My Little Packer

I have some pretty good help packing. It is coming along pretty slowly and most of the stuff ends up with drool all over it but we have a good time. It may be a while before you hear from me again. We would covet your prayers during this craziness. Diana arrives on Friday to take the girls. Pray for her as well. FaithLyn is REALLY excited and Elise is a little nervous. Hope all are enjoying the summer!! Can't wait!!

Still Not Packing!

Only 10 days to go until our pack out date and not ONE box has been packed. What's wrong with me? I can't even clean my house. Part of me keeps saying, "Who cares!" Then the other part of me is screaming, "HELLO! Do know what today is? Are you ever going to clean that bathroom?" The one thing I am really ashamed of is the fact that Dan has been working so hard to finish things up well at the office and I can't even get the bathroom cleaned! He is so worn out from getting everything in order and then coming home and looking for jobs on the internet or contacting people. He has really been diligent about being ready to go. I wish I could say the same thing. I am really excited about being in Fort Worth, I just don't want to have to do the work to get us there. So I am at the hotel helping when I am not needed instead of cleaning my house or cleaning out drawers and packing boxes!!

I have done all the work to make sure things will be ready for us in Fort Worth. We will have electricity, water, and a phone. I am able to think about that part of the move but my brain has some kind of disconnect when it comes to actually getting ready to leave here. I am sure that there is some deep seeded emotional reason that this is going on. It couldn't just be me being lazy. Could it?

You would think that with only two weeks to get ready to move things would hopping around here but it's just life as usual. . .sort of. Olivia is loving eating on her own!! She has five really sharp teeth and she chomps on everthing!! This afternoon I gave her a couple of arrowroot cookies and she was so happy!! She still has a hard time with controling her saliva but, hey! One thing at a time. It's a shame you can't see her teeth behind all that mashed up cookie and drool! She has a really adorable gap! I think she just keeps getting cuter! I am a little partial, though.

The girls got their "Texas" haircuts today. It was really hard for me to have FaithLyn's hair cut! It was so long and cute but I think it will be a lot healthier now. She only agreed to have it cut when I told her we probably wouldn't be able to put in ponytails anymore. Hmmm. . . We didn't get it cut quite that short but Elise's is pretty short. They look so different but still our cute little girls. I think shorter hair will help the girls adapt to the heat in Texas a little more quickly. You may think that is crazy but it has been in the 50's for the last 3 weeks !! It got up to 70 today (in the sun) and we all ran outside to catch a little of the heat. We still have the heater on in the house! My whole body is going to go into shock!! I am sure the girls won't even notice a difference. Here's to another day of not packing!!

Great News!!

First, I want to share the great praise I was alluding to a couple of days ago. My sister-in-law Ellen is PREGNANT!!! WHOO HOO!! Praise God! Since it's not really my news to share I had to wait until she posted her news first. We have been praying for God to bless Ellen with a baby since FaithLyn was born. With every baby I had it made our relationship a little harder. It was so hard to see Ellen hurting and not have any clue how to help her other than pray. I went from trying to hard to help to backing off to much. I have to admit I could in no way even begin to understand what she was going through. It was so hard to see her hurt and know that my joy in motherhood caused her pain. Not because she didn't love my kids, Aunt Ellen is a really wonderful Aunt and the girls love her! It just hurt because they were a reminder of what she so desperately wanted. It was bittersweet for her and for me as well.

Over Thanksgiving Ellen miscarried while she was here visiting. It was so painful, but God gave me a renewed passion for praying for my dear sister and so somehow, I feel so connected to David and Ellen in their joy. I have no right and I am not at all claiming any of God's praise or deserved glory. But prayer connects you to people, even if they don't feel that connection. This pregnancy is nothing short of a miracle and you should go check out her blog at www.dabragdonfamily.blogspot.com. I don't want to steal her thunder but I know some of you know of their struggle with infertility and I hope you will be blessed by their testimony.
Congratulations David and Ellen!! Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow! God, Your goodness takes my breath away!!

