Randomness....

Well, first of all it is a wonderful day! Amazing how different your outlook on life can be when you get a good night's sleep! Eva slept from midnight to 7:30am! Then she was up for a clean diaper and a BIG breakfast (hee hee) and then went back down at 8am and she's just now up and it's 11am! Beautiful.
So, mom was here last night and we were looking through the girl's baby books and talking about stuff we don't want to forget....
Like how Joelle says 'kiss' - which sounds like "piss"; even if we say, "k, k, k, kiss", she'll say "k, k, k, Piss!" I think it's hilarious...
When Anna was little she used to like "Farmer John cheese" on her spaghetti, while most people call it Parmesan! Love that...
I love that Elle calls Joe's dad "Paw-paw", and her sister is "Babe-Eba"
But now that Babe-eba is ready to catch up on the missed feedings from last night, so I gotta go...

Approval!!!

Well, we got our letter in the mail today informing us that we have been approved for the loan to build our house!!! **Doing a happy dance, shouting, singing and crying!!** I stopped at the mailbox on my way home, saw who the envelope was from and immediately opened the seal, then stopped and left it lay on my lap as I drove the rest of the way home, praying fervently. When I parked, I finally pulled out the letter and as soon as I saw the amount, I burst into tears! After we submitted all our paperwork a couple of weeks ago, Joey and I have been really praying that we would get the right amount approved. One day when I was praying by myself, I had a certain number pop into my head that was significantly higher than any numbers we had been quoted. I was kinda like, "ok, God, that seems a bit unrealistic, but I'll pray for that number", but lacking in faith, I didn't share that number with anyone, not even Joey. Today, when the letter came, it announced that we actually approved for $300 MORE than that number!!! What confirmation! "My God shall supply all our needs, according to HIS riches"!!!! Praise the Lord for His faithfulness!!! If all goes smoothly, we'll be moving in the beginning of November and we will truly have a special Thanksgiving celebration this year!!
*A bittersweet aspect to our news: Daddy had so been looking forward to us building and wanted to help dig our basement when the time came, he would've been so excited over our news - I really miss him. But, EVEN SO, I will praise...

Problem

Um, I just wanted to add a new post to see what's up, cause my new ones from this morning aren't showing up....

Hebron House

I thought I'd do a separate post about what we like to call 'Hebron House'.
For years we've been praying about not only getting a house for more living space, but a house that would be able to be used for ministry. I've often struggled with my role in ministry, because I'm just not an 'evangelist' type of person, not someone who likes to hit the streets witnessing to people, really I struggle with meeting new people. And I've never felt like a teacher type person either. So, where do I fit? Over the last several years, the Lord has been making it more clear to me that He has given me certain gifts that can be used in a different sort of ministry. About 2 years ago, I was really feeling 'un-used' and asking the Lord where I belong, and He gave me a 'vision' of warriors on a battlefield. I said, "Lord, I'm not a warrior." And then He showed me the warriors coming back to the camp injured, and the nurses ministering to them. I really felt like He was showing me that that was my place - tending to the warriors. As I've shared this with Joe, we've really felt that our home is supposed to be a place for this kind of ministry. So, although our current home is rather small, we were trying to be "faithful in the little" by opening our home for small group, and other get-togethers to build relationships with many people. And so we began to pray for a larger house to make such gatherings a bit more comfortable (and less stressful!).
Then, as a leadership conference, we were praying more about our house and the Lord dropped 'Hebron' into our head. We researched Hebron a bit more and found that Hebron was a place of rest, a place of gathering and community, and it was given to the tribe of Judah (worshippers) as an inheritance. That's exactly what we desire our home to be! So, we intend to name our home 'Hebron House', dedicating it as a place for gathering, community, relationship, worship and rest.
So, though our new house will be significantly larger, it is not just with the intent of expanded living space, but for expanding our ministry opportunities as well. My dream is to one day have a 'luxurious' retreat that we could open to traveling missionaries, or other ministers in need of rest. My love of entertaining/hostessing is not just a fun hobby, but I believe a gift that is God-ordained for this purpose. And so this is our prayer for our home - Hebron House!

