Holiday Travels....

Caden survived his first road trip! He was such a trooper, logging in over 1000 miles in his car seat. Before Christmas we travelled to the Woodlands to visit Alycia's parents. While there, they hosted an "open house" for us so that their friends could meet Caden and hear about our upcoming ministry in Nigeria. It was a very encouraging time for us all.

Where's Caden?

After Christmas we travelled to Hot Springs, AR to visit Alycia's grandmother and family. Caden loved all of the attention that was lavised upon him!

The week before Christmas we enjoyed a Christmas gathering with

family up at the farm - outside Valley View.

It was fun to get together with so many relatives for the holidays!

Today in the town of David

a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:11

Sorry about the delay in updating the blog but we have been a very busy family. A very busy, yet very blessed, family. We have had many visitors from far and wide come to meet and greet our little guy. From my parents in Orlando to my brother and his family from Wisonsin to Alycia's parents from Houston to others from around the region.

Of course the kiddo is keeping us busy and very tired at the same time. He has this built in alarm clock that is waking him up around 5a.m. We have tried to fix this but there is no way of actually fixing it. This means mommy and the kiddo are now wide awake at 5a.m. Around 6a.m. I am then awoken to assist in getting the kiddo ready for his day after being fed by his mommy. When I say he is awake I mean he is awake. He is up kicking around, flailing his arms while making little noises, laughing up a little storm with the most contagious little smile. It is a time that we would not miss for anything since his personality is very evident during these times.

As a family we are preparing for the mission field to Nigeria possibly in 2008! This means that we have tons to do before we depart. First, is to get ourselves ready, along with our little guy Caden.

At this time we are looking for people to join the Abts-tra Network in prayer. As we prepare ourselves to work for and with the Lord in Africa we know He has many more blessings to heap upon us. So please pray for us as a family as we prepare for the field. Also pray that our Network of prayer supporters will continue to grow as our time draws near.

We have also received our account # from SIM so we can officially start our fund raising for our future mission in Nigeria. We ask you to pray consistently for our ministry. Also, would you prayerfully consider joining our network? If interested in joining our Network as a financial supporter (either a monthly donation or through a 1 time lump sum) please

click here . Click on the link for giving found on the left of the page and reference our STA# 12049.

From the Abts Family and the Abts-tra Network we wish you and your family a very Blessed Christmas.

An Early Christmas Gift

I (Alycia) took Caden to get his picture made in a "Santa's Little Helper" suit the other day. It was so fun and I had a hard time choosing just a few poses to purchase. Here are two of the ones I bought - we will save the last one for later!

Being parents is teaching us so much about God and his love for us. We now have a better understanding of how God feels about us - how he ADORES us- since we are HIS children. We also understand a little more how he loves us, laughs with us, celebrates with us and cries with us. We feel a little of the pride God feels when he looks at us - we know that each experience with Caden will teach us more about God and his love for us.

One thing the pictures remind us of is how Caden is a special gift from God. We think this everyday but especially around this time of year it is nice to be reminded. Pretty soon we will be giving thanks for all God has given us, and then we will celebrate the birth of His son, Jesus Christ. I have a feeling that this Christmas we will understand even more how exciting the birth of a precious baby - the birth of our savior - was and is!

Playful Boy

I have so much I would like to write but don't have the time at the moment...so here is a short video that I took with my cell phone the other day. We were waiting for tires to be put on the car, so we went over to Wendy's. I got this carousel in my kids meal and Caden just watched it and smiled and laughed for a long time!

Caden's first month of life

This is a video that I edited this past week of Caden's first month of life. I tried to capture the sights and sounds of our little guy.

Hope you enjoy him as much as we do.

Hello!

Caden's 1st photo shoot...

Caden is growing so fast. At one month he weighed 9 lbs 2 oz and measured 21 inches! He will be 5 weeks old tomorrow. When he was 3 1/2 weeks old our friends Dusty and Kelly Parrish came over and did a photo shoot of Caden - who was the perfect model.

