Well, I'm sorry to say, but it looks as if we don't have a house after all. The inspection was done on Monday and some fairly big problems were discovered (primarily, the need for a new roof). As we found out in the negotiating process, the owners just won't budge much on the price. They need to come down several thousand in order for us to be able to do the repairs and still be able to afford it. It just doesn't look like it's going to happen. Soooooo, here we are...back at square 1.
To say that we're not super disappointed and discouraged would be lying. We are. But at the same time, we are completely trusting that God is in control. More than wanting a house, we want His protection. We fully expect to look back at this whole situation someday and say "Ohhhhh....so that's why that all happened like that!"
Ummm...so, yeah, the last month has been pretty rough. Things just haven't happened quite like we had expected. Yet, at the same time, God has continued to confirm His calling--we know that we know that we know that we're supposed to be here...and we're so grateful for that continued assurance!
There's definitely been days that I haven't lived like I know this, but I was reminded the other day that our JOY is NOT dependent on our circumstances. JOY is a gift of the Holy Spirit and is completely detached from whatever is going on in our lives. So as a follower of Jesus, we can still be JOYFUL even when life is not much fun! What a timely and much-needed reminder! :o)
We are continuing with the house hunt, but with less urgency now. At this point, with Christmas break and a conference in Colorado immediately after Christmas, it's not possible for us to get into a house before January. The family we're living with is still planning on leaving January 7th, although we've been told things could very possibly change again to a later date. We are thinking we'll just stay there until we find a house, possibly as late as May (which is when the family will return from the Netherlands).
Anyway, that's the scoop on our lives right now. Someday (hopefully soon) I'll post again to say that we've found a house for real! Maybe next time I should wait until AFTER the inspection, huh? :o) It's definitely been an emotional roller coaster for us....maybe you got a little piece of the ride with us. Thanks for being excited for us and with us. We'll keep you posted...
We love you all!! :o) Please keep in touch!! You may know what it's like to be in a new place...It always brings a smile to our face when we hear from an old friend.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
WOOHOO!!! Just letting you know that we got the house!!! :o) Our closing date is December 12th, and possession date is the 14th!! We're super excited and once again are so grateful for the Lord's provision in our lives! Because of Brett's Papa, we have a great downpayment, thus making our monthly payments very realistic for us. Thanks for all the prayers! We love you all!
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Hey there everyone! Well, we're here! The past 2 weeks here in Wichita have been SUPER BUSY for us...and the 2 weeks (or month) before that were even CRAZIER!! I feel like the last 2 months have been so full, emotional, and hectic that they're almost a BLUR! Moving is NOT fun and NOT easy!!!
I wish that I could report that we are all settled in and calling Wichita home already, but not so much! The day before we left Waco, Brett found out that plans had changed (again) for the family that we were supposed to house-sit for. Now, they will not be leaving for the Netherlands until January. We decided that an overlap of 2 months with this family, plus the 4 months of house-sitting (total of 6 months in someone else's house), was a bit too long for us. We believe God has asked us to be here for now, and we are ready to start being able to call this home. The sooner we get into our own place, the sooner we'll be able to feel like this is home (hopefully). So we immediately began house-hunting once we got here. We have found a house that we're super excited about. We've made an offer and then they counter-offered (it's gone back and forth so far about 4 times). We're hoping to have a closing date of December 15 or sooner. We're desperately wanting to see a light at the end of the tunnel (which probably won't come until after Christmas). So far, there's been ZERO routines or "NORMAL DAYS." And believe me, we're really ready for that!
Emma sure is having fun playing with all the kiddos around her! The family we're living with has 3 kids (2 boys and a girl). We've also spent lots of time with some of our friend's children...Hudson and Hannah (twin 3 year olds), and Zoe (about 2 months old). Plus she gets to play in the nursery at church and at the Y. It's been fun for her!
Here's a few random things I wanted to share:
I wish that I could report that we are all settled in and calling Wichita home already, but not so much! The day before we left Waco, Brett found out that plans had changed (again) for the family that we were supposed to house-sit for. Now, they will not be leaving for the Netherlands until January. We decided that an overlap of 2 months with this family, plus the 4 months of house-sitting (total of 6 months in someone else's house), was a bit too long for us. We believe God has asked us to be here for now, and we are ready to start being able to call this home. The sooner we get into our own place, the sooner we'll be able to feel like this is home (hopefully). So we immediately began house-hunting once we got here. We have found a house that we're super excited about. We've made an offer and then they counter-offered (it's gone back and forth so far about 4 times). We're hoping to have a closing date of December 15 or sooner. We're desperately wanting to see a light at the end of the tunnel (which probably won't come until after Christmas). So far, there's been ZERO routines or "NORMAL DAYS." And believe me, we're really ready for that!
Emma sure is having fun playing with all the kiddos around her! The family we're living with has 3 kids (2 boys and a girl). We've also spent lots of time with some of our friend's children...Hudson and Hannah (twin 3 year olds), and Zoe (about 2 months old). Plus she gets to play in the nursery at church and at the Y. It's been fun for her!
Here's a few random things I wanted to share:
- We'll be sending out a newsletter after Thanksgiving with more details about our time in Wichita so far (and I'll hopefully be able to include our new address in it so that we won't have to use someone else's address for Christmas cards!!)
- For now, we've decided to stay with AT&T and keep our same phone numbers (at some point our #s will change, but not as soon as we expected). Also, we have no intentions of ever changing our email addresses, so hopefully that will always be a good way to contact us...of course, Brett's better at checking email than me :o)
- The camera dock got put in storage so this blog (and probably any posts thru December) will not have pictures. It stinks because I have several that I'd like to share! Oh well!
I'll try to blog again sometime in the next month, but no promises! With the holidays approaching, life can only get crazier, right? :o)
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Update on the move
PACKING, Packing, packing!!!!! 32 boxes and counting! When I look at all the boxes, I think "WOW!! I think we're doing alright!!" Then I step outside "the box room" and see everything else that still needs to be packed. We did clear out quite a bit of stuff at our garage sale this last weekend, but there's still so much STUFF left to pack!! Overwhelming! That's the only word to describe this thing called "moving."
Our "Box Room"
As with so many other things (blogging, chores around the house, checking email/facebook, etc.), I only have a certain amount of time each day that I can spend packing (namely Emma's nap time, when she's at PDO, or after she's in bed for the night). It will all get done, I know. I'm just trying to stay on top of things so that we can actually get some sleep the night before we hit the road.
By the way, we'll be leaving 7am (ish) on Friday, November 2nd. We're hoping to have EVERYTHING packed in the moving van by Thursday night. We'll be sleeping in our sleeping bags in Emma's room (the only carpeted room in our house), and Emma will be in the pack'n'play in our room. The next morning we'll load up and head to Wichita...hoping to grab one last authentic breakfast taco from our favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant before starting the 6+ hour drive....we're already missing Mexican food!!!
This next week will be our last Sunday at Brazos Meadows (as members, anyway). We're so sad!! I had no idea how hard this would be. We've both shed a lot of tears already. This Sunday will be especially emotional, I'm sure. Not only is it our last Sunday, but we will see our family for the last time on Sunday. They're all coming in town that night because Brett will be getting ordained that evening. Then the church will be having a farewell reception for us. It will be an emotional kind of day, I'm sure!
COOL STORY:
Okay, so some of you already know about this, but here's the story for those of you we have not had a chance to tell...
Common question people are asking us right now..."Do y'all have a place to stay once you get up there?" YES!! We have been offered the opportunity to house-sit for a family that will be in the Netherlands for 4 months. We're so excited and grateful!! We really see this as a blessing, the Lord's provision, and confirmation. This will give us 4 months to find the right house and learn what part of the city we want to live in. Plus, the family we're house-sitting for is not even allowing us to pay any bills while we stay there! What a blessing to be able to save up a little bit as we enter into this support-raise position!! We totally see this as a gift from Him!
The tricky part....
1.) packing/labeling some things in such a way that we won't see them again until we get into our own house in 4 months
AND
2.) trying to think ahead and pack separately all the things we DO need for the next 4 months.
I'm wondering if I'm going to be tempted to have another garage sale as soon as we move into our new place....opening up all these boxes and thinking...."hmmm, I haven't seen all these things in 4 months, and I didn't even really miss them or remember them."
At the same time, I can really picture how good it will feel to unpack all of our stuff after not seeing it for so long.....I bet it will really make us feel more "at home," if that make any sense.
