Seasons of Life: 2/1/13

Started the new year with a full plate! Micah and I joined a challenge where we are embarking on the Paleo diet in hopes of being more health conscience as well as to lose a bit of weight. Yeah, I know, "typical new year's goal"... But hey the way I look at it is I haven't given up, I've consistently been striving towards losing weight, just haven't found something I've wanted to commit to and stick with. All "diets" work for someone if they're willing to stick with it. I know my biggest hurdle is exercise, finding something I can enjoy, otherwise its not something I'll stick with. So far Micah has proven results as he has stuck with exercise for the past year and a half. He has slimmed down by over 50 pounds and built up muscle. He is eating healthier and feeling a lot better!

Also on our plate... We listed our house for sale mid-December and in a month and a half had 13 showings! Talk about keeping the house clean with 2 toddlers - it's been a chore to say the least! We've been thankful for the activity though. To give a bit of back story here it all began towards the end of August. I started feeling impressed, nudged to inquire about Rick and Teri's old house, currently owned by his brother in law Ryan but being rented out. I honestly was not sure why I was feeling this, we were completely content with our home and had no reason to want to move. However I could not get away from these feelings, it constantly bombarded my thoughts, dreams, prayer time... So several weeks later, maybe mid-September I shared this with Micah thinking maybe we should just ask if Ryan would even sell his house and for how much. It took Micah a couple weeks before he even felt comfortable. So in a very nonchalant way Micah inquired about the house with no further details. We learned the house was much more than we could afford. I quickly grew discouraged and thought well that settles that, must not be God. To which my husband replies, "Don't put God in a box, He can do anything." I kept that in mind and tried to still move on but it was still there. Why did we need to move anyway, it still was unclear to me. Now don't get me wrong, it's a nice house, still a 3 bedroom but with more square footage, a bonus room and a pool, not to mention location is great and it's just a few houses down from Micah's parents. I began circling the house in prayer believing that if we were supposed to be there, God would work out the details and bring clarity.
Then November 10th Micah's dad's retina detached in his only good eye. To make a very long story not so long it became apparent to both Micah and I that God wanted us closer to his parents to help take care of them as they get older. A couple weeks after Gary's eye surgery Micah was in a meeting with Rick and as they were discussing the current state of Gary's eye Rick asked what Micah was thinking. To which he replied, "I'd like to buy your old house." Rick thought a moment and said he liked the idea, it'd be a great fit and said let's make it happen. Without disclosing all the details we could only praise God for his guiding and provision. December 12th we officially had our house on the market. Being slow season for houses to sell we didn't anticipate much activity but I felt like God's timing would be perfect and we'd have an offer by the first week of February. The renters are in the other house till the end of February so we wouldn't be able to get in until March anyway. With 13 showings, that was quite a bit of activity!

A few other tidbits on our plate besides, diet, selling a house, and Micah's dad currently being blind...Micah oversees 5th grade through college and career in addition to our Discovery program. He also took the Discovery students on a 2 day trip to New Braunfels, is planning a trip to the Czech Republic and is a great dad and husband!

For me besides cleaning, cleaning and cleaning I have enjoyed the beautiful January weather in south Texas and playing outside with the boys, packing boxes, going through a book called "Desperate, hope for the mom who needs to breath" by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson with a dear friend ~ Vanessa (we meet Tuesday evenings after kids are in bed). Our friendship has blossomed and truly been a blessing. I'm also working on memorizing 24 new verses this year, 2 a month, reading/praying through the Bible for Mack, recording prayers in a new Noteworthy Bible we got for the boys (Micah is doing the same for Parker). I'm also teaching a class on sexual purity to the Discovery girls. And helping with our moms & tots group at church.

The boys continue to grow and mature into little mighty men of God. I'm so blessed to be at home with them every day! They drive me a little crazy sometimes but there's no place I'd rather be. They are my ministry and my home is my mission field!

And here's a little photo journal for the month!