Soooo...it might have been 4 years since I posted on here. I blame Facebook and Instagram. Ha!

But as one chapter ends and another begins in the real life of the Stanfield's, I find myself wanting to write a little more about our adventures. I'm going to start with a little reminiscing.

Eight years ago, our family began a new chapter in Chandler, Oklahoma, with Chandler Friends Church and it has been a wonderful but at times, challenging, adventure. We have been loved on and cared for in a way that will always warm my heart, always! We have made life long friends here.

When you are in ministry, it is healthy to reevaluate where you are and where God is calling you often. Church leadership asks Chris every year to pray about if we are still called to minister here in Chandler and last year, the answer was unclear, so Chris and I kept praying and constantly asking (more like crying out) to God for guidance in whether or not it was time to go. For many months, His answer was "not yet" but I could tell it was coming.

It all started for me a year and a half ago while driving home from Colorado Springs, where we had just celebrated Christmas with Chris' family. As I watched the stunning Pikes Peak disappearing in my rear view mirror, glowing a gorgeous hue of pink and orange in the early morning sunrise, the tears began to fall. I didn't want to leave, and somehow I just knew that someday soon I wouldn't have to.

Sorry, the pic is a little grainy, I took it with my phone (not while I was driving! Chris thought I was crazy when I pulled over and got out of the truck.)

Fast forward a year and a half and the Stanfield's are moving to Paonia, Colorado! Wow! It has been a wild ride but we have learned a lot in the last year and a half, especially about trusting in the Lord's timing. Chris and I did not receive peace at the same time about leaving Chandler Friends and that really bothered him. My peace caused him more anxiety and there wasn't anything I could do to help him.

In January, Paonia Friends Church posted a job opening for an Associate Pastor, with emphasis in Family Ministry. At first, we really didn't think it was an option. I mean, come on...the Colorado mountains do not really sound like suffering for Jesus. Heehee! As we continued to pray and search for God's will, Paonia kept coming to the forefront and we couldn't ignore it any longer, so Chris sent his resume in. My birthday in February found us flying to Colorado, the kids loved getting to fly for the first time, to interview with Paonia Friends Church and the answer was very clear for us. A couple weeks later, they offered us the job and now we are packing up 8 years of memories and trying our best to say goodbye to some very dear friends. It's not easy and we knew it wouldn't be but that's how we know we loved and served Chandler Friends Church as God called us to, with all our hearts!

Move date is June 6th and it will be here before I know it. If you think of us, please say a prayer that we will finish well here in Chandler as the love and desire for Paonia grows in our hearts.

Easter weekend was busy as usual but so wonderful! I started off the weekend by helping with our Junior High Glow in the Dark Easter egg hunt...Awesome! The eggs had reflective strips on them and they showed up great with our LED flashlights. The kids had a blast and I really enjoyed it too! I couldn't resist picking up one egg, hoping for chocolate but got a gold dollar instead! :)


Saturday was our church's big Easter Egg hunt and it was great to see some people from the community come join in on the fun, even though it was sprinkling the whole time. We then enjoyed a meal inside the gym together.

Sunday morning found us scurrying to put out more chairs in the sanctuary to accommodate the 190+ crowd that came to hear Chris preach about the redemption of Ruth by Boaz and how God wants to redeem us too. What a glorious thing! After church, we had wonderfully delicious meal with friends and another Easter Egg hunt for the kiddos.

All in all, we feel very blessed to be loved so much by our family, friends and church family this past weekend. I pray you all felt God's blessing on your life this Easter weekend too! God Bless from the Stanfield's!

Wait! Junior High???

Reality check! Isaac brought home his enrollment form for Junior High a couple days ago and I must say, I am having a hard time believing that he is really going to be in youth group with me next year! He just doesn't seem that old (cliche...I know.) Course, he had it all filled out and ready for me to check by the time he got home and he is hoping to pass his big math test, in a couple weeks, with flying colors so he can opt out of skills class and take Tech Ed instead. :) Oh, how that kid makes me smile! He sure doesn't get his smarts from his mother.

Christmas parties!

