The Robertson Home...a flurry of activities!

As most of you know, we are preparing to leave home on Tuesday to embark on a ten-week mission trip to Alaska. I can't describe the emotions that run through me on a minute to minute basis, and I'm thankful that amid all the confusion (i.e. packing!) going on in our home, that I can stay in constant communication with my Heavenly Father.

Apple pie crescents...pie filling, crescent rolls, and cinnamon!
YUMMY!

Today has been filled with many projects, a long to-do list (that won't be completed today!), and some fun times with my children. Chandler was the treat bringer for his 4-k class today, and I forgot about it until about 7p.m. last night. At that moment, I didn't want to stop after church with the kids to pick something up, so I got up at 5a.m. this morning to bake treats for his school. Since I'm trying to clean out my fridge and pantry, options were limited! However, I came up with a delicious recipe that I'm sure I'll make again. I've included photos and the ingredient list in this post.

Following the treat making, I enjoyed my coffee, writing in my journal, and reading my Bible. My mama called and graciously offered to teach Garett kindergarten, so I could continue to work on projects and house cleaning. (Thank-God for mamas!). At 8 am. the neighbor dropped off her little boy for the day. (I've been watching him on Tuesdays and Thursdays). This is my last time watching him, and there are four little boys that are going to really miss baby Lane! After the baby was put down for his morning nap, I started in on making strawberry/rhubarb jam, only to realize that my potato masher was broken, so I couldn't mash the berries and rhubarb up as well as I would have liked. So, I pulled out the blender, threw it all in there and blended it up. It worked great, however, my children thought I was making smoothies, so everyone had to come and sample the mixture! Finally, finished up that task!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam



Spices in a pill box!

I've also been trying to figure out how to take up spices that I need for cooking and baking, without dragging along the whole container. My wonderful husband suggested that I get a large pill box from the pharmacy and put the spices that I don't need a lot of in there. It worked perfectly! I put spices and seasonings that I don't use alot of, but might need, such as poppy seed, paprika, cumin, cream of tarter, and other such spices in each compartment, and viola...perfect!

After picking up Chandler from 4K, we headed off to pick up Garett from my parents house. I had decided that we needed to take a trip to the library one more time before our trip, so off we trotted to the library (now with five little boys in tow!). We went to a little library in a neighboring town, and I loved it! The librarians were great with the kids, (they actually LIKE children to come to the library, unlike the one in our local town!). We stayed at the library for over an hour until Travis was starting to use the the stuffed animals for a pillow, and Wyatt was asking me to read to him...a sure sign that he is tired! Hooray for home and nap time!

Boys at the library...beautiful fall day!

Seven jars of camel sauce...
DELICIOUS!!

Another project I've been trying to accomplish before leaving is getting Christmas presents together for the kids teachers. I made a small batch of carmel sauce earlier this week, and I really liked how it turned out and tasted. So, I tripled the recipe, got out my canning jars again, and whipped up  seven jars of carmel sauce for Christmas presents. One more thing done...yay!

I'm about ready for bed, however, we are off to the Christmas parade in town tonight. The kids are really excited about going, but I'm sure it's because of the candy, not the parade! My parents are taking the kids overnight tonight, so Roger and I can pack the bags tomorrow (without HELP...spelled KIDS). The boys have been dragging out all kinds of things that we "need to bring" to Alaska, so I'll be relieved to have the clothes at least packed up tomorrow.

So, in a nutshell, that's what we've been working on and we are making progress towards leaving on Tuesday!

EL- SHADDAI...The Lord Who is Sufficient for the Needs of His People!

As we continue to prepare for our trip to Alaska, (leaving in 10 days) I am amazed at God's continued blessings upon our trip preparations! People have given gifts, both monetary and physical, that have helped immensely. I went to a ladies meeting last night (once a month we have a special get-together where the older women mentor the younger women), and I was blown away by the surprise going away shower they hosted for me and my family. I was blessed and overwhelmed by the kindnesses shown to me and feel extremely loved by my church family. I was gifted with skirts, socks, all kinds of craft things to do with the kids, assorted travel treats and goodies for the kids, lip gloss, a coat for my son as well as boots, along with several gifts of monetary value...absolutely amazing!