I guess we'll see! :o)
Sorry about not having any Emma pics....I haven't been so good about picking up the camera lately. I'll try to post some soon.
Love you all!!
Our "Box Room"
As with so many other things (blogging, chores around the house, checking email/facebook, etc.), I only have a certain amount of time each day that I can spend packing (namely Emma's nap time, when she's at PDO, or after she's in bed for the night). It will all get done, I know. I'm just trying to stay on top of things so that we can actually get some sleep the night before we hit the road.
By the way, we'll be leaving 7am (ish) on Friday, November 2nd. We're hoping to have EVERYTHING packed in the moving van by Thursday night. We'll be sleeping in our sleeping bags in Emma's room (the only carpeted room in our house), and Emma will be in the pack'n'play in our room. The next morning we'll load up and head to Wichita...hoping to grab one last authentic breakfast taco from our favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant before starting the 6+ hour drive....we're already missing Mexican food!!!
This next week will be our last Sunday at Brazos Meadows (as members, anyway). We're so sad!! I had no idea how hard this would be. We've both shed a lot of tears already. This Sunday will be especially emotional, I'm sure. Not only is it our last Sunday, but we will see our family for the last time on Sunday. They're all coming in town that night because Brett will be getting ordained that evening. Then the church will be having a farewell reception for us. It will be an emotional kind of day, I'm sure!
COOL STORY:
Okay, so some of you already know about this, but here's the story for those of you we have not had a chance to tell...
Common question people are asking us right now..."Do y'all have a place to stay once you get up there?" YES!! We have been offered the opportunity to house-sit for a family that will be in the Netherlands for 4 months. We're so excited and grateful!! We really see this as a blessing, the Lord's provision, and confirmation. This will give us 4 months to find the right house and learn what part of the city we want to live in. Plus, the family we're house-sitting for is not even allowing us to pay any bills while we stay there! What a blessing to be able to save up a little bit as we enter into this support-raise position!! We totally see this as a gift from Him!
The tricky part....
1.) packing/labeling some things in such a way that we won't see them again until we get into our own house in 4 months
AND
2.) trying to think ahead and pack separately all the things we DO need for the next 4 months.
I'm wondering if I'm going to be tempted to have another garage sale as soon as we move into our new place....opening up all these boxes and thinking...."hmmm, I haven't seen all these things in 4 months, and I didn't even really miss them or remember them."
At the same time, I can really picture how good it will feel to unpack all of our stuff after not seeing it for so long.....I bet it will really make us feel more "at home," if that make any sense.
I guess we'll see! :o)
Sorry about not having any Emma pics....I haven't been so good about picking up the camera lately. I'll try to post some soon.
Love you all!!
Monday, October 01, 2007
Hey there! Hope all is well in your world! Still "normal" life around the Spivey house. I've packed 2 boxes worth of stuff and you cannot even tell that anything is different in our house....I'm not looking forward to packing; we've accumulated a lot of STUFF in 4 years! Our friends from Boston, Jeremy and Chelsea, will be staying with us this weekend so I'm kinda holding off on doing too much packing until after they leave (I figured our house wouldn't feel very warm and cozy with boxes everywhere).
Anyway, I've been introduced to the world of Facebook!! I'm loving getting connected with old friends and reading people's profiles and stuff. It's addictive! I dragged my feet for a long time with Facebook....I didn't WANT to know about it or get interested in it because I didn't want to take away from my newest "hobby"--blogging (please, stop laughing). Now that I'm getting the hang of it, though, I think it's very do-able (even for me) to keep up Facebook and the blog. Just FYI, I'm still not so good with checking email....I guess I should have gotten the whole email thing down first before I picked up something new. Oh well! :o)
Story #1:
It was bath time and I did my normal routine of getting Emma ready for her bath. I start by running the water, plugging the tub, getting the right temperature, etc. (In the mean time, Emma stands beside me trying to climb over the side of the tub because she can hardly wait to get in!) Then I strip her down, recheck the water temperature, throw her toys in and put her in the water. Well, somewhere between stripping her down and putting her in the tub, she pees. So she's standing in this puddle saying, "uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh!" So we talk about the accident, I sit her on her little potty, clean up the mess, then put her in the tub. She plays for about 5 minutes and then I hear "uh-oh" as she's looking down at herself. Before I can get her out of the tub and to the potty, I see "the uh-oh" floating around. Yep! She pooped in the tub! (She's done this once...as an infant, in her infant tub, so it wasn't near as big of a deal). So I quickly take her out, drain the water, and clean the tub and toys. In the mean time, Emma is standing at the edge of the tub pointing at the poop and telling it "no, no! ba-ba...no, no! (ba-ba is how she says potty). Whew! Clean water, clean tub and clean toys, so we start all over. Seconds after I have her back in the water, I notice "part 2." So I had to repeat all of the above steps. I called it quits after that....quickly got her bathed and put a diaper on her! It was exhausting! Funny now, NOT funny at the time!
Story # 2:
It's never been a good thing to hear "uh-oh" through the monitor first thing in the morning! Usually, it means she's poopy. Well, this time she was poopy AND CURIOUS! I walked in to get her and she's got one hand down her pants and was holding the other hand out to me....full of poop!!! It was pretty gross, I must say! Luckily, she didn't DO anything with the poop in her crib, although I'm sure if I hadn't come and got her when I did, we might have had an even bigger mess to clean! Later that same day, her and I were playing on the floor in her room and she did it again!!! I've heard several similar stories from people since this has happened...some of which were WAY worse than what Emma did (which makes me feel a little better for some reason). Evidently, this is "just a phase" that some kids go through. Hopefully, it won't last too long.
Sorry if I grossed anybody out! This certainly wasn't funny to us when it all happened, but we're laughing about it now.
BTW, potty training overall has slowed down. She still uses her big girl potty every once in a while, but she doesn't seem as interested as she was before we went to Boston/New York. I'm certainly not pushing the issue....I think she's right where she needs to be for being 19 months.
Anyway, I've been introduced to the world of Facebook!! I'm loving getting connected with old friends and reading people's profiles and stuff. It's addictive! I dragged my feet for a long time with Facebook....I didn't WANT to know about it or get interested in it because I didn't want to take away from my newest "hobby"--blogging (please, stop laughing). Now that I'm getting the hang of it, though, I think it's very do-able (even for me) to keep up Facebook and the blog. Just FYI, I'm still not so good with checking email....I guess I should have gotten the whole email thing down first before I picked up something new. Oh well! :o)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, Emma had 2 funny potty incidents this week. WARNING: Some of you may find this gross, not humorous....feel free to skip over this section if you don't like this sort of thing! :O)Story #1:
It was bath time and I did my normal routine of getting Emma ready for her bath. I start by running the water, plugging the tub, getting the right temperature, etc. (In the mean time, Emma stands beside me trying to climb over the side of the tub because she can hardly wait to get in!) Then I strip her down, recheck the water temperature, throw her toys in and put her in the water. Well, somewhere between stripping her down and putting her in the tub, she pees. So she's standing in this puddle saying, "uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh!" So we talk about the accident, I sit her on her little potty, clean up the mess, then put her in the tub. She plays for about 5 minutes and then I hear "uh-oh" as she's looking down at herself. Before I can get her out of the tub and to the potty, I see "the uh-oh" floating around. Yep! She pooped in the tub! (She's done this once...as an infant, in her infant tub, so it wasn't near as big of a deal). So I quickly take her out, drain the water, and clean the tub and toys. In the mean time, Emma is standing at the edge of the tub pointing at the poop and telling it "no, no! ba-ba...no, no! (ba-ba is how she says potty). Whew! Clean water, clean tub and clean toys, so we start all over. Seconds after I have her back in the water, I notice "part 2." So I had to repeat all of the above steps. I called it quits after that....quickly got her bathed and put a diaper on her! It was exhausting! Funny now, NOT funny at the time!
Story # 2:
It's never been a good thing to hear "uh-oh" through the monitor first thing in the morning! Usually, it means she's poopy. Well, this time she was poopy AND CURIOUS! I walked in to get her and she's got one hand down her pants and was holding the other hand out to me....full of poop!!! It was pretty gross, I must say! Luckily, she didn't DO anything with the poop in her crib, although I'm sure if I hadn't come and got her when I did, we might have had an even bigger mess to clean! Later that same day, her and I were playing on the floor in her room and she did it again!!! I've heard several similar stories from people since this has happened...some of which were WAY worse than what Emma did (which makes me feel a little better for some reason). Evidently, this is "just a phase" that some kids go through. Hopefully, it won't last too long.
