Christmas is coming!!!

As Christmas nears we are getting so excited to celebrate the birth of Jesus once again! The boys and I have started a Christmas Countdown this morning....only 21 more days!! We have done very little to actually decorate for Christmas this year in our rental home. We decided to just put up the boys' small tree...it is going to be a Charlie Brown Christmas for us this year :) Just this last week a lot happened that I feel like I need to write down so that I will remember so here goes. Last Sunday we were still waiting on word back from our builder on costs and we decided to call our friend Mike and take him to Cushing to see the land that we liked. We decided to load up and go to church there in Cushing too before taking him around town. We got there in time for the service and upon entering the building we saw our friend, Angela Hobson's, Uncle Doug (the Pharmacist in town)...we got to talk with him and then he showed us to the nursery for the wee ones and then we went to church. It was a sweet service...very country, very traditional, but solid in the word and a wonderful message was shared about being in the fire and being molded by God through the different circumstances that we go through in life. After the service ended we saw and talked with Dr. Pyles, whose clinic Dustin will be working in when we start in August. It was neat to see them and catch up with them. We also met a very sweet young couple that has small children like us that morning. After the service we went to eat at the Steer Inn....sounds yummy, huh? Doug was there also with his family. We joked around with him and decided to share with him and ask his opinion about the land we were interested in. He was very hesitant and told us that it was too far in his opinion and that there was land available in Cushing (the land we found was actually Yale, about 7 miles north of Cushing) it just wasn't listed on the MLS. He told us to finish our lunch and come and pick him up at his home and he would make some calls and then take us around town.....awesome!! We were so blessed by him! We finished lunch and went looking at land and some homes with him that afternoon. We really liked the land in town but it was about 3 times more expensive than the farmland in Yale. He was so honest with us about so many things in Cushing and really opened our eyes to a whole new way of thinking when it came to purchasing a home in Cushing. When I think of Doug, I just think what a blessing he is. He didn't have to do that. Give up his Sunday afternoon nap to take us all around town and call people to come out on Sunday afternoon and meet with us and show us homes and land. What a servant...I thank the Lord for him seeing a need and helping us that afternoon...truly what a blessing he was. So we came back a little confused to be honest. We really liked the land in town but knew that it just might not work financially to build right now. We came back and started praying again about the plans the Lord had for our home in Cushing. Tuesday, we decided maybe we should just buy something smaller and live in it for 3-5 years and then we could build where we wanted and what we wanted. Our builder called on Tuesday and told us that the figures were not going to be in our budget. We were not surprised. Although we would have loved to be able to build a home right at the beginning, we really didn't want to be able to spend that much money on it right now. So we thought maybe we could buy the foreclosure home that was listed and fix it up. They only wanted 89K for it, but it looked like it needed about 100K worth of work. We had some time so we thought we would have our realtor call and check it out. Wednesday the realtor called and told us that it was closing that day. Weird. No go on the foreclosure. So for now, we feel like we will just wait until the middle of February and go and look at what is available and purchase something that we can close on in late May. We are so at peace with this decision. We will be able to buy something smaller on our current salary and then be able to pay off almost all of our medical student loans by the time we decided to buy something larger or build. We are very excited about that! We are looking forward to being in Cushing for Carson's Birthday! That is our goal, June 16, 2010...our first baby will be 6! Oh, my!...and just a side note...We have only 93 days until our mission trip to Honduras! Yay! I hope that you enjoy the Christmas picture...I adore it...I was unsure as to if it was going to get done this year but my friend Candace helped me pick out the outfits for the munchkins at Target yesterday (which of course my husband does not like....he thinks they look like a throwback to the 80's...what? I love them....maybe because I love the little munchkins that are in them soooo much!).....which reminds me, I saw this sign yesterday that I loved: Are you including Christ in your Christmas? I sure hope and pray you are for He truly is the reason for the season! Thank you Lord for sending your son, born to die, whose blood covers our sins and redeems us as your own if only we will choose to make you Lord and Savior of our lives and walk in your ways!! Truly a season to celebrate him and the gift of Jesus!

