Winter Storm #2

We are 2 weeks in and now in our 2nd snow storm here in St. Louis! The storm that just came through last night was said to be the biggest this season here. Go figure. It waits on us to get here. It is pretty to look at. And fun to play in for a few minutes at least. I must say though, that it is a lot of work to "play" in the snow. We start bundling up SK at 10, then Momma and Daddy get all our gear on and finally get out the door about 30-45 minutes later. After all of that work, we stay out for maybe 30 minutes before heading back in. We forgot to take our measuring stick out, but we are thinking it is about 8 or so inches at our house. And still falling a little. This is an adjustment for me to say the least. I like beach weather. The snow is fun for a day or so, but 2 weeks so far we have pretty much seen snow on the ground. And, to top it off, it will get down to 4 degrees tonight. 4!! I guess that is better than the zero that had been predicted earlier this week. I should count my blessings right :)

SK loved playing in the snow and sledding around. Even though it is really almost too much snow to sled in. She rode around and the snow just piled in with her. She threw a few snowballs, then Mommy convinced her it was time to head inside for a warm lunch. The funiest part of heading outside, was using SK as our measuring stick. Isn't she cute as a measuring stick?!?

Michael has the day off so we plan to just hang out here and stay warm, then Michael has to shovel the driveway so that he can get out for work tomorrow! What an adventure our time in St. Louis has been so far!

We are off to go bake some cookies then settle down for naptime! Enjoying the day before things get busier next week!

Blessed...

I am truly blessed. I love how the Lord throws little blessing our way even when my rotten self deserves nothing. Today, I am thankful for a clean house. So here's the story: Our landlord promised that our place would be cleaned right before we moved in, since it had been vacant for some time. Well, we find out the day before moving that her cleaners had caught the flu and would be unable to clean it. Boo! Well, it turns out to be a blessing in disguise really. Our landlord then said that she would have them come after we got everything unpacked and today was the big day! A sweet lady came and cleaned away for 2 and 1/2 hours while SK and I enjoyed lunch and a movie/knitting. It was lovely. To smell a clean house and not have to do it myself. I could get used to that. Except we have never used paid cleaners before and probably won't again. Not really in the budget, you know :) It was nice for today though!
Michael is at work today. He is liking working at ChicfilA and they really seem like a great company to work for. I am taking SK to meet baby Molly (who I will start keeping fulltime Monday). We have talked a lot about her and I think SK will do great.
So I feel pretty random with the blogging, but like giving updates on things here. I am ready to get into a routine. Have I said that before? I like routine and a schedule. I am trying to enjoy the somewhat down time we have right now, other than the crazy amount of errands and phone calls and such that we have had to do getting everything set up here.
I am also ready to find and get plugged into a church here. I miss Community and our church family in Alabama. I don't like being the "newbys" if you will. I know we will find something, but it will just take time.
On another note, I have started SK with chores up here. Not sure why I have never done this with her before. She is a pro at chores and LOVES doing them, even calling them "fun!" I hope to start a chart soon with rewards for her, like stickers and such, but for now, she is content to do them and get smiles from Mommy and Daddy. On her list of chores: Making her bed each morning, putting away toys before nap, helping unload the dishwasher (silverware is her job), and setting the table for each meal. I love having a little helper and she makes it more fun with her positive attitude, which makes it more fun for me :)
Well, that's all the rambling I got for now. I am thinking some JJ Heller and coffee are calling my name on this dreary and cold afternoon. Have I mentioned that it is cold up here? Like, one night this week I think the low is 0. ZERO! That is crazy!

Random Pictures with Update!

Just getting started with our book collection...These are Michael's books for his 4 classes this spring, and there are still 3 to add to the stack!

My dear friend from Alabama, Melissa, painted this picture for us for our new home up here. The colors ended up working so well on this old shutter I had, and it looks so lovely in our living room. What a great reminder we need in front of us each day we are here.

Saturday, we decided to take some time out for fun with SK. We are learning more and more about how St. Louis has great activities that are free or cheap for kids. We decided to head out to Forest Park, about 1.5 miles from our house and see all that it had to offer. We spent most of the morning in the Science Museum, where SK had a blast! The museum is split over the interstate with a bridge going over the interstate. SK loved the see through glass where you could see cars passing below.

Mommy and SK at the Science Museum!

Daddy helping Sk see through the telescope.

