Will Laing

I am so proud to have Will as my husband. He turned in his last assignment for seminary last night.

In the process of figuring our where the Lord would have us, we visited several churches in several states, one church had me fill out some questions about Will and I was just so thankful I could answer the questions so truthfully and it really sums up how awesome he is! :)

Provide us a candid narrative of your marital history.

I’m trying to be as candid as possible, but we really have been blessed with an amazing relationship. We try to keep the Lord at the center of our marriage and family, along with that serve and love each other above ourselves. We also have really great relationships with each other’s families. The Lord has been so faithful to us and sustaining a strong marriage is a huge passion of ours.

Have you and your spouse always been faithful to each other and without improper sexual behavior either emotionally or physically? If answered “no”, please describe the circumstances of any unfaithfulness?

Yes, we have always been faithful to each other in every way.

Please describe how your husband has led you spiritually and contributed to your growth in Christ.

Will has hugely impacted my relationship with the Lord. He trusts the Lord completely, and goes to Him with every struggle or victory. He is just such an encouragement to me to do so as well. I often hear “Babe, why don’t you pray about this.” We have family worship time whenever possible (singing praise songs, reading Scripture, prayer time). We enjoy talking to each other about spiritual things and what the Lord is doing in our lives.

Describe how your husband has functioned as head of the home and how he has taken responsibility to provide, protect and spiritually lead your children (if applicable).

Whenever I think I Biblical Manhood I think of Will. He leads with patience, humility and love. He has been the sole provider financially for our family while in Seminary which has been extremely difficult and he has done so with strength and determination. He has spiritually lead Liam by spending time praying and reading Scripture as a family, disciplining him (teaching him obedience to us and God) as well as by example (being faithful at our church, ministering to others in front of Liam).

Please tell us what you believe are your husband’s primary spiritual gifts

I think his spiritual gifts are leadership and teaching.

Are you convinced of the call on your spouse to pastoral ministry? Describe how you came to agree on this call.

I am convinced that God has called Will to full time ministry. I just see the joy it brings him. When he preached this past weekend, I felt so proud, the Lord has gifted him and it is obvious. For the six years I have known him he has never waivered in his calling. Also, it has been neat to see his family and men in his life affirm that calling.

Describe a time when the demands of ministry put strain on your marriage or family life and how you dealt with it as a couple.

I would say on and off through seminary, working full time, having Liam, serving in church there have been times where our family time has been 30 minutes or an hour a day and that has been difficult but we have learned to lean on the Lord in those times and spend quality time together without distractions.

Other good news is that we have 2 cars again! Will's car has been getting worked on and he got it back today! Yay!

And! I think I might have turned the curve with morning sickness. I am in my second trimester, a couple days shy of 14 weeks.

Life in Arcadia

Everything is going really great here, our church is so sweet, everyone has been so helpful and welcoming to us, Will loves his job, the students in the youth group are really fun, and we love the warm weather. We have had a little trouble finding the right place to live, but we will be settled next week so we are thankful for that. Our house in Louisville is still up for sale, it has been shown several times but no offers yet.

We have been spending Will's off days taking care of external things- like Will's car got totaled, finding a new place to live, doctors appointments, etc. We are finally getting in to a routine on regular days but we are looking forward to being able to have some real fun with free time! We haven't been to the beach yet, etc. Although I have been homesick a couple of times, God has just been really faithful to comfort us. Psalm 107:1 has been a blessing to me "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his steadfast love endures forever." I actually put that on our Christmas card this year.

Brody Daniel Maciaszek

Just came home from the hospital!
Big Brother gifts!
"Lyssa" with her nephews and Liam
Brody with his eyes open
In true Perkins sister fashion Ashley and Troy moved from their first house- a condo- into this beautiful home 1 day before she went into labor. It was an eventful week, but it all worked out great!

Big Brother/ Baby June Bug

I had my first pregnancy appointment yesterday and everything with baby looks great, they did a quick ultrasound and I was 10 weeks and 6 days, making me 11 weeks today. In the ultrasound picture the baby's head is to the left and the body to the right, the two little white dots next to the sides of the face are the baby's hands. We got to see the heart flicker and he/she was moving around the whole time. Liam and Will came with me and we all got to see together so that was really sweet. We totally forgot to ask how fast the heartbeat was so we could start making guesses on the sex of the babe! I really like my new Doctor. I asked so many questions to make sure we were on the same page because of my somewhat non-medical views on birth and I think she will be a good fit. Her induction and c-section rate are extremely low! 10% and 14%, the national average being 30%, so I am really thankful for that. We are just praying for a healthy pregnancy and for me to carry as long as possible.