My next good news will pale in comparison but it good to me! The Yard Sale is tomorrow and Dan just loaded up all our stuff and took it to the place where our community yard sale will be. Free at Last! Free at Last!! Thank God Almighty I am Free at Last! My dear friends Katie and Shelly helped last night to get everything priced. A job that would have taken me all day and night was done in about an hour and a half! Thanks Katie and Shelly!! You gals are the BEST! I just have to finish up a few more projects around the house and then it will be time to start packing!! Can you believe that in three weeks we will be in Texas!! I am getting very excited. . . for this whole thing to be OVER!! I am a wreck! I cry about everything, FaithLyn has wet the bed 4 nights out of 6! Last night I just got mad at her when she came in my room at 4 in the morning! If she could come get me why couldn't she make it to the bathroom??? I came back to my senses and realized, with Dan's help, that the girls are probably feeling my stress and it effects them too.
Even though I realize this I am still crabby and weepy. It feels a lot like being pregnant and it is almost as tiring and stressful as delivery. But when I am done with this move I get to sleep at night and my body will be automatically back to normal. Sorry Erin and Mandy and Ellen, it won't be so easy for you, but it will be MUCH more rewarding.
Erin Gerlt called yesterday mid-breakdown. It was a Godsend. Thank You Erin, for hearing me out. I am not sure I was making much sense but I sure felt better after you called. For a few minutes anyway! I usually work best under stress but this is too much for me!! I am an emotional wreck! Yes, even more than usual. But in my weakness, God is strong. I am counting on that!!

The Bunk Bed

The girls got Bunk Beds!! They love them and I have been promising a picture for a while. Here they are. We have already played fort and gotten in trouble more times than I can count. Elise is having a hard time following the rules, but what else is new? FaithLyn fell off the top bunk one of the first nights but only because we had to leave some of the side panels off because they were broken. They have since been replaced and she is much more careful while she is NOT going to sleep at night like she should. Elise often gets lost in her huge bed and we have had a few really scary middle-of-the-night episodes thanks to a lost "snuggle bunny". Elise's snuggle bunny is her beloved sleep prop. It was touch and go there for a while but thankfully we were able to pull snuggle bunny from the depths of the bed. I am so glad that the girls like to play on the bunk beds because it may take up all of the room in the girls bedroom! Oh well, they sure are cute aren't they?

My Provider, My God

I just realized how corny the title for my last post was!! SORRY! I could make lots of excuses but the truth is. . . I am a little corny and I am tired of pretending. Confession is SOO good for the soul!! ANYWAY. . .My real reason for posting is SOOO much more EXCITING!!

I haven't shared much about this because it isn't my story to tell and because of that I am going to have to be really obscure until this loved one leaks the news herself. All I can say is that our God is the God of MIRACLES!! I can't wait to share with you the details of this miracle because it is SOO cool! Let's just say Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!!

Oh and one more answer to prayer. Dan and I have always been a one car family. It has always worked out for us. Well, we had two cars for a while and then I smashed our little red car into a tree trying to drive up our steep icy driveway. That was about one year that we had two cars so it doesn't really count, does it? But, we realized that in Fort Worth one car just might not cut it. Especially if Dan gets a job that is more than four blocks away, which is very likely. I also realized that if we only have one car then I can't go visit my parents and sister when ever I want. What good is it to be in the same state with family if you can't visit? So Dan and I started talking about it and we decided to think about another vehicle. We both felt led to wait and pray for God to provide. Well Dan's brother David and his wife Ellen are moving to D.C. for a year. David is going to clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for a year. VERY COOL!Well they have two cars and only need one for the year. They offered to let us use their car while they are in Washington D.C. God is so good!! We had thought about a motorcycle since they are more fuel efficient but I was secretly praying that God would provide something else. And He did!! I am not shocked or even surprized that God has provided for our needs, I am just so thankful that He is providing for the desires of my heart. God is so Good!!

The Muddled Musings of a Moving Momma

Sorry I have been so silent. I have so much to process right now and frankly, I am a mess. Life is happening each day and most of our everyday chores get done. But my head is so full of things that need to happen and things that I can't yet take care of that I just can't even think. Here is the update. This weekend we have our community wide yard sale. Then about 2 weeks to pack things up. We have a few leads on job opportunities. There are a couple of ministry positions we could really get excited about. We are trying to gaurd our hearts until the Lord leads more definitely. We are hoping to serve in church ministry. You can keep your eyes and ears open for us if you like. We would like to serve in Youth, College, Singles, Children, Family, or as an Associate Pastor. We really don't know what God has in store for us but we are patiently seeking. This search has been much more hopeful than our last job search. Which only means we have actually heard from some of the places we have applied.

