Jeremiah 29:11

What?! You're moving?!

I've been hearing that a bit lately at which point I give my standard answer: Yes, we're military, we move. It's going to be a great year for us, and we're looking forward to it, but it will be really really hard to leave Savannah.

I realize I haven't updated everyone on our news, mostly because, as it is with much of our life, there are still a lot of variables out there. But here goes: Jess is finishing up his time with the Savannah District and will be heading to ILE. That's army talk for a one year school for Majors. It's at Fort Leavenworth, KS just north of Kansas City. Yes, there's a big prison there. There is also a beautiful post, a very active Officer Christian Fellowship group, and Nebraska Furniture Mart. It's an amusement park of furniture. We've visited Leavenworth (and Nebraska Furniture Mart) several times in the past, when we lived at Fort Riley. We tried for several months to sell our home here, with no luck, and are now trying to find a renter. We're scheduled to move the second week in July and already have our housing assignment at Leavenworth in the Infantry Barracks. Sounds exciting, huh? They are actually converted 100 year old barracks, but I've heard they are very very nice. Bigger than we have here, but more like apartment living, which will be a challenge with 4 kids and a big dog! We've been busy looking up satellite imagery on maps.live.com and shopping for rugs to cover all of those hardwood floors.

We know it will be great. But we're sad. We're very sad. We will leave our church and school where we've been for six (non-consecutive) years. And we have a lot of uncertainty. We don't know who will rent our house. We don't know where we will go to church. We don't know how we will manage without a backyard. We don't even know if we will homeschool the children next year or send them to public school! This isn't unusual for us. It just seems to get harder the older our children get.

Its enough to keep me up at night (oh, wait, that's kind of a bad habit of mine with or without anxiety). Then I think of this beautiful baby.

His middle name is Jeremiah. He's named for his mother's favorite verse about God's providence.

Couldn't you just eat him up? And he'll hug you too. Not like my kids. They squirm.

His parents (and their friends--me!) prayed for him long before he was born. And they were encouraged that God had a plan for them.

I am grateful that I got to meet him, and be reminded that God's plans are for our good, and we can trust Him!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Can't figure out what the fuss is about!

That's what Adeline is thinking here, as she gives a paci a try for the first time in 9 months or so. She found one, walked around with it in her mouth for 15 minutes, but never quite figured it out.

Look who's walking. . . .

To tell the truth, she's been doing this for over a week, but I can't seem to catch it on camera, because she is usually whining while trying to catch me so I can pick her up. Enjoy!

Weekend Treats

A dinner at Bonefish Grill with 3 girlfriends Thursday night. A dinner out with my husband and his co-workers Friday night followed by a movie. Our sweet friends/babysitters saying "Don't bother coming to get the kids tonight, just come get them in the morning!" And today, an afternoon downtown with just my big kids while their daddy watched the babies at home. Here are some pictures of today:

first we went to the Art Museum for the first time. We watched Tibetan monks make sand paintings, and tried some of our own.

In the architecture section, Sam built a replica of our church.

We were hungry after the museum, so we walked over to Panera and split a soup and sandwich combo. Sam LOVES broccoli cheese soup in bread bowls.

Sometimes it gets pretty hectic around our house, so times together like these are such a blessing! (And I think quiet Saturday afternoons with two sleeping babies are a blessing for my husband as well!)

cloth diaper info and give away

A great blog, Simple Mom, is doing a review of cloth diapers, including a giveaway! So go check it out if you're interested in cloth diapering!

Si's birthday--how we celebrated

We hadn't really planned to do much for Si's birthday this year, just a special family day. However, after attending 3 HUGE birthday parties for friends (you know who you are!) out of the blue one day he said "Mom, I really want a friend birthday." Siah doesnt really have an AUDREY, so I wondered who we would invite. All I had to do was ask, though, and he knew exactly: Mary Kate. So Thursday night I called up Mary Kate's mom and invited their family over for a dinner/party Saturday night. We are lucky Mary Kate also has an older sister and a younger brother, bringing our birthday party total to 7! That's a party!

So Saturday night we had hamburgers, hotdogs, and a Dairy Queen icecream cake. Man I've come a long way from the Martha Stewart cakes and fondant cakes I made for earlier birthdays! Si wanted a Spiderman cake, so we stuck Spidy on top. Actually, Spidy is doing a bit of a seductive lounge on top. I have to admit I feel slightly guilty for buying a cake instead of making it. And it frustrates me that the DQ people couldn't even center "Happy Birthday". But after a couple of pieces of cake I feel fine.

Si got an assortment of Star Wars toys, including 2 lightsabers. Sam watched Barny at 3! Si, however asked for an "evil" cake and acts out the emperor's use of the force on Luke. We apparently encourage it, since the last few toys we've bought him were 1) a toy pirate knife and 2) a lightsaber. Guess that's what happens when you're number 3.

Then comes Tuesday. I told Si I would take him out to lunch and the big kids told him all about Chucky Cheese. Shoot. I told them I couldn't do Chucky Cheese without Daddy. Then Daddy called and suggested Chucky Cheese. Double Shoot. So Si's second celebration was at my least favorite restarant. Here he is singing to himself:

THEN, today, his package from Mimi and Rachel arrived, so we had ONE MORE birthday at dinner. He's too young to understand all this. He says "Daddy, I turned three AGAIN."

He's excited about this gift!

Now it's time to start planning the big kid's early-so-they-can-invite-friends-before-we-move party.

Goodbye, Veritas!

Oh, how we love our school!!! We love the classical curriculum, the half-day schedule, the Christian worldview, and the loving teachers. This has been such a treasured place for us over the last two and a half years and we will miss it. We will sorely miss it. Today we enjoyed treats and games in the park on the last day of school.

Sam's sweet class:

Sam on a relay race. Even the teachers had to join in on the fun!

Sam and a couple of his best pals. This is why moving gets harder the older the kids get.

Adeline in the grass (did I really need to caption that one?)

Now a few from Ella Rose's party. Kind and patient, Mrs. D took a screaming Ella in her arms many a morning.

Some friends

As sad as we are to be leaving, we're celebrating summer tonight by letting the kids stay up, play games, and watch Wipe Out on NBC. Hopefully, they'll also celebrate summer by sleeping in!