Monday, September 22, 2008

Look what I can do...

Here we have the surprised look and the "stink eye."



Aidan is mesmerized by her feet these days.
Daddy and Aidan right before we went on a walk... a girl's gotta protect that pretty skin from the sun. :-)


Saturday, August 30, 2008

Go Bama!

Aidan loves her books (to chew on, that is). And she also loves her bunny and pacifier.

Aidan's already a Bama girl... her Daddy is so proud!


Today was Aidan's first College Football Saturday. We had a family day of watching football and just hanging out. It has been several weeks since we've had a whole day to relax and spend time together as a family... and it was wonderful. To top it all off, the Bama game was awesome!! Alabama beat Clemson 34-10! Woo-hoo! But the real highlight today... Aidan rolled over 3 times in row! We even caught it on video. You would've thought she'd just won a gold medal if you'd heard us cheering for her! :-)

Last weekend, we were both in the wedding of our dear friends Pete and Heather. The wedding was beautiful, especially the glowing bride, and we had fun catching up with some of our old friends. Claire and Lucy... so great to see you both!! Lov ya'll!

In campus news... I baked 120 cookies this week and stuffed cups full of treats for the girls in KD. Derek has started coaching a freshmen flag football team and has the jammed pinky finger to show for it. I guess that's about it for now...


Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Tummy time and smiles...

My, how time does fly! Aidan is 2 1/2 months old now, and I can't believe how fast it's gone by. She is now lifting up her head, smiling, cooing, sleeping through the night and wrapping her Daddy around her little finger. She is such a joy to behold. We're convinced her smiles and coos are the sweetest sight ever beheld! :-)
I am also seeing how the Lord uses our little blessing to make us more like Himself. Derek and I have decided that the best way to come face-to-face with your own selfishness and love of comfort is to have a baby. Somewhere between 5am feedings, diaper changes, and sleep deprivation, we have seen the Lord slowly (and sometimes painfully) draw our sin to the surface like dross and lovingly refine us. We are also seeing such a picture of the Lord's love for us during this time. While it is often so hard as we learn how to take care of our little one, the love we have for her and the joy she brings so far surpasses the hard times. She is worth it all a hundred times over. I stand in awe of the fact that our Heavenly Father loves us in the same way... even more so. It reminds me of 1 John 3:1 "See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are." We have so much to learn, and I often feel overwhelmed. But what a comfort that the Lord loves us as His very own... that He delights in us even!
Ministry is going well. We spent a few weeks at the Summer Beach Project, and it was so encouraging to see that the Lord has done an amazing work in the lives of many students here at West Georgia. Four of the students became Christians this summer! Our semester kicked off Sunday with move-in day on campus, and classes start Friday. So, we've officially begun the whirlwind that is the Fall semester. We are looking forward to what this year brings! :-)

Monday, June 16, 2008

And Baby makes three!!!




So... I'm a little behind on the baby update! Our baby girl was born at 5:48pm on May 30th after about 24 hours of labor. phew!! Her name is Aidan Grace and she weighed 7lbs 12 ounces and was 21.5 inches long. She looks so much like here daddy right now, and we're convinced she's the cutest baby ever!! She's growing like crazy and is definitely keeping mommy and daddy on our toes. We're all doing well, albeit a little tired. :-) I'll try to write more later... but for now here's some pics!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

I'm all about saving time these days. So, to keep from writing all the same stuff twice...here's a recent update Derek and I sent out to our support team:

Dear Family and Friends:
Several of you have asked how Kim and I are doing personally. So, here’s a more detailed update on the Dobson household!
Kim has being doing great. She is almost 38 weeks pregnant. We went to the doctor two days ago and she said that Aidan is dropping and Kim is progressing well. Also, the doctor is estimating the baby is around 7 pounds! Kim’s due date is May 26th, so we are hoping that the baby comes sooner rather than later. We are anxiously awaiting Aidan’s arrival… we’re a little nervous, but extremely excited! Kim has been washing Aidan’s clothes, packing the hospital bags, and putting the finishing touches on the nursery.
Kim continues to build relationships with girls in her old sorority and has enjoyed getting to know all of them so much. One girl is going to SBP, and 2 others are considering going. The other night around 15 girls had a girls’ night and watched a girly movie and had dessert. It was a great time of getting to know some of the girls better.
I have been battling sickness for the past two weeks. I had some kind of stomach virus which won’t leave our staff team, and a bad cold. Also, I got poison ivy when I went fishing with some students. Ha ha, not all is bad though. I’m feeling much better, and I’m excited to tell you that one of the football players I’d asked you to pray for is going to SBP. And it looks like we’re going to have about 20 or so students from UWG going for the summer. We had our leader’s retreat this past weekend for all the students who will be leaders on the beach project, and it was extremely encouraging to see their excitement about how God could use this summer to impact the world and generations to come.
I’ve been taking guys fishing and caught a few nice-sized bass and catfish. We actually cooked up some of the catfish the other night and they were delicious. I’ve also been having some great hang-out time with guys… from cornhole tournaments to softball games. It feels great to be back on the field after the knee injury of ’07! In my spare time, I’ve been nursing my struggling tomato plants back to health. If anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears!
I guess that’s about it for us right now. Please let us know what’s going on with you and how we can pray for you.
Love,
Derek and Kim

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Long time, No blog


Well the past few weeks have been busy. I had a baby shower in my hometown of Headland! The ladies in my family were gracious enough to host a shower to help us prepare for Aidan's arrival. It was so much fun, and of course we got some more precious stuff for the nursery. I'm now 30 weeks along, and more ready than ever to meet our little girl! So far I've been feeling well and Aidan has beeen healthy. My feet are swollen and puffy... as is the rest of me! :-) I've officially outgrown all of my shoes except my faithful flip-flops. Thank God for Tevas! My sweet husband took me shopping for an Easter dress and a few more items to get me through the next 2 warm months. :) I can't believe we're finally getting that close! We're actually on Spring Break this week... so we're working on support and getting things done around the house. Ministry has been going very well, but extremely busy. So, I think this break is much needed to be refreshed and ready for the rest of the semester. Please be praying for the KD girls I've been hanging out with. I think one of them is so close to becoming a believer!! She is really searching right now, and I can really see God using His Word to penetrate her heart. Please pray she'll come to know Him!! Well, I guess that's about all the big stuff going on right now. Hopefully I'll have some pics of the finished nursery to post soon!

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Answered Prayers and Baby Kicks

This week has been so full of answered prayers! First of all, while we still have a lot of support to raise, a lot has come in this week!! It's so encouraging to see the Lord's provision right before our very eyes. Secondly, I've been able to have some really good conversations with several of the girls I've been hanging out with, and I cannot wait to see the Lord's plan for them as it begins to unfold! So, please be praying for the KD and DDD girls I've been spending time with... that God would do a work in and through them to impact this campus and the world! Also, Derek is busier than ever and is seeing God do so much in the lives of the guys he's been spending time with! He has a new opportunity to do a Bible study with a couple of football players, in addition to the 2 studies he's involved with in one of the freshmen dorms. Praise the Lord! We never would have guessed a few months ago when we moved here that the Lord would allow us to see Him doing so much in such a short period of time! It is so humbling to behold! In baby news, I am now almost 28 weeks along, and our little girl seems to be doing quite well. She's definitely a kicker! Last night we were sitting on the couch and all of a sudden my whole tummy jumped... We just sat there watching her kick for about 10 minutes!! It is amazing how captivated we already are!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Baby Shower!




We had our first baby shower this Saturday in Birmingham, hosted by my sweet friends... Heather, Lucy, Michelle, Hope and Melissa! It was so fun seeing so many friends and our little Aidan is certainly going to have everything she needs!! Derek thought it was hilarious just how many things you can actually get in the color pink! I told him this is just the beginning. :-) I'm so excited to start getting the nursery put together and prepare a place for our little girl. I'm including some pics of just a few of the sweet gifts we've received.

