Prayers for 2009

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that 2009 is a great year for you! I am looking forward to what God has in store for us this year! This will be another year of great change for us and I would like to share with you my top prayer requests for 2009:
1. Please pray for the health and safe delivery of our 3rd baby. He/she is due in early July and I know that having 3 kids will bring great change to our family, not the least of which will be that the children will outnumber us (a scary thought). We hope to find out the gender this month.
2. Please pray for Sky as she will be turning 5 and entering kindergarten in the fall. There are lots of good elementary schools in the area and I look forward to visiting a few of them to decide on which one is the best fit for her. We would love to send her to the Christian school right down the street from our house (www.lamiradaheights.org) but that would truly take a miracle since the tuition is $500 a month!
3. Please pray that God would give us wisdom and patience as we prepare Sky for kindergarten. She has a lot of trouble with fine motor skills like writing and cutting. She still can't write her name even though we work on it with her daily. It's a really painful process but we know that she will be expected to know how to do these things in kindergarten and we want her to be prepared.
4. With 3 kids, we will need a minivan or something comparable in order to fit all of the kids and their car seats. Right now we have 2 paid for compact cars so we will need to make a change in that area. We're hoping to avoid a car payment so we really need a sweet deal to come along.
5. We are searching for a church to call home and we hope that 2009 will be the year when we will finally get involved in a church and make connections with people.
6. Please pray that Ken (and I) can continue to positively impact, encourage, and support Talbot students and their families while they journey through the seminary process. We are so thankful that Ken has a job in this economic climate and we never want to take for granted the amazing ministry that God has provided for us.
7. Brad is a "momma's boy" right now. He gets upset even when I go to the bathroom. He doesn't like being cut off from me at all. Please pray that he will handle the new transition with the baby well and that he can be a "big boy" when I have to take care of the baby.
8. Ken has submitted his dissertation for publication with Eisenbraun's publishing. They are known for being slow to get things done so please pray that the book would come out quickly. Ken also has a book contract to write a commentary on Judges so please pray that he will be able to find the time to work on that while also balancing family life and his teaching load.
9. I have had very low energy and have felt very sick with this pregnancy. I have also had some back pain due to a strained nerve in my lower back. Please pray that I can get my energy back and be able to do the things that I love doing.
10. With the housing market at an all-time low, we would LOVE to be able to buy a home. We have some money set aside for a down payment but it isn't enough and we are on a waiting list for assisstance from BIOLA. So, if it's meant to be, we need really clear direction. Please pray that we will listen and be patient.
With all of that said, I also want to say how very thankful we are for a wonderful 2008! We were able to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Oklahoma as well as spend a month in CT last Christmas. We also had many visitors here and enjoyed catching up with everyone. We had a wonderful birthday party for Sky and Brad in June which helped us to realize how many friends we have made already here in California. And we are so thankful for Ken's wonderful job and my chance to stay at home with the kids. We are all healthy (besides the recent flu epidemic) and we get to enjoy wonderful sunny weather almost everyday. There truly is so much to be thankful for!