Moved In!

So, we made the big move this past weekend....and we're still recuperating. I am one of those people (if you don't already know) that has to unpack everything right away. I will lose a few nights' sleep, but its worth it to know that we will really be all settled in and not living out of boxes for x amount of time! Also, this is the 15th time I have moved in my life (and our 9th move as a family), so we're sort of professionals at it by now. But, at 4 years and 7 months, our time at the townhouse was the longest I have lived at any residence besides the house I spent 18 years in growing up. So, its a move for the records that is for sure. Most everything is unpacked and in its place. We even have a lot of the photos up on the wall. We just need to organize the garage and we will be done. Not bad for three days work! It helps that we live pretty minimally and don't have a lot of stuff. It was also nice that we've been bringing things over from the house all last week and unpacking them right away. We did hit one slightly major snag--no hot water for three days because of a faulty pilot. Its fixed now, so I get to take my first bath in my soaker tub tonight!

Here are some photos!

Livingroom


Reading nook (the chair is my Mother's day gift)


Kitchen


Playroom/Office


Alayna's room


Jeremiah's room


Our room


And, we heard from the bank and they said "no" to the offer that was put in on the house. They want a ridiculous amount of money for the house. No houses in our community have sold for what they want in over a year. Foreclosure seems imminent now. But, we continue to trust God and His guidance through this. We are prepared to face the consequences of a foreclosure--knowing this life on earth is temporary and monetary things are of no value in eternity. We rarely use credit, preferring to pay for things with cash or go without, so it won't be too bad. But, we would love to have you praying for us and this situation!

Science Fair

Tonight there was a Family Night and Science Fair at the boy's school. We had a picnic dinner at the school and then went to see the projects from the fair, including the one put together by Jeremiah (and company). A lot of hard work went into the project and we are so proud of him! It was on sound vibrations....basically showing how sound can be seen and not just heard. J demonstrated the experiment several times....it was neat to watch. Eating dinner in the nice spring weather outside was great too, because we know that all too soon, the heat will be here and we won't be outside for months! It was a fantastic night!

The Project






Demonstration video


Dinner....YUM



(chicken, spinach, & cheese paninis and fruit salad)

Happy Easter!

Romans 4:25 "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."

REJOICE! He is RISEN!

Easter is my favorite holiday. I try to make a bigger deal about it than Christmas. Its important to celebrate Christ's birth, but today, the day we celebrate His resurrection, is of vital importance to our very existence. So its kind of a big deal around here. :) We are VICTORIOUS because Christ died for US and was raised to life again so that we could have atonement for our sins and spend eternity with God the Father. Praise Him!

We had a great day. The kids got their baskets full of (mostly) all-natural and organic goodies. Even Grandma (who always makes them Easter bags) was good this year and did mostly all-natural treats. (Makes my heart smile!) We fill the plastic eggs with Annie's cheddar/graham bunnies, organic fruit bunnies, and coins. They also got books, a slinky, a toothbrush, and a few other party favor type things from Grandma. One of the "junky" treats we gave them were the Reeses Pieces "carrots"--YUM. We did the egg hunt at the new house. So. Much. Fun. Then, we served at our Church's Campo Verde Easter service. Once home, it was time to get dinner started while Peter went off to work. Dinner is going to be ham, potato salad, BBQ baked beans (homemade sauce!), green beans, and rolls. The weather is beautiful today so we are going outside to enjoy it while dinner is cooking! Hope you all had a blessed Easter!

Dyeing eggs last night....cage free, organic brown eggs are not the best for dyeing. Ugh, I despise artificial coloring.




The baskets


All dressed up!






The Family


Enjoying treats




THE HUNT:

Abode

So, its been mentioned several times about our "new house". I have already stated in a previous post that we are trying to short sale our townhouse so we can move to a house that will be better fit our family (and cost less). Well, we got not one, but TWO offers on it a few weeks ago and are currently awaiting the bank's decision on the offers. The bank holds all the cards. But, we decided we did not want to wait on them as we heard it can take several months for a short sale to go through. We wanted to be established in a new house (for several reasons) so that we can just move on from here. The past two years has felt like we've been living in limbo...we tried to relocate out of state and nothing ever worked out. So, we decided to trust God and be content with living in AZ and move forward with life. And, here we are.

About two weeks ago, we found a great house. It isn't in the exact area I wanted but it is the perfect size and still in a quiet, family neighborhood with a fantastic school (which is close enough for Jeremiah to continue riding his bike). We knew that because the house was priced at a very affordable rent, and in a great neighborhood, that we had to act on it if we wanted it, otherwise it would be gone. So, we put a deposit down and the house was officially "ours" today. We are going to take our time moving in, but hope to be all moved in by May 1st.

Here it is!


We haven't had one of these in 6 years:


We plan to do the Easter egg hunt at the house on Sunday. An initiation, if you will. The kids are super excited that this is going to be our house. I have to admit that I am too! Its really our first "grown up" house as a married couple. There are 500 more sq. feet in this house, and I can't wait to see how my vision for it come to life. Of course, there are a few things here and there that I wish we could change, but I know that we can't and that is a consequence of becoming renters again. We are ok with it. We're just so excited to be moving on. AND, a dream that I've had for a very long time is about to come to fruition:

DOUBLE SINKS! I have always wanted double sinks, even as a child.

We are so thankful for this opportunity. We trust God with this move and the decision to let our townhouse go. He works out everything for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28). He is faithful; and He will see us through whatever we have to face in life. We are blessed.