My family

So, this is going to be a long post as I feature each person in my family.  Jesus has blessed me so much with wonderful people to lift me up and show me who He is that I think it is important for you to know who they are!!  (Andy to be another post!)

So, let's start at the beginning, mom and dad:
Thelma and Eugene McGee are the best parents!  They would do and have done anything for their daughters, family and friends.  They have given their time to help other people with their problems while putting their own problems on hold.  
One of my favorite things about my dad is that he cares so much for my aunts-my whole life he has counted them-to make sure they were all accounted for wherever we were-taking care of 4-8 kids at a time has taught me that this is time consuming and mentally consuming, so I really appreciate that he loves "the girls" so much!  He has always taken care of mom and has made sure she has everything she needs and lots of stuff she wants-as well as me and Holly.  
Mom has been the best friend I never asked for, but definitely needed.  She has seen friends and drama come and go in my life, always listened to my problems and offered advice, but when the drama was over she never treated anyone other than who they were-she's never been one of those people who has held a grudge.  She has always pushed me to do well in school and been understanding when I was lazy in my studies.  She has shown me what a wife should be - loving and supportive even in the hard times.

  My beautiful sister-Holly Carroll is the strongest person I know!  Anyone who spent 9 months meticulously taking care of their baby, then losing them is strong in my book.  Even now, having to endure certain awful comments about "getting over it" (as that could EVER happen) she stays strong and continues not to cut off all their hair!!!  She has always been the beautiful, popular, fashionable, everyone-wants-to-be-around, I'm-always-gonna-look-up-to person she still is today.   She is loving and really cares about her customers and friends.  One of our boys saw a picture of us together and said that we looked alike-I was so excited-that was definitely a compliment to me!!  I love telling how great a sister she has always been to me-she saved my life 2 times, you know-one at the beach when I fell flat on my back in the ocean, one at Emerald Pointe getting me out of the whirl pool-I should really have her around every time I'm near water!!! 

Holly's husband, Mike is the older brother I always wanted!  He is good to Holly, a great father, son-in-law and brother-in-law!!  He always fixes my hair dryers!  My favorite memory is when a friend came over (guess they thought he was more than a friend) he said if the guy hurt me he would hurt him - just a brotherly thing to say!!!  He always loves and welcomes me and Andy!!!

Brandon Michael - Holly and Mike's first born that we will one day meet in heaven - seriously, I have scripture to back it up!!  I still think about Holly calling me early one morning when I was in Santa Cruz and telling me I was gonna be an aunt!!!!  I think about holding him, seeing him in the hospital, praying for a diagnosis, praying for his surgery, rocking him in his bouncer.  We think about him daily-our sweet boy we will see one day.

Tanner Michael looks like Mike, but definitely has Holly's temper - past down from dad!!!  To understand how I felt the first time he stayed with us you would have had to see the movie  Raising Arizona with Nick Cage.  In the movie, he steals a baby, hands the baby to the girl and she starts hysterically crying about how much she loves him.  The first time he came to stay with us, I felt like that!!!  It was a bit funny!!  Tanner is fun, athletic, so smart and I love that he calls me to tell me the puzzles he has done!

Carter Jackson is cuddly.  He is smart, funny and creative.  And so spoiled!!!  He loves his big brother, but does his own thing most of the time.  My favorite memory is when he used to say "what" in a whisper voice.  We were outside and I had asked him to do something and he looked at me strangely and whispered "what?"  I'm laughing while writing this - it still cracks me up!!

  My in-laws:  Cindy and Lee Newton
They have invited me into their family and treated me like their own daughter!!  They have loved on me and wanted the best for me as my own parents.   
Lee teaches me what a godly work ethic looks like.  He tries hard to do all to the glory of God and to love those around him for Christ's glory.  
Cindy shows me what a godly wife looks like - following even when you have doubts.  She loves her kids and reminds me how important it is to laugh at your kids!!   I spent a week with her before Katie got married and truly loved the time we had together!

