The Move Progress

As per my sister's request, I'm updating on our move progress. We are just days away from our move and there are boxes, boxes, and more boxes!! The boys have enjoyed the added challenge of having to maneuver through all the obstacles.... while we, the parents, struggle to stay upright. I can hear Eric crashing into boxes late at night trying to be quiet.

We have been trying to eat through our freezer and cupboard items for the past few weeks to cut down on expenses and make our move easier. It seems no matter how many beans we eat, they seem to multiply!!  Yuck! I can't wait to start cooking some home cooked meals again but for now all the pots, pans and dishes are packed up and the beans are a plenty!

Noah's snack today on paper plate and plastic cup. He thought it was the best thing in the world...saltines/peanut butter sandwiches, broken pretzels, and chocolate milk. Hey, at least it wasn't beans!!

The move has been exhausting, especially since Eric has been working and just finished being on call. I've had to do all the packing, but I am grateful for sweet friends who encourage us to stop and take breaks for our sanity. It has made this move much more pleasant and the boys think it is quite the adventure!

I can say for sure, however, on our first night in our new home....I will be filling this up with lots of bubbles and HOT water and RELAXING! Then maybe after the boys go to bed, sit on the front porch with this guy, holding hands in our rocking chairs....happy to finally be HOME!

Vacation Bible School

This has just been an incredible week, one unlike any other our family has experienced. VBS started on Sunday and went through Thurs. This year the theme for the preschoolers (the older kids had a different theme) was PandaMania. The children learned that God is wild about them, loves them no matter what, listens to you, watches over you...and just really the "what you need to know" about our awesome and loving Father. The curriculum was perfectly suited for this younger age group and was just pure genius to split the preschoolers into this group. There were stations that the children would travel through each night....opening/closing time, music, crafts, recreation/snack time, and bible story time. Eric and I served as teachers this year to the 4 yr old class and our job was to move the children from station to station....then each station had their own specially gifted servant that would run the station.

Above is the Bible story time. This is Mrs. Martha (she is AMAZING) dressed as Jonah. She had an opened can of tuna so the children would know how horrible it smelled inside that whale's belly. It was awe inspiring for me to watch her use all the senses to teach a lesson. Each night her stories had incredible and tangible visuals that reached these children like I would have NEVER thought to do. Her example showed me about truly getting to the level of the children and helping them understand these stories. I am certain the memory of these bible stories and the important lessons from each have been permanently planted in their hearts and minds forever.

Please excuse the poor quality of my pictures...I forgot my camera every.single.night. :( So this is the best I could do with my phone and I only have a few moments captured from the whole week. This is Mrs. Wendy and music time. This was high energy time that was fun and full of music that helped us smile, worship, and learn more about God's love.

My absolute favorite time of the night was the rest time for the VBS workers. Another ingenious plan by the Children's Pastor and his wife (Dustin and April - LOVE them and appreciate them so). This was a place where the servants of VBS, were served. A refuge was set up in the church's library where the workers were allowed a 20-25 minute break. There were fresh snacks and drinks each night! There was plenty of laughter, encouragement, and just a true sense of fellowship and love. I have never been involved with a VBS where the workers were actually pampered in such a loving way!

One of our biggest worries about the VBS week was our youngest, Nathan. Most nights we didn't get home until 9, so it was way past his bedtime and this was his very first VBS. We were blessed with an angel, who is a very smart mommy, that kept us all busy during the day so the boys would take very good naps before the big nights. Nathan did wonderfully and made a new friend, Mrs. Angie. The 2 yr old class had teachers that stayed one-on-one with this group so she was with him all week and Nathan was more than infatuated with her. The last picture above shows her spoon feeding him ice cream (he totally had her wrapped around her finger). The picture above that was sing and dance time. Most nights he would obsess about making sure he looked handsome enough before we left for church! So funny! It really was a blessing to not worry for even one second about him the entire week and just focus on our task. The attachment between them was hard to break on our final celebration night and there were tears by both. She has been sweet to offer to babysit him (and Noah) so we can go on a date night! Wow, another blessing!


This week, our family grew leaps and bounds in our relationship with Christ, with friends, and as a family. I am so thankful for our church and the people in it...there is a very special place in our hearts for all they have done for us and we look forward to serving there for many many years to come (we specifically picked out our new property so we would not have to change churches)!

Pasta with Beans and Greens recipe

This is what I'm serving for dinner tonight, my actual bowl I just ate :) . It is one of Eric's favorite dishes. According to the Southern Living book for which I give credit to, it boasts generous amounts of protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates, iron, and calcium. In other words, it's healthy but not yucky. Someone ate my mushrooms earlier in the week (Eric), so I had to make this meal sans mushrooms. I normally use them though. :)

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked bow tie pasta
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 (6-ounce) package portobello mushroom caps, halved and sliced*
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 cups chopped fresh kale or spinach (about 6 ounces)
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (15-ounce) can great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preparation

• Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Place pasta in a large bowl; set aside.
• Saute onion and mushrooms in hot oil in a large skillet over medium heat 5 minutes. Add kale and next 4 ingredients; cook, stirring often, 15 minutes or until kale is tender. Add beans, and cook 1 minute.
• Add bean mixture to pasta; toss gently. Sprinkle with cheese.
• *1 (8-ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms may be substituted.

There may be a question in your head...do your children eat this? The answer is sadly, no. Nathan won't even look at it, but Noah really enjoys the noodles and cheese. I make it because Eric enjoys it so much, probably for the health factor!

First REAL haircuts

Up to this point, I have always cut the boys' hair. I started this tradition because Noah was such a colicky baby, we were scared to take him anywhere! So I did the best I could and gradually got a little better. By the time Natey came along, I felt like I was a semiprofessional stylist! Above are a few shots of the boys in their early haircut years.

Since Noah is starting kindergarten in the fall, I felt like maybe it was time for me to temporarily hang up my clippers and let Noah get a big boy cut for his first day! So I started letting his hair grow out and it was driving me nuts! Nathan just decided to go along for this shaggy hair ride also.

After several stellar recommendations, we picked our man, Mark Henry! By the way, Noah took this picture himself. Mr. Mark was very kind, fun, and did an outstanding job!! He also goes to our church and we know he loves Jesus! Noah requested that Mr. Mark start picking him up every day on his way to work so Noah could get daily haircuts (way overkill little Noah!).

They did great, I could not have been more pleased. No squirming, no fussing, no sweating and headlocks by me!! We all loved it!!

Finished product! My clippers have been retired for good, Noah has made a new superhero friend for life, and the boys got some yummy cookies as a treat when we got home.

New house

I wish I would have started this blog at the beginning of this journey for us, but instead I'm playing catch up near the end. We had to travel to the property this morning to deal with an issue, so snapped a few shots of my favorite rooms.

Perhaps my favorite room with be the laundry room, because the proximity is closer and will no longer be in the basement! This also means I will no longer be attacked by thousands of crazy jumping crickets.

My second favorite place is the kitchen! Here's a few and I included one of my dream double oven. This was a floor model that was drastically reduced, plus we got a discount for buying the other appliances... so we were able to afford to get it  :).

Outdoor area....can't wait to have dinners on the screened in porch and smores on the deck! 

I wish I would have taken more pictures but I ran out of time, the last 2 are the stairs leading up to the boys' rooms. Then some random pictures of living room and side of the house. I'll post more later. Completion date is still set for Aug 1st as long as we don't have anymore issues.