Denton, TX...Home Sweet Home

Howdy all! Josh speaking here. I just wanted to give a quick update on our living situation, and since no one seems to read my blog :( I'll post it here. Don't worry, soon Sarah will be able to post from the comfort of our own room...next Monday, hopefully. Anyway, this is the haps:

The company moved our trailer out of College Station officially on Tuesday. (The took it out of our old lot on Monday, but parked it since it was such a long haul up there.) Tuesday night, we unloaded some of the U-Haul, and unloaded the rest on Wednesday morning. We drove to Sherman to drop it off. (Some sort of rate deal, don't ask why Sherman, I don't know.) We've spent the last few days hanging out at Sue's (Sarah's mom) waiting for water and electricity.

As of Friday, we had water. As of Tuesday, we had juice. We found out we had electricity yesterday when I went up and flipped some switches. So, we spent last night in our old home, new location. I can't speak for Sarah, but I love it! It's a beautiful lot. As soon as we figure out how to take the pictures and post them here, you'll all get to see it.
The kids are excited. Our new lot is double the size of our old one. Lots of room for the kiddos to play. And Bella especially is excited to finally be at her home again, sleeping in her own room. She's been asking all week when we get to go home.

We still have a lot to do. Gotta build a porch, set up skirting, put up some blinds, and unpack, unpack, unpack. It may be a bit until we are completely settled...but at least we are now well on our way.

Some other news: I may be getting a promotion. There is a position called Personal Banker (basically new accounts with added responsibilities) that just opened up in Decatur. I've already had an interview with the FCM (financial center manager) and the Sales Integration guy. I still have to be interview by the Area Manager, and if he green lights me, I have to take tests to get licensed in Investments and Insurance. Once that happens, I'll begin training for the new position. So be praying for this. If I get the job, (and I feel that I will) it will definitely be an answer to prayer. In order to move, we had to take out a loan. The lot that we moved to is $80 more a month. Our budget for vehicular gas will double as I have to commute 45 min each way to work. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to take a second job to pay the bills. But if I get this position, the base salary is more than I make now, and with the product and service things that a part of it, I get commission on, which has the potential of doubling my salary if I do well and push hard.

The cool thing is, I would have never gotten a position like this at my branch in CS. I've applied for a position a couple of times, and never heard back. This one, I'm practically being ushered into with my new managers really excited about me doing the job. It's awesome!

Anyway, rambled enough...more as things progress.

Monday, Monday

Crazy! We are moving our trailer on Monday. Things are happening pretty fast. I have a few things left to pack. We will have to move stuff out of our trailer and onto a U-haul on Saturday and Sunday. Josh has to work on Saturday and will be down here as soon as he finishes.

I feel like I'm in college again and I have a major exam in like two days that I have to hurry and study for. I don't really like that feeling. I thought that was gone when you finished college. Or it could just be the old a.k.a. Worry! Sin, not good. I need to just trust the Lord that He will help me relax and get stuff done.

Thankfully our children will be with Rachel tomorrow. She is SO awesome with children. She is totally amazing and the Lord has definitely gifted her. Bella and Jack always have fun when they are there.

Really there isn't much left to pack. Our walls are bare and look really weird that way. I'm pretty much just waiting for my sweet husband to get here and pick up the U-haul.

I'm gonna miss everyone here. Are there really people as cool as the people here up there? This is the part that I have been avoiding since I really didn't know exactly when we would be leaving. And now it is here. God is so good in His timing though. My sweet mentee is leaving out of town tomorrow so she is going to miss the last class. And we are leaving Monday, so we are leaving at the same time. We would have still meet over the phone, but it's cool how it is all in the same week. Being a mentor is such a refreshing and convicting time. As a wife you are already doing the things these girls are learning about. It is always a wonderful reminder as to what I am supposed to be doing. It is an awesome time for you to be refined as well.

Anyway, I am very sleepy now so I better stop writing before I don't make any sense.

