Greetings everyone! We hope you are getting ready for the best time of year and enjoying your parties and times with family. Some of you have received our photo card and are seeing our blog for the first time. Some might have already visited here and have seen our blog. But we are glad you are here to see what all we have been up to this past year. Please feel free to view our older blog posts and enjoy the pictures. But to fill everyone in at a glimpse I will start with January.
In January we resigned from our church in Alabama to begin an adventure that would take us to the year of the unknown. I was 8 months pregnant with our third child and we were anticipating Sadye joining our family at the beginning of March unless she decided to come earlier. We decided to stay in Andalusia so that we could put our house up for sale and for Mackenzie to finish the year out in kindergarden if we could. The month of January was a weird month for us but we enjoyed the time with our little family of 4 before we became a family of 5. I continued working part-time at Carolina Baptist Church up until the time that Sadye was due. February came and it was getting closer for her to join our family and we continued to plan for her and Matt was able to speak at a few churches in the county where we still lived and we had put the house up for sale but nobody had looked at it yet. We had snow come and visit for the first time in a while and it snowed all day. That doesn't usually happen in Andalusia being that we are an hour and a half from Destin, FL. But the kids enjoyed it and they played many times in it that day in between coming in and drying off and warming up only to go back out to enjoy it again. On my last appointment before Sadye was due they changed my due date to February 27th and we were surprised that they had moved it up from March 3rd. But on Friday, February 26th I went to have lunch at Mackenzie's school that day and wasn't feeling real well so I called the Dr.'s office and they made me head straight to the hospital. Well I never made it home. Sadye was born the next day, February 27th at 5:24 p.m. She has been such a blessing to us already and we can't believe she is going to be 10 months in just a few days.
March brought us to the start of a few events that we weren't expecting. Matt started having mouth pain and we found out that he was going to have to his wisdom teeth out. He had been trying to avoid it but with the pain he had he couldn't do it anymore. We were blessed to have his dad come and stay with us and help out with the kids while Matt was down after his procedure. After a while Matt did start feeling better. He did have a chance to preach at a few churches near our county before his procedure and then even after. However, we were still sending his resume out and talking with a few churches. Still praying for the right direction for our family.
Mackenzie's 6th birthday was on May 2nd and we were planning on an exciting weekend in Montgomery with family staying at a hotel with family. (Which was a highlight for Mackenzie) However, much to our surprise God had other plans for our family. The Thursday before her birthday Matt's dad wasn't feeling well so he went to the Dr. and they sent him to the nearest hospital to be checked out. They moved him to Piedmont Hospital in downtown Atlanta when they realized his condition was worse than they thought. We wanted to try to leave as soon as we could because we knew either a heart cath would be performed or open heart surgery. But, Matt came down with a fever virus for a few days and we couldn't leave until Sunday, May 2nd (Mackenzie's birthday). So the Saturday before her birthday we threw together a birthday party and invited some friends over so we could still celebrate for her special day eventhough it wasn't what we had planned. We traveled to Atlanta and Matt's dad had open heart surgery on Monday, May 3rd and did very well. He has healed well and the weeks after the surgery proved to be challenging but the Lord saw us through. We were able to return during the first week of June to attend a wedding of some friends of ours and we enjoyed visiting with everyone while we were here for the week. Matt looked for a job while we were here and he found one at Dick's Sporting Goods here and started immediately because they had a few positions readily available when he interviewed. We had to make a decision then about what to do about our home in Alabama because it was still for sale and we still hadn't moved everything yet. We made the decision to move a few things to Atlanta temporarily so we could live with Matt's parents for a little while. During the summer we traveled a few times back to Alabama to check on the house and for Matt to preach a few times and for Mackenzie to be baptized on August 15th at the church where I used to work. The wonderful pastor there allowed Matt to baptize her and that was a great experience for our family. We were blessed to have someone look at our home during the month of July and they were interested in the house but couldn't buy it at the time. So we opted to rent it to them until they could possibly purchase it. They have been wonderful renters and our neighbors are keeping an eye on everything while we are away from the area.
The time was approaching for us to decide where to send Mackenzie for school. Being in a different town and an area that we weren't to sure about the schools here and we prayed for the direction to go in. After much prayer and suggestions from friends. We decided this year to homeschool Mackenzie so we could have the freedom of travel when needed if interviews came available and so we also didn't have to move her between schools during the year if that happened. She is doing well and we are enjoying it. We can't believe it is already December and we have made it this far doing it. She still enjoys soccer and was able to play in a local church league here this year. She also enjoys drawing and reading and is looking forward to playing basketball in January with the Upward program at church. She helps out with Sadye and enjoys cooking in the kitchen with mommy. She has been able to be a part of the Awana program for the first time at church and is almost finished with her first book and the year is only half over.
Judah is still our "Boy". He loves playing with anything that boys love to play with. He is our early bird and is ready to eat when his feet hit the floor. He enjoys playing with daddy and Mackenzie outside either in football or soccer. We are looking forward to when he can actually play on a team and see how he does. This past November he turned 3 and we had to have a Toy Story birthday. His big request was alien and pig cupcakes for the special day. He even helped make them, too. Judah is also a part of the Awana program, too. He is a Puggle and loves his class and teachers.
Sadye is just our precious princess. She is all energy, too. She loves attention and enjoys playing with Judah and Mackenzie and doing whatever they are doing. She is our baby and I think some days she knows that. She loves the kitchen and getting anything and everything out of the cabinets and playing with paper mainly because she loves to hear the noise it makes. She has been crawling since she was 7 months and now at almost 10 months is trying to walk along the furniture and kitchen cabinets. We have a feeling she will be walking by the time she is a year old.
Janel is staying home and enjoying homeschooling Mackenzie and keeping up with the other two kiddos everyday. They keep her busy and other activities that keep her busy are laundry, keeping up with Mackenzie's school preparations and her friends on Facebook. She is really glad that we are back in the Atlanta area temporarily so that she can visit with a long-time school and church friend Tara Ellis. Since their family is going on the mission field next year she and Tara have enjoyed visiting while we are here close enough to visit. She may return to the work force if God directs her to do so but for now she is enjoying the time with the kids during the day. They grow up so fast so for now it fits.
Matt is still working at Dick's Sporting Goods here in McDonough, Ga as the full-time apparel lead. He still has his resume out and we are praying for the right direction as we are glad to have him in an area where he is getting mentorship from some fellow pastor friends. He has had a few preaching opportunities and there are a few still upcoming for him. We know that God is good and is faithful.
Thank you to all of you who have contacted us and prayed for us during this past year. We are looking forward to what 2011 is going to hold for us and our family. Please feel free to email us at janeltyler@yahoo.com and we are also on Facebook.
Blessings to all of you this Christmas season and remember that Christ is the reason we celebrate!
The Tyler Family (Matt, Janel, Mackenzie, Judah and Sadye)