Seriously?

Today was Greg's last day at ALPS. So it was kind of sad. Each thing he did was the last time he would do it. I was glad that Krystel took Jadyn for a little while and that Greg and I were going to be able to spend a few hours together (of course with Grant too) before the kids got home from school. As Greg was on his way home (around 2) he called me to let me know how his exit interview went. The bummer of it was that his insurance only went through midnight tonight - when we really needed it to go through tomorrow. So, one minute after I hung up with Greg, Krystel called me to let me know that Jadyn had tripped and fell into a laundry detergent bottle and that her mouth was bleeding and it looked like "a blood blister" in her mouth. Krystel brought her home, Greg got home and then Jadyn and I left and went to Woodland Urgent Care for a quick check - yeah right. After trying for 1.5 hours to *stitch* the wound, I told the doctor we were done and she suggest we go to St Joes Ann Arbor for a *conscious sedation* - of course, I would just put her to sleep. So we went. But not before I had to coast to the gas station on fumes, where Krystel had to meet me to drop off Grant who she had to go pick up from my house because Greg did not have a car seat for him. Darn those car seat laws! I actually told Greg to just put Grant in his lap and drive him up to me. Obviously, I was not thinking straight! BTW - Grant has RSV - factor that into the equation.

So off to A2 we went. As soon as I walked in and handed my paperwork to the lady at the front, another lady walked out and said "Jadyn" - I thought man that was fast. Unfortunately there was a little boy there who was also named Jadyn (probably spelled different). So the nurse took us back and I explained the situation to her and told her I did not want to traumatize my child anymore. She was already wrapped like a burrito, and prodded with a stitching needle, all while screaming "No, Momma. It hurts! It hurts!" And you don't think I am a bit traumatized too? The nurse informed me that there (A2) they know HOW to take care of children. The other place - not so much. Then the doctor came in and she was WONDERFUL!!! Super sweet, super caring and also told me that she would NEVER put stitches in a wound like Jadyn's. Great I thought - look what I just put my kid through - FOR NOTHING!!! AAAGGHHHH!!! So Jadyn got her $50 popsicle and we were off on our merry way.



Oh yeah the ER doc also checked Grant's breathing because he was coughing SO BADLY. She recommended that I continue the course of action I was - which wasn't much. So we left. I went to Krystel's house to pick up Grace (Greg and Jacob were at the Red Wings game) and as she was holding Grant, Krystel asked me if I had checked his temperature because he felt hot. I said no, and she checked it. Yeah it was 102 degrees!! I quickly packed everything up and drove home, all while calling the on-call pediatrician, and yes, you guessed it - bawling! How much more could one mother take? OK I know that is a dumb question, what with kids starving to death in other countries, but I was talking about my own kids now. The ped *talked me down* and encouraged me to give Grant Tylenol or Motrin and keep watching him. Again it went back to the REAL issue ...Greg's current insurance expiring at midnight TONIGHT. I didn't know what to do because the ped told me earlier in the week to call her if there was any increase in fever. OK - so basically I was freaking out. I called my beloved friend, Julie, who only told me that it sounded like when her daughter, Selah, had pneumonia. Oh yeah - that made it all feel so much better - NOT!!! But I love her anyway! So I gave him some Motrin, nursed him and he fell asleep. Hopefully that is what he needed. (It is certainly what I need)

So before Jadyn went to bed, she managed to walk into a wall and the bathroom door. Both times re-opening the wound in her mouth. I certainly hope and pray that this heals very quickly because as it stands now, we cannot afford a blood transfusion within the next 24 hours!!

I should really sleep now...

"Me Ganty Cheese Mommy"

Jadyn saw me with the camera this morning and said "Me Ganty cheese Mommy". Translation: Please take my picture with Grant, Mommy.



The reason we had the camera out was to take a picture of the final result of all my labor last night. Grace asked me to braid her hair so that it would be "curly" in the morning. So we sat down and I put 20 braids in her hair.



















