A Ruckus in the Rockies

"Great Day in the mornin'"- Quote by Nanner B. Gresham
I can honestly say that I have never been so unsettled and peaceful in my entire life. We are trying to find a house, adjust to driving on the snow, finding our way around a huge church and a sprawling community. My first week at the church has been considered one of the hardest changes in the history of the congregation. There was a large cutback in staff as well as budget.
In the midst of the storm....I truly feel at peace. God has led us to this place and has allowed us to have an incredible experience in NC. He hasn't let go...and He won't. As much as I hate cliches, "Gods way of doing things aren't always the way I would choose to do things".
Kim is meeting friends through MOPS and a Bible Study. I am really enjoying several of the church staff who have taken an interest in us and the youth ministry. Ruthie likes to make cool noises with her mouth and she has started dancing in the past week or so.
Under Construction
nate

1st official day of work

well, it's the eve of my first day of work here in the Springs and I have my outfit set out next to my bed along with my trapper keeper and lunch box. I truly am excited and overwhelmed all wrapped up in one big emotion. I'm ready to see my wife and child..saturday can't come soon enough.
Arkansas got crushed in the Cotton bowl today.
The house we are staying in for a period of time has gymnastic rings hanging from the living room ceiling.

In the words of Grandma Mabel Stratman....I'm fine as frogs hair.

nate

Home?

I feel like the little green guy above. I'm in Colorado, Kim is in Charlotte, our stuff is in a storage unit, I'm staying at a friends, we will move into another house when Kim and Ruthie get here, then we pray we find a house to move into.
Why the Alien you ask?
There are many references in scripture about being an alien or stranger in a foreign land. I have thought about those verses especially since I don't have a physical home at this point. Not to over spiritualize everything, but God has truly reminded me of my eternal home.....and that it's somewhat natural to feel like a stranger. I love the idea that this world is not our home, we are on vacation in a sense until we are called "up yonder". But while on vacation, God has called us to be faithful and that's a full-time yet rewarding job.
any who........
Kim and I have been blessed on both sides of the country to have kind folks who have taken us in and cared for us. We have seen the face of Christ in many of these people. This is a tough time....but it's also a good time. I can't wait for my family to get here as we attempt to settle into this new place.

under construction,
nate

Christmas photo shoot

(We took alot of pictures of Ruthie's first Christmas with my sisters camera...so I will have to post those later...hopefully these will tied you over.)






Grandma and Grandpa Stratman

Brother Vick

I read Michael Vick's letter to the judge the other day and something caught me off guard. He wrote a 5 page letter asking for the judge to cut him some slack and that he is not a beast. He listed several reasons why he was a good person and the one that topped the charts was; "I bought my pastor a church"....to which Neil Boortz replied "Mister Vick we don't buy churches....we go to them"

Just a little randomness to brighten your day
nate

The Farewell Party

Last night there were about 300 people gathered in our church gym to send us off to Colorado. They made a huge meal, a great video and sang some songs. It struck me on the way home that I just participated in a rare occassion.....and every aspect of that occassion gave the glory and thanks to our Lord. Kim and I received some incredible letters and gifts from our great friends here at St.Andrews-Covenant. After the meal, all the students and college kids and "real world" kids joined us in the HUB for a final time of worship and celebration. My tear ducts are dry and my back hurts from hugging.
I ran a diagnosis on my tears and It came back that they were tears of gratitude and thankfulness. This church has loved us well and we love them the same. At some point I will try and put the video up on the blog for yall to see.

God is Good
nate

The Advent Conspiracy

The Clan Namtarts head off to Colorado Springs for Chapter 3 in the Namtart Adventure on December 21st. We have some going away parties, I turn 30 on the 20th and then we go to Charlotte for Christmas and then I head off to the Rockies with my truck full of gear and a plethora of books on tape. To get in the right frame of mind I think I will get Lonesome Dove, Louis L'Amour and some other western romance books.
If you have a second, check out Advent Conspiracy and see what you think. There is a video under the title "what is it?" that explains this initiative. Advent Conspiracy is an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by worshipping Jesus through compassion, not consumption.

PSS- Ruthie and Kim are doing well. Ruth is saying "da-da" as well as "Deuteronomy, Ipod Nano and Bob Saggett". We are so proud of her. More pics to come when our camera is repaired.

Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease
nate

Ruthie's 1st Thanksgiving

We are with Nate's family in Arkansas for Ruthie's first Thanksgiving.

Our little Squanto




Ruthie meets Uncle Jake (not pictured) and Aunt Julia for the first time


Ruthie has a blast with her cousin Ben


Ruthie meets her great grandparents for the first time


Great Grandma Gable bonding with Ruthie

Fun with a Balloon

We went to the grocery store and the woman at the register gave Ruth a balloon. You would have thought we took her to Disney World.

