Patience and perseverance . . .

For some reason, I haven't been able to get ahold of our negotiator.  It's starting to frustrate me.  It seems like every time we take a step forward with the house, we stand still for twice as long.  I am thinking, and praying, that she is out of town on vacation right now, and I hope that she will get back to me soon.  She usually calls the same day!!  I wish this whole thing would be behind me right now, but for whatever reason, it's not. . . yet.  On a good (silly) note, I painted my nails today :)  I did a pink french manicure.  The first time I ever tried it, and it turned out pretty well.  I really am grateful to have the stuff at home, so I can still do something "fancy" without spending a ton of money.  Now if only I knew how to cut my own hair ;)  Marissa and I are finally feeling better, which is a HUGE blessing!  I have 2 bedrooms to clean and I need to get the fridge all cleaned out by Saturday!!  That's a lot of work, but I know it will get done!  (Now, why did I paint my nails BEFORE cleaning?!?!?!)  The weeks have gone by so slowly, and I can't wait to get through July!  Ashley has horseback riding camp the last week in July and she is SO excited for it!!  I am really proud of her.  She paid for half of it with her own money, which for her, was a huge deal!!  She usually spends her money the second she gets it, so the fact she could save up a significant amount is a big deal!  She is very generous with her money though, always offering to buy the kids ice cream and things like that.  I love how much my kids love each other.  They aren't perfect, but they sure are good, and I am really proud of each of them!  We have been taking them each out alone lately, and I really enjoy it a lot.  It's fun to see them grow and start to think of things on their own.  They each have their own strengths and I love encouraging their individual desires.  A lady I know once told me that when she was out with all of her kids, someone said "boy, it looks like you have your hands full!!"  She replied, "Better full than empty!"  LOL I have to agree, I love having my hands full with my sweeties!!  Ok, I'm rambling now :)  We'll see what happens with the house.  I know that whenever God chooses to sell it, we will look back and understand why it sold at the time it sells.  I know God has a reason for not selling it yet and He won't leave us stranded!!  Now, if only people (that I am not very close to) would stop asking me about it every week :-/

Yes!!

I'm so excited!!  I found the checks out in the mountain of boxes in the garage :)  I am so proud of myself!!  I didn't even need Nathan to help me. . . ok, so maybe when I put the boxes back together, some *might* be leaning a little bit, but so far I have not heard a crash ;)  I am sure my type A husband will fix what I did when he gets home (speaking of which, where is he?!)  I know I put the boxes up just fine, but I KNOW he will find an even better way to stack them!!  That's one thing I love about him.  He makes my life better, even in small ways :)  We have a lot of running around to do today, I hope the kids that are coming with me do good.  Although one of the stops is the library, so I think if we hold out and do that last I can bribe them a bit to be good.  They LOVE the library!!  So far we are feeling a little better.  Marissa and Ashley will probably stay home, since Marissa is still a little sick.  But Dylan and Taylor are a hoot at the library.  Dylan puts on a puppet show, and Taylor just sits there and laughs.  Then she claps for him and he bows :)  It's so cute.  They also just like to grab books off the shelves.  I can't believe some of the books they have there!!  I always have to do a check before I approve.  Well, off to finish the laundry.  Nathan just called and he's on his way home!  Just in time to run errands with me :)  Even though it is stressful to have a huge pay cut, live with my parents, wait for our house to sell. . . it's all worth it to have Nathan home with us every day!!