And here is the end result.....Kind of cute, I would say. Much more so than I thought it would be.

God's Omnipresence

I decided that we really needed to do devotions with the kids. So Greg sent me a link for an on-line devotional. When the kids got home from school, we sat at the table and listened to it. When it was over, I asked them what it was about. Jacob said " I know! God listens to our prayers and He is the BEST president!" It was VERY hard for me not to laugh. The topic was God's omnipresence!

Tears

Greg went to get his hair cut yesterday. It was sad for him because it was the last time getting his hair cut from the little asian lady who used to work on a military base. (And who does a nice job - I might add) When he was done, he called me and said "You BETTER cry when I leave." I asked him why and he said "Because the lady who cuts my hair bawled when I told her I was leaving." I thought - good grief!

Well....today it happened. I was sitting in the chair, rocking my sick baby, praying for each of my kids and Greg....when all of a sudden the dam broke (notice the usage - Luke). I was bawling...feeling sad, feeling sorry for Greg, feeling sorry for myself, telling God I knew He had a plan to get us back together soon. I don't want to be the crazy screaming mom by Tuesday night, so I kept praying that God would "lengthen my fuse" and that I wouldn't try to accomplish more than I could reasonably. That I would really remember what IS important - and it is NOT all the *stuff*. It is truly the people. My man and my kids. It makes me cry to even say that. I already miss my husband and he hasn't even left yet.

P365?

This is what happens when I hop on the computer for 30 seconds (to check Julie's blog). I let my kids have a donut after school and Jadyn was included, but when I turned my back she climbed up the stool, reached onto the counter and helped herself to one more!


She gave one to Grant, too. Not really - it is a cookie.


Notice the direction of the glasses...always bucking the system!


My kids had a sleepover with each other last night. Jacob made a bed of pillows in the space between the girls' beds. Super comfy...NOT!

The Doctor's Appointment

Grant is sick. I called the doctor this morning, while on my way to drop off my van (see post "Another Boring Saturday"). I explained to the person on the phone that I needed an appointment for my sick child. She asked if I could come at 12:00 - to which I replied that I had another appointment (with LESA for Grant) at 12:30. So she *smartly* asked me if I could do 11:45. Huh? Was she even listening to me? She told me that was all they had. I asked "that's all the sick appts you have for the WHOLE day?" She told me they had afterschool appts but didn't have to fill them up right away. Does ANY of this make sense? No? I didn't think so either. Anyway, she finally allowed me to have an appt at 2:30 - I said great. Then she asked what the appt was for. I told her that Grant was having trouble breathing, was very congested and threw up when I fed him. Then (in her infinite smartness) she asked "Do you think you should wait until 2:30 if he is having trouble breathing?" WHAT?!?!?!? Lady - I just asked you for an earlier appt to which you replied you had none. Actually I said (and I quote) "Do I have a choice? You just told me that there were NO earlier appointments." So she said she would ask the doctor if she could double-book, got the OK and told me to come right in. Now after all that...could I really tell her that I had to go drop my van off first? So I told her I would be right in after my kids got to school. Which wasn't REALLY a lie. I was getting there after my kids GOT to school - I just left out that I was not taking them (they were riding the bus).

So I got there...but only after Grant pooped while I was waiting for the rental and there was NO PLACE to change him in that rotten body shop. So we came in stinking...then Jadyn (who is 99.8% potty-trained) had to go to the bathroom. Now, picture this if you will...I have a rental car which means no stroller, no Bjorn, nothing to sit my child in. The bathroom at the doctor's office (yes, the pediatrician) does not have a changing station in it. And NO ONE wants to hold my *stinky* baby. So into the bathroom we go...Jadyn, Grant and I. Of course I cannot put him on the floor - are you crazy? So holding Grant in my left arm, I carefully line the seat with TP, pull Jadyn's pant and panties down, one side at a time, then lift her to the throne for her to do her business. Then I have to get the TP, wipe her, get her down, and try to pull her pants UP with only one hand. Not nearly as easy as getting them down, let me tell you. So we get them up and wash her hands...and as we exit the bathroom....I think to myself....I have done it! I am "SUPERMOM"!!!! I really accomplished that task!!! Yay me!!!! (Thank you Lord!)

