Sigh...

Yesterday I was posted some photos of our new house! I was so excited to get them posted I forgot to write a little about it! :) We saw this house last week on Saturday and new immediately it was the home for us! We had 3 other homes to look at so we did, but the whole time kept comparing them to THIS house--I guess that should've said something, huh? :)  We asked the realtor how we go about placing an offer, so he helped us with that and to make this short, we heard on Tuesday that we got the bid!!!!!!!!! We are SO EXCITED!!!!!!! This is a first for us in our marriage. Up to this point we've only lived in 2 parsonages so we are ecstatic to have our OWN home, where we can do what we want without asking permission!

Our house was built in 1924 and is a craftsman bungalow. The upstairs is one big bedroom (master) with a full bath. The house was sent into foreclosure and purchased by the selling realtor, who flipped the house and sold it to US! :) The flip was done very well and the house is move in  ready. We went over our budget time and again and found that it was actually going to be cheaper to buy a house then rent due to the housing market being what it is right now. We are so excited and feel so blessed by this home. We KNOW without a doubt this house is a gift from the Lord. We know he has enable us to purchase this home and has helped all the details fall into place. We sold our 2nd car and will be able to use that money for the downpayment as well as were able to purchase a much-needed new computer. God has been providing in ways we didn't know were possible. He has allowed us to have a budget that will allow us to pay off our schools faster, have savings and buy a house. It's very overwhelming!!!!! We are so thankful!!!

We go up on Saturday to sign the loan papers and get the house inspected. I'm excited to go see MY house again! :)

At Long Last

Our house! Ain't it purty? :) 

Then and Now

There is so much going on for us right now--good stuff--that it's overwhelming! I have been thinking a lot about where we were 2 years ago at this time and where we are now.

THEN:
We were still at the church in MI, but we saw the handwriting on the wall and in Sept of 2008 we knew things were going south.

NOW: 
We will know in a few weeks 100% that the job in OH is the one for us!!!!! The church will be voting Sept 26 and then we'll know!

THEN:
We made the decision that we would be leaving that church. We had no idea where we would go, how soon David would get a job, where we would live. We had no idea. We just knew God was calling us to go.

NOW:
We have purchased a home!!!!!!!!! We have our own place to call OURS! We know WHERE this home is, we know WHERE the job is and we know GOD brought us to this place!

THEN:
I was pregnant, sicker than a dog, puking my guts up and trying so hard to be a support to my husband.


NOW: 
We have Cora, who is 17 months old! I'm NOT pregnant and I'm loving being a mom! We're learning how to parent a child who has a strong will and is testing boundaries. :) 

THEN:
After a car accident during pregnancy, someone running into our cars while they were parked, David going through horrible pain that let to gall bladder surgery, and a traumatic labor and delivery I developed a sense of fear and uncertainty. I was afraid every time David or Cora were out of my sight, fearing they would never return.

NOW: 
I still struggle, at times, with this fear, but God is really helping me give those fears to him and let go of my husband and child. NOT easy, but thankfully God is patient, loving and kind and is helping me not be afraid. 

I will fill you in more later this week concerning our house and a car we sold and how it's all happening so fast and yet we believe it's totally God's doing!

Words from Another

There are times in our lives when things happen that we just don't understand. We don't know why God allows us to go through things--whether it's the death of a loved one, loss of a job, a child, a home, sudden illness, etc. There are many things that can go wrong in our lives and we often find ourselves asking God, why? When we don't hear a definitive answer, or at least what we want to hear, we get anxious and angry and start to panic and really start to question life. We think that somehow we've done something wrong and if we could only get "it" right and find that "one thing" then life will right itself and we can go about our day. (Side note: I'm not talking about a person who brings trouble on himself. I'm only talking about the normal life trials.) How many times did my husband and I wonder what that "one thing" was that we need to find to make things right. You can drive yourself crazy trying to come up with that kind of stuff. When it all came down to it we knew that we had done nothing wrong, we had been obedient and we had done exactly what the Lord had asked of us. You know the verse that says, "My thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways." Well, how true that saying is!!!!!! God allows us to go through things. There are no easy answers, there are no easy answers, it's just the way it is. We live in a sinful and fallen world and because of that bad things happen. Doesn't make it easy but somehow makes a little bit more sense of things to me. 

I wanted to share a song to you that you have probably heard. It's on the Christian radio stations all the time. It's a hymn back in the 1800s and now has had a more contemporary tune put to it. Aaron Shust has made it popular for today. I want to close with the lyrics to this song. It's beautiful and the words are powerful. I feel I can't say it any better so I leave you with these words written almost two centuries ago: 

My Savior My God :

I am not skilled to understand

What God has willed, what God has planned

I only know at His right hand

Stands one who is my Savior 

I take Him at His word and deed

Christ died to save me; this I read

And in my heart I find a need

Of Him to be my savior

That He would leave His place on high

And come for sinful man to die

You count it strange, so once did I

Before I knew my Savior 

Chorus:

My Savior loves, My Savior lives

My Savior's always there for me

My God: He was, my God: He is

My God is always gonna be

Yes, living, dying, let me bring

My strength, my solace from this spring;

That He who lives to be my King

Once died to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high

And come for sinful man to die

You count it strange, so once did I

Before I knew my Savior

Folks, She's 17 Months!!!!