Sorry if I grossed anybody out! This certainly wasn't funny to us when it all happened, but we're laughing about it now.
BTW, potty training overall has slowed down. She still uses her big girl potty every once in a while, but she doesn't seem as interested as she was before we went to Boston/New York. I'm certainly not pushing the issue....I think she's right where she needs to be for being 19 months.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's a few pictures of the little stinker! :O)
She grabbed her little purse, walked over to the door, and started waving and telling me "bye!" So we put our shoes on and went for a walk. I couldn't get her to stand still, look at me, AND smile all at the same time, but here's our little girly-girl. And she is ALL GIRL, let me tell you! Purses, jewelry, shoes....she loves them all!! (Thanks to the grandmas! :o) We are in trouble!!
A couple of Saturdays ago, Emma got to watch her Uncle Sloan ride horses and rope steers. A few days afterwards, (all on her own!!) she went in her room, got this sheep, and began sitting on it. Brett says this picture is of Emma "mutton busting." :o)
Ummmm....yeah.....The stickers and bracelets are kinda weird, I know! She's really into stickers right now, and like I said before, she loves wearing jewelery (just around the house, though. We don't take her out in public like this, in case you were wondering!) :o)
Ever seen one of these? It's a crib tent (AKA a "baby cage"). It keeps little climbers, like our sweet Emma Joy, safe and secure inside their crib. With Emma being such a climber, and us not being ready for the transition to a toddler bed yet, this was our best option. THUMP, silence, scream....not a good sound to hear from your baby's room at night. This little contraption has been WONDERFUL!! She loves it! And so do we! We're very thankful that she'll be staying in a crib for a while longer!
BELOW: We love reading books to/with Emma. Here's a glimpse at how SHE READS BOOKS TO US! It's hilarious! She says all this gibberish and cracks herself up. Enjoy!
BELOW: Here's a new fun game....rolling the ball back and forth. She gets such a kick out of it! She "turns silly" real fast, as you can see!
'til next time! :o)
Here's a few pictures of the little stinker! :O)
She grabbed her little purse, walked over to the door, and started waving and telling me "bye!" So we put our shoes on and went for a walk. I couldn't get her to stand still, look at me, AND smile all at the same time, but here's our little girly-girl. And she is ALL GIRL, let me tell you! Purses, jewelry, shoes....she loves them all!! (Thanks to the grandmas! :o) We are in trouble!!
A couple of Saturdays ago, Emma got to watch her Uncle Sloan ride horses and rope steers. A few days afterwards, (all on her own!!) she went in her room, got this sheep, and began sitting on it. Brett says this picture is of Emma "mutton busting." :o)
Ummmm....yeah.....The stickers and bracelets are kinda weird, I know! She's really into stickers right now, and like I said before, she loves wearing jewelery (just around the house, though. We don't take her out in public like this, in case you were wondering!) :o)
Ever seen one of these? It's a crib tent (AKA a "baby cage"). It keeps little climbers, like our sweet Emma Joy, safe and secure inside their crib. With Emma being such a climber, and us not being ready for the transition to a toddler bed yet, this was our best option. THUMP, silence, scream....not a good sound to hear from your baby's room at night. This little contraption has been WONDERFUL!! She loves it! And so do we! We're very thankful that she'll be staying in a crib for a while longer!
BELOW: We love reading books to/with Emma. Here's a glimpse at how SHE READS BOOKS TO US! It's hilarious! She says all this gibberish and cracks herself up. Enjoy!
BELOW: Here's a new fun game....rolling the ball back and forth. She gets such a kick out of it! She "turns silly" real fast, as you can see!
'til next time! :o)
Friday, September 21, 2007
It works again!
I just wanted to let everyone know that the email links now work. I had to do some format changes, but got it working again. beta versions always makes life easier, right?
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Hey Michelle!! Thanks for your comment and for keeping up with us through our blog. I don't have another way to contact you, but now that I know you still check our blog, I know you'll get this. :o) How come I can't go to your blog anymore? I've had it bookmarked all this time, but it says "page not found." I want to see pics of Paige!! She must be so big by now!! By the way, I noticed that the photographer over there off of Wooded Acres still has Paige's pictures in the window as her sample pics. She's too cute!! Let me know if y'all have another blogspot or something.
**To Everyone!!** :o)
The last post said something about clicking on our "email Brett" and "email Julz" links, but Brett just checked them and realized that they're not working anymore. He'll work on that and will hopefully have them fixed soon. :o)
**To Everyone!!** :o)
The last post said something about clicking on our "email Brett" and "email Julz" links, but Brett just checked them and realized that they're not working anymore. He'll work on that and will hopefully have them fixed soon. :o)
Update on the move (kinda)
I'm still in one of those BLAH kind of moods, but I'm better than earlier. I took some headache medicine, curled up in bed, and had a real good cry. Sometimes you just need those, I guess. Then I read Philippians. It was good. God really spoke some things to me, and I am thankful. Then my wonderful husband decided I needed some Bangkok (our favorite Thai place which we're really gonna miss). I had a few hours break from my headache, but unfortunately, it's back (with bells on). I got nothing done today....just a bunch of laying around the house and piddling around (kinda makes me feel more BLAH just thinking about how BLAH I've been....oh well, maybe tomorrow! :)
So, an update on our move (the "REAL" reason I was supposed to post today) ..... :o)
So, an update on our move (the "REAL" reason I was supposed to post today) ..... :o)
- We're in the process of sending letters out to everyone. We're basically sending this first letter out to just about everyone we know. We're not sending the letters out all at once; only about 20 or 30 at a time so that we can follow up easier. There's some people that we don't have an address for and not even sure how to go about getting one. If you're reading this and haven't received a letter (and would like one), just email us and we'll be sure to send you one. (BTW, our email is posted as a link on the right side of our blog, all the way at the bottom.) It's possible that we just haven't sent yours out yet, or maybe you're one of the people that we don't have a current address for. Either way, if you're interested in partnering with us and getting updates and such, then we want to be sure we get a letter to you. :o)
- We have had the opportunity to share this with many of you, but some may not know yet.....It's very possible that we might be able to house-sit for a family while they are in the Netherlands for 4 months!! This is such a blessing to us because we'd be able to "shop" for a house once we're already in Wichita (versus trying to do it long distance). We really see this as the Lord's provision and even as confirmation that this is the direction He's taking us. This would also allow us to save up some money for a few months (they'd like for us to stay in their house for free since we'll be doing them a favor as well). Isn't that awesome?!?! God is so good!
- Our target date is still around the first of November. I plan on starting the packing process the first week or so in October. I've got bunches of diaper boxes in the garage and I'm going to start with packing all of our books, knick-knack type stuff, frames, etc. Around mid to late October, we're thinking about having a garage sale to try and lighten the load a bit. Poor Uhaul that gets stuck with us....Surely we have more junk than the average bear.
- Ummmmm.....can't think of anything else right now. :o) Overall, life is pretty much "normal" (whatever that means) right now for us. I'm sure once October comes around that it'll be a little different story.
Do you ever just feel BLAH? That's me right now! I've never really used our blog to just "think aloud" but I'm in one of those moods right now. Not only do I feel blah, but I feel sad and discouraged....but I don't know why. I know what you're thinking....no, it's NOT that time of the month! :o) BLAH is the only word that keeps coming to mind.
I have had so much on my mind lately:
I just feel BLAH!! Have I said that already?
I don't even know how to end this post.
I guess I'm going to go try to get something done.....or maybe just try to sleep off my headache or something. I'll try to post again later today when I don't feel quite so blah. Thanks for listening to my rambles. I haven't a clue if anyone even reads this anymore besides Kristin, Kirsten, Laura, and maybe Sharee. I know you guys all know me and won't think I'm a nut for saying all this! :o)
Bye for now!
I have had so much on my mind lately:
- moving, cleaning, packing
- headaches, not feeling like doing anything because of my constant headaches, just going to sleep
- friends, high-school and college friends that I wish I hadn't lost contact with, long-distance friendships, not feeling like I have any friends, anxious about starting all over in Wichita and having to make new friends
- books that I haven't finished, books that I'd like to be reading
- Emma and Haley at PDO right now. Why am I not doing laundry, dishes, errands?
