New Home

The movers came last Sunday, with the weather at 8 degrees, and my Dad, brother, and cousin, we were able to get all our stuff in a few hours. There were lots of stuff, and I have a few boxes I am filling up to give away now. In the last month and a half or so, the kids have outgrown a few toys, utensils, and no more sippy cup or pacifier for Noah. The kids run around the house everyday, and I think we are all getting used to the idea that this is our home, and we will be here for a while. Daniel has been loving the time with his cousin, and Rachel keeps talking about painting her room pink. The house came with a little cat, Leena, and it is so fun to watch the kids with their first pet.

Now I find myself needing to stop and smell the roses. We are in a place that we have been hoping for a while for now, and I can't keep looking to the next project, or realistically be where we fully want to be for a while. And I am ok with that. The boxes will get put away, the walls will get painted, the snow will leave eventually, and we will still be here. I was blessed with help getting my kitchen together, Beau has been helping with the kids a lot, and it is a comfort to know my family is close. We got plugged in right away with a homeschooling community, and the kids are signed up for a co-op in March. It will be fun to see how all this stuff settles out, and a huge praise to be at this point right now. Time to be very thankful!

A few more days

Snow...snow...snow...I am surrounded by it right now. Kevin and the kids love it, I am getting used to it again. Here they are enjoying the snow. Daniel loves it, and would be outside everyday...if it wasn't so much work to get three sets of children outside for a little bit with all their equipment, but that will get easier too.

Here is a picture of Noah, I remember as a child the snow being taller that I was.

That is the RV we are staying in, and my dad clearing things out.
Daniel has thrived in the extra space and his cousin around.
Here we are playing in the RV with some of the Christmas toys
So if you don't mind, I am going to use the rest of this post as a little bit of therapy. I posted on facebook that my grandmother isn't doing well, and that is still the case. We are talking about each day she could pass away. I went over and helped her today, and she was non-responsive. Previous to the last year, I have been blessed with life. With three beautiful children, with all that comes with a young family. The last year has been mostly death. I struggle that I wasn't here with my mom's passing, and watching my grandmother go through this has brought back much of that feeling. I believe the Bible, and know that my mom, is in a better place, and know that my grandmother will be as well, but it has been humbling to be apart of death this year. To realize life is so fragile, and everyday is a gift from God. To have little control of when God would bring any of the ones I love home to be with Him, and to have peace in God's Sovereignty. It is certainly another level of faith and trust.

That being said, we will be moving into our new place this weekend. Another chapter of life will soon be here, and I am so grateful for this journey to even bring us to this place. I can't wait to show pictures, but in the mean time, will you continue to lift my family up in prayers? Psalms 116 says that precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

Pictures from Christmas

Happy New Year! I feel negligent on my posts, but now that I think I have the internet figured out, we'll try to do better. We had a great time in New Bedford with Kevin's family for Christmas, although I think we brought the snow with us! The kids had a great time with their cousin, and all their second cousins, and it is amazing how big Kevin's family is getting. I feel like the "old one" in the group, just because we are almost fully though the young kid stage. The kids did great traveling, and here are some snapshots from the trip. I borrowed my father in law's camera, it was really nice, and I really enjoyed the quality of the photos:

Rachel and her cousin Lila, it was so fun to watch them interact!
Daniel wore that sweater just a few short years ago...
Rachel definitely lets us know what she is thinking...
Daniel and his grand Memere
All the kids Christmas morning, I did have better shot without Rachel's foot up, I just picked the wrong one.
Family photo...all the kids are licking lollipops, but at least they are all happy.
We had a great time at a Celtics game the Wednesday before Christmas, and it was just an easier trip overall. We had a very low key New Years, and now we are getting super excited about moving into our new home in just a few short weeks! I am starting to get used to us being here for the long term, and am starting to let myself get excited about putting down roots and really settling down. We have so many visions of planting a garden this spring, enjoying the outdoors, and painting walls. In the mean time, we are getting good snow gear and trying to enjoy the snow and outdoors, and just the quiet time before things really start to happen. My new favorite pass time is cross country skiing! I'll have to get some pictures of that up.