Having a Blast!

Well, we have been having a blast lately as a family! We have been super busy, but we have really been cherishing the time we have together. Noah is obsessed with being outside, so we have spent a lot of time taking walks, sliding, and going to playgrounds. It is kicking mine and Nathan's allergies into full swing, but it's well worth it. We went to 3 different playgrounds last week and had a great time at all of them. He is very curious and wants to see how everything tastes. You cannot trust him for a minute, because he has no fear!

Here are Noah and Ruthie getting ready for a 4 wheeler ride together last weekend! Ruthie is getting close to pose for the picture and Noah doesn't know how to handle the affection!

This past weekend was Mother's Day and it was a weekend full of time with family. We spent Saturday night with Granny, Sunday lunch with Nana, and Sunday dinner with KK. We will get to see Gran soon when her foot is feeling better and can handle a visit from a very active one year old! And Grandmama will be in town the end of May. We love our mom's and grandmom's so much and wouldn't survive without them. We are so blessed!

We also had a visitor arrive this weekend- a dog! Of course, Noah is thrilled! The dog arrived on Saturday and still hasn't left. We are trying to find her home and until then, we are calling her Lucy. She is so cute and Nathan is secretly hoping we get to keep her.

Sunday at church, our pastor spoke about Birth. He talked about our rebirths as Christians and how we are made new in Christ. It was a very fitting message for this time of the year. Noah, Melody, and I have been working on my flower beds, and this year we are attempting to grow some veggies and herbs. New growth is everywhere. Josie, Kylie, and Adam were all born last week. (Congratulations to those new families!) And life is happening all around us. It is such a blessing to see God at work and know that He is at work on us. It is not the easiest concept for a non-believer to understand how we as Christians are born again- but through Christ we are. Anything is possible and we must just believe and have faith that He will take care of us. Faith and patience seem to be hard things for me lately, but God is holding fast to His promises. He always has and always will carry us through the difficult times. He has never failed me and I have always been taken care of. Why is it so hard for me to remember that and why do I worry? I guess I'm only human! Have a great week and thank God for the ability to be reborn.

Happy Spring!

Written on March 29th and never published:

Well today doesn't really feel like it, but Spring is here! Easter has come and gone and we hope it was wonderful! Our's was very full, but it was great. We are definitely keeping busy. On Easter Sunday 10 people were baptized at our church and we had 411 in attendance! Oh my goodness. It was amazing. We ran out of chairs! God is definitely taking charge and making Himself visible in Pleasant View. We are so thankful to be witnesses.

Noah enjoyed his first Easter Egg hunt with Hope and Hannah Chayse, courtesy of his KK. He soon saw the dog next door and lost interest in the eggs. He didn't know there was chocolate and money in them! (You can see pictures on our web album.)

Real Estate is hopping again and it's keeping Dad and I busy. I am truly enjoying my new profession. On Friday I was helping a client work on a contract for a home she is buying and it made my day to see the joy on her face! She lives in a one bedroom trailer right now and the quality of her living situation is going to be so much better. That's what it's all about!

April 23rd:

We had a great weekend! Friday night, Nathan and I had a date night courtesy of my parents. It was wonderful to enjoy a relaxed evening at the movies. Thank you Pops and KK!

Then Saturday we went to Rivers and Spires in Clarksville.

It is a great festival with activities for the entire family. Jay, Shantel, Hope, and Hannah Chayse came to enjoy the Kids' Zone with Noah and I. Then Nathan and his band, Making Malorie took the stage and played some great music. It included worship songs, cover songs, and some original work by Nathan. They did such a fantastic job and I was very proud. They had a pretty good crowd to cheer them on, but it was kind of chilly and the rain earlier in the day definitely kept people at home.

On Sunday after church, we left for Oak Ridge to visit Nathan's grandparents. They rarely get to see Noah and we hadn't been up there in almost a year. We had a great time and Noah got some fun new presents. It was very relaxing and good for us all.

Noah is growing every day and is bouncing off of the walls. He is climbing on every piece of furniture and he never stops eating! Nathan still won't let me get his hair cut and he gets called a girl atleast once a week. But, his hair is really beautiful. Nathan says he never got to have cool hair when he was growing up and he wants Noah to be cool. Daddys and their little boys! He loves being outside and loves looking for the Doggies he hears barking. He loves doggies! He is talking more and more, and is doing really well at repeating what we say. He's such a smart little boy and we are having a blast with him!

There are a bunch of pictures from the weekend and past several weeks in our web album. Enjoy!

Welcome Home Toby!

Friday night was a highly anticipated night all over Tennessee. Our favorite consignment sale was having its pre-sale, the snow was coming...BUT most importantly---Toby was coming home! For those of you confused, my cousin Toby Fleming, has been a Journeyman missionary in Niamey, Niger, West Africa for the past 2 1/2 years. I wasn't even engaged to be married when he left- so needless to say life has changed just a little since he's been gone. Hope and Hannah Chayse were born, I got married, his brother Drew graduated from college, our grandfather Big Daddy died, Noah was born, we found out our grandmother, Nanu, had cancer and she died about 3 months later. Home is definitely different.

