Odds and Ends

Sorry for the silence!  Thought we better do some catching up on here....

In January, Noel learned how to pedal her bike....  She was very proud and loves to keep up with her brother!

She is always making us laugh - such a little lady and chatterbox.  I caught her one morning with all her accessories on (rings and earrings) playing with a Justin Bieber greeting card Aaron got last summer....

She is 2 going on 13!

Aaron is doing well, also.  He is loving school and loving all his new friends in our neighborhood.  With the weather being so nice, we are outside close to everyday playing with friends, riding quads, bikes, and scooters. 

 One quirk we are attempting to work through right now is being picky about our clothes and outfits.  Last week, there was pretty much tears everyday about some item of clothing.  Lord help me....  I taped it just because I know I will look back on this and laugh....someday....

Raising children has proved to be such a rewarding, but stretching thing for me.  We are doing Lysa TerKeurst's book, "Unglued", in our Bible study this semester, and I am grateful to be making some imperfect progress when it comes to handling my own emotions with my family.  After one particularly difficult breakdown Aaron had about his clothes, we were able to talk about Jesus' parable about not worrying about what we should eat or wear in Matthew.  It seemed to click something with him - thank God for the power of His Word, that it can make Momma's life more manageable!

Lee took Aaron on his field trip to the Firetruck Museum and had a great time....

We are so glad to be in Mrs. Fox's class this year!

This month has also been full of doctor appointments and up and down emotions as the saga of Lee's knee continues.  If you care to read some of the medical details, you can read about it on Lee's blog http://www.themilliondollarknee.blogspot.com/  In short, there is still a lot of pain and limitations following his ACI surgery a year ago, and unfortunately, it is certain that there are still some holes in the knee cartilage amongst other potential problems.  There will be a surgery sometime this year, though we don't know what kind and to what extent to try to make him functional....  It is a challenge to face this yet again for all of us, though we know we have much to be thankful for.  We are praying for wisdom for us, and for the new doctor we are seeing....

It seems as though when Lee is facing a health crisis, something important and amazing is going down with the church at the same time.  =)  This time is no exception, as we have recently been asked by the owners of our church building that we are renting, if we would like to purchase the property!  This is an amazing opportunity that we are very excited about.  So we are headed into a major fundraising campaign to buy the property, which is nothing short of miraculous when you consider the fact that Harvest is less than 4 years old, and could own its own property.  Praise God!  Since occupying the building, we have grown 54% and are scrambling to make more room for the kids and families joining our ranks, as well as hiring a worship pastor to join the team.  We are so blessed continually by the people in our church and the role we play - We love it all, even when things are challenging and difficult!