Sunday, November 29, 2009

We're Home!!!!

Mark lit a fire the first evening we were home. How I have missed sitting and snuggling up by the fire with him. Lulu was a bit nervous about the popping and crackling of the fire and Levi got to enjoy his first time ever being in our home. Here is our moving crew. That's my older brother Todd and his amazing wife Stephanie along with Mark and Lulu. Todd and Stephanie were such a blessing to us. They showed up early Friday morning (the day after Thanksgiving) and started moving everything out into the van and their truck. The day before it was pouring down rain, Mark prayed for nice weather so we could move everything with out it getting all wet and the Lord gave us a beautiful clear day with blue sky and sun! We finished in time to rest a bit and then head over for a Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house. This is a picture of our moving caravan and you can see the black van in the rear view mirror that Mark drove. This was the most fun I have had driving in a while!!And here is my mom who did ALL the cooking for our fabulous Thanksgiving dinner. It was so great to go enjoy a wonderful meal with our family right after doing all that moving.

Thank you mother for all the leftovers that you stocked our fridge with and thank you Todd and Stephanie for all you hard work helping us move. Daddy we also want to thank you for always being there for Mark and I and allowing us to live in your rental house this past year. We love you all and are so thankful that God gave us such an amazing family.

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 107:1

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Emergancy Room Visit

Last night we had to take Lulu to the ER. She stepped on a nail from some tack strip that was on the floor of our house that we are moving back into. We took her in to get a tetanus shot. She did so well and only had some tears when she had to get her two shots. How it happend was that Lulu was so excited to be back in our house that she was running around and we just were seconds behind her when she stepped right on the tack strip. So instead of moving some boxes into the house we drove to the ER and then went home. My mom came with us to help but really she was there to support me while Mark took care of Lulu while they were helping her. He's so good at these kinds of situations. We all prayed and were able to praise God for his protection and healing hand on Lulu. We got home at a decent time but Lulu went right to bed in our bed and we spent the night as a family all snuggled up in bed together. Here is Lulu this morning resting her sore little legs and foot watching Mary Poppins. She's holding her new doggy that the ER staff gave her. God is so good how He comforts in stressful times. She's doing great and seems to be back to her happy, cheerful self.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The "Fun-mobile"

Are you wondering what that beautiful vehicle is? It's the "Fun-mobile" and it's helping us move! My parents bought that van back in 1992. It was Father's day and my parents went to the store. In the parking lot was this van in robin's egg blue and it was for sale! If you know my parents they like things that are a bit odd that "normal" people would probably pass up. The seller offered to sell my dad this van for $500. My dad looked in his wallet and he had 3 one hundred dollar bills. So my dad offered him $300 then the guy said $400....SOLD! My dad wrote a check for the remaining hundred and they drove this $400 van home. I was in 4th grade and my brother was in 5th and we were at a new school. My parents were very involved in our classes and always helped drive for field trips. Well this van not only was a great deal but it sat 13!!! My brother and I were so not excited about this. Can you imagine being our age and this was the vehicle your parents were going to drive all your new friends in? But to make matters worse (funny now) my mom took my brother and I to Home Depot to buy spray paint. We each got to pick 4 or 5 colors. We then drove it to the local park-n-ride parking lot. I got the passenger side of the van my brother got the drivers side and my mom got the front and back. We painted the van multicolored, this was actually really fun. It looked like we drove the van into a bunch of confetti. The first field trip I felt like staying in the girls bathroom while everyone loaded up into the cars. Everyone else's parents drove the normal min-vans or sedans and then there was my family with the psychedelic hippie van......but to my surprise when everyone went outside to get in the vehicles all the kids wanted to ride with us. This totally embarrassing van was actually cool! The really cool thing was that whoever got to ride in the van got to sign their name on the interior ceiling in a back, blue or red permanent marker. You can still read most of the names and dates even though they have faded some. Fast forward to my brothers senior year....every senior wants a cool car, right? Well my parents knew this so they once again went to Home Depot and bought all black spray paint....voila... Happy driving Todd. That's how's the van's been since then. This van has been such a great vehicle for my family in many ways. Almost 20 years later and only a $400 investment with many memories and now we are able to use it to move home. I'm sure my parents had no idea how much fun this van would have been for us all over the years, and I'm sure they didn't think it would have lasted this long. Here is our first load of boxes to take to our house. A little bit about the van is that the interior seats in this van have been removed but it was just like a bus. There was an aisle down the center with 3 seats on each side that sat two people. The original use for this van was at a local hospital busing people from one part of the hospital to another. Here's the man with the muscle moving all these boxes!! There goes Mark off to work in the "Fun-mobile" this morning. After work he is doing the final walk through with our tenant and dropping off our first load of boxes into the house. We officially get our house back today. The really neat thing is that our tenant and his two young boys just moved two homes down from us and will now be our neighbors.Here is Lulu finding things to do now that everything is all packed up.....the non-toy, toys are the best! She is a hoot and is making this move really fun.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Packing Day!

