We are officially moved into our new house and Paul will be officially installed as Vicar Paul on Sunday, August 26. I decided I’d help him out a bit and write the article this time. After all we are a team. So as I was saying, yes we have moved again. It was exciting, challenging, and of course, life changing all at once. I know we’ve moved quite a bit since we’ve been married, although not as much as others, you’d think we’d have it all done pat and things should go fairly smooth. Not quite. But interestingly enough, shortly after we moved into our new House we got a nice little note from one of our own members, Virginia Sell, a short note with a big message. It made me reflect on this move and all that it brought.
The first thing she reminded me of is the time God told Abraham to “GO” and he went and God blessed him. Well, God told us to GO to Rockton, IL. Here we are and the blessings have not stopped. I’d love to share a few with you. Family from both sides came down to steamy St. Louis to help us pack the big truck. Upon arriving in Rockton, a youth group of about twenty with parents and other members of the congregation were there with their arms wide open ready to welcome us into our new house. Baskets of food were left on the counters. We have received an abundance of tomatoes. Anyone have any good recipes I could use for tomatoes? How about Zucchini? It truly has been an experience we have never expected and one that has touched us so deeply.
The second thing Virginia reminded us of was the challenges we faced and will face as we move. God “challenged” Isaiah to announce a mixture of messages about Captivity and defeat-yet- Freedom and Salvation. Yes, there were times we felt captive and defeated. Three young kids unpacking everything I just packed, a little one inside me draining every ounce of energy from me. Paul was working full days to help make ends meet and came home to a very chaotic household. Those are just a few challenges that seemed to cloud our view of God’s freedom and salvation he has to offer us. And through it all the work was done and completed on time. When we got here in Rockton we saw the freedom of starting over in a fresh new home to make our own.
The last thing I was reminded of was Change. We came from living in the city, to now living outside the city. Instead of hot and humid it is now cool and refreshing. A change for Paul: instead of sitting in the classroom everyday, he now gets to go out and apply all that he has learned. For the kids change occurs everyday. They are having a great time riding bikes in a huge parking lot instead of a small driveway full of pot holes. As for me, I’m looking forward to one of the biggest changes to come, the birth of our fourth child. Changes can be good. We are reminded of God’s greatest change- Death into life by the death and resurrection of His one and only Son for all who believe in Him. Thank you Virginia for these wonderful reminders.
Through it all I am reminded of the verse at the top, His kindness does not cease, and His compassion is always there, and every morning when we rise we see the newness every day brings. Great is thy Faithfulness!
It's been awhile since we have updated on what's been happening. I'm going to try to backtrack a bit to fill you all in.
June was a fun and exciting month. We were vagabonds for the whole month. We started out visiting John and Mona in CO for Sarah's graduation from High School. We really enjoyed the visit out there to see everyone. The family grows up way to fast. We are proud of Sarah and all her accomplishments. We pray she is able to use her God given talents of dance in the world around her. We also really enjoyed the CO scenery. Yes see mountains every day, up close and personal is really a wonderful experience. The kids really enjoyed mommy saying "look everyone there are the Mountains" every time they went anywhere. It's a beautiful reminder Of how Majestic is our God. It was hard to say goodbye to the family, but we look forward to seeing them again soon.
After CO we went back to St. Louis to unpack and pack again to a trip to WI for our little nephew's baptism. Little cute Gabriel was born May 11 and baptized on Fathers Day. He is such a sweetie and very good baby. It was our first time seeing the little guy. We were so happy to hold him and love him. He had the funnest baptism party ever! We got to go swimming in Auntie Katie's pool. Cool!
Then we headed back to St. Louis to unpack again. Timmy and Lily went to VBS at Chapel of the Cross and had a blast! Ye haw! They came home singing every song and doing all the actions for us. Chapel did such a fantastic job with the VBS program! They really put their whole heart into it and use their God-given talents to serve the Lord.
