We're Baaacckkk!

Hey!

Perhaps you're thinking, where did we go? Why the long period of silence?

Well, in a short answer, my brain needed a chance to simmer down. We have been in a season of change and reprioritization, and are emerging on the other side for the better!

With that said here are just a few highlights of the last three (almost four) months.....

Jarrod GRADUATED!! 

Praise the Lord! They mentioned this thing called graduation and talked about classes not continuing forever... but to be honest I didn't quite believe them. Isn't it funny how some seasons of life seem to fly by and others drag on for ages? Our family learned so much through seminary, but more on that topic later. As for what's next...... well, Jarrod is actually still finishing a class this summer, so while the pomp and circumstance has already happened, we are still in a similar routine till mid-July. But we are so excited for the change in what I call Jarrod's "brain divisions". School requires less space and leaves more for family, church and just plain old fun! (not sure who enjoyed the bounce house more.... J or the girls). We are praying about the next step and excited to see where God might lead us to serve in ministry. Meanwhile, we are busy loving the opportunities God has given us and will keep plugging away!

princess.... with a lightsaber! 

 E1 is now 3 years old! Who can believe it??? She loves to ride her tricycle, play with her doll house and attack the "bad guy droids" with her cardboard lightsaber (hmmm.... where did she learn this from??). She has kid-neighbors now (oh right, btw we moved! The Lord provided a house for us to live in and we are loving it!) and she wants to play with them all the time. She is an energetic as ever and loves to talk about what she's learning. We've discovered that she has one volume, and even with her best attempts to whisper, she can be heard anywhere in the house :)













E2 is almost a year and a half and we are daily amazed at how quickly she tries and learn new skills. Perhaps at some point we should tell her she's not the same age as E1 :) She is quite the talker and has a soft spot for all babies and dolls. At meal times she makes sure to offer everyone a bib.

              

We revealed the news in a previous post about the Lord growing our family from 4 to 5: can you believe that, in spite of pretty much everyone (myself included) confident we would have another girl... it's a BOY! Little man Reed is due sometime around September 1st. When we first told E1 about having a little brother she looked perplexed at us and said "hmmm..... no, I want a little sister" then walked away!  She has since come around to the idea and is looking forward to teaching him all about Star Wars and how to use a lightsaber, and the lyrics to "Let It Go". Poor boy. But, he will make a great husband someday ;) As a mom of girls and one without any brothers.... any boy-raising advice is welcome! We are getting into the third trimester and I'm feeling good, especially thankful for days when both girls take an afternoon nap at the same time! haha.

Books I'm reading (or at least attempting to slowly and in pieces benefit from): Seeing with New Eyes by David Powlison, just finished Twelve Part Harmony by Pat and Jill Williams (heart-string tugger!), and we've started reading The Secret Garden (childhood fav!!) out loud to the girls. Not sure that E1 understands much of it yet, but it's a habit we want to develop. That little girl can tell when we're within a mile of the library and starts frantically asking "is the libary open??? Is it open???"

Thanks for checking in on us, and I promise to share more updates and funny stories over the next few months. For now, this momma is headed for the couch while the little ones are fast asleep!

Till next time,