just the beginning

So I created this blog when we were pregnant with Ella (November of 2008) with hopes to post updates with our ever-changing life. So now that Ella is 6 months old it has finally reached the top of my to-do list.

Lots of things have been going on in our little family. We have been trying to purchase a house since November of 2009. Had a contract on a house for 3 months and it fell through. Found a new house and submitted a contract two weeks ago today. Still waiting to hear back from them. Through the waiting times God has been teaching us so much about faithfulness, patience, being content, who really is in control, etc. It has brought us to a point of laughter. Now we wait and at the end of the day decide, "today was not the day our Lord meant for us to own a house". It is so easy to get negative and pitiful. So instead I have commited to become a "silver-lining seeker", finding the good parts of each situation. For example, instead of giving us what we demand on a silver platter, our Father wants to teach us about allowing Him to provide for us. It is taking a big spoon to swallow these lessons but I am committed to it!

Ella has been growing by leaps and bounds!! She just turned 6 months this week and has been rolling all over the floor from one end to the other. We have been working on "No, ma'am!" along with an occasional hand smack for reinforcement. She knows what that means. Just yesterday she began crawling and waving to people. She LOVES sweet potatoes and puts herself to sleep in a matter of minutes! She is a talker and a singer. When she is upset and inconsolable the only thing that works is her worship music... PraiseBaby! I hope she learns early that the only person that can truly heal her is Jesus. I cherish the opportunity to worship with my little girl. No job in the world is worth missing out on that.

I am a stay at home mom/wife and hope to be as long as the Lord allows me. Ryan is still a proof editor working for a Sunday School publishing company. I am so thankful he has a job that he loves and is able to use his degrees. He gets his first full week of vacation this year and we are most excited about that! We have really been blessed in all aspects of our life, especially in the last year.