A Quick Catch Up

Here's a bullet point list of what we've been up to:

- Owen's visit with the cardiologist went great. His heart is functioning well and there are no problems!

- Our car was stolen, totalled and then abandoned. But before the thieves ran off they took a huge box of diapers, a car seat and the Bible on C.D. God has provided for us, as He always does, even though we did not have full coverage insurance on the vehicle. The whole scenario has actually proven to be a blessing. He never ceases to amaze me.

- I have just over 9 weeks left of this pregnancy. I'm still trying to figure out how that is possible.

- Ben and I went to Lansing for a homeschooling conference last weekend. We had 96 workshops to choose from and had the privilege of listening to Voddie Baucham speak several times. We left a little intimidated at the huge task we have before us but also extremely challenged by this high calling we have. It was also an encouraging weekend where we got to meet with several friends and talk to other homeschooling families. We have a passion to do something we have never done, something we never thought we would do - homeschool!

- Aubrey continues to keep me on my toes. Just this morning I found her completely undressed standing on Ben's desk with a few hundred paper clips thrown around the room.

Hopefully in the near future I'll remember to snap a few pictures (the one above is a couple months old!) and have more time to write a more detailed post.

From flood to picnic

The creek in the backyard turned into a lake with all the rain we got last week.
The garden was overtaken by water

Even the bridge was covered in water.

And here it is less than a week later and the water is gone and the kids are enjoying a picnic on the grass!

Unexpected Visitors

Grandpa taking Aubrey on a walk through the woods.

One of the things I really enjoy about living near family is the unannounced visits. It's a real treat to have family and friends drop in unexpectedly for a dessert, a meal, a conversation or a quick visit. I love welcoming others into my home and my kids love it too!

Waiting on the Lord

In recent weeks we have had to make some decisions in blind faith. It's always hard to make a decision when you don't know all the details or are unsure about the future.
We live in a 600 square foot apartment and our rent is ridiculously affordable. It's a tight squeeze but we make it work and we are thankful to have a place to call "home." We would like more room for more children (some day) and hosting guests. We haven't looked to move, however, because our rent is ridiculously affordable and we are waiting for the Lord to show us where He wants us next. Ben graduated from seminary in May and we are trusting God to provide a ministry position for him.
Last week a woman from my church approached me with an offer too good to pass up. She owns a three bedroom brick house with a fenced in yard and a garage. The entire house has a nice fresh coat of paint and refinished hardwood floors. And she wanted to rent it to us for the same price that we renting our apartment. Let me remind you once again - our rent is ridiculously affordable (read "cheap!").
I came home and told Ben about it. We looked up the house and discovered that it's on a nice quiet street in a good neighborhood. But should we move? If we knew God wasn't going to open up a ministry position for another, say, 18 months - then sure! Let's move! But what if he opens something up in, say, 4 months? Well, then let's not move. We found ourselves in a position we have been in many, many times: we had to make a decision without knowing the future, without having all of the information. We prayed about it. We talked about it. We got kind of excited about it.
The next day I went to the seminary to hear author, Mary Kassian speak. A woman I met briefly over a year and a half ago approached me and randomly said, "Hi, Kelly! Would you happen to know of any good deals for a place to rent? My husband and I are trying to cut our expenses and our rent is just too high." This woman and her husband have no children and plan to be in school for the next four years. Their goal is to graduate debt free. Ben and I had that goal too and were able to do so and having a ridiculously affordable apartment was a big help! I told the woman, Katy, about the offer we had received the night before and how we were praying about the possibility. She asked me to please give her the homeowners name and number if we decided not to take the offer.
I came home and told Ben about my conversation with Katy. We decided to let Katy and her husband pursue the opportunity to rent the house. That same day Katy walked through the house with the owner and called me and said, "I hate to tell you about this house because I'm afraid you're going to regret not doing it!" What she described sounded like a perfect situation. The owner is even letting her decided how much she wants to pay in rent! They move in after the holidays.
The homeowner came up to me at church on Sunday and expressed her gratitude and thankfulness that I found someone to rent her house. She really likes Katy and is excited about the arrangement.
So were we foolish to decline an opportunity that was "too good to pass up?" I don't think so. We have a real peace about it. Had the homeowner not approached me, and had Katy not randomly approached me, then these two would have never met. I really think God used me to connect these two women. Katy can reduce her monthly expenses and Carol, the homeowner, will receive more in rent each month than what we would have paid. We love Louisville, but we are not confident that the Lord intends to keep us here.
So here we are . . . waiting . . . and believing that God has something planned for us! Please pray that God would be pleased to show us where He wants us next.

Jump!

It looked like the perfect place to jump into a gigantic pile of leaves. The 5 ft high retaining wall was a great place to jump from and the leaves were almost as high as the wall. But once Owen jumped, he disappeared.

Airborne
He got his head up.

But his head was all he could get up. He couldn't get the rest of his body free.

Daddy to the rescue!

Owen still thought it was great fun!

It's a Girl

Emily Glupker

5 lb 7 oz

Has her Daddy's eyes

Lots of hair

Perfectly healthy



(Or at least this is what some random lady at McDonald's came up and told us tonight)

Research Confirms What I Already Knew

I have often said that I attract mosquitoes. My friend and I can be outside with our kids and she doesn't get one bite while I go in the house with five. When we were in Michigan my sister and I went for a walk. She lives out in the country so I made sure I covered myself up so I wouldn't get eaten alive. I had on long sleeves (with a hood that I even used!), pants, socks and tennis shoes. I think Kim was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. During our walk I kept getting bit on my only exposed skin - my neck and face. Kim got nothin'! At one point during our walk I stopped to talk to her face to face. We couldn't help but laugh at the fact that she had no bugs swarming her while I literally had mosquitoes all over my face - flying near my mouth while I talked and even getting stuck in my eyelashes!
This morning there was an article in Louisville's newspaper, The Courier-Journal. And it's true!!! Some people are mosquito magnets. They are drawn to clean, healthy and intelligent individuals. Okay, that last part wasn't in the article. But they do discriminate, so the article says. If you don't believe me, you can read it yourself right here.

Klutzy Kelly

As a child I was somehow given the nickname, "Klutzy Kelly." I'm sure it wasn't an earned nickname, rather, my sister just liked to pick on me. Or maybe my Mom gave me the name. I don't remember for sure, so I'll just blame Kim. I'm afraid, however, that Sunday morning I rightfully deserved to be called, "Klutzy Kelly." I was coming down the stairs at church carrying my big belly and wearing high healed sandals. The stairs aren't carpeted and somehow my left foot slipped sideways and down I went. My right arm landed on the edge of a step. My Dad was on one side of me, Ben on the other, and both tried to grab me. And of course there were lots of other people there to witness the fall as well. But unlike other mishaps I have had over the years, nobody made fun of me - which can only mean on thing - Kim and Korey weren't there. The result? A pretty purple bruise on my arm. And yes, I know, I am totally opening myself up to ridicule by posting this!