Its a boy!!

So, due to some complications we had our anatomy scan a little earlier then 20 weeks, and we were able to find out that our sweet bean is a little boy! We are stoked. We would have been happy either way, but its nice that Noah will have a brother and that we are rounding things out as our last. God worked it out so well..

He is perfectly healthy from what we saw and measuring just perfect, plus the complications we weren't sure about turned out to be nothing really at all..so it was a happy appointment. The kids were sooo happy when we told them, they REALLY wanted another boy.

Little man still doesn't have a name yet, but we are working on it. He is an active little booger and moves a lot. Hoping he'll be calmer when he comes out..haha..

My husband.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my husband?

I know there are TONS of hardworking wonderful men out there, but seriously, I feel so amazingly blessed to have this one. He works very long days, then has to come home to usually a very tired pregnant mama and most likely a rowdy bunch(there are exceptions to this sometimes..haha..I'm not always tired, and the kids aren't always running up the walls..) to which he immediately jumps in and helps out, often times taking them all on an errand or outside for a bit, just so I can have a minute to myself. I try and go out of my way to make things easier here while he's home, but I'm not super woman and some responsibilities I'd rather him not have to take on do indeed get passed on to him.

He is very patient with me(most of the time) and is very good at encouraging me spiritually and just verbally in terms of how I'm doing. He also puts up with my temper and isn't quick to jump in and argue...allowing me time to cool down. :)

I'm very blessed and I only wish that my 2 girls(and similarly the boys with woman) will find someone who is similar to their father's personality.

Where has the time gone?

Its December already! Geez!!

We were able to get the house that I blogged about in Oct..we were so stoked, because it looked like it wasn't going to work out, but God totally worked it out. We had a brother in the Lord bless us IMMENSELY and this season of moving, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and everything else has been so much easier then it was last year when we moved the week of Christmas. The house will be open to us as of tomorrow, so we can start moving things over..The owners went all out and painted, and fixed so many things after the prior renters moved out and we are thrilled that we are moving into a nearly pristine house. Though, I just hope I can keep it up with 3+ kids..haha..This weekend's project? Purging most of of garage..some of the stuff will be easy to get rid of , but we have some "I'll use this one day" and sentimental stuff in there too that will be harder to let go of, but the new house doesn't have a closed in garage, so if it doesn't fit in the house, we can't keep it!

We were able to get a new TV on Black Friday(online, cause I'm not crazy enough to shop at 3 in the morning!) and it was much needed cause our last flat screen broke and our entertainment center can't hold the weight of our old school tube tv that was in our room..but we've been using the smaller tv so long it feels weird to see a bigger one now..haha..

I'm 17 weeks and 1 day preggers. After much debate, Luke and I decided to go ahead and find out the gender this time around, so hopefully in about 2 weeks we will be able to know what we are having. We would obviously love a boy to round things out, but we certainly wouldn't mind another girl either...!!

Luke and I went down to T'ville to be part of a wedding of a long time friend last weekend(not this past one) and enjoyed some time to ourselves as my Mom and then Luke's sister's watched the kiddos..then we enjoyed a very short work week(only 2 days for Luke) and really got to enjoy seeing LOTS of family..(All of Luke's family, and all of mine except one nephew!) and eat lots of food. Pretty sure I put on a couple lbs. from all the eating I did..haha..

Meeting needs.

"We hear a Christian assure someone that he will 'pray over' his problem, knowing full well that he intends to use prayer as a substitute for service. It is much easier to pray that a poor friend's needs may be supplied than to supply them."
                                                                                       A.W. Tozer, Of God and Men.

We have been so blessed to be part of His body that are SUCH wonderful examples of Christ in action.

When Luke and I were in Stone Mountain, we had a couple occasions where people blessed our socks off, but we seriously have been so immensely blessed by where we are living and those we know here. There were weeks we didn't know how we'd buy groceries, or pay a bill...and even without asking someone would give us money, and I don't mean $10..haha(which is a blessing too though!)..or provide a meal for us, or gave us a bunch of clothes that made it where I didn't have to buy any. That quote isn't to say that praying for other's needs are silly or that your heart is in the wrong by praying for them, but its basically saying, sometimes you have to put that to motion. The Lord provides through His body over and over again, we see it all through the Bible. This quote challenged Luke and I, we may not have much, but even a little something here and there will bless someone more then we could ever know. We look forward to the day when we can give more...not out of duty or what not, but because we know what its like to be on the receiving end and its such an amazing blessing.

Its October..

Well into it actually..haha..

So much has happened! Our toilet broke in the hall bathroom for like a week...I didn't realize how spoiled we were to have 2 till one wasn't working anymore. Its annoying to take a bath, trying to get dressed or go potty without someone barging in needing to go too..Thankful that even though it ended up being our fault(Noah flushed some toothbrushes down it!!!!!) our Landlord had a plumber come out and fix it for us. So so thankful!

There is this house on our way to a friend of ours that recently had a "For Rent" sign go up and after our friends were talking about how the house was nice, we decided to go look at it. Our lease isn't up till the end of Dec, so we were hesitant to get attached or anything, but after looking at it we really liked it! Upgraded and nice(r) kitchen then what I have now, 4 bedrooms instead of our current 3, and cheaper then what we are paying now! Crazy...But this house's tenants were leaving the first of Dec...so we didn't think we had a chance, but after talking to our super duper nice landlord he said we could leave early without making us pay or lose our deposits..So happy! So we are in the process of working it out with the new Landlord and hopefully we will get to move come Dec! I hate moving, but the idea of having more room is so exciting! Plus it will be nice to be moved in well before Christmas, unlike last year when we moved like 3 days before!

Working with a Mortgage counselor to hopefully get our monthly payments down to, so we are hoping to hear back from our bank in the next month or two with some new terms, please pray for soft and generous hearts at our bank..haha...we really need it to come down quite a bit to be able to keep paying it. Plus its generating income for us monthly(our house we are renting out) so we really don't want to lose it!

Going to try and do something festive this weekend involving pumpkins. All the good pumpkin farms are a good hour drive +, so we may end up with Wal-mart pumpkins and some carving kits.

10 weeks today! Having more good days then bad days lately as far as nausea goes, so I am super happy about that and hoping I am on the upswing!

One more thing..

Our family went over 3 years without getting any kind of sickness when we were in Stone Mountain outside of one bout of bronchitis for me and Kate, but once we moved and actually started hanging out with people on a regular basis we have gotten sick left and right. 3 Stomach bugs, Strep, and lots of colds in just 9 months time. Crazy!!  Being a hermit is lonely, but it certainly had its benefits..haha..Needless to say it was also very hard to feel SO sick and have to deal with our latest tummy bug, although I am very thankful that I was the only one in the house that managed to escape it..A sick mommy is not cool, so I am continually thanking the Lord I didn't get it.

