Phil Wickham

Last night our local Christian radio station and studio held the finals for a "Next To Sign" competition in our area. Some of our friends were one the top 12 artists, and the guy heading it up was also a great friend of ours. We went to cheer on mayhae. They had three judges, one of which is more than an "up and coming" artist, he just finished touring alongside MercyMe: Phil Wickham.

Phil did a short set at the conclusion of the competition, just him and his guitar, and it was... captivating. Not in a long time has music touched me like it did last night. Not many things bring me to tears. Not many words sink into my heart like his did. He is anointed for worship. Please check out his music. Turn up the volume, sit back, and enjoy his ministering.

Songs I love: Beautiful, Divine Romance, True Love, Grace, Jesus Lord of Heaven...

curtains-budgets-blessing

I have no idea how to choose curtains. Do I want them formal or casual? Sheer or extremely private, or something in between? Striped, floral (my kind of floral... not "grandma floral"), modern, textured, with valence, no valence, tassels, no tassels, *sigh*. We still don't have curtains up in the front room or the back doors. We finally did put up an extra plain white shower curtain (fabric) that has grommets, so it is easily tacked up and taken down during the day... so at least we have some privacy in the evenings. We are on an extremely tight budget, so it's hard to find something you like, that you can actually afford.

Speaking of budgets, I think they're a great thing. I grew up having a lot (now that I have my own family, I realize that). And I am so thankful that my parents were (and definitely still are) so generous. I didn't get everything I wanted, but definitely all of my needs and much more were met. It wasn't atypical to eat out many times a week and be given $20 for a movie and dinner with my friends most weekends. And shopping was pretty much whenever I "needed" something. Now that we are a young couple, with one modest income, and a child, and our own house, (thankfully, no car payments and only one very tiny student loan), I can only imagine how most people end up in such a mound of debt! I am so thankful to my husband who has an incredible desire to see his family prosper and be blessed, and to sow in this season in order to reap a great harvest down the road.

How do we do it? We eat out very rarely. I'm talking, maybe twice or three times a month (including fast food) and that's usually for dates! I have a strict budget for grocery shopping... if I get to the checkout and it's more than we budgeted for, the last few things don't get bought (it's usually those little extra things you don't really need anyway). Eating at home with our family has SO many benefits, from building a foundation with our children and our relationship as husband and wife around the dinner table, growing conversation skills within our family, encouraging one another, not to mention it's so much healthier. The Home Experience And I've grown to be a pretty darn good cook, too! We also sit down periodically and review our budget, make changes where we need, and apply them. Budgets sure have given this impulse-buy prone-shopping-and-eating-out-loving wife such freedom to buy what I feel I need to, but never have to worry about displeasing Philip. That sounds so prudish, but I love knowing that I am honoring him with the "bread" that he works hard to bring home. We also are faithful in tithing to our church and the Kingdom of God, because we know God desires to bless us, and it is His anyway! It's not a sacrifice to give Him 10% of our income.
Malachi 3:8
“ Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘ In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings."
People don't realize that when they don't tithe faithfully, they are robbing God of what is already His!
Malachi 3:10
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “ If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it."
How amazing! Blessing so great that there will not be room enough to receive it! Doesn't everyone desire such a blessing from God... the giver of everything and anything wonderful and good!? Philip and I have seen such awesome blessing in our life, and we believe that part of it is because we've been faithful in giving back to the Lord's house. Read The Blessed Life by Robert Morris... it will literally change your life. It did ours.

So there's what's on my mind at the moment. That and how much I love avocado. yumm...

deron finally naps!

it has been a tough week in the crumpton household. i know parents out there will agree with me when i say naps are a GOOD thing!! deron has always been such a great sleeper: sleeping through the night a good 7 hours at 9 weeks, then on to 12 hours throughout infancy, and still now sleeps very well. at least 10 hours (if we get to bed on time at night). i value his sleep times. it gives philip and i a chance to be husband and wife instead of mommy and daddy, and during the day, it gives a mom a chance to get a few things done around the house without cleaning up spilled milk, handing out an endless line of crackers, repeating veggie tales, etc, etc.

but this week has been different. not sure if it's been the light coming through his window (since we haven't gotten blinds or curtains up in his room yet), or the 10 minute "napettes" he will get on the way home to get a REAL nap in, or just the change in scenery at the new house or what, but he hasn't gotten a good deep sleep in during the day all week! and it drives me nuts! by the time 5pm rolls around, he is exhausted and cranky and moody and defiant. uggh.

but today, right now even. my little 2-year old sunshine is fast asleep. and i am in heaven.

the busy life

so we're back. Classes, work, watching kids, church, serving, oh yeah, then there's the family: wifing, mommying, housekeeping, etc. I'm tired.

