3 months in pictures.

Update.

We made an offer on three houses and they all fell through. God had a better plan for us -- my parents very graciously offered to deed us almost three acres of their 60, we are going to purchase an almost-new mobile home, wait on buying me something else to drive, use the money we made from the sale of our Houston house and will be completely debt-free within a year (we hope it will be even less time than that)!

We have been busy getting the survey, dirt work and loan details worked out, moving our belongings from Houston to a storage unit, and closing on that house. Tommy is in the second week of his new job and it is going well.

Dade and Luke have started horse riding lessons. We had to miss last week because of the storms but they are already able to steer the horse on their own! Dade has made a new friend at church and Luke's teacher told us that he is the only kid in his class that remembers what they talked about the previous week!

I was invited by a friend to a Bible study with some other homeschool moms this past week at a park. It was a much needed time for me to sit and enjoy adult conversation while the kids played and were entertained by some of the older kids.

Audrey no longer wants me to do much of anything for her -- she either wants to do it by herself or wants "Gan" to do it. She gets upset when Gran leaves to go to work and she can't go with her and ride in Gran's car. She has been playing with her babies a lot lately -- laying them down on pillows and covering them up, filing their nails, putting clothes and shoes on them, bathing them, putting clips in their hair. And she has started "mothering" other kids that seem younger and/or smaller to her. She asks for "cockit" milk all the time. She fell off the stroller a week or so ago and landed on her head on the cattle guard. Thankfully, my sister was here to second my nursing opinion that she needed some dermabond in it... and she just happened to have some at her house! It is healing up nicely.

Wyatt is doing great! He loves to be talked to and will coo back. His hemangioma doesn't seem to be growing as quickly as it was. We saw the doctor on the 7th; she decided that we are going to keep watching it and wait on starting medication.

The kids and I went to the library last week where the boys got their own cards with their picture on it. They have asked everyday when we can go back to check out books! We got Hank the Cowdog on CD and have enjoyed listening to it on the drive to and from town. The boys have gotten to help mow on the tractors, move big limbs with the backhoe loader, watch the dozer prepare the pad for our house, and ride their 4-wheeler (they helped Big Daddy make a jump for it this past weekend). While Tommy and I were in Houston packing, we picked up some new fishing rods and tackle for them. They have been fishing almost every day; Luke really looks forward to "wetting a hook" his dad in the evenings.

This past Saturday, we went to a birthday party a daughter of some of our high school friends, Jack and Erinn. Tommy came home and spent five hours on the tractor mowing while I cleaned off the porch. Those same friends came over later that evening to fish, play on the swingset, swim and eat diner. Sunday after church Dade, Luke and Tommy went to the ball field to throw and hit with Jack and their oldest daughter, Laynie. Between us we have seven kids ages six and under -- it's a wonder that we actually got to converse!

All in all the kids (and I) are transitiong pretty well. I hope to be able to post pictures soon.

A few new Luke-isms:

I'm tearin' these up (while eating nachos) Something refreshing (his response to Gran when she asked him what he would like to drink)