Blessings

Have you ever had an experience or situation in your life in which you could see or feel the Lord just working out every.last.detail in your favor?  That happened to Brad and I this past year.  We have been trying to come up with plans to move from our first home for about a year now.  We tried selling it on our own and using a realtor to no avail.  We saw lots of homes that we wanted to make offers on, but ours would NEVER sell.  We would spend hours getting it ready to show to possible buyers, but each person would find ONE thing that they didn’t like, and it was EXTREMELY discouraging.  Then, Wagner was born and it felt like the house became even smaller!  Our urgency to move was at an all time high.  One night as Brad and I were sitting on our couch and I was browsing some homes online I found a STEAL of a deal that was a short sale and I showed it to him.  He liked it and so did I so we decided to go check it out.  We were expecting to find some type of major foundation or water issue, but surprisingly it was in great condition structurally, and just needed cosmetic work.  We went back to see it again two days later, and made an offer on it.  Our offer turned out to be one of SIX!  We waited for 2 LONG months before getting the official approval of the offer from the bank that was allowing the sellers to short sale.  During those two months we were told that the type of loan we were going to be getting had fallen through, and we would have to get a different type of loan.  We thought at that point we would just give the house up and continue looking.  When our agent called the listing agent to tell her we were going to resend our offer, she recommended we call another lender (even though they had five other offers on the home…she said she just had a feeling about us…she also happened to be a Christian), and sure enough he made it work.  I can imagine the Lord looking down on us and chuckling as we were panicking because HE knew that it would all come together.  On the other side of things we began trying to rent our home our DURING THE HOLIDAYS…not an easy task!  Who wants to move in the winter around Christmas time?? No one.  Except the perfect renters!  After many applicants that didn’t work out, the Lord led the perfect renters to us, and they asked if we would consider a two year lease…What??? Heck yes we would!  So, on December 28th we closed on a bigger home than we could ever imagine, and in a neighborhood that we could never have imagined living in!  And as an added bonus this home will allow us to pay off some of our student debt, and our rental will allow us to save for our kids’ college education.  We could never have planned something so wonderful for ourselves…it can ONLY be orchestrated by the one who loves us more than we could ever imagine! If you are trusting him for something, KEEP ON TRUSTING.  He loves you more than you can imagine and he is working in your VERY BEST interest.  Nothing is impossible for him, absolutely NOTHING!!

“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38

First Snow 2013

Last year Emery wasn’t too crazy about the snow, and this year was really no different.  She was excited to see it, and she played outside for a little bit, but she was ready to come in after about 30 minutes because she was too cold…she is her Mama’s daughter!  It may have been helpful if I had waterproof gloves or snow boots, but I forget to buy those things and really they’re a waste of money around here because we really don’t get that much snow normally.

Excited to go out…

Her favorite part may have been eating the snow ha!

Happy to be warm and inside :)

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…

This winter Brad signed Emery up for swimming lessons.  She LOVES them!  Last Saturday was her very first one, and she woke up and brought her bathing suit into our room and said “wake up guys, time for my swim lesson”.  The lessons mostly focus on safety and getting them comfortable with the water, but Emery has a BLAST! 

Daddy has gotten to get in with Emery the past two weeks, and I have hung out with this cutie pie!  I think next week will be Mommy’s turn to swim with Emery (if I can talk myself into putting on a bathing suit..yikes!)

Wagner 4 months

I cannot believe you are already four months old…where the heck has the time gone??? I do NOT like how fast it is going by! This month you experienced your first Christmas and a move from your first house, which is also when you transitioned into your own bed.  You continue to just have a contagiously happy smile and laugh.  At your appointment you were in the 50% for weight and the 90% for height.  The pediatrician was very impressed with your muscle tone.  Maybe that explains the fact that you can almost crawl, and that you can roll from one end of the room to the other in 2 seconds.  At Miss Joyce’s house you eat 8-10 ounce bottles twice a day and you nurse the other three feedings.  I can hardly keep up with how much you’re eating!! Hopefully its just a growth spurt.  You sleep on your belly no matter how many times I go into your room and roll you back onto your back.  This month you really started liking your paci, but don’t require it to be happy, although you are trying desperately to be a thumb sucker, and although its cute I’m trying to break you of that.  Emery frequently refers to you as her “little buddy”.  My favorite thing you do right now is watch me from anywhere in a room, your eyes are always on me making sure I’m close by.  You are quite the talker/squealer.  People are amazed with how vocal you are, and its so cute and funny!  You still have beautiful blue eyes, and your hair is growing really quickly and it sticks straight up…adorable!  Your eyelashes have really grown this month too, and I think they will be long like your sisters.  We all love you so much, and can’t wait to see how you grow and change this next month!!