- exercise, eating right, feeling lazy, giving up on the whole idea of losing weight & getting back into shape
- babies, future, the unknown
- job, finances
- the weekend, church work day, SS lesson
I just feel BLAH!! Have I said that already?
I don't even know how to end this post.
I guess I'm going to go try to get something done.....or maybe just try to sleep off my headache or something. I'll try to post again later today when I don't feel quite so blah. Thanks for listening to my rambles. I haven't a clue if anyone even reads this anymore besides Kristin, Kirsten, Laura, and maybe Sharee. I know you guys all know me and won't think I'm a nut for saying all this! :o)
Bye for now!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
South Padre Isand
Man, blogging 3 days in a row....that's just unheard of for the Spivey's!! :o) I'm going to get through today and tomorrow's post like I said I would, and then I'm hoping to start blogging more regular. When I only blog once a month, each post ends up being so stinkin' long.....I'm sorry about that. I'll try and get into a routine of posting on a weekly basis so each post is shorter and easier to read. Y'all hold me to that, okay!?!?!
So here goes.....
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND
Look who's ready for the beach!!
And we're off...
She's loving it already!
(Especially when Nana and Papa make it extra fun by swinging you around)
Emma's first feel of the water. After that, she was off! She wasn't afraid a bit. She didn't like it when the waves came up and hit her in the face, but who does? Even when she'd get splashed or knocked over by the waves, it didn't make her want to get out.
She LOVES the water!!
And she's off to chase the seagulls! Those birds got their workout while Emma was around! (So did Nana!) I took several pics of Emma chasing the seagulls, but they were super blurry for some reason....I'm thinking sand on the lens. (I'll never cease to be amazed by the way sand manages to get into EVERYTHING! Doesn't matter how careful you are; it'll find it's way to the things you don't want it on!!)
There's some major pruning going on on these little toes! Proof of a good day on the beach! :o)
Resting in Papa's lap after a long day at the beach! I don't know if you can see it good in the picture or not, but she still has her hand in the Ziploc with raisins as she's dozing off. Too cute!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We spent 3 days, 2 nights in South Padre and had a great time with my parents! They wanted to take little Emma and be there when she experienced the beach for the first time. I have lots of fun memories of going to the beach as a child. We're looking forward to all the fun vacations and memories ahead with our own children!! :o)
More tomorrow!
So here goes.....
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND
Look who's ready for the beach!!
And we're off...
She's loving it already!
(Especially when Nana and Papa make it extra fun by swinging you around)
Emma's first feel of the water. After that, she was off! She wasn't afraid a bit. She didn't like it when the waves came up and hit her in the face, but who does? Even when she'd get splashed or knocked over by the waves, it didn't make her want to get out.
She LOVES the water!!
And she's off to chase the seagulls! Those birds got their workout while Emma was around! (So did Nana!) I took several pics of Emma chasing the seagulls, but they were super blurry for some reason....I'm thinking sand on the lens. (I'll never cease to be amazed by the way sand manages to get into EVERYTHING! Doesn't matter how careful you are; it'll find it's way to the things you don't want it on!!)
There's some major pruning going on on these little toes! Proof of a good day on the beach! :o)
Resting in Papa's lap after a long day at the beach! I don't know if you can see it good in the picture or not, but she still has her hand in the Ziploc with raisins as she's dozing off. Too cute!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We spent 3 days, 2 nights in South Padre and had a great time with my parents! They wanted to take little Emma and be there when she experienced the beach for the first time. I have lots of fun memories of going to the beach as a child. We're looking forward to all the fun vacations and memories ahead with our own children!! :o)
More tomorrow!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Misc. Pics.
WOOHOO!! 2 days in a row!! :)
In case you didn't check our blog yesterday (which is totally understandable since you probably think I must have given up on this whole blog thing cuz it had been so long), I have tons of pictures to share and decided to break it over 4 separate posts this week....yes, it's true! I haven't blogged in over a month, and yet somehow I think I'm going to be able to post 4 blogs in a week. We'll see! :o) As I said yesterday, today's blog entry is just a bunch of random pictures....some of Emma, family, friends, etc. I'm hoping to include 1 short video of Emma dancing, but we'll see if it works (so far, I haven't had much luck with videos).
We went to the Mayborn Museum again.....LOVE that place!! I'm sad that we've only recently "discovered" it (I had gone there as a teacher on field trips, but never taken Emma there until a few months ago). I sure hope Wichita has some kind of children's museum because I really enjoy it and I know Emma does too!
Emma loves the "transportation room." Here she is getting off the school bus and driving the little car. How fun!
Here is Emma's friend, Haley, in the transportation room (the only room that I thought to take my camera out). She comes over to play with us on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She's such a sweet, happy baby; they have lots of fun playing and squealing back at forth to each other. I really enjoy watching them play together. It's also given me an opportunity to work with Emma and teach her about SHARING her toys!! She's not so good at that yet, but we're working on it. :o)
One eats; one bounces. Then they switch. It's the only way to keep an eye on them both! :o)
You know, for some reason I remember to take my camera with us all the time when we travel, and yet somehow I forget to take pictures of our friends here in town. I realized I don't have many pictures of our Waco friends, so I'm working on that right now. I know we'll miss our Waco friends so much when we move to Wichita. We definitely want pictures of them to take with us. Here's a couple pics. for now:
Here's my (our) good friends, Laura (Haley's mom) and Kirsten. We're in a small group together at Brazos Meadows. They are awesome friends, and we love hanging out with them! We laugh A LOT together! And of course have good, deep conversations as well. We're so thankful for their friendships! Hey Kirsten, this is for you.... :o)
Here's Trey and Ashley....they're our "newly wed Waco friends!" :o) We hang out with them usually once a week at a local coffee shop to discuss the book we're all reading, "The Ragamuffin Gospel." We also see them most weeks when we all get together to watch "The Office" on Thursday nights.
I have 2 other really close friends here in Waco, Melissa and Beth; however, I don't have any pictures with them. Soon!
No worries, she has a swim diaper on! :o) Here's Emma at a local splash park. She LOVES the water....baths, sprinklers, swimming, splash parks, etc!! So fun to watch her in the water!!
Here's my mom and dad. Emma and I ran to San Antonio for the day a few weeks ago for a friend's baby shower. Emma's favorite toys at their house....the Tupperware drawer! (see what my dad is holding!) Emma loves her Nana and Papa!!
My mom and I at the baby shower. Love you lots Mom! :o)
Long hard day of entertaining everyone at the shower and being super cute; she's tuckered out! This was on the drive home after the shower. Check out those cute lips!
Here's a video clip...this is Emma's idea of dancing. She'll do this sometimes until she's so dizzy she can't stand up. Then she'll rest and start over. I seriously am considering sending this in to America's Funniest Home Video someday if I can ever get a really good video clip of her doing it. Like I've said before, I'm having a hard time taking pictures and video of her right now because as soon as she sees me with the camera, she just wants to look at the screen.
By the way, sorry for the sideways view....I can't figure out how to rotate the box (does anybody know how?) Hope you enjoy it anyways!! :o) PS-notice her tongue stays out nearly the entire time she's spinning....turning in circles takes a lot of concentration, you know!
By the way, sorry for the sideways view....I can't figure out how to rotate the box (does anybody know how?) Hope you enjoy it anyways!! :o) PS-notice her tongue stays out nearly the entire time she's spinning....turning in circles takes a lot of concentration, you know!
More tomorrow....Check back! :o) Tomorrow I'll post pictures of our trip to South Padre last weekend. There's some great ones of Miss Emma in her swimsuit and sunglasses!!
Monday, September 17, 2007
Boston & New York!!
OK, so here's the deal: I've waited WAY too long to blog (again) and I have a buh-zillion pictures to share and things to tell (imagine that). I went through the pics on our camera and counted about 30 that I want to post, but I'd be here for hours if I tried to do that all at once (plus that's a lot for you all at once too). So I'm breaking it up over 4 separate posts (I WILL make time to post 4 times this week)
Here's a preview of what's to come :)
Today's post: Our trip to Boston & New York
Tomorrow: Misc. pics & hopefully one video clip of Emma dancing!