I'm 8 weeks! Thankful that I only have a few weeks left of 1st trimester cause this nausea business is driving me crazy. I had lost 8 1/2 lbs. before getting pregnant and I've lost 3 more since being pregnant just from not wanting to eat(though I do, I assure you!). I'm part of an online forum for mom's due in May and we have had 3 Moms leave due to bad news at the Dr's office..It just reminds you to be so thankful for every day you are pregnant and not to take it for granted. For some reason I've had a lot of fear about this pregnancy for some reason. After our initial miscarriage, our pregnancy and birth history has been pretty decent and I guess I just keep feeling like the jig is up and its my turn to have something bad happen, but I have to remember that is NOT the way the Lord works. There is no fair police with Christ and there cannot be so much good that God has to make it bad. He just isn't like that, and I just have to remind myself that the Lord is good, He created me perfectly to carry this baby no matter what. Which helps a lot...:)

Anyways, just wanted to check in and say I'm alive. :)

Life.

I've already posted this on Facebook, but for record sake I'll record it here as well. Because one day I'm going to buy one of those books that has your complete blog in it. :)

But anyways! 3 1/2 weeks ago, I wasn't even late, but because I temp and chart them, I knew there could possibly be a chance, so I took this on a Saturday night thinking about how I was going to have wasted a test..haha..But as I was sitting there waiting for nothing to show up, something did! It wasn't super dark, but very much a positive.

I was soo shocked. We had been "trying"(I use this term loosely, but we weren't preventing, so really we were trying) for 6 months and I had totally come to terms with it not happening right now and was really focused on losing weight and all that, so it was really crazy to have gotten that positive!

Course almost a week later I took another one to be sure and it was very clear..:)

Of course our life right now is pretty crazy and doesn't seem ideal for bringing another baby into the situation, but we felt like we were supposed to trust God and know that His ways are higher then our ways. He said that children are a blessing...We are super happy and excited, little scared to be moving into the 4 kids zone soon, but thankful for a chance to embrace raising and loving a new little person.

We got to see our bean last week because I was having some pretty bad pain on my side, but thankfully everything was a-ok and due date was confirmed(score one for charting and not going by last period!).

BzzAgent

Is pretty cool, they have a Kindle Campaign going to start soon! Who doesn't want to test a Kindle?!? I sure do, I LOVE reading and have the Kindle App for my ipod, but its not the same and would love to give the big screen a whirl since it would make it so much easier to read with. Sure do hope I get chosen!

"Whaaat..?"

Check out that ticker. 3 lbs. down...I won't be winning any weight loss competitions but progress is progress and since this week was the first week where I really struggled with keeping to a healthy diet, I was just happy to see any loss at all! It was a stressful week and being the emotional baker/eater, I fought to find other things to deal with the issues. A lot of times this meant working out more(even if I already had), reading, doing something with the kids that would preoccupy  me, or cleaning. Having to learn how to retrain my brain and body to function without turning to food. Will edit my post later if I have lost inches as well but I have to wait till Luke's home from work for that...

ETA: I never got around to getting measured and decided to wait till next week to do it anyways..

Loser.

That's me! No weight loss this week, but I did lose 1 1/2 inches in my waist, 1/2 inch in thighs, and 1/4 inch in my hips. Happy with some progress....

Pt. 3

When we got back from Belize, we basically started "dating" if you want to call it that. I got back before Christmas and Luke came back shortly after. Our "dates" consisted of mostly going out with friends or him coming to my house, which he did almost every night till we got married. I valued this so much. He really got to know my family and I was so happy that they loved him nearly as much I did. We spent months playing board games, watching movies, praying together, and just talking with one another. After 2 months on Valentines Day, Luke took me out on our first real date. The boy didn't disappoint...:) He took me to Olive Garden and after we were seated he gave me this really pretty picture frame for my gift, which I thought was odd, but then said he needed to go get something, and brought in a KitchenAid mixer. If any of you know me, this was huge. He was pursuing my heart for sure..haha..I love all things KitchenAid and couldn't believe he'd bought me a super nice mixer. We went back to T'ville and bought all the stuff to make cookies and made some together with my new kitchen toy. At this point in our relationship we knew we were going to marry, but Luke didn't want to officially propose till he was able to afford a ring.

On March 11th 2003, We had made plans to go to Pebble Hill to see if we wanted to have any wedding pictures taken there, but I was not feeling well that day at all..so of course, I didn't want to go. My mom encouraged me that I needed to get ready cause Luke was coming to get me to go..(She was in on it, trying to get me there! haha) But my foul attitude from being sick made me act like a down right booty that day. Luke came and decided to stop for Jones Soda's next door at the gas station(when they still sold them there!) and we drove out to Pebble Hill. When we got there, you are suppose to pay to get in, but Luke kept telling me we didn't have to pay and the gate guy just made these silly faces at us, but due to my mood, I was unaware and more upset than anything that Luke hadn't paid the guy to get it..! My stupidity at its finest. We decided to park and Luke wanted to bring the drinks, but I thought we'd get in trouble having them on the property so I didn't want to bring them, but Luke was adamant. Again, my temper was ridicules and demanded he carry the drinks if he wanted to bring them so badly. After all this tantrum throwing I'm surprised our afternoon continued! haha.. So we walked down this hill towards the lake there and passed these ladies who were smiling and pointing at us..(should have wondered about this), but then I saw it. A table down by the lake all set up with my favorite foods, flowers and everything. He had made a picnic for us(hence those darn drinks!). As soon as we got down there I know what's up, and he gets down on one knee and asks me to make him the happiest man alive and pulls out this:

The Marquis ring we had looked at at the mall one time long ago when we were still on friend territory.

I of course say yes, though he will say to this day that I never answered him. I must comment on how funny this moment was, because it would have been such a key moment for us in terms of affection. It would have been so easy to have leaned down and kissed him, but Luke and I talked long before we were even in a relationship that we both wanted to save our first kiss for our wedding day. We had nothing against people who didn't, but for us personally we really wanted it to be a big deal, so it was slightly awkward ignoring the urge to have that moment be THE moment and kiss, but I'm thankful neither of us caved..haha..We had a lovely lunch together and roamed Pebble Hill afterwards.

Me in the shadows of a plant covering on our engagement day. It wasn't supposed to be artsy, but kind of turned out that way.

Just so you know..

I added my weight loss tracker on the top. Its been slow, but I know that this is a life style change, not a quick loss followed by gaining it all back. So I'm ok with it, but I am working out everyday so I probably have more muscle now then I did. I wish I had measured myself last week, but will do that this week so I can keep tabs on inches lost. My shorts fit better this week so I think things are changing. :)

Interruption.

Sorry about the lull between my story that I was sharing, but the Lord has gifted me with SUCH a desire to finally get healthy and I've been using all my spare time working out and prepping my meals, then on the computer, so sorry about that. I am SO weak when it comes to food, but the determination He has given me has astounded me and I'm going with it to the best of my ability..