Our Mobile Home

Yeah! We will all be back in the same home soon. Like hopefully next week soon. Josh has been looking at land, mobile home parks, ect. And finally we have a place to move our home. Yeah! He has been contacting some mobile home movers and is waiting to hear back. To find out a day for next week. I am so stinking excited! The mobile home park is actually in Denton, so he will have about a 30 min drive to work. Not too bad. The park is nice and it has recently been taken over by new management. They have a playground, but I think they will be updating it. And adding a pool. The lot that we will have is in the back of the park, so the street is really not busy. The babies can ride their bikes and there won't be many cars to deal with. So that will be nice. I'm excited to get to know our new neighbors, but a little nervous too. We have some awesome neighbors now and I'll be sad to leave them. But, we will all be in the same home again, and that is good. I am thankful that my mom has opened her home to Josh so he could stay there and work while looking for a place for us. She's really cool.

So weird, we are moving from one college town to another. What's up with that. It's gonna be weird to live that close to the big city again. I drive on the highways up there now and think, how in the world did I drive on these insane roads when I was a teenager? Scary.

It will be nice to be close to family. My sister and I got to spend some time together this weekend and that was fun. They have my nephew who is two weeks younger than Bella. So the kids have fun playing together.

Oh and they have super tagrets up there. Super walmart is one thing, I love the prices there. But a super target, I wonder if their dollar spot is a super dollar spot?

Anyway, this is what we know so far. So, next week could be our last week in College Station. I will miss our sweet friends, who are more like family. I will miss being involved in their lives, and them in ours. But, I know this is not the end and we will get to see them again someday.

More down low on moving

Is that term outdated yet? Knowing me and my way behind style it probably is. This will be one benefit to living closer to my 16 year old nephew and my 15 year old sister. You can always learn the "in" talk from them.

So, the down low. We are still trying to see what we are supposed to do with our trailer. We will probably be moving it up there. It will cost a lot more upfront, but it will save us money in the long run. It will also allow us to save for a house. So, as of today, we are looking at moving our trailer. However, that could change tomorrow.

I can see how the Lord is working and trying to teach us through this situation. I know that He already has everything planned out, even though we can't see it, He can. We just have to wait, to be patient, and to be still. I feel like how my children must feel when I ask them to be still. They can do it for about five seconds or so and then they are off again. It also makes me think of when I tell them no, or wait, because I can see the car up ahead or whatever it is. I feel like He is saying wait, be patient, I have things worked out and they will happen in my time. No easy task. I keep trying to remember when I tell my babies no, or wait, and that helps to keep me focused. Most of the time. I am excited to see what He has in store for us. I know that it will work out.

I'm missing my sweet husband too. I thought, no problem, it will be fine, we will still get to talk to each other on the phone. That is much different than getting to sit together at the end of the day and just hang out. I thought I would have no problem falling asleep at night. I've been taking care of our children and stuff so I should have no problem hitting the pillow and crashing out. Usually, no problem. But it is weird without my husband. So ladies, hug your sweet husbands tonight and enjoy their company.

One cool thing that the Lord showed me I missed was serving my husband. He gave me a new perspective on that. Usually, I have to iron Josh's clothes for work. Most of the time I'm not thinking, "I'm so glad that I get to serve my husband." It is usually "How fast can I get this done and still have it look nice." Same with the laundry and making his lunch, or even dinner, whatever. But even before Josh came home for the weekend, the Lord was working. I had read the section in the Her Hands book about wise women love their husbands. It was sooo good. It was awesome to read the scripture about Bathsheba and her actions toward David. Just the way she spoke to him and honored him. It could have easily been a time where the wife says something like "Hello, what are you thinking?" "Why is this happening?" But she came to him in a way that honored him and showed respect for him. It was very encouraging! I want to obey the Lord and serve Him by respecting and serving my husband. I want to be thankful when I respect and serve my husband. I pray that the Lord will continue to change me, my heart and my attitudes. Put off, put on. The Lord helped me to be thankful to be helper to my husband however that may be. I was thankful to have him home. It was awesome and fun.
Sarah

I like to toot it, toot it!

