Marble Madness

Auntie Kelly sent the coolest "Marble Game", as Nolan calls it, and we have been playing with it non-stop.  That is, after the kids played with the packing peanuts that were in the box for over 2 hours.  Here are some pictures of the packing peanut fun, followed by some videos of the marble madness.

Saturday's With Lauren

Over the past few months I (Ryan) have alternated taking each of the kids to Lowe's for a Build and Grow clinic.  The mornings kind of go like this:  Lowe's for the clinic, some type of errand running and then lunch out with Dad.  A few weeks ago I posted about a project that Nolan andI built together (here).

Well, Lauren and I have been having our outings, too.  She built this caboose, Nolan built a coal car, and she finished the train with an engine.  Lauren also joined me on an errand afterwards on another project day to The Home Depot where we spotted a stack-out promotion of one my safes - very cool!

It is so good to spend these Saturday mornings with the kids.  I'm so fortunate that I don't have to be traveling all the time for work like I did once upon a time.

Kids' Christmas Lists

Lauren decided to write her Christmas list to Santa all on her own this year.  To be honest, she is on the fence as to whether or not Santa is real or not.  She says the kids at school tell her he isn't real, but she still wants to believe that he is.  When she asks me, I tell her that I think he is.  Here is her list (click to enlarge):

She was also kind enough to let Nolan dictate his wish list to her, which she dutifully wrote down.  Here is what made his list (click to enlarge):

Halloween Monster Truck Project

Lowe's has a great program called "Build and Grow" where kids can build a small craft with a parent.  Papa had taught us about this when Lauren was little, but somewhere along the way I forgot about it.  I ran across a clinic at our local Lowe's while I was visiting to buy paint supplies for our new house and I thought it would make for a fun Father/Son outing.  Here are some pictures of our time at our first clinic.  He had a blast, got his very own apron and earned a badge for the project which Kimberly will be sewing on for him.  He also loves his Monster Truck (he pronounces it Monka Truck):

Making Music On The Road

Not until just recently has Nolan even showed any interest in singning songs, but he does sing Jesus Loves Me at bed time.  Then, all of a sudden, he started singing this song he made up and he sings it all the time.  Kimberly says that for her it is probably the cutest thing he does right now.

A Place to Call Home

I know I am way behind on updating this blog and I apologize for that.  It's hard to believe that we've now been living in NY for over 6 months!  We have been thoroughly enjoying our summer - using the weekends to explore new areas, taking hikes, having picnic lunches & climbing trees.  So nice to be able to be outdoors without the sweltering heat & humidity, like we had in the South. :)

This last week, we received a call from our realtor in NC, saying that there was a family who was interested in renting our house.  They wanted to sign a 3-year lease (with a potential option to purchase).  Since we haven't had much interest thus far and showings had slowed to a crawl, we decided to explore the option.  We prayed about it and felt that God was leading us to accept their offer.  So, Ryan flew down to Charlotte last Friday to meet the renters, sign the paperwork & talk with a moving company about when they could pack up all our stuff to bring to NY.

At the same time all of this was happening, the Lord was working to prepare a place for us to live.  I received an email from a friend of mine here in NY that her brother-in-law had a house that he was looking to rent.  It's just a few miles from where we live now (in the same town) and still close to Lauren's school.  After driving to look at it, I instantly knew that this was the place.  It is out on a country road with a private drive on 5 acres of land.  The house is older, but the property is beautiful...and there was plenty of space for all of our things.  Here are some pictures of our new surroundings:

So, now everything has kicked into hyper-speed.  We are flying my mom out to help with the kids during the move and Ryan will be heading back down to Charlotte on September 7th to be there when the movers come to pack everything up.  We will probably move into the new place on the 12th.  In the midst of all of this, Lauren & Nolan are both starting back to school (Lauren on the 7th and Nolan on the 13th) and I am traveling to NYC for a conference (the 6th-9th).  It's a crazy time in our lives, with so many details to organize & things to prepare...but we are incredibly grateful that the Lord is holding us in the palm of His hand, giving us the strength we need & providing for us in ways that we never could have imagined!