  Josh and Angie have welcomed me into the family, I think because they got free babysitting out of me - just kidding!!!!  They have loved on me, listened to my problems and helped discern the Lord's will with us.  They have allowed us to crash their house without being invited and play the wii with us!!!  
Josh loves the Lord and is trying to discern His will and follow Him wholeheartedly.  He is a wonderful father and is showing his kids what a godly man looks like!
Angie is the type of mom I aspire to be - hands in most of what her kids do!!  She is involved in the things her kids are, making sure they are well-rounded.  She is hard working, creative and fun to be around!!

Ryan Carl is the smartest 8 year old I know - he is probably smarter than me!!!  He works hard at school and in everything he does.  As the oldest nephew he is patient with the little ones, but mature enough to hang with the adults - most of the time!!!  The last Fun Day we had he entertained and made Tanner and Carter feel so welcome and not so scared to be away from their mom.  He is so loving and caring!

Alexander William has the best smile.  He is one of the happiest kids I have ever seen - always with a smile on his face!!!  He is fun loving and finds joy in all the things he does - i really love when he plays with me!!  He is growing up so fast!

  Katie and Brian love us and love on us in ways that we aspire to love on others.  They are always welcoming; inviting us to their home and planning things for us to do.  
Katie loves people and is so good at getting to the root of any issues the Lord shows her that they have.  She is caring and really cares about us.  She doesn't shy away from the tough questions, but loves on the person.  I feel like she and I have this special connection of sister-in-law hood that is only summed up in pokes!!!  (Sorry inside joke)
Brian is sarcastic and intelligent, which definitely fits!  He loves on me even though I am a Duke fan and makes me feel welcome!!  He makes the most unique gifts that are so fun to see.  We talk about how well he fits into the Newton family - someone who loves the Lord and can discuss religion/politics/movies as well as the rest!!!
 
Zack and Melissa have been there from the beginning!  I knew Zack before I knew Andy and Melissa was in my bible study.  They love us, share their life with us, share their daughter with us and bounce ideas with us.
Zack loves the Lord and tries to find His will in everything he does.  He is creative, funny and a great father.  He always challenges us in our faith - something more people should do.
Melissa is a wonderful friend!  She humors me and studies the bible with me - something I truly appreciate!!  She loves her kids and always has a smile for them.  I love spending time with her and seeing how the Lord is working in her.

Abigail Grace is just precious.  As the only niece, so far, she is spoiled.  When she finally calms down from leaving her mom and dad, she is fun loving, smiley and learning fast. She is learning how to do things on her own and learning what she can and can't do!  She always lights up when she sees the boys we work with - its very cute!

We have 2 other nephew/nieces in heaven that we will one day meet.


So, you have met my immediate-extended family.  There are many others that are in the family that the Lord has me praying over and loving.  I love seeing my family and cousins and definitely don't see them enough!!

The Name

So, I've wanted to start a blog for few years, but didn't think I would have the time to devote- now I'm thinking I don't need to devote much time as I try very hard to be to the point-and I want to show off my Pintrest projects!!

I was praying about the name of the blog and decided on "for such a time as this" from the book of Esther-Esther 4:14 to be exact.  In context, Mordecai, Esther's uncle, is trying to persuade her to go to the king and ask for the salvation of the Jews.  Esther was scared and Mordecai tells her that she may have been chosen Queen for the purpose of helping the Jews in their calamity. 

I think about this verse and this phrase when I think about life-we are so eager to move on to the next phase of life-when we are younger, we wish to be older; in high school we can't wait to be in college; in college we long to get married and get a "real" job; not very long after getting married we decide to have kids; then we wait for kids to walk, talk, start school...  I think about this verse because we tend to want and wait to do big things, but then I think God has me where he wants me-for such a time as this.  Andy and I don't have kids yet, but we have nephews we love dearly and don't call often enough-we have family we definitely don't see enough and the Lord has put us in charge of (as of right now) 6 boys that we cherish!  Our mind is to be set on this time and what the Lord calls us to do today-we may be here, now to help bring Jesus' love to someone quite near us!!