Little Blessings: Our New House and Blessings

Well, I originally wanted to write an update as our Christmas Letter to everyone and Christmas came and went. Then I had hopes of writing quickly after the new year, no later than the end of January. That also came and went. I am sorry it has been so long in between posts. It has been a busy roller coaster these past few months. Let me fill you all in. It is a long post and taking pictures hasn't been a top priority lately, but I hope you enjoy reading what has been going on with us. (I put all the pictures at the end)
In October we were in the process of buying a house, and we closed on Oct. 31st. After we closed I went up to the house to get the keys and went in with such excitement at finally owning a home again. Not just any home, but a beautiful (slightly outdated with one yellow and one blue toilet and sink:)) 3 bed/2 bath on 2 acres of property, high in elevation to get snow, if it ever decides to snow. Once I got the keys and let myself in (Dave was actually in Austin for work) I heard running water. It turns out a line in the kitchen had been running steadily for about 2 weeks flooding out kitchen. Ever since that day we have been dealing with cleaning up the damage, dealing with insurances refusing to pay, moving out of our rental and into our new home, and living with a makeshift kitchen in the garage thanks to Dave's uncle Paul. Needless to say it has been emotional, stressful, and not ideal, especially being fully pregnant with 5 monkeys running around. In spite of it all we are continually thankful for the blessings God has given us in this. We have had all our needs met, we are all healthy, we get to live in a beautiful setting close to family, we have a wonderful church family that has supported and loved on us through it all, and we look forward to this sweet baby boy to be born sometime end of March or beginning of April.
Our prayer and hope has been to get the kitchen and floors in before this little boy is born. Up to January I honestly struggled a lot feeling hopeless that we could get a kitchen in, but through lots of prayer and support from friends and family we were able to buy all our base cabinets, counters, and a sink last weekend! We are having work days the rest of the Saturdays in February and it is looking really good that we will have a kitchen in before baby. Praise God! Once it is all done I will be sure to take pictures and post for you all to see.
We are also getting excited about a father-son mission trip coming up in March. Dave and Davey are going down to Mexico with a handful of other dads and sons from our church. They are going to be bringing and putting in a play-set for the church down there. Missions have always been a huge part of Dave's and my life and we have prayed and desired to have it be a huge part of our family and kids lives as well. This trip is an answer to those prayers and Davey is supper excited about it! They will be leaving March 12th and coming back March 17th. We would really appreciate your prayer support before and during the trip.
This time of year is also exciting for all the birthdays in our family coming up. Sweet Abigail is turning 5 this Tuesday the 17th. She is so excited to finally be 5 and get to go to school in the fall. Although I haven't fully accepted her going to kindergarten yet :). Cassia is turning 7 March 8th. She is turning into such a beautiful caring girl. Just last week she got the Student of the Month award for being a caring friend to her peers, and as she walked down the aisle to receive it she was hunched over giving every kid she could see high fives on the way down. Dave and his dad celebrate their birthday on March 17th. Even though Dave will be driving home from Mexico that day there is a good possibility that he and his dad will get to celebrate together for the first time in many years.
And finally we look forward to the birth of this little boy. His due date is April 5th, Easter Sunday, but I think and hope he will be a little early. He is very active kicking and squirming through out the day. All the kids love putting their hands on my belly to feel him. Little Boaz gets such a kick out of it and always giggles "my baby brother just kicked me!" We haven't come up with a name yet, but I am looking forward to the day I finally get to hold him in my arms.
We loved getting all the Christmas cards from you all and seeing the pictures of you and your families. Thank you so much for sending them. I am sorry we weren't able to send some this year, but know we miss those that are far away and love you all so much.

In October we went to our 10 year reunion at Westmont. It was lots of fun to see friends and be back on the campus. Here is Dave with his suite mates and good friends Jon and Kevin.