Transition

When we moved into our home a little over 3 years ago I said I was not moving again until Ella was in 5th grade...she was 3and a half at the time.  As I said that, I thought, "God is probably going to make me eat those words." Sure enough I have. I have loved Temple and have really thought I would raise my kids here. But it appears as though God has other plans.

Our house has been on the market since January 14 and April 12 we got a contract. Less than 3 months after we listed it. Praise God! So now where we live for the next few months? God comes through again. Our church has a fully furnished missionary house and we are able to live there. Thank you GOD!!! So we are in the yucky phase of moving and getting rid of pretty much everything we have.

Through this process I have really come to see how much I have put emotions into stuff. I don't need stuff. There are so many people who have a tenth of what I have and are so happy. Yet somehow I have become so dependent on stuff to make me happy. Through all of the getting rid of and throwing away and garage sales I have learned to be happy in less. I am so thankful for that!

We still have to be presented to the board of trustees on July 20th for our final approval. I pray that all goes well. We meet with Larry, who is someone of importance, on Thursday morning. I am really looking forward to that. We have communicated with him via email but have not yet met in person. This is all becoming more and more real. I have days of excitement and days of fear of the unknown and yet I really trust that God has a plan for us.

A Day in the Country

My aunt and uncle are house parents at a boys' ranch in Brenham, TX. They are the sister...or brother as the case may be...organization to the TX Baptist Children's Home where we were house parents at. We have gone down to the farm many times since they have been there. It was one of our favorite get away spots. Every year in April they have Day in the Country and have a bbq lunch and petting zoo and the boys ride their horses and show what they have learned. It is so fun! We love to go. I am so glad we were able to go. The girls rode horses this year. Macie was not one bit afraid...Ella on the other hand, well I will just let the pictures tell the story.

 
It also happened to be my uncle's 40th birthday that day and I was able to make the cake for it. It was a lot of fun and he was surprised!

Easter

We had a different Easter this year. Usually my sister and my dad and stepmom come down so we can have family to celebrate with. This year we were alone.  :-(  But it actually turned out to be a good time. We were invited of to our children's ministers house along with the rest of the staff families. We had a fabulous time! The Easter Bunny visited the Brown's house and left eggs and gifts there for the girls. It worked out just right!

Bluebonnets

So this is our last year to get to do bluebonnet pics while the girls are still little. The next time we will see bluebonnets they will most likely be 7 and 10...unbelievable!!! So enjoy a few of MANY we took!!!

Church Update

It's been 2 months since the fire and the sanctuary and offices have now come down. It was a little emotional but also good. Seeing the post fire building is hard to look at. Here are the updated pics.

This is where the offices were. The hallway on the right is the welcome center area.

This is the last bit of the sanctuary being knocked down.

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This is where James' office was.

Such a different look.

Whistle Stop

We took advantage of a beautiful day to spend with some good friends at Whistle Stop Park. Everyone had a blast!

Daughters of the King

The girls were able to go to a tea party at my mom's church this past weekend. We all sang Jesus Loves Me as a special music. The girls got crowns and there was a sweet story about how God loves us no matter what we do. Ella and Macie loved being able to dress up and eat off nice china and fancy tea cups.

Zoo Day

We took a spontaneous trip to the zoo a few weeks ago. James has never been to the zoo in Waco. It is just the right size and has a lot of fun things to see and do.

And the walls come tumbling down...

Today the demolition of our church began. It will be a 3 week process...woohoo! The offices are the first to go. I had been waiting all week for this to start so the kiddos and I had a "field trip." Because of rain it did not start until today and I had Bible study so I missed the initial knock down. Oh well. Here is a picture of what it looks like so far. I will take more pics as the progress moves along.

Snow Day

This is the most unusual weather we've been having in Texas! I have spent every winter for the past 31 years in Texas and don't remember this much cold or snow for this long of a time period. Today was another day in the history books! We got an email last night that school was cancelled for CTCS today!! We started off with free pancakes at IHOP and a donation to the Shriners and then home to play in the snow! There was a small snowball fight in the backyard and the James and Ella worked super hard on a snowman in the front! We ended the morning with hot chocolate and Wall-E. Temple and Belton are delayed tomorrow...I hope CTCS gets the same! Enjoy the pics...

Sorry for the blur; there was snow on the lens!