"4-wheelin' Monster Trucks"

Josiah loves his buddy TJ ! Today he came and picked Josiah up and took him to lunch and out for one last ride on his 4-wheeler. According to Josiah, it's not just any old 4-wheeler... it's a "4-wheelin' Monster Truck!!!" All morning Josiah kept asking, "Is he here yet? Is he here yet?!" Finally, when TJ arrived, Josiah ran downstairs and out the door with a smile a mile wide! Here are some pictures of the boys leaving for their adventure!

Last Friday Night Hang-Out

Our last Friday Night Hang-Out was this past Friday. A group of girls put together a super cute mix of songs and performed a Farewell dance for us. They did a great job especially since they only had 30 minutes to put it together. I video-taped it, but am having problems uploading it, hopefully I'll get things figured out soon! Since it was our last FNH we found ourselves at the center of every game, "Honey if you love Pastor Brad, please smile..." and my personal favorite the toilet paper game. We literally were almost "mummified" with toilet paper as a team of kids raced to see who could come up with the "best" outfit. I'm not sure why I won, I think we were both equally stylin'!

Wrapping Things Up And Reminiscing...

Wow. This is it. We are wrapping up our final week in Coeur d' Alene. And if I am totally honest it has been weird for me. I don't think transition is ever easy, but I wasn't prepared for all the awkward uncomfortable moments. I'm sure it's partly because it feels like we've said good-bye a hundred times, but we haven't gone anywhere yet! =0) We had our last youth service, our last Friday Night Hang-out, our last Church service, my last night-out with our home group girls, last night-out with the Women's Ministry Team and after saying good-bye so many times I catch myself struggling to find the line of trying not to be too sad, but then again trying not to appear too excited... It's one of those weird spectrum's where we're super excited for what lies ahead, but also very sad for what we're leaving behind. There have been days that I have wished time would go faster, and there are other days (like today) that I find myself wishing for just a few more days... Reagan came home from school and showed me a book that her teacher and classmates made for her. On the front it says, "We Will Miss You Reagan!" And inside each of her classmates wrote her a letter. I got teary-eyed as I read through all the notes from her friends saying how much they would miss her... But no matter how much I wish time would stand still, in reality it's flying by really fast! Brad has only four days left (maybe 2, if he decides to leave Saturday), while the kids and I have a little over a week. The calendar is crazy, every day is crammed full of dinners, play-dates, birthdays, and everything in between. Before we know it this chapter in our life-story will be closed, and a new one will begin. We've lived in Coeur d' Alene for more than half of our married life (a little over 5 of our 8 1/2 years), so there are many pages filled with moments to remember... the birth of Josiah, buying our very first house, Reagan starting her first year of school, also building our first "new" house, the birth of Madelyn, meeting so many awesome people that have touched and changed our lives... we have been blessed. I read a poem once (I wish I could find it) that talks about how God brings people into our lives and even if it's only for a short time, they impact us, shape us, and leave us changed. Even though in the grand scheme of things 5 years is really not that long, we're leaving changed, shaped and impacted by so many gifts of friendship, and so many acts of generosity.

Mess Maker!

A few days ago, right after breakfast, Josiah said, "Mommy, Maddy's on the table!!!" This is an everyday occurrence in our house, so I wasn't overly hasty in rushing to the kitchen. I wish I had been! By the time I entered the kitchen Madelyn had somehow managed to empty an entire bottle of strawberry syrup all over herself and the table! As soon as she saw me she gave me her brightest smile in hopes of not getting in trouble... it worked of course! It's amazing how manipulative these little stinkers can be!

Brad and his mom singing The Sound of Music theme song...

Brad was teasing his mom by add-libbing to the song... and of course I missed it all on video! =0(

Enzian

Brad and his dad serenading the ladies! =0)

Leavenworth

We had a much needed vacation last week in Leavenworth. It was so nice just relaxing and hanging out with family. My parents and our family stayed the entire week, with visits from my sister and her family, Brad's parents, my Grandma and Uncle, and couple of my aunts came up to celebrate my mom's birthday. Brad and I took advantage of free babysitting and enjoyed a couple "date nights". On one evening Brad and I went to the hotel lobby of the Enzian and listened to one of Brad's relatives playing the piano. (I'll post a video of Brad singing soon!) And the rest of the time was spent shopping, reading books, and hot-tubbing. Here are a few pics of our vacation.

