It's COLD outside!!!!

IRON RIVER!
We are finally here! At last....I know it has been awhile since some of you have heard from us! So let me fill you in!
We left Toledo January 18th and drove half way up to Mackinac City. We stayed the night in a hotel and were rather glad we stopped because we hit white out conditions about 20 or so minutes before we stopped. We stayed the night, got to swim with the kids and all that good stuff. We arrived Saturday afternoon around 2:00pm (we are in central time just to let everyone know now) and of course it had to be the coldest day of winter so far. Adam, his dad, and the men from the church unloaded our moving van into a 10 by 18 ft storage unit in -5 degree weather and were absolutely chilled to the bone! It has been so cold! When we woke up for church the next morning it registered -11 degrees on our thermometer.!! AUGHH!!
We have been staying in a beautiful lakehouse that a Pastor and his wife own from Milwaukee. It is about 25 minutes from civilization and we happen to get no cell phone reception up there at all. Living without computer, phone and internet has been a little difficult but it has just been a nice get away that we have needed so far. The first day we arrived at the lakeshouse and started to unpack...we had around 7 deer just watching us. I got to feed them and got about 5 feet away...They are now like family pets and come for food 3 times a day at least. They even wag their tails when they see us coming with food. The most we have had at one time have been 15 deer. We have them on video tape...they were fighting over the food and actually standing up on their hind legs. It was so neat to watch. Anyway, we have been attempting ice fishing and other North woods activites such as freezing, freezing, freezing, and trying to stay warm in the extreme conditions! :)
We will be staying in the lakehouse until the end of this week and are not sure where we will be headed next. We are putting a bid in on a house but it could be a month or more until we can get in it. There are some possibilities for rent for a couple of months around here so we will have to see.
I want everyone in Toledo to know that I love ya and miss ya! Keep praying for us! And...I will write more when I get a chance! Talk to you soon! JESS

Moving ....Finally!

Moving....Jan. 18th!

*Well to say the least I have two very different feelings...right now...I have a deep sadness and a sense of loss! And I have an excitement about the things to come. I will miss all the friends I have had here in Toledo for the past six years so much! You all will never even know how you have impacted my life...you probably don't even realize it! .I have birthed 3 of my children here, almost lost them all, had a brain tumor and had countless friends and family members be here to help along the way. I am blessed. God has taught me so much through these 6 or so years! It has been a growing period for me, growing in Faith to move mountains if I need to. Learning that God doesn't always move and answer prayer in ways WE think he should move and answer prayer.
All of YOU are my family. I love you like family and you will be friends for life! We move the 18th of this month. We are moving on to what God has called us to do. We are moving on to more people that need to be touched and ignited with the Fire of God! So what I would like to say to you in general is pray for us! Pray for me....Be excited for what God is going to do in us and through us! This has been and will be the hardest leaving we have done...please support us.....and be there as friends for us through this. Don't pull away already! That's harder to bear! I love you like family and always will. Release us into God's glory!*