little buddy love is 2

He got this hat from Gran and Grand Neil. He loves it! It is a low key day. We may go feed the ducks or something this afternoon. Since he does not know its his birthday AND since we are sucking wind through a straw these days, there is no party. Maybe when he's older he won't feel like the neglected third child.
At least he knows he is SUPER LOVED!

We love you Nate Nate! You bring much joy to our family. We are so glad God gave you to us when He did. He always does know what is best for us.

your hands

I wanted to add this song to my blog but did not know how so here it is. I heard it shortly after we found out we were moving. I just love it. I heard it again yesterday and could not help but think about those around the world who literally had their world shaken. But even then, they are in His Hands.

Upward Soccer

I got Streed signed up for soccer in Little Rock. His first game will be our first weekend there. We will miss the first two practices but I think this will be a great way to jump right in to meeting people and having something to look forward to. It is Upward Soccer through one of the churches that we want to visit. I think (know) I am more excited about it than he is. I already have plans to get them all signed up for swimming lessons at the YMCA this summer. I called yesterday but they are not booking it yet. Go figure, it is February.

I have never been a planner but I am feeling the need right now to not just wing-it. I am also busy looking for preschools for Ella and Nate. I know most places are registering right now. I will be homeschooling Streed in the fall and find it will be best for my mental state as well as their social interaction to have somewhere to go a few days a week. Also with that I am trying to find one close by our apartment. I do not want to be on the road the entire 3 hours. Anyway, one of them (2 mins from our apt) emailed today and said they will be registering March 1 and for me to call her that day and they would see about getting them in. She said there is normally a waiting list but to not give up hope. EVERYTHING about this move has gone exceptionally smooth so far. I have a list of things that I am just trying to pray about, preschool is one of those. I know it will all work out.

Chip is home

Chip got home Friday. He had not been here in about 3 or 4 weeks. He is bathing the kids right now. I am loving listening to them, knowing they are getting clean, and knowing I am not the one bathing them. He leaves again in the morning for another week of training. Surprisingly, I am hanging in there. Some days are worse than others but you just do what ya gotta do. I went to the grocery store today and got lots of preservative-filled easy meals. Here's to another week. This will be a step up from the fast food and pizza we have all be consuming. It is called survival mode.

We did have a really fun weekend visiting friends though. Chip is loving his job and the training but it was good home for a little while. He will come home again this next weekend because our little Nate Nate is somehow turning 2!

Remember this?

Well, she has come and gone. We sold her tonight. She was a good truck. She just did not meet the needs of the new job. Chip will be having to keep some equipment in his vehicle as well as take people out to lunch etc. He needs something roomy and comfortable for lots of traveling. Unfortunately this probably means it will have really bad gas mileage. Any suggestions?

for fun

Nick just emailed me this picture. His caption said, "You don't wanna mess with me. I am spiderman...on a horse". Ella's expression looks like she feels totally safe riding with her hero.

My posts have seemed so heavy lately I thought this was fun. I love the lighting. No pun intended. Even though I was trying to lighten things up a bit. Cheese.

i was comfortable

I have been thinking a lot about this concept lately. I read it tonight on someones blog and it was like I wrote it. So, i copied and pasted.

... quote by Francis Chan. He says, “Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens-they have their savings account. They don’t need God to help them-they have their retirement plan in place. They don’t genuinely seek out what life God would have them live-they have life figured and mapped out. They don’t depend on God on a daily basis-their refrigerators are full and, for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God.” I was lukewarm, my life was so comfortable, and I knew exactly what I wanted to be doing for the next ten years. I wanted three or four more kids that looked exactly like me. I wanted a nice house, good friends, and nothing unplanned or unexpected. I was living in my comfort zone, and I had no plans to leave.

But you see, I don’t think God thinks much of comfort zones. I don’t think He is too concerned with us being comfortable because I think we are most useful to Him when we are out of our comfort zones. Sometimes we are thrown out of our comfort zones by circumstances completely out of our control...

Looking Up

Here are portions of two emails I have gotten recently. God is taking care of us, His people. I knew He would. I never had a doubt I was/am just sad about leaving those I already know and love. But, Chip and I know we are being led and will get to know and love new parts of the body.

#1 Hey girls! Doug and I have new friends that are moving to Arkansas and don't know anyone except us! They are in their early 30's and precious! Chip & Shelley Crooms. The are great Christian people with 3 young children. As you might imagine, she is completely overwhelmed. They are renting an apartment in LR at first, but are interested in building. Will you guys please say hi and get to know her? I don't know if she has facebook or not. Soooooooo....Ashley, Jennifer, and Mary Beth meet Shelley. Shelley meet Ashley, Jennifer and Mary Beth.

#2 If y'all are coming up to visit and look around sometime before you'd move, we'd love to get the chance to take you out to dinner or something and chat, if you've got the time... I remember how hectic getting ready to move is! (For that matter, we've got a spare bedroom if you need someplace to stay without running up a hotel bill.) If nothing else, let us know when you're moving up and we can get some people together to help move boxes and play with kids. (Lauren has her parents and five younger brothers and sisters living in town, and we make shameless use of them for free baby-sitting and manual labor.) That's not just a polite offer -- seriously, let us know!

the aftermath

So, I think the weekend trip to The Natural State let the wind out of my sails. Coming home I text my friend that had the kids. I told her I was so ready to be home. She asked if it was not a fun weeked. I said, "It was, BUT it is not home yet." It was pretty and hilly and we met some nice people. BUT I saw just how hard it is going to be not knowing anybody or anything. For instance, the interstates that run through there are 430 and 630. BUT they run in opposite directions. It is my understanding that even numbered interstates run East to West whereas odd numbered ones ran North to South. Apparently that ain't the case in Arkansas. So, I felt totally lost those 4 days. I never knew where we were going.

We ate lunch Saturday at Chick-fil-A. I walked in to see many families with young kids. I joked with Chip that I felt like asking if anyone wanted to be my friend. I quickly decided that my plan of action will be to eat lunch every Saturday or an alternating day during the week to meet people. Our apartment complex is right at the top of the hill from Chick-fil-A and a really nice shopping center. I guess we could just go there and stroll around on pretty days.

And I decided that you just have to talk to people wherever you go and ask questions. Like, do your kids play sports, where are the fun parks, do you go to church, in what part of town do you live etc. Chip made me do this to the couple behind us one night at dinner. They were super friendly and we found out where they go to church etc. They even invited us to their house to watch the Super Bowl. (I was flying home that day and Chip actually already had plans. Otherwise we may have gone.) Later that night we were getting Chip some jeans at Belk, also by our apartment. We started talking to the guy who was helping us. He does home inspections on the side with some of his friends who are also builders. I asked him if he goes to church. He goes to the same one as the couple from the restaurant. BUT apparently about 10,000 other people do too.

And I am tired. I came home from the weekend tired. Apartment hunting for a 3 bedroom is exhausting. It was emotionally draining more than anything. And I am on week three of single parenthood. BUT we are heading to Mobile this weekend for the week so the kids can see Chip. Tomorrow is the home inspection and I am taking my van to get the handle fixed. This will involve transferring three car seats to rental van and then transferring them back a few hours later. Not a big deal it is just something else to do.

in Little Rock

Chip and I are in LR for a few days looking for a rental house or apartment. We got a contract on our house after only 4 days on the market. We are not closing until the end of March. This trip was set up before we even had the contract. Pray for wisdom on where we should land here. There are so many areas/suburbs. We want to find a church before we buy so we are going to rent for about 6-12 months. It is hard to know where to start. We got here tonight and it was dark and rainy so hopefully in the light of day we will have some success.

The kids are with Casey and Jill tonight and then Ryan and Leanne for the rest of the weekend. What am I going to do without my friends when i move!!!