A Wonderful Christmas

What a "blessed" Christmastime we had!! All our kids (Josh, Erika, Andy, Carman, Rachel & Derek) were with us from Friday, December 21 thru Christmas day. It was the longest and most relaxing Christmas visit we have had in many years. We ate, played games, ate some more, had a fun visit with Randy Blaine, watched football, worshipped together on Sunday, took a family picture Sunday afternoon which I'll talk more about in a separate blog, enjoyed a great visit Sunday evening with Brian, Kellye & Addison Smith, ate some more, played some more games, open gifts and just enjoyed each other!! The next blog shows some pictures of the weekend here in Red Oak.

On Christmas day, Rachel, Derek and Carman all flew from Dallas to Little Rock. Carman flew into LR in order to spend some time with her Mom, sisters and grandparents in the Benton/Glenrose area. Josh & Erika drove home to Springdale. Andy accompanied Jeff & I to Kansas to visit our Moms/his grandma's. Andy, Jeff & I had Christmas with his Mom on Wednesday evening.

Andy, Mom, and I then left Kansas and drove to NW Arkansas Thursday morning. We took Andy home, then Mom and I went to the lakehouse. Kaye & Rob and Jeff all joined us later that evening. Jeff, Mom, Kaye & I looked at a few houses to rent on Friday morning and chose the first one we looked at. It is located in Rogers about 2 miles from Andy and 6-8 miles from Josh.

Friday evening, more of the family started arriving......Mike, Shannan and Madyson; Mike, Adrienne and Lincoln; and Rachel & Derek. Then Saturday, the rest of the family arrived: Bev, Don, Shawna & Nathan, Matt & Kristin, Andy & Carman and Josh & Erika (and her sister, Susan, for the evening). It was such a SPECIAL treat to have all our family together......perhaps for a very long time as Shawna and Nathan will be leaving in the Spring to go overseas for mission work.

We all enjoyed our two "little" ones -- Madyson and Lincoln. Both were so very good all weekend!

This is Kaye & Rob, Mom, Mike, Adrienne and Lincoln and Matt & Kristin (who are getting married August 9, 2008!!)

This is Bev and Don, Mike, Shannan and Madyson (baby Zachary is due in March) and Shawna and Nathan and Mom

And this is our family in the foyer at Pinnacle Hills Baptist Church in Rogers. All the family (23 of us) attended worship at Pinnacle Hills on Dec. 30th. We really enjoyed the service as Pastor Ronnie Floyd and his son, Nick, both brought the message that morning.

We did find a home to lease in Rogers while we were visiting this past weekend. Once we get moved, I'll include our new address and email on this blog so you can keep in touch with us!

Thankfully, everyone had safe travels home. A big thank you to Mom for providing the food and meals for the weekend and for the Christmas money and to Kaye & Rob for allowing us to use the lakehouses.

A new year is now ahead for all of us........we pray we each will be found faithful in service and obedience to our Lord!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Christmas in Red Oak

A sweet gal from First Baptist, Tiphany Hood, took family pictures for us while the kids were all here for Christmas. She did a great job and has allowed me to put two of those on my website. Thanks, Tiphany! I highly recommend Tiphany. This is the link to her website - please check her out! http://www.creativeexpressionsstudio.com/

For the photo shoot, we wore our favorite football team shirts and took the pictures on the back of the Curry homestead. The rest of these pictures here are from Jeff and/or Rachel's digital cameras.

Sunday evening, Brian, Kellye & Addison Smith came for a visit during the time the kids were here for Christmas. Baby Addison is just precious. We all had to have our turn in holding her!!

Gift opening time......

And game playing..... A FUN CHRISTMAS WEEKEND!!

Our Last Sunday at First Baptist

Sunday, December 23rd was our last service at First Baptist Church, Red Oak, Texas with Jeff as Senior Pastor. It was a hard day as we said goodbye to many wonderful people!! We are sure going to miss all of you!!

The church hosted a very nice going away reception for us prior to the worship service. Thanks so much to Parker Lord and his "welcome room" committee for such a great job with the decorations, food, etc. Thanks too to each one who hugged our necks, spoke kind words to us, for the cards, gifts and well wishes. Here are a few pics of the day..............

The worship service consisted of singing Christmas music, Jeff preaching a short Christmas message and then families and/or groups of friends partaking together in the Lord's Supper. This was especially meaningful to Jeff & I as our children were all present, and for the first time since they have all married, we were able to observe this sacred church ordinance together at one of the tables as a family with Jeff administering the supper to us. Then after the worship service, Jeff was privileged to baptize 9 people. The picture below shows him baptizing one of those and then I am in the picture with the Walker family as both their girls were baptized.

Below is a couple of pictures Rachel or Derek took. One is with the Cox family -- good friends of ours from Crandall. They were active members of Calvary in Mesquite when Jeff pastored there. They had heard we were leaving, so made a special trip to Red Oak to say goodbye. We love you, Tyra, Jennifer and Nicki!! The other picture is Andy & Carman with Doug & Glenda Curry and their family. We love you guys too!

And last, but not least, is a picture of our family in front of the baptistry/fountain

A New Chapter In Our Lives

Due to continued health problems as a result of Jeff's high blood pressure, he has resigned as Pastor of First Baptist Church in Red Oak. He told the church of his decision on December 9th. We don't have our future all "mapped" out but feel an absolute peace that this is what God would have us do. The kids, my family and myself have felt for quite a while that Jeff needed to step down from the pastorate and "rest" awhile so that he can live a long life. The past four generations of Swart men have all died from heart disease and we just don't want that to be the case with Jeff.
We listed our home on December 3rd and had an offer on it December 11th. The sale of our home is to close January 21st. This was just another confirmation from the Lord that we had made the right decision. This has been the nicest home we have ever owned and we are very thankful for the 4+ years God allowed us to live here, but also very grateful God hasn't been listening to the news about the horrible housing market!! Truly a miracle from Him to sell a home at this time of year and with the real estate market the way it is. A big thank you to good friends and realtors, Dr. David & Pam Baugher (Riviera Realty Services) for an excellent job in getting our home sold so quickly! David has especially been a tremendous blessing to Jeff over these past 4+ years as his chiropractor and trusted friend.

We have decided we are moving to Northwest Arkansas to be closer to family. Both the boys and their wives live in the Springdale/Lowell area. Rachel & Derek live 2-1/2 hours south. Our Moms live in Southeast Kansas which is about 1-1/2 hours north, so we would be close enough to visit them often as well. My sister, Kaye & brother-in-law, Rob are co-owners of several lakehouses in this area so we will get to see them more often too (and attend Razorback games together-yeah!). Also, by moving to NW Arkansas, we will be able to help Andy in his new church plant. Jeff & I both will be looking for employment once we get moved. Please pray God will lead in that as well.

Seasons of life.......it's never easy to say goodbye and start over. Moving gets harder and harder as we grow older. But we know with God's strength and the support of our family and friends, we can do this. Thank you for your love, friendship and prayers as we follow a new path for our lives.



Debbie