Not to be outdone by her cousins, Cora also has some news! :) She turned 17 months last week!!! That means, she'll be 1 1/2 at the end of September, which means she's closer to 2 than not. I ask you, where has the time gone? We have made progress with Cora! She LOVES to play outside, in the grass, barefooted!!!!!!! Can you believe it???? I can't! :) She has also decided that the garden hose is way more fun to play in then the pool and she is warming up to the sandbox. The swing is, however, still apparently evil! It seems daily she's saying or attempting to say more and more words. We're working on her at least trying to use words when asking for something rather than just grunting. We're making progress, albeit it seems like slow progress at times! :) She is a sweet, sweet child who is learning to give hugs and is seeing how much fun cuddling is--although, that doesn't happen too much as she is just too busy! :) She is also continuing to learn boundaries and really does not like that! There are days that are very trying, but we know not to give up because it'll just make things worse in the long run! We're excited at the thought that when she turns 18 months we'll be making plans to move north!!!

Cora is always watching what Sophia does. Sophia showed her a new way to carry around a baby doll! :)

"Hmmm... This looks familiar..."

Cora LOVES to read and be read to. We read almost all of her books daily (or so it seems!)

These two will hopefully be good friends the older they get. It continues to amaze us just how much they look alike!

Cora discovered she can look out the window by standing on a stool--her new favorite activity!

Let's Hear it for the Girls!

The end of the month will always be important for us as a family as far as the kids are concerned. Sophia was born on the 25th, Riley the 28th, Cora the 27th and Haddie the 28th (all different months except for Cora and Haddie who are 1 year and 1 day apart!). So, while Riley turned TWO last week, his sisters also had momentous milestones! :)

My niece, Sophia, is now closer to 6 than she is 5. She'll be 6 in Nov and what's so momentous for Soph is that she is starting Kindergarten this year--my sister will be homeschooling her!!! Through different events David was able to get ahold of a real school desk and chair for Sophia. He determined it needed to be customized for her and so, it was painted black and bubblegum pink! :) She, of course, LOVED it!!!! :) I seem to remember her saying in awe and amazement, "It's piiiiiiink!" :) She was very impressed that Uncle David thought to paint it pink! :) I can't believe she's almost 6 and starting Kindergarten. Though I love Riley and Haddie DEARLY, I will also have a special relationship with Sophia. I was able to watch her enter the world and got to be one of the first people to hold her. I have always treasured that moment and love this girl so much! Yes, we argue at times (apparently, we're very much alike :) ), but I love her terribly. Anyway, as I sniff my way through the thought of her starting Kindergarten and being more grown up enjoy these photos of her! :)

I am a mere 27 years old and Sophia is 4 months old here! :)

Here she is loving her pink desk and putting it to use right away!

My other niece, Haddie is a pure gem! This wee one turned 5 months old last week! I have been told by her mommy that she is also cutting her first tooth! :) She is so happy, and seems to really enjoy taking in the chaos of the world around her. Her red, spikey hair gives her so much personality and makes us all remember my grandma who had beautiful, red hair! Haddie seems to ALWAYS have a smile for you and will just grin, coo and giggle at anyone who is around. She is such a cute, little munchkin, and I can't wait to get to know her better and watch her little personality develop. I also can't wait to see what kind of trouble she, Riley and Cora will get into! :)

How could you NOT think she's a cutie?

Haddie is borrowing Cora's jumperoo and got to test it out for the first time on Saturday! She seems to really like it and was so adorable in it! Her cousin and brother had to check it out too! :)

He's TWO!!!

Saturday was my nephew, Riley's, 2nd birthday. Two? Really?? Already???? Seems like he was just born! Seems like he was only 7 months old and was joined by his cousin Cora. Geesh! Life is moving WAY too fast. Anyway, we were not able to be at his actual party (though the Hardin's were represented by Molly and Cora) due to having an appointment we couldn't get out of. David and I were sad to not be there for his party (I hear he had a guitar cake!) but we were glad to spend the morning with him and give him our gifts. He's such a cutie, isn't he? It's nigh impossible to get him to smile let alone look at the camera, but I think I still got some cute ones! :)

This little guy LOVES bulldozers, trucks, etc. We got him 3 different trucks! :)

This is as close as we get to a smile folks! :) (You know how long it took me to get a photo of him LOOKING at the camera?)

We attempted to get a photo of us with all the kids, and well, here's the best one, I guess! :) Isn't it amazing how much Cora and Riley look alike?