Here are some of the pics:

Our little Packers Fan...


to see more pics visit Alycia's website: http://www.allyabts.blogspot.com/

Watch Me Grow....

Caden is getting bigger each day! Last Monday he measured 20.5 inches and weighed over 8 pounds. He is also growing in ability. Just this weekend he started trying to hold his head up, plus he can turn it over when he is on his tummy! This morning he started reaching for the lion that hangs on his bouncer and actually hit it once. Some of my (Alycia) favorite times are when he is eating as he makes the most adorable - and often humorous - faces! He is such a sweet boy!

I am doing well. My recovery from the c-section has gone better than planned. I was able to resume regular activities (including driving) after 2 weeks. I still can't lift heavy things - with the exception of Caden in his car seat - but overall I am doing great. We seem to be getting into a routine and our house has definitely become "baby central". Toby is a great daddy - he loves to spend time with Caden and doesn't even mind diaper duty - or helping with the midnight feeding. So far this parenting thing, although challenging at times, is a lot of fun and very rewarding - especially when we see Caden's precious smile!

Welcome home Abts Family welcome home

The docters during the time of this picture is already on her way into Alycia busting out Caden from his dark den within his mom.

Caden's very first photo after his birth on August 30th, 2007 at 5:50 pm.

Proud PAPA holding our very content little boy.

Our bare chested little boy.

On his way home from the Hospital on Sunday afternoon around 3:30 pm.

As Ty Pennington would always say to the family coming home to their creation on Extreme Home Makeover "Welcome home Abts family welcome home".

Mom and Baby are doing great by the way.

Thank you again for your many prayers and your continued prayers.

Kiddo Update

Wanted to update you on some news concerning our first kiddo. This past week we had a sono and found out that our little guy, Caden, is breach at this time. For those like me who do not know what that means it is when the kiddo in the womb is not in the right position for his arrival to the world. His little head is up by Alycia's ribs right now and his bottom is down near her bladder. We believe he has been in this position for a while know so he must be very comfy.

So with that being said we have scheduled a c-section two weeks from today on Monday September 10th. We are praying that he does decide to flip one last time before then but if he is far to comfortable how he is right now then he will arrive and meet the world on the 29th.

We have another sono scheduled for Wednesday so I will update you all after that time and let you know how he is situated. Also we are hoping to make sure that he is a little guy rather than a little girl.

Alycia is doing great, a bit tired but doing great. She has one week back to work under her belt. Today is when all of the kiddos return back to class so please pray that for her with that. Dealing with all of the kids in the school can be rather challenging so please pray that she will make it for the next two weeks before the birth of #1 for us.

We appreciate your prayers for both of them.

In Him who created us and our little boy,

Prayer request

Please pray for Alycia at this time. We are on the countdown for the arrival of our first kiddo to the world and today, Monday August 20th, she has returned to work. No kids in the classroom as of yet since they still have one last week of summer.

Please pray for a few things: She has a new classroom this year since their school was just remodeled over the summer. So she is going to have to be on her feet a lot getting it set up just right for the kids to arrive back next week. Pray for her physically to make it through along with mentally. It will be a tough few weeks for her physically and as we all know as we are physically challenged our minds are challenged as well. Pray that she will keep a healthy attitude while maintaining a godly character as she returns and is physically and mentally drained.

His due date is September 16th so we are under a month so keep him in your prayers as well.

We appreciate each one of you and your prayers.

Spiritual Retreat

We spent the weekend at Moss Lake with our BTBF Mission Candidate Team. We were there for to "Spend a Day with God" on Saturday. We spent the morning alone with God, reading scripture, praying and praising Him for who He is. In the afternoon we spent time praying together. What a refreshing and encouraging time it was. The rest of the team returned to Dallas Sat. afternoon while Toby and I stayed to enjoy the lake house for the remainder of the weekend. Thank you to Uncle Neal and Aunt Donna Sue for lending us their beautiful house!!!