Bug going around

I don't mean an insect, I mean a virus ;)  We all have some sort of bug, and I am pretty bummed about it!  I had plans to get the whole house all cleaned up while my parents are gone, but right now, I am just not up to it.  I feel a lot better than yesterday, so that is good!  Oh, I also realized that I am out of checks, and the other checks are somewhere outside in the mountain of boxes!!  Worst of all, they are all numbered, and someone (who will remain nameless) lost the notecards I used to tell what was in each box!!  With our luck, that person probably packed it into one of the boxes!!  So we're praying we can either find the checks, or the note cards, quickly!!  Yes, I have to write a few checks because, believe it or not, not all places let you pay online!!  Shocking I know!!!  Anyway, I am putting that chore off until tomorrow though.  I hope I get over this soon. I am meeting a very good friend on Saturday that I haven't seen in like 6 years!!!  I'm so excited!!  Then in Sept. Nate and I are taking a VERY important trip to the middle of nowhere for a VERY important reason!!  So we will be spending our "anniversary" in Oklahoma LOL.  Never thought I would say that sentence!!  Seriously though, I am very excited and the trip can't come soon enough!!  Well, off to get more rest!  Praying we get well soon!

Park

Last night while the kids were at my BIL's, he took them to the park, and sent me some pictures.  Ashley is kind of over the whole park thing, but she really loved watching the dogs!  Remember when I told you that one of his dogs pretended to have an asthma attack while we were on a walk LOL :) Apparently he did better last night, because he made it all the way to the park!  Here are a few pictures of my goofy kids.  You can tell they dress themselves by their mismatching clothes :)

Cute

My brother-in-law is watching the kids tomorrow while we're on a date, since my parents are out of town. Ashley could have done it, but they really love their uncle, so any chance they can spend with him, they snatch it up :)  Anyway, Dylan and I were talking awhile back, and he said that when he grows up he'll only remember me if I send him a picture, so he knows what I look like.  Well, I told him since I wouldn't see him tomorrow, that I might forget what he looks like.  He said, "I know, I'll draw you a picture!"  Dylan, 4, makes his people look like jelly fish.  It's so cute :)  So there is a big mommy jelly, and a tiny baby Dylan jelly :)  I wish I had a camera, it's adorable!!  So now we have something to remember him by, while he is gone tomorrow!!  He also told my parents before their trip to Alaska, to remember their binocu-laters, and their calcu-ma-later.  LOL!  I love the way kids talk.  Ashley used to say "first a ball" (first of all) and Marissa is really good with her subjection (subtraction).  My favorite is when Marissa sings the song "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do.  I'm half crazy.  Almost as much as you!" (All for the love of you!) LOL  I wish I had time to write down all their funny sayings, but it's time to get them to bed.  I love my life :)

Weddings

Today is my sister's wedding anniversary!  It really got me thinking about weddings :)  I LOVE weddings!  It's so exciting to see the decorations, the dress, the flowers!  I love the look on the grooms face when he sees his bride.  My favorite weddings are Christian ones, where the focus is on God, and how their marriage will honor Him.  I have been in a number of weddings over the years.  Eight, in fact!!  I loved being a part of each and every one of them.  I loved helping pick out the wedding gown and bridesmaids gowns too!!  What a fun time in a person's life!  Some people cringe at the thought of paying for their daughters weddings, but I am SO looking forward to it!  I pray for my children daily that they will keep themselves pure, both in body and in their minds, and I pray for their future spouses to be loving, godly people.  I don't think you can start praying too soon, since their future mates are most likely already alive right now!!  Looking back to my own wedding day, it was absolutely perfect.  I spent hours and hours planning every last tiny detail.  Searching for the best deal on some things, so I could splurge on others.  What great memories I have.  Almost every wedding that I have been in, Ashley has as well.  (She's been in 6!)  I wish I had pictures from all of the weddings, but when you are in it, it's hard to get pictures of yourself!  Oh well, at least I have memories in my head.  Here are a few pictures I could scrounge up digging through boxes, most from my family's weddings, since my parents have copies :)  I put them in order of when they occurred. Happy Anniversary Karen and Alan (first photo)!!

Crazy day!