Baby Stefan's Dedication

A few weeks ago, I took the two older kids to Seattle for my nephew's baby dedication, leaving Brad at home with Madelyn on Valentines Day! =0( Bad wife, I know! Brad couldn't get the time off work, and I didn't want to miss seeing everybody. It's been so long since we've all been together! We had a family dinner at my Grandma's the first night I was there. And the next day after the baby dedication we had a seafood feast at my sister's! So yummy! Her husband is an incredible cook! We even got in a little shopping before I headed home! Here are a few pictures... My brother had a pact with his buddies that he wouldn't shave until he caught a fish... looks like it's been awhile! =0)

Seasons of Change

.
e
m
i
t






d
o

G

A little over a month ago, Brad and I were watching a movie, and about half-way through the movie Brad received a text that said, "God has laid you on our hearts, know that we're praying for you." We were appreciative of the text, but continued to watch the movie. A few minutes later he got another text that said, "Just want to let you know we're praying for you and know that God has good things in store for you!" Brad read the text out loud to me, I glanced over, and said, "That's cool." About 30 seconds later he got another text that said, "Love you man. Praying for you and the fam." About a minute later, he received another text, and a few minutes later ANOTHER text came!!! After about the fifth text within a matter of minutes we paused the movie and looked at each other.

"Do you think this is weird"? I said.

"Yes, it's VERY weird!!!" he said.

The messages were from people in all walks of life, that had little or no connection whatsoever. All with the same message, "We're praying for you." Little did we know the events that would take place the very next day and the weeks to follow. It has been amazing to look back and now see that God was preparing us for a season of change.

Some changes are hard, and some changes are painful, this was both. Brad and I felt like God was moving us on. Where? We didn't know. Within a 24 hour period a pastor from Seattle called Brad and wanted to know if he was interested in a youth pastor position, and the next week he had an interview. It was a perfect fit, and now things finally began making sense! Brad felt like God was confirming things in his heart that he had been feeling over the past year and he had complete peace. I, on the other hand, was a little slower processing things. I had peace that God was steering us in a new direction, but I was sad all the same. I went through about 2 weeks of mourning leaving friends, leaving a community that I absolutely love and wanted to raise my family in, and cringing at the thought of pulling our daughter out of her first year of school. Then there came a day where a friend advised me to go into my room, close the door, and pour my heart out to God. Tell him every little thing I was thinking, and leave the situation completely in His hands. I can't tell you the weight that was lifted, the change of perspective and the peace that filled my mind. God was in control, and I was not. His plans are far better and far outweigh anything I could ever conjure up for our family. I clung to a verse that says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Once I let this truth really sink into my heart an excitement began to build. And although we will miss our church and friends in Cda (we are already been planning "vacations" and "trips" with a few of them, and we haven't even left yet!) we are really looking forward to this new season of change.

Brad announced to our church this Sunday that we were leaving, and within an hours time, we already had someone from within the church express interest in buying our house! A few days later they came over and said they absolutely loved it and wanted to buy it! Wow!!! In an economy where houses are sitting on the market forever, and a recession is on the horizon, to even have a spark of interest before we put it on the market was so encouraging! It's not a done deal. They still need to try to get their financing squared away, but we are trusting God that He will work out all the details, and if it's not this couple then He will provide another. Our last Sunday with the church is the (22nd), and we are taking the last week in March to pack, move and get settled. Things are happening so fast! So many people have asked me to take pictures of the house, because they haven't had a chance to come visit (slackers!). So here they are. You can't tell in the picture, but Madelyn's room has buttons in the center of the flowers - so cute! I'm sad that I didn't even get to hang curtains in her room yet or paint Josiah's room blue and brown... but it was fun decorating what little I got around to! Below is a link that has more photos and info on the house.


http://www.2860thorndaleloop.com/