Here are a few pics from the weekend:




On the way home we stopped to visit Alycia's grandparents and her cousin Kristi who had baby Emery in June. Toby got a little practice:

Thankfulness

Recently we have really been challenge by the Lord on being more thankful for everything that the He has given us. Not things that we have earned or bought but what the Lord has allowed us to purchase and take care of.

We know it is a tough concept to wrap our heads around that everything we have is from the Lord. We have worked for it, right? Yes but our working is for the Lord, isn't it? Honestly in our case it is not the case all of the time.

We are realizing that how can the Lord trust us in his work overseas if we cannot have the character back home here in the states at our jobs.

Deuteronomy 10:14

14 To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.

1 Corinthians 10:26
26for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."

1 Corinthians 10:26
26for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."

Colossians 3:23-24

23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Continue to pray for us on the recent lessons learned about being thankful. We need to be more thankful for our jobs here in the States before he can entrust us in his work overseas. Also that we can be more thankful for ALL that the Lord has entrusted to our possession especially the little life that we will meet in no time. Not to take the Lord for granted in every little thing that we do and have.

July 22

A common question we are asked is "How are things going in the process of going to Nigeria?" At the moment, the process is a bit slow but there are a few things going on:

1. READING - After our weekend at SIM we were given a stack of books to read. These books are to be read by September so we are both trying to buckle down and get them done.

2. EQUIPPING - We are part of a team from our church of people who are preparing to go overseas. This team consists of our missions pastor, Joanne, and two ladies, Beverly and Christina. Beverly hopes to go to Indonesia and Christina plans to serve in the Sudan. The purposes of the team are to learn and grow together in our process of going, as well as to build stronger relations with our church and the missionary care team. We are also working on preparing ourselves as individuals and as a couple for the journey that lies ahead.

3. FELLOWSHIPPING - On Friday night we joined a group of SIM missionaries and supporters who meet monthly to pray for God's work through SIM around the world. This Friday a couple who have served in Liberia joined us and shared how God is ministering to people in that war-torn country. It was very encouraging to hear about the amazing things God is doing. It was also helpful for us to talk with other couples who are in the process of joining SIM in ministry. Plus, it was fun to meet a few people who know Kyle and Anne and their work in Nigeria.

4. WAITING - we are currently waiting for our "official job description" for Nigeria. Once this is formed we can "get running" on building our team of supporters.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• for patience to wait on God's timing.
• that our job description will be done.
• that we get the reading done.
• Kyle, Anne and the kids as they journey back to Nigeria next week.

July 14th Update

We were able to spend a few days in Milwaukee this month. It was so wonderful seeing family and friends! Plus the weather was wonderful - cool and clear most of the time - a great respite from all the rain we have been enjoying in TX. During our time we had the opportunity to meet with many friends, visit the state capital in Madison, visit with Toby's grandma, take in the fireworks from abord a boat on Lake Michigan, and enjoy many delicious meals! Here is a picture of the Abts family (minus the Nigerian representatives):

After returning from Milwaukee, Alycia's parents and her friend Sonja came for a visit. Ron and Kathy really enjoyed spending time with Xena, Sonja's 14 month old - they were getting great practice for Caden. Toby nick-names Alycia and Sonja "weeble 1" and "weeble 2" because they both waddle so much (due to being 7 months pregnant!)

Baby Update:

Everything continues to go well with the pregnancy. Caden has become a little wiggle worm as Alycia feels him moving on and off all day now. We are now in the countdown phase - 9 weeks to go (but we are hoping for only 7 or 8 and definatley not 10 or more!) We are so excited about meeting our little one and introducing him to all of you.

View more pics and stories on our individual websites: click on TOBY or ALYCIA to be taken to their sites.

Thanks for stopping by, please leave a comment and let us know how you are.

Here is our June newsletter.

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