This and That

Hopefully later today, or definitely later this week, I will post an update on all that's been happening. Right now, here are a few tidbits:

~First, please say a prayer for my mom today. She is having surgery, perhaps as I type. We're praying this surgery will correct some of the problems she has had for a long time, and make her life a lot easier and more comfortable.

~Apparently, Elizabeth uses "banana" in her knock-knock jokes a little too often:

Elizabeth--Knock-knock!
Josiah--Banana!!!
Teeheehee

~Elizabeth has been adding, "and please be with us as we go to Ethiopia again" to the end of each of her prayers the last few days. Hmmmm

~My mom and dad have been talking about possibly fostering, or maybe even adopting...from Ethiopia!!!

~We need to find a new home, or some other solution, for our dogs...particularly the big one. (More on this later!)

Skeleton of a Home

Well, it must be happening. The packers and movers got here just before 10am and they pulled out of the driveway just before 6pm. Whether or not we were ready, all of our stuff was packed and loaded into a single truck. It's amazing though that more stuff came out of the basement than the house and garage.

The past couple days we've been blessed with the help of Mom Baber and our friends (especially the Johnsons and Harlans) for "entertaining" the children while things were crazy.

It's only a couple more days, then we sign all the paperwork and turnover the keys and head for our new destination. We've still got to find a long term home, but God will take care of it ;-)

p.s. Congrats to our friends for a successful re-adoption of their two sons today.

Transition

We are pretty much in complete transition mode right now. The movers are coming next Tuesday to pack, and they will load the truck Wednesday. Thursday we'll clean and get the keys for the townhouse David's company is renting for us. Friday,we'll sign our house over to its new family.

The townhouse is available to us for 30 days! Praise God for this provision, because we have not yet found a house to buy/rent. We're still working on it.

I didn't realize that the kids would be feeling so much stress already. Josiah has been deliberately disobeying and talking back for the first time. Elizabeth has been especially emotional, and was absolutely mean to Josiah this evening. (I have NEVER seen her behave the way she did tonight!) I'm not sure how much Josiah understands about us moving. He's obviously noticed changes around the house, and noticed Mommy and Daddy are more preoccupied than normal. Elizabeth absolutely knows what is happening. Leaving friends and going into the unknown are particularly upsetting for her. David's commuting has been rough on all of us, too.

We know that God will provide for all our needs. We know that He will reveal His plan in perfect time. We know He holds our dear little ones in His hands and knows their hearts better than even they do. Will you lift our family before the throne as we go into this very busy next week?

Bedtime Prayer

"Dear God, thank you for this day! Please help me to have fun at my party tomorrow. Sometimes it's hard for me to hear you, God. But I know when you choose the right time to speak to me, I will (hear you). Amen"

This kid just blows me away!

Daddy's Boy?

Today, Josiah picked out his clothes, and he chose his University of Maryland warm-up suit...both pieces. I was impressed. However, I think he thought he was getting the one with the Cars. When he looked at it, he seemed kind of confused and asked "cars?" But I showed him the MD Terrapin on the front. He excitedly said, "DADDY!" He knows Daddy's team!

(BTW, David asked that I post this ;-))

Outside Fun!

Since it was 60+ degrees today, the kids went outside to have some playtime. Of course Josiah had to wear his snowboots. I mean, what else do you wear when it's 60 degrees outside? Elizabeth was gracious enough to let Josiah use her scooter while she practiced roller skating. I was surprised to see how well they both did! Josiah totally understands how to push himself along, with either foot. Elizabeth is really starting to get gliding along instead of just "stomping" in her skates. I think she's ready for some real skates now instead of the Fisher Price plastic wheels. Hopefully, Josiah won't get too mad when he's older about us putting him on a his sister's pink scooter.