The Move

In a post a few weeks ago I mentioned that we are getting ready to move soon! I can't tell you how excited I am!! Let me share a little of how this came about.

The Hubs and I have both been praying about moving over the past almost three months (since we found out about his new job). We knew that the only way we could afford anything would be for God to provide it. After crunching the numbers we knew that buying a home wasn't an option right now. So, we prayed.. that God would provide. Well, my dad co-owns two rental houses. One with his brother and cousin and one with just his brother. They are right next door to each other (one was my granddaddy's and one was my great grandmothers) About 3 months ago my dad mentioned to me that my great grandmother's house was available if we wanted it. The Hubs and I talked about it... prayed about it... and after about 2 weeks we decided we'd move in there. It's a small house: two bedrooms, one bath, washing machine in the kitchen and dryer on the back porch kind of house, but it was certainly doable. I love the house just because I have great memories there. Not only was it my great grandmothers house where I spent a lot of time growing up but it was the Hubs and my very first house. We lived there nine months before we bought our first home. I had to really pray through the space issues that I was already having before moving in!! Two bedrooms!! Two boys!! Oh my! I knew it would be an adjustment but it would totally work out! I was just thankful that we had a place to move to! It's definitely getting time to move out. My sweet little boy asks us periodically when we're going home. I'm sure most people would think that he didn't remember or even after all of this time he would have forgotten but he hasn't. He still asks when we're going home and even if I tell him this is our home now, he knows better. He reminds me that this is Mimi and Granddaddy's home... not ours. We did start telling him that we wouldn't be going back to our old home but to a new home. So he often asks when he's getting a new house, so then he can get all of his other toys (surprisingly, he knows that he has 'other toys' that are missing, which are stored away in storage). Sigh... where was I?? OH, yeah. So, we had to go to storage one day to get something and we decided that since my dad was at the rental house we would go on and take something over there. Might as well since we're here, was our thought. So the Hubs, packed up Eli's changing table in the back of the van and off we went. Well, after moving the changing table in, it was time for Eli to eat and nap so we headed home and the Hubs was going to wait on my dad and go back to storage to get some heavier stuff. So, I sat upstairs feeding Eli and here comes the Hubs barging in, turning on the lights. At first I thought, what in the world are you doing?? Then he handed me a letter. It was a letter stating that the people in the other rental were going to be moving out and June would be their last month. We both just kind of looked at each other and then the Hubs asked, "So, do you want that house??" Um, YES! So, after he left and I sat there in the dark, feeding my sleepy little boy, I couldn't help but cry tears of thankfulness. This 'other' rental house is a three bedroom, two bath house. And although the other would have been perfectly fine, God decided to give us better. God has been so faithful to us. Throughout this whole yucky ordeal God has been faithful. His hand has been there. I can look back and see it. Things have not been perfect. Things are not going to be perfect. God's children are never promised that. In fact we're actually promised the opposite when we follow Him. I knew He would be faithful to us.. and He has been.

So, Sunday after church, we drove by and looked at the house and told Luke that would be his new home. He was so excited. We even drove by after church that night too and noticed a tree down behind the smaller house so we pulled in the driveway. Without saying anything Luke exclaimed, "That's my new house!!" That brought me so much joy. My baby is getting a new house! And he is so happy! Since the Hubs has several days off in a row this coming week we'll be doing a good bit of cleaning. We hope to move in slowly so that we can do a lot of 'getting rid of'! I don't want to bring junk! We wanted to get out so quickly before that we didn't really pack well. So, I want to go through boxes slowly. We plan on being in the house August 1st. I can't wait. There are so many things that you take for granted when you have your own place.. more on that later..


"God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful." 1 Corinthians 1:9

"I will be exalted among the nations" Psalm 46:10

FYI, I passed 200 blog posts a few posts ago. I don't know if you're suppose to do something special like when you reach 100?? Who knows.... back to regularly scheduled blogging...

I had to pop in and tell you all (ok, most of my 3 readers will already know this but you never know) that some sweet ladies from my church, one being my pastor's wife, are soon to be heading on an exciting journey to the Ukraine. They will be spending a week in an orphanage sharing the love of Christ and His gospel with these special children. They have started a blog to share their journey that you can check out by clicking here or from my side bar under For Their Joy. It gives more detail about their trip and will be exciting to follow over the next few weeks! They will be doing some fundraising to help pay for their trip and right now they have their first auction up. Please keep Aimee and Jami in your prayers as they prepare for this trip! And pray that God will begin a work in the heart of the orphans they will be meeting even now! What an awesome God we serve! I can't wait to see what He has in store for these two!

Bye for now !

Fun in the sun!

Saturday we got home from a week long trip to the beach! We had so much fun!! The boys had a blast! Here are a few highlights from the week (picture overload!):

Eli was a little beach bum! He giggled at the water and loved smushing his little toes and fingers in the sand! He even ate a few fists full of sand.. good times! Here he is crawling around in the sand like he owns the place! He is so fun!

