House Update III

Well, December 20th came and went and we did NOT close on the house.  Then it got pushed out one week later and it's STILL not closed.  What a painful process it has been.  Three more days until the end of the year and we're praying for a miracle.  Nothing else we can do except to trust and continue to wait on the Lord.  I have been meditating on

"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!  'For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?' 'Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?'  For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be glory forever." - Romans 11:34-36

as I have been in a funk lately that I cannot kick.  Part of it is because Ethan's off school for two whole weeks and another part of it is the anticipation of changes that will be taking place.  I hate changes.  They're never fun.

As for my thoughts on our old house in IA, I realized that I needed to go back so that I can move forward.  Driving down Western Avenue and seeing it again, I surprised myself and felt no attachment to it whatsoever...thankfully so did Ethan.  Now I feel like I can move on to hopefully what the Lord has ahead of us.

Just For Laughs

I thought it was ironic that the weather man in VA considered 30 degrees to be "frigid" but the weather man in IA considered 30 degrees to be "warming up." 

Marshalltown

We're back from an early Christmas with Brian's family and I'm so glad to return to warmer weather again.  It was -5 degrees when we landed in IA and I seriously thought I was going to die.  Not kidding.  Gavin was shivering the whole time while saying "cold" over and over again.  I don't think he ever experience anything like that before.  We had a few little glitches with our flight being delayed for two hours because the safety stickers on the emergency door were missing and Gavin getting the stomach bug (the next day).  Other than that we had a great time!

 Yummy cinnamon rolls at Morning Glory Bakery

Loved the cousins time

Presents time!

  Sledding fun

 

Great team effort on the Ginger Bread House

We drove to Davenport on Sunday and spent the entire day there attending church, seeing our neighbor, Brian's aunt and our old small group.  Being back at Harvest Davenport again was so emotional that I started tearing up as soon as we pulled into the parking lot.  Just like old times - as a family, drop off the kids and sit in the service together again.  And I was moved by the Holy Spirit (like I always do every.single.time) with worship and Pastor Rob's message.  EXACTLY what we both needed you know.  Got lots of hugs from people who recognized us and also a few that didn't even know we had left for VA.  That night, we were able to get our entire small group together for dinner, which I was so thankful for.  We picked up right where we left off and it was as if we had never left.  Such a sweet reunion with our dear friends. 

We drove back to Marshalltown afterwards with some blowing snow and slick patches of roads only to be scared to death by having Gavin getting out of the shoulder straps, unlocking the door and opening it.  Praise the Lord for his hands of protection over us because it could have been really bad.  Brian drove with a kung-fu grip the rest of the way home.

Oh yeah can't forget these.  They redid the entire Bettendorf Family Museum and I thought Ethan would enjoy seeing it again.  Both boys had a blast!

Christmas Letter '13

2013 in Virginia brought much joy, contentment & thankfulness - and a warmer winter too!

February arrived and we celebrated Gavin’s 1^st birthday & baby dedication.  So glad Brian’s mom could come and be a part of it.  A reserved but joyful spirit, Gavin has been a perfect addition to our family.  He is full of smiles, loves to climb and be held by anyone with comfy shoulders.  Although an opposite from Ethan, he copies everything big brother does.  Unfortunately, it has been a rough year for him.  What started out as a cold turned into his very first ear infection that never left.  Four rounds of antibiotics and four months later, he eventually needed tubes to drain the fluid.  Thankfully everything went well.   But then between teething and/or a cold, Gavin spent every month afterwards battling them.  How miserable!  I pray that next year would be more kind to him.  

To continue with the Memorial Day weekend tradition, we met up in Kentucky for a Billman/Hurd family reunion.  The ten-hour road trip + two active boys = major anxiety.  But by the grace of God, they both did amazingly well!!!  We visited The Louisville Zoo & rode on sully bikes along the waterfront.  Oh how the cousins played hard & slept hard.  What an awesome time!  The rest of the summer was spent with swim lessons, Vacation Bible School and a beach vacation to the Outer Banks, North Carolina. 
 

In September, Harvest Bible Chapel Fairfax hit a one year milestone.  Wow, it has been quite a journey.  Initially I wanted to work alongside Brian, but then soon realized that is not what God has for me.  Instead I was to care for the kids so that he can to be fully effective for the church.  Different serving roles but both so necessary.  The church continues to gradually grow as God brings different gifted & committed people.  Because of that, Brian now has once a month off from set-up & tear-down so we could attend church as a family.  Something we will never take for granted again.

Ethan turned 5 in November and we threw him a big Pirate party.  Arrrrgh, what a blast with his friends!  A well rounded kid who enjoys coloring & building, Ethan may someday be an architect.  This year’s most exciting event for us was that he accepted Jesus into his heart!  We couldn’t be more proud of that decision.  What a joy to see his love & grace for others, especially Gavin. overflow out of him.  He truly loves playing, sharing and comforting his lil’ “buddy”.  Those two are becoming quite a pair.  

Just before Thanksgiving my parents made their way out east to visit.  Did the boys have a lot fun with them!  Brian and I even got a chance to spend the night away which was much, much needed.  It has been too long since our last one.  Two weeks afterwards, we headed to Iowa to see Brian’s family for an early Christmas.  Such a blessing to see them twice this year.  The trip wouldn’t be complete without a quick visit to Davenport to see some friends in our old stomping grounds.

We have had a wonderful year, and we hope you have too. May our Lord, Jesus Christ be glorified in this Christmas Season! Wishing you many blessings in 2014!

