What Have You Been Seeing?

Yesterday I took my precious family of three(!!!) to Memphis to see family and friends. It was our first outing with Lyla Pate, and guess what...we forgot to take a camera or take any pictures with our camera phones. We didn't even notice until we were driving home for the evening, and we survived. OK, if you are on Facebook you can see one that I posted of the stroller in the mall.

It was awesome because we didn't have any distractions from living the moment and building memories (versus snapping moments). Susan and I often catch ourselves living life through a camera lens. I am not bashing the camera lens life, but we loose a lot of peripherals when that is all we look through.

I am reminded of the rich young ruler in Matthew 10. He had it all, but was unable to see the peripherals around him. He stood in front of the creator and was unable to recognize the potential of it all. I know you are not the rich young ruler, but like living life through a camera lens we miss peripheral things, what spiritual things are we missing in the peripherals of life? Have you looked for the creator outside of the camera lens?

Fall is here!

Well it has been a REALLY long time since a member of the Stanphill family has update this blog. So here we go I, Russell, have been inspired to begin writing more often, but a word of warning it may only last a week!

We recently went to a pumpkin patch with miss Lyla Pate. We got some great pictures and had some great memories. She is currently four weeks old and doing a great job at three things, messing her diaper, eating her mother's milk, and crying. She is so beautiful!

It's been a fast, but terribly forever four weeks; I have a fine longing for slumber and silence! She is beginning to hold her head up and smile a bit, but is still totally dependent on her mom and I for everything.

Her dependency on us, is a quick reminder of how I am so dependent on my Lord and Savior, Jesus. The unfortunate side of my life is that it is more of an interdependence rather than the much needed dependency. So I ask, how is your dependency on our Lord Jesus, are you living your independence, interdependence, or are you dependent on Jesus? I like the words of David in Psalm 63, "Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you!" Who are you glorifying today?

IN MEMORY OF BAUER STANPHILL

Week 8

Our sweet baby is now the size of a raspberry - about 1/2 inch long. Baby Stanphill's heart is formed and beats at 150 beats per minute! The baby is growing about a millimeter a day and making me tired and nauseous. Thank goodness for snow days - although I wish I had made better use of these days! We have begun clearing out areas and organizing to make room for the nursury. This whole thing is still pretty surreal. Next Thursday (2/18) we go to the doctor for my 1st checkup. We'll get to listen to the heartbeat, so we're nervous and excited.

This past weekend we had our 2nd Thrive weekend (like a D-now) since moving to Humboldt. It was great. Two students accepted Christ for the first time and many more are more ready to get serious about their faith. We really feel connected to the church and are so thankful!

We're Pregnant!

Yes, that's right: we are having our first baby (boy?/girl?) in late September. We're very excited and have already begun making our home ready to welcome a new baby. I am six weeks pregnant and the baby is the size of a sweet pea. So many changes are happening for our little baby - in fact, he's 10,000 times larger than he was 4 weeks ago!

Fortunately, we haven't grown quite that much. I am worried about looking like a beached whale this summer, but have been told multiple times not to worry...ok, ok!

In other news, I am enjoying (finally) teaching Spanish at the high school - the hormones are really helping me to be "mean". Russell is busy planning Thrive Student Weekend scheduled for February 4-7. There are diets to consider, organizing of closets, rearranging of furiture, classes to prepare for, lessons to plan, messages to write, a dog to walk, and so much more! We're busy to say the least, which is why we've so enjoyed these last few days. We've been snowed in since Friday and are hoping that school is closed on Monday, too!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

From

Russell, Susan, and Bauer Stanphill

Sergeant Bauer Stanphill-The Puppy

The month of October has been a fun month for us as a family. We bought a puppy!!! He is a German Shorthaired Pointer, and is one heck of a lot of fun. We got him at 4.5 pounds six weeks old, and tomorrow he will turn 11 weeks old and way close to 14 pounds. He is a growing wonder dog. Here are some pictures!

The car ride home asleep!

Awake and almost home!
Home with Susan

An afternoon of playing

Sleepy puppy

Random Acts of Kindness

Towards the end of April the whole church had a mission invovlement day for the community here in Humboldt. The student ministry served the community through random acts of kindness. They were given 20 random things to do for others; it was an absolute blast. Here are a few pictures of the day.

Scooping Poop in someone's yard...

They made me hold it!

Pick weeds from a staff members home! Senior Pastor's home.

The tough senior high boys.

The tough boys acting as if they were picking our flowers.