We started the day off with some pancakes to keep us satisfied for the hard work in front of us. We got the kitchen and office all packed up along with the pictures on the walls. We have a little more of the small things but other then that we can't do anything until moving day. It feels good to be all packed and ready to move. Levi enjoyed sitting in the walker and watching us. We haven't seen this walker since before Lulu was walking. It's been in storage and what great timing to find it again!! He loved being in the walker even though his feet were about a inch from the ground. It will be fun to see him cruise around at our "new/old" house. Lulu spent hours doing circles around the kitchen and into the living room and back. We are so excited to be back home and watch Levi grow up where Lulu spent her first 18months.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Brothers and Sisters

No that's not Lulu's doll that's Levi!! Lulu thought this was the coolest thing pushing Levi around in her doll stroller (she only pushed him about 3 feet.) He didn't seem to mind, because he loves anything his big sister does. Look how BIG Levi looks.....he's 2 1/2 months old and he weighs about 15lbs!! Lulu is 2 1/2 years old and she weighs 30lbs.....LOL. He is half of her and I'm sure soon enough he will be bigger then her. We are so blessed to have such amazing children. They truly love each other and it shows. Lulu will always make sure she knows where Levi is and make sure that I'm not going to forget him. Levi will start to cry if Lulu has been playing with him and then leaves to go do something else, but the moment she returns he's all smiles. I'm so thankful that the Lord has given us a little girl and a little boy. For a sister to have a brother is so special....she will always have someone looking out for her and she will always be there to help guide him. I know because I have an older brother and he was always looking out for me. I will never forget my first date. I was going to the homecoming dance and the moment my date and I arrived at the dance my brother and his best friend were waiting for us at the front door. They took my date aside and gave him a talk.....I was mortified, and a little proud that I had such a cool big brother. I never did find out what they said to him, it didn't matter because my brother was just doing what any good brother would do. I know that Lulu and Levi will do the same for each other someday.After all the fun Lulu and Levi had, daddy and Lulu climbed into her bed to snuggle and noticed that her bed needed to be made so they did that together. After the bed was all put back together Mark read Lulu a story from her children's picture bible. They have been reading through the whole thing together each night before bed. So far Lulu's favorite story in the bible is Jonah and the whale.And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish, and he said, "I called out of my distress to the LORD, And He answered me. " Jonah 1: 17, 2: 1-2

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Boxes

Here are some boxes for our move (thank you Grandma!) that we will be filling, but first we had to fill them with two cute little kids. Lulu was playing train with Levi this evening. Boxes sure make the best toys.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

We're Moving Home!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We got the go ahead to start moving back into our house!! God is so good!! This move is happening sooner then we expected. We are starting to pack this evening and as of next Tuesday we will be able to start moving back in.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

More Birthday Celebration!

Here is Mark's new hat! He loves it and even though he knew what he was getting he was still surprised about the type of hat. This is his "Charles Ingalls" hat so that he can work outside even in the rain. He told me he now wants a rifle, a horse and a farm.....and he's not joking. We had a great morning relaxing and enjoying Mark's favorite breakfast, biscuits and sausage gravy. That evening we went over to my parents for more gifts and a birthday dinner, grilled burgers and of course birthday cup cakes!! After dinner Mark, Levi and I headed out on a date. My parents got to babysit Lulu and we went to the movie A Christmas Carol. This was no ordinary movie but it was IMAX in 3D!! We were so excited to be going to a movie together (it's been so long) and Levi was doing great (like always). This was going to be his first movie too. The moment it started Levi about jumped out of his diaper it was so loud. Mark and I looked at each other and got up and left. We still had a fun date night it just didn't include the movie that we were planning to see. This was before the movie started.....aren't we cute with our 3D glasses? I was looking forward to the old school flimsy 3D glasses that I grew up with but when we saw the ticket takers roll out a cart full of these crazy looking things I knew we were in for an exciting movie....just didn't realize how loud it would be. Even though we didn't stay to actually see the movie we still had fun getting our seats and being in the theater with Levi.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Happy 34th Birthday Mark!!!!