Today was so much fun!!  I can't wait to get the pictures from my brother-in-law, so I can post them!  We went to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.  Personally, I don't think it is worth full price admission, but since we got in free, it was a lot of fun!!  There is a movie coming out in September, "Dolphin Tale" based on the true story of the only dolphin to ever have lost it's tail and survive.  That dolphin is at the Aquarium.  Her name is Winter, and her story is fascinating!  I will tell more when I get the pictures posted, but I'm really excited to see the movie!  She plays herself in the movie too, so that is really cool :)  After the aquarium, we went to Chuck E Cheese.  It was a lot of fun!  If you sign up on their website, you get tons of free tokens and tickets and coupons and all that, so it was a great deal!  we had a blast!  We are all exhausted, but boy what a fun day!! 

Unexpected

It seems like whenever you plan something big, something always goes wrong!!  I guess that's why I shouldn't make any plans for anything.  We are in the process of figuring out if we should do something major or wait.  I guess the smart thing to do would be wait, but I'm not one for patience ;)  I am trying really hard to do what God wants us to do, but sometimes it is hard to know what His will is.  Some people say to jump into it and do something on faith.  Others say to wait until you know for sure what God's will is.  I feel so torn!  I want us to do the right thing, but who knows what that is!!  Oh to be a child, when you have no real problems to face!  It seems like kids want to grow up, and then when you grow up, you want to be young again!  I think we will make plans for the end of September, and see how God leads us.  If He closes the door, we know it wasn't meant to be, but if He provides for us, then we know it is His will.  I guess there is no harm in moving forward until you reach a closed door.  I am a little nervous to jump out there on faith, since you never know what could happen or go wrong. I probably am not making any sense right now, but oh well :)  I guess I am just scared if it works out, and scared if it doesn't.  Either way, there are pros and cons to stepping out on faith, or waiting.  This year has turned out very different than I ever planned it would.  Who could have guessed that our lives would be so completely different than they were just 6 months ago!!  I feel like this year has flown by, and yet has been dragging all at the same time!  I can't wait for 2012, I hope that year is calm and boring :) but knowing our family, that probably won't happen!

Pictures

I know I have been horrible about posting pictures of the family.  Our camera broke a long time ago and I have yet to replace it.  However, we are going to the aquarium Thursday with my brother-in-law, so I promise to make sure he brings his camera :)  I am looking forward to a fun day with the family.  We have been running around crazy lately, and I still have yet to finish organizing my parents house since our trip to NC.  Luckily that is my plan for while they are gone.  I got the girls room all cleaned up and boxes stacked neatly in the corner.  Next is Dylan's room.  Not too many boxes in there, since he would just climb on them and hurt himself!  But that just means it won't take long to organize.   After getting the house all organized, my focus will be on the baby shower!  I am planning a surprise for my sister, that I am praying will go well!!  I can't wait to see what happens, and I hope I get some good pictures!!  We'll see what happens :)

Ok, so I took a few pictures with my mom's camera before they left and was fiddling with the colors :)  Here they are:

Crazy couple of weeks!

I have a feeling, the next few weeks will be a whirlwind!  god has closed one door for us, but there are other possible open doors!!  I am anxious to see what will happen with them!  We have decided to short sale our house.  We are praying that it will sell quickly this way.  I was told that if we don't stop making payments it won't hurt our credit very much, which is a huge deal for us.  I personally could care less about our credit score, since we don't believe in using credit cards, and car loans and all that.  However, since Nathan needs security clearance for his job, he has to have good/excellent credit to maintain that.  So doing the short sale is a blessing, since it won't effect the score that much.  Anyway, we were approved and now we have a week or two to wait to get a price to list the house.  I am doing my part to move things along, and our specialist is very nice and helpful, which is a huge blessing!!  My parents and sister/brother-in-law are going to Alaska next week, I am so excited for them!!  Soon after they return, I am having a baby shower for my sister, right before they move to NC :(  I am so sad to see them move away, but so glad we have had such good times while we were together!!  Now I need to plan a trip to NC to see my new niece when she's born!!  Another sister of mine is moving with her family to the other side of the world.  Literally.  I don't think they could get any further.  I will miss them so much, I don't even want to think about it.  Although they have been in Germany for the past few years, that is nothing to being 32+ hrs away flying time.  I am so thankful for webcam and Vonnage!!  Both have helped us keep in touch, and I know we will put them to good use in the next few years as well.  Please keep our family in your prayers!  We always seem  to move at the same time, but never to the same place!!!  Nathan has some job advancement opportunities coming up.  I'm not sure if anything will happen or not.  He technically hasn't been there long enough, but God could work it out if he wants, so he's applying anyway!  God is good at all times!!  We are thankful to know that He has a perfect plan for us!  What a year it has been so far and we're only 1/2 way done with it!!