Okay, so here is the down low about our moving situation. Josh started his job at the Citibank in Decatur on Monday. He really likes it and says that he likes the people he works with. He says there is also a really pretty view of the hills and stuff from where he works. That may not mean a lot to some people, but to him it is definitely a big deal. He loves the trees and the scenery in College Station and he was a little nervous he might not like it up there as much. But, he does so that is good.
So, Josh is staying at my mom's house and driving about 45min. to and from work. We are thankful that he has a place to stay. While he is up there he has been looking for a place for us to live. So, the other part of our family is still here. We are just waiting for Josh to say that he found a place and come on. He does get to come home this weekend so that will be VERY exciting!!! I have missed him and I know that his sweet babies have too.
As of today, that is what's going on with our family. We are excited to see what the Lord has up there. Josh went to a life group last night, kind of like our hope groups here. He said it was awesome, so when he is up there on a Sunday he will probably be checking out that church. This has all happened SO fast. It was only a little over a month ago that Josh applied for the job in Decatur. And it was only about three weeks ago that they called and asked when he could start. Crazy!!!! But exciting. The Lord has shown us another way to trust Him and have faith in Him and His plans. Scary, but exciting!
I hope all of this makes sense.

One of the fun things that happened today was during bath time. We were singing the song from the Madagascar movie about I like to move it, move it. Anyway, one of my sweet babies tooted. And Bella decided to change what we were singing to "I like to toot it, toot it" I thought that was so funny!!!! It was one of those moments when I was like, shouldn't I tell here not to sing about toot it, toot it. But it was sooo funny!

Sarah

Sad Moving Train

A couple of weekends ago we went to Oklahoma City to visit Josh's mom and stepdad. It was nice to get to visit them. The babies have so much fun with them and Jack loves his Papa. But, we only get to see them a couple of times a year or so. On the way back home Josh and I were talking about how it would be nice to be closer to our families. Currently we are 6 hours from OK City, 3 hours from Ft. Worth, and about 8-9 hours from Pampa. We do get to see my family much more often then Josh's, but it would still be nice to live closer. My sister is going to have her second child and it would be nice to be close enough to help her with my nephew. So for fun we were like, what's the first big town we come to when we get back into Texas. It was Gainsville. So, when we got back Josh called the Citibank up there to see if they had any jobs open. They said no, but Decatur does. So he got in touch with them and they told him to keep checking to see when they post the job.

Well, yesterday Josh called me and said I have a job up there if I want it. So, he starts on April 2. Crazy fast!!! I am excited to be closer to our families, but so sad about leaving our family here. We love our church family so much and love serving with them. They are an amazing group of believers and I have learned so much. If I think about this part of leaving too much I may get cold feet about moving. We have been praying for some time for an opportunity to live closer to our families. We asked the Lord to open or close doors. Josh had applied at a Citibank in Ft. Worth and in Amarillo a while ago, but didn't get transferred.

So, I am trusting the Lord with this. I know that He will work out the details of where we are supposed to live. Do we take our trailer or leave it here? Where will we put it? Ect, Ect, Ect...... I want to just have faith and I know that God will take care of us. He always does and he has the DVD to our lives. I know that He has already seen this part of our lives, I just have to trust Him.

I love our home here. I love our neighbors, I love the pretty flowers in the flowerbed, I love our church family, I love our friends here, I love our hope group, I love the sweet college students we have gotten to know. I love the Dollar Spot and the library. Hopefully they have a target fairly close by. I love Fridays with other moms and their children. I really love our church family. How are we ever going to find a new church? These are the kind of thoughts that get my eyes off trusting the Lord. Today is Wednesday and we usually have hope group on Wednesday. Bella said today, "Our friends coming over?" She loves everyone that comes over for hope group. Recently she has gotten to play with Kaylynn S. and has really enjoyed that. I am so gonna miss everyone. I know the babies will too.

