Happy Autumn!

Around the Ries household, we are very thankful for the change in weather!  This past week has been full of “perfect” days to spend outside.  The only downside has been the numerous mosquitos from the previous week’s rain.  However, it’s easy to remember that they don’t carry malaria and then I’m happy again.

Yesterday, we visited Gentry’s Farm, a working farm established in 1849, near our home for a fun fall afternoon.  They had chickens, ducks, a turkey and goats to observe behind pens.  It sorta reminded us of Togo, but not really.  We also walked through a corn maze and took a hayride.  Here are some pictures from our adventure!  Just for fun, check out last year’s

Pumpkin Patch pictures and compare the boys’ heights!

The Ries Family

Isaac: How Tall this Fall?

Graham: How Tall this Fall?

Owen: How Tall this Fall?

Graham is lost in the corn maze!

The boys start their search for the perfect pumpkin.

At Gentry's Farm, there is a huge patch where you can pick your own pumpkin!

Poster Child

Life has an interesting way of unfolding sometimes. I never expected that after nearly a year in the States that Bryan (or I) would not be fully employed. This has been one of the biggest times of testing in my life. “God are you really going to provide?” I’m struggling with feeling like our family is “damaged goods”. “Jesus, I am trying to keep in focus your sacrifice and love for me.”    Rejection hurts, the real and imagined ones. “Holy Spirt, fill me with your fruits so that I can see the blessings instead of the negatives.”

Then, this week Bryan was contacted by Lipscomb’s media relations department.  A reporter from the Tennessean had contacted them asking if they knew of anyone who had a master’s degree and was working retail during these tough economic times.   Bryan’s name was suggested and the next thing he knew the reporter interviewed him by phone.  Tonight, he’s working at Home Depot and  a photographer from the newspaper is coming by to take photos of him on the job.   See what I mean about poster child?

Friends, House & Van

I have been wanting to post pics of our new home and van for awhile now.  I finally got around to taking the pictures today!  I know that many of you won’t be able to visit us in person.  So, I hope this helps you visualize where we are spending our days. Here’s our little section of the townhouse row.

Here’s our van that we bought last summer.  We love it!  It’s been a great vehicle for our family.  We recently bought a second “commuter” car too.  However, Bryan is using it right now…no picture.

 

I’ve been privledged to spend time with some of my college friends this weekend!  Janel Steed, Kristin Winters, Angela Clifford and I enjoyed chatting and eating lunch together at Kristin’s home today.  We had a lot to catch up on….children, husbands, families, jobs, churches, etc!  These are dear, dear friends and I’m so blessed to have them in my life.

Here are a few of our kiddos.  It was fun to see them play together.

News

I wish this post could be a big announcement of new jobs, but it’s not. Sorry. We are still looking hard and following up on leads, but nothing yet.

Isaac did not make the play that he auditioned for last week. He was terribly disappointed. He asked his teacher the following day why he didn’t make the cut and the answer was there were simply too many kids. Isaac still wants to try out again, so it didn’t crush his spirit entirely. I was aching for him in a deep way that day!

My brother visited us last weekend from Harding. It was great to spend time with him. All of us went on a hike along the Natchez Trace. He watched the boys while Bryan and I went on a dinner date for Valentine’s Day. We also visited with my dad during the weekend. I love being closer to my family!

 

Valentine's Day Hike

 

My Valentines

We are getting more adjusted to our new life as the weeks pass. However, we are very ready to start working again! Bryan and I both spend our days studying for tests related to our professions and following up on job leads. Oh and taking care of our boys!

Hanging On

One of the chief observations I hear from former missionaries is that American life is so fast-paced. I am going to join the chorus of voices and agree! American life is fast-paced and I love it!

On Saturday, our family drove to Jackson so I could attend Jenny’s baby shower. We came home Saturday evening! I am so thankful that we live close enough now to make a day trip.

Sunday, we visited another congregation and enjoyed lunch with our good friends the Cliffords.

Today, school is back in session. I have meetings with both Isaac and Graham’s teachers this week to discuss how their transition is going. I feel a little bit nervous about it.  

Isaac is auditioning for the school musical this afternoon. I am so proud of his bravery!

I finally finished the chore/family night charts for the boys. So, there’s a little more structure to our daily lives. They are very excited that we have reestablished our family nights…game, movie, book and devo nights. I still need to get my act together with the weekly menu.

This week we should find out more about our job situations. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Moving Day

Bryan finally arrived in Franklin yesterday afternoon. Boy was I glad to see him! I’ve been struggling on my own with the boys “in transition” for most of the week. He graciously took over most of the parenting duties for the rest of the day. (Thanks honey!) We also had a lot of folks from Brentwood Hills and Otter Creek come out to help us unload the truck. Thanks everyone!

