Thursday, August 20, 2009

Happy birthday Auntie K




Happy birthday Kristin, a few days late! We love you so much and are so proud of you! Thank you for all your love and support and a special thanks from Averi for all the time you spend playing and caring for her when we come to visit- she truly adores you! See you Saturday sister!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Here I am at 29 weeks



and here I am at 31 weeks



I can not believe we are going to meet this girl sometime in the next couple months!!! I can not wait!!!!

August...

I have been beyond blessed to have such a non hot summer for my pregnancy! Most days have been pretty bearable, even nice out with only a few REALLY hot days! We did have a lot of rain tho which is always a bummer, I hate being locked inside all day! I am sad to see summer go so before it does we are savoring every minute we can in the sun!





Friday, August 14, 2009

Our girl...

She has the most beautiful eyes...
she can make you smile when all you want to do is cry...
she will run up to a stranger and give them the best of hugs...
she can sing louder and more of key then anyone, yet it is the
prettiest sound in the world...


She is strong willed...
she laughs until you laugh with her...
she dances as if noone is watching...
She is fearless...



She is beyond beautiful...
she is wildly funny...
she is one of our greatest joys...
she chases the dog around until he gets so tired he finally
collapses into her ungentle lovins...



She is the greatest gift from God...


We... are beyond blessed to call her our daughter

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

selling the van




As I said in our previous post we have made the difficult decision to sell our van. This is especially hard because we are very proud of the fact that we paid cash for it and do not owe anything. It is also that fact that lead us to the difficult decision that as much as we like it, in order to get out of debt it has to go! Debt is a nasty entangling thing, we have learned the hard way how much it can effect your life when you allow it to get out of control.... what we would not do to go back two years and change the financial mistakes we have made, unfortunately that is not an option SO we must persevere and plan each step to eventually become debt free. Becoming this way is not going to be easy, it means working extra hours, being exhausted and selling our precious van to squeeze two car seats in our Cobalt!
We are thrilled and excited tho because a man came and looked at the van yesterday and called today with an offer only about two hundred lower then we had wanted so after weeks of dealing with craigslist emails, and people coming by to look at it yet not buy it tomorrow (all going well) the van will be SOLD!!!! Woo hoo! We are excited and sad at the same time to see it go but mostly excited about our decisions and our future!

Friday, August 7, 2009

what a week....

We thought this week was going to be like any other, and it so was not! Kevin had already taken this Saturday off from Applebees in order to work St. Joes picnic (he does this every year as all the money goes to the orphanage) when about two weeks ago we got a call from his dad to let us know his uncle who was planning to get married in October had decided to move it up to this coming weekend! We are thrilled and excited for his uncle and wouldn't miss it for the world so Kev stepped down from doing St. Joes and we planned a quick trip to Tn (leave Saturday come back Sunday).. unplanned trips always make your week busy...
BUT this made our week even crazier! Two of my good friends Sarah and Lauren (Lauren just so happens to be dating my brother) lived in different apartments but in the same building... well on Tuesday during all the storm craziness their apartment got struck by lightening and burned down. Lauren was home and THANK GOD got out with her dog, both unharmed, she lost almost everything but has renters insurance so she should be OK. Sarah was not home and had literally just moved her stuff in the night before, she had not called for insurance yet and she too lost almost everything!
Lauren has been staying with us, which means my brother has been here a lot and Sarah has been here just for the company! It has been fun in a way because it feels as if we are in college again and hanging out til all hours like it is perfectly acceptable... of course at 730 when miss Av wakes up I am regretting the night before! Our house is a wreck as we try to sort through the few things (mostly clothes) Lauren could keep and as we've added extra bodies and one extra dog! It is a lot crazy but a blessing to be able to help someone else. We wouldn't want Lauren, my brother or Sarah anywhere else, we want to help... even if all we can offer is food, one shower and a couch!
This whole tragedy has reminded me and Kev both how unbelievably blessed we are to have a home, each other and our possessions... but more then that how quickly our home and possessions could be taken from us! We are blessed to have a maker who loves and cares for us, Sarah and Lauren are blessed to have this same relationship with God, altho that doesn't take all the pain they feel in the wake of a tragedy! Join us in praying for them both... and for the families that lived in the other 14 units that are now destroyed, the apartment complex only had one empty apartment to offer and it was given to Sarah as she had just signed a lease... so all the other tenants are out of their leases but are stuck trying to find a new home!
In the midst of all of this we have been trying to sell our van. This was an unbelievably hard decision as we both REALLY love our van, but we have made a strong commitment to become debt free and are therefore making sacrifices to become that way. We wish we could sell our car but unfortunately we are still making payments on it so as the van is paid for it is the one that has to go! We have had several people interested and one that seems particularly interested, please pray that our van sells for a good price and in good timing so we can be in a better spot when miss Sof comes! We are dedicated to living debt free and dedicated to glorifying God with our money even when that means going without!

Saturday, August 1, 2009




...This beautiful baby girl fell asleep on my lap and joined me for a glorious hour long nap the other day... what a sweet hour!

I think thats Sofies...

I remember the first time we put Av in her car seat, it swallowed her! Now she is just a little too big for it, I think it is time to pass that seat on to miss Sofie!