Offer submitted

Well, I slept ALL night! No tossing and turning, no pits in the stomach when I woke up. I even went back to sleep after Dylon cried at 5:00am. So, we submitted the offer. The sellers have 24 hours to get back to us with a response. We are fairly sure that they will counter, but would love if they just accepted the offer. We are praying for God to work out all the details and continue to guide us.

I'm getting more excited about the house as times goes. It is a great house and will become "home" when we are all there together. Like I told Chad, I don't love the house, but love at first sight doesn't always happen!

The boys don't really understand what is going on. I think Braden is especially confused at how we can live in a house where someone else has toys. He keeps talking about his new train table (the little boy that lives there has one) and that he wants the pink room (there isn't even one in this house?!). So, hopefully he'll understand when the house is empty and even more so when his barn bed and toys arrive from WI.

As excited as we are to get into our own home and be a family again, it's sad to think of leaving Colorado Springs and the Grandparents. Pa and Ma (as the boys call them) have been so good at sharing their home and supporting us through this. The bond that they have built is so precious. This morning I came upstairs to find story time on the stairs. I was thankful there was a camera close by to capture this scene. The boys were so engrossed in listening to the story and munching away on their whole apples (they both love to start off eating them "big", but eventually usually ask for them to be cut up).

Offer on Jericho

Tonight we went back to Denver (that would make a trip 3 days in a row for me, 4 for Chad) to look at another house. We LOVED the layout. However, the yard was ... well, there wasn't really even a yard to speak of. How are my 3 boys going to play football on Thanksgiving day with out a yard?! So, this house is out of the running. But, did I say that I LOVED the layout!!! Bummer!

We went back to the house on Jericho to look at it for the 3rd time. You can see a virtual tour here if you want to:
http://tour.circlepix.com/tour.htm?id=717685&mls_tour=1

It really is a very nice house. It has everything that we have on our "need list" and many of our "wants". But, for some reason I'm having a hard time committing. Emotions, nerves, large sums of money, finality ... those are all playing a huge part I'm sure. But, I also want to make sure that this isn't God saying to wait. So, we wrote the offer and our realtor is holding it overnight so we can pray and sleep. I'm praying that God will give us both a true peace either way.

So, until tomorrow ...

3/29: House Hunting

We took Auntie Cathy and Nana to the airport this morning. It was sad to see them go. We had such a fun visit with them. So many special memories! It was fun to watch the boys with this part of my family. I'm looking forward to the next time that we can all be together again!

And after all the picture taking this trip, I forgot to take a good-bye picture! Oops!

From the airport, we headed off for a day of house hunting. Pa and Ma came along and we enjoyed having them with us to share in the excitement. Extra eyes are always a good idea. They were so patient with us and were an amazing help with the boys!

We looked at 14 houses in all. And from those, we have 2 that we are seriously contemplating.

#1 Jericho

#2 Dunkirk

We need to weigh the pros and cons as well as pray about it. It's exciting to be looking at homes and know that we can actually put in an offer at this time!

The boys were tuckered out at the end of the day. I wonder if they'll remember any of this?

I think Braden was a bit confused by the house hunt. He really wanted to play with the other kid's toys!

Dylon, well he just wanted to stay in the car long enough to sleep!!!

We have an OFFER!

We are so excited! We received a call from our realtor today and have an offer on the WI house!
It came in lower than we had hoped, but where we kinda expected. So, we counter back tomorrow to split the difference. We are praying hard that this will be it and we will finally have a contract on the house!

We are so thankful for God working in the situation and providing a buyer in His time. It has been a struggle to wait and trust, but I know that our family has learned so much through this. We are excited to move forward and be together again as a family.

As I write this tonight, I'm struggling to put the feelings of my heart into words. I'm nervous the offer won't go through, excited at the working of God, anxious to find a house here, longing to just hug Chad and celebrate this with him, sad to be saying goodbye to my WI home, whirling about all the details, apprehensive about finding a house we will love in CO ... I could go on and on.

But more than anything, I'm thankful that I don't have to know or understand or figure all this out. What an awesome God I have that knows and writes my future. That alone provides me the peace and I can rest in His arms. Thank you God!

Thirsty!?

If you don't like hearing about little boys and bodily functions, you might want to skip this blog! :)

Today, Braden went downstairs to the bathroom. All by himself, like the big boy he is. Nothing new, this is how life goes. However, he never called for help to wipe. Hmmm ...

