Faith Turns 2!

This year Faith's birthday fell on a Monday. So on Monday we celebrated at home, just us. For breakfast we started the day with a special treat, doughnuts. Then that night we had cupcakes in honor of our birthday girl. She was SO enthusiastic to blow out her candles, she blew the first one out before I could even light the second one. After dinner she opened her gifts ( a Backpack from Dora and an Elmo you can put costumes on) We rounded out the night letting them play downstairs in their playroom. They enjoyed dressing up and dancing with their daddy.

Busy Fall Weekend

Courtney's Baby Shower
The 3 Bellies- Baby Gorsch, Baby Humiston, & Baby Caleb

This past weekend I spent a LOT of time on the road. Friday night I drove to Stephanie's house. Then we got up early to travel to Chicago for JoniKay's wedding. We stopped at a outdoor mall so she could make a few purchases. We were definitely reminded that neither of us were city girls!! We both forgot money for tolls (i hate toll roads) and the parking meter. We opted for parking in a nearby parking lot and walking instead of giving up our change (yeah, we are cheap). Then we headed to Wendy's for a quick lunch before heading out to find the church. Well, we had lots of time (over an hour to drive like 12 miles or less). But, we still almost missed getting there in time. My GPS couldn't locate the exact location. Stephanie finally ended up pulling over at the last minute and asking someone in a parking lot. Luckily the lady knew exactly which church we were talking about and got us back on the right track.

Jonikay's wedding was lovely. Here were some of my favorite "little touches" that made it unique:

-Her favors, (this was my favorite) were a selection of candy's from Vermont where she is from and the bride & groom's favorite coffee beans. There were little bags you could fill with treats to take home. My husband and kids also thought it was fun I brought home something to share!

-Her cake, Each table had different cakes on it. So you cut your own cake and then could browse the selection. I thought this was very fun.

-Her dress, it was simple but gorgeous. I love simple wedding dresses

After the wedding we headed to BD's Mongolian Grill to have a baby shower for Courtney. This was a new experience. You went through a food bar selecting any meat, veggies, noodles, sauces, spices, etc. Then they made your stir fry right in front of you. I really wish Jeremy would have been there because he would have loved it. I tend to stress at these types of restaurants, because I'm so indecisive. We had the shower just in time because we welcomed baby Caleb into our extended "family" of girlfriends that very week. Only a few short days later Caleb arrived!

Sunday morning I got up very early to drive home. I wanted to make it back for church and to see my sister. Her and some college friends had come to spend the night. Jeremy filled in as host for me and did a great job! After church we all went to one of Hannibal's big fall events "The Folk Life Festival" This is a really neat festival with tons of great food and culture. We have only got to go a few times because this was the weekend Faith was born.

Checking out the blacksmith.
The girls LOVED listening to the folk music.
Trying Rootbeer for the first time. Grace said, "Mom, can I just have some water." (thats my girl!)
Faith however loved it! She begged Aunt JoJo to share some more from her fancy bottle.
The girls have really missed having Aunt JoJo around so they loved getting to see her! Grace told me the other day, "Mom, I know JoJo has to go to her school, but I miss her SO much!"

A LONG week

The girls have so much fun playing in their room they haven't been taking naps very consistently. Faith was so tired on Sunday she fell asleep while they were doing art. I came in and found her fast asleep with pink completely covering her head.

My husband is the best- Need I say more? He brought me these flowers to surprise me, not for a special occasion but just because he knows I am struggling. I love him!!
This week was such a blessing because our carpet finally came! Here is a before and after of the girls' playroom. I will probably take more "after" shots once we are moved back in downstairs.

The girls have enjoyed playing downstairs and running around with lots of wide open space.

A lot has happened this week. I am exhausted! Which seems to be the theme of this pregnancy. I am so tired all the time. I fall asleep at 8:30-9 every night and can barely string a conversation together with my husband after we get our kids in bed. It has been a long week for me emotionally. I think the reality of transitioning out of our ministry, getting our house ready to sell, and all the unknowns have really hit me. I'm so thankful I have a great husband to walk this journey with me. God is teaching us so much right now, but its difficult. I wanted to blog today when I am really feeling discouraged so I could look back and see how far God has brought us.

I can totally see how Peter got distracted by the wind and waves, even if it was Jesus helping him to walk on water. While I still have a peace about our decisions it doesn't change my struggle through this transition. I'm just not big on change! (even if it is God ordained) I've also seen how the uncertainty in our home is affecting our kids. And that has been tough as a mom. I'm realizing I can't fix this on my own. Instead I am trying to learn how to navigate all these changes with God's help. I know God can be my constant when everything else is up in the air. But, this week I've longed for more... God, why can't we know where we will move? If we will move? What state our baby will be born in? How will I move our family when I am SO tired and SO pregnant? What is best? What is your plan? How long will we wait? How do I support my husband and kids when I feel so overwhelmed?

God's answer: I'm here I haven't forgotten you. I unexpectedly won something this week. This may sound silly, but it wasn't the prize I was so thankful for. Something about winning that blog giveaway was like God whispering, "I'm here and I haven't forgotten you." I'm thankful I didn't miss that. While the immature part of me longs for a flashing arrow or a glimpse at the future for now I'm trying to grow, even if it is really difficult.