Father's Day Cards!!!

It is so hard shopping for Father's day cards these past three years. I wish I could buy my dad one and mail it to heaven. There is so much I want to say to him and so much I want him to say to me. Through this whole transition process (our move to South Africa) all I have wanted to hear from him is... 

• "Go and be faithful!" 
• "I am proud of you!" 
• "I am behind you 100%!" 
• "Don't forget that you are a daugther of a King, so stop worry about the What, Where, When, or How!"

I miss you daddy and I love you very much. Can't wait for the day when I can be in your arms again!!!  Happy Father's Day!!!

While we were away in Albany we took Davis to the cemetery to show him my parent's grave.  It was very emotional for me, but I was so glad that I took Davis and had the opportunity to explain where Papa Ray and Grammy Judy are. It brought me comfort having my two favorite boys with me.

Davis' new bed

Davis has had a lot of transition these last few months so we didn't press the issues with him sleeping in our bed very much.  At the moment we are living with Noah's sister (before we move to South Africa) and all three of us are sharing a one bedroom room.  We of course have use of the rest of the house, but all our earthly belongings are in one room.

Back to Davis in our bed!  He has been there for months and we wanted to break the habit but decided to hold off because of our move to Selah's.  So night after night he was in our bed.  He use to go to bed by himself but that quickly changed to going to bed with us and one of us having to tickle his back to get him to fall asleep.  Don't ask!!! This needed to stop, so three weeks we got him a bed and he got to pick out his own sheet set.  We told him that he would get a sticker every night he goes to bed by himself and that got him very excited.  He has finished his first challenge and now on to the second.  We are so proud of him and he hasn't given us any problems with bedtime, but I have to say I wake up every morning with him curled up next to me.  That will be the next thing we tackle!!!!

He loves his Toy Story Bed!!!

Annie's Playground

Last week Davis and I went with a friend of mine to Annie's Playground in Bel Air, MD.  It was a really cool playground and the boys had a lot of fun.  This little girl was struck and killed by a drunk driver when she was five years old.  Her family and friends decided to raise the funds and build this playground in her honor.  Very sad but this family took a tragic situation and made something good come out of it.  This would be a fun family outing!!!

8 Years!!!

Eight years ago I made the best decision of my life. I said "I do" to the love of my life! Now eight years later I am happier then the day we meet.  I never knew life would be this great and I am so thankful and blessed that God placed Noah in my life.  He knew what I needed in a spouse and He delivered ten fold. 


As we are about to embark on this new chapter, there are many things going through our minds.  Some good and some scary thoughts.  We are going into a time of many unknowns and having to place total trust in the Lord and each other.  As I think about this next chapter, there is no one that I am more willing to cling to then Noah.  Knowing that he is going to be with me, makes me ready to step into any challenges, hardships, or joys.


Noah, You are my love and I am so honored to walk life with you each day.  As we walk together in this new chapter let us cling to God and each other (three strands that cannot be broken) and make this the BEST year ever!!!!  I love you with both my Kidneys (inside joke)!!!!  Happy Anniversary sweetie!!!!

Brayden Zieg

Noah posted this on his blog and I wanted to share it on mine.  My heart goes out to the Zieg family and I am so proud of how far they have come!

It is hard to believe that two years ago today, Tricia and I received the frantic call that Brayden Zieg (Our Dear Friend's 17 month old son) had drowned in their backyard pool!Davis and Brayden were born an amazing 2 days apart. Michelle and Tricia carried together. Since Jake (Brayden's Daddy) and I had been friends for 25 years, we knew our sons would be buddies too. We are still shocked that Brayden is gone. The pain of it actually feels quite fresh to us...which makes our hearts for Jake and Michelle ache even more.

Well, if anyone could find a way to bring good out of bad, the Zieg's can! Today, I am thrilled to tell you that last week they launched "Because of Brayden," a non-profit organization to raise drowning prevention awareness. Click here to check out the website. (Michelle and Lauren, Brayden's Aunt have co-founded it.)

We are so proud of Jake and Michelle and example that they have been to us all. Today, we really miss Brayden. But we are also super, super thankful for the Lord Jesus and his promise of eternal life.

(Picture is of Davis and Brayden in 2007.)

Six Flags!!!

This summer our family got season tickets to Six Flags America (15 minutes from our house).  You really can't beat the price to have fun on rides and enjoy the water park.  We paid the same price as a one day admission!

This past Friday we took are family day into the gates of Six Flags.  The weather was perfect and Davis had a great time riding on all the kiddie rides.

Summer is Here!!!

It has been so hot these last few days and it seems we have been outside a lot.  I am not one to enjoy the heat but I have a son that does!!!! I think I am trying to get myself ready for South Africa's summers. :)  We have had some fun in the sun!!! To kick off the summer weather, Davis and his cousins dived into their kiddie pool.  They had a blast and it was a joy to watch them have fun.  They were grinning from ear to ear the whole time.

James and Joshua's backyard is the greatest!!!!

Surprised 30th Birthday Party!!!

