Just Enjoyin' Time Together

Hannah woke up sounding very raspy and croupy this morning, so I promptly made the decision to stay home. What a blessing! Even better, she seemed back to herself by 8:30, so we all had a great morning together.

We had fun with legos . . . we made Peter's name, too, but he demolished the letters before I had a chance to get his picture. Ah well!

Isn't he getting so big? He's my little man--and loves airplanes just like his daddy!

Yesterday we had fun with playdough . . . however, I have decided that there's something I'm not overly fond of . . . dry playdough. It doesn't stick together! Thankfully it's one of the less expensive pleasures of life, and I can replace it when we go grocery shopping.

(It's a kangaroo . . . don't laugh too hard!) :o)

And both of my kids have been having an interesting time with footwear. I asked Peter if he knew where his other sock was . . . and he pulled the door "sock" out from behind the bedroom door. :o)

And Hannah was in a hurry to go rescue Sherbert from where he'd been deserted outside, so she grabbed Chris' sandals! Thankfully she didn't go head over heels down the steps!

So, that's life in these parts. Happy Thursday!

Rejoice with Us!

The Lord has worked in some incredible ways over the last few weeks, and we are praising Him for it all!

1. Our house sold! :o) Praise the Lord! And as icing on the cake, the couple who purchased it are willing to let us rent it back from them for a couple months to help with our transition.

2. Our offer has been accepted on the other home!

Now for the story behind all of this . . .

We found this property last summer and on May 31 we took the pictures you see below of the outside. It has 2.6 acres of wooded land and we simply loved it. However, it was significantly out of our price range so we gave any dreams about it to the Lord and continued as before.

About a month ago we were once again evaluating what the Lord would have us to do about our need for more space--whether we should add on here or look for something else. We decided that the costs involved with adding on warranted us to at least look around for something within our price range with a little more space.

Through that process, this home once again showed up on the radar screen . . . except it was 3/4 of the price they had been asking last summer! We went for a couple showings (including one in which our realtor graciously allowed us to measure every room so we could work on some remodeling layouts!), and followed that up by putting our home on the market. The Lord provided a buyer for our home very quickly!

The owners have now accepted our offer (after multiple counters) on the other. Our closing is scheduled for March 16! We are simply rejoicing in everything He has done! The inside of the house needs some updating, and we have plans to move a few walls around to open up the layout between the kitchen, dining room, and living room, but it's a solid house with a full basement, lots of character, and lots of room to run and play! What great things the Lord has done!

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21

Date Swap!

We enjoyed a very special day this Saturday . . . we did a "date swap" with our good friends, the Ackers. What a huge blessing! Between us we have four children ages 2 months, nearly 2, nearly 3, and nearly 4, and the older three all play very well together. So, we watched the whole crew from 10-12 while Jon and Crystal went out for breakfast and they watched the whole crew from 12-2 while we went out for lunch. The kids had a blast, and the mommys and daddys got some much needed time alone. :o)

Everybody enjoyed playing with some new toys . . .

Enjoying the crisp, sunny weather outside . . .

Taking a nap . . .

Playing chef (hot hot!) . . .

Posing for smiles . . .

Praise the Lord for good friends!

Krazy Kidz!

Life's been pretty crazy around here for the last couple weeks, but here's a few pictures we've managed to capture of the kids . . .

Baking

Crafting

Self-Entertaining

Contorting

Smirking

May I reiterate what I've mentioned before? Life is never boring around here! Come join us for some fun . . . if you dare! :o)

Entertainment Option #3

I wasn't fully intending this to be a series, but a good storm with lots of thunder and lightning provided yet the next installment in our "series" on alternative entertainment options. :o) (Breadmakers and popcorn poppers were the first two if you happened to miss them.)

Happy Wednesday!

First Showing!

We had our first showing today! :o) Yeah! What an encouragement! :o) It was a sweet couple with a little girl who's almost three. (Hannah did a great job of playing with her while the couple toured our home!) They're actually kind of looking for a three bedroom, but they thought our house looked "so cute" from the pictures, they wanted to come see it. Anyway, who knows if anything will come of it, but it was a huge blessing to have someone express some interest. :o)

Enjoying the Outdoors

We've been a bit preoccupied with things other than the camera in recent days, but I did catch a few pics. Hannah and Peter have been thoroughly enjoying the warmer weather. I've enjoyed being able to let them go outside on their own while I work in the kitchen with the windows open. It's nice having a reasonably responsible almost-four-year-old! :o)

For Sale!

I mentioned in a recent post that we appeared to be on the brink of some significant changes in our family. The following picture explains where that comment came from:

We've put our home on the market. I have to admit that I have really mixed feelings right at the moment as I post this. We're super excited about the new home we've found, but we also love our current home--we're just outgrowing it. Please pray with us that the Lord would make His will very clear--there's a lot of details involved. Please pray specifically that

1. Our home would sell quickly.
2. They would accept our offer on the other home.

We're trying the For Sale by Owner route for at least a little while and we'll see what the Lord does. If you know someone in the area who would be interested, please direct them our way!

Learn more at 9CasonAve.blogspot.com

Nursery Project

The nursery project is coming along well! The men have opened up the wall to create one large room, and they installed the supporting beam today. They also installed a new worker's entrance. Further progress will be pending inspections and the end of Revival services which begin next Sunday.

Here's a few pictures of things thus far:

Last weekend they took off all of the drywall from the wall between the rooms.

Last night, they removed the old beams and added a temporary support wall.

After this morning's prayer breakfast, the men installed the new beam.

It's been a real encouragement to see how the Lord has used the willing contribution of so many different people to help make this happen. (Wives and moms included!) :o)

Two Peas in a Pod

I have a pint-sized double running around! :o)

We love you, Pun'kin!

Entertainment Option #2

Breadmakers and Popcorn Makers . . . can't beat 'em!

100th Post!

This is my 100th blog post! Exciting, eh? :o) It's hard to believe it's been a week since I last posted. However, we seem to be on the verge of some significant changes for our family, and things related to that have consumed most of our spare time. More on that, I'm sure, in upcoming days. For now, some random shots from the week . . .

We enjoyed a "special treat" of french fries and a chocolate milkshake on our way home from prayer meeting Wednesday evening . . . drinking milkshakes appears to be an art form around here!

Peter loves the feel of Mommy's scarf that Great Grandma LeClair made for her!

Hannah enjoyed "painting" on the computer. (Significantly less messy!)

And thank you, Grandma and Grandpa H., for the special Valentine's Day package!