Santa Pictures 2010

Here is the annual Santa picture. They did great! Haylee ran straight to him screaming SANTA!! LOL Katelynn did good but didn't want to leave bubba. She was not going to sit in Santa's lap.

Look at the difference in just 1 year. AMAZING! :)

We are moving!!!!!

I know it has been FOREVER since I did any post on my blog. I have to be honest and say that I am not good about taking pictures of my kiddos. I am already kicking myself for that! It just seems like I am going non stop and pictures rarely cross my mind.

I am going to make it my new years resolution to take pictures every week. I can't guarantee that I will be posting them all the time but I know that I need to have them to look back on. :) So I wanted to share what has been going on with us for the past year or so. This may be a long post.

We made the decision in August for Ryan to go back to school full-time after being laid off from his job. We have prayed about this decision for many years. In fact, Ryan has started school several times but it seems like we let life get in the way. Over the past several years we have been able to eliminate wants and really find out what is a necessity so that we could be able and willing to go where God leads us. It has taken us almost are whole marriage (9 years) to get to this point where we can actually be available to God.

Ryan enrolled in Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in August and he absolutely LOVES it! Ministry is definitely his calling and his passion. His happiness and his grades are proof of that. I started keeping my friends 2 little girls at home with my 2 little girls. It is a busy busy group in this small house of mine. This has been a huge blessing to be able to bring in some money for groceries and some bills.

In the past month or so we had been talking and praying about being closer to Ryan's school which is in Ft Worth. He drives there 4 days a week (Tues thru Thursday) and sometimes he is able to ride with a friend on Wed. and Fridays. The gas and mileage were a factor but the biggest hurdle was to continue our mortgage on a house that needs so much work done on it. We thought it would be best for us to look into student housing. We would have a cheaper monthly payment with utilities included and we wouldn't have to fix things that might break. We made up our mind that this is the route to go and Ryan went to get a application. He was informed at that time that there was a waiting list and that there were 5 families in front of us. This meant it would probably be Fall 2011 before we might be able to get in.

At this point we were at a loss. We couldn't afford anything else that would fit a family of 5 and we weren't sure what God was trying to tell us. We were getting behind on our mortgage and we knew we had to find some where to live. We waited on God and tried to come up with ideas of how we could stay out here so that I could go back to work full time and Ryan would have contacts and be able to work part time. We weren't feeling like anything was working out and we seemed to be hitting dead ends.

After a morning of Ryan praying for God to reveal Himself and asking Him to give us a sign that we are in His will and that He is with us a lady at school offered us her family's 2nd house on their land in Cleburne. It was so far from what we thought God would do. Ryan had asked for a angel of the Lord type moment and an hour later we got one. She said that she and her husband had been praying for us the past few weeks and that they had decided that past weekend that they were going to offer the house to us. Amazing!! It is a house that they bought from a couple that moved out a year ago. They fully had the intention of buying it to bless a family or missionary of some kind. We went out and looked at it and prayed about for a couple of weeks and decided about a week ago to accept their offer. I am so grateful for their generous heart. How crazy is it to offer a house you own to someone you don't really know all that well.

Several circumstances have helped us make that decision. We wanted to make sure that we weren't going to be a burden on anyone and force ourselves into a situation that would strain any relationships. The weekend that we went and looked at the house our heater AND air conditioner went out in our current house. It seemed like God was giving us a little nudge! :) Then, the Friday before Thanksgiving, our friend that offered the house to us shared with us that she has a way for me to start bringing in some income. The secretary at her husbands business (which is on the 21 acres of property) just had a baby and will be needing someone to watch the baby when she goes back after maternity leave. Wow! We haven't even moved out there and God has already worked that out for us!!

All this to say that God is so faithful and it is so neat to see how He has gone before us and knows all the plans. I have to admit that I am scared being further away from my family but I know this is what we need to do. Our plan is to move the week before Christmas and be out there for good by the time Tyler starts 2nd semester. Ryan will be out of school during this time as well which works out perfectly for the move. We will also be traveling back into this end of town for as long as needed so Ryan can continue his internship at our church and we can continue teaching our class. We will be able to spend the night with family and see everyone which will make this move much easier on me.

Please continue to pray for us as Ryan looks for part time work that will be flexible with his schedule around school. Pray for the kids adjustment to the new house. I think they are going to like all the land they will be able to run around and play in. Pray for me as I am trying to submit to God's will and that I will be supportive for Ryan and his goals.

Here is a picture of the house we are moving to......