Owen's First Birthday

Wow, long time no post.

 Life has been swift. 

Not terribly busy. 

Just flying by very quickly.

Lots has been going on, but something dear to my heart is that my little man 

turned one year old. 

On september 14, 2011 Owen was born. 

Hard to believe that was over a year ago. 

Here is my little man on his big day.

Early in the morning he received his "Birthday Boy" badge 

and we headed to McDonalds

I wanted him to be able to play in the ball pit, but when we got there we found out they didn't have one :(

So we shared a yogurt instead.

He's funny. Every time I took out the camera and said "1,2,3" he threw his head back and gave me that face. 

Then, we went to Walmart and got him his new big boy car seat, 

which he zonked out in right away. 

At home we started the preparations for his birthday party 

and he played with his birthday card.

I love this face :) 

Then we headed to a park down the road from our house 

to meet up with a few friends for his party.

....Owen explored....

(can you find owen in this picture?)

.....Owen ate some dirt....

He LOVES to swing

...He tried to blow the noise maker...

...but he couldn't quite do it...

...so he made the noise with his mouth instead :)

And then there was CAKE 

He ate like we had starved him or something!
    

... He literally had cake coming out of his nose...
(because he shoved it up there while double fisting it into his mouth!)





    

Throwing cake ... rubbing it in his hair...the works...    

Owen got lots of clothes and some shoes! (because he is walking now!)

After the party was over we headed home 

and Owen got a much needed bubble bath.

I hardly got him dressed before he passed out. 

I thought the cake would keep him up all night...

 but apparently it (along with the full day of activity) put him in a coma :)

I'm amazed how much love I have for him. I could never describe it. Only a parent could know what I'm talking about.  My little One year old.

Blessed in order to be a Blessing

Hello J Hope this note finds you well.

Willie and I are in the beginning stages of getting together a core group of supporters as Willie trains to be a missionary pilot for future use in bringing hope to the hard to reach. Our true prayer is that we would be supported by real people we are in relationship with and not from a second party organization that gives financial assistance but lacks encouragement.

Our current financial need for school is $3,200 per month for the first semester. The total cost for school for the next two years will be about $75,000. Willie and I knew about this total going into to the program and we understand it is a big commitment missionary pilots need to make in order to effectively and safely use aviation to serve. We believe the Lord has led us here and that He has been, and will continue to, pave the way. Please be a part of this adventure with us. We know the Lord has great plans of encouragement coming through this to everyone involved.

We don’t have a certain number of people we are looking for, or a suggestion for how much to give. We want to leave it open to see how God leads you to give in quantity and frequency. Any money directly given to Willie and I will be first tithed and then used for our household budget and Flight training (unless otherwise stated in the memo line of the check). Our estimated monthly household budget is $800.

Money given directly to Moody Bible Institute will go straight toward Flight Training and Bible classes. We will not be able to tithe this money because it wont pass through our hands. The money will go straight into our account and be used for school.

As of now there is no way to give a tax deduction for donations given to us, but we are waiting to see if we have been accepted for a ministry called NextGen. This would give a tax deduction for all donations going directly to the School. We should find out in a few weeks if we can use this or not. We will keep you posted and let you know more specifics of how it works if we are accepted.

2 Corinthians 8:12-15 “ For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 

At the present time your plenty will supply what they [we] need, so that in turn their [our] plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality. As it is written: He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not gather to little.”

We share these verses with you because we want you to know we are not looking for a free ride through school. We are at a time of need. We are being obedient to God who has called us to do this work and we want to see the full circle of blessing that comes from joyfully giving to the needs of the body of Christ. School is very intense, and expensive - but well worth it. We can’t do this on our own, we truly do need you. We believe the training is worth the sacrifice. Just know, as you are sacrificing for the Lord we are doing the same!!! It’s an awesome opportunity, and we’d love to do this with you.

If you would like to be a part of this with us please send us:

1. The most recent family picture you can find

2. Everyone’s names in order as they appear in the picture

3. Your current: Address, Phone #, and Email address

You can mail, or email this to us at:

Willie & Haley Nickols

4909 E. Upriver Drive F102

Spokane, WA 99217

Or

willienickols at gmail dot com 

h.rivers07 at gmail dot com

I apologize for the frank nature of this note. There is so much more that I want to share with you regarding this. Honestly, we have been brainstorming how to share what God has been showing us in regard to support raising for some time but our first deadline has snuck up more quickly than we expected and we just had to get the need out in the open. Please call, email, or write us if you have any questions about what we have said. We really do want to hear from you. We have been praying for everyone who will read this, and even if you cannot give or do not desire to give we hope this has somehow encouraged you and caused you to think about God. 

