Hello, New Year!

My, oh my, where does the time go? It's been awhile since I last posted, so I guess I better update on what's been going on with us. Christmas was nice, we drove up to Kevin's parents place in Chicago to celebrate with his family. It was a long drive and the kids did very well and it was nice to see everyone again. Then, on New Year's Eve, Kevin drove down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to help run sound for the Jeff Cook concert. It was the first time in our marriage that we didn't celebrate New Year's together, but we got through it and Kevin enjoyed the experience. Then, last month, the kids and I flew out to California to be in my best friend's wedding. It had been two years since we left Cali, so it was great to see my family again. The kids were so good on the plane ride out and the plane ride back, I couldn't be prouder of them. The day after we got back, Kevin met with the HR Director of Timkin to discuss job openings. Kevin said it was a good meeting, but there were no openings. There is a gentleman at our church that has his own physical therapy business that is very interested in hiring Kevin, so we are hoping that next week they can get together and discuss things. It would be so nice to finally have some income coming in. We are going on six-and-a-half months now of no income, but the Lord has provided for us and we are so grateful! So that has been what's been going on with us, oh I forgot, last week we signed Curtis up for tee ball. The season starts the beginning of April and he is so excited. We can't wait to watch him play. So here are some pictures from the last two months to get us all up to speed.

DECEMBER

Our Christmas tree (the kids were so happy to have a real tree)!

The little tree that the kids decorated. I think they did a great job!

The kids helped me make Christmas cookies to give to our neighbors, teachers, and crossing guards.

This is the inside of a McDonalds that we stopped at in Asheville near the Biltmore Estate. There was also a player piano in the corner playing Christmas music.

Downtown Nashville. We can't wait to go back and actually sightsee.

This is the Wingate mansion in Paducah, Kentucky. It's a rest area and the bathrooms are inside.

The kids table. The cousins had so much fun together.

The cousins: Lily, Luke, Sophie, Levi, Logan, Jeremiah, Curtis, Lauren, and Claire

Our beautiful family

Kevin's family: Todd, Kevin, Barry, Dean, Allan, June, and Shari

This is a picture from the Jeff Cook concert. You can see a little bit of Kevin (in the ballcap) next to the keyboard player.

JANUARY

My best friend Myra. I was so honored to be her Matron of Honor.

Curtis was the ring bearer, and the girls were flower girls. Claire was grouchy and didn't want her picture taken.

The cousins: Claire (she didn't want to be in this picture either), Lauren, Curtis, James, Nathan, Natty, Olivia, Daphne, and Lia

Four generations: My grandmother Helen, my mom Norma, me, and the kids

My cousins: Mollie, Tim, me, Matt, and Jon

My friend Cheryl, whom I've known since junior high.

The kids and I with my sister-in-law Michelle. My brother is currently on deployment in Africa, so we didn't get to see him.

The harbor at Port Hueneme where my brother is stationed. I sure do miss the California beaches.

Tears and Prayer

I have some very sad news and ask for prayer on behalf of Jon and Ali. They found out on Friday that their 17 week unborn baby was without a heartbeat. Ali went in today to be induced and the doctors will be performing an autopsy to try and find out what happened. I am so heartbroken for them and don't understand why God would ask them to walk down this road again. Please lift them up in prayer for strength and healing.

Grandma's Visit

My Mom flew out here for Thanksgiving and spent ten fun filled days with us. It was so nice to see her again since we haven't seen her since last Thanksgiving. The kids had so much fun and Lauren keeps asking when we will see her again (she didn't want Grandma to leave). Thankfully this Thanksgiving was much better than last years (no bleeding and no exploding pie pans)! So here are some pictures from my Mom's visit.

My Mom's flight came in on Friday, while Curtis was at school and we had told the kids that she would be flying in on Saturday. I picked my Mom up and we made it back home just in time to pick Curtis up from school. I had my Mom sit on the bench and I walked Curtis over and he didn't recognize her! He was so excited when he finally realized that Grandma was here!

On Saturday, we went with a church to Tanglewood's Festival of Lights. We rode in the church bus and had a wonderful time. The kids loved looking at all of the beautiful lights.

The kids couldn't get enough Grandma and kept asking her to read them stories!

The highlight of the visit (for the kids) was having a sleepover with Grandma. One night she slept in the girls room, and the next night in Curtis' room. They had been waiting for this for months!

Our Thanksgiving meal. We had turkey breast cooked in the crockpot with apple cider, seasoned pepper, and salt; garlic mashed potatoes; brown gravy; green beans; brown sugar glazed carrots; cresent rolls; apple and pumpkin pies (made by the kids with Grandma's help).

Taking a quick break for a picture.

This is one of my favorites...Claire had to have Grandma blow the dandilion!

Our final picture at the airport. We didn't want Grandma to leave. We are now looking ahead to January when we fly out to California for my best friends wedding!

Pics #2: The Museum of Science and Industry

While we were in Chicago, Kevin's parents took us to the Museum of Science & Industry. The kids had so much fun!

Here we are in front of the Body Worlds giraffe. The kids thought it was cool to see the insides of a giraffe.

The indoor tornado. The kids were very afraid of this.

Kevin talked Curtis into stepping into the tornado. Curtis did not let go of Kevin's hand.

The fam.

This is my favorite picture. Lauren was having a blast looking in the fun mirrors. There were three mirrors and she would run back and forth looking at how funny she looked and just laughed and laughed.

Claire thought it was so cool to sit on a cow.

The kids driving a combine.

Driving a tractor.

Pictures #1

Here are some pictures of what's been going on with us the last couple of months.