I'm also slowing adding in running again and have been able to keep it up for over a week without shin splints! Hurray!! Still taking it slow in terms of how long/far I'm running at one time, but usually by now I'd be in agonizing pain, so this is quite the improvement.

Pt. 2

So a few months later we re-approached the situation and we decided to talk. It was an awkward conversation that was frustrating since we knew we couldn't really date(and really didn't want to as we were looking for more of a courtship model) but weren't really in the place to anything else. A few months later Luke's parents made a Stateside visit when Luke's grandparents were in a very bad car accident. Leaving his grandmother in the hospital for a while with what was a broken neck. Luke had lunch with his parents expressing his interest in me and his consideration of me as a wife but wasn't sure just yet...they just said they trusted him and to continue praying about it. Luke and I spent time at the hospital with his grandmother and time at their house while his family was in town.

It was all during this time that the Lord very clearly let me know Luke was to be my husband. It sounded so cliche and I didn't want to be THAT girl, but its true. I just KNEW. But the Lord also clearly told me that HE would reveal that to Luke, and I was not to. For my 17th birthday, my friend Joel, Patti and Luke took me out to the Melting Pot. It was so much fun and was such a special night...

Couple months after I turned 17, Luke tells me that the Lord confirmed it for him and he got to talk to my Dad about pursuing me on a night in Tallahassee where my Dad's truck broke down and it was just them..haha.Of course my Dad said that was fine by him. Then Luke's family invited me to Belize right before Christmas of '02. I happily took my chance to spend more time with Luke and his family and decided to go. It was an AWESOME time. It was the official start of our relationship and it was like breathing after holding your breath for a while. Luke's parents released him to pursue me, and basically were like, why haven't you asked her to marry you yet?! :) I have nothing but fond memories of Belize. I got to hold hands for the first time there, I was introduced to the Fletcher's church as Luke's intended, Luke treated me like a princess(still does!) and delighted in showing me his jungle home. I also was given my first kiss on the cheek on this trip and it was so unexpected and sweet and meant so much after basically ignoring our feelings for so long. So glad God provided this time for us.

Hanging out in Belize.

Our first official couple picture.

Going/coming back from one of the Falls there.

Luke, Me, and our friend Ian who came along as well.

A favorite picture of mine that Joel took while in Belize. Me to a T-Frizzy hair, silly facial expressions. :)

I came back a week before Luke did, this was one of the first meals we got to eat together when he got back. Its got a glich on the left side with another photo of Luke jumping off a cliff in Belize.

When I first met ..Pt. 1

This guy-

I remember thinking how cool it was that our youth group was getting a new worship leader, how much Luke resembled his Dad, and how long it'd been since I last saw him. I hadn't realized how much our lives had already overlapped. My family rented Luke's family's house while they were missionaries in Belize, C.A...and that our families had been friends for a while already. When they moved I was 5, Luke was 8. I remember various visits but nothing stuck in my memory till he came back in 2001. I was 15 when he moved back to the States to go to college.

I was assigned as his assistant in our youth leadership group. I got copies out for music, put them back away, did whatever needed to be done to make it easier for him. We pretty quickly became friends, and had kind of a 4 friend clique with Luke's cousin who just happened to be my greatest girlfriend since age 4, and the other worship leader at the time. We did soo much together(as well as with other friends), went on trips, worshiped together and so much more. Luke lived for some of this time with another friend's family...and I would love going over there to see her, hoping I'd get to see Luke. I remember on my 16th birthday party he came by to bring me a present, and thinking how random it was that he went out of his way to bring it to me instead of waiting till I next saw him.

My 16th year was much the same as my 15th. However, I worked as a nanny for 2 girls and that helped busy up more of my time as well as school and church activities. We went on a youth leadership trip and I remember singing "Leaving on a Jet Plane" to him while there and it being one of our first "romantic" moments.  I also lost an aunt and Luke(and Joel) came with me to the hospital and were there for me when we were all told she wasn't going to make it. During this time Luke had asked our youth pastor about talking to me about what seemed like mutual feelings and was discouraged to do so due to our leadership guidelines that did not allow for dating amongst leaders. So the matter was put off, but eventually it had to be talked about.

Back!

We had a great time at our conference. It was like having a family reunion getting to see so many people we met last year and have turned into friends. I think its great for us as Christians to meet regularly with other believers outside of our own gathering so that we remember we are all part of ONE body and one Man. It was also a great bonding experience for our group when you stay with people...you learn how to die to yourself and your own needs when you do that..haha..

We've been taking a break from social activities this week though after our crazy busy weekend. Really focusing on meeting our children's needs and meeting the ones our marriage needs as well. We bought Domino's this week after playing it over the weekend and it was soo much fun, not like how I thought it was, apparently we learned a version of Domino's...but it takes a while to play so we're working through it over this week. We also watched "Just Go With It" last night and thought it was so stinkin funny..(if you can ignore the poop in the brownie as my Mom used to say..;) )

Plan on getting Kate a little potty this week. She likes to try to go potty a lot but I think she'd do better if I could leave her sitting without feeling like she was going to fall in the toilet...Hoping to get this little lady potty trained before it gets cold maybe....Still having potty accidents with Noah on some nights, but I've been told by my Ped, and other mothers its still normal for his age, however its still frustrating to deal with. Hoping he outgrows it soon.


Off to make my kids a late lunch...!

Has it really been over 2 weeks?

Why does it feel like I blog all the time, when in reality I don't? Geez...sorry readers. It makes me sad when other bloggers take a hiatus because I enjoy reading them so much..so I apologize if anyone cared enough to miss me posting more often.


Got my camera working again! Hooray! Now I can actually take pictures again without using my iPod or phone. Its nice to have real pictures again and not fuzzy wanna-be's.

Luke's been working hard, I've been busy with doing things with the kids during summer break..(who said I only get another month with them before school starts up again? Life is moving too fast. I CANNOT believe I will have a 1st grader, a preschooler and an almost 2 1/2 year old by the time school starts. Its so bitter sweet. I LOVE watching them grow, learn, achieve, and gain independence that makes things somewhat easier on me and them, but its kind of sad knowing your babies are growing up. That they aren't babies anymore, that they need you a little less each day. The joys and sorrows of parenthood. I sure do love my little ones. They are pro's at pushing my buttons, but all in all, they are great kids and I could not be more thankful for them and God entrusting me with them.

We had a busy July 4th weekend. Friday I drove down to ATL to get to see my nephew's mother who lives out of town and was here for the afternoon on business. She's like a sister in law to me and I was so thankful to get to see her for a bit.