Banner Day

For the first time since we moved here, the temperature reached:

80 degrees!!!

Didn't think it was possible...

My Goofy Kids

3 party-blowers in her mouth at once!

Making a car out of a box

Boots, hard-hat, flashlight & keys

Crazy eyes

Watching tv in his little "bed"

Father-daughter date night @ church

His favorite way to run around!

Time Flies

I can't believe it has almost been a month since my last blog post!  Where has the time gone?  Let's see if I can try to recap what has been going on with us:

We have started visiting a church nearby that we really like.  It is a pretty large congregation, but the worship and teaching is really great...and the kids enjoy it, so that is a good sign.  Ryan is feeling more settled now at work and made very good impressions on everyone during their Sales Meeting Week they just wrapped up.  He had a quick overnight trip to Atlanta for a customer site visit (Home Depot), but other than that, there has been no travel (praise the Lord!). 

Lauren is continuing to do well at school and recently received a "blue ribbon" in Math.  Even though she has had the hardest time adjusting, she is finally starting to make some good friendships and feel more at home here.  Nolan is as happy as ever - firmly resisting potty training and refusing to release the pacifier from his tight clutches.  Hard to believe that he will be 3 next week!!  We took the paperwork into the place where he will be attending preschool next year and got him all signed up.  We visited the classroom and he loved it - he cried when I said it was time to leave!  Thankfully, it will only be 2 days a week for a few hours, so I won't be too traumatized by this next stage of his life.  They grow up so fast!

The last exciting thing for us is that in one more week, my mom will be coming to visit!  The best part is that I will drive down to Charlotte by myself to collect some of our spring clothes and a few other things we need.  Then, I will pick her up at the Charlotte airport and we get to have a girls road trip back up to New York.  She has already planned out our route, including some fun stops along the way!  Ryan is taking 3 days off work (bless his heart) so we can have this time together.  Once we make it to New York, my mom will be staying with us for a whole month!  And at the end of her trip, my dad is coming out for a week.  We are beside ourselves with excitement!!  I'm sure I'll have alot of pictures and stories to share from our trip, so check back...

Happily Settled

Sorry it has taken me so long to post this! But, most of you know (through Facebook and email) that we are all settled in our new place now. And I have to say, I am thankful for the time we spent in our first dump of a place...because we are all the more GRATEFUL for where we are now! :)

We have two bathrooms. I have counter space. There is a laundry room. We have a basement. I have a walk-in closet. The rental furniture that Ryan picked out (I never saw a thing until it had all been delivered) looks brand new and some of it is nicer than the furniture we have back at home in NC! It is fabulous! The kids are loving having the space to spread out. They enjoy going down to the basement and playing soccer and running around. We have no neighbors above or below us so they can be as loud as they want. We also have a very nice maintenance man who comes every morning and plows our driveway and the road for us. A girl could get used to this!!

As appreciative of we are of this new home, we are still praying that our house will sell soon so we can buy our own place here. In fact, we are having our first showing today!! Here's to hoping...

His Eye is on the Sparrow

Why should I feel discouraged,
Why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart feel lonely,
And long for heaven and home...
When Jesus is my portion?
A constant friend is He!
His eye is on the sparrow;
And I know He watches me.

"Let not your heart be troubled",
His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness,
I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth,
But one step I may see.
His eye is on the sparrow;
And I know He watches me.

Whenever I am tempted,
Whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing,
When hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him,
From care He sets me free.
His eye is on the sparrow;
And I know He watches me.

Discovering Joy

Psalm 94: 18-19:
"When I said, 'My foot is slipping',
Your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
Your consolation brought me joy."

I will never forget that moment...when Ryan came to me and said he had decided to take the job in New York. I felt like my world was spinning out of control. I could feel my emotions taking a dive into a downward spiral I was afraid I could never come back from. I truly believed that coming here would ruin me (emotionally speaking). I was completely prepared to enter a deep depression and struggle my way through. I was afraid of what this move would do to me.