Wednesday: Our trip to South Padre with Emma and my parents
Thursday: an update on our move
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOSTON
In mid-August, we had another opportunity to go to Boston through Brazos Meadows to visit our friends Jeremy & Chelsea. They moved to Boston a few months ago, believing that this is where God wants them. We had a great time with them and are so thankful for their friendship. Jeremy, Brett, and TJ camped out in the living room, while us girls got the bedroom...and we had lots of fun chatting the night away! We're so proud of how well they're doing in Boston. They've adjusted so good and are fitting right in (well, except for the strong Southern accents :) We were amazed by how many people stopped and asked Chelsea for directions....and she always knew how to help. They have learned the area so quickly. I'm impressed! Here's a few pictures:
Jeremy & Chelsea
Here's T.J. missing his sweet wife Laura. She stayed in Waco with their baby, Haley. We missed Laura and Haley lots! (We were up on top of Jeremy & Chelsea's apartment building).
A walk in the park...Here's the whole gang:
Brett, TJ, Chelsea, Jeremy (plus me, taking the pic.)
Brett & I with the Charles River behind us.
The NY public library, where they filmed part of Ghostbusters! :)
This is the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked the whole thing....great view of the city! This was one of my favorite things we did in NY.
Here we are "at the top of the Rock" (Rockefeller Center). We were told this had just as good of a view as the Empire State Building, with no line to wait in. It was great!
NBC studios is in the Rockefeller Center. "The Office" is our favorite show right now, so Brett got a picture "with Michael Scott." This may sound odd, but we had so much fun at the NBC store looking at all "The Office" stuff. It was pretty cool to be in the place where so many shows are filmed.
The line to take the boat to Liberty Island was ridiculously long, so we were content to just see it from the shoreline.
Okay, so maybe we did get to see the Statue close up! haha
I LOVE pictures of old doors & gates, for some reason. I have pictures of random doors/gates from nearly every place I've ever visited. I also love sunrises and sunsets (I have a whole photo album full of sunrise/sunset pictures that I've taken over the years). Sunrises and sunsets remind me of the scripture that says "From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord will be praised" (Psalm 113:3) One day, I'd love to start a "doors photo album." There are sooooo many references to doors and gates in the Bible that I really like.
A couple that come to mind are:
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me." Rev. 3:20
and
"...knock and it shall be opened unto you..." Luke 11.9
and
"I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." John 10:9
Note: all 3 of those scriptures are Jesus' words.
No real reason for this clock picture....I just thought it was pretty cool looking. :) We saw so many beautiful buildings and architecture in Boston and New York both. Great cities! We're so thankful for the opportunity to visit them! Both cities are so rich in history and full of people from different cultures. We loved that part!
This was taken at my parent's house in SA right before I dropped Emma off (she did not go with us on this trip). We missed her tons! Before this trip, I had only been away from her for 1 night at a time since she was born (on many different occasions, though) , so 8 nights in a row was a pretty huge deal for me!! Both sets of grandparents did great with her....I know they really enjoyed all the time they had with her. And Brett and I had a great time hanging out together, just the 2 of us. What a blessing to be able to spend so much time together! I have the best husband in the world!! :o)
Check back tomorrow!! I will drop Emma off at Parent's Day Out from 9-2 and I don't have too many other things to do, so I will definitely have some time to blog. :o)
Here's a preview of what's to come :)
Today's post: Our trip to Boston & New York
Tomorrow: Misc. pics & hopefully one video clip of Emma dancing!
Wednesday: Our trip to South Padre with Emma and my parents
Thursday: an update on our move
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOSTON
In mid-August, we had another opportunity to go to Boston through Brazos Meadows to visit our friends Jeremy & Chelsea. They moved to Boston a few months ago, believing that this is where God wants them. We had a great time with them and are so thankful for their friendship. Jeremy, Brett, and TJ camped out in the living room, while us girls got the bedroom...and we had lots of fun chatting the night away! We're so proud of how well they're doing in Boston. They've adjusted so good and are fitting right in (well, except for the strong Southern accents :) We were amazed by how many people stopped and asked Chelsea for directions....and she always knew how to help. They have learned the area so quickly. I'm impressed! Here's a few pictures:
Jeremy & Chelsea
Here's T.J. missing his sweet wife Laura. She stayed in Waco with their baby, Haley. We missed Laura and Haley lots! (We were up on top of Jeremy & Chelsea's apartment building).
A walk in the park...Here's the whole gang:Brett, TJ, Chelsea, Jeremy (plus me, taking the pic.)
Brett & I with the Charles River behind us.We also got to see our good friends Kristin and Andrew Stein, but the 2 pictures that I got with Kristin didn't turn out. I'll have to get some of her pictures and post them later. Kristin is such a great friend!! She is definitely one of those people in my life that no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other or talked, we can always pick up right where we left off. I was so encouraged by a talk we had while we were there, and I'm always so challenged (spiritually) by her. So grateful for your friendship Kristin!! :)
Isn't this an awesome picture?!?! Kinda makes you dizzy looking at it, huh? I don't remember exactly where in Boston we were when I took this, but I just looked up and thought WOW!!!!! From what I remember, we had just finished eating a late lunch in the Quincy Market area and were walking to an outdoor fruit market that Chelsea had found. We did A LOT of walking that day....it was GREAT!!
Brett & Jeremy with our luggage. We were walking to the T (subway). Brett and I took an Amtrak to New York for a few days after TJ went home.
Isn't this an awesome picture?!?! Kinda makes you dizzy looking at it, huh? I don't remember exactly where in Boston we were when I took this, but I just looked up and thought WOW!!!!! From what I remember, we had just finished eating a late lunch in the Quincy Market area and were walking to an outdoor fruit market that Chelsea had found. We did A LOT of walking that day....it was GREAT!!
Brett & Jeremy with our luggage. We were walking to the T (subway). Brett and I took an Amtrak to New York for a few days after TJ went home.NEW YORK, NEW YORK
This is one of those places that Brett and I both have always wanted to go, and with a $66 Amtrak ticket from Boston, we couldn't pass it up. We did all the "touristy" things you can think of....and about 10 times the walking we did in Boston. We loved it!!!!
The NY public library, where they filmed part of Ghostbusters! :)
This is the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked the whole thing....great view of the city! This was one of my favorite things we did in NY.
Here we are "at the top of the Rock" (Rockefeller Center). We were told this had just as good of a view as the Empire State Building, with no line to wait in. It was great!
NBC studios is in the Rockefeller Center. "The Office" is our favorite show right now, so Brett got a picture "with Michael Scott." This may sound odd, but we had so much fun at the NBC store looking at all "The Office" stuff. It was pretty cool to be in the place where so many shows are filmed.
The line to take the boat to Liberty Island was ridiculously long, so we were content to just see it from the shoreline.
Okay, so maybe we did get to see the Statue close up! haha
I LOVE pictures of old doors & gates, for some reason. I have pictures of random doors/gates from nearly every place I've ever visited. I also love sunrises and sunsets (I have a whole photo album full of sunrise/sunset pictures that I've taken over the years). Sunrises and sunsets remind me of the scripture that says "From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord will be praised" (Psalm 113:3) One day, I'd love to start a "doors photo album." There are sooooo many references to doors and gates in the Bible that I really like. A couple that come to mind are:
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me." Rev. 3:20
and
"...knock and it shall be opened unto you..." Luke 11.9
and
"I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." John 10:9
Note: all 3 of those scriptures are Jesus' words.
No real reason for this clock picture....I just thought it was pretty cool looking. :) We saw so many beautiful buildings and architecture in Boston and New York both. Great cities! We're so thankful for the opportunity to visit them! Both cities are so rich in history and full of people from different cultures. We loved that part!
This was taken at my parent's house in SA right before I dropped Emma off (she did not go with us on this trip). We missed her tons! Before this trip, I had only been away from her for 1 night at a time since she was born (on many different occasions, though) , so 8 nights in a row was a pretty huge deal for me!! Both sets of grandparents did great with her....I know they really enjoyed all the time they had with her. And Brett and I had a great time hanging out together, just the 2 of us. What a blessing to be able to spend so much time together! I have the best husband in the world!! :o)
Check back tomorrow!! I will drop Emma off at Parent's Day Out from 9-2 and I don't have too many other things to do, so I will definitely have some time to blog. :o)
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
YEA for Emma!!
This will, by far, be the shortest blog in Spivey history, but I just had to share a bit of exciting news......Emma used the big girl potty for the first time just now!