"Twittering" on Blog

We recently got back from IA (more on that later) and I was down and out with the flu for 3 days.  Now Ethan has it.  But on the upside of things: 71 degree for the high today.

"Twittering" on Blog

More snow = schools and government closure = perfect day to run all my errands.  Thanks Ryan for watching the kids!

Winter Wonderland

We had our first snow of the season and surprisingly we got enough for it to stick.  In fact, the sleet turned into ice which meant schools were closed today.  Ethan of course was in his full snow gears (minus the snow boots which I couldn't find) and headed outside to play in no time.  Gavin, on the other hand, did NOT want to be suited up nor did he really want to go out in the cold.  It's funny to think how they're different in that way because of where they grew up.  Kaika is actually a wimp himself and kept barking at the door to come in.  So lame.

Discovery of the Week

For the past four months or so, we've been taking Gavin to the little potty many, many times but nothing happens.  So last night when Gavin was adamant about taking off his diaper and kept saying "pee," I didn't think anything of it.  But Brian took him and apparently this time he was ready.  The boy peed in the potty and had the biggest smile ever!  I thought maybe it was a fluke so this morning, I took him again first thing...and he went.  Not too bad at 22 months. 

Family & House Update

What a busy time of the year...

Three weeks ago Leslie, Brian's cousin from Arizona was in town for a conference and she stayed afterwards to visit.  They rented bikes and went all around DC sight seeing...trying to beat the sun set.  Later that night, I met up with them for dinner and drinks.  Definitely lots to catch up after 3 years!  We brought the boys to see her the next morning as we headed to Arlington National Cemetery and Iwo Jima Memorial.  That was really neat.

A few days later, my parents came to visit and we were able to have a night away at National Harbor, MD.  Since it was my early birthday celebration, we did some shopping, eating, relaxing and sleeping in too!  What a breath of fresh air to get away. The famous Heaven Bed and Heaven Shower at the Westin did not disappoint.   Thanks Mom and Dad!

For Thanksgiving, we invited a couple of friends to join us.  Unfortunately, everyone else had plans so we decided to scrap the whole big meal idea since it was just us.  But then my sweet friend, Marie ended up having us over since she was already cooking anyway.  Of course I said yes!  It was a lot of fun, especially for Ethan and Bryce since they're practically BFF.

And the recent Dewberry Christmas Party:

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So to throw in the mix of craziness, we FINALLY heard back 3 months later that the bank had accepted our offer on a house.  They did not; however, approved the closing cost help which is a bummer since it's a short sale and everything is "as is."  So that means we have a lot of things that need to be repair and deep clean because the owners pretty much stopped taking care of the house.  The house itself is still a deal (for this area) but the thought of having to do all that is somewhat overwhelming.  I guess we got spoiled on our old house since it was moved in ready and we didn't have to do a thing.  But I quickly reminded us both that we just need to take it one thing at a time and prioritize what's most important.  The bank also wanted to close by December 20th which meant we have been literally hitting the ground running with the paperwork, inspections, appraisal, etc.  Thankfully everything is coming together quickly and now we just need to wait.  Between work and house stuff, poor Brian is extremely overloaded and is so ready to be done with looking at houses and living in boxes.  He's excited to move on with life.  I, on the other hand, am not quite there yet.  I guess I didn't want to get my hopes up again so I'm waiting until we actually close on the house and everything is finalized.  The house story is to be continued... 

The Party Continues

At preschool and this is what Gavin and I brought in as we join the kids during snack time.

 

X marks the spot

Ethan's Five

Ethan turned 5 this year and I wanted to do something extra special for him.  So we went all out on the Pirate theme and invited our church friends (since we have no family in town).  I must say it was pretty stressful since I've only done simple family birthday parties.  But oh, it was so worth it!  His excitement and the pure joy of feeling very loved!

 Upon arrival

 

 For the kids

 

The Feast

 So excited!!!

 Pinata time

 It wasn't busting, so the adults had to step in

 

The yummiest cake ever!

Pirate Loot Bags

We love you Ethan!

"Twittering" on Blog

Oh DST.  Mess my kids up every time.  Now they're up at 6:30 and cranky the rest of the day. 

Just for Laughs

Gavin is such a creature of habits:

-every time we go to MOPS and walk by the water fountain, he wants to get a drink.
-when we go to Ethan's preschool, he also wants to wash his hands like big brother.
-and when we go to the gym, he wants to go to the bathroom to get his diaper change whether he had pooped or not (because we have done it once).

Oh silly Gavin!

"Twittering" on Blog

I left Kaika out while grocery shopping and about had a panic attack when I came home.  Apparently, Kaika had gotten into half of Ethan's candy bucket while we were gone.  Opps, Déjà_vu.

RoboCow

Sometimes I feel like such a "conditional" parent but who doesn't like having a great week, right?  The boys played together really well which meant less crying, whining and fighting.  It also meant that I was able to stay home and get stuff done around the house.  With the warmer weather, they got to go play in the yard and Ethan got to practice on his bike.  Brian came home to a peaceful house and we both put them to bed without feeling completely drained.  We're all on our way to feeling almost 100% better.  Thank you Lord for the needed encouragement!

Now here are some Halloween fun to share:

Pumpkin carving became an annual tradition
 

Ethan's preschool sing-a-long & party

His Lamb classmates

 Gavin figured out the process fast

Oh, and can I just say trick or treating in 70 degrees was amazing!  No winter coats required.  It did sprinkled on us a little but luckily it didn't last very long as we carried on.

Ethan as a cow in '10