Luke has been waiting for this beach trip FOREVER (it seems). He has been to the beach twice before but this was the first time he actually understood it all. He couldn't wait to get there! He was a little afraid of the ocean to begin with but after the first day he got use to it and kept saying, "I'm not afraid of the water!" He would have played on the beach until he literally passed out from exhaustion! He also learned how to swim with his arm floaties in the pool! He was so proud of himself! And so was I! He is such a big boy! It is bittersweet to watch him grow sometimes!

Luke even got brave enough to hold a crab! This is one of those things that scared him at first but he soon was searching the sand at night for those little things just like Daddy!

We attempted to take a quick family pic right before heading out. I wanted us to get all dressed up and take a nice one but it never happened. We were so lazy all week, which is fine! That's what a vacation is for! Not to mention that at the ages and stages the kids are at, pictures just aren't their favorite thing to do! So here is our family pic... it was so bright and hot.. so it was a quick snap and then back in the ac!

We stayed in a beach house with a lagoon behind it. You could walk out to a deck and look out onto the water. Well, the first time we walked out there we saw this:

There was a sign that said "Don't feed the gator" beside the deck but at first we thought it was just for fun! Nope! Fred (his nickname) was the only one we ever saw. He was about 4 ft long and obviously was use to people feeding him (someone didn't read the sign) because every time we walked out to the deck he would swim right up. It was really crazy! Luckily, the back yard with the pool was fenced in! At first Luke was calling it a dinosaur! So funny!

It's driving me crazy that the picture of us leaving is before the gator picture. But I'm not going to change it because I don't have time. Just thought I'd let you know, haha!

We had a great trip and made lots of memories! Again, I am so thankful for my parents taking us otherwise it never would have happened! I can't wait to do it again next year!

Tuesday Top Ten Thoughts

1. Robby starts his new job June 22nd!! Yay! God is so good! And even better he gets to go on vacation with us!! We had thought all along that he wouldn't get to go but the government just kept pushing things back! About a month ago I started praying that Robby would get to go on vacation with us since it was getting so close! God generously answered that prayer!

2. We leave Saturday for the BEACH! We'll be there for an entire week! I am so thankful for my parents! If it wasn't for their hard work (and daddy's overtime) this trip wouldn't be possible! I am so ready!

3. My sister is flying in Friday for the beach trip! Luke can't wait to see his Aunt B!! And I can't either! I miss her!

4. When we get back from the beach we will be getting ready to MOVE! Awesome story that I will tell you later. I just attempted to type it out but it was just too long and it deserves it's own post! :)

5. I have added cheese and cheese products back to my diet (a week and 2 days now). Not sure how it's going. So far, no blood in the diapers but Eli's been especially fussy! I do feel a little bump on his gums so that could be the reason for all of the fussing. We're also having nursing issues. He's totally not interested unless he's sleepy. I don't really think it's related though since he does nurse well before naps.

6. Eli's was dedicated at church this past Sunday. I want to talk a little more about that later too! It was so very special. He had been dedicated before but we really wanted a do-over. Sorry if that sounds weird but if you know our situation you understand. He was dedicated the week before the Hubs got fired. Not exactly memorable, so I'm just not counting it. Our pastor (now) did a fantastic job at explaining what a baby dedication is and charging us as parents to train up Elijah to become a great man of God. Oh that is my prayer! I'll elaborate more later.

7. I read this post yesterday and love the honesty in it. Thank you, Molly, for being a real person. I. love. it.

8. Read The Duggars: 20 and Counting not too long ago. I loved it. I learned a lot of things from The Duggars from discipline to organization tips. They are truly a family that seeks to honor God in all they do. They have challenged me in lots of areas.

9. I just recently started reading Spectacular Sins by John Piper. Loving it so far! Hopefully that among a few others will get read while on vacation! I'm taking To Die is Gain: The Triumph of John and Betty Stam, which is about two young missionaries who were killed in China. I also have a biography on Tozer that I need to find. All of these books are pretty short, which is what I need! Anyone have any other suggestions?

10. I'm seriously getting ready to lose some weight. It's time. I can do it but I have to get in the right frame of mind. And I'm almost there. After vacation my plan is: eat less, exercise more. :) Always works.

Happy Birthday Luke!

Today my Luke turns three. He is growing so fast and is getting so big! I can hardly believe that just three years ago around this time I was checking in to the hospital... anxious and excited about welcoming my first born into our family. Several hours would go by and then at 8:53 pm Luke Austin would enter this world and change our lives forever. He was a healthy little guy weighing 8 lbs and 8 oz and was 20.5 inches long. He was just perfect!

Now, Luke is a happy, funny, mischievous and strong-willed little boy. He loves anything with wheels or with a Thomas logo. He could play outside all day long, whether it be playing ball, riding his gator, playing in the sand or just swinging! I believe he would just sleep outside if we set him up a little tent! Inside, he often plays that he's going to work and he always remembers to take his lunch! He loves to cook with Mommy and play basketball with Daddy. He has really become a Daddy's boy especially since Eli came along. I'm thankful for that because I know how important Daddy's are for little boys!

Of course I pray for Luke daily, for many different things, but my most important prayer is that Luke would come to know Christ. I pray that God would draw him to salvation at an early age and that Luke's life will be driven by a deep desire to glorify God in all things. That is the most important thing, more than money, success, education and even health. May God receive glory through his life.

Happy Birthday my little man! I love you more than words!