I don't think Liam knows what is going on at all, but I am hoping as my belly gets bigger and Liam gets older he will understand what is happening. He will still be young at 26 months when the baby arrives, but we are thinking and praying for a good relationship between the two of them! Seeing the ultrasound really made us feel like we are parents of TWO children! So amazing.

We have an announcement!

We are moving to the sunshine state! We have been praying for months... make that years, for the Lord to provide a ministry opportunity for Will when he has completed seminary and that we would have clear direction on where to go. The Lord has answered our prayers and we are joyfully following his call.

A church in Arcadia, Florida called Calvary Baptist Church has called Will to be their Student Pastor. Although it will be difficult to leave Louisville (where I have always lived) we feel confident this is where the Lord wants us and are excited for the opportunity.

Arcadia is a small town, near Ft. Myers, Sarasota and Port Charlotte.

We have known for a few weeks, but waiting to post until they voted Will in, which they did this morning.

Will and his dad are driving all our earthly possessions Wednesday and he will start this weekend. Liam and I are are driving with my mom to Charleston, South Carolina where my sister will have her second little one on Monday the 24th, and they are closing on their new house the 20th, so we will stay for about 10 days and help them move and love on the baby!

Then Will is going to fly to Louisville, so he, Liam and I can all make the final drive down to Arcadia together. It's all really chaotic but we think it will work out well.

18 months

Liam is now on the other side of 1- headed towards 2. He is so much fun, he adds so much joy and laughter to our lives. He gets soo excited to see someone he loves! He dances and turns around in circles and claps his hands and yells and says "hi". He is saying no, hi, bye, go, that, mom-mom-mom, dad, yeah, all-done, more. He is still pretty quiet on the word front though, he seems to listen and take it all in, and he does lots of jibber-jabber and yelling (in a happy and sometimes not happy way).

He is getting really attached to a few toys, he has this red fire truck and sings about a puppy, that he wants to hold and play with all the time, he cries for it, etc. Then today my mom gave him a little white jeep and he did the same thing. He is also really attached to his little blue "taggy" which is a huck and stella term I copied for his Little Giraffe brand blanky.

We have been slowly weaning the binky and he is doing really good.

We haven't started any potty training but will at least get a baby potty in the next 6 months.

He is getting his pants on and off and trying with his shirt, putting socks on and off, trying with his shoes.

He still loves cars and trucks and he still loves taking things in and out of a box, basket, etc. He loves playing with dirt, mulch and rocks, he gets them and puts them in the back of his cozy coupe truck and "hauls" them around outside.

He really enjoys the playground we met my good friend Lindsey and Liam's future wife ;) Julia today and they had so much fun, they were super excited to see eachother!

He also thinks pushing his stroller around is so fun- which is cute but he never wants to ride in it anymore. He thinks he is so big.

He also feeds himself with a spoon now, and he is actually good at it.

He has some big transitions coming up and I think he will handle them beautifully.

At his check up he was 26 pounds and 34 inches... 50th percentile and 75th percentile, like always.

Yay! A blog post

I don't know a word to describe life right now except busy.

I'll categorize it for blogging purposes.

family time:

sweet time in texas with will's family

I threw a small, family, diaper shower for Ashley. The very next day my mom, Ashley and some other ladies threw a baby shower for my sister's best friend- Lauren (she is also pregnant with a boy and their due dates and just a couple weeks apart)

Chaser bug came for a visit with his mommy and daddy

pool time with h and s.

playtime in the construction in our neighborhood

first time finger-painting

Liam is doing great. Almost 17 months old. So sweet. He is just my little buddy, still super independent. I am trying to balance, letting him be an energetic toddler and him being obedient.

Me: Will is pretty much the greatest husband ever because he encourages me to go have fun.. I get to spend time with my girl friends, time running by myself, time at yoga, time at the spa.

My good friend Hannah is getting married September 10th and we had a bachelorette party to celebrate with her! Her sister threw the best party. We went out to eat, hung out at Rachel's house and went out to 4th street. We had a blast. We will be in Florida on the weekend of her wedding which makes me sad, but I will be with her and Ryan at heart!

My manicure- I love the color. Merino Cool by Essie- At Joseph's of course!

Lots of cooking:

Will:

Will is doing an awesome job of juggling work and school. Graduation couldn't come any sooner. We have set aside 4 nights a week for him to work on school. Monday, Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

We celebrated Will's 30th Birthday with both of our families and I am treating him and 3 of his friends to paintball this Saturday! I hope they have lots of fun!

I am going to Charleston, South Carolina next week to spend a week with my sis and her sweet fam. Only 7 more weeks until they become an official family of 4!

We are praying where God will lead us as we are about to make some big decisions. Please be praying with us!!!