Love is

A blankie of your very own to wrap around your neck or to wear on your head.

She has it worn out and smelling just right, so that no other blankie will do.

Online Shoppping for a Cause

Just some Christmas shopping info to pass on to you.

If you or any of your friends/family members plan to shop online this holiday season, please encourage them to start their shopping from www.capmin.org/Donate/Shop.aspx.

At no extra cost to them, a portion of their purchase will benefit Capitol Ministries—and the spreading of the Gospel!

Participating retailers include, but are not limited to, the following:
Amazon.com
Best Buy
Dell
eBay
Expedia
Gap
Home Depot
HP
Kohls
Macys
Nordstrom
Office Depot
Overstock.com
Sears
Staples
Target
Travelocity
Walmart

Ava's Top Seven

7. You have the most infectious smile EVER. Even when you're tap dancing on the coffee table, or using my roll of wallpaper as a plunger, it's so hard not to laugh at you on the inside, because you do it all with such joy and enthusiasm.

6. You like to try new things. Especially when it comes to eating. Whether it's cucumbers or the paint you just stuck your hand in, you like to taste everything to see if it's edible.

5. You are low maintenance. You have no hair. Which means there's one less ponytail, bow, barrette, and tangle that I have to worry about.

4. You love books. You go for the big stuff too, like the one's on Daddy's shelf. You are especially fond of John Piper, John Macarthur, and any others that have attractive dust covers.

3. I know you love me, even though you call me "Da-Da." Because when anyone else tries to hold you, you cling to me as if you wish you could crawl back inside.

2. I love your baby words. You have the sweetest little voice when you say "ha-doe" (hello), or "pit-a-boo" (peek-a-boo), and "a-morming" (good morning).

and...

1. You bless my heart. Your personality is pure sunshine and it always makes me smile.

The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad. Psalm126:3

Call off the dogs!!

After a not-so-subtle hint from my friend :), and some others, I've finally decided to update my blog! ARE YOU PEOPLE HAPPY NOW?!! BUT, in my defense, although we moved to our new house almost two months ago, we are just now getting our Internet up and going. So, even IF I had the time to post, I wouldn't have been able to! Seriously though, I am happy and humbled that you've continued to check in on me.

I can't believe it's been five months since we've packed up our belongings TWICE and moved four children with us (yes, they all got to come!) We're finally settling in (somewhat) and getting our new house into a livable state. Things are going unbelievably slow though. We still have boxes to unpack and many house projects to finish up. I hope to one day show you all some "before and after" pics of the house. It was a "fixer-upper" and we really had our work cut out for us this time. Some of the things we did before moving in was painting in EVERY. SINGLE. ROOM., pulling up old flooring and replacing it in the kitchen, den, entry hall, half bath and laundry. We did some remodeling in the kitchen- new counter tops, and appliances, redoing and moving some of the cabinets, and knocking out a wall. I say "we" like I was doing all the work, but honestly, Aaron and many kind and gracious friends helping us, did most everything. My main job was keeping kids out of the way and keeping the food for the workers stocked!

Some projects still left to do are painting kitchen cabinets and trim :(, putting up baseboards, replacing the bathroom floors and a lot of touchup painting; just to name a few things. The outside needs some paint and getting the yard looking nice will come next year.

I am really loving our house though, despite the mess it's in right now. The Lord was so kind to us, in giving us such a wonderful place to live. Our house is at the end of a dead end street, we have a huge fenced in back yard, and the our neighbors have all been so kind to us. There are many sweet children on our street and it's not uncommon on a nice night, to see 8-10 kids out playing and riding their bikes.

The kids are all doing well and growing up so much. I will update more on them next time. And I promise some pictures next time! You'll also have to check out my son's blog. There are some funny pictures there.

And last but not least:
Moving tip #1: NEVER, EVER attempt to pack and unpack boxes with an 18 month old. The things that you have unpacked and strategically placed around you home, will be instantly moved, thrown onto the floor, into the trash, or back into the box that it just came out of.
Just sayin'.