Woodland

We went for a drive after school this afternoon. Here are some pictures of our little town on a rare sunny day.




A Christmas Tree Farm
Berry Farm





I love red barns!

First Snow Fall

Just When Things Were Looking Up

Well....Just when I thought things couldn't get worse. Haha. Just kidding. I know they could get worse, even worse than they are right now. Matt has been a little stir crazy so he had the idea to clear out the back yard and take out some old,dead blackberry bushes. He cleared out alot this week with our brother in law and was going to burn what they had piled up. Since it rains every pickin' day around here ( No, I'm not bitter....wink), he was getting the hose and he slipped on a slippery ramp. He fell and broke his wrist in two places. He called for me and after discussion, Matt's dad took him to the emergency room. Long story short, he has to get a plate in it with surgery on Monday morning. That would be concern enough but did I mention that we don't have health insurance because Matt is out of work? We found out that everything is going to cost around $13,000. I don't even know how to put my mind around that except to hand it over to Jesus.

Wow, the Lord continues to get me right in that sweet spot of where I worry the most. At the same time, He has reminded me of how He has taken care of us along the way. My deepest fears have been realized in relation to Matt and work. The what if's I used to ask have now become reality and I'm still here, surviving. Loving my kids, my husband, having food to eat, a place to sleep, I am for the first time in my life living the dream I have always wanted...being a stay at home mom .....just not as I thought, living with my in laws (which I am so grateful to them for) and Matt being out of work. I can thank Him for those things.

I wish so bad that I could see how this part of our journey ends. I can't wait to "look back" and see what the Lord did instead of wonder about the future. Please be in prayer for Matt and his pain, his surgery, the financial aspect of this accident and a job for him. Thank you!

Here is a picture of my tough guy when he came home from the emergency room.
I thought I would add some pictures that I have taken of Washington lately. Really pretty country. Here is the front view coming out of Matt's parents driveway.
The "cow view" looking out my bedroom window.
Part of the drive going up to Matt's parents house. This is only about half way up the hill!
This is my "Twilight" picture. This is what the fog does every morning.

Times are a Changin' and so are we....

I can't believe that it has taken me so long to write a blog post. It is not for lack of things going on in our lives but too much. Now I have so much to share so I will post a lot more. Our computer broke down too so I had to wait to get it back and we lost ALL of our pictures on our computer so I had to try and upload new ones.

The biggest news is that after Matt being out of a job for almost 9 months, we moved to Washington state to live with his parents. It was a tough and extremely sad decision but one we had to make. We moved out of our house (because it sold) the week of Thanksgiving and moved in with my sister for a month until Ivy and I got done with school. Then, the day after Ivy and I were done with school, we left at 7am to make the 15 hour drive to Woodland, Washington. I drove Matt's car, our friend, Greg Wells, drove my car with a trailer hooked to the back, and Matt drove the big U Haul. The girls and I stopped to meet Ivy's birth grandma for lunch to celebrate Ivy's birthday and the girls' Christmas. It was so great to see "Mammo" and it was the perfect break in the day. We stopped and spent the night in a motel and made the rest of the trip the next day. Matt and Greg were in heaven talking on walkie talkies the whole way up there.

I have a lump in my throat even reliving the last couple of months.... so many memories that I push in the back of my mind to stay focused on the days ahead, to be a support to Matt and my girls, TRY to not shock my in laws living with 4 extra people, yet something will happen, a note or a message on facebook, or even seeing a picture of the yellow walls in my old bedroom. I always loved the color of those walls. Then a couple of tears start to roll. I have tried to entertain Lucy, laugh with Matt about stuff or be Ivy's biggest cheerleader of all the fun new things she can do here.

I remember sitting in my friend, Matt's office at school, starting to cry before we moved. He asked me what I thought the Lord was trying to teach me through all of this. I said that I thought that it was to just trust Him. Trust Him when I'm feeling sadness so bad that I can't form words. Trust Him when I have no idea what He is doing or where He is taking us. Trust Him when things are REALLY uncomfortable for me. Trust Him when He "took away" every close friend that I have (besides Matt of course). I have no place to run but to Him.

I have said it before and I will say it again. This is why good, true theology is so important. Is what I believe about God true or not? Is He good? Is He faithful? Is He Sovereign? I say YES! Then He still is when He hasn't answered my prayers the way I want Him to. I trust Him.

I'll write about this journey because apparently this is my therapy. haha No, more importantly, I want to be able to look back and see where He took us and how I felt along the way. Here are a couple random pictures from the last couple of months. Enjoy!

My Christmas Eve baby turning 6 years old. Ivy with her matching American Girl doll, Emily.
Our family picture at Ivy's Christmas concert at Legacy. (With Hollie's boyfriend, Hugh. Ivy LOVED it that he came to watch her.)
My Thanksgiving turkey

Hollie taking me to the Sara Barielles concert....miss my sister.