O Happy Day!

On May 10th, 2008 Mark was officially announced as Dr. Yarbrough! It was an exciting day-- though I think I am more happy that we no longer have to talk about dissertations and PhD's! We are grateful to the Lord for His blessings and more importantly-- His GRACE.

Time is flying by . . .

I know- it has been WAY too long since I last wrote. Sorry!

I am constantly reminded of how good and faithful God is to us—in the little things and the big things. For those of you who don't know, Mark did finish his dissertation and he passed his Oral Defense- so he "we" will graduate in May! As I have looked back over the last two years in particular (in regard to his dissertation), I see the Lord's great and mighty hands all over it. It would have been much easier to just quit the whole thing. In fact, I believe that Satan has tried many times to interfere with this goal in our life. But the Lord has instructed us to persevere through trials—so we never quite. I know I am biased, but I also believe that the Lord is going to do great things for His Kingdom through Mark—not because he will receive a piece of paper that says "Ph.D." but because of the opportunities it will allow Mark to encounter and do "for God's Glory" in the years to come. Ministry is about investing in the lives of people, something (as a couple) we are feeling the Lord "tug" at our hearts more strongly than ever before. There are so many people with broken & lost hearts—hearts that want to do what is right, but they have no one investing in them and showing them how. It wouldn't take much time—one less T.V. show a week, or skip mopping the kitchen floor or dusting the house (looks the same the next day anyway)! Ahh . . .the battle of the mundane and the spiritual- something that won't go away until the Lord returns. So, if you decide to stop by my house sometime it may just be a big fat royal mess because I decided to "let it go" and invest in the life of another.

Time is flying. Kayla is turning 12 in a couple of weeks. . . and I just turned 37!! YIKES! We enjoyed a week in Colorado as a family last week, but I forgot my camera. We did stop in Trinidad to buy a small digital camera (becuase Mark lost Kayla's in Washington, DC - so we owed her one). But once we made it to Horn Creek we remembered that we didn't buy a memory card and the nearest Wal-Mart to HC is an hour away- UGH! So I don't have any photos to show you. We did make lots of good memories—the Suburban got stuck in the snow because we had 4 wheel drive and it can do everything, right?? The kids all rock-wall climbed the hardest (or one of the hardest) walls, we went inner tubing, played volleyball (& wallyball), Joseph bowled a 215 . . . after 3 hours of bowling (hey- he was PROUD), we went sledding, made a snow turtle, made lots of new friends (one family we met lives in Garland- funny- you drive 1000 miles to meet a family who lives 15 minutes from you), & we ended our week taking the Lord's supper together. So we made memories that will last a lifetime. That's what a "family" is . . . lots of love given to each other while making & building on years of memories that help mold you as a person and your perspective on life.

I do have a few dissertation photos- we had a big "Yarbrough" bash!

Hopefully it won't be another two months before I write again- but it might be- I'm a busy mama!

This is our Christmas card that I haven't sent out!

We hope your Christmas season was one of great joy for you and yours. We pray that during the 2008 year— the love of Christ will surround your heart and draw you ever closer to Him.

Here we are again . . . another year gone by. Each year brings new adventures (some are old and need to go away– I will share more later), laughter, joy, and tears! Here is a little snippet of what went on in our lives in 2007.

Kayla (11): Our baby girl is in the 6th grade! Kayla is doing wonderfully in school, she has a great group of “girls” she is friends with and is involved in several different things. She is in the Media club and enjoys taking photos for school functions as well as kindergarten class helper. Kayla played volleyball and flag football this year and had a blast doing both. She is growing into a young lady everyday before our eyes.

Jacob (9): Jacob is in the 4th grade and is STILL full of the stuff that makes boys go! He is like the energizer bunny—he just keeps on going. Jacob is always ready for the next event and is never too tired to play a game of baseball, basketball, football, you name it– if it has a “ball” in it– he is there! Jacob’s big accomplishment this year is that he didn’t get any stitches! He is a great big brother to Joseph and his tender heart shows more of itself every year.