As my mind is constantly going, and the stack of items to take with us continues to build, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that I see God at work. The blessings we have already been bestowed with as well as the love, support, and prayers that people have offered have been truly overwhelming! Roger and I truly desire to be a blessing as we continue on this missionary trip, and we want to be good stewards of the gifts that people have bestowed to us.

I am overwhelmed by the love and gifts that have been given to our family!

We are at 40% support of what we are estimating our family to need, and I have been challenged in this opportunity to allow my faith to grow and my dependence on my GREAT God to deepen. God is truly good, and I feel like I have already learned several important lessons. One being that I know that we will be a lot more willing to give to someone else's mission trip now that we am in a position of needing people's support and prayers!

JEHOVAH-JIREH...Jehovah will provide!

My mind is overwhelmed with many thoughts today. The  overcast sky reflects my thoughts in the disappointing results from yesterday's  presidential election. (And I'm sure that there are some who do not share my disappointment, but for me and my family it was and is a disappointment.) America has voiced her opinion and turned her back on God, but I'm thankful that God doesn't want me to place my confidence in man anyways. Truly I'm thankful today that "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1) I would have loved to see a different man take over the oval office for the sake of my children and future generations, but I rejoice in knowing that nothing catches God by surprise, and He is NOT worried about the future or wondering what's going to happen next!

On a different note entirely, the Robertson family is continuing to move forward with plans for Alaska. My mind is constantly spinning with questions, packing details, and I constantly feel like I can't focus on the task at hand without my mind wondering off to something else! I'm excited, overwhelmed, and thankful that "...when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I." (Psalm 61:2) God has provided for us this far and will continue to do so.

As many of you know, we have been searching for a vehicle for our trip to Alaska, and I'm happy to report that God has done just that...provided for us! We looked at Envoy's, Trailblazers, Explorer's, and Suburbans, and discovered that our options became extremely limited as a family of six! A family of five...no problem...but since I couldn't decide which child to leave behind (Just kidding!), we needed something bigger. We searched Craigslist more times than I can count, and compared prices with Kelley Blue Book until we needed to buy a membership to Kelley Blue Book to compare anything else! (I'm kidding!)  However, last Saturday, my husband made a phone call to a man offering a suburban for sale. The price was in our budget, and it would fit our family. Upon looking the vehicle over, we made an offer and the man accepted it! WHOO HOO! We are know the owners of a 2000 suburban! It is fully loaded with more options than I ever dreamed...heated seats (yay!), remote start (I'll let you know how that works in Alaska!), bucket seats in the middle row, and leather interior. The kids have been asking to drive everywhere in it, but I don't think they realize that by the time we reach Alaska, they will have had their fill of sitting in the truck! I'm excited to see that the Lord provided the right vehicle for us and not very excited about filling it up with gas! We are planning on leaving in 13 days, on November 21st, so time is flying by. We appreciate your prayers as we continue to move forward in our plans.

Another day, another run, another moment to praise the Lord!

My running shoes...minus the pair I can't find at the moment!

I had my annual physical this week, and I was once again reminded of how much I have to be thankful for in life. I am in good health, and have lost 13 pounds from last year. That may not seem like a whole lot, but I've been fighting to lose those pounds! I'm six pounds away from the weight I was when I got married, but I'm not sure I'll ever get there!

Also this week, I realized that it has been a year since I started tracking my miles. I didn't set a goal this past year of how many miles I was aiming to run, but I run mostly because I enjoy it. And running helps me keep my weight in check! Someone recently asked me to name one word that would describe my exercise and reason for running...one word= commitment. For me, that sums it up in a nutshell, oh, there are many other words that go along with that like dedication, perseverance, determination, etc. but that is the one I chose. Why? For me, exercise is like reading my Bible, I am committed to reading it every day just as I am committed to exercising every day. Now, I'd rather have my Bible read than exercise done, but I'm committed to fitting both in my day. It doesn't always happen, but just because I trip up, doesn't mean I should quit the race completely! Actually, reading my Bible often motivates me to exercise because I'll read about my body being the temple of the living God (II Corinthians 6:16), or run that we might obtain, (I Corinthians 9: 24) or controlling my appetite (Proverbs 23:2). Bottom line is that I try to be committed to seeing my body get daily exercise.

