#3

I sort of slipped this in at the end of my previous post, but decided later that it might be worth a post of its own. ;)

Baby #3 is due on Elliot's birthday, May 15th.

Poor Elliot. As if being the middle child won't be challenging enough, he may have to share his birthday with another little one. Extra prayers for that boy...

We are all getting a little more excited by the day. It is still feeling a bit surreal, though!

The Merriest Christmas

Happy, happy holidays, and merry Christmas to you. I feel like this is already the merriest Christmas I've had in years. Maybe the merriest ever? I actually feel bad typing that because my family---my sweet, enduring, patient family---has seen me at my worst and grouchiest lately, but I really do feel this has been a wonderful season.

Andrew and I decided to not exchange gifts this year because we will be taking a trip the weekend after Christmas. The kids will each receive a couple of things... nothing fancy. I stuck to this idea: something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read. I actually didn't even get the kids books because they each received one from one of my uncles. 

We didn't plan anything for Christmas Day that will involve driving, leaving the house, or even getting out of our pajamas. I'm pretty excited to spend the day having coffee, cookies, and snuggling up with my babies. And cooking a big fish. Mmmmm. 

Like I mentioned earlier, we will be leaving for a couple of weeks, so I wish you all the merriest Christmas! We will be back with photos and stories from our road trip to Banff. I am so excited to spend New Years in the mountains! It's also our 5 year (engagement) anniversary on New Years Day. Who could have guessed where we would be 5 years later---two kids, & a third on the way. We have been blessed so abundantly.


Merry Christmas.

2015: the year

I am a very goal oriented person. I thrive on deadlines. Like most people, I may procrastinate from time to time, but I really love the process of checking things off of a list. This probably explains why I love New Years. The feeling of leaving one year and entering the next is soooo good. It's like an automatic fresh start! To quote Anne of Green Gables, "Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it." I love that.

I was thinking of things I would like to accomplish in the upcoming year. Not necessarily even goals, but things I would like to do. I decided to narrow the mental list down to just 30 things---some just fun activities, and others, personal goals. Here is what I have come up with:

1. Exercise more

2. Plant a tree

3. Volunteer somewhere new

4. Invite a stranger to dinner

5. Send snail mail

6. Paint a self portrait

7. Study another language

8. Give generously

9. Knit a sweater

10. Go on a picnic

11. Write a short story

12. Read (at least) one book per month

13. Make donuts 

14. Save money

15. Take a road trip

16. Go camping 

17. Visit a new state

18. Don't buy any new clothes (for the entire year)

19. Maintain the current in one-out one policy for everything in the home

20. Host a dinner party

21. Have a lemonade stand with the kids

22. Build a snow fort

23. Memorize scripture

24. Grow more produce

25. Bring a neighbor cookies

26. Take a community ed class

27. Swim in a lake

28. Conquer an old fear

29. Forgive people

30. Read the bible every day

Seems doable, right? Guess we will have to find out. Yay, 2015! And p.s. 2014, you haven't been so bad.

when things don't go as planned

I can admit, our decision to move halfway across the state was a bit rushed. It really felt like the timing was right! Andrew's job had relocated, we had found the perfect new home, and had a lot of interest in our current home, meaning it would be easy to sell. But things didn't work out that way.

I've been sort of contemplating how to even phrase it all... the series of events that led to this moment. There's not a lot to say. The timing wasn't right. God had something else in store---something very unexpected, and very challenging.

We took my 19 year old sister in and began to work with her, not really knowing what we were getting ourselves into. Now she has left, and is, hopefully, going to truly begin her life, free of the past.

The story is long. Emotional. Painful. And still a little too fresh to dig into. We are praying for her, and trusting that all of this---all of the changes, dreams put on hold ... all of the sacrifices---were for her benefit. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.


More soon.