It's somebodies birthday I wonder for who, it's somebodies birthday that's right in this room, so look all around you for somebody who.....is laughing and smiling my goodness it's YOU! Happy Birthday Mark, from all of us to you, Happy Birthday Mark, from mommy and daddy too. We congratulate you and pray good luck follows you, Happy Birthday Mark...may all of your good dreams come true.

Lulu and I had a lot of fun baking Mark's cake. She loves to help mix and pour. We enjoyed the cake this evening, even though Marks birthday is tomorrow.....Lulu couldn't wait (neither could Mark) so we had and early birthday party. Tomorrow we have a special breakfast planned and his gift. Let me just give a bit of advice.....NEVER tell a 2 1/2 year old what your getting you're husband for his birthday. I had the perfect gift picked out for Mark and we went shopping last week to get it. That evening the moment Mark stepped in the door Lulu said "Daddy do youwant to see you hat we got you?" So tomorrow Mark is going to open up his gift that he already knows about, but...he doesn't know what kind of hat it is.Here is Lulu really excited to dig in and enjoy the cake she helped make.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Unconditional Love

This is the day which the LORD has made ; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Paslms 118: 24

Thursday, November 5, 2009

What a difference a year makes!

I'm so proud of my husband and how hard he works. A year ago today (Nov. 5th 2008) he was laid off from his job of 4 years. These pictures were taken the morning of the day he was laid off. We both knew that this was probably going to be his last day going into the office so that's why I took these. Sure enough around 9:30 that morning he called me and told me that three people ahead of him went into their scheduled meetings and came out laid off......and he was next....GULP. So I got off the phone and prayed. I called a good friend of mine and she was praying too. Then about 15 minutes later (layoff meetings are short and not so sweet) Mark called me back to confirm that he too was laid off and that there were a handful of others waiting to go into their 15 minute meeting. They gave him a box and told him to pack up and to say his goodbyes. Lulu and I jumped in our car to go pick him up. We were a one car family a year ago. Mark was the driver of a van pool and had to leave it at the office for the other 10 people in the van. That's why we went to get him.....they did offer him a taxi ride....can you imagine that? How sad of a ride home that would be. When we got to his office Lulu and I waited out front. I kept seeing all these employees coming out the front with their box of stuff and a blank look on their face. The company that Mark worked for was one of the largest companies in our area, many people were getting laid off. Then out the front door came a gal that Mark worked with. Her and I had become friends and Lulu and her son were just a month apart. She came out with tears running down her cheeks. My heart broke for her. Then about 10min later here comes Mark with the biggest smile on his face and not just one box but about 5 or 6 boxes on a cart (his desk was full of pictures of his family and Volkswagen toy cars). He was glowing with JOY! I couldn't help but smile and laugh at the sight of my husband so happy at this really hard time. But you know what? He was joyful in his trail set before him because he knew God was in control and that we were not to worry. And that is why I'm so proud of him.
"Count it all joy my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4

A year later Mark has an amazing job that was truly given to him from God. He was unemployed for almost 8 months. During those 8 months God stretched us in ways that we never thought we would be stretched. This past year has been hard in many ways but we have grown so much closer to our Lord and Savior and Treasure. We chose to move out of our house and rent it out but we are going to be moving back in January and putting our trust in God even more then we ever have. We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for us because we know He's not finished with us yet......Praise God for that!!

Mark, thank you for showing me how to have Joy in our trials and for leading our family by going to God's Word. I love you and I'm so proud of you!! Love Kimmy

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Pre-School

Lately I have heard some moms talk about pre-school. Their kids just love it and are thriving. The mom's are loving it because putting their child in pre-school gives them a nice little break during the day. They also can't wait to get them into kindergarten because then they can go back to work or get to have even more time off during the day to get what they need to do done. When I hear this I stop and think......does Lulu love being home, is she thriving, do I get a break, do I want to send Lulu off to school all day, do we need the extra money from me working, do I need more time to get things done around here? Well, to answer all of that....take a look at these pictures below. This is a typical day in our home....I could have added probably 100 more but then I wouldn't have anything to blog about in the future. I don't think Lulu or Levi needs "pre-school", but they do need a mommy who is always there ready to love them, kiss them, play with them, read to them, teach them, sing with them, dance with them, hold them, cry with them, laugh with them, pretend with them, create with them, learn with them, pray with them, nap with them, cook with them, bake with them, draw with them.....and the list goes on. I know God has called me to be a mother and because of that I am going to give it my all so I can give my children more then anything they could ever receive in a class room.

" As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you" Isaiah 66:13

Prayer

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and you minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

"The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." James 5:16

"In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words" Romans 8:26

"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18