Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Two PK's and a PW

Our church plant had its first core team meeting a week and a half ago. We were incredibly blessed that a church in the area opened up its doors to us and gave us a meeting room. They also provided childcare workers for our children. Isn't that crazy awesome? That is just one of many ways God has blown us away throughout this process.

That night we got in small groups and got to know each other better, we worshipped, we listened to Curtis share from the Word and talk about where all of this is headed, and we prayed. I'll be corny right now and say that it was a really special time.

Afterward, I picked up my kids and brought them into a hallway where some people were standing around and visiting. I got deep into a conversation (not that it was a deep conversation) with my friend Amber (who makes me laugh a lot) and suddenly she asked, "Where's Jackson?" I had that moment of "Oh my gosh, I forgot I was still in charge!" I looked down the hall and he was doing this.



Moments later Annabeth realized it wasn't fair that Bubba was getting to have all the fun and she squirmed out of my arms.



Aaaaaaaaannnnddddd the preacher's kids were born.

The blurry photos should show you the speed at which my children were moving about the room. What I am unable to share with you through pictures is the noise.

When I could manage them (if you can call it that) no longer, I approached Curtis mid-conversation and kindly said, "I just need you to remember that we are still here." To which he replied, "Remember, you have your own car."

Aaaaaaaannnnddddd the preacher's wife was born.

I hope you are laughing or at least smiling at these big moments in our lives because I am doing both. I love our birth story.




70 comments:

debra parker said...

Loving the birth story with you!

so fun!

Angie said...

Laughing. A. Lot.

Becky Kiser said...

That is hilarious Amanda! So excited for y'all!

Spicey said...

That is hilarious! I can't wait to hear more about the church plant! God is going to do great things! Do you need a youth group leader? I'm available if you do! :)

Lisa said...

And this is exactly how you can know for absolutely certain that this church plant was God-designed and God-ordained. I think you need one of those oval stickers for the your back windshield: PW.

Kiki said...

Love those three blurs behind Jackson! Glad you're laughing!

TheBrantners said...

LOL!!! YES! This is how I feel all the time. I am either oblivious, or can't concentrate on the conversation for the life of my children! And taking seperate cars is sometimes kind of annoying.. but oh so worth it! Love it!!

Missy June said...

From one PK to your two, congrats! May you receive all the love and support from a true body of believers. It is a humbling and wonderful and slightly annoying experience all wrapped in one! But you will always be the darlings of te body.

To the brand new PW - congratulations! You are privileged and blessed. May you find stregnth to share yourself and your family while having courage to keep boundaries as well.

I know you have great mentors for this journey - wink!

Amanda said...

Kristy, ME TOO! Levi's little hands are cracking me up. They were having a blast.

Susan Wyatt said...

Welcome to this unique club! I'm confident people who visit our church can quickly identify the 3 PK's!

C:M:W said...

I love this and love how you are embracing it! So pumped for the next meeting.

Mindy said...

This PW is smiling.....because I can totally relate. And cringe....and smile some more. My 4 kids sometimes run amuck.....

Also --- I LOVE that another church in the area is providing childcare and a place for you to meet. That is loving your neighbor at its best and totally who I want to be as a follower of the Way!
in HIM-
Mindy

The Johnsons said...

My best friend growing up and two college roomies are PKs. Life is always crazy and always joyful. Smiling with you.

Life Is Crazy Beautiful said...

Laughing, and smiling & praising God for your obedience to His call. From a DW (Deacon's Wife)-turned PW :) Lisa

Amber said...

Laughing a lot ad also glad I'm not the only one who feels this way:)

ocean mommy said...

SO funny! (And as a PK I totally get their need for speed while you are waiting on the next person to speak to dad!!)

Praying for all as you walk in obedience! So very exciting!

Blessings,
stephanie

Emily said...

Totally laughing...ha! And so excited for you all! :)

Beth Herring said...

thanks for sharing this with us. as a preacher's wife that had 3 preacher's kids, i can say in all sincerity... "may the force be with you!" (the force of God that is. Praying for you my precious sister.

Unknown said...

This is so hilarious. So excited for you guys. Which area of town will your church in?

annette said...

So exciting! I've been praying for you and your family as you follow God's call. Awesome to think about the future and how the details are orchestrated by His Hand.