I also made another quick trip to IL/WI to go to a doctors appointment in Rockton. I took the train by myself and had some good R&R. I was able to spend time with Heather and her family. It's always a treat to go to the Kautz's house. Then I went home to mom and dad's house. I was really looking forward to spending one on one time with my mother on that Monday. I thought the doctors appointment would be a normal check up and we could go on our merry way and spend the day scouting out Rockford or walking the streets of Chicago before my train back to St. Louis. Well, it didn't go quite the way we had thought. At the doctors they discovered a irregular heart beat with our baby Gus. Sending us from one doctor to the next, and squeezing in an ultra sound, confirmed that something was not quite right with the heart beat. Trying to keep my senses in tack and make some rational decisions on what to do next was very challenging for me. The doctors all wanted to send me to Rockford Memorial Hospital for a better fetal heart ultra sound and I needed to catch a train back to St. Louis by 5pm. Not to mention insurance cost or lack there of. My mom and I decided to go ahead and try to squeeze it in knowing we needed to be back on the road by 2:15 the latest. Well it didn't' work out. The RN called us in at 2:15 and said it would take her about 1 hour to complete the whole exam. We new we had to decline the service. So off to Chicago! My mother, bless her, was so supportive. She rushed me through the Chicago traffic, bypassing a toll, and got me to the train station 15 minutes before my train would leave. So a memorable time for my mother and myself, not quite what we thought we'd be doing, but it was an experience we'd never forget. My one on one time with my Mother meant a lot to me.
As for the baby, the next week was spent going to different doctors to make sure all was well with little Gus. It turns out that his heart was normal and structurally correct. Some children just have an irregular heart beat for different reasons that really is not much to worry about, but should be monitored a bit. They told me to cut out caffeine. So we said goodbye to Cherry Coke and said hello to good old water. The next time we went in to see how he was doing and the heart rate was very normal. Thank the Lord for His blessings of good doctors and medical equipment.
Our last week in June Paul worked and the Kids and I tried to visit some of our favorite St. Louis places. I think we only made it the zoo that week. We love the Zoo. We took our church friends Linda, Dennise, and Jenifer along with us to use up all our tickets. We got to ride the train, see the Sea lion show, and go into the children's zoo(that's always a treat). We had a great time together . Just as we were about to leave a huge down pour hit the Zoo. We stayed inside to wait out the storm. Good way to end a hot fun day.
July came quicker than we thought, we almost decided to cancel our family vacation to Devils Lake, WI. By then I was getting tired of all the packing and unpacking and we had not even moved yet. But I am sure glad we went. We camped in the state park and God had blessed our stay with best WI summer weather,70/80s during the day and 60's at night with no humidity.
We loved it. The kids loved riding bikes, looking for snakes, swimming, having campfires, and meeting Ranger Luke Woodswalker. The little troopers even made the Hike around the bluffs without any complaining. Actually they really enjoyed the 3mile hike around the lake. One section was pretty risk taking if you ask me. Remember we have three little ones and one of us was pregnant. The Devils Door way tail was a .4mile hike straight down the side of the bluff. Making our way down the side on boulders arranged in a stair like trail was interesting. I will say I was very happy to be going down and not up. All in all that day in took us almost a whole day to get round the lake back to our car. It really was a fun camping trip. I'm so glad we decided to stick with it.
We drove back to MO knowing we had a big job ahead of us. Paul worked and The Kids and I tried to pack. A few boxes each day and then a swim in the 1/2 foot swimming pool seemed to be the routine. I tried to stay up late to pack all I could. We are very thankful for our friends Linda, Dennise and Jeniffer for coming over and helping a few days.
Well it all got packed. My family and Paul's dad were able to come up the last weekend and help with all extras. What a huge blessing that was. Katie helped me pack up last minute boxes and clean up things while my Mom and sister, Jamie took all the Kids to the Magic house for a fun day of discovery. Then all the help with loading the truck was huge. Everyone was so encouraging about the whole thing. They manage to fit everything in the very large Uhaul and two pick-up trucks belonging to our family. Amazing!
Here we are now almost unpacked and settled. Trying to get it all done before the baby comes and before school starts. We have a few more weeks left, I'm sure it will get done, at least the things that need to be done. The rest will just have to wait.
Tim and Lily like their new rooms. They can't wait to decorate it according to there interests. Lily is of course all princess. Timothy, well, he wants a Lightning McQueen/dinosaur/dragon/train/boat room. Not sure what we will do fit that request but it will be fun. Lucy she just goes with the flow. She's happy as long as she can do whatever the big kids are doing or if mommy is right by her side. They all love riding bikes in the parking lot. Traffic is not too bad during the week so it's fun to do laps around the church and peek in daddy's office window. Tim is trying to ride a bike with no training wheels and is doing pretty good at it. Lily loves just riding around on the two wheeler. Lucy loves to run after them. They all like the playground. It's like having your own personal park. They just can't wait to meet new friends to invite over to play with them.