MOVING

Well...The Stratman's have offically moved out of our house...we are sad, excited, and relieved all at the same time. We will be in Wilmington until Christmas and then off to Colorado at the end of December. We are so thankful for all our friends that helped us pack and watch Ruthie.

Ruthie still managed to have fun in the midst of all the boxes

The boxes were like life size blocks

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Blogging Hiatus

-We had a lil' snafu with our camera, it got smooshed
-we have to be moved out in 10 days
-we won't have internet access


but.....
if you want to watch a baby or lift a box, we would like to be your friend!!

more Ruthie pics to come! She is getting her hooves and hair did for her next photo shoot when the camera is restored.

Love, Peace and Chicken Grease!
nate

This video made me cry!

Opera Guy Video

Queen Bee

All dressed up and ready for the church fall festival! (There was one upset baby before these pictures and Ruthie was almost grounded from even going to the festival.)



Ruth realized we left her trick-or-treat bag outside.

Many hours of love put into her first Halloween costume (I am my mother's daughter.)

Pulling up

Ruthie loves looking out the screen door...(yes mom it is locked)
1,2,3...UP!!! (I did steady her from falling to the side, but she did the work.)

Pumpkins and Mountains with Ruthie

Just a quick update...Ruthie just started crawling today and her first two teeth are coming in!!! Wow, how time flys!

Mama and her little pumpkin

Ruth was more into the straw than the pumpkins or taking a picture

Precious! (notice the straw still tightly gripped in her little hand)

The Namtarts had an incredible weekend with the Doroskos and the Artemenkos in the NC Mountains. We stayed at Allen and Jodie's new house which is incredibly decorated, I might add. A wonderful way to spend our last 2 months in NC.

The view from the front porch is Grandfather Mountain...BEAUTIFUL!!!

ROW, ROW, ROW your boat...Maggie, Will, and Ruthie playing at Pop and Lolly's (Allen & Jodie's) mountain house

The babies decided to take a rest after their hike

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Our littlt rock climber

Ruthie liked the Stalagtites better than the Stalagmites!

2 Random thoughts

1)Today's word is GRATITUDE-
it has been made abundantly clear to me that we are good at asking God to supply us and our loved ones with health, outcomes, finances, hope etc...
Here's the RUB- God continues to work in front of my very eyes and I rarely thank Him like I should.....always off to the next thing. So here is the question for you and I...."When was the last time you took a breather and thanked your Maker for answered prayers? hmmmmm It's time for all of us to "waller" in His goodness.

2)On a lighter note- On one side of our youth building is a Methadone Clinic and on the other side is a center for middle aged, low-income folks with mental disabilities. One of my new friends from next door, Reggie has been hanging around alot. He comes to my offic to borrow a basketball so he can work on his jump shot on our goal. We share the lot with 10 other agencies and a restaraunt. Reggie (who is 50+yrs old), took it upon himself to collect landscaping blocks, cones, rocks, an empty box of Philly Blunts and other "borrowed" objects. He spread these objects all over the lot and connected them with caution tape around the goal. Some people called the cops on him and they arrested him and hauled him downtown. Later that day he came bye the youth building and I asked him about his adventures today. His response, "Man, I was just workin' on my jumpshot when they snagged me and took me downtown...sumthin' bout a summons'....well at least I got a ride downtown, I had things I had to do down there".

more drama for ya' mamma!
nate

Miss Ruth

Our little girl has been sitting up left and right, it's very fun to watch. She loves watching her friends Maggie and Will as they are very busy moving around the house. We are now eating peas and little star thingies....and now our spit ups and diapers have entered an entire new arena. Ruthie loves to flip and turn when we are trying to clean the toxic waste off of her posterior....so now we must buckle her in with a harnace on the changing table. Kim is a trooper.

Weepy Weep

In recent years I have really grown in the area of crying...I'm getting much better. With all the change going on in our lives as well as many answered prayers, the tears of thankfulness and gratitude have been flowing. My favorite place to well up is in my truck listening to music. This morning on my way to Sams (tha' club)I had yet another precipation attack in the eyeball region. Here are the words to a new David Crowder song that inspired the Weep.

And the problem is this We were bought with a kiss
But the cheek still turned Even when it wasn’t hit
And I don’t know What to do with a love like that
And I don’t know How to be a love like that
When all the love in the world Is right here among us
And hatred too And so we must choose What our hands will do
Where there is pain Let there be grace
Where there is suffering Bring serenity
For those afraid Help them be brave
Where there is misery Bring expectancy
And surely we can change Surely we can change Something
And the problem it seems Is with you and me
Not the Love who came To repair everything
Oh, the world’s about to change
The whole world’s about to change

For Sale

It's weird seeing a "for sale" sign in my yard. We are praying for God to help us in this arena because both of us are fairly clueless when it comes to realty and financial stuff. Here is our house on realtor.com if you want to see it.
Kim and I have really been impressed with the way most of our students have handled us moving. Many of them have written some incredible notes!! We thank God for this incredible bunch of students, they will be real world changers.