Fast Forward

Fast forward about 18 mos. We got married, moved to a smaller town in KS, and I am working remotely from home full time. Eric has his own church and is gainfully employed in the UMC. Yhew!

It has been quite a ride and we are still unpacking. With all of the hustle and bustle, Eric & I are expecting our first child on October 19, 2009. It will be the 2 year anniversary of the day that he proposed. What a coincidence? We are not planning on finding out if it is a boy or girl, which is driving our loved ones crazy.

We will go for a vacation/babymoon next week and I hope to have a couple of good days of relaxing by the ocean. Totally need some destressing after busy season and my first trimester, which was brutal.

Take care everyone!

We're engaged!

Eric & I got engaged! On October 19, 2007, Eric asked for me to marry him and I said, "Yes, of course!" with jubilation and a little bit of tears.

He is very sneaky and I gave him a tall order when I specified that he had to:

1. Provide an element of surprise (Which he accomplished)
2. Ensure that it is special (It was that, too)

He arranged that it be done at my home church in Prairie Village, Kansas and he contacted my pastors to get them in on it! I got a call that afternoon about 2:00pm at work from one of the associate pastors. The pastor asked me if I could come to the church for a focus group meeting in the sanctuary and we would discuss adult communities. I drilled him with questions and then reluctantly said that I could come. In fact I said "I will try to make it."

Well I made it to the so-called meeting, a little late, but still within about 10 minutes or so. I was greeted at the entrance by the secretary, who I had never met, but she asked me if I was Holly. Not thinking much about it, I then was redirected to the chapel, where Eric was.

Oh the surprise and confusion that took over, because Eric had never been to my church and pastors his own in Denton, Kansas. Well he was sitting on the piano bench at the front of the chapel by this "playing" piano. I don't know what I said when I approached him in the front, but I was getting an idea where this was going. He reminded me that I was a gift from God and that we had been faithful to wait on God's timing as our relationship progressed. He got on one knee an asked me to marry him. Without hesitation, I said "Yes, of course."

Later we celebrated with some Guarana (pronounced Guatana) soda from Brazil. We also went to dinner at McCormick & Schmicks on the Plaza. We have had so much fun sharing with family and friends.

Vacation to Estes Park, CO (Part 2)

Here is the next installment of the commentary and pictures from the vacation to Colorado.

After doing the 5+ mile hike on the first day, which was pretty ambitious of us, we decided that we would go out on Lake Estes. Our hotel was on the lake by the marina and was very convenient. I had been wanting to try kayaking and lucky for us they had some two person kayaks. It seemed pretty easy and comfortable at first. There is a comfy seat to sit in and you are practically at water level, but the kayak is not easy to tip like the canoe. I was having flashbacks of one of the canoe trips to Oklahoma when Erin Howard and I tipped the canoe over within 15 minutes or so when we went on the float trip in High School.

Anyway, we started out fine, except for the mishap of me being directionally challenged, not remembering which is left and right. We hit the dock of the marina right out of the gate. It was pretty funny, but you probably would have have to have been there. We got coordinated finally and by the end of the journey we were racing by the paddle boat next to us. My first kayaking experience was very fun and I hope to do it again sometime. Here we are...

Eric paddled in back and I was in charge of steering. We really had to work together. Sometimes we were able to go in the right direction.

Later we headed out for a night on the town. We played putt putt golf at Fun City and Eric won, as usual. He is pretty competitive at any sport, but especially when it comes to Putt Putt golf. Then we paid a buck each to go down the slide here:

I beat him as you can see here. The funny thing was that the carpets that you rode down on caused an electric charge against the metal slide and I kept getting shocked. It really hurt and I yelled the whole way down. I guess that is what you get for a buck nowadays.

Vacation to Estes Park, CO (Part 1)

Eric and I went to Estes Park, Colorado for a little vacation and relaxation before a hectic last year of school for him and for me to get away from the busyness of work for a while. We enjoyed seeing the mountains and I especially enjoyed breathing in the Colorado air that smells so fresh and is full of the aspen trees that are brushed along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. We enjoyed some devotion time in the morning and gave back massages in the evenings. During the days we hiked, kayaked, rode horses, and fed cute little chipmunks. When I was little, I used to call them chickmunks, but I am not sure where that came from.

On the first day we hiked up a trail to Ouzel Falls about 5 1/2 miles round trip. Along the path was a rip roaring creek, the St. Vrain Creek, where we crossed several log bridges and passed by Copeland Falls and Calypso Falls. Each waterfall had different characteristics that made it a pleasure to see. I love hearing the sounds of the water as it rushes over rocks scattered throughout the creek and falls. There is nothing like it and it is so relaxing. Here are some pictures of the falls.

Holly at Copeland Falls

Eric at Calypso Falls

Eric at Ouzel Falls

Revival Follow-up

The revival was such a blessing to all that attended. Overall, three churches were represented in Hammond, Kansas, just North of Fort Scott. When you also consider that the Denton church was well represented with 7 members and then Rick and Jill from a BIble church in Topeka and myself from Hillcrest Covenant, there were six churches and 3 denominations represented. I think that God is all about bringing people together that have one thing in common: Him.

I think that in order for life altering revival to take place, there is a need for all Christians to gather and just praise His name. I believe that God is depending on a community of the saints to get past theological differences and gather as One Body: The Church. I have found that it is hard sometimes to get beyond my own views of the way that church is supposed to be and just let God move. I really felt the presence of God and I know that others did too. The worship time even moved some people to tears. It was healing and I know that our prayers were answered.

Thank you for your prayers!

Newest Addition to the Sizemore Family

From Heidi:

Friends, and Family,

We are excited to share with you the pictures of our new Boxer puppy Abby, she is precious. Enjoy, we sure are. (Besides the loss of sleep!) She will be a lot of fun!
Hope all is well!

Take Care

Love,
Michael, Heidi and Abby

Revival in the Midwest

Church members from Denton UMC will be heading to Fort Scott, Kansas to unite in prayer and worship on Sunday. They will be praying for the church and that God will revive their quenched hearts and provide healing for their souls. I am excited for this opportunity, because Eric will be facilitating the worship service and praying with many people for God to touch their heart. Would you join me in praying for a Word from God? Would you join me in praying expectantly for the Holy Spirit to move in an awesome and powerful way so that no one can deny God's power and grace?

I am going on Sunday expecting that God will show up and that he will bring a fresh Word. I know that he has already ordained this important meeting with other believers of Christ and we are praying that the lost and hungry people who need to hear about Jesus will show up as well. I am looking forward to the praise and worship that we will experience and can not wait for the healing that God will bring to my heart and many others. Thank you in advance for your prayers for this revival and I hope that God will bless you for your faith.

I love this verse and it speaks to me about God's faithfulness and promise to a chosen generation, no matter how rebellious we are:

So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. "O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes," he said, "then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance."

Exodus 34:4-9 (New International Version)