We love our new townhouse! The floors downstairs are hardwood. The kitchen is much bigger. (I know I mentioned that before, but it’s so great that I needed to repeat that fact.) The place is just nicer and cleaner than the Dallas pad. Yeah! We are definitely counting our blessings. We had planned to stay the night last night, but the heat was not working. So, we stayed another night with our friends, the Cliffords. Hopefully, the energy company can solve the issue today and we can sleep there tonight!

I had plans to enroll the boys in school on Friday, but it was cancelled due to “extreme temperatures”. I guess they don’t want children to turn into ice cubes. Today, is MLK holiday and Tuesday is a staff development day. At this point it looks like Wednesday will be the first day of school. I’ll give you all an update when it happens.

Yesterday, we visited a local congregation with our friends. Isaac reported that 5 boys in his class had iTouch devices. Wow! He said they were also playing games on them during Bible class. I think this is just a glimpse of what lies ahead for our boys in terms of dealing with “stuff”.

Continue to keep us in your prayers. Much love, T

Full on Five

Owen turned 5 today! In the midst of this crazy week of packing, we celebrated his special day with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese’s. He’s been dreaming of this day for several months. I think it was all that he had hoped for.  He especially enjoyed the “gold medal” that he received for being the birthday boy. Here are some pics from the bash.

Chuck and Owen

Time for cake!!!

Dad, Owen & Mom...our five year old!

Owen and Stone

Graham and Stone

 

Sanderson and Ries Families

Inspiration

This year I’ve found inspiration to be a better version of myself in my children.  During the long hours together on our two week break I’ve noticed some unique qualities each of my boys possess that I’d like to cultivate in my life too.  I’ve always believed that God placed each of them in my life to teach me valuable lessons – especially about love – loving myself, others and Him more.  I’ve been made aware many times of my weaknesses through my inability to parent them perfectly as they deserve as children of God.  

But, this is a little bit different…it’s not about the challenges they present that have caused me to grow.  It’s the positive qualities they seemingly effortlessly possess as people made in God’s image.  Here are my character goals for 2009, inspired by Isaac, Graham and Owen.

• Self-Control: We stopped at Chili’s last night on our way home from Tennessee.  We had a coupon for a free Chocolate Molten Cake.  This dessert was incredible: warm chocolate cake topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate shell sauce. My oldest, Isaac very calmly said that he didn’t want any because he was full.  Full?  I haven’t let that little word stop me from enjoying a few bites of cake in a very long time!  Isaac is also into fitness in general, he loves to run and reads nutrition labels for fun. It’s my goal that I can be more purposeful in what I choose to do with/to my body.
• Acceptance : My middle child, Graham, loves everyone.  He has an uncanny ability to make friends with young and old alike.  I desire to be more open to new relationships like him.  An example?  During our visit at my sister’s Graham spent long stretches of time building Thomas train tracks for his 2 year old cousin.  
• Joie de Vivre: The youngest of the bunch, Owen has boundless energy and love of life.  (Of course, he still has major mood swings, but that’s for another post!)  He wants to be where the excitement is happening.  On our trip he practiced a baseball pop-up slide on a slick floor until he had perfected it.  Never mind the leg bruises that went along with it. I want to be more like him and take risks this year and enjoy doing it!!

It’s my prayer that you don’t have to look far to find qualities that you want to emulate in your life.  You might find it in the most unlikely places!!!

Update

It hasn’t been very long since my last update. However, I have some mixed news to share.  Some of you might be surprise to learn that we are not headed to Colorado.  After a very difficult week which included lots of prayer and conversations, Bryan and I came to the conclusion that a move to Colorado would not be in our family’s best interest.  We didn’t even present the idea to our missions committee on Sunday.  The men and women at MTI have been very gracious to us even in their disappointment.  It was extremely hard to change our course of action especially with our support from Preston Road ending this month.  We are currently deciding what the next move will be for our family.  We have a plan forming that involves us moving to the Nashville, Tennessee area in the near future.  Please keep us in your prayers.  Specifically, that I can get my teaching license renewed in a timely manner and that Bryan can find employment.  Thank you friends for your love and support.

Colorado Update

We got the call this week from MTI (www.mti.org) inviting Bryan to join their full-time staff!!!  He would be working in the PILAT program (language acquisition) and the SPLICE program (preparing for cross-cultural living). This is exciting news for us. However, now we need to raise our salary for working in this ministry.  We will be meeting with the PRCC missions committee on Sunday to discuss the possibility of their continued support.  So, please keep that meeting in your prayers.  I will update you again next week.  Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and prayers up to this point.  We still have a long way to go!!!