Change is Coming

I blame my husband. He's home a lot these days and has almost exclusive use of the computer. So if I haven't updated in a month, it's his fault. Now on to what's been going on this month. Here is the short version:
- 1st, we found out the Jada and Nick would be church planting in South Austin (we actually already knew this but wasn't public knowledge till recently). We also are quite certain Leah got a new job in South/East Austin
- We went to Welch for Christmas and decided that that area would be a great place to raise kids
- Early Jan, we went to Welch again and Daniel interviewed for a job at BE Implement (John Deer Dealership) and got the job. It's totally random for him, but a great job with benefits and good pay. He will get to work with a lot of technology that goes into these tractors
- Our lease ends at the end of January, so we decide to move!

And that's what's going on. We struggled so hard to make this decision because of how much we love it here, but we just decided this would be better for our family. It would be great pay, lower cost of living, closer to most of our families, and just a really good environment to raise kids. I know, I know, those of you who know me well are shocked that I would ever move back to farmville West Texas, but you know, things change. I couldn't wait to bust out of Welch and see the world. But I did see the world, a lot of it at least. I traveled more than most at a young age. I lived up north like I always wanted to, and you know, snow gets old after a few months. I helped plant a church. I've experienced some crazy times with Daniel living off nothing in rough places working three jobs and loved it. But now we are really ready to settle down and provide some stability for our kids. I mean, this is our 8th move of our 5 year marriage! Enough already!

And the best part is, there is a whole other chapter of our lives beginning. Daniel and I are so excited to be involved in the Emmaus and Prison ministries going on there, and we are thrilled to hang out with some of our good friends that live there. We have an opportunity to find a house we can grow in and make memories in. And hopefully, we will be able to travel even more than we have financially been able to now.

It's been a strengthening process for Daniel and I as we sought God's wisdom in this decision. We grew closer to Him and each other and can't wait to see how God will use us in another area as we continue to seek Him!

Asher's First Birthday

We had a small party for him at our house, and themed it Winter One-derland. So fun. Asher enjoyed being the center of attention!

I can't believe it. Asher is actually a year old. That little surprise has given us a wonderful year and we are so thankful for him! He is joyful and loving, and seeing him and Addalie together makes me happier than I can describe.

The Party Favors

Ice Cream on his actual birthday

Cutest Birthday Boy EVER!!!

                                                          

                                                         

Our camera wasn't working well so we didn't get many pics of the actual party, but others did, so I need to get them so I can post more! It was a fun day!

I'm afraid to admit it, but I've kinda lost that lov'in feeling with my blog. My affections now lie with Pinterest and all it has to offer. Sometimes people just fall out of love with certain websites, and unfortunately, you are affected. Though I don't think any of you sit on pins and needles waiting for my next post. But in case you are wondering, we are going to stay together for the kids sake. Blogging is my best way right now to document what they have been doing and how they are growing.
So what they are doing and how they are growing: They are doing wonderful and we are all happy and healthy. Except Daniel has been fighting these headaches and sinus issues, so pray for him! Asher has returned to his love of screaming constantly. CONSTANTLY! And it's these embarrasing, high pitched screams that are probably the cause of Daniel's headaches. But he is just as cute as can be. It's hard to get mad at him because he's usually just squealing out of glee. He is very close to walking as well! Maybe by his first birthday...

Addalie is hilarious these days. She is such a talker. She will go on and on and on about everything. She repeats herself about a hundred times for no reason. And she repeats whatever she hears, so that's always fun... That's all for now because Asher is doing some of that adorable screaming and I can't focus! Here are a couple of  pictures for you.

Asher's first time up in the playscape. He is SUCH a boy!

Halloween

I just can't seem to find time to say much, though I have a lot to say. Not that we've been super busy these days, but I just feel like God has revealed some stuff to me that I want to share. Maybe someday...

Till then, here is a picture of our cute kids on Halloween! They were Dora the Explorer and Boots! Addalie loved loved trick or treating and Asher didn't seem to mind having a costume on. He would crawl up on all fours and truly look like a monkey!

