for my memory's sake

several cute things lately

ELLA: tonight ella was praying and she said, "I need to tell you something serious. Mary had you when you were a baby. And I want to thank you for that."

i was cutting apples the other day with the pampered chef cutter. ella wanted to help of course. i said no because it was sharp and she could get hurt. she then asked, in all sincerity, "but do the apples not get boo boos?"

STREED: it seems like streed said something too. i know tonight he was excited about getting married one day and how it was going to be so fun. but i can't remember what i was going to say about him. what i can say about streed is that he amazes me. the other day i was very upset with him about something. i think it was a day he got a really bad temper with a boy down the street. i sent him inside and he was not to play the rest of the day. he was hysterical. a few minutes later i passed his room and he was standing beside the bed praying about what he had done. he was still crying but he was crying out to God. it brought me to tears. i went in and hugged him and prayed with him. a similar thing happened today. not with another kid but with him getting really upset. (it was unlike anything i have ever seen out of him in all of his 5 years. i think he is having a hard time with the move but does not really know he is or how to process it.) anyway, he was over-the-top hysterical. a short time later he came out of his room, all splotchy in his face, and told me he prayed about it. he was much calmer after this. he has always had a tender heart towards the Lord. this is definitely something i want to be conscious about nurturing.

NATHAN: all the kids sleep in the same room now. ella has a room with a full-size bed but she really likes to be with her brothers. nate is enjoying reading time. now that they are sharing a room we just do our nightly reading all together. we were doing it with the older two in our room once we put nate down but now he is getting to hear the bible as well. when we start to get ready for bed he says, "Read, Read" but it sounds more like "Weed, Weed". He will also say "bible" and "Jesus". he does not necessarily sit still or be quiet but he is learning that we read the Bible and that Jesus is someone in that book.

Timeline

We do not have a set move date. Chip has several (8) weeks of training. They are predicting we will move sometime in April. Chip and I are going up to Little Rock later this week for a few days to look for something to rent. An actual move date would be nice but we will just take each day as it comes I guess.

We put our house up for sale this weekend. It actually went on a fsbo website on Friday night. We showed it once last night and twice today. One lady we think will make a predicated offer. She has to sell her home out of town but has been wanting to get into our neighborhood. Two of her three kids live in Baton Rouge and her daughter lives in this neighborhood.

I have been praying specifically that it will sell by owner by the time we move. So, we have some time but not much. I am hoping to build some good habits over the next few weeks. Keeping the house in "show condition" is going to be a challenge by myself. My goal is to straighten every night before bed so that it is not overwhelming when someone calls. A clean and tidy house is so peaceful. I really do love it. And it looks so much prettier that way. By the way, I think my house is photogenic. I do not know that it is that pretty in person. And we did not pay close to our asking price in case you were wondering. We got a really great deal on this house. It is just a starting point. Obviously hoping for a profit. But also it gives us some wiggle room. Every buyer loves to think they are getting a deal, right :)

Woo Pig Sooie

I was looking for a song about Arkansas in order to announce our state change. You know, something like Georgia on My Mind, Rocky Top, Sweet Home Alabama. But no, all i could find was this...

A chant of “Woo Pig Sooie” is known worldwide as a Hog Call. Just like any good tradition, there are lots of versions of the Hog Call (even spellings).

A properly executed Hog Call is composed of three “calls,” slowly raising one’s arms from the knees to above the head during the “Woo.” Traditionalists prescribe an eight second “Woo.” The fingers should be wiggled and the “Woo” should build in volume and pitch as the arms rise.

Upon completion of the “Woo,” both arms are brought straight down with fists clinched as if executing a chin-up while yelling, “Pig”. The right arm is extended up and out with the “Sooie.”

A full Hog Call -- the kind one will always hear victorious Razorback teams execute after contests -- requires two more Hog Calls, followed immediately by a “Razor-Backs” yell, coordinated with a pumping motion of the right arm after the third “Sooie.” So, in order, the full Hog Call is:
Woooooooo. Pig. Sooie!
Woooooooo. Pig. Sooie!
Woooooooo. Pig. Sooie!
Razorbacks!

All I can say is, not a chance I will be doing that! And I mean it!

adventures await

I am too tired to give a long update and too tired to enter in all the addresses I need to in order to make this private. So, for those of you who do not yet know, Dec 31st was Chip's last day with Campus Outreach. God had been redirecting him and we were being faithful to seek Him and our next step in this little temporal journey called life. On January 7 the job we thought was going to be the perfect job for Chip fell through. As soon as the news was delivered that it was not an option, an other option was on the table. It was an offer to work with a great company doing what he wanted to do, but it was out of state. This was hard to take at first because we love where we are and we have yet to be here for a full year. But, a few days after the news we met with the company, heard more about the new job opportunity and knew it was what we had to and wanted to do. I have told many people that the only sacrifice we are making with this next step is leaving friends and moving farther from family. There are countless positives to working for this company. And I really think it is going to be a perfect job for Chip. He has been out of town training all week (the first of 8) and he is so excited...about the company, the new team, his job responsibilities, etc.

We have our moments of sadness. Church is hard. We love the people here. Since the news is so new people are just finding out so telling people is sometimes hard. Telling the kids teachers and watching them play with their friends is hard. I take comfort in that they are young. But, I am sad that they do have great friends here. But I am thankful that they have made such good friends here in such a short period of time. Chip and I have made some great friends here too. Yes we moved here with people whom we have known and worked with forever. But we have also made some great friends that we feel like we have known for a lot longer than 11 months. So that gives hope for the next place we will live. When I was putting the kids to bed the other night I prayed for God to give them new friends. I want to teach them to pray for things like that. To pray about all things. God most certainly cares about our friendships. It is very weird to think about Chip and I going to a totally new place where we know NO ONE and meeting people. Chip and I are so different. When we met some people here for the first time I told Chip that I was nervous because I wondered if they liked us. His response was, "Why wouldn't they!" I just had to laugh.

The key to all this and the theme of our sadness is centered around the body of Christ. It is painful when there is a tear or a sever in the physical body. This is true for the spiritual body as well. The difference is that we can and will go attach to another part of the body of Christ. It is like a transplant, not an amputation. So, we will go to our new destination and look for a body that is in need of some Crooms. We pray that God will fit us right where we are needed.

peace

thankful for the prayers and the comfort of the Lord. i am feeling peaceful.

what i am living

the heart of man plans his way but the Lord establishes his steps. proverbs 16:9

i have not posted anything about this because i am a "facts person", i like details. if i don't have the facts or the details i would rather not say anything. but, chip and i need wisdom and clear direction from the Lord on our next step in life. the step is upon us. it feels like an escalator. you take the right step at the right time and your journey is a smooth one. you misstep and it could be painful. i am not naive enough to think that God wants our life to be smooth. i know ultimately He wants us to follow Him closely, glorify Him in all we do and in the end look more like Him because He has sanctified us along the way.

more to follow later as i get more information. please just pray for us.

i grabbed my hymnal today to sing/read "O God, Our Help in Ages Past" (psalm 90:1). In getting to it I stumbled upon "God Will Take Care of You" (nahum 1:7). Beside that hymn was "A Shelter in the Time of Storm"(psalm 62:7), "Savior Like A Shepherd Lead Us" (john 10:3), "He Leadeth Me" (exodus 15:3)... The verse reference correspond to the hymn. Thankfully they are posted right under the hymn title for me to take comfort. Apparently this section of the hymn book is for Guidance & Care. I will be camped out here for the next few days/weeks/years.

Lets be honest

At the end of some days you just really feel the need for something sweet and/or a stiff drink. Tonight, my beverage of choice will be a roaring cup of hot chocolate. I think I will get crazy and add some marshmallows.

Revolving Door

I should be cleaning my kitchen, which includes sweeping under Nate's seat. I have already cleaned the kitchen once today, which included sweeping it in its entirety. However, to spice it up, tonight I will add mopping to the mix. Agh. Repeat outloud: I am thankful for a home to clean, food to cook and a family after whom to clean.

Chip just told me that he would mop!!!