Soo Thankful....

Counting my many blessings today as we near Thanksgiving Day...2 days away! Truly, we are so blessed! Truly what an absolutely amazing God we serve! Today we finalized alot of our plans to go and serve in Honduras in March....the plane tickets were officially purchased! We are so very excited to be able to go and serve together with and encourage our dear friends the Tumlison Family. Can't wait....so thankful that it is really going to happen! Sooo thankful to those that have given and to those that are praying for us as we prepare! Please continue to pray for wisdom in planning details and for the financial provision for this trip! Here we are Lord....we will go!! Thank you dear friends and family for loving us, for encouraging us and for lifting us up in prayer. This last week we officially signed all the papers and sold our home that we sooo enjoyed getting to live in during residency. Such a sweet time. We were a little sad but excited for what plans the Lord has in store and so very thankful for the provision of a quick sale for our home. Still waiting to hear from the builder on the pricing of building on the land we found....waiting expectantly on the Lord! Thank you Lord for all good and perfect things come from You!

BELIEVE!

So, I am sitting on the front porch of our rental home having my quiet time while watching Andrew ride his bike when he brings me this little piece of paper that he has found and he says, "mommy, what does this say?" BELIEVE!! We are waiting on the numbers to come back from the builder to tell us the cost of building a home in Cushing while the owner of the land we like called last night to tell us that he has another buyer interested and needs to know what we want to do by 3pm today. What a confirmation from the Lord!! Thank you Lord!!

"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you will receive them, and you will have them." Mark 11:24.

Overwelmed by the Goodness of God!!

The dirt Road

Driving up into the land off of the road

This is from the land facing southwest over the road

This is on top of the hill facing due south

On top of the hill facing east

facing due south..you can kind of tell the valley below of pastureland that it overlooks...

Pasture land to the southeast down in the valley.

The boys having thier snack in the back of Mr.Mervyn. "Rosco" the dog thinking about joining them :)

