Waitin' on Abby: Week 7

What a week! Ziggy's growing like a weed, nearly tripling in size to be about a half an inch long now--roughly the size of a rasberry. Both hemispheres of his brain are developing in his oversized head, and this week his teeth and the inside of his mouth are forming. His ears are continuing to develop, and he has eyelid folds partially covering his tiny eyes, which already have some color! The tip of Ziggy's nose is beginning to emerge from his growing face, and he now has distinct, although slightly webbed, fingers and toes. Ziggy's appendix and pancreas are in place, and his tiny liver is busy producing red blood cells. A loop of his growing intestines is bulging into his umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels carrying oxygen and nutrients to and from his tiny body. Christina can't feel it yet, but Ziggy's like a little jumping bean, moving around in quick, frenetic fits in his watery home.
What Christina can feel is the effect of her body working hard to build a placenta, which exerts roughly the same amount of energy as running a marathon (about 26 miles) every day! She can't seem to get enough sleep and is exhausted when she gets home from work. Even though she's been sitting all day, her body's been working triple overtime. A half hour nap has become a regular part of her evening routine. Justin's been a tremendous help, pitching in even more than usual with dishes and other household chores to allow Christina to get some much-needed rest.
The genuine excitement and support from our friends and families has been so encouraging! Emma, our favorite little five-year-old at church, even offered to let our baby come over and play on her new trampoline when he's born. Christina is receiving stacks of books from friends who've been through all this before, and she's so thankful for all the advice and wisdom she's getting from other moms. Justin's coworkers have been patting him on the back and congratulating him, and one even offered us a crib and a bassinet already--what a blessing!
We'll go for our first prenatal visit in two weeks, and Justin is busy trying to figure out the best way to record the little heartbeat we'll be able to hear at that time. Please continue to pray for our little miracle, that even as Ziggy's tiny heart is beginning to beat, God would be preparing to give our baby a heart that would love Him at a young age.

'Til next week,

Justin, Christina and Ziggy :)

Waitin' on Abby: Week 6

What a miracle this truly is! At just six weeks, our baby already has a beating heart! Ziggy is about the size of a small lentil bean right now, with an oversized head and dark spots where her eyes and nostrils are beginning to take shape. Her tiny arm and leg buds have thick webbing between her developing fingers and toes. Blood is beginning to pump through her tiny body and breathing passages are beginning to form where her lungs will be. Ziggy's beginning to build muscle fibers, and sometime this week she'll start to move her tiny arms and legs.
Christina has been blessed with no morning sickness whatsoever. When asked how she feels, she tells people, "not the least bit pregnant!" She's enjoying having a valid excuse to drink even more milk than usual, and seems to have an unusually strong craving for salty foods. Maybe it's her body's way of helping her cut back on all that sugar. Justin's going to see if maybe she likes pickles now...
We still haven't told everyone our fantastic news yet, but it's been so exciting to watch our friends' reactions when we tell them we're having a baby.
If ever God's grace has been evident in our lives, it is now. We are daily reminded of his sovereignty and provision as we pray for this new little life that is forming inside Christina's body. Though we'd love to do everything we can to ensure this baby is born healthy, that she develops the way she should and is safe in the womb, we can do nothing but pray for her. Our best efforts are nothing compared to God's care. Our love for this little baby doesn't come close to His love for her. God has a plan for little Ziggy, and He knew about this baby long before we did. He knows what our baby needs, and we're trusting Him to equip us to care for this precious little one. We're truly blown away that He has given us one of His children to care for.

Waitin' on Abby: Week 5

We just found out this week that we're having a baby, and can't wait to start telling family and friends! We're both so excited, with a fair share of nervousness mixed in. We're waiting until Christmas to tell everyone, so for now, our lips are sealed!
No signs of morning sickness yet (thank goodness)! In fact, the only day Christina felt anything was earlier this week when a "yucky" feeling that wouldn't go away made one of her friends ask if she was pregnant. She took a test to be sure, and, in fact, she was! Justin was truly surprised when she woke him up at 7 a.m. to show him the positive pregnancy test.
Baby Ziggy is about the size of a small sesame seed this week and looks like a tiny tadpole. The cells are forming for his major organs, and his neural tube is beginning to develop, from which will sprout his brain, spinal cord, nerves and backbone. His heart and circulatory system are beginning to form this week and his tiny heart will begin beating soon.

We're having a baby!

We're having a baby! Congrats to all the soon-to-be grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles! We hope you'll enjoy watching Christina's belly grow with us as we anticipate the arrival of the newest Fisher.

Thanks for joining us as we countdown to baby Fisher's arrival. Since we don't know what we're having yet (a baby, yes, we know...but we won't find out for a while if we'll be painting the nursery pink or blue), our baby's nickname is Ziggy.

Weekend in the Mountains

Our buddy Ryan celebrated his 22 birthday at a cabin in the North Georgia Mountains...it was peak leaf season and the scenery was stunning! As a bonus, we finally got to stop at Col. Poole's BBQ and visit the Pig Hill of Fame in Ellijay. A bit disappointing, I must admit. The hill of pigs was impressive, but the BBQ left much to be desired. But we did get to meet Col. Poole himself...

Fireworks!

Nobody does the Fourth of July like our neighborhood. Fireworks that explode right over your head, live music, inflatable obstacle courses...what more could you want? Good company of course! We were happy to have our Peru team members and the Beck family (who have just moved back from Peru) join us this year.

