Answered Prayers, part 2

As we prayed and dreamed, I realized that if this was going to happen, we were going to need to get rid of some stuff. We would be losing about 500 square feet and so I started cleaning out! I like to be pro-active...and I give my husband a little bit of anxiety. I was trying to tell him that I was just believing God for this and he kept kindly pointing out that while we loved the house---we would still have to update our house, put it on the market, pray it sells in time for us to be able to buy the other house. But still, I posted a few things every few days and started getting rid of stuff. (Which must have been in God's plan all along!)

One of the pieces of furniture was bought by a sweet family friend and while loading it up she told me if I was selling any more furniture to text her first because they were opening a store and needed some for displays. I kinda smiled and told her I sure might be and told her our little secret. She QUICKLY told me to NOT sell our house until I had talked to her and I assured her that we wouldn't, we still wanted to redo some floors and who knows how long it would be. She told me NOT to do anything and to let her talk to her daughter first. I said, "Uh, we were planning on going to get flooring tomorrow!" She assured me I may not need to and to please not put it on the market. I kinda giggled, thinking...."Holy moly, is this really happening?!?" 

Sure enough, about 30 minutes later, I get a text from her daughter telling me that her and her husband were on their way to a funeral but they would like to come look at the house when they got back. A few nights later, they came over---walked thru the house and told us as they were leaving that they wanted to buy it....AS IS!!!! No redoing floors, no repainting, nothing that we had dreaded!!

WHAT?!?!?! Does this really happen?? Needless to say, we were beyond thankful that our prayers were being answered but really there was still so much unknown. I felt certain that everything would work out because if God had brought us this far the whole financial part of it didn't really concern me! And while my husband was agreed, the fact that he brings in all of the income in this family and he provides for us had him a little more stressed and unsure. We talked to several financial places and with it being a different situation than most where you aren't building or buying a house that's already there, there was lots of confusion and uncertainty. Nothing felt quite right and at one point Josh told me he just wasn't sure if it was smart and he was having doubts. 

Once again, God came through in ways that surprised even us and we finally felt a peace. God showed Himself so many times in so many ways and we are so thankful! We got all the balls rolling officially and I started packing up! Life in the country....HERE WE COME!! 

First Look...

Here are a few pictures of what our first look of the house were! Who doesn't love brown and white cabinets and BLACK hardwood floor ;) 

Dining Room

Girls Room

Guest Room

Bathroom

Josh and I's bedroom

Living room---Not gonna lie, those floors and windows kinda melted my heart!

Needless to say, we fell in love. We took Josh's parents back a few days later and we prayed and we dreamed.....

Answered Prayers

From the beginning of our marriage, and especially once we had kids, Josh and I always talked about moving to the country. We knew that for this to happen we would either have to build a house--or get really lucky and one would come up for sell. Either way, we figured it would be a long time before this happened. 

In the fall of 2015, I read a book called "The Circle Maker" where is talked about being intentional about your prayers and "circling" them. The man talked about literally walking a path in Washington DC where he felt like God wanted them to build a church and so he walked around it praying. Sure enough the building God had planned for them was in that circle. I decided to really get intentional about this prayer because I reallllyyyyy wanted to raise my kids in the country. If you have never lived out in the country, its hard to fathom, I know....but life is just different. I wrote down in my prayer journal on December 4, 2015 that in 3 years my prayer was for a house in the country. I remember thinking "Oh gosh, that is so soon....maybe I should put 5 years." But I calculated the girls ages in my head and thought, "noooo, I really would like it to be before then so I'm gonna stick to it". Several times, I also drove a path that I knew had some housing options praying the whole drive that somewhere within this area, God would provide a house. There was a farmer we thought MIGHT be moving to Lubbock at some point, the section where Josh grew up that we knew we had the option to build and we knew WAY down the road his grandparents house could possibly be an option. 

The more intently I prayed, the more Josh and I talked about it. And dreamed. And longed for it to be our reality. So we did what everyone does, we started looking online at plans and checking to see if just by chance I house came up for sell in the area we wanted. Financially, we just didn't see how we could make building a house work. There were things about the other options I just didn't feel completely on board with either. So we kept praying and kept dreaming.

One night, Josh shows me a house on Craigslist that was gutted and CHEAP. Like $10,000 and we jokingly talked about the possibility of moving a "fixer upper" out and there and worked on it while we still lived in town. Or even better--get one part livable and move in and and save a ton of money! This particular house was pretty small and needed a lot of work and I just laughed and said "I like this idea but all I can think of is we would get moved out there and I would get pregnant and it would be disastrous trying to redo a house and move while pregnant, so not this one". Josh was Mr. Craigslist and I remember seeing another cute one with hardwood floors and new siding but no price. We just assumed that it would be way out of our price range and just let it pass. He showed me a few more that would pop up but none of them really felt right. So we just kept talking and praying and dreaming. 

I don't faithfully do it, but every once in a while I will get on a Proverbs-a-day kick and it just so happened on February 24, 2016 was one of those days. I remember reading verses 3&4 and having a "Is this an answer God?" moment. "Are you trying to tell me something or am I just reading into verses what I WANT the answer to be?" 

