My Girls

She runs and runs and runs all day long!

She screams and screams and screams too!!

My little monkey climbing.

My girls. I love 'em!

Moving 1, 2, 3

Phew!! The move is over, we have 5 boxes left and a few projects we want to get to, but we're done!! It's our hope that we will be in this house until, Lord willing, Jeff gets a faculty position, and thinking about not moving again for 3-4 years is music to my ears! So here are the 1-2-3 bonus features to this house.

The girls showing their muscles...ready to carry boxes into the empty moving truck and move!

Do you have to see over the dashboard to drive?

Hannah and my dad in the new house putting up a veggie tales light cover.


1 car garage.

I no longer have to wind around the maze of apartment buildings trying to keep two curious kiddos focused on a destination that neither was in a hurry to get to. Ahhh...fewer battles and more peace. Totally worth moving for.

2 rooms to live in.

The living room for hanging out and entertaining (which is empty until Saturday when we will get a couch and loveseat for it) and a playroom/TV room. Some nights I don't pick up the playroom. Awe-some!

3 fruit trees.

Apricot, Asian Pears and Plums. Plus, we have rose bushes and lots of grass and a covered patio area. The girls love playing outside, and I love the privacy!!

We are so blessed to have been given a house to live in, and are so excited for the huge relief it is to have some more square feet and some added privacy.

We have moved and are unpacking. More to come, but here are my cuties snuggling. Love them!!

Outings

With boxes piling high and toys becoming sparse, our apartment has had a few more hiding spots lately:
After packing things that were stored under Kate's bed I explained to Hannah and she wouldn't fit this is the face she gave me:
Can you tell that Kate is saying, "Cheese"? This is so my girls!!

To keep the girls busy, happy and safe during the day I have been taking them to different places pre and post naptime.

Highlight #1: The train at the UTC Mall
Kate was unsure at first but then...
...decided that trains were not for her at all and started yelling, "Dun!"

Highlight #2: The Zoo to see the new baby panda!!

Highlight #3: California Pizza Kitchen with our MOPs group


And where would we be without some park time?

This was me trying to get a good picture of my highly active 2 year, 10 month old...




There! I got it!! My beautiful Hannah being the spunky little girl she is.

SURPRISE!!!

Hannah and Kate love surprises. They were over the top excited when we were going to have a surprise birthday party for my dad. My oldest sister, Rachel, organized everyone to show up at Claim Jumper's on my dad's birthday to surprise him, and we had a great time hanging out, talking, laughing, eating and celebrating my dad. YOU DESERVE TO BE CELEBRATED DAD!!! I love you!!
We were the first ones to arrive and both girls stared out the window waiting for Granddad to arrive. Hannah spent most of the time asking, "Is he coming?" and Kate got so excited she refused to go to the bathroom and then peed herself. Good times!

Who's who around the table: Amy (Jenna's oldest), Dad, Hannah, Mom, Kara (not really visible), Joe, Kate, Rachel (Krik, Sarah, Jeff, Jenna and Clint not in the picture...we were all on the other side of the table).

As an added bonus, we spent the day with Jeff's parents before the surprise party and were able to go to the Cabrillo Aquarium. Both girls loved it!!
The touching tank...
...was a hit with Hannah...
...but Kate preferred it as a look tank.

The aquarium has recently created a discovery zone which includes dress up area, microscopes with things underneath, a walk though fish tank, and other great exhibits for kids.
Kate the crab, Hannah the starfish.
In the walk though tank...my flash is covering a bit of Kate's face

Playgroup Party

When I woke up Jeff and Hannah were awake and Kate was sleeping. Hannah excitedly exclaimed. "Mommy I have hick-pups! (hiccup) Do you like da sound? I like da sound wots!"

We had a great day with our playgroup, decorating cookies and passing out Valentine's cards.

He can do anything!

Hannah: (singing) "My God so big! Strong and so tidy ders nufing my God not do." Mommy, my God can do anyfing?

Sarah: That's right. My God can do anything, and he tells us that we can do all things through Him. What would you like God to do?

Hannah: Help me not sin.

The faith of a child. Her heart is asking for the one thing God truly longs to do in our lives: help us to not sin. Being a mom is so inspiring. Now, to teach about grace!!

And the image that has been in my head all afternoon is my girls, trying to hold hands while on the swings. I love when they love each other!

Ebenezer

1 Samuel 7:12 "The Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer saying 'Thus far has the Lord helped us.'"

When we moved from Cambridge to Dorchester I blogged about how God had helped me during the 6 years in Cambridge, which you can read here if you want. As we are preparing to move again, I am thinking about the phrase, "Thus far has the Lord helped us" and seeing how God has helped us in this year of transition.

1. Top of the list: family. I cannot thank God enough for the family that has helped Jeff and I as we settle here. They love us, they love our kids, and they go out of their way to support us.

2. Our apartment. When we moved we rented a place site unseen. We had no idea if the place was crawling with roaches (as one review online said) or built on an ant hill (as another review said) or if we were going to be robbed by the management (which a third reviewer said). We asked to be close to the playground not knowing that playground would be our backyard, and that the playground is the best one (out of three) in the apartment complex!! This has been a great place to play with the girls and meet other people. The only way we can live as a happy family of 4 in 700 square feet is because of the location of the park in relation to the apartment. It's been a lifesaver!!!

Winter
Spring

Summer
Fall

Yesterday

3. A period of contentedness. Throughout this year we have both been incredibly happy with our lives, our girls, and our jobs, and that has made it easier to be content while we wait for relationships and routines to form.


4. Unity. There have been times in our marriage where Jeff and I want different things and have to negotiate or wait for the other. This year we have felt so encouraged to be united as we raise our girls, settle in and make small and large decisions.
5. Sleep!!! I remember crying some mornings when Jeff was leaving for work because nighttime was over and I only had a few hours of fragmented sleep. I literally thought that I might go crazy because of how sleep deprived I was, but thus far did the Lord bring me.



The Lord has helped us in so many ways, and this year is evidence of that. Being relatively stress free while having a toddler, an infant and moving cross country is evidence that God has been good!