It's been awhile...sorry!

I'm feeling bad that I have left you hanging with our van situation. God has been so amazing through this process and has blessed us immensely.

On February 10th, our van was hauled away. It was a sad day, however, we knew God had something in store for us and it was just a matter of time. Little did we know that two days later we would be going to Edmonds to look at van and end up driving it home.

Yes, we bought a van but not without the help of some very special people. You see, we were not, and still are not, in the financial situation to replace our van. God knew that when all of this happened and he was already working out the details and working in the hearts of some very special people. To this day, we do not even know the names of most of those involved but I hope that they know just how much we appreciate them and how loved we feel. We had committed to a $$ amount with our income tax return but knew that wouldn't be enough. God provided the overage of that amount and we were able to purchase a 2001 Chrysler Voyager van. WE LOVE IT! I have a picture to share, it's not the best. I keep forgetting to take a picture for the blog and so I just went out to the garage to take one. (Nevermind the shelves full behind it. That's a work in progress!)

Every time I get in the van I am reminded of how God really is taking care of us!

Other things happening... We've just been going along with life. Jason is starting to get busy at work again so that is always a good thing. This is the time of year when he has special projects to take care of in order to get things ready for the new orders that will be coming in. He has a week of furlough coming up so he is trying to get most of these projects completed or as close to completed as he can before that week. It will be nice to have him home during the week of spring break with the kids and we are hoping that we can maybe do at least a one night get-away as a family.

I've been keeping busy with running "Mom's Taxi", working a few hours a week between the bakery and helping out some friends with their business, and then "Auntie Day" with my nephews 1-2 days a week. "Auntie Day"s are my favorite!! I get all three nephews and we just play all day. I love that they get excited to come and see Auntie! I've also been involved in Women's Bible Study at church. We are doing a 10-week Beth Moore study, "A Woman's Heart - God's Dwelling Place". This study has been absolutely amazing and the group I am in is a wonderful group of women! We have been studying the Tabernacle and every detail about it and the things in it. What a blessing this study has been! I have learned so much and it has really applied to so many different things that we are going through. Each week I am reminded of God's grace and how much he really does love us and that he really is caring for us. Things may not be happening in our time and we just need to trust him.

Brenna is loving 6th grade and is really doing well. She just started 3rd trimester today. Hard to believe that we are on the homestretch of finishing her first year of middle school. She has a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks, April 5th. She is going to be 12 and mom and dad are feeling old. We are officially pre-teen stage...AAGH!

Alyssa is also loving school however, right now, she is really enjoying her art class that she has been taking the past couple of months. We have a very talented 9-year old...yes this mommy is bragging a little! I love it when she brings her projects home at the end of each month. Her art teacher is Brenda Calvert and I highly recommend her! She has a love for art and a passion for teaching these kids. Alyssa looks forward to every Thursday afternoon!

Ethan...this boy is growing so fast and has really become a sweet boy! His favorite days are when he gets to spend time with his cousins and loves them like they were his own brothers! He also loves going to preschool. This week has been pretty special!! Our baby has started to read. YES...READ!! He is so proud of himself. We started him the "Dick and Jane" books that the girls started with. It's been fun to listen to him! Today we got a pack of "sight" words from his preschool teacher to start working on. Below is a video that we took tonight of him reading...be sure to pause the music before playing the video.