A little encouragement...

My sister-in-law went into surgery today because baby Judah (23 weeks old in her tummy) wants to come out already. This is a very scary thing. She was on bed rest with Elisha at 28 weeks because he tried to do the same thing. She went past her due date with him. This time because it happened so much sooner, she is having a procedure called a cerclage and will probably be in the hospital until he is born (could be 3 months..)

So we pray. And God always gives us reassurance of HIS faithfulness.

"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn." Psalm 18: 30-36

working...

Since the moment we bought our house we have been working. Peeling, scraping, patching, fumigating, pulling off trim and baseboards, pulling up carpet and carpet board, building, stopping and restarting a fence, taking off old doors and putting on brand new doors, priming, and priming some more. Here are some of the highlights. All of the creative energy and mechanical blood running through my veins are going nuts (thanks mom and dad, respectively).

supplies...

Drea and the peeling paint wall (hopefully its not lead)

Coba and the fence posts...

Dancing and pulling up carpets..

empty living room sans carpet

painting our new doors at night

welcome home...

I gained 5 pounds last week...beat that!

HOMEOWNERS!!!!

We finally closed escrow and got our keys! We left school and had lunch at our new house. Thank you Jesus that we could buy a house in this crazy time...If I had a dollar for every time the loan people came back to us with something we needed to prove (like why we deposited 50$ in June into Dave's bank account... I have no idea why they needed to know that..I sure don't care!) We had to get letters from employers, letters from credit cards, letters from landlords, letters from banks, letters from our future children saying they wont have expensive toys (okay not really that one but pretty much). We went through 7 different lenders and 2.5 months. We had to fix the front and back patio, the slab, level around the house and patch the stucco just to get the dang loan. I had a few melt downs, one in which I was screaming crying on the phone with my mom and dad (you can ask them, poor dad sorry!) We fought, I cried, we planned, we talked, we didn't talk, we moved out of our apartment and into the back room of Dave's parents house, we got a dog, and we finally finally finally got our house. I didnt have the energy to keep all the updates on the blog, mostly because it changed everyday and it changed and we were given the green light so many times only to have it taken away.

But God is faithful. Especially in a time that makes no sense (AIG, Fannie and Freddie Mac anyone?)

So now its time to celebrate and get to work!!!

First lunch on the stinky carpet!

153 is the place to be

AWWWWW

Kuma got a bath today too... he loves baths!

He drinks the water off of the bottom of the tub. Wierdo.

weekend..

i love braces

A weekend of waiting for final word on our loan..

here is the weekend in pictures

Mom..

OK... I realize that this is going to be blasphemous...but I think I am starting to understand what it means to be a mom... in the smallest way possible.

I am up at 4 every morning, playing and eating and cleaning up poop..

I am constantly saying "no Kuma..no biting dad's shoes." or "no Kuma... no eating the spiders under the couch."

I know that a baby is way way different, but I am getting a glimpse of what some of you do every day.

Yesterday we slept on the floor (he slept, I edited a paper for 6 hours)

I couldn't sleep last night because of all of this house stuff (again, I will tell it all when we have the final word passed down to us, but right now it just frustrates me and I will say something I shouldn't) So I opened my Bible.

I am not a big fan of just opening the book and letting whatever is there be mine...

Except for last night. Dave (sleeping away, arm over his face cause I had he overhead light on) was sleping through the turmoil of my mind and heart (although I know he has been feeling it too..)

Jeremiah wasnt talking about my situation when he wrote Lamentations. He was listening to God and his obedience spoke to me and calmed me enough to go to sleep.

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, 'the Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for him.'

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.

Let him sit alone in silense, for the Lord has laid it on him.

Let him bury his face in the dust- there may YET be hope.

Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,

and let him be filled with disgrace.

For men are not cast off by the Lord forever.

THough he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.

For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men."

Lamentations 3: 22-36

MARRIED!!

This past weekend was our last wedding of the summer. Mike and Tia got married on Friday night in Orange County. Mr. & Mrs. Brumbelow are in Cabo on their honeymoon. I can honestly say that, while a vacation always sounds really great, I am just glad to be back in a routine again. Dave is back at Narbonne High School teaching, football season is in full swing (we beat LA Southwest Saturday 27-0) and cheer is actually getting to show something for all of their hard work. I think this was the craziest summer we have ever had. In review:

* 4 weddings (Adelo & Jessica, Steve & Giovanna, Anthony & Kristen, Mike & Tia)

* 3 babies born (nephew Zacarias, Anthony and Luca... plus Jill hurry up already!)

* FCA camp

* 2 cheerleading camps

* 9 football camps

* summer school

* 2 bachelor/bahelorette weekends (palm springs both weekends with the girls, deep sea fishing and a weekend in rosarito for the boys)

* the BEACH (cannon beach family tradition..23 years strong)

* Buying a house (hopefully closing escrow today :)

* Getting our puppy Kuma who us currently biting my pant leg under the table

* moving out of our little love shack where we first lived when we got married 2 1/2 years ago

* moving in with Dave's parents while we wait for our house and do some repairs.

Shear insanity. I haven't gone back to work yet purely because I don't feel ready. Dave worked at the church all summer so he felt a little more refreshed. I loved every minute of it and am so happy to have been a part of every moment, especially other people's joys and celebrations.

So pretty soon I will be working on my house...

Kuma!!

Here he is. He came home today!!!

He had to get shots, poor little guy. Welcome home!