Then, I started to hear strange sounds of running water, splashing ... TROUBLE!

As I looked in the door, what did I see? My 3 year old son. Naked from the waist down. Intentely pouring water from a cup. Into the toilet.

"What on earth are you doing!?!?" I asked in a LOUD voice.
To which my son replied, with a face of pure innocence of course, "My poop was thirsty!"

Oh, how I tried to keep a straight face and reprimand him for his behavior. But, amusement took over and I sat on the floor in peels of laughter. Where does he come up with these things.
It didn't help that my Aunt Cathy was witness to all of this and found it as hysterical as I did.

And in case you are wondering, I did gain my composure and we had a long talk about cups and water being for boys to drink ... not poop! What will this boy do next?!

Braden, oh how I love you! What excitement and laughter you bring to life in such strange and naughty ways! You are priceless my peanut!

3/17: Grandpa's Birthday

The boys and I headed up to Denver today to see Grandpa and Grandma. We were able to celebrate Grandpa's birthday a few days early with dinner at Famous Dave's. Daddy was able to come join us too! Braden was excited about the pig at the restaurant.
Dylon, of course, was more interested in food! He especially loved the corn on the cob. He couldn't quite figure out how to hold it AND eat it, so he accepted help. He did try to stab it with his fork, but couldn't quite make it work. For breakfast the next day, Grandpa made pancake bears. The boys were very excited. I think this may have to become a tradition when we stay overnight!

The boys really enjoy playing Hungry Hippos with Grandpa too!

It is so fun to be close enough to celebrate special days together as a family! Happy Birthday Dad/Grandpa! We love you!

For My Brother Jeremy

This post is dedicated to my "little" brother Jeremy. He's the BIG guy on the LEFT!

I am so thankful for him and love that we are more than family -- we are friends!

We are sitting beside each other on the couch. He's helping me figure out all this technology stuff! He's so amazing at it, I am not!

So, I'm trying to get my facebook account to show my blog posts automatically. I'm just too lazy to add a link each time I make a new blog. So, hopefully we have it working now.

So this is a test, it is only a test. :)

A little boys heart and prayers

Today we joined the Mom's and Beyond Bible Study group at Burger King for playtime and lunch. On the way there, Braden said:
"Mommy, you miss my old friends too?"
Yes Braden, I miss our friends.
"I sad, my heart is breaking!"

We did have a fun morning and are enjoying getting to know this group better. It is still hard to connect at a deep level. I think it's partly because it's new and also because I know that this is not a forever place. It's hard to put down deep roots that I know will be transplanted again.


As I put Braden down for his nap today, we did our normal bedtime routine.

First, recite his dedication verse.
"Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be men of courage, be strong, do everything in love." He knows it well and will recite all the big words without prompting.

Second, prayers. This was his prayer today:
"Dear God, Thank you me go to the wee slide place today. Please, please, help my house to sell. Thank you my new house in Denver with Daddy."
How awesome that he understands that God is in control and is pleading with Him for his hearts desires. My heart echoed his prayers and I continue to seek that God will provide for these needs in our lives and show my son how faithful our God is.

Third, a song. Usually this is "Snuggle Puppy, but this afternoon he asked for his new song.
My God is so BIG, so STRONG, and so MIGHTY, there's nothing my God can not do.
The Mountains are His, the Valleys are His, the Stars are His handiwork too.
My God is so BIG, so STRONG, and so MIGHTY, there's nothing my God can not do -- for YOU!

And now, he is off to sleep. Oh precious boy, how I love you!

Some of March

Well, I'm almost caught up on blogging. I have the best intentions of posting more often, and just can't seem to get to it all. You'd think with not having a house and real life, I'd have more time. But I find myself having less. I think I'm just not as organized and focused as normal which makes time go by without being near as productive.

Today was one of our first "cold" days -- and even then it wasn't bad. A few snow flurries overnight and gloves on in the morning. But by this evening, we went to greet Ma without even wearing coats. I had forgotten how quickly weather changed in CO and how much milder it is than WI. It's nice, but takes some getting used to.

So, here are some pictures from March:

3/2: Pikes Peak - Another view of the amazing mountain I get to see every day.

3/4: Eating Rainbows - The prism was shining right on Dylon's mouth. Braden and I thought it was looked so funny to see Dylon trying to eat a rainbow. Dylon didn't understand what was going on, but laughed with us anyways. Laughter is so contagious!

