Quick update

I won't be posting a whole lot over the weekend. We have friends from Canada coming to visit today for the weekend. We'll be heading to the museum tomorrow, so hopefully we'll get some good pictures!!
My horrible headache is doing so much better today. Thank you to those who were praying. I had hubby massage my neck and the sore muscle (which was very painful). It brought my headache on really strong as we headed to bed but this morning I think it actually worked some! I've been icing and heating it throughout the day, so hopefully it will get worked out within the next few days :)
So I'm praying we will have a really good weekend, no pain and hopefully little morning sickness (at 15 weeks I'm still battling it each morning)....but on a side note, I think I'm actually feeling little movements!! How awesome :)

Fun and not so fun

I'll start with the fun stuff first. Here are some pics of what the kids love doing outside! Catching grasshoppers. They do not like, however, when the grasshoppers pee on them as a defense mechanism :) But they still go after them and love running to show mommy and daddy their finds!

On the not so fun side, I have had one HORRIBLE headache for 5 days now. I took Tylenol 3 days in a row, but am really trying not to take anymore (for baby's sake). When you think of me, please pray this headache (and neck pain) will go away. It's worse than the typical sinus headache I usually get.....it's been rough :)

Some pics

Here are a few updated pics. This is our backyard. It is all uphill but you can see how close the deer get. They are usually infront of the barn or off to the side. Here's a few shots of our littlest one since she is the only one I can get still. The others are just too full of energy to stand for a photo when playing outside :)

Back 'home'

We made a quick trip south to spend time with family and enjoyed seeing all our 'church' family as well Sunday morning. It was such a nice feeling to know we've been missed so much and that people are still continuing to pray for us and the sale of our house. We were able to see both our neighbors, and the kids got to visit with the chickens as well :) We had a little birthday celebration for hubby which was nice. Now we are back 'home' and heading into a new week. Hopefully this headache I've had for the past several days will finally go away.....

Back 'home'

I thought since today we were heading back to the sunny south to celebrate hubby's birthday with his family, I would post a picture of someone we left back in the south. This is a very dear friend of our daughter's. He started coming to our church when our daughter was 4 years old. We soon found out that he had lost his daughter when she was 4 years old. The two of them hit it off immediately and she sat beside him almost every single Sunday and Wednesday service for the next 4 years! He told us many times that God knew he needed her in his life. Our daughter keeps in contact with him through letters and phone calls and he proudly displays her picture in his kitchen :) We miss you dear friend!
And since I won't be posting this weekend....Happy Birthday my dear hubby! I am so very proud of you. You are such a wonderful example to myself and your family. These past several months have not been easy BUT you have been determined, despite any obstacle or discouragement, to follow God's call and do what your Heavenly Father has asked you to do. I know it was a huge step out of your comfort zone, but you continue to proclaim that we serve a faithful God and He will see us through!! I love you!

Today's pics

Today's pics are from yesterday morning. I came downstairs and started to take the sheet down from our backyard french doors (no curtains on it yet) and there was a female deer staring right at me!! This one the kids nicknamed dandelion (don't ask me!!!) She stayed in the yard for over 20 mins just grazing and watching us.....it was awesome! Even when the kids were noisy at the door, she would just lift her head and look at us. What finally got her to leave, you ask???? The video explains it all :)


Here's some pics.....This is Fred

This is Dandelion

Some pics

Now that I can download my pictures and post them....I'm not sure what to post about first!! I thought I'd start with our poor girl. This happened yesterday and I'm not even really sure what happened. All I saw was our 4 year old falling flat on top of our girl and I think she was holding a G.I.Joe type toy which must have been squished up against her eye. She was NOT a happy camper and cried for awhile afterward. It has continued to get worse and more purple, poor girl. I'm hoping the swelling has finally stopped because soon she won't be able to see!! She is very happy today though and only gets upset when she is tired and tries to rub her eye....must really hurt! She won't let her brother forget either because several times she has gone up to him, patting him on the chest and pointing to her eye. Kinda funny!

Good day!

Today I had my first prenatal appointment here.....yes, we are expecting #5!! We heard the beautiful sound of a heart beating and our big girl was even asked to assist the doctor today :) He was a very nice man (who is expecting their 4th child) and he asked if any of the kids wanted to help find a heartbeat. Our girl JUMPED at the chance with much excitement!! Our estimated due date is around April 15 which puts me at 13 weeks right now. We have a divided household with sisters wanting another sister, and brothers wanting another brother. They'll have to wait about 8 more weeks to find out!

Better week ahead

Last week ended awful! Friday I woke up with vertigo. I've had it once before and this episode wasn't as bad but it was still a very rough weekend. Even today if I bend down or turn quickly, I get a little off balance.