We just returned home from being with some wonderful, wonderful people whom we love very much!! Tricia turned 30 in March and I am turning 30 in June. This afternoon, about 50-75 family and friends SURPRISED Tricia and I with a SURPRISE combined 30th B-Day party. They rented a pavilion at Watkins Park and had a beautiful spread of food. We were so surprised at some of the people present (from 5 states). We felt extremely honored and loved today. It is remarkable how good the Lord has been to us. I wish I could bottle the feeling of support that we felt today....there will be some times in the next several years where we will want to open it up and take some. ;-)

Thankful for this day,

Noah and Tricia

PS- Special shout out to my family (parents and siblings) who made this happen. You all are dear to us.

Amazing Talent Part 2!

Back in October I found these amazingly talented sibling singers, Daves Highway.  I found this song on you tube and loved it just as much.   If you go to their website you can buy their CD or buy their music on itunes.

What Will We Be Doing in South Africa?

Noah wrote this post yesterday and I wanted to share it on my blog.  Here are some of the things we will be doing in South Africa.

We don't know. Well, we know some things, but our honest sense is that in many ways the Lord is calling us into the unknown. We have a strong sense that we don't know the half of the reason why the Lord has called us out of CCF and into South Africa. Time will tell.

That said, I thought I would share a little more of what we do know at this point:
We will be officially moving to Cape Town on or about January 15, 2011.
Then, we will take a few weeks to get settled, scope the area, get Davis into school, adjust to culture some, etc.
The first weekend in February, we will begin a six-month Church Planting Training with All Nations called CPx. CPx is an intense church planting training experience where will be trained in how to plant church-planting movements as simple, missional communities. You can click here to read all about it.
By July, 2011 (after CPx) we expect to secure a modest place to live as a family there in Cape Town. At this point, we expect to remain in Cape Town at least one year following the conclusion of CPx. During that year we will serve within All Nations and participate in church-planting and caring for the poor, neglected and unreached people of Cape Town.
During the entire stay we plan to serve, learn, dream, write, communicate, contextualize, and envision ways to carry effective church planting to other places around the world....very possible to this area from which we are being launched.
We plan to be personally mentored by Floyd and Sally McClung, founder of All Nations. We were honored to have him at our Dining Room Table on January 31, 2010. We hope to be at theirs one year later. ;-)
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please notice the word "we" appearing throughout this post. That is because this next season of our life is one that we are launching into together. Tricia and I will both be participating in this endeavor as a couple. And Davis will be involved as much as a 4 year old can. This is a call on our family, not just me.

These are some of the things we will be doing that we (think we) know. There are many other aspects that the Lord is preparing and we will take hold of them as we walk in faith....

Small Group Cook-IN

I love my small group!!! They have been such a blessing to our family and I look forward to every Monday to see them.  We get together every week to fellowship, dig into the Word, and pray for different needs.  I love having a group that I can be myself with and also get ministered too.  This week we had a cook-out but it rained, so we had a cook-in!!  We had great fellowship and great food!!!!

Chowing down on some yummy food!

Davis gets excited every Monday to play with his friends!

Everyone got to eat some yummy food!

One of Davis' fans!!!

A Mother's Heart!!!

I have a very special relationship with my mother in-law.  I not only think of her as my mother in-law but as a friend too.  She had a hard time when we told her we were moving to South Africa.  It took her awhile to be ok with the God decision.  God gave her insight the night before we made the announcement to our church.  She was a guest blogger on Noah's blog today, so I wanted to share on mine too.

As many of you know I am very close with my son, Noah and as a mother, I had been feeling a sense of uneasiness after Noah returned from his sabbatical. I kept sensing that God was doing a new work in his heart, and I was sure that I would know more as time went on.

One afternoon in March, I received a call from Noah inviting us to come over. He wanted to share what God was doing recently in their lives. In my heart I thought it might have something to do with a change regarding his role at CCF, but I had no idea what was about to be revealed. (The details of the calling have since been revealed, so I will skip that story.)

When I heard the words “South Africa” I couldn't believe my ears. This was a devastating announcement to me and I wasn't supportive or excited about this great revelation that Noah and Tricia were so thrilled about. I had a million questions and frankly, Noah had none of the answers. One thing we have learned is that God doesn't always give us the details when he asks us to follow Him. But I am Mom, and I wanted to know about the well-being and future of my Son and his family.

As the time was approaching for the announcement to be made to the church, I continued to seek the Lord for resolution regarding the call and move. As God often operates, I got no clear direction until the early morning hours of May 2nd-- the day of the announcement.

Early that morning, the Lord woke me up and this is what I received:

When you raise a child to go after God never be surprised what He will do. In 1998 I gave Noah back to God as he left for bible college knowing that he would probably never return. But God surprised me by allowing him to return and pastor my church. How amazing was that? So we served and were family together for six years. And then came this call. I didn't believe that the same God who brought my son home would now be sending him to South Africa. So the tears, anger and questioning began. But, that morning, I finally got it...

When you give something to God, you give it forever-- not to have any say so or control over what God chooses to do. He gave Noah back to me for a season and now I must release him with the same bittersweet joy that I felt in 1998 as we drove off the campus of Valley Forge Christian College, believing that God had an incredible ride ahead for our boy. Our hearts are now intertwined with two more people, Tricia and Davis, so releasing comes with new pain. But, praise God for what he is doing and his amazing and very personal plan for each of our lives.

As Loving Mother,

Pam Kaye

PS- If you know Joe, you know that this is a tad easier for him. He will miss them lots, but he was thrilled from the first day he heard the news.