Lily will start Pre-K in September. Again we get to walk to school. It's right out our front door. She is very excited. It's a new building and new pre-school. The class size will be small so that is a plus for her. She likes the personal attention.
Timothy can't wait to start Kindergarten. We decided to Home school him. We have read much about it and really think that it would be a great opportunity to try it. We do value our family time and with dad's work schedule becoming pretty busy we really think this gives us the opportunity to have the family time we all do love. Not to mention, all the extra things we can teach Timothy using the world around us. For Timothy Kindergarten can't start soon enough. Me on the other hand, I just need to get my act in gear. September will be here soon enough. I just need to get things running smoothly again. That is the Ficken smooth, which to everyone else looks like the Ficken Circus! So there, we caught you all up with what has been going on in our lives. Be sure to let us know how you are all doing. We will send out our new address and Number as to not post it here on our blog.
Thank you for all your prayers, support and encouragement. The good Lord was with us this whole summer and here we are at the end of August remember the good, the bad, the crazy, the fun and through it all we made it with the Lord leading us the whole way.
Aug 21, 2007
May 1, 2007
Call Day 2007
Our excitement overflows as God continually reminds us of His gracious and kind blessings. After three years of study, we received such a terrific assignment to St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Rockton, Illinois. We are excited and looking forward to the opportunity for meeting fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, our new home in the beautiful parsonage, and serving our Lord. We ask for your prayers to our Father in Heaven for continued blessings upon St. Andrew, His children in the congregation, Pastor Richard Wagner that his service in the ministry remain strong and faithful to Christ, that our assignment to this congregation be fruitful in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and for all of the churches in the LCMS. We remember our home congregations of St. Paul's and Our Father's Lutheran churches and ask for prayers that God continue to guide and direct their ministry. We offer thanksgiving for the blessings that they have provided over the years to Nichole and I, and our family.
Please check out the link to St. Andrew. This is such an exciting time. http://standrewrockton.com
Call Day 2007 Continued
We were blessed to have Aunt Naomi and Uncle Dick, Mom (Gretchen) Ficken, Mom (Kathy) Brook join us in St. Louis, along with Wes and Karren Mack (Kris' parents). Dad (John) Ficken joined us in spirit as he granted his students a break from class in order to watch his sons receive their assignments via the webcast.
Lily turns Four
What a birthday. Lily decorated cupcakes in her favorite color (Pink) as she geared up for a Strawberry Shortcake birthday party. The cupcakes, the candles, the singing, the presents, friends, and family, made the celebration very special. This next year brings new challenges of school and making new friends. She will love it and will do great. Lily is a wonderful blessing from our Lord!
Spring in MO
Tim has been finding wonderful hairy creatures called Forest Tent Caterpillars. They build tent like webs in the trees and eventually hatch as moths. He catches anywhere from 10-20 of these guys daily as they drop from the trees and are found all over our van, our porch, our sidewalks and driveways. He captured 11 of them and put them in a jar. He gets a kick out of placing them on his sisters and watching them wiggle more than a worm.
Feb 14, 2007
A Valentines day surprise!
Happy Valentines Day!
This is exciting news we've been waiting to share with everyone. We waited a bit to make sure all the little details have been taken care of. It's been so hard to talk to anybody because I couldn't share with you all what we have been doing lately. Most of all our chasing had to do with this number six addition. So now that most of it is taken care of we thought we'd post it this way. How exciting for us all. We have to tell Timothy, Lily and Lucy yet, but we'd better wait until tonight. I'm sure they will tell everyone at church before we tell family.
We are very excited about this new little one coming into our family. The timing was a bit off for us, but The Lord knows what he is doing. So where this child will be born only the Lord knows. We will soon find out though! (April 25)
We pray the Lord will continue to guide us and nurture His little ones.