Father's Day

We don't normally celebrate "card" holidays, but I just wanted to say something about Father's Day.  Since there are so many broken homes, and so much chaos and disorder in this world, I just wanted to show thanks to the "father's" in my life.
1. My dad.  He was and is a great dad.  He would play baseball with us, take us bike riding, and share a bowl of popcorn with us while we watch movie's together.  He is a computer whiz and an AMAZING guitar player.  He was a godly example of what a loving father should be, and I really appreciate what he did and does for his family!
2. My husband.  Since living with my parents, we found out he is actually more like my mom than my dad, and I am more like my dad LOL.  Nathan is an amazing husband.  He never could be labeled lazy, he can fix anything, he is an amazing spiritual leader, and he is my best friend.  We have gone through so much, and he is the strength that I lean on.  I just love him so much.  I think he is a wonderful father!  Always playing with the kids, and showing them how to fix stuff on the car.  I love to watch him interact with the kids, they really do love him and look up to him!  I am so blessed :)
3. My God.  He deserves the #1 spot, but I wanted to mention him last, since He is most important.  He is all knowing, all loving, and always forgiving of my faults.  He is the true father we should be celebrating.  He is what your father was if your father was godly, or He is what your father should have if your father was lacking.  I see people that can't relate to God as a Daddy because of their childhood.  I am thankful that my childhood shows me the unconditional love of our Abba.  He loves us no matter what, and only wants us all to love His son and join Him in heaven.  He is the picture of perfection, and of peace.  He is the only one that is purely and completely good.  I love God more than anyone, and I cannot wait to meet Him one day and to show Him how much I love Him and to thank Him for loving me, even though I am so unworthy!!

Happy Father's Day everyone!!

Role playing

One of the things my family loves to do more than anything is role play.  We run around outside the house pretending to be pirates, knights, prince/princesses, good guy/bad guy, and pretty much any other scenario we can come up with.  Today, we were at the pool and we were playing Star Wars.  Wow, what a workout!!  Somehow I always end up as the "bad guy".  I have no idea why my kids would want me to play the part, but I guess I will go outside my comfort zone of niceness, and try my best to be bad ;)  The kids take their playing very seriously.  Sometimes we don't really get into it, but most of the time we could spend hours playing our parts.  We even make up our own skits and plays.  What great memories our kids will have of our family playing and spending time together.  I love it because it's sort of like exercising, but not (hehehe).  I love the looks on peoples faces when they walk by and see me holding a GI Joe gun, looking suspicious :)  I am exhausted from playing today, but happy because we spent quality time together as a family!  Now to go snuggle them to sleep!!

Date night

Just about every week since we got here, Nathan and I have gone out on a date.  Sometimes to somewhere nice, sometimes just for ice cream.  Either way, we have a great time and talk A LOT!  I think it's so important to have this time together.  We don't need a whole weekend alone, just a few hours to reconnect.  Last night we went to Dairy Queen.  I LOVE that place :)  It's so nice to be able to have a great time and still spend less than $10!  Nathan is such a good sport and would go anywhere with me.  Actually, we were supposed to eat at the galley at the Coast Guard base, but it was closed for remodeling.  It actually worked out better to go to DQ, since I was craving it!  We had a really good talk, smoothed out some rough edges, and planned our next vacation (which I LOVE to do!)  We really have a great relationship and I am so thankful for that.  I love dating my best friend and I love that no matter what issues we face, we can get through it and get closer from it.  I think everyone should date their spouse.  It really is a lot of fun :)

What is God's will?!?!?!

