Boxes, boxes everywhere!!

I cannot believe that my last post was the middle of August. Shame on me! Well, since then A LOT has changed for our family. Right now we are in the midst of packing up our entire house and getting ready for not only a major cross country move, but also a major career change. Jon will start this next week at Grace Church of Glendora in Glendora, California, as the Young Adults Pastor with the Company 122 ministry. If you don't know the story about how it all unfolded, let me know and I will tell you... it is too long to blog about, but it is VERY cool and VERY much a God thing!! My Mom is on her way down here right now to visit and help with the kids and packing. We have gotten a lot of packing done, but still have the part I am dreading the most... my kitchen! I LOVE my kitchen and being in my kitchen... it is my "happy place." I love all my fun gadgets and cookery type things... I am scared to pack them myself... will any of them survive the trip? I just keep telling myself it is just stuff... and it is, but some of that "stuff" I am really rather fond of.:) The moving truck will be here on Saturday along with some hired loaders. The kids and I will be getting out of the way by them going to a babysitters and me going to a ladies Bible study brunch. Sunday is our cleaning day, and then Monday morning we will be on the road. We are heading south to visit some dear Hawaii friends and also our former pastor and his family. From there we head to Birmingham, AL where we will pick my father-in-law up at the airport, grab some dinner, and shut-eye and then the real fun begins. We will then travel west with 2 cars, 2 kids, 3 adults, and 1 poor kitty cat, who hates riding in the car. It should make for a grand adventure!!:) I seldom really care if I have the newest coolest cellphones... but for an occasion like this, I really am wishing that I had an i-phone so I could be sending updates and fun pictures while we drive. We are very excited and also a bit nervous and overwhelmed as we enter this brand new chapter of our lives. We know that God is in this, so we just rest in Him and look forward to being both the participator and spectator in seeing Him at work.

Just some recent shots...

Eliana's new Do

Eliana was happily cutting away with her kid scissors one day, making cards to give people. I thought little of it, until later when I kept coming across chunks of hair. At first glance I thought that Maka was shedding a lot more than normal, but then got a closer look and realized it was very much Eliana hair! It was stuffed into some pretty interesting places in the house. From what we could tell she cute off quite a bit, but it was only noticeable in the front. Solution: I took her and had her hair fixed with bangs. As disgruntled as I was that she chopped off her hair, I got such a kick out of her checking herself out in the mirror every chance that she could get. She obviously approves!:) It took Jon and I a little getting used to, as it seemed to make her look so much older instantly, but now I have to say that I love it and wish that I had done it sooner. It is so much easier to do her hair now!:) And I have to admit, she does look awfully cute with bangs.:)

Hilarious!!

I heard a whole bunch of squawking coming from the playroom that just got more and more insistent, so I went to check it out. This is how I found Kai, stuck in the blocks bin. Poor boy, I made him stay there as I ran for the camera, cell phone camera, and Flip. He was fussing the whole time and I just couldn't stop laughing. Pretty creative seat though, huh?!:)

Chick Fil' A Cow Appreciation Day

In honor of Eliana's favorite restaurant we put on our cow gear and headed to CFA for some free lunch. I was considered partially dressed like a cow, so I just got a free chicken sandwich. Eliana got an entire kids meal, not to mention the free ice cream she got for smiling for a picture that one of the employee's took of us... which got posted on their facebook page.:) I know this may sound funny, but if you have been to Danville you will understand. Chick Fil' A is one of the best places to eat in town. The restaurant is clean, everything on the menu is not deep fried, and the service is always friendly. Hooray for CFA! (By the way, this pic is obviously NOT the one that Eliana smiled for to get free ice cream.)

Shhh... don't tell Jon :)

Kai was walking all over the house with one of Eliana's purses hung around his neck. He just thought that he was the coolest thing too. Too cute and too funny to not post. Jon didn't even want me to take a picture of him... but somehow with a big sister, I am sure that this is not the last time that Kai will be doing something on the "girly" side.:)

Quick trip to OH

On our way home from PA, we made a slight detour to OH to surprise my Mom with a visit for the 4th of July. I had arranged all of the details with my oldest sister, Amanda, so that we could completely catch my Mom by surprise. We ended up meeting them at Cheesecake Factory. They were already seated and we walked up to my Mom, who had her back to us, and I asked her if she minded if we sat with her. I wish that I could have captured the look on her face on camera. It was PRICELESS! She was so shocked and just stared at us for a while, I think she may have been trying to convince herself that we were real.:) It was so fun! We had dinner and then I called one of my other sisters, who we had also not told, and told her that we would be joining her the next day on the family trip to the waterpark in Cincinnati. Fun times! Eliana had a blast playing with her cousins at the waterpark and in G-ma and G-pa's backyard. I had made all of the kids tie-dye t's for the 4th so it was fun to see them all dressed up in those. We had a great trip, even though it was for such a short time. I will never forget the look on my Mom's face when she saw us.:)