Kayci (8): Our sweet baby girl is now in the 2nd grade. She continues to be “Daddy’s hairdresser” and is frequently giving him “coupons” for free massages. Kayci’s tender heart frequently shows through her love to write notes and draw pictures for loved ones. She has a creative mind and this year was a runner up for a drawing contest in her school. Kayci was diagnosed with dyslexia at the end of the last school year and is working hard at her reading this year. She is progressing well and we are thankful that the dyslexia was “caught” early.

Joseph (6): Joseph . . . our baby . . . went off to kindergarten this year. Yes, it was quite tramatic-for me-not him! He loves school and is doing great. Joseph’s obedient and sweet spirit has won over his kindergarten teacher and he comes home with free meals to Applebee’s at least once a month (as a reward for good behavior)! Joseph loves life--he is a thinker,hard worker, a hugger, and an encourager.

Mark & Jennifer: Drum roll please. . . Mark is . . . finished writing his dissertation! It was a LONG and HARD year but by the grace of God, he completed his writing and is now “waiting.” We are hopeful that he will hear from his committee sometime mid-January and that he will move on to his Oral defense by February 1st. Once he has completed his defense—it’s Dr. Yarbrough and he will take that 'final' (let's hope) walk across the stage in May!

Jennifer managed to stay alive (as did Mark) while Mark wrote 14 hours a day for 8 weeks and then many more late evenings throughout the semester! She continues to help things to run as smoothly as possible and is also working at our church several times a week.

We have so much to be grateful for. We don’t know what this year holds for the Yarbrough family . . . but we know Who holds us . . . and in that we find great comfort.


Many Blessings, The Yarbroughs

Still Writing . . .

Yes, it has been a while since I wrote. We are still writing . . . Mark
is anyway. I am debating on whether or not to write a book on "A
Woman's Guide to Surviving her Husbands PhD." It would probably make
millions. (Someday when I find that time that I am still looking for!)
The kids are great- driving each other crazy one minute and best
friends the next.

We do have a deadline coming up for Mark's dissertation-- Nov. 26th. (Yes, I had to strangle him to commit to stay home for Thanksgiving:)! Not really. He is about 50 pages over the limit - we are pretty confident that the PhD committee
is going to make him "chop" down at least half of it. This dissertation
really needs to go away. I told Mark the other day that I was getting
use to him not being around (is that good or bad)???? We need a
vacation!

I thought I would share these photos of the kids-it
will make you appreciate those days when it is only your kitchen floor
that needs to be cleaned.

Back In The Saddle Again

Yes, I have been lagging behind in updates. Well, that is what happens when all of your kids go to school-- no more spare time! What? Yep, that's what I said--no spare time. You know how you dream about all of the "spare" time and clossal projects (the ones that have been on your list since the first baby was born) that you will get done when the kids go to school(not to mention all of the scrapbooking I was determined to get caught up on) ---- it is all a big fat lie! I thought that you would want a heads up so you can quit dreaming about your spare time that is to come--that won't come.
What have I been up to? Baseball, Flag football (x2- Kayla is playing, too), church work (I am working at our church 2x's a week), grocery shopping, helping out friends, doctor's appointments, making 5 lunches a day, taking my car into the shop (for the 4th time--with the same problem), making dinner, cleaning (though my house is still filthy!), mowing 3 acres, planning birthday celebrations (Kayci turned 8 in September and Joseph turned 6 in October), and helping my husband survive and trying myself to survive a PhD! But-- life is good. God is good and I am happy to be busy for Him (though sometimes I do get overwhelmed).

The PhD update is: His dissertation is back and in his hands. He has some structural things that need to be adjusted. His next goal is to turn in this revised draft on or before Dec. 1st. He has to have his oral defense done by Feb 1st in order to graduate in May. So our prayer is that Mark will have the strength and clarity of mind to go really hard over the next several weeks while maintaining a family, full-time and part-time job, and whatever else life brings.
The kids are all doing great. We are thrilled with their teachers and are already seeing progress with Kayci in her reading (she was diagnosed with dyslexia at the end of last year).

