US!

Here we are in Washington more than a year from the time we moved from Illinois. What have we accomplished? Well, I hope that we have accomplished a lot...let's see:

I started a Mom's Group that has grown from me to 96 since May! That's a great thing! We have meetups regularly and I have gained MANY friends through this process! We are a wonderful group of people with the same thing in common...our kids! It's not a "Christian Group" persay, but, it's a group that I hope to gain friends and begin to get close enough to them that maybe one day they might know the love of Christ because I have led them to HIM. I also hope that they see this in me through this group. I randomly started this group because I was bored, but it has grown and God has surely Blessed it.

Next, we have a College Group that we lead. They are a fun group of kids. Sometimes it seems as though I know nothing about leading these kids, though. Yes, I have been in college, and yes I know the struggles they have gone through...but, it was different for me because I was Married and was pregnant by the time I graduated. The girls in the group are wonderful, though! They treat me as though I am one of them, and I absolutely love it! We have a girls night out at least once a month and it's so much fun! The last one we had was eating at Applebee's, hanging out at one of there places before the movie (at 10:20pm) and then watching 27dresses! There were 8-10 of us! This group has grown leaps and bounds, but there is no spiritual aspect of the group whatsoever...which is concerning to me. I really want to be able to fit something like that in, but it just doesn't feel right doing it. We definitely have a ways to go with this group, but we are on our way. This group needs lots of prayer!

I sell Pampered Chef, and I work 4 days a week at a 'normal' job, although it's not really normal! I am an Advocate for a Developmentally Disabled Adult. I am at odds with the job right now, as if it really bumbing me out. Yes, I know that I'm blessed because I am working and get really good pay and great bonuses, but, the job itself does not make me happy. I want to want to go to work, you know? But, as of now, I don't really ever want to go to work. There is more to this story than meets the eye...but, that's for another blog at another date! Pampered Chef is a good way to earn extra income, except I don't have time to do as much of it as I would like to. And to be honest, I really truly only started selling it to get the free products...because I LOVE THEM!

Mark works for Lowe's still! BUT, he does really enjoy his job, which is excellent! He's never really had a job that he's enjoyed before...besides that of working at camps and things of that sort. He drives now for Lowe's Delivery, so he's been promoted since moving here over a year ago! YAY for him. He now makes more an hour than I do, which is fantastic.

I struggle with wanting to be at home with Samuel full time, but then I think about what I would do for income. By the way, Samuel is so Amazing! He still cannot walk on his own, but he knows how...he's just afraid of it. He gets into anything and everything. He has lots of teeth in that very cute little mouth of his. He's gotten three molars already! OUCH! He's very onry, but loves his mommy and daddy more than anything else! He loves books and will actually sit through a Dr. Suess book, which really at this stage is not normal! He loves getting out of his little toddler bed and crawling over to ours and then throwing his paci at us to wake us up in the morning! That is his favorite thing to do! He's just such an amazing little creature that God has blessed us with! No wonder I struggle with wanting to quit and stay at home with him full time!

Mark and I will soon be working on our second child! We are waiting for our insurance cards to come in the mail, and then I will be going to the Doctor for a full physical before I go to an OBGYN. It is important that I do so, since I haven't been to a Dr. since before Samuel was born. And, if any of you know that story, I need to get the okay from an OBGYN also, because 1. I had a C-section and 2. I had a fibroid tumor that they DID NOT take out. We just really want this to be a safe and healthy pregnancy this time around due to almost losing Samuel at 22 weeks last time around!

We would appreciate any prayers that you could send our way! We would love that so much! Pray for God's direction in our lives and in the lives of those we serve and in the Life of our Church we serve! Look for more blogs on our progress and possibly pics in the future! I may blog once a week or so! Blessings to all who actually read a part of this or who are courageous enough to get through the whole thing!