Take me to the river...

Take me to the river...

Drop me in the water...

Spoil me with autie lovin'...

and...

Uncle lovin' ;)
Love smiley face pancakes...

and corn on the cob....

the man who makes it all possible...

There is nothing like spending the 4th of July at our family camp with the ones you love.

At the Beach and Blessed

Every year Matt's family goes to the beach in the Outer Banks. We are so blessed.

Fun with the cousins

Nathan enjoying his first beach vacation

Fun at the seashore

The "Big" water

Hiding during a thunderstorm

"Look, Daddy, a Cwab!"

The crab

Relaxing at the pool

We sure did play hard

Mitch and Katie's Wedding

Much has happened since my last post...a new addition to the family, David's birthday, Mitch and Katie's wedding, and now our family trip to the beach. Pics from David's birthday will come later. Here's just a little peak into our fun-filled wedding weekend.

Breakfast before the big day!

David really liked his pancakes!

The grandkids

Daddy and his ringbearer

My favorite...the ringbearer and flower girl.

The highlight of the day for me was when David walked down the aisle and put his Thomas the train engine on his pillow :) I am just so sorry I didn't get a picture of it.

Congratulations Mitch and Katie may your life together be blessed with God's fullness.

We love you.

Balloons

We got so many wonderful gifts and surprises while we were in the hospital with Nathan. This is a VERY special thanks to Aunt Becky and Uncle Fred for the balloon bouquet...It's the gift that keeps on giving :) Enjoy!

1 week old

Our family has grown...

Nathan means, "Gift of God". He is truly a perfect gift.

Happy 1 week Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday!

Nathan Ryan born Monday, May 17th @ 9:06am

6 lbs. 10oz. 18 3/4 inches long

Happy Easter!

"To a Christian, Easter Sunday means everything, when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
-- Bernhard Langer

"Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness and weakness and despair to strength and beauty and happiness."

-- Floyd W. Tomkin

"The great gift of Easter is hope - Christian hope which makes us have that confidence in God, in his ultimate triumph, and in his goodness and love, which nothing can shake."

-- Basil C. Hum

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.'"
-- John 11:25-26 NIV

Our New Addition

I have two beautiful children. They are just so cute (most of the time) and I learn something new from them almost every day. It may surprise you that I really was not that excited when I found out baby #3 was on his way. First, because I am really bad at being pregnant. Second, because I always get fat and usually have 35lbs to lose after having my babies. Third, I just figured out how to juggle 2 children. Now a third one is on the way. Our life is so uncertain right now. All of our plans have not worked out. I am scared. And yet, we have a little one on the way. Someone that God planned for us, even if we didn't plan it. So I have so much love and joy for this little one in my belly and I know that this little one will bring us all the more joy and way more happiness than any of the hardships he may cause.

Yes, we are having another little boy due around June 1st. Just like his sister and brother, he will probably look like his Daddy, which is ok with me b/c I think their Daddy is pretty cute :)
No, we do not have a name yet, and probably won't until I am in labor---just how we work. So to our wonderful little boy on the way....

We love you so much and can not wait for you to join our world. Your big brother and sister say, "HI!"

Cinderella

Abby and Fairy GodMother

A few weeks ago, Matt was the accompanist for the local schools Spring Musical "Cinderella". It is a cute show by Rogers and Hammerstein. Abby, of course, just LOVED it. Se dressed up in her Cinderella dress and got pictures with the characters. Then her grandma took her back the next night and she got autographs from the cast members. A little girl's dream come true.


Step Sisters


Cinderella

She is still singing songs from the show. Matt laughs and says, "That is definitely her Mommy in her." Yes... she's my girl!

Matt's Birthday

This week was Matt's Birthday. He turned 35 on Wednesday. Abby was so excited to celebrate. The day did not turn out like we had hoped. First, I was at the hospital for 4 hours taking a glucose tolerance test. Second, David was sick with an ear infection so Matt was on the phone most of the morning trying to get David an appointment to see a doctor. Third, the house was a mess b/c Matt was working on installing a new dishwasher, but did not have the right parts.