Luke worked Saturday, we hung out around the house on Sunday morning then had Church that afternoon, followed by me feeding a couple Brother's(one from here, the other 2 from Australia). They are looking for a more organic church style and came all this way to meet with our group and Gainesville, FL's group to experience some body life. They were such a blessing, it was a father and son, the father actually grew up in South Africa, and then moved to Australia when his son was 8...they have different accents which is interesting and we loved asking each other questions about life on another continent. After them talking about it for so long, Australia looks like a pretty decent place to live! ;)  Set off a few bottle rockets and chatted for a while then called it a night.

Monday we got up and went to my parents house for lunch and hung with them and  my sister/bro-in-law/niece for a bit then headed back to G-ville to grill out with some friends here, followed by setting off tons of fireworks...the kids had a blast(except Kate who screamed at every one till the last 10 minutes of them or so)...maybe next year won't be so scary for her..haha..

Getting to go to a conference in 9 days sans kiddo's thanks to Luke's parents...it will be so nice to get away and enjoy some adult and spiritually uplifting time with other believers. Can't wait!

Busy week.

I felt like we've been so busy! Our anniversary was this past Tuesday. I can't believe we've been married for 8 years. It feels so long and yet like we've blinked and life propelled us forward into some other dimension. Luke has been a wonderful husband..I could go on for years about how great he is...but I'll spare you the mushiness. :) We decided to be low key this year and went to the Mall, ate in the food court, and saw a movie together(X-Men First Class, which was AWESOME by the way)...Not an ideal anniversary night out, but we were just thankful to have the time together in celebration of our marriage. We don't get to go on dates much period, so it was just exciting to get to go out alone! haha..

Luke has worked the last two weekends which really screws up the week for everyone. He's tired, I'm tired, the kids are cranky from dealing with MY tiredness, and it just throws wrenches in everything, BUT its super helpful to our finances and we are just so thankful that he HAS work to do. We played games on Friday night with a single brother in our group, had a swim/low country boil party on Saturday, and went into ATL to see my parents, sister, BIL and niece for Father's day last night. Which was really nice to spend time with them..its sad we only live an hour away and we don't see them that often.

Last week Noah and I had strep which is now thankfully over and we are just finishing up our meds. We thought Olivia had chicken pox yesterday but ends up after taking her to the Dr, that its some sort of bug bites we think. We were playing in our woods a couple days ago thats when it all started. Kate was the only one who didn't go down there(she was napping) and she's the only one without the bites..so not sure what we got into but we won't be going there anytime soon again. Which is a pity since there are SO many blackberries in our woods.

Headed to the Zoo this week, going to enjoy one last trip before our membership is up. It was so nice to have, but I think the kids are ready for something new to do...gotta find something similar that won't cost me an arm and a leg for family membership!

Also found out this week my sister is having a little boy! So excited for her and cannot wait to meet the little guy. He is so loved already. :)

Kerplunk...

**Warning, kind of a debbie downer post**


Kerplunk is one of my favorite kid games. I love that its both skill and chance. I do not however like when my life feels like this game. So many things have happened recently that just feel as if sticks keep getting taken from my game and its only a matter of time before all the marbles fall. It is seriously by the grace of God we have made it this far in our life without some major crazy event. We still thankfully own our home which is a miracle. Luke is working lots, which is such a change up from his self employed position where time off was normal...I'm struggling with him being gone more, with how much money we makes(which is decent, though it just feels like its never enough)...

I'm just overwhelmed. I just keep saying, Lord, just let us get back on solid ground and we'd be ok. Luke makes enough money to cover everything if we weren't behind in some. I get jealous and angry when it seems others have it so much easier and yet complain about their lives.(I'm sure those less fortunate would probably feel the same way about me)..I know money isn't everything, because in almost every other area in our lives we are doing ok..but money sure does have a profound effect on how life functions.

Rethinking Poverty.

It's really easy for me to get caught up in my own hard times to remember what real poverty looks like. About 8 months ago, Luke and I decided to sponsor a child through Compassion. There are some months where money is tight and I don't know how we'll pay it on top of all the other stuff, but then I remember. I have a large house, food on my table, running (mostly) clean water ;) , and lots of other things to be so thankful for and it reminds me that I am not even close to poverty. Sure we may have it hard every now and then, but I have so much to be thankful for. Our little lady that we got assigned is from the Philippines and is 8. She's adorable and I've REALLY enjoyed exchanging letters with both her and her mother. Its humbling when they tell me they are praying for ME, for my family. Its so sweet to hear about her school and all the things she enjoys. A team of bloggers and fellow sponsors are on a Compassion tour through the Philippines. You can follow along as they blog about their time there..(just click the link to the right!)...

And consider sponsoring a child yourself. It will bless you so so much!

My kiddos

So after getting several notifications from our insurance company stating that my kids were due for a well check visit, I finally scheduled one. Its taken me a while to find a pediatrician I like. When you find a good one and have to leave them, its a daunting task to get another one. Tried out 2 different places before finally finding one where I felt supported. Took my kids and all was well, all the kids are on the normal spectrum as far as growth and such and developmentally where they should be.  Did make note that Olivia may need her eyes checked if her next eye exam there was any worse, but they said its hard to tell at this age...so we shall see.

Luke's parents are moving to the North GA region. I am pretty darn happy about that. It will be so nice to have them so much closer and available for the kids(and us) to get to enjoy having their company more often. Never hurts to have all the grandparent reinforcements you can get..haha..We will get spoiled having my parents AND Luke's parents around again. :)

Kate's birthday is next week! We are just doing a small little get together for her, but hoping its special. The two older kids took some of their money today to Target(dollar section) and each picked out an item for her and paid for it...they were so proud..Glad they are coming around to the idea that giving a gift can be just as fun as getting one.

Did awesome grocery shopping this week. Under 100's for a week's worth and that includes Kate's big birthday dinner...not to shabby! Trying to get better, although I do miss the days of just grocery shopping without thought as to what I was really buying. haha...Plus, I would love to be able to buy more produce and the such...

Growing in my decisions.

Lots of mama's ask me what I think about child-rearing. Not that I'm a mother genius or anything, but I do some stuff differently then most mainstream so I kind of stand out like a sore thumb..thus the questions. I used to be so defensive about them. I used to think that is was crazy that people would say I was doing things wrong when at the time I felt they were so in the wrong. I've grown a lot in the last couple months concerning this. I have learned that I have made all my choices based on what I knew at the time. I've formula fed, I've vaccinated, I've allowed my baby to cry it out, I've circumcised,  I've hospital birthed, I've homebirthed, I've breastfed, bed shared and held my baby for hours because it was the only way they'd sleep. I've run the gamut. I made decisions based on what I knew. I like educating myself. I like knowing that no matter how much I learn, I will never arrive, and I may look back and see some decisions that I made and shake my head at them, but I made/make the best choices for me. For my family. For my children. Knowing what I know in that moment and looking towards what I can learn to better those choices.