The girls and I were headed to Dalhart for a quick trip and I remember calling Josh and telling him about it and asking him just to call the number and see how much the house was because if not we would always wonder. He agreed and called me back later with the price. I think we were both a little shocked and thought for the first time that this might actually be a possibility. On the way home a few days later (Feb 28th), Josh was getting off work from the fire station about the time we were getting back from Dalhart so on a whim I called him and said since we were both in town, why doesn't he just call and ask the guy if we can see the house even though it was super short notice. And he said yes :)

To be continued....

Kennedy Kate-20 months

The last 3 months have gone by so fast I can hardly stand it! Kennedy, you are growing up way to fast for my liking but on the flip side, we love seeing you grow and learn. 

I am posting some pictures over the last three months, even though none of them are the official "monthly photo" (I've almost given up on that!) 

The relationship between you two girls is something that makes my momma's heart so proud. You play so well together (most of the time) and I pray y'alls relationship only grows deeper and deeper. You still JUMP out of my lap, or wherever you are, when you hear her wake up, yelling " I DET HER!!!". 

I adore this picture more than words can say. 

The pigtails. The cheeks. The dimple. 

*sigh*

Such adoration in her eyes

I did say "most of the time" ;)

Big girl at storytime now! 

Making Valentines with the big girls

She thought she was 3 the whole time Gentry was here!

My little princesses

Excited about seeing daddy and his fire trucks!

Little bit of daddy in her with their skinned up noses!

Hanging out waiting for Dr. G for our 18 month checkup (at almost 20 months!)

Sitting on the potty like big sister. 

She did this once and decided maybe diapers were the way to go. Darnit. 

(I wasn't pushing her to potty train....just was going to have it sitting there to see if she would want to go when Hensley went!)

Palm Sunday

3/20/16

Craft time

Loving that girl in the mirror :)

I really could get choked up if I really let myself think about how quickly this is going. I think this month has been so eye-opening because she is almost the age Hensley was when I had Kennedy. And it is blowing my mind. 

She is speaking in complete sentences...some of her favorites are...

"Mommmmma, I neeeeeed you."

"What'sthat?

"Watch dis"

"I do it"

I tried to get her to eat some green beans the other day and she said "No." and then quickly smiled and said "No tanks!!"

She's not super big on giving kisses.

She still loves to read and do ANYTHING Hensley does. 

She can sing a ton of songs...mainly kids ones off of a cd that seems to be on in the car all.day.long.

She loves singing "Jesus Loves Me" to her babies as she rocks them.

She's amazingly pretty good at her ABC's. 

She is definitely going to be my line pusher. She knows she is cute and uses it whenever she gets the chance. I wish I could say it doesn't work but it has a few times! Her little ornery smile can be a bit irresistible if your defenses aren't up! 

I know this is just rambles but things I don't want to forget later on! As I look back on Hensley's random blogs I'm thankful for all the little things I wrote down because I really wouldn't have remembered....so I'm trying to do the same thing. 

Kennedy Kate-17 Months

Starting to really love baby dolls. She will grab one and get a blanket it and "shhhh" it like she is trying to get it to go to sleep.

Absolutely LOVES to color/draw. This has been a game changer when I have to get meals ready or need to get something done...her and Hensley both will sit there and color for a long time. 

Wants to be just like big sister. Its so funny to watch them as they grow and learn. She also doesn't like it if Hensley is ever hurt or in trouble. She will ruuunnnn to her and say "Hug" and give her a big hug!

Hits the ground running when she sees Hensley wake up on the monitor.....luckily, 9 times out of 10 Hensley wakes up ready to go because she barrels through the door yelling "Henssseyyyy". 

Says ANYTHING you ask her to. My mind is blown. She is putting a couple of words together too to tell us what she needs/wants. One of my favorites was when we took Josh lunch in the field one day and we usually get to see Pappy and I hear from the back seat "Pappppyyyy, are you??!?!". 

This one just makes me laugh :)

Kennedy Kate-16 Months

Whew! A month of cutting molars and cotton stripping and a stretch of super early mornings, I feel like this month has flown by/dragged on!! This girl is having intense "I NEED MOMMY" episodes and gets highly emotional if I leave the room or even put her down. As sweet and flattering as this is, I hope it eases up soon ;)

She is talking LIKE CRAZY. I can't even believe it. Hensley was very quiet and signed mainly until after 2, so Kennedy trying to put words together is blowing me away. She tries to say almost anyones name and does a great job (minus a few tough ones!). She can be silly and sweet, or ornery and stubborn. And we couldn't love her more :)

Its hard to believe she is already this big!

My three loves!

I pray that their relationship is always so special.

She wants to do anything and everything that Hensley is doing. 

Happy 16 months sweet Kennedy Kate!~

At 16 months:

Size 6 diapers

18-24 month clothes!! (Some 2T)

Goes to bed around 6:30 and gets up anywhere between 5:30 and 6:30
10 teeth
LOVES her sister and wants to do everything she does
Loves to read
Loves music
LOVES her shoes and wants them on all the time! 

Hensley is three!

As of almost a month ago, this little sweetheart turned three. She makes my heart burst with pride and joy daily. Her servant's heart makes me want to be a better person. I can't believe the lessons she has taught me in these three short years. 

I love you, Hensley Sue. 

At three year checkup:

Wt: 33 lbs, 7 oz (76%)

Ht: 39.8" (96%)

HC: 19.5" (72%)

Maybe someday soon I can get more pictures up :)