Goodbye to 2006, Hello 2007
Dearest Family and Friends
Greetings to all of you. There have been many changes in our lives since last year that bid us to express a letter to catch up. The 2006 year brought in the birth of our little Lucy on Jan. 13. It was a 70 degree day when Nichole and I walked to the hospital. The whole experience was one of what some people would say was a circus. Lucky for us it was our third time going through the whole experience we were not alarmed one bit. The year went on with lots of firsts again.
February and March came and went quickly as we were anticipating a move out of state for vicarage. Well as most know by now we are still in MO, but we did end up moving. (we'll explain more later). We were greatly blessed this last year to find a place that would help us out financially and provide more room for the kids to play and enjoy each other. A friend and his wife at the Seminary told us about the opportunity to move and thankfully we were able to do so.(the address will be sent out through snail mail, just don't write it in your books in ink)
The summer months went by quickly to0. We helped Paul's parents pack some of their belongings for a big move into a beautiful senior citizen apartment. We went to Chicago to surprise My mother for her 50th birthday. In between all the moving and partying, we managed to go to the wading pools to cool off from the summer heat. Then the school year came and is now almost done!
Nichole spent the first months of this school year watching our three children, Tim, Lily, and Lucy, along with three other children around the ages of 11 months to 14 months old. They were wonderful kids, each with a different personality that sparked much laughter and excitement. However, we found that our three children were missing their mom’s attention. We decided to notify the parents of the three young children that we needed to spend more time as a family and so at the end of January we found time to spend with each other. Nichole is really enjoying her time home with our own kids and helps a fellow seminarian’s wife clean houses on occasion.
Tim started Pre-Kindergarten this year and really loves it. He comes home and tells us all about his day and the new things he learned. He turned five this last October and finds the world of dragons, knights, and swords fascinating. We still have a great time wrestling with each other and of course he gets to play the hero and save his sisters, who are the princesses, from the bad man (that would be me). Tim started to read and sounded out his first word.
Lily dresses up almost everyday as Shanti or Cinderella or some other Disney princess. She enjoys being rescued and loves to play with her Barbies. Her talent extends well beyond her imagination as her memory beats out just about anybody when playing the memory game. She colors and started to get a handle on her alphabet and numbers. She turns four this April and is turning into quiet a wonderful little girl. She had her tonsils and adenoids taken out this last fall and now just lost her first tooth. She also helps with feeding and taking care of Lucy.
Lucy followed in the same footsteps as Lily. Ear infection after ear infection prompted the doctors to recommend tubes. While the number of ear infections has decreased she occasionally still has them. She is still very content in life but those days of separation anxiety arrived. That just means she gets more hugs and love. She just turned One year old in January.
This last year presented the opportunity for a delayed vicarage. The Seminary sent out letters requesting 18 guys to defer their vicarage for one year due to a shortage of vicarage assignments. We were fortunate enough to be able to stay and finish out the course work. That means we receive our vicarage assignment on April 25th of this year and immediately receive our first call (placement) upon completion of our one-year vicarage assignment. I picked up some hours working security on campus and now work about 12 hours per week at Concordia Publishing House in their Information Services Department. I am certainly blessed with a great boss.
Now that we are already into two months of 2007 we find ourselves getting ready for the upcoming events of this year. There is only a handful of things of course. With getting a call and yes, more than likely we will be moving out of state, we will once again be packing. Saying goodbyes will be hard for we have really enjoyed the friendships we have made here in St. Louis. We know that no matter what the distance is we will always be connected in Christ. Also this year we are looking forward to going to CO to see Sarah graduate from High School. A Few new arrivals is certainly making this year 2007 the record breaking year for the Brook side of the family. On January 26 we welcomed Baby Elizabeth to the Wheeler family. She makes number one for the 2007 baby. In May we wait patiently for the arrival of Baby Beves. He/she will make number two for the 2007 year. And speaking of babies, We are excited to share with you the news of another addition to our family. Baby #4 is due this coming September 19, 2007. He /she will be number 3 for the 2007 babies on the brook side of the family. How blessed we all are. We praise and glorify our Lord for the gift of life and for the joy that he has added to our lives.
Here are some fun pictures of our winter season. St. Louis has blessed us with some beautiful snow and ice storms. The kids loved to be able to go outside and enjoy the snow. I can hardly get them back into the house. Also in this slide show are a few pictures of our Christmas break . More will come at a latter time. I was just practicing!
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