rev. Chris Greenwood as part of our family.  It has been a long journey, but know God's timing is perfect.  I will be honest there were times when we were frustrated and even questioned if this is what we were supposed to be doing, but now that we are here when know that it is.  Things have fallen into place over the past few months God has confirmed this is what we are supposed to be doing.  The service on Sunday afternoon was very special.  There are some pictures in the November album that capture the moment.  We are so thankful for the support and encouragement of our church.  They really out did themselves in making this day extra special for Chris. 

We had a fun weekend with all of our parents.  Josiah LOVED having his grandparents here playing with him and holding him none stop.  I was a little worried that today was going to be a little difficult with him not having constant attention, but he has done a great job!

Today we went to Pumpkinville as a little family.  We got to see all kinds of animals and even got to pet a few.  There were some fun slides that Josiah and Daddy went down while Mommy captured the moment.  The two boys also went into the bounce house and had a fun time.  Josiah had a hard time standing up with his socks.  His feet kept coming out from under him, and he thought it was absolutely funny!  Again, there are plenty of pictures to enjoy in the November album from our trip to Pumpkinville, so take a minute to enjoy them.

Not much else is going on for the Greenwoods.  We are going to enjoy our down time for a little bit before the holidays come and then the arrival of Sophie.

Thanks again for ALL the prayers lifted up on our behalf over the years.  They are greatly appreciated!

All Moved In

Well, we are all moved in and almost have everything in place.  We just have a few things that need to be stored, but we are just trying to figure out where to store them.  We have so much space that we don't know what to do with ourselves!  We have a few more curtains to hang--and purchase, but  those are things that we can do over time. We also need to get a rug for the playroom, but again it's not something we need to do right away--even though Mommy would like to get it done.  We hope to start hanging things on the walls this weekend.  I have a few things to do to organize--bathroom medicine cabinets, but again that isn't high on the priority list. 

Josiah has done a GREAT job transitioning to his new home.  He LOVES all the space and the stairs.  He has gotten to be such a big boy in just the last week since we've moved.  He is now  eating what we eat and has picked up more baby signs.  He can now do "drink please", "down please", "thank you" along with the other ones he already knows.  We haven't been as diligent with his reading program because of unpacking and not having the TV set up yet, but we plan on getting back on track.  Josiah's comprehension has really improved.  We can ask him to do something or go get something, and he understands what we are saying.

Sophie continues to grow and is getting really active.  We are 26 weeks today, so we only have 14 more weeks.  I know this time will go by quickly.  Chris has his ordination service on November 1st, then Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here before we know it along with Chris' birthday.  We have some church activities to fill in over the next few months, so we know  this time will go by fast.

I hope to take some pictures of our new place this weekend and download them, so come back in a few days to see our new home.

3 hours of P & P

Well, I decided to wait and see what my results were before I posted anything.  I took my glucose test almost 2 weeks ago.  I found out a week later, that the results were borderline gestational diabetic.  So yesterday, I went for the three hour glucose test.  I got to the hospital around 7:45am and didn't leave until 12:00pm.  After peeing five times and being poked in the arm five times (P & P), the results came back saying that everything is fine.  I will admit I was some what concerned since gestational diabetes and adult diabetes run in my family.  But many prayers were lifted up on my behalf and God was listening.  I just praise Him for having the results come back with good news.  I am a little bruised from all the poking, but other than that I'm doing fine. 

Sophie continues to be very active.  She has started playing the game of kicking back after I poke at my belly.  Daddy tries to play the game, but she won't play with him--already giving him a hard time!

On Friday, I will be 30 weeks, so we will have around 10 more weeks to go.  I know the time will go by quickly with Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching.  We will be staying in VA for the holidays as I'm starting to get to the point where I'm really uncomfortable.  Some of our good friends from NC will be joining us for Thanksgiving, so we are very excited about that.  We will have a quiet Christmas with just the three of us.

A little scare

This week, we had a little bit of a scare.  OK, so I was a little scared and Chris stayed cool, calm and collected.  Monday night, I started getting some pretty bad cramps in my back and front.  I took some Tylenol and laid down, and I started feeling a little better.  Tuesday, I got up feeling better, but not 100%.  As the day went on, I started getting more cramps and some pressure, so I called the doctor. They wanted me to come in, so they could check me out.  I was a wreck because I was so worried that there was something wrong.  When I got there, the doctor did an internal and found that everything looked fine, but she wanted me to be on bed rest for the rest of the day and to limit my activities on Wednesday.  Chris was supposed to have a meeting at the church on Tuesday night, but he came home to take care of me and Josiah.  I've said it many times before, "How did I get blessed with such a wonderful husband?"  I would try to get up and get something, and he would banish me back to the couch and bring it to me.  Since Wednesday, I haven't had any more problems and Sophie is kicking and having a great time.  We don't really know what caused all this, but feel it might have been from all the traveling and packing of boxes.  I praise the LORD for keeping Sophie safe and letting everything be OK with her.  I'm so thankful that the doctor didn't just blow it off and was very reassuring about things looking great and encouraging to call back if I continued to have concerns.  We are counting down the weeks until Sophie's due date--16 more weeks, but 13 more weeks until we are safely out of the woods.  Continue to pray that everything goes smoothly with this pregnancy and we don't have any more scares.

Trip to MA

Well, we have arrived back from MA, and we are very excited because passed his last exams!   

