Going to New Zealand: The why

A couple people have brought to my attention

that I never really laid out the whole reason why we are moving to New Zealand.

I kind of addressed it here but I thought I'd elaborate a bit.

(If you are super confused right now go here to catch up.)

If you've ever been to New Zealand you know it's a beautiful country.

In fact it's probably the most beautiful country I have ever been to.

That's totally a perk but definitely not the reason we are going.

The reality is

people everywhere need Jesus.

The people in rural Africa,

the people in big city Asia,

my next door neighbor,

you, me

we are all in desperate need of a Savior.

The Bible says we are all sinners.

If you are anything like me, you know this is true.

Since God is holy and perfect and just

and we are not

we are separated from God.

No matter how many good deeds we do

we can never measure up to God's standard.

And since God is a good and just judge

He can't let anyone into heaven who doesn't measure up.

Your probably thinking ok...

this is BAD news.

And it is.

We all deserve to go to hell.

Sin=death (Romans 6:23)

But thankfully it doesn't end there.

God, is his grace, sent his son Jesus

who was fully God and fully man

to the earth.

Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life

the life that we, in our sin, could never live.

Then he died, a sinner's death, on the cross

in our place

exchanging our sin with his holiness.

Then three days after He died and was buried

He rose from the dead!!

He did all of this so that we could be in relationship with Him and

spend eternity with God in heaven.

And He did this all by His grace

because He loves us

so. so. so. much.

And that's what it's all about.

Jesus has so radically changed my life

that I want to tell everyone about Him.

He is far too good to keep to myself.

I remember when I first became a Christian,

I was angry

at all the people who knew the Lord

and never told me about Him.

Angry that they assumed I already knew Him

or were too ashamed to tell me

or whatever reason they had to for keeping the Good News to themselves.

I don't know what I would do without Christ.

He is the best thing that ever happened to me.

He is what gives my life meaning.

He is worth everything to me.

Nothing compares to knowing Him.

And because of all these things and more

I can't help but tell everyone I know about Him.

So that's why we are going to New Zealand.

To tell people about Jesus and start a church.

Because the Gospel is way too good to keep to myself.

Still not sure what the "Gospel" or "Good News" is?

Go here for a more detailed explanation or feel free to email me with any questions.

I'd love to talk :)

Tourists

We've been playing tourist for the past week

with my hubby's dad, step mom and step sister

who are visiting from Florida.

It's been a fun filled, busy week.

The week started off with a trip to Disneyland and an Angels game

and then over the weekend we went on a road trip adventure up the California coast.

Aaron's dad, step mom, stepsister, and Mackenzie

Disneyland was awesome as always.

Our crazy giant 2 and a half year old

is tall enough to go on just about every ride.

However this was the first time she's been on a non kiddy type ride.

We took her on one of my favorites

Soaring over California.

She screamed and cried pretty much the entire time

but loved every second of it.

That's all she talks about.

She must be getting older

because this was also the first time she has enjoyed seeing Mickey Mouse.

Normally she gets really excited to see him from a distance

but the second you ask her to get close to him

(or any other character for that matter)

she flips out.

Not this time.

She ran up to him,

gave him at least 5 hugs,

and loved every second of their time together.

She would have hung out with Mickey for hours

if there weren't a hundred other people waiting in line to meet him.

Wesley loved Disneyland too.

Especially the "Celebrate" parade.

We also got to go to our first Angel's game of the season with my inlaws.

Mackenzie has been asking to go to a baseball game ever since she saw a Dora the Explorer episode on it. I don't think she cared about the game at all but she did love all the yummy baseball park food!

Lastly as part of our tourist week we took a trip up the coast to San Luis Obispo.

Most of the drive is along the beach and is absolutely beautiful.

It was a pretty long drive but the kids did great.

Me and Aaron

Did you know "kelican" eat carrots?

At least they do in Mackenzie's world.

We spent the night in the cutest little town called Cambria

and then woke up early to take a tour of Hearst castle.

The castle was unbelievable.

It was crazy to me that someone would spend that much money to build a house

(if you can even call it that).

And then I found out that Hearst's castle was only 1 of 7 of William Heart's estates.

And it is the 4th largest.

C.r.a.z.y.

But it was incredibly beautiful.

This is the main house.

Doesn't it look like a European cathedral?

After the castle we went to see the elephant seals

that come to the coast to mate and have their babies.

They were huge and awesome

and stinky.

Anyways...we had a great week.

Hope you did too!

Monogram Wall Art

I cannot decorate.

Not for the life of me.

But I am good at stealing borrowing

other people's decorating ideas.

Why do you think I get the Pottery Barn magazines?

I love this idea from The Crafting Chicks.

So cute!

Definitely thinking about "borrowing" it for my kids room :)

Our Veggie Garden!

I’ve always loved the idea of having a veggie garden.

Tasty, healthy, vegetables

right in my front yard.

Yes please!

The only problem is

I do not have a green thumb in my body.

I’ve killed every plant and flower I have ever received.

My husband’s grandma

who is an excellent gardener

says it’s because I give them too much love and attention.

I think she’s just trying to be nice.

Anyways, when we moved a few months ago

it just so happened (actually it was totally intentional)

that we moved right next door

to our great friends.

And it just so happens that our friends are great gardeners!

After h.o.u.r.s. of hard work

tearing out a ton of old bird of paradise plants

and 8 trash bags full of roots

we finally planted a huge veggie garden in our front yard!

Isn't is pretty?

After our pretty vegetables were in the ground
we decided they needed some labels.

We had a ton of these flat rocks in our front yard so I

decided to paint them like I did these rocks

and use them as our labels.

They ended up being really easy and I love how they turned out.

I love it when a project turns out how I wanted it to.

Do you guys have vegetable gardens?

Any gardening tips or secrets you want to share?

Felt Food

Mackenzie's finally getting to an age where she asks me to make things for her.

Even though she thinks my skills are much more advanced than they really are

(she's convinced I can make anything and everything under the sun)

it's so fun to try to make her ideas come to life.

Last week Mackenzie requested some new food for her play kitchen.

She picked out all of her favorite foods

and we sewed them together while Wesley was napping.

It was so fun crating with my little helper.

Here is what we ended up with.

A taco/burrito fully loaded with

meat, beans, lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes.

Spaghetti

with meatballs :)

Donuts

with icing and sprinkles.

Mackenzie's favorite :)

Quesadillas

A staple around here.

Pepperoni pizza.

The way to Mackenzie and Mommy's heart.

Cut into 4 slices.

Perfect for sharing with friends

and baby brothers.

M.I.A. and winner!

My husband and friend both reminded me

that I have been seriously neglecting my blog lately.

Whoops.

It's not that I have been intentionally M.I.A.

We've just been busy

enjoying the fact that my feet are finally better

and taking advantage of the beautiful summer weather with lots of

park days,

beach days,

and even a new garden

(more on our veggie garden to come).

Hope you guys have been enjoying yourselves too!

P.S. The winners of these two Rachel flower brooches are

Patrick, Ashley, & Audrey

and

twolittletots!

Congratulations! Email me to claim your prize :)