Also at Forest Park, we found an outdoor iceskating rink. We happened to get there while the speed skaters were practicing, which was really cool to watch.

We were cooking dinner the other night and saw the most beautiful sunset from our windows at the back in the kitchen. So, here is the view we see while cooking dinner! Not too bad, huh!

And lastly, Isn't she cute with french braids!

We are taking it easy around here today, esp. since all the things we need to do are closed today, like driver's license and car tag, ect. Michael is studying for his Bible Content Exam, which he will take next Tuesday. So, I have been getting my knitting back out and getting new projects going! I will share later with what I have made....

Hope everyone is having a nice Monday!

Boxes=done!

Well, I can officially say that we have unpacked all of our boxes. woohoo!!! We have hung pictures on the wall and can finally eat at our dining room table! It feels nice to have things pretty well set up here and looking more like home. SK is adjusting so well here and I am so thankful for that. She loves her new house and what a special treat to have snow our first week here. SK LOVES the snow. We talk about it lots around here. The weather today was much warmer, getting above freezing even :) While Michael was a work, SK and I decided to venture out to find the library here in Richmond Heights and then head to Whole Foods where I was able to use a few coupons and get some deals. It can't really compare to my Publix deals, but it will do for now :)

I really do love our home. It is warm and has such character. I like it. Oh, have I mentioned we have squirrel friends? There are many trees in our neighborhood and so we have lots of squirrels who love to play in those said trees and along the rooftops. I am getting more used to the sounds of something running along the window ledges and our terrace thingys out front.

I met with the family that I will be nannying for yesterday. They are very kind and their daughter is so cute and I look foward to SK meeting her. I will start working not this coming week, but the next. I am looking foward to getting more into a routine around here. I think it will do us some good. Right now we are doing different things every day and running around getting things done. Of course, with the coming routine, will come less time with Michael I am sure. He has gotten most of his books for the coming semester and there are quite a few. I couldn't imagine going back to school and reading so much. He is excited about it though and I look foward to learning with him through this whole crazy process.

I know I haven't added pictures lately, but I will post some soon. Hope everyone is having a lovely Friday!

Random thoughts on this snowy early morn...

I am up early this morning thanks to a little 2 year old who, at 5:00 in the morning, cries out "I'm wet! I tee-teed!". She tee-teed so much in fact that it required a whole outfit change and instead of changing sheets at this early hour, she came to bed with us to cuddle. I will deal with the sheets later...
So here are some random thoughts in my head this morning...
1. Hot water is a lovely thing. At our old house I never knew what mood the water would be in, hot, cold, or somewhere in between. Not fun for someone who loves a scoulding hot shower.
2. Snow is fun except for it makes for more laundry and my car is so dirty right now it is sad. We decided yesterday that we will have a 1 time a year cleaning and not worry about the rest. What's the point really? It was hard enough to keep the windshield clean in order to see out.
3. I ventured out on my own for the first time in St. Louis. Go figure my first time to drive here in town and there is snow everywhere. I needed to get out. Poor Michael needs a break from my craziness of "We must unpack everything right now and have this place looking homey now!" I don't boss, don't get me wrong, I just run around like a chicken with it's head cut off putting things in the right place. Unpacking is hard. Esp. when back home I had an army of great people helping. It takes forever it seems and isn't as fun by yourself (or just me and Michael).
4. We went up to the seminary yesterday and that was fun to see it again. We were told that we needed to check out Forest Park for sledding. Man, was that place popular. There was a great hill in front of the Art Museum and it was packed with people. We didn't have a sled or proper clothing on for it, plus there wasn't a parking spot to be found anywhere close, so we just did a drive by, and it was fun. It was a good break from our crazy unpacking and running around getting things checked off our list.
5. I met a lady at the Seminary yesterday that is over the childcare at the Seminary. She gave me a brochure and I am really looking foward to some of the things that go on up at the school. There is a free Parent's morning out that I hope to get SK going to this semester. I think she would enjoy it and make some good friends at.
6. Michael starts training today at ChickfilA. I think it is going to be a good job. I met the lady that will I guess be his boss, and she was very kind and sweet. Pray for him that training goes well and as he starts classes that he doesn't feel overloaded.
7. I am going tomorrow to meet with the family that I will be nannying for. I am excited about my job and pray that SK adjusts well with Molly being with us each day.
8. Skype is a lovely invention. It has been nice to get to see our family and friends on the "Puter" as SK calls it.
9. I love that we live so close to things up here. This is something that we have never had thus far in our marriage. We have always lived a good distance from work and grocery stores and all, that this is a nice change. We are literally walking distance to Schnucks (not a Publix, but it will do). And our bank is just past it, could walk to it as well if we wanted. Target is 5 minutes away (that could be good or bad depending on how you look at it :)). We are 10-15 minutes from the Seminary and both of our jobs. It is nice to not have to drive so much and not have to fill our tanks so often with gas.
10. Hopefully SK and I can get some things done around here today while Michael is at work. I am itching to get some pictures on the wall since I think we pretty much have furniture in it's place. My goal today is to get the dining room table cleaned off with all the stuff all over it so that we can start eating at our table instead of the couch. And laundry today. And organize the pantry. And finish unpacking SK's room (Poor kid, her room is the only room left with boxes still sitting around). And...nevermind, let's be real, all that won't get done, but wouldn't it be nice if it did...