We took Abby to church, and she told everyone that Daddy had a very sad birthday. I asked her what she thought would make it a happy birthday. She said, "We need people to come to the house, then it would be a happy birthday." So after church we had Abby's little cousins come to the house with some of my family and Mona and Ron. We ate ice cream cake and the kids screamed of excitement the whole time. The day turned out to be a Happy day after all.

Since then, Matt has been pretty sick. He has caught some virus and has bronchitis on top of that. I have not yet been able to take him out for a birthday date. In spite of this not being a "perfect" birthday celebration, we are still happy to celebrate at all.
Happy Birthday, Matt! You mean so much to us. You are an amazing husband and Daddy and the Lord has filled our lives with great joy because of you.

we're getting ready

“The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.” Romans 11:29

Update on the Rapach family!

Hello friends! We are doing well here in snowy and slushy western PA! Just yesterday we built the best snowman (well, actually a snowwoman according to Abby) of the season and are always on the lookout for the biggest icicles on the houses.

We have had a wonderful time with our families – it’s been a gift to be near them after 10 years of living away. The kids are loving being with their grandmas. Sarah is doing a lot better with the pregnancy and we look forward to June when our little one will be born. (still don’t know if boy or girl). Thanks for all of your prayers through the months of sickness!

It has been a challenging few months, for sure, as we wait on God to open the door for our next ministry assignment. The opportunities we had when we left Boston, for various reasons, have not worked out. We continue to pursue others, believing in faith that God knows what He’s doing, and He will provide. We are ‘getting ready’ for whatever comes next, and know that God is teaching and preparing us in ways we never expected.

As we have prayed, we have a sense that there will be a strong relational connection to the place we end up serving, and that the opportunity we are looking for may very well come from someone we know. So…if you are in a church or a ministry and you need someone who can lead worship, take people on missions trips, administrate, and generally pitch in to the overall team, please let us know! You never know what may happen…

‘The gifts and calling of God’ in our lives still are burning and churning within us! There are many things we could do in life, but we want to invest our gifts and lives in a way that brings people to know and love Jesus Christ. Pray with us this week for a breakthrough!

Conversations with my Girl!

So my Mom wanted to have the kids stay at her house for a few days. My kids love going to their Grandparents house. Last night before my Mom came to pick the kids up, Abby and I had this conversation -

Sarah: Abby, make sure you are very good for grandma and pap.

Abby: Mommy, I am always good for grandma.

Sarah: Remember, if she asks you to do something, do not talk back, you need to listen to her.

Abby: Mommy, I never talk back to Grandma Fyock.

Sarah: Really, then why do you talk back to Mommy and Daddy sometimes?

Abby: Because Grandma never makes me do anything I don't want to do. I don't have to do any jobs or favors. Ohhhh...I just love going there.

So....there you have it from the horse's mouth - My little girl is spoiled by her grandparents :)
Where do they come up with this stuff? I told Matt this clever answer must come from the Rapach side of the family :)

Today, before, my quiet time, I thought about how I missed my kids eventhough they have only really been gone for a few hours. I can not wait to hold them and kiss them and talk to them. As I was thinking about that, I thought "how much does our Father in Heaven miss us when we do not spend time with Him, even for one day?" Just like me wanting to kiss and hug my kids, how much more does He want to lavish His love on us?

WARRIORS!

BOYS! Sometimes I just don't understand. My mom got David this soft sword for Christmas, and of course, he (AND his Daddy) love it. I'm very thankful that my Mom got us a soft sword compared to the loud plastic swords they got the cousins.

Now...I could be creative and write something about boys having this "instinct" in them because they are to be Warriors for Christ, but I think you all get the picture ;)

Blizzard 2010

15 inches of snow


3 hours of snow blowing




Morning Snow FUN


Even Grandma went out to play


Hot Chocolate

Afternoon Snow FUN







Great Sledding