Trying to stay posted...

Hi everyone. We've been so busy around here that again, I have to apologize for missing my weekly goal. Ava and Van have been struggling to get through the last couple of weeks with runny noses and congestion. It seems like its been forever that I haven't had to wipe any noses. Van has been struggling in more way than one. He has really been going through a rough time lately. He has decided school isn't all that fun, especially because we leave him there and it's even worse when I'm there working. He cries ever so sadly when I drop him off but is fine after a few minutes. He just seems to be going through something. He's having a hard time adjusting to Ava too. She is officially crawling, has been for a little over a week now and is very active. Her role in Van's life has changed from the cute sister he could share with on his terms, to the little rugrat always after his toys or anything he has because it looks interesting. A friend of ours had it right, she said there are so many books on how to make your child adjust to a new baby but are there any books on how to make your little one adjust to a crawling and moving baby? From what I hear, all of this is totally normal. All of the moms at Van's school say hang in there and that he is doing great for a 2 1/2 year old. So I have to trust them because they have very recently been through the same thing. It just seems like everything is hitting Van at once and he's trying his darndest to adjust. He still gets in the car after school and says he had fun and tells me all about what he did so I know he does like it. He gets so excited to share all of his days events with anyone who will listen so I know he enjoys it. Another good friend told me, once it turns into a negative experience for him, we may want to back off. Great advice. I don't want Van to hate school, especially when he's so young and we're doing this for him so he likes it and can enjoy what he's doing, not because we have to or need the preschool. Just keep our little boy in your prayers...oh yeah us too, the terrible 2 1/2's have hit and hit hard...like I said, lots of adjusting, all at once, for all of us.

As for Ava, she is all over the place. She has had a runny nose for what seems like forever, I think we're going on 3 weeks. In the beginning I thought it was sick, and it may be, but now I'm convinced its got to be her teeth. She has none but is working really hard at getting them. I really hope we see some soon. Yesterday I was just thinking, wow I didn't wipe her nose all day she must be moving on. However, last night around midnight she woke up really upset and daddy went in to check on her and she was super congested with snot all over her nose. So he sucked it clean and put her back in bed...however, the rough night continued and once again we've been sucking her nose out all day. Its got to be her teeth. Well, just keep her in your prayers too.

As for Mike and I, we're hanging in there. Like I said, lots of sickness going around. And, if you read my last post, you can see it just seems crazy around here. We did fix our computer after practically reloading the whole hard drive, but its up and running. Our spider and worm problem got resolved after the exterminator came out this weekend. We've been trying to stay healthy the best we could even though it seems like everyone is sick around us. Hopefully we're on the up and up now. We leave for Hawaii in a little over a week and are very excited. Its a well deserved and very needed break. We're looking forward to sitting back, relaxing, soaking in the sun and just enjoying time together...hopefully we'll all be healthy. Another weight on our minds is our lease. Our renters lease, as well as ours, expires next month. We have sent off a renewal letter to our renters and right now our future is kind of in their hands. If they choose not to renew, we will probably be moving back into our condo. If they do renew, we have to decide whether or not to stay in our house. Of course we'd love to stay in our house, but finances are so tight and we're just not sure what the best decision would be. We know God provides us with all we need and we want to be making the best decisions with those provisions. As much as we love our big yard, our big house, rooms for both kids, and an office for both of us to work from home, we're just not sure this is where God would choose for us to be. Please pray for Mike and I, that we continue to place our faith in God and make wise decisions for our family. Like any loving father, we want to make him proud and want him to be happy with our choices.

Hopefully I'll be back before Hawaii comes around...maybe I'll even get around to downloading some new pics for you...Wish me luck.

B