Let us not look down on mother's for the choices they make based on what they know. In the end the only thing I have to worry about are my own choices and decisions and that's enough to deal with! We mama's have it hard enough without someone breathing down our necks about raising our children. A friend of mine wrote an awesome post on this and it was great.

--Keli's blog--

I promise to try my best not to presume my choices are the right choices for you...If all mama's did this, we'd be way better off.

New time..

My mom's birthday was this week and we  went to lunch on Monday at a burger place with my sister and niece. It was fun and the kids did pretty good for it being so close to naptime. Its nice to get out and enjoy time with family when they are so close to us. I used to think an hour drive was so long, but now its nothing in comparison to how far we used to have to drive to see them!

Its been an interesting week. Luke's parents came up last Thursday, but I got a really bad stomach bug and didn't end up seeing them till Friday afternoon. We enjoyed their visit and time...Luke also got a call last week about a possible job opening. It wasn't in his field or line of work at all really so initially I wasn't too thrilled about it, but I knew at this time in our lives it wasn't about that anymore. Plus Luke has been saying he was open to stuff he wasn't trained in as long as it would pay enough. So on Monday he rode along with the owner of the company to do...well..stump grinding. Who knew there was such a market, but they say that they stay pretty darn busy. Pay wasn't ideal but there is room for growth and it would be steady as opposed to how we've been living the last 2 years. We haven't had a steady income in a long time...it will be nice knowing how much money we'll bring in each week and being able to plan accordingly. Luke was super excited about it all and after praying and talking we decided it was best. So he took it! I'm kind of naturally a realist, so I'm still not sure how I feel about it yet since he just started, but he's happy and thats what I'm going with for now. :) Don't get me wrong, I'm happy he has a job...FOR SURE, but it means a lot of change ups. Like he has to be at work at 6:30, so no more late nights like we are used to..that was hard even though I know it was selfish, and possible weekend working(though its optional and not required)...

Learning to live in the grace that He provides and remember that providing for our family is more important then an extra hour or two every evening..

Trying to decide what to do for Kate's 2nd birthday. I'm SO uncreative when it comes to birthday parties and now that we actually have kids and stuff around us, I feel so at a loss as to what to do. Idea's? Cheap ones? ;)

Running in a 5k on Saturday..! I'm excited and yet scared cause I've really slacked on training for it this time. I cannot run even a mile without stopping, so we'll see how this goes. I've already accepted that I won't beat my last time, so I'm more in it for the spirit of it then anything..plus I already paid for it. :)

Mother's day is coming up! Its always special getting to celebrate my Mother and Mother in law, but also getting to enjoy that privileged myself now..Looking forward to sleeping in and having a lazy day.

Something...

Something has been on my heart some recently..birth. No, I'm not pregnant that I know of, but it has been on my mind recently. I find you still process your children's birth long after they are born.

I am utterly convinced of the Lord's goodness in this area. Sad that I don't feel this way more in other areas but it's true. I know it sounds easy for me to say this when I haven't had any problems concerning my births but it's not. There is always a small freak out that happens midway through my pregnancy but I am quick to be reminded that He is so good. I understand that lots of people have had bad experiences and I am NOT saying that those who have issues didn't have enough faith or that the Lord didn't want them to have good births, so please don't think I'm trying to say that. I can only speak for myself and what I feel and know to personally be true.

The Lord has immensely blessed me with 3 wonderful and non-eventful births. I DO NOT take this for granted. There is nothing in my own power to make these births ok, God must receive the glory for this. He has been so faithful..

I hope to be able to raise Olivia and Kate(and any future daughters) that God knew them before the beginning of time, He knew who they would marry, when they would get pregnant, when they would give birth and who their children will be. He does not make mistakes and He is not surprised by anything. So they need not be concerned. He made their bodies to birth their babies. That He made them capable! I'm so happy that Olivia already is grasping this and believing birth is normal. Also that every horror birth story that I'm sure will be told to her doesn't matter. They don't need birth sugar coated, but they don't need to fear it. It can be wonderful and beautiful and amazingly empowering.

Off soap box.

Warmer..

Its getting so nice and warm out recently. I can't believe its only April. It feels more like July out there! We are soo blessed this year to be around people who have pools. We plan on making the most of them this summer.. :)

I was given a jogging stroller this past week, which made me soo excited. I've been wanting one for a while but just could never justify the expense since we already had a regular stroller...this one is used, but has life left in it and I'm so thankful to have it. I am looking forward to getting to use it more as we start being outside more. Just have to find a place to use it. Our neighborhood is kinda small for it and all Hall County tracks have a rule of no strollers on their tracks. :( Boo....

Luke has had work the last couple of weeks. Such a blessing. I've been there, so I know what I'm saying but its so easy to take work for granted and not appreciate it. The saying is true, you don't know what you have till you don't have it anymore. We've never been super big splurgers but we do like being free to spend if we so wanted to and now we just appreciate when our bills get paid on time. The Lord is continually showing me how to live in the DAY and not the week or month and being thankful if my needs are met for the day. This is hard...just sayin'.

Signed Olivia up for K12 again this year. After applying for both Noah and Olivia to get into a certain school here I kinda got it in my head how nice it would be to have my mornings free and being able to focus on Kate some. But it didn't work out and I'm having to lay down what I wanted and just trust that the Lord knows better then I.  2 families who have recently started coming to our group both have little girls that are starting in K12 this year, so it will be nice to have some other homeschool families around and allowing Olivia to have some more outside social interaction. Can't believe that in another month and a half roughly we will be done with school for this school year. Its been an interesting go and we've had a positive experience with K12 don't get me wrong, but I'm personally just having to learn to be patient with her...Not something that comes naturally. haha..Olivia is seriously a ball of energy and has a very short attention span....so I'm having to figure out how to best work education into her learning style.

2 weeks!

Its been 2 weeks! Busy, full and emotionally charged 2 weeks. Most people think that growing in the Lord is beautiful(and its is sometimes!), but sometimes its ugly as stuff comes pouring out and you wonder how long its been there and why in the world you kept it from the Lord in the first place. So thankful my Honey has been patient with me as I'm growing and learning to die to self...


Went on a retreat with the ladies from The Church we're meeting with. I'm always so amazed how you can take so many different woman, stick them in a house together and things worked out. I love that despite that most of us have similarities and things in common, its not those that bind us. Its knowing we are all a vital part of the Body and we are all sharing and loving the same Christ. That's enough to have great relationships! haha...We had so much fun being teenage girls again, laughing long into the night. We learned you can fit 7 people in a 4 person hot tub, but it will over flow, we learned more about each other we probably wanted to, and that shopping in downtown Helen is a hoot. So thankful for the time, and for the great memories we created that weekend.

It was a crazy weekend!

