The things we do...

Here's a glimpse of our lives right now in pictures.

The boys spend a lot of time wishing they were outside. :) Spring FEVER!!

We spend time snuggling on the couch, watching tv. or movies, and we have been sick so the couch has been well used.

Sometimes we have silly photoshoots. These are the kind of pictures you

get when you take pictures of yourself and two little kids.

We have never had stairs to play on so the boys like sliding down the stairs. :)

Daddy comes home for lunch to play! :)

We take more pictures...

We play with beans...

We bake cookies

And when you can't get outside to play in the snow bring it inside!! This was a great idea shared with me on Facebook and the boys LOVED IT!!

All in all we are doing great and trying to stay busy! Don's job is going great! The boys and I have been attending ECFE which is a lot of fun! It's one of our favorite ways to get out of the house right now. We are attending Valley Christian Church in Breckenridge. We have only gone there a couple of times but are looking forward to going back. This weekend I am going to their women's retreat and am looking forward to it. An unexpected surprise was that Don found out that his old college room mate from freshmen year is the Chief of police in Breckenridge. Don had an instant friend in the area. He showed Don around the community last week and they went out to lunch. Their family is wonderful and invited us to Valley Christian. I have taken sometime off from portrait sessions. I have been doing a lot of catch up work and am looking forward to a wedding in April and then this spring I will launch JR Photography in the Breckenridge/Wahpeton area. WHEW!!! Wish me luck. :)

Almost There

Our town home has started to feel like home. It's nice having so much space. Here are some updated pictures. A few more things need to be added but it might be awhile, for now it's good. :)

Our new red couch. I love it. :) Super comfy and wide. :)

Dining room

living room

kitchen

Brodes & Weston's room. :)

Our bedroom. :) I love it. Very comfy and I think

I mentioned before 2 big closets. :)

FUN MAIL

I think everyone I know loves to get personal mail. It just feels great when you go to the mailbox and someone sent you a card or something just to let you know they are thinking of you. Now a days it's so rare because we relate through email, FB or some other internet social network. :) It's great, I love these means of communications! It makes real mail that much more fun. So the reason I am rambling about this is because my friend Anne is always doing something for someone. She loves to be busy doing things and being busy with her kids. SO she sent me a card today and included were pictures that her kids drew for Brody. HE LOVED IT!! He got so excited. So I got the idea that if anyone else wanted to color with their kids and send Brody pictures he would love to have pictures from his friends. I think it makes him feel closer to you all. I am planning on hanging them in his and Weston's room. :) My fun friend Melissa hangs her kids pictures with string and clothes pins. SO I thought I would do that in Brody and Westons room with the pictures you guys send. If you don't have time don't worry. If anyone would like a picture from Brody let me know and we will send you one!! I understand that you might need or address. If you don't have it leave me a comment with your email address and I will email it to you. OR you could contact me on Facebook and I can get it to you that way as well! I look forward to seeing who will participate and what we get in the mail!! Why don't I say this.. ANYONE who participates will get something back from us. That way all of you who participate get fun mail too. :) AGAIN Thank you ANNE!! We loved our mail today.

Our New Home

Welcome to our home. Don't judge me. :) We had only been in the house a couple of days. :) This is the dining room, as you can see it leads to the kitchen and is open to the living room.

Front entryway hallway. There is a small, REALLY small, bathroom off the hallway. I didn't add the pictures. It wasn't worth it. :)
OUr very messy unorganized kitchen. :)
When you first walk in the stairs is right in front of you and to the left is the kitchen.
Hall CLOSET!! very excited about all the closet space. :)
Messy bathroom :)
This is Don's bedroom closet. :)
my bedroom closet.
our bedroom. Isn't it great that it has two closets. :)

Here is Don on his first day of work. Weston was up but Brodes was still sleeping. Isn't Wester's hair awesome. :)

I have to say that I am proud of myself for posting this picture but I couldn't help myself. I can't get over how proud and love sick I look. Hahaha...

I am proud of my hubby! This week was his second week on the job. It seems to be going well. We are adjusting. It's been a big change. The boys and I are loving ECFE and are grateful to have something to get out of the house for. It's very cold here so we stay inside most days. Brody starts pre-school next fall so I am in the process of looking into preschools. Other wise we are just getting organized and getting used to our new home. The boys have their own room and I think Brody was sleeping so I didn't take pictures. I think I will try to take some more this weekend to post an update and then in a few weeks I will post another update. :) DOCUMENT.. . DOCUMENT.... DOCUMENT!!! :) CLICK CLICK CLICK!!

Where in the WORLD is JP & THE BOYS??

WAHPETON, ND!! CRAZY.... :) It all feels surreal.