She started telling us when she had a dirty diaper at 15 months, and for the last 2 months we've just been teaching her how to communicate with us about it, letting her read books about it, and getting her used to sitting on her little potty (clothes on). Well, today she told us she had to go, so we went into the bathroom and sat her down, and wha-la! She did it! It was so cool!!
Now, I know that this doesn't mean that she is potty trained, by any means. We hear this can be quite a long process, but nonetheless we're pumped to see light at the end of the tunnel.....hopefully soon, we'll be on our way to using the big girl potty full time! (And maybe have a little break from diapers in between Emma and baby #2.....no, we're not expecting.....I'm just saying it'll be nice to
have a little break from diapers!!)
Anyway, YEA for Emma!! This is pretty exciting stuff, you know!! :o)
She started telling us when she had a dirty diaper at 15 months, and for the last 2 months we've just been teaching her how to communicate with us about it, letting her read books about it, and getting her used to sitting on her little potty (clothes on). Well, today she told us she had to go, so we went into the bathroom and sat her down, and wha-la! She did it! It was so cool!!
Now, I know that this doesn't mean that she is potty trained, by any means. We hear this can be quite a long process, but nonetheless we're pumped to see light at the end of the tunnel.....hopefully soon, we'll be on our way to using the big girl potty full time! (And maybe have a little break from diapers in between Emma and baby #2.....no, we're not expecting.....I'm just saying it'll be nice to
have a little break from diapers!!)
Anyway, YEA for Emma!! This is pretty exciting stuff, you know!! :o)
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
We're moving!
Hey there friends!
I've had mixed emotions about sitting down and writing this particular post. In some ways I've been sad and dreading it, and in others ways I've been really excited and looking forward to it. (That's also a pretty good description of the way I/we feel about this whole move). Yes, as you may know already, we're moving....to Kansas.
Here's the story:
Back in April, Brother Billy got a phone call from a friend of ours, J, President of an organization in Kansas (Brett knew that J had called Billy, but we didn't find out details of their conversation until later). J was calling to ask for Billy's permission & blessing to talk to Brett and have him turn in a resume. Late May, when Brett was helping at an orientation in KS, J talked to Brett about joining his staff. We decided not to tell anyone for a while and to just pray about it together. (We did talk some more with Brother Billy & Theresa, and we did end up telling our small group...I kinda slipped. But we were so grateful to have their support and encouragement all along the way!)
We love our church and our life here in Waco; we were not seeking anything elsewhere. As you know, we were in the midst of trying to buy a house, and we had really come to the point that we thought we'd be here in Waco for a while. God obviously had other plans. Looking back on how difficult that process was of looking for a house, we really feel like God was protecting us. Actually, looking back on the last few months altogether, LOTS of things seem to make more sense now. Funny how God works sometimes.
Brett has had other job opportunities come along since he's been at Brazos Meadows, but we never felt like they were anything that we were supposed to pursue. On the other hand, from the moment we knew about this possibility in KS, we both felt like we were supposed to check into it a little bit more. And that's what we did....we took little baby steps through this whole process, little by little learning more about the opportunity and praying each step of the way that God would lead us and help us hear from Him. We really feel like this whole thing was God-initiated, and that He has been slowly and gently pulling us in this direction.
We decided that it was time to talk to our families about this possibility. That was extremely difficult, and has continued to be difficult. Brett and I are both very close to our families, and have always lived relatively close to them (especially Brett, he has lived in the Waco/Robinson area his whole life, never more than 30-45 minutes away from family). Moving away will not be easy, but we know that if this is what God asks of us, then we want to do it. A verse we've been clinging to throughout this whole thing is Romans 8:28 "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." If this indeed is what God is calling us to, then we know He'll cause all things to work together for good.....His blessing will not only be on us for our obedience, but it will be on our families as well.
We spent about a week in KS in late July--checking things out, seeing old friends, making new friends, sitting and talking through some details with J face to face. It was a good week, and the possibility became much more of a reality to us. All along, we just wanted to make sure that we truly heard from God on this.....stay or go.....it didn't matter--we just knew we wanted to be obedient.
After we returned from KS, we had 2 weeks to let J know if we were going to accept the job. We knew it was time to tell our close friends and our church. That went so well! God really went before us and prepared lots of people's hearts. There was lots of tears, but everyone was (and is being) so encouraging & supportive. Many prayed with us and are continuing to pray for us and have showed such enthusiasm and excitement for what God has planned for us. Here's 2 of my favorite responses from a couple people from church.....
As far as the time line of when we'll be going....the target date is November 1st, but it really just depends on our support raising. We will have to have a "livable amount" raised before going. At times, we're a little scared about the support raising part of this job, but then we remember all the cool stories that people have told us and that we find in scripture about God's provision and faithfulness. 1 Kings 17:1-16 has the coolest story about how God provides the giver and the gift. This will definitely be a faith-building time in our lives. We are looking forward to having a deeper understanding of our utter dependence on Jesus!
I think I'm going to end here for now.....I know that was a lot for you to read. Thank you for loving us and taking interest in what's going on in our lives. Please pray for us, if the Lord brings us to mind. This is new ground for us; we want to be sure to keep our eyes on Him!
I took Emma to the Mayborn Museum for the first time recently. That place is awesome!! She had so much fun (and so did I!) I didn't even remember to pull my camera out much....only got a couple pics (and they weren't all that great either). Here's Emma walking on the giant floor piano like they have in the movie "Big." It's so cool!
Lots of piano time lately....We spent this past weekend in the Woodlands seeing family and celebrating my mom's birthday. Here's Emma playing a little birthday song for my mom on Aunt Leslie's piano.
Here's Brett and Uncle Jack working as a team to feed a super tired, fussy, & hungry baby. I forgot to bring a bib with us, so Emma has a big, cloth napkin draped over her.....looks more like she's getting a hair cut than eating.
We're so thankful for our little travel DVD screen (you can't see it in the picture, but that's what her eyes are fixed on). Cars, planes, coffee shops....wherever! It's nice to be able to bring "Praise Baby" videos wherever we go. No matter where we are or what's going on, she always loves to watch her videos....and it's fun to see her interact with them too!
Funny Story!
So, yeah....we had to get a new trash can last week. Our TV remote disappeared. We turned the house upside down...we just couldn't think of where else to look. Then it dawned on us...."You know, Emma has been pretty interested in the trash can lately." (She notices when there's a banana or something familiar on top. She has even tried to grab something off the top a time or two). We decided she must have thrown the TV remote in the trash when we weren't looking (It was just an oval trash can with a flip lid.) So we invested in one of those trash cans that you have to step on the little pedal to make the lid go up. Unfortunately, she is still pretty interested. She watches us use it and then goes to try to step on the pedal. I guess that's why so many people put their trash under the sink or in the pantry. hmmm.....
I've had mixed emotions about sitting down and writing this particular post. In some ways I've been sad and dreading it, and in others ways I've been really excited and looking forward to it. (That's also a pretty good description of the way I/we feel about this whole move). Yes, as you may know already, we're moving....to Kansas.
Here's the story:
Back in April, Brother Billy got a phone call from a friend of ours, J, President of an organization in Kansas (Brett knew that J had called Billy, but we didn't find out details of their conversation until later). J was calling to ask for Billy's permission & blessing to talk to Brett and have him turn in a resume. Late May, when Brett was helping at an orientation in KS, J talked to Brett about joining his staff. We decided not to tell anyone for a while and to just pray about it together. (We did talk some more with Brother Billy & Theresa, and we did end up telling our small group...I kinda slipped. But we were so grateful to have their support and encouragement all along the way!)
We love our church and our life here in Waco; we were not seeking anything elsewhere. As you know, we were in the midst of trying to buy a house, and we had really come to the point that we thought we'd be here in Waco for a while. God obviously had other plans. Looking back on how difficult that process was of looking for a house, we really feel like God was protecting us. Actually, looking back on the last few months altogether, LOTS of things seem to make more sense now. Funny how God works sometimes.
Brett has had other job opportunities come along since he's been at Brazos Meadows, but we never felt like they were anything that we were supposed to pursue. On the other hand, from the moment we knew about this possibility in KS, we both felt like we were supposed to check into it a little bit more. And that's what we did....we took little baby steps through this whole process, little by little learning more about the opportunity and praying each step of the way that God would lead us and help us hear from Him. We really feel like this whole thing was God-initiated, and that He has been slowly and gently pulling us in this direction.