Mission Trip to Peru

Click here to see the photo album

“...If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, 'whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for 'whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, 'how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!'”
~Romans 10:9-15~

In June, we traveled with a team from our church to Cusco, Peru for our first ever mission trip. (In fact, it was the first mission trip anyone on our team had been on!) God is working in truly amazing ways in the places we visited, and we were truly blessed to be a part of His work during our weeklong mission. Click below to see a slideshow presentation.



As our team of eight was preparing for our mission trip, we struggled to understand exactly what it was we would be doing during our week in Cusco. It seemed we had a number of options, but we wanted an itinerary, a plan — some specific task we could be preparing for. God had other plans. When our ideas continually fell through, we learned to simply rely on God, and to have faith that He was preparing a work for us in Cusco. We never could have imagined what wonderful blessings He had in store for us.

"Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder!
Because I am doing something in your days you would not believe if you were told."
~Habakkuk 1:5~

As our team continued to pray for a plan, a missionary family we'd never heard of in a village we never knew existed was praying as well. They prayed that God would send a missions team to their village and to their family to help and encourage them. In more than seven years of ministry in a small village called Poroy, the Lenz family had never seen a team of missionaries come alongside to support their work. In June, they saw their prayers answered when our team showed up.

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.
~Proverbs 19:21~

Bud and Laura Lenz moved to this small village from Houston. They and their nine children intended to plant a church, but again, the Lord had other plans. Today they are not only leading a growing church in Poroy, but have opened their home to the unwanted and unloved children of the village and are raising more than 20 of them as their own. Cries of “mama” and “papa” echo from the lips of these Peruvian and Quechua children who now call the Lenz' household home.

When we arrived at their home on Monday, there was a project to be completed: Bud needed a wall built alongside his home. Most of the children in their home come from abusive and alcoholic parents, and the wall would serve to keep out the drunks who would often stumble onto Bud's property and threaten the children. The men on our team dove right in, hauling hand-poured cement bricks and mixing mortar alongside Bud and a couple of Peruvian men that had been hired to help with some of the funds our supporters provided. Justin was able to spend a great deal of time with these two men – Eduardo, a Christian and member of the Lenz' church, and his cousin Angel, who does not know the Lord. The two men earned five soles a day for their work – about $1.60 US. But what they gained from the time working with the men on our team was so much more. Eduardo was encouraged to be able to work alongside other Christian believers who had come so far to help, and Angel was able to spend a week seeing the gospel lived out in front of him as the men on our team worked and prayed alongside of him. At the week's end, the wall was completed, but the friendships these men formed had just begun. Justin continues to communicate with Eduardo via email, and we continue to pray that Angel will come to a saving knowledge of Christ.

While the men worked at the home, Laura invited the women to join her as she ministered to the women of Poroy. They prepared bags of supplies – rice, sugar, vitamins, toothpaste – and began walking and praying that the Lord would lead them to those in the village who needed to hear His word. Each day, the women left with three bags and intended to visit three of Laura's neighbors. Each time, God had other plans. At the end of the week, Laura and the women on our team had visited over fifteen homes and had seen two women accept Christ into their hearts as their Lord and Savior. The homes were simple – one room built of adobe bricks, dirt floors with cloth for door and window coverings in many cases – but the lives of the women inside were anything but easy. Most were the victims of abuse at the hands of alcoholic husbands (an unfortunate reality that is widely accepted in their culture), most were unable to provide for their children. Laura greeted each woman in the name of Jesus Christ and introduced our group of women as sisters who wished to pray for her. We prayed and wept together as Laura shared with them the hope of Jesus Christ, the truth of the Gospel, and the love of a Savior who died to save them.

When we weren't building a wall or visiting in the village, we were able to spend a great deal of time with the children in the home. The men played war with the boys and the women baked brownies with the girls. On Friday, our team of eight along with the entire Lenz family and all the workers in their home sat down to enjoy a traditional Peruvian lunch together. It was a wonderful time of Christian fellowship as we gathered to eat and spend time with one another. Even though we spoke different languages, we saw the Lord work to overcome that as we formed friendships with the family using what little Spanish we knew.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!
~Psalm 133:1~

During our week, we were also able to visit Iglesia Emanuel, the church started in Cusco by Peter and Gretchen Beck, a missionary family our church has supported for some time. We were able to join our Christian brothers and sisters at their church service when we arrived on Sunday, and though we didn't know the words, the tunes of the hymns were familiar and it was a wonderful time of worship for us and for our team. We also had a chance to be part of Club Emanuel, the church's ministry to street children in Peru. Like the children in Poroy, many of the children in Cusco have been neglected or abandoned. During their weekly time at Club Emanuel – similar to a church youth group – the kids worship in song and prayer, are taught a Bible lesson, play games, and are given dinner. Many will return to the streets when the group is dismissed, but each week they return and are able to hear the Gospel of grace and of God's love for them.

There are so many more stories to tell – this only begins to scratch the service of all that went on during our week. As we said goodbye to the Lenz and Beck families, we felt like we were saying goodbye to family. We miss them, we think of them daily, and we hope to return soon. Along with our team, we continue to support the Lenz family by sending care packages and small gifts for all the many birthdays that are being celebrated in their home. The Becks have returned to the United States and we've had a wonderful time hanging out with their family since their return. Thanks to everyone who came alongside and supported us in this mission through your prayers and your gifts!

Christmas ski trip

A week of skiing in Park City makes a great Christmas present. While Justin and his brothers skied like mad men down the mountain, I spent most of my time in ski school, and later, recovering from all the bruises I got from falling down on the bunny slopes.

Turkey for you, turkey for me...

Thanksgiving in Gainesville...good eatin', as always!

One year anniversary dinner

A romantic evening at home to celebrate one year of marriage. How time flies!