For the Love of a Child

Kids....we take them to the grocery store. We buy them the disgusting "Kid Kuisine" they just HAVE to have. We come home and make it for them. Then, because they want to repay us for our love and kindness, they decide to make eunuchs of each other. I mean...what the heck? What in the world am I doing wrong?

Then...when you least expect it, you hear "Momma?" and you realize that it is ALL worth it and you would do it again. IN A HEARTBEAT! :)

You Know.....Another BORING Saturday....Yeah, Right

Another wonderful Saturday at the Pawlak house..... The day started great. Greg made breakfast...the kids and I ate....you know....a great day!


We moved some furniture. Greg's sister Alicia and her daughter Paige came for a visit. We played some Wii. I shopped at Target. You know a typical Saturday. Then it came time to get ready to go to the "photo shoot". We were getting the kids pictures taken at a "photo party" that some friends who were starting a photography business were having. You know....support the local business thing? So, of course,we had that blizzard that made the roads pretty crappy. So our trip to Fowlerville (where the "shoot" was) was just a bit longer than it normally should have been. What made it ALL the more enjoyable was Grant's incessant screaming. He would not stop! There was nothing wrong with him, but when I crawled over everything to get into the back and squeeze my big butt between Jacob and Grace's booster seats and take him out of his car seat...low and behold....the crazy kid stopped crying. Why, you may ask? I am pretty sure it was that he wanted to watch the freaking movie the other kids were watching! As soon as I took him out of his seat, he craned his little neck to look at the TV. AAAGGGGHHHHH!

So, we finally made it there (even on time!) and went in. The kids were shown to a playroom and I was filling out paperwork. (Greg was somewhere to be mentioned later) As I was doing the paperwork, Jadyn came running over to me saying "Me pee! Me pee!" all the while pee was running down the legs of her brand new brown leggings and into her cute brown boots. So much for the "super cute" picture! So Greg cleaned Jadyn and I cleaned up the pee that made it to the floor (fortunately she peed on the linoleum and not on the carpet that was one step away).

So then the picture taking started and PTL! all the kids cooperated! So that got done and we bundled back up to go home. Getting back to where Greg was earlier in the story......he was outside handling this.....



Oh yeah...can you EVEN believe it????? Yeah...me either. Some really stupid teenage girl backed right into our van! Had she bothered to even clean SOME of the snow off her windows, she may have seen our van parked there! Oh...GEEZ!!!!

So after all that we climbed in the van and started home.....to the sweet, sweet sound of...you guessed it....Grant screaming (all the way home). What the heck is going on???

Man, I sure hope these pictures are worth ALL THIS....

Bonkers????? In This House - YES!!

What is going on with my kids?????

Jacob, every once in a while, becomes obsessed about some part of his body and it "not working correctly". Today he was very concerned that his back did not feel like mine. Well???? Why the heck should it? I have WAY more backfat than he does, for sure. Other body issues he has been concerned about are:
- the way his ears bend
- how squishy his cheeks are
- how his fingers bend
- and on one very special occasion he thought that his spine, when he bent over, was turning him into a dinosaur (a stegosaurus, I believe)

Grace had a serious melt down at bath time tonight. She wanted to go to the bathroom in the kids bathroom (where the baths were taking place) and Greg wanted her to go in our bathroom. She "freaked" out on him. I just stood there looking at him, waiting to see how he would handle it and watching HER work him over. She knows she can get away with way more with him than she can with me. When I just said her name, she stopped screaming and writhing and listened to what she had to do. BTW - no I am not a super-parent (although Greg did tell me 2 days ago that I am "supermom"), I just have a low tolerance for bad behavior and my kids know it. Greg....does not. Still love him though - oh yeah!

