We're still here, just a bit distracted...:) Read on...

Blog posts have been very few and very far between.  This is mainly because for the last few months if I have been on the computer it has been to look for a house in Colorado or more recently, to design a kitchen or a bathroom in our new house in Colorado.  We are not going to be there for a couple of months, but now is the time to get started on this stuff.  Also, if I have not been on the computer, I have been homeschooling, doing outdoor painting in preparation for the next people to move here, or doing other clean-up stuff around the house.

We are extremely thankful and relieved to have a buyer for this house and to have a house in Colorado near Max's parents (about a 15-20 minute drive) in a beautiful area, at the bottom of a "gated" mountain with gorgeous views.  Mixed emotions run rampant at this time as I am excited to be able to design a new house in Colorado (with the help of contractors, family, and home improvement stores), yet the waiting and decision making are stressful and exhausting.  I'm also looking forward to getting to Colorado to hopefully spend more time with my husband as he plans to take time off before his year-long deployment, yet our move to Colorado also means the deployment, a year without my beloved right next to me, is within sight.  My determination is to enjoy the time we have together while we have it, to keep in such good touch while he's gone (as much as possible) that it doesn't feel like he's distant, and to keep my eyes on the Lord, which is where my help comes from.  Help me in these goals, Lord, I can't do it without You.

Anyway, with getting started on house renovations in Colorado (contractors will do the physical labor, of which I am thankful, but more decision-making looms ahead - as I said, both exhausting and exciting!), getting our current place ready for the next occupants, and packing in the next couple of months, we don't have a lot of free time on our hands.  However, we are striving to take rests, as we tend to get less productive and much more stressed if we don't have a Sabbath, as the Lord prescribed to us and set an example for us.  It surely wasn't for His own good for him to rest, because as God, he didn't need to, but He surely knows His creation needs to rest.  We need Your strength in resting too, Lord...strength not to jump in on the next project or even to use brain cells thinking about where the oven or fridge should be located.

Here are a few pictures I've been wanting to post, but haven't taken the time.  Sadly, we really don't have a lot of pictures in either the February or March folders, not nearly as many as we usually have.  Shows how distracted we have been. Forgive me to those who do check this blog for not keeping up with it.  I'm thankful for you!

Evelyn with her pony-tails, which Gramma Shell introduced into her life with our visit to Colorado for a house-hunting trip.  Now all she wants is pony tails.  Very cute.

The girls get to cuddle with a new lamb in Gramma Shell and Grandude's kitchen.

Max in the attic, looking from the other side of the ceiling, in Oklahoma house.  One of many projects with our current place was adding a fan/light in the kid's bathroom.

Evelyn likes to fall asleep in this glider when she is sick and gets "spoiled" with movie watching.  This was a couple of weeks ago.

The cycle of frustration over pencil sharpeners that don't work and never having sharpened pencils has recently been broken with the purchase of this nifty little camera-looking pencil sharpener.  Now the kids (esp JB) cannot wait for pencil leads to break or get worn down...It sometimes helps in homeschooling when the kids look forward to wearing down pencil leads:)

Evelyn and Benaiah resting, our Great Phyician's orders:)