We're Here!

So it's been a while since my last post, but things have been a bit crazy the last week. I am taking a break from unpacking so I can catch everyone back in Alabama up on what we have been up to! (I haven't taken many breaks since we have gotten here, so this is nice). Let's begin with last week:
Thursday-Friday--we got our "big yellow truck" (as Sk called it) and loaded it up with family and friends. We had to go pick up the truck then load up some things that were going to our parent's houses take those over to Trussville then when the truck got back, we were able to start loading up. In the midst of all of the loading, I had to take SK to the pediatrician since she had been complaining of her "neck" hurting and she had been acting kind of puny the last couple of days, so I knew it had to be an ear infection, which the doctor confirmed and put her on meds for. So I missed part of the loading, but Michael had lots of help getting the truck filled and then what didn't fit found themselves new homes :) We hung out with friends and family till bedtime and prayed together and with many tears, said our goodbyes. Michael and I set up our neighbors air mattress to sleep on and SK slept on a pallet beside us in our empty house. Sk didn't sleep so well, so that meant Mommy didn't either (I don't think daddy got too much either). Since I never really fell asleep, I decided at 3:30 a.m. that we should go ahead and get ready to head out. We headed out around 4:15 a.m. and 10 hours later arrived at our new house here in St. Louis. The drive was good, SK slept for the first few hours, then we made a stop for gas and stretching. The next stop was for lunch at a rest stop, then SK fell asleep for another hour or so. Then we hit snow, so we took it kind of slow, but made our way fairly uneventful. It helped that the grandmama's had sent activities for SK including games, movies, and the best was the little M&M's (can we say sugar rush?). After getting here, I met our landlord to sign papers and all and Michael had to drop off our trailer at the truck rental place. The gas company was here when I got here and discovered immediately that there was a crack in the water heater, meaning, we would have no hot water (we also had no hot water when we moved into our rental in bham). Our landlord was finally able later in the day to find a plumber to come and look at it, but we still had to wait to Monday, since they ended up having to order a whole new water heater. We did get to use the shower downstairs, in the other unit (we are in a duplex upstairs and someone else lives downstairs), so that is better than nothing. So after discovering about no hot water, we turned our focus to unloading the truck and cars. I wish I had taken a picture of us unloading, since halfway through it started really snowing pretty good. That was fun and cold..and really cold....We did get everything in, thanks to the help of some other seminary students. We got to hang out after getting everything off the truck and eat some pizza and have some hot chocolate (Thanks for coming over and making it Rebecca!) It was nice to get to hang out and chat for a bit. Our place was jam packed with furniture and boxes everywhere, but we were able to have our beds set up sleep in them that night. SK did wonderfully throughout the unloading of the box (as good as a 2 year old can at least) and slept wonderfully that night.

Sat.--- We got up and took the truck back to the rental place and headed to the grocery store. We decided to check out Schnuck's, which is literally walking distance from our house. It was a nice store (reminds me of Whole Foods back at home) and I was even able to find a couple coupons in the store to use! I will have to figure out couponing here once we get things in order, but I am going to greatly miss the deals at Publix... After getting back from the grocery store, we got to work unloading boxes. We worked till dinnertime and then ate some soup and called it a night.