Jadyn....Jadyn....Jadyn. Oh what a girl. So sweet one minute, so sassy the next. Her newest thing is...she will be playing with Grant quite nicely. Then for no apparent reason she will haul off and smack him in the head with whatever toy is closest, only to immediately follow that up with "It's OK Grant. I know baby...it's OK." What the heck? She clobbers him so that she can console him. Again, she is going to make sure she is not misplaced in the shuffle.

Grant did not go to bed very well tonight. Normally he is a very easy baby. Not tonight though. He was bathed, he was changed, he was fed and he was tired. I put him to bed and he did nothing short of scream bloody murder!

All this to say...I am wiped out and heading for ice cream, but I am so glad to be this way. I love these kids with everything I have and am so blessed to be their mom and would want things NO OTHER WAY!!!

Good night.......

Animals for Breakfast

This morning we had animal pancakes for breakfast. Totally fast and easy, and SUPER FUN!

No Fair!!!!

Grace had her first real "kindergarten" sleepover tonight. It was with her friend, MacKenzie. As of this moment, they are still upstairs laughing and giggling. It is quite cute (yet much too late)! Anyway, this sleepover was last minute. MacKenzie came over after school to play and ended up staying for dinner and overnight. Funny thing is..this was the first time I had ever met her! So the girls were getting ready for bed - PJs and all, and Jadyn was following closely in their footsteps. She put her jammies on and when the big girls put on robes, she went and grabbed her robe too. When one of the kids (mostly Grace) has a friend sleep over, they usually sleep in the "yellow" room. Well Jadyn thought she was going to be able to sleep there with the big girls. When I explained to her that she was not, she proceeded to cry and carry on. But what was the most fun of the whole thing was...she walked around just saying "No fair! No fair!" Sorry honey - that's the way life is. Get used to it!

Grace's Handiwork

How can I post Jacob's schoolwork and not Grace's? So....here is a picture of Grace's "writer's workshop" from today. If you asked my kids they would tell you that "writer's workshop" is my FAVORITE part of the day. It is my favorite because I can see their writing, drawing and what they are thinking about during the day. I am very proud of my kids and their hard work. She is writing about the tooth fairy coming to her house and bringing her gum and money.

More Valentines.....

On a rainy February day...isn't this something sweet to look at? Their mom sure thinks so!

Spelling Words

Jacob came home yesterday with a list of words that he is learning to spell. One of the words was "which". After spelling the words, he had to make a connection to another word using the spelling word. The connection he made was "bich" (say it phonetically). I was so proud to see my son learning...and even more proud to see that the teacher drew a large blue star on the top!!! Holy cow! I guess he did what he was supposed to. (The good news here is that with all 5 spelling words, his "connection" word started with a "b". So at least it was a TRUE mistake - not an intentional swearing). Of course, I did have to explain that this is not an appropriate word or one I care to see or hear him use again. Ahhhhhh....1st grade!

Make Known Among the Nations.....

When I think back over the weekend. I am amazed (yet again) at how God works. Sunday, while Grace was home sick, I chose to go to church and left Greg home. We had a guest speaker - a missionary from Turkey (Haluk then a last name I cannot remember). What amazed me was that his sermon was taken from 1 Chronicles 16:8-12 (which I decided to commit to memory last night :)), and the gist of it was.....Make known to the nations what God has done. Somehow I felt that I was the only one in the ENTIRE sanctuary! It was as if he was talking directly to me. Looking back at my previous posts, I am reminded of ALL the things God has recently done in my life and I am so thankful that I belong to Him!

1 Chronicles 16:8-12
Give thanks to the Lord; Call upon His name; Make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, Sing praise to Him; Tell of all His wonderful acts. Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and His strength; Seek His face always. Remember the wonders He has don, His miracles and the judgments He pronounced.