Yes, I know it has been waaaaay too long since I have blogged but we have been hanging on tight to this abundant life and most amazing ride that God is taking us on here lately!! I am unsure as to where to begin and at the same time know that I should probably be choosing to fold the mountain of clean laundry that has overtaken my bed however I just wanted to share with you a little taste of God's goodness and what He is up to in our lives!! Amazing....simply amazing. Truly what an awesome God we serve! So we went during OSU Homecoming and stayed in Cushing, OK (our soon to be home!) friday night in late October. On Saturday morning we went with a realtor there to preview some homes to see what the market was like and what kind of homes were for sale in this small community. It was an interesting day. We found two homes that were really nice and pretty big but they both only had three bedrooms. Dustin and I both just thought okay, Lord whatever you have in store is fine. We can fit into anything that you provide for us and make do. The following week we began to seek the Lord earnestly as to when was the right time to sell our current home. I had been feeling like maybe the Lord was leading us to do that the week before. To go ahead and put it on the market and if it sold and we needed to move to a temporary place before Cushing then God would provide for that as well. I told Dustin (of course it was the craziest of weeks (work wise) and it was the week our sweet golden retriever Eddie died) that I really felt like the Lord was confirming to me that we needed to put our home on the market. For some reason I really thought the stimulus deadline of November 30th may have played into the new buyers decision to buy our home. So, I continued to pray and pray for my husband to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit. As the week continued Dustin told me that he was seriously praying about putting the house up for sale. I continued to pray. I started to organize and pack up closets. I touched up the walls. Deep cleaning at its best to prepare the house. I went to Lowe's and bought a For Sale by Owner sign and begin to compile pictures to make a flier. I talked to my very good friend who is a realtor and she agreed to run a CMA for our neighborhood for us. Dustin and I continued to talk about it and pray over it and wait on the Lord. Tueday morning Dustin called from work and told me that he had been talking with a co-worker about a mutual christian friend of ours who had a home on the market and were having problems selling it....they were thinking about renting it out for the winter. Dustin asked if I thought maybe we were sapossed to sell our home and be able to minister to this dear family by renting thier home during this difficult time for them in trying to sell thier home. I was unsure. We continued to pray. I asked him on Thursday morning if today was the day that we were to put the sign out and he told me that he would call me later and let me know. I really felt like the Lord was telling us to just trust Him and obey.....put the sign out!!! I decided to put the sign in the yard. That morning I cleaned our master bath and vacuumed. Andrew and I had just sat down for lunch, less than 1.5 after putting the sign in the yard and while Andrew was praying (a really long prayer....he loves to ramble to God, I am sure that God just loves it :) ).....I saw a car stop, a young man jumped out and got a flier. He stood there for a few moments looking at the home and then got back in his car. Andrew was finally done praying.....my phone was ringing. I let the voicemail get it.....It was a realtor in the neighborhood with her clients and they wanted to see the home right now......now!!! I called Dustin and asked him what I should do (mind you I still and in my pjs and no shower yet...meant no makeup too!...but the house is clean!)...he said show them the house!!.....so I called her back and in less than 5 minutes I met the new owners of our home. I greeted them at the door and thier first question was "How long has your home been for sale?" I chuckled and said and hour and a half!!! They absolutely loved the home and they love the Lord! It was so neat! Thier realtor ended up being a member of our chuch....we had actually taught her daughter in Sunday School two years ago! I got to talk with them and show them the home that God had provided for us during residency....and it dawned on me. This is thier home. All the things we chose they loved and said they wouldn't have done anything diferently....this home was really thier home that we were able to live in for two years! Thank you Lord! Oh thank you Lord! They asked why we were selling and what our time frame was and again I just laughed....we actually don't need to be in Cushing until August 1st but I was able to share with them that the Lord had been confirming to us again and again that now was the time to put the house up for sale for its new owners were close at hand! They were amazed. They were indeed house shopping and needed to find a home by November 30th to apply for the stimulus rebate....they just happened to be in the neighborhood looking at another home for sale when they saw our For Sale by Owner Sign and decided to call....they saw that we had a third car garage and they had really thought they would like one. What a neat time! Loved meeting them. A sweet young couple that loved the Lord, were looking for a home to open up and minister to those around them, and were expecting thier first baby in April....loved them! They left and I was shaking....so stunned. I knew that this was thier home.....they were the new owners! Within an hour thier realtor called and let me know that she would be bringing us an offer on our home that evening!! Praise the Lord!!! The offer was great but they wanted it in 25 days so we got to packing and quickly. Obey. This is one of the many lessons that God taught me through this experience. Obey. When He is leading us and telling us to do something....We need to Obey. If Dustin and I had not listened to the Holy Spirit leading us to simply put a sign in our yard we would have missed out on this wonderful blessing of selling our home quickly, profitably, and now we have a whole new vision for what God may have ahead for the Cupp Crew. Trust Him. Time and time again we are learning to truly lean on His everlasting arms and trust Him and he continues to provide for our family as we seek Him and serve Him!! Thankful. Oh my stars....we are filled with an overwelming amount of thankfulness! Thank you Lord that you continue to bless your children...thank you Lord that you speak to us and guide us if we are willing to listen....thank you Lord that you are the master planner....Lord, even when we think that our plans may be good you go far beyond our wildest dreams....thank you Lord, that when we delight ourselves in You, You truly do give us the desires of our heart!! Sold. God Provided. That is the sign we posted on our For Sale By Owner Sign that very next day. What a testimony to our friends and neighbors of God working in our lives! Moving. So we needed a place to stay for 7 months before we moved to Cushing. God provided. He provided a really nice and affordable rental only 3.5 miles from our home! So later that week as we were sharing with a friend some of the houses available in Cushing....he looked at us and said, "Why would you not build?".....hmmm....with all that had happened we didn't even think about this option. Building. So I began to pray. and pray. And research about builders in the area. Land in the area. I spoke to a very reputable builder that we had actually seen one of his homes in Cushing but it was about 2000 sq ft. We found a plan that we really like, actually smaller than most of the homes that we saw but more functional (1 living and 4 bedrooms). We drove down to meet him on Saturday and then on to Cushing to look at some land. Land. So we drove out to see this land 6 miles north of Cushing and were really unsure as to if we were on the right land and how far it went. You could buy 5,7 or 10 acres. After driving around a little on the land we saw a white suburban driving slowly past us and then it came back and stopped. It was the owner of the land!! So neat! We got to speak with her and she told us all about it....a few pics above. We really loved this land. It has a gently sloped hill that has a beautiful view with pastureland all around. Her and her husband farm all around there but are getting older and thus have been selling of parts of the land that they no longer farm. The land we were actually looking at they just baled hay off of. Very neat meeting. Divine appointment for sure! Monday....two days till we move to the rental house. The builder calls to set up an apointment to go over specifics with us over the plan and price it for us. Talked with the Bank of Cushing (knew absolutley nothing about Constuction loans and how that process may work)...no problem they say, just let us know when you know the specifics and they are already working with our builder on two other custom homes so he would know all the paperwork that they would need. Wow! Really! Tuesday...last minute packing up the kitchen and the builder calls and needs to move the meeting if possible to Wednesday night....that is moving night....we agreed. Wednesday. Thank you Lord for Mimi. Dustin's mom came and helped, helped, helped. What a blessing! Movers came and we were moved in by 3pm. Dustin came home at 5 and shortly after we were off to the "old home" for the meeting with the builder. Amazing! The builder, Eldon Carter...truly so thankful for Him! We were able to share what God has been doing with us and he in turn shared what God was doing with him. We never thought we would have the opportunity to build right off. That we would potentially have the funds or the land to do that on and yet here we were talking specifics with the builder....a builder that loved the Lord!! Amazing.....what does God have in store? Boy, we are not 100% certain however what we do know is that He is faithful, that He can be trusted, that He is the abundant provider and the All Knowing Master Planner!! We will wait on him and we continue to pray and seek His will for the Cupp Crew....what an exciting adventure with the Lord by your side. Overwelmed by His goodness! Thank you Lord!!