Toby has lived in the middle of the desert for a long time. He has made some really tough decisions and relied on God to sustain him and guide him. I am so proud! Toby was born 23 days before I was, and we were partners in crime growing up. We did everything together...Opryland, Vacation Bible School, the trampoline, swimming lessons, GI Joe. I haven't known life without Toby.

OK- so, He's back and that's what this post was all about. We all went to his little Welcome Back party on Saturday. It was really great to see him and hear just a few stories. His feet are permanently nasty and he's pretty skinny, but he's forever changed. Please keep him in your prayers as he adjusts to being in civilization and makes decisions about what's next in his life.

Be sure and check out our web album. I've posted lots of pictures.

YEC and the Warehouse!

Well, it was a crazy busy weekend. But, it was so wonderful! Friday and Saturday were the Youth Evangelism Conference. This conference used to be my job, but this year I wanted to go as a volunteer. They are always needed, so I rallied the troops. Nathan, Logan, Melody, and I worked the conference on Friday night and then it was just the ladies on Saturday. Nathan's band, Making Malorie led worship Saturday at 2 smaller YEC sessions at Woodmont Baptist. They did an awesome job and I think had some fun while they were there. Nick Vujicic was the speaker at the Main Sessions and he was amazing. He has no limbs, http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/, and he is such an inspiration. Through his words, God touched the hearts of thousands of teenagers. The aisles were packed with people going to the altar to commit a change in their life. He spoke a message of hope and transformation only with the power of God. Hands down the best YEC speaker!

Then, as if we hadn't had a full enough weekend...Sunday was our first service in our new building at church! The Warehouse is what we affectionately call it, since that's what it was when we bought it. We had 354 people there on Sunday! That is a lot more than normal, and it was the best experience. There was just excitement in the air the whole day. I couldn't help from crying and I think Nathan's voice probably cracked a little at one point! I (of course) tried to take some pictures, but the lighting guys weren't exactly working with me on this one. I'll attach what I have.

I think I'm still on a joy high from this weekend. God moved and I couldn't ignore everything that He is showing me and doing in my life. I am so blessed!

I also am going to attach a video of Noah from last week. It's sometimes hard to show his personality in pictures, but you can't hide it in a video!

Home Team and Snow

Good Morning! Noah and I are enjoying a day at home. It is snowing outside and is beautiful! It started last night and has been going off and on ever since. We were slightly worried that it would delay the first meeting of our new Home Team last night. At our church, Home Teams are small group Bible studies that meet at homes during the week. It is a great thing that we really enjoy being a part of. Our first team just split because we were way too big and our leaders had their 4th child- so it was a good point of transition.

The new team is meeting at our home for now, and is going to be great.

Logan and Melody Creasy are leading it, so that's an added plus to fellowship and study with close friends. We had a really good time and not too many people were deterred by the snow. We had 9 adults and 2 kids. Noah has a new best friend. Cade is 5 months younger than Noah, and Noah was all over him. He was kissing him over and over. Cade took it in stride. Our new Bible Study book that we will be going through together is called "Get Uncomfortable" and is about getting out of our comfort zones and making a difference in the world. Nathan and I are looking forward to this! We both have a heart for injustice and seeing it change.

After Home Team, we decided to run up to the church to see the progress on the building. Nathan had been there until 11:30 PM the night before and was anxious to see the day's work. It is looking like a real church (or atleast our kind of church!) Everyone is helping out so much and we are so thankful. While we were there, we heard the good news--We were approved to start meeting under the condition that a fire truck be in the parking lot while services were taking place. A small price to pay and many thanks to the decision makers who made this happen!

So, this Sunday, March 2nd, 24 Church is officially in the new building on Substation Road. Come visit us! http://www.24church.com/ Have a great rest of the week and enjoy the snow in your area!

Our First Blog!

Well, we've decided to discontinue the website http://www.nathanandrachel.com/ and create a blog.

The website was becoming more work than it was worth and I always had to erase stuff to fit more stuff on it! So, here's the latest and greatest~ our blog has arrived!

Here's what is going on with us right now. Noah turned 1 in January and is a mess. He is walking all over the place and talking up a storm. We don't usually know what he's saying, but he's talking! And usually he has a phone up to his ear while he's talking. It's really funny and embarrassing at the same time. I guess he sees it alot!

Nathan has always been super busy with multiple jobs and that has all slowed down in the last couple of months. He is now only working 2 part-time jobs instead of 1 full-time and 2 part-time. He is officially not teaching guitar lessons anymore, but working part-time at the Music Store in Clarksville and still leading worship at 24 Church. After 3 years of having church in a school, we are just over 1 week away from being in our permanent facility. PRAISE GOD!!! This will free Nathan up so much! Nathan has spent every Saturday night for 3 years at church getting ready and setting up, and this is soon going to be over! He can have a weekend social calender now.

I (Rachel) have had a career change in the last few months also. After 4 wonderful years working at the Tennessee Baptist Convention, I QUIT! I left to sell Real Estate. I made the right decision. I knew that I wasn't getting enough time with Nathan and Noah and was spending too much time on the Interstate. Now, Noah can hang out with me while I work. It's great. I love it. I work at Beck and Beck Real Estate with my dad. I said I would never do it, but God had other plans.

Well, this is our quick little update. We're still going to keep our web album so you can see updates via pictures. You can find them at http://picasaweb.google.com/rachelloxley

Good Night!