Sick

So....Grace was home from church today....throwing up. I was laying on the couch with her, talking about her sickness (and man, was she sick!) and I told her I hoped that she just had a 24 hour bug. She asked, "What's that? When someone bugs you?" Oh, I love this kid. She just threw up again. Greg is playing Wii with Jacob and I am doing this so she was holding the bowl and asked "Is anybody gonna take care of this?" Life with her is soooooo fun :)

Baby Love...


My Valentines

You Can Comment Now....

I have received many emails saying that people are not able to comment on my blog. I have figured it out and now YOU can comment....Happy commenting!!!!

Fending for Herself

Funny how being one of the youngest of a group necessitates you learning how to do some things yourself. Jacob and Grace were going downstairs to play hockey with Dad and Jadyn wanted to go too. She knew she needed shoes, so she just grabbed whatever she could do herself - her church shoes. The neat thing is....I didn't even know she knew how to do this. I wonder what else I don't know???

God is in Control of Health Insurance, Too!

I can hardly even sit here and type this because I am so excited and so relieved and so in love with my Lord!!!! I just got off the phone with BCBS in Illinois to discuss our new health insurance policy. I was a little dejected with the policy because there is such a high deductible. After talking to the representative, I learned that my precious Lord is looking out for us so much more than I even gave Him credit for! We were worried that the deductible applied to EVERYTHING - meaning doctors visits, emergency room visits, etc. What I found out was that the deductible applied ONLY to surgeries, hospital stays, and mental services. Meaning.....I don't have to pay the first $6000 in doctor's visits for my family each year! O Praise the Lord!!!! See what this thing of worry can do to us???? Why am I worrying??? When will I learn? Soon - I hope.

The Secret is Out....

We decided to tell the kids last night that we would eventually be moving. So Greg started telling them over dinner. Once he got to the part about us actually moving, Jacob stood up on his chair, hands on hips, face and neck sticking out and proclaimed, "Not until I have finished 4th grade!" Tells you a lot about them mindset of a 6 year old. He knows that his school only goes to 4th grade, so after he is done with that, we can have his blessing to move. Funny, huh? This morning I was explaining to him that "school" goes through 12 grades, not just 4....then there's college. Then there is Grace....she was mostly concerned with what would happen at school. She did start her talk by telling us that she knew how to make friends. "I just say, 'Hi! My name is Grace. Do you want to be friends?'" Isn't she smart? Then she wanted to know what classroom number she would be in, whether they have indoor or outdoor recess, if her teacher would be nice, if the kids who lived around us came out of their houses (otherwise how would she meet them?), and on and on and on.... I did tell them that they could ask ANY questions they had about any of this. Grace, of course, took full advantage of this. That's my girl! And, as would be expected, Jadyn and Grant could care less. They all seemed to take it pretty well, but I don't think they REALLY understand the idea of moving. Jacob also told us that if he had to move he wanted to move to Florida, so he could go on rollercoaster rides. I think as we get closer to actually going away they may have more difficulty. But I am praying that it is a smooth transition for all of us!!

Cry Out - I Must

How can I keep quiet???? How can I not praise the name of my precious Lord and Savior???? The rocks will certainly CRY OUT if I am silent! God is SO awesome, great, wonderful, powerful, amazing, outstanding, all-knowing, loving, and concerned for ME!!! I know I am not worthy of such love and grace, yet He gives it to me new each and every day! Praise you Lord!!! I just want to make some notes here of ways that God has worked in my life recently:

1. After posting my last post, I went to my blog to check it out. Can you guess what song was playing? (Music means so much to me when I think about my Jesus) The song was "Everything Glorious" by David Crowder. Could it be any clearer to me? He was telling me that He will make everything glorious - all I have to do is be obedient and listen.
2. So after that song and me bawling because I love Him so much, the next song came on. "O Praise Him" again by David Crowder. So what could I do? I started praising Him - singing to Him, dancing for Him, worshipping Him.
3. Now, consider God's timing in this musical worship session - I just uploaded these songs last night! How amazing He is!
4. Greg and I were talking last night about how we are not "attached" to this house. I mean, we built it and love it, but it is, as Greg called it, "some 2x4's, drywall and some brick". We aren't drawn to stay here. As we were talking, we were thinking about Greg's time on the HOA board here. All the GARBAGE that he went through made it easier for us to be "able" to leave. We were able to be thankful for the "garbage".
5. Another issue of God's impeccable timing - Greg has a Tuesday morning meeting each Tuesday at his current company. How amazing is it that this morning Greg accepted his new job and then he went to work only to find out they missed profit projections by ~$4M and were going to have to do another round of layoffs? Praise our sweet Lord in heaven! And we will continue to pray for those still left there.

God is amazing like this all the time! The problem is sometimes we get so caught up in our own lives that we forget to let Him work in them. I am so thankful for this "yucky" time in our lives, so that we are able to experience, up close and personal, God's greatness and love for us. If you have not slowed down enough to feel God's presence in your life - STOP!!!! And let Him work in your life. He has so much in store for you. Yield to His love and accept His forgiveness. He loves you so much and is waiting for you!

The Next Chapter

So..it is done. I have hit the "send" button on the email from Greg accepting his new position in Illinois. Yes, you heard me right, Illinois! It is a HUGE step in our lives, but we are equally EXCITED and saddened. At first, our family will be separated until something (God's plans) happens to our house here. Then, we will be separated from the rest of our family (family and friends) as we embark on the next chapter of our lives. However, we are truly excited to be going to a place that is exciting and seems like it is going to be a great place to raise kids. Only God knows what He has in store for us. God has been so very faithful and I pray that we have been obedient. BTW, we haven't told the kids just yet, so if you talk to them any time soon, please don't mention this. We'll keep you posted.....

A Revelation

As I was doing my Bible study last night, and not really concentrating on what I was reading, I felt that God was trying to tell me something. What I ended up thinking was....it is SO SAD that I let what I "think" might happen drive how I feel in the present. Why am I bothering to focus out ahead of where I am? With God - ANYTHING is possible, there is NOTHING beyond Him, and in fact, He can do measurably MORE than I could ever think or imagine. So...WHY am I concerning myself with (I mean worrying about) things that don't yet matter???? So I told myself to "let God handle the details"...after all, He certainly is in charge!

The Day We Had a Dog

We had a dog today. My kids noticed a black lab laying on our front porch. I was just going to ignore it but my sister-in-law (who I was speaking to on the phone) told me I could not just leave it - it was someone's pet. So I was thinking....where was that owner? I knew it wasn't us. So I went out and checked it out - it seemed nice enough. I petted it and it snuggled in nice and close to me. It was getting too close - I DID NOT want this relationship!! So I borrowed a leash from a neighbor and Jacob, Grace, 3 neighbor girls and I started canvassing the neighborhood trying to find this dog's owner. We did not find it. Greg called the police, who directed us to the Humane Society, who in turn told us it was NOT an emergency and to call back during normal business hours. Not an emergency? Wanna bet? A dog that won't leave my house is an emergency!!! So I resolved that this creature was going to spend the night in our garage because there was NO WAY it was coming in my house!!! I ran into another neighbor as I was walking the dog home (to MY house) and asked her if she wanted another dog. We re-hashed the story and she said she would keep the dog in her house overnight. THANK GOODNESS!!! I was off the hook. So I strolled merrily home only to find Jacob and Grace standing on the front porch asking where THEIR dog was. Their dog? Are you kidding me? I stunk like cold wet dog and they wanted to know where THEIR dog was? At least that was over....Grace did inform me that when she is older and has her own house, she will have her own dog and when I come over I will "just have to like it". Yeah, right.

The Scream in the Night

I was immediately awakened by the sound of a blood curdling scream (it was about 4:30 am). Grace was having a friend sleep over, so I immediately thought it was her friend. As I was running to check, all the girls were sound asleep. So I redirected to the boys room.....that was where Jacob was standing near Grant's crib and BOTH of them were screaming!! I grabbed Grant out of the crib and held on to Jacob. Apparently Jacob had a nightmare and was sleepwalking back and forth to the bathroom. His screaming woke and scared Grant, and he joined in the chorus! After 45 minutes or so, everyone was settled and back in bed.