We decided that it was time to talk to our families about this possibility. That was extremely difficult, and has continued to be difficult. Brett and I are both very close to our families, and have always lived relatively close to them (especially Brett, he has lived in the Waco/Robinson area his whole life, never more than 30-45 minutes away from family). Moving away will not be easy, but we know that if this is what God asks of us, then we want to do it. A verse we've been clinging to throughout this whole thing is Romans 8:28 "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." If this indeed is what God is calling us to, then we know He'll cause all things to work together for good.....His blessing will not only be on us for our obedience, but it will be on our families as well.
We spent about a week in KS in late July--checking things out, seeing old friends, making new friends, sitting and talking through some details with J face to face. It was a good week, and the possibility became much more of a reality to us. All along, we just wanted to make sure that we truly heard from God on this.....stay or go.....it didn't matter--we just knew we wanted to be obedient.
After we returned from KS, we had 2 weeks to let J know if we were going to accept the job. We knew it was time to tell our close friends and our church. That went so well! God really went before us and prepared lots of people's hearts. There was lots of tears, but everyone was (and is being) so encouraging & supportive. Many prayed with us and are continuing to pray for us and have showed such enthusiasm and excitement for what God has planned for us. Here's 2 of my favorite responses from a couple people from church.....
- "Well, I've thought long and hard about what y'all said this morning. You have my blessing, but you're going to have to leave Emma here with us!" :o)
- (This next response was from a lady that is very special to us. We went to her house to tell her in person because of how important of a role she has had in our lives. She even prayed for us as single-individuals and knew we would be married before we did!!!) First words out of her mouth as we all sat down to talk were....."You're joining J's organization, aren't you?" (our jaws hit the floor, and we said how did you know?!?!?!) "I just knew.....it makes sense. That is your passion....as far as I'm concerned, you're already there. I believe that's what God wants for you, and I think He's going to use y'all in a really cool way!" (She said tons more, but you get the idea!)
As far as the time line of when we'll be going....the target date is November 1st, but it really just depends on our support raising. We will have to have a "livable amount" raised before going. At times, we're a little scared about the support raising part of this job, but then we remember all the cool stories that people have told us and that we find in scripture about God's provision and faithfulness. 1 Kings 17:1-16 has the coolest story about how God provides the giver and the gift. This will definitely be a faith-building time in our lives. We are looking forward to having a deeper understanding of our utter dependence on Jesus!
I think I'm going to end here for now.....I know that was a lot for you to read. Thank you for loving us and taking interest in what's going on in our lives. Please pray for us, if the Lord brings us to mind. This is new ground for us; we want to be sure to keep our eyes on Him!
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And now, the part you probably are most interested in....pictures!!
Here's Emma having fun with her "tuh-tle" sprinkler. She LOVES baths, sprinklers, swimming, water fountains.....ANYTHING that has to do with water and getting wet!
She also likes shoes, as you may recall from previous blogs. She likes to walk around the house wearing either mine or Brett's shoes. (She is pointing at the camera because I've started showing her pictures that I take of her, so now she is always interested in seeing what's on the screen.....makes it hard to take pictures of her sometimes).
I took Emma to the Mayborn Museum for the first time recently. That place is awesome!! She had so much fun (and so did I!) I didn't even remember to pull my camera out much....only got a couple pics (and they weren't all that great either). Here's Emma walking on the giant floor piano like they have in the movie "Big." It's so cool!
Lots of piano time lately....We spent this past weekend in the Woodlands seeing family and celebrating my mom's birthday. Here's Emma playing a little birthday song for my mom on Aunt Leslie's piano.
Here's Brett and Uncle Jack working as a team to feed a super tired, fussy, & hungry baby. I forgot to bring a bib with us, so Emma has a big, cloth napkin draped over her.....looks more like she's getting a hair cut than eating.
We're so thankful for our little travel DVD screen (you can't see it in the picture, but that's what her eyes are fixed on). Cars, planes, coffee shops....wherever! It's nice to be able to bring "Praise Baby" videos wherever we go. No matter where we are or what's going on, she always loves to watch her videos....and it's fun to see her interact with them too!
Funny Story!
So, yeah....we had to get a new trash can last week. Our TV remote disappeared. We turned the house upside down...we just couldn't think of where else to look. Then it dawned on us...."You know, Emma has been pretty interested in the trash can lately." (She notices when there's a banana or something familiar on top. She has even tried to grab something off the top a time or two). We decided she must have thrown the TV remote in the trash when we weren't looking (It was just an oval trash can with a flip lid.) So we invested in one of those trash cans that you have to step on the little pedal to make the lid go up. Unfortunately, she is still pretty interested. She watches us use it and then goes to try to step on the pedal. I guess that's why so many people put their trash under the sink or in the pantry. hmmm.....
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
July 10, 2007
hi! Hi! HI!!!!
I'm sooooo excited about getting to sit down and blog right now.....I always look forward to this time. I really enjoy this whole "blog thing." When asked what I like to do in my free time, blogging is one of the first things to come to mind. Yeah, I know....then why has it been 2 months since our last post? All I can say is TIME FLIES!! And somehow, we always seem to stay so BUSY! ugh!
Lots has changed in 2 months...
** We're NOT planning on buying and remodeling the house we live in now (as I told you in the last post). All the bids were outrageously high! That was clearly no longer even an option. The house hunt is on hold for the time being.
** I did not end up taking summer classes at MCC, as I told you about previously. Lots to that story, but bottom line is my time and energy needed to be spent in other areas this summer (instead of studying, in class, stressed, etc.) Not real sure what the plan is in this area either, for the time being.
** As many of you may already know, Brett's grandfather passed away about a week ago (on July 2nd). He was such a sweet, wonderful man. Brett and him were very close and had a very special relationship. The last few months have been very difficult as he grew sicker and sicker. Then several weeks ago, he seemed to suddenly get worse, and we were told it wouldn't be much longer. We spent every minute there that we could. The night he died, the whole family was there, except for our brother-in-law. In Papa's last few minutes of life, Brett's mom asked us to gather around him and hold hands. Then she asked Brett to pray. It was really special. God is good and answered our prayer immediately. Brett said, "Amen" and we all watched Papa take his last breath. It happened within 45 seconds to a minute after we prayed. Then it was over. He wasn't suffering or in pain any more. Words cannot express how amazing and special that time was. There's sooooo much more to this story, but the most important thing is that God is faithful--He heard and answered our prayer (in more ways than one), He brought comfort like only He can do, and He brought everyone even closer together through this whole thing. Praise Him! The funeral was last Thursday. Brett and his great Uncle, Fred did the service together. It was great--a beautiful celebration of Papa's life!
And now, we're getting back to "normal life." Still trying to figure out what that means exactly....
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Baby girl is NOT a baby anymore! She's such a BIG GIRL!!! Wow!! She amazes us daily with all the "big girl" things she can do. We truly can't keep up with all the words she can say now. She seems to be literally absorbing the environment around her. She is learning new things constantly. Sometimes you can just watch her, and it's as if you can SEE the wheels turning inside her little head. She'll watch us do something, then she'll try to mimic us. She repeats words after us. She understands things that we say and then responds. Just a few examples.....She'll look for Brett sometimes during the day, walking around saying "da-da." I'll tell her, "da-da left for work. He went bye-bye." Then she'll walk down the hall and go to the front door, wave and say "bye-bye." When you ask her if she's hungry, she'll go to her high-chair, hold on to the legs and look up as she does this chewing motion with her mouth. You can hold open a book and ask her questions and she points. "Emma, where is the dog? Ball? Shoe? Flowers? Cat?" She points to her body parts when you ask her, "Where is your belly? Ears? Nose? Eyes? etc. It is SO FUN to watch her grow!! Wow! I'm LOVING being a mommy and getting to be with her so much. Brett is the best dad too! Watching them play together is the best!
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Brett said that Emma and I sleep a lot alike....spread out, bury our face, hug a pillow, that sort of thing. I think he may have a point.
