Spring - Another Long Picture Post

This is our baby girl at 20 weeks.  I'm amazed at how much she already looks like her siblings, particularly Jonny.  We'll have to see if that's true when she comes!  I'm over 31 weeks along now...gettin' closer.  :)

"For you created (her) inmost being; you knit (her) together in my...womb.  I praise you because (she is) fearfully and wonderfully made!"  Psalm 139:13-14

We've been putting some work into our yard this Spring not only because our house is now for sale, but also because...well, it needed it!  

Welcome Spring.  :)

We hired some friends from church to help.  Thanks M&M.  ;)

And this boy...well, he didn't get paid.

Look at those smiles!  They actually WANTED to do the weeding.  YAY!

The kids have performed in their end of the year plays at Wednesday school...

 

And sang in their Spring Concert from Wednesday School.

Wednesday School ended and we finished up our homeschool lessons around the same time.  Yay!

Picking them up on their last Wed.

We've been playing outside - a lot!

Sometimes with just us...

Sometimes with friends...

Love how all the moms are taking pictures!

I fell asleep for a bit while outside...so wonderfully warm and sunny...

Emilia took the three photos above this one.  :)

Spring soccer started

And we're all there cheering him on!

Learning hasn't stopped just because it's Summer...

New tennis shoes for Jonny.  Funny how something like shoes can make a boy so happy.

Emilia made lunch for us.  She was thrilled with the opportunity to do it by herself (and so was I!)  Love having an older child.  :)

One of the kids favorite things right now - messing around with my computer's camera.

Life is full of the goodness of the Lord.  

Now, if only I could remember that ALL the time...

God's Will Above Our Own - Even in House Hunting

When we first got married, we bought a fairly inexpensive fixer-upper in a little town rather far from “our life”. Our friends teased us about living in the next state because it took so long to get to our house. Even though it was a drive, the Lord blessed us while living there. We brought our first baby girl home, and it was in that house that the Lord worked on our hearts to homeschool our kids.

The Lord also blessed us financially with that home. We were able to split off and sell a lot next to our house, and we even made a profit from the sale of the house itself. Granted, we (both sets of our parents included) put A LOT of time, prayers, blood, sweat, and probably some tears into that piece of real estate, but it paid off.

 Our next house was closer to our church and my husband’s work. Once again, it was a fixer-upper with a lot we split off and sold. We were blessed in that house with two little boys and a firm decision to homeschool our children once they were of school age. We sold the lot first and then put our newly-remodeled house up for sale a little over two years after we moved in. We sold the house for about the same as we had paid for it, but the lot sale helped us financially.

After selling that house, we frantically looked for another house to buy. I had prayed to the Lord for a certain type of house. I wanted a larger house with land to split and sell, three or four bedrooms, and a fenced in backyard. At this point we already had three kids, but I knew that we were open to having more if the Lord blessed us with them.

I had found a home in the country not far from where we lived that seemed perfect. It had a little red chicken coop in the large backyard. It wasn’t a huge house, but it wasn’t in need of huge repairs and it had three large bedrooms, a nice sized dining room for all the dinners I liked to host, spaces to homeschool, and a wood burning stove (which is still my husband’s dream). I prayed and prayed that we’d be able to move there. I probably drove by that house fifty times (and it wasn’t on my way to anywhere I was going). However, God had other plans because the people selling that house never took our offers.

While I was solely focused on one house, Nate was doing his own research and had found a home in the town where he worked. This house was structurally sound, but it was another fixer-upper. It was also not much bigger than the house we had just sold. It was a three bedroom ranch (without a finished basement) on ten acres, but the acreage was mostly wooded and infested with mosquitoes.

He was pumped. I was less than pumped.

The first time I walked into our current house, I almost cried...

To read the rest, head on over to Heart of the Matter where I continue.

(All pictures posted are from our current house)

Our (yes, I know it's still early, but I've got a baby on the way) Curriculum Plan for 2013/2014

Even though I’m not due until July, I’m in major nesting mode. I’ve been doing many organizational projects around the house, and I’ve been researching different curricula for next year. Thankfully, we’ve narrowed down most of our choices because, you know, a baby is coming and will be here before we know it. Really. Time flies…until there’s only two weeks until my due date. Then, time drags on and on and on. Anyway, getting back on track…

Without further ado, here’s our 2013/2014 plan (Lord willing):

For the bulk of our curriculum next year (our fifth official year of homeschooling), I have chosen a unit study called Trail Guide to Learning: Paths of Exploration (POE)...
To read the rest, head on over to Heart of the Matter where I continue.

Easter with my *2* girls!

Linked to the HHH