It seems crazy to us that it is already getting to be the end of March. But we are so excited! Our days keep busy with our two lil' monkeys. Chloe and Zachary sure wear us out, but they make us smile and laugh, too. I love them so much! God is so good to us!
Chloe is our adventurous little girl who is s-l-o-w-l-y learning cheerful obedience. She turned 18 months on the 20th and loves being Mum's little helper. Anytime she realizes that I'm going to be doing some cooking, she rushes to the bedroom to have us get the chair and bring it into the kitchen so she can reach the countertop. I'm in the process of teaching her how to crack eggs so we've been washing the floor a little more lately! We are praying that she would grow to love Jesus more each day, it is so cute to watch her bow her head or say "Amen!" when we pray and we love hearing her "sing" during the day and at church. She thinks she is Zachary's 2nd mommy, so we have to keep on eye on them so that she doesn't squish him when kissing him or pick him up {yikes!} She's been a lil' obsessed lately with worrying that her lil' baby doll is in constant need of a diaper change, but it is cute to watch her care for her dolly! She definitely isn't afraid of heights and has climbed up on just about everything in the apartment. She also loves computers and yesterday I got to learn how to put my keyboard letters back where they belong on the keyboard. ;-) We know God will use her strong personality for His glory someday {and even now!}, but whew is He using it to teach me patience in the meantime. :-D
Zachary is a very happy lil' chap! He loves his one-on-one attention times {when Chloe is down for her nap!}. He squeals and laughs and just jabbers away. :-) He was 12lbs. 12 oz. at the beginning of the month, so he is definitely growing! He loves his big sister, even if he does get this look of terror in his eyes when she comes running at him. :-P It is amazing that younger children survive. He loves "The Big Red Barn" and just being read to in general. I love reading to and playing with our munchkins! I'm so thankful for how God has kept us all healthy this year and even allowed us to realized that Zachary has an intolerance to some dairy {just like Chloe} at an early age - at just a few weeks so I am being careful about what I eat for his sake. Oh, at his 2 month appointment, the doctor said it looks like he is beginning to teethe. {Whimper...I'm not ready for that!}
Dwight has been able to take a break from studying the past month as we are near to his completion of the CPA exam. We should hear the results any day now and we are praying that he passed!!! It has been a very difficult test(s) to study for and take, but God has been very gracious to him. Dwight is an amazing gift from God and I still am in awe that I get to be married to my best friend! He is so good to me and our lil' ones. :-)
Dwight has given notice of his resignation to Focus (on the Family), yet will continue to work there up till just a few days before we move to northern Missouri come May. We are super excited about being near family {same town as Dwight's family and about 5 hours from mine} and about experiencing
humidity once again!! There are still many unknowns {like a job!}, but we are confident about God's leading. :-) So, I've been organizing things lately and will soon begin to pack boxes with my lil' helper girlie.
In November I tested positive for Celiac (as well as DH). The first two weeks after going off of gluten were terrible as I felt
really sick and my hives worsened. But after 8+ years of just not feeling good it is wonderful to have energy again and not ache! The challenge now is just avoiding gluten as I am frequently discovering that it is in unexpected places... and that makes for a few not-so-fun days. :-) We are so grateful that God allowed for me to be so quickly and easily diagnosed. I have had wonderful doctors here in Colorado and Dwight was super-sweet as he urged me to go to them. :-) I never considered myself to be that sick and just thought I needed rest and was experiencing maybe some Chronic Fatigue from my involvement in full-time ministry. I was naive in accepting how I felt as my new "normal" and not making a bigger deal out of it, but the advice I was being given was that it was due to how I was managing stress, which caused me to feel very stuck and discouraged. Very few people were even aware! So I am so thankful for Dwight's loving care for me in realizing that everything was not normal and in helping me find out that it was due {in large part} to what I was eating! :-P Someday we will be able to experiment with alternative flours and other ingredients and I am really looking forward to that fun challenge. :-) I am very thankful that in spite of the nutritional issues of Celiac, Chloe and Zachary are so healthy and that that the pregnancies with them went so well! I consider that to be a miracle.
We are praising God for:
~Each other! :-)
~Health
~A cute home to rent in MO. We are tickled at the thought of having grass for the kids to play in, a clothesline, the ability to have a garden, and being in a house! Having our bed in a room other than the living room is pretty exciting too. :-P
~God's provision for these coming months
~A church family there in MO {you know who you are... hi!}
~Samaritan's ministries... much more affordable than typical insurance for our time of unemployment
~Spring... so happy about warmer weather!!!
Please pray with us for:
~That the packing and moving would go smoothly
~That our Jeep would continue to be reliable, especially with the long trip ahead
~A job!!! :-)
~Peace amidst the unknown and time of waiting. Sometimes I get really scared but I know God loves us and is leading us, so I need to trust Him and view everything that comes as His blessings for us!