I love my husband

This is one heck of a man. I just love him! I don't know if any of you have moved recently or have had a major shift in your physical surroundings (or other things I'm sure), but it can sure take its toll on your relationships! I had a great friend whom I watched go through such a similar experience moving. Now I really do understand! Other things take precedence over things that are truly important- like edifying and uplifting your husband and being a rock for your children both in discipline and in love. It was a tough transition I will be honest. Not something I want to do for awhile. But back to the main thought.... I love this incredible man God has put in my life. He's taken such a step to regain that excitement and fire that we had as newlyweds! It's taken me a little while (I think just the fact that I am a woman- we're made to proceed with caution when it comes to love and mushy things, especially if we've been hurt in the past...) to really see if all of this was real and not fleeting. The truth is, I have a love that endures such limits...

I know some know, and some probably don't, but I have taken time (on purpose) to post this sad news in our family. Just after we told everyone the news of my pregnancy, I began to bleed. I went to the ER about 2 weeks into it and they "diagnosed" me as having an "incomplete miscarriage", meaning it hadn't happened yet, but it was an inevitable outcome. We obviously did not want to claim that over this child and we wanted to see God's hand do a mighty work in my body. After several more weeks of believing, praying, and waiting, it was evident that I indeed, did have another miscarriage. At times like these, when you pray so hard, and want so bad, and believe so much, it makes so much sense to have a terrible time understanding God and trusting in His omniscience. But the absolute truth is, though it hurt badly to lose another child, and we don't understand why it happened, I can not deny the ineffable peace that surrounds me. God is SO good. And I KNOW He only wants what's best for me and my family. And that's what we hold on to. We are doing very well. We will probably start trying again in the late summer, and we are expecting great and wonderful things!

It is a beautiful day outside! Currently 65 and sunny... and Deron's napping! I think it's time to take my book (Bringing Up Boys) and enjoy the sunshine before it gets cold again!

before and after

I meant to do this before, but I guess now is the nest time as ever to post before and after pictures of the house. Be amazed... Which is your favorite transformation?

and.... all moved in!!

I know everyone has been eagerly anticipating this post. Especially my mother-in-law. :) There are definitely still things that need to be done around the house (like curtains), but we are making this place home. Last night we walked along the property lines and anointed them, consecrating this house and everything we own for God, His glory, and His Kingdom. I will also say, as we began unpacking and setting things up, I was surprised how, over and over, things I have been collecting and acquiring over the years fit perfectly in this house. It was amazing. The blue glass in the bathroom, the CD stands and other things. God is so good. This really is OUR home now. And that feels so wonderful.

The front room. The lighting is poor because I took it last night. Curtains will go up soon. I have to decide now what color I want.

The front room again.

Obviously, the front room again, this is the view from the front door.

Now, looking into the kitchen.

And down the hall.

The master bedroom with our original comforter/sheets. Hopefully we'll get a duvet and really swank sheets sometime.

Ta-da! The super-organized closet! I know this is what you've been waiting to see.. :) Notice all white plastic hangers - well, mostly (truly, the best way to go).

Flowers on the left are from my proposal. Roses on the right are from Jedidiah's birth.

Deron's room. Obviously, we haven't spent too much time in here yet. It even looks much different today. We've moved his crib, changed his sheets, etc.

The office. Again, haven't really touched yet. We're thinking of painting this room next week maybe. Thinking it will be a medium/light gray.

The hall bath. Isn't the soap and mouthwash dispenser cute?!

The kitchen. The island was given to us a few years ago, it's been hanging out in Deron's old room since then. Now it fits perfectly!

Philip brought home those flowers the day after we moved in. What a sweet husband...

I was concerned before we moved that our dining room table wouldn't fit in this space, but it does wonderfully. And it looks great, too! Still haven't found anything to put on this wall though.

And finally, the rack. Much more full now, even more than this picture, mostly with small kitchen appliances and such.

isn't everyone this crazy about shelving?!

The day before we moved in, Philip and I installed this fabulous shelving for our very small closet in our room. Instead of just one bar and one long shelf (completely under-utilizing all of the space), this system almost doubles what we had! Yea!! We also got a stainless steel rack for the laundry/utility/mud room (we still are deciding what to call it). You will see how wonderfully handy that will be...

This makes me a very happy woman.

Deron with the stud finder. Philip must have taken this picture. :)

The rack in the "other" room.

floors finally DONE!

After several days of staining, waiting, applying polyurethane, waiting, and applying another coat of polyurethane, the floors are finally done and look fantastic!! After the staining, I must admit, we were happy with the color, but I was a little nervous as to how good they would actually look. But as soon as the poly went on, we were relieved and ecstatic! Everything smoothed out and shined up... Here is the finished product.

Deron in his room... he can finally walk around in the house now!

The front room. We got a little messy in here as you can see, but our plan is to paint the baseboards anyway. And we still need to put quarter-inch molding throughout the house.

Pretty floors!

Pretty floors in the sun! :)

Deron's room again.

Now, we tackle the closet system in the master bedroom. As you can see, this is a very small closet (5'7" wide to be exact)... roughly the same as what we have now, but we needed more hanging space desperately. More to come!