Needless to say, I didn't go to church on Sunday. Hubby took the 3 oldest back to the church we visited last week. The kids came home again with story after story of friends they've made and who they talked with. They are really enjoying this church!! Hubby found out that one family lives at the end of our street. They were disappointed to find out we were only renting for 6 months :) They even stopped by Sunday afternoon to bring over muffins and see how I was doing. How sweet!!! We had a very nice chat with them and enjoyed their company.

In other news, hubby had their staff photo taken last week. Can you find him??? Click on the image to make it bigger (hint: right side, red shirt)

Ken Ham is front and center (7th from the left, front row)

Hubby's boss - the CEO of the computer division (second row, first one on left)

Some pics from the past 2 weeks

What have we been doing since we got here? (These are taken from the phone).....

waiting for Daddy to come home from work.....


they look sweet ..... but.....



lots of reading going on (with no t.v. in the house!! Yay!)


and even a pillow fight or two...what was I thinking???

We have internet!!

So....hubby calls the phone company yesterday and they said they'd be here to hook up our internet sometime before 9pm. We waited and no one showed up, so off to bed we went. We were awakened at 10:45pm by a phone call "yeah, hey, I know it's pitch black out but we're in your driveway if you want us to hook up your internet"

.........huh????? I guess that's the way they do things here? Anyway, by 11:30 we were up and running (and then off to bed again) Now to get some pictures ready!!

Church

Yesterday we went to our first church service here. We enjoyed so much about the little place we went. There were about 40-45 people (more children than adults!!) and it was an integrated service which means the children of all ages stay in service (no children's ministry). What a wonderful environment!!! An 11 year old girl came and sat beside our daughter and shared her hymnbook with her throughout the song service. In just the short time after church, the kids met so many children and had fun playing while we talked with other couples. There are 3 men that go there that work at hubby's work. It was nice meeting their families :) Everyone was soooooo friendly, even the children. We had young kids coming up to us introducing themselves and asking our names. All the kids were so well behaved through the service. Only a few little ones (under 2) went upstairs with their mommies during the service. They have a room with baby monitors so you can still hear the message if you have to take your child out. The pastor during his message would stop at an important part and address the children, explaining what something meant, or how it would affect them as they get older etc. It was just sooooo neat! We really enjoyed it. Our daughter asked when we were going back....I think they liked it too!!

And now life...

Things are going well! Hubby is really, really enjoying work! He didn't know how the transition was going to be back to a full-time-away-from-home job position (he was rather enjoying the freedom of self-employment) but he is really enjoying his coworkers and work environment. I'm so happy for him!!

We have dug out a bunch of our school books and are trying to get back to a full day of school. I've added our 3rd child to the mix (light work) and he is enjoying it. Actually I think he enjoys the 'cookie' reward for good work the most :) My biggest challenge is keeping the littlest one out of trouble while all the school work is going on!! She is a sneaky one :)

We are still SLOWLY unpacking and organizing. The kitchen is mostly piled up boxes right now, and the den down stairs is a storage unit instead of homeschool room. I thought the kids would like having a girls room and boys room now (they all slept in one room before) BUT they miss being with each other....how funny.

I can't post any pics yet, but once we get phone and internet here I've got plenty to post about. Our first day of school on Monday started with a friend the kids have nicknamed "Fred". A beautiful male deer was in the backyard and just stood watching us for several minutes! He has yet to return but we look for him every morning :)
I'll keep you updated..........

We're here!

Just wanted to let you all know we have arrived safely, we're unpacking and organizing, getting settled in! Hubby's first day on the job is tomorrow. We are adjusting to all the newness....hopefully it won't be long until we are into a routine once again. Anxious to find all the school books so we can get school underway again. The kids have had quite a nice break over the past month!!! Hopefully we'll be able to post some pics soon :) Thanks for all the continued prayer....we appreciate it!

Movin'!

We get the moving van tomorrow! The rental property came through for us and we ALL get to go together as a family....Praise the Lord!!

Please continue to prayer for our house to be sold.

Hubby's first day is on Monday. I'm so excited for him :)

Eggs!

We finally have eggs!! The kids were out with their friends trying to round up the chickens for the night and it was one of the girls who found them! They are looking forward to a delicious breakfast tomorrow morning :)

Finally some PICS!

It's about time huh! Here is a pic of our 4 year old boy today! We celebrated his birthday last week but today he is officially FOUR! He is such a loving boy but shy in public, and starting to get a bit mischievous :) He is such a sweet blessing to our family!

Here is a pic taken on Sunday. They are all getting so big!!

Waiting....