PKs and PWs--now we know how it all begins--funny, funny!
Hope to see you this PM.
Love, A

While Serving Him... said...

Amanda
This made me laugh so hard! I am so glad that all this is happening for ya'll. God is going to bless your family beyond means! I am praying for ya'll. From someone who works in the church office and gets to know alot of people and their children, moments like this are only the begining. Have a blessed week and enjoy the journey!

Cheryl said...

Ooooohhhh, I can sooooo relate!
I have 4 kiddos & I sometimes forget that I'm in charge too! And on Sunday mornings, we always take 2 cars!
I try to say a little prayer for every PW I know who, on Sun. mornings, is like a single mom. I'll add you to my list! :)

Not only are you now a PW, you're a "BMW." (Baptist Minister's Wife) I heard Anita Renfroe say that a few years ago! :)

Southern Cheesehead said...

and now we can all empathize and/or commiserate together! ;-)

Tonya Gray said...

Thanks so much for sharing this journey with us!! How exciting to watch this seedling grow.

E. Tyler Rowan said...

AWESOME! I love it! Funny, true, exciting, and at times overwhelming. But nothing God calls you to will ever be too overwhelming for Him. I cannot wait to follow the Jones family on this adventure!

Barbie @ Mamaology said...

(((hugs))) from one NEW PW to another with PK's!

Birth is beautiful, yet painful!

Praying for you!

Jennifer said...

I am dying to know, is this the Downtown thing that Pastor Greg has been talking about, or something totally different? So excited to find out!
And I thought those were Kristy's kids because I read her blog too!

Amanda said...

Jennifer, no, it is a separate church plant. But Pastor Gregg has been an amazing supporter since we told him about this last fall. I've never respected him more.

Stephanie said...

Ha ha! As the wife of a youth pastor, I'm right there with you! Glad you could laugh about it :) Sometimes that's all you can do to maintain your sanity! Here's to a fabulous adventure!

Kelli said...

Love this story!

His Jules said...

Wow, this is great!!!! So glad to be on board with you & Curtis and the PK's on this adventure!

Angie said...

I am a PW with two PK...I totally understand! :)

Liz said...

That is so funny!

Oh I have so much I could say about being deeply involved in a young church while having young children yourself - I love every minute of it. I would not trade places with anyone. But I do wish my kids came with leashes and an off button. :)

Liz said...

And it's always the PKs who eat the other sunday school teachers' candy; bc they are at the church all the time, and they think it's their house haha!

Unknown said...

That was so much fun, Honey. You said to me that very day, "Oh, wow! Overnight my children became PK's," and it was so true. You are already my very favorite PW.

Marla Taviano said...

So what do you do when you're not a preacher's wife and your kids aren't preachers' kids, and everybody still acts all nuts like that? ;)

The Powell Family said...

I've lived in this world for 5yrs now. You're gonna live it here (most of the time :) ).

Shellie Paparazzo said...

I am totally cracking up!!! My kids should be PK's!!! They would fit right in! Did I ever tell you the story about how my son led all the other toddlers running and screaming through the LIBRARY one time! I was so proud of his obvious natural leadership in a group of kids until that triumphant moment!!!!! It was pretty humbling to realize that his leadership skills needed steering in a slightly different direction!

mmr713 said...

Amanda,

You are keeping things soooo real! That is your gift so please continue to do so. God is equipping you for this ministry he has called you and Curtis to. I grew up with my step-dad has Methodist minister and was totally expected to be have perfect behavior 24-7. And now I how my kids act and pray for God's grace upon them and me. We would love to hear more about where the church plant will be!

Unknown said...

Welcome to the club! My little Fullers run around our church and the members just laugh! They are the only kids who don't get in trouble for running in God's house. I tell them, "we will run in heaven so we can run here!"

Kristen said...

Funny. Nathan knows all about being a PK. I think every scar he has came from an incident at church.

Bobbie said...

Definitely smiling! The new PW is doing great with her new PKs!!

California Dreamin said...

Big smile on my face! I love the way you captioned "the birth of..." As your mom would say, you're in for the ride of your life. Enjoy! :)

Ashley McWhorter said...

LOVE this birth story! Love it even more because I can totally relate coming from a PW with 3 PK's! So fun!!

happymcfamily said...