I always wonder if I am really in God's will and how to know if I am.   Well, I guess we just go on with life until a door closes in front of us.  We sometimes are shocked by the door closing, so you know it's from God!!  Sometimes, it seems like the door swings open and closed without ever letting you know for sure if you are on the right path or not.  That's how I feel right now.  Like I'm in the middle of a swinging door.  Do I go through?!  Do I go a different way?  Then I think of what our pastor said.  If you don't know if it's God's will.  Don't do anything!!  That makes a lot of sense.  If you aren't sure, then you shouldn't move.  So that is what we are trying to do.  Wait on the Lord.  There are so many "what if's" out there, that I don't know if/when they will be answered, but I know that if I want to be in the center of God's will, then I need to be still and patient.  Things are moving forward (slowly) with the house which is the biggest hurdle.  We know it will sell in God's timing, and I am trying hard to be content and not anxious.  We are very thankful for staying with my parents.  It's not stressful at all here, and the kids are getting so much closer to them.  What a huge blessing to have this opportunity for them to build fond memories with their loving grandparents!!  Not every child gets that, and I know they will cherish it forever!  We also have another opportunity from God, that I am praying fervently for.  I want to be a blessing to others, but only if God allows it and if it is His will for it to happen.  Maybe more later on that, we will see how God directs the steps.  I don't know what I would do without God's guidance.  I guess wander around aimlessly without any hope.  I am so thankful for God teaching me so much in the short months since our lives were turned upside down.  You never know what God has in store.  I love looking back and saying "Ohh, so THAT'S why things happened that way!!!"  What a blessing to be in His will and to see how things came together :)

2011 so far

This is what has happened so far this year:

January: Nathan applied for a job in Clearwater, FL (career change) not expecting anything to happen soon.
February: Moved with trailer full of stuff from NC to FL (while having chronic bronchitis) and my sister had a baby!!
March: Getting settled in FL, enjoying the sun and sand, Nathan got a second job, and we met friends at Disney!
April: Got membership to MOSI :) started bible study with a good friend, it was a lot of fun!  Nathan had a birthday, still in his 20's (grrr).  Found out my other sister is having a baby!!
May: My cousin came to visit, we had a blast!!  I turned another year older (sniff)
June: Went to NC to get the rest of our stuff, got news of a possible change to our family situation, still waiting/praying for the outcome.  Feeling closer to my family and to God than ever!!

So much has happened already, I can't believe this year is already almost 1/2 over!!  I can't wait to see what happens with the rest of the year!  Never a dull moment here!!

What was I thinking?!

I had this brilliant idea to stop drinking coffee.  Now I am thinking that was a bad idea!!  I really could have used it this past weekend, and even today to recover from this weekend.  (sigh!) I know I will be glad to be done with it, but I really miss it.  But not drinking it will save money, and calories!!  So I will try to resist the urge for a nice hot cup of Dunkin Doughnuts French Vanilla coffee.  Instead I will drink water (sigh!) Oh well, I will have to just find enjoyment in reading again, and not in my coffee!!  I do think I should have waited another week to quit, this was not the best timing IMO!

Back to FL

Well, we made it safely home last night and I am EXHAUSTED!!  We got the trailer unpacked, surprisingly most everything fit in my parents garage, so that was a huge blessing!!  Now to sort through all the boxes we have in the bedrooms, weed out what we can live without, and use what we really need.  Hopefully I can sell at least 1/3 of what we have inside the house.  We'll see what happens though!!  So much is going on in our lives right now.  It seems like it's either everything or nothing!  Right now it's everything.  I can't wait to sell the house so we can rent something else.  I also have a HUGE unspoken request.  We are praying for God's will, and for a definite YES or NO, so we know for sure what His will is.  I am so thankful that He guides our steps so perfectly!!  Nothing is too big for Him and His way is perfect!  I try to remind myself that when things get overwhelming!!  I am so tired right now, I cannot wait to get to bed!  I got my arm squished by the microwave yesterday so it still hurts pretty bad.  I'm glad I have a brace for it though!!  Hopefully it will heal quickly.  I am so blessed to have such great friends and family that helped us pack up and unload!!  I feel bad we could not see all of our friends, but we hope to make a "fun" trip to NC within the next few months.  I try to remember through all of this that God knows what is best for us, and won't give us something we cannot handle.  A prayer request for my sister who is in the hospital right now.  She will be there a few days.  We love her and we are praying for quick healing!!  I think that is everything right now.  The house is all clean, but the bedrooms are full of boxes LOL.  A task I will do tomorrow!  Off to bed now . . .