Luke went out of town on Friday at lunch to go on a Men's retreat with the guys from the church, and all was fine that night. I managed to get children bathed, dishes done, clothes washed, floors swept, coffee made, and television watched....went to bed late, but it was good cause I don't sleep nearly as well when he's gone. Saturday we were going to have a picnic with 2 ladies from the church and we went over to their house and played in the beautiful sunshine for a while. All the ladies with missing hubbies decided to eat dinner together that night and so we headed home so that the kids could nap before heading back out but I had used the last of the creamer on Friday so I needed to stop in for some more...

Stopped at Kroger and did the usual routine of getting my 3 littles out of the van. I am not sure how, or why she(being Olivia) was freaking since she knows the door won't hurt her, but Noah  pulled the handle on the sliding door and it started shutting with her still in the door area so she spazzed out in fear and started screaming bloody murder...in my motherly panic to save her child from being crushed by a sliding door(which again, I should have known it wouldn't, it only takes a gentle nudge and it stops shutting and reopens) I put Kate down, but apparently she didn't slide off my hip like I thought I had done because once I'd stopped the door and Olivia stopped screaming I realized Kate was and she was sitting on the ground...thats when it hit me that I really didn't remember PUTTING her down and that I'd most likely dropped her in my panic. Worst Mommy moment ever..I immediately picked her up and she was refusing to calm down even with me cooing and bouncing and blankie giving. After a little while she just quieted down to a small wimper and I figured she was probably ok and we went into the store, got what we needed and we went home. When we got home, I let her out of her carseat and set her on the ground to walk into the house like she normally does and she just sat down and started screaming again. Of course I got all nervous and took her into the house, stripped off her clothes and gave her a once over to make sure nothing was obviously broken. At this point she was SO tired, so I wondered if it was because she was over tired...she took a short nap and then still wouldn't put any weight on her legs when she got up and continued to scream off and on, I knew I had to take her to see someone, so thankfully my parents came up and my Dad stayed with the 2 older kids and Mom and I took Kate to a Immediate Care place. They took x-rays and thankfully nothing was broken she just has some bruising/perhaps a sprain somewhere that will just take time to heal. She started putting weight and walking on Sunday morning and I was soo relieved. It was one of those moments where you know stuff like this happens but hates when its YOU that causes your child pain...plus it was our FIRST ever need for going to an Immediate care, or ER visit for the kids, so I was clueless, all while trying to keep Luke informed so that if he needed to come back he could. So thankful it wasn't worse.

My parents took our 2 older ones home and kept them for 2 nights and it was crazy weird just having one. I remember when having one was a big deal, how long it took to get ready for stuff, how I thought going anywhere was a serious chore. I remember feeling this way when I had two...and there are remnants of that now depending on where we go with our 3...Having any children and accomplishing tasks are hard, don't get me wrong...but when you've gotten used to dealing with 3 small children on a regular basis, going back to one is SO much easier. Sunday was church day and it felt so weird only having to feed Kate at our potluck, only having to put one down for bed. The house was quiet, clean, tasks were accomplished with a fair amount of ease. Its amazing how you become accustomed to the chaos that is having multiple children in a short span of time and how oddly wonderful and off it feels. I loved the undivided attention I was able to devote to my house and my youngest, but our home wasn't whole....and no amount of chaos or stress that comes with having them here can compare to having them around again. (Though, it WAS nice...so feel free to do so again at any point Mom..;) )

Still doing good on my nightly snacking..! We are still doing coffee but for the most part if I just HAVE to have something, I'll eat an apple, or a clementine that is filling and satisfying rather then have something unhealthy. We'll continue this for a little longer and then make another change somewhere to continue trying to make healthier life choices...

Off to make a loaf of bread to send to a mama today..:)

I do not get paid..

BzzAgent and the companies that support them do not pay me to write anything good(or bad) about their products. I am given products by said company to test and use and have an opinion about, good or bad..

Having said that, I got 2 of my BzzKits this week. One being the Silk Campaign and the other being the SC Johnson kit. I haven't been to the grocery store, so I can't tell you about the Silk yet, but I have coupons for 1.00 off any half gallon of theirs(coconut, soy, or almond) if anyone wants some. I'd be happy to mail them your way, just let me know. The SC Johnson kit was great, it has a full size toilet cleaner, full size shower scrubbing bubbles cleaner, Glade candle from their new spring line, a Glade plug in, and more coupons for these products then you can imagine..haha...So if you want any coupons for any of these, please let me know.
I am currently using the scrubbing bubbles(leaving it on for cleaning power sake) so I'll let you know how well it goes once I rinse/scrub off...but the candle they sent is SUPER great smelling and definitely something I would buy myself.  Plus, I love the plug ins so that's nice to and its got a great smell as well. Haven't used the toilet cleaner yet....

Anyways, just thought I'd let ya know! Please let me know if anyone wants any coupons!

It pays to be opinionated.

I feel like there are few ways I can really help out at home besides the normal day to day life stuff, but one of the funnest ways I've found to do it is by product testing/survey taking.

I participate in several different companies that allow me to do different things.

Synovate is one I do. Its a survey site. They send me a survey every now and then and I just fill it out and accrue points that I can trade in for cash/gift cards.. But some survey's are about products and they send you the product and fill out a review afterwords. I've done both for the company and have had a really good experience with them thus far.

BzzAgent is another one. This one is where you sign up and take a couple classifying survey's and then they match you up with Campaigns companies offer up so that you can "Bzz"  about...They send you various products and coupons just to get you interested in their product. I have done several with them and I'm currently in 4 coming up! One for Silk(soy milk) products, one for Barely There bras!!!, one for Mabelline makeup, and for the SC Johnson cleaning products. Its a nice way of getting some cool mail/getting free stuff and also being able to have an opinion.

Obviously, I participate in Swagbucks, this is a great way to just search periodically and get great stuff for it.

I also have signed up with a few different companies like Delve research and you just give them your info and they will call you if they have any product testing that applies to you. I've tested diapers and wipes, and those are so nice to test because those are expensive, and not only do you get free product, but you usually get paid an amount afterwords to complete a survey at the end.

Anyways...Just some idea's! :)

Baby steps.

Luke and I had a nice sit down and talked about ways he could help me out. We realized we had gotten into a habit of basically having a 4th meal+some after the kids went to bed. For me it was a time of being able to eat without having to worry about feeding someone else, making sure no one was crying, not getting up ten times to get someone a drink..it was my stress free eating time. While I am sad to lose this moment of solitude and peace, we realize that a bunch of calories(unhealthy ones at that) were being consumed. So we are taking baby steps...no snacks after dinner unless we want an apple or something. In an effort to not make it too hard, we are still drinking our nightly cup of coffee though which helps not feeling too super hungry, though I can tell very much that my stomach was very used to eating a late night meal...Luke said his was too which is funny cause he didn't nearly eat as much as I would at one time(snack wise, he can still trash me in terms of consumption when it comes to meals). So he is giving up nightly snacks with me so it isn't too hard watching him eat while I can't.