:-D If you could had teleported them to pizza hut several states away last night, they would have fit right in with my PK and the college leader's kids. All I know is at one point when the wives were watching that babies and the fathers were *supposed* to be watching the older kiddos (because of our seating arrangement), a whole table of students had an outbreak of laughter and red faces... and the dads were burying their heads. But nobody would tell us wives what was going on... we just across the room instinctively told them to stop whatever it was that they were doing (even though we couldn't see them) because we knew it couldn't have been appropriate. :-p

My overly used PW line: "You really don't always have to be the last one to leave". Maybe I'll stop using it... it hasn't worked once ;-).

Welcome to the club!

Diana said...

I can truly laugh at this because I am a grown PK. Oh the joys of being a PK!

Kelly @ Love Well said...

Oh my word. This is hysterical. And probably more true than you even know yet. The life of a pastor's family is unique indeed. (Sunday afternoon naps are a requirement, right?)

The next big leap will come when one of you leaves a child at church because you both think the other has that child. (Happened to me numerous times. I just called home to announce that someone better come get me and then I drew on the white board in my Sunday school room until they arrived.)

Missy said...

This made my day! Love!!!

Amroosie said...

I'm enjoying reading your story of the new church plant. We planted 4 years ago, and I never get tired of reading/hearing birth stories. I pray you soak it all in. I love the church planting community so much. We are all for you!

Anonymous said...

I'm really enjoying reading your story of the new church plant. We planted almost 5 years ago, and I never get tired of reading/hearing birth stories. I pray you soak it all in and remember every detail. I love the church planting family. We are all for you!

The Schmidt Family said...

So happy for you sister!

destinmimi said...

Laughed out loud!! Love it!! So excited for what God is doing through you and Curtis!!

April said...

It's so great they're having fun! I prefer my girls to be overly energetic to them being bored and asking, "When are we leaving?" over and over!

Pineapple Princess said...

I can SO relate! I'm a PW, too!!

JayCee said...

lol....from another PW with 3 PK's....you'll have a lot more "fun" times, believe you me!

Ashley Fisher :) said...

Love this story! I can sooo relate!

Cindy- My Life HIS Story said...

LOL...literally!
I am so excited for you...and just for the record - after 10 years of marriage to the YM, I think I can count on one hand with fingers left over the times we actually rode to church together!

Tiffany said...

Love it, friend! Looking forward to a lot more fun, crazy times! Those pics are priceless.

Jeannie (HAPPY HEART) said...

I love how happy the kids look running around. We are so excited about this new God sized adventure.

All for His glory!

PS: 2 cars is always the way to go :)

fuzzytop said...

Bwahahahahaha! That is hilarious! I love how you share stuff like this. I would have been too mortified.

Hugs,
Adrienne

CAROL LIVIN FOR GOD said...

Laughing and smiling love the story and I am very excited for all of you
Carol

amanda said...

beautiful!

Jaime said...

Been there, done that. I can SO relate- except that my little girl always looses her bow, gets marker on her dress and looks like an orphan by the end of church. AB looked adorable!

theritzes said...

A life of ministry = a life of HUMILITY! Enjoy it and remember not to take yourself, your husband, or your kiddos too seriously. Enjoy the ride and keep Him in the driver's seat. And KEEP BLOGGING about it. :)

Amy Sullins said...

Welcome to my life! Hahaha!!! I feel your pain and will be praying for you during this transition time!

Megan Barley said...

new PW here. we just planted in Denver, CO out of the Summit in Raleigh-Durham. we don't have any kiddos yet but I can only imagine what it will be like :)

Jamie French said...

Love it! What an exciting adventure for your family!

Shelli Littleton said...

I love it! And love that you are loving it ... soak it in and savor the flavor! Precious.

katiegfromtennessee said...

Ah, Amanda, exciting times:) I'm excited for you:)

Audrey said...

I know I'm quite late, but this is so true! We've been in youth ministry for 10 years and now in a senior pastor/preacher position for the last year. I have a friend at church who {used to} like to ask me if I knew where my kids were (we're under 300 in attendance). Usually I didn't, but it wasn't really fair to them to have to stand around while we visited. So they moved around and played. And yes, I let my boys run in church, too {as long as there aren't a lot of people there~we don't want to be dangerous}! It's full of challenges, but it's a blast and I wouldn't pick anything else in the world :)
love,
Audrey