Fun House Stuff

Well, we went to meet with our builder last night and I got to pick out a bunch of stuff for our house!! It was a ton of fun. We had to make some changes to our first set of house plans too, which was exciting as well - like adding a double front door which is something I've always dreamed about. But we've dreamed about this house for so long and looked at other houses and made plans, that it made our choices very easy. The guy was shocked how quickly I made my choices, but I've been 'shopping' for this house for 8 years! So in less than 5 minutes, I had picked out my siding, shingles, shutters, bathroom vanities, flooring, carpet and kitchen countertop! Now we have to go to Lowes or Home Depot (which I LOVE!) and pick out our appliances and figure out our kitchen cabinet layout. I'm really excited about how our kitchen will be. Besides being bigger than I ever imagined, we found that the space allows us to have something called a 'hearth' cook area, which I think looks so farmy! Here's a pic of the one we looked at out there, but it doesn't do it justice and our cabinets will be different, but it's an idea. Oh, and they said that if things keep moving along and our loan comes through ok, we could be looking at a 'delivery date' around the middle of October, which would give Joey a couple weeks to finish things up and we could move in around the beginning of November! I could have Christmas at my house this year- yeah!!!

Catching up...

Okay, it's been months since I've posted and I feel terrible about it, but life kinda happened.... So, I'll do a quick overview and catch up.
Eva Jane Glick was born June 5th at 5:37 pm after a truly blessed delivery. My water broke that morning around 7, but labor didn't really pick up until around 2, so we opted to move things along with Pitocin and an epidural. We had some problems getting the epidural to work, but once it did, all was smooth sailing, and I only had to push for 2 minutes! I was shocked but relieved and excited to have another girl! She is absolutely gorgeous and loved immensely, especially by her big sisters. So, for the last 7 weeks, our days and nights have been filled with nursing, changing some incredible diapers (thus her nickname "Princess Poopy-Pants"), and in general just enjoying our new family member. She is a happy baby, and as the prophecy spoken over her said, "a joy to take care of".
The other big and exciting event that I want to share about is that it seems our dream of a new house is becoming reality!!! Praise the Lord! Our 'little house in the valley' has served us well over the last 8+ years, but we are now busting at the seams. We are currently in the process of finalizing our house plans and waiting for our loan to come through. We are praying fervently for the right amount for our mortgage so we can build the house we really need. I think I'll do a whole other post on our vision for our future home - 'Hebron House'. But it looks like even this afternoon we will be meeting with the builders to pick out colors, siding, carpet, door knobs etc... so exciting! Prayers are appreciated as we wait for the go-ahead from our lender.
Well, I guess that covers the big stuff... and since I'm trying to type one-handed while nursing, I'll quit this post, and hopefully will get back on track with my blog now.

Mmmm, baby smell

So, since it's now May, I'm officially able to say that I'm due NEXT MONTH! Which is exciting and nervewracking all at the same time. As anxious as I am to meet this little person who has grown under my heart for the last 8 months, it's a bit frightening to think about adding another child to this crazy mix I call my home! So far, this child's needs are pretty easy to tend to, and rather enjoyable to me really ~ when else can you eat like crazy and gain a ton of weight and people tell you how great you look?!
But now that we're truly down to the home stretch, I decided to finally get a move on some final preparations. It was fun and exciting to think about labor and to write up our contact list for who to call when baby arrives! And one of my favorite parts of preparation... baby laundry! I love pulling out the teeny tiny onesies and sleepers and gowns, washing them in that distinct Dreft detergent and smelling that wonderful baby smell as I fold all those little clothes. Just burying my face in a fresh sleeper makes me feel so excited and maternal! So, now I've got stacks of clean and folded baby clothes waiting to be put away..... which unfortunately is going to have to wait until after I get myself to the chiropractor and fix the problem that is rendering me unable to bend, sit or walk! So, now I just recline in the midst of all the baby smell and try to just enjoy it and ignore the rest of my mess.... One thing at a time!