Thank you for stopping by our blog and checking up on our family!! Our lives have so dramatically changed over the past year, but God has been so good to us! I will try to give a very abbreviated update of 2011. :)
We are a busy family. Our heartbeat as a family is ministry. We are so blessed to be a part of a great church, Beach Fellowship, which is comprised of some of the best people EVER!! We are actively involved in many different things in our church community. Arthur is on the Men's Ministry Leadership team and helping create a Men's Accountability Model to implement at church in 2012. He also serves as a leader in the Proverbs Ministry, an outreach ministry to the local homeless in Virginia Beach. He preaches at those events and gets his hands dirty serving- usually cleaning toilets afterwards and transporting the homeless to and from the church. Arthur's also an Usher and spent most of the year as a Sunday School Teacher in the Toddler Classroom.
Jessica's also very involved in ministry. She also is a part of the Proverbs Ministry, often helping in the kitchen with food preparation. Jessica also started a ministry for Moms, called Encouraging Mothers. She joined the Women's Ministry Leadership Team and spends a lot of time counseling/discipling women within the church. Most of the year she was in choir singing in both services on Sundays.
As a couple, we teach Small Group Bible Study on Wednesdays. We also love opening our home up to people in need and spending time as a family serving others. We want to live to be a blessing to others. It's true: You find yourself when you give yourself away.
JANUARY: We welcomed the New Year with some dear friends! Then we had a belated 2010 Christmas celebration with Grammy and Grampy and Great Grandma, too, here in Virginia Beach!
FEBRUARY: Arthur and I snuck away for Valentine's Day... had our first babysitter watch Giana! It was fun and much-needed. And Giana was just fine in our absence.
MARCH: Arthur finished his Bachelors degree in Multidisciplinary Studies (Religion and Business concentration) at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. Jessica started Encouraging Mothers ministry and also joined the Women's Ministry Leadership team. Our family had a quick, brief love affair with sushi until Arthur got salmonella poisoning and was sick for 8 days straight!! Live and learn.
APRIL: Arthur and I both were afforded the blessing to attend a spiritual retreat in Wakefield, VA called The Walk to Emmaus. It was an amazing time with the Lord and we met friends who will prayerfully be a part of our lives forever! Giana got to check-out Hunt Club Farm and enjoy petting all the animals and playing. While there, my good friend Wendy did some photography practice on Giana and blessed us with some gorgeous Easter photos!
MAY: Giana turned 2! We celebrated at Red Wing Park with a cupcake-themed party and lots of friends. Grammy and Grampy came and enjoyed the celebration, but had the chance to take a hiatus for a few days down to Florida to celebrate their 32nd Wedding Anniversary!
JUNE: The beginning of June was inundated with preparations for our church's Women's Conference. Jessica organized, got donations, purchased and assembled 120 gift bags for the attendees. The conference theme was "Strength & Beauty" and the women of our church were very richly blessed and fed by guest speaker Pastor Dana Cavallaro.
We also entertained guests, Arthur's brother's family: Adam, Bianca and our dear niece, Allison! We had a fun long weekend with them and went to a local carnival together. Giana rode her first amusement ride!
In June we started our own Small Group Bible Study on Wednesday nights. The group started small (2 people) but has grown to between 14-20 adults! Though our condo isn't very spacious we are so blessed to fellowship and teach our fellow Brothers and Sisters in the Lord on Wednesday evenings.
Lastly, we went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg with some friends and saw one of our favorite Christian singers in concert, Casting Crowns & Matt Maher! It was an awesome time of worship.
JULY: More visitors! Everyone always waits until summer to come to Virginia Beach... wonder why?! :) Jessica's cousin Emily, her husband Mike and their son, Andrew. It was our first time meeting Andrew (already 1!). We enjoyed the Aquarium together and chatting late into the night.
4th of July was a fun day with friends in Sandbridge, a rural beach area in Virginia Beach. The night ended with terrible thunderstorms so there were no fireworks, but we made the best of it, anyway!
AUGUST: Arthur took 2 weeks of leave and we headed to our hometowns in Upstate New York. Giana spent a lot of time with her grandparents and got to check out the local carnival, The Spencer Picnic, that Arthur and I enjoyed as children. She paddleboated with Opi, took long country walks through the woods with Omi. She played for hours with Grampy and baked cupcakes with Grammy. She had a BLAST! And so did we! During our time home we even got in a mini getaway to the Seneca Wine Trail & Belhurst Castle to celebrate 9 years of marriage.
Upon returning home, Arthur started graduate school at Regent University for his Masters of Divinity! Tuesday nights he had classes on campus, and the rest of his course load was online. Seminary is very demanding, but he has done fabulously!
SEPTEMBER: Jessica took a step back from Choir ministry at church to make more time for other ministry time. As a family, we visited Georgia at the end of the month for Arthur to pin his brother Sergeant in the Army. It was a great time together with family and a joyous time for Arthur to promote his younger brother. We also celebrated Arthur's 28th Birthday while in Georgia!
OCTOBER: The month began with a Ladies' Trip to Washington, D.C. to celebrate Jessica's 29th Birthday. The highlight: Ikea! In the middle of the month, a friend from church hostessed our Encouraging Mother's group and allowed the children and Mom's the opportunity to horseback ride! Giana instantly fell in love and is an aspiring equestrian at the ripe age of 2. She even gave the horse commands!
Giana moved into her "big girl room" and just won't stop growing up!! :)
Perhaps the biggest change in our family happened on October 14th. Arthur got out of the Army! The Lord had put a call on Arthur life in 2007 to become a military Chaplain, and the only way to become a Chaplain is to have a Masters degree in Divinity. So, in order to meet application standards regarding time in service and the other requirements, such as being an ordained Pastor and having 2 years of ministry experience, we were led to take a leap of faith and leave the Army (for now). While it was a bittersweet transition, it was also a peaceful one knowing we are on the path God has revealed to our family. Although Jessica still hadn't acquired employment, we had to truly trust in God's promises that HE would make a way and provide for our family.
NOVEMBER: Jessica attended many job interviews to no avail. But, God showed up and showed off. HE provided in every way imaginable. We had more provision without jobs then we ever had in 10 years of steady employment. There is no explanation other than GOD IS GOOD!!
Arthur's parents celebrated 30 years of marriage. We are so, so fortunate to BOTH have parents that are married and committed to one another after so many years. <3
Thanksgiving was great with a short and sweet visit from Grammy and Grampy. We spent the holiday together with more family a little further north from Virginia Beach, Aunt Bernadette and Uncle Bobby! The food was great. The laughter was better. We always enjoy our time with them and it was just one more thing to be thankful for!
DECEMBER: Our family has lots planned this month, both for fun and for Community Service. We love serving others! Jessica is organizing and hostessing the Women's Ministry Cookie Exchange at church again this year. We are hoping to enjoy lots of free, local events for the season. But really, it's the quiet moments that mean the most this time of year. The moments of remembering God's goodness and the Gift He blessed us with- Jesus Christ! The real reason for the season!
We pray each of you has a happy, blessed, beautiful Christmas and an even more abundant New Year!! We love each of you dearly! XOXO
sweet :) I enjoyed reading your yearly update...now onto the next <3 Love You Dad and Mom
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