Happy Fall

I love fall. I love it, love it, love it! I love the time between Halloween and Christmas. I'm so sad on December 26th when the festivities of the season are over. I'm such a child, and I hope it never changes!

I also love pumpkins. I love eating them and the way they look and their color. Addalie loves them to. She get so excited to the pumpkin patch and "sit on a big pumpkin and hold a little pumpkin." I don't know why that makes her so happy, but it does and she just goes from pumpkin to pumpkin sitting on them while she holds and cuddles her little one!

 She is looking so big to me

Litte farmer boy.

I'm  pretty sure he is the cutest boy in the world! He was such a good sport about this!

Long Post, Lots of Pics

I wanted to break down our trip and blog by state, but I just can't seem to get around to that, so here is a rundown of the rest of our trip to New England:

Our first night out of Boston we stayed in Glen, NH at the Bernerhof Inn. This place was awesome. It had a really quaint feel, but all these really hi-tech amenities.

 This was our room there.

 Asher was happy to be out of the car! He and Daniel had some good bonding time on the trip.

 It had a huge tub!

They had no cribs or anything, so this is where Asher slept! Don't worry, we left the lid open!

 This was an absolutely gorgeous lake in Meredith, NH

 One of the covered bridges we saw!

 The backside of our second B&B- Starbuck Inn in Kent, CT.

 Another covered bridge.

 Part of the amazing countryside.

 Ok, remember how I said we based a lot of the trip on Gilmore Girls? Well, I got to visit the actual town that Stars Hollow is modeled after! It was such a cute little place, and really did remind me of Stars Hollow. If it had a gazebo in the center of town, it would have been perfect! We had coffee at the coffee shop and bought some baby food at this tiny little grocery store that reminded me of Doosey's Market. It literally had like, 5 aisles and the 3 people that worked there wore their little aprons and gossiped about the townspeople as they worked! I loved it!

 Daniel had to visit ESPN in Bristol, CT. We then visited Yale University in New Haven, but I didn't have a really good picture to post. We got T-shirts though!

 This is a town called Essex in Conneticut. It was right on the water and full of old homes. It was beautiful!

 That night we stayed outside of Mystic, CT at the Stonecroft Inn. We loved this place too. It reminded me of the Dragonfly Inn in Gilmore Girls! (I know, I'm a nerd)

 The backside of the Stonecroft- It had really pretty gardens.

 And this is were Asher slept that night! It was his best night's sleep on the trip!

 I have yet to find anyone who knows what I'm talking about, but you know the Julia Roberts movie, Mystic Pizza? Well, we ate at THE Mystic Pizza! They had really good pizza, and I was so excited when I figured out the Mystic CT,  was the Mystic in the movie. I'm slow on making connections sometimes!

 On our way to Providence to fly home (which we got stuck in because our flight was cancelled) we stopped by one of the many lighthouses in Rhode Island. You can't really go inside any of the working ones though.. Oh well.

 Asher loves the ocean!

That pretty much sums it up! Though we actually took about 500 pictures! We saw some of God's amazing creation and really got to relax and spend special time with each other and with Asher. It was a memorable trip!

New England Trip- Maine Highlights

We loved Maine! We were only there for a few hours, but we ate as much lobster as possible while we were there!

It's tricky to get a good picture when Asher can't hold the camera too well.

Ok, so its confession time. Much of this trip was inspired by my love for Gilmore Girls. Yes, I watch it, we have the whole series on DVD, we thought about naming our daughter Lorlai. Just kidding, but I do like the show. In one of the later episodes, Lorelai mentions this place off the coast of Maine called Barnacle Billy's so I checked to see if it were a real place, and it was! It was in a little place called Perkins Cove in Ogunquit. We loved it!

This big guy was straight off the boat!

It was so pretty there!

The Atlantic Ocean! It was pretty overcast and rainy, but still beautiful!

Pictures don't do it justice. It was so quaint and picturesque. I loved the nautical look of everything.

We ended up buying some salt water taffy made right there by the ocean. We ate so much of it, I lost a filling in my tooth! It was good though!