Baby steps people. Baby steps. I know this isn't a huge "I'm going to drop 30 lbs. this week" type moment, but if I can accomplish and stick to this, it will give me the confidence to continue to make more baby steps.

The tension that lies within..

Who is that in the mirror? I know that can't possibly be me.
    Dieting is so normal now that everyone basically ignores the fact that you are trying to(guilty I'm sure of doing this to others).
   Poor eating habits are like drugs. Its easy to be sane and make rational food choices when you are full and there is nothing else to eat but what is healthy. It is not so easy when people(self included) surround you with food that will not help you in the long run. Its like asking a heroine addict to just take a tiny hit...it won't really bother you.
    Must there always be this tension and guilt associated with eating? I'm literally scared when I think of the fact that I am only 25 and I have years and years(and years...) of eating ahead of me. I don't want to always have this tension with food.
   I love that those around me love me wholly for who I am. But it makes it easy to be comfortable with the size you are and not nearly as motivated, because I mean everyone already loved you immensely.
   I have guilt because my whole family doesn't need to lose weight. I hate having to make it where there are no snacks in the house or low calorie meals that just plain don't taste as good.
   I can't stand the fact that I've tried dieting many times and have failed every one. I feel like I let people down even when I know its more about me and how I feel then others.
    It drives me crazy that I'd love to have more children, and I don't want to be pregnant with this body anymore. But with my lack of much needed change, I'm nervous that I'll never feel like the time is right for another baby.
        I want to live longer. I want to be healthier...but I don't want to give up the tasty food. I remember a clip from Biggest Loser where Jillian asked a woman how in the world can junk food be more important then being healthy. I still don't feel I can answer that.
     I hate that my husband has to walk a fine line...between loving me and my body just the way it is and being an encouragement to lose weight(because I want to, not because he thinks I need to).
  I'm ashamed that I've complained enough about my body image out loud that my sweet 6 year old has commented about how she didn't want to be fat...when she is anything but! I KNOW I have to be a better example to her(and the other 2) so that they do not develop wrong eating habits...

It feels like a dark hole, this weight loss business...and I'm not sure how to make light of it just yet.

I want Him

I want Him-


He can raise the dead, turn water into wine, embrace those different from Himself, love without limits, heal the sick, patient beyond time, feed(care) for many...and much much more.

Know what I want most? Know who raptures my heart? HIM! He is beautiful. He is wonderful. Nothing in my life would ever be good enough for Him, yet through Him I am made perfect in His eyes.  I was made for relationship with Him..I am my Beloved's and He is mine, rightly do I love him. 

I give up..

I keep apologizing for not blogging....and I end up not being any better about it. There is so much going on in our life, but its hard to put a lot of it into posts..because either I don't know how to put it in writing or its depressing..haha..

Quick recap-

Noah's birthday was this past week. He is an amazing little boy. Seriously..not just biased..He sure has his moments but they are few and far between and I couldn't have asked for a better son. We didn't really throw a party for him due to lack of funds for one, so ended up taking him to pick out a toy from the Disney Store. He was so overwhelmed and happy it took him forever to pick one out, then we bought him a Woody Jibbitz for his Crocs. On his actual birthday we had a picnic lunch outside(complete with letting him having a soda, which is rare!) And let him munch on some cupcakes..I think he was pretty happy. Olivia was so sweet and wanted to go to Target and pick out an item from the $1 section for him and she even paid for it with her own money that she's been saving up for a while now(she's up to over $20!)..

No work lately for Luke which makes things interesting, but we thankfully had some tax return money that is helping to tide us over..Praising God for provision even if its not how I would have wanted to spend that money.

Learning how to let Christ be All In All...He is sufficient, wonderful,giving, loving, and patient. So thankful...

Started training again for my 5k last week. Its kicking my butt. I got shin splints right at the end of my training last time and it greatly reduced my time on race day because I was in so much pain...my shins are already acting up and I'm sad that it may cause me to have to walk more of the race then I wanted to. Boo...

My Mom is finally moved here! Its wonderful and I'm so happy that she's only a short drive now and not 5 hours away! Hoping I'll get to see her way more often now.

My brother who is walking across America in support of Special Operations Warrior Foundation(which support financially, families of soldiers who have been wounded or have been killed)..(His blog HERE ) was passing through ATL this past weekend and was given some tickets to the Thrasher's game that night(after his interview with 104.7 The Fish) and invited us to go. Luke graciously stayed home with the kids and let me go so I could spend time with Matt and we had a lot of fun. It was way different then any other sport event I've been too, but fun none the less.

Come What May

When I started my blog and named it I didn't even realize what it would mean to me years later. Our life has been a roller coaster and yet He has been there "Come What May"...Pretty cool. :)

So for Christmas my Mom gave Erin and I, 6 months of E-mealz...its a website and you pick the size of your family, store of your choosing(or a any store plan) and any special stuff, like Weight Watchers or low carb/low fat/gluten free....and they provide a weekly menu and shopping list based on what's on sale at your chosen store. Its been REALLY awesome so far. For us personally I didn't notice it saving us any money at the store because we eat a lot of breakfast and lunch stuff as well, but I do know its saving us some during the month because we are much less likely to eat out when I have tons of wonderful tasty dinners to make. We haven't had a meal yet we haven't liked which is saying a lot because I'm kind of picky, and you know how kids are! I just LOVE that I don't have to think about what to make each week or make a list..its so easy. Plus its new meals all the time so we aren't getting tired of the same thing I used to make all the time...Linky if you're interested.



We've been staying busy lately...so I apologize for the lack of posting.

Entrenched..

Right now I am entrenched in life. Not just going about my days(though that's partly it.), but just getting into a flow of enjoying the every day things. I have had a tendency to dislike all that is habitual about my life(dishes, laundry, schooling, diaper changing, meal making...) But I'm learning how to see the Lord in them..

Jesus sure did have to do a lot to wash me clean, carrying a load of laundry,folding them, and doing some dishes isn't much.

The Lord sure has to be patient with me as I learn to live in Him, so teaching my children isn't too much.

The Lord provides for my every day needs SO well and beyond what I probably even give Him credit for, so taking care of my children and husband's needs(the ones I can!) is so little in the grand scheme of things.

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News you can use:

So, I fell down the stairs yesterday. Got a huge ugly bruise on my back, elbow and knee. Olivia was so concerned that she attempted to call 911...I felt so bad that I had scared her bad enough for her to think she needed to call, but thankful she even thought to call when I was in need. She's such a big girl and I can't believe how growny she is becoming.

Starting to train for my second 5k! I'm excited though nervous because I gave up running to let my shin splints heal and I'm wanting for them to not come back..so my training may be slower this go around..

Noah's almost 4. What?! Stop that sweet boy!!

Luke was blessed with a TRUCK!! We now own a beautiful F-150 that is paid for and its perfect for him and being able to put all of his tools in the tool box and such. God rocked our socks off in His provision for it and we are just so thankful to have it.