FYI---Mark's mom had knee replacement surgery on Monday and is doing well.She will have lots of rehab over the next several weeks. We are thankful that everything is going well and pray for a complete recovery.

Another Chapter Comes to an End

There was a time when I held onto my kids too tightly. It took a big God, an emotionally, physically, spiritually stressed out me, and a tragedy (death of our cousin) for me to see it. I was holding on so tightly to my husband and my kids that it made me sick. The Lord showed me lots of things during those years -- most importantly that HE IS SOVEREIGN. "What" you say? How can a Christian struggle with God's Sovereignty? Probably more often than you think. You see, I could say it with my mouth, "Yes, God is Sovereign" but my heart had not FULLY embraced and submitted to it. There is a BIG difference. Why am I telling you all of this? Well, I have been listening to all of the young moms (I don't exactly fit into this category anymore - mine are all school-age now) express how hard it is to send off their "firstborn" to Kindergarten and how worry and fear are apart of their anxiety. My prayer is that they (you if it applies) will be able to walk away after reading this blog and have a renewed perspective on "Letting go and Letting God."
We as moms will cry every time we send another one off to school! Someone has to do the crying:)! When you have been the sole "daytime" caregiver to this little person who you hope has learned a lot of good and godly things from you in the time that you have had him/her 24/7 for the last five or six years, it deserves a good cry! But does fear and anxiety have to be present? Absolutely not! I lived several years in fear of something happening to Mark, one of the kids, and even myself after the death of our cousin at the age of 26 (there is no one else who can take care of my kids like I can, right???- which sometimes isn't very well). I dwelt on this so much so that it literally contributed to me being sick, depressed, and worthless to everyone. I was holding my family in my fist so tightly that it took the Lord three years to pry it open. Little by little He did. It was painful at times. . . but our Great God works wonders through painful times.

He showed me that:

• My husband and my children don't fully belong to me
  
  
• It is He who knows what is best for my family.
  


• It is He who knows the number of days until he takes my husband, my kids, myself home.
  
  
• It is He who knows where my children are every second of the day while at school.


• It is He who protects them while they are doing crazy stunts on the trampoline (thanks, Heidi!), while riding their bikes; & doing back flips on the bed!
  
  
• It is He who protects my husband when he drives to and from work everyday.


• It is He whose GRACE will cover all of my imperfections as a parent.


• It is He who WILL give me the strength to stand should he take my husband.

• It is He who WILL give me the courage to go on should he take one of my children.
  

• It is He who WILL give me the ability to endure if one of my babies becomes seriously ill.

• It is He who PROVIDES, PROTECTS, & PROMISES.

• It is He who is SOVEREIGN .

My baby is going off to Kindergarten today. Will I cry? --ABSOLUTELY! Will I fear? Will I worry? Will I be anxious? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Will I miss my "Joseph talks?" -- More than ever!

Sending my "baby" off to school is different than my "firstborn baby." Kayla made me cry because she screamed bloody murder when I tried to hand her over to her teacher! Joseph will make me cry because it is closing a chapter in our "Yarbrough Family Album." No more babies at home, no more pre-school, no more moms groups, no more "coffee milk" with french vanilla creamer every morning (that has to stop when you start kindergarten). We move on to the next chapter which is "School-aged children." Am I happy? YES-- no more grape juice on the floor five times a day! Am I sad? YES--I can't live with them and I can't live without them! People always talk about how fast time flies. I used to think that the "Survival Days- all kids under 6" would NEVER end. Now I wonder where it all went. So, like you, I am crying. But remember that fear and anxiety don't need to be apart of it. Our God is much bigger than us! Pray and trust.

Praise be to the Lord,
for He has heard my cry for mercy.
The Lord is my strength and my shield
my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to Him in song.
Psalm 28:6-7

P.S. Enjoy all of the "crazy" kindergarten parties where everyone stands around and watches 20 little kids get hyper on sugar!

It is Finished (for now)!

Rejoice with us - Mark turned in the first full draft of his dissertation today at 3:00! Praise God- now we will get back to normal. What is normal?