I moved down here in 98' to go to A&M. That was nine years ago. I'll be 27 in June, so that is like a third of my life. So weird, so crazy!

I know it will be good. I think that we will be better able to minister to our family being closer. Josh will be able to develop a better relationship with our brother-in-laws. I am so excited about my sister having a baby! It will be her second child. And itwill be fun for Bella and Jack to play with my nephew much more often. Also, I have a sister who is almost 16, so it will be nice to be closer to her. She's will be getting her license soon, that is a little scary!

We are so blessed to have been a part of such a wonderful, biblical body of believers. We will miss the fellowship, but I know the Lord will provide. Well, I could ramble for a while, but I better get to bed.

I am so thankful for blogs, staying in touch will be much easier. Maybe I can get high-tech and get some pictures on here. Bella thought it was so cool to see a picture of Ashton on the computer one time. : )

The laundry is laughing at me

Last night was our first hope group for the semester, yeah! It was a lot of fun and the Lord brought some amazing people. God is so good! One thing that he has been trying to teach me with hope group and really with anyone coming over is to relax and enjoy them. In the past I have been so freaked out about making sure that our home was clean and nice for when people came over. I am kind of weird in that I actually like to clean. I like for things to be nice and pretty and clean. I used to clean when I was a kid too, so it has carried with me though the years. Anyway, I was so focused on cleaning and not focused on the wonderful people we were going to get to have in our home. Not only that I was so focused on cleaning I was not paying attention to the two sweet little people in our home. Lately the Lord has really tried to tell me to slow down and enjoy our babies while they are little. What other time in life can you make them laugh with the most simple, silly thing. I remember making a silly face a Jack the other day and he would just laugh like it was the most funniest thing in the whole world. I was thinking, wow, when else will I be able to make him laugh at such a little thing. Hopefully it will always be like that. But, it might not. So, I need to enjoy it, really enjoy that. And it is the same way with people coming over. Who cares if they see our home a mess? In light of eternity what does that matter? I'm not saying I shouldn't be a good steward of the home He has given us, but I need to love people more than caring about what someone will think if they see our home at the end of the day.

God is good and He put me with an amazing husband. His idea of clean and my idea are a little different. But, this is good. My husband would rather our home have toys on the floor, dishes in the sink, and a hideous pile of laundry, as long as the people in our home are not stressed out and grouchy, ie me. For my husband to come home and have a wife who is relaxed and babies who are so excited to see him means more to him than a spotless home. I'm not saying I should never clean up, or anything like that. Not all families and husbands are the same. If the Lord put me with someone who is as insane about cleaning as me, it would not be good. I should praise the Lord for the man I get to be married to and take his word about just relaxing and enjoying each other and those around us. You really get to know others better when you don't try to clean up everything and make things seem to be what they're not.
Well, enough rambling. I think I am going to try and tackle that pile of laundry that is laughing at me while Josh is at rehearsal and the babies are asleep.

Day 2

I wonder how much I'll actually blog on here. Is it like a new toy and the fun will wear off? This seems to be a really good way to wind down after the babies are put to bed. I want to start working on a scrapbook for Bella. It's a scary thing for me though. I'm one of those people who doesn't like to try new things, (scrapbooking, paint our walls) cause what if it doesn't turn out right? Well duh, then you just fix it. Hopefully I will be able to move on and realize that. The good news is these things don't have to be perfect. I doubt someone would walk into our home and say, "Wow, this color paint and paint job look terrible." It would be funny if they did, but not likely.

Josh and I painted Isabella and Jack's room before we moved in here. It was our first painting job ever. It turned out okay. It's a really pretty lavender color, very calming for in there. However, it was right before we found out we were pregnant again. In fact I think it is possible that I was pregnant when I was painting in there. We didn't know if there baby was a boy or a girl. Guess what, it's a boy. Yes, right now he sleeps in a lavender room. I don't think he knows that right now. We could just paint it again. But then who knows we could end up moving or something. Then what would be the point. See, that is the fear I am talking about. Well, I'm sure that we'll figure out something. Maybe we could draw a line down the middle of the room and half could be cute and girly and the other half could be blue or green or something.