My car got an upgrade by getting two new tires, new windshield wipers, and our brakes replaced, only need it aligned now and its good to go again for a while. I love Honda's...they like never need work, and when they do its not usually huge..

Got our taxes filed this week and I am just flat out amazed at how little we lived off of this year. Its astonishing. Makes me wonder what the crap we were doing with our money when Luke had a steady pay check! So sad....haha

So my friend K. called yesterday and wanted to know what size diapers Kate wore and the place she worked had some extra's to get rid of and she brought me 8(!!!!) packs of diapers in her size for us. We won't have to buy any for a little while for sure. So thankful, and K., the diapers work great so far, so THANK YOU for thinking of us!!

Its Valentine's day this week and Luke and I were trying to plan a date and realized its been almost 3 months since having a date night. So lame! So we are trying to make it work where we can go out this week. We have a Chili's gift card to use...:)

Moments

Luke stays up with me to watch Teen Mom 2..I don't feel well and I'm not ready for bed and he humors me. We watch, huddled together in front of my Dad's laptop at a kitchen table in a very retro room in which the fridge looks like a upper cabinets. Literally.

The house is quiet while my parents and our children are asleep and in their beds, we brush our teeth in familiar comfort with each other and walk down the hall to the room we are sleeping in and try our best to sneak into the room like teenagers afraid to be caught by parents, only our "parent" is a sleeping 18 month old in a pack-n-play by the bed...we squeeze together in the double bed and stifle back outrageous laughter as Kate lets a toot go in her sleep.

As Luke quickly falls asleep after a long day of working hard for our family, I contemplate how in the world I got so blessed to have each one of them in my life.

Vote for Noah..!

He's in the running for a free print, so please go vote for his picture..! Its easy, just put his number/name in the comments section at the bottom of the page! I would greatly appreciate it!

Vote for Noah Here!

Thanks guys!

My sweeties..

Olivia is now 6...I can't believe it. Every year she gets older, I think "Really?! Already?!"....It feels like she's been with us forever and I can vaguely remember life before her, and yet it seems like only yesterday when I first became her mama and she opened up a new world to me. She's unbelievably creative, wonderful, carefree, has a musical ear, super smart, funny and has made such strides in the past year on how she relates to her siblings and us...

Noah is just about to turn 4. Again..wow..Noah's an old soul..he's quiet, super sweet, caring, thoughtful, very helpful and it just blow me away thinking he'll be pre-k this fall. What?? How can this be? You are my sweet only son and you are just as cute and loving and you can be...always willing to offer out hugs and snuggles. He has a quiet strength about him...

Kate. Oh my....I realize now why babies of the family are spoiled. ;) She has everyone just wanting her happy and quiet so she is given whatever she desires and it shows. Although, in turn she is super compassionate and caring...if one of her siblings is crying, she will come and pat them in comfort or bring them a favorite toy of theirs..She has her Daddy and I(and just about everyone else) wrapped around her little finger.  She is still full of snuggles and is getting to the age where she really enjoys playing with her siblings and tries her best to keep up. She and Liv now share a room and they do pretty good together. I was thinking having them together would make it so hard, but its gone surprisingly well.

My last blog...

Was really depressing sorry.....

On to something way way better. Body Life..

We've been part of church's our whole lives but there is just something different about this time around and our sweet group. Its so blissfully wonderful...so new and different and to overuse the term, very organic. Its not something I think man could just do..its so God. Within weeks of meeting everyone(and praying heavily) we just knew this was where God wanted us. All our relationships already feel like family and we've only known them 6 months. Not that you don't notice quirks or frustrating things about each other, but somehow it doesn't matter and you know these people are YOUR body...they are with you IN Christ and everything else pales. We have been loved on SOO much. Its so awesome to see the Lord at work in all of us.

Those of you Gainesville peeps that read this, know we are SOOOO appreciative of all you do for us. From people who help give us stuff, shovel our snow, offer to watch children, feed us, give rides and tons more under the sun. We love you...and I've told people before, its not cause of what you do for us, its because we know you care about us so much and you are offering up yourselves for the sake of Body life. Luke and I hope that we can return all these wonderful favors....

"The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me"- Matt 25:40

No paid vacation/pity party.

I try to stay positive..I'm naturally kind of a pessimist, but I know God is good and I try to remember that He gets final say and not the rest of the world. Having said that....I would say that for much of this January, Luke hasn't been able to work due to different circumstances. It sucks..When you're self employed you have to work when there is work because you never know when there won't be. Today is Sat, and Luke is out working...which is great, but it still feels weird not having him here on a day that is designed for chilling, and when everyone around you has the day off. It also sucks because we haven't been able to get out of our driveway till just yesterday due to all the snow and ice that was on our road(its almost all cleared up now thankfully), so I haven't been out of the house really in a long time because before the snowcalypse we were sick with a cold, and then managed to pick up pink eye and I am a firm believer in keeping germs to yourself, so we stayed home. I missed our church meeting, the sister's group meeting got moved...so needless to say I'm feeling high strung and having a hard time dealing with just even the day to day stuff.

Then we can throw in the fact that Luke not working for almost 2 weeks,which means NO money coming in for 2 weeks. We live literally from one job to the next and so its not like we have stores of money we can use for times like this...its SO amazing how much a lack of money can effect your life, or least your view on life. It also sucks, because there isn't much I can do to help the situation out, and to be honest I feel guilty about it. I know I shouldn't and Luke has told me many many times that I'm doing what's best for all of us by just caring for kids/house and schooling them...but still.

To top things off, I hate being a charity case.  I know that we've paid for stuff for friends and family lots, but there is just something so humbling and hard about being on the other side of that scenario. I never want people to think that when I share how our life is going that we are expecting or looking for people to take care of us. We know that's God's business to provide for us..and we know sometimes He does it through the Body but still, and its not like we mind people loving on us that way, its just hard cause I don't want people to feel that they HAVE to..ya know?  I can't even count the number of times I've asked the Lord.."Can we please be done with this experience....?"...

Anyways, I'm off my soapbox now and done venting.

Luke is considering going back to school to learn a new job not in his field of expertise. Still praying about it and which avenue he should go and we've also been in contact with some people at our local hospital and seeing if they will pay for him to go to school while he works there...interested to see how it all turns out.

Still alive..

I feel like I've neglected my blog recently, but its ok. We've celebrated the new year, had lots of family visits, Olivia and I are back in the swing of school, celebrated and thrown her a 6th birthday party, fought pink eye, and enjoyed lots of snow..we've been busy. All this and enjoying getting to host and have people over who actually live within a short driving distance of us. So wonderful....

Although January has been kicking our butts and I just haven't felt up to blogging because I know that word vomit may happen and I'm trying to be positive..God is good. No matter what and I trust Him.

Blogging will resume more normally I'm sure at some point soon....