Praise the LORD!!!

This past week has been CRAZY!!! I found out on tuesday that our entire neighborhood was having a garage sale on saturday.....so I got to working and quickly! I cleaned out the entire attic and sent an email out to friends to let them know we would be having a garage sale in 4 days to raise money for our Mission Trip to Honduras!!! Boy, what hard work it ended up being but the Lord blessed us with over $700!! Praise the LORD!! Now, we are able to buy our passports for our entire family for this trip! We are so excited to be going in March. The boys ask almost everyday now when we are going! So excited to serve the Lord in Honduras with our dear friends the Tumlisons!!!!

Just a little SUGAR!!

Sugars from Abby Ruth!

IHOP

Last weekend we all went to Kansas City, MO with Dustin's entire residency class to a place called IHOP: International House of Prayer. I was a little worried about traveling so far with three small kidos and how friendly it would be for families to be able to spend time together during the retreat but I would have to say that it was an amazing weekend! IHOP was an amazing place where God is truly moving! It is a non-demoninational house of prayer that has been open for 10 years now and it is open 24 hours a day/7 days a week. It was really a neat time. If you are ever in Kansas City, please make a point of stopping by IHOP and praying with your family. You won't regret it! The weekend was a great time of refreshing our walk with the Lord. It was a time where God gave us an even greater vision for our calling to serve in Cushing. What a precious, precious time! The fun family time that we had is pictured above. I found a free place to take the kids for an afternoon. It is called Deanna's Famstead in Overland Park, KS. It was a super grand time! They boys got to milk a cow, pan for gold, feed the goats, play in a tee-pee, ride ponies, fish and play! Fun times!