I'd encourage anyone to commit to exercise everyday. It provides oxygen for the body, refreshes the mind, produces endorphins, and helps keep the pounds in check...all good reasons to exercise the body and mind. I've found that running allows me to meditate on Scripture, pray for others, and listen to some awesome Gospel songs; therefore, all the more reason for me to do it.

 My greatest encourager and supporter in my husband, Roger. He doesn't necessarily enjoy running, but he encourages me to do it. He never complains about watching the kids while I run or exercise, and I am so thankful for him. God has blessed me beyond measure!

In the past year, I've run three 5k races, a half-marathon, and have logged just over 1,000 miles on my shoes! 600 of those were running miles, while the rest were composed of biking, walking, aerobic exercise, and elliptical. Running a half-marathon was hard work, and while I enjoyed the sense of accomplishment, I'm not sure I'll do it again. I'd like to do a triathlon, but we'll see what the new running year brings.


However, things are changing for our family with our upcoming adventure, and one of my biggest fears (my closest friends have already heard me say this!) is that I will gain 20 pounds in ten weeks due to lack of exercise. So, in the next few weeks, I'll probably be working more on self-discipline and telling the flesh "no" rather than my commitment to exercise.


 July 2012

My friend, Katie and myself
in September of 2011...
and she's very tiny, so she makes me
look fatter than I really am!





The Robertson Family

 

Short-term mission trip to Manley Hot Springs, Alaska



 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I: send me.”  Isaiah 6:8

Dear Family and Friends,

          As many of you know, this past March I was able to take a trip to Alaska. It was a short trip with Wings As Eagles ( a ministry out of our church, Wyldewood Baptist) geared toward evangelistic goals of reaching people with the gospel. There I strengthened a friendship with a missionary to the north, Earl Malpass. I was able to see his ministry, and God really gave me a burden to help this missionary friend. Not knowing what God had in mind, I returned home and my wife and I began to pray about what God would have us to do. We stayed in contact with Brother Malpass, and when he mentioned his desire to go on furlough, I felt God’s direction toward taking a short- term mission trip to help out his ministry while he and his family are away.

           My family and I are planning to head to Alaska at the end of November and return towards the beginning of February.  We will be staying in the village of Manley Hot Springs, which is about a five- hour drive from Fairbanks, Alaska.  Brother Malpass has established a small church family there, and we are looking forward to meeting the people of this community, working with them, encouraging them, and assisting in church services.  We are excited about this opportunity and are looking forward to seeing how God uses us. 

              We are in need of several things.  As we step out on this new experience, we need your help.  First of all, we ask that you pray for us. Pray for safety. Pray we will be a blessing to the people there. Pray that God would use our family for His glory. Pray that God would strengthen our family and give us clear direction for our future.  

Secondly, we are in need of a four-wheel -drive vehicle to use for our 10 week mission trip. It is costly to live in Alaska and in order to cut costs, we are planning on driving there.  We ask that you pray that God would allow us to find the right vehicle.

Thirdly, we are stepping out on faith, knowing that God will provide our needs. Would you be willing to consider giving a one-time monetary donation to help our family with the expenses of gas, a vehicle, and food? We would greatly appreciate anything that God leads you to give.  Any donations can be sent to our home church, Wyldewood Baptist Church. Please ear-tag it for the Roger Robertson family.

 Thank you for your prayers.  If you would like to receive updates and news about our trip, you can find it on our family blog… mudandmanners.blogspot.com. The updates will be sporadic as we will be able to update only when we can connect to the internet. Thank you and God bless. 