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Some of you may get a kick out of this, and some of you may think it's bad/gross, but here goes.....Emma has one other "new trick" that I wanted to tell. She has started patting her diaper to let us know when she has gone to the bathroom (not liking dirty diapers and letting someone know when you've gone is one sign that the child is ready to begin potty training.....we're kinda excited about that part). Anyway, we've discovered that she likes to notify others when they've "had an uh-oh" too. If you toot around her (or just make a tooting noise), she comes over to you and gives you a little pat. :o) Pretty funny, huh? We think so, anyway! :o)
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Here's a picture of my dad and my brother, Chris taken over Father's Day weekend. I know many of you have heard what's going on with him. He has some kind of mass or inflammation in his head (brain). For months, doctors have been trying to figure out what it is. It has some characteristics of a tumor, but not enough for them to confidently say that that's what it is. He's undergone a lot of testing, and seen lots of doctors....and still nobody knows or has even seen anything like it before. His headaches have gotten better, but he's been taking some very strong steroids. Obviously, this has affected his daily life a great deal. He has been living in San Antonio with family since this was first discovered (Nov/Dec??), but is likely moving to Wyoming soon with my other brother, Michael. If God brings him to your mind, please pray for him and his healing. Thanks!
I'm sooooo excited about getting to sit down and blog right now.....I always look forward to this time. I really enjoy this whole "blog thing." When asked what I like to do in my free time, blogging is one of the first things to come to mind. Yeah, I know....then why has it been 2 months since our last post? All I can say is TIME FLIES!! And somehow, we always seem to stay so BUSY! ugh!
Lots has changed in 2 months...
** We're NOT planning on buying and remodeling the house we live in now (as I told you in the last post). All the bids were outrageously high! That was clearly no longer even an option. The house hunt is on hold for the time being.
** I did not end up taking summer classes at MCC, as I told you about previously. Lots to that story, but bottom line is my time and energy needed to be spent in other areas this summer (instead of studying, in class, stressed, etc.) Not real sure what the plan is in this area either, for the time being.
** As many of you may already know, Brett's grandfather passed away about a week ago (on July 2nd). He was such a sweet, wonderful man. Brett and him were very close and had a very special relationship. The last few months have been very difficult as he grew sicker and sicker. Then several weeks ago, he seemed to suddenly get worse, and we were told it wouldn't be much longer. We spent every minute there that we could. The night he died, the whole family was there, except for our brother-in-law. In Papa's last few minutes of life, Brett's mom asked us to gather around him and hold hands. Then she asked Brett to pray. It was really special. God is good and answered our prayer immediately. Brett said, "Amen" and we all watched Papa take his last breath. It happened within 45 seconds to a minute after we prayed. Then it was over. He wasn't suffering or in pain any more. Words cannot express how amazing and special that time was. There's sooooo much more to this story, but the most important thing is that God is faithful--He heard and answered our prayer (in more ways than one), He brought comfort like only He can do, and He brought everyone even closer together through this whole thing. Praise Him! The funeral was last Thursday. Brett and his great Uncle, Fred did the service together. It was great--a beautiful celebration of Papa's life!
He was pretty excited to be a great-grandfather!!
And now, we're getting back to "normal life." Still trying to figure out what that means exactly....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Baby girl is NOT a baby anymore! She's such a BIG GIRL!!! Wow!! She amazes us daily with all the "big girl" things she can do. We truly can't keep up with all the words she can say now. She seems to be literally absorbing the environment around her. She is learning new things constantly. Sometimes you can just watch her, and it's as if you can SEE the wheels turning inside her little head. She'll watch us do something, then she'll try to mimic us. She repeats words after us. She understands things that we say and then responds. Just a few examples.....She'll look for Brett sometimes during the day, walking around saying "da-da." I'll tell her, "da-da left for work. He went bye-bye." Then she'll walk down the hall and go to the front door, wave and say "bye-bye." When you ask her if she's hungry, she'll go to her high-chair, hold on to the legs and look up as she does this chewing motion with her mouth. You can hold open a book and ask her questions and she points. "Emma, where is the dog? Ball? Shoe? Flowers? Cat?" She points to her body parts when you ask her, "Where is your belly? Ears? Nose? Eyes? etc. It is SO FUN to watch her grow!! Wow! I'm LOVING being a mommy and getting to be with her so much. Brett is the best dad too! Watching them play together is the best!
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PICTURE TIME!! :o)
Here's some family pics, first.
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The proud grandparents.....
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YOUTH CAMP!
Emma went with us to youth camp in Marathon, TX (out west near Big Bend). She did great and loved being around all the action. She was tuckered out when the week was over and slept a good part of the 7-8 hour drive home (below).
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Yeah, we're still working on learning how to use a spoon.
Fun times! :o)
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Messy eating leads to lots of baths, which this girl has always loved! Scares us sometimes how comfortable she is around water, though; we have to watch her closely. As you can see below, her love of baths and love of reading was joined together when Nana bought her a book for the bathtub. That ought to win the $10,000 on AFV, eh? Also, bubble baths have become a favorite. She loves to say "buh-bulls." Too cute! However, we've had to put a stop to the bubble baths for now, because she thinks it's funny to drink the water. She bends down and laps it up like a dog, then comes up laughing. I have to say, it's pretty funny (& cute), but I worry about her taking in too much soapy water and getting sick to her stomach.
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Loves carrying purses, bags, lunch boxes....whatever she can get her arm through. So if you're ever at our house and your purse ends up missing, go look in Emma's room. Another new thing, she wants to wear bracelets and necklaces. She'll put her stacking rings around her wrist and walk around to show them off. She has a couple other toys that she insists on trying to "wear" around her neck or wrist. She loves jewelry. I think the grandmas are rubbing off on her, cause we all know it's not from her mama. :o)
Here's some family pics, first.
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The proud grandparents.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
YOUTH CAMP!
Emma went with us to youth camp in Marathon, TX (out west near Big Bend). She did great and loved being around all the action. She was tuckered out when the week was over and slept a good part of the 7-8 hour drive home (below).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yeah, we're still working on learning how to use a spoon.
Fun times! :o)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Messy eating leads to lots of baths, which this girl has always loved! Scares us sometimes how comfortable she is around water, though; we have to watch her closely. As you can see below, her love of baths and love of reading was joined together when Nana bought her a book for the bathtub. That ought to win the $10,000 on AFV, eh? Also, bubble baths have become a favorite. She loves to say "buh-bulls." Too cute! However, we've had to put a stop to the bubble baths for now, because she thinks it's funny to drink the water. She bends down and laps it up like a dog, then comes up laughing. I have to say, it's pretty funny (& cute), but I worry about her taking in too much soapy water and getting sick to her stomach.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Loves carrying purses, bags, lunch boxes....whatever she can get her arm through. So if you're ever at our house and your purse ends up missing, go look in Emma's room. Another new thing, she wants to wear bracelets and necklaces. She'll put her stacking rings around her wrist and walk around to show them off. She has a couple other toys that she insists on trying to "wear" around her neck or wrist. She loves jewelry. I think the grandmas are rubbing off on her, cause we all know it's not from her mama. :o)
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Another thing she loves....SHOES!! (she might have, maybe, possibly, sorta have gotten this from her mama a little bit.... but Nana could be to blame too! :o) Whenever she sees someone's shoes laying around (including her own), she says "shoooooose" and then proceeds to try to put them on. I caught her in my closet one day (pic. below); she had pulled out different shoes and was just having a good ol' time. Looks so innocent, doesn't she?
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Brett said that Emma and I sleep a lot alike....spread out, bury our face, hug a pillow, that sort of thing. I think he may have a point.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some of you may get a kick out of this, and some of you may think it's bad/gross, but here goes.....Emma has one other "new trick" that I wanted to tell. She has started patting her diaper to let us know when she has gone to the bathroom (not liking dirty diapers and letting someone know when you've gone is one sign that the child is ready to begin potty training.....we're kinda excited about that part). Anyway, we've discovered that she likes to notify others when they've "had an uh-oh" too. If you toot around her (or just make a tooting noise), she comes over to you and gives you a little pat. :o) Pretty funny, huh? We think so, anyway! :o)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's a picture of my dad and my brother, Chris taken over Father's Day weekend. I know many of you have heard what's going on with him. He has some kind of mass or inflammation in his head (brain). For months, doctors have been trying to figure out what it is. It has some characteristics of a tumor, but not enough for them to confidently say that that's what it is. He's undergone a lot of testing, and seen lots of doctors....and still nobody knows or has even seen anything like it before. His headaches have gotten better, but he's been taking some very strong steroids. Obviously, this has affected his daily life a great deal. He has been living in San Antonio with family since this was first discovered (Nov/Dec??), but is likely moving to Wyoming soon with my other brother, Michael. If God brings him to your mind, please pray for him and his healing. Thanks!
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