I've been studying Joshua the past few weeks, and it has amazed me at the Lord's meticulous and specific provision for His people. This shower of gifts from our sweet friends and family have been a picture of this to me of how God is daily meeting our needs in great abundance! The Lord is rightly called Jehovah-Jireh, "the Lord will Provide."

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Ski Trips and Growing Faith

This past weekend Derek headed up to Ohio on a ski trip with about 23 students and staff from UWG. Needless to say... Aidan and I didn't accompany him on the long road trip. :-) While I spent the weekend with the fam in Headland, Derek took a 1970-something 12 passenger van all the way to Ohio and back. It was a great time of building relationships with the guys he's been investing in. He did decide that skiing is definitely NOT going to be his new hobby! But after many falls and a bloody hand, my perseverent husband did graduate from "ski school" and mastered the bunny slopes! Not bad for an Alabama boy!!
The past couple of weeks has certainly been a time of the Lord stretching our faith in big ways. Our ministry support has suffered as supporters have been unable to give, and we are also trusting the Lord to bring in more support for our increased financial needs with Aidan's arrival in May. With all of this, the Lord is really drawing to my attention how small my faith is! I am seeing more and more how dependent we are on the Lord's daily mercy for our every need. This is true every day of my life, but He is using this time to draw our attention to this truth and to be so very thankful for His constant provision and care for us. We certainly have been blessed more than we could ever have asked or imagined! As the world and our own flesh seek to lure our hearts towards every comfort and trinket this world has to offer, I hope and pray that our hearts will find satisfaction in God alone and be thankful!
I hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day and a wonderful weekend!

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Ministry and Make-up

We had our first campus meeting this Tuesday, also known as "The Outhouse." We had about 70 students show up! It was so exciting to see all the students we've been spending time with, as well as lots of new faces. I was able to meet some new girls at the meeting, and we're having lunch this Tuesday. I also got to meet a bunch of the guys Derek has been doing a Bible study with in one of the Freshmen dorms. One of the other highlights of the week was definitely the women's Bible study at our church. We're studying the book of Joshua, and I really enjoyed the fellowship with the other ladies in the group. I'm looking forward to getting to know them better and learning from some women that are further along than I am! On Friday, we traveled to Rome, Ga. Derek had a meeting for work, and I went to hang out with some of the other wives. We had so much fun hanging out and catching up. On a different note, I signed up to start selling Mary Kay this week. I'm looking forward to making a little extra money while working from home. :-) I suppose that's about all going on in the Dobson world this week!

Monday, January 28, 2008

In the Beginning...

Derek and I met in April of 2006... He was raising support to go on staff with Campus Outreach at Jacksonville State University and I was working in the Campus Outreach office for the International ministry. Derek moved to Birmingham to finish up his support and started coming into the office to "work." :-) I don't think either of us got very much work done during April and May. So, after lots of coffee breaks, office chats, emails, and finding any excuse to see other... we had the "I like you" talk at the end of May. Derek was about to leave for 10 weeks to go on a Summer Beach Project as summer staff and promised to call. He did call... every night for 10 weeks! He finally came home on August 11 and on September 3rd he proposed! Of course I said yes and we were married just a few months later on December 16, 2006 in Birmingham, AL. He is the love of my life and the most amazing man I've ever known! The Lord uses him daily in my life as a picture of the Gospel, and I am constantly in awe of the Lord's goodness to us through our marriage. After the wedding, I moved to Jacksonville to join Derek in ministering to students on the JSU campus. One semester and Summer Project later, we found out in August 2007 we'd be moving to Carrollton, GA to become a part of the ministry on the campus of the University of West Georgia. So... we packed our bags and headed over to the Peach State in October. Just before our move to Georgia, however, we got the biggest surprise yet.... We found out we're PREGNANT!!! Our little girl, Aidan Grace, is due May 26th, and we cannot wait to meet her! What a crazy, wonderful year it has been! We are now loving Carrollton and the students of UWG. We're putting nursery furniture together and preparing for our first campus meeting tomorrow night. We're so excited about where God has brought us and look forward to seeing all He does here in our family and on this campus!