Whew! I have always known December to be busy but this one has seemed especially full! It probably has something to do with the kids getting older and being involved in more activities but I am looking forward to a slow down after the New Year. Isaac is in basketball this year, his first school sponsored sport, and it has been great fun to watch his games! After two outside sports for so many years, baseball and football, it is great to have a sport that is indoors and I don't have to worry about dressing for the ever changing weather conditions. Ian does not seem to have much interest in any sports but has asked if he could raise a cow...yep, you read that right...a COW! Ummm, how about we start with something a little smaller and one that won't have the neighbors calling the cops on us! He has now decided on a bunny rabbit and I am okay with that, it will be outside and he wants to show it at the county fair this summer. Emma is into everything these days, I can't seem to keep her away from stuff that isn't hers, even when she gets a spanking for it. The recent saying in the house is..."Emma! Where is my...!?" Unfortunately, most of the time, whatever "it" is can be found in her room. :(

Here are some pics from the kids school Christmas parties! Sad to think that this was Isaac's last school Christmas party but excited for him and the new adventures that await next year!

Am I seeing things???

No friends, you aren't seeing things! I am actually posting on my blog again and just one month short of a year since the last post. I decided that either I need to start blogging again or just get rid of the whole thing. (I can just see all ten of my followers jumping for joy since I obviously decided to keep going.) Heehee. I love reading others blogs and it has inspired to give it another go...so...here goes nothing!

If you ask my kids, I am sure they will tell you that the biggest thing going on in their lives right now is the fact that they only have 3 and 1/2 more days to summer freedom! Sorry...that's a mixed bag for me. I kinda like only having only one child at home during the day, it really cuts down on the arguments. :) Course, Emma can't wait for the boys to be home so she has someone else, besides me and the dog, to boss around. ;) I've already started praying for her preschool teachers this next fall, they are in for a wild ride!

As for me, I've had quite a rough month or so. Started out with feeling sick to my stomach quite a bit, especially after eating and so I thought maybe I had a problem with gluten (found in flour). I cut gluten out of my diet and started feeling better within a week. Problem solved! Well...okay, maybe not. The last week of April found me getting sick again and this time around it was more severe. It got so bad that on May 2nd, Chris took me to the emergency room, which proved to be a nice little visit for basically, NOTHING! :( I did have an ultrasound to check my liver, pancreas and gallbladder, which all looked normal and then was sent home, with a pain med presciption, since I wasn't dying. (They did have a full waiting room.) Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I did come home with some nice bruises, since I was so dehydrated and they had problems drawing blood and getting an IV started. :(

The next day found me at another hospital, this time with an appointment, for a CT scan after I started having sharp pain in my back and chest. I was still dehydrated so after three horribly painful, failed attempts to get another IV started, I begged them to stop and just do the scan without the dye (the scan can still be done, the radiologists just can read it as well.) This scan came back normal as well. Boo!

The next two days I was pain free so it took me by surprise when I woke up Saturday morning (May 7th) about 1:30am with what felt like a gas pain in my lower, right side abdomen. When it got progressively worse, Chris and I decided it was time for another ER visit. A dear friend came and stayed with the kids, who were sound asleep, while we raced off to OKC. By the time we got there, I would say the pain was at a nine on the 1-10 pain scale but I was still adamant that they bring in the best person to start my IV. All I had to do was show them my arms and hands. :( I could have about hugged the nurse that came in and got it started right away with no problems!!! And it was a good thing that pain meds through an IV kick in immediately! After a quick exam by the doc, basically all he had to do was push on my right side and I about came up off the bed, I was sent upstairs for another CT scan. (This one was done differently and I don't really want to give anyone a visual on how it was done but I was told that this was the only way to really see the gallbladder and appendix.) This scan DID show that my appendix was enlarged and the doctor said it needed to come out so I was scheduled to an emergency laparoscopic appendectomy that afternoon.

I has been a week today since the surgery (my very first surgery ever) and I am still moving slow but getting better every day. My wonderful mom was able to come to Oklahoma Saturday afternoon and was actually here by the time I was taken back to my room for recovery. She has been a lifesaver this last week, staying with me for five days so that Chris could go back to work. I don't know what I would have done without her, she even spent Mother's Day taking care of me!

Well, that's probably enough for my first post back blogging, don't want to overdue myself! ;)

Tomorrow's the big day and I don't have time to write anything else!!! Hahaha! WAY TOO MUCH to do before tomorrow morning including making monster cookies! :)

It's countdown week!

Only three more days till we leave for the reunion and I am nowhere ready but that's exactly what the next three days are for...to get ready! It may be a blessing in disguise but we got over six inches of rain yesterday morning and so we won't be playing baseball tonight or maybe even the rest of the week.