With total sincerity,

Willie, Haley, and Owen Nickols

So Many Blessings!

 Wow, we have been SO blessed. 

Every time something awesome happens we say, "we should write about it on the blog!"

 ... and then another blessing comes... and another.... then a big change comes in our lives (like a baby... or move across the country...) 

We can hardly keep up with how fast things have been unfolding for us! So, for sanity sake, I'll just make a grand list of the blessings :) 

HOPE THIS ENCOURAGES YOU

(theses are not in any order, I'm just picking them out of my head)

1

We were able to pay off our debt

2

Willie's parents let us stay with them, rent free, for 3 months so we could save money for the move.

3

We got an amazing deal on plane tickets to visit our family in South Carolina one last time before we moved to Washington.

4

We were able to drive to Ohio with Willie's whole family to visit more family before we left.

5

Willie's parents gave us their minivan come to Washington in because it is a more reliable car than the one we were going to bring.

6

We got a great deal on this VERY NICE hotel in South Dakota during our 3 day drive to Washington. I felt like a princess :)  

7

We were welcomed by friends in Montana to stay the night during out 3 day drive to Washington. They blessed us SO much with amazing hospitality, laughter, relaxation, A HOT TUB :P, meals, encouragement, and a gracious parting gift to help us get on our feet.

 

8

We had just enough money saved to move to Washington and pay for the first month of school and living costs. 

***   9   ***

When we moved we had no jobs lined up... One week later we both were working about 30 hours a week making $10 and $12 and hour. I am able to have Owen at work with me! It couldn't have worked out any better. Willie drops me off at 8am, where I get to help take care of my old friend Elenora. He then drives to a construction job that he was offered by a good friend of ours. He leaves at 2pm and comes straight to pick me and Owen up... and we have every evening together! Amazing. Both of these jobs are temporary, dependent on when the renovating is done and when Mrs.Elenora passes... BUT once again, we have what we need when we need it. 

10

Willie's parents bought our mattress from us for $500 bucks! And they gave us their really nice air mattress, with a stand, so we have something to sleep on.  

11

Willie was able to sell his tool chest for $250 (we could not fit it in the car and have room for anything else, so we had to sell it... but pray that we get a good deal on one here, because he still needs one for school)

12

We were blessed by our aunt & uncle in Wisconsin to work around their home doing little projects here and there, and were able to save an extra $240 for our move! 

13

Willie put an add on craigslist for extra work and got a call back! That job brought us an extra $50 and we were only there for 2 1/2 hours. Awesome. 

14

We had a small yard sale and brought in a couple hundred bucks to add to the bank.

15

We have been blessed by the Hamilton family (Frank & Margie) to live with them until we sign our lease on June 28th. Hospitality is SUCH A BLESSING! They have given us everything our family has needed during our stay. Truly, they are spoiling us with all this food and fellowship. (not to mention the golf outings they bless my hubby with).

                      

16

We were debating if we could afford the townhouse that we would really like to get, and when we went in to get the application for it they gave us $100 off per month for the first 6 months of a 9 month lease! Amazing. 

17

We will be sharing a 3 bedroom, 2&1/2 bath townhouse with another couple at the rate of $735 a month (divided by 2 = $367.50 each couple + about $40 each for utilities) Amazing. We couldn't even get a studio apartment for that much! So blessed. O yea, it also has full sized washer and dryer as well as a dish washer :D

18

We budgeted for our 3 day trip to Washington to cost $550... and with the hospitality, gifts of money, lower gas prices, and higher gas mileage - it only cost us around $400! 

19

We never ran out of gas or had car trouble the entire trip. And owen was an angel the whole way! (that is, ... if angels poop up their back in their carseat??? but hey, it only happened once in 3 days! :P ) 

20

We were able to fit everything we "needed" to bring in the back of the minivan. (leaving all furniture behind) BUT, once we got to Spokane a friend of ours said we can have his couch. And another friend of ours said he has lots of furniture he wants to get rid of! All we have to do is go over and pick it out. 

21

We got approved for our townhouse even though none of us had proof of income at the time! 

22

We thought that the disk drive on our computer was broken (and it was) we tried 3 times to get it to work... and nothing. But I felt a strong sense that we should pray about it, so we did, and immediately after it worked! And, it hasn't given us any trouble since. We know this computer is old... but if God could cause the Israelites sandals to not wear out during 40 years of wandering... :) we are certain he can keep this computer going if he wants.... and if not, we are certain he will provide what we need :) 

23

We made it to spokane :)

Each of these blessings could be a post of its own, and I am certain I am forgetting many, but we have so much that we want to share with you that we just had to get it out there. 

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. This is an amazing ride.

We move into our place June 28th, and Willie starts school July 9th.