Not much to report on lately. No showings for the house, haven't found anything where we're headed yet.....and there is only a week and a half left before hubby's first day of work! We give it all over to God and wait for Him :)

Our church family did unexpectedly present us with a handful of cards on Sunday with generous financial gifts for our moving expences. We will miss them tremendously!! Thank you Lord for these precious people in our lives!

First showing UPDATE

We had our first house showing today!! Continuing to pray that God will bring the right buyer to us!

....they said another house was a better fit for them :( So we still wait.....

House

Not alot to update on. House has been on the market now for a week and we haven't had anyone come through yet. I'm hoping it is because it was the holiday weekend.....keep praying!!

For Sale

Look what's in our yard!!!!!!!

Quick update

That's all I seem to be posting about lately....quick updates here and there. We have most of our computer stuff packed up so I can't post pictures.
So our quick update is that the realtor is coming by today to put the house on the market.
We will also be scouting properties for our new location soon.
Everyone came down with a bad head cold last week. I'm the last one to go through it and am starting to feel better. Into the rough coughing phase....no fun!
Hubby and I celebrated our 13th anniversary yesterday. God blessed me with such a wonderful husband!!
We continue to pray for a quick sale!

Back home!

The painter arrived Monday morning and finished this afternoon! What a bright, clean looking house :) Now we tidy up and organize to get pictures done for the listing, and get this house on the market!!
We had a nice week at my brother and sister-in-law's house while the painter was working hard. Thank you for the stay!

Paint!

Painter is coming in the morning. Hopefully by the end of the week, we will have a brand new looking house :) Off to spend some time with family so we don't have to smell the paint fumes!!!

Also had such a wonderful visit with our 2 sets of neighbors tonight. We are sure going to miss both of them!

First tooth

Some exciting news tonight. As daddy was brushing our boys' teeth, he comes running to me saying that his tooth is really, really loose. Sure enough, it was ready to come out, but our boy did not want it pulled! After some coaxing and tears, he let mommy play with it for a minute or two, and out it popped. A very happy boy after the fact.......and a mommy who has yet another child growing up all too fast!

Short update

I have little to update. We are still moving stuff to storage, which is almost at full capacity now :) This weekend, we are getting as much moved out as possible for the painter to come. He will hopefully have our house looking brand new by the end of next week!! Then onto the market! With 5 weeks to go before our start date....we still have much to do!

movin, movin, movin....

We are starting to move boxes into our storage unit. We are seriously trying to declutter the house as much as possible. We had the movers come by this week for an estimate....whoa! We had the realtor come by with a to-do-list of improvements for selling....double whoa! And the painter should be coming by this afternoon for an estimate to paint several rooms....(I don't even want to think about it!!! WHOA!)
I don't know how God is going to work this all out, but I have faith that He already has :) Our God is so good and I continue to see His blessings on our lives. He has always seen us through every situation and I know He will continue to do so. We look forward to the great things He has in store for us.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. The sale of our house and a place to move into are our biggest prayer requests at the moment. I want to see God do some great things....to show Himself marvelous. In this type of economy, heading into the down season of home sales, it is only He who can bring the right buyer to us, especially in the short amount of time we have to move! I look forward to what is going to happen............

Where have I been?

I have not disappeared, well I have disappeared between the numerous boxes that are cluttering my house at the moment! Our official announcement is.....we are moving!! Out of state! Hubby has accepted a job offer and we will be heading out mid September. I have been packing like mad and trying to clean....we really need to get the house on the market soon! We are asking for prayer that our house will sell quickly and the Lord will provide a home for us to move into. Things need to happen very quickly and we know that God is in control of the whole situation. We are excited to see what God has in store for us :)

Pet love

Yes, they love their pets.....

Morning Visitors

These chickens are so funny! Their pen is down in the backyard. The whole wooded area you see in the picture is fenced. They have a big space to roam around. The fence is also 4 ft high. Many mornings we sit down to breakfast and see these chickens looking in our window! This means they have flown out of their fence, walked up the stairs and know where to find us....I think it's hilarious!

you see how high our deck is from the backyard
and how many stairs they have to climb

teasing them with toast :)

My cowgirl

I've got the cutest cowgirl......

Happy 88th!

A very special Happy Birthday to my Grandpa N. Wish we were there to help you celebrate. Continuing to pray for you and thinking of you often! Love you :)
Grandpa with his great granddaughter

FINALLY!

Look at what I captured today!!!!!!! Oh, I've been waiting ALL summer for this!

The making of a dinosaur

The kids each got some money to spend at the Creation Museum and this is one item our 6 yr old purchased. He had so much fun putting it all together (with mommy's help)...