My grandparents came to visit right before we moved. The kids had so much fun being with G.G. and PaPa

This is an old candy boiler that the kids affectionately call R2D2Claire and Natalee Feldman at our going away party. They enjoyed going for a bike ride with cousin Lily at the wheel.

This is Lauren's Hello Kitty cupcake cake. We moved on her birthday, so we had to do something fun for her.

The kids with cousin Sophie at Grandma and Grandpa E's house in Illinois. We stopped there for a few days to break up the moving trip.

Celebrating Curtis and Lauren's birthdays at Grandma and Grandpa E's house

Sears Tower in Chicago

I will post more pictures on another day. 'Till then, take care.

Adjusting

I'm baaack!! Since the move, my focus has been on unpacking and helping the kids adjust which means focusing all my attention on them. I will say that they have adjusted very well, better than I thought they would. I think it helped that I am not going off to work and we are in a house, where they can run around and just be themselves.

We have now been here in North Carolina for two months and we are loving it!! The people here are so friendly. We are fitting in quite nicely. The move was horrible and I am so thankful that it's a memory, but if we ever have to do another long distance move, we are hiring a moving company.

For those of you that keep up with me on FB, you know that we went through Hurricane Irene our first week here. It's the first time any of us have been through one... and thankfully we are far enough inland that we just got some rain and a lot of wind. We also felt the effects of Tropical Storm Lee...which was a lot worse than Irene. We got a lot of rain (thunderstorms) and wind.

Curtis started school the Thursday after we arrived. That Tuesday we got him registered, the school had orientation, so Curtis got to meet his teacher and see his classroom. The teacher had his desk all set up and his name on the door with the other kids in the class. That really made his day! Curtis had a rough beginning to the school year...he didn't do very well on his assessment (he just kind of shut down because of the move and being in a new school where he didn't know anyone) and was going to have to go to a special class. Thankfully, within three weeks he was his old self and approved by leaps and bounds in school. He still has to go to a special reading group, since he is not at the reading level he needs to be. His teacher is amazed at his progress and thinks he will be up to speed on his reading in no time. I have to say that his teachers, no his school, is amazing. These teachers love on the kids! I've met his reading teacher and she ran, yes ran, up to him and gave him a big bear hug and tells me that he is the best reader in his group! I walk him to school (it's only half a block away) and when we get inside by the office, the school secretary says, "Good morning, Buzz." She calls him Buzz because he wears a Buzz Lightyear backpack. Then she gives him a hug and tells him to have a good day. She does this every day and not only to Curtis, to the other students as well. I am so thankful for this school because being loved on is what he needs to help him adjust to the new surroundings.

Lauren has adjusted very well. Her only complaint is that she can't go to school this year. The pre-k class was already full. Every day she asks if she can go to school with Curtis, and gets upset when I tell her no. She loves having me home and we can now fully focus on getting her ready for school. We are currently working on writing the alphabet, and she loves it! She will grab her little workbook and ask me if she can work on her letters. It's so refreshing, I had to fight tooth and nail with Curtis to get him to write his letters). She gets so excited when she gets the letter right. I don't think she is going to have any problems in school! She did go seven months with no bleeding, then had a couple days of bleeding, and hasn't had any bleeding since. I think it was because we didn't keep up on the Miralax during the move. With Thanksgiving coming up, we are praying that she will not have another bad bout of bleeding and prolapse.

Claire has also adjusted very well. She loves her Tinkerbell room that she shares with Lauren and will be moving to Curtis' toddler bed once we can find Curtis a twin bed. Claire is our little comedienne and she loves making us laugh! Her vocabulary has exploded and loves playing with rocks. She has gotten very tall (she is only two inches shorter than Lauren) and we've have quite a few people ask us if the girls are twins. Not sure how they come up with that one, but we just roll with it.

Like I said, I get to stay at home and I love every minute of it! I've missed this. It's so nice to cook and clean for my family and just love on them. We are back down to one car, but with Kevin still at home it hasn't been an issue.

Kevin is still looking for work while pGf is getting up and running. I feel so bad for him. He has his resume with three staffing agencies and he is constantly sending his resume out, but he hasn't gotten anything yet. We have now been with no income coming in for three months. thankfully we have savings, but we don't want to deplete it. Kevin is thinking about going back into food service just to get some money coming in. We're hoping that pGf will get incorporated by the end of the year so that sales can start being made, which will generate income for us.

I'm sure that some of you are thinking that we are crazy for moving to a different state with no income set up, but when the Lord moves you, you move. The Lord has and will continue to provide for us and we have come to fully rely on Him for everything. What an awesome way to strengthen your faith!

That's what I have for now...I will post pictures this weekend.

Update

Just wanted to give everyone an update on us. We load up the truck on the 15th and will be in North Carolina on the 20th or 21st. We will be renting a house! One of the owners of the company purchased a house, which he will be closing on in the next few days, and will rent it out to us. We are so excited!! It's has three bedrooms with a big back and front yard. It's also down the street from the elementary school. We will have to register Curtis that Monday after we arrive because school starts on the 25th. We also might be able to get Lauren into pre-kindergarten at the school. She wants to go to school so bad, so I'm really hoping we can get her signed up. Also, Lauren has now gone six months without bleeding, which is now the longest she has ever gone and she is now down to 3/4 of a teaspoon of Miralax. Yay, Lauren!! We are very hopeful that her bleeding issues are over.

My grandparents came to visit over the weekend, and we had so much fun! I will post pictures either tomorrow or Friday once I download them from the camera. It was hard to watch them leave. Once we get settled in NC, we want to plan a trip to Cali to visit my family. I miss them so much.

Please pray that we will have a safe journey, since Kevin will be driving the moving truck. Thanks!