Sunday--We got up and decided to check out a church here in town that we had heard of. We have had lots of moments of missing everyone back in Alabama and our minds were on our CPC family lots this day. SK was standing in the kitchen at one point and started singing "Our God is a great big God" and I stood in the hallway watching her do the motions and sobbed. What a blessing our church family was to my baby girl these last couple of years. I long to find a church here that will love her the same and teach her and point her to Christ (I know we will, it will just take time). After church, we ate some leftovers at home and got back to work unpacking. We got to take a break for dinner and enjoy a nice dinner at Macaroni Grill thanks to a giftcard given to us by some dear friends.

Monday--So far today we have gone to get our Occupancy permit (Something new to us) and went to the bank to get things set up with a local bank. The plumbers are here working on getting us some hot water and I can't wait for a long hot shower after they get it all fixed for us. Michael will head to the school this afternoon during SK's nap to take care of some things then we plan to relax tonight and watch the game.

So there ya go. A quick recap of our life the last few days. Things have been crazy and emotions have been high at times, but we are excited to be here and can't wait to see how the Lord will use this stage in our lives to grow us. It might be painful at times and hard, but God is good and will be our strength (I know I will need it). We have been able to skype some with family back home and that has been nice. I know it is getting to be a long post, but I just wanted to recap everything that we have been up to.

We are expecting snow later today (2-5 inches) and more on Friday I think. We are starting to adjust to having to bundle up with layers as we go out, but man it is cold up here. I don't think we will get above freezing all week and the low on Wednesday is 6 degrees. 6 DEGREES!! I like warm weather, so this is not fun for me, but it will be fun to sit on our couch and watch the snow fall from our big window in the front.

Well, that's all I got for now, got to get back to work, but we love and miss all of our Alabama family and friends :) Enjoy your snow/ice back home, I love seeing the pictures on facebook and will take some of our later! I am gonna upload pictures to facebook, so check out there for the pictures!

Happy 1st B'day dear Angel

Well, it is 5 in the morning, and here I sit, unable to sleep. So many things on my heart, but this morning, it isn't about the move. Because of the fallen world we live, I don't get to celebrate our second childs 1st birthday with them. I'd like to think God our Father is throwing quite the bash up in heaven since I can't here.

Dear baby girl or boy,
It's mommy. I know you are perfectly content where you are, but you are missed greatly here. I am sad that we never even got to meet, but I know that day will come. I long for heaven for so many reasons, and you are definitely one of my top reasons. Yesterday in church we sang a song, "Soon and Very Soon" and it made me long for the day for Christ to come back and make all things right. I will get to meet you on that day and I can't wait to squeeze you up and kiss you all over. But for now, I know the Lord is holding you and doing far better than I could have ever done. I don't know if we will have birthday parties in heaven, but the Lord knows my heart better than myself, and maybe He can pull some strings and have a little party for you dear one. I do want to take a moment to apologize. I know there have been times that you have seen me deny your existence. When others ask how many children we have and I respond with 1 instead of 2. It is a hard question to answer for me, but I do count you as one of my babies. Mommy loves you very much and Daddy does too. My heart aches for the day that I can hold you in my arms, but I know the Lord is good and His plans for you were different than mine. Sarah Kate would have loved you so much too. I will tell her about you one day when she is older and you'll get to play with her one fine day. Well, I will let you get back to hanging with Jesus. I love you baby,
Mommy

I hope when we get settled up in St. Louis, I can get back to some fun blogs, but this is just what is on my heart and I have to get it out. So many emotions this week about so many things. This being the week we would have celebrated our baby's 1st bday and the move makes for an emotional mommy this morning. I am so excited about our move and I know the Lord is going to grow us so much through this stage of our lives, but I will so greatly miss what we have been so blessed with here in Alabama. God is good though and truly it is a great comfort for me that this isn't home. St. Louis, Alabama, none of it is going to be home, just pit stops on our way to our true home, Heaven. And we will all have eternity to celebrate and worship Christ our Lord together and party with each other up there, where there won't be separation or pain or heartache.

Soon and very soon my King is coming

Robed in righteousness and crowned with love

When I see Him, I shall be made like Him

Soon and very soon.

Soon and very soon I'll be going

To the place He has prepared for me

Then my sin erased, my shame forgotten

Soon and very soon.

(Chorus)

I will be with the One I love

With unveiled face I'll see Him

There my soul will be satisfied

Soon and very soon.

Soon and very soon see the procession

The angels and the elders 'round the throne

At His feet I lay my crowns, my worship

Soon and very soon.