I have no doubt in my mind that God has a perfect job for Dan. We feel like working in a church while we are going through Seminary would be valuable to us. We want a place to work out the head knowledge and make it heart knowledge immediately. You may not all agree with us but it just seems to make sense to us. Dan has to work, we love ministry, we minister together well as a family, we can get paid to do this and we love it. It just seems to fit. But we realize that God may have different plans for us and that is exciting too. I have been seriously exploring the option of taking care of some kids to help supplement our income. I can take in up to 3 kids besides my own and not have to go through all the red tape. I am trying to be realistic about this and it isn't my ideal situation but it gives us some options. This is pretty far down on the list. I don't want to do something that will be detrimental to my own children just for the sake of a few more dollars.

I have to admit, the stress is getting to me. I am not scared about moving to Fort Worth, I am not worried that things won't work out or we won't be taken care of. I am just stressed out about the actual move. I think the most frustrating thing is that I just keep thinking about all the things I need to do but I can't really do them yet. SO I keep making lists and crunching numbers and trying to think things through. On the up side, the last time we moved I was way more scared!! It seems funny that last time it was just Dan and I and FaithLyn was on the way. We were living with Dan's parents and had absolutely NO job leads. God took such good care of us but for a while there I was scared out of my mind!! This time, we have three beautiful little girls we are responsible for and I am not worried in the least! God has proven himself faithful and I am so excited to see how He will take care of us this time.

Some people have a hard time understanding how Dan and I do things. We must seem very irresponsible to most people. Every BIG decision we have made up to now has been crazy in the world's eyes. But one of the things that I fell in love with about Dan 8 years ago is his unshakable faith and trust in the Lord.

So those are my thoughts. I am excited, nervous, emotional, tired, hopeful, sad, uncertain, and sure all at the same time. If you are in Texas, we can't wait to get there and spend time with you. If you are here with us at WSS, well, my heart hurts to think about not being a part of your life anymore. It is hard to understand how all of these emotions fit together but they do, perfectly. Right now I live among people who have made moving an art! I have a lot to learn and I am making some progress but I have a long way to go.

Our New Home

I said that I would post a picture of the house we will be moving to and today is that day! I am only posting a close shot of the house because I don't want my parents or Dan's parents to worry when they see the neighborhood! It's not really that bad but they will see it soon enough!
And Erin, as far as the barrio goes. . . YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN' YET! My friend Erin Gerlt posted on her blog about living in the Barrio. You should look at her blog and rad the comments for the entry "So it's no Secret..." http://gerlthouse.blogspot.com/ A friend of hers commented on some standards for a neighborhood to be considered the Barrio. Well, let me just say we will be residing in THE BARRIO!! I am really looking forward to starting our life there no matter what the neighborhood is like. It can't be much worse than where we lived in Abilene. Technically it could but we won't dwell on that thought.
*The baby in the picture is Hudson Taylor Clayman.*
This house is even better than we thought!! Christopher forgot to mention that the kitchen has a dishwasher!! Praise The LORD!! It doesn't take much to make me giddy but any Mom of small children with a husband would join in my song of joy for a dishwasher! The bedrooms are pretty small but I am just so thankful to have three! The livingroom is . . . small. But we will take it! And a garage!! I never even thought to dream of a garage! I have started to decorate the rooms and fill all of the closets and storage space already. I am sure you women can relate. The house is our domain, and darn it if we just can 't help ourselves!!

Oh and by the way. . . Chris and Nichole and their son, Hudson Taylor Clayman are leaving this month to start West African Outreach/New York City. They will be moving to Harlem the middle of this month and if you would like to help with prayer or support or just contact Chris before or during their move let me know and I can give you his email or phone number. I think he would kill me if I put his personal info here for the whole cyber world! I am really excited about what they are doing. If you know anything about Chris and Nichole you know that they have a great passion to minister to West Africans. And more specifically natives of Mali. Chris did some missionary work in Mali a few years ago and some health concerns have kept him from returning overseas. It has been so amazing to see how God has directed Chris and Nichole to this ministry despite all the seemingly large roadblocks that kept popping up along the way. It just goes to show you that God is more powerful than any circumstances and sometimes He even uses hard things to take us where He wants us! Please pray for them as they serve God in this exciting next step!
They have to raise their own support and I know that my God owns the cattle on a thousand hills but we are often called to be His hands and feet!!