Update: The Move

It is April 1. March 27th has come and gone. Thanks, Jules, for your kind comment. No, we're not under contract. We've still had no offers on our house. We're getting amazing feedback, though. Everyone who comes to see it loves it. It's beautiful. It shows well. Just no one has bit yet. The reasons we've been given are things we can't help. The floor plan isn't what they're looking for (though I happen to think it is a marvelously practical floor plan). It's too much house (3600 sq ft is big). It's too close to the house behind it. It's too far from work. All stuff I can't change.

All we can think is that God is crafting the timing of our move. So we're waiting. Cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. And waiting. I'm growing weary of waiting, and I'm definitely growing weary of cleaning. Despite the cleaning and the tiredness that comes from waiting, Matt and I are trusting God. I could write a book about how waiting on God's timing has been a theme of our 15 years of marriage. This waiting thing is nothing new, and it always turns out better than we could have planned.

I'll change gears entirely and post a few photos of the kids whose photos I can safely post. Back before we moved to Florida, I was a children's and family portrait photographer. I still love capturing photos of my kids. Every Spring Break I do their hair and makeup and take glam shots. I also look for pretty settings in which to take other photos. This year we visited friends in Arkansas for the break and I did some wonderful photos there. Plus, Easter just passed. I have a whole file of fun new pics. I'll share a few with you.

Snapper (13 1/2)

Sweet Pea (almost 2)

I took photos of Snapper in the daffodils when she was 7. Look how much she has changed!

My handsome hubby with our littlest girl

Sweet Pea was born very close to Easter, so I took a photo of her wearing bunny ears in a basket of eggs when she was teeny tiny. I duplicate the photo each year. 

Pepper (9 1/2) is a walking thesaurus. He loves words, reads the dictionary for entertainment, and enjoys using a large vocabulary. On Easter afternoon, he insisted on wearing his tie-dyed shirt because "it would be a travesty to not color coordinate with my eggs."

Florida doesn't understand the seasons. At this time of year, it can never decide whether to be Spring or Winter. This year, Florida decided Easter would be Summer, so we went swimming after dinner. Here's gymnast Bubbles doing a back layout into the pool.

Sunny's attempt at a swan dive gone horribly wrong. It was gorgeous in the air and made an epic belly flop!

And Snapper's jump for the win in the "Ugly Jump or Dive" round of the jumping contest.

From Sea to Shining Sea

Today on the way home from running errands, Sweet Pea fell asleep in the car. I turned off the radio and took advantage of the quiet to have a heart-to-heart with God.

First of all, I thanked Him for how abundantly He has blessed me.

• An amazing husband who daily goes far above and beyond the call of duty to care for the kids and me
• Six beautiful children who are physically healthy
• A team of medical professionals who help meet the complex needs of our children
• Coaches and teachers who invest more in our kids than I ever expected they would
• A loving circle of friends
• 11 years on staff with a wonderful Christian organization
• A lovely home in a delightful neighborhood in one of the coolest, cutest towns in the U.S.A.
• Good health
• Two cars--paid for--in good running order
• Daily access to three nutritious, delicious meals
• The talents and gifts I have
• Many other things

I prayed for many people God laid on my heart.

• My friend Kara, whose two foster children have big court dates this week
• Liz, just diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, preparing to begin treatments next week
• Liz's husband and three young kids. Their youngest already battled leukemia, so this is really extra tough for them.
• Amy, whose husband has taken on the monumental job of pastoring and trying to revive a dying church
• Snapper's friend A who shattered her ankle in a car wreck a month ago
• Four different friends who have adopted special needs kiddos from China within the last 3 months
• Larry & Erin, who are waiting for test results for their daughter who most likely has a fatal neurodegenerative disease
• Their daughter (age 10), whose health is rapidly declining
• My BFF Noel and her husband Stan who are in the adoption process
• The birth mother of their child who is most likely pregnant right now
• My husband, battling a heavy chest cold
• My little Sunny, daily dealing with the devastating problems caused by her birth mother's drug and alcohol abuse during her pregnancy, and three years of severe abuse and neglect
• Sunny's teacher and classmates who experience the fallout of Sunny's problems
• The rest of my kids who live with the trauma of having a mentally ill sister who is unstable more than she is stable

Then I prayed for The Big Thing in our lives right now. Due to the huge stress Sunny's illness is putting on our family, we are leaving the sunny Southeast and moving to the Pacific Northwest. Most of Matt's family live in the same town in Washington. They have agreed to support and help us along the hard road of parenting Sunny, so we are pulling up our roots here and transplanting. The move will put us back in the same time zone as my family, too, which will be wonderful. The move is going to be hard, but good, and it is very necessary. We can't continue the way things are, and as great as our friends here are, they are not able to offer the level of support that we need...the level of support that Matt's family is willing and able to provide. 

The Big Thing is multifaceted, but right in front of us right now is the need for our house to sell. We're under contract on an amazing little farm in Washington, but it is contingent on the sale of our house here. We have a beautiful home in a great neighborhood in one of the most desirable school districts in the state. It has been on the market for almost three weeks, but we haven't had a single offer. If we don't have a contract on this house by March 27, we lose to place in Washington. I talked this over with God today and told Him that I'm stressed and need His comfort and reassurance. He gave it, and not in the ways I was expecting. But as He always does, He provided it in ways that let me know clearly that it was Him and not me. I love that about God. 

If you're a praying person, would you please pray for our family? Pray for our house to sell quickly. Pray for our kids as we prepare for this big transition. Pray for peace, strength, and patience for Matt and me, because as you can probably guess, our plates are extremely full right now. Thanks.

Victory!

Each of my kids has had a big victory recently. I love to celebrate their victories because for some of them, victories are hard to come by.

Snapper (13) just competed in her first ever vocal competition. She sang "Songs My Mother Taught Me" which is quite a difficult piece. She nailed it and earned a Superior, this highest award available!

Bubbles (11) just moved up to Level 4 in gymnastics! She and her BFF did a gymnastics routine in the school talent show and they were flawless! She also has finished three chapter books in the last month, with the help of the Learning Ally app on the iPad the school district has furnished for her. This app is helping her learn to work with her severe learning disabilities. In the last two school years, Bubbles has only read two full chapter books, so to read three in a month is a BIG victory!

Piper (10) struggles with writing. She isn't a deep thinker to start with, so asking her to elaborate on a theme, use creative vocabulary, and coordinate proper writing conventions is really challenging for her. Well, we just got report cards and she managed to get a B in Language Arts! For a child who hates writing and has to work super hard to write, this is a great victory.

Pepper (9 1/2) got straight As on his report card. Not only that, but her didn't miss a single homework assignment or a single piece of classwork for the whole second trimester! His victory lies not in the good grades, but in the responsibility and organization! I never once had to remind him about his homework.

Sunny (8) just moved up to Level 3 in gymnastics, but she is only a couple of skills away from moving up to Level 4! She's learning at about triple the normal rate, and she's very determined. We celebrate this victory for her.

Sweet Pea (22 months) has gone pee in the potty twice in the last two days, and she has slept all the way through the night for the last two weeks! Three cheers for Sweet Pea!

I'll leave you with a couple of sweet photos, just because I haven't posted in a while.