Roger, Sarah, Garett, Chandler, Wyatt, and Travis Robertson

 

This is the letter we sent out to family and friends to encourage them to pray for us as we step out on this new adventure. My heart is overwhelmed with the thought of this experience, and I am resting in God to take care of us, provide for us, and to change us more into His image for His glory through this trip.  I am excited about this opportunity, and as a family we are looking forward to this mission trip. The cabin we will be staying in is a dry cabin, which means it has electricity, but no running water! This will be a challenge for me...how badly do I need to go to the bathroom?! I have many questions about how it will all work out, but one thing is for certain...it will be interesting! Prayers are appreciated, and we love and care about you all.

Love, Sarah

Birthday, Birthdays, an anniversary and a wedding!

              Life doesn't offer a pause button, but if it did I'd be sure to use it at times! We've been busy with my baby turning two, and my oldest turning six...where oh where did time go??? We celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary in September, witnessed the wedding of Roger's younger brother, I helped with a Ladies Retreat at church, we had revival services with Tom Farrell, moved on to Missions conference, and started school with Garett somewhere in that list too!



Our anniversary weekend...same dress I wore for our honeymoon, seven years ago!

         We had a family get-together for Travis' birthday, and then Garett had a party with a few families over with their children. Garett asked for tacos for his birthday dinner, and he was SO excited to pick out his own birthday cake from Wal-mart. I did an interview with Garett and asked him a few questions. I saved the questions and hope to repeat them in future years to see how his responses mature and change.





Here are his responses:
 1) What is your favorite thing to do? "maybe....play outside"
 2) What is your favorite food? vegetables
 3) Who is your best friend? "uh...I don't know"
 4) What would be the best birthday present ever? "maybe this" (pointing to the airplane, he had just opened for his birthday)
 5) What is one new thing you learned this year? "maybe...school"
 6) What would you like to be when you grow up? "maybe..I don't know"
 7) If someone was to give you money for a birthday present, what would be the perfect amount? "maybe..twenty dollars".


My four little men...six, four, three and two!

I enjoyed listening to his responses, and I look forward too doing an interview with my other children on their upcoming birthdays as well.

          While life has been just a tad overwhelming these past few weeks, I 've been challenged to manage my time better and blogging hasn't been a priority. However, we have some big changes coming up for our family in the next few weeks and months, and I have been reminded by a friend that I need to get back at this. Stay tuned for new adventures within our family!

Family wedding...Roger's brother, Mark and wife, Allison

       

Excuses, Excuses...but, yes, It's true!

         I have a whole list of reasons why I haven't been blogging lately, but suffice it to say...the computer is fixed (that's a major one), the summer is slowing down, my phone camera is overloaded with pictures, school starts in a few weeks, and on and on it goes!

         The summer has been OVERLOADED with fun memories, lots of trips to see extended family,
swimming, biking, and much, much more. It would be impossible to recap all that has happened in the last few weeks, but since this is my blog, and I can write about whatever I wish...I'm going to try! :)

       The week following Vacation Bible School, my sister, myself and my boys took off on a 17 hour car ride to North Carolina. We were DELIGHTED to reach our destination! The boys spent the next 12 days enjoying swimming (every day), jet skiing, water tubing, a visit to the ocean, a visit to the mountains, and lots of sun and fresh air. It was a special treat to visit Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where we spent 3 days wallowing in the ocean, and loving the five pools at the resort we stayed at. My biggest drawback to the trip, was not having my husband along. I missed him desperately, and I was reminded again of all his work with our children. I did enjoy catching up on visiting with my sisters, and visiting with my mom's extended family.

     While visiting the ocean, Chandler asked me, "How do they fill this up every night?" It took me a minute to figure out that he was talking about the ocean water and figured it to be a large pool that someone filled up every night! It was a great opportunity to talk about how God made the ocean and that God "filled" it up.

    While children are a challenge at times, and I feel overwhelmed most of the time, I know that I am one very wealthy woman. Not in money, but in raising four boys for His glory. I treasure the memories that were created, and thank God for each child that He has blessed us with.

Beach Buds

Hot tub at resort

My four and their cousin, Jeremiah

Wyatt and Aunt Jenn

Mom and boys tubing

Loving the pool time

Mom and the boys