Mikey and Family

These pictures are from our time in Atlanta and the past week here in Miami. I got a new phone from Nathan for Christmas - a smart phone! I know... Welcome to modern times, Nicole. I've been texting my family and Nathan's family pictures of Mikey almost every day since we've been apart, so I thought I'd share some of my favorites lately.

Gosh, I could just eat him up, as Southerners would say.

I love the soft lighting on him and my sister-in-law, Joy.

Here he is in my favorite polar bear PJs taking a morning snooze before church. I guess it's fitting that he's too big for them now that we live in the tropics.

My sister-in-law, Hannah, and I went to the mall. We only went in one store (Anthropologie, of course) and were there for two and a half hours. Life truly slows down when you have a newborn. We didn't even buy anything. So, this isn't the most gorgeous backdrop ever, but Mikey's face is priceless and Hannah's hair looks bomb, so it made the blog cut.

Then we started our road trip to Miami. This is at a rest stop somewhere in southern Georgia. Mikey was sooo pumped to be stuck in his car seat for two days. 

I went to Target for an hour or two, and when I came home Mikey had a very irritated look on his face. Nathan narrated the baby's thoughts. "Where the #$%@ have you been? I thought you were leaving us forever!"

Even though it's blurry, I love this picture of Mikey's face. We unpacked Nathan's 80 boxes of books in his new office at church. The wall-to-wall-floor-to-ceiling bookshelves are full. That is not a joke. Nathan said he is going to get rid of some of them, but I'll believe it when I see it.

This is Mikey asleep in the car on the way to Key Biscayne. The dish towel is behind his head because he was incredibly sweaty and therefore grumpy on the drive. This kid is the sweatiest baby who ever lived, and it's only January. I can't imagine how annoyed he will be in South Florida in August.

I saw this onesie on Etsy almost five years ago, and I pinned it on a Pinterest board. My friend Julie bought it for Mikey soon after we announced that I was pregnant. This is the first time he's worn it, and I may have shed a tear or two while dressing him.

There will be more to come in due course about our new life here in Miami. We're still getting settled but we're excited! 

Vamos a Miami!

Sorry for the blog silence recently. We've been visiting friends and family in Atlanta this last week, and we're collecting all our stuff and leaving for Miami on Sunday. After spending one night in Orlando, Nathan, Mikey, my parents-in-law, and I will arrive on Monday to a new chapter of life, and we are excited!

Next week we'll be busy looking for a home, but hopefully I'll be able to show you our new (temporary) digs and the church soon. I am so. pumped. to set up Nathan's office first. Those 80 boxes of books are eager to breathe again. :)

Start planning your trip!

December Photo Dump

We celebrated my grandma's birthday with some chocolate cake. I ate some and then fell asleep in her wheelchair. I was that tired.

My dad got Mikey this pacifier. He looks like a sailor with that onesie as well.

I'm sure Nathan took this. I think Mikey looks like the statue of Jesus in Rio.

Papa and Mikey asleep in a chair at the beach house.

Mikey's first trip to the Pacific Ocean. I did not allow Nathan to put Mikey in the frigid water, although he was persistent in begging me. That would have been torture for the poor baby.

He was content sleeping in my arms, wrapped up in his blanket and protected from the wind.

Family photo in the usual style...

The Next Chapter of Life

What's that Mikey? What are you trying to tell us? Are those palm trees and alligators on your blanket? Why the bright green onesie?

What my key lime cutie pie is trying to say, is that we're moving to Florida! Yes, the Lord has answered our prayers for full-time ministry work. It's finally official and public news. Nathan has accepted a position as the senior pastor of Pinelands Presbyterian Church in Cutler Bay, Florida.

We will head to Atlanta as a family on a red-eye flight on January 4th to see family and friends and collect our belongings, and then we'll make the drive down to our new hometown on the 18th. Nathan will preach his first sermon on February 2nd. To hear Nathan's candidating sermon preached at the church a few weeks ago, you can click here.

Since our departure from England - well, our whole lives, really - God has provided for us in amazing ways, from housing to transportation to wonderful people who have loved us incredibly well. We look forward to seeing the ways that he will continue to provide for us in Florida.

In the mean time, you can pray that God would help us in the following areas:

- Saying goodbye to my family in Bakersfield (I'm crying already!)

- Traveling with Mikey and all of our stuff on planes and long-distance drives

- Finding a permanent home in Florida (the Lord has already provided a temporary place with a church member)

- Beginning healthy ministry habits

- Loving our new church family well

- Strengthening our bonds as a married couple and as a family as we go through all of this change

Start planning your next vacation to south Florida and come see us! We'll be very close to Miami, the Keys, and to all the cruising ports.

A Christmas Brother Update

Merry Christmas from the Sampleys/Onaindias/Parkers. We had our family Christmas last night, all the while thinking of my brother, Matthew.

To make a long story short, he was hit as a pedestrian by a Chevy Silverado about a week ago. He is in ICU at the same hospital where Mikey was born. He sustained a host of injuries including bleeding in his brain and stomach, broken ribs, a broken back, and lots of abrasions. He's already had surgery, and he has a huge scar with stitches from his chest to his groin. It looks like he is going to live, but yesterday he took a turn for the worse. Both of his lungs re-collapsed, he has double pneumonia, and he is back in a medically induced coma. He is in a lot of pain and confusion and is not very cooperative when awake, which means he's had to be restrained at times. This is really hard for him and our family because he is deaf and uses his hands to communicate. He NEEDS them to tell medical staff how he can be helped. Please continue to pray for him and us, especially my parents.

Anyway, it's been bloggy silence on this end because of all the excitement over here... and my old faithful computer is dying a slow but sure death. I'm on Nathan's right now.

Enjoy the Christmas Eve pictures!

Holding Baby Mikey

June took this one. She's quite the photographer.

Dad/son Christmas bonding

Winnie and Mimi made cupcakes. Yummy!

Mean Muggin'

I found these pictures on the camera today. Nathan took them last night and said to me, "I don't want to say I provoked him, but..." and then he trailed off. 

I love his mean muggin' face.

Thanksgiving Fun, A Week Late

We woke up Thanksgiving morning and went to the park to eat donuts and play some football! Thanks go to my sister and brother-in-law for organizing it with all for all of our friends and neighbors.

Auntie Twine getting ready to rumble!

Winnie learned how to ride a bike recently.

And I think this picture is so cute of her with her hand in her pocket.

Time for Mikey's first football game!

It's getting serious out here!

Post-Thanksgiving dinner turkey coma...

Time to pick out a Christmas tree!

It was shorts and t-shirt weather, but I still busted out my leggings and boots for the occasion. It lasted about an hour before I got too hot and had to cool off with yet another diet cherry limeade from Sonic. That's been my go-to drink these days, especially between 2-4 (happy hour!) when they're half price. :) 

It's hard to believe that Christmas is almost here!