Chris and I left on Thursday and drove part way.  My mom was kind enough to come up to VA to watch Josiah, so we could have a weekend away.  This is the first time since Josiah has been born that we have gone away together and will probably be the last one until 2011.  Once Sophie gets here it will be back to nursing again, which means no overnight trips for me.    We drove to Sterling, PA and stayed at a Bed & Breakfast.  It was nice to have our living room area right beside a brook.  We were able to open the sliding doors for a little bit to enjoy the bubbling sounds.  Chris eventually got cold, and we shut the doors.  Chris was in heaven because they had cable, and he was able to watch a little college football.  Chris surprised me with a massage when we got there, so it was very relaxing evening for the two of us.  We went out to dinner that didn't consist of trying to get in and out as quickly as possible.  We have a pretty neat story about our dinner experience.  Our waitress came over to get our drinks.  When I told her I wanted water, she lets out this BIG gasp.  I was a little taken aback by this, but then realized that she saw a big black bear come out of the woods into the field right near where we were sitting.  There were some good ol' boys that came out of the kitchen, and they estimated that the bear was close to 500 lbs.!  It was absolutely amazing and breath taking to see this bear in the wild.  The photographer in me wishes I had my camera, but I take moments like that as a special gift from God for me to enjoy in my mind.  Friday morning we got up and drove the rest of the way to MA.  We had a great dinner and worship service that night.  Chris was on the candidates who preached.  He did a great job preaching God's word and quite a few people shared with him how blessed they were by his sermon.  We stayed up a little too late Friday night watching TV--as you can probably tell--we don't have cable!    Saturday morning was the big day when Chris had to answer questions from the floor of the presbytery.  He did an AWESOME job communicating his convictions and God's calling on his life.  After he got done answering the questions, we had to leave so they could have any discussion and vote.  Just before they called us back in, we heard loud clapping from the sanctuary--we knew then that he was voted to be ordained!  We are so glad that this two-plus year journey has FINALLY come to an end.  On November 1st, we will actually have his ordination service where he will officially receive the title Reverend.

We are glad to have this behind us, but our next big hurdle is getting ready to move into our new place.  The moving will be so much easier than the ordination--Praise the LORD!  Please take some time to look at the pictures from our weekend and Josiah's 15 month pictures that my mom took while here.  By the way, he did great.  My mom said that he didn't get whiny or fussy the whole time we were gone.  From the sounds of things, she didn't give him much down time to miss us! 

Please keep us in your prayers over the next few weeks as we continue with our daily responsibilities and prepare to move.  Josiah will be having his 15 month check-up, so we are praying that there won't be any concern about his weight.  I will also be having my 24 week check-up with Sophie.

It's Official

Well, it is official.  Chris has been hired full time by the church to be in charge of the youth and small group ministries.  His first day is today, and he was really excited to be going to one place for the day.  He had offered to drive buses for the school where he used to work, but they have fewer students needing transportation, so they don't need him.  He did offer to be a sub bus driver, so they said that they would keep that in mind. 

Our next big hurdle is the presbytery meeting at the end of the month.  It will be held in Springfield, MA, so I'm really looking forward to seeing some fall colors!  I've heard that the leaves are already changing!  Chris has one more interview that he is still waiting to be scheduled.  Hopefully,he will hear from them some time this week.  My mom is going to be coming up to watch Josiah for the time we are gone.  Mommy and Daddy are going to leave a day early so we can some time to ourselves.  This will be the first time that I have left Josiah over night, so it is a big deal!

We have started packing our things and will be moving to our new place the beginning of October.  I'm so looking forward to not having someone living above me anymore.  The 3am and 4am wake-ups are getting pretty old!

We bought Sophie her first little girl outfit yesterday when we went to Target.  There was LOTS of cute little girl things, so it was good that I only came out with one outfit! 

Well, we will keep you posted on how things are going.  The next few weeks are going to be pretty busy, so we ask that you continue to cover us in your prayers.

Sophie Sugai

Well, we had our ultrasound today and found out that we are having a girl!  Her name will be Sophie Sugai.  Sophie comes from Chris' great-grandmother.  Sugai (pronounced Sue Guy) is my Japanese grandmother's maiden name.  My due date is still on track, so it looks like Sophie will be joining our family around January 22, 2010. 

We have had a lot of exciting things happening in the Greenwood family.  On Sunday, the church will be voting to make Chris full-time.  We will also be moving at the beginning of October.  God has already blessed us with an awesome place to live that will make Chris' commute 15 minutes!  One of my friends from my MOPS group emailed me last week to see if we were interested in renting their townhouse since her and her husband will be moving into their new home.  Our little family went to see the townhouse yesterday afternoon and after discussing it, Chris and I let my friend know we are interested.  It has 4 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms.  The kitchen has been remodeled with granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.  There is a finished basement where Chris will be putting his man cave and University of Tennessee decor.  I will have a room on the main level that will be my craft room and the kids will be able to have their play room there, too.  The master bedroom is bigger than any of the rooms Chris and I have had since we've been married.  There is a deck right off the master bedroom, and I've already called dibs on it being Mommy's special place.  The master bathroom has a whirpool tub and seperate shower.  The kids will each have their own room and they will share a bathroom.  There is TONS of storage which is a HUGE blessing.  We are getting all of this for less than what we are paying now, so God is truly blessing the Greenwoods!

We are heading to Massachusetts at the end of the month for Chris' ordination, so please be in prayer for safe travels and that Chris will be accepted for ordination.  Also, be in prayer as we get ready to pack and move to our new place--that the transition will go smoothly for all of us.