The Bus Fight

Jacob and Grace came off the bus on Monday, each telling a different version of a story that took place on the bus. Three other children came right to me to tell me their versions of what transpired on the bus that afternoon. After we got home, I separated Jacob and Grace and asked them individually what happened. Grace told me that Jacob was picking on her, so she hit him..."well, sort of hit him...I mean not like this..but maybe like this...but not really a hit", and then Jacob bit her. When went and talked to Jacob he told me that "Grace punched me in the face, so I bit her". Oh my goodness!!!! As I was trying to figure out what to do as far as punishment, the phone rang. Can you guess who it was? If you said the bus driver, then you were right! He informed me of his version....which was only Jacob biting Grace and Grace crying, then told me he was going to have Jacob sit in an assigned seat for the rest of the week. Some would think that this would be appropriate enough punishment...not exactly. I called Greg and told him I couldn't think of a punishment (they are too big to spank and to young to be involved enough in anything to make it matter if that is taken away) and he had to do it. The end result was that Jacob (who had already had TV of any sort taken away) had to go to bed 30 minutes before the girls for the rest of the week. And Grace was not able to play with her friend Evelyn for 3 days. Well....Jacob went to bed early the first night and I read to the girls - Jacob HATED that. So it appears to have worked. But every night since, once Jacob goes to bed, the girls just put themselves to bed. An extra 1/2 hour of quiet.....how did I get so lucky? Oh yeah - because my kids fought in PUBLIC!!!

So it appears to have worked..so the real reason for this blog is to keep a record for my children (Jacob, Grace, Jadyn and Grant) of all the wonderful things God has done in their lives. Whether it involves certain ones or our collective family or just something I felt important..it will (hopefully) be recorded here.

Right now our family is in the throws of possibily relocating. We currently live in Howell, Michigan and Greg's (the Dad) job is relocating to McAllen, Texas or Reynosa, Mexico, depending on the whim of his company. As such Greg has been looking for a job somewhere closer to here than Texas. Yesterday, after 2 1/2 months of interviews, discussions and waiting, Greg received an offer from a company (with great potential) in Bloomington, Illinois. We (Greg, Grant and I) travelled there this past weekend to look around and for me to meet the president of the company. Everything looked great! If we had to leave "home" and go somewhere else, that would be the place. It is a neat town snuggled in the middle of a huge cornfield. Anyway, the offer was signifcantly less than we expected, so we are trying to negotiate something better and praying that we do not lose this opportunity.

We are trusting that God is in complete control and has a perfect plan for us. We do not know what that is but are praying for wisdom to make choices that align with His plan. This is so totally scary and yet completely exciting! Yesterday when I was freaking out (for the first time since 11/5/08) about this I prayed, basically laying it all out there for God. Obviously He already knows, but I needed to just tell Him what I was looking for. And after 4 days of waiting for this offer, it came. Praise you Jesus! Also, each morning before Jacob and Grace go to school, I read to them from the Bible. I can't remember how we got to the passage that we did (usually I let one of them open the Bible and pick where we read from), but we read Psalm 40. My kids weren't understanding why as I read, I was crying. Here are excerpts from that Psalm...
1. I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.
4. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust...
5. Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.
8. I desire to do your will, O God; your law is withing my heart.
10. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.
13. Be pleased, O Lord, to save me; O Lord, come quickly to help me.

I feel so blessed to have God working so mightily in my life. He has brought us through some crazy times in the last year, but it has been AWESOME to know for a fact that He has been there through them all.

Keep checking back for updates to this relocation story.

1st Posting

So here it is....my first blog post. I am not even sure what "blog" means, but I am doing it. Let's just stop there and see if it worked.