Wow, amazing the way I can ramble on. Oh, one thing I forgot to mention in my last blog, was my amazing husband's anniversary gift for me. Our washer was not breaking and it would cost about half as much the cost of a new washer for someone to come out and fix it. So, Josh was amazing and took care of the whole situation. The day before our anniversay he went down and got a new washer for us, well me. It is very pretty and still has the new washer smell. Did I mention it is pretty. I was so proud of him for taking care of the situation. What a wonderful husband. I am thankful.

Sarah

My first blog!

Okay, here goes. My first blog. Wow, what do I really have to say, not much, but a lot all at the same time. Josh gets to do some community theater these days. The play is called God's favorite, he is SO excited. I'm excited to get to see him in community theater again. And it's a good play and he doesn't have to compromise his relationship with the Lord to be a part of it. I've had fun getting to run lines with him as he is learning his lines. Maybe someday we can act on stage together, that would be fun. First I would have to get over the fear of forgetting all my lines and messing up everyone else, and the scary being up in front of people thing. It would be fun though, I could express the extorvert that I am somewhere Really Really deep down. I did take a theater class in high school. That was a lot of fun. Met some interesting people.

Do you think people can start out as dog people and then become cat people? And then if you become a cat person can you go back to being a dog person? We have a dog and I would really like to be a dog person again so I can think him getting all happy and jumping around when he comes inside is cute instead of annoying. Anyway, in light of eternity, this really doesn't matter. Well, accept the fact that our dog is one of God's creation and I should be loving and kind toward the wonderful animal God has given our family. He really is a good dog. He lets our babies crawl all over him and he just lays there. See, that dog person thing coming out again. What is up with that?

Sarah

What Fun We Had

We went to the Splash Pad near Tanglewood Park today. A fun time was had by all, including little Jack. We've been there before, and he was, let's say, a little timid about playing by himself.
This time, he had a blast! He kept running back and forth through the spray rings. It was really cute. He'd gear himself up, start running (or toddling fast in his case) and would then raise his arms up kind of to cover his head, I guess.
Bella had a good time to, of course. She ended up playing in the dirt, collecting rocks and such. She's a funny kid. Later today, she was digging around our in our yard looking for worms. Maybe she'll be an archeologist someday.

We also (Sarah and I) got our new glasses in today. Woo-hoo! My lenses are the transition jobs. Awesome! It's so nice to be able to go outside and not be blinded by the light. (An Eighties song just wafted through my mind.)

Still taking it a step at a time, working through the finances. In God we trust, right?

And so our family blog begins.

What's new with us?

Joshua is on vacation this week.

He also just turned thirty-one on Monday (and consequently, his first white hairs have arrived on his chest.) He actually had a really great day. He got to play "scavenger hunt" to get his presents. (The cards with the clues spelled out SHMILY...See How Much I Love You.) We also got to go see Superman Returns. Mainly because Sarah is a genius and planned way ahead for a babysitter, all the while telling Joshua he had to go see the movie alone. (I am indeed a lucky man.)

We ate at Layne's for the first time today! For some of us, it was the first ever, for others (ahem...Sarah) it was their first inside dining experience there. We know it's good food, because Jack ate it, and he hardly eats anything!

Isabella had her second dentist appointment, and Jack had his first. Remarkably enough, Bella, who normally loves doctor appointments (even to the point where she pretends to give us, her stuffed animals, and any other willing participant a "check-up", shots included) was screaming and crying. Jack did too, of course, but we kind of expect that from him.

Things you can pray for:

Personal growth for all of us.

Joshua to become more of a leader in our home. (Yeah, that's his request.)

Financial stuff. That we would trust God as He leads us through one seeming crisis after another.

That we would be given wisdom needed to find a way to keep Ace in the yard.