Doesn't it seem that as soon as we say to GOD.. Ok.. I relent. I will let you do whatever you want... HE DOES!! My last post was about God speaking to my heart and telling me that if He really is in control of my life I will always be blind, right? Well just after that Don got a job interview in Breckenridge, MN for Wilkin County. It's been a whirlwind ever since. He got the job and started Jan. 10th, yesterday. All I wanted was a little glimmer of what was to come and once I told God that I trusted him he showed it to me. :) I don't know that I could have handled it if I knew sooner. Hahaha...

I don't know what else to say but that it feels weird. I feel sometimes like I am in a dream. I was pretty excited at first and didn't have a care in the world. It wasn't a big deal moving over 3 hours away from my friends. I didn't think I was loosing friends, I figured I only had friends to gain. I STILL think that is true. I have amazing wonderful loyal friends. :) However, it's hard. Harder then I thought it would be. Everything is different here and they operate different then I am used to. That's ok. I know I will get used to it. It's obviously winter as you all know and what do we do best in the winter. WE HUNKER DOWN! So the boys and I are inside all the time in a small town where we don't know anyone. This is where it gets hard. I miss my wonderful loyal friends and we haven't even been here a week. UH OH! Brody misses his friends too and asks to go visit them, which of course makes it harder and makes me more sad. I know we will meet people and make friends but I didn't take into consideration the time that it takes to do that. It's not something that just happens overnight. In the meantime I am encouraging much visiting. :) AND I am willing to come and visit. **hint hint. ;)

I do see God at work. I know that this beginning period will pass and things will get easier. We have a 2 bedroom townhome that is ours. We have big spacious closets, linen closet, dishwasher, dryer and washer!! It's great. We are enjoying being in our own home. Don's job seems to be going well so far. He is home by 5pm everyday. We really are enjoying having dinner together each night. We have connected with a church that has been very welcoming and we look forward to seeing where that goes. They eat lunch together every Sunday, which I think is fabulous. :) It's so fun. There is also a MOMS group that I am looking forward to. I missed the first meeting that I could attend which was today because both boys had fevers. I took pictures of the townhome which I look forward to posting. I will do my best to do it soon. We have gotten A LOT of unpacking done and the place seems to be coming together. It's slowed down since Don started work but I am confident that we will be pretty well organized soon.

I had a great quiet time the other day. I was reading Philippians and decided to read the description in my Bible. So here is Paul in prison and he has joy. It's all about having joy in our sufferings. I am in a new place where I don't know anyone? Is it really a big deal? I have definately grumbled at times since we have been here. However, I have a nice home, a wonderful husband and two amazing beautiful crazy boys! I would NOT say that I am suffering. My prayer is that I can reach out to the people in this community and get to know them. Learn about what is going on in their lives and be a blessing to them. I want to radiate joy and peace. I want to move, unpack, clean all without complaining. OR at least try. I am so grateful that I can so easily connect with all of you. That even from 3 hours away we can easily write, talk, and stay connected. Again I really don't have much to complain about. I ask that you will all pray for me as I seek to focus on the positive and that I will be filled with joy in these circumstances. Change can be hard but it's not the end of the world. : )

It seems I may always be blind...

Imagine you are underground in a cave. Maybe you are on vacation on a tour of some caverns. Have you ever done anything like that? I have. The tour guide turns off his light and it's pitch black, you can't see your hand in front of your face. Even when the light is on you can see enough to get your feet one foot in front of the other.

This is the best way that I feel as though I can describe our lives since Don went to seminary. We sold our house and many other things to pursue this desire that God put on Don's heart. I thought that once seminary was over we would have an idea a path of where to go next. I am sure you know how it is to have a plan and then you realize that it's NOT about YOUR plan?

Well today God and I were talking and I was questioning how long will I feel blind? How long will I remain in one spot unmoving because there isn't light shining to show us where to step next. Sometimes it's scary being in a dark place, will my feet remain stable, will they slip, what's underneath me? Better yet, what's in front of me, of us? I was clearly reminded today that God has been the guide on this path for the last 5 years, always taken care of us! He clearly came through with Don accomplishing the Master's program and in his time he will show us what is next. It's tempting to try and seek our own will or push our will on God's. However, I heard him say to me today that I should expect to be blind the rest of my life. I might NOT always be blind, there may be times that he will reveal what's coming but it's up to Him to choose to do that and I can either worry and be anxious about it or I can choose to trust him and have peace. If I expect to blind, then I can rest in it and have peace about it. Does that make sense? It doesn't matter if I know what's coming because God is the one in control and I know that he will take care of us.

WINNER OF THE DISNEY ON ICE TICKETS!!

Congrats to Jess B for winning the Disney On Ice tickets. Please contact me with an email address. This was specified in the post. If I do not hear from you by Friday morning I will choose a different winner. I need to submit your information tomorrow. Please contact me right away!!