3/4: Too Cool - The boys were both wearing their sunglasses in the van today. I couldn't resist a picture of these little stud muffins!

3/5: Playing Outside - Pa took the boys outside for some fun this evening while I was cooking dinner. I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures. Dylon was so cute peeking inside to smile at me. Braden was a maniac chasing the bubbles with his broom. I am so thankful for Pa and what an amazing grandpa he is for my boys!

Braden discovers ...

Braden shared his discovery with me a few days ago. Tonight, I got him to share it with Daddy and the grandparents too. And I had the video camera ready to go!

The day will come to explain the differences between boys and girls, but for now, I will savor the innocence of my son. And enjoy the laughter that he brings.

Fun on the Farm (Scottsbluff 2/20-2/22)

We helped work out on the farm this weekend. PaPa is getting ready for another auction. Mommy helped tie up tubes and clean out sheds. Daddy got to drive the tractor and helped load up cinderblocks, move wood around, and pick up branches with the loader. Braden thought it was pretty cool that his Daddy could drive a "pop-pop tractor" and Mommy sure things "his tractor's sexy!" :)

Even with the work to do, we found time for some fun.

After dinner, Braden and Rebekah decorated cookies with "star" sprinkles. They were quite particular about getting them just right.

2/21: Braden and Dylon enjoy exercising at PaPa's house. They did a good job sharing and working together.

Here's a video of the guys in action (from 2/14).

2/22: Braden enjoyed some special snuggle time with MaeMae and Jaxon. Oh how precious!

Scottsbluff (2/12 - 2/20)

Since we are "homeless", we decided to give Pa & Ma a break and headed to Scottsbluff. MaeMae was excited to have us come and mess up her house for awhile!

2/13: Who needs toys when you have Daddy's suitcase?

2/13: Dylon decided that he enjoyed Jaxon's kennel, Braden decided he enjoyed having his own pet!
2/13: We hadn't seen snow since leaving WI, so we were excited for the couple inches that fell.

2/13: Our 2 snow-buddies!

I can't believe how close in size the boys are getting

Dylon wasn't sure what to think about this white stuff. He decided it was alright, as long as he didn't get wet or cold!

Just enough snow for sledding ... in the driveway.

Braden was so proud that he could pull Dylon by himself!

2/14: Happy Valentine's Day
2/14: Braden enjoyed showing PaPa his movie on the laptop. PaPa was quite impressed with technology these days.

2/14: I see you!!! Braden kept us all entertained when we went to dinner at the Gaslight.

2/15: Papa's special boys

2/16: Dylon enjoyed playing in the laundry basket. He liked to sit inside it. Hide underneath it. Or be pushed around by big brother.

2/17: Hanging out at MaeMae's. Braden enjoyed petting Jaxon and watching his movies. I think we are going ot need to get this little boy a dog of his own soon! Dylon was a wild man on the go. Always getting into things; at least this time it was his toys.
2/18: Such a big boy. Eating breakfast and reading the paper. Ok, so it's a toy magazine. But it still looks much too grown up!

2/18: Talking to Daddy on the phone -- Good Morning! We miss you! It's hard to be away from Daddy during the week. We can't wait to all be together again!

2/18: Playing train - Braden set up the train and even let Dylon drive. 2/18: Dylon had been taking a few steps in Colorado Springs, but really got his feet under him while we were in Nebraska. Click on the VIDEO below to see him in action!

2/19: Playtime with cousin Rebekah. Braden has declared Rebekah "mine friend". He has been missing his WI friends and is so excited for a consistent playmate. He was so happy to see her in Scottsbluff and squealed with delight when we arrived for playtime.

They sure thought they were cute in their playdough necklaces ... and they were right!

2/19: My "baby"! When did he get so big? Dylon loves these new shoes. He is so excited when we put them on and walks around like he's king of the world. 2/19: We went to Gering Basketball games to watch Uncle Kaleb. The boys enjoyed watching the boys run back and forth and throw the ball at the basket. The next morning, Braden was running from one end of the kitchen to the other -- back and forth. When I asked him what he was doing, he looked at me with disbelief that I would have to even ask. "I playin baskbawl like Uncwle Kaweb!" And off he went to play his game some more. Dylon was happy to watch the real games for awhile, but was more excited about the popcorn that that appeared after half-time.

2/20: Braden helped Mommy bake a carrot cake. We had fun scooping, counting, dumping, and mixing. And of course eating the yummy cake too!