Packing like a maniac

So ends day 2 of our moving extravaganza!  Yesterday was pretty uneventful, which is very good when traveling!!  The girls were really well behaved, which was a huge blessing.  We heard the whole series of Adventures in Odyssey Novacom (it's 9 CD's!) who says you need a DVD player on road trips :)  Last night was nasty though.  We had to turn back on our water, that was not fun, not to mention the toilets were very dirty after the water was off for 4 months!!  With all that taken care of, we were very thankful to have a nice cozy bed to snuggle into!!  Today was very hectic and crazy.  The girls were off with friends/family which left Nathan and me to pack up the whole house.  Thank goodness for friends!!  They all came and helped us move the big stuff, cram the trailer full, and help figure out what we REALLY need and what we can live without.  That was the hardest part for me.  One of the big things we had to leave behind was our bedroom set and king sized bed.  They wouldn't fit in the trailer :(  Thank goodness for Craig's List!  I was able to sell the bedroom set, and only have the king bed left.  I'm glad to have it to sleep on tonight since I'm so tired, but I would love to sell it tomorrow!!  We weren't able to bring our Christmas stuff, but we could leave that at my sister's house.  We had A LOT of stuff to bring to her house.  I felt bad about leaving so much, when I got a call from her saying that we brought too much and Nathan needed to come and get some.   What a stinker, she was kidding, and was laughing so hard.  That was a good one!!  It's hard to pull a fast one on me, but she caught me in a vulnerable moment, and I assure you, it won't happen again ;)  Nathan and I promised each other not to fight during this stressful time and so far so good!!  We are a team and we're trying to not get upset with each other.  We could not have done all of this without our friends and my family!!  Thank you so much for all your help!!  We have so much done today, there is hardly anything left for tomorrow!!  I hope we aren't dragging when we are driving, I am really glad for the automatic suspension leveler (I'm sure it has some technical name, but that's what I call it!!)  I know we stuffed the trailer and the car to the max!  Well, off to bed, I'm exhausted.  Now the fun part to drive back 10 hrs to FL and unload everything!!  I hope we make it home without incident!!  I'll keep you posted!

Dreading the weekend

I really should be getting to bed, we have a LONG weekend ahead of us!!  We are driving to NC tomorrow, loading all our stuff in the trailer, and coming home in ONE weekend!!  Honestly, I wish it was over already!!  I am glad to get to see some friends and family, but I am horribly exhausted just thinking of the overwhelming task at hand.  I appreciate prayers so much!!  I know God has a plan, and His way is perfect!!  Speaking of His plans, I have a HUGE prayer request.  If you REALLY want to know, email me.  I don't want to post it right now, but it could be huge for our family, or it could not turn out the way we think it will.  Anyway, prayers for wisdom are definitely needed in the next coming weeks/months.  As long as we are following God we will be doing just fine :)  I feel like I'm getting a cold too, which really would not be good.  I'm praying it's just allergies, but we'll see.  I also got a big case of Oolong tea.  It's supposed to be good for you.  I am trying to quit the coffee.  The tea smells bad, like wood or something :P but it tastes fine.  I hope this will help me gain more energy and also get healthier :)  Well, I guess I will be off to bed.  Right after Nate gets home from work (around 10 AM) we will head out.  We're praying for a quick (haha) and safe trip up to NC without incident!!