We Survived

So much has happened since last week...

Packing
Moving
Cleaning
Storing
Labeling
Taping
Sorting
Painting
Planning
Washing

Living a different normal for awhile.

Things I have heard or said in the last week:
I'm tired of sleeping with Makenna.
Where are my toys?
Did you sell my ______?
There is no food to eat here that is ours.
When will we go back to our house?
Does Daddy still work?
We packed too many books and not enough toys.
Tracen is kicking me in his sleep.
This neighborhood has a lot of trees.
Do I have to do my homework at Mrs. Janis' house?
I want to watch tv.
I miss my room.
I wish Aussie could be here.
No Mailey!
If you leave the door open Mailey will fall down the stairs.
Give her back the ball.
Don't make a mess.
Use a coaster.
Don't draw on ziploc baggies.
Where is your other shoe?
Oh no, we forgot to give you your medicine.
Be quiet!
No jumping off the bed.
Play the piano softly, do not pound on it.
Leave the washcloth in the drain or the water will run out.
Is the light over the sink dripping?
Where are your pans, cups, plates, olive oil, coffee filters, can opener, toaster, and iron?
Are you sure we aren't making you crazy????


The amazing Buschman family has taken us into their home so the kids can finish out the school year. We are forever grateful and so humbled by their generosity in letting us stay here. It has been so peaceful and so nice to be a part of their family for a bit.

Our life is crazy, even if we are not making Job and Janis crazy!

We are in waiting mode for the business to close in a week, things to be settled with that, having to leave for a week, then being back to start swimming lessons and t-ball. Hopefully we will know something about a job or a plan or a house or something in June. Hopefully.

No, I am not a fan of living out of suitcases and keeping every possible family related item organized in a tub or laundry basket or bag...but we are making it work.

Yes, I have my moments of reality when I think about where on earth something could be and how are we ever going to find anything and is our entire life really in some storage building somewhere and where is our mail and did all this really just happen?

So hopefully we will see you somewhere in our Summer of Suitcases. We will be everywhere, it seems.

Here are the last views of 4910 from the perspective of a 5 year old:




So long 4910...it was nice to call you home.

What a Day!

Today Makenna and Tracen were baptized. It was such a special time for these little ones...just amazing to see all God has done in their lives.






We also committed as a family and church family to pray for Mailey and to raise her up in the way she should go.


(and this CRAZY LADY brought all her family from AMARILLO just for the service!! They had to leave right after. Could you love my curly-headed Tonia any more??)

We also celebrated Mother's Day.

We also had our last big family and friend lunch at our house before we move in 2 days.

What. A. Day.

Curious and Creative

Planting the Seeds of Love

This is my amazing Granny.

She is one of the strongest women I know.

Her
Faith
Love
Endurance
Patience
Strength
Courage
Insight
Encouragement
and
Marriage
have greatly influenced my life.

No one can know this lady without feeling loved and blessed.

Here is the farm.


She was stressed that I had taken this picture. She does not like that everything has gotten "run down" as she puts it.

But all I see are memories.
Swinging from a rope into the hay always piled up here.
Running out screaming when we thought we had seen a mouse.
Flying by on Big Red the 3 wheeler with the usual 2-8 grandkids piled on top of each other.
Holding onto the cat's tail and walking around.
Playing family softball in the field.
Riding on the tractor.
Going to get the mail.
Jumping the bumps in the pasture, praying Big Red would stop before we hit the barbed wire fence.
Fishing in the tank...mmmmmm, those catfish were to die for.
Dodging cow patties.
Tossing cow patties.
Digging in the black dirt.
Being scared to death of snakes in the bottom shed.
Feeding calves.
Trying to make the cows mad.
Shooting fireworks and stomping out the fires we made along the way.

All I smell is home.

That is why this picture is priceless to me.

Along with these.



Granny agreed to plant some seeds with my kids.


We had planned on more, but the weather was not cooperating with us.

She is 82 and can still shovel dirt better than the rest of us.



What an amazing lesson for the kids.

What an amazing woman of God.

Just planting some seeds.

These roots will go deeper than we will ever know this side of Heaven.

I love my Granny.

We're Goin' to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo!

After all the issues over Spring Break with the freezing weather, we decided to go to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. We have been there a zillion times, but it is really a wonderful zoo to visit. Despite the zillion people there that day(that has never happened before) it was a great time for the kiddos.

I am sure you know this, but if you are a Waco peep, for $45.00 you can have a year pass for grandparents and all grandkids. So we skirted the lines and got in so quickly. It pays for itself in about one visit!

Double Digits

Mailey baby is a 1 and a 0. Put that together and you have 10. 10 months old.

Just crazy.

She weighed 19.11 when we weighed her last.

Here is a list, and I have probably said some of these before but have no time to go look and see if I have, of all she is doing lately:

Actions:
-waves bye-bye
-waves hi
-holds up her pointer finger if you say, "#1!"
-shakes her head no when you say it, or when she is doing something she shouldn't be doing. She will crawl to the plug and shake her head, or reach for the blinds and shake her head. Most of the time she still grabs the thing, though!
-finds her hair, tummy, toes, bow, sucker, teeth, and squinches up her eyes for eyes
-signs all done and more
-crawling
-cruising
-standing alone until she figures out she is doing it and then sits

Words:
-da
-mama
-puh or dah for dog
-beh beh (baby)
-buh (Tracen, her bud)
-luhluhluh (sometimes for i love you...still with the head tilt)
-puh (diaper)
-mmmmmmmm for what a cow says

Attitudes:
-screams when you take a toy away from her
-screams if another kid is screaming
-screams in the nursery...yes, she is that kid. Everyone has my number over there!
-screams when you put her down for her nap
-screams (this has just started) when you put her down for bed
-screams when she gets into her car seat
-screams when you leave her to go to another room

That is about it! I feel so blessed to be her Momma and am loving everything about this baby girlie! (even the screaming...it is hilarious some of the time...SOME of the time!

Come to Jesus, and live

Today my oldest 2 kiddos went down to the front of our nine30 service to let everyone know they had asked Jesus into their hearts.

We have all prayed for Makenna's heart to be obedient to following through with baptism for a few years. Tracen, of all people, helped her to be brave.

On March 31st, in the car, Tracen told me that he was talking to God in his bed the "udder" night. I asked him what he said and he told me these words,
"I told Jesus I do bad things, but would He come into my heart."

The tiniest of faiths can move the heart of our God.

And the heart of a mother.

So we chatted for a bit, asked and answered a lot of questions, and then prayed together. I asked him what he should do next, and he told me he needed to be baptized because Jesus says to.

I am so proud of his little heart, and so proud of my sweet girl.

We have been talking about it for a loooooong time, and she told me she wanted to be baptized. She wanted all of us in her room to pray together, and she nailed it down on April 5. She understands that she needed to tell everyone, so we all walked down this morning.

Such prayers answered, and such a huge responsibility to teach and disciple them, as we have been doing, more and more.

The first step, only to be followed by a million more on each of their journeys to the feet of Jesus one day.

Wow, God.

Come to Jesus, and live.