I could have done without the rain coming through my kitchen cupboard or the living room ceiling...but I am thankful for the extra time here at home to organize and pack.

Since it is going to be in the 70's in northern Idaho, I have to pack a little bit of everything. We are close to hitting triple digits here in Oklahoma so I am looking forward to cooler temps, for sure! And getting to see all my dear family. Better get moving! =)

Good News!

Last week, I had a biopsy on a freckle on my calf and the results came back today...NO CANCER!!! Praise the Lord! I have known for a month that I was going to have it done but I didn't really think about it until the morning of the biopsy. Then I freaked out...just a smidge. :) I know God has a plan for me but it all of a sudden hit me that it really could be cancer and what that would mean for me and my family. I found myself breaking out in tears about the smallest things all morning long. After the appointment, I sat in the Avalanche and cried. :( As I sat there, trying to get ahold of myself, I heard a song on the radio that repeated over and over, "Don't you know you're beautiful?!". All of a sudden, I felt God's peace pour over me and I knew that no matter what the results were, I would be okay and God still loved me just the way I am, cancer or no cancer! Thank you to all of you that were praying for me over the weekend while we waited for the results!

Idaho trip

It's almost here and after so many months...really a year, of planning and saving, it's hard to believe that it's almost time for the Folkerts Family Reunion at Elkins Resort, in Priest Lake, Idaho. Only two more weeks and we will be headed out! A LOT has happened in the last 11+ months leading up this vacation/adventure and I really don't want to go into all that, water under the bridge. Now I am just looking forward to watching my kids see new states, new animals and as many of the 50 states license plates as we can along the way! Getting to see aunts, uncles, cousins, and all the extra people that are now their families is going to be great too! I can't wait for the stories and tall tales that always get told when this extended family gets together.

In preparation for the extra expense, we sold my Expedition yesterday. I must admit it was a little rough for me. As rough for me as it was easy for Chris. I drove it but he had to fix it! I even had a little conversation with the Lord on the way to meet the new owner and He assured me that it was time to move on. I felt like I had been everywhere in that car with my family and how we came to own it in the first place was nothing short of a blessing from God but He wants to continue to bless us. There is a pic of the new blessing on facebook and really...I am NOT complaining! Course, Chris still calls it his truck. :) I love my new Avalanche!!!

Isaac is still crazy busy with baseball and will actually miss their last regularly scheduled game due to our trip but the thought of seeing Elk, Antelope and a lot of license plates from other states is worth missing the game. I think so too!

Ian was playing coach pitch baseball this year but after a early injury to his leg and his interest in the inside of his baseball cap rather than catching the ball, we decided to call it quits and try a different sport next year. Something that has him running...a lot.

Emma is still the princess of the house and as I speak is prancing around the house in her dress up shoes, large assortment of beaded necklaces and one of her brother's slingshots around her neck...never a dull moment with her! By the way, did I mention she is only in a pull-up? This child strips almost as soon as we walk in the door!

I am going to try to keep this updated more in the next few weeks as we go on this crazy fun adventure but don't hold your breathe...really...don't.

Okay...

...so I was reading all my friends wonderful blogs and it inspired to at least acknowledge that I still have a blog. Not a very often updated one but a blog nonetheless. :) So here goes!

We had a great Thanksgiving at Mom and Dad's with Stacy and Marcy's families, Uncle Rod & Aunt Sandy and our good friends from Oklahoma, Jonny & Amanda. Yes, it was a houseful and at times, WAY TOO MANY people and their issues but overall, I had a great time! Chris shot a great buck on the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week but wasn't able to find it before we left for home on Saturday. A farmer did find it that Monday so yes...my husband is pretty pumped and I am wondering how we are going to afford another taxidermy bill. I forgot the battery charger for my camera at home and the battery was pretty much dead so I don't have any pictures from the week...a new camera is on my Christmas wish list!

The house has now been transformed into a Christmas wonderland...well, almost. I need to finish going through the tubs so that Chris can put them back out in the shed. The kids did the decorating of the Christmas tree this year *almost* all by themselves and it looks a lot better than I thought it would. I guess I have trained them right! ;)

The final countdown has begun and the pace has picked up considerably as I am trying to keep everyone heading in the right direction with the goal being a peaceful and treasured Christmas season with friends and family. I keep reminding myself to keep Christ as the center of our celebrations and to teach my kids the same. God has been so good to us this year and I can't wait to see what 2010 holds for us! *Well, I do know one thing good happening in 2010...Chris and I were able to order a new sofa and loveseat from our local furniture store (owned by a church member) and they will be here sometime in February!!! I am so excited!

No State Fair this year

...but Tulsa has a fair next week that is smaller and some people that I have talked to say it is nicer. Sounds good to me! It actually worked out well since Chris ended up with a migraine that afternoon and it was tough enough having all three kids Friday night at Isaac's baseball games. Isaac was very happy that they won both games that night and he has started HITTING the ball!!! Wahoo! He did strike out twice but I told him that I was proud of him for at least trying to hit the ball. He did get a couple good hits but they both went foul, Isaac said it still felt good to make contact. Sure proud of my boy!

I also found out that our good attitudes toward Isaac not always getting to play has been noticed. A friend from church said that she overhead someone talking about how the Friends Church pastor and his wife never complain about how much Isaac gets to play or not play. Praise the Lord!!! Living out our Christianity through our actions not just our words!

Oklahoma State Fair

The boys don't have school tomorrow so I am thinking about taking them to the Oklahoma State Fair BUT Chris has to work so I would be taking them all by myself! Hence, the still thinking part. I am not sure I am up for the task of keeping track of three of them or for that matter, keeping UP with them. Emma doesn't want to be in the stroller that much anymore and Ian has a tendency to think it's funny to find some little place to hide from me, not cool. A friend of mine and her friend are going tomorrow but I don't want to trouble them with watching my kids. I have wanted to take the boys for years but the last time I went was the Kansas State Fair when Isaac was an only child! Maybe I need to talk Chris into taking the day off...probably not going to happen. I'll let you know if we go, probably not tomorrow since Isaac does have a double header baseball game tomorrow night and yes, that does factor into the decision too. Ugh!

Isaac's 9th birthday

I know it's been almost a month but, as the saying goes, better late than never!!! My oldest, Isaac, turned nine last month and I still can't believe how grown up he is getting. Everyday, I seem to catch myself watching him and noticing how mature he is getting. Only one more year till he reaches the two digit birthday. Here are some pics from a small party we had for him at home. He had his friend from church, Adam, over and then also our neighbors, Madison (Isaac's age but he says she is NOT his girlfriend) and Dalton (Ian's age and a great friend). It also worked out for our friends, Geron and Lorrie, to come out for the day and of course, Jonny and Amanda came for the fun too.
My parents, Chris and I bought Isaac a new bike for his birthday and he was especially excited that it had pegs on both front and back wheels, guess he is thinking about tricks after watching X Games this summer! I'm not sure I am ready for that!

Proof that Isaac does practice

Thought this was sweet of Emma and Isaac while he was practicing piano. Love those little toes! Don't know how much practicing he got in since sis was "helping" but he is so patient with her.

Knot Just Tutus

I encourage everyone with a little girl or anyone who knows a little girl to check out my best friend's new blog, http://knotjusttutus.blogspot.com. Becky creates some of the most adorable tutus, tutu dresses, hats, headbands and baby blankets for the sweet little girls in our lives. :) Becky's inspiration comes from her own two sweet daughters and in an effort to stay home with her girls, she has quit her job of about 18 years to pursue this full time. If you live in NW Washington you can check out her creations first hand at Sprouts Consignment in Mount Vernon and soon at Lil Bitz Consignment in Sedro Woolley. I am so proud of my dear friend for pursuing her dream!

Boring post of life

Just letting you know that I am still here, just haven't had the motivation to write anything lately. I have Colorado vacation pictures to share when I have more time, gotta run and make dinner before Isaac's baseball practice tonight! Be back again soon...well, at least sooner than last time! :)

VBS went great even though we had several days over 100 and everything was outside. I had to get creative in what I wore under my robe to try and stay cool. There were a couple nights that we had storms and I remember waking up during the night, praying we wouldn't have too much to repair come morning! Stacy Godfrey and I were the Toga Shopkeepers and we had a ton of fun helping the kids try on tunics, wigs, armor and head pieces from the Roman days. Stacy would then take their picture in front of a beautiful backdrop that we "helped" paint. The week after VBS was busy for Chris with the wedding of Kyle and Rachel Williams on Friday night. After the stressful week, we both were ready for a trip to Haviland the next week to visit family and for Chris to attend Ministry Conference at Barclay College. The kids and I had so much fun hanging out at Mom and Dad's with Marcy, Stacy and their families and Chris got in his time with the little nieces and nephews on his breaks from the conference. We also visited with Chris' cousin Jennifer Lee and her family, who have recently moved to Haviland to work at Barclay College. The kids had so much fun together it was hard to end our time with them. Chris managed to find time to go deer hunting with my Dad, too. Dad had been given five damage permits from a farmer and the boys were very happy to fill them! Chris shot a doe the first morning out and then Dad and a college student from Barclay took three more does in the next two days.

Saturday night was the Chandler Rodeo and we were very excited to get to go this year! Last year at this time we were working on packing up our house in Rose Hill and moving to Chandler. Can you believe that is has been a year already!? The rodeo was great but the heat made holding a squirmy two year old very exhausting. We were sitting on the top row of the grandstands and I didn't want her falling through so she sat on my lap most of the time. Chris finally took Emma home after she got her fill of the horses and calves and she started saying by the end, "comes next one" as she waited for the next calf to come running out of the gate. The boys had a blast and Isaac even went out and tried to catch a calf with a ribbon on it's tail. He was fast but didn't get a ribbon. Ian hung out down by the fence the whole night and only once did I have to yell at them to get back from the fence when a very unfriendly bull came charging past. He had already seriously injured the bull rider and then tried to gore the pickup horse with his horn, knocking the cowboy to the ground and chasing him up the fence in front of us. It was pretty scary and it took them forever to get the crazy bull out of the arena!

Another scary moment happened during the barrel racing. A six year old girl came out of the gate and her horse took off too fast for her. She was bouncing all around in the saddle and was about thrown from the horse but she finally got control of the horse at the opposite end of the arena and was able come back and run the barrels. When the announcer said that her THREE year old sister was coming out next, you could hear people in the stands groaning but she was on a nice calm horse that trotted around all the barrels and then easily galloped to the finish. It was pretty cute but everyone was nervous after what happened with her sister.

Whoa!!!

It's been awhile! I guess I haven't felt like writing much lately although there has been lots to write about! I don't think we have ever had such a busy summer with Isaac's baseball keeping us busy all through June and July has started off with a bang. The end of June and beginning of July found the three kids and I in Haviland for a week to welcome my sister Marcy, Josh, Audrey and Ethan Bunce to Kansas from Oregon. Josh is going to be the Youth Ministry professor at Barclay College and I am so excited to have them closer for visiting! We did have some excitement on the trip home with the Expedition overheating just thirty minutes from home. Having the windows down and the heater blasting on a 100 degree day was not the greatest with three kiddos who were already really tired of being in the car for five hours!

Fourth of July found us at Joe and Nancy Brown's for lunch and swimming and then back to the house to regroup for the church party at Mike and Sena Pribble's house out on Bell Cow Lake that evening. We did have to duck for cover for a little bit as a thunderstorm passed by and we were all surprised when the "big" fireworks over the lake started at 8:15pm. Guess they were tired of getting rained on. It was still pretty with the storm clouds behind the show but they did have competition from God's fireworks, there was some impressive lightening going on!

The Sunday after the fourth was busy with us all setting up for VBS in Rome! With two days down already, it is going great from what I can tell from the Toga shop. We are getting a little rain today but hopefully it will be done before tonight so that we can continue showing kids God's love as we have Rome setup outside! Chris did have to go and take down our backdrop for taking the kids pictures once they are dressed up in the latest Roman fashions.

School will be here before I know it as we have a extremely full schedule for the rest of the summer. Two more week long vacations and Isaac is going to start playing fall baseball the end of this month. I will try to keep you all updated a little better but no promises! Hope you all are having a great summer!

Maria Chapman

I was reading Mary Beth Chapman's blog this morning as today is the one year anniversary of the terrible accident that took little Maria's life. There have definitely been unbelievably miserable days in this last year and there will be more in the future for the Chapman family but I was so blessed to read how God has been healing and using them all during this time. Here is the link to her blog, http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/marybeth/ and I am sure you will be blessed too!

An Anteater???

Ian just asked if we could have an Anteater pet since we have a bunch of little ants coming in now that it is spring/summer. Hmmmm, I don't think we would fixing the problem, just creating another one. Hahaha!