So, here we are, one month later. And I stand in awe of what the Lord has done. Not only has He helped me deal with the hardships and staggering life changes we have gone through, but He has inexplicably placed in my heart...JOY! (gasp) How can this be? I can't understand it. Anyone from the outside looking in would think that we have nothing to be thankful for; that we are far worse off than we were before - living in a tiny apartment, facing a bitterly cold climate in an unfamiliar town. But they would be wrong.

The Lord has placed within me a grateful spirit. And what I once thought would be my demise has become a true blessing. Because I am finding light in the darkness. I am seeing the good in every moment. Having a smaller place to live has brought us closer together. The cold weather outside has provided some fun adventures for our family. Maybe having less is a good thing after all. It has made us more thankful for everything we had before; all that we had taken for granted. And it is reminding us of what is really important.

In spite of all the changes and difficulties, our family has never been tighter. Our marriage is thriving. And God is showing Himself in such visible ways that there is no denying His will has brought us here. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." He alone deserves the glory...for every good and perfect gift we have is from His hand!!

Movin' On Up...

I had to title this blog entry using the name of the song from the Jeffersons (does anyone remember that show?). Because I joke that where we live now is completely ghetto (which is slightly true, considering it was built in the 60's and hasn't been updated since...and because there are cigarette burn marks on the carpets and the kids found an old cigarette butt in their closet - gross!).

Anyway, we had the sheer joy of going to look for a new apartment last weekend! Ryan's company is paying for us to stay here for 60 days (which will end March 1st) and then they pay for us to move into a rental property of our choice (as long as we stay within the budget they've given us) for 6 months. So, we went and looked at two different places and I have to say, I've never been so excited! The one we decided on is a townhome with our own private entrance, attached garage, dishwasher (squeal!), washer & dryer (shriek!) and the best part...a full finished basement!! I am beside myself.

The funniest part was that when we went looking, I was fully expecting to get a 3-bedroom place. But, when we were walking through that model, the kids were so upset thinking they'd be in separate rooms. They have so enjoyed being together and they've gotten used to it! It really is sweet to see their little friendship blossom. Anyway, they pleaded with us to get the 2-bedroom unit with the basement so they could still share a room and they could use the basement as their "clubhouse".

After being there and seeing how much nicer it is, not to mention they are BRAND NEW, I am quite anxious to leave this place. As in, I have a countdown on the refrigerator and I cross off the days!! The kids are looking forward to it, too - even though it isn't our own house and we can't paint or decorate, it will give us more space to move around and settle in. Only 42 more days and we are outta here!!!! Here are a couple pictures of our new place...

The Process of Leaving

This is what we go through each time we want to go somewhere:

- Put my hat, coat, scarf, gloves and boots on
- Put Nolan's hat, coat, gloves and boots on
- Walk out to the parking lot, try to keep Nolan from stepping in the high snow piles, where he would disappear completely
- Unlock car, pray the doors haven't frozen shut, get Nolan in his carseat
- Brush snow/scrape ice of tops, sides and windows of car
- Start engine and crank the heat
- Put the car in reverse, then in drive, then in reverse again until I build up enough momentum to slide sideways out of my parking spot (or do a complete 360 like I did the other day)
- Drive slowly up the hill out of the parking lot, trying to not slide and hit other cars

Then it is another whole process when we get back from going out somewhere...makes me want to stay inside all day!

And So It Begins...

I'm not sure what it is, but over the last few weeks, it seems that our daughter has become a teenager!

While we were on our road trip, we had just finished eating dinner at a restaurant and she said she had to go to the bathroom before we left. So, off she ran to the restroom and then she came back quickly. I knew there was no way she could have gone to the bathroom that fast, so I asked her what was wrong. She said, "Oh, I didn't have to use the bathroom...I just wanted to check my hair."

Then, yesterday we were heading out to run some errands and she got dressed and put her boots on and said to me, "I wish we had a full-length mirror here like we did at home. I need to make sure these boots look okay with my outfit."

I'm not sure where